A "break"

My blog posting was put on hold for a couple of weeks because my laptop keyboard suddenly gave out. The R, W and P keys refused to work -- and no amount of pounding would help. In fact, I believe it made things worse. Miraculously though, the stars must have aligned or something, because two events coincided to get my computer working again: 1) My uncle had the exact laptop keyboard I needed and sent it to me FedEx, and 2) the IT department at work not only installed it for me, but did so in less than an hour. And I'm always saying I don't believe in miracles.

Now that all keys seem to be functioning, I'm leaving for the holidays. I'll be going to Bangalore for a friend's wedding. And then I'll be traveling around India for two weeks with two great friends -- destinations have not been planned out yet, except for New Year's in Goa. (I'm sure Goa will be crazy around that time, but we're lucky enough to have a place to stay with some locals. After that, it's either north or south, depending on what we feel like -- and where a train will take us.) Before flying back to Manila, I'll stop in Bangkok and make a side trip to Vientiane. It should be an adventure -- and hopefully I'll come back with lots of great photos.

Night falls

A night shot from my apartment window. I'm still getting used to my digital camera. There seems to be a different skill to taking night shots with a digital SLR than with a film SLR. I like this one, despite the blur, because of the light on the street below. There was quite a party going on down there, and the red-orange glow of the light seems to capture that.

Great photos!

Here's a great photo blog. Excellent photos from Manila and around the Philippines.

Product of the month

I found this amusing toilet paper brand at Hytop -- my neighborhood grocery store. Needless to say, it is now my preferred brand of toilet paper.

New/Old Communism

A day after I flew out of Tagbilaran on the island of Bohol, I read about an attack on a cell phone tower in the same city. The New People's Army raided the cell tower and shot a guard because Globe Telecommunications -- my own cell phone service provider -- refused to pay the NPA's "revolutionary taxes." Since then I've paid closer attention to the actions of various communist groups in the Philippines.

The Christian Science Monitor has a story with a lot of background on the NPA and communist insurgency. The Philippines is not only a highly commercial and capitalist society, but it is also one that still has old-money, landed families that wield an enormous amount of influence over the economy and politics.

What I find fascinating about this article -- and about the situation in the Philippines in general -- is how the symbols of capitalism have changed so dramatically. (After all, it's only been in the last few years that the NPA began attacking cell phone towers.) In the end, the goals of communism have not changed much: these farmers are still hoping for a reorganized society. But at this point -- after years of struggle and insurgency and thousands of former communists integrating themselves into mainstream life -- the communists that remain seem to be hoping the hierarchical structure will bend just enough for farmers to own their own plot of land.

Ten in 2005

In the not-so-distant past, I was a community journalist. (Don't ask me what I am now, I have no idea.) The job has its positive side -- having an impact on a community in a way you wouldn't if you worked for a big city newspaper -- but it can also be the most tiring work in the world. As one of my former colleagues put it, "Nobody seems to understand the hell that is community journalism."

One part of the job that was "hell," or just annoying, was reporting on cyclical events -- the things that happen over and over like clockwork. In Tahoe, I always knew I would be writing weather stories on the first snowfall, a major storm and when the snow finally melted enough for people to start going to the beach instead of the ski resorts. My colleagues that had been working in the same city for a decade or more had covered the same events so many times they could practically write the story before the event.

Working in a newsroom in the Philippines has given new meaning to the cyclical story. Here, every few months or so, we report the murder of a journalist. Since 1986, when Marcos fled the country, 73 journalists have been killed here. And last week, another journalist was killed.

A 27-year-old radio and newspaper commentator was shot in a public market in Cebu, the same city where, just a few weeks ago, a policeman was convicted of killing a journalist in 2002. That's a major victory for journalism in the Philippines -- where, according to Reuters, it's the first conviction in 73 murders since 1986. The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism says it's the third conviction in 55 cases. (The PCIJ story details the saga of the case -- including the murder of two key witnesses.)

I would love to offer an analysis of this situation, but it's difficult to point to one thing or another as the reason so many journalists are killed here. The Committee to Protect Journalists, which has given the Philippines the unenviable title of "most murderous country for journalists," offers a great analysis, reporting that it may be a combination of a lack of journalism standards, the inability to enforce the rule of law, widespread proliferation of illegal firearms, and a misunderstanding of the function of the press in a society.

There are a few patterns that have emerged over the last 20 years: Usually the journalists killed are radio commentators in the provinces who were speaking out against corruption. Because of this, my coworkers -- TV reporters/writers/producers in Metro Manila -- feel somewhat disconnected from the problem. But even well-respected journalists in Manila have received death threats because of their work.

The murder last week was the tenth case of a journalist being killed this year alone. I don't think anyone here can afford to ignore the problem. It's representative of so many problems in Philippine society, politics and media -- and for the cycle to continue is a tragedy that affects more than just journalism and the media, but the entire country.

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On the Radio, Under the Gun, CPJ, August 2005

In Search of Solutions to Media Killings, PCIJ, Sept. 8, 2005