tolerance

Hi there! It’s a weekend and the SCUUA 2007 meet officially ends today with the closing ceremonies to be followed by SCUAA Jam cum Paalam Night at the TTMIST Oval.

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First things first. Mayor Mel Sarmiento is off to Jeju, South Korea for the 2nd United Cities and Local Governments World Congress on October 28 – 31, 2007. He has been invited to speak during the session on Strategic Responses in Fast - Growing Cities.

If I may repeat what I featured in this column a few weeks ago, the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) represents and defends the interests of local governments on the world stage, regardless of the size of the communities they serve. Headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, the organization’s mission is to be the united voice and world advocate of democratic local self-government, promoting its values, objectives and interests, through cooperation between local governments, and within the wider international community.

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A few weeks ago, news had it that some quarters are considering tapping nuclear energy for the country. It’s almost time don’t you think? Yeah right. After 30 years (?) they (or should I say we, I mean the Filipino people) have paid-off the loan for the mothballed Bataan Nuclear power plant. And now somebody is trying to float the idea about the need to tap nuclear energy. Okey it’s cheap, but they still have to make clear how to do away with radioactive waste safely.

And the glorietta blast. As expected some lawmakers were quick to accuse the government of doing it. I’m wondering when they are going to call an inquiry on the blast, in aid of legislation, of course.

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I got this from Yahoo and I can’t help but feature it here, and this explains the title for today. I’ve heard of Harry Potter (who hasn’t) but was never into the movie, well, that’s until last week when a good number of sites featured this line: Dumbledore is gay! That’s after Jo Rowling said so when she answered one young reader's question about Dumbledore by saying that he was gay and had been in love with Grindelwald, whom he had defeated years ago in a bitter fight. If I may quote some lines from yahoo: '"You cannot imagine how his ideas caught me, Harry, inflamed me,'" Dumbledore says in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final book in Rowling's record-breaking fantasy series.

Some quarters were quick to say that a gay character in the most popular series in the world is a big step for Jo Rowling and for gay rights." Some fans had this to say: "Jo Rowling calling any Harry Potter character gay would make wonderful strides in tolerance toward homosexuality. By dubbing someone so respected, so talented and so kind, as someone who just happens to be also homosexual, she's reinforcing the idea that a person's gayness is not something of which they should be ashamed."

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I don’t remember the exact words, but I can clearly remember the message. An institution in the city is into promoting the culture of excellence. Nice to hear or know that. What person in his right mind will say no to that? And a culture like that entails discipline, no question about it. But then how should one react when along the way the discipline should include talking only in English or Filipino? The way I see it, the message is that waray-waray or binisaya is something that promotes anything but excellence. Did I get it right? What do you think? Nagtatanong lang po.

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Let me leave you with the last part of the airline (cabin) announcements email I left you with last Wednesday.

All too rarely, airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight "safety lecture" and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some (supposedly) real examples that have been heard or reported:

- "In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favorite."

- "As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."

- And from the pilot during his welcome message: "Philippines Airlines is pleased to have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!"

- After landing the airplane and while taxiing towards the terminal, cabin attendant announced as passengers rise to retrieve their hand carry bags: "Manatili po sana tayong nakaupo habang hindi pa ganap na nakahimpil ang ating sasakyan, WALA PONG PREMYO PARA SA MAUUNANG LALABAS NG EROPLANO."

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Have a nice weekend everyone! Ciao!