Young Blood
Old-world feeling
By Joshua M. SiatLate last year, Newsweek printed its last physical issue. Its issues are now all-digital, made specifically for tablets and phones for easy access.
Late last year, Newsweek printed its last physical issue. Its issues are now all-digital, made specifically for tablets and phones for easy access.
The solemn drama and pageantry at the Vatican came to a jubilant culmination on St. Joseph’s feast day with the installation of Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio as Pope Francis. Events that led to this celebration were brought on real time to all corners of the world, Catholic and non-, through the digital eyes and ears [...]
The retired cardinal archbishop of Manila, Gaudencio Rosales, had a ready answer when asked, upon returning from the conclave in Rome, why the media failed to predict the identity of the new pope. “God does not read social media,” he said.
Some of my friends disagreed with my last column. Not on leadership, no argument there, but on creating a Department of ICT (Information Communications Technology). And not, I’m glad to say, for the non sequitur reason that there are already too many departments. There are, but that isn’t, or shouldn’t be, the issue. If there are too many, is a DICT the least necessary? As I argued in my last column, decidedly NO. There are departments of far less use that can go.
The less-than-perfect results of the mock elections conducted by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) reignited legal and technological controversies. Despite some glaring glitches, Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. pronounced the make-believe polls a success. He assured the public that all the defects were “minor” and could in time be addressed satisfactorily.
The second national automated elections will be held on May 13, or barely four months away. Dominant political parties are keyed up with their campaign gimmicks and demolition jobs while the Commission on Elections is racing against time in the poll preparations.
The oral arguments on the constitutionality of the controversial Cybercrime Prevention Act at the Supreme Court on Tuesday gave free speech and Internet freedom advocates a boost. But whether some justices were merely playing devil’s advocate or testing the limits of the petitioners’ positions, lines of reasoning were also used at the 4-hour hearing that should give the public pause. Those who share the view that Republic Act No. 10175 should be declared unconstitutional—and antidemocratic at its core—cannot afford to be complacent.
I meant both “happy” and “app-y,” the app referring to applications software for very specific purposes, made popular by Apple (as in apps for Apple) through its iPhones and iPads. Today there are thousands of apps for every imaginable purpose, and for all kinds of smartphones and tablets. Many are free, others offer a “lite” version for you to try before you buy, with low prices ranging from 99 cents (in the United States) to fancy stuff that go for almost $10.
We live in the age of instant coffee, instant messaging, Instagram, instant everything. Technology makes everything so much easier—sharing photos from a crazy weekend beach trip, stalking that crush you saw at one party but never got the courage to talk to, or putting up a link to the video of this song that you can’t get out of your head so that your friends can get major LSS, too.
A popular comic strip in America many years ago featured two bumbling characters, Alphonse and Gaston, both of whom had a penchant for politeness. Gaston, the tall one, would say, “After you, Alphonse,” and the latter, the short one, would insist, “No, you first, my dear Gaston!” The show of excessive politeness would go on and on, with the result that neither could do anything or go anywhere because each insisted on letting the other precede him. Today, the catchphrase “After you, my dear Alphonse” is heard whenever a dare is made to a person to do something difficult or even dangerous.
I am a 45-year-old mother of two who are already in their teens. Like most impressionable youngsters, my kids are into social media like Facebook—in the same way that during my time, I was hooked on the slum book. Those were the days. As a mother, I am concerned about the effect of social media [...]
Seldom HAS a law been publicly questioned for its unconstitutionality too soon after passage. Such is the unthinkable fate of Republic Act 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, against which already nine, and counting, petitions from various sectors have been filed with the high court. The kind of laws one authors or sponsors in [...]
