The Heavy Pollution in China should Warn Third-World Countries

The Heavy Pollution in China

Should Warn Third -World Countries

By Apolinario Villalobos

 

Manufacturing countries that clandestinely hate China have successfully inflicted a “slow death” on the awakened dragon of Asia. They have simply transferred the production aspect of their business in China because of her cheap labor and with it, the byproduct of high technology – the deadly pollution! They have been awfully successful, no question about that!

 

China today, is practically crawling due to the effect of heavy pollution while countries that own brands manufactured in China are basking under smog-free atmosphere. Every day, internet news carries warnings of the Chinese government to its citizens about the heavy pollution and photos are those of the Chinese citizens with face or surgical mask to lessen their inhalation of the dirty air. An enterprising European country is reportedly exporting fresh bottled air to China.

 

The phenomenon in China should serve as a warning to the third-world countries that are blinded by the prospect of living in comfort through high technology. China has practically flooded the world with products made in her homeland. Despite such show of opulence, she is far from being satisfied as her expansionistic desire is slowly creeping towards the rest of Asia and the African continent- with all their third world countries.

 

The governments of these countries would like their forests be uprooted and replaced with factories; would like their fields planted to rice, corn and other staple foods bulldozed to give way to resorts and first-class housing projects; would like their mountains to be drilled for minerals; would like their citizens to be introduced into the mean habits of squalid urban life; would like their centuries-old traditions and faith to be polluted with the immoralities of progress.

 

As the exploitation lasts only for as long as there are yet to be exploited, their “benefits” are likewise short-lived. When the factories and mining companies stop their exhaustive operations, they leave behind ghost towns and villages- with their rivers poisoned by chemicals and the once-fertile land exhausted of their nutrients making them not suitable even for the lowly grass. Their polluted culture gives rise to a new generation of prostitutes and indolent, and worst, with a twisted view on faith.

 

The high-technology must be one of the checks that God has imposed on earth to maintain the balance, aside from natural calamities such as typhoon, earthquake, diseases, and floods, as well as, man-made war. Without them, the world would have burst long time ago, due to overpopulation and inadequate sustenance. But, while these are divine penalties, caution should have been observed by man to at least delay and minimize their occurrence. Unfortunately, man is now reaping the fruits of his greed…at high speed!

 

In the Old Testament, when the God of Israelites wanted them punished for their misdeed, He used the heathen races or tribes to sow disaster upon them. Sometimes He used calamities such as diseases and famine-causing pestilence. The religions of the world are based either directly or indirectly on the Abrahamaic faith, except for some pockets of tribes in unexplored nooks of forests and islands. In a way, most peoples of the world are connected to the God of Israel. Are we now suffering from this divine penalty, mentioned in the Old Testament?

Isang Pagbusisi sa Mundo ng Facebook

Isang Pagbusisi sa Mundo ng Facebook

Ni Apolinario Villalobos

Ngayon, ang facebook na yata ang pinakatanyag na bahagi ng internet dahil marami na ang nakapagpatunay na talagang malaking tulong ito sa buhay ng tao. Malamang na ang orihinal nitong gamit ay para lamang sa mga retrato, kaya dapat ay naka-frame ang mga ipo-post sa facebook, upang magmukha itong “photo album” , kaya nga “facebook” o “aklat ng mukha”. Dahil dito ay nagdalawang- isip ako noon sa paglagay ng mga ginawa kong sanaysay at tula. At, kung kailangan ko talagang maglagay, dapat ay i-frame ko rin sila. Sa payak kong kaisipan, pwede nga siguro, pero kailangan kong tadtarin at ilagay sa kung ilang frame dahil kung ang isang sanaysay ay mahaba, iisang buong page na ng facebook ang siguradong masasakop nito….at sigurado ding isusumpa ako ng nangangasiwa dahil sa pang-aabuso!

Maaaring magkaroon ng ilang “katauhan” gamit ang ilan ding facebook dahil hindi naman alam ng nangangasiwa kung sino talaga ang may-ari ng mga ito. Dahil sa nabanggit, dapat lang na bago mag-confirm ng “friend request” ay kailangang tsekin ang mga detalye sa facebook ng nagpadala. Ang siste lang, marami ang gumagawa ng facebook na ang tanging laman ay pangalan at hindi pa sigurado kung totoo. Lalo na ngayong panahon ng batikusan sa larangan ng pulitika na nagbigay- buhay sa maraming grupo na ang layunin ay mambatikos ng mga pulitiko. Kung papansinin, ang facebook ng ibang nambabatikos ay walang lamang detalye kundi nakakadudang pangalan. Okey lang sana kung makabuluhan ang mga pagbatikos, subali’t ang iba ay halata namang hindi pinag-isipan, kaya ang labas ng mga gumawa ay ang tinatawag sa social media na “bashers”. Sila ang mga mahilig lang mangantiyaw at makisakay sa mga isyu.

Ang problema sa kaso ng “bashing” ay mahirap i-trace kung sino ang mga kaibigan ng “bashers” at kung kaninong facebook sila nakakabit kaya nagawa nilang pumasok sa “loop” o samahan ng mga dapat sana ay magkakakilala. Problema din dito kung naka-“public” ang isang facebook kaya napapasok ng kahit sino.

Mayroon ring nanlilito ng mga viewers. Ito yong parang may iniiwasan. Ang payo ko lang, kapag dating kaibigan ang gumagawa nito at obvious na talagang namimili lang siya ng makakadaupang-palad sa facebook, huwang nang magpumilit na mag-reach out sa kanya. Pagbigyan siya sa kanyang kagustuhan dahil baka nagkaroon ng hindi magandang karanasan sa piling ng mga dating ka-fb, kaya dinelet niya ang dati at nagbukas ng bago, at pati katauhan niya para sa mundo ng internet ay binago na rin.

Hindi rin pala tinatanggal ng nangangasiwa ng facebook ang mga namamayapa na, kaya tuloy pa rin ang pagsulpot ng mga pangalan nila sa listahan ng mga suggested friends. Nagkakaroon tuloy ng tampo ang ibang palaging nagpapadala ng friend request na hindi naman daw inaaksiyunan, hanggang sa may magsabing patay na pala ang taong gusto nilang maka-friend!…nagsisi tuloy sila dahil sa pagtampo sa taong matagal na palang patay! …kaya nagkaroon pa ng obligasyon na taimtim na pagdasal upang humingi ng sorry sa namayapa!

Marami ring kuwentong “pagkikita” sa facebook pagkalipas ng kung ilang taon. May mga kabataan namang sa facebook naging magkaibigan, hanggang sa magligawan, na kung minsan ay nauuwi sa lokohan kaya may mga kaso ng panggagahasa. Mayroon ding kaso ng lokohan sa pera na idinaan sa pakikipagkaibigan sa facebook. Pero may mga sinusuwerte ding nakakita ng matinong asawa sa facebook.

Upang makaiwas sa kapahamakan, dapat na lang isaalang-alang ang lubusang pag-ingat sa paggamit ng facebook. At, huwag din abusuhin ang magandang layunin nito para lang makapangantiyaw ng kapwa upang hindi magantihan. Palaging alalahanin na hindi man tayo nakikita ng ating kapwa sa ating ginagawa, hindi bulag ang nasa itaas na 24/7 nakabantay sa atin…

Fearless Predictions for a Comfortable Life

Fearless Predictions for a Comfortable Life

By Apolinario Villalobos

I know that I will be exposing myself to ridicule with the ideas that I will share in this dissertation, as viewers will perceive me as a trying hard Nostradamus. But I don’t mind because I espouse freedom of expression. I am emboldened with the questions such as, was not TV used to be called “idiot box” before it was finally accepted? …and was not the cellular phone just a crazy idea, far from being realized because there was no connecting cable involved?

When I was young, during which the only cordless communication gadget that I knew was the walkie-talkie radio units, I was already imagining about phones not connected with cords and wires. I had my first glimpse of a phone from the pages of the National Geographic when I was in high school. Later, I saw pictures of phones installed in cars. Later, the pager came, and finally, the cellular phones that are being manufactured today with different shapes. There was a time when I imagined a typewriter that could store typed words; small flashlights and radios that can fit pockets; pencils that double as ballpoint pens.

Today, I do not tire of imagining things to come as a result of never-ending quest of man for things that will satisfy his whims and comfort. Although there is a popular view is that, newly-invented gadgets are nothing but ridiculous contraptions until their use have become widely accepted.

Along this line, I imagine the day when a slim duplicating machine will become an integral part of laptops. A few stack of copying paper, brought along in the laptop bag, can be fed to it one at a time. Bulky? No!…because the design I imagine shall revolve around the principles of slimness and lightness. On the other hand, the prototype of a laptop that can be rolled and which I have been imagining for many years has already come out in the internet.

I also imagine, a set of 3 ball pen-sized contraptions that beam laser images of computer keyboard on a table, screen on the wall, with the third serving as modem that stores beamed images and texts, and with the contraptions operating on a very compact battery.

Other innovations that I am imagining are:

  • Cellphones, laptops, i-pads, and other gadgets that run on motion-charged batteries (this concept is already used in automatic writswatches, but not yet on big gadgets)
  • “Perpetual” vibrating cellphone restpad/charger for units with motion-charged battery; the restpad/charger shall also be self-charging from its motion, with the initial charge from few minutes of shakes given to it
  • Cellphone units that can convert received verbally transmitted messages into text, as well as, vocalize received text messages for the benefit of the deaf and blind
  • Cellphone units that automatically prevent electrical transmission of chargers when batteries are already full to prevent overcharging
  • Batteries for laptop and cellphone that can last for one week despite regular daily use
  • Cellphones that can be unfolded four times into a mini-pad
  • Intelligent cars installed with application readers, to enable them to read applications, for instance, on geographical make up of a town, city, province, and direction to tourist destinations, so that a tourist can just go to a car rental agency, choose an application depending on the number of destination wanted, and let the car do the rest – without even being driven; the intelligent cars shall also read applications on reminders about the fuel status of the car, spare parts that need to be replaced, etc.
  • Cars that can reverse magnetic attraction to a certain level, so that they can be driven over flooded surface
  • Airport cars that are remote- controlled so that after bringing clients to destinations, they can be electronically guided back to the airport garage
  • Wheelchairs that can float and be driven, with battery powered by motion
  • Edible food container as replacement for styros
  • A chemical that can disinfect and convert human waste into an odorless consistency free from germs, and can be molded into hardy boards and roofing sheets that can be used for low-cost housing
  • A chemical that can convert waste from the kitchen into liquid fertilizer
  • Hybrids of fruits such as seedless jackfruit and durian with smooth skin, kiwi fruit with edible skin, seedless avocado with edible skin, round banana with edible skin, seedless mango with edible skin, grapes that can grow into the size of pomelo
  • Hybrids of vegetables such as seedless gourds, seedless tomato, seedless cucumber, seedless squash, elongated cabbage that can grow like vine
  • Hybrids of flowers such as roses that can bear flowers as big as cabbage and can last for at least one year, and when cut, for at least three months
  • A glowing paint with pigments that can illuminate walls and ceilings, with the degree of illumination depending on the color of the paint, to drastically reduce, if not eliminate the use of light bulbs in some areas of the house or building
  • Gadgets that can capture electricity from a source at least fifty kilometers away so that electric cables shall no longer be necessary to transport the power to the homes and other structures; the principle to be used here will be similar to the one used in the cordless mouse of computers and cordless chargers of cellphones
  • A gadget that can be plugged into a socket and can send power to an equipment such as copying machine, refrigerator, TV, radio, and music station, while another gadget shall be attached to the equipment to receive the power; this way the clutter of cables and wires is eliminated and the equipment can be moved anywhere in the house or building but within the range of the relaying and receiving gadgets
  • Umbrellas with extra thin extension that can be unrolled into a tarp and can accommodate 4 more people
  • CCTV cameras that are programmed to detect harmful actions of captured images so that an alert can be received by the monitor and which shall send out a signal; this way the CCTV can maximize its use even if the monitor is not watched 24/7

The modern world thrives on some crazy ideas and I would like to contribute some of my own. I am asking the indulgence of viewers in this effort. This is better than thinking of ways on how to evade a CCTV while robbing a bank, kill someone with a deadly look, break eardrums with horrid songs, or concoct herbal preparations that can induce conception of quadruplets or quintuplets.

Blogging is About Life

 Blogging     is    About    Life

By    Apolinario    Villalobos

 

A    fellow    blogger    once    asked    me   if   he    should   go   on   blogging   or   not    because    he    noticed    the    sparse    likes    that     his    posted    photos    are    getting.      I   told    him    that    he   should   go    on    and    just     forget    about    the   likes.    I   reminded   him   that    his    primary    reason   for   blogging    is   to   share    with    utmost    sincerity   what   he   has    as   a   person,    which   is    skill    in   photography.    I   told    him   that   somehow,   he   has   his   own   space    where    he   can   showcase    his   talent  –   practically for    free,    and   can   reach    out    to    those    in   other   parts    of    the   world.    Capping    my    advice,    I   told    him   about    a  blogger,    Tedd    Navarro,      who   interprets    his    views    uniquely,    by    way    of    illustrated     electrical   installations,   being      an    electrical     engineer.    Another   blogger   I  mentioned   is   Ross  Capili,   renowned   Filipino   artist   whose   paintings    are   admired   even   abroad   and   which   he   shares   with   viewers.  I   finally   forced    a    nod    from   him    when   I   said    that    it   is   God’s   desire    for   us    to   share    whatever    talent    He   gave   us,   as   it  is   a  blessing,   and  meant   not   only   to   be  appreciated    but  also   to be  “learned”.   

 

I    am    appreciative    of   bloggers    who,   in   their   own   simple   way,    exert    effort   in   sharing   with   others    how   they    enjoy    life    by   posting    even    their    modest   breakfast    fare    of   fried    dried    fish,   rice,    tomato   and    onion    salad,    and    coffee.    Those    who    share    the    lighter    side    of    life    by   posting    photos    of    families,    beloved    pets,    newly-polished     fingernails,    pouting    children    and    even    stolen    shots    of    sleeping    friends    with   open   mouth,    and    many    other    hilarious    moments    should    be    commended,   as   well    for    their    humble    appreciation    of    life.     For   me,   blogging    is    an   expression   of   one’s    appreciation    of   life.

 

We    should    be    thankful    to    those     who    find    time    in    posting    photos    that    visually    describe    their    culture.    Blogs     let    us    know    about    the   happenings    in   other   parts    of    the   world    such   as   calamities    brought    about   by   the   forces    of   nature,     unrests    brought    about   by     differences    in   political    and   religious   views,    places     that    we    need    not    personally    visit    to   appreciate,    foods    that    we   can   also    cook    in   our    own   homes    to    be   enjoyed    without    going    to    first   class   restaurants,    and  other   extensive     information    that   can   only    be    had    by   flipping    the   pages    of    expensive    printed    books.  

 

No    less    than    the   current    pope    himself,   Francis,    made   use    of    the   blogging    tool    for   its     vast    outreach    to   interact    with   Roman   Catholics    throughout    the   world    to   put    a    check    on    their    dwindling    number.    We    are    living    within    the   cycle    that    God,    himself    designed.    We    just    cannot    oppose    the   force    of    momentum,    and    part   of    it     is     the    complicated     high   technology.   

The    blogging    arena    called    internet    provides    a    web    that      serves    as   an    intricate    system    of   electronic    highways    that   eventually    unify    mankind.    We    should   thank    those    who   bred    this    technology   to   once    more    bring    the   different    races    together     after    they     were    “dispersed”     as    told    in    the    legend    of   the    Tower   of    Babel.