Robert Tarongoy's timely release

So, Robert Tarongoy has been released after seven months of captivity in Iraq ... after the Philippine government fulfilled the demands of his captors. This includes paying ransom.

And if so, why would the Philippine government decide to capitulate to such demands at this time? Not earlier, or later? Is it just coincidence that this happens at the height of current Philippine president Arroyo's UNpopularity? Is her government hoping this move would earn her some popularity points the same way Angelo dela Cruz' release did, almost a year ago? After all, as I remember it, the government gave in to dela Cruz' captors demands because to stand by its pledge to help Bush in his war would mean sacrificing the president's popularity amongst the Filipinos. It is the Filipinos who did vote her into office, not the Americans after all.

Given the Filipinos' penchant, or pre-occupation, with ousting whoever's on the seat of power - it is a no-brainer that many politicos will always monitor their popularity ranking. People on both sides of the fence would screw ethics, word of honor, and morality if it gets in the way.

Jaime Cardinal Sin

I was on the way to work when I heard the news flash that Cardinal Sin has died. What ran through my brain then was that the weaves are unravelling and the torches are being passed.

The significant figures of the 80s who were involved in one way or another with the toppling of then-existing governments (communist-led or dictatorships) are leaving us one by one.

Organizations and countries are finding that the deaths have left holes or gaps in their structures, since these figures of history have also served as their anchors or compass.

I wonder who the next group of notables will be. Such figures, once they break into the world scene, usually dominate headlines for the succeeding decade or so. And more often than not, they are also connected to one another.

Can dreams tell you when another person will die soon?

Had a dream of Lola Cion yesterday morning, just before waking up.

In the dream, there was a party for her. It wasn't a birthday party though, it's to celebrate the fact that she'll be dying that day. She was wearing make-up and she was eating heartily - maybe it was a slice of cake, I can't remember. She was happy because she was looking forward to dying... her body is already tired. I was sad but also happy for her. Pay made a brief appearance in the dream wearing pink, and she was crying because she'll really miss Lola.

When Lola had finished eating, she began to change clothes. She remarked as she was taking off her everyday dress that the buttons on clothes these days easily come off. She started putting one of her older, fine clothes that presumably had better buttons. After she had finished changing, she would then lie down and wait for death to claim her. I woke up before she lied down.

There was a sense of peace in that dream, and I was happy for her. That doesn't mean I didn't cry when I woke up - I will miss her, though I had trauma when I was kid because of her being a stiff disciplinarian.

I remember being told that Pay had once called up to say that Lola was weak because she wasn't eating all her meals. Maybe that dream was created by my subconscious because of that news, although I wasn't dwelling on that the moment I had the dream (I fell asleep playing the Sims 2 game).

Anyway, whether the dream was just a product of subconscious or not, I woke up Mama and told her to call up Uncle Ceo's house to ask how Lola was. I was urgent so she had no choice, he he he! ... it was easy to prod her since she had been meaning to call before but never had the time. When Uncle Ceo told her Lola was fine, and they had finished the phone conversion, I told Mama, and Jon who had woken up by then, about my dream. Afterwards, Mama decided we should visit Lola. However, since Papa can't leave the house and someone has to stay, Jon and I visited yesterday afternoon, with Mama and I to visit again today.

Tessie had planned to go to Pacita today, so Mama told her we'll be out of the house to visit Lola. Tessie decided to come anyway and go with us to visit Lola. She spent most of the time in Uncle Ceo's house pestering the maid, though, and not talking to Lola Cion.

Ever wonder about the 10 Lost Tribes of Israel?

I was surfing around and decided to read on the current Pope. Then Google comes up with links to articles about the prophecies about the popes, and I clicked on one which happened to be published on the Christian Churches of God website. It was a long article and eventually, the reader becomes aware that the denomination is anti-pope and disagrees with many things Roman Catholics do.

You could even say the group gets a small drop of satisfaction that the prophecies from Malachy, Book of Revelation, John Bosco and Nostradamus point to the eventual destruction of the Roman Catholic church.

I haven't heard of this group so I decided to go to the home page of the site and Lo and behold, a large button at the top of the page links you to a discussion about the lost tribes of Israel.

Now, when I was a kid, my father used to watch Herbert Armstrong's show on TV, ordered some of his books (we got the ones that prove why the Catholic holidays are pagan), and even had a subscription to the magazine "Plain Truth". Not that my father believes him 100%, it's just that my father likes to read/know about everything, from the occult like astrology to other religions like islam. He still remains a Catholic, and when he noticed I inherited his appetite to know about the same stuff, he asked me (short of making me promise) that even after learning all the negative things about our religion, to remain a Catholic and to have faith that Rome will change and steer the ship to the right direction. If you're wondering, it might help to know he was a young man during Vatican II and still keeps the hopes of that era alive in his heart. In contrast, someone I know has a son who joined a denomination whose main wish is to go back to the era before Vatican II - they even have their mass said in Latin.

If you're reading/listening to Armstrong's show, he makes sense most of the time - including the bashing of the Catholic holidays of Easter and Christmas. One day though, as I was listening to his show, one claim raised big questions in my head... that the Anglo Saxons are the lost tribe of Israel. I was a kid and still at that age, I found something fishy with the logic that Saxon sounding like Isaac's Sons means you're the missing social division mentioned in the bible stories.

That one claim is the root cause of why I ended up:
1) pouring over the Bible during that summer break and creating a very long family tree written at the back of old, large calendars (they make good writing paper - thick, glossy, with more writing space);
2) wondering how the end of the family tree in the bible could be expanded to prove the line ended with the Anglo-Saxons (which I have given up on);
3) looking up the lineage of Britain's royal families;
4) realizing they're just the last of a long line of europe's ruling dynasties;
5) I got interested in mapping out how the dynasties are interconnected;
6) I spent my High School and College "dull time" (i.e. stuck in the house during summer and semestral breaks) making another large family tree, this time of european royal families starting with the Merovingian dynasty.

My "family tree" stopped right after World War 1 started - I remember because I was reading about how the assasination of one man plunged Europe into war. Things got messier after that with royal families dwindling into oblivion.

The college library had books that introduced me to other claims like the Merovingians being Jesus's descendants. If the two would dovetail, you'd have a theory that not only were the Saxons Israelites, but their rulers, who at some point or another are related to Merovee, are descendants of Jesus, the "King of the Jews". Wow, that would mean Israel and Judah are reunited once more. I had to reach for a salt shaker and take a grain.

Where do those theories leave the world's other nations, you may ask?

This Christian Churches of God have expanded the Saxon=Israelites theory to include the territories and people conquered by Britain, and its former colony, the United States. Come to think of it, I think this is similar to Armstrong's group with a more global flavor. I had to grin when I saw my country highlighted in their map as one of those lucky enough to be partake of the "birthright inheritance" promised to Abraham. Does this mean I'm supposed to thank God my country was colonized?