hotnothot 36

Hothot: The miracle of the miners. Staying alive 700 meters below ground surface is nothing short of a miracle. The Chilean miners were shown to be in high spirits as they spoke and sang their national anthem watched by loved ones using a camera inserted through a 15-cm opening. Authorities are already preparing to dig a passage that could fit one man at a time and bring all 32 into the surface. Though they say it will take probably up to 4 months to complete that digging. I hope nothing happens between now until that time such as earthquake, torrential rain that can flood the tunnel or even an outbreak of disease among them. I sympathize with these guys as well as their family. It must be nerve-wracking to wait for them being hauled up to safety.

Hotnot: The Pakistan flood. For more than two weeks now, Pakistan is being ravaged by floods that have left more than 20 million homeless. Displaced families are already suffering from diseases not to mention the severe food crisis that is already causing riots whenever there is food distribution. What touches me most are the children. It breaks my heart to see them, all innocent and helpless, suffer from something so devastating like this. International aid agencies said they already raised billions of donations. The thing is, these donations are mostly pledges and don’t convert to hard cash, food or medicine as quickly as the situation requires. It’s something that Haiti knows so well.

Hotnot: The blame game. Nag-umpisa nang magturuan ang mga iniimbestigahan sa nangyaring hostage taking nong Lunes. Ang sinisisi ngayon ay si Mayor Lim na sya raw nagbigay ng utos na arestuhin ang kapatid ng hostage taker at yon ang nag-trigger kaya nagwala na si Rolando Mendoza. But beyond that, may mas malaking tanong na dapat sagutin ang gobyerno ni PNoy. Bakit noong tumagal na ng tumagal ang hostage crisis, parang walang nag-decide na itaas ang command responsibility at hindi pinabayaan sa kung sinong low or mid ranking officer? Kung may isang mataas na opisyal na humawak nyan, somebody who knows that to do, most likely naiba ang resulta. Hindi yang ganyan na umaani tayo ng ngitngit ng mga intsek.

Hothot: Major, major. Ayan na may bago na namang uso. Thanks to Venus Raj who was touted to be Philippine’s best bet for the Miss Universe title but stumbled on the last hurdle. Umani din ng sandamakmak na panlalait dahil sa medyo walang kwentang sagot niya sa Q&A portion na sabi ng magagaling, kung nasagot daw nya ng mabuti ay sure nang win sya. As if they actually know what would happen. What I don’t understand is that why blame Venus alone? Di ba may malaking role ang Binibining Pilipinas organization dahil sila ang nagti-train sa mga kandidata bago pakawalan sa laban? What do they train these girls for for months? Puro pagpapaganda? They should probably put more focus on the Q&A kasi dyan lagi tayo sumasabit. Miriam Quiambao had the real shot on the crown, more than Venus had. But she also gave a senseless answer kaya talo sya. Kung sa tanungan tayo lumalagpak, bakit hindi doon i-train ang mga candidate natin. They could probably review all questions used during the past pageants and discuss it with the girls. Kung wala man ng exactly the same question, at least meron sigurong malapit-lapit don na nakapag-bigay ng idea sa kandidata natin kung paano sasagutin. Matalino naman si Venus (graduated with honors daw) so she could have absorbed things like that during her months of training.