Green with Envy?

U.S. President George Bush & British PM Tony Blair

CNN says:
Bush, Blair Push

African Debt Relief
 President pledges additional $674 million for humanitarian aid

The United States and Britain are working on a plan to provide full debt relief for African countries that are "on the path to reform," President Bush said Tuesday.

Bush's comment came after meeting at the White House with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is pushing an ambitious African aid plan as this year's chairman of the Group of Eight economic powers.

"We... agree that highly indebted developing countries that are on the path to reform should not be burdened by mountains of debt, Bush said a joint news conference with Blair.
"Our countries are developing a proposal for the G-8 that will eliminate 100 percent of that debt," Bush said.

In a compromise, Bush pledged an additional $674 million for "humanitarian emergencies" in Africa. The money will be in addition to approximately $1.4 billion the Bush administration is spending on humanitarian needs this year, a National Security Council official said.

Kate says: 
Dream on, R.P.!

I suppose you also wonder if British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George Bush can do pretty much the same thing for the indigent Republic of the Philippines. After all, we undoubtedly are a developing country “on the path to reform,” right?

Like a slap in the face, Blair’s prerequisite for what he calls a two-way commitment answered my query:

"We require the African leadership also to be prepared to make the commitment on governance against corruption -- in favor of democracy, in favor of the rule of law.”

"…No developed nation is going to want to support a government that doesn't take an interest in their people, that doesn't focus on education and health care," he said.

Now, ain’t it clear why we can never expect two of the most powerful nations to back us up the way they’re backing up these African countries?

The Philippine government can hardly commit itself to shun corruption. At the rate we’re going with moral progress, it would take a lot of nerve to say we deserve a debt relief as significant as this one.

100 Things About Me

In the name of blog tradition, I give you my hundred.

You've seen this sort of humdrum list on over a thousand web blogs. A self-proclaimed non-conformist normally won't give a hoot and post her own "100 Blah, Blah." Maybe she'd even try to drastically outdo the rest of the blogging community by creating something that's totally out of the box. But, heck, it won't hurt...

Useless or informative, here goes the hundred facts about moi (And they don't come in any order):
1.) I act like my mother when I'm drunk.
2.) I think gays rock the world.
3.) My father passed away in November 2004. He died of nasopharygeal cancer.
4.) The Beastie Boys rule.
5.) I eat green mangoes dipped in sugar.
6.) I went to an all-girls catholic school.
7.) I used to own 16 cats, 13 of which were stray ones. Now, they're down to three. Some accidentally got into the rottweilers' chamber. Some purposely went inside the chamber (for reasons I can't fathom). Some got lost while meadering outside the house. And some died natural deaths.
8.) I love to sleep.
9.) I can live on sushi.
10.) Writing is my passion.
11.) I've naturally curly, dark brown hair.
12.) I love staring at the stars.
13.) I abhor spiders!
14.) When I was two years old and my mother was pregnant with my younger sister, I thought the baby would emerge as an adult as soon as she was out of the womb.
15.) I love taking long walks, especially at night.
16.) The sight of blood makes me faint.
17.) Anyone can easily amuse me.
18.) I like my coffee sweet. Don't ask why.
19.) I love the fresh smell of a spanking new book. I can sniff it for hours.
20.) The sound of the falling rain can either make me feel horny or extremely calm, or both.
21.) My mind is a puissant magnet.
22.) I'm still afraid of the dark.
23.) As a kid, I used to wonder why people don't drink beer with straws.
24.) I can't stand staying at home for three straight days.
25.) I actually am quite gullible. Tell me you're an alien and I'll believe you.
26.) I don't wear brown, ever.
27.) I'm married to a very talented man, which means I broke my promise to stay single until I'm at least 30.
28.) Ice cream makes me feel giddy.
29.) I've been keeping a journal since I was 9.
30.) I bit my nails for 10 years.
31.) I eat milk powder.
32.) Back in college, I've always wanted to be a singer more than I wanted to be a journalist. My grand dream was to be on Broadway.
33.) Contrary to popular belief, I don't hate dogs. In fact, I have one right now named after a historical date.
34.) Like most thinking people, I talk to myself when I'm alone.
35.) I lived all my teenage years as a mall rat.
36.) I'm a flick fiend.
37.) Life ain't complete without chocolate.
38.) The first concert I went to was the Jetts' in the late 80's.
39.) I wonder what I'd look like if I shaved my head.
40.) Weird obsession when I was 12: Re-decorating my bedroom every week. I'd stay up until 3 in the morning moving furniture and stuff.
41.) Pre-adolescent complaint: Zits.
42.) Adult complaint: Tax.
43.) I think it's awfully cruel to kill chickens, but damn, it's really hard to even try to be vegetarian.
44.) Trance music calms me
45.) I once thought I was 3% lesbian.
46.) I pity Michael Jackson.
47.) I was nineteen when I first walked into a club, but I've been drinking beer since I was eight.
48.) In highschool, one of my teachers told me I was a "silent achiever."
49.) I admire David Letterman's inexaustible sense of humor.
50.) I badly wanted to fly when I was little.
51.) I don't understand why I'm not overweight when I have an intimate relationship with everything that's fattening.
52.) I fought a stranger only once in my life, and it was inside a public restroom...

Stranger: You forgot to flush, biatch.
Kate: Grrr... (You guess what happened next.)

53.) The customer is always right. Give me an extra plastic spoon when I need one.
54.) If you're obnoxious, then I utterly despise you.
55.) Atheists = Pathetic souls.
56.) The closest that I got to breaking the law was when I jaywalked with a friend on Julia Vargas... And nobody caught me, darn it!
57.) There are times when I feel like I'm too good I could go straight to heaven before I even have the chance to die.
58.) But there are also times when I can actually feel the devil patting my back.
59.) I can't start the day without CNN.
60.) I really wish I've done a lot more for my father when he was alive.
61.) I can wake up as early as 3 a.m. just to catch a nice movie on cable before I leave for work.
62.) Shallow pleasure: A pint of Double Dutch ice cream and Hawaiian pizza.
63.) I think Oprah Winfrey is the eighth wonder of the world.
64.) I'm a big dreamer.
65.) Most memorable line from a movie: "Die screaming."
66.) Have I ever worn a thong? -- Yes.
67.) Losers give up. Winners die trying.
68.) I'm paranoid.
69.) I like kiwi fruit.
70.) The chicken came first before the egg.
71.) I'd sworn not to dye my hair 5 years ago, but something came up and now I don't even know what my natural hair color is.
72.) Biggest regret: I never told my father how much I love him.
73.) I stopped saying 'Yes' when I really mean 'No' on my 20th birthday.
74.) If you want it bad enough, I fervently believe there's no one and nothing in this world that can stop you.
75.) I like fuchsia.
76.) The first royalty I ever saw in person was Princess Caroline, and I'm looking forward to seeing Prince Charles in the near future so I can ask him about life as a blue-blooded bloke and if he ever eats French fries from McDonald's.
77.) I find smoking inane.
78.) I'd like to maintain a perfect 20/20 vision until I'm 80.
79.) Of the 7 deadly sins - Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed and Sloth - I've occasionally been guilty of four.
80.) I almost died of broncho-pneumonia when I was 6.
81.) (Geesh, a hundred is too much. Can I just stop here?)
82.) I'm fascinated by the paranormal.
83.) I find myself a little bit too emotional.
84.) I work like a mad woman under pressure.
85.) I constantly scribble without a clear purpose on a notepad.
86.) Everytime people think I've got all the guts, I'm actually quivering.
87.) I can survive one whole day sans breakfast nor lunch.
88.) I say one thing and mean another when I don't want to hurt someone.
89.) Boys scared me until I was 16.
90.) I wear black on an average of three times a week.
91.) Curse Metro Manila traffic.
92.) I find it uncomfortable wearing brown or yellow.
93.) I can't go to sleep without taking a shower first.
94.) I get the sniffles every two months. Somebody call the doctor.
95.) I try to shirk sunbathing as much as possible.
96.) I miss my dead and missing cats.
97.) God is my DJ.
98.) I wish I knew how to speak all the languages in the world.
99.) I can't live without Coke.
100.) It took me a year to complete this list (It's actually June 6th, 2006 now). Does that mean I don't know myself really well either?