Scotland Yard as deodorizer

Mrs. Bill Clinton is not exactly my favorite personality, but I was truly dismayed to learn that she only placed third in the Iowa primaries. Barrack Obama who had been trailing her in early surveys, topped the list, with John Edwards and Hillary almost tying after him. What happened? Well, my optimist friends point out that Bill Clinton had also lost in Iowa , and that's it's no big deal not to win there. Will history do a repeat for Mrs. Bill?

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I really do not have anything against Obama, he may be the best leader, for all we know. However, everytime I hear him say something, I get turned off because it seems as if he is very fond of motherhood statements. Well, maybe he is playing to the category of voters he wants to corner. Madame Clinton, on the other hand, often sounds too pedantic, too serious. Anyway, there are still many similar polls to be made and it is not yet sure who will actually be the Democratic party's candidate. But wouldn't it be amusing to see billboards with one displaying Obama and the other Huckabee? Sounds like a name game, doesn't it? Because it was Mike Huckabee who also got the Republican slot in Iowa .

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Over here in our own politics-obsessed country, we are hearing more about presidential has-beens being touted to run again for the position where they had, as the saying goes, “been there, done that”. While former President Cory Aquino has not dignified the speculations with any comment, those who succeeded her – Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada – seem to be toying with the idea of coming back to deal with unfinished business. Can they do that, or can they not? This is a question which may also end up with the Supreme Court for resolution.

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In beleaguered Pakistan , meanwhile, an apparently desperate President Pervez Musharraf should be elated with the arrival of England 's famous Scotland Yard men in response to his call for help. Reports yesterday said the famous detectives flew in, and rode on to Rawalpindi , site of the killing of Benazir Bhutto, without talking to anyone. They probably started to nose around as soon as they hit ground. But will they unearth anything, and be able to stamp the papers with “CASE CLOSED” soon?

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But even natives themselves doubt that, and some officials have actually shaken their heads and murmured that the British experts' presence will not make a difference. Musharraf himself has admitted that overzealous people had hosed down the site where the killing occurred soon after. So what clues will the Scotland Yard sleuths pick up from there? There are reports that Bhutto did not die from a shot but from a broken neck caused when she fell. But scrutiny of a video shot of her last moments shows a flash, believed to come from the shot. Well, let the imported detectives do their thing, but I hope they realize that, as far as Musharraf is concerned, what they are doing is just deodorizing.

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I was amused to hear the claims of the Land Transportation Office in Manila that they are succeeding in disciplining the arrogant taxi drivers of the metropolis with their “O-Plan Isnabero”, or operation against snobs, i.e. cab drivers who snub or refuse passengers, or choose the places they will deliver them to. I've heard that all before, you see. A campaign is launched, lots of media propa, and then it's back to pleading and cajoling of taxi drivers, even bribing, too. But, come to think of it, maybe the snobbish ones are the least capable of robbing you.

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The most common victims of the “isnabero” drivers are people from the provinces especially those arriving in terminals or airports. And these are the people, they know, who are not likely to report them to the police or LTO because they cannot pursue a complaint, being out-of-towners. So who will testify against them? Many times, I myself had considered reporting or complaining against such drivers. The thought that, if a case is filed, I would have to go back and forth to Manila to testify, is enough to discourage me. So I continue to cross my fingers and pray everytime I attempt to call a taxi. Especially in Makati .

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A disheartening news for the new year: The National Bureau of Investigation has found that 186 winners in the recent barangay and sangguniang kabataan election had submitted fake drug test results to the Comelec. If they are allowed to stay, be sure you will see more officials who will falsify documents, tamper with official receipts, pad their expenses, and engage in all sorts of anomalies. With the fake certifications, they have given us all notice.*

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