By Alex P. Vidal
“The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me.”— Larry Bird
AFTER watching Game 1 “live” Thursday night (June 1) in New York, we now have an inkling this early which team will win this year’s NBA Finals.
Even if it could afford to throw away a 20-point lead in the last six minutes, there was no stopping the Denver Nuggets from drawing the first blood—as expected—in the best-of-seven series against the Miami Heat, 104-93, at the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado.
Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic were simply spectacular and intimidating. Consistent and ruthless, their powerhouse assaults were like the recent super typhoon “Mawar.”
With their performance in Game 1, there was no question why the Nuggets had waylaid the Los Angeles Lakers by a sweep in the Western Conference playoffs that surprised an Ilonggo anchorman who adored LeBron James like his own twin.
No wonder Nuggets is being touted amazingly by oddsmakers and NBA analysts as the next big thing in the NBA championship. With due respect, Heat appeared unperturbed as it ran roughshod amid the hometown hostility.
Heat was simply outgunned, out-slugged, outmaneuvered in all the four quarters by the well-rested Nuggets.
Will Erik Spoeltra’s soldiers be blown away by the same blowtorch in Game 1 in the remaining series games?
This is something we will have to watch with bated breath—although the fear of severe maltreatment in the hardcourt has been there from the very beginning, what with some experts ruthlessly foretelling a 4-0 drubbing.
What else we can say but let’s tighten our belts for the Game 2, 3, 4 and 5 and 6, if necessary.
-o0o-
No Iloilo politician is stupid enough to declare he won’t support any congressional inquiry in relation to the disgraced P680-million Iloilo flyover project otherwise known as UFO or Ungka flyover in Ungka, Pavia.
No one will distance himself from the limelight especially if it will benefit him.
As long as the politicians are mentally honest and didn’t dip their fingers in the controversial project’s cookie jars, they are always delighted to discuss the matter openly in any fora.
As much as possible, since this is a popular issue among the middle class and the hoi polloi, many politicians would wish to be interviewed by reporters in order to express their sentiments publicly, every now and then, on this controversial subject matter.
The more they lash at this decaying project, the more their chances of being remembered by the voters in the next election will increase.
But only if they bewail the issue with clean hands; meaning, no corrupt DPWH official or contentious contractor will immediately retort and remind them of past favors they received from dirty sources, and chide them for acting like a pot calling the kettle black.
So expect more Johnny-Come-Late-lies to also denounce the potential infrastructure project-turned-mega scam. They’re on the right side of history actually.
-o0o-
A BOOK author from Negros Occidental was correct when she refused to install Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant and Ring doorbell cameras in her residence saying they would violate their privacy.
Her misgivings about this mind-boggling technology were correct.
Amazon agreed to pay more than $30 million to settle privacy complaints over its Alexa voice assistant and Ring doorbell cameras on May 31.
The settlements with the Federal Trade Commission highlight claims that the company retained Ring videos and Alexa voice recordings—including that of children—for years.
The FTC also alleges Amazon held on to voice recordings and geolocation in some cases without users’ consent and despite requests by consumers for the data to be deleted.
The company in a statement disagreed with the claims and denied violating the law. However, as part of the agreement, Amazon said it will send consumers notices about the FTC settlement as well as implement a more robust privacy program as reported by CNN.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
