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That anti-Aquino-Cojuangco YouTube video DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 11/14/2011

Monday, November 14, 2011

That anti-Aquino-Cojuangco YouTube video

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
11/14/2011
As of the last count, I read that 577,000 hits had already registered for YouTube video, “Aquino-Cojuangco: Facts they don’t want you to know.” That’s what some would call having gone “viral.” Made by “PinoyMonkeyPride Production,” the opening sequence introduces us to a riveting historical account while offering a glimpse into the makers’ real intentions.

The story begins with the Philippine Revolution and Gen. Antonio Luna taking the gold of the revolutionary movement from the Ilocos treasury and the Governor of Pampanga to Paniqui, Tarlac, specifically to the home of Luna’s supposed girlfriend, Ysidra Cojuangco. Three days later, Luna was assassinated by Aguinaldo officers and the “gold treasures of the First Philippine Republic suddenly disappeared,” which “even the American forces couldn’t find.”

By the year 1900, “Ysidra Cojuangco became one of the richest women in the Philippines,” leading to the expansion of Cojuangco lands across central Luzon, the establishment of the Paniqui Sugar Mills, the Finance and Investments Corp. and the Philippine Bank of Commerce, among other things.

By the 1930s, the family owned 12,000 hectares and controlled the rice trade of the entire province of Tarlac. It goes on to tell of the Cojuangcos’ invasion of politics, beginning with Melecio Cojuangco in Congress, followed by a long, long line down to Gibo, with special highlights on Corazon Aquino and son Noynoy. A voice fired off a list of all Cojuangco politicos in machinegun mode while decrying the lack of progress in the family’s home turf.

The narrative then moves on to the union of the two Tarlac clans, with the wedding of Ninoy Aquino and Corazon Cojuangco, whose matrimonial ninong was President Ramon Magsaysay.

With the crony deal concluded in 1958 for the Cojuangcos’ purchase of Compania Tabacalera’s Azucarera with government money, Magsaysay provided two conditions: The inclusion of the adjoining Hacienda Luisita and the distribution of hacienda lands to its farmers after 10 years.

We all know where that story ends and the video names the hundreds killed in the course of the Cojuangcos’ defense of the hacienda over the decades, including the Luisita Massacre and the murder of farmer-supporter Bishop Alberto Ramento, plus, the violation of the land reform law by Cory herself when she was president.

The video goes on to present Ninoy as the non-hero who died only for his ambition (as distinguished from Jose Rizal), as well as of Cory restoring the oligarchs; of Kris being the “Mary Magdalene of Media;” and of Noynoy as the “blame game” rock star.

I have been telling almost the exact same story in debunking the myths of the Yellow media, which the video brands as “Pro-Poor, Pro-Poverty, Pro-Oligarchy” Yellow Propaganda.

While I am happy that it is somehow shattering the hold that the Yellows still have over the mind of many Filipinos, especially the youth, there is one caveat that the public should take note of: It is part of a more insidious campaign to subvert a more basic issue for our nation.

The subliminal message does this so well by first latching on to the popular antipathy against oligarch families like the Aquino-Cojuangcos and then intersperses this with the argument that since the nationalist economic provisions in our Constitution only protects the oligarchs, the charter must be changed to open the country to foreigners.

(Ito ang video na tinutukoy ni Ka Mentong )




This “Aquino-Cojuangco” video is part of a seemingly very well-funded Web campaign that clamors for Charter change (Cha-cha) and the removal of the protectionist provisions in our Constitution, as well as the shift to a parliamentary form of government. It is part of a series of YouTube videos that links up with GetRealPhilippines.com and AntiPinoy.com.

While I have issues in these sites that I can enthusiastically agree with, this one enigma — their push for the opening up of the Philippines to untrammeled entry of foreign capital and control of its economy; and for the removal of restrictions on foreign ownership of our national patrimony and media through Cha-cha by any means (including constituent assembly), which they say will end the rule and abuse of the local oligarchy — casts a very dark shadow on all the rest.

Given that we can already see the West having tumultuous revolts in the occupy protests against their own oligarchs, from the Wall Street mafia, Warren Buffet, et al., General Motors, to even Rupert Murdoch and the other media mega-corporations, that call to get rid of the local oligarchs, and in their place welcome their foreign counterparts, is simply inane. How can anyone think that giving the Philippines to these voracious profit gorgers will make things better for us?

The global oligarchs won’t be kinder and gentler than the local oligarchs have been to the Filipino public all these decades. The two will only reinforce each other.

Therefore, the antithesis to the local oligarchy is not the global oligarchy. The antithesis to both is national or popular ownership!

If there is to be any change in the Constitution, what’s needed is the further protection of the nation and the people’s fundamental economic rights. This can only be done through the nationalization and/or cooperativization of, among other things, basic and strategic utilities and industries, basic function of issuing money and credit management, the fundamental right to work, and the right to be free from the abuse and exploitation of private monopolies. Only through these can the state ensure the right of every citizen to employment, affordable food, low-cost government services, medical care, education and basic shelter.

PinoyMonkeyPride, AntiPinoy, and GetRealPhilippines are really insulting the Filipino intelligence if, like Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile and House Speaker Sonny Belmonte, they think Filipinos of all classes don’t already know that the country’s highest power costs in Asia is the very thing keeping local and foreign investments away — instead of the restriction on foreigners from owning properties and corporations in the Philippines, who, it must be said, already own the local oligarchs here.

(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Saturday, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)

(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111114com5.html

Spaced out at Apec EDITORIAL 11/14/2011

Spaced out at Apec

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
11/14/2011
Being at Bahay Pangarap (House of Dreams, his official residence) too long might be proving harmful to Noynoy’s mental health.

Noynoy was worked up the other day, enough for him to stun everybody back home when he claimed that his administration had solved the problem on rice supply, saying the country has grown enough of the grain to stop importation while at the same time reporting the employment of more Filipinos and the discovery of a natural gas field that he said is even bigger than the Malampaya gas field.

The major natural gas find that Noynoy revealed before businessmen in a sideline forum for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum was particularly sensational since it was never in any occasion, even by the Department of Energy (DoE) that this was revealed..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111114com1.html

The donkey in him FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 11/14/2011

The donkey in him

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
11/14/2011
Even while abroad, and among world leaders, Noynoy continues to make an ass of himself. A statesman he can never hope to be, much less be recognized as a true leader and achiever, despite his pretence at being one.

At the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meet, while he bragged about how he had licked the food security problem in the Philippines, talking about the bountiful rice harvests we have had in the past three quarters — which no one in the audience could have possibly swallowed, given the fact of the twin typhoons that inundated the countryside and destroyed the rice crops — he had to again make a snide remark about his having succeeded where his predecessor failed — because, as he put it, she was focused on her political survival.

Why even bring that up — assuming it is true — in an international summit of Asia-Pacific leaders? Frankly, that was in really bad taste. No one would applaud him for doing that..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111114com2.html

Kenyan troops bogged down in Somalia one month on focus 11/14/2011

Kenyan troops bogged down in Somalia one month on

focus

11/14/2011
NAIROBI — One month into Kenya’s military offensive against Somalia’s extremist Shebab rebels, attacks have multiplied back home, aid agencies have expressed concern and troops are bogged down in mud.

Kenya, which has traditionally employed non-military means to try to solve two decades of anarchy in neighboring Somalia, deployed forces across the border on Oct. 14.

A series of kidnappings of foreigners on Kenyan soil and incursions by the al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab, who control much of southern Somalia, triggered Kenya’s unprecedented offensive..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111114com3.html

Occupy Wall Street plans march to Washington

Occupy Wall Street plans march to Washington

The Occupy Wall Street protests may have already spread to cities across the world, but the movement’s next major migration will be easy to see if you're on the East Coast anytime soon. Protesters are taking the movement on the road — literally.

Starting Wednesday, November 8, protesters in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, the central hub and starting point of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street movement, will be marching hundreds of miles from Lower Manhattan into Washington DC, stopping at smaller occupation-style demonstrations along the way.

Organizers on the OccupyWallStreet.org website have revealed plans for Occupy the Highway: The 99 Percent March to Washington. Protesters will be playing in safe, however, and will ditch the major roadways in exchange for more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares. They intend on leaving New York City Wednesday at noon and plan to march roughly 20 miles a day, stopping along the way in Trenton, Philadelphia, Baltimore and elsewhere before arriving in Washington two weeks later..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/occupy-march-washington-way-847/

Occupy Portland: Dozens arrested as camps torn apart (VIDEO)



 Occupy Portland: Dozens arrested as camps torn apart (VIDEO)

Dozens of Occupy protesters have been arrested during a weekend standoff with Portland police. Thousands of people took to the streets to protect their camps in two local parks from being torn apart by officers in riot gear.

At one point, police used loudspeakers to broadcast a warning to protesters that they might use “chemical agents and impact weapons” to control the crowd. However, the authorities have rejected allegations that weapons of any kind were actually used against the demonstrators.

As the deadline to dismantle the camps in Portland passed, hundreds of protesters remained in their two encampments, prompting riot police to move in to evict them. The standoff continued through the night, as police continued to push protesters back. One demonstrator said police had created a false “sense of calm” before moving in..... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/occupy-portland-moved-prison-257/

S. Korean gov’t cracks down on migrant workers

 S. Korean gov’t cracks down on migrant workers

“The growing number of undocumented OFWs worldwide is indicative of the ongoing crisis of forced migration and systemic economic crisis in the country.” – Garry Martinez, Migrante International
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

In solidarity with other migrant organizations and labor advocacy groups, the Katipunan ng mga Samahang Migranteng Manggagawa sa Korea (Kasamma-Ko) expressed outrage over what it said was the Korean government’s intensifying crackdown against migrant workers.

According to Kasamma-Ko chairman Pol Par, the Korean government’s Bureau of Immigration is committing grave human rights violations.

According to reports from PressTV, South Korean migrants led by trade unions and migrant groups have been holding daily rallies and other forms of protests against the Seoul government’s month-long crackdown against undocumented migrants. Migrant groups and allied organizations charged the Korean government of “hunting workers down like criminals.”

As per 2009 migrant labor statistics, there are roughly 680,000 migrant workers living in South Korea who work in a number of industries, in particular, manufacturing, construction, and in services such as restaurants and entertainment.

A lawyer with the Korean Public Interest Lawyers’ Group YunJi-Young said that despite the South Korean government’s declaration that it was only doing research into the working conditions of migrant workers, the actual procedures it was implementing constituted a crackdown against illegal migrants. Ji-Young said it was likely that the crackdowns will result to various violations against individual and human rights, among them violations against personal liberty..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/11/12/s-korean-govt-cracks-down-on-migrant-workers/

Due process and closure C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 11/14/2011

Due process and closure

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
11/14/2011
In justifying the ban on GMA’s travel abroad, P-Noy and his Justice secretary, Leila de Lima, adverted to the need for closure. Noting that the country remains mired in a host of unresolved issues and concerns which endangers the nation’s security and development they would make of GMA, her husband and their closest associates examples of how the oft-repeated daang matuwid (straight and narrow path) deals with crimes and misdemeanors. They are to be the accountable “poster children” of corruption and abuse of power in this benighted land as they promised on the campaign trail. I have no doubt they have made their computations that the public would support them on this call. So far, the opinion polls show a majority is all for closure. But not necessarily with the manner they are conducting this “crime and accountability” campaign. As lawyer Alan Paguia said in our regular Saturday Forum at Annabel’s, the administration’s case will rise or fall on the issue of due process. He should know whereof he speaks..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20111114com4.html

Pacman fails to slay ghost of Marquez 11/14/2011

ANOTHER CONTROVERSIAL WIN

Pacman fails to slay ghost of Marquez

11/14/2011
Las Vegas, Nevada — A deja vu, more or less.

Once again Manny Pacquiao defeated Juan Manuel Marquez in another controversial finish as Pacquiao defended his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown via a majority decision but through a dismal performance that was dissed by experts and fans.

Two of the judges at a jampacked MGM Grand Arena scored the bout at 115-113 and 116-112 for Pacquiao. The third saw it even at 114-114.

The Daily Tribune had it at 115-113 also for Pacquiao. But reviews of the fight had others either favoring Marquez, or at least another draw. The fight was that close!.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111114hed2.html

Palace: No apology, travel ban stays on GMA By Danessa O. Rivera 11/14/2011

DESPITE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REBUFF ON ASYLUM YARN

Palace: No apology, travel ban stays on GMA

By Danessa O. Rivera 11/14/2011

There will be no apology and the travel ban stays, that in gist was the reply of the Palace to the demand of the camp of former President Arroyo for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to apologize to both Mrs. Arroyo and the government of the Dominican Republic for spreading the rumor that Mrs. Arroyo is seeking political asylum in that country which the government of the Carribean nation denied ever receiving such a request.

A legal expert, meanwhile, said the hardline stance of the Aquino administration on barring Arroyo from traveling without constitutional basis violates her right to travel and will boost her chance of being granted political asylum if she opts to seek refuge abroad.

“It will be easier for Mrs. Arroyo to apply for asylum because the administration is showing patent persecution of her,” lawyer Alan Paguia said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20111114hed1.html

Solons urge imposition of death penalty on foreign drug traffickers By Charlie V. Manalo 11/14/2011

Solons urge imposition of death penalty on foreign drug traffickers

By Charlie V. Manalo 11/14/2011

The House committee on dangerous drugs has reported for plenary action a bill imposing death penalty to foreign nationals who are arrested in the country for drug trafficking.

House Bill 4510 authored by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, along with Abante Mindanao Rep Maximo Rodriguez Jr., seeks to amend Republic Act 9165 otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The law prohibits the imposition of the death penalty in the Philippines.

“While the intention in passing the law was very clear and noble, there are some sectors of society who believe that this law is not just and equitable,” Rodriguez said..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20111114nat1.html

Lim orders social welfare body to rescue chained girl By Pat. C. Santos 11/14/2011

Lim orders social welfare body to rescue chained girl

By Pat. C. Santos 11/14/2011

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has ordered the city’s social welfare department to rescue a six-year-old girl, who is on chain by her parents when left alone in the house, along with her eight-month old sister in Tondo.

In his directive, Lim tasked Manila Department of Social Welfare chief Jay dela Fuente to file a case against the kids’ parents for subjecting their two toddlers on such condition and treatment.

The parents’ harsh treatment against their two daughters was reported by Manila District 1 chief Lala Clemente to Mayor Lim. The family is living in Barangay 58 in Tondo, Manila..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20111114met2.html

Bill prohibiting politicians from putting names in project billboards gets support 11/14/2011

Bill prohibiting politicians from putting names in project billboards gets support

11/14/2011
A bill, which prohibits politicians from plastering their names and faces on billboards announcing road projects, has gained strong grounds in the House of Representatives.

Rep. Teddy Casio (Party-list, Bayan Muna) said the bill is a good measure of what daang matuwid should really be exemplified.
 
Casio and Rep. Neri Colmenares (Party-list, Bayan Muna) are the authors of House Bill 2309 or An Act Prohibiting The Naming Of Public Properties and Government Services After Incumbent Elected Public Officials, Their Kin, Spouses and Relatives of up to Fourth Civil Degree of Consanguinity and Providing Penalties thereof and for Other Purposes..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20111114met1.html

Golden drought greets Pinoys early in Day 3 11/14/2011

Golden drought greets Pinoys early in Day 3

11/14/2011
PALEMBANG, Indonesia — Gold medals were slippery eels in many fronts for Team Philippines and a lean harvest of two silver and seven bronze medals Sunday could be telling in the short 11-day medal race of the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

Host Indonesia revved up and Thailand assumed its rightful place in the picture and so did Vietnam for the 1-2-3 slots while Singapore, dislodged from second overnight, Malaysia and the Philippines started their own jockeying for fourth.

The present order in the medal standings after two days had the host country with 33 gold medals, Thailand 12, Vietnam 11, Singapore 9, Malaysia and the Philippines 4, including the one taekwondo jin Camille Manalo won Saturday but was only credited Sunday in the official Web site of the Games..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/sports/20111114spo3.html

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