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Pro-US is anti-Filipino

Friday, June 22, 2012

Filipinos have enough problems of our own than add to the already swirling burden in our minds. But dwelling on international controversies cannot be helped especially with the recent announced “rebalancing” of US military and naval forces in the Asia-Pacific, where there had been no tension of major significance insofar as that imperial power’s homeland security is concerned.

Of course, the US would want the world to believe that the so-called security interests of its allies — namely, South Korea and Japan vis-à-vis North Korea — are part of its concern. But as to whether this “adversary” really poses a threat remains largely in question.

North Korea, to begin with, has been incessantly portrayed as a hermit totalitarian state with overblown descriptions of its poverty alongside its having “the world’s fourth largest army,” while totally obscuring the fact that the Korean People’s Army owes its numbers to the multitudes working in factories or growing crops. Of course, that nation’s nuclear weapons continue to make it ever-so-convenient for Western demonizers to drum up the North Korean bogey. But what these bashers don’t want the world to know is that such nuclear weapons capabilities, which are only a handful, absent any reliable long-range delivery system, are merely a deterrent to any nuclear warheads that can rain down on it in the thousands at any time.

Sadly, many Filipinos foolishly ride on this demonization of North Korea as they do almost all the rubbish spewed by Western media. And this is because most Filipinos are only exposed to local news and opinion writers who are pro-Western and pro-US.

Surprisingly, there are still many Filipinos who see through the black propaganda despite such lopsided bias in the news. Even public opinion surveys show an absence of any overwhelming support for the warmongering of the West, such as in the recent Scarborough issue, where a significant portion of the population still favored peaceful relations over confrontation.

While we may just have to accept as a given the shrill voices over the alleged “bullying” of China based on a misunderstanding of Chinese cultural and historical, not to mention strategic, attitude to its territorial integrity, the fact is, it was the Philippines that had historically drawn “first blood” when the Philippine Navy sunk two Chinese fishing vessels in 1999, at a time when China’s maritime and naval assets were still considered “vintage.” The Chinese were indeed very upset and sought compensation — to which the Philippine Chamber of Commerce responded by footing the bill.

Then and now, Philippine foreign and strategic policy has not changed from being a handmaiden of US policy. That’s the reason for the present Philippine government doggedly following the tail of the Obama and Clinton pronouncements about the “pivot” and “refocusing” of at least 60 percent of US forces to this region.
Yet equally worse, the Philippine government merely uses up its Malampaya earnings to purchase outdated Western military equipment, such as in the case of the BRP Del Pilar and the Italian jet fighters.

All these should be very sad for Filipinos as all this re-positioning can only mean a long-term ramp-up of a regional war in Asia, as what the US and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) had done in Yugoslavia in the 90s and in the Middle East and Africa more recently.

Right now, the US is already fortifying its forces in and around the Straits of Malacca and in the northern coasts of Australia, where it can, with its still superior naval power, choke off oil and trade routes to China — sure to be a “soft underbelly” for that Asian giant, given its heavy dependence on external sources and buyers.

Even though Malaysia and Indonesia may ultimately not be that cooperative, trust the Philippines under the present ruling elite to be only too willing to give whatever the US wants.

Undoubtedly, the events here in the Asia-Pacific are closely linked with those in the Middle East today, particularly in Syria — which may soon see the trigger of a thermonuclear war, as pointed out by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in a press conference last May 16.

Already, the US and its Arab potentates in Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are supplying arms to Syrian rebels, while Western media are engaging in massive disinformation — such as in the heinous Houla massacre of women and children, which the UN and German newspapers have discovered to be actually committed by US-backed rebels to blame on the government — to topple the Assad regime.

With Russia recently sending Marine contingents to its naval base in Syria and China remaining mum about the Philippines’ aggressive collaboration with the US, the Filipino people must know that a real danger is paramount. A similar scenario to World War II, where the Philippines was used as a “shock absorber” — resulting in 1,000,000 civilian deaths, equivalent to 6.6 percent of the Filipino population then (as against 1,700 US civilian deaths or 0.32 percent of its population) — before any counter-attack by the West could ever be mounted, is emerging. The only difference this time is that it will be tactical and/or strategic thermonuclear weapons involved. Just imagine the horror of at least 10 to 20 percent of our population being wiped out.

Everyone should also remember that US forces killed an estimated 1 million Filipinos in the Fil-Am War. The symbol of that travesty still hangs in US military bases, with two of the Balangiga Bells in display — one at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming and another at a US Army regiment in South Korea.

To this day, many are unaware that the US didn’t actually win WWII. It was, in fact, Russia that saved the day for the Allied countries at great cost — with its 11-million-strong military and 14 million civilian deaths — compared to the 416,000 military casualties sustained by the US.

Obviously, since being pro-US means clinging on to a distorted sense of history, can anything be more anti-Filipino than that?

(Tune in to 1098AM, dwAD, Sulo ng Pilipino/Radyo OpinYon, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 5 to 6 p.m.; watch Destiny Cable GNN’s HTL edition of Talk News TV, Saturdays, 8:15 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11:15 p.m., this week with Rep. Neri Colmenares on “Malampaya Scams;” visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)

(May pahintulot mula kay Ka Mentong ng pagsipi at paglimbag dito)


SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/commentary/item/545-pro-us-is-anti-filipino

No transparency

No transparency

For all that Noynoy and high court blabber of reforms and transparency now being imbibed by a “reformed” Supreme Court as a result of the conviction by the Senate court of the ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona, the transparency promised is certainly absent, as gleaned from the SC’s newly released guidelines in the matter of their statement of assets, liabilities and networth (SALn).

Apparently, none of the members of the now Aquino high court wants their old SALns released to the public — through the media, limiting these only to the latest SALns, where no doubt, had undergone corrections, following the impeachment trial.

Not even acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and his sidekick, Justice Lourdes Sereno, who made it appear then that they were all for transparency by making public — not their SALns but a summary, which means nothing, appear not to want transparency now..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/commentary/item/549-no-transparency

U.S. military provoking North Korea

U.S. military provoking North Korea

19.06.2012
 
North Korea has strongly condemned the accumulation of United States arms in the region, considering it as an open provocation and a prelude to a regional war.

A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of North Korea on Monday criticized the U.S. government's decision to increase its military forces in the region, indicating that Pyongyang will strengthen its own defenses "in every way."

The spokesman said that on the 12th the commander from the Pentagon in the South insisted on the need to deploy an additional battalion of attack helicopters and to strengthen the anti-missile system capacity..... MORE
SourceRT.com

URL: http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/conflicts/19-06-2012/121427-us_dprk-0/

CISPA sponsor says Obama will sign cybersecurity bill

CISPA sponsor says Obama will sign cybersecurity bill


The White House has gone on the record to say that US President Barack Obama will veto the controversial cybersecurity bill known as CISPA, but the author of the act has his doubts that the commander-in-chief will keep that promise.

Congressman Mike Rogers (R-Michigan), one of two US Representatives responsible for introducing the heated Cyber Intelligence Security Protection Act to Congress, has opened up once more on the subject of CISPA. According to the lawmaker — who also sits as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence — President Obama is likely to loosen his stance on the cybersecurity bill and sign it into law if given the change.

“[I]f we can get a bill on information-sharing to the president’s desk, he’ll sign it. I do believe that,” Rep. Rogers said this week during a panel discussion on the bill, reports Daily Dot..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/cispa-obama-rogers-veto-419/

Drone industry becomes a booming business




Drone industry becomes a booming business


Drones are set to take over US skies soon, and there is growing concern the public will lose their privacy to these spy planes.

The winners are the drone makers, and much of the reason for that is the aggressive and powerful lobbying by the defense and aerospace industry.

The drones of today have revolutionized modern warfare and are known for their seek and destroy missions over Afghanistan and Pakistan. The drones of tomorrow, however, will be humming over American homes..... MORE

SourceRT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/drone-business-defense-million-422/

Dolphy Written by Armida Siguion- Reyna

Dolphy

The first time I wrote about Dolphy here in this space had to do with  the launching of his tell-all autobiography, in 2008. But that wasn’t the first time we had worked together, for he had appeared in Aawitan Kita on television, many, many years ago. He recalls having quit smoking in 1975, so his guesting in my show could only have been anywhere between 1970 and 1974, for the one picture still I have of that afternoon has him holding on to a cigarette.

Then again sometime early in 1983, Dolphy was there, when my election as Kapisanan ng Artista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (KAPP) president was questioned by movie industry bigwigs who refused to accept the legitimacy of the proxy votes our group had obtained. He had signed a proxy in my favor, so he refused to say anything against me.

Gathered at the Club Filipino in Greenhills to finally settle who was right and who was wrong, Dolphy was seated by the presidential table; character actor Paquito Diaz took to the floor to lambast my seeking the Securities and Exchange Commission’s ruling on the matter. For some strange reason, Paquito couldn’t pronounce SEC, which was the proper acronym for the state agency; he kept on saying “SEX” over and over again, and that sent everyone giggling. Especially the “King of Filipino Comedy.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/commentary/item/547-dolphy

‘Greening’ of economy, a business ploy

‘Greening’ of economy, a business ploy
The so-called ‘Green economy’ will intensify the plunder of the world’s remaining natural wealth and the privatization of critical services, technologies and products through Public-Private Partnerships and similar market-driven mechanisms.” – Frances Quimpo, Kaliakasan Partylist

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — Hundreds of environmental activists in the Philippines held a protest action in front of the United States Embassy to show solidarity with peoples from other countries during the June 20 Global Day of Action. The Global Day of Action coincided with the opening of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development. In Brazil, Filipino environmentalists, agrarian reform advocates, women’s rights leaders and progressive economists also led parallel activities at the conference site in Rio de Janeiro.

The Rio+20 conference is the follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit also held in Rio de Janeiro that promoted the concept of Sustainable Development. The Agenda 21 was the summit’s resultant action plan, which was adopted by the 178 participating governments.

The groups led by the International League of Peoples’ Struggle (ILPS) and Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) challenged world leaders to reverse the prescribed natural resource and industry privatization and commercialization schemes packaged as the “greening” of key economic sectors, a business-as-usual approach that benefit top polluter nations led by the US.

Trying to save face after destroying global ecology

In a statement from Brazil where he is attending counterpart activities to Rio+20 Conference, Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE, said the world’s advanced capitalist nations are trying to save face after 20 years of global ecological destruction and socio-economic crisis under the banner of sustainable development.


Various groups blasted the lies of ‘green economy.’ (Photo courtesy of Kalikasan-PNE / bulatlat.com)
“The green economy paradigm peddled in the United Nations has given nothing but public-private investments and other market-based mechanisms in reducing the ecological and carbon footprints of industries,” he said. “The transition to a Green Economy, according to its architects, calls for financing from international financial institutions, speculators, conditional loans and other market-driven forces. It is clear from our two decades of experience under the corporatization of such sectors as energy, water and mining that public development standards are never met when project implementers are profit-oriented,” he said.

The activities are sponsored by Ibon International, Rights for Sustainability and Cupula dos Povos..... MORE

SourceBulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/06/21/greening-of-economy-a-business-ploy/

Comelec chief sets dialog with PCOS critics

Comelec chief sets dialog with PCOS critics

Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes yesterday said he had sent formal letters of invitation for a dialog with all election stake holders, especially the Supreme Court petitioners and the IT groups, at the Chairman’s office on June 27, 2012,  to urge them to move on  and  just help the Commission accomplish its common goal of ensuring  a successful May 2013  elections and  to  cease their relentless  criticisms aired  through the media, regarding  the P1.8-billion purchase of  Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines from the Netherlands-based Smartmatic Total Information Management (TIM).....MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/575-comelec-chief-sets-dialog-with-pcos-critics

Atyani safe, spotted in Abu lairs

Atyani safe, spotted in Abu lairs

Jordanian broadcast journalist Baker Abdullah Atyani and his two Filipino crew men have been freely moving from one Abu Sayyaf camp to another, clearly indicating that they are not being held as captives by the terrorist group.

A military source, citing continuing monitoring of the alleged kidnapping case, yesterday said the three have been in four areas known to be strongholds of the terrorist Abu Sayyaf group, apparently to do their job as journalists. “There are no signs that the three were kidnapped. They are able to do their job as journalists,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Atyani and his two Filipino cameramen were reported missing last June 12 when they failed to return to their hotel in Jolo. During that day, Atyani’s group was supposed to meet with Yasser Igasan, the spiritual leader of the Abu Sayyaf group.

The hotel management immediately reported the failure of the three to return to the hotel, prompting reports they were kidnapped..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/576-atyani-safe-spotted-in-abu-lairs

Palace: Bigger CCT budget not a campaign kitty for 2013

Palace: Bigger CCT budget not a campaign kitty for 2013


Malacañang has shrugged off the accusation of an opposition legislator that the radical surge in the proposed 2013 budget for the government’s conditional cash transfer program (CCT) was suspicious and vulnerable to become an electoral fund of the administration.

Reacting to mediamen seeking a Palace statement on House Minority Leader Danilo Suarez’s allegation, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the proposed P45-billion budget for the CCT program next year had nothing to do with the 2013 mid-term elections.

In a text message, Valte likewise warded off Suarez’s fear of the possibility of the administration tapping the CCT funds to buy votes in next year’s political exercise.

Based on a genuine commitment to extend help directly to those who need it most, Valte said, the expanded Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) was expected to benefit 3.8 million poor families next year, up from the 3.1-million target beneficiary-families this year..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/nation/item/569-palace-bigger-cct-budget-not-a-campaign-kitty-for-2013

Bantay Kalikasan lacks environment permits — NCIP

Bantay Kalikasan lacks environment permits — NCIP


The National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP), through its officer Ricardo Sanga, had issued a cease order against further activities in Sabsaban Falls when the Bantay Kalikasan (BK) was not able to not present a free and prior informed consent (FPIC) and certificate of pre-condition (CP) as required by the Indigenous People’s Rights Act  (IPRA) or Republic Act 8371.

BK has admitted to occupying and developing Sabsaban Falls into a resort and cutting down 44 trees in Brooke’s Point, Palawan which the tribal commission said were deliberate and serious violations of the IPRA.

Sanga added that the BK had also failed to present the strategic environment plan (SEP) from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). The PCSD approves and issues SEPs upon submission of a CP from the NCIP on the basis of an approved FPIC.

An SEP serves as the framework for the implementation of projects and programs affecting the environment and natural resources of Palawan..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/nation/item/568-bantay-kalikasan-lacks-environment-permits-%E2%80%94-ncip

Dimaporos face plunder raps for diverting P53M to foundation

Dimaporos face plunder raps for diverting P53M to foundation


A governor in Mindanao province and his political allies are facing plunder and malversation charges before the Office of the Ombudsman for allowing the release of some P53 million to a foundation  allegedly owned by the governor’s family.

In a 14-page complaint filed before the anti-graft body last May 25, Mayor Rafael Rizalda of Maigo, Lanao del Norte alleged that  Lanao del Norte  Gov. Abdulla “Bobby” Dimaporo, his wife, Lanao del Norte Rep. Imelda Dimaporo, and four other provincial officials have gravely abused their authority by raiding the public treasury through misappropriating and malversing  public funds.

Rizalda charged the Dimaporos with violating Republic Act 7080 or the Anti-Plunder Law; the Revised Penal Code’s Article 217 on malversation of public funds, and RA 6713 or the Code of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees, and the Local Government Code..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/nation/item/571-dimaporos-face-plunder-raps-for-diverting-p53m-to-foundation

‘Ondoy’s’ hardest hit cities form partnership vs disasters

 ‘Ondoy’s’ hardest hit cities form partnership vs disasters

While tropical storm “Ondoy” was classified in September 2009 as a mere tropical storm, its rainfall turned out to be way too much to tolerate as the entire national capital region and adjoining province of Rizal were submerged under floodwaters that literally destroyed government infrastructures and hundreds of thousands of residential houses while paralyzing all economic activities —  translating the pitiful sight into an extreme hardship for the close to five million residents.

After suffering what has so far been the worst flood incident in the region, adjoining cities of Pasig, Marikina and Quezon along with the localities of Antipolo, Cainta, San Mateo and Rodriguez towns in Rizal have forged a cooperating partnership designed to minimize the risk and potential damage of weather disturbances this year..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/metro-section/item/542-%E2%80%98ondoy%E2%80%99s%E2%80%99-hardest-hit-cities-form-partnership-vs-disasters

Proposed bill on ban of religious symbols in gov’t offices crazy, says CBCP officials

Proposed bill on ban of religious symbols in gov’t offices crazy, says CBCP officials


A high-ranking official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday defined as crazy a proposed measure in Congress prohibiting religious symbols and prayer services in government offices.

“That bill is crazy. It’s crazy because if you know that every person has body and soul, and if you separate the body from the soul, what do you create? A dead man,”  CBCP vice president Archbishop Socrates Villegas said.

Although he admitted that there is a separation of Church and State, one cannot separate God and man..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/metro-section/item/543-proposed-bill-on-ban-of-religious-symbols-in-gov%E2%80%99t-offices-crazy-says-cbcp-officials

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