Foul play EDITORIAL 01/05/2012

Foul play

EDITORIAL

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01/05/2012
House prosecutors are into dirty play, aided moreover, by the yellow media, what with the lead prosecutor, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., at a media forum, coming up with a deed of sale document of a condominium said to belong to Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, and claiming four more Corona properties that he said the prosecution is in the process of verifying while calling on the CJ to make public his Statement of Assets and Liabilities Networth (SALn).

The next day, the yellow media had a photo of an empty Taguig penthouse which is not even the condo that the CJ owns, and which condo, incidentally, he had earlier disclosed in his reply to the impeachment complaint..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120105com1.html

‘America preparing military intervention in Syria’

 ‘America preparing military intervention in Syria’

Damascus is criticizing the US for sending an envoy to Cairo's Arab League discussions about ending the Assad regime’s crackdown on dissent. London-based political analyst Chris Bambery says the US is preparing for a military intervention in Syria.

­According to Barbery, sanctions against Syria are only the beginning of Western intervention. "The key ally in this enterprise, Turkey, has been involved with the Free Syrian Army – training them, and we know there are also American advisers in those camps in Turkey," he says. And, "when you combine all that – sanctions, diplomatic moves, the involvement with the Free Syrian Army, it begins to create a dynamic that though perhaps the Americans don’t want involvement in the military operation in Syria, they can pull it in that direction.”.... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/military-syria-arab-america-223/

‘EU lacks sense of society to politically unite’

‘EU lacks sense of society to politically unite’

 “A monetary union without political union is impossible to maintain,” economist Arjo Klamer said 20 years ago. And as Europe struggles to deal with the euro crisis, the EU countries are still too different to politically unite, Klamer told RT.

Klamer, who is a professor of the Economics of Art and Culture at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, says a political union should be formed now, because stronger fiscal coordination and better social policy would support the euro. However, “There is too much heterogeneity. The countries are too different. 

Countries are too attached to their own sovereignty,” he told RT..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/eu-political-union-failure-237/

Libya: Collapse of justice leaves at least 7,000 behind bars (w/ Video)

Libya: Collapse of justice leaves at least 7,000 behind bars

With their common enemy dead and gone, the uniting factor which bound Libya’s former rebels in their fight against Muammar Gaddafi has melted away. Now, in-fighting among the different armed factions is spilling onto the streets.

Meanwhile, thousands of Libyans remain behind bars waiting for the new rulers to try them for their crime of failing to jump ship.

One of the first amnesties of the new Libya was when hundreds of men and women, many of them sub-Saharan immigrants, were released from a makeshift prison. Most of them had spent several months in captivity for the crime of being in the wrong place at the wrong time..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/libya-justice-collapse-tripoli-227/

CNN censors vet that supports Ron Paul (w/ Video)

CNN censors vet that supports Ron Paul

The establishment’s war against Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul has been evident since the Texas congressman began surging in the polls, but the previously privy attack on the candidate was made public to millions Wednesday night.

During a live interview Wednesday night from an Iowa caucus location, CNN briefly spoke to an US military veteran and adamant supporter of Rep. Ron Paul until the soldier began praising Paul for the non-interventionist ideals that separate the congressman from the mainstream candidates endorsed by the establishment..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/cnn-ron-paul-thorsen-207/

Poor Bart I.N.S.I.D.E . C.O.N.G.R.E.S.S Charlie Manalo 01/05/2012

Poor Bart

I.N.S.I.D.E . C.O.N.G.R.E.S.S

Charlie Manalo

01/05/2012
He may enjoy the title Chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) but Nicanor Bartolome may be far from one.

According to reliable sources inside Camp Crame, ex-fugitive, Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who is reportedly being eyed by President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino to take over the helm of Department of Interior and Local Government, is already wielding his influence in the force, particularly on the appointment of officers in juicy positions.

According to the source, Ping, who went into hiding after being implicated in the Corbito-Dacer double murder case, only to surface later after Noynoy assumed the presidency, is imposing himself on Bartolome, allegedly dictating on the PNP chief on who to appoint to certain positions in the police organization, prompting one official to described Lacson as the “de facto chief PNP.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120105com7.html

Noy gives green light to ‘shaved’ FoI By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 01/05/2012

Noy gives green light to ‘shaved’ FoI

By Virgilio J. Bugaoisan 01/05/2012

A watered-down version of a controversial bill seen crucial in achieving transparency in government transactions was approved yesterday by President Aquino.

Press Undersecretary Manolo Quezon III admitted that the original version of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill has been defaced and many of its crucial provisions that promote free access to information have been removed.

The Malacañang version of the bill includes giving special shield for the President and his official family from being scrutinized on the basis of an FoI Law..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120105hed3.html

Pinoys in Syria reject return, say no jobs in RP By Michaela P. del Callar 01/05/2012

Pinoys in Syria reject return, say no jobs in RP

By Michaela P. del Callar 01/05/2012

Majority of Filipino workers in Syria have rejected the Philippine government’s offer to repatriate them to the Philippines for free amid the worsening political security situation in the troubled Middle East state, citing scant employment opportunities back home, Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario admitted yesterday.

Del Rosario, who flew to Syria last weekend to personally check on the progress of evacuation efforts of the Philippine Embassy there, said many Filipinos have expressed their desire to remain even as the government declared the highest crisis alert in the country that calls for mandatory repatriation of all its nationals.... MORE
Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120105hed4.html

Flood victims, kids compete for use schools 01/05/2012

Flood victims, kids compete for use schools

01/05/2012
Flood evacuees and pupils competed for space of schools yesterday, with both wanting to use the buildings following the Christmas break, officials said.

In some cases, survivors of last month’s floods from tropical storm “Sendong” were moved to alternative shelters as children returned to schoolhouses that had been used as evacuation centers.

But in other instances, hundreds of the evacuees refused to leave, forcing school officials to find novel ways of conducting classes..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120105nat7.html

For not getting ‘pulutan,’ drunken man kills 3 women 01/05/2012

For not getting ‘pulutan,’ drunken man kills 3 women

01/05/2012
A drunken man went on a shooting spree and killed three women and wounded an American after he was not given “pulutan” (appetizer) last Tuesday night in Tondo, Manila.

The suspect was identified as Ronald Cruz, 37, of 1220 Masinop St., Tondo, a former seaman and a messenger of Philippine Reclamation Authority..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120105met3.html

Katipunan heroine’s remains brought to QC hall today 01/05/2012

Katipunan heroine’s remains brought to QC hall today

01/05/2012
The remains of Melchora Aquino, more popularly known as Tandang Sora, are laid today at the Quezon City Hall after their exhumation from Himlayang Pilipino before they are brought to their final resting place at a shrine exactly where she was born 200 years ago.

At a press conference, Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, who heads the Task Force Tandang Sora, said the relics of the Grand Old Lady of Katipunan, who was said to be a look-alike of actress Dawn Zulueta when the city’s lone heroine was in her 20s, will be brought to the city hall in a flag-draped casket and on a horse-drawn carriage..... MORE


Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120105met6.html

YEARENDER: 2011, a precarious life for the urban poor

YEARENDER: 2011, a precarious life for the urban poor
In 2011, rights group Karapatan – National Capital Region has monitored at least one case of demolition a month, which more or less translates to at least three families losing their homes everyday due to demolition.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO
Bulatlat.com

MANILA — The violence that accompanied the demolition attempts in urban poor communities Corazon de Jesus in San Juan City and Sitio San Roque in Quezon City hit the headlines resulting in a temporary halt to the demolition. Yet, unknown to many, more and more communities are facing displacement from their homes and livelihood. Urban poor and progressive organizations monitored an average of one community confronting demolition every month for 2011.

“We receive many requests for assistance from organizations of the urban poor. They want to guard and barricade their communities from threats of demolition. As long as these calls keep coming, it only shows how this administration is neglecting the urban poor and ignoring their right to housing,” Carlito Badion, vice president of Kalipunan ng Damayang mahihirap and co-convenor of Alyansa Kontra Demolisyon, told Bulatlat.com.

Badion said President Benigno Aquino III is a failure for poor Filipinos because of the absence of a comprehensive plan to address their concerns. It has instead, he added, prioritized big private firms and its vested self-interest, leaving urban poor dwellers displaced from their homes.

Public Private Partnership monster that demolishes the homes of urban poor dwellers(Photo by Janess Ann J. Ellao / Bulatlat.com)

In 2011, rights group Karapatan – National Capital Region has monitored at least one case of demolition a month, which more or less translates to at least three families losing their homes everyday due to demolition.

First demolition of 2011

The year 2011 began with demolition operations targeting Barangay Corazon de Jesus in San Juan City on January 25. The displacement of more than a hundred families would supposedly give way to the project of the local government to build a United States-White House-like city hall. The residents responded by barricading the community to defend their homes from the demolition team.

The tension ran high when the police moved toward the barricade. Around mid-morning, a canister of teargas was fired at a portion of the community. The police doused the residents with water canons. The residents, on the other hand, fought back using slingshots, stones, bottles and plastic bags filled with human feces, which they call “tae bombs or t-bombs.”.... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/01/03/yearender-2011-a-precarious-life-for-the-urban-poor/

Iran ‘recommends’ US stay out of Persian Gulf (w/ Video)

Iran ‘recommends’ US stay out of Persian Gulf

Iran has warned the United States it will take action if its fleet returns to the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, France is pushing European countries to follow the US in freezing Iranian central bank assets and imposing an embargo on oil exports.

­Iran’s army chief, General Ataollah Salehi had this message for US naval forces: “We recommend… to the American warship that passed through the Strait of Hormuz and went on to the Gulf of Oman, not to return to the Persian Gulf,” the official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying.
.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://rt.com/news/iran-sanctions-threats-gulf-143/

Only ‘non-hawkish’ GOP candidate loses in Iowa to Romney (w/ Video)

Only ‘non-hawkish’ GOP candidate loses in Iowa to Romney

 The presidential campaign is now underway in earnest in the US, with the first contest having determined a single Republican nominee – Mitt Romney - in the state of Iowa.

Social conservative Rick Santorum, anti-war advocate Ron Paul, and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney were the front-runners, but according to the chairman of the Iowa Republican party, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won the Iowa caucus by eight votes..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/ron-paul-republican-rubin-189/

Confirmed: Fracking caused Ohio earthquakes

Confirmed: Fracking caused Ohio earthquakes

Ohio lawmakers have put a temporary ban on fracking after experts say it is certain that recent fracking in the Buckeye State caused an outbreak of earthquakes.

According to some seismologists, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is to blame for a string of tremors in Ohio, including a 4.0-magnitude quake on New Year’s Eve. It has long been suggested that fracking, which involves deep-earth drilling to extract gas for natural resource reserves, has been culpable for quakes. In the fracking process, wastewater collected during the deep drilling is injected back into the Earth for disposal. Thought to be safe by some, other experts insist that the brine water could find its way into subterranean faults and force parts of the planet to separate. The Youngstown, OH area has seen 11 small quakes since last spring, and now a moratorium has been instated in the area to keep future fracking from occurring while seismologists reinvestigate the quakes..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/fracking-ohio-quake-earth-165/

Google breaks its own rules

Google breaks its own rules

 Google is getting into some hot water after some stealthy bloggers caught the search engine giants breaking their own rules.

An online ad campaigned launched by Google to promote its own products, specifically the Chrome web browser, has been revealed to using shortcuts to skip rules that the company itself put in place in order to keep search engines fair in returning their results..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/google-own-search-web-175/

Flawed logic FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/04/2012

Flawed logic

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/04/2012
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is not the judiciary nor the SC, says lead prosecutor Niel Tupas Jr.

That is true, but the CJ never said he is the SC or the judiciary. Yet, even as the prosecutors say the CJ is not the SC, why then are they questioning only his opinion — which is only one voice — based on the SC collegial decisions, that would comprise the majority vote?

But the prosecutors, especially Tupas, even admit that the move to unseat CJ Renato Corona is not about the law, or the rule of law, but due to his close ties to Noynoy’s predecessor, Gloria Arroyo, as Tupas claims that Corona is the biggest Gloria “coddler” and that removing him would remove Gloria’s influence, which would strengthen the high court..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120104com2.html

Prosecutors fish for ‘evidence’ vs CJ By Gerry Baldo 01/04/2012

DARE CORONA TO PRODUCE SALN ON P14-M CONDO

Prosecutors fish for ‘evidence’ vs CJ

By Gerry Baldo 01/04/2012

House prosecutors appear to have little evidence against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona on charges of graft and corruption, as they tried to bait the CJ into disclosing his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALn) which they claim would show that he has not disclosed his properties and assets.

They claim that the graft and corruption charge is one of the strongest cases that the prosecution team believes could convict the CJ in the impeachment trial.

According to Rep. Niel Tupas, chairman of the House committee on justice and lead prosecutor in the impeachment of Corona, they have “damning” evidence to prove that Corona’s SALn is questionable..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120104hed1.html

Peers advise Palparan to come out of hiding By Mario J. Mallari 01/04/2012

Peers advise Palparan to come out of hiding

By Mario J. Mallari 01/04/2012
Top defense and military officials yesterday urged retired Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan, who is now a fugitive and the subject of a P500,000 bounty for the kidnapping of two students in 2006, to give himself up to authorities and face the charges slapped against him.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff Lt. Gen. Jessie Dellosa said it would be good for Palparan to surrender and prove his innocence before the court.

“It would be better if he will surrender so that he can explain his participation or non-participation in the cases hurled against him,” Gazmin said during a chance interview during the Department of National Defense (DND) and AFP newyear’s call..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120104hed4.html

Adaza, Paguia file plea to stop CJ Senate trial 01/04/2012

Adaza, Paguia file plea to stop CJ Senate trial

01/04/2012
Another challenge to the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona has been filed before the SC which questions the impeachment proceedings against the CJ.

In a 23-page suit, former assemblyman and Misamis Oriental Gov. Homobono Adaza and law professor Alan Paguia sought to declare as unconstitutional the impeachment complaint filed by the House of Representatives, the fifth such petition filed before the high court.

Similar suits now pending before the SC were earlier filed by Social Justice System lawyer Vladimir Cabigao, tax informer Danilo Lihaylihay, former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Vicente Millora and Marcos lawyer Oliver Lozano..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120104hed6.html