Estrada vows to bring NPA to mainstream 03/30/2010

Estrada vows to bring NPA to mainstream

03/30/2010 “I will unite this country. And that includes the NPA (New People’s Army). We will bring them to mainstream society.” This was the promise of former President Joseph Estrada on the 41st anniversary of the NPA. “I respect those with ideals that oppose government. We ourselves are proud members of the opposition — but I will never tolerate the taking of lives of our countrymen, even for the noblest of ideals,” Estrada said yesterday in Binangonan, Rizal. Estrada stressed he believes there is hope that the NPA will cooperate and end its rebel movement. “I believe that if the NPA sees that the government is truly working for the plight of the marginalized, the NPAs will cooperate.” Estrada added that he understand that the NPA wants to end poverty, like the opposition; except that they differ in their means. “If they see that the government is not abusing the poor, like this current government is, they will not resort to such killing or terrorism.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100330hed4.html

HEADLINES Poll exec refuses to purge Davao City ‘zombies’ SWS: Erap gains 4 pts; Noynoy static, Villar dives Court drops rebellion charges vs Ampatuans Estrada vows to bring NPA to mainstream GMA’s new appointments ‘legal, valid’ — Palace Pinay injured in Moscow’s metro bombings

SWS: Erap gains 4 pts; Noynoy static, Villar dives By Gerry Baldo 03/30/2010

SWS: Erap gains 4 pts; Noynoy static, Villar dives

By Gerry Baldo 03/30/2010 Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) standard bearer former President Joseph Estrada posted the biggest gain of four points to 19 percent in the latest BusinessWorld-Social Weather Stations Pre-Election Survey which also showed Liberal Party (LP) bet Sen. Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino barely moving at 37 percent but still at the lead while Nacionalista Party (NP) bet Sen. Manuel “Manny” Villar Jr. suffered a major six percentage-point slide to 28 percent. Estrada, who remains third in the survey, however, closed the gap with Villar to a single digit in the poll conducted last March 19 to 22. Estrada narrowed Villar’s lead over him to nine points from 19 previously.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100330hed2.html

HEADLINES Poll exec refuses to purge Davao City ‘zombies’ SWS: Erap gains 4 pts; Noynoy static, Villar dives Court drops rebellion charges vs Ampatuans Estrada vows to bring NPA to mainstream GMA’s new appointments ‘legal, valid’ — Palace Pinay injured in Moscow’s metro bombings

What’s cooking? EDITORIAL 03/30/2010

What’s cooking?

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 03/30/2010 Gloria Arroyo has been making too many appointments left and right, within the executive department, and, given the time frame of the appointments, such can be seen as midnight appointments, which is contrary to the constitutional provision. Her last minute appointments have raised the alarm at the Supreme Court, with its spokesman, Jose Midas Marquez, pointing out that she should not take the SC ruling in relation to vesting her with the authority to appoint the next Chief Justice as her carte blanche power to appoint executives in the Executive branch. Predictably, Malacañang stated that Gloria has not violated the ban on the midnight appointment, apparently making it appear that these new appointees have been appointed prior to the midnight ban, which is too difficult to believe since some of the old executives were still in their posts when the constitutional clock struck midnight. Still, that move by Gloria wasn’t unexpected. She hardly does anything by the constitutional book. What surprises, however, is why the new appointees, knowing about the constitutional ban, accepted the presidential appointment... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

Reading the survey findings FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/30/2010

Reading the survey findings

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/30/2010 With the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) presidential polls findings out, different spins are being spun by the bets’ spokesmen. Edwin Lacierda, Noynoy Aquino’s spokesman, came up to state that they are elated at the widening lead of his client, adding that the strategy to improve Aquino’s rating in areas where he is weak is working since the people are responding well, saying that they will be working to increase Aquino’s lead further. That’s not quite what the survey findings say because the only reason Aquino widened his lead over Manny Villar, the Nacionalista Party (NP) bet, is that Villar dropped by six points and not because Aquino’s claimed strategy is working, since the Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer’s ratings, in a sense, are stationary, gaining only one point, which is hardly anything to crow about, given the error margins.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch FEATURE 03/30/2010

Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch

FEATURE 03/30/2010 MONROVIA — Giant potholes make way for smooth streets, freshly painted buildings have appeared among those pitted with bullet holes and lights flicker on as electricity returns to Liberia’s war-torn capital. Yet the improvements, seven years after the end of a 14-year civil war which shattered the country’s infrastructure, have had little impact on the lives of ordinary Monrovia residents, who remain mired in extreme poverty and 80 percent unemployment. Half of the roads around Monrovia have been rebuilt and the capital now has running water, but the snail’s pace of reconstruction of the electricity grid has hampered economic recovery and development..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

Who’s really rated ‘X’? NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 03/30/2010

Who’s really rated ‘X’?

NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 03/30/2010 This isn’t the first time I’m asking the question here, and still the answer is the same. It’s not the films that have been rendered unfit to screen that should be altogether banned, but the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), right now mostly composed of power-trippers and ignoramuses. The ink had barely dried from my last issue’s ululations against the regulatory body’s indiscriminate cutting of the Jim Carrey-starrer I Love You Phillip Morris, when news leaked that it had “X-ed” two short films in the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) AmBisyon 2010 series: Jeffrey Jeturian’s “Ganito Kami Noon, Paano na Tayo Bukas?” and Brilllante Mendoza’s “Ayos Ka.”.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

A cause without a champion AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 03/30/2010

A cause without a champion

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 03/30/2010 In last week’s column, I referred to the piece by Jean Edward Smith (Roosevelt: The Great Divider) which, appearing in the New York Times last Sept. 3, compared Obama’s approach to controversial legislation (prior to his spirited promotion of the healthcare bill) with that of Roosevelt during the New Deal era. Before shifting to a Philippine context, please allow me one more quote from Smith’s article. “When Roosevelt asked Congress to establish the Tennessee Valley Authority to provide cheap electric power for the impoverished South, he did not consult with utility giants like Commonwealth and Southern. When he asked for the creation of a Securities and Exchange Commission to curb the excesses of Wall Street, he did not request the cooperation of those about to be regulated. When Congress passed the Glass-Steagall Act divesting investment houses of their commercial banking functions, the Democrats did not need the approval of J.P Morgan, Goldman Sachs or Lehman Brothers.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

Celebrations SILVER LINING Dean Ernest Maceda 03/30/2010

Celebrations

SILVER LINING Dean Ernest Maceda 03/30/2010 Seventy five years. Manong Ernie Maceda, turned 75 last Friday, March 26. He celebrated the milestone in the company of friends and family, including guests of honor President Erap Estrada, Mayor Jojo Binay and the senatorial candidates of the Erap-Binay ticket. From being elected councilor of Manila in 1959, Manong went on to hold five Cabinet positions, was elected senator three times and became Senate President. His last position in government was Ambassador to Washington. He has devoted more than 50 years of his life to serving the Filipino people. Happy Birthday Manong Ernie! 24.58 percent. Congratulations to the 1,451 new lawyers who survived the 2009 edition of the Bar Examinations. Kudos to Dean Virgilio Jara of the San Beda College of Law for producing the Bar Topnotcher, lawyer Reinier Paul Yebra, as well as the 2nd placer, lawyer Charlene Mae Tapic. Dean Cesar Villanueva of the Ateneo once again grabbed the eagle’s share of the top 10 slots with seven while Dean Marvic Leonen’s UP bets scored two... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise focus 03/30/2010

Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise

focus 03/30/2010  BAALBECK — For three decades Abu Nayef has been digging for treasure from Lebanon’s rich archaeological past, but instead of museums his finds end up in the hands of unscrupulous traders around the globe. In the eastern town of Baalbeck, home to some of the world’s most beautiful Roman temples, scavengers like Abu Nayef have made careers of unearthing ancient treasure for sale to the highest bidder. “I know that these are historical artifacts, but much of the time I don’t know their exact value,” Abu Nayef admitted to AFP in his garden in Baalbeck. .... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100330com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL What’s cooking? FRONTLINE Reading the survey findings FEATURE Progress, frustration as Liberia rebuilds from scratch NO HOLDS BARRED Who’s really rated ‘X’? AN OUTSIDERS VIEW A cause without a champion SILVER LINING Celebrations focus Lebanon’s archaeological sites a pillager’s paradise