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

Ruling does not apply to other postings — SC 03/29/2010

Ruling does not apply to other postings — SC

03/29/2010 The Palace cannot refer to the Supreme Court ruling that President Arroyo’s posting of the next Chief Justice is not covered by the election ban on appointments in justifying the mass appointments and dismissals in the executive department, Court Administrator and SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said. The March 17 decision of the high court did not necessarily give her the authority to appoint other government officials during the period covered by the election appointments ban, according to Marquez. “The decision as concurred in by nine justices, and which is not yet final, only exempts appointments to the SC from the ban,” Marquez added. Section 15, Article VII of the Constitution bars the President from making appointments two months before and after the May 10 elections.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100329hed2.html

HEADLINES Speaker warns Comelec inaction to fuel revolt Ruling does not apply to other postings — SC PNP leadership expresses support to Verzosa’s vow of clean elections Caloocan folk storm out to mob Erap convoy Troops overrun Abu Sayyaf camp in Sulu NPA has transformed into a terror group — AFP

Caloocan folk storm out to mob Erap convoy By Gerry Baldo and Jason Faustino 03/29/2010

Caloocan folk storm out to mob Erap convoy

By Gerry Baldo and Jason Faustino 03/29/2010 Poor families — and there were tens of thousands of them — greeted former President Joseph Estrada’s motorcade in Caloocan City before the country plunged into darkness for the Earth Hour Saturday night, bringing light to the campaign of the once ousted leader who is bidding to reclaim his post in his vow to continue serving the poor masses who never turned their backs on him. Not even a “road spike” attack on some vehicles which joined Es-trada’s motorcade succeeded in hobbling the campaign, which was also highlighted by the unexpected tandem of the city’s two former mayors — Baby Asistio and Rey Malonzo — who have settled their political differences not only to back Estrada’s presidential bid but also to challenge what they claimed as a “rotten administration.” Malonzo also once played critic to Estrada at the height of the impeachment proceedings in 2001 before they were aborted by a civilian-backed military coup d’ etat that installed Gloria Arroyo in Malacañang. Malonzo, who is now a vice mayoralty candidate supporting his erstwhile opponent Asistio’s mayoralty bid, however, have jumped fences and joined Estrada, whom he claimed “continues to enjoy the support of the masses.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100329hed4.html

HEADLINES Speaker warns Comelec inaction to fuel revolt Ruling does not apply to other postings — SC PNP leadership expresses support to Verzosa’s vow of clean elections Caloocan folk storm out to mob Erap convoy Troops overrun Abu Sayyaf camp in Sulu NPA has transformed into a terror group — AFP

Gloria’s scheming never stops EDITORIAL 03/29/2010

Gloria’s scheming never stops

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 03/29/2010 Whoever in Malacañang said that Gloria would comfortably retire in Pampanga after being elected as member of the House of Representatives in the coming elections either was joking or is a total fool. The actions being taken lately by Gloria have shown that she is far from over in her pursuit of political perpetuity through plotting and manipulation and that a House seat is only a furtherance of that ultimate goal. The midnight appointments and the bastardization of the party-list system both of which Gloria exploited to build up new alliances and preserve old ones prove that the predatory traits of Gloria will go on as long as she is in the political stream.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

Crystal clear intent FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/29/2010

Crystal clear intent

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/29/2010 More often than not, the intention of survey firms, when they take on political surveys, especially pre-poll surveys a year or two away from the scheduled presidential elections, is to make presidents, or become what is known as “kingmakers.” Why else would they come up with presidential surveys a year before, if not to create that illusion of the so-called “public opinion” (which is hardly the opinion of the national electorate) favoring so and so as the president of their choice? At that particular time surveys were being taken, the polls were still far-off, and presidential and vice presidential bets had not even firmed up their decisions to run, or not run. What purpose then did those surveys serve then? A so-called “snapshot” of the time? But for what purpose, if not to condition the minds of the public that indeed, these “presidentiables” are the choice of the people to run in the far-off polls.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south FEATURE 03/29/2010

Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south

FEATURE 03/29/2010 MAZAR-I-SHARIF — Thousands of Afghans took to the streets of northern cities to welcome their new year in a joyous celebration of music, dancing and fireworks. Less than 700 kilometers to the south, residents of poverty-stricken villages, towns and cities riddled with mines and plagued by bombings know only war as they struggle for survival. In Mazar-i-Sharif, capital of the northern province of Balkh, authorities estimate that half a million people gathered for Nowruz, a 3,000-year-old Zoroastrian festival marking the Persian new year. The southern province of Helmand could not have been more different as 15,000 US, Nato and Afghan troops battled Taliban insurgents in the biggest offensive of a war now in its ninth year.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

Midnight Express DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 03/29/2010

Midnight Express

DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 03/29/2010 Just as in the Dark Princes’ pre-election fast-tracking of a P100-billion stimulus package plus tax perks for their giant firms courtesy of Finance Secretary Gary Teves, so are other vital measures doing a fast-break in these proverbial “last two minutes.” Last Friday, the public got wind of a Bureau of Internal Revenue decision to impose on April 1 the 12 percent eVAT on toll fees for the north and south expressways, only a week after it was broached in media and just a month away from the polls. One really wonders why it was timed for April Fools’ Day. But considering that we were also greeted on that day with the Comelec’s removal of the PCOS vote confirmation and receipt process as headlined by the Tribune, is that still much of a surprise? To top it all, Malacañang announced 15 new “midnight” appointments, ranging from an ambassadorial posting to some newly created tourism and civil aviation offices, as well as board seats in two historical bodies.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

A wife’s undying love for her man on death row FEATURE 03/29/2010

A wife’s undying love for her man on death row

FEATURE 03/29/2010 WASHINGTON — Even as the minutes ticked down before her husband was due to be put to death, Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner never lost hope that he would win a reprieve. On the telephone earlier that day “I told him ‘I’m sure that you are going to live,’” the French anti-death penalty campaigner said. “He said to me ‘If you could see what I see all around me, you wouldn’t say that.’” Nevertheless, her words proved prophetic. “He was three meters from the death chamber,” she said referring to the room where prisoners are strapped to a gurney and injected with a poisonous cocktail that first puts the inmate to sleep, then paralyzes him, then causes his heart to stop beating. Mere minutes and inches from death, word came from the US Supreme Court late Wednesday granting a last minute stay of execution and allowing her husband, Henry “Hank” Skinner, to live another day.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression focus 03/29/2010

Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression

focus 03/29/2010 CARACAS — The arrests of an opposition politician and the owner of a television network for statements critical of the government of President Hugo Chavez has rekindled debate here over free speech and democracy in Venezuela. Chavez supporters deny that the President’s critics are being persecuted, but others see the latest developments as a concerted attempt to silence opposition voices. “Having an opinion in Venezuela is a crime punished with the loss of freedom. We reject everything that restricts freedom of expression in the country, and the witch hunts against those who assume dissident positions,” said Juan Jose Molina, an opposition member of the National Assembly.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

Killing dreams HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 03/29/2010

Killing dreams

HE SAYS Aldrin Cardon 03/29/2010 In one corner of the Bustillos Plaza in Sampaloc, Manila, there now stands a commemorative marker honoring Edgar Mirasol Jopson, the once moderate student leader with the “arneow accent” despised by the “natdem” crowd, who branded him an agent of the clerico-fascists — a counter-revolutionary, but who nonetheless proved his dedication to the patriotic fervor lit in the hearts of many of his generation, and died for it. No, he was killed by agents of government, who, in 1982, were yet to turn their backs on their master, a dictator named Marcos, who four years later, would be toppled in a revolt far similar from the one that was helped sparked by a microphone-grabbing scene between Edjop, as Jopson was called, and the natdem (national democrat) leader Gary Olivar, who, decades after what became known as the First Quarter Storm, we would see in Malacañang, the very same Palace he had branded as home to despots and tyrants, becoming an apologist for another oppressor, one who stole the presidency from the people and continues to do so by mocking the laws and institutions presidents before her have sworn to protect. .... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons leanred

No lessons learned SHE SAYS Dinah S. Ventura 03/29/2010

Gloria’s scheming never stops

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 03/29/2010 Whoever in Malacañang said that Gloria would comfortably retire in Pampanga after being elected as member of the House of Representatives in the coming elections either was joking or is a total fool. The actions being taken lately by Gloria have shown that she is far from over in her pursuit of political perpetuity through plotting and manipulation and that a House seat is only a furtherance of that ultimate goal. The midnight appointments and the bastardization of the party-list system both of which Gloria exploited to build up new alliances and preserve old ones prove that the predatory traits of Gloria will go on as long as she is in the political stream..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100329com8.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Gloria’s scheming never stops FRONTLINE Crystal clear intent FEATURE Afghanistan: Peace in the north, war in the south DIE HARD III Midnight Express FEATURE A wife’s undying love for her man on death row focus Arrests of Chavez critics raises fears over free expression HE SAYS Killing dreams SHE SAYS No lessons learned

Nominees packed with GMA allies 03/28/2010

CHAVIT BROTHER, MIKEY, ANGIE REYES, EURO GENERAL SEEK PARTY-LIST SEATS Nominees packed with GMA allies 03/28/2010 The cat was let out of the bag yesterday after a total of 185 party-list groups submitted to the Commission on Elections (Comelec) yesterday their list of nominees for the May 10 polls showing a long list of allies of President Arroyo. Cause-oriented groups Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) and Kontra Daya said the nominees list submitted by party-list groups showed that the party-list system is being abused by the politically and economically influential. “From the initial list of nominees, we can certainly say that the party-list system is being routinely abused by politicians, big business interests, high-ranking military officials and Arroyo allies. Comelec is partly to blame because it has allowed the party-list system to be taken advantage of over the years,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said. Among the nominees were Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo, son of President Arroyo, and recently resigned Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes who was nominated by transport group 1 Utak. Anak party-list has former Police Senior Supt. Eduardo Octaviano Jr. and infamous “euro-general” Eliseo de la Paz as the first two nominees.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100328hed1.html

HEADLINES Nominees packed with GMA allies Angara: Midnight postings causing demoralization ‘Undermining successor not part of GMA’s plan’ UN body ends food aid to Maguindanao evacuees Noynoy plays coy, claims surprise on limit breach Cafgu man dies, 4 others hurt in NPA raid in Cotabato

Angara: Midnight postings causing demoralization 03/28/2010

Angara: Midnight postings causing demoralization

03/28/2010 An ally of President Arroyo yesterday said the recent midnight appointments of President Arroyo, which many saw as either violating the constitutional ban on appointments prior to an election or were rushed to beat the deadline, have caused widespread demoralization in the government. Sen. Edgardo Angara questioned Malacañang’s move which he said is “causing demoralization within the bureaucracy on the eve of the transition to a new administration.” Angara said “it is possible that President Arroyo does not even know the background of their replacements. Their appointments could have been lobbied and sponsored by padrinos. They are doing the President a great disservice.”... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20100328hed2.html

HEADLINES Nominees packed with GMA allies Angara: Midnight postings causing demoralization ‘Undermining successor not part of GMA’s plan’ UN body ends food aid to Maguindanao evacuees Noynoy plays coy, claims surprise on limit breach Cafgu man dies, 4 others hurt in NPA raid in Cotabato

Evil body transfers EDITORIAL 03/28/2010

Evil body transfers

EDITORIAL Click to enlarge 03/28/2010 Not only politically would Rep. Gloria Arroyo have an Ace over the next president but also that she will have another Ace: Holding the purse strings on the budget. A Speaker Arroyo would practically hold the next president by the neck with arms twisted at the back, with the poor guy having had to grapple with a back to back budget blowout. The fiscal disaster seems to have been pre-arranged as a welcome gift for the next president after Gloria’s economic officials said — which sounded to most as almost like a taunt — that solving the fiscal mess Gloria is leaving would be the biggest challenge facing the new administration. But didn’t she say sometime ago that her successor would have an easy time after she leaves, because she had fixed up everything for him?.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com1.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember

Disqualification woes FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/28/2010

Disqualification woes

FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/28/2010 Noynoy Aquino faces disqualification from the race, having violated the Fair Elections Act, which provides each presidential candidate with an allowable airtime limit of 120 minutes per TV channel, and 180 minutes for radio. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) pointed out that, in the case of the Liberal Party (LP) bet, he, using his personal funds and not party funds, breached the time limit, more than doubling his allotted time. In the case of Nacionalista Party bet Manny Villar, who had also exceeded the allotted airtime limit, the Comelec official said that his political ads using his personal funds, did not exceed the airing limit, although his NP did, explaining that it was his party, the NP, paid for his ads.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com2.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember

Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto ENQUIRY Demaree J. B. Raval 03/28/2010

Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto

ENQUIRY Demaree J. B. Raval 03/28/2010 Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto will be back at the Senate in the 15th Congress. This, my friend Leina de Legazpi proclaimed with certainty when we met at the Senate Lounge last Thursday. Sotto is a candidate for senator under the Nationalist People’s Coalition. I asked Leina what makes her absolutely sure that Sotto would be back at the Senate. Leina said matter-of-factly: “Because Tito has earned it!” I cannot but agree with Leina. The Filipino voter is a discerning voter, one who knows which candidate would make a good and performing senator of the Republic. So, in the same fashion that performers in the August Halls of the Senate such as Enrile, Tatad, Jinggoy Estrada, Pia Cayetano, Santiago and Serge Osmeña will be recognized and rewarded, Sotto will be recognized and rewarded by the voters on May 10, 2010..... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember

Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 03/28/2010

Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto

BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 03/28/2010 To former Assemblyman Roger Peyuan goes the dubious distinction of being the Cabinet official with the shortest term. Two days. The poor fellow served for a grand total of two days as director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) before he was rudely yanked out of his chair, replaced with Deputy Director Pastor Guiao and shunted off to Malacañang as an assistant of Press Secretary Jun Icban. The scuttlebutt going around is that Boboy Syjuco, Peyuan’s former boss who had to resign because he is running for congressman in Iloilo, allegedly had a hand in the embarrassment sustained by the latter. But in all fairness to Syjuco, the decision to deny Peyuan the Tesda sinecure he has been hankering for so long wasn’t his to make, but rested solely on the shoulders of the Chief Executive.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com4.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember

Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs TABLETS OF STONE Larry Faraon, OP 03/28/2010

Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs

TABLETS OF STONE Larry Faraon, OP 03/28/2010 Today begins a full week of liturgical recollection of the Paschal mystery of Jesus Christ’s opus of redeeming mankind. It features personalities who are either traitors, survivors, escapists, false messiahs and political opportunists. The Holy Week episodes are the narratives of this country and its political fate. After all, Jesus is a victim of political vengeance, accommodation and covenience. Pilate never wanted to slap the death penalty on Jesus, seeing no offense in him that deserves the capital punishment. True blue Romans are known for their justice and equity. But a political necessity prevailed over him — his political survival, since at that time Pilate’s relationship with the Roman Emperor was nothing but sour due to his inability to quell pockets of rebellion in the region, including the Zealots in Israel. Hence, when confronted by Jesus about truth, Pilate was enthusiastic over the issue.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com5.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember

The poor and the politicians VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 03/28/2010

The poor and the politicians

VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 03/28/2010 The following standing realities are no big secrets in the social scenery of this otherwise naturally rich country and its culturally wonderful people: One, there are more and more poor, needy and hungry Filipinos not only in urban places but also in the rural areas. Two, there are also more and more politicians whose much proclaimed plans, programs and projects are decidedly meant to redeem the people from poverty and misery. Three, there are, however, even much more poor people in the Philippines, in the same way that there are also much more politicians in the land who spare no ways nor means to land coveted public offices, to get into government power and public influence. This phenomenon is neither funny nor mysterious, but downright revealing of a sinister truth that something very wrong has gradually but determinedly crept into the socio-political structure of Philippines society. Pitiful as it .... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com6.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember

Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember’ focus 03/28/2010

Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember’

focus 03/28/2010 DAKAR — Senegal has declared slavery and the slave trade crimes against humanity, putting the emphasis on a “duty to remember” rather than seeking financial reparations. The first of millions of slaves shipped from Africa to the Americas in the Atlantic slave trade came from the west African nation and the law passed Tuesday is the first on the continent declaring slavery a crime against humanity. Spokesman for the justice minister, Cheikh Bamba Niang said the law did not anticipate demands for financial compensation. Campaigns for compensation among Africans and African-Americans have often cropped up, stirring controversy over who would pay them and to whom while critics note many Africans themselves practised slavery and colluded with slave dealers.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20100328com7.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Evil body transfers FRONTLINE Disqualification woes ENQUIRY Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto BLURBAL THRUSTS Sen. Vicente ‘Tito’ Sotto TABLETS OF STONE Semana Santa of Pilates, Judases and Messiahs VIEWPOINTS The poor and the politicians focus Slave trade: Senegal focuses on ‘duty to remember