In the name of God, go! FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/18/2012

In the name of God, go!

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/18/2012
What a difference a good and independent impeachment presiding judge and an equally good majority leader makes.

Presiding judge Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile is fast proving to the nation that indeed, an impeachment court can be as solemn, orderly and dignified as a Supreme Court hearing, with him as a judge in control of the trial.

The difference is clearly seen when compared to the then presiding justice of the impeachment trial of then sitting President Erap Estrada, then Chief Justice Hilario Davide, who allowed the House prosecutors full control of the trial, to the point of not even continuing with the trial after the private prosecutors walked out of the impeachment court, when he, as then presiding justice, could have easily commanded the House prosecutors to continue with the trial under pain of contempt and even disbarment. But it was also just as clear he wouldn’t have done it, since he was not an impartial justice, and worse, was clearly involved in the elite coup d’etat against the Estrada government..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120118com2.html

Occupy Congress: Money out of US politics!

Occupy Congress: Money out of US politics!

Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street activists have rallied on Capitol Hill to “Occupy Congress”, decrying corporate influence on the American government in a direct message to lawmakers.

­The protesters had permission to hold a rally on the Capitol's West Lawn.  However one step outside the sanctioned area brought the risk of arrest.

Demonstrators were unable to resist the temptation to test the limits of police tolerance, and RT’s crew at the scene witnessed several people being arrested..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/us-congress-corruption-protest-045/

Mideast tensions could spill beyond region - Russia

Mideast tensions could spill beyond region - Russia
 
Russia’s Foreign Minister has reiterated that the international community must allow the Middle East nations to decide their own fate for themselves or the crisis could lead to a war far beyond the region's borders.

Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday summing up foreign policy over the course of 2011, Sergey Lavrov dwelled extensively on the current situation in North Africa and the Middle East. The Russian official said that his country strongly opposed both the violence in the region and foreign intervention in the internal affairs of Mideast countries. He stressed that Russia’s approach to the crisis in Syria was to move to bring an immediate end to the violence and this approach was shared by the League of Arab States..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/politics/russian-foreign-annual-report-047/

The drums of war!

05.01.2012

by Jagdish Keshav

The drums of war have not ceased with the destruction of Libya. A new war-paint is being donned by the western imperial powers. The tune of martial music now has a Middle Eastern touch to it and the North African one has stopped for the moment.

Syria and Iran are the current focus points. As per the western media, thousands have perished in Syria, killed by Bashir Assad. All of the dead being civilians and rebels. But some reliable sources state that the rebels are not true rebels, but are planted and supported by subversive establishments of the West that have vested interests in this area. And once again, their Goebellian media is blowing up the matter, trying to divert people's minds from the realities that are haunting their societies, mainly economic woes..... MORE

Source:  Pravda.ru

URL: http://english.pravda.ru/hotspots/terror/05-01-2012/120155-The_drums_of_war-0/

Human organ trafficking in Kosovo finds support in the West

17.01.2012

 

Russia will investigate the facts of abuse of its citizens in Kosovo. Russian citizens fell victims to illegal human organ trafficking in Kosovo, and there is big politics involved in the story. The case is directly connected with accusations of illegal organ trafficking that have been set forth against Prime Minister of Albanian Kosovo, Hashim Thaci.

It goes about the events which took place in August 2008. The story took place at Medicus clinic, in Kosovo's administrative center - Pristina. Two Russian citizens, who decided to become donors, had their left kidneys removed for further transplantation. The patients did not receive any money. The Kosovo Albanians used the same scheme to deceive the citizens of several other countries as well..... MORE

Source:  Pravda.ru

URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/europe/17-01-2012/120254-human_organ_trafficking_kosovo-0/

NATO used its forces to the maximum to take Tripoli

13.01.2012 

 

 

Italy's L'Espresso daily publication wrote that NATO's special forces played the key role when taking Tripoli, the capital of Libya. A participant of the operation shared his impressions with the publication. According to the author of the article, the man, whose story the newspaper published, was struggling with the butchers of Muammar Gaddafi, foreign snipers and killers, who had come to Libya from all over the world. According to him, all of them came to Tripoli to make money by aiming their guns at rebellious people.

The man, who introduced himself as a member of the Italian special forces, said that the secret weapon had been aimed against inexperienced rebels for months. "Those snipers stopped the first groups of the rebels, who entered the Libyan capital," the man said.

.... MORE

Source:  Pravda.ru

URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/13-01-2012/120229-nato_tripoli-0/

Fisherfolk group calls for ratification of int’l labor pact

Fisherfolk group calls for ratification of int’l labor pact

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com
MANILA — The Philippine government should do its best to protect the rights of the country’s 300,000 fishing industry workers.

This was the statement made by the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) last week to President Benigno Aquino III as Pamalakaya chairman Fernando attended an international conference titled Empowerment Through Information: Training Program on International and Regional Developments of Relevance to Small-Scale Fisheries and Fishing Communities in Asia” Bangkok, Thailand from January 9-14, 2012.

Hicap said the Philippine government has yet to sign the Work in Fishing convention of the International Labor Organization, which aims to protect the rights of fishing industry workers all the world.

The training program was sponsored by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) based in Chennai, India. Hicap was invited to speak on issues dealing with protection of small-scale fisherfolk and on the conditions of Filipino fish workers aboard commercial fishing vessels in the country. The conference aimed to be avenue for knowledge-exchange between fisherfolk organizations, the fishery NGOs and social movements and how they can utilize existing international instruments to effectively fight threats to fishing rights and livelihood and assert fishery rights as human rights.

According to Hicap, the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention can be used by organizations espousing rights of fisherfolk and fishing industry workers to oppose oppressive measures carried out by operators and owners of commercial fishing vessels.

The convention was adopted by government, worker and employer delegatesduring the ILO International Labour Conference in 2007. It came into effect after it was ratified by 10 (including eight coastal nations) of the ILO’s 180 member States..... MORE

Source:  BULATLAT.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/01/17/fisherfolk-group-calls-for-ratification-of-intl-labor-convention/

Prosecutors unprepared, stumble on Day 2 By Angie M. Rosales and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/18/2012

Prosecutors unprepared, stumble on Day 2

By Angie M. Rosales and Benjamin B. Pulta 01/18/2012

Fresh questions about the competence of the House prosecution panel arose yesterday during the second day of the impeachment trial before the Senate with no less than one prosecutor-congressman admitting his panel was not ready to proceed with the first Article of Impeachment and sought a postponement of the proceedings.

Cavite (2nd District) Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. failed to convince Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile to allow them to proceed to item “2” of the impeachment complaint instead of starting numerically with item number “1.”

But it was also found that the prosecution’s “evidence” for Item 2 consisted of computer-generated “documents” from the Land Registration Authority and was questioned by the presiding judge, Enrile, as these were not certified copies and there was no witness to certify to the authenticity of the documents..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120118hed1.html

GMA faces new plunder rap over PCSO funds misuse By Angie M. Rosales 01/18/2012

GMA faces new plunder rap over PCSO funds misuse

By Angie M. Rosales 01/18/2012

The Senate blue ribbon committee sought yesterday the filing of plunder charges against former President Gloria Arroyo and former Phi-lippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) general manager Rosario Uriarte over the misuse of PCSO funds.

The detained former president and Uriarte were found by the Senate body to have committed plunder, technical malversation of funds among many other charges in handling the agency’s confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) in hundreds of millions of pesos during her incumbency.

Contained in a 124-page blue ribbon committee report submitted by its chairman, Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, two other officials were also recommended to be charged with graft..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120118hed3.html

CJ inhibits from SC impeach suits; en banc seeks CA, RTC, MTC groups’ view on SALn release By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/18/2012

CJ inhibits from SC impeach suits; en banc seeks CA, RTC, MTC groups’ view on SALn release

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/18/2012

Chief Justice Renato Corona will not take part in ruling on the suits now pending before the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the validity of the impeachment court even as the SC put off acting on the petitions seeking the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) to stop Corona’s impeachment trial by the Senate.

Court Administrator and spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the Court instead decided to consolidate all the five petitions with Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio as member-in-charge.

He added that the high court did not see the urgency in the petitions, and decided not to issue a TRO..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20120118hed5.html

VP Binay orders mandatory interviews for OFW repatriates By Michaela P. del Callar 01/18/2012

VP Binay orders mandatory interviews for OFW repatriates

By Michaela P. del Callar 01/18/2012

All Filipino workers who will be evacuated from conflict-stricken countries will now be interviewed upon arrival in the country, Vice President Jejomar Binay said after the discovery of many underaged workers being sent abroad.

Binay, also a presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers concerns and chairman of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT), proposed this measure, saying this would help the IACAT build a database of repatriated Filipinos and offloaded international-bound passengers and determine the manner of deployment.

“It would also help establish a possible pattern of deployment being done by illegal recruiters and trafficking syndicates, minimize re-victimization of Filipino irregular OFWs, minimize repatriation costs,” Binay said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20120118nat1.html

Palace admits it can’t stop prices of petro products from soaring By Fernan J. Angeles 01/18/2012

Palace admits it can’t stop prices of petro products from soaring

By Fernan J. Angeles 01/18/2012

At the regular press briefing in Malacañang yesterday, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Aquino government’s hands are tied as it has no control over the brewing tension in the Middle East.

He, however, clarified the government has been doing its part by putting in place remedial measures — one of which is the reactivation of the “Pantawid Pasada Program.”

“The… Secretary Rene Almendras will be meeting with the IECC to discuss the Pantawid Pasada and they will be meeting I think this week or next week and, after that, they will activate the Pantawid Pasada program,” he said..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120118met2.html

‘JV’ Ejercito inks MoA with JCI giving recognition to outstanding students 01/18/2012

‘JV’ Ejercito inks MoA with JCI giving recognition to outstanding students

01/18/2012
San Juan Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito signed Monday a memorandum of agreement with officers of the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Philippines for the 2012 Youth Leadership Excellence Awards or YLEA, an award-giving body that gives recognition to outstanding elementary and high school students all over the country.

In a simple ceremony at the House of Representatives, Ejercito expressed support to the group represented by its national president Randolf Ruste, citing YLEA’s role in boosting the morale of the country’s youth through its annual awards, recognizing their leadership qualities and academic achievements..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20120118met3.html

Highly unpresidential, and unconstitutional FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/17/2012

Highly unpresidential, and unconstitutional

FRONTLINE

Ninez Cacho-Olivares

01/17/2012
Noynoy really should stop trying to influence the senators, as well as his devotees to convict Chief Justice Renato Corona, because what he is doing goes against the constitutional grain of the executive branch’s non-interference in a case which is the business of the legislative branch.

If in an ordinary court case — whether with political undertones or otherwise — a president is always cautioned not to comment on this, pro or anti, mainly due to the fact that any presidential comment can be taken to influence the court, all the more that in an impeachment case, especially when Noynoy has not hidden his hatred for the CJ even before he ascended to the presidency.

He has even come out publicly, on the day of the convening of the Senate impeachment court that he wants the CJ convicted..... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120117com2.html

Resolution resistance: West rejects Russia's Syria draft (w/ Video)

Resolution resistance: West rejects Russia's Syria draft

Western diplomats pushing for tough action against Damascus have criticized Russia’s new draft UN resolution for being too conciliatory. But while experts argue over drafts and texts, innocent Syrians are living in constant fear for their lives.

­After weeks of criticism over the slow pace of talks, Russia has submitted a new draft UN resolution designed to bring peace to Syria, which calls on all sides to halt the violence..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/russia-resolution-syria-un-949/

Obama sued over indefinite detention and torture of Americans act

 Obama sued over indefinite detention and torture of Americans act

In the past, journalist Chris Hedges has worked for NPR, The New York Times and the Christian Science Monitor. In his latest endeavor, however, he is teaming up with an unlikely pair: a couple of attorneys that will help him take on the president.

US President Barack Obama is the target of a suit filed by Pulitzer Prize-winner Hedges, and the reasoning seems more than obvious to him. The decision to take the commander-in-chief to court comes as a response to President Obama’s December 31 signing of the National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, a legislation that allows the US military to detain American citizens indefinitely at off-site torture prisons like Guantanamo Bay..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/usa/news/obama-hedges-ndaa-sued-933/

Wikiout! English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout looms

Wikiout! English Wikipedia anti-SOPA blackout looms

 The world’s most popular online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, is going on strike on Wednesday. The “knowledge blackout” is aimed at protecting the Internet - and the website’s very existence – from online censorship.

The Wikipedia community and the Wikimedia foundation decided on a global blackout of the English version of the website for 24 hours starting at 05:00 UTC on January 18. The move followed a heated discussion which attracted the highest number of participants in the project’s 11-year history..... MORE

Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/wikipedia-blackout-sopa-pipa-953/

Modern America: Occupy the Dream? (w/ Video)

Modern America: Occupy the Dream?

Four months after Occupy Wall Street grew into a nationwide phenomenon, America's Occupy activists plan to descend on Capitol Hill to “Occupy Congress” on Tuesday in what organizers hope could be the movement's largest gathering yet.

­A press release posted on the movement’s Facebook page pledges "the largest national unification of Occupiers to date."

"Though our grievances are many, the common theme that runs through them will be amplified on the steps of Capitol Hill: corporations, special interests and money from the autocratic elite has created a government that is unable to govern for the people," the release stated..... MORE
Source:  RT.com

URL: http://rt.com/news/us-youth-business-occupy-941/

Church of transnational capital, it’s God and his commandments AN OUTSIDERS VIEW Ken Fuller 01/17/2012

Church of transnational capital, it’s God and his commandments

AN OUTSIDERS VIEW

Ken Fuller

01/17/2012
Reading many Filipino commentaries on economic matters, one gets the impression that their authors consider the various elements of the status quo to be unalterable features of the economic environment, just as typhoons and thunder are features of the natural environment, or, alternatively, that they must have been decreed by a source as authoritative as that which handed Moses the stone tablets on Mount Sinai. And this, as we will see, is not far from the truth.

If there is one clear distinction between the prevailing economic creed and the Decalogue, it is that the latter was written by and for Israelites. The god Yahweh was a national god, initially one of several. The Decalogue was, therefore, addressed to Israelites (initially known as Hebrews) — although not all of them. Consider the following.

“But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: In it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor any stranger that is within thy gates.”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120117com5.html

So here’s what you think NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 01/17/2012

So here’s what you think

NO HOLDS BARRED

Armida Siguion-Reyna

01/17/2012
Watching ANC, live. The impeachment proceedings at the Senate are yet to open. So far there are only the voices of Karen Davila, Tony Velasquez and Linda Jumila, while the cameras show the plenary hall just about beginning to fill up with guests to the left and right of the place. In the center the VIPs are starting to take their seats, on the sides the lawyers for the prosecution and the defense are seated.

On a personal note, allow me to express just how badly I miss my husband, Sig, especially the asides he’d be making in the here and there of the main argument on hand.

Last Friday, I reminisced about the Renato Corona I knew, way before he had become Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice, and asked: “Tell me, what you think. e-mail me your thoughts. Is the main accusation against Renato Corona true? Has he done nothing but shield the woman who installed him in his post? What else have we found out about him since when this first came out?”.... MORE

Source:  The Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20120117com4.html