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Sa kabila ng katiwalian, pangungurakot at sinasabing pumapangalawa tayo sa Asia, sa kabila ng kaliwa't kanang extra-judicial killings, destabilization moved at banta sa katatagan ng Malakanyang, sa kabila ng walang humpay na pampulitikang krisis, sa kabila ng isyu ng illegitimacy-dalawang taong political survival mode ni Ate Glo, ang dalawang beses na impeachment attempt, ang panunupil at pagsikil sa karapatan pantao, sa kabila ng ilang dekadang insureksyon at rebelyong kinakaharap ng bansa, ang CPP-NPA at Islamic seccessionist movements, sukat akalain mo ba naman umunlad pa rin ang ekonomya ng ating bansa!
(Photo sa itaas, ang kilabot na General Palparan/ si Gen Lim at Sen Trillanes sa Manila Pen insidence)
Sa kabila ng walang tigil na pagbebenta ng ari-arian ng gubyerno, ang talamak na smuggling (mula Subic hanggang Cebu) at tax evasion, ang kaliwa't kanang iskandalong kinasapitan ng Malakanyang tulad ng Hello Garci at mega pacific scam, ang overpriced na Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, Joc-joc Bolante at misuse ng fertilizer funds, the ZTE-NBN scandal ("Buck off!") at “sec may 200 ka rito," ang pamumudmud sa mga Governors and Congressmen at higit sa lahat, ang sandamakmak na laki ng utang panlabas na binabayaran ng Pilipinas, at ngayo'y sasabihing umaasenso ang ekonomya ng bansa? (Photo: Luxury car smuggling in Subic / Abalos Resign,cecidasupastar.wordpress.com)
How much more, "kung sakaling naging maayos, matino ang pulitika, kung matatag ang ating mga institution, may good governance, may STRONG REPUBLIC at mapayapa't solido ang ating lipunan, baka hindi lamang 7.3%, baka tulad ng karanasan ng China, baka mag-double digit pa sa 12-15% ang inunlad ng ekonomya ng 'Pinas?"
Iba pang usapin kung ito'y "dinuduktor lamang ng NEDA, ng Malakanyang ang mga datos, pamantayan, categories o sukatang ginamit sa sinasabing economic growth." Ipagpalagay na nating totoo na nga ang 7.3%, saan nanggaling at may kalidad naman kaya ang pag-unlad na ito? Dulot ba ito ng industrialisasyon at paglago ng output ng ating manupaktura?
Tulad ng inaasahan, naatribute ang paglago ng ekonomya dahil sa laki ng DOLYAR na ipinasok ng ating mga kababayang OFW. Natural, dahil sa may perang hawak ang ating mga kababayan, may epekto ito sa oryentasyong konsumerismo at ang resulta, lumago ang ekonomya ng SERVICE sector. Maliban sa CALL CENTERS, ang talamak na mga dambuhalang MALL na parang kabuting nagsulputan hindi lamang sa kamaynilaan, maging sa buong kapuluan.
Ayon sa Neda, "nakatulong ng malaki ang 19.5% inilaki ng dolyar na ipinasok ng OFW, naging $16.5 B nuong nakaraang taon, 2007. Hindi hamak na 8.7% naman ang ini-angat ng Service sector. Malaki rin ang ini-unlad daw ng industria at agrikultura na dulot ng inilago ng pumasok na puhunan sa MINAHAN. Samantalang 5.1% ini-unlad sa agrikultura sa pamamagitan ng fishery at forestry. Kasamang umasenso ang FINANCIAL sector, partikular ang insurance industry at negosyo sa TURISMO."
Ang agam-agam ng marami, sa kabila ng krisis-resesyong dinadanas ng US, maisustina kaya ang pag-unlad na ito? Batay sa karanasan ng China at ibang karatig bansa sa Asia, mga 10 - 12% growth rate taon-taon o at least sa anim hanggang sampung taon (6-10 years consecutive) consistent na pag-unlad ang kailangan ng Pilipinas upang sabihin umunlad na nga at marandaman ni Mang Pandoy ang kasaganahan.
Na-immune na ata ang mga Investors (Intsik, Hapon at Kanluraning bansa) sa walang humpay na pamumulitika sa Pilipinas at 'di na nila iniinda, pinapansin ang anumang alingasngas politikal sa ating bansa? Sadyang nagbago't kumplikado na ba ang ating lipunang ginagalawan? Hindi tayo experto sa larang ng ekonomiya, pero sadya atang totoo ang sinasabi ng iba na may "firewall ang ekonomya at pulitika," meaning may sariling galaw, dinamismo ang usaping ekonomya na hiwalay sa ano mang itinatakbo ng pulitika. Parang sinasabing, masalaula man ang demokrasya o mga demokratikong institusyon ng isang bansa, tuloy-lang ang larga't galaw ng ekonomya?
Kaya lang, 'di maiiwasang magtanong ang ating mga kababayan na “kung totoong gumaganda nga ang ekonomya, bakit ayaw irecall ng Malakanyang ang E-VAT, ibaba ang presyo ng langis at bilihin, kuryente’t tubig, hanapan ng trabaho ang mahigit apat na libong (4,000) “super KATULONG- caregivers, OFW na lumalayas araw-araw sa bansa. Kung totoong gumaganda ang ekonomiya, gawin abot-kaya, de-kalidad ang edukasyon, pabahay at kalidad ng pamumuhay (quality of life) sa kabuuan at hindi na tatanggapin, tatanggihan na ng mga 'Pinoy ang panunuhol ng mga pulitiko (vote buying-utang na loob) sa tuwing may halalan.”
Batay sa Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), isang Bangkok-based UN agency, "ang pagbulwak, paglaki ng karalitaan at unemployment rate sa kabila ng sinasabing pag-unlad ng ekonomiya ay isang gabundok na suliraning kakaharapin ng Pilipinas."
Mismo ang United Nation Development Program (UNDP) ay nagbabala na 'wag na wag kaagad maniniguro, maniniwalang gumaganda ang ekonomiya ng ating bansa dahil lamang sa 'gumagandang mga economic indicators. Ayon sa kanila, habang sinasabing may pag-angat ng 7.3% growth rate, ganuon din kabilis, ganun din ang paglago, ang pagdami ng mga nawawalan ng trabaho (unemployment rate) at bumibilis ang phasing ng mga nagugutom na Pilipino.
Doy Cinco / IPD
February 1, 2008
Philippine “DEMOCRACY,” mayroon ba tayo, nalalasap ba natin ito? Ang alam ng marami, tinatamasa't para lamang ito sa Pilipino elite, sa mga makapangyarihang pulitiko, sa mga power brokers at big business, sa mga casique, sa mga political clan / OLIGARKIYA. Sila ang walang dudang nagtatampisaw sa 6-7% "growth rate sa ekonomya ng bansa, kung totoo man ito."
- Doy
AnalysisBy Amando Doronila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:59:00 01/29/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- The Philippines posted last year an estimated Gross Domestic Product growth of 6.9 to 7.3 percent, its fastest expansion in 17 years. The government reported that the economy expanded 7.1 percent in the first three quarters of 2007, prompting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to claim last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that the Philippines grew faster than the rest of Southeast Asia despite a global economic slowdown.
The luster of this economic performance was marred by setbacks for political democracy in 2007. While the economy was making big gains and lifting the Philippines from the status of perennial basket case, political liberties were staging a retreat, refueling the classic debate in academic circles over whether growth and democracy are compatible in developing societies, especially those in transition from authoritarian to democratic political systems.
This retreat of democracy is even more disturbing when viewed from the perspective that the Philippines is one of the oldest democracies in Asia and its 1986 People Power Revolution remains a model of non-violent transition from authoritarianism.
The regression of democracy and the abridgement of political rights took place during 28 consecutive quarters of sustained economic growth, ranging from 6 to 7 percent, under the aegis of a democratic government.
In its 2008 report, titled “Freedom in Retreat: Is the Tide Turning?” the New York-based Freedom House focused on the state of Philippine democracy. It highlighted the Philippines as among the states that showed a “significant decline” in political rights and civil liberties in 1972, and startled many observers by disqualifying the Philippines as an “electoral democracy.”
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20080129-115620/Democracys-retreat
Related Story: RP dropped from list of world democracies
http://doycinco.blogspot.com/2008/01/rp-dropped-from-list-of-world.html
2010 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, NANGANGANIB, nakikinitang mas masahol pa sa 2004 at 2007 election!
Sa pagkakatalaga kay Melo bilang bagong Comelec Chair, sa totoo lang, “mas nanaig ang sistemang PADRINO (patronage politics) at political accomodation” kaysa sa intensyong isareporma ang kawalang kredibilidad, ang bangkarote, politicized-partisano, mismanaged, corrupt at bulok na ahensya ng Comelec. Kahit sabihin pa ng PPCRV, NASSA, ni Bishop Juan de la Cruz, mga politikong si Sen Mar Roxas at Kiko Pangilinan na may "integridad, may competence, independence at may kahalong hustisya" pa raw si Melo, nanatiling kabado't may agam-agam ang marami. Maliban sa kanilang pamantayan, mauunawaang mas matimbang ang mga "joint projects at engagement" ng mga stakeholders at pakikipag-relasyon kaysa sa "direkta at head-on collision" sa mga institusyong katulad ng Comelec.
(Photo above: Benjamin Abalos, jaydejaresco.blogspot.com/2007/10/bye-ben.html, Sec Puno,www.unsapa.com)
Sa simula pa lang, napanghinanaan na ng loob ang mamamayang Pilipino, LUTONG macao ika nga, sapagkat sa halos ilang buwang itinatago, PALIHIM, sikreto't binitin sa media't madlang pipol ang kabuuang proseso ng pagpili't nominasyon, ang "kawalan ng TRANSPARENCY, GUILTY na agad sa pamantayan ang Malakanyang. At dahil sa KAWALANG PARTISIPASYON ang MAMAMAYAN, mala-sindikatong pamamaraan sistema ng nominasyon at pagpili, tulad ng inaasahan, nanaig ang inpluwensya ng Malakanyang."
Ano na ang nangyayari sa inindorso, sa rekomendasyon ng 18 mga Bishop kay Wilhelm Soriano, ang chair ng Commission on Human Right, bilang Comelec Chair, paano na ang usapan at diskusyunan sa pagitan ni Ate Glo't mga Obispo nuong October 19, 2007 sa Tuguegarao? Wala bang tiwala si Ate Glo sa katatagan,kawalang partisano, independence at kredibilidad ni Soriano? Titigukin din ba ng Malakanyang ang 2 rekomendadong commissioners ng civil societies? (Photo: Wilhelm Soriano of CHR)
Tanggap ng mga Obispo na qualipikado si Justice Jose Melo sa posisyon, kaya lang, tumanggi ang mga ito sa dahilang, “mas kumbinsido silang mas kailangan ang isang batang-bata, energetic, may credible at highly respected na indibidwal sa pwesto at ito'y sa katauhan ni Wilhelm Soriano." Sa tingin ng mga obispo, "sa gulang na 75, walang dudang uugud-ugud na, amoy lupa na at baka mas mahirapan si Justice Melo na imanage ang napaka-sensitibo at komplikadong trabahong ibangon ang prestiho ng 
Comelec."
Sino si MELO?
Nakilala si Melo ng pamunuan nito ang walang kinahinatnang fact-finding Commission tutuklas at reresolba sana sa kaliwa't kanang extra-judicial killings sa Pilipinas, kung accountable ba si Ate Glo, Malakanyang, ang AFP o ang CPP-NPA?
Ayon sa isang grupong Anti-Graft o ang The Center for Anti-Grft and Corruption Prevention, Inc. (CENTER), “malalim ang affinity ni Ate Glo sa bagong talagang Justice Jose Melo at itatalagang mga Commissioner na si Artemio Toquero at Chief Prosecutor Jovencio Zuno sa Comelec.”
Dating magkaka-eskwela't magbabarkada sila Commissioner Jose Melo at sila ni Abalos, ang pamilyang Puno, ang dating sport official na si Roberto Pangandaman, ang kasalukuyang DFA Sec na si Alberto Romulo sa Law School sa MLQU (Manuel L Quezon University. Sila'y mga kabilang sa tinatawag na ELITE 27, notably closely-knit alumni ng MLQU, tratong magkakapatid at cordial ang rela-relasyon sa isa't-isa.
Bago magretiro, mahigit apat napung taon (40) nagserbisyo sa gubyerno si Melo at ang 23 taon dito'y naigugol nito sa hudikatura. Noong 1992, habang acting presiding justice sa Court of Appeals,' inappoint siya ng dating presidenteng si Fidel Ramos sa Korte Suprema. Malapit din sa mga Macapagal si Melo, hindi dahil sa siya'y tubong Kapangpangan bagkus siya'y dating naging executive assistant ng Malakanyang legal office nuong kapanahunan ng ama at nasirang dating Presidentent Diosdado Macapagal.
Bukud sa pagiging Solicitor General noon 1971, naging acting commissioner ng Professional Regulation Commission at Civil Service commissioner si Melo.
COMELEC mananatiling BULUK
Sa loob ng isa't-kalahating taon (2010 presidential election na), bubuhayin at ire-resurek ni Melo ang negatibong imahe ng Comelec, ang pinaka-unpopular, ang pinaka-distrusted, discredited na institusyon sa bansa. Sa kasalukuyang lagay at konteksto ng pulitika sa bansa, inaasahang mabibigo si Melo sa kanyang gahiganteng naka-atang na trabahong maibalik ang pagtitiwala, maisiguro ang isang malinis, kapani-paniwala at mapayapa 2010 presidential election sa Pilipinas.
(Photo below: Atty Lintang Bedol of Maguindanao, www.pcij.org/.../2007/06/lintang-bedol.jpg)
Mas ang inaantabayanan, inaasahan at tanong ng marami ay, "kailan io-overhaul ang Comelec at ire-reporma ang buluk na sistemang elektoral? Mangyyari't umaasa pa ba tayo sa natitirang dalawang taon ng termino ni Ate Glo, nasa priority Bill ba ito ng Malakanyang, Kamara't Senado?" Sapagkat, kahit sinong magaling na ipalit na puno ng Comelec, kung nakatanim, nakabaon at nainstitusyunalisa na sa ahensya ang dayaan, ang maraming Atty Lintang Bedol, ang mga tulad ni Atty Somalipao, Boy Macarambon at Magbutay, mga batalyong galamay na abugago ni GARCI, ang mga katulad ni Ampatuan mula Abra hanggang Jolo, magpapatuloy ang maraming Maguindanao incidence, ang patayan at dayaan sa buong Pilipinas.
Ang kahinaan ng kasalukuyang batas na Omnibus Election Code, ang political patronage, ang casique politics-OLIGARKIYA at wardlordismong larawan ng pulitika sa bansa ang magdidikta ng masidhing pangangailangan ng isang electoral reform sa bansa. Kung wala nito, suntuk sa buwang magkakaroon ng clean, honest, credible at peaceful 2010 election. Kung walang seryosong electoral at political reform, "tulad sa karanasan at kinasapitan ng bansang Kenya sa Africa, inaasahang mas hihigitan pa, mas titindi pa ang dayaan, kaguluhan at patayan sa 2010 presidential election."
Dagdag pa, paano na, ano ang balakin ni Melo sa buong organisasyon at burukrasya ng Comelec? Batid ng lahat na ang karamihan ng mga election officers mula nasyunal (Intramuros) hanggang baba, ang rank and file o ang mga nakaLINE-UP na mga regional director at assistant director na "kadalasa'y bata-bata at inarbor na ng mga pulitiko, ng mga Kongresman at mga tao sa Malakanyang." Sa totoo lang, ang mga salarin at involved sa katiwalian nong 2004 presidential at midterm 2007 election ay nagamit ng Malakanyanag upang ilusot at ipanalo ang mahigit 100 majority ruling party (Lakas at KAMPI) sa mga District Rep, Gobernador at Lunsod ay patuloy na nananatili sa pwesto.
Dapat tutukan ni Melo, kasama ang tulong at interbensyon ng Kongreso't Senado, bilang bahagi ng reporma sa pulitika, ang pagpapalakas ng mga (pekeng) Partido Pulitikal, proportional representation (pagpaparami ng Party List-from 20 -50%) at pagsasa-ayos ng campaign finance (bilyun-bilyong pondo para sa kampanya, makinarya at pandaraya) na siyang dahilan ng kabulukan ng ating halalan. Kasama sa prioridad ang pagsusulong ng panukalang batas na sasawata ng pautay-utay sa mga warlords, guns, golds, goons (3Gs) at Kasal Binyag at Libing (KBL), bukud sa sila'y sagka sa DEMOCRATIZATION ng pulitika, sila ang mga pulitikong may ilang dekada ng bumabara at sumasalaula sa tuwing may halalan sa bansa.
Higit sa lahat, mas maiging "pangunahan at simulan na agad ng COMELEC, sa tulong ng simbahan, civil societies (PPCRV) ang komprehensibo't malawakan VOTER'S EDUCATION sa mga paaralan, sa mga opisina, sa mga komunidad (kanayunan man o kalunsuran) at gamitin ang mass media upang magkaroon ng kampanyang itakwil ang predatory, elite at TRAPO politics sa bansa."
Hindi dapat mapokus at malimita lamang sa "modernization at computerization" ang inaasam-asam na pagbabago sa halalan. Hinding-hindi mawawala ang “hello Garci dagdag-bawas controversy,” mga operador at katiwalian ng dahil lamang sa modernisasyon ng halalan. Sapagkat ang malaking bahagi ng election period, ang kondukta at proseso ng eleksyon, pre-campaign, campaign, election at canvassing period sa Pilipinas ay isang malaking dayaan na.
Related Story: " Overhaul, kailangan ng Comelec -- Pimentel"
http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2008-01-28&sec=4&aid=47390
Doy Cinco / IPD
January 26, 2008
Army’s ‘thinking general’ eased out with Esperon extension
By Fe Zamora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:36:00 01/27/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- Known as a “thinking general,” Lt. Gen. Cardozo Luna was said to be a strong contender for the post of commanding general of the Philippine Army last year. Luna has a master’s degree in Economics Planning and a Ph.D. in Program Regulation Economics, both from the University of Pennsylvania.
Luna lost the race to Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, who is reportedly being groomed to replace Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. in May this year. The term of Esperon, who was supposed to retire on Feb. 6, has been extended for three months by President Macapagal-Arroyo.
The extension was reportedly intended to “ease out” Luna from the race, according to an Inquirer source who did not want to be named since he was not authorized to speak on the matter. There is a rule in the military that no one may be appointed chief of a major command if he has less than a year to go before the mandated retirement age of 56. Luna is turning 55 in September.
“The problem is not with Yano but with Luna,” the source said, commenting on reports that Esperon’s term was extended because Malacañang had doubts about Yano’s loyalty. Luna, the chief of the Eastern Mindanao Command, belongs to Class 1975 of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA).
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=115039
Isang ka-opisina ang minsan ay nagkwento ng isang insidenteng kakaiba sa karaniwan. Hinggil daw ito sa isang taxi-driver na mahiwaga ang dating. Sumakay daw siya ng taxi patungong Cubao mula sa IPD at dito siya namangha sa ipinakitang diskursong pulitika ng isang taxi-driver na sila raw ay nagsasagawa ng “SISID.” Ano po ang ibig sabihin ng "SISID?" "Ito'y hindi lutang, hindi sweeping, hindi propaganda, ito'y masinup, sureball at matyagang "panggagapang o isang tipo ng panghihikayat, pagrerecruit at pagpapaliwanag sa mga tao hinggil sa 'kung sino ang may moral ascendancy, ang karapat dapat na manalo sa 2010 presidential election at maupo sa Malakanyang."
Nung tinanong niya kung, “sino ang nagpapagalaw sa kanila, anong grupo o anong organisasyon ang kinapapalooban ng taxi-driver at bakit tila masyadong energetic, masigasig at prinsipyado ito? Ang sagot ng taxi-driver, ”sektor kami ng mga dis-abled (dati siyang sundalo at may tama ng bala sa kanyang tagiliran), marami raw sila sa grupo, libu-libo na, ang istilo ng pag-oorganisa ay “SISID” at ang matindi, regular daw silang nagmimiting buwan-buwan, nagpaplano at nag-aassessment at nakakabilib, boluntarismo at nag-aambagan kami."
Biglang nag-alangan ang ka-opisina ko. Unang pumasok sa isip niya ay kung sino namang presidentiable ang may kakayahang magpagalaw sa grupo ng mga taxi-driver, na mag-grassroot organizing. Para sa kanya, magagawa lamang ang maagang pagtatrabaho sa 2010 kung may tiyak na allowances, lohistika, resources, makinarya't kapabilidad ang grupo. Ang unang suspetya n'ya, presidentiable ito na taga SENADO, maaaring si Ping, Mar, Manny, Loren, Dick o BF? Mas madaling paniwalaang si Ping, dahil sa karanasan, si Lacson lamang ang naging mabango sa mga driver, lalo na nung pumutok ang kampanyang anti-kotong cops sa Maynila may isang dekada na ang nakalilipas. Ang tanong at ang sabi niya sa taxi-driver, "kay PING LACSON ba kayo, si Ping Lacson ba ang inyong manok sa 2010
?"
Laking gulat niya ng biglang sumagot ang taxi-driver, “hindi kami kay Lacson, kay AMONG ED kami” at dahil daw sa pamamaraang “SISID, araw-araw, Linggo-linggo, buwan-buwan, paparami kami ng paparami at nakakalat na kami sa buong Pilipinas!" Nagpatuloy sa buladas ang taxi-driver, “kahit hindi kami nakasisigurado kung tatakbo nga o hindi si Among Ed sa 2010 prsidential election tuluy-tuloy lang kami, hindi rin daw mahalaga't inportante sa grupo kahit hindi sila kilala ni Among Ed, dahil hindi naman daw sila humihingi ng kapalit o pabor, kahit hindi pa nga namin nakikita sa anino, sa personal si Among Ed, kahit hindi kami mga Kapangpangan, itutuloy namin ang aming panata, ang PANINISID para sa kampanya ni Among Ed for President sa 2010.”
Ayon sa taxi-driver, "si Among Ed daw lamang ang tanging tao ang tunay na magdadala sa Pilipinas ng katinuan, kaginhawaan, kaunlaran at moralidad sa Gubyerno. Idinagdag pa niya ang kaso ng kanyang paglalantad ng suhulan, P500,000.00 sa Malakanyang at kurakutan sa quarry operation sa Pampanga. Nilahad din niya ang matagumpay na panalo nito sa governatorial election nuong nakaraang May mid-term election kung saan, sa kabila ng kawalan ng partido, resources, kawalan ng karanasan sa pulitika at makinarya, sa kabila ng kaliwat kanang demolition job at banta sa kanyang buhay, tinalo nito ang makapangyarihan, ang dambuhala, ang emperyong TRAPO at manok ni Ate Glo sa probinsya."
Nung siya'y bababa na, nag-iwan siya ng tip (P50.0) sa taxi-driver, kaya lang ayaw tanggapin ng driver at siya'y nagpasalamat na lamang. Ang problema, hindi niya man lang nakuha ang telephone no. ng driver, cell no. o ang pangalan ng driver.
Doy Cinco / IPD
January 25, 2008
JT, Korek ka diyan, sisid marino nga yan! - Doy
Hindi na ito balita, luma na ika nga. Nabisto ang ganitong maruming gawain - special Ops nung nadaya ni Bush si Gore noong 2000 presidential election sa Miami, Florida. Tulad din sa Pilipinas, talamak din ang manipulasyon, dayaan na tinatrabaho ng "SPECIAL OPERATION GROUP" o ang tinatawag na "Dirty Tricks Department" sa US, maging sa maraming bansa sa mundo.
Kahit super electronic at modernized na ang election sa US, katulad sa Pilipinas, nagaganap ang "dagdag-bawas, dagdag-dagdag, dis-enfranchisementng mga boto." Kamukha din sa Pinas, mga PEKENG kinatawan, bogus na representatibo at presidente ang nananalo sa US. Ang tanong, "matiis kaya ito ng mamamayang Amerikano?"
Ang lesson dito, "huwag na huwag agad tayong magpapaniwala na komo imomodernized na natin ang halalan sa 2010 presidential election ay ganap ng masasawata ang pandaraya sa election." Alalahaning hindi garantiya ang election modernization program ng Comelec sa isang malinis at credible na election, kailangan nating mabusisi ng maraming beses hanggang sa detalye ang AUTOMATED COUNTING MACHINE na itinutulak ng Comelec at ilang mga sektor. Ano mang "super high tech" na bagay ay nakukubabawan pa rin ng tao, na HAHACK pa rin ng mga computer huckers o naha-hijact pa rin ito ng masasamang elemento ng lipunan.
- Doy Cinco--------------------------------
By Steven Rosenfeld, AlterNet.
Posted January 17, 2008.Allen Raymond, a former Republican National Committee operative, shares secrets from the GOP bunker.
Allen Raymond worked inside Republican election circles for years, until he was convicted of illegally jamming telephone lines to New Hampshire Democratic Party offices on Election Day in 2002. After serving five months in jail, he and co-author Ian Spiegelman wrote How to Rig An Election, Confessions of a Republican Operative. The book details Raymond's rise in GOP campaign circles; the attitude, tactics and strategies used to win; and how the RNC asked his firm to jam Democratic phone lines, but would not defend him in court after Democrats fought back and pressed court charges. AlterNet's Steven Rosenfeld interviewed Raymond about his political education, GOP tactics and his take on the current presidential field.http://www.alternet.org/democracy/74030/Related Stories: "Cheating rampant in 2004–Pulse Asia " http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/jan/26/yehey/top_stories/20080126top4.html Seven of 10 Filipinos in Mindanao believe presidential candidates cheated in the 2004 elections, while almost six of 10 think President Gloria Arroyo was involved in poll fraud, a Pulse Asia survey showed. The survey, which was conducted in December 2007 and commissioned by the Genuine Opposition, showed that 70 percent of the respondents believe there was cheating during the 2004 race to Malacañang, while 26 percent say none of the 2004 presidential candidates committed poll fraud in Mindanao.
The Pulse Asia survey indicated that 58 percent of the respondents believe that President Arroyo cheated in the Mindanao provinces during the 2004 presidential elections.
Ito na ba ang pinangangambahan at kinakatakutang LOLA ng mga krisis ng Kapitalismo ng mundo? Sa kabila ng emergency interest rate cut na isinagawa ng Federal reserve ng US para ma-istabilized ang Global Market, patuloy na sumadsad ang US Stocks.
Dito sa ating bayan, aasahang magpopropaganda na naman ang ating mga magagaling na mga teknokrat sa bansa at pati si Ate Glo na kasalukuyang nasa World Economic Forum sa Davos, Swiss ay muling ipagmamayabang, ipagmamalaki, sasabihing "hindi maapektuhan ang Pilipinas" sa mga nagaganap na delubyo ng Western economies dahil daw sa "wasto at perpekto ang ating economic fundamental." Sa katunayan daw, kasalukuyang tinatamasa raw natin ang may 6.0% economic growth na GNP?
Ang RESESYONG nagaganap sa Amerika at sa mundo ng KAPITALISMO, kasama ang Pilipinas ay dahil sa pagsadsad ng malalaking bangko (hal, Bank of Amerika na nalugi ng $5.4 billion, bunsod ito ng kawalan na ng nagbabayad ng utang, malawakang write-offs ng mga utang) at pag-aatubili ng mga namumuhunan, ang matumal na bentahan, spending, consumption ng mga tao na nagreresulta ng pagslow down, pagbangkarote ng ekonomya ng US at ibang Kanluraning bansa.
Tuwing naglalakad ako sa kahabaan ng Matalino St., sa likod lang ng QC City Hall at nakikita ko ang kalansay na gusaling 22 story Fil-Estate condominium na nakatiwang-wang at nabubuluk, 'yan ang ala-ala't monumento ng Financial Crisis na tumama sa Pinas noong kalagitnaan ng dekada nobenta (90s) na humagupit sa Asia at Amerika.
Siguro, para sa mga OFW-PhilAm na nagsipagbalik o sa mga nakaka-angat, mariwasa't upper middle class na nagbabalak bumili ng CONDO unit, house and Lot, brand new vehicle, lap top computers, appliances at iba pang luxurious item, "ipagpaliban n'yo muna, TIGIL muna, maghintay-hintay muna ng isang taon (1 year), dahil sa epekto ng krisis, tinatantyang magbabagsakan ang mga presyo ng mga bagay na binanggit natin dito."
-Doy Cinco
January 21, 2008
-------------------------------
Agence France-Presse
http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20080123-114206/Current-market-crisis-is-worst-in-60-years----Soros
First Posted 09:19:00 01/23/2008
LONDON -- The current crisis in the world financial markets is the worst "in 60 years," billionaire investor George Soros wrote in the Financial Times on Wednesday.
In his comment piece, Soros warned that while a global recession could be held off by strong growth rates in the developing world, the danger was that the resulting political tension from a rebalancing of international economic power could "plunge the world into recession or worse."
His remarks come a day after the US Federal Reserve surprised observers by cutting interest rates by 75 basis points to 3.50 percent, providing some much-needed relief to battered financial markets that had suffered heavy losses in recent days.
"The current crisis is the culmination of a super-boom that has lasted for more than 60 years," Hungarian-born Soros wrote in the business daily.
"Although a recession in the developed world is now more or less inevitable, China, India and some of the oil-producing countries are in a very strong countertrend," he continued, in his op-ed titled "The worst market crisis in 60 years."
"So, the current financial crisis is less likely to cause a global recession than a radical realignment of the global economy, with a relative decline of the US and the rise of China and other countries in the developing world.
"The danger is that the resulting political tensions, including US protectionism, may disrupt the global economy and plunge the world into recession or worse."Why the Fed can't save us
By Allan Sloan, senior editor at large
January 22 2008: 7:47 PM EST
Bernanke and company are using up their limited ammunition, but genuine problems remain with the low dollar and U.S. debt, argues Allan Sloan.
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Forget all those rational explanations about why foreign stocks markets, especially in Asia, have been melting down for two days. Despite what you've read, seen and heard, those declines weren't caused by fears of what a recession in the U.S. would do to the profits of companies whose stocks trade in places like India, China and Russia.
Rather, the meltdowns were flat-out market panics, where rationality gets tossed out the window as everyone tries to head for the door at once and gets trampled. Go-go markets, especially in Asia, had risen to ridiculous heights - they were going up because they were going up, and momentum fed on itself. Now, they're going down because they're going down, and momentum is feeding on itself again.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/22/magazines/fortune/sloan_irrational.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008012217
1 Comment - Show Original Post
Blogger Joe_Taroogs said...
sabi nga ni Mang Gurnakh, "you reap what you sow." sa ilang dekadang pag-speculate ng mga dambuhalang stock exchanges sa virtual capital (hindi naka-base sa paggawa) at sa pag-trade sa panic... paulit-ulit na nagaganao yung biglaang pagguho na tulad nito.
8:45 PM
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8AFF5BD2-CBB1-4C3B-A20C-34688401FAEA.htm
European stock markets have taken a battering for a second day, amid fears of a US recession and the fall out from the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The losses in Europe came after sharp drops in Asian stock markets, which included a drop of almost nine per cent in Hong Kong. (Left Photo: Brokers from Sydney to Mumbai have seen investors rush to offload shares [EPA])
London's FTSE 100 index was down 5.5 per cent to 5,578.20 in mid-morning trading, while in Paris the CAC 40 fell by 6.8 per cent to 4,744.45. The value of Frankfurt's DAX index fell by more than 7.2 per cent at one point during trading.
The Russian RTS index fell by 5.34 per cent from Monday's close in early Tuesday trade, to 1892.96 points, but later reached 1,929, a drop of 3.5 per cent on the day.
Investor concerns
The developments come a day after European exchanges suffered their biggest one-day falls since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The FTSE 100 has now lost over 13 per cent of its value in 2008. The Dow Jones index in New York has fallen by 9 per cent in the past three weeks.
"Individual investors will be looking at some of the headlines and some of the prices, and they will be surprised, if not shocked, about the level of the falls we have seen since the start of this year," Henk Potts, an investment analyst for Barclays, told Al Jazeera.
"The majoirty of people’s pensions [are] linked to the stock market. If the stock market continues to fall, it could put [pensions] under pressure," he said, while emphasising that the latest events in the stock markets would only be "a blip" on a five-year graph.
Wall Street is expected to fall when it reopens at 1430 GMT after Japanese share prices tumbled 5.65 per cent to a 28-month low on Tuesday.
Asia panic
Earlier on Tuesday, markets across Asia took a hammering as panic gripped investors. Tuesday's sell off was across the board as markets from Australia to Japan and India crashed into the red. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng index ended the day down 8.7 per cent as it lost 2,061.23 points - its biggest points drop ever.
In Japan, Asia's largest market, the Nikkei index continued its slide a day after suffering heavy losses, ending Tuesday down 5.65 per cent. The fall was the Nikkei's biggest one-day loss in a decade.
In India's financial capital, Mumbai, trading was temporarily halted when the market nosedived almost 10 per cent on opening - a day after recording its sharpest one day fall ever. Reopening an hour later, India's two major stock indexes resumed their decline despite an appeal from the country's finance minister for investors to remain calm.
"I think the reality is that we do live in a global economy and while we do see some strong growth coming through in emerging markets, much of that has been driven by exports," Potts said. "If we see some developing nations start to struggle then demand for exports will struggle and that won’t be such good news for those emerging markets."
In Australia shares also tumbled, with the market losing 7.1 per cent at the end of the day, its biggest drop in nearly 20 years as brokers saw a wave of panic selling. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index has now lost more than 18 per cent this year.
China jitters
Stocks in China also took a hammering as investor jitters over the economy's susceptibility to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis began to take its toll.
In Shanghai the main Shanghai Composite index ended the day down by 7.22 per cent, its lowest level in several months. Shanghai-listed shares in China's second biggest bank, the Bank of China, were suspended on Tuesday after stock exchange authorities said the bank had failed to comment on an "important event".
The exchange gave no further details, although its statement was interpreted as being related to media reports that the bank may post a 2007 loss because of write downs on billions of dollars of investments in the US sub-prime mortgage market.
Bank of China is the country's biggest owner of sub-prime mortgage securities. Zhang Gang, an analyst at Southwest Securities, told AFP: "Investor confidence was hit severely by the global slump. " People are also worried that the US credit crisis may spread into other countries."
Worries that China's banks may be facing significant losses from their exposure to the US mortgage crisis also saw Shanghai-listed shares in other mainland banks fall steeply. In Hong Kong, Bank of China shares continued to trade, falling 8.6 per cent on Tuesday morning, on top of a fall of 6.4 per cent a day earlier. Banking giant HSBC was also not immune, seeing its shares fall 8.1 per cent. (Photo: Trading in Mumbai was briefly suspended as stocks nosedived on Tuesday's open [EPA])
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong index of locally listed mainland Chinese companies, so-called H shares, suffered its sharpest drop in a decade, losing almost 12 per cent.
Among the biggest losers was Air China, which saw its stock nosedive by 19.2 per cent on Tuesday, on top of a 15 per cent plunge on Monday. Andrew Clarke, a trader at Societe Generale Securities in Hong Kong, told Reuters: "What this tells us is sub-prime is nowhere near contained.
"People have been burying their heads in the sand, and reality is just hitting. What governments have got to do is to limit the damage - they better come up with something quickly or else we'll go into a full-blown bear market."
Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Related Stories:
Recession fears weigh on markets
The main European and Asian share indexes have fallen sharply amid fears that a US recession will lead to a global economic slowdown.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7201658.stm
Threat Of US Recession Panics Global Stock Markets
By Andre Damon
WSWS.org
22 January, 2008
Stock prices plummeted worldwide Monday and Tuesday , amid heightened fears of a US recession. While over the course of last week US financial markets suffered the worst fall since 2002, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping by 5 percent, many Asian and European indices dropped by a similar amount in just one day
http://www.countercurrents.org/damon220108.htm
The False US Economy Versus Nature’s Expansion-Contraction Cycle
By Shepherd Bliss
22 January, 2008
Countercurrents.org
The growth-based US economy is contracting. Media economists are alarmed, even panicky. They describe this as a “recession” and wring their hands with woe. They should have expected this downturn and we should accept it. Lets see what will happen. Maybe the Earth will benefit from the declining US economy? Perhaps its pollution and other threats to the global climate and environment will lessen?
http://www.countercurrents.org/bliss220108.htm
Kung susunod ang kapulisan sa Malakanyang na idisperse ang mga kilos protesta ng mga nagra-rally at brutal na bubuwagin ang mga mapayapang hanay, lalong lilinaw sa mata ng mundo at sa mga Pilipino, na copy cat nga tayo o mas masahol pa tayo sa Burma. Na ang ibig sabihin ng kapulisan o PNP ay Pakawalang-aso Ng Palasyo at Palo Ng Palo.
Sa pamamagitan ng Calibrated Pre-emptive Response (CPR), BP-880, 464, emergency rule at iba pang mga kahalintulad na kautusang anti-demokratiko, inilibing ni Ate Glo ang people's democratic exercise of dissent and protest ng mamamayang Pilipino. Hindi pa nakakalimutan ng madla ang matinding puna ni Ate Glo sa kalupitan ng military Junta ng Burma nung siya'y nagsalita sa GA ng United Nation. Nakakatawa't hindi nito nanalamin at nakita ang kanyang sarili. Tulad sa Burma, walang awang hinambalos at niyuyurakan ang mapayapang pag-aasembliya at pagpoprotesta ng kanyang sariling mamamayan.
Hindi maaring tumbasan ng mga nakakatawang mga palusot ng PNP, tulad ng “maximum tolerance,” Traffic Jam, massive inconvenience karapatan daw ng ilan, destabilization at No permit No rally" ang sagrado at universal na karapatan ng mamamayang Pilipino na magpahayag ng mapayapang pagkilos, ang inaasam-asam na demokrasya't kalayaan. Hindi na mabubura ang ala-ala ng Edsa 1, Edsa II at Edsa 3.
Ang nakaka-alarma, kung walang masulingan ang mamamayan upang mai-adres ang mga kahilingan, kung walang mga demokratikong institusyong aagapay at sasalo sa mga hinaing, patuloy na sasagkaan ang mga mapayapang pagkilos ng mamamayan, ingredient, fertilizer ito't itinutulak lamang na mag-underground at magrebelyon ang mamamayan, lalo lamang lalakas ang grupong mga extremista ng country.
Kaya't matapos mai-utos ng Malakanyang na paputukan ang mga magsasaka't mga suportador nito at nangyari na nga ang kahindik-hindik na Mediola Masaker, dalawa lamang ang nakinabang na grupo, ang pasistang estado at ang NPA. Ang daming kasapi ng kilusang kabataang-estudyante noon ang na-engganyong pumaloob sa NPA.
Hindi tayo nagtataka kung bakit hindi mabura-bura ang RADIKALISASYON, ang panawagang pagrerebolusyon at marahas na pagpapabagsak ng mahina at lulugu-lugong estado at gubyernong mapanupil ng kasalukuyan naka-upo sa Malakanyang. Tama ang kasabihan ng marami na, ang “VIOLENCE ay tinutumbasan at tinatapatan lamang ng isa pang Violence.”
Doy Cinco
January 21, 2008
Minsan hindi ko inisip na kahit katiting ay may “katwiran” din pala itong si Bayani 'topak' Fernando, ang chairman ng Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA). Bakit nga naman kailangang pang lumabas ng bahay, bakit mahilig tumambay sa Mall ang mga tao, manuod ng movie, kung (lunch) kakain lang, bibili lang ng isang bagay, mag-internet, magpapalamig o mag-date lang naman kayo, at bakit hindi na lamang manatili sa bahay o mamili sa loob na lang ng inyong komunidad?
Isa sa mga napakakontrobersyal na gabinete ni Ate Glo. Dating mayor ng ipinagmamalaking lunsod ng Marikina at sinsabing “pinakamaayos at progresibong” lunsod daw sa buong Pilipinas. Popular man sa ilang middle class, diktadurya't pasista naman sa maraming nabiktimang mga kababayan natin mula sa hanay ng maralitang lunsod. (Larawan: kuha ni Rolly Salvador: Homes along the creek. A demolition crew from the Metro Manila Development Authority dismantles hundreds of shanties built along the banks of the creek near Quezon avenue, Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City. The residents did not put up any resistance; http://www.malaya.com.ph/jan25/)
Itinatag ang MMDA upang pagbuklurin ang 17 mga bayan at Lunsod na bumubuo ng Nation Capital Region. Bilang isang ahensya ng gubyerno, nakaatang sa kanya ang pagpaplano, pagmomonitor, pagkoko-ordina at pagsasagawa ng karampatang mga reglamento at pangangasiwa't pagdedeliver ng serbisyo sa kalakhang Maynila.
Kaya lang, may ilang problemang litaw sa papel at ginagampanang tungkuling bilang awtonomiya ng mga Lokal na Gubyerno sa larangan at usaping lokal na pangangasiwa. Hindi mawawala ang persepsyon ng tao na BILYON PISO na ang kickback at niraraket ni Bayani Fernando sa MMDA, na ayon kay BF ay; “makakatulong daw sa pagpapapogi, pagpapaganda, sa imahe, PRIDE at sa pagpapanumbalik ng respeto ng buong mundo sa Kamaynilaan, bilang sentro at kapital ng bansa.” Baka pa nga mas kapani-paniwalang sabihing ang paghahanda sa 2010 ang puntirya ni BF. (Doy's Photo, After clearing operation o demolition of vendors near Commonwealth market, balik operation ang mga Vendors)
Ang Metro Guapo na ipinagmamalaking programa ni BF ay may ilang taon ng ipinatutupad sa Kamaynilaan, na binuo, kinonceptualized mula sa pagiging Guapo patungong PANGIT at pagiging MAGULO ang Metro Manila. Binuo ito laban sa maralitanag lunsod o isang patakarang anti- mahirap, diktadurya. Una, ang Sidewalk Clearing Operations. Napuruhan sa proyektong ito ay ang mga lugar sa Cloverleaf Market saBalintawak, sa kahabaan ng Commonwealth at Quirino Highway-Caloocan, Cubao-Aurora blrd, Baclaran Paranaque Pangalawa; ang “patuloy na road widening.” (U-Turn: jangelo.blogspot.com/2004_11_01_archive.html)
Isang classic example ay ang makailang beses (limang) na road widening ng mga highway sa Kamaynilaan, partikular ang Co
mmonwealt Av sa Quezon City. Sa kabila ng road widening, sa akalang maiibsan ang trapik, in the end, nanatili't lumalala ang trapiko sa Commonwealth Av at Kamaynilaan. Dahil sa sobrang lapad (10 lane) ng highway ala-run way sa airport, nagreresulta lamang ito ng matitinding aksidente sa mga motorista at pedestrian lalong lalo na ang mga U-Turn slot na parang kabuting itinayo ng MMDA sa kalakhang Manila. Ganun din ang inutil na "yellow lane at Bus Seperator," ang mga kulay pink na mga railing sa mga bus stop na inaasahan sa kahabaan ng Edsa, Commonwealt at ibang mga lansangan.
Batid ng MMDA kung gaano katindi sa araw-araw, ano mang okasyon ang traffic sa metropolis lalo nsa 24 na kilometraheng kahabaan ng Edsa, mula Hilaga, MacArthur Highway sa Caloocan hanggang sa Timog-Roxas Blvd sa Lunsod ng Pasay. Ang Edsa na panguning tinututukan at priority ng MMDA ay "itinuturing isa sa pinakamataas in terms of volume ng sasakyang bumabagtas 'di lang sa Pilipinas bagkus sa buong mundo." Ito ay isang semi-circular na umuugnay sa halos lahat ng mga radial roads na bumabagtas sa sentrong pampulitika, pang-ekonomya at panlipunan ng metro Manila.
Sa loob ng ilang dekadang pag-eexperimento ng MMDA sa Edsa, NABIGO at 'di naresolba nito ang traffic sa Edsa. Sapagkat, sa kabila ng paglalagay ng bilyung-bilyong pisong fly-over sa mga estratehiyang kanto ng Ortigas, sa Kamuning hanggang sa Quezon Av, bukud pa sa maliliit nitong mga proyekto, masasabi nating bigo ito na maresolba ang trapiko sa Edsa. Lumalabas, habang lumalaon, habang nandiyan ang MMDA, palala ng palala ang traffic sa kahabaan ng Edsa.
(Photo: Edsa http://www.filipinasoul.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/edsa_traffic.jpgl.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/09/edsa_traffic.jpg)
Ilang taon ng lumalarga ang MRT 3 sa Edsa, itinayo para solusyunan ang trapik sa Edsa, subalit hindi nito ganap na naaresto ang trapik sa halos tatlong dekada ng bumabagabag sa Edsa. Alam siguro ng MMDA ang mahigit P20.0 bilyong katumbas na nasasayang na halaga' ng pinsalang dulot ng matinding trapiko sa kahabaan ng Edsa, ang nasayang na panahon (oras/man hour), ang palagiang pagmimintina't pagkukumpuni nito at ang pinakamalala, ang tone-toneladang krudo't gasolinang ibinubuga nito sa kapaligiran ng Kamaynilaan dilot ng trapik.
Ang desperadong anunsyong "kung ayaw n'yong MATRAPIK, huwag ng lumabas ng bahay" ni Bayani Fernando ay isang malinaw na depensang KABIGUAN ng programa ng MMDA sa Kamaynilaan. Sa unang tingin, parang anti-pribadong sasakyang ang mokong, pero kung mas palalalimin ng kaunting pagsusuri, malaking sablay at labag sa prinsipyo ng "freedom ng kalayaan sa paggalaw." Dagdag pa, paano nito irereconcile ang isyu ng ekonomya, ang posisyon ng Departament of Trade (DOT) at Tourism kung saan, sila ang kadalasa'y nananawagan o nag-eengganyong lumabas ang tao, namnamin ang kapaligiran, kagandahan daw ng bansa at may epekto sa pag-unlad ng negosyo't employment. Walang dudang lumalala ang trapik sa Kamaynilaan sapagkat hindi nito matutumbok ang ugat ng trapiko sa Kamaynilaan.
Namanhid na't karaniwan na lamang ang pangitaing trapik o PARKING LOT ng mga estratehikong mga lansangan sa Metyro Manila. Kung ikaw may sasakyan o isang mannakay at subukang mag-ikot sa Kamaynilaan, walang taong hindi mababad trip sa iyong mararanasan at makikitang parking lot.
Mula sa kahabaan ng Edsa, mula sa SM North Edsa hanggang Cubao at North Av., mula sa Ortigas hanggang Guadalupe, mula Ayala hanggang Taft av. Parking Lot din ang kahabaan ng Taft Av. mula Caloocan hanggang bansang Pasay. Parking Lot din ang kahabaan ng Quezon Av, mula sa Quezon Memorial Circle-underpass sa Edsa hanggang Welcome Rotonda at Quiapo. Talamak din ang trapik sa biyaheng timog patungong Cavite, ang kahabaan ng Aguinaldo Highway at papadireksyon ng Laguna at Eastern Rizal. Grabe rin ang traffic sa C-5 at Sumulong Highway.
Ang itinuturing kapalit ng Edsa at short cut mula sa Timog at Hilaga ng Metro Manila. Mula ng magsulputan ang malalaking Mall sa kahabaan ng C-5, week end man o may pasok sa eskwela ang mga bata, nagsimula ng maparalisa ang C-5. Isang mahabang Parking Lot ang C-5, mula sa Ateneo hanggang Libis Area. Mula sa Ugong, Pasig hanggang sa Kalayaan, Makati-Fort Bonifacio area. Bumalik din sa kalbaryo ng trapik/parking lot ang kahabaan ng Quirino Highway at Commonwealth Av.
Ano mang road widening project ng MMDA sa lugar ay nababalewala dahil sa dami at volume ng private na sasakyan na dumadaan. Gabi-gabi ang trapik sa bandang Sandigan - Litex hanggang Fairview Mall. Hindi mareso-resolba ang isyu ng pedestrian sa harap ng Commonwealth Market kung saan ilang mamamayan na ang nagbuwis ng buhay.
Sa isang pangkaraniwang motorista, driver ng taxi at pasahero, simple lamang ang kanilang nakikitang solusyon ng papatinding trapik sa Kamaynilaan, ang pagpapatupad ng PATAKARANG MASS TRANSIT (subway) sa kalunsuran, pagsasabalik ng popular na mga TRANVIA, pagdi-discourage ng paggamit ng pribadong sasakyan lalo na ang mga makukunsumong mga SUV (sport utility vehicle) sa Kamaynilaan at pag-eengganyo ng paggamit ng bisikleta, paglalagay ng bicycle lanes sa buong Kamaynilaan. (Photo: TRANVIA http://www.blogger.com/www.akworld.net and MRT 3)
Kung maisasakatuparan ang ganitong pagbabago sa patakaran, walang dudang magtatagumpay nga ang Metro Guapo ng MMDA.
Doy Cinco
January 20, 2008
By Eva Sohlman, The Wip.
Posted January 15, 2008.
http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/73720/
(Photo: Harold Bloom)
The long-time cultural critic warns that the war in Iraq is destroying the American empire.
Harold Bloom, Yale literature professor and cultural critic, is one of America's most prominent and provocative intellectuals. Unabashedly, he has always spoken up for what he calls "the fight for truth and beauty" making a lot of foes in the process, but also some friends. As one of the first critical voices against the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, Bloom landed in the hot seat with the satire "MacBush" in 2004. Lately, he sparked worldwide outrage by calling Harry Potter "garbage." Speaking at his home in New Haven where he is recovering from a recent health scare, a pale and weak Bloom seems to have symbolically embodied what he calls the "poor state of the nation."
"I am 77 years old and I have never seen this country in such a bad state. It is madness. What we are seeing is the fall of the Roman Empire, only now it is the fall of America, the glory of our Empire. This war is what Parthia was to Rome."
(Photo: www.corante.com/.../images/fall%20of%20rome.gif)
"The horror of what is taking place in Iraq exceeds my worst fears five or six years ago (after Bush came to power). I am horrified at the disastrous mistake involved. Imagine the complete madness in trying to occupy a large Arab country in the middle of the Arab world, a culture we know precious little about, and who speaks a language only a handful of our specialists can speak, with armed forces which we have limited control of and with a large army of private soldiers .... The whole thing is a scandal ... a series of lies. I don't understand the motivation for the war, but suspect the real reason for the war, which one would suspect of a country which is a third oligarchy, a third plutocracy and a third theocracy, is that it simply is a profitable machine."
Sitting in the middle of his living room and in the brown leather armchair from which he has given most of his interviews in recent years, Bloom sighs deeply and a sad grimace spreads over his expressive face. It soon switches to anger, as he expands on the consequences of the war and, ultimately, of Bush at power: a growing national debt and a weakened dollar in tandem with a spiraling war budget, as well as America's lost credibility on the international stage due to the Iraq war and the situation in Afghanistan. Not to mention Guantanamo Bay, the use of torture and humiliation at Abu Ghraib and the CIA's rendition program.
"We have caused a monstrous mess. We don't even count killed Iraqis. God knows how many Iraqi women, children and men have been killed by our accidental shootings, which we are such experts at, or by other Iraqis. No, 'Benito Bush' (Bloom's pet name for President George Bush) deserves, if we had a functioning civil law in the world, to be condemned for crimes against humanity. Bush is ultimately responsible for this war," Bloom says pointing angrily with his index finger in the air as his dark eyes burn below a pair of thick dark eyebrows and a crown of unruly white hair.
"It is bleeding our nation, and I can't see a solution in the near future. We are obviously so deeply involved concerning blood, money and the situation on the ground that it will be very hard for us to pull out."
But Bloom has no illusions that there is any real pressure from the Democrats to pull out of Iraq at the moment.
"The truth is that Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Hoyer and the other Democrats who lead the Congress Party in the Senate, are far too cunning. They will talk about wanting to end the war and so on, but the truth is that they know they can't do anything about it and it suits them as they can blame the Republicans for the war in the upcoming elections. But the ugly truth is that we can't stop the war now. We are responsible for Iraq now. We have crushed it so now we own it. I have never seen this country (America) in such a bad state. But how big a percentage who actually cares, I don't know."
If the war in Iraq is the most palpable example of the decline of America under Bush's reign, Bloom cites the U.S. media as another casualty.
"'Media-ocrity' is what I call it. It is awful what kind of media we have today. Nobody dared to stand up and criticize Bush when he unlawfully went to war on Iraq. It is depressing, and shows what direction this country has taken since he came to power -- a power which did not rightfully belong to him. The media is not playing its role. The Bushites are bullies and for a long time nobody dared criticize them and just swallowed their propaganda and lies. People have become scared. In this kind of climate, nobody is interested in the critical voice. You ask about the role of the intellectual in America today and I have to say: What role? What intellectuals? There is no room for them in the simplified and dumbed down world of today's media. We used to play a role, and there are still a few left, but we are a dying breed. Nobody seems to be interested in nuance anymore."
This is where the real danger lies, he says.
"Democracy, whether in Sweden or the United States, depends on the voter's capacity to think. If you have read the best of what has been thought and said, then your cognition and understanding is on a much higher level than if you have read Harry Potter or Stephen King. So what this decline into half-literature and mediocre media really means is de facto a self-destruction of democracy."
"Political correctness is the death for the mind, for literature. I am terribly outspoken and don't try to hide it. I care passionately and I say so. I want quality when it comes to everything, and insist on it. I believe in the aesthetics, the beauty of good literature and I believe in wisdom. People get angry because of that and think it is an attack on them."
Wall Street Posts More Losses
(As Wall Street Posts Sharp Losses, Washington Promotes “Stimulus Package”)
By Bill Van Auken & Andre Damon
With major Wall Street finance houses posting tens of billions of dollars in new losses, housing starts declining 30 percent compared to last year, retail sales plunging and unemployment climbing to 5 percent—a two year high—the Bush White House, the Democratic congressional leadership and the Federal Reserve Board chairman all signaled Thursday their support for the passage of an economic stimulation package.
http://www.countercurrents.org/damon180108.htm
'World's Cheapest Car Environmentally Costly'
By Praful Bidwai
The ‘dream car’ may turn out to be an ecological nightmare and a not-so-safe driving machine, without airbags to protect riders or anti-lock braking systems. It could prove a menace to India’s already congested roads, and a source of enormous pollution and of health damage, besides becoming a drain on public resources.
http://www.countercurrents.org/bidwai170108.htm
Lahat na lamang ng larangan, papaatras tayo. Pero ang tanong, balita pa ba ito? Ang balita at ang headline ay kung kuntento na ang mga Pinoy sa sistema ng paggugubyerno at ang mga Pinoy, batay sa isinasaad sa Constitution, nakatatamasa ng rule of law, kalayaan at demokrasya.
Sa pagkakatanggal sa listahan ng Pilipinas bilang tumatalima sa demokrasya, panigurong magre-react, magsisisihan at magtuturuan ang mga pulitiko at Malakanyang. Ang katawa-tawa pa, baka pati Freedom House, isang watchdog, pristihoso at international na institusyong nakabase sa New York, USA ay paghinalaang bahagi ng destabilization plot. Ang nakakalungkot pa rito, baka palabnawin, baka idistort ang tunay na kahulugan, substansya at basic principle ng demokrasya.
Sa mga nakakalimot, balik natin ang makaysaysayang mga kataga ni Abraham Lincoln may mahigit isan-daang taon na ang nakalilipas, "democracy is the government of the peoeple, by the people and for the people." Ang tanong ule, totoo pa ba ito, tinatamasa ba ng isang vendor, ng isang urban at rural poor, katutubo, kababaihan, ng isang manggagawa't empleyado ng gubyerno, kabataan, guro ang demokrasya?
(larawan: Mga PEKENG Partido sa Pilipinas; Lakas-CMD, Nacionalista, Liberal Party, Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) at Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL), "pare-pareho, walang pinagkaiba")
Hindi na balita ang ulat na isinagawa ng Freedom House at randam ito ng bawat Pinoy sa lansangan, sa komunidad o sa isang barangay. Ang isa sa pundasyon at sukatan ng DEMOKRASYA ay ang REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY o ang kasabihan ni Lincoln na "government of the people" at dito pumapasok ang usaping electoral politics. Ang tanong, tunay nga bang nirereprenta o kinakatawan ng mga "halal kunong mga pulitiko" ang taumbayan?
Ang mga pulitiko (Tongresman, Mayor, Gobernador at Senador) at mamamayan ay masasabi ba nating iisa na? Tunay nga bang kumakatawan sa kanila (mamamayang Pilipino), tunay na hinalal nila, tunay na boses nila ang mga pulitiko? Kung ang mga pulitiko bang ito ay tumatalima sa partidong tunay na naninindigan sa prinsipyo, may conviction, may vision-mission at handang isakripisyo ang sarili alang-alang sa country. (Photo sa baba:violent dispersal, http://www.indymedia.org/icon/2004/06/111359.jpg)
Masigla ba ang direct democracy sa country? Nainstitusyunalisa na ba ang (partisipasyon) papel at kahalagahan ng aktibong mamamayan (active citizens) bilang kontra balanse sa elite politics o bilang bahagi ng pang-araw-araw na takbo ng buhay ng mga Pilipino mula antas barangay hanggang Malakanyang?
Nasaan ang demokrasya kung ang EO 464 o ang pagbabawal ng mga tiwaling opisyal na makadalo sa Senate hearing, nasaan ang demokrasya kung ang proclamation 1017 o ang garapalang state of emergency ang palagiang ginagamit bilang political survival ng Malakanyang. Ang pinakamalupit, ang Calibrated Preemptive response (CPR) o ang "no permit, no rally at tratong terorista sa mga journalist."
Nasaan ang demokrasya kung talamak ang TORTURE at extra-judicial killings. Demokrasya ba nating masasabi kung ang mga pulitiko ay nailulukluk lamang ng MAKINARYA, command votes-VOTE BUYING-dagdag bawas, PADRINO, pananakot at hindi ng mamamayan? Nasaan ang demokrasya kung ang matinkad ay ang karaniwang patayan, personalidad, ang sobrang gastos sa kampanya, dayaan, political clan, dinastiya, warlordismo, mga larawan ng ilang dekadang election sa Pilipinas.
-Doy Cinco
January 18, 2008http://www.philstar.com/index.php?Headlines&p=49&type=2&sec=24&aid=20080116110January 17, 200
8 WASHINGTON – The Philippines was one of three countries relegated by a pro ang ivate democracy watchdog organization from a list of totally free countries to partly free.The New York-based Freedom House reported that freedom declined significantly in 2007 in almost four times as many countries as registered improvements last year as the world was less free for a second consecutive year. (Freedom Map:http://markhumphrys.com/Bitmaps/map.freedom.2006.jpg)According to a survey by Freedom House, 36 percent of the people in the world – about half of them in China – were not living in freedom.The Philippines received a downward trend arrow due to a spate of political killings specifically targeting left-wing political activists, the organization’s website said.Reversals in freedom were seen in one-fifth of the world’s countries, including Pakistan, Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria and Venezuela. One country, Mauritania, joined the list of democracies, while three – the Philippines, Bangladesh and Kenya – dropped off it to partly free. Two countries, Thailand and Togo, were upgraded from not free to partly free.While the number of countries judged not free declined by two to 43 last year, “There were many and overwhelmingly negative changes within countries already designated not free,” the survey found.The number of countries judged free stood at 90, representing 47 percent of the world’s 193 countries, and those considered partly free stood at 60, or 31 percent.Those found not free accounted for nearly 2.4 billion people, about half in China.Expectations of government concessions on human rights or modest democratic reforms in advance of the 2008 Summer Olympics did not pan out in China, where the government continued to crack down on political activists, Internet journalists and human rights lawyers, the report said.South Asia, the former Soviet Union and the Middle East did particularly poorly, giving “an alarming signal about the development of freedom worldwide, something formerly viewed as inevitable,” said Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House.Four stark reminders of the perilous condition of freedom were singled out:• Parliamentary elections in Russia were held under patently unfair conditions.• Democracy in Georgia was sullied by imposition of a state of emergency and a violent police crackdown on demonstrators.• In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated, and terrorism by Islamic extremists rose.• In Kenya, hundreds were killed in rioting in the wake of “highly credible reports of vote-rigging by the government” in the country’s presidential election.In Russia, political parties and candidates who challenged President Vladimir Putin were sidelined, and the news media, largely controlled by the state and Putin’s supporters, gave overwhelming coverage to the president and his allies while the opposition was kept fragmented and tame.Using its enormous oil and gas resources, Russia exerts influence in former Soviet republics, providing political, moral and material support to authoritarian regimes that dominate Central Asia, the report said.Three of the countries in the region – Belarus, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan – have consistently ranked among the world’s most repressive societies, Freedom House said.Modest gains in the Middle East, where President George W. Bush focused his hopes for democratic change, came to an end last year, the report said, with major declines in both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli-occupied territories.The Authority was down-rated from partly free to not free, due to the collapse of a unified government after Hamas took over Gaza. Israel’s military incursions, restrictions on delivery of food and violent dispersal of protests led to a decline in civil liberties, Freedom House said. - AP
Joe_Taroogs said...
