Politics — GuardiansPress

If We Have The Power To Screw Things Up, Then We Also Have The Power To Make Them Right

August 21, 2011 by admin ·

Why is it so difficult to transform the mindset of the voters and politicians to what is in the best interest economically and socially? I believe the voters do support the expansion of our economy to include a more diverse base, including the attraction and retention of high-wage industries. I can’t speak to politicians – however, if the public doesn’t support the views of their politicians, they have an opportunity to choose new elected officials every two years.

Noteworthy to mention, I come to believe that each human being has an abiding power to influence the thinking, decisions and actions of his fellow human beings. After all, how many hours a day do we spend on the phone talking, sending e-mails and texting messages, viewing commercials or advertising ourselves on dating sites all in an effort to induce others to take notice and recognize who we are? Rich or poor, it doesn’t matter. We all want to feel that we are able to have a say about what is going on around us. We want to participate. After all, isn’t that a fundamental principal of democracy: That each person has a voice about how society is governed? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art, Humanities, Politics ·

Thailand Braces For Uncertain Future

July 4, 2011 by admin ·

A year after violent clashes left more than 90 people dead and drove a divisive knife through Thai society, the country today goes to the polls for an election that could cause yet more turmoil and confrontation. It could also deliver Thailand its first female prime minister.

Reports suggest that up to 170,000 police officers have been put on duty to protect polling stations across the country. A total of 42 parties are contesting the contest that will decide the direction of the country on a number of crucial issues for the next four years.

If the outcome of the contest was being decided simply on the basis of who had the most arresting campaign poster and catchiest catchphrases, then former brothel tycoon Chuvit Kamolvisit might fancy his chances. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Humanities, Politics ·

Allies Strain to Mend Split

March 23, 2011 by admin ·

The pace of U.S. and allied airstrikes in Libya should slow in the next few days, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday. Nathan Hodge has details from Washington. Plus, Sam Dagher in Tripoli on how people there are reacting to the air strikes.

A coalition of military powers pounded the Gadhafi government’s military installations for a fourth day and solidified its control over Libya’s skies—even as it continued to struggle to resolve an internal conflict over how to lead the campaign.

President Barack Obama called French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron to hash out the dispute over how to organize international enforcement of the no-fly zone, as he and top U.S. officials called on other leaders to contribute forces to the cause.

Coalition members haven’t been able to agree on whether the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should take charge of the mission. France, seen by some diplomats as trying to mend fences with Arab neighbors while leading the fight to protect Libyan rebels against the Tripoli regime, has proposed a command structure with NATO in a subsidiary role. [Read more...]

Filed Under: People, Politics ·

If Tobacco Kills So Many, Why Is It Still Legal?

January 21, 2011 by admin ·

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and our surgeon general are quick to point out that tobacco is responsible for causing cancer, heart disease, stroke and various forms of lung diseases.

Tobacco, according to our very own government, causes more than 5 million deaths annually worldwide and approximately 443,000 deaths in the United States — over 10 percent of those caused by secondhand smoke. Yet tobacco products are still legal. Imagine, if you would, that another legal product caused this much havoc.

Suppose, for instance, that green M&Ms were the culprit instead of cigarettes. How quickly would our legislators criminalize the manufacture and distribution of green M&Ms? Yet cigarettes remain a legal product.

So why doesn’t our government perform its duty and protect its citizens from this deadly product? Could it be that government enjoys a significant revenue stream associated with its production and distribution? With 22 billion packs of cigarettes sold annually in this country with a federal tax of $1.01 per pack, our federal government stands to gain a great deal. So do state and local governments. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Health & Fitness, Politics ·

Philippine Church Hits President On Contraception

September 29, 2010 by admin ·

Just a few months into his tenure, President Benigno Aquino III has angered the powerful Catholic Church by expressing support for the right to contraception in a televised interview abroad.

The issue of contraception – which is opposed by the Vatican, whether chemical or physical – is a traditional third rail in Philippine politics: Elected officials tend to avoid it, even though Philippine law is generally considered to protect a couple’s right to use birth control.

Philippine church officials have argued that contraception is a type of abortion, which is banned by the constitution.

Aquino broke that customary silence over the weekend during a forum with Filipino Americans while on a trip to the U.S., where he suggested his administration would be willing to distribute contraceptives to poor couples who couldn’t afford it. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Humanities, Policy, Politics ·

Philippines: The Gruesome Massacre of 57 People

November 25, 2009 by admin ·

I was really saddened to the fact, while it is true that the Philippines having been home to some of our modern-day great heroes, but it cannot be denied also that it has once again proved to the entire world being one of the most dangerous country for journalists, following the massacre of people in broad daylight at Maguindanao area.

Police said the convoy of more than 40 people, including 12 journalists, were accompanying Ginalyn Mangudadatu, the wife of Buluan vice mayor Ismael Mangudadatu, to file his certificate of candidacy to run for provincial governor when they were stopped by some 100 heavily armed men and taken hostage on a remote highway in Barangay Salman near the town of Ampatuan.

A few kilometers off the main highway, on a remote hilltop covered with waist-high grass, bodies lay with twisted hands reaching in the air. They had been shot point-blank.

Nearby, bodies were being laid out under banana leaves as police – whose faces covered against the stench – unearthed a mass grave containing the victims from Monday’s ambush (November 23) on an election caravan.

The discovery now brought the death toll to 57 -an unprecedented act of violence at the outset of the country’s election season.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declared a state of emergency in Maguindanao and a neighboring southern province, sending extra troops and police to try to impose the rule of law. “No effort will be spared to bring justice to the victims and hold the perpetrators accountable to the full limit of the law,” she said.

Arroyo’s peace adviser Jesus Dureza said he met Tuesday with Andal Ampatuan, the family’s patriarch, and received assurances that his family would cooperate in the investigation. However, it was not clear how far Arroyo’s administration would go in trying to force the provincial warlords to give up their weapons and private armies.

Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines, said he doubted the national government’s resolve in trimming the powers of political dynasties like the Ampatuans because they deliver votes during elections.

“Because of the absence of viable political institutions, powerful men are taking over,” he said. “Big political forces and personalities in the national government are sustaining the warlords, especially during election time, because they rely on big families for their votes.”

Nevertheless, among the journalists reportedly slain were Ian Subang (Dadiangas Times), Leah Dalmacio (Forum), Gina dela Cruz (Today), Marites Cablitas (Today), Joy Duhay (UNTV), Henry Araneta (DZRH), Andy Teodoro (Mindanao Inquirer), Neneng Montaño (formerly of RGMA), Bong Reblando, (Manila Bulletin), Victor Nuñez (UNTV), Macmac Ariola (UNTV), Jimmy Cabillo (UNTV), Bart Maravilla (Bombo Radyo, Koronadal) and lawyers Cynthia Oquendo and Connie Brizuela, according to a statement from University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC), citing reports.

“This incident not only erases all doubts about the Philippines being the most dangerous country for journalists in the world, outside of Iraq, it could very well place the country on the map as a candidate for a failed democracy,” the National Union of Journalists in the Philippines said in a statement.

Filed Under: Documentary, News, Politics ·

RP To Send Battalion To Golan Heights

September 23, 2009 by admin ·

DEFENSE Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr., arriving early yesterday, said he has assured the UN it will send a 336-strong peacekeeping battalion to the Golan Heights in Syria to help the world body keep the peace in the conflict area.

Briefing the media upon his arrival at the NAIA, Teodoro said he assured UN Undersecretary for Peacekeeping Alain Le Roy of continuing Philippine commitment to UN peace-keeping missions during the former’s visit at the UN headquarters in New York City late last week.

“It is a great honor for the Philippines to be given the opportunity to participate in United Nations peacekeeping operations,” Teodoro said. “Despite our own constraints and requirements, we can be expected to continue to fulfill our obligations as a responsible and reliable troop-contributing country.”

Teodoro also revealed that he met with Ambassador Hilario G. Davide, Jr., Philippine Permanent Representative to the UN, during his UN visit that capped his six-day official mission to the United States.

Earlier in Washington, DC, Teodoro held talks with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, setting the course for a stronger RP-US security alliance and defense engagement and cooperation, which Teodoro said is moving to a “high gear.”

The two leaders acknowledged the clear and present danger posed by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG)-Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) and MILF rogue elements in Southern Mindanao. Teodoro stressed, however, that the Philippine government has significantly weakened the ASG, the Armed Forces troops having captured a major ASG training camp after recent clashes with the terrorist group in Southern Philippines.

Teodoro also reported that the 1st Philippine battalion to the Golan Heights will start deploying at the end of this month beginning with a 12-man advance party. The entire contingent is expected to be on the ground and take over the peacekeeping responsibilities of the Polish Battalion in the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) mission area before the end of October.

Teodoro said the Philippines is looking forward to its participation in the UNDOF in the Golan Heights, which Manila considers to be its biggest and most challenging mission since it took part in UN operations in Timor Leste almost a decade ago.

“The UNDOF is a big step forward for the Philippines and is a mark of confidence in the country’s ability to send larger units to support UN peacekeeping operations abroad,” Teodoro said.

Teodoro said he assured Le Roy the Philippines will strictly enforce a zero-tolerance policy against misconduct and select only the best personnel for the mission. He said he will also look into how to increase the number of female personnel for deployment overseas.

For his part, Undersecretary General Le Roy expressed his gratitude for Philippine contributions and the important role Filipino peacekeepers play in helping the UN bring peace and stability in conflict areas across the globe, specifically in Haiti, Liberia and Timor Leste. He said the United Nations is looking forward to more contributions from the Philippines in the future.

The Philippines has gone a long way since it first participated in UN peacekeeping operations with the deployment of an Air Force squadron in the Congo in the 1960s, Davide, who gave Teodoro a warm welcome, told the Defense secretary.

Since then, Manila has contributed military and police personnel to UN missions in Cambodia, Burundi, Georgia, Haiti, Iraq, Kosovo and Nepal.

At present, the Philippines is the 29th largest troop contributor to UN peace operations with a total of 611 Filipino peacekeepers, made up of 295 troops, 22 military observers and 294 police officers serving in Afghanistan, Cote d’ Ivoire, Darfur, Haiti, Liberia, Sudan and Timor Leste..

The number does not include the three military officers who were sent this month to serve with the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in the disputed Kashmir region.

Filed Under: News, Policy, Politics ·