Corner The Market, Kill Anybody
Written on Sunday, July 6th, 2008 at 7:28 pm | by NickThis is all I’m hearing these days, that the reason we can’t stop Sulpicio Lines, is that it could be disastrous to our economy. Well, trust me, there are other worries that could be disastrous to our economy. Terrorists. Corruption. High Oil Prices. High Food Prices. President Arroyo. Fertilizer Scams. Fraudulent Elections. The list goes on.
The reason, that no one wants to take on this damn company and the owners that hide behind their lawyers is that apparently, no one wants anything bad to happen to this family, especially an all heavenly Bishop that cares more for his rich donors than the 800+ victims who mostly perished in the Sulpicio Lines Tragedy. “Kawawa naman” ang Go Family, says the Bishop.
Who the hell is giving sympathy to the families of the victims? Surely it isn’t Sulpicio Lines, who are only willing to give a maximum dole out of P200,000, which if you didn’t know, will come from their insurance company, not Sulpicio Lines itself. And if you didn’t know, comes with the added stipulation that the family cannot sue in the future. Clearly we now know, how caring Sulpicio Lines has been all along. Caring for the bottom line that is. Read more
The Coup Plot Bogey: A Tail Wagging The Dog Episode
Written on Saturday, July 5th, 2008 at 11:12 am | by Ding G. GageloniaPresident Gloria Macapagal Arrroyo returned from her trip to the US just a week ago and to her credit immediately went straight to work trying to show the concern of the government of the day for the victims of typhoon Fengshen. She even went to the beach of San Drnando Romblon to gaze at the overturned wreck of MV Princess of the Stars just 100 meter away, with the lingering stench of dead bodies still in the air.
And now we are hearing the military and police playing pingpong about the supposed ‘brand new’ coup plot starring former Marcos-era assemblyman Homobono Adaza engaging in a Philippine-vintage ‘thoughtcrime’ straight out of George Orwell’s ‘1984′.
But hey, we’re in 2008 with a little over 2 years before the next presidential elections!
Is there anyone playing us for April Fools in July?
Or is the coup plot bogey being foisted on Mrs. Arroyo herself by malcontents who feel they’d been left out in the regular round of budgetary pats-on-the-back or are short on their self-assigned quota of proceeds from ‘conversions’ of field supplies intended for our fighting men?
These all-too-obvious maneuvers no longer wash with most Filipinos well aware thar any approaching electoral exercise pump-primes political machineries with the new batches of would-be lawmakers and local officials all salivating to be anointed by well heeled political and religious patrons.
Forewarned is forearmed. Let’s not allow the tail to wag the dog.
A Complaint Is A Fact?
Written on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 6:18 pm | by NickA coup or not a coup? That is the question. Within minutes of the arrest of human rights lawyer Homobono Adaza and four other ex military personnel, many were already calling the arrest a sham of a case, a sham of an arrest, and a travesty of civil rights. In fact, within a day or so of the arrest, we have found out, that indeed, the arrest was baseless.
The chiefs of the Armed Forces, the Army and the Marines on Friday dismissed the existence of a coup plot and said even if there was one, it would not be serious enough to even worry about.
This developed as Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome admitted that the sworn statement of lawyer Raymond Fortun was the police’s only evidence of the alleged power grab plan so far.
I am afraid, that such actions could be construed as a development towards a police state, where the rights of individuals is trumped by the maniacal minds of those in the armed forces as well as a few in the higher echelons of politics. Read more
Heavy Economic Storm Clouds Over RP
Written on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 3:42 pm | by Ding G. GageloniaThe nation rolled out the red carpet for the ‘Nation’s Fist’, Manny Pacquiao today for what both the Philippine Daily Inquirer and President Arroyo called “a masterpice” of a victory over Mexican Diaz, a slam-bang win that, from where we sit, elevated the PacMac into the pantheon of Filipiino boxing greats where he now joins the immortal Pancho Villa and Gabriel Flash Elorde.
But the celebration has to now quickly die down with this sobering report that the prices of goods and services increased by 11.4 percent in June, the highest in 14 years. ABC-CBN NEWS online is saying this “has set the pace for doble-digit inflation for the coming months.”
“The National Statistics Office released the recent inflation data Friday after much anticipation on how much higher prices were last month. The June figure, however, was beyond previous forecasts, including the central bank’s, which ranged from 10.4 percent to 11.2 percent. Read more
Sea of skulls
Written on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 7:39 am | by benign0.
Here is my contribution to Nick’s call for a blogswarm over the weekend.
Beyond the closure of Sulpicio Shipping Lines, heads must roll. People must be prosecuted and imprisoned.
Let’s get creative!
OPEC’s Win Is Our Fate
Written on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 8:59 pm | by cocoyAll-time high! Crude Oil futures went past US$145 a barrel and there is no end in sight. With everyone counting down, a.k.a. “it is only a matter of time, (”inevitable,” is the word you were thinking) when we will see US$200 a barrel of oil“, it is high time we accelerate serious alternative sources of energy and we can start reducing our own need for oil. Don’t look to government to spearhead that initiative, not that I blame them— they’re more clueless than the rest of us.Â
Like a druggie, we’re fraking oil dependent but we’re slowly unable to afford the substance. The world’s changing and changing rapidly. (If you’re interested in Energy thoughts, you can check out The Oil Drum’s Peak Oil Overview and a database of oil supplies worldwide).
Throw out all those things like opposition to transport rake hike. Market Forces will be dictating that everything is going to go up. Inevitable.Â
Carpooling, scheduling activities in the same area to avoid traffic— are age old pebble throwing at the rushing truck solutions but I think, they do add up if everyone does it, which is great and all. Of course it is no different for Government dole-out plans, which I think is an even bad example of a pebble being thrown at a rushing truck. Symbolic as hell, but is it effective?
Those who can afford, might I suggest we invest in alternative power sources— solar, wind, etc whatever works for you and your business. If by adopting these technologies, we can drive the cost for others lower, wouldn’t that be great? If the Tesla was available here, wouldn’t that be great too? Â
There are other ways we can reduce our oil dependence, or other great ideas to going eco-friendly or other power sources we can avail. We’re going to need high tech, ecocities. Perhaps, we can have high tech bio villages and barangays first like this initiative from Ecobuilders. Treehuggers say we need to go green because of Climate Change. It may be so, but a greater incentive I think is that, it is time to go green because, it makes great economic sense. That, and because OPEC’s win is our fate.
Blogswarm To Stop Sulpicio Lines July 4 and 5
Written on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 6:36 pm | by NickAs Sulpicio Lines has put business above humanity, insensitivity above compassion, and money over human lives, I want to make sure that the word rings out clear, that we want this company to cease to exist. I have lost a cousin out of this tragedy, and The Philippines has lost thousands of lives because of Sulpicio Lines. I hope we can raise awareness and be united in our anger towards this despicable company.
I am proposing, as a blogger, a blogswarm to put an end to Sulpicio Lines. A Blogswarm to Stop Sulpicio Lines. This blogswarm is for the closure of Sulpicio Lines, the proper compensation of the victims and their families (not just a measly P200k), the imprisonment of those responsible, including the officials of Sulpicio Lines. We must stop this company!
A BLOGSWARM is where bloggers comment and write on one topic at the same time, in order to bring the topic or news to a broader awareness and discussion.
The blogswarm will be July 4-5. On both days, we would like all bloggers to write a post or an article declaring their support for the closure of SULPICIO LINES for the major role that this company had in the Ferry Tragedy that has cost us hundreds of lives. Please leave a comment if you are going to participate.
I would like to offer the following image for the blogswarm, but you are welcome to create and share your own image.
This madness must stop, their insensitivity to the families as they try to deflect the blame on everyone else except themselves is just too much. Read more
I Am Siding With Secretary Raul Gonzalez
Written on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 2:20 pm | by NickFor once, I am going to be on the side of Secretary Raul Gonzalez. In most cases, his nonsensical political attacks become the most amusing part of my days. His delusional analysis is usually the butt of many jokes, but today, I am on his side, as he continues his attack against Sulpicio Lines. Let Sulpicio Lines have to deal with this annoying guy, and I hope Gonzalez gets this company for all it’s worth.
Secretary Gonzalez has scored Sulpicio Lines because of how it has gone out of its way to announce the P200,000 payout for the families of the victims, and yet has made it hard for these families to receive legal advice from The Public Attorney’s Office, which is part of The Department of Justice. He has threatened Sulpicio Lines because of word that the company may be part of a scam to distribute blank Special Power of Attorney (SPA) forms. Read more
Lunch Coup
Written on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 9:27 am | by Patricio MangubatHuman rights lawyer Homobono Adaza and three ex-AFP officers were arrested yesterday afternoon. Sources say they were going to eat lunch together when agents of the CIDG pounced on them. They were immediately hauled to Camp Crame for questioning and later brought to the PNP hospital for the routine medical checkup.
And what was the alleged crime? It’s the nebulous crime of concocting a coup in their minds. What a downer!
Is there a crime such as this? Read more
Imagine a world without oil…
Written on Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 at 8:33 am | by benign0I may not be the brightest bulb in the room, but I’m not really sure if the irony behind Abe’s article “Imagine a world without Filipinos” escaped anyone else here.
At least 10,000 Filipinos have been lost in shipping disasters over the last 20 years and the owners and key executives of certain shipping lines are STILL hanging out on the sunny side of prison bars. Who misses those long gone 10,000 sons, daughters, mothers, and fathers?
One wonders why it takes an essayist from some desert kingdom on the other side of the world to take poetic license and write a blurb on the value of cheap Pinoy labour. And with this quaint punchline to boot:
We have to remember that we are very much dependent on the Filipinos around us. We could die a slow death if they chose to leave us.
Like, come on now folks. Seinfeld would have a field day with this. What’s up with that???
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