BOTHERED BY THE U.S. WAR? BOYCOTT U.S. GOODS NOW!
By Justice Not War Coalition
(The Pinoy consumer's response to the U.S. war and the suspension by the U.S. and Britain of the Oil for Food Program for the Iraqi people)
Mga kababayan,
On March 20, the United States started its illegal, immoral war on Iraq. So-called smart bombs have hit civilians, houses, hospitals and other non-military targets. The U.S. will use up hundreds of billions of dollars for this war that could have gone to alleviating the poverty and suffering in the world fuelling extremism and terrorist attacks.
To top these, the U.S. and Britain have suspended the Oil for Food program, the only way the Iraqi people are allowed to import food under the terms of a UN embargo. The US and Britain seem oblivious to certain death for the Iraqi people from hunger, if not from bombs and bullets.
In the face of such inhumane acts and this unjust US war vs Iraq, let us take a stand. Let us refuse to buy or conduct business with icons of US commercial interests: McDonalds, Coke, Caltex, Citibank, Starbucks, Marlboro, Nike, Colgate, Kraft, and farm fertilizers made by the Monsanto multinational company .
In the meantime, we urge you to patronize products and services made in the Philippines, especially by Filipino entrepreneurs.
Let this boycott be an expression of our stand for peace and against the illegal, immoral and inhumane U.S. war vs Iraq.
Respectfully yours,
Mrs. Fanny Abaya, Alerto Mamimili! & Power
Mrs. Lolita Donato, Alerto Mamimili!
Prof. Raul Segovia, Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection
Prof. Cynthia Nograles Lumbera, Concerned Faculty of Ateneo de Manila
Mr. Anthony Ian Cruz, TXTPower
Prof. Bienvenido Lumbera, Justice Not War Coalition & Education for Development
Raymond Palatino, National Union of Students of the Philippines
Ms. Beverly Archangel, League of Filipino Students
Elmer Labog, Anib Manggagawa
Ka Daning Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas
Friday, March 28, 2003
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Message from the Justice Not War Coalition:
OPPOSE THE US WAR ON IRAQ AND US INTERFERENCE AND ARMED INTERVENTION!
A call for Asia Pacific-wide protest actions on April 9
Disregarding the opinion of various world leaders, the worldwide people’s protests, international law including the UN Charter and even its own constitution, the US government is hell bent on raining war and devastation on Iraq.
On a world scale and in the long term, the US wants to impose PAX AMERICANA .
By using its self-serving doctrines of pre-emptive strike, regime change and unilaterism, the US invaded Afghanistan and has targetted other alleged security threats, namely Iraq and North Korea, and other alleged terrorists worldwide. The US is deploying more forward forces and holding more military trainings and joint exercises purportedly to protect its national interest and to decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars abroad.
The Asia Pacific region in particular, with its vast landmass and sea territory brimming with huge economic and geopolitical value, remains strategically important to the US. Without a strong projection of power in this region via the US-Japan security alliance and other bilateral and multilateral military treaties and agreements with other countries, the US drive for world hegemony and dominance will not prevail.
Throughout Asia, The US has been aggressively forging status of forces agreements, access agreements, landing rights, logistics arrangements and the like, coupled with a never ending stream of joint military trainings and exercises.
Among the US’s military objectives are the containment of China as a potential peer rival power and deterring the growth of other threats to US hegemony, including progressive and revolutionary movements and independent regimes. It is therefore part of US strategy to intervene and initiate “regime change” in Asian countries that resist US militarist, political and economic impositions. .
The US has labeled three Asian countries – Iraq, Iran and North Korea – as the “axis of evil.”
In Southeast Asia, the US has declared the Philippines as the “second front” of its borderless war. Thousands of US troops have been deployed to the Southern Philippines since December 2001, ostensibly to give “anti-terrorist training”, “assistance” and “advise” to Philippine troops. Just like in the Vietnam war, the bogey of terrorism and communism is being used as a pretext for direct US military aggression and power projection in the region.
Once the US establishes the Philippines as its foothold in region, the US will have a jump-off point for its interventionist activities in the Muslim-dominated countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei and elsewhere in Asia.
In South Korea and Japan, the US stubbornly insists on maintaining its military bases despite the strong public clamor to have them removed. Moreover, the US has been fully supportive of a more aggressive and outward-looking Japanese Self Defense Forces, which can readily be transformed into an offensive force to support US military adventures in Asia .
These moves by the US, especially in the light of the impending invasion of Iraq, certainly bodes ill for the peoples of the Asia Pacific region. The US bases and military forces in Asia are slated to play a major role in the impending war on Iraq. Furthermore, what happens in Iraq will most likely set the precedent for increasing US unilaterism and aggression in Asia and the whole world. There is an urgent need to oppose this threat to world peace.
Thus, on April 9, we propose that the peoples of Asia and the Pacific hold simultaneous demonstrations and other forms of protest to send the strongest message across the oceans to George W. Bush that WE OPPOSE THE US WAR ON IRAQ AND US INTERFERENCE AND ARMED INTERVENTION IN ASIA.
We in the Asia-Pacific region continue to be inspired by the huge demonstrations of February 15, where 30 million people rose up in mass protest in more than 600 cities and towns all over the world, including: Sydney, Australia – 250,000; India – 200,000; Tokyo – 25,000; New Zealand – 13,000; Manila – 5, 000; Taipei – 2,000.
Bigger and more frequent demonstrations are being held in Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Pakistan, India and other Asian countries.
Let us unite these efforts in one coordinated action on April 9.
Let us not be deterred by the US Empire’s bullying and evil machinations. Let us struggle for peace! Oppose the US war on Iraq and US interference and armed intervention in Asia! US troops, out of Asia!
Endorsing individuals/organizations (Please add your name before forwarding. Email us of your intention to participate in the April 9 actions at april9@pilnet.com and asiapacificaction@mealbox.com):
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
Philippine Peace Center
OPPOSE THE US WAR ON IRAQ AND US INTERFERENCE AND ARMED INTERVENTION!
A call for Asia Pacific-wide protest actions on April 9
Disregarding the opinion of various world leaders, the worldwide people’s protests, international law including the UN Charter and even its own constitution, the US government is hell bent on raining war and devastation on Iraq.
On a world scale and in the long term, the US wants to impose PAX AMERICANA .
By using its self-serving doctrines of pre-emptive strike, regime change and unilaterism, the US invaded Afghanistan and has targetted other alleged security threats, namely Iraq and North Korea, and other alleged terrorists worldwide. The US is deploying more forward forces and holding more military trainings and joint exercises purportedly to protect its national interest and to decisively win multiple, simultaneous major theater wars abroad.
The Asia Pacific region in particular, with its vast landmass and sea territory brimming with huge economic and geopolitical value, remains strategically important to the US. Without a strong projection of power in this region via the US-Japan security alliance and other bilateral and multilateral military treaties and agreements with other countries, the US drive for world hegemony and dominance will not prevail.
Throughout Asia, The US has been aggressively forging status of forces agreements, access agreements, landing rights, logistics arrangements and the like, coupled with a never ending stream of joint military trainings and exercises.
Among the US’s military objectives are the containment of China as a potential peer rival power and deterring the growth of other threats to US hegemony, including progressive and revolutionary movements and independent regimes. It is therefore part of US strategy to intervene and initiate “regime change” in Asian countries that resist US militarist, political and economic impositions. .
The US has labeled three Asian countries – Iraq, Iran and North Korea – as the “axis of evil.”
In Southeast Asia, the US has declared the Philippines as the “second front” of its borderless war. Thousands of US troops have been deployed to the Southern Philippines since December 2001, ostensibly to give “anti-terrorist training”, “assistance” and “advise” to Philippine troops. Just like in the Vietnam war, the bogey of terrorism and communism is being used as a pretext for direct US military aggression and power projection in the region.
Once the US establishes the Philippines as its foothold in region, the US will have a jump-off point for its interventionist activities in the Muslim-dominated countries of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei and elsewhere in Asia.
In South Korea and Japan, the US stubbornly insists on maintaining its military bases despite the strong public clamor to have them removed. Moreover, the US has been fully supportive of a more aggressive and outward-looking Japanese Self Defense Forces, which can readily be transformed into an offensive force to support US military adventures in Asia .
These moves by the US, especially in the light of the impending invasion of Iraq, certainly bodes ill for the peoples of the Asia Pacific region. The US bases and military forces in Asia are slated to play a major role in the impending war on Iraq. Furthermore, what happens in Iraq will most likely set the precedent for increasing US unilaterism and aggression in Asia and the whole world. There is an urgent need to oppose this threat to world peace.
Thus, on April 9, we propose that the peoples of Asia and the Pacific hold simultaneous demonstrations and other forms of protest to send the strongest message across the oceans to George W. Bush that WE OPPOSE THE US WAR ON IRAQ AND US INTERFERENCE AND ARMED INTERVENTION IN ASIA.
We in the Asia-Pacific region continue to be inspired by the huge demonstrations of February 15, where 30 million people rose up in mass protest in more than 600 cities and towns all over the world, including: Sydney, Australia – 250,000; India – 200,000; Tokyo – 25,000; New Zealand – 13,000; Manila – 5, 000; Taipei – 2,000.
Bigger and more frequent demonstrations are being held in Indonesia, the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, Pakistan, India and other Asian countries.
Let us unite these efforts in one coordinated action on April 9.
Let us not be deterred by the US Empire’s bullying and evil machinations. Let us struggle for peace! Oppose the US war on Iraq and US interference and armed intervention in Asia! US troops, out of Asia!
Endorsing individuals/organizations (Please add your name before forwarding. Email us of your intention to participate in the April 9 actions at april9@pilnet.com and asiapacificaction@mealbox.com):
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan
Philippine Peace Center
Monday, March 17, 2003
PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY AND SPREAD AS WIDELY AS POSSIBLE. LET US SUPPORT THIS.
Press Statement
March 16, 2003
Six things to do when US war erupts
By Sr. Mary Grenough MM
Convenor, Justice Not War Coalition
Today, the eve of the United States unilateral deadline of March 17, thousands of priests, nuns, churchworkers and people will gather in churches in more than 126 countries to light candles for peace, against the US war.
We urge everyone to join in this powerful expression of worldwide unity by going to St. Peter's Church along Commonwealth Avenue and other churches in Metro Manila. See you at 6:00 pm tonight.
Also today, we urge the Filipino people to prepare for what seems to be the very likely start of the war, this week or later this month. We urge everyone to pray and prepare for bolder actions in the few days. We will not rest until we stop this US war that remains without basis, without support and without justification.
On the day or, if the attack occurs at night, a day after the start of a US war, we urge all Filipinos to do the following:
1. Gather and protest
Join the prayer assemblies and protests from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Ayala Avenue, US Embassy, Plaza Miranda, Monumento, Baclaran Church, Sta. Ana Church and St. Peter's Church.
2. Hang or wear blue ribbons
3. Stage and join a noise barrage at 9:00 pm
4. Pause, stop everything at 11:55 am to 12:00 noon to pray for the victims of war and urge a stop to this madness
5. Call, fax, text and email government officials
6. Gear for a big rally at the Luneta on the first Saturday following the beginning of the US war
Similar actions are also slated in Parliament Square in London, the US Capitol and major city centers worldwide.
If the US is fully prepared for its unjust, dirty and immoral war, the Filipino people and all the world's peoples are prepared for all- out resistance.
JUSTICE NOT WAR COALITION
Office: 23 Maamo St., Sikatuna Village
Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Tel.: +63 2 4359151
Fax: +63 2 9225211
Email: justicenotwarcoalition@yahoo.com
Press Statement
March 16, 2003
Six things to do when US war erupts
By Sr. Mary Grenough MM
Convenor, Justice Not War Coalition
Today, the eve of the United States unilateral deadline of March 17, thousands of priests, nuns, churchworkers and people will gather in churches in more than 126 countries to light candles for peace, against the US war.
We urge everyone to join in this powerful expression of worldwide unity by going to St. Peter's Church along Commonwealth Avenue and other churches in Metro Manila. See you at 6:00 pm tonight.
Also today, we urge the Filipino people to prepare for what seems to be the very likely start of the war, this week or later this month. We urge everyone to pray and prepare for bolder actions in the few days. We will not rest until we stop this US war that remains without basis, without support and without justification.
On the day or, if the attack occurs at night, a day after the start of a US war, we urge all Filipinos to do the following:
1. Gather and protest
Join the prayer assemblies and protests from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at Ayala Avenue, US Embassy, Plaza Miranda, Monumento, Baclaran Church, Sta. Ana Church and St. Peter's Church.
2. Hang or wear blue ribbons
3. Stage and join a noise barrage at 9:00 pm
4. Pause, stop everything at 11:55 am to 12:00 noon to pray for the victims of war and urge a stop to this madness
5. Call, fax, text and email government officials
6. Gear for a big rally at the Luneta on the first Saturday following the beginning of the US war
Similar actions are also slated in Parliament Square in London, the US Capitol and major city centers worldwide.
If the US is fully prepared for its unjust, dirty and immoral war, the Filipino people and all the world's peoples are prepared for all- out resistance.
JUSTICE NOT WAR COALITION
Office: 23 Maamo St., Sikatuna Village
Quezon City 1101 Philippines
Tel.: +63 2 4359151
Fax: +63 2 9225211
Email: justicenotwarcoalition@yahoo.com
Sunday, March 16, 2003
Tsubibo ng Kano
Ang tsubibo ay paikut-ikot, kaya't ang nakasakay rito ay pabalik-balik sa kanyang pinanggalingan, at matapos ang ilang sandali'y walang kinahihinatnan kundi ang kanya ring pinanggalingan.
Ganito rin ang digmaang agresyon ng Estados Unidos. Paulit-ulit ito—laging kung anong dakilang layon ang idinadahilan sa pagsasagawa nito, ngunit wala itong kinauuwian kundi ang pagkawala ng mga kalayaan ng mga bayan at pagyurak sa mga dangal ng mga walang salang mamamayan saanman magnasang manalasa ang dambuhalang limbas.
Kaya naman pinamagatang American Tsubibo ang isang palatuntunang inorganisa nitong Marso 5 ng College Editors Guild of the Philippines at Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (Karatula) sa pakikipagtulungan ng iba't ibang mga alagad ng musika, panitikan, at pabatirang madla.
Ang naging tema ng palatuntunang ito ay paggunita sa dekada 1970. Sa naturang dekada naganap ang kainitan ng mga pagtutol sa digmaang agresyon ng Estados Unidos laban sa Biyetnam, na noo'y nakikibaka sa mga alagad ng pasistang rehimeng Ngo Dinh Diem.
Ang diwa naman ng naging palatuntunan sa Mayric's España nitong Marso 5 ay paggunita sa Digmaang Biyetnam bilang pagtutol sa nagbabantang digmaan sa Iraq.
Umalingawngaw nang gabing iyon sa Mayric's España ang mga kanta ni Bob Marley, isa sa mga musikerong nakilala sa pakikibaka alang-alang sa kalayaan at karapatang pantao noong dekada 1970. Subalit bukod sa kanyang mga kanta, ang mga orihinal na kantang tumatalunton din naman sa diwa ni Bob Marley ay ipinarinig ng mga musikerong nagsipagtanghal doon.
Sari-saring grupo at banda mula sa iba't ibang pamantasan tulad ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Politeknikong Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas, at iba pa ang nagsitugtog doon. Naroon ang grupong Alay Sining at mga bandang Pula, Bersus, Lady Bedspacers, Kantula, at iba pang kabataang banda. May sarili ring pagtatanghal ang Karatula.
Datapwat di lang mga banda ang naroon.
Nagbigkas din ng tula ang iba't ibang manunulat, kabilang ang bantog na si Richard Gappi, na mula pa sa panahon ng kanyang pag-aaral sa Unibersidad ng Plipinas magpahanggang ngayon ay isang masigasig na aktibista.
Ang Southern Tagalog Exposure, isang kooperatibang nagsusulong ng pagpapalaganap ng alternatibong pabatiran sa Timog Katagalugan, ay nagtanghal ng isang dokumentaryo tungkol sa paulit-ulit na mga kabulastugan ng Estados Unidos mula nang sakupin nito ang Pilipinas, Cuba, at Puerto Rico noong mga huling bahagi ng ika-19 dantaon—pati ang mga kaakibat na iba pang paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng mga ito. Maliwanag na naipakita ng naturang dokumentaryo, Ang Kaaway, na ang mga pananakop ng Estados Unidos sa nakalipas na mahigit sa isang daang taon ay di dala ng diumano'y marubdob na nasang ipagtanggol ang demokrasya kundi dulot ng hangaring pagharian ang kabuhayan ng buong daigdig.
Ang mga artista sa mainstream kadalasa'y hindi magbabahagi ng kanilang mga talento kundi babayaran ng halagang katumbas ng sahod ng isang manggagawa sa sampung buwan ang pagtatanghal sa isang gabi.
Ibahin ninyo ang mga kabataang artistang naging bahagi ng American Tsubibo nitong Marso 5. Alam nilang ang paninindigan alang-alang sa makatarungang kapayapaan ay di dapat ipagbili.
Unang nalathala sa Tinig.com noong Pebrero 16-Marso 15, 2003 sa ilalim ng ngalang sagisag na Aurelio Flores. Napilitan ang may-akdang gumamit ng ngalang sagisag sapagkat saksakan na ng dami ang naipasa niyang akda sa partikular na isyung iyon ng nasabing publikasyon.
Ang tsubibo ay paikut-ikot, kaya't ang nakasakay rito ay pabalik-balik sa kanyang pinanggalingan, at matapos ang ilang sandali'y walang kinahihinatnan kundi ang kanya ring pinanggalingan.
Ganito rin ang digmaang agresyon ng Estados Unidos. Paulit-ulit ito—laging kung anong dakilang layon ang idinadahilan sa pagsasagawa nito, ngunit wala itong kinauuwian kundi ang pagkawala ng mga kalayaan ng mga bayan at pagyurak sa mga dangal ng mga walang salang mamamayan saanman magnasang manalasa ang dambuhalang limbas.
Kaya naman pinamagatang American Tsubibo ang isang palatuntunang inorganisa nitong Marso 5 ng College Editors Guild of the Philippines at Kabataang Artista para sa Tunay na Kalayaan (Karatula) sa pakikipagtulungan ng iba't ibang mga alagad ng musika, panitikan, at pabatirang madla.
Ang naging tema ng palatuntunang ito ay paggunita sa dekada 1970. Sa naturang dekada naganap ang kainitan ng mga pagtutol sa digmaang agresyon ng Estados Unidos laban sa Biyetnam, na noo'y nakikibaka sa mga alagad ng pasistang rehimeng Ngo Dinh Diem.
Ang diwa naman ng naging palatuntunan sa Mayric's España nitong Marso 5 ay paggunita sa Digmaang Biyetnam bilang pagtutol sa nagbabantang digmaan sa Iraq.
Umalingawngaw nang gabing iyon sa Mayric's España ang mga kanta ni Bob Marley, isa sa mga musikerong nakilala sa pakikibaka alang-alang sa kalayaan at karapatang pantao noong dekada 1970. Subalit bukod sa kanyang mga kanta, ang mga orihinal na kantang tumatalunton din naman sa diwa ni Bob Marley ay ipinarinig ng mga musikerong nagsipagtanghal doon.
Sari-saring grupo at banda mula sa iba't ibang pamantasan tulad ng Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Politeknikong Unibersidad ng Pilipinas, Unibersidad ng Santo Tomas, at iba pa ang nagsitugtog doon. Naroon ang grupong Alay Sining at mga bandang Pula, Bersus, Lady Bedspacers, Kantula, at iba pang kabataang banda. May sarili ring pagtatanghal ang Karatula.
Datapwat di lang mga banda ang naroon.
Nagbigkas din ng tula ang iba't ibang manunulat, kabilang ang bantog na si Richard Gappi, na mula pa sa panahon ng kanyang pag-aaral sa Unibersidad ng Plipinas magpahanggang ngayon ay isang masigasig na aktibista.
Ang Southern Tagalog Exposure, isang kooperatibang nagsusulong ng pagpapalaganap ng alternatibong pabatiran sa Timog Katagalugan, ay nagtanghal ng isang dokumentaryo tungkol sa paulit-ulit na mga kabulastugan ng Estados Unidos mula nang sakupin nito ang Pilipinas, Cuba, at Puerto Rico noong mga huling bahagi ng ika-19 dantaon—pati ang mga kaakibat na iba pang paglabag sa karapatang pantao ng mga ito. Maliwanag na naipakita ng naturang dokumentaryo, Ang Kaaway, na ang mga pananakop ng Estados Unidos sa nakalipas na mahigit sa isang daang taon ay di dala ng diumano'y marubdob na nasang ipagtanggol ang demokrasya kundi dulot ng hangaring pagharian ang kabuhayan ng buong daigdig.
Ang mga artista sa mainstream kadalasa'y hindi magbabahagi ng kanilang mga talento kundi babayaran ng halagang katumbas ng sahod ng isang manggagawa sa sampung buwan ang pagtatanghal sa isang gabi.
Ibahin ninyo ang mga kabataang artistang naging bahagi ng American Tsubibo nitong Marso 5. Alam nilang ang paninindigan alang-alang sa makatarungang kapayapaan ay di dapat ipagbili.
Unang nalathala sa Tinig.com noong Pebrero 16-Marso 15, 2003 sa ilalim ng ngalang sagisag na Aurelio Flores. Napilitan ang may-akdang gumamit ng ngalang sagisag sapagkat saksakan na ng dami ang naipasa niyang akda sa partikular na isyung iyon ng nasabing publikasyon.
Kulturang Konyo
Kangi-kangina lamang ay nabasa ko sa website ng aking kabarkada sa Tinig.com na si Ederic ang tungkol sa kanyang engkuwentro sa dalawang konyo noong isang araw.
Matapos daw na kanyang pagbigyan ang sarili sa pamamagitan ng pagkain sa paborito niyang restawran na Pancake House, umakyat siya sa G4 (noo'y nasa Glorietta siya) upang tingnan ang bagong isyu ng Tinig.com at pati na ang kanyang e-mail.
Pamaya-maya'y tumunog ang cellphone ng isang babae sa may likuran niya. Sinagot nito ang tawag at ito'y nangusap nang malakas. Ilang saglit pa'y lumipat yaong babae at nakipag-usap sa isang lalaki, at malakas pa rin ang usapan nila; walang pakialam ang dalawa kahit na sila'y pinagtitinginan ng mga iba pang nasa computer shop.
Naalaala ko ang aking karanasan sa dalawa ring konyo kamakailan, nang aking masayang pinakikinabangan ang mga serbisyo ng isa sa mga paborito kong bilihan ng libro, ang Popular Bookstore.
Kapapasok pa lamang ng dalawang maputing babae sa bilihan ng libro ay bigla silang nagsatsatan nang napakalakas sa "wikang" Taglish. Kung hindi ako nagkamaling mapatingin sa kanila nang sila'y pumasok (noo'y may hinihintay ako kaya't pasulyap-sulyap ako sa pintuan), aakalain kong dalawang Kris Aquino ang nagsasalita.
Pamaya-maya'y napansin kong may kausap sa cellphone yaong halatang higit na nakatatanda. Higit na malakas ang kanyang bibig sa pagkakataong ito.
Pinilit kong magpatuloy sa pagbabasa. Pinilit kong huwag pansinin ang maiingay sapagkat kung papansinin ko sila'y makakamit nila sa akin ang maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na pakay nila sa aming lahat na nasa Popular Bookstore, magmula sa kahera hanggang sa guwardiya--ang magpapansin. Datapwat nanginginig ang kamay ko. Naririndi ako sa kanila, at ang makapal na librong tungkol sa kasaysayan na noo'y binabasa ko ay kaunti ko nang maihampas sa kanilang mga pagmumukha.
Hindi iyon ang kauna-unahan kong engkuwentro sa mga konyo. Sa kalahati ng aking buhay sa haiskul at sa malaki ring bahagi ng buhay ko sa kolehiyo ay kasama ko sa silid-aralan araw-araw ang santambak na akala mo'y kung sinong nangasa mga bituin dahil lamang sa sila'y naka-Swatch o naka-YSL.
Kaylalakas nilang magsalita sa kanilang kontaminadong wika. Kaygagaling nilang ipagpasiklab ang kanilang mamahaling mga damit. Sabik na sabik silang ipakita ang kanilang kaibhan sa "baduy" na masa.
Ang lohika ng kulturang konyo ay ang panlalait sa sinumang hindi makaabot ng mga pribilehiyong sila lamang ang nakabibili. Sa ganitong lohika, ang halaga ng tao ay nasa dami ng kanyang salapi--maano kung ito'y galing sa pambabarat sa sahod ng mga manggagawa o sa pangangamkam sa lupa ng magsasaka, o sa pandarambong sa gobyerno!--at wala sa katinuan o kagaguhan ng kanyang pamumuhay.
Kangi-kangina lamang ay nabasa ko sa website ng aking kabarkada sa Tinig.com na si Ederic ang tungkol sa kanyang engkuwentro sa dalawang konyo noong isang araw.
Matapos daw na kanyang pagbigyan ang sarili sa pamamagitan ng pagkain sa paborito niyang restawran na Pancake House, umakyat siya sa G4 (noo'y nasa Glorietta siya) upang tingnan ang bagong isyu ng Tinig.com at pati na ang kanyang e-mail.
Pamaya-maya'y tumunog ang cellphone ng isang babae sa may likuran niya. Sinagot nito ang tawag at ito'y nangusap nang malakas. Ilang saglit pa'y lumipat yaong babae at nakipag-usap sa isang lalaki, at malakas pa rin ang usapan nila; walang pakialam ang dalawa kahit na sila'y pinagtitinginan ng mga iba pang nasa computer shop.
Naalaala ko ang aking karanasan sa dalawa ring konyo kamakailan, nang aking masayang pinakikinabangan ang mga serbisyo ng isa sa mga paborito kong bilihan ng libro, ang Popular Bookstore.
Kapapasok pa lamang ng dalawang maputing babae sa bilihan ng libro ay bigla silang nagsatsatan nang napakalakas sa "wikang" Taglish. Kung hindi ako nagkamaling mapatingin sa kanila nang sila'y pumasok (noo'y may hinihintay ako kaya't pasulyap-sulyap ako sa pintuan), aakalain kong dalawang Kris Aquino ang nagsasalita.
Pamaya-maya'y napansin kong may kausap sa cellphone yaong halatang higit na nakatatanda. Higit na malakas ang kanyang bibig sa pagkakataong ito.
Pinilit kong magpatuloy sa pagbabasa. Pinilit kong huwag pansinin ang maiingay sapagkat kung papansinin ko sila'y makakamit nila sa akin ang maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na pakay nila sa aming lahat na nasa Popular Bookstore, magmula sa kahera hanggang sa guwardiya--ang magpapansin. Datapwat nanginginig ang kamay ko. Naririndi ako sa kanila, at ang makapal na librong tungkol sa kasaysayan na noo'y binabasa ko ay kaunti ko nang maihampas sa kanilang mga pagmumukha.
Hindi iyon ang kauna-unahan kong engkuwentro sa mga konyo. Sa kalahati ng aking buhay sa haiskul at sa malaki ring bahagi ng buhay ko sa kolehiyo ay kasama ko sa silid-aralan araw-araw ang santambak na akala mo'y kung sinong nangasa mga bituin dahil lamang sa sila'y naka-Swatch o naka-YSL.
Kaylalakas nilang magsalita sa kanilang kontaminadong wika. Kaygagaling nilang ipagpasiklab ang kanilang mamahaling mga damit. Sabik na sabik silang ipakita ang kanilang kaibhan sa "baduy" na masa.
Ang lohika ng kulturang konyo ay ang panlalait sa sinumang hindi makaabot ng mga pribilehiyong sila lamang ang nakabibili. Sa ganitong lohika, ang halaga ng tao ay nasa dami ng kanyang salapi--maano kung ito'y galing sa pambabarat sa sahod ng mga manggagawa o sa pangangamkam sa lupa ng magsasaka, o sa pandarambong sa gobyerno!--at wala sa katinuan o kagaguhan ng kanyang pamumuhay.
Sunday, March 09, 2003
Saturday, March 08, 2003
Solving Armed Conflicts
It is true that there will always be those who will never be satisfied in any system; after all, you cannot please everybody.
But the fact that discontent has translated to armed struggle over a large part of the country means that a substantial portion of the populace finds things too oppressive for themselves not to take up arms.
It is no different from the way Bonifacio developed. He was originally for reforms; in fact he was one of the leading organizers of La Liga Filipina, but after seeing the reformist organization's leader Rizal arrested and exiled, he came to the conclusion that struggle without arms would come to nothing.
As John F. Kennedy said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable."
With regard to the military solution to the insurgency, we have seen it applied many times--even if only in part--and it has amounted to nothing but sweeping violations of the rights of rural and indigenous communities. Yes, the militatry may unleash its full force, but there will always be armed rebels in any society where people are mostly treated like pigs. The military defeated the Huks with the surrender of Luis Taruc in 1954; but neocolonial domination, social injustice, and corruption in government remained. Fifteen years later the New People's Army was born.
In Sweden there are also political oppositionists, but there is no intense armed conflict like what the Philippines has. This is because conditions there are infinitely less oppressive than in the Philippines.
Of course there is always the possibility of solving the conflict through peaceful means.
But chances of it happening under the present administration are almost nil, with the way the government has been conducting itself in the peace talks. Let us look at how it has violated the ceasefire agreement in North Cotabato.
Under more rational leaders, like Guingona and Legarda, the peace talks have more than a fair chance.
Slightly revised version of a comment on Ederic@Cyberspace.
It is true that there will always be those who will never be satisfied in any system; after all, you cannot please everybody.
But the fact that discontent has translated to armed struggle over a large part of the country means that a substantial portion of the populace finds things too oppressive for themselves not to take up arms.
It is no different from the way Bonifacio developed. He was originally for reforms; in fact he was one of the leading organizers of La Liga Filipina, but after seeing the reformist organization's leader Rizal arrested and exiled, he came to the conclusion that struggle without arms would come to nothing.
As John F. Kennedy said, "Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable."
With regard to the military solution to the insurgency, we have seen it applied many times--even if only in part--and it has amounted to nothing but sweeping violations of the rights of rural and indigenous communities. Yes, the militatry may unleash its full force, but there will always be armed rebels in any society where people are mostly treated like pigs. The military defeated the Huks with the surrender of Luis Taruc in 1954; but neocolonial domination, social injustice, and corruption in government remained. Fifteen years later the New People's Army was born.
In Sweden there are also political oppositionists, but there is no intense armed conflict like what the Philippines has. This is because conditions there are infinitely less oppressive than in the Philippines.
Of course there is always the possibility of solving the conflict through peaceful means.
But chances of it happening under the present administration are almost nil, with the way the government has been conducting itself in the peace talks. Let us look at how it has violated the ceasefire agreement in North Cotabato.
Under more rational leaders, like Guingona and Legarda, the peace talks have more than a fair chance.
Slightly revised version of a comment on Ederic@Cyberspace.
Sunday, March 02, 2003
Sa Islang Umampon kay Mudum
Bilang pagtalima
sa ninanasa
ng bandilang may limampung bituin,
inihahasik
ang kapayapaan
sa islang umampon kay Mudum
sa pamamagitan ng pagpapaatungal
sa mga baril at bomba.
Ang bandidong tinutugis
ng mga kayumangging kawal ni Samuel
ay nakalalaya,
at ang kapayapaan
ay itinatanim
sa mga hukay
sa mga dibdib at utak
na naghahangad ng laya.
Kaya huwag pagtakhan
ang pagwawala ni Marso
sa islang umampon kay Mudum.
Binigkas sa Bukambibig, isang pangkulturang pagtatanghal ng UP Ugnayan ng Manunulat, UP Writers Club, at UP Quill sa pakikipagtulungan ng National Commission for Culture and the Arts na ginanap sa Likha-Diwa noong Pebrero 28, 2003.
Bilang pagtalima
sa ninanasa
ng bandilang may limampung bituin,
inihahasik
ang kapayapaan
sa islang umampon kay Mudum
sa pamamagitan ng pagpapaatungal
sa mga baril at bomba.
Ang bandidong tinutugis
ng mga kayumangging kawal ni Samuel
ay nakalalaya,
at ang kapayapaan
ay itinatanim
sa mga hukay
sa mga dibdib at utak
na naghahangad ng laya.
Kaya huwag pagtakhan
ang pagwawala ni Marso
sa islang umampon kay Mudum.
Binigkas sa Bukambibig, isang pangkulturang pagtatanghal ng UP Ugnayan ng Manunulat, UP Writers Club, at UP Quill sa pakikipagtulungan ng National Commission for Culture and the Arts na ginanap sa Likha-Diwa noong Pebrero 28, 2003.
Friday, February 21, 2003
Saka Mo Udyukang Magwala si Marso
Naghahamon ng away
ang mga bakal na dragon ni Samuel
sa bayan ni Abraham,
nagbabantang muling magtatak
ng mga bangkay
sa mga dinding.
At ikaw,
ikaw na di pa nakakikita
ng mga lansangan at bukirin ng dugo
ay nag-uudyok
kay Marsong magwala roon.
Subukin mong makitulog
sa mga bata't matandang pinatulog
nang habang panahon
sa mga yungib na likha
ng bomba.
Subukin mong ipayakap
sa iyong mga mata
ang naghubad na mga bituka't buto
at kalamnang nagsauling.
Subukin mong makiinom
sa mga walang mainom
kundi kamandag.
At saka mo udyukang magwala si Marso
sa bayan ni Abraham.
Naghahamon ng away
ang mga bakal na dragon ni Samuel
sa bayan ni Abraham,
nagbabantang muling magtatak
ng mga bangkay
sa mga dinding.
At ikaw,
ikaw na di pa nakakikita
ng mga lansangan at bukirin ng dugo
ay nag-uudyok
kay Marsong magwala roon.
Subukin mong makitulog
sa mga bata't matandang pinatulog
nang habang panahon
sa mga yungib na likha
ng bomba.
Subukin mong ipayakap
sa iyong mga mata
ang naghubad na mga bituka't buto
at kalamnang nagsauling.
Subukin mong makiinom
sa mga walang mainom
kundi kamandag.
At saka mo udyukang magwala si Marso
sa bayan ni Abraham.
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
NAG-UUSAP SINA BUSH AT GLORIA
Ang Paanyaya ni Bush kay Gloria
Ni Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera
Halina sa Iraq,
Tayo ay magpasiklab
Ng gerang uutas
Sa mga teroristang de-balbas
Na, aba’y, nangahas mangahas
Lumaban sa banal na dahas
Ng Amerikang may dakilang misyong iligtas
Ang mundo sa tiyak na pagkapahamak.
Halina, ikaw ay itatakas
Sa mga problema mong di malutas-lutas –
Ekonomiyang butas-butas,
Politikang waldas-waldas,
Lumulobong utang panlabas,
Lipunang winasak-wasak
Ng kriminal, kurakot at kulimbat,
Bayan mong walang hinaharap.
Halina, masdan ang iyong bukas –
Dagdag na pautang, pinaglumaang armas
Ipamamanang lahat-lahat,
Tiyak na ang pagkautas
Ng NPA, MILF, Abu Sayyaf.
Bayan mong di makausad-usad
Hihilahin tungo sa pag-unlad,
IMF-World Bank ang hahawak
Sa yaman ng mina mo’t gubat,
Sa biyaya ng bukid mo’t dagat.
Halina sa Baghdad,
Kay ganda, ang siyudad, nagliliyab!
Sa lahat ng dako ng estadong malawak
Dumadagsa ang aking hukbo ng sindak
Sinusuyod ang bundok at gubat,
Kapatagan at dagat.
Mga pangil ng apoy nginangatngat
Ang langit na lumiliyab!
Hayun, ang lupai’y nagbibitak-bitak
Mga gusali’y nadudurog, bumabagsak,
At sa lahat ng dako bangkay ay nagkalat,
Bata matanda babae lalaki bading lesbyana
Terorista silang lahat!
At sa disyerto ng Iraq,
Ang sarap!
Langis na dumaranak,
Itim na gintong naglalandas,
Tubo na sa Wall Street tumatambak.
Halina sa Iraq!
(Bulatlat.com, Pebrero 16-22, 2003)
Sagot ni Gloria sa Paanyaya ni Bush
Ni Alexander Martin Remollino
Ay, oo, Panginoong Dubya,
sa iyo, ako ay sasama.
Sa Iraq, tayo ay pupunta.
Sasamahan kita
saanmang impiyerno ka
magnasang pumunta.
Maanong sila’y magparatang
na ika’y isang bulaan?
Basta’t iyong tinuran
ay dapat paniwalaan,
pagkat salita mo lamang
ang siyang katotohanan.
Sabihin na nilang wala kang katibayan
na si Saddam
ay may mga sandatang
dulot ay lubhang kapinsalaan.
Pag ang may sabi’y ikaw,
katibaya’y aking masisilayan.
Nasaan?
Dili iba’t salita mo lamang.
Kaya’t o, Panginoong Dubya,
sa Baghdad, tayo’y magpunta.
Hukbo kong di makaporma
sa bandidong mas kaunti pa
sa bala
ng kaunti ring baril nila—
na pinaglumaan mo na—
ay aking isasama
at makikidigma sila
sa taga-Iraq na terorista!
Ang Paanyaya ni Bush kay Gloria
Ni Dr. Bienvenido Lumbera
Halina sa Iraq,
Tayo ay magpasiklab
Ng gerang uutas
Sa mga teroristang de-balbas
Na, aba’y, nangahas mangahas
Lumaban sa banal na dahas
Ng Amerikang may dakilang misyong iligtas
Ang mundo sa tiyak na pagkapahamak.
Halina, ikaw ay itatakas
Sa mga problema mong di malutas-lutas –
Ekonomiyang butas-butas,
Politikang waldas-waldas,
Lumulobong utang panlabas,
Lipunang winasak-wasak
Ng kriminal, kurakot at kulimbat,
Bayan mong walang hinaharap.
Halina, masdan ang iyong bukas –
Dagdag na pautang, pinaglumaang armas
Ipamamanang lahat-lahat,
Tiyak na ang pagkautas
Ng NPA, MILF, Abu Sayyaf.
Bayan mong di makausad-usad
Hihilahin tungo sa pag-unlad,
IMF-World Bank ang hahawak
Sa yaman ng mina mo’t gubat,
Sa biyaya ng bukid mo’t dagat.
Halina sa Baghdad,
Kay ganda, ang siyudad, nagliliyab!
Sa lahat ng dako ng estadong malawak
Dumadagsa ang aking hukbo ng sindak
Sinusuyod ang bundok at gubat,
Kapatagan at dagat.
Mga pangil ng apoy nginangatngat
Ang langit na lumiliyab!
Hayun, ang lupai’y nagbibitak-bitak
Mga gusali’y nadudurog, bumabagsak,
At sa lahat ng dako bangkay ay nagkalat,
Bata matanda babae lalaki bading lesbyana
Terorista silang lahat!
At sa disyerto ng Iraq,
Ang sarap!
Langis na dumaranak,
Itim na gintong naglalandas,
Tubo na sa Wall Street tumatambak.
Halina sa Iraq!
(Bulatlat.com, Pebrero 16-22, 2003)
Sagot ni Gloria sa Paanyaya ni Bush
Ni Alexander Martin Remollino
Ay, oo, Panginoong Dubya,
sa iyo, ako ay sasama.
Sa Iraq, tayo ay pupunta.
Sasamahan kita
saanmang impiyerno ka
magnasang pumunta.
Maanong sila’y magparatang
na ika’y isang bulaan?
Basta’t iyong tinuran
ay dapat paniwalaan,
pagkat salita mo lamang
ang siyang katotohanan.
Sabihin na nilang wala kang katibayan
na si Saddam
ay may mga sandatang
dulot ay lubhang kapinsalaan.
Pag ang may sabi’y ikaw,
katibaya’y aking masisilayan.
Nasaan?
Dili iba’t salita mo lamang.
Kaya’t o, Panginoong Dubya,
sa Baghdad, tayo’y magpunta.
Hukbo kong di makaporma
sa bandidong mas kaunti pa
sa bala
ng kaunti ring baril nila—
na pinaglumaan mo na—
ay aking isasama
at makikidigma sila
sa taga-Iraq na terorista!
Saturday, February 15, 2003
Kaiba ang Maynila
May apat na taon akong naglabas-masok sa Maynila araw-araw dahil sa pag-aaral sa UST. Ngunit napupuntahan ko ring madalas ang ilan sa iba pang lunsod na kasama ng Maynila sa National Capital Region: Pasay, Quezon City, at Makati.
Sapat ang karanasang ito upang mapansin ang kaibhan ng Maynila sa mga ito.
Unang-unang mapapansin ang pangyayaring di hamak na mas masikip sa Maynila kaysa sa tatlong iba pang lunsod na nabanggit.
Dito pumapasok ang reputasyon ng Maynila bilang isang sentro ng kaunlaran sa bansa. Dahil ito ang ulong lunsod ng Pilipinas, inaakala ng maraming tagalalawigan na dito matatagpuan ang lalong magagandang oportunidad sa pagpapaalwan ng pangkabuhayang kalagayan. Bukod pa rito, marami sa pinakamahuhusay na pamantasan at dalubhasaan ng bansa ay nasa Maynila, kung kaya naman ito dinarayo ng mga nagnanasa ng magaling na edukasyon.
Kung kaya naman talagang dinarayo ang Maynila. Kaya't sa Maynila makikita ang mga bahay--at maging barung-barong--na pinalaki nang ibayo sa dating laki ng mga ito upang makatanggap ng mga mangungupahan. Iyon namang mga walang pang-upa ay nagtatayo ng sarili nilang mga "bahay" na yari sa tinatawag ni Gary Granada na "Pinagtagpi-tagping basurang/Pinatungan ng bato".
Ang mga kainan at pamilihan ng aklat ng Maynila ay di hamak ding mas marami kaysa sa mga nasa Makati, Pasay, at Quezon City. Sino ang hindi nakapansin sa nagkalat na karinderya sa Sampaloc at sa naglipanang maglalako ng fishball at kuwek-kuwek at samalamig sa Quiapo? Sino ang hindi nakapansin sa napakahabang book strip sa Recto--kung saan kahit libro yatang dumaan sa kamay ni Claro Mayo Recto ay mabibili?
Mahirap ang buhay sa Maynila. Marami roon ang nabibigo sa paghahanap ng magandang kapalarang hindi rin makita sa lalawigan. Kaya't napipilitan ang mga naroon na sila nang lumikha ng kanilang pagkakakitaan. Totoo ang sinabi ni Hogan na mas malikhain ang Manilenyo kaysa sa tagaibang lunsod. Iginigiit ng mga pagkakataon ang kanilang pagkakagayon.
Talagang kaiba ang Maynila.
Bahagyang nirebisang bersiyon ng isang komento sa Tekstong Bopis.
May apat na taon akong naglabas-masok sa Maynila araw-araw dahil sa pag-aaral sa UST. Ngunit napupuntahan ko ring madalas ang ilan sa iba pang lunsod na kasama ng Maynila sa National Capital Region: Pasay, Quezon City, at Makati.
Sapat ang karanasang ito upang mapansin ang kaibhan ng Maynila sa mga ito.
Unang-unang mapapansin ang pangyayaring di hamak na mas masikip sa Maynila kaysa sa tatlong iba pang lunsod na nabanggit.
Dito pumapasok ang reputasyon ng Maynila bilang isang sentro ng kaunlaran sa bansa. Dahil ito ang ulong lunsod ng Pilipinas, inaakala ng maraming tagalalawigan na dito matatagpuan ang lalong magagandang oportunidad sa pagpapaalwan ng pangkabuhayang kalagayan. Bukod pa rito, marami sa pinakamahuhusay na pamantasan at dalubhasaan ng bansa ay nasa Maynila, kung kaya naman ito dinarayo ng mga nagnanasa ng magaling na edukasyon.
Kung kaya naman talagang dinarayo ang Maynila. Kaya't sa Maynila makikita ang mga bahay--at maging barung-barong--na pinalaki nang ibayo sa dating laki ng mga ito upang makatanggap ng mga mangungupahan. Iyon namang mga walang pang-upa ay nagtatayo ng sarili nilang mga "bahay" na yari sa tinatawag ni Gary Granada na "Pinagtagpi-tagping basurang/Pinatungan ng bato".
Ang mga kainan at pamilihan ng aklat ng Maynila ay di hamak ding mas marami kaysa sa mga nasa Makati, Pasay, at Quezon City. Sino ang hindi nakapansin sa nagkalat na karinderya sa Sampaloc at sa naglipanang maglalako ng fishball at kuwek-kuwek at samalamig sa Quiapo? Sino ang hindi nakapansin sa napakahabang book strip sa Recto--kung saan kahit libro yatang dumaan sa kamay ni Claro Mayo Recto ay mabibili?
Mahirap ang buhay sa Maynila. Marami roon ang nabibigo sa paghahanap ng magandang kapalarang hindi rin makita sa lalawigan. Kaya't napipilitan ang mga naroon na sila nang lumikha ng kanilang pagkakakitaan. Totoo ang sinabi ni Hogan na mas malikhain ang Manilenyo kaysa sa tagaibang lunsod. Iginigiit ng mga pagkakataon ang kanilang pagkakagayon.
Talagang kaiba ang Maynila.
Bahagyang nirebisang bersiyon ng isang komento sa Tekstong Bopis.
Wednesday, February 12, 2003
WHY BUSH IS CALLED AN ARROGANT SON OF A BITCH
Someone in the Tinig.com Forums asked why many now say that United States (US) President George W. Bush is arrogant.
Before we begin to dwell on why Bush is called an arrogant son of a bitch, we must first go into how he has conducted himself on the issue of war, which from all indications he thinks is his duty to wage against what he calls "terrorism".
September 11
I and countless others who are now raging against Bush and all the others in his clique have full sympathy for the victims of the September 11 attack. But we understand why not a few of the families of those who perished in that act of treachery found it in themselves to lend their names to such campaigns as that of Not in Our Name, which opposed the war on Afghanistan.
Those who have been following international news closely cannot fail to catch the revelation that long before September 11, 2001, when the whole thing was still just a plan, Bush knew it was going to happen. His intelligence men--and some intelligence personnel in the Philippines--had long ago sent warnings to the US government that such a thing was being plotted.
But he did not take the measures necessary to prevent it. He allowed it to happen and used it as a pretext to rain bombs on a wedding party, a marketplace, a hospital, and several villages in Afghanistan--bombs which killed 3,500 civilians who are now no longer around to say for themselves whether or not they were Taliban supporters. Worse, many of those taken as prisoners of war were anti-Taliban leaders whom US military personnel who were doing their jobs well could not have failed to recognize.
Is it not such a strange coincidence that all cameras happened to be focused on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001?
Not Terrorism
Obviously terrorism was not the issue here.
That the Afghan War came down to such absurdity shows that it was a war for the sake of money. The war came at a time when the US economy was down on its knees--you do not need to have lived in the US for most of your life to know this--and history shows that the US economy, particularly in the last one hundred and four years, has primarily lived on war. Historical data show that the US joined or provoked wars whenever it had an economic crisis, and its economy reached the summit everytime it was at war.
For that matter, it was the US that installed the Taliban into power in the 1990s as a reward for their services in the campaign against the former Soviet Union. While the Taliban were committing the most barbaric human rights violations in Kabul's sports centers, the US went on negotiating with them on an oil pipeline deal. The US only began to push its weight on the Taliban after a dispute on that oil pipeline deal. For information check out articles by the British writer Andy Rowell.
War Again
Now the US government is bracing for another war, this time against Iraq. On what grounds?
1. That Iraq has weapons of mass destruction?
Where is their evidence? Bush says all the time that he has evidence, but the very fact that the United Nations (UN) has had to resort to inspections shows that he has no real evidence.
Furthermore, it is unimaginable that Iraq could have developed weapons of mass destruction while suffering impoverishment for the last decade due to economic sanctions.
And who the hell has the most weapons of mass destruction? Data from the Natural Resources Defense Council show that it is the US which is the world's greatest nuclear menace. The Soviet Union's nuclear stockpiles have long been undermaintained and half of them are inactive. The US has more nuclear stockpiles than France, China, and the United Kingdom combined. It has refused to dismantle its nuclear weapons, in full defiance of the Non-Proliferation Treaty drafted by the UN--of which it was one of the signatories. What moral right, then, has Bush and his ilk to insist that Iraq dismantle its "weapons of mass destruction"?
2. That Iraq is a threat to world peace?
Iraq has not attacked any nation for the last twelve years. It has made peace with its former opponents Iraq and Kuwait. Furthermore, history shows that the attacks on Iran and Kuwait were due not to any world hegemonic design but to border conflicts.
And why in the world did the US not call Iraq a "threat to world peace" when it attacked Iran? Special reports even show that it was the US which provided Iraq with the biological weapons it used in the attacks on Iran.
Furthermore, who the hell has provoked the most wars in the last one hundred and four years? Who provoked the wars in the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan?
Who the hell continues to support that Middle Eastern bully named Israel?
3. That Saddam Hussein is a tyrant?
Even we who oppose a possible war on Iraq are not oblivious of this. We are fully aware of his part in the massacre of thousands of progressive personalities within and outside the Baath, as well as his rapes of countless women in front of their fathers, brothers, and husbands.
But who installed Saddam into power in the first place? The coup which catapulted Saddam into power was sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency--as was the coup which unseated and murdered the democratically elected Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. His massacres and rapes were allowed to pass before he started to defy US wishes that it be allowed to control Iraqi oil.
Human rights are a pet invocation of US leaders. In line with this they have consistently heaped mud upon leaders like Fidel Castro. But Augusto Pinochet, Anastasio Somoza, Pol Pot, and Ferdinand Marcos each committed more atrocities against human rights in less than thirty years than Castro has ever been accused of in the more than forty years that he has governed Cuba--and yet they were fully supported by the US until their very own people began to throw up their bile at the mere mention of their names. Why? Because unlike Castro, they never defied the US.
What moral right, then, has the US government to wage wars in the name of democracy?
Brazenness
The brazenness of Bush in insisting on wars without any legal nor moral basis is the reason he is called an arrogant son of a bitch.
Someone in the Tinig.com Forums asked why many now say that United States (US) President George W. Bush is arrogant.
Before we begin to dwell on why Bush is called an arrogant son of a bitch, we must first go into how he has conducted himself on the issue of war, which from all indications he thinks is his duty to wage against what he calls "terrorism".
September 11
I and countless others who are now raging against Bush and all the others in his clique have full sympathy for the victims of the September 11 attack. But we understand why not a few of the families of those who perished in that act of treachery found it in themselves to lend their names to such campaigns as that of Not in Our Name, which opposed the war on Afghanistan.
Those who have been following international news closely cannot fail to catch the revelation that long before September 11, 2001, when the whole thing was still just a plan, Bush knew it was going to happen. His intelligence men--and some intelligence personnel in the Philippines--had long ago sent warnings to the US government that such a thing was being plotted.
But he did not take the measures necessary to prevent it. He allowed it to happen and used it as a pretext to rain bombs on a wedding party, a marketplace, a hospital, and several villages in Afghanistan--bombs which killed 3,500 civilians who are now no longer around to say for themselves whether or not they were Taliban supporters. Worse, many of those taken as prisoners of war were anti-Taliban leaders whom US military personnel who were doing their jobs well could not have failed to recognize.
Is it not such a strange coincidence that all cameras happened to be focused on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001?
Not Terrorism
Obviously terrorism was not the issue here.
That the Afghan War came down to such absurdity shows that it was a war for the sake of money. The war came at a time when the US economy was down on its knees--you do not need to have lived in the US for most of your life to know this--and history shows that the US economy, particularly in the last one hundred and four years, has primarily lived on war. Historical data show that the US joined or provoked wars whenever it had an economic crisis, and its economy reached the summit everytime it was at war.
For that matter, it was the US that installed the Taliban into power in the 1990s as a reward for their services in the campaign against the former Soviet Union. While the Taliban were committing the most barbaric human rights violations in Kabul's sports centers, the US went on negotiating with them on an oil pipeline deal. The US only began to push its weight on the Taliban after a dispute on that oil pipeline deal. For information check out articles by the British writer Andy Rowell.
War Again
Now the US government is bracing for another war, this time against Iraq. On what grounds?
1. That Iraq has weapons of mass destruction?
Where is their evidence? Bush says all the time that he has evidence, but the very fact that the United Nations (UN) has had to resort to inspections shows that he has no real evidence.
Furthermore, it is unimaginable that Iraq could have developed weapons of mass destruction while suffering impoverishment for the last decade due to economic sanctions.
And who the hell has the most weapons of mass destruction? Data from the Natural Resources Defense Council show that it is the US which is the world's greatest nuclear menace. The Soviet Union's nuclear stockpiles have long been undermaintained and half of them are inactive. The US has more nuclear stockpiles than France, China, and the United Kingdom combined. It has refused to dismantle its nuclear weapons, in full defiance of the Non-Proliferation Treaty drafted by the UN--of which it was one of the signatories. What moral right, then, has Bush and his ilk to insist that Iraq dismantle its "weapons of mass destruction"?
2. That Iraq is a threat to world peace?
Iraq has not attacked any nation for the last twelve years. It has made peace with its former opponents Iraq and Kuwait. Furthermore, history shows that the attacks on Iran and Kuwait were due not to any world hegemonic design but to border conflicts.
And why in the world did the US not call Iraq a "threat to world peace" when it attacked Iran? Special reports even show that it was the US which provided Iraq with the biological weapons it used in the attacks on Iran.
Furthermore, who the hell has provoked the most wars in the last one hundred and four years? Who provoked the wars in the Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan?
Who the hell continues to support that Middle Eastern bully named Israel?
3. That Saddam Hussein is a tyrant?
Even we who oppose a possible war on Iraq are not oblivious of this. We are fully aware of his part in the massacre of thousands of progressive personalities within and outside the Baath, as well as his rapes of countless women in front of their fathers, brothers, and husbands.
But who installed Saddam into power in the first place? The coup which catapulted Saddam into power was sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency--as was the coup which unseated and murdered the democratically elected Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973. His massacres and rapes were allowed to pass before he started to defy US wishes that it be allowed to control Iraqi oil.
Human rights are a pet invocation of US leaders. In line with this they have consistently heaped mud upon leaders like Fidel Castro. But Augusto Pinochet, Anastasio Somoza, Pol Pot, and Ferdinand Marcos each committed more atrocities against human rights in less than thirty years than Castro has ever been accused of in the more than forty years that he has governed Cuba--and yet they were fully supported by the US until their very own people began to throw up their bile at the mere mention of their names. Why? Because unlike Castro, they never defied the US.
What moral right, then, has the US government to wage wars in the name of democracy?
Brazenness
The brazenness of Bush in insisting on wars without any legal nor moral basis is the reason he is called an arrogant son of a bitch.
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
Statement of the Filipino Youth for Peace
If you agree with the following statement and want to be part of the Filipino Youth for Peace in its campaign against US war on Iraq, please COPY this message and the letter below instead of forwarding, and sign your name, age, and city/province at the bottom. Send the e-mail to your friends and CC/BCC a copy to peace@tinig.com. For more info, visit http://peace.tinig.com/.
===================
NO TO US WAR ON IRAQ!
The United States (US) of America, through its President George "Dubya" W. Bush, is gearing for a war on Iraq. Bush says Iraq is a threat to world peace, claiming it has links with the al-Qaeda terror network that masterminded the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and that it has weapons of mass destruction. Bush has closed in on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, calling him a tyrant. For all these, the US wants to engage Iraq in a war.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo refuses to comment on the possibility of US military action without the sanction of the United Nations. However, her statement that the Philippines is ready “to extend political, security and humanitarian assistance to the United
States in the pursuit of its most vital interests, which coincide with our own vital interests, to defeat terrorism," is an obvious expression of her support to the US war on Iraq.
Our own government is willing to support a patently unjust war.
The US cites as proof that Iraq is a threat to world peace its attacks on Iran in the 1980s and Kuwait in the 1990s. But why did the US not condemn Iraq when it attacked Iran? Iraq has not attacked any nation for the last ten years, and has even made peace with both Iran and Kuwait. How then can it be a threat to world peace?
Israel is the only nation in the Middle East that holds territory other than its own, and has been conducting the most savage attacks on the Palestinian people for decades--yet the US has not called it a threat to world peace.
The US has no concrete evidence linking Iraq to the al-Qaeda network. All it has managed to come up with are accusations that Iraq is linked with the al-Qaeda.
And even if it were true that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the US has no moral right to attack Iraq on that basis. Data from the Natural Resources Defense Council show that the US is at present the world's greatest nuclear menace. It ranks second among the top five nations with the highest number of nuclear weapons; as of 1996, the United States has 12,937 nuclear stockpiles, second only to the former Soviet Union's 25,000, which have long been under maintained and only half of which is active. The US has more than those of the next three nuclear powers combined: France with 450, China with 400, and the United Kingdom with 260. The US is thus, at present, the world’s greatest nuclear power.
The US advocates regime change in Iraq on the basis of Saddam's tyranny. But a closer look at recent history would tell us that Hussein attained his position through a coup supported by the Central Intelligence Agency. But he has not kowtowed to the wishes of his American patrons. Instead of giving in to their demands that they be allowed to control Iraqi oil, he nationalized the Iraqi oil industry and devoted a substantial portion of the income to basic services such as free education and health care.
For that matter, human rights have not fared any better in Turkey than they have in Iraq in recent history. Why is the US not advocating regime change in Turkey?
Bush has included Iraq in the so-called "axis of evil" with North Korea and Cuba. But the US does not want to risk even a small war against North Korea due to pressure from South Korea and Japan. And though it has successfully crippled Cuba with its sanctions, the island country is still branded as a threat.
The impending war on Iraq, therefore, is clearly a war not for the defense of the Free World, but for US global hegemony, in the quest for which oil plays an important part. Whatever may be said of Iraq, it has been a hindrance to US designs for world hegemony, and for this the US is threatening it with the scourge of war.
Our government's support for this war would mean jeopardizing the lives of millions of Filipinos working in Iraq and its neighboring countries. The Philippine economy is largely dependent for sustenance on remittances from overseas Filipino workers; therefore a war on Iraq will exact a heavy toll on the Philippine economy.
As Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr. pointed out in his call to stand for peace, the impending war will also imperil the price of oil, distort foreign exchange, and may intensify violence in our country, especially Mindanao.
President Macapagal-Arroyo would do better by heeding the no-to-war call of Vice President Guingona and by following the example of respected leaders like Pope John Paul II, former US President Jimmy Carter, and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
We must uphold what the Constitution says: “The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.”
We, the Filipino youth, stand in solidarity with our American brothers and sisters, in whose name their leaders are committing so much bestiality. We do not want to see the names of a people who built their nation on a most fervent love for freedom tainted with blood spilled in an immoral war.
We refuse to forget the more than one million Vietnamese killed in the genocide called the Vietnam War, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Filipino freedom fighters and civilians murdered during the Philippine-American War. Thus, we condemn this war that could kill as many as half a million Iraqis.
Our generation does not want to inherit a world torn by wars of aggression. We therefore join the voice of the youth all over the world crying for peace and justice.
We reject the US war of aggression against Iraq. We urge the Philippine government to do the same.
-- Filipino Youth for Peace
(Write here your name, age, and city/province.)
If you agree with the following statement and want to be part of the Filipino Youth for Peace in its campaign against US war on Iraq, please COPY this message and the letter below instead of forwarding, and sign your name, age, and city/province at the bottom. Send the e-mail to your friends and CC/BCC a copy to peace@tinig.com. For more info, visit http://peace.tinig.com/.
===================
NO TO US WAR ON IRAQ!
The United States (US) of America, through its President George "Dubya" W. Bush, is gearing for a war on Iraq. Bush says Iraq is a threat to world peace, claiming it has links with the al-Qaeda terror network that masterminded the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center, and that it has weapons of mass destruction. Bush has closed in on Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, calling him a tyrant. For all these, the US wants to engage Iraq in a war.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo refuses to comment on the possibility of US military action without the sanction of the United Nations. However, her statement that the Philippines is ready “to extend political, security and humanitarian assistance to the United
States in the pursuit of its most vital interests, which coincide with our own vital interests, to defeat terrorism," is an obvious expression of her support to the US war on Iraq.
Our own government is willing to support a patently unjust war.
The US cites as proof that Iraq is a threat to world peace its attacks on Iran in the 1980s and Kuwait in the 1990s. But why did the US not condemn Iraq when it attacked Iran? Iraq has not attacked any nation for the last ten years, and has even made peace with both Iran and Kuwait. How then can it be a threat to world peace?
Israel is the only nation in the Middle East that holds territory other than its own, and has been conducting the most savage attacks on the Palestinian people for decades--yet the US has not called it a threat to world peace.
The US has no concrete evidence linking Iraq to the al-Qaeda network. All it has managed to come up with are accusations that Iraq is linked with the al-Qaeda.
And even if it were true that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, the US has no moral right to attack Iraq on that basis. Data from the Natural Resources Defense Council show that the US is at present the world's greatest nuclear menace. It ranks second among the top five nations with the highest number of nuclear weapons; as of 1996, the United States has 12,937 nuclear stockpiles, second only to the former Soviet Union's 25,000, which have long been under maintained and only half of which is active. The US has more than those of the next three nuclear powers combined: France with 450, China with 400, and the United Kingdom with 260. The US is thus, at present, the world’s greatest nuclear power.
The US advocates regime change in Iraq on the basis of Saddam's tyranny. But a closer look at recent history would tell us that Hussein attained his position through a coup supported by the Central Intelligence Agency. But he has not kowtowed to the wishes of his American patrons. Instead of giving in to their demands that they be allowed to control Iraqi oil, he nationalized the Iraqi oil industry and devoted a substantial portion of the income to basic services such as free education and health care.
For that matter, human rights have not fared any better in Turkey than they have in Iraq in recent history. Why is the US not advocating regime change in Turkey?
Bush has included Iraq in the so-called "axis of evil" with North Korea and Cuba. But the US does not want to risk even a small war against North Korea due to pressure from South Korea and Japan. And though it has successfully crippled Cuba with its sanctions, the island country is still branded as a threat.
The impending war on Iraq, therefore, is clearly a war not for the defense of the Free World, but for US global hegemony, in the quest for which oil plays an important part. Whatever may be said of Iraq, it has been a hindrance to US designs for world hegemony, and for this the US is threatening it with the scourge of war.
Our government's support for this war would mean jeopardizing the lives of millions of Filipinos working in Iraq and its neighboring countries. The Philippine economy is largely dependent for sustenance on remittances from overseas Filipino workers; therefore a war on Iraq will exact a heavy toll on the Philippine economy.
As Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Jr. pointed out in his call to stand for peace, the impending war will also imperil the price of oil, distort foreign exchange, and may intensify violence in our country, especially Mindanao.
President Macapagal-Arroyo would do better by heeding the no-to-war call of Vice President Guingona and by following the example of respected leaders like Pope John Paul II, former US President Jimmy Carter, and former South African President Nelson Mandela.
We must uphold what the Constitution says: “The Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, adopts the generally accepted principles of international law as part of the law of the land and adheres to the policy of peace, equality, justice, freedom, cooperation, and amity with all nations.”
We, the Filipino youth, stand in solidarity with our American brothers and sisters, in whose name their leaders are committing so much bestiality. We do not want to see the names of a people who built their nation on a most fervent love for freedom tainted with blood spilled in an immoral war.
We refuse to forget the more than one million Vietnamese killed in the genocide called the Vietnam War, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Filipino freedom fighters and civilians murdered during the Philippine-American War. Thus, we condemn this war that could kill as many as half a million Iraqis.
Our generation does not want to inherit a world torn by wars of aggression. We therefore join the voice of the youth all over the world crying for peace and justice.
We reject the US war of aggression against Iraq. We urge the Philippine government to do the same.
-- Filipino Youth for Peace
(Write here your name, age, and city/province.)
Monday, February 03, 2003
Katatawanan
Nitong nagdaang Enero 31, matapos na lumahok sa isang malaking demonstrasyon ng iba't ibang organisasyon at pananampalataya laban sa napipintong pagdigma ng Estados Unidos sa Iraq, pinalad akong mapanood sa telebisyon ng nasakyan kong bus ang isang bahagi ng isang tanyag na sitcom kung saan makikita ang mga katawa-tawang bersiyon ng Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ng Pangalawang Pangulong Teofisto Guingona, Jr., at ng mga opisyal ng Gabinete.
Sa pagsisimula ng tagpong iyo'y nagpupulong ang "Pangulo" at ang "Gabinete". Maya-maya'y sapapasok ang "Pangalawang Pangulong Guingona", na ang paglakad ay pahintu-hinto at nanlilisik ang mata at nakausli ang nguso. Patuloy na manlilisik ang kanyang mata at higit pang uusli ang kanyang nguso habang pahintu-hinto siyang nagtatalumpating wari'y pagalit. Halata ang kaibhan ng kanyang gawi sa maayos na kilos at pananalita ng "Pangulo" at ng mga "opisyal ng Gabinete".
Sa kanyang paligid, nagtatawanan ang "Pangulo" at ang mga "opisyal ng Gabinete".
Makaraan ang ilang araw, napag-alaman ko sa isang kamanunulat na sa isa pang tanyag ding sitcom ay higit ang paggawang katawa-tawa kay Guingona. "Mas kawawa ang 'itsura ni Guingona do'n," wika ng aking kamanunulat.
Sa lahat ng napanood kong katatawanan mula nang isilang ang bagong milenyo, ito ang pinakanakatatawa. Nakatatawa ito kung paanong ang tae ng kalabaw ay mabango at ang inuuod na karne ng baboy ay mabango.
Sino ba itong taong idinamay nila sa kanilang mga katatawanan?
Si Teofisto Guingona, Jr. ay naging aktibista alang-alang sa karapatang pantao noong panahon ng batas militar. Walang bayad siyang naglingkod bilang abugado sa mga biktima ng naging malawakang paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Bukod pa rito, lumahok siya sa mga demonstrasyon laban sa pasismo ng diktadurang Marcos--at kapalit nito'y makalawang nabilanggo at sa hindi mabilang na pagkakatao'y napalo ng truncheon at nakatikim ng tubig mula sa water cannon.
Maliwanag din ang kasaysayan ni Guingona ng pagsusulong ng nasyunalismo.
Noong panahon ng pagka-Pangulo ni Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, isa si Guingona sa labindalawa sa dalawampu't tatlong Senador na tumutol sa pananatili ng mga base militar ng Estados Unidos sa Pilipinas. Noong panahon ng pagka-Pangulo ni Joseph Ejercito Estrada, isa siya sa lima sa dalawampu't apat na Senador na hindi lumagda sa Visiting Forces Agreement, na nagpapahintulot sa pagpapapasok sa mga puwersang militar ng Estados Unidos sa Pilipinas ukol sa mga "ehersisyong militar", bukod pa sa pagbibigay sa mga ito ng mga "karapatang" ekstrateritoryal at ekstrahudisyal. Nitong panahon ng pagka-Pangulo ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, isa siya sa pinakamalalakas na tinig na tumututol sa Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, na naglalayong itali ang pamahalaan ng Pilipinas sa pagbibigay ng lohistikong tulong sa mga sundalong Amerikanong papasok dito. Sa lahat nito, katwiran niya'y malayang bansa ang Pilipinas kaya't hindi dapat na mapabilang sa sistemang pantanggulan ng Estados Unidos at maramay sa mga digmaang hindi nito digmaan.
Sinimulan na rin ni Guingona ang pagtutol sa globalisasyon, at siya'y nagsusulong ng programang pang-ekonomiyang mangangalaga sa kapakanan ng Pilipinas at hindi sa mga interes ng mga korporasyong transnasyunal.
Si Guingona ay isa rin sa iilang opisyal na walang bahid ng anumang katiwalian ang pangalan.
Iyan si Teofisto Gungona, Jr., ang taong kanilang ginagawang katawa-tawa. Ang ating Inang Baya'y matagal nang naghihintay ng susunod sa mga yapak nina Claro Mayo Recto, Lorenzo Tañada, at Jose Wright Diokno--at ngayo'y narito si Teofisto Guingona, Jr.--na sa ating kasaysayan ay siyang pinakamataas na opisyal ng pamahalaan na tumutol sa pakikialam ng Estados Unidos at pinakamataas na opisyal ng pamahalaan na walang bahid ng katiwalian ang pangalan.
At siya'y ginagawang katawa-tawa ng ilang walang kapantay na mga henyo.
Ipagpatuloy ninyo ang inyong ginagawa, at kayo na rin ang pumatay sa karapatan ninyong magtanong kung bakit kadalasa'y kawatan ang namumuno sa ating bayan. Itinuturo ninyo sa mga taong ang maging matino at magaling na opisyal ng pamahalaan ay isang katatawanan.
Nitong nagdaang Enero 31, matapos na lumahok sa isang malaking demonstrasyon ng iba't ibang organisasyon at pananampalataya laban sa napipintong pagdigma ng Estados Unidos sa Iraq, pinalad akong mapanood sa telebisyon ng nasakyan kong bus ang isang bahagi ng isang tanyag na sitcom kung saan makikita ang mga katawa-tawang bersiyon ng Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, ng Pangalawang Pangulong Teofisto Guingona, Jr., at ng mga opisyal ng Gabinete.
Sa pagsisimula ng tagpong iyo'y nagpupulong ang "Pangulo" at ang "Gabinete". Maya-maya'y sapapasok ang "Pangalawang Pangulong Guingona", na ang paglakad ay pahintu-hinto at nanlilisik ang mata at nakausli ang nguso. Patuloy na manlilisik ang kanyang mata at higit pang uusli ang kanyang nguso habang pahintu-hinto siyang nagtatalumpating wari'y pagalit. Halata ang kaibhan ng kanyang gawi sa maayos na kilos at pananalita ng "Pangulo" at ng mga "opisyal ng Gabinete".
Sa kanyang paligid, nagtatawanan ang "Pangulo" at ang mga "opisyal ng Gabinete".
Makaraan ang ilang araw, napag-alaman ko sa isang kamanunulat na sa isa pang tanyag ding sitcom ay higit ang paggawang katawa-tawa kay Guingona. "Mas kawawa ang 'itsura ni Guingona do'n," wika ng aking kamanunulat.
Sa lahat ng napanood kong katatawanan mula nang isilang ang bagong milenyo, ito ang pinakanakatatawa. Nakatatawa ito kung paanong ang tae ng kalabaw ay mabango at ang inuuod na karne ng baboy ay mabango.
Sino ba itong taong idinamay nila sa kanilang mga katatawanan?
Si Teofisto Guingona, Jr. ay naging aktibista alang-alang sa karapatang pantao noong panahon ng batas militar. Walang bayad siyang naglingkod bilang abugado sa mga biktima ng naging malawakang paglabag sa karapatang pantao. Bukod pa rito, lumahok siya sa mga demonstrasyon laban sa pasismo ng diktadurang Marcos--at kapalit nito'y makalawang nabilanggo at sa hindi mabilang na pagkakatao'y napalo ng truncheon at nakatikim ng tubig mula sa water cannon.
Maliwanag din ang kasaysayan ni Guingona ng pagsusulong ng nasyunalismo.
Noong panahon ng pagka-Pangulo ni Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, isa si Guingona sa labindalawa sa dalawampu't tatlong Senador na tumutol sa pananatili ng mga base militar ng Estados Unidos sa Pilipinas. Noong panahon ng pagka-Pangulo ni Joseph Ejercito Estrada, isa siya sa lima sa dalawampu't apat na Senador na hindi lumagda sa Visiting Forces Agreement, na nagpapahintulot sa pagpapapasok sa mga puwersang militar ng Estados Unidos sa Pilipinas ukol sa mga "ehersisyong militar", bukod pa sa pagbibigay sa mga ito ng mga "karapatang" ekstrateritoryal at ekstrahudisyal. Nitong panahon ng pagka-Pangulo ni Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, isa siya sa pinakamalalakas na tinig na tumututol sa Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, na naglalayong itali ang pamahalaan ng Pilipinas sa pagbibigay ng lohistikong tulong sa mga sundalong Amerikanong papasok dito. Sa lahat nito, katwiran niya'y malayang bansa ang Pilipinas kaya't hindi dapat na mapabilang sa sistemang pantanggulan ng Estados Unidos at maramay sa mga digmaang hindi nito digmaan.
Sinimulan na rin ni Guingona ang pagtutol sa globalisasyon, at siya'y nagsusulong ng programang pang-ekonomiyang mangangalaga sa kapakanan ng Pilipinas at hindi sa mga interes ng mga korporasyong transnasyunal.
Si Guingona ay isa rin sa iilang opisyal na walang bahid ng anumang katiwalian ang pangalan.
Iyan si Teofisto Gungona, Jr., ang taong kanilang ginagawang katawa-tawa. Ang ating Inang Baya'y matagal nang naghihintay ng susunod sa mga yapak nina Claro Mayo Recto, Lorenzo Tañada, at Jose Wright Diokno--at ngayo'y narito si Teofisto Guingona, Jr.--na sa ating kasaysayan ay siyang pinakamataas na opisyal ng pamahalaan na tumutol sa pakikialam ng Estados Unidos at pinakamataas na opisyal ng pamahalaan na walang bahid ng katiwalian ang pangalan.
At siya'y ginagawang katawa-tawa ng ilang walang kapantay na mga henyo.
Ipagpatuloy ninyo ang inyong ginagawa, at kayo na rin ang pumatay sa karapatan ninyong magtanong kung bakit kadalasa'y kawatan ang namumuno sa ating bayan. Itinuturo ninyo sa mga taong ang maging matino at magaling na opisyal ng pamahalaan ay isang katatawanan.
Tuesday, January 28, 2003
Please pass on to all concerned Filipinos...
A CALL TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE: STAND FOR PEACE!
From Vice President Teofisto Guingona
The threat of war in Iraq and its consequences, for us ordinary Filipinos, is growing as the 27th of January U.N. inspectors' report to the United Nations draws near. An attack on Iraq by the U.S. and English forces seems imminent, even with the U.N. Security Council mandate. Their forces are massing by the hundreds of thousands!
Reports from the U.N. estimates that casualties of civilians alone may reach five hundred thousand.
Such possible tragedy seems compounded by the perils facing our OFWs, about one hundred in Iraq proper, more than twenty seven thousand in neighboring Kuwait and about 850,000 in Saudi Arabia, not to speak of further dislocations from their families here.
The impending war will imperil the price of oil, further distort foreign exchange, and devastate the economy. Worse -- it may intensify violence and the senseless flow of blood in our land, especially Mindanao.
Many are resigned to hopelessness. of letting things take their own course. The US does not seem to pay attention to the warnings of European and Asian leaders, including the plea of the Pope.
We again confront our own mortality against the odds and seek divine assistance in the midst of powerlessness. In such times, we seek Divine assistance. We are challenged to put our faith and trust in God for his protection.
In these coming critical days, I humbly call on people of various faiths, to unite in prayer to seek divine intervention, to let peace reign in our world. We implore God to enlighten world leaders against war.
I humbly ask leaders of various Religious communities to congregate on Jan. 31 at Plaza Miranda for an afternoon of Prayer for Peace. People of various faith expressions, Christians and Muslims included, will come together to pray. Peace in Iraq, peace in the Middle East, and peace in our country. JOIN US!
Sincerely,
(Sgd.) TEOFISTO G. GUINGONA
Vice President
Take part in the march for peace to Plaza Miranda. Assembly is at UST-España at 11:00 AM. March starts at 1:00 PM. Prayers and protest start at 2:00 PM.
A CALL TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE: STAND FOR PEACE!
From Vice President Teofisto Guingona
The threat of war in Iraq and its consequences, for us ordinary Filipinos, is growing as the 27th of January U.N. inspectors' report to the United Nations draws near. An attack on Iraq by the U.S. and English forces seems imminent, even with the U.N. Security Council mandate. Their forces are massing by the hundreds of thousands!
Reports from the U.N. estimates that casualties of civilians alone may reach five hundred thousand.
Such possible tragedy seems compounded by the perils facing our OFWs, about one hundred in Iraq proper, more than twenty seven thousand in neighboring Kuwait and about 850,000 in Saudi Arabia, not to speak of further dislocations from their families here.
The impending war will imperil the price of oil, further distort foreign exchange, and devastate the economy. Worse -- it may intensify violence and the senseless flow of blood in our land, especially Mindanao.
Many are resigned to hopelessness. of letting things take their own course. The US does not seem to pay attention to the warnings of European and Asian leaders, including the plea of the Pope.
We again confront our own mortality against the odds and seek divine assistance in the midst of powerlessness. In such times, we seek Divine assistance. We are challenged to put our faith and trust in God for his protection.
In these coming critical days, I humbly call on people of various faiths, to unite in prayer to seek divine intervention, to let peace reign in our world. We implore God to enlighten world leaders against war.
I humbly ask leaders of various Religious communities to congregate on Jan. 31 at Plaza Miranda for an afternoon of Prayer for Peace. People of various faith expressions, Christians and Muslims included, will come together to pray. Peace in Iraq, peace in the Middle East, and peace in our country. JOIN US!
Sincerely,
(Sgd.) TEOFISTO G. GUINGONA
Vice President
Take part in the march for peace to Plaza Miranda. Assembly is at UST-España at 11:00 AM. March starts at 1:00 PM. Prayers and protest start at 2:00 PM.
Tuesday, December 24, 2002
Nakangiti Ka
Sinalubong mo sa paliparan
ang mga bagong bayani
ng bansa.
Kinamayan mo sila,
inabutan mo
ng ilang regalo.
Umuwi kang nakangiti,
pagkat nagawa mo na
ang dapat mong gawin
sa kanila.
Nakangiti ka
habang ang maraming bansa
ay nagiging mga Hapon
ng mga Maricris Sioson
at mga Singapore
ng mga Flor Contemplacion,
pagkat nagawa mo na
ang dapat mong gawin
sa kanila.
Sinalubong mo sa paliparan
ang mga bagong bayani
ng bansa.
Kinamayan mo sila,
inabutan mo
ng ilang regalo.
Umuwi kang nakangiti,
pagkat nagawa mo na
ang dapat mong gawin
sa kanila.
Nakangiti ka
habang ang maraming bansa
ay nagiging mga Hapon
ng mga Maricris Sioson
at mga Singapore
ng mga Flor Contemplacion,
pagkat nagawa mo na
ang dapat mong gawin
sa kanila.
Saturday, October 26, 2002
Patak ng Unos
Isang gabi iyong hindi gayon kadaling lalamunin ng halimaw ng paglimot. Gabi iyong nagtipun-tipon ang may mahigit sa tatlumpung kasapi ng No to War, Yes to Peace Coalition sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos.
Ang No to War, Yes to Peace Coalition ay binubuo ng iba't ibang tao mula sa iba't ibang sektor ng lipunan at blokeng pampulitika na pinapagbuklod-buklod ng mga lagda nila sa isang pahayag na umikot sa Internet kamakailan, isang pahayag na nananawagan ng muling pagbubukas ng usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng pamahalaan at ng Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front. Mula roo'y madaling lumalim ang panawagan ng naturang pangkat at napadako sa pananawagan ng makatarungang kapayapaan sa lahat ng dako ng daigdig.
Kagabi nga, tangan ang mga puting kandila, ilang plakard, at isang istrimer, nagtipun-tipon ang ilan sa mga kasapi ng pangkat sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos upang tutulan ang napipintong pakikidigma ng Estados Unidos sa Iraq. Nanghawak ang koalisyon sa panawagang di makatarungan at iligal ang napipintong pakikidigmang ito, sapagkat bukod sa walang basbas ng anumang resolusyon mula sa Konsehong Panseguridad ng Nangagkakaisang Bansa'y pinangungunahan ng isang bansang walang moral na karapatang ipilit ang pagsunod ng alinmang kapwa nito bansa sa pandaigdigang batas sapagkat siya ma'y kayrami nang nilabag na patakaran ng Nangagkakaisang Bansa. Kasabay nito'y ang pagdiriin sa kahingiang pairalin sa lahat ng dako ng daigdig ang makatarungang kapayapaan.
Sapagkat ang nagsidalo'y mula sa iba't ibang blokeng pampulitika, may iba kaipalang nakaramdam ng sandaling pagkailang. Ngunit nang gabing iyo'y hindi naging mahalaga ang kung saan nanggaling ang sino; nagbuklod-buklod sila nang di nagtatanungan kung alin-aling organisasyon ang kanilang kinabibilangan. Ang naging mahalaga nang gabing iyo'y ang paninindigang ang ating bayan ay di dapat na masangkot sa digmaang di makatarungan at iligal.
Kaunti lang ang nakadalo--wala pang apatnapu. Madalian kasi ang naging mga paghahanda bago ang pagkilos; araw lang ang binilang.
Datapwat ang anumang kakulangan nang gabing iyon sa bilang ay mahusay na napunan ng makapangyarihang panawagan. Walang tangan liban sa mga kandila at plakard at isang istrimer, ang wala pang apatnapung taong nagpiket sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos ay nilingon ng bawat magdaan.
Maliit nga lang ang naging pagkilos nang gabing iyon. Ngunit ang munti mang patak ng asido'y bumubutas sa tabing ng kawalang-bahala. Wala ring unos na di sa patak nagsimula.
Isang gabi iyong hindi gayon kadaling lalamunin ng halimaw ng paglimot. Gabi iyong nagtipun-tipon ang may mahigit sa tatlumpung kasapi ng No to War, Yes to Peace Coalition sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos.
Ang No to War, Yes to Peace Coalition ay binubuo ng iba't ibang tao mula sa iba't ibang sektor ng lipunan at blokeng pampulitika na pinapagbuklod-buklod ng mga lagda nila sa isang pahayag na umikot sa Internet kamakailan, isang pahayag na nananawagan ng muling pagbubukas ng usapang pangkapayapaan sa pagitan ng pamahalaan at ng Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front. Mula roo'y madaling lumalim ang panawagan ng naturang pangkat at napadako sa pananawagan ng makatarungang kapayapaan sa lahat ng dako ng daigdig.
Kagabi nga, tangan ang mga puting kandila, ilang plakard, at isang istrimer, nagtipun-tipon ang ilan sa mga kasapi ng pangkat sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos upang tutulan ang napipintong pakikidigma ng Estados Unidos sa Iraq. Nanghawak ang koalisyon sa panawagang di makatarungan at iligal ang napipintong pakikidigmang ito, sapagkat bukod sa walang basbas ng anumang resolusyon mula sa Konsehong Panseguridad ng Nangagkakaisang Bansa'y pinangungunahan ng isang bansang walang moral na karapatang ipilit ang pagsunod ng alinmang kapwa nito bansa sa pandaigdigang batas sapagkat siya ma'y kayrami nang nilabag na patakaran ng Nangagkakaisang Bansa. Kasabay nito'y ang pagdiriin sa kahingiang pairalin sa lahat ng dako ng daigdig ang makatarungang kapayapaan.
Sapagkat ang nagsidalo'y mula sa iba't ibang blokeng pampulitika, may iba kaipalang nakaramdam ng sandaling pagkailang. Ngunit nang gabing iyo'y hindi naging mahalaga ang kung saan nanggaling ang sino; nagbuklod-buklod sila nang di nagtatanungan kung alin-aling organisasyon ang kanilang kinabibilangan. Ang naging mahalaga nang gabing iyo'y ang paninindigang ang ating bayan ay di dapat na masangkot sa digmaang di makatarungan at iligal.
Kaunti lang ang nakadalo--wala pang apatnapu. Madalian kasi ang naging mga paghahanda bago ang pagkilos; araw lang ang binilang.
Datapwat ang anumang kakulangan nang gabing iyon sa bilang ay mahusay na napunan ng makapangyarihang panawagan. Walang tangan liban sa mga kandila at plakard at isang istrimer, ang wala pang apatnapung taong nagpiket sa harap ng Embahada ng Estados Unidos ay nilingon ng bawat magdaan.
Maliit nga lang ang naging pagkilos nang gabing iyon. Ngunit ang munti mang patak ng asido'y bumubutas sa tabing ng kawalang-bahala. Wala ring unos na di sa patak nagsimula.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Ekstremismo
Kangina, sa Frontpage, ibinalita ang tungkol sa pagbibigay ni Goh Chok Tong, Punong Ministro ng Singapore, ng panayam sa mga kinatawan ng pandaigdigang pabatiran. Marami siyang binanggit na paksa sa panayam na ito.
Subalit sa maraming paksang tinalakay niya, lumutang ang sinabi niyang sa malaking populasyong Muslim ng kanilang bansa ay marami ang mga ekstremista.
Hindi na niya ipinaliwanag ang ibig niyang sabihin sa "ekstremismo". Ngunit may mabigat na implikasyon ang pagkakagamit niya ng salitang ito sapagkat ikinabit niya ang ekstremismo sa kanyang mga kababayang Muslim.
Ayon sa Oxford American Dictionary, ang isang ekstremista ay yaong tagapagsulong ng labis na mga pananaw, lalo na sa pulitika. Samakatwid, ang pagiging ekstremista ay pagsusulong ng mga pananaw na lampas sa mga hangganan ng katwiran.
Ang salitang "ekstremista" ay palagi ngang ikinakabit sa mga Muslim. Oo nga't may mga ekstremistang Muslim sa maraming panig ng mundo.
Ngunit hindi naman esklusibo sa mga Muslim ang ekstremismo.
Oo nga't mga ekstremista ang mga tulad ng al-Qaeda, na binangga ang Estados Unidos subalit sa pamamagitan naman ng pagkitil sa libu-libong inosenteng buhay.
Datapwat di ba't ekstremista rin naman ang bansang nagsabing ang di niya kapanig ay kapanig ng mga terorista?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang upang labanan ang terorismo ay naghulog ng mga bomba sa 3,500 sibilyan sa Afghanistan at bumihag ng marami sa kanyang mga kaagapay sa digmaan?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang namumuwersa sa Iraq at Hilagang Korea na lansagin ang kanilang mga sandatang nukleyar habang ang sarili niyang ganitong mga sandata'y hindi niya nilalansag?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang naghahanda ng pakikidigma sa isang bansang walang sinasalakay?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang humihingi sa Nagkakaisang Bansa na magkaroon ng resolusyong magbibigay sa kanya (at sa kanya lamang) ng kapangyarihang magsagawa ng hakbang laban sa ibang bansa kahit na walang basbas nito?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang nangangalandakang siya'y pinili ng Diyos upang palaganapin sa sansinukob ang kalayaan, at upang isakatuparan ang layuning ito'y nang-aagaw ng laya ng maraming bansa?
Ang pagkakabit ng ekstremismo sa mga Muslim ay inianak ng kapalaluan ng iilang bumabaluktot sa dakilang relihiyong pamana ni Kristo upang magamit ito sa pagbibigay-katwiran sa paghahasik ng kasalarinan. Huwag tayong pabitag sa ganitong pag-iisip.
Kangina, sa Frontpage, ibinalita ang tungkol sa pagbibigay ni Goh Chok Tong, Punong Ministro ng Singapore, ng panayam sa mga kinatawan ng pandaigdigang pabatiran. Marami siyang binanggit na paksa sa panayam na ito.
Subalit sa maraming paksang tinalakay niya, lumutang ang sinabi niyang sa malaking populasyong Muslim ng kanilang bansa ay marami ang mga ekstremista.
Hindi na niya ipinaliwanag ang ibig niyang sabihin sa "ekstremismo". Ngunit may mabigat na implikasyon ang pagkakagamit niya ng salitang ito sapagkat ikinabit niya ang ekstremismo sa kanyang mga kababayang Muslim.
Ayon sa Oxford American Dictionary, ang isang ekstremista ay yaong tagapagsulong ng labis na mga pananaw, lalo na sa pulitika. Samakatwid, ang pagiging ekstremista ay pagsusulong ng mga pananaw na lampas sa mga hangganan ng katwiran.
Ang salitang "ekstremista" ay palagi ngang ikinakabit sa mga Muslim. Oo nga't may mga ekstremistang Muslim sa maraming panig ng mundo.
Ngunit hindi naman esklusibo sa mga Muslim ang ekstremismo.
Oo nga't mga ekstremista ang mga tulad ng al-Qaeda, na binangga ang Estados Unidos subalit sa pamamagitan naman ng pagkitil sa libu-libong inosenteng buhay.
Datapwat di ba't ekstremista rin naman ang bansang nagsabing ang di niya kapanig ay kapanig ng mga terorista?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang upang labanan ang terorismo ay naghulog ng mga bomba sa 3,500 sibilyan sa Afghanistan at bumihag ng marami sa kanyang mga kaagapay sa digmaan?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang namumuwersa sa Iraq at Hilagang Korea na lansagin ang kanilang mga sandatang nukleyar habang ang sarili niyang ganitong mga sandata'y hindi niya nilalansag?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang naghahanda ng pakikidigma sa isang bansang walang sinasalakay?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang humihingi sa Nagkakaisang Bansa na magkaroon ng resolusyong magbibigay sa kanya (at sa kanya lamang) ng kapangyarihang magsagawa ng hakbang laban sa ibang bansa kahit na walang basbas nito?
Hindi ba't ekstremista ang bansang nangangalandakang siya'y pinili ng Diyos upang palaganapin sa sansinukob ang kalayaan, at upang isakatuparan ang layuning ito'y nang-aagaw ng laya ng maraming bansa?
Ang pagkakabit ng ekstremismo sa mga Muslim ay inianak ng kapalaluan ng iilang bumabaluktot sa dakilang relihiyong pamana ni Kristo upang magamit ito sa pagbibigay-katwiran sa paghahasik ng kasalarinan. Huwag tayong pabitag sa ganitong pag-iisip.
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