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Sey Gudbay^

Prinsipe ng Pangarap! — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 05:11:10 +0000

Hindi na kami nagkakasamang tumambay ng mga tropa ko. Hindi ko na nakakasama sina King, Jessie, Jay-R at Herson... Siguro dahil naubusan na kami ng mga bagay na pagkukuwentuhan. Nagsawa na siguro kami sa pang-aasar at pang-ookray kay Jessie na wala nang ginawa kundi mang-echos nang mang-echos.

Nagsawa na rin siguro kami sa itinitindang isaw ni Keng na pinapakyaw namin at sama-samang pinapapak habang walang sawang nagkukuwentuhan. Nakulili na rin siguro kami sa pakikinig sa pag-whistle ala Mariah Carey ni Jay-R. Na-pollute na rin siguro ang utak namin sa walang habas na pagyoyosi ni Herson.

Si Jay-R ngayon, parang nanay na nag-aalaga ng mga anak ni Ate Wilma at Kuya Chito, wala na rin siyang balak pa atang tumambay... hindi ba't mas boring sa itaas ng bahay? Si King naman nasa Tarlac... Graduation Month na kasi at siya ang nag-aayos ng mukha ng mga kakilala niya doon.

Sina Herson at Jessie naman, nasa Pampanga, sumama sa jowa ni Herson na si Egay. Bakasyon kasi, Mahal na Araw... Natatawa tuloy ako kay Herson nang minsang nagtext siya sa akin, Badtrip daw siya kay Jessie at Egay, sinampal daw kasi siya ni Egay at hindi man lamang siya ipinagtanggol ng bakulaw na si Jessie. Eh ungas pala sila pare-pareho. Ni hindi man lang nila ako niyaya. Although hindi naman talaga ako sasama, sana man lang nag-effort silang magyaya diba?

Philippine “Typhoons”; bad for the poor!

Joe Narvaez — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 07:17:01 +0000

"The Standard", which styles itself as "Hong Kong's first free English newspaper" reported on the comments of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) regarding the disaster profile of the Philippines. The bank said that disasters have been a major factor in the country's continuing "poverty and vulnerability". ADB also stated that the disaster relief programs in the Philippines are inadequate due to "poor governance."

I think the Philippine government should dig into this issue further. Disaster preparedness should be another top priority. In my half-year stay in Hong Kong, I only noted one tropical cyclone and it was not strong enough to cause destruction on a massive scale. On the other hand, the Philippines was hit by numerous typhoons in the same period of time. The damages due to typhoon Egay alone in August 2007 were estimated to cost more than Php 20M!!!

Maybe the Philippines remains in the quagmire it is now in because we are lacking in disaster vigilance against the 20 or more typhoons that hit us every year. Maybe Hong Kong is rich because it does not have to deal with so many cyclones.

On another note, I wish the ZTE "political typhoon" would be over soon. The next president whoever he/she may be should immediately push for more effective calamity protection efforts especially for the impoverished. I also pray that the next president would not be as "typhoon-prone" as the incumbent.

__________

Manila slammed over misery of disaster millions

The Standard: Friday, March 07, 2008

Natural and man-made disasters affect nearly one in 10 people in the Philippines every year but millions of victims are largely left to fend for themselves, the Asian Development Bank said.

"Disasters, both natural and man- made, have been a major source of poverty and vulnerability in the Philippines," the Manila-based lender said in a country report yesterday.
Situated in the "Ring of Fire" of volcanic islands around the rim of the Pacific Ocean and in the typhoon belt, the country gets a hefty dose of typhoons, floods, waves, landslides, quakes and volcanic eruptions.

These "adversely affected an annual average of about eight million people, mostly in rural areas," the bank said.
"Only about one-half of the affected people received assistance from the government and private relief institutions.

"Of those assisted, the value of assistance was a miniscule amount, not even representing 1 percent of the average income during `normal' times of the poorest 30 percent of the population."

The bank said there was a lack of funds as well as "poor targeting" caused by poor governance, leading to "significant leakages and wastage of resources."

It said the scant aid reaching displaced populations was "a serious concern considering that disasters often inflict severe damage and loss to property and destroy the only means of livelihood for the poor.

"Failing to receive assistance, they risk falling to perpetual poverty traps."

The bank said the Philippines gets hit every year with 20 typhoons that come with strong winds, intense rainfall and flooding.

Separately, the nation's Senate has summoned two executives of Chinese telecoms giant ZTE Corp to testify about a corruption scandal battering President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

It is investigating a state broadband deal with ZTE, endorsed by Arroyo, that was allegedly tainted by bribery.
Arroyo, her husband Mike and the country's former elections chief Benjamin Abalos deny wrongdoing.

Window Project

remzamora — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:15:53 +0000

Two boys chat inside the Tondo resettlement area in Manila during the height of Typhoon Egay on August 17, 2007.

This is a series of photographs which I will call the WINDOW PROJECT.

This is a good graphic exercise in photographs of a frame within a frame. I love taking pictures of windows.

A photograph is like a window. We look through the windows of our eyes and see everything that happens in front of us. We are voyeurs looking through a window.

War is a Racket - Butler, the maverick marine

crowhead — Thu, 10 Aug 2006 18:30:09 +0000

I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902–1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested.

- Major General Smedley Butler. US Marine Corps. Two Congressional Medal of Honor (1881-1940)

Figura assai controversa questo Butler. Per il sottoscritto, interessato al ruolo degli eserciti nei conflitti limitati, rimane - sotto certi aspetti - ancora un incognita, una vera e propria contraddizione ambulante. Eppure mi ha sempre affascinato, per una ragione o per un'altra.Risulta altresì arduo definire quest'uomo, un incrocio fra un quacchero (quindi con un background fondamentalmente pacifista) e un cavaliere crociato, che aveva fatto dello spirito del Corpo dei Marines una religione di vita.

Arruolatosi a 16 anni (mentendo al reclutatore), durante i suoi oltre 33 anni di carriera ricevette numerose decorazioni, fra cui ben due Medaglie d'Onore del Congresso (la piu' alta decorazione americana), una a Vera Cruz, nel 1915, l'altra ad Haiti l'anno successivo. Quando si congedo' era il Marine piu' decorato della storia del Corpo, mentre Teddy Roosvelt in un'occasione lo defini', e non a torto, "The finest fighting man in America."

Verso la fine della carriera inizio' a diventare un oppositore della politica estera armata e nel 1935, quattro anni dopo il suo congedo, pubblico' "War is a Racket", uno dei primissimi testi ferocemente critici verso il complesso militare-industriale americano. In quel libercolo (che consiglio a tutti di leggere) Butler racconta dei vergognosi sperperi avvenuti prima e durante la 1a Guerra Mondiale. Chi ci ha guadagnato e chi ha pagato e non solo con la "vile pecunia". L'esperienza militare quale braccio armato degli interessi statunitensi lo trasformo' profondamente.

Divenuto un acceso anti-imperialista (definiva i paesi europei come una massa di avidi cani pazzi), s'impegno' tenacemente a divulgare il suo pensiero, tenendo conferenze per tutta l'America, non importa per chi, a lui non interessava l'ideologia, desiderava solo aprire gli occhi alla sua gente, raccontando quello che aveva visto nel corso della sua lunga carriera. E cosi', fini' anche per fare comizi per il Partito Comunista USA. Certo i giorni della caccia alle streghe di McCarthy erano ancora lontani, nondimeno bisognava essere dotati di maroni e contromaroni per esporsi in quel modo. Non per nulla questo accanito attivismo, unito alle sue idee non ortodosse, gli costarono l'avanzamento a Comandante del Corpo dei Marines. Secondo lui le Forze Armate dovevano essere impiegate esclusivamente per la difesa del patrio suolo, limitandone l'impiego fuodi dai confini mediante un apposito emendamento costituzionale.

Anche al di fuori della sfera militare, si distinse comunque per la sua onesta' e senso di giustizia. Nel 1924 venne nominato temporaneamente Director of Public Safety di Philadelphia. Durante il suo mandato - durato circa un anno - tento' di ripulire Philly dalla corruzione, facendo arrestare un gran numero di poliziotti corrotti, estorsori, biscazzieri e contrabbandieri.

Terminata la carriera militare, nel 1932 fu avvicinato da rappresentati della Morgan Bank, che si offrirono di finanziarlo per stabilire una sorta di dittatura negli Stati Uniti per rimpiazzare l'allora Governo Roosvelt. Lui si rifiuto', spiattellando tutto alla stampa. Una successiva indagine da parte del Congresso non ebbe comunque seguito.

Mori' di cancro al Naval Hospital di Philadelphia, PA, il 21 Giugno 1940. Poco meno di un anno prima, il 31 Agosto 1939 disse: "Not a single drop of American blood should ever again be spilled on foreign soil."

A lui vennero dedicati il Cacciatorpediniere USS Butler (DD636) e Camp Butler, il compound dei Marines ad Okinawa, in Giappone. Anche una brigata dei Veterans for Peace di Boston porta il suo nome. Dopo la sua morte nessun'altro militare statunitense ricevette due o piu' Congressional Medal of Honor.

Links:

http://www.rationalrevolution.net/war/major_general_smedley_butler_usm.htm
http://www.scuttlebuttsmallchow.com/racket.html

EBay non finira' mai di stupirmi...

crowhead — Sun, 23 Apr 2006 13:38:21 +0000

http://tinyurl.com/rtar5

No comment :-D

Ringrazio' l'avvoca' "zizze" drake x la segnalazione.