In the Presence of Vultures

So the dingbats of the Republican party are at it again. I’m glad that John McCain did not win or America will surely lose its remaining credibility in the international community. So what if Pres. Obama refrains from using tough talk to comment on what’s happening in Iran. The problem with the Republicans is that they are so used to “gunboat” diplomacy”. Perhaps the Likes of McCain should look back into history and what caused the ouster of the Shah of Iran.

The Republicans are implying that Obama is too passive and would prefer to see how things play out in Iran before making a move. The US in the past had the habit of cuddling dictators that led to oppression and repression. The Philippines is no exception. The US propped up the Marcos dictatorship and only pulled out its support when they saw that Marcos is about to get kicked out. For years, the Filipinos suffered under a dictator supported by the US. It is in fact the same now. We are under a corrupt dictator who uses the military as her own private army. Never mind the hundreds of political killings, the repression and suppression of my peoples voice. Despite being a former colony of Uncle Sam, the US never bothered to “liberate” us. Perhaps because we have no oil that the US badly needs.

I agree with Obama. Its the US interest that he should prioritize on. Let the Iranian people decide their fate. What is wrong is to meddle in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation. If the Iranians has had enough of their present regime, it’s up to them to what action they should take. We Filipinos decided we’ve had enough so we revolted and kicked Marcos out. If the US wants to regain some of its glory, they should allow other countries to decide for themselves.

The Republicans should rethink their policies. Talking through the barrel of a gun leads to more “hate” for the innocent people of the US. I suppose they couldn’t care less, it’s the average Joe that’s in harms way and not these Capitol Hill bozos who sit in their secured offices. If McCain and his Republican friends wants action, I suggest they form themselves into a “liberation force” and free the Iranian people from the shackles of their abuse government. I’d like to see these Rambos go into Iran and liberate its people. Words don’t make men, Wisdom do.

Two decades have passed since the people of China tried to challenge the patience of their Communist leaders. To this day, the number of those murdered is yet to be known. Perhaps fearing that the people could once again rise up to try and democratize China, they have since instituted some changes. But still, power is in the hands of a few. Communist oligarchy is alive and well. These so-called reforms legalized the wealth of its leaders.

For the first time in dcades, the Chinese felt empowered. The politburo was on the defensive and those in the countryside were coming to Beijing to join the protesters. The simple clamor for better conditions of the students were about to reach revolution status. To save fave, the embattled leadership declared martial law. The army swept any opposition aside and the massacre that followed is testimony to the ruthlessness of the government.

Huge companies are owned by officials while the people are now allowed a taste of good life. A very good way to appease the people and to douse the simmering cauldron of change. Yet most of China remains unchanged. Life is harsh in the rest of the country. Only those who live in the major cities have an easier life. While progress is rapid, vital services are worse and the heavy hand of the party hangs over the entire country.

Twenty years have passed and still figures of casualties remain unknown. China is now a legitimate super power. Will freedom for the people ever come? I doubt it. As long as the politburo paints a picture of good life, no one will ever think of freedom. Unless its leaders would allow their people to decide for themselves, democracy would remain an elusive dream. The vultures of the party will continue to enrich themselves at the expense of the people.

At the end of the day, what happened in Tiananmen in 1989will soon be forgotten, erased by the government who rules with an iron hand. The people would remain silent and simply accept the fact that their only option for now is subservience.

As I scanned the channels this morning, I chanced upo Bill O’Reilly  debating about the morality and immorality of torture and collateral damage. He seems to have been cornered by his adversary that he turned to absurdity in defending his views. What a pinhead this O’Reilly is! You don’t torture to extract information regardless of how guilty or innocent a prisoner is. This kind of mentaluty is what alienates the US from the rest of the world. You cannot condemn other countries of injustice and human rights violations when your own country does it as a matter of policy.

The issue stemmed from Pres. Obama’s directive to ban torture on prisoners of war(?). He went on to point out that bombing villages in Pakistan is immoral. War is hell and collateral damage is expected. I don’t remember him fuming over Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Gaza? The bigotry in his demeanor speaks volumes of how convoluted this bozo’s mind is. Moral or not, Obama is the CiC of the US armed forces. He will decide on how best to annihilate Al Quaeda. History will judge him for his actions and I am sure Obama knows this.

The problem with people like O’Reilly is that they are never satisfied. They are the termites of society. Nothing is good in their eyes except those that would improve their ratings. These are the kinds of media practitioners that talk with their asses. They are on the way out and the only way for them to survive is to drum up the base and appear moral in their fans’ view. They speak of ethics when they themselves are unethical. They badger their guests to make it appear that they have the moral high ground.

If there is such a thing as a media dinosaur, Bill and his kind are it. So who is the pinhead this time, no it’s not Paris Hilton but a guy named Bill O’Reilly. A pinhead to me is someone who contradicts himself and blurts out inconsistent absurdities. Oh Mr. O’Reilly, your Dad helped save the world in World War II, do you mean he’s immoral because of the huge collateral damage the war caused? What a way to insult the heroes who defended the free world. War is impersonal Bill, torture is.

Twenty-three years ago, the Filipinos kicked out a conjugal dictatorship. Ferdinand Marcos and his wife Imelda were forced to flee Manila after a bloodless revolution that toppled the couple’s ruthless and corrupt rule. Now the Philippines is facign not just a conjugal dictatorship but it includes the entire family.

Rocked by corruptions and human rights violations, Gloria Arroyo and her family are trying to cement their hold on power. Arroyo is now the second longest sitting president since Marcos. From 2001 to present, she and her family had been implicated in corruption and kickback scandals. To prevent her removal demcratically or otherwise, she had been draining the country’s coffers to bribe legislators and security forces. Hundreds of political killings enforced disappearances has been recorded with the UNHRC confirming it. Media personnel, members of the judiciary have not been spared so she and cohorts can prevent the truth from coming out.

Her eldest son, a congressman has been tagged by witnesses to an illegal numbers game operation that extends to the the entire country. Her husband has been implicated in taking kickbacks amounting to several hundreds of millions of dollar.  Another son and her brother-in-law has also been implicated in illegal gambling operations.

In fact, the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank had exposed  corruption that end at the doorstep of the palace. Because of her appointive powers, she had gained control over every public office of the land. Those legislators in the opposition are deprived of their development faunds which has led to poverty and lack of progress in their districts. Now even the presidential elections of scheduled on 2010 hangs in the balance as her allies in the legislative are poised to amend the constitution to perpetuate themselves to power.

The Philippines has become the Zimbabwe of Asia. Our justice system has been mocked and her allies implicated in corruptions remain free. Even those imprisoned had been given executive clemency. Corruption here has been institutionalized. Thanks to her leadership by example, Gloria Arroyo has run the country to the ground. Investors shy away not because of our contitutional safeguards but because of the corruption in our bureaucracy.

Their cronies are having a field day. Every form of tax is being imposed to cover the losses incurred because of corruption. When public funds end up in their pockets, social service suffers. This the reality of life every Filipino must face. Unless we find a way to kick this corrupt family out, my country will never have a future.

Watching history in the making  as Pres. Barack Obama takes his oath of office left me inspired and so full of hope. I’m not an American but I can feel how proud Americans must be. With Pres. Obama’s election, America has been freed from the shackles of discrimination. Once again, the United  States of America proved to the international community why the US is the leader of the world.

His speech was awe-inspiring and anyone who heard it will be left with so much hope. My country, the Philippines has experienced and is experiencing oppression. We kicked out a dictator 22 years ago only to put into office another oppressor who has been sitting in office for the last 8 years.

What gave me hope is when Pres. Obama said, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit, to the silencing of dissent, you are on the wrong side of history.” These words struck deep and touched me. Our current illegal sitting president stole the presidency twice. First was when she hoodwinked civil society into kicking a president out of office, and the second was when she rigged the presidential election of 2004. George Bush cuddled her because she supported Bush’s war on terror.

She is now trying to perpetuate herself into eternal reign by trying to change our system of government from presidential to parliamentary. Her term is set to end in June of 2010 and she had been pushing for charter change to legitimize her hold on power.

Her administration has been rocked by scandal after scandal. Every indignation by the people was met with force. During her term, killings and enforced disappearances has been continuously rising. Journalists, judges, student activists and members of the opposition has been either harassed or killed. Whistle blowers were slapped with spurious charges while her allies who stole the people’s money remain to be free. Her son’s are both congressmen and have been controlling  congress through bribery.

Pres. Obama started out as a lowly community organizer. Community organizers in my country who educate the people of their rights are branded enemies of the state. With Pres. Obama’s election and with the words he uttered during his speech, I am hoping that US policy with regards to my country will finally change. The UN special rapporteur found Gloria Arroyo’s administration guilty of human rights violations. I hope that Pres. Obama will be instrumental in helping my people be freed from her oppression. Not by force but making it difficult for her to further suppress and oppress my people.

After the state of California banned same sex marriage, the proponents of Prop. 8 now wnats same sex marriages be nullified. So the bigots now want religion to dictate what rights a human being can exercise. They claim that same sex marriage the foundations of what a family consitutes. Ah yes, there is no mention of gays and lesbians being created by God. I forgot that God created only man and woman. But does anyone know what God’s sex is? Last I heard that he created us in His image. Then I suppose He can either be a woman or a man. And if this is the case, He could be gay or a lesbian as well.

Ok, this post is not supposed question what God is. It’s about how narrow-minded, pea-brained some cults can be. I call them cults because they interpret the Holy Bible literally. Just like how “Go forth and multiply” to these fanatics mean that they can marry as many wives as they want. Just imagine how their children must feel, confused that they have so many mothers and so many siblings as well. Would polygamy mean that theirs is a NORMAL family? It’s stupid isn’t it?

Times are changing and whether we like it or not, gays and lesbians are humans too, with right to decide for themselves how to run their lives. Who are we to say that they will not be good parents? We’ve witnessed how men of the faith rape young boys and father children out of wedlock. We’ve seen how pastors steal the money of heir churches. I know of several orphans adopted and raised by these so-call abominations of society and they have been raised very well. They’re normal heterosexuals with happy, normal families.

Now isn’t it pure bigotry to discriminate or take away the rights of others because they don’t share the same lifestyles we have? Or have we forgotten that we are judged by the Lord based on how we lived our lives? I think this issue has to do more with ego than a moral one. Just imagine how a man would feel if he is outdone by a lesbian or a woman who loses her husband to a gay. Hahahaha! It sure looks more like this to me than calling it a sin.

Never judge lest you be judged. We cannot dictate upon others what they should be nor could we tell them that they cannot be good parents. If you’re not secured with your sexuality then please deal with it yourself and not put the blame of society’s decay on some man or woman who chose to be different.

Tags: Prop. 8

The US ato industry is reeling from the economic slowdown. The big 3 has been asking the US government for aid. But the lawmakers would prefer to teach them a lesson. Well, not exactly the CEOs alone but the unions as well. Congress thinks thworkers are getting too much. So now they stand to lose their jobs. At a time when unemployment is at its highest, congress thinks another 2.5 million jobs doesn’t matter. What about the other businesses that will be affected if the big 3 rolls over? I suppose it’s more prudent for them to safeguard(?) the taxpayers’ money. Now the bailout lies in the hands of the president.

The revenues lost if the big 3 closes down is staggering, not to mention the burden and effect it will have on an already ailing economy.  I suppose the lawmakers would like the workers to match the salaries being paid in sweatshops in Asia. The workers are willing to make conscessions but of course not to the extent they they would end up being dehumanized in the process.

If there’s anyone whose pay should be cut, it’s the overpaid lawmakers and their absurd retirement benefits. Maybe they should do the patriotic thing and cut their wages by 50% and not use their pork barrel for some stupid project that give them their kickbacks.

The auto industry is the backbone of America’s industrial might and not to help them out is like handing over the American dream to some forreign country. I suppose congress is not getting enough grease money from the atuto industry unlike the other businesses that they chose to bailout. As for those who oppose such a bailout, the market is not dictated by the industry, it is the consumer who dictates what is to be sold in the market. It is stupid to blame the industry for the condition they are in. These companies will not be churning out big gas-guzzling vehicles if no one will buy them.

At a time when the very heart of American might is under siege, the on;ly logical thing to do is come to its aid.During the las world war, the auto industry did what was asked of them by the country. They built the machines that won the war. Now they’re in dire straits, the least the country can do is to help them keep their heads above water.

All over the world, discrimination against the minorities has led to flourishing extremism. More often than not, countries with Muslim minorities has created extremists. It would be wise for countries faced with such insurgencies to review their domestic policies. More often than not, these countries have psedo-democratic governments. Iran is one such example. The late Shah forgot about the people and they kicked him out. Because the US supported the tyrant, they too became the object of hate.

Russia faced the same dilemma and continues to be plagued by terrorists cum freedom fighters. The Mumbai seige exposed this problem. The Indian Muslims has been facing discrimination for so long that Al Quaeda has exploited their condition. US foreign policies towards Islam gave birth to Al Quaeda. It would be prudent to view Islam as not just a religion but as a nation. This is the reason why you have foreign fighters among local insurgents.

The Philippines has such a problem as well. The government sanctioned land grabbing by Christians of Muslim ancestral lands. This has brought about several decades of strife in our Muslim south. As of late, the government continues to battle local insurgents augmented by foreign fighters. Israel’s Zionists alienated the Palestinians and they were mere immigrants from Europe. Their expansionist agenda fanned the flames of hate. Before they came, Isrealis and Palestinians lived in relative peace.

Westerners are victims of their government’s foreign policy. They’ve become targets of hate cultivated by decades of discrimination. It would be wise to visit the roots of this problem if only to enlighten the people. It is also wise for the world to study their government’s policies and make the neccessary changes in their governments. This is the best way to resolve conflicts and to prevent for groups like Al Quaeda from exploiting Muslims.

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Leaders may have the best resumes or even years of experience but may still not be a good leader. There were many who claimed to possess these but still came out short. Even if one does not have these attributes, he may still be the best leader a nation can have. At a time when not only America but the whole world is on turmoil, the best asset a leader can have is inspiration. A leader who inspires can unite a divided nation. Perhaps this is one characteristic John McCain do not have. The world was so excited at the thought that an African American could be the next president of the greatest country in the world. If Obama got the world on its toes, Americans who have been cynical woke up from their deep slumber. He empowered a generation known to be self-centered and carefree. He inspired the youth and they came out in droves.

He may not have the experience McCain has or the political intelligence of a Clinton but he showed the world what community organizer can accomplish. Perhaps Americans and even the peoples of the world saw themselves in him. He did not come from some wealthy political family. He is a self-made man. One thing I am sure of, he inspired millions and this is what got him elected. His critics and the hard right may belittle his credentials but he showed what heart and conviction is all about. His transition team shows that he is a thinking man. He is not a maverick who pounces on every opportunity to earn points with the electorate. Perhaps this is why the Republicans had a tough time destroying him. Despite the troubles America faces today, Obama’s prudence has shown that he is a born leader. He can inspire his people. This is a leader’s greatest asset during times like this. If he can stir to action a generation, I am sure he can do the same with the rest of his countrymen. Good luck President Obama, you inspire us all.

America has elected its first Black president. It only shows that America has shed its prejudices and embraced change. Times are changing and as the world changes, America must learn to adapt. America has learned that it is part of a global community and the world does not revolve around it. Their brand of diplomacy and arrogance has alienated them and created enemies along the way. Obama brings with him a new brand of diplomacy where saber-rattling and gunboat diplomacy will not work.

America can only regain its lost glory if it learns to talk instead of imposing itself on other countries. Obama’s election also showed that Americans have matured and gained more confidence to leap into the unknown. No longer do Americans cower in fear that the Republicans used to throw at them. The election was a referendum on the Republican PartyThe GOP has been diminished to an all-whites-club with a very small minority membership. It has also shrunk as its moderate members shifted to a more progressive stance.

The support Obama got from all races shows that he can inspire and unite a nation. One thing that McCain lacks. Even the world celebrated Obama’s election. Americans have become more socially aware. They have thrown away ideology and replaced it a new perspective on humanity. Finally I can truly say that America can now claim to be the real world leader. Not because it is powerful but because they now have respect for others. Now I can truly say America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. Americans showed they can accept change and overcome fear.

Despite its economic problems, I am sure that the new American ideakism will help it overcome its present trials. America is truly evolving into a great power and can once again claim its lost glory.