Friday, May 31, 2013

BRAVE WORDS ARE EMPTY IF UNMATCHED BY EQUALLY BRAVE ACTIONS.

BRAVE WORDS ARE EMPTY IF UNMATCHED BY EQUALLY BRAVE ACTIONS.



First the Panatag Shoals, now, the Ayungin Reefs. We are losing territory to China and, aside from complaints, we ca not do anything about it.

It may sound absurd, but pursuing the logic of occupation and extension, China might even proceed now to measure its 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone eastward from Panatag near Masinloc, Zambales, and be able to claim Luzon!
With the demonstrated absence of effective resistance to Chinese expansionism, this apparent absurdity could become reality.
Ayungin Reefs is located just 105.77 naut miles from Palawan and clearly within our EEZ and part of Philippine continental shelf as defined by UNCLOS. A few days ago, China dispatched a fleet to Spratleys, cordoned  Panatag and effectively drove the Filipino fishermen away.
Chinese fishing fleets operating with impunity in disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea are often accompanied by naval vessels flying China’s red flag.

So far,the brave words of Pnoy has only underscored a bitter truth: Philippines is a weak nation being led by a weak President.

###

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Acquisition of citizenship for immigrants in Italy

Acquisition of citizenship for immigrants in Italy


    


Italian citizenship is largely granted through ius sanguinis (right of birth), which includes  foreign nationals who can prove their Italian descent. There are, though, no law granting citizenship by ius soli (right of residence). Children of legal immigrants are not automatically granted citizenship, unless they are children of stateless foreign citizens (“apolidi”). Furthermore, they must apply for citizenship by their 19th birthday in order to keep their eligibility. And as soon as they turn 18, these young women and men have to apply for their own individual temporary residence permit, to avoid deportation to countries where they have never lived.


On March 21, 2013, four members of the PD (Cécile Kyenge, now Minister of Integration, Khalid Chaouki, Roberto Speranza and the former PD Secretary Pier Luigi Bersani) introduced a Bill that would change this situation, “Dispositions on the Conferral of Citizenship” (Disposizioni in Tema di Acquisto della Cittadinanza Italiana). If passed, this law would mean that Italian citizenship would be granted to the children of immigrants legally resident in Italy for at least 5 years, or to children who moved to Italy before turning 10 and who completed a cycle of primary, secondary school, or vocational instruction in Italy. As Kyenge later clarified, in response to the wave of ensuing political debate, the proposal advocates a watered-down ius soli right: citizenship would not be automatically granted to all those who are born in Italy but only to those who also meet certain residency requirements.


The proposal has immediately divided the political world, with right-wing forces (PDL and the Northern League) adamantly against it and the center-left overwhelmingly in favor.


Beppe Grillo, the charismatic Movimento Cinque Stelle leader, has rejected it strongly, claiming that Italians need to have a referendum, and that such an important decision should not be left to a group of self-interested politicians.


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CONDEMN THE KILLING OF EDDIE CANON

CONDEMN THE KILLING OF ANAKPAWIS COORDINATOR EDDIE CANON

by Belarmino Dabalos Saguing,                                                                                                    Contact informations: email - bdsaguing@gmail.com                                                                    mobile +39 3356680613, +39 3287838414


Rome migrant workers condemn in strongest terms the assassination of the municipal coordinator of Anakpawis in Mawab Compostela Valley last May 25, 2013.

Canon was shot and killed by unidentified persons.  Initial police investigation showed that Canon sustained multiple gunshot wounds in his head and body causing his death.

The perpetrators of his killing must be arrested and jailed. We blame the the military and the government’s Oplan Bayanihan anti-insurgency campaign for this latest case of politically-motivated extra judicial killing of the Abnakpawis coordinator.

The killing may be related to the military campaign against leaders of progressive groups that protested against the government’s inaction amidst, and responsibility for, the devastation brought by typhoon Pablo last year.

Mawab town was one of the hardest-hit areas affected by typhoon Pablo.

Human rights group Karapatan, confirmed that Canon had been harassed and vilified by elements of the 66th Infantry Batallion of the Philippine Army before he was killed.

According to Hanimay Suazo, secretary-general of Karapatan-Southern Mindanao Region Canon was frequently harassed by a certain Sgt. Castillo, Dante Ramirez and two other and vilified Cañon’s affiliation with the progressive party-list.

NO TO MILITARIZATION OF COUNTRYSIDE! 
STOP THE HARASSMENTS AND VILLIFICATIONS OF PROGRESSIVE LEADERS AND ORGANIZATIONS!
END EXTRA JUDICIAL KILLINGS AND IMPUNITY IN THE PHILIPPINES!

JUNK OPLAN BAYANIHAN!!!

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Wednesday, May 29, 2013

A more important question about economic growth: Does it reach the people?

A more important question about economic growth: Does it reach the people?

News item:  Where did the 7.8% growth come from? By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) updated May 2013



We are all happy about it. Philippines is fast advancing in economy. More profits for  corporations, more high-rise buildings and other infrastructures to show the increased wealth, etc. The sources of this upsurge are well enumerated, but who are the beneficiaries of all these? In theory, the wealth of the country must be felt by the nation. By the people.


But, even without consulting at any survey, just looking at the food served on the table of ordinary people, one can surmise that this economic advances are not reaching the people. They still sharing on their tables sad-looking ‘tuyo’, one  (or perhaps less) piece of it for each member of the family. Workers are still begging for the just wage increase to enable them to make it to the end of the month, workers who cannot make both ends meet still has to go abroad in search of a better chance for the family to live a decent human life.  Slum dwellings are still clustered behind those nice tall buildings, a sign that progress is not reaching the people.


One must remember that the wealth of the nation is also the fruit of the workers’ sweat and blood.  And if they, too, have their share in the creation of wealth, they, too, must have their just share in enjoying it. But it appears that the share of the workers in the creation of wealth is minimized in the eyes of the government who consider only the capital as the sole source of growth. If this is so, then the fate of the people is sealed. They remain slaves to make the rich richer.


Let us bear in mind: the progress of the nation is measured not in the awesomely nice and tall building but in the living condition of the people.

Let the wealth of the nation be shared by the people.



MAKE THE PROGRESS REACH THE PEOPLE!!!

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Pnoy has vetoed the Bill on Centinarians.

Pnoy has vetoed the Bill on Centinarians.


Aquino vetoed a consolidated bill that will grant 75 per cent discounts to centenarians, as he said that the amount will severely cut into the profit margins of traders and result in capital loss.


Like most Asians, Filipino families typically look after their old unlike in other countries where they are relegated to “homes” for the aged. Also, very seldom that they reach the age of 100 and it is indeed a milestone if ever they do, it is doubtful if Filipinos reaching the centenarian age exceeds such a number to be a real “burden for the business sector”.


The real reason for the President’s veto must be that he love the business elite who makes handsome profits more than the aged citizens in difficulty.


Other than the Centenarian Bill, Aquino had also vetoed a measure that protects the rights of people displaced by conflict and calamity.


Overseas Filipinos are reminded by this presidential gesture of the OWWA’s rule on aged OFWs. An OFW who reach the pension age of 65 years are no longer qualified for OWWA membership and cannot avail anymore on OWWA benefits or services despite of his long years of contributing to the OWWA fund.



Is there a parallel on the two rulings?

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Tuesday, May 28, 2013

A DARK FUTURE FOR THE PEOPLE’S VOTE

A DARK FUTURE FOR THE PEOPLE’S VOTE


The midterm elections of 2013 has more mysteries than the Rosary. PCOS-made mysteries! And the COMELEC will have to make better explanations than their ‘nagkataon lamang ang pagkakatulad’. No, it is not just a twist of chance. It is a mathematical sequence fed into the AES machine. Even with the very slight variations, the results according to PCOS-produced results, it is still uncomfortably close to the 60-30-10 pattern making the results of this election questionable. It could only be a fruit of a formula fed into the machines that would make it faithfully close to the 60-30-10 pattern everywhere in the selected areas, making the balloting a farce. With this tabulations (thanks to Rappler), the results show that the people’s will was once again raped.  What makes it more worrisome, nay, fearsome, is that COMELEC want it repeated in the National elections of 2016!




The defeat of the Philippine Partylist System

The defeat of the Philippine Partylist System

The party-list system is designed to create a healthy democracy, providing a citizens' voice in Congress and in local government. The Philippine party-list system aims to increase the representation, particularly of "marginalized and underrepresented" sectors and enhance transparency and accountability, leading to more efficient government. Political parties are strengthened, encouraging program and platform-based politics instead of weak affiliations between opportunists. This challenges moneyed and patronage politics that have bred corruption and inefficiency, hindering the country's development.
In the Philippines, voters have two votes for their congressional representatives. The first elects a district representative. The second elects a party-list representative. Twenty percent of the 260 seats in the House of Representatives are reserved for party-list. Every 2% of total party-list votes cast gets a seat in the House, with each party allowed only a maximum of three seats.
District representatives serve their own district, tending to make laws for the good of their constituencies alone e.g. building sheds, basketball courts, etc. Party-list representatives, on the other hand, are national candidates elected by voters countrywide and thus have a broad vision for national good. They are not the "trapos" (traditional politicians) whose party loyalties is superficial and who are chosen for their popularity. They sit in the House for a party that is elected to Congress on the basis of its electoral platform and thus push their party's programs. They are accountable to the party they represent and can be removed and replaced by it if they violate its principles or programs, as in the case of corruption.
The party-list system is based on Republic Act 7941 which was signed into law on March 3, 1995. In keeping with the call for "new politics", this system reflects the move towards program-based politics focused on competent parties with comprehensive programs rather than on personalities and "trapos".

The encroachment of “trapos” and moneyed entities in the Partylist system
Some party-list organizations were: sectoral groups (such as Abanse! Pinay representing women, NFSCFO representing small coconut farmers and Migrante Partido Sektoral ng Manggagawang Migrante at ng Kanilang Pamilya); people's organizations (ABA representing farmers, peasants and fisherfolk, AKO representing the urban poor); as well as multi-sectoral coalitions (Sanlakas for instance); and political parties (like Akbayan!). In the 2001 elections, only 64 met the 8-point guideline issued by the Supreme Court.
In the May 2004 elections, progressive party-list organizations will field local candidates across the country as part of their commitment to improve local governance, strengthen local government units and make them accessible and accountable to the people. They will also support progressive senatorial bets as well as campaign against corrupt and turncoat candidates, those who consistently take anti-people positions on crucial national issues and incompetents or non-performers who personify the worst in traditional politics and are dangers to democracy.
The others, big traditional parties like Lakas and NPC, Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. controlled by Lucio Tan (hardly a "marginalized and underrepresented" sector), actor Richard Gomez' DILG/PNP-related and government-funded Mamamayang Ayaw sa Droga, and the True Marcos Loyalist Association and many more that were formed or backed by members of powerful political parties and dynasties, clearly defeat the spirit and purpose of the party-list system, must be disqualified and banned.
In the midterm elections of 2013, with the COMELEC’s “yes-no” rules on the “trapo” and non marginalized and other “undesirable” partylist organizations, the widely feared electronic frauds on the PCOS machines used in the vote count processes, many deserving partylist of the true marginalized and under-represented groups has been elbowed out to oblivion. Cases like the zero vote of a partylist in a precinct whch was expected to win was greatly questioned. The COMELEC’s refusal to give credit on the criticisms and questions by accredited “ELECTION WATCHDOGS” were highly suspicious. The highly questionable source code scandal and the suspicious malfunctions and the unexpected ‘brownouts’ in Hong kong, a very rare occurrence in that city also gave much doubts on the outcome of the balloting.
Deliberations on the results of the Partylist election this year, it is apparent that the top nominees of the winning partylist goups are dominated bythe rich, powerful clans or backed by elites and political parties. Some are even disqualified groups. Only a very few of the true marginalized and under-represented groups has reached the winning number of votes. Does this mean the Marginalized and under-represented does not want to be represented in the country’s law making body? Very doubtful.
Indeed, this is a defeat for the ideals of the Partylist system in the Philippines.


Monday, May 27, 2013

Our brothers and sisters in Jeddah Tent City needs food and water!

Our brothers and sisters in Jeddah Tent City needs food and water!


The terrible heat, combined with lack of food, adequate accommodations and medical assistance from the Aquino government is taking its toll on the stranded OFWs, especially the children. The mosquitos are also a big problem, as well as the lack of toilet and sanitation facilities.”
The OFWs are very grateful for all the help coming from Migrante and other Filipino communities in Saudi. “But these, of course, are not enough. What they need are urgent on-site help and medical assistance, which the Phil Congen in Jeddah has recently disallowed. All PH officials in Jeddah have to do is to go out of their air-conditioned offices and assist our OFWs.”
The OFWs are calling for the recall of Amb. Tago “for his consistent neglect and apathy towards distressed OFWs in Saudi” and for the resignation of Yabes and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Sec. Rosalinda Baldoz “for their incompetence, inefficiency and insincerity in assisting OFWs in distress.”
The distressed OFWs in Jeddah Tent City is asking for the help of fellow OFWs in and around Saudi Arabia.

Hindi pa tapos ang laban

Hindi Pa Tapos Ang Laban 

Wennie Flores
Ugnayan ng Manggagawang Migrante Tungo sa Pag-unlad (UMANGAT)
Rome, Italy

Isang malaking palaisipan sa mga migrante ang naganap na halalan. ang Umangat Migrante ay muling nanawagan sa hanay ng mga migrante na itaas muli ang moral at tukuyin at ilantad ang bulok na sistema ng gobyernong PNoy. Ang sabi nila, “di pa tapos ang laban na ito at marami pang dapat ayusin; harapin mismo ang ating hanay at ating mga pamilya.  Walang kasiguruhan ang ating kalagayan. Sa Italya, patuloy ang pagtaas ng ng bilang nang mga walang trabaho; ang pag-aklas at protesta sa Sweden; ang kalunos-lunos na sinapit ng mga kababayan natin sa Saudi Arabia na nagkampo sa harap ng embahada at hinarass pa ng kanilang ambasador; ang diskriminasyon at rasismo sa Taiwan; ang higit sa 4 na libong kababayan na pinauwi mula sa Syria. Palala ng palala ang ating sitwasyon kahit saang panig. 

Di pa tapos ang laban mga ka-migrante. Huwag mawawalan ng pagasa. Nandito pa rin ang MIGRANTE handang magtanggol at dumamay sa inyo.”

...


Sunday, May 26, 2013

PHILIPPINE OUTWARD MIGRATION: A GLIMPSE ON HISTORY

PHILIPPINE OUTWARD MIGRATION: A GLIMPSE ON HISTORY


The islands have seen the arrival of different peoples over the centuries leading to the evolution of the present diverse culture. Among the earliest immigrants were the Little People, shorter than five feet tall. They were dark skinned, had Negroid features, and were named Negritoes by the Spanish. They may have arrived about 25,000 years ago, and they lived throughout the islands. In recent decades, they occupied the mountain interiors of Luzon, Mindanao, and Palawan, living in isolation and not mixing with later arrivals.



The first Indonesians arrived from the Asian continent sometime between 4000 B.C. and 3000 B.C., A second Indonesian influx occurred about 1000 B.C. and lasted about 500 years. Both waves of Indonesians settled throughout the islands, and over the centuries assimilated with subsequent immigrants. Present-day Ilonggo are one result of tribal intermixing.


The Iron Age Malays, began arriving in the third century A.D. Peak influxes started in the thirteenth century and continued well into the next. The Bontoks, Igorots, and Tinguians are descendants of the Malays. Tribes that in time became dominant were the Visayans, Cebunos, and Ilocanos. European and American colonists discovered some of these groups were "head-hunting pagans." The later Malay waves are users of  Sanskrit based alphabet and metal tools and more peaceful than earlier arrivals. They were the ancestors of most present-day Filipino Christians. While considered primitive by Western standards, these Malays were in fact far advanced over the earliest immigrants. During the fourteenth century, Islamic Arab traders arrived; their descendants, the Moros, populated the southern islands and remained militant Muslims.


The Chinese and Japanese have had a major impact in the twentieth century, although trade between the Philippines and South China began to develop as early as the fourteenth century as Chinese emigrants became successful merchants and traders. Descendants of Filipino and Chinese marriages continued this domination of island businesses, gaining economic successes and power. Their virtual monopoly of the nation's big businesses in the twentieth century led some Filipinos, particularly those in urban areas, to resent the Chinese and to engage in occasional hostile activities.


 Japanese immigration occurred after 1900; emigrants from Japan settled first on the island of Mindanao, and they developed several large abaca plantations. Unlike the Chinese and earlier Malay emigrants, the Japanese remained largely a homogeneous group, rarely intermarrying. At the outbreak of World War II, Japanese could be found throughout the islands, working mostly at such crafts as cabinetmaking and photography.


The first European immigrants did not intend to settle permanently in the Philippines. Spanish settlement proved transitory during the 400 years of Spain's colonial occupation. The first contact between Spain and the Philippines occurred in March of 1521, when Ferdinand Magellan's fleet reached the island of Samar on its circumnavigation of the earth. Magellan claimed the archipelago for Spain and the Catholic church, but Spain did not make his claim official until 1565. The country was named the Philippines in the 1550s after King Philip II of Spain.


In 1565, nine years after ascending to the Spanish throne, Philip II sent a royal governor to the Philippines. The governor, from his first seat of government on Cebu, sent expeditions to other islands and imposed Spanish rule. From the outset, colonial officers exerted forceful and lasting control, using the colonial methods used in the Americas as their model.


From 1565 to 1810 the Acapulco-Manila galleon trade flourished. It connected the Spanish empire in Latin America with the Asian market via the Philippines. Manila served as the entreport to the China trade route. Gold bullions were extracted by the Spanish in Latin America and exchanged for silk, spices, and tea in the East. The galleon trade forcefully used native Filipinos as members of the crews aboard the Spanish ships.


As royal governors gained greater dominion over the islands, they moved the colonial capital to Manila, with its superior harbor. Endorsing European ideas of mercantilism and imperialism, Spain's monarchs believed that they should exercise their power in the Philippines to enrich themselves. In the course of almost four centuries, Spanish settlers and their descendants in the islands came to own large estates and to control the colonial government.


The Catholic church, supported by the colonial powers, controlled large areas of land and held a monopoly on formal education. The church and the Spanish language were major Spanish cultural institutions imposed upon Filipinos. By 1898, over 80 percent of the islanders were Catholics.
The Spanish, in installing an autocratic imperialism that alienated Filipinos, created a class society and a culture that many Filipinos later tried to imitate. Some of the Spanish, who made the islands their home, married Filipinos; the descendants of these marriages were known as mestizos . By the nineteenth century, mestizos had inherited large areas of agricultural lands. This Filipino upper class found that the lighter their skin color, the easier it became to mingle with Europeans and Americans. They also learned to control local politics through power and corruption. This economic-political dominance came to be known as caciquism.


Local revolts against Spanish imperial corruption, caciquism, racial discrimination, and church abuse began late in the nineteenth century. These first revolts called for reform of the economic-political system but not for independence. An early leader, Jose Rizal, who formed La Liga Filipina (the Filipino League), called for social reform. After the Spanish banished Rizal, more radical leaders emerged. When Rizal returned to the islands, the Spanish colonial government arrested, tried, and executed him in 1896, thus unwittingly creating a martyr and national hero.



Andres Bonifacio, a young man of modest origin, formed the secret society Kagalanggalang at Kataastaasang Katipunan ng mga anak ng Bayan (KKK), or Katipunan that aims to end exploitation of Filipinos by the Spanish  slave rule through an armed revolution. It is the first movement for an independent Philippines. Twenty-seven-year-old Emilio Aguinaldo seized the leadership of the insurrectionists— now fighting openly against the Spanish, by assassinating Bonifacio. In 1898, Aguinaldo conferred with American officials in Hong Kong and Singapore. He was led to understand that the Filipinos would become allies with the United States in a war against Spain, the anticipated outcome of which would be an independent Philippine nation. Admiral George Dewey and Consul General E. Spencer Pratt, with whom Aguinaldo met, later denied that they had made such a promise. In 1898, the United States declared war against Spain, and as a result of the ensuing Spanish-American War, the United States went to war with the Philippines. The Filipinos, following Aguinaldo's lead, protested the arrival of American imperialism, and the insurrection first launched against the Spanish continued. After annexation of the Philippines by the United States, the U.S. Army fought to quell uprisings throughout the islands. With his capture on March 23, 1901, Aguinaldo advised his followers to swear allegiance to the United States. On July 4, 1902, the Army declared the insurrection to be at an end, even though the Filipinos, who had become largely independent under Spanish rule, continued to fight under the leadership of Macario Sakay , last President of the first Philippine Republic was captured in 1913. The Filipino American war took more than one million Filipino lives and 6,000 American lives. The Treaty of Paris, approved on February 6, 1899, made the United States an imperial power and started a 47-year rule on the Philippines.



##

Saturday, May 25, 2013

A possible bonanza of foreign investors and corporation seen in Benham Rise

A possible bonanza of foreign investors and corporation seen in Benham Rise


Aside from the additional territory for the Philippines, this latest dominion has the bonus of immense mineral wealth which could give the country the needed push to achieve a real jump forward economically if the government could manage it with wisdom, and not throw it away to the wolves greedily waiting around the corner with watering mouths.


In April, the 13-million-hectare continental shelf off the east coast of Luzon, near the provinces of Aurora and Isabela, was declared by the United Nations as part of Philippine territory.


The area, which is also known as Benham Plateau, is a deepwater fishing ground for deepwater fish like bluefin tuna. It is also believed to be rich in natural gas and manganese nodules. Manganese is essential in the production of steel.. 


In the PECR 4 that offered 15 oil and petroleum areas, the DOE received 20 bids for 11 areas. All four areas that failed to secure bids lacked seismic data.


Specifically, four firms are interested to conduct seismic surveys in the eastern side of the country

Through the seismic data, a company can propose how many wells they plan to drill to measure resources.


On a larger scale, the DOE and other government agencies are continuously implementing reforms identified by the Philippine Upstream Petroleum Task Force that was created by Executive Order 60 last year.


To date, there are 27 service contracts in the Philippines involving Shell Philippines Exploration, Nido and BHP Billiton. However, only the Malampaya and Galoc oil fields are in regular production.



This could well be the reason behind the militarization of Aurora. The Philippines want to secure it.

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Stockholm is burning: Why the Swedish riots bode ill for Europe

Stockholm is burning: Why the Swedish riots bode ill for Europe

By Harold Maass | The Week – 9 hrs ago

Rampaging immigrant youths have upended the country's reputation as a prosperous refuge

Stockholm is burning. Yes, Stockholm, the Swedish capital, is in flames, after hundreds of immigrant youths rampaged through the streets for four straight nights, torching cars and buildings, hurling rocks through windows, and attacking police.
The chaotic scenes are at odds with Sweden's reputation as a liberal model of prosperity, social security, and openness. The riots reportedly started in reaction to Swedish police killing a 69-year-old machete-wielding man earlier this month. But the ferocity and duration of the violence has shocked locals, who say they're at a loss to explain it.
"It's difficult to say why they're doing this," Selcuk Cekenhe, who works at a youth center in one of the affected suburbs, tells NBC News. "Maybe it's anger at the law and order forces, maybe it's anger at their own personal situation, such as unemployment or having nowhere to live."
Some analysts say the explosion this week has exposed an ugly side of Sweden that has long festered beneath the surface. Niklas Pollard and Philip O'Connor of Reuters say Sweden's generous welfare model — with its 480 days of parental leave for each child — has overshadowed deep resentment between native-born "haves" and newly arrived "have nots."
Some 15 percent of the population is foreign born, the highest in the Nordic region. The rise of the anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats party, which has called for a curfew in response to the violence, has polarized Swedes.
Metros and trains out of Stockholm center late at night are full of exhausted-looking Arabic or Spanish speaking immigrants returning home from menial jobs. Even second generation immigrants struggle to find white collar employment.
As one Asian diplomat puts it: "On the one hand Sweden has all these immigrants. On the other hand, where are they? It sometimes seems they are mostly selling hotdogs." [Reuters]
The worst of the rioting — Sweden's worst unrest in years — has occurred in heavily immigrant neighborhoods, mainly the Husby suburb of Stockholm. According to Elias Groll at Foreign Policy, this indicates that the violence is "clearly a symptom of Sweden's failed effort to integrate its massive immigrant population."
Housing segregation is rampant in the country, and Husby is a case study in how immigrant populations have come to dominate Stockholm's outer suburbs... Depending on your political perspective, native-born Swedes have either fled Husby or been pushed out by immigrants:
Husby also suffers from rampant unemployment — a problem that is particularly acute for its youth. Nearly 30 percent of the city's young people are neither employed nor actively enrolled in school, a number that mirrors a broader trend of immigrant underemployment relative to the native-born population. [Foreign Policy]
The government's response doesn't appear to be helping matters. Witnesses say riot police — wielding clubs and leading snarling dogs — have hurled racial insults at the rioters, calling them "monkeys" and "rats."
"I can understand the police officers were stressed, but this language is unacceptable, and unfortunately nothing new," Rami al-Khamisi, a law student, told The Local.
Khamisi said the government's heavy-handed response is unlikely to restore calm. "We're seen as a problem that politicians want to solve by sending more police," he said. "This is not a solution we agree with."
The rioting has already raised questions about Europe's struggle to assimilate its large immigration populations. Because if violence can break out on the placid streets of Stockholm, it could seemingly break out anywhere.


Friday, May 24, 2013

AN APPEAL TO TAIWANESE AND PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT


AN APPEAL TO TAIWANESE AND PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT




The Ugnayan ng Manggagawang Migrante Tungo sa Pag-unlad (UMANGAT), Rome appeals to the Manila and Taipei governments to immediately resolve diplomatically the conflict that arose from the May 9 killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by the Philippine Coast Guard personnel.


We deem that while anger in Taiwan over the action of the Philippine government may be justified, the Taiwanese government should also be responsible for protecting the Filipino migrant workers residing on the island, and strongly apprehend the mob-actions against the Filipino workers who are, evidently, have nothing to do with the untoward incident. No  physical attack or any act of racist discrimination should be committed or condoned.


We strongly urge Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou to strengthen protection for Filipino migrants and alert its respective agencies in extending support to anyone, especially those Filipino migrants who would be victims of any untoward incident. The Filipino migrants in Taiwan do not only contribute to the welfare of their loved ones and families back home. They too contribute to the economy of Taiwan as decent labor forces. We also warn the Taiwanese government for closing the Manila Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, which acts as the Philippines’ de facto embassy on the island. Withdrawing the MECO from Taiwan would only put the Filipino migrant workers in “grave danger.”


We likewise appeal to the Philippine government to exert all efforts in resolving the problem in the most rational manner mutually acceptable by both countries involved to iron harmony and  peace.  


Is this the reason why Aurora province is militarized and Dutch missionary Willem Geertman killed?


Is this the reason why Aurora province is militarized and Dutch missionary Willem Geertman killed?


(The Philippines is rich in natural resources.......but the people are poor and impoverished. Lots of energy sources are found in the country, but majority don't have electricity or energy to cook or heat decent food. Actually, many Filipinos now don't have enough food to eat. Aurora province which faces this Benham Rise will be the subject of an international fact-finding mission from July 14-17, 2013 to investigate, among others, the militarization of the province, the killing of Dutch missionary Willem Geertman, ad the displacement of many farmers due to the planned "development" of the province in connection with the proposed exploitation of this energy resources from this Benham Rise by big corporate interests. The International Fact-Finding Mission to Aurora province is part of the International Conference for Human Rights and Peace in the Philippines, to be held July 18-21, 2013 in Quezon City, Philippines)


 
Philippines may soon own vast gas-rich areaBy Cathy Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:59 am | Tuesday, August 16th, 2011
BENHAM’S RICHES The Philippines is the only claimant to 13 million hectares of an undersea region that contains huge natural gas deposits.
 
The Philippines will gain 13 million hectares in additional territory, an area slightly smaller than Luzon, should the United Nations approve next year the government’s claim on a region off the coast of Isabela and Aurora, Environment Secretary Ramon Jesus Paje said on Monday.
 
Paje said the undersea region, called Benham Rise, could turn the Philippines into a natural gas exporter because of the area’s huge methane deposits.
 
Studies conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the past five years indicate large deposits of methane in solid form, Paje said after a Senate budget hearing.
 
The government is only awaiting a formal declaration from the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (Unclos) that Benham Rise is on the country’s continental shelf and therefore part of its territory, Paje said.
 
Legal basis
 
Once the Unclos establishes that Benham Rise is part of the Philippines, “we would have legal basis to enter into exploration agreements with private companies to explore… (the area’s) resources,” said Sen. Franklin Drilon, chair of the chamber’s finance committee.
 
Drilon said a favorable Unclos declaration would mean “increasing our territory from present 30 million hectares to possibly 43 million” with the inclusion of Benham Rise.
 
Discussion over Benham Rise generated excitement especially after Paje said that Philippine representatives were just awaiting one more meeting “to answer questions” before a special Unclos committee.
 
Only claimant
 
Paje said there was no reason for the Unclos committee not to issue a decision favorable to the country “since we are the only claimant, unlike in the western side (where the Spratly Islands are).”
 
“We have submitted a claim under (Unclos) sometime in late 2008. We got a reply from the UN lately (asking us) to answer some questions. They intend to pass a resolution sometime in mid-2012 to approve our claim (that it is) part of the Philippine continental shelf,” Paje told reporters after the hearing.
 
Records showed that the Philippines officially submitted a claim with the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf in New York on April 8, 2009.
 
Davide submission
 
Hilario Davide, then Philippine ambassador to the United Nations, filed the country’s partial submission with the commission.
 
The United Nations says the continental shelf is “the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea” up to 370 km (200 nautical miles) from the archipelagic baseline. An extended continental shelf goes farther than 370 km.
 
The Philippines claims that Benham Rise is an extension of its continental shelf.
 
Paje said Benham Rise was within the country’s 370-km exclusive economic zone.
 
American geologist
 
The environment secretary said an American geologist surnamed Benham discovered the area that was between 40 and 2,000 meters below the waterline in 1933.
 
“But we are able to define categorically that it is attached to our continental shelf only recently. We have proven (to) Unclos that it is attached. So now the UN is considering it for decision sometime in 2012,” Paje said.
 
He said gas deposits in the area would enable the country to achieve energy sufficiency.
 
“Benham Rise is very relevant because of its gas deposits (which has been) confirmed particularly by (the) National Mapping Resource Information Agency. It has given us the data that (the area) contains solid methane. We have not explored it but we have found nodules of methane in the surface and this is very important to us,” he said.
 
Kalayaan, Scarborough
 
The Kalayaan Island Group, which is part of the disputed Spratly Islands and Scarborough Shoal, both located in the West Philippine Sea (South China Sea) and claimed by the Philippines, are also believed to contain oil and natural gas.
 
Paje said there was the possibility that the country could export gas in the future.
 
The secretary added that there would be a demand for gas deposits in Benham Rise “because it’s much cleaner than (other) fossil fuels.”
 
The DENR formally submitted its proposed P16.99-billion budget for 2012 to the Senate finance committee.