It has been 152 years since the historic March 8 march of women workers in New York to protest against inhumane working conditions and low wages. It has been 101 years since 15,000 women marched in the streets of New York for “Bread and Roses”: for economic security and a better quality of life. Likewise,…
Day: March 7, 2009
Jailing the Innocent
Randall “Ka Randy” Echanis’s arrest and continuing detention is glaring proof of the Arroyo regime’s abuse of state power to seal off all non-violent avenues for basic social reform including the peace negotiations. The clear and strong signal Malacañang continues to deliberately send is that it will not allow or even tolerate the pursuit of…
Slain Cordi Activists’ Widows to GMA: Give Justice to Our Husbands
Two widows of Cordillera activists who fell victim to extra-judicial killings are losing hope that the present administration – led by a mother like them – would resolve their husbands’ killings, which took place more than three years ago. As March is Women’s Month, these widows have presently intensified their demand for justice for their…
Comelec’s OMR Promotes Wholesale Cheating, Reports Show
The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) will use for the automated elections system (AES) in the May 2010 polls has not been fully proven as tamper- and fraud-free, will encourage wholesale cheating, and will not ensure a transparent and open election system. BY THE CENTER FOR PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT IN GOVERNANCE…
Nun, Anti-Mining Advocates File Complaints at the CHR
Marking the anniversary of the signing of the Mining Act of 1995, a Catholic nun and three other environmental activists filed complaints against elements of the 67th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army (IBPA) before the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Region XI, March 3. BY BULATLAT HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH Marking the anniversary of the…
More Than Rape of Two Filipino Women
The acts of both the US and Philippine governments regarding the cases of Filipino women Nicole and Hazel, both victims of rape by American soldiers, said progressive women’s group Gabriela and Nicole’s lawyer Evalyn Ursua, demonstrate the abusive character of the US and the subservience of the Philippine government. They are, therefore, calling on the…
Memos Provide Blueprint for Police State
Seven newly released memos from the Bush Justice Department reveal a concerted strategy to cloak the president with power to override the Constitution. The memos provide “legal” rationales for the president to suspend freedom of speech and press; order warrantless searches and seizures, including wiretaps of US citizens; lock up US citizens indefinitely in the…
The Rand Papers on Iraq and Afghanistan: The Banality of Occupation
The contradiction rampant throughout the report can be best phrased in the words of US Army Major Justin Featherstone who told the report’s writers after his extensive work with the urban population in southeastern Iraq: “Humanity is what it’s about, a genuine desire to do good by the good people, which can sit side-by-side with…
Tribute to Francis Magalona
BY RENATO REYES, JR. Secretary-General Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Posted by Bulatlat Today (March 6, 2009) we received the sad news that Pinoy rap legend Francis Magalona passed away. It was a day we had not expected to come so soon, despite the battle with leukemia. Folks were actually expecting a new collaborative album with Ely…
Smith Custody Case Show ‘Vestiges of Past Lopsided Relations’ with US
Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan, author of a Senate resolution calling for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), Evalyn Ursua, lawyer of Subic rape victim “Nicole”; Pacifico Agabin, dean of the Lyceum of the Philippines College of Law; Renato Reyes, Jr., Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan or New Patriotic Alliance) secretary-general; and Neri Javier Colmenares,…
Missing from the Afghan ‘Surge’: A Congressional Debate
If there were a public and Congressional debate about an exit strategy, about a timetable for withdrawal, about blocking the Pentagon from building permanent military bases in Afghanistan, real change in US policy towards Afghanistan would be happening faster. BY ROBERT NAIMAN Truthout INTERNATIONAL Posted by Bulatlat A key fact about the recent history of…