The Spirit that Lived On

After 26 years of incarceration, all remaining ten of the 14 soldiers convicted for the Aquino-Galman double murder case have been released after their sentences were communed by the President. Much to the disappointment of the Aquino family and Ninoy Aquino supporters all over the world. For them, it was Arroyo’s way of getting back at Ninoy’s widow, Cory Aquino, who has joined the opposition’s side.

There’s nothing anyone can do to stop their release, with the exception of course of the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the SC is the President’s pet.

But come to think of it, there’s no reason to cry over spilled milk. Sure we still don’t know who planned his assassination, or so much the guy who pulled the trigger on him. But let’s look at it from a positive view, at least we got something from it.

Because of Ninoy’s sacrifice, if you would call it, we Filipinos learned to be strong. We learned to unite against the same enemy and the common goal, atrocity and freedom. And we showed this three years later in what we commemorate today as the People Power Revolution.

Sure, evil did prevail in killing the leader of the revolution, Ninoy, but we learned that no matter what weapon they use they will never kill the spirit. The spirit of courage and patriotism. We regained the hope we lost and picked ourselves up from the ground and continued to fight. Ninoy’s death taught us to be Filipinos.

It has been twenty-six years after the crime that shook not only the country but the world at that time. No cases have succeeded in putting Marcos’ widow, Imelda, into prison. Nor did anyone with the Marcos family name spend a single second in prison. Neither have close Marcos allies like General Fabian Ver. The soldiers convicted, members of the Aviation Security Command (AVSECOM), had no basis of being imprisoned. But you see, if Ninoy hadn’t been killed perhaps tyranny and corruption would still cloud over our heads. We learned People Power and we have used it effectively in ousting two Presidents in the past. And when time calls for it again, no doubt Filipinos will use it again.

Change Has Come to the World

After months of career defining victories against iconic rivals such as the wife of a former US President and a powerful ex-POW US Senator, Barack Obama finally delivered the final touch of his struggle to the White House with a dragon slaying victory over John McCain. In his acceptance speech Obama claims that the change America needs has finally arrived. And remember, whatever America needs the world needs as well.

Who was Barack Obama before the Iowa caucuses? He was a nobody. A barely recognized Senator from Illinois stood to face a very powerful Senator from New York and the wife of a former US President, Hillary Clinton. From the start, analysts already said Clinton was the clear winner. No novice Senator was going to beat a politician the caliber of Clinton, polls that followed backed the statement. And not to mention with the kind of country America is his race surely is a disadvantage. He is a product of two of the most discriminated races in the world, Black and Asian.  But as time passed the public began to recognize Obama’s charisma, and how unique and straightforward his platform was. His background no longer mattered to them, and he began catching up in the polls. And the first step to his journey was completed, he won the Iowa caucuses and he won it big. An upset, a huge one and a dissappointment, a huge one as well to Clinton and her supporters. The following caucuses was a roller coaster ride, with each side winning and losing–it was nobody’s ball game. Finally the time came when Obama surpassed the number of delegates needed to be the Democratic Party’s candidate for Presidency. A dragon slaying victory.

But after fighting that battle, Obama was faced with a new challenge. The hardest in his entire struggle. Or if this was a video game we were talking about this opponent would be called, “the boss”. It was Obama v.s. McCain, the final battle in the fight for the White House. Obama was a fan favorite, but not because he impressed people but because his opponent was a less popular one. McCain was pro-war and he had a strict stand against immigration, something that made conservative groups dislike him.

Finally, the 4th of November came. The most recent polls showed Obama ahead of McCain but by a thin margin, could he bring those numbers all the way to the results? As we all know by know, yes he could and yes he did. Barack Obama is now the President-elect of the United States of America, the first black leader in history and one that would hopefully fix the economy of the United States. Clearly, Barack Obama’s win was dragon slaying. Hopefully though, he won’t stop with slaying the dragon McCain, but as well as the dragon that is threatening the world, the global financial crisis.

Legal Defense

After a US airstrike-gone-wrong kills 12 innocent civilians in a tribal village in the Afghan-Pakistani border, the Pakistanis wanted no more of American help in their territory. Leading them into shooting two US military choppers which were suppose to hunting for insurgents. America calls the attack “uncalled for”, but we have to analyze that what the Pakistanis were doing was just legal defense.

An American attack chopper goes on patrol near the Afghan-Paki border in this undated Yahoo.com photo.

It was two weeks ago when an American missile hit a house in North Waziristan, a tribal region in Pakistan near the Afghan border. Apparently, the Americans were pursuing rebels fleeing from Afghanistan. They can get in, apparently, into Pakistan at any time they want without Pakistani approval. Well, technically that was the case until the unfruitful incident last September 12. Musharaff had to not give a damn, or else the US would tighten a noose around his neck for his nuclear ambitions. Now there’s a new top dog, Asif Ali Zardari, who has a tough stance on terrorism since he blames for the death of his wife, Benazir Bhutto.

He was frustrated about the US attacks though. Sending a protest straight to the American embassy. And he had every right to, he was only doing what he was assigned to do, protect the people. And the US can’t say that they were also protecting the people by pursuing the rebels because mind you Pakistan has its own defense forces. Even has nuclear weapons in its arsenal. It is very capable of defending itself against terrorists.

Pakistan has already made a threat, that if the US doesn’t stay out of its borders it would attack. An attack of legal defense. America has to know that it is not free to do anything it wants, and it must also understand this.

The Right Choices?

Barack Obama, a known “anti-war in Iraq” politician, chose a pro-war lawmaker, Joe Biden to be his running mate for the November general elections. And just yesterday Republican candidate John McCain announced that novice politician Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin to be his running mate. A not-so-bad pick as Palin: 1) is pro-life 2) has no ties to Bush and 3) is very popular in her home state. The question now is, did the presidentiables really get the right persons or did they pick their own poison?

Delaware Senator Joe Biden

As November draws near, the election fever is as high as ever. Now with the vice-presidentiables revealed, the critics would have more to say about their candidates. As the running mates they pick would tell what kind of president they would become. On where they stand on certain issues.

For example, if an anti-war advocate picks another anti-war personality as his running mate then he would have a strong image about being an anti-war advocate. This isn’t the case of Democratic candidate Barack Obama however. This anti-war icon picked Joe Biden, a pro-war statesman, as his running mate. One would have to wonder if he really is serious about his “end the Iraq war” campaign.

Alaska Governor Sarah Palin

Picking the vice-presidents would also be used to cover-up flaws and mistakes of presidentiables. Take John McCain for example. His image was badly strained when he was endorsed by President Bush. Now, he picked Sarah Biden to be his running mate. Someone who has no ties to the unpopular president.

Smart move, McCain.

Sarah Palin also is popular to the Christian and Evangelical conservatives for her tough stance on pro-life and anti-abortion. Biden on the other hand is foreign affairs savy. He authored laws against genocide in Sudan and was instrumental in the 1999 Kosovo air strikes, bringing peace to the region. He may be a pro-peace icon but his methods in achieving peace is however by the use of force and not by diplomacy.

Choosing your vice-president really helps in your bid to becoming president. Choosing the wrong candidate would do the opposite. Obama and McCain’s picks were met with criticisms, but at the same time it also drew a number of appreciation from their supporters. The elections draws near, we are yet to learn if whether they made the right choices or the exact opposite.

Attack on the People

The latest U.S. Air Force offensive in Afghanistan left over seventy civilians and just about a dozen rebels dead. With the bigger percentage being civilians, is the U.S. really targeting the bad guys, or the innocent ones?

A physician tends to his patient

A US Air Force operation in the western Afghan town of Azizabad has left over a dozen Taliban fighters dead. This would be good news to most people. The problem? About seventy civilians have been killed and fifteen houses destroyed. The American side however says only five civilians died. Whoever is telling the truth is unsure, the Americans could just be covering up its actions so as not to lose political support abroad. But then again, the Afghan Government has been known to exaggerate death tolls as to collect more compensation money from the U.S. or they just give in to pressure from the Taliban.

Both sides have a dirty history. The lesser evil is still unknown. One thing is for sure though, no political support or compensation money could return the lives of the civilians dead. No matter how many they are.

Downfall

After almost a decade in power, after numerous attempts to force him to relinquish his power, Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharaff finally gives in to internal and external pressure from opposition. But was his downfall really the answer to Pakistan’s economic problems?

It was in 1999 that then Pakistan leader Nawaz Shariff made the order to dismiss General Musharaff as head of the armed forces which caused anger and frustrations within the high ranking officers. This sparked the bloodless coup d`etat that ousted him from power and gave General Musharaff the title, Chief Executive. Ever since then, his reign was plagued with criticism, opposition and pressure from different fields of the society. They were calling for the restoration of democracy. Musharaff gave in to their demands but also made sure his reign would be legitimate and would continue. This led to a referendum in 2002. His party won in the referendum. However, it was marred with “irregularities” and majority of the population boycotted it. Another group that posed a threat against his presidency was the United
States itself. George Bush was concerned about the “freedom” of the Pakistani people. He, however, withdrew his statement following Musharaff’s allegiance and support to his war on terror in 2003. This move even got him a deal with the United States for access to nuclear arms. A deal that narrowly saved the country from bankruptcy.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharaff announces his resignation in this Google.com photo grab

Although the Musharaff administration didn’t improve economic conditions in the country, it saved Pakistan from even worse conditions. And although foreign relations were still strained, it managed to ease tensions with neighbor India.

His later years however was disastrous to the country. As it was nothing but violence and chaos. Starting with a takeover of the country’s Red Mosque. More chaotic events followed, like the assassination of his fiercest rival, Benazir Bhutto in 2007. Investor confidence in Pakistan was at an all-time low. Its image was as messed up as ever.

The year 2008 came, and more problems went in the way of the Musharaff regime. Including the impeachment trial against him recently. This case finally forced him to relinquish his post. With him gone, it is yet to be known if whether the opposition was right and that he was the cause of the country’s crises.

How We Killed Ninoy

Title adopted from the ABS-CBN documentary, “Beyond Conspiracy”.

Ninoy Aquino 1932-1983

In other countries, the ’80s may be the decade techno music was born. The decade hip-hop became a formidable force in the music industry. The decade when Madonna’s “Material Girl” song became a hit. But for the Philippines, the ’80s was the decade for change.

The start of Ferdinand Marcos’ reign as President in the Philippines were great years for Filipinos. It was a time wherein the Philippines was one of the most industrialized nations in Asia, in the world even. While neighboring countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam were plagued by poverty, their people were dying of hunger. In the Philippines however, the people were spending their time in discos. Bathing themselves with luxuries. As time passed by however, we learned that life is really like a wheel. Sometimes you’re on top, and sometimes you’re at the bottom. Life got harder as time passed by. This “observation” made the Filipinos realize that it was time for change.

As time passed by, less students frequented bars and casinos and more, instead, flocked to the streets to hold rallies and demonstrations. The Filipino youth became political-minded. Politics was the new “in-thing” during those times. And if you couldn’t handle politics then you weren’t “cool”. Very opposite from today’s youth. Rallies and demonstrations were here and there, but none of those seemed to work. The strongman’s regime and his cronies always got the upper hand of the opposition. Demonstrators were getting tired of being under the sun all day, and soon it wasn’t only their political-mindedness that disintegrated, no, t was also their patriotism. Those faces that were common in the streets found themselves boarding a plane, on their way to more industrialized countries like the United States and countries in Europe. These were the people who didn’t mean to enter the world of politics in the first place, they were just motivated by time. Those who really cared for the country stayed and defied Marcos’ “no one goes against me” policy. Most of them ended up being tortured and found in trash cans and empty allies. Of course the judicial system was controlled by the government then so almost none of them got the justice they should have had. Most cases were blamed on communists and leftists.

Manila Bulletin Headline on Aquino

Clearly, the situation of the nation was a turmoil. The constitution was a joke, assets were being rewarded to Marcos’ friends the same way they were rewarded to players in the board game “Monopoly”. The opposition wasn’t powerful enough to stop this disaster, they were divided. Isolated. Weak. They needed to find a leader to guide them. At that time the ones they called “leaders” were just sore losers who lost their positions to administration candidates. They weren’t dedicated. They had no stand. There were, however, better candidates to run the opposition. But all of them were too scared to go against a dictator. One however, made a difference, Ninoy Aquino.

Aquino was first arrested in 1975 for the crime of “illegal possession of weapons and explosives”. He was later sentenced to capital punishment by a firing squad, but Marcos ever the strategist realized that by doing so Aquino would have a “Martyr” image. Marcos then sent Aquino in exile in the United States. In the US, Aquino lived a peaceful life, a prosperous one. Marcos made sure he enjoyed living there with his family, so he would have no basis of returning to the Philippines. But Aquino was dedicated to his people, he was willing to throw all that prosperity away for the sake of the people he had left behind in the Philippines. He wanted to get back to them, to help them, even if it meant risking his own life.

And as we all know today, the threats were real. Aquino was shot. He was killed by a weapon we made ourselves, a weapon we perfected to use-our behavior to sit back down after we stand up. We realized the situation at one point, we saw the cruelties and the atrocities of the Marcos regime but we closed back our eyes and we pretended as if nothing was happening. Would Aquino be assassinated if we got rid of Marcos in the first place? And so numerous memorable events in our nation’s history unfolded. Events which include the eventual resignation of Marcos. Yes we did stand up in the end, but only when we really needed to. After the deaths of thousands.

Philippine Daily Inquirer Headline, the Filipinos

We all have different theories as to who killed Ninoy: Galman, the military, the communists. But technically speaking it was we Filipinos who refused to fight back. It was our weaknesses that killed Ninoy, and almost killed our country in the process. Today, we have our own “Ninoy-type situations”. There are those of us who have seen but refuse to acknowledge. We go into a state of denial, forcing ourselves that nothing ever happened. Let us not make the same mistake as before. Stand up, before it is too late.

Who’s Going to Stand Up?

Tskhinvali was literally blazed, Gori was left in ruins, and now Tblisi is in the verge of being attacked by Russian forces as the Eastern European conflict continues to escalate everyday. Georgian reserve forces have already been tapped as counter-defense measures but it still isn’t enough to repel the Russians. This should be the perfect time for the world to step in, but why hasn’t any country intervened?

A Russian soldier fires an RPG to enemy position in an unknown location.

Where is America now? The country that is accountable for shaping up 2/3 of Georgian forces? They haven’t sent a single soldier in the battlefield, instead just cash for the Georgian refugees. And the amount is relatively small considering the number of persons displaced by Russian bombings. Where is the European Union? The so-called “peace keeper” of the European continent? They indeed have sent “forces” but just to cover the peace talks between the two nations and not combat forces that would prevent the two countries to clash and send more people homeless. Australia has sent aid as well but it isn’t enough. Financial aid ISN’T enough. There are already 200,000 persons displaced when the city of Gori was attacked, and it isn’t even a major Georgian city. It’s capital, Tbilisi, is about to be attacked. Now, if an attack on a minor city caused the displacement of that much people how much more, do you think, would be displaced if the capital was to be attacked?

I’m wondering now if technicality really is the reason why no other country has stepped up, or is it because they are just scared? Having a go against Russia would be a gamble to both their economies and their militaries. Face it, Russia is an emerging economy. This is the same situation as the Yom Kippur War, every country wants to help but then the Arabs threatened an oil embargo and they all knew it was gonna hurt like an atom bomb on their economies. It is sad to realize that countries care for their wealth more than people dying. And it is very coincidental that the conflict erupted in the midst of an Olympics that aimed to promote the slogan, “One World”. Time is running out for the people of Georgia, pretty soon the conflict would reach its peak and would send more people homeless. When would the world stand up for what is right rather than for what would benefit them?

Blazing Georgia

After a Georgian attack aimed at reclaiming the breakaway region of South Ossetia, Russia considered it an attack into their sovereign territory, considering that 2/3 of the South Ossetian population have Russian passports. However, the Russians weren’t contented of just driving them away and even sent their troops into Georgian territory and now Georgia is under attack. As fair as it sounds like is the purpose of Russia’s actions really to save the Ossetians or are the reports from the West true that they are reclaiming the areas part of what used to be called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics?

On the eve of the Olympics the country of Georgia set fire the region of South Ossetia with artillery fires. The country calls this an attack to reclaim the breakaway region. Russia however finds it different, calling it an attack against Russians. Fighting back by bombarding key Georgian “military” locations such as bases and airfields. But apparently, due to “miscalculations”, the bombs hit civilian locations instead like apartments and hospitals. Killing hundreds of Georgian civilians. And so the theory of a genocide-in-the-making was brought up by the Georgian government, saying that Russia had intentionally targeted these locations. But Russia countered and said that it was Georgia that committed the genocide, slaughtering thousands of South Ossetian residents and would have killed more if they haven’t intervened.

Russia clearly has the military advantage, but Georgia is seeking help from the United States. The US however said that if Georgia had been a member of NATO it would have immediately declared war on Russia. But is this really the case? I mean they stepped in on Vietnam with very little basis of doing so. They didn’t bother to step in when their ally, Israel, was bombing the heck out of Lebanon. Killing thousands of civilians. And the US can’t overlook how much it would cost them if they would send troops and hardware all the way to the east.

The war in the East is continuing to escalate up to this day, with the Russians finding it pleasurable to set Georgia on fire. Not that I’m defending Georgia or anything. I’m just saying that it is times like these that the international community should get involved.

Ready to Stand Up and to Step Up

It has been years now since Iran revealed its ambition to nuclear power. And for the same duration as well the West has constantly been pressuring the Islamic country to surrender its goal, offering them different incentive packages. When the Iranians refused the offer, they used the so-called “hard way” and slapped different sanctions ranging from trade embargoes to putting their military in the World Terrorist Blacklist. Now, the US have set a deadline for Iran to make its final decision. Whether to push through with the plan, which if I may add they have every right to, or to abandon it and be a US “ally”. The US have threaten to use “force” if ever Iran would refuse again, and Iran have also threatened to fight back if the US or its ally Israel would fire a bullet into Iranian territory. But with the situation hotter than ever, is Iran still willing to stand up or will they finally give in to US pressure?

What’s the real score here? Well, Iran wants to develop nuclear energy to cut energy costs in the country. And the US is diverting the situation and making the world think Iran is trying to produce nuclear weapons. This is the same thing that happened during Saddam’s Iraq, where he was accused of not only developing but supplying nuclear arms to terrorist groups. Which was later found out to be false. Five years after the invasion did the US only realize its mistake, as the expenditures of the Iraq war is reaching the same price tag that of Vietnam’s. They cannot withdraw immediately due to the constant attacks from terrorists and their expenditures are getting higher each day. The question on my mind is would the American Congress (which approved the attack in 2003) or more importantly, the American people allow another US-led attack on a mideast country? And would the so-called, “Coalition” still support the attack if ever America asked them to?

Iranian President Ahmadinejad poses in this undated file photo

Take a look at this, the Iran Nuclear Program was previously supported by the United States. But after the Contra-Iran scandal and the American Embassy Hostage Crisis in the ’80s the West has had a different view of it. The economy of Iran, though big, is not much compared to China and Russia which both have nuclear programs but then again you don’t see the US impose trade embargoes onto it. And why? Because doing so would put a big dent onto the American economy. Just contributing to the economic crisis its already suffering. Heck, even China is causing some hostility into the region pointing long-range missiles onto Taiwan but then you don’t see America intervening. These thoughts make us doubt the liability of the US in being a “peace keeper” or at least an unbiased one.

The deadline is drawing near, and Iran is still refusing to end the program. Only time will tell if the unstable Middle East region would have a peaceful future.