Saturday, November 10, 2012

11-year-old reporter rattles Chinese party leaders

sun luyuan


Chinese officials accustomed to the tame questions of a compliant state press were caught out by a plucky 11-year-old student reporter during the country’s sensitive Communist Party congress.

Sun Luyuan, a Beijing sixth-grade student, on Friday shook up one of the tightly controlled party meetings on the congress’ sidelines with a question that put officials on the spot over China’s miserable food-safety record.

Noting that a steady stream of scandals and health scares involving tainted or unsafe food products had particularly affected students, leaving many sickened in various incidents, Sun asked why China can’t clean up its act.

“I love snacks, but I don’t dare to eat snacks now because we see so many reports these days of problems with food products,” she told high-level officials during a congress delegate meeting, according to state-run China News Service.

During the meeting at Beijing’s cavernous Great Hall of the People, Sun, who works for the Chinese Teenager News, continued by asking, “why are these kinds of food products available for purchase?”

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Robert F. Kennedy's Daughter Demands Apology from Sotto

The Day of Affirmation



Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of former US Senator Robert F. Kennedy demands an apology from Philippines Senator Vicente Sotto III for plagiarizing his father's speech.

In a letter written on the official official stationery of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, Ms. Kennedy said:


"I urge that he (Sotto) apologize for his unethical, unsanctioned theft of Robert Kennedy’s intellectual property and the intellectual property of all those whose work he has plagiarized."

She further criticized the anti-RH Bill senator for his use of Kennedy's speech to block the passage of the RH Bill in the senate.

"In addition, I am particularly offended to see a speech my father gave in support of global human rights distorted by Senator Sotto as an argument against the right to contraception. Expanding and protecting access to contraception is a global priority I have promoted for years, and limiting that freedom was in no way the topic of the 1966 Day of Affirmation speech."




Friday, November 9, 2012

News Links

Restoring order in party-list polls

Estrada scolds sons over public spat




US Catastrophe Feared

Obama Calls On Republicans To Help End Partisan Gridlock

president obama

President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Wednesday emboldened by his stunning re-election and challenging his Republican opponents to work with him to avert a looming fiscal crisis.
The liberal euphoria that greeted Obama's landmark election defeat of Mitt Romney was short-lived as he immediately set about the daunting task of ending the partisan gridlock of a bitterly divided US Congress.
Before leaving Chicago, Obama was already on the phone trying to bridge the gap with Republican leaders to avoid a catastrophic “fiscal cliff” that could plunge the fragile American economy back into recession.
A combination of dramatic spending cuts and tax increases will take effect on January 1 without a deal on reducing the ballooning budget deficit, with Democrats and Republicans in Congress locked in a who-blinks-first stand-off.
Obama called congressional leaders, sending out an overt message that his priority was to try to break the deadlock in the lame-duck session of Congress that precedes his January 21 inauguration ceremony.

Binay on dynasties: Why bar qualified bets?


jejomar binay

Vice President Jejomar Binay on Friday joined critics of pending bills and a people’s initiative to bar members of political dynasties from running for public office.
“I don’t believe in prohibiting dynasties. Why should there be a law to prohibit someone who is qualified [from running] when the people want him [elected]? The real spirit of democracy is the will of the people—vox populi,” he told reporters in an interview at Makati City Hall where he attended a mass to mark his birthday on Nov. 11.
Binay, who is being criticized for building a political dynasty, asserted that the antidynasty proposals were “only being pushed by people who are perennial losers” in elections.
The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), which Binay leads, is fielding his daughter Nancy in next year’s midterm senate race.  Binay’s wife served as mayor of Makati City after his term expired and the current mayor is his son.
“Let us uphold and not frustrate the will of our countrymen. I repeat, if the candidates are honorable and the elections clean, anybody can run. If they ban dynasties, what next, prohibit the noninfluential and the uneducated from becoming candidates? Everybody should have equal opportunity,” he said.
“The issue of the dynasties is only cropping up because some people are not getting votes [to win]. They just want to eliminate their rivals,” he added.

No VFA cover for dumping


Santiago seeks Senate probe of US Navy contractor

Subic waste dumping

The United States Navy contractor accused of dumping hazardous waste into Subic Bay last month is not covered by the Visiting Forces Agreement between the US and the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
“The VFA only covers US military personnel and US civilian personnel who are individuals employed by the US Armed Forces or those that accompany them such as employees of the American Red Cross and United Services Organization,” said Assistant Secretary Raul Hernandez, the DFA spokesperson.
“Since Glenn Defense Marine Asia Philippines Inc. cannot be considered US personnel, clearly its acts as third-party contractors are not covered by the VFA,” Hernandez said.
The VFA, the 1999 agreement that provides the framework for regulating the presence of US military forces and equipment in the Philippines, allows the US government to retain jurisdiction over US military personnel accused of committing crimes in the Philippines, unless the crimes are of “particular” importance to the Philippines.
The debate over this controversial aspect of the VFA—which many Filipinos see as one-sided and an affront to the sovereignty of the Philippines—has come into play once again after the Malaysia-based US Navy contractor accused by the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) of dumping toxic waste in its waters invoked the protection of the VFA.

Thursday, November 1, 2012

International News


US Pinoys Need Water

hurricane sandy

Consul General Mario De Leon yesterday said some Filipinos in Connecticut and Long Island were reported to be running low on potable water while many others in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut have no Internet, telephone, or mobile phone connectivity following the devastation caused by superstorm Sandy on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States last October 29.
As of press time, the Philippine embassy and the Philippine Consulate General in New York said they do not have the exact figures on the number of Filipinos directly affected by Sandy but they have received reports that some Filipinos were evacuated in Atlantic City, Jersey City, New Milford, and other areas in New Jersey as well as in City Island and Staten Island in New York due to floodwaters.
De Leon said reports from the leaders of the Filipino Community also indicate that a large number of Filipinos are among the 8.5 million people in 13 states who are currently without electricity.
He said there are also reports that several Filipinos sustained some damage to their homes in Nassau and Queens counties in New York as well as in Hamden and Stamford in Connecticut as a result of violent winds and storm surges.

Celebrity News


Christian Bautista Dodges Question About Virginity, Plans To Marry In Two Years

Christian Bautista


Wearing the “31-year-old virgin” tag more as a badge of honor than a coat of shame, Christian Bautista, for the longest time, has directly said he has not done "the deed" just yet.
In a recent interview, however, Bautista dodged the question about his virginity though he did dismiss rumors that he and girlfriend Carla Dunareanu live under one roof.
“Hindi po kami nagli-live in. We’re separate..." said he in an interview with PEP posted Wednesday.
Despite being of age, the international singing sensation maintained that it’s his “personal conviction” not to succumb to the seeming trend of couples living-in prior to tying the knot.
“For me, I believe na mas okay kung hindi muna i-blur yung line by living together. I think it’s better to grow apart and then grow together in a different setting,” the “ASAP XV” mainstay said.

Politics News


Palace: No pressure on PNP chief Bartolome

General Bartolome

President Benigno Aquino III is not pressuring Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Nicanor Bartolome to retire ahead of his mandatory retirement in March next year, MalacaƱang said Thursday.
The President has not said anything about talking Bartolome into retiring early, said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.
“And obviously, even from the demeanor and the statements of DG Bartolome, there’s no pressure on him,” Valte told state-run dzRB radio.
Valte said Interior Secretary Mar Roxas’ designation of PNP Deputy Director General Allan Purisima as head of Task Force Halalan, which will oversee security in next year’s midterm elections, should not be seen as an insult to Bartolome.
Purisima, who was promoted last Wednesday to police deputy director general, the equivalent of a three-star general rank in the military, is widely rumored to be the designated successor of Bartolome, who is retiring on March 16 when he turns 56, the mandatory retirement age for police officials. The date falls right in the middle of the election campaign period.

Riyadh Blast


Filipino among 22 killed in Riyadh blast

riyadh blast


A Filipino was among 22 people killed in a fuel truck blast and building collapse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, Philippine officials said.

At least 12 other Filipinos were injured in the explosion, with 9 admitted to hospitals.

Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ezzedin Tago confirmed Thursday night that one of the fatalities is a Filipino.
The victim was inside a vehicle parked in the area when the explosion occurred, reports said.

"Iyung namatay na Pilipino, kasama niya yung bayaw niya kaya na-inform yung mga kamag-anak sa Pilipinas," Tago told ANC's The World Tonight.

Foreign Affairs spokesperson Raul Hernandez also confirmed that a Filipino died in the fuel truck blast.
He said 9 are in hospitals while 3 have been discharged.

The victims were brought to the National Guard Hospital, the Habib Hospital, the Jazira Clinic, and Shumaisi, Hernandez said.