The Torture Memos and Historical Amnesia By NOAM CHOMSKY The Nation Posted by Bulatlat The torture memos released by the White House elicited shock, indignation, and surprise. The shock and indignation are understandable. The surprise, less so. For one thing, even without inquiry, it was reasonable to suppose that Guantanamo was a torture chamber. Why…
Month: May 2009
Can Treasury Sneak IMF Money Through the Supplemental?
By ROBERT NAIMAN International Posted by Bulatlat Almost completely lost in the drama over the war supplemental for Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan is a sneaky play by the US Treasury Department to get $108 billion in tax dollars for the International Monetary Fund through the supplemental. Of course, if Treasury can get the money through…
Elections or Not?
Elections or Not? More and more politicians are thrusting themselves into the limelight in what is turning out to be a frantic run-up to the 2010 elections. (By Flon Faurillo)
Porn Market in Philippines Rakes in $1B Annually
By NOEL SALES BARCELONA Correspondent Bulatlat MANILA — The Philippine porn industry, which thrives in an underground market, rakes in an estimated US$1 billion annually, bringing the country to the eighth spot in the porn-profitability race around the world. After the sex video of Katrina Halili and Dr. Hayden Kho Jr. was uploaded on YouTube,…
Small Batangas Town Frets as Canadian Firm Readies Gold Mining
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat MANILA — Since 2003, a mining company has been conducting exploration work in the mountains of the coastal town of Lobo, in the southernmost part of Batangas province, about 143 kilometers south of Manila. Mindoro Resouces Limited Gold Philippines (MRL Gold), a 99-percent Canadian-owned and one-percent Filipino-owned company, sees…
Retrenched Migrants in New Zealand Appeal for Work Extension
By NOEL SALES BARCELONA Correspondent Migrant Watch Bulatlat MANILA — Retrenched migrants in New Zealand want their work permits to be extended for three months to give them ample time to look for work. Dennis Maga, coordinator of Migrante International in Aotearoa, New Zealand, said in a statement that they have already made an appeal…
Mine Workers Decry Lepanto’s ‘Unfair Labor Practices’
By ALDWIN QUITASOL Labor Watch Northern Dispatch MANKAYAN, Benguet, Philippines — Mine workers at the Lepanto Mine Division of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMCo) picketed the company’s general office to demand a stop to the extended work-rotation scheme and other unfair labor practices. Manny Binhaon Jr., president of Lepanto Employees Union-National Federation of Labor…
Baguio Urban Poor Group Marks 25th Year
By ALDWIN QUITASOL Northern Dispatch BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — The Metro Baguio-wide alliance for the urban poor, Organisasyon dagiti Nakukurapay nga Umili ti Syudad-Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Ornus-Kadamay), celebrated last week its 25 years of organizing among the city’s urban poor. Geraldine Cacho, chair emeritus of Ornus-Kadamay, said they started from six community associations and…
Slideshow: VFA’s 10th Year Marked With Protests
VFA’s 10th Year Marked With Protests
With Determination (and Some Noise), Union Defeats Giant Firm’s Zero-Wage Hike Policy
By MARYA SALAMAT Labor Watch Bulatlat CABUYAO, Laguna, Philippines — As with millions of workers around the globe, the first half of the year has been unkind to Filipino workers of NXP (The Next Performance), a leading global semiconductors company with operations at the Light Industry Science Park in this town. In January, 400 of…
When the Prey Strikes
By OLMAYA NGABIT Posted by Bulatlat The Beasts Blood thirsty beasts stalk them, Watching them From a distance at first, Then slowly inching nearer, And in a blink of an eye Pounces on their prey These beasts they know no mercy They find satisfaction In the agony of their prey They live to kill They…