Day: November 14, 2009

By RONALYN V. OLEA
Human-rights advocate welcome the signing into law of Republic Act 9745, which penalizes acts of torture in the Philippines. The challenge now, they say, is for the Arroyo administration to effectively implement it, given its sordid human-rights record.

By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com MANILA — Writer, blogger and legislative staff Maureen Hermitanio did not expect that she would be put under surveillance by state agents. In four separate incidents between Oct. 24 and Nov. 3, two men visited Hermitanio’s residence in San Mateo, Rizal. They insisted to talk to her for “background investigation”…

Noynoy Aquino may not have stolen money from the nation’s coffers but he has been stealing land from the farmers of Hacienda Luisita. The issue of the farmers of Hacienda Luisita is not merely a test of his mettle as a presidential candidate but, more importantly, it is a test of his sense of justice.

By PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS Counterpunch Posted by Bulatlat The US government is now so totally under the thumbs of organized interest groups that “our” government can no longer respond to the concerns of the American people who elect the president and the members of the House and Senate. Voters will vent their frustrations over their…

By FRANKLIN C. SPINNEY Marmaris, Turkey CounterPunch International Posted by Bulatlat.com In the opening lines of the oldest treatise on the conduct of war, Sun Tzu said that the question of war is vital to the state, and therefore, it is imperative to study it. This timeless advice has been been ignored repeatedly by the…

9 November 2009 We, the International Committee DEFEND, wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and high appreciation to five members of the Dutch First Chamber (Senate), who belong to various major parties, for raising last 3 November 2009 questions aimed at upholding the rule of law and the human rights of Professor Jose Maria Sison.…