There is no basis in the plan of oil firms to again hike the prices of their petroleum products in spite of the uptrend in world oil prices. Oil companies in the country have overpriced their products by around 16 centavos per liter from January to May this year. By IBON Foundation Bulatlat.com There is…
Bulatlat Contributors
Gov’t Claim of High GDP: Sustained Growth?
Poor people cannot be blamed for not sharing the government’s euphoria over the 6.4 percent growth in the gross domestic product (GDP). After all, they cannot feel such growth, and a close scrutiny of the figures shows that the latest data on the local output only reflects the kind of economy the country has. By…
UP Unions Oppose Privatization of Gov’t Services: Government employees face mass lay-off
Two employees unions of the University of the Philippines in a joint statement expressed their opposition to the latest plan to accelerate the privatization of government services which, they said, makes government employees the sacrificial lambs in the government’s inability to raise sufficient revenues and to curtail public spending. By LYN V. RAMO Northern Dispatch…
Computer tips and tricks: Pesky Mouse, Keyboard Shortcuts
You could say I’m a mouse hater and a keyboard addict. By PIO VERZOLA JR. Northern Dispatch Bulatlat.com The mouse as a pointing tool may have solved the problem of how to move the cursor or select objects more precisely on the screen – tasks that can be done with the keyboard, but often too…
Joan Carling?s Journey to Damascus
As she herself admits, Joan Carling – chair of the Cordillera Peoples? Alliance – felt no pride in having been born of Cordillera?s indigenous peoples when she was younger. But she would reach a point from which there was no turning back, and now she is a prominent leader of the Cordillera peoples? movement against…
America’s Empire of Bases
By Chalmers Johnson TomDispatch Posted by Bulatlat.com As distinct from other peoples, most Americans do not recognize — or do not want to recognize — that the United States dominates the world through its military power. Due to government secrecy, our citizens are often ignorant of the fact that our garrisons encircle the planet. This…
The Economics and Politics of the World Social Forum: Lessons for the Struggle against ‘Globalisation’
Table of Contents: ‘Globalisation’ I. How and Why the World Social Forum Emerged II. WSF Mumbai 2004 and the NGO Phenomenon in India By Research Unit for Political Economy Ground floor, Sidhwa Estate, N.A. Sawant Marg, Colaba Mumbai (Bombay), India 400005. http://www.rupe-india.org/index.html Posted by Bulatlat.com Introduction ‘Globalisation’ It became fashionable in the 1990s to use…
Nestle Workers Condemn Two Years of Injustice and Violence
“Good food, good life”— thus goes the tag line of the food giant Nestlé Philippines Inc. in its advertisements. Apparently, these words are not for the company’s own workers, as more than 300 of them continue to decry making do with “bad food” and suffering a “bad life” since they went on strike two years…
2004 Budget Based on Flawed Speculation
A review of the macroeconomic assumptions prepared by the Department of Budget of Management (DBM) shows that there are glaring contradictions in government projections. By DANILO ARAÑA ARAO Bulatlat.com According to news reports, the Senate took only five days to approve the national budget for 2004. A senator says that its swift passage “would ensure…
Ramming Through: Macapagal-Arroyo’s New Minerals Policy spells doom – environment groups
After failing to enact a controversial National Minerals Policy (NMP) due to widespread opposition by environmental groups and mining-affected communities, the government changed tact. Out of the blue, it issued last week Executive Order 270 which it says aims to promulgate a Minerals Action Plan within 90 days to revitalize the mining industry. But NGOs…
‘Walk of Shame’ in Cagayan de Oro Assailed
Davao is not the only city in southern Philippines that has earned notoriety for the summary execution of suspected criminals many of them minors. Fast catching up is Cagayan de Oro City which recently paraded for public view a group of crime suspects – three of them minors. By Grace Cantal-Albasin Bulatlat.com Minadano Bureau CAGAYAN…