Apocalypse : The Second World War

Entertainment News, News & Info | Comments (4)

By MAJOR TOM | November 1, 2009

I’ve been so busy with work-related activities that my blog is on a slowdown for the meantime. I wonder what issues are hugging global politics right now, or those within our midst. I wouldn’t be as informed as I am usually is due to my busy schedule nowadays.

Maybe I just put some morsel of thoughts once in a while just to keep things on and running. I'd be so busy till the middle of December.

Last night, after driving my wife and kids to a friend’s despedida party, I kinda still felt the tiresomeness that resulted from a most recent travel to Cagayan de Oro and other Mindanao cities that I went to bed so much earlier than expected.

And the bed was so soothing to my bodice and the night wind was comforting similarly.
And to top it all, National Geographic channel was exhibiting a series I’ve been anticipating greatly these recent days, Apocalypse: The Second World War, a six-part television program about the events and happenstances of World War II, captured by camera while the war was unfolding, with so many clips that were previously unpublished.

Truly, war is so atrocious and so evil. Yet reminding me that anecdote about how war sometimes becomes inevitable and necessary.

I think I’ve finished watching only 3 of the 6 segments. I hope I’d be able to catch up with the other three. I felt that among many documentaries I’ve seen before, I most enjoyed this one. Not that I am a fan of war, if ever there is a term like that, but it was such a mind-opening experience, about the horrors of war, and what form of evil can men actually commit and implement.

Senator Escudero's Suggestion On Mindanao Peace Process

Philippine Politics, Current Events, News & Info | Comments (4)

By MAJOR TOM | October 21, 2009

Senator Chiz Escudero - in his Facebook account - suggests the novel idea of involving all possible stakeholders in any talk concerning the peace process in Mindanao. In toto:

INVOLVEMENT OF ALL PARTIES IN TALKS, NOT ONLY U.S. HELP, KEY TO PEACE IN MINDANAO - CHIZ

Opposition Sen. Chiz Escudero yesterday said while he welcomed any help the United States might provide in the ongoing peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), he reiterated that all-out consultations with stakeholders is still the key to a long-lasting settlement in Mindanao.

“The US, or any other foreign country for that matter, can only achieve so much by taking part as honest brokers. In the end, it is really the involvement of all local stakeholders in the process that will ultimately lead to peace in the region,” he said.

Officials from the US embassy in Manila met recently with representatives of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Maguindanao to discuss ways how Washington could play a bigger role in resolving the conflict on the island.

Although the US currently provides humanitarian and development aid to conflict areas in Mindanao where poverty is rife, it is also conducting training exercises with Philippine troops battling rebels and extremists on the island.

Figures from the National Statistical Coordination Board indicate that the poverty incidence rate in the country was highest in Mindanao at 38.8 percent compared to 33 percent for the Visayas and 20 percent for Luzon

The 40-year-old lawmaker also reiterated the need to include in the peace talks all clans and representatives of indigenous peoples from conflict areas as well as local government units.

He noted the vast amount wasted by government as after nearly 30 years of confrontation as well as the continued internal displacement of people.

Based on data from the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process, annual economic losses from the Mindanao conflict from 1975-2002 has ranged from P5-10B, which would equate to a staggering P135-170B for 27 years. “These costs could have been used to alleviate poverty through the construction of infrastructure,” Escudero stressed.

The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Center has estimated the number of refugees in Mindanao at 600,000, calling it the “biggest displacement in the world.”

“The stalemate in Mindanao has gone on for far too long and it is obvious deep feelings of suspicion and hostility remain between and among the various stakeholders,” he said.

U.S. involvement in the Mindanao peace process is not a secret anymore even for a long time already, ever since last year, when the MOA-AD cancellation by the Supreme Court hugged headlines in the news world.

If this is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen. The United States has great leveraging power and this could be used to the hilt to finally solve the so-called 'Mindanao Problem' - of peace and lack of progress and economic development there, remaining until now to be the location of intances of massive poverty, despite the perniciousness of natural resources there.

Of course, there's always that query upon a superpower's aim and intentions of desiring to intervene in a mostly doemstic affair such as the peace process in Mindanao. Could America has hidden intentions, such as putting up a military base in Mindanao?

We could only surmise.

However - if for example - it is of great utility to the resolution of the peace issue there, then why not?

Barack Obama’s Surprise Nobel Prize Award

Global Politics, Current Events, U.S. Elections | Comments (10)

By MAJOR TOM | October 9, 2009

It’s being hailed by many as most pleasant surprise. U.S. President Barack Obama’s winning of the most prestigious humanitarian award brings forth a wind of very warm feelings across the world and as of now, the field is yet clear of any criticism.

Except for a few who sees the award as too premature, for a president who is just into his first year of office. They say, he has done nothing yet, at least, not on a long term basis.

Yet, this award is given mostly on not what he has already achieved but on what he intends to gain.

The Nobel Prize award committee in Oslo Norway, states that he is being given the prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples."

While former Nobel Prize awardee, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, sums up Obama’s award as:

"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself. He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts. He has reached out across divides and made clear that he sees the world as one human family, regardless of religion, race or ethnicity."

I fully agree with this.

President Obama’s style of diplomacy has won it all for him, reaching out to the Arab world with open palms, signifying am approach of dialogue rather than of rhetoric.

This despite that the irony remains intact, where as a U.S. President at these crucial times in global political environment, he is still so much embroiled in conflicts that has been left on his table by a former administration, with pressure in Afghanistan for surge in U.S. military presence, lest instability would inure in the South Asia region.

And just last month, Pres. Obama had to propose a missile shield of Western Europe, presumably from Russia and its allies.

The peace prize could in fact provide unnecessary pressure for Pres. Obama, now that he is seen as a global peace progenitor, when in fact as the leader of the strongest military power in the world, he is also involved in several wars and conflicts still appertaining today across the globe.

There’s so much good feeling with Obama’s winning the Nobel Peace, yet giving it to a very active and newly-installed U.S. President could bring forth some undeniable irony, if not now, then in some coming years.

The Climate Change as a Perturbing Social Issue

Earth & Environment, Science & Technology, Current Events | Comments (6)

By MAJOR TOM | October 6, 2009

The vast devastation wrought about by Typhoon Ondoy had left one lasting impression on us about climate change, as the enormous amount of rainfall that was left off by the now infamous tropical storm signaled the onset of a more cataclysmic scenario about our weather, and of our environment as whole.

There lies now the singular question: Is Mother Earth Now at the Brink of Extinction?

Is humanity’s existence threatened by these evolving circumstances especially that of global warming and climate change?

For certain, the specter of global warming is now more real than ever, a truth to be told like the sun in the sky, first as a doubtful phenomenon, even just merely a few years ago, yet now as a universal truth.

With this realization, citizens of the world should all be made aware and be conscious about the nature and implications of climate change, and most importantly governments should start addressing this issue just as any other salient social issue --- current and perturbing --- and every entity should heed and follow the directions towards minimizing its harmful effects, just like perhaps crimes in the streets, drug addiction, graft and corruption, housing or health concerns.

In actuality, it is of note that climate change as a weather phenomenon had already been happening even for millions of years and of ages ago, where the earth have already had numerous steep climate shifts so many times before, having had very cold environment during the so called Ice Ages in the Paleolithic Age while having very hot and warm weather on Interglacial periods. These radical shifts in weather are said to be as a result of the Earths changing position and distance away from the sun at any given period, having lengthened modifications in the so-called Equinox of the Earth in relation to the sun.

In fact, it was because of these shifts in climate that pre-historic humans were compelled to roam away from their natural habitat, as weather changes in those ages affects supply of food (herds migrating, vegetation disappearing), thus, the providing the basis for the scientific phenomenon of the human diaspora in pre-historic times.

An innate occurrence such as volcanic eruptions are events that could actually change the Earth’s temperature in a very radical manner, and in a very different way, as sulfur dioxides released into the atmosphere by these eruptions lowers global temperature and acts as a cooling effect, albeit provisionally.

Thus, the phenomenon of climate change is not actually an absolutely new observable fact that the Earth is facing as it had been actually happening to the earth many centuries and eons ago, through cycles of Ice Ages and Interglacial Periods, at times covering almost the entire Earth surface with ice while at other times it were heated deserts and barren plains that had dominated.

However, it is a notable circumstance that the ensuing weather alterations today are mostly due to human activities, anthropogenic in character, as against the entirely natural causes of climate changes in the past. It is unprecedented in this manner.

Waste and fumes expelled into the atmosphere resulting from the highly industrial and modern routine of today’s humanity remains the foremost cause of climate change, exuding enormous amount of carbon dioxide into the environment, trapping hot gases that should have been let-off into space naturally.

Now, it should be pointed out that since the recent version of climate change is almost purely man-made, then it could actually be reversed, of course similarly through man-made methods.

In this line, every citizen should be made aware of these circumstances, that thru collective action, the threat of global warming could be combated and dispelled away completely, by taking every day measures, like disposing garbage properly, not using harmful elements as much as possible, saving on power, and preserving natural resources. Governments on one hand should implement laws and infrastructure towards this end and execute them rigorously, such as in urban planning, an effective drainage system for one, prevention of deforestation, ban on the use of harmful chemicals, etc. --- thereon treating climate change as among the most pressing social concern that the society is facing today.

Ondoy's Unprecedented Devastation of Manila

Current Events | Comments (6)

By MAJOR TOM | September 28, 2009

Tina Palma of ABS-CBN News said this afternoon how Typhoon Ondoy's devastation of Manila was so unprecedented. With all the destruction and mayhem that was caused, I was in fact thinking whether Manila had been ravaged like this even once before.

Seeing the aftermath of the storm on television, it should be the worst catastrophe to ever hit Manila, aside from the WWII bombings it had suffered in 1945.

Two days after the storm, it becomes clearer and clearer now how utterly ravaging Ondoy was, dead bodies piling up, whole villages submerged and automobiles mowed and thrown overboard by rushing floodwater. It was the worse ever. Six months worth of rain falling in just one night, it was that horrendous.

That way, Typhoon Ondoy was so unexpected, it came on a weekend when people do not usually watch news or hear about them. It was hidden like a silent traitor, absolutely unforeseen.

Maybe next time, every incoming storm should be noteworthy for precaution and warning. And of course, preparedness for eventuality in such condition.

Experts say that storms are very hard to predict and estimate beforehand concerning its real strength and the amount of water it carries, despite advancement in geological technology.

Even in advance countries like in the US, scientists there are still not absolute about their knowledge of storm.

But I hope --- as everyone of us would--- if only it is up to us, that nothing like this would ever happen again and that in such event that storms as vicious as this ever comes to our shore again, that there'll be enough forewarning so that the populace be fully prepared for it..

How Did RP Managed To Escape The Global Recession?

The Economy, Current Events | Comments (4)

By MAJOR TOM | September 24, 2009

I came across a very informative article of former NEDA chief Cielito Habito “Where Did the Growth Come From?”, discussing the very current debacle of global recession and how the Philippines have somehow found a way to snuggle away from it, insulating itself from it effectively and even posting growth figures as opposed to other contracting economies worldwide. This situation had even gained the Philippines some notable commendations from veritable financial institutions abroad.

However, Mr. Habito pointed out mainly to 'government spending' as the main and only instigator of such growth, increasing demand through construction activities thereby allowing job generation as such. In fact, significant sectors like agriculture and manufacturing had contracted or decreased.

This tells us how fragile is the basis of our economic growth even to the extent of artificiality, when purely government spending is mostly depended on and none much else. As Mr. Habito had pointed out, increased government spending means increased government debt and this is not a good situation at all.

Somehow, this kind of strategy is deemed commendable as even America implements the so-called stimulus fund to augur in public consumption, in order to enthuse market activities. It was smart maneuvering on the part of our government.

Although in simpler mathematics, it would still be a negative. How long can we lift up the economy using artificial means and planned intervention?

Public consumption aside from those generated by government spending should be instigated by all means.

Mr. Habito views the housing sector to be one good area where government should focus on as it has that multiplier effect of generating more jobs (being labor intensive) and encouraging increased manufacturing activities.

The Missile Game

Global Politics, Current Events, News & Info | Comments (2)

By MAJOR TOM | September 19, 2009

Decades after the so-called “Cold War Era” had perceived to be ended; right about the time when the former U.S.S.R. was dissolved by Perestroika and Glasnost, here we are again hearing some kind of buzz about arms build-up from America and then from Russia, with U.S. President Barack Obama starting it all with an announcement of a missile defense system aimed at shielding Europe, purportedly from Russia and its close allies.

Isn’t this some kind of a nuclear déjà vu?

What comes to mind immediately is the almost mythical but flimsy “Star Wars” shield program or otherwise known as Strategic Defense Initiative of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a hollywoodish grand ambition of networking the skies with military satellites, those that could supposedly anticipate and neutralize any major nuclear strike against America.

Of course Russia immediately felt threatened by the Obama missile defense plan in Europe that it almost automatically announced that it would likewise be deploying Iskander missiles in Poland, in order to counter what it perceived to be as an apparent threat to its security.

President Obama had to cancel the missile defense plan so that Russia would backed-off from the missile deployment in Poland. Now, that’s more like it. Tensions would have gone high and relations between the two nuclear giants would have deteriorated to a great extent.

All’s well that ends well.

Yet, I could deeply infer on the whole situation as there could be more profane motives other than what we see on the surface of this issue. The fact that it was planned at all --- the Europe missile defense plan should be a high indication that volatility within that region is still high. Such plan could have probably been instigated and resultant of incisive intelligence data gathered or why else would America put it up over there if Russia is as lame as we all thought it to be at present --- harmless like a sheep. Just when we all thought that Russia was not an enemy but a friend of America, it’s coming up as if it is becoming a monster once again, threatening to gobble up Europe. For wealth or power --- we exactly could not know.

Or maybe President Obama just wanted to play the role of grand old American presidents of years past, talking big in terms of missiles and nuclear warheads, ala Reagan or Nixon. Could he be so inclined in opening old wounds with Russia?

America voted for him because the population there had gotten so turned-off by former President George W. Bush’s perceived warmongering in Iraq and elsewhere. Why would he be so careless in instigating an arms race --- that’s the least the world needs right now.

We hope President Obama chooses so well and very deliberately the international actions that he makes; and he shouldn’t be playing missile games.