June 2013 – ellen tordesillas

Gazmin makes the Philippines look pathetic

Published by Ellen on June 30, 2013

Never have I felt so kawawa reading the statements of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin justifying his plan to allow American and Japanese military access to military facilities in the Philippines to deter China’s aggressive moves in the South China Sea .

Newspaper reports quoted Gazmin as saying: “We cannot stand alone. We need allies. If we do not (seek allies), we will be bullied by bigger forces and that is what is happening now. China is already there, staying in our territory.”

Gazmin must be referring to the situation in Bajo de Masinloc, also known as Scarborough Shoal or Panatag, off Zambales which is no longer accessible to Filipino fishermen since April 2012 and Mischief Reef in the Spratlys , which was China occupied in 1995.

It is feared that China would take over Ayungin Shoal, some 25 miles away from Mischief Reef.

What happened to the truckloads of money from Ampatuans’ houses in 2009?

Published by Ellen on June 27, 2013

One of Ampatuans' mansions. Thanks Froilan Gallardo of Mindanews for the photo. — One of Ampatuans’ mansions. Thanks Froilan Gallardo of Mindanews for the photo.

The aborted P50 million each settlement with the relatives of 14 (of the 58) victims of the November 2009 Maguindanao massacre with a certain Jun Chan raised the question,“”Where was that huge sum of money supposed to come from?”

There is no chance to ask Chan the identity of his principal because Mylah Reyes-Roque, in an article for VERA Files, said the settlement was signed third week of February and Chan was killed when his vehicle was ambushed on his way to his farm in General Santos City last March 25.

Although the relatives of the victims met only with Chan accompanied by someone introduced only to them as “Prof”, they were sure that the principal of the two were the former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr and members of his family who are the primary suspects in the massacre because the deal involved their signing an affidavit of desistance.

USS Guardian probe report evades key issues, raises more question

Published by Ellen on June 27, 2013

By Rex Robles, VERA Files

USS Guardian in Okinawa, Japan. Jan. 2013

Last week, the US Navy released the result of its investigation on the Jan. 17, 2013 grounding of USS Guardian in Tubbataha Reef in the Sulu Sea, pinning the blame on “lack of leadership” but praising the “heroic efforts of the crew to save their ship.”

One reason why the report seems superficial and incomplete is that it failed to attach true copies of essential navigational documents.

As a rule, whenever a Navy ship leaves port for any destination, the path or course it is to take to reach its destination is set down beforehand on a maritime map, commonly referred to as a chart. This is required for those navigating over water and all Navy vessels, except small boats on short trips along a coastline or a river, must perform this basic task.

The charted course is an official record of a ship’s movement and, together with the Quartermaster’s logbook that records the actual position, heading and speed of the ship at any time, will form an important part of any investigation involving that ship and its crew.

Mindboggling, troubling offers for Maguindanao massacre victims

Published by Ellen on June 25, 2013

There are a number of disturbing things in the aborted settlement between the Ampatuans and the relatives of the 14 victims of the Nov 23, 2009 massacre that was considered the deadliest day for journalists (32 of the 58 victims were members of media.

It was aborted because the negotiator, identified in the article of Mylah Reyes-Roque for VERA Files a Jun Chan was killed in an ambush in General Santos city last March 25. The death of Chan underscores the chilling reality that four years after massacre, the killing has not stopped.

Sleep expert’s testimony in Jackson case should alarm call center workers

Published by Ellen on June 25, 2013

Lessons from Michael Jackson as we remember his death four years ago.

The testimony of a sleep expert in the Michael Jackson case about the importance of sleeping at night and the danger of altering that pattern should alarm call center workers and employers and the Department of Labor and Employment.

The hearing on Jackson’s death last week revealed that two months before he died, he was without sleep.

Sixty days without sleep! How can one do that? And how can one survive that!

The information on Jackson being sleepless for 60 days came out because Jackson’s mother and children sued AEG Live, the concert promoter, which hired Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for administering Jackson’s Propofol treatments, which was blamed for the singer’s death four years ago, June 25, 2009.

Ampatuan victims open to negotiated settlement due to delay in trial

Published by Ellen on June 24, 2013

By Mylah Reyes-Roque, VERA Files Tired of the slow pace of justice, relatives of 14 of the 58 fatalities in November 2009 Ampatuan massacre had…

Tripleng dagok sa mga kawawang OFW ang Sex for Flight

Published by Ellen on June 23, 2013

Dapat itapon sa impyerno, sa lumiliyab na apoy, ang mga kawani ng pamahalaan na sangkot sa racket na sex for flight sa Kuwait, Jordan at sa iba pang bansa sa Middle East kung saan maraming mga babaeng OFW ay nag-iistambay sa iba’t ibang dahilan.

Ibinulgar ni Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello noong Martes na sa halip na tulungan ng mga mga opisyal ng Department of Labor at ng Philippine Embassy ang mga OFW na na-stranded, ay ibinubugaw pa sa mga Arabo at ang iba, sila na mismo ang nag-momolestiya.
Pinangalanan ni Bello si Mario Antonio, labor attaché sa Jordan. Itinanggi ni Antonio ang paratang sa isang press conference dito sa Manila.

Pinapa-imbestigahan daw ng Overseas Worker Welfare Administration (OWWA) at ng Department of Foreign Affairs ang paratang ni Bello, chairman ng House Committee on Overseas Workers.

Doble o tripling trahedya itong “Sex for Flight” dahil ang mga biktima ay ang mga kababaihan na nabiktima na ng mga ilegal na recruiter o mga salbahe na amo.

No longer secure with Blackberry

Published by Ellen on June 21, 2013

Sometime ago, I attended a training conducted by a German police officer on media security. He advised using Blackberry cellphone because messages are secured and cannot be intercepted.

I don’t harbor any illusion about security officials bothering listening to my phone calls or snooping on my messages. But I don’t like the idea of government agents intruding into private activities of people. That’s one of the reasons I chose Blackberry.

But one of the exposes of American IT expert Edward Snowden, formerly with the Central Intelligence Agency who is now in Hong Kong uncertain of his future, revealed that Blackberry is not at all that secure.

Kris Aquino and the Sultan of Johor

Published by Ellen on June 18, 2013

Sultan of Johor shows Kris Aquino his car collection

It was insensitive of Kris Aquino to feature the Sultan of Johor at the time when the wounds of the February-March Sabah bloodfight have not healed and the root of the problem has not been addressed.

Tuesday’s feature of Kris TV was the Sultan of Johor, Ibrahim Ismail, a close friend of the Aquinos.

Kris related that her family’s closeness with the Sultan of Johor, Ibrahim Ismail, dates back to their Boston stay in the mid’80s. The Sultan was a student in the United States at that time. Internet search showed that he received military training in the US–at Fort Benning, Georgia and later at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

More reason to be careful about FB posting

Published by Ellen on June 17, 2013

Last Friday, Facebook confirmed that it has released data related to national security requested by law enforcement agencies.

A statement by Ted Ullyot, Facebook General Counsel revealed that “For the six months ending December 31, 2012, the total number of user-data requests Facebook received from any and all government entities in the U.S. (including local, state, and federal, and including criminal and national security-related requests) – was between 9,000 and 10,000. These requests run the gamut – from things like a local sheriff trying to find a missing child, to a federal marshal tracking a fugitive, to a police department investigating an assault, to a national security official investigating a terrorist threat. The total number of Facebook user accounts for which data was requested pursuant to the entirety of those 9-10 thousand requests was between 18,000 and 19,000 accounts.”

Month: June 2013