Foreign Affairs – Page 44 – ellen tordesillas

US President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech

Published by Ellen on January 20, 2009

(Photo from MSNBC)

Fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

Si Obama sa buhay ng mga Pilipino

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

Excited ngayon ang mga Amerikano para sa inauguration ni Barack Obama bilang 44th na presidente ng United States of America.

Live mamayang hatinggabi o baka abutin na ng ala-una ng umaga ang Obama inauguration.Makasaysayan ang pagka-presidente ni Obama. Siya ang unang itim na presidente ng America kung saan maraming dekada ang nakaraan, hindi makaboto ang mga itim. Hindi nga sila makakain sa restaurant na kinakainan ng mga puti. Kahit sa pag-ihi, hindi sila maaring gumamit ng palikuran na gamit rin ng mga puti.

Kung isipin mo ang sitwasyon ng mga itim noong unang panahon, talagang hindi kapani-paniwala na ang manunumpa ngayon ay isang batang itim na presidente. Talagang makasaysayan ang araw na ito para sa Amerika.

Gaza should concern us

Published by Ellen on January 14, 2009

gaza
I plead “guilty” to not having paid attention to atrocities in the Gaza strip in the Middle East.

I know that our own problems here should not be an excuse to be oblivious to the inhumanities being perpetrated on other people in other parts of the world.. We should join hands in condemning lawlessness and injustice, wherever they are committed. They have no place in a civilized world.

Harry Roque, professor of Public International Law at the UP College of Law and at the Philippine Judicial Academy and chairman of the Center for International Law, enlightens us with the following commentary:

The ultimate insult

Published by Ellen on December 16, 2008

Not a few wish that what happened to U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad last Monday would also happen to Gloria Arroyo.

What happened to Bush the other day in Baghdad is all over TV, newspapers, You Tube, blogs. He was holding a press conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as part of his farewell tour before he turns over the reins of the United States government to president-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 20, 2009, when a television journalist threw shoes at him.

The swiftness of the action stunned even Bush security team. The journalist, Muntadar al-Zeidi of an Iraqi-owned TV network based in Cairo, Egypt, was able to hurl at Bush his pair of shoes one after another as he shouted, “”This is a farewell kiss, you dog.”

Reporter who threw shoes at Bush detained

Published by Ellen on December 15, 2008

From MSNBC:

BAGHDAD – An Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush was being held for questioning by the Iraqi prime minister’s guards, an official said Monday, as Arabs across the Middle East hailed the incident as a proper send-off to the unpopular U.S. president.

Muntadar al-Zeidi was being interrogated over whether anybody paid him to throw his shoes at Bush during a press conference Sunday in Baghdad and was being tested for alcohol and drugs, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

What to expect of Obama presidency

Published by Ellen on November 5, 2008

Washington — Barack Obama’s victory in the 2008 presidential election puts a Democrat in charge of the White House for the first time since Bill Clinton left office in January 2001.

Below are some of the possible consequences of the move:

• Obama has promised an orderly withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and a greater focus on the war in Afghanistan. Democrats will call on him to carry out his pledge, but the gains that have been made in Iraq in recent months may make it tempting for Obama to stop short of his pledge to pull out one combat brigade per month until they are all withdrawn.

Wala ang Amerika sa galing ng Pinoy sa eleksyon

Published by Ellen on November 3, 2008

May kumakalat na text joke na nasa Amerika na raw si Garcillano. Siyempre naman naala-ala nyo pa si Virgilio Garcillano, yung phone pal ni Gloria Arroyo sa “Hello Garci” tapes.

Sinasabi sa joke, inimport raw ni John Mc Cain ng Republican party si Garcillano dahil lahat na surveys lumalabas, lamang si Barack Obama ng Democrats. Kayang-kaya ayusin yan ni Garcillano.

Kaya kapag manalo si Mc Cain sa eleksyon na gaganapin ngayong araw, alam nyo na kung sino ang may kagagawan.

An exciting US election

Published by Ellen on November 2, 2008

David Plotke, a recent visitor courtesy of the US Embassy, said he didn’t rule out that George W. Bush’s secretarry of state Condoleeza Rice would vote for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Plotke, professor of political science and chairman of the Historical Studies Department of the New School in New York, said this before Rice’s predecessor, Colin Powell endorsed Obama.

Powell’s endorsement was a huge boost to Obama’s candidacy not only because the former was a Republican but as former chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff and secretary of state, he has helped neutralized the propaganda of Republican candidate John McCain’s camp that Obama is naïve in matters of security and foreign affairs.

Sa kuko ng panganib

Published by Ellen on September 22, 2008

Nabanggit sa The Dawn newspaper sa Pakistan na isa sa sobra 40 ka tao na nasawi sa suicide attack sa Marriott Hotel noong Sabado ng gabi sa Islamabad ay Filipino

Hindi sinabi kong turista o nagtatatrabaho sa hotel ang Filipino na namatay. Hindi pa rin natin alam kung nag-iisa lang ang Filipino na nasawi. Wala pang report ang Department of Foreign of Foreign Affairs.

Isang truck na puno ng bomba ang umararo sa harap ng Marriott Hotel, na paboritong lugar ng mga dayuhan. Ang suspetsa sa may kagagawan ng kahindik-hindik ng pangyayari ay Al Qaeda o Taliban. Warning raw sa mga bagong pinuno ng Pakistan na mukhang maka-Amerikano mas malagim pa ang mangyayari kung hayaan nilang mag-operate ang military ng U.S sa loob ng Pakistan.

Arroyo’s team to US: more than 70

Published by Ellen on September 20, 2008

Inquirer’s Christine Avendaño reported that in Arroyo’s trip to the United States this week, she is bringing along more than 70 people, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

As in every foreign junket of Gloria Arroyo, the Filipino people become million of dollars poorer with all the expenses in airplane fare, hotel, food, allowances.

It was only last June that Gloria Arroyo was in the U.S. with more than 60 congressmen while the Filipino people were reeling from the lashing of typhoon Frank. Former ambassador to the U.S. Ernesto Maceda gave an idea the expenses incurred in a presidential foreign trip.

Here’s Maceda’s estimate based on an “official party” of more than 20:

Category: Foreign Affairs