Statement of the Ecumenical Bishops Forum (tags)
The Ecumenical Bishops Forum (EBF), the fellowship of bishops from the United Church of Christ (UCCP), United Methodist (UMC), Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP), Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI) and the Roman Catholic Churches in the Philippines lament the deployment of elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in urban areas in the country. It is another nail hammered on the flailing limbs of freedom in this country. There is no justification for their presence in these areas at this time. The AFP is called to defend this country from aggression and armed rebellion. The police force should suffice for preserving the peace in our communities. No country claiming to be democratic alows its soldiers to roam around communities in full battle gear. No country claiming to be free allows its soldiers to engage in partisan politics. Even civic functions which military officials claim soldiers perform in these communities are best left in the hands of other government agencies and other non-government organizations.
MILITARIZATION IN THE PHILIPPINES:Troops sent to C. Luzon urban areas (tags)
Pesante-USA reprinted the news from the Inquirer on intesifying militarization now in the ruban areas of Central Luzon. As the news indicted : Army Maj. Gen. Jovito Palparan Jr. has repositioned his troops in key cities and towns in Pampanga and Bulacan, a counterinsurgency move never before done in Central Luzon in post-martial law years. Palparan, commander of the 7th Infantry Division, on Tuesday confirmed to the Inquirer the shifting of about 500 of his forces in the City of San Fernando, Angeles City and Mabalacat town in Pampanga and in Malolos City, Bulacan, Obando, Hagonoy, Pandi and Sta. Maria towns in Bulacan since last week.
Iraq, car bombs and US covert forces: a little known story from 2003 (tags)
With all the reports on car bombings in Iraq, the SAS covert ops uncovert in Basra, and reports of iraqi cars being wired with explosives, unbeknownst to the driversm we can add this 2003 story
carbon monoxide poisoning from fossil fuel combustion (tags)
Exposure to low levels of carbon monoxide from fossil fuel combustion can cause symptoms of depression/fatigue often misdiagnosed as mental illness. People (especially children) in urban areas are at great risk from CO poisoning due to large volume of traffic and continued petroleum dependence