Category Archives: International

Health & Medicine, International, Law Enforcement, Politics

SUSPECTED PHILIPPINE ‘PORK BARREL QUEEN’ PETITIONS HIGH COURT FOR HOSPITAL ARREST

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napolesManila, Philippines – The lawyers for Janet Lim-Napoles, principal suspect in the 10 Billion-peso pork barrel scam, have asked the Philippine Supreme Court to grant their client hospital arrest in lieu of imprisonment at a high-security military camp south of the Philippine capital.  Napoles says she was confident that her petition will be granted by the highest court of the land based on her current medical condition.

In papers filed with the court, Napoles listed the following symptoms and illnesses she is currently experiencing: toothache, pain in her ring finger, athlete’s foot, sore throat, sinus infection, hair loss, lack of sleep, lack of appetite, multiple mosquito bites, shrinking waste line, heartburn, sunburn, loss of weight and extreme sadness. Her lawyers argued that remaining in the prison suite will only make matters worse for their client and asked the court to grant the petition on humanitarian grounds.

The Supreme Court is compelled to take up Napoles’ petition because there has been a precedent of hospital arrest. Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo remains in hospital arrest at the government’s Veterans Memorial Medical Center for charges of plunder.  Refusing to take up Napoles’ case would subject the court to charges of discrimination.

A hearing of the petition has not yet been set.

See related story: Arroyo and Napoles To Become Prison Roommates?

International, Law Enforcement, Politics

TERRITORIAL DISPUTE: CHINA FIRES WATER CANNONS AT PHILIPPINE FISHERMEN; THE FILIPINOS FIRE BACK

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imageManila, Philippines – The Chief of Staff of the Philippines’ Armed Forces has accused the Chinese Coast Guard of firing water cannons at Filipino fishermen to drive them away from the disputed Scarborough Shoal. General Emmanuel Bautista told reporters that the incident happened last January 27.

The Philippines and China both claim sovereignty over the territory located in the South China Sea, believed to be oil-rich.

The United States, a long-time ally of the Philippines, has declared that it will not get involved in the territorial dispute. However, the Philippines and the U.S. have an existing treaty under which the U.S.  is obliged to help its ally if it is attacked.   The U.S. State Department is still assessing whether the firing of water cannons would be considered an “attack.”

Asked by The Adobo Chronicles how the Filipino fishermen responded to the water cannon firing,  Gen. Bautista said: “Of course, an eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth! The fishermen fired back with their water pistols.”

International, Law Enforcement, Politics

RUSSIA OFFERS STATEHOOD TO ARIZONA

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imageMoscow, Russia – The government of Vladimir Putin has offered Arizona full statehood in Russia. If Arizona accepts, it will become a recognized federal subject, the equivalent of states in the U.S.

Putin sent the offer in a message to Arizona Governor Jan Brewer after he learned that S.B. 1062 passed the Arizona Legislature and is now awaiting the Republican governor’s signature. The bill makes it legal for Arizona businesses to refuse service to gay men and women if it is not consistent with their religious beliefs. Russia has its own law, passed last year, that makes public display of homosexuality a crime – a law that had come under fire even as recent as the just-concluded Winter Olympics in Sochi.

Putin promised Brewer that the full expanse of Arizona will be “relocated”  to a deserted area in Northern Russia (see map).

Upon learning of the Russian offer to Arizona, the U.S. State Department sent a draft revised map of the U.S. to the White House, showing what 49 states would look like. The State Department is recommending that the former spot occupied by Arizona be assigned to one of the territories or countries that have expressed some desire to join the Union, among them, Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.