International, Sports

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS DECLARE WAR ON BEHALF OF THE PHILIPPINES

4 Comments

111813_NFL2Seattle, Washington – The Seattle Seahawks, one of U.S. National Football League teams favored to advance into this season’s Super Bowl, chalked up their 10th win last Sunday as it defeated the Minnesota Vikings. But that was not the headline.

Seahawks  player Doug Baldwin, who is part Filipino, carried the Philippine flag as his team entered the football stadium.  By doing so, the Seahawks all but declared war on behalf of the typhoon-ravaged country. The four-color Philippine flag has a red stripe and a blue stripe.  During peace time, the flag is always carried or displayed with the blue stripe on top.  The red stripe on top signals that the country has declared or is at war.  Baldwin carried the flag with the red stripe on top.

The Seahawks explained that the Philippines is “fighting the devastation of Haiyan which has been worse than many war-torn regions of the world.” Many thought the explanation was lame and undiplomatic.

To make amends, the team signed a pledge that it will send all its players to the Philippines to fight alongside that country’s army should it be involved in any military war now or in the future.  But the ever-forgiving Filipinos suggested instead that the Seahawks send its entire team to Tacloban City to help with relief and reconstruction efforts immediately after the Super Bowl. That is, assuming the team will make it to the Super Bowl.

International, Politics

TYPHOON HAIYAN AFTERMATH: MANY STILL MISSING (IN ACTION)

1 Comment

gen8bManila, Philippines –  As rescue and relief operations enter its second week, many Filipinos in the remote and ravaged towns and cities in Central Philippines are still unaccounted for.  Filipino expatriates in the U.S., Canada, Europe and the Middle East have turned to Facebook and other forms of social media to try to locate and get information about the fate or whereabouts of their relatives in the Philippines.

Cash and in-kind donations from foreign governments and the international community have begun to pour in, even as relief efforts are starting to slowly come together.  Many citizens whose homes were totally destroyed by the typhoon have been flown out of the ravaged areas and into other cities like Manila where they have reunited with their families or are being housed in temporary evacuation centers.

But many Filipinos to date have been unsuccessful in locating missing persons, especially the members of the Philippine  Senate.  Very few of the senators have been heard from since Haiyan made landfall in Leyte.  Just weeks prior to Haiyan,  many of the senators were very vocal and visible  — in the halls of Congress as well as in the media — defending themselves from allegations of their involvement in the pork barrel scandal which saw the diversion of billions of taxpayer money into fake nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) or into the personal accounts of top politicians and their cronies.

Filipino netizens with information on the whereabouts of the senators are being urged to post them on their Facebook  or Twitter pages, or on Instagram. They may also report any sightings to Philippine and international media as well as police authorities.

International, Politics, The Media

ANDERSON COOPER APPOINTED U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE PHILIPPINES

1,006 Comments

imageWashington, D.C. – President Barack Obama has nominated CNN’s Anderson Cooper to be the next U.S. ambassador to the Philippines.  The White House announcement on the nomination came on the heels of Cooper’s live reporting on the aftermath of super typhoon Haiyan which has devastated many cities and towns in Central Philippines.  He is the host of the popular CNN news program, AC 360. His reports from Tacloban, the worst-hit among the cities in the province of Leyte, gained both praise and criticism.

Many Filipinos, including expatriates from all over the world, have praised Cooper’s early coverage of the devastation in Tacloban and the Philippine government’s rescue and relief efforts which he described as lacking in coordination and clear strategy. On the other hand, Cooper earned the ire of Philippine President Noynoy Aquino who asked for “greater accuracy” in reporting on his government’s relief efforts and to focus on the strong spirit of the Filipino people in facing this calamity. Cooper responded on his news program that accuracy has been his hallmark as a journalist and that his reporting had always pointed to the enormous strength and fighting spirit of the Filipino people.

A Filipino news anchor, Korina Sanchez, speaking from her air-conditioned broadcast studio in Manila, also criticized Cooper for his reporting on the government’s less than stellar response to the needs of Haiyan survivors.  Sanchez said Cooper did not know what he was talking about.  Cooper then challenged Sanchez to do her own reporting at “ground zero” in Tacloban. Sanchez is the wife of Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas who is supposed to lead government relief and rescue operations.

In nominating Cooper, Obama said that the CNN journalist is fully qualified for the job and brings with him extensive knowledge and experience with political, social and other issues plaguing foreign governments, including the Philippines.  Obama said that Cooper has also proven himself to be fearless, independent, and sensitive to the interest and needs of both the U.S. and its long-time ally the Philippines.

There seems to be bipartisan support in the Senate for Cooper’s nomination. That in itself is a rarity in America.

Your best source of up-to-date, unbelievable news.