Charlie Rose interviewed Dr. Susan Hockfield, 16th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. A noted neuroscientist, she has extensive academic managerial experience. There area many gems of wisdom in the interview and it seems that MIT is going to be a leader in alternative energy and biotechnology in the coming years. I like her participatory and inclusive approach to education and her proactive embrace of diversity. She relates an inspiring story of how how one of her political science professors graphically showed how diverse America is.
Pretty obvious, but America's greatness lies in the diversity of its people. This diversity enables the country to bring the best, brightest, most innovative and most creative people on the planet to work on cutting edge science, technology, art, and ideas.
Last week I commented on the the Jun Lozada exposé of former NEDA Secretary Romulo Neri's fears in revealing all about ZTE-NBN deal. One of my comments was the rapidly increasing number of webpages devoted to this controversy. Below you will find a crude listing of the number of webpages if one types in some keywords at Google. Note that many of the webpages are irrelevant or not connected to the ZTE-NBN issue. Nevertheless, the first 10-20 page listings are mostly correct/relevant.
Second, the total number of webpages have increased multiple times from last weekend. The GMA administration blundered with their almost criminal handling of Jun Lozada when he arrived from Hongkong. Support for him has likewise gathered momentum in inverse proportion to the disgust at this administration's actions toward him.
Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 597,000 for NBN deal. (0.30 seconds) Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 11,000 for NBN-ZTE deal. (0.26 seconds) Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 5,680 for ZTE-NBN deal. (0.07 seconds) Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 166,000 for Jun lozada. (0.23 seconds) Personalized Results 1 - 10 of about 67,000 for Rodolfo Lozada Jr.. (0.30 seconds) Personalized Results 21 - 30 of about 50,100 for jun, moderate their greed. (0.08 seconds).
Lastly, this scandal might not only affect the Macapagal and Arroyo clans, but other business families as well as seen in the off-the cuff statement of former NEDA Secretary Neri.
Well, the 2008 Tucson gem, mineral, and fossil show ended yesterday. It was a great showcase inspite of the traffic snafus, looming economic recession, rising prices, unpredictable weather (still the best in the nation), and other hassles.
We spent the last day visiting the premier show, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society show at the Tucson Convention Center. This year's theme "Minerals of the USA" did not fail to impress. Display cases had collections from the Smithsonian, Carnegie, Royal Ontario Museum (Canada), and a number of private collections. I've uploaded a handful of pictures in Flickr and will continue to do so in the future (click on the link).
Beautiful Arizona petrified wood that seems to have grown out of the ground Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona Spring 2007, Copyright reserved, LivingPlanet
As the 2008 Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Show heads to its final weekend tomorrow, there are dark clouds forming. The first is the Tucson Weekly article by Tim Vanderpool on the hesitance of the U.S. federal government to take up sale offers by landowners of lands of achaeological, geological, and environmental significance. Of urgency are lands near or adjacent to the Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona.
I heard over the radio that the 2009 Tucson Show might see some 10 shows canceled because of the looming economic difficulties.
Don't forget to catch two related awesome events this weekend:
The mineral event of the year, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society's 2008 "Minerals of the USA" show.
Scientists from a consortium of unviersities, NGOs, and U.S. government agencies published a report with several maps on the impact of human activities on the marine ecosystems. The findings are dire and urgent action is needed. Published in Science magazine, the study was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). At least 40% of the world's oceans are severely impacted and degraded by such varied activities/phenomena as fishing, pollution, trash, and global warming. See NSF's statement.
In a shocking and embarrassing moment for the Chair of the Working Group on Protected Areas of the International Convention on Biological Diversity, representatives of participating indigenous people's (IP) groups from all over the world walked out of the meetings ongoing at the Food and Agricultural Organization headquarters in Rome, Italy.The groups read a statement protesting their maltreatment and active efforts to suppress their participation at the meetings, especially on financial arrangement, protected areas management, and biotechnology matters, among others.Some of the IP representatives put tape on their mouths and brought posters to further symbolize their protest.Pictures taken from the blog INDIGENOUS STATEMENT show these actions.
Pictures from IPCC Statement and from http://www.indigenousstatement.blogspot.com/
See the press release below. Useful links include:
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ VOICE SUPPRESSED AT UNITED NATIONS
Rome, Feb. 14, 2008 - This morning Indigenous Peoples’ representatives formally withdrew from meeting of the Working Group on Protected Areas of the International Convention on Biological Diversity to protest their suppression of their effective participation at the meeting, being held at FAO headquarters in the Italian capital.
Before leaving the plenary, Indigenous leaders put on symbolic gags and held up protest signs. After Jannie Lasimbang of the Kadazan People of Malaysia read a statement, the indigenous delegation and some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) left the meeting which was suspended upon their departure.
The Indigenous Peoples’ statement read: “Mr. Chairman, we have made great efforts to be part of this process. However, it is with great disappointment that from the very beginning of this Working Group on Protected Areas meeting we have found ourselves marginalized and without opportunity to take the floor in a timely manner to express our points of view. Yesterday afternoon at a critical moment, we were silenced from providing our contributions to the deliberations on the recommendations on implementation of the Programme of Work. Furthermore, Mr. Chairman, despite your assurances that all recommendations would be included in the Conference Room Paper (CRP), none of our recommendations were included in CRP2 [on mobilization of financial resources for protected areas]. This is extremely disturbing in light of the relevance of these recommendations to our lives, lands and the effective implementation of the Programme of Work.
“We denounce the denial of Indigenous Peoples’ right to full an affective participation which contravenes prior decisions of the Parties,” said Onel Masardule and Jannie Lasimbang, Co-Chairs of the Indigenous Peoples’ Committee on Conservation of the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity which is made up of Indigenous leaders from Asia, Africa, Russia, the Pacific, North America and Latin America.
The protest was supported by many NGOs attending the UN meeting who also criticized the negative attitude of the Chair of the Working Group and the collapse of the political space for dialogue. The Indigenous Women’s Biodiversity Network warned “that the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples not only endangers the democratic processes in the United Nations but also ignores that the General Assembly just approved the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007.”
My comments on the Jun Lozada write-up on why ex-NEDA Sec. Romulo Neri is hesitant to reveal all about the ZTE-NBN deal:
1. I think there is a dearth of alternative leaders to GMA willing to rise up at the moment. The military folks like Trillanes, Lim, etc. are too amateurish to lead the nation. The opposition is too discredited to be an alternative.
2. The issue still is powerlessness because of poverty. People, groups, NGOs, activists, etc. cannot mobilize against GMA because they are concerned with their economic problems. After two EDSAs, it's hard to mobilize politically. Plus, the economy, some say, is improving IN SPITE of GMA. GMA claims credit for the success. This may be partly true, but her administration should be ashamed that in spite of perceived widespread corruption, the Philippines is surviving/growing.
3. As I like to say, Filipinos are acting in ways that DISCOUNT government. They detest GMA, but they also detest the opposition. Their "walang pake" is actually an indictment of both. They are voting with their feet by migrating. They are focusing on making money. Once more Filipinos have more money, I think they will demand more of government and of politicians or even kick them out.
4. The other avenue of action is of course through NGOs and social movements like GK. There's a lot activity going on nationwide. People are doing their thing, helping one another, family, kamag-anak, community, probinsiya. In fact, there are new terms for these, which I think many are familiar with: corporate social responsibility (CSR), social entrepreneurship, social innovation, OFW philanthropy, conscious capitalism, LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) initiatives, etc. lahat to will have some impact down the road...government and politicians are the outsiders here.
5. Of course the government/politicians or technically, the State, are still powerful because they hold the different levers of power. But many of them can be influenced to do good or change. That's what the Ateneo School of Government is doing. Their graduate programs are focused not on the yuppies, but the LGU officials, hoping to influence them. GK is working with mayors and in the process changing them. There is competition between cities; for example, Taguig vs. Makati. News has it that the stock exchange will be unified in Taguig because they offered more including more professionalism. Taguig also hopes to be squatter-free in 10-15 years with GK's help. So there will be "islands of prosperity" in the Philippines...
6. OFWs, teachers, journalists, environmentalists, artists, athletes, ethical business persons, etc.- these are nice, principled people who are doing things for the good of society. If there weren't good people around, don't you think the Philippines would have collapsed already? What we need are more good people doing good things and more people NOT MINDING the corrupt.
7. The powerful need to consider that the powerless have what James Scott calls "the weapons of the weak" or everyday resistance strategies. While the allegedly overpriced ZTE-NBN deal was supposed to modernize the information and communication technologies (ICT) capabilities of the country, the government's enemies have access to similar technologies. The internet is a tool increasingly used to undermine the government. The number of webpages on this controversy is already in the thousands and is increasing. With either a tinge of irony or poetic justice, check out at the following video uploaded to YouTube.
________________________________________
For Immediate Release Contact: Vicente R. Romano III, 0920.9615610 Leah Navarro, 0917.898.1957
Dear Friends,
Here's a short write-up that Jun Lozada wrote sometime in October. He wanted me to disseminate it without attribution. I believe he was motivated both by his genuine concern for a beleaguered friend who was being maligned no end, and his desire, even then, for the truth to somehow surface. He left it up to me as to how and when to disseminate it.
I did not find any compelling reason to get it out then. But now that Jun has told it all, and Neri is being invited back to testify, I believe the public deserves to know what was (and maybe still is) in the mind of Neri – at least from the point of view of a friend. I'm sure Jun will not mind.
Let's get this out in the open.
God bless, Enteng
============ ========= ========= ======
What is Neri afraid to say and Why?
Many speculations have been made as to what Neri knows about the ZTE-NBN, most particularly the direct involvement of Pres. Gloria Arroyo in this abominable affair. After his damaging "Sec. May 200 ka dito" demolition of Abalos, the discredited former Comelec Chairman, many were left disappointed when Neri suddenly clamped up when the Senators started asking him about the nature of his conversation with Arroyo, no amount of coaxing, cajoling and threats was enough to break his Code of Omerta. The question on many people's mind was, What was Neri trying to protect when he repeatedly invoked "Executive Privilege" during that gruelling 12 hour Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on live television?
We have known the Truth all along as one of the few people that Neri confided his predicament to during those fateful days of April 2006, and how he wanted to resign his post of NEDA Director General and Secretary for Socio-Economic Planning over this incident, where he lost all his moral respect for Pres.. Gloria Arroyo.
We are doing this document to give the public an understanding of this predicament.
What is Neri afraid to tell the public? He is afraid to tell the public that after he reported the Abalos P200 million peso bribe offer, Arroyo casually told him to ignore it and work for its recommendation for approval anyway. That when he protested that it is too controversial and may attract the wrong kind of attention from media, Arroyo retorted back "Pakulo lang ni Joey yan and his father". When he tried to reason that it may not be accommodated in the Chinese ODA package because it has been filled up with a list of projects already, Arroyo again ordered him to remove the low cost housing project and some water project to accommodate the ZTE-NBN deal in the ODA loan.
That when he attempted to reason that it may not be approved in time for the Boao Forum which was only two days to go from that fateful April day, Arroyo, with raised voice, told him to include the ZTE-NBN project in the agenda of the following day's meeting of a combined NEDA Board and Cabinet Committee who, as expected, promptly approved the project paving the way for the contract signing between ZTE and DOTC in China the next day. Neri is afraid to tell the public that this conversation took place between him and Arroyo because it might spark another impeachment complaint against Arroyo.
Why is Neri afraid to tell the public about this conversation with Arroyo? He is afraid that another impeachment will simply result to more expenses of public funds similar to the Hyatt 10 impeachment crisis, because as DBM Secretary who replaced Boncodin, he was entrusted with the large scale DBM payola operation of Arroyo to Congressmen, Senators and Governors not quite similar to the crude Panlilio incident that the public is witnessing now. He is afraid with a more partisan Andaya at the helm of DBM, more public funds will be spent to buy the silence and favour of these greedy legislators and local executives.
He is afraid that, with Arroyo's firm control of public funds, she can buy all the necessary support from most sectors of society to keep her in power.
He is afraid that even if the opposition knows about this conversation with Arroyo, the opposition will not pursue a serious impeachment proceeding against Arroyo, because it is not to their political interest that Noli de Castro becomes President in case Arroyo is impeached and becomes a more formidable political opponent in 2010. This insincere and unpatriotic goal of the opposition is already being manifested by the malicious speed that the Erap pardon is being cooked by Ronnie Puno together with the Erap camp to hastily put a united front of "Birds of the same corrupt feather" coalition against the emerging JDV led political opposition..
He is afraid that even if the Church knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal, the Church will still not call for her resignation due to the closeness of Arroyo's trusted lady liason to the Cardinal of Manila who was very effective during the "Hello Garci" crisis. That Arroyo's Religious Affairs Operators have the Bishops firmly in their "donation" graces, as again manifested by the quick rebuttal of the Mindanao Bishops' of the call of their fellow bishops in Luzon who where calling for the resignation of Arroyo just after Arroyo gave them a visit in Mindanao.
He is afraid that even if the military knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the fraudulent ZTE-NBN deal, the AFP brass is much to indebted to Arroyo for their position and the perks that goes with their position, that they have demonstrated this twisted loyalty with their willingness to detain, remove from the service and even shoot their own men for voicing out their legitimate concerns regarding the corruption and moral authority of their Commander in Chief. It is a sad spectacle to see the respected warriors of the Marines & Special Forces rot in jail with their ideals, while their men are dying even without receiving the measly P150 per day combat pay that was promised to them by Arroyo due to lack of funds & generals gets a gift bag similar to those given to the governors and congressmen just for having dinner with Arroyo the day after that infamous breakfast & lunch meeting where bribe money flowed scandalously free.
He is afraid that even if the Media knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN scam, Media will simply wither in the torrents of cash and favors similar to how the Hyatt 10, Hello Garci crisis were killed in the media headlines and Radio& TV coverages. Although he believes in the integrity of a handful of Journalist, he believes that a handful of these mavericks cannot withstand the hordes of paid lackeys of Malacanang. Especially that the Arroyo crisis team is now being handled by the best mercenary money can buy, from Ramos' Sulo Operation, Erap's DILG and now Arroyo's troubleshooter, Ronnie Puno. Ably supported by the Media and PR money from PAGCOR being handled by Cerge Remonte to buy positive airtime, headlines and editorials.
He is afraid that even if the Business Sector knows about the truth of Arroyo's direct involvement to defraud the coffers of the taxes they are paying, the businessmen will be reluctant to rock the boat of the current economic uptrend, especially with the very close personal and business relationship of the so called leaders of the big business like Ricky Razon of ICTSI, Donald Dee of PCCI and Francis Chua of the Filipino-Chinese Federation to Arroyo herself. He is afraid that the hard earned remittances of Filipino OFWs that is keeping the economy booming and that can keep the economy afloat even under any administration is being wasted under this unholy alliance of Arroyo and her favoured businessmen.
He is afraid that even if the Civil Society knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal, that the Civil Society is now tired of mass actions after witnessing two failed EDSA revolutions, that Civil Society is now afflicted with a "Rally Fatigue" and cannot muster enough public outrage to denounce Arroyo's "corruption with impunity". He is afraid that the middle class is now indifferent to the corruption that goes around them, not realising that the middle class are the ones mainly carrying the burden of the loan payments for these corrupt deals. He is afraid that the middle class are more interested to become an OFW & to leave this country leaving their family and children behind, and may not care anymore about the crimes being committed against their country by its own President.
He is afraid that even if the Masa, the students, the workers know the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal to steal precious resources from public funds, that they are now too poor and impoverished to be able to afford the time to join mass actions against the abuses of the Arroyo administration, that these former vanguards of mass actions in the country are now completely dependent on financial resources of professional organizers and have turned themselves into a "Rally for hire" groups rather than a true and genuine political gathering shouting for reforms.
He is afraid that the public may not know the extent of corruption in this country and may wrongly believe that they can cure corruption by simply replacing Arroyo with another person. He is afraid that the public may overlook the systemic and institutionalized nature of the source of corruption in this country, he is afraid that the people will again opt for a regime change without concern or a plan to correct the root causes of corruption in the country. He is afraid that people may not realize that it is not bringing Arroyo down that is difficult, it is establishing a new order that is the difficult task.
This is the predicament of Neri which I want people to realize especially to those who are asking Neri to tell the truth.
Tucson (and Manila, Philippines), AZ, United States
an anthropologist doing PhD research on social movements, institutions, environment… did environmental consulting…love the outdoors…open source rules! All rights/copyrights reserved.
figure from Privacy International website
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