One Big Fight!

The Opposite of Apathy (Adel Tamano et al) --on the Ateneo Faculty closing ranks.
The names of the signatories are worth listing here...

Ricardo G. Abad (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Joy G. Aceron (Department of Political Science)
Raymond B. Aguas (Department of Theology)
Liane Peña Alampay (Department of Psychology)
Fernando T. Aldaba (Department of Economics)
Raul Socrates C. Banzuela (Program for Development Studies)
Raymundo S. Baquiran, M.D. (Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health)
Remmon E. Barbaza (Department of Philosophy)
Germelino M. Bautista (Department of Economics)
Edsel L. Beja, Jr. (Department of Economics)
Rofel G. Brion (Department of Interdisciplinary Studies)
Ma. Cecilia C. Bulos (Department of Psychology)
Liberty L. Chee (Department of Modern Languages)
Sharon Ann C. Co (Department of Psychology)
Antonio Esteban G. Conejos (Department of English)
Manuel D. Cuenca, Jr., M.D. (Department of Psychology)
Gary C. Devilles (Kagawaran ng Filipino)
Aleta C. Domdom (Department of Economics)
Atty. Alexander C. Dy (Ateneo Law School)
Manuel B. Dy, Jr. (Department of Philosophy)
Elizabeth Uy Eviota (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Ana Marie O. Fernandez (Department of English)
Joseph H. Francia (Department of Economics)
Jamil Paolo S. Francisco (Department of Economics)
Geoffrey A. Guevara (Department of Philosophy)
Marita Castro Guevara (Department of Interdisciplinary Studies)
Roberto O. Guevara (Department of Theology)
Ma. Regina M. Hechanova (Department of Psychology)
Anne Marie A. Karaos (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Albert M. Lagliva (Department of Philosophy)
Michael J. Liberatore (Department of Theology)
Liza L. Lim (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Ma. Emma Concepcion D. Liwag (Department of Psychology)
Ada Javellana Loredo (Department of English)
Jozon A. Lorenzana (Department of Communication)
J. Ma. Arcadio Malbarosa (Department of Philosophy)
Michael Ner E. Mariano (Department of Philosophy)
Pamela Joy M. Mariano (Department of Philosophy)
Ma. Isabel Pefianco Martin (Department of English)
Marcia Czarina Corazon M. Medina (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Ma. Isabel E. Melgar (Department of Psychology)
Luisito G. Montalbo (Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health)
Cristina Jayme Montiel (Department of Psychology)
Aaron Rom O. Moralina (Department of History)
Jocelyn M. Mayoralga-Nolasco (Department of Psychology)
Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo (Department of Psychology)
Glenda C. Oris (Kagawaran ng Filipino)
Josephine P. Perez (Department of Psychology)
Raul Pertierra (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Caroliza T. Peteros (Program for Development Studies)
Alicia T. Pingol (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Emma E. Porio (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Mary Racelis (Department of Sociology-Anthropology)
Ma. Margarita A. Ramos (Department of Psychology)
Mariel Vincent A. Rapisura (Program for Development Studies)
Danton R. Remoto (Department of English)
Agustin Martin G. Rodriguez (Department of Philosophy)
Alma Maria O. Salvador (Department of Political Science)
Atty. Maria Cleofe Gettie C. Sandoval (Leaders for Health Program, AGSB – Health Unit)
Joselito T. Sescon (Department of Economics)
Anton Luis C. Sevilla (Department of Philosophy)
Alma Valerie C. Soriano (Department of English)
Sherilyn T. Siy (Department of Psychology)
Mary C. Thomas (Department of English)
Jose Ma. Edito K. Tirol (Department of History)
Philip Arnold P. Tuaño (Department of Economics)
Eileen F. Tupaz (Department of Philosophy)
John Carlo P. Uy (Department of Philosophy)
Ma. Eufemia C. Yap, M.D. (Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health)

Meet Nouriel Roubini -- Dr. Doom

Times Online features Prof. Nouriel Roubini of New York University--an international economics expert who earned the monicker Dr. Doom in 2006 when he predicted the global economic and financial crisis with uncanny prescience in a speech to the International Monetary Fund. People laughed at him then, but no more. And they are likely to get grimmer as he "fears that the worst is yet to come."

What does Roubini think is going to happen next? Rather worryingly, in London last Thursday he predicted that hundreds of hedge funds will go bust and stock markets may soon have to shut – perhaps for as long as a week – in order to stem the panic selling now sweeping the world...Contacted in Madrid on Friday, Roubini said the world economy was “at a breaking point”. He believes the stock markets are now “essentially in free fall” and “we are reaching the point of sheer panic”.

If you want to stare at the abyss, go to his blog RGE Monitor.

RP Stock Market Plunges 12.3 Percent

ABSCBN News reports that the Philippine Stock Exchange closed 12.3 percent lower today.

Socio-economic Planning Secretary Ralph Recto was upbeat during an interview with ABSCBN's Twink Macaraeg this afternoon, predicting that in a few years there would be "many millionaires" --referring to those who might be brave enough to get into equities today. Possibly trying to calm palpable fear and uncertainty as the Philippine bourse headed south and is now worth half what it was last year, Secretary Recto pointed to large blue chip firms that were buying up their own shares, saying this indicated those companies' faith in their own fundamentals. But Prof. Cayetano Paderanga of the University of the Philippines warned that they are expecting major reductions in remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The global financial meltdown shows no signs of "hitting bottom" however as regional, European and American stocks continued a dizzying slide in the face of Wall Street's troubles, which began a month ago.

The much vaunted economic wizardry of the overstaying President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (who presides over Asia's most corrupt government, according to various global corruption watchdogs), will be tested as never before, even as a fresh impeachment case has been filed against her in the Lower House by Joey de Venecia III, and endorsed by former House Speaker Jose de Venecia (his father).

Manila's Mullahs and Mind Conditioning

From the Catholic Bishop's Conference of the Philippines website:

The Catholic bishop's hierarchy made a stern warning Friday against “misleading” surveys in favor of the controversial Reproductive Health bill. Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, Episcopal Commission on Family and Life chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said it’s a “mind-conditioning” strategy of those behind the bill.

Well if anyone knows about MIND CONDITIONING it's these guys. So they're fighting back by beefing up catechism lessons where the kids can get some honest to goodness truth in proselytizing.

What I am truly waiting for from Manila's Mullahs however, is some honest reflection on the Pope's own recent apologies for clergy sexual abuse (Newsweek) of parishioners and defenseless young men and women. And look at this from Der Spiegel

The child sex abuse scandal in the US Catholic Church first came to light in 2002. Since then the church has paid out $2 billion in compensation settlements to victims.

Wow! That's a lot of PEDOPHILIA, your reverences!

Please join the lively debate and discussion on this topic over at Filipino Voices

Is the Reproductive Health Bill Unconstitutional

Resolved: That Abortion Be Decriminalized

Remove the Anti-poor Bans on Divorce and Abortion

When Does Human Life Begin?

The Catholic Magisterium on Contraception

Support the Reproductive Health Bill

Some Fallacies in the Reproductive Health Bill Debate

We'd love to hear your opinion on this crucial national issue.

Who Does Barack Obama Look Like?

The big news today on the US Presidential election is that Barack Obama will be suspending his campaign to visit his ailing grandmother in Hawaii. Andrew Sullivan says in this regard, "There's a lot more Kansas in Obama than most people on the right seem to think.

Prayers for her, her family and the man who now has to deal with this emotional burden at this exposed and intense time. They are all still human, you know. It never hurts to remember that. And we all forget it sometimes."

Now at first I thought the picture that Andrew posted was Barack Obama on the left, perhaps as young man about to go to college, and his mother Anne Dunham. But if you follow the link on his post, His Last Parent to this Wikipedia article you discover that in the picture are his white grandparents from Kansas on his mother's side, Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham (his grandmother, Toot, who is reportedly in deteriorating health and may be near death.) Toot raised Obama, after his mother Anne died of cancer at age 51. But is it just me, or isn't there a strong resemblance between Barack Obama and his grandfather, Stanley Armour Dunham?

Visit the Rizalist Press

Rizalist has a new blog up on Wordpress to concentrate on Philippine religious, cultural and literary affairs. Please visit The Rizalist Press and update that blogroll!

Colin Powell for Barack Obama

Former Bush Secretary of State COLIN POWELL has just announced that he will be voting for SENATOR BARACK OBAMA in the US Presidential election. In his remarks, he strongly rejects the disturbing track taken by the McCain campaign in the last few weeks.
A lot of people have been waiting for this shoe to drop. Now that it has, McCain-Palin ticket is kaput for sure. (Obviously, not only because of this.) I'm gratified to hear from Sec. Powell that one of his big reasons for chosing not to vote the GOP this year, is pretty much the same as mind: Barack's temperament and uhmm Palin's.

Here's a thoughtful analysis from TheNextRight by someone not exactly rooting for Barack Obama, but who sees what big trouble the GOP is in.

Supreme Court Ruling Absolves President Arroyo

No wonder the Palace will not be filing a Motion for Reconsideration! In striking down the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (North Cotabato versus Republic) the Supreme Court found no wrong doing by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, blaming instead the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (PAPP), for grave abuse of discretion, not conducting adequate public consultations, and disobeying the President's wise executive orders!. Until recently this was none other than the current Press Secretary Jess Dureza, who was only earlier this year replaced by the former Chief of Staff of the AFP, the hapless, clueless and now scape goat of the MOA-AD fiasco, Hermogenes Esperon.

Although the Supreme Court speaks in transcendental tenor about the importance and gravity of the issue at hand, the President and Commander in Chief (who claimed not to have even read the fateful MOA-AD about to be signed with the international community as witness), receives not even a dainty slap on the wrist! GEE, Whatever happened to COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY?

Note well how the final paragraphs of the Majority Decision dispose of the case as one of disobeying the Wise Orders of the President

IN SUM, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent consultation process, as mandated by E.O. No. 3, Republic Act No. 7160, and Republic Act No. 8371. The furtive process by which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted runs contrary to and in excess of the legal authority, and amounts to a whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof. It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined.

The MOA-AD cannot be reconciled with the present Constitution and laws. Not only its specific provisions but the very concept underlying them, namely, the associative relationship envisioned between the GRP and the BJE, are unconstitutional, for the concept presupposes that the associated entity is a state and implies that the same is on its way to independence.

While there is a clause in the MOA-AD stating that the provisions thereof inconsistent with the present legal framework will not be effective until that framework is amended, the same does not cure its defect. The inclusion of provisions in the MOA-AD establishing an associative relationship between the BJE and the Central Government is, itself, a violation of the Memorandum of Instructions From The President dated March 1, 2001, addressed to the government peace panel. Moreover, as the clause is worded, it virtually guarantees that the necessary amendments to the Constitution and the laws will eventually be put in place. Neither the GRP Peace Panel nor the President herself is authorized to make such a guarantee. Upholding such an act would amount to authorizing a usurpation of the constituent powers vested only in Congress, a Constitutional Convention, or the people themselves through the process of initiative, for the only way that the Executive can ensure the outcome of the amendment process is through an undue influence or interference with that process.

While the MOA-AD would not amount to an international agreement or unilateral declaration binding on the Philippines under international law, respondents’ act of guaranteeing amendments is, by itself, already a constitutional violation that renders the MOA-AD fatally defective.

WHEREFORE, respondents’ motion to dismiss is DENIED. The main and intervening petitions are GIVEN DUE COURSE and hereby GRANTED.

The Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001 is declared contrary to law and the Constitution.

It's important to understand WHY the Supreme Court decided to rule on the SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES raised by a controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which the Court itself had prevented the scheduled signing of--in Malaysia on August 5, 2008.

First of all, the Supreme Court ruling North Cotabato v. Republic of the Philippines rejects the Government's claim that the petitions and issues raised by the case became moot and academic after the Palace declared it would no longer sign the MOA on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) and even disbanded its Peace Panel.

Contrary to the assertion of respondents that the non-signing of the MOA-AD and the eventual dissolution of the GRP Peace Panel mooted the present petitions, the Court finds that the present petitions provide an exception to the “moot and academic” principle in view of:
(a) the grave violation of the Constitution involved;
(b) the exceptional character of the situation and paramount public interest;
(c) the need to formulate controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar, and the public; and
(d) the fact that the case is capable of repetition yet evading review.

The MOA-AD is a significant part of a series of agreements necessary to carry out the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace signed by the government and the MILF back in June 2001. Hence, the present MOA-AD can be renegotiated or another one drawn up that could contain similar or significantly dissimilar provisions compared to the original.

In short, the issues are not moot and academic because the PEACE PROCESS is ongoing between the Parties, the MOA-AD addressed the "ancestral domain strand" of the 2001 Tripoli Agreement. Thus the Court feels obliged "to formulate controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar, the public and, most especially, the government in negotiating with the MILF regarding Ancestral Domain."

Ultimately, the Supreme Court struck down the MOA-AD -- from root to limb, as it declared:

The MOA-AD cannot be reconciled with the present Constitution and laws. Not only its specific provisions but the very concept underlying them, namely, the associative relationship envisioned between the GRP and the BJE, are unconstitutional, for the concept presupposes that the associated entity is a state and implies that the same is on its way to independence.

North Cotabato v. Republic makes a very big deal about this ASSOCIATIVE relationship between the GRP and MILF, which it characterizes as preparatory to independence and incongruous to the UNITARY nature of the Republic.

The Supreme Court notes that the MOA-AD violates the Indigenous People's Rights Act:

Notably, the IPRA does not grant the Executive Department or any government agency the power to delineate and recognize an ancestral domain claim by mere agreement or compromise. The recognition of the ancestral domain is the raison d’etre of the MOA-AD, without which all other stipulations or “consensus points” necessarily must fail. In proceeding to make a sweeping declaration on ancestral domain, without complying with the IPRA, which is cited as one of the TOR of the MOA-AD, respondents clearly transcended the boundaries of their authority.

Here the High Court is clearly saying that the President cannot make a sweeping declaration on ancestral domain without complying with IPRA. Signing the MOA-AD would have been ultra vires and therefore void ab initio.

Supreme Court Promulgates North Cotabato Versus Republic of the Philippines

The Supreme Court Website has just posted G.R. No. 183591 THE PROVINCE OF NORTH COTABATO, duly represented by GOVERNOR JESUS SACDALAN and/or VICE-GOVERNOR EMMANUEL PIÑOL, for and in his own behalf, Petitioners, - versus - GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES PEACE PANEL ON ANCESTRAL DOMAIN (GRP).

WHY THE ISSUE IS NOT MOOT

Contrary then to the asseverations of respondents, the non-signing of the MOA-AD and the eventual dissolution of the GRP Peace Panel did not moot the present petitions. It bears emphasis that the signing of the MOA-AD did not push through due to the Court’s issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order.

Contrary too to respondents’ position, the MOA-AD cannot be considered a mere “list of consensus points,” especially given its nomenclature, the need to have it signed or initialed by all the parties concerned on August 5, 2008, and the far-reaching Constitutional implications of these “consensus points,” foremost of which is the creation of the BJE.

In fact, as what will, in the main, be discussed, there is a commitment on the part of respondents to amend and effect necessary changes to the existing legal framework for certain provisions of the MOA-AD to take effect. Consequently, the present petitions are not confined to the terms and provisions of the MOA-AD, but to other on-going and future negotiations and agreements necessary for its realization. The petitions have not, therefore, been rendered moot and academic simply by the public disclosure of the MOA-AD,[102] the manifestation that it will not be signed as well as the disbanding of the GRP Panel not withstanding.

Supreme Court on Dureza's Grave Abuse of Discretion

"Furtive, Whimsical, Capricious, Oppressive, Arbitrary and Despotic"

Remember when Jess Dureza proclaimed the GRP-MILF MOA on Ancestral Domain as MOOT n ACADEMIC?

The Supreme Court begs to disagree with the former Presidential Peace Adviser, now Press Secretary Jess Dureza --

Supreme Court News Flash: "It ruled that the present petitions provide an exception to the “moot and academic” principle in view of (1) the grave violation of the Constitution involved; (b) the exceptional character of the situation and paramount public interest; (c) the need to formulate controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar and the public; and (d) the fact that the case is capable of repetition yet evading review.

"In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent consultation process, as mandated by EO No. 3, RA 7160, and RA 8371. The furtive process by which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted runs contrary to and in excess of the legal authority, and amounts to a whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof. It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined,” the Court said.

Above is from the Supreme Court News Flash on the recently promulgated 8-7 decision in North Cotabato v. Republic of the Philippines, whose substance seems to be as follows:

The Court stressed that the MOA-AD cannot be reconciled with the present Constitution and laws. Not only its specific provisions but the very concept underlying them, namely, the associative relationship envisioned between the GRP and the BJE (Bangsamoro Juridical Entity), are unconstitutional, for the concept presupposes that the associated entity is a state and implies that the same is on its way to independence, it said.

The Court noted that inclusion of provisions in the MOA-AD establishing an associative relationship between the BJE and the Central Government is, itself, a violation of the Memorandum of Instructions from the President dated March 1, 2001, addressed to the government peace panel. Moreover, it virtually guarantees that the necessary amendments to the Constitution and the laws will eventually be put in place. Neither the GRP Peace Panel nor the President herself is authorized to make such a guarantee. Upholding such an act would amount to authorizing a usurpation of the constituent powers vested only in Congress, a Constitutional Convention, or the people themselves through the process of initiative, for the only way that the Executive can ensure the outcome of the amendment process is through an undue influence or interference with that process

And what of command responsibility?

Supreme Court Split 8-7 on MOA-AD

Almost all of the participating Justices wrote Separate Opinions on this case. Even ahead of those doubtless erudite disquisitions being available online, the following rather detailed COURT NEWS FLASH has arrived by email from the Public Information Office of the the Supreme Court.

SC Declares MOA-AD Unconstitutional
Posted: October 14, 2008
By Jay B. Rempillo

The Supreme Court, voting 8-7, today declared “contrary to law and the Constitution” the Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect (MOA-AD) of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP)-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001.

In a 89-page decision penned by Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, the Court, granting the main and intervening petitions, enjoined the respondents and their agents from signing and executing the MOA-AD or similar agreements. Likewise, they were directed to conduct public consultations in accordance with the right to information, with respect to any further peace negotiations with the MILF.

“In sum, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process committed grave abuse of discretion when he failed to carry out the pertinent consultation process, as mandated by EO No. 3, RA 7160, and RA 8371. The furtive process by which the MOA-AD was designed and crafted runs contrary to and in excess of the legal authority, and amounts to a whimsical, capricious, oppressive, arbitrary and despotic exercise thereof. It illustrates a gross evasion of positive duty and a virtual refusal to perform the duty enjoined,” the Court said.

Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Justice Antonio T. Carpio, Justice Adolfo S. Azcuna, and Justice Ruben T. Reyes, joining the majority vote, all wrote separate opinions. Also joining the majority are Senior Justice Leonardo A. Quisumbing and Justice Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez.

Those who voted for the dismissal of the petition and wrote dissenting opinions are Justice Dante O. Tinga, Justice Minita V. Chico-Nazario, Justice Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., Justice Antonio Eduardo B. Nachura, Justice Teresita J. Leonardo-de Castro, and Justice Arturo D. Brion. Justice Renato C. Corona joined Justice Tinga’s dissent.

The Court held that respondents’ failure to consult the local government units or communities constitutes a departure by respondents from their mandate under EO No. 3. Moreover, respondents exceeded their authority by the mere act of guaranteeing amendments to the Constitution. EO No. 3 defines the authority of the GRP Negotiating panel.

The contents of the MOA-AD are matters of paramount public concern involving public interest in the highest order, the Court stressed.

The Court stressed that the MOA-AD cannot be reconciled with the present Constitution and laws. Not only its specific provisions but the very concept underlying them, namely, the associative relationship envisioned between the GRP and the BJE (Bangsamoro Juridical Entity), are unconstitutional, for the concept presupposes that the associated entity is a state and implies that the same is on its way to independence, it said.

The Court noted that inclusion of provisions in the MOA-AD establishing an associative relationship between the BJE and the Central Government is, itself, a violation of the Memorandum of Instructions from the President dated March 1, 2001, addressed to the government peace panel. Moreover, it virtually guarantees that the necessary amendments to the Constitution and the laws will eventually be put in place. Neither the GRP Peace Panel nor the President herself is authorized to make such a guarantee. Upholding such an act would amount to authorizing a usurpation of the constituent powers vested only in Congress, a Constitutional Convention, or the people themselves through the process of initiative, for the only way that the Executive can ensure the outcome of the amendment process is through an undue influence or interference with that process

The Court added that while the MOA-AD would not amount to an international agreement or unilateral declaration binding on the Philippines under international law, the respondents’ act of guaranteeing amendments is, by itself, already a constitutional violation that renders the MOA-AD fatally defective.

The Court denied the respondents’ motion to dismiss the petitions on the ground that the non-signing of the MOA-AD and the eventual dissolution of the GRP Peace Panel mooted the present petitions. It ruled that the present petitions provide an exception to the “moot and academic” principle in view of (1) the grave violation of the Constitution involved; (b) the exceptional character of the situation and paramount public interest; (c) the need to formulate controlling principles to guide the bench, the bar and the public; and (d) the fact that the case is capable of repetition yet evading review.

The Court noted that the MOA-AD is a significant part of a series of agreements necessary to carry out the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace signed by the government and the MILF back in June 2001. Hence, the present MOA-AD can be renegotiated or another one drawn up that could contain similar of significantly dissimilar provisions compared to the original.

The Court, however, found that the prayers for mandamus have been rendered moot in view of the respondents’ action in providing the Court and the petitioners with the official copy of the final draft of the MOA-AD and its annexes.

The Court said that the people’s right to information on matters of public concern under sec. 7, Art. III of the Constitution “is in splendid symmetry with the state policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest under sec. 28, Art. II of the Constitution.” The complete and effective exercise of the right to information necessitates that its complementary provision on public disclosure derive the same self-executory nature, subject only to reasonable safeguards or limitations as may be provided by law.

The Court explained that at least three pertinent laws justify the exercise of the people’s right to be consulted on relevant matters relating to the peace agenda:

One, EO No. 3 itself is replete with mechanics for continuing consultations on both national and local levels and for a principal forum for consensus-building;

Two, RA 7160 (the Local Government Code of 1991) requires all national offices to conduct consultations before any project or program critical to the environment and human ecology including those that may call for the eviction of a particular group of people residing in such locality, is implemented therein. The MOA-AD is one peculiar program that unequivocally and unilaterally vests ownership of a vast territory to the Bangsamoro people, which could pervasively and drastically result to the diaspora or displacement of a great number of inhabitants from their total environment; and

Three, RA 8371 (the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997) provides for clear-cut procedure for the recognition and delineation of ancestral domain, which entails, among other things, the observance of the free and prior informed consent of the Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous Peoples.

The Court also held that invocation of the doctrine of executive privilege as a defense to the general right to information or the specific right to consultation is untenable.

In his separate opinion, Chief Justice Puno wrote that “the President as Chief Executive can negotiate peace with the MILF but it is peace that will insure that our laws are faithfully executed. The President can seek peace with the MILF but without crossing the parameters of powers marked in the Constitution to separate the other branches of government to preserve our democracy. For even in times of war, our system of checks and balances cannot be infringed. More so in times where the only danger that faces the State is the lesser danger of rebellion…Needless to stress, the power of the President to negotiate with the MILF is not plenary. While a considerable degree of flexibility and breadth is accorded to the peace negotiating panel, the latitude has its limits – the Constitution. The Constitution was ordained by the sovereign people and its postulates may not be employed as bargaining chips without their prior consent.” He observed that “during the whole process, the government peace negotiators conducted themselves free from the strictures of the Constitution.” He added that “respondents’ thesis of violate now, validate later makes a burlesque of the Constitution.”

Justice Santiago said, among others, that the MOA-AD “contains provisions which are repugnant to the Constitution and which will result in the virtual surrender of part of the Philippines’ territorial sovereignty.” She further said that had the MOA-AD been signed by parties, “would have bound the government to the creation of a separate Bangsamoro state having its own territory, government, civil institutions, and armed forces…The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippines would have been compromised.”

Justice Carpio said that “any peace agreement that calls for amendments to the Constitution, – whatever the amendments may be, including the creation of the BJE – must be subject to the constitutional and legal processes of the Philippines. The constitutional power of Congress to propose amendments to the Constitution, and the constitutional power of the people to approve or disapprove such amendments, can never be disregarded. The Executive branch cannot usurp such discretionary sovereign powers of Congress and the people, as the Executive branch did when it committed to amend the Constitution to conform to the MOA-AD.”

Justice Azcuna agreed with the ponencia but held that had the MOA-AD been signed it would have provided a basis for a claim in an international court that the Philippines was bound by its terms at the very least as a unilateral declaration made before representatives of the international community with the vital interests in the region. Citing Martin Dixon and Robert McCorquodale, Justice Azcuna stated that unilateral acts, concerning legal or factual situations, may have the effect of creating legal obligations. Declarations of this kind may be very specific. When it is the intention of the State making the declaration that it should become bound according to its terms, that intention confers on the declaration the character of a legal undertaking. Such undertaking, if given publicly, and with an intent to be bound is binding upon the parties.
Justice Reyes said that the MOA-AD was unconstitutional stressing that the negotiating panel of the Philippine Government (GRP) “went beyond their marching orders from the President” as the commitment of the GRP to the MILF to change the Constitution in order to conform to the MOA-AD violated the doctrine of separation of powers. Justice Reyes, citing the defects of the MOA-AD, stated that respondents appear to have committed grave abuse of discretion in negotiating and initialing the MOA-AD.
Justice Tinga, who voted to dismiss the petitions on the ground of mootness, said that the fact that the Philippine government has not yet consented to be bound by the MOA-AD, as asserted by the MILF because its draft agreement had been “initialed” by the representatives of the Philippine and Malaysian governments and the MILF, is indubitable, as “the successful outcome of negotiation of international agreements is the adoption and authentication of the agreed text… The initialing of the agreement reflects only the affirmation by the negotiating agents that the text of the prospective agreement is authentic.”
Justice Tinga nonetheless went into a discussion as to the intrinsic validity of the MOA-AD. He opined that the MOA-AD was incongruous to the Philippine Constitution. “Nothing prevents Congress from amending or reenacting an Organic Act providing for an autonomous region for Muslim Mindanao…Nonetheless, the paramount requirement remains that any organic act providing for autonomy in Mindanao must be in alignment with the Constitution.” He cited provisions of the MOA-AD which were extra-constitutional and diminish national sovereignty as they allocate to the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity powers and prerogatives reserved under the Constitution to the State.
Justice Nazario deemed it beyond the power of the Court to stop the Executive Department from entering into agreements similar to the MOA in the future. “Upon the Executive Department falls the indisputably difficult responsibility of diffusing the highly volatile situation in Mindanao resulting from the continued clashes between the Philippine military and Muslim rebel groups. In negotiating for peace, the Executive Department should be given enough leeway and should not be prevented from offering solutions which may be beyond what the present Constitution allows, as long as such solutions are agreed upon subject to the amendment of the Constitution by completely legal means.”
Justice Velasco said that “favorably accommodating the petitioners under the premises cannot but be viewed as an indirect attempt on the part of the Court to control and dictate on the peace prerogatives of the executive branch, and in the process unduly impairing that branch in the performance of its constitutional duties. It will distort the delicate balance of governance which the separation of powers seeks to safeguard.”

Justice Nachura said that “with an abandoned and unsigned MOA-AD and a dissolved peace Panel, any purported controversy has virtually disappeared. Judicial review cannot be exercised where the incipient actual controversy does not remain extant until the termination of the case; this Court cannot provide reliefs for controversies that are no longer there.” He added that “the Court cannot review an inexistent agreement, an unborn contract that does not purport to create rights or impose duties that are legally demandable. Neither will the remedy of prohibition lie against a GRP Peace Panel that no longer exists. To do so would be to flog a dead horse.”

Justice Leonardo-De Castro opined that the detailed analysis of each the stipulations contained in the MOA-AD was rendered unnecessary due to the Memorandum filed by the Office of the Solicitor General repeatedly and categorically stating that the agreement “will not be signed in its present form or in any form.” Such development has rendered the case moot and academic.
Justice Brion stated that the application of the exceptions to the mootness principle should be subjected to “a strict test because it is a deviation from the general rule.” He stressed that after the respondents declared that the MOA-AD would not be signed there was nothing left to prohibit and no rights on the part of the petitioners continued to be at risk of violation by the agreement. He concluded that the circumstances negated the existence of grave abuse of discretion that justifies the grant of a writ of prohibition, and voted to dismiss the consolidated petitions. (GR Nos. 183591, 183572, 183893, and 183951, The Province of North Cotabato v. Republic, October 14, 2008)

Supreme Court Strikes Down GRP-MILF MOA on Ancestral Domain

VOTING 8-7 the Philippines Supreme Court has struck down as unconstitutional the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain that had been negotiated by the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. It was challenged by local government officials in Mindanao just days before it was to be signed. The decisive vote was reportedly turned in by Associate Justice Leonardo Quisumbing, the only remaining member of SCORP not to have been appointed by President Arroyo, The Majority Decision was penned by Justice Conchita Carpio Morales.

The 1908 US Presidential Election

The Wall Street Journal has a retrospective on the 1908 US Presidential election contested by Democrat, WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN and Republican WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT.

Bryan and Taft were the first political candidates to make commercially recorded campaign speeches on their own behalf, and the records they made were frequently played in alternation at public meetings in order to create the illusion of an actual debate.

There is something eerily familiar about the foreign and domestic issues debated by those two great political orators, with especial resonance for the Philippines...

IMPERIALISM by William Jennings Bryan (MP3 of 1908 speech)

THE PHILIPPINES by William Howard Taft (MP3 of 1908 speech)

GUARANTY OF BANK DEPOSITS by William Jennings Bryan

ENFORCED INSURANCE OF BANK DEPOSITS by William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft (still the named-source of a major thoroughfare in modern day Manila) would go on to win the 1908 election, but lose a re-election bid in 1912 to Woodrow Wilson. Taft was distinguished as civilian Governor of the Philippines, President of the United States, and Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, the only American ever to hold those posts. William Jennings Bryan ran three times in a row for President, and lost each time.

Don't you just miss the good ole 20th Century...

Staring at the Abyss

In December, 2007, the Nobel Laureate and Columbia professor, JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, wrote a Vanity Fair article that really sticks it to the current US President: The Economic Consequences of George W. Bush.

A scant ten months later, we have Christopher Hitchens comparing America to a Banana Republic, not without ironic precision. But to understand the "subprime" thing, it's good to start with The Giant Pool of Money -- some 70 trillion US dollars of it

What was the SUBPRIME CRISIS all about?


And how did it lead to the FINANCIAL CRISIS of 2008?
I'm in a cheerful mood aren't I?

Listen to the Commander on the Ground

Via Andrew Sullivan: David Petraeus Obama (or Barack Petraeus)--all about talking to our enemies. Either way John McCain, Sarah Palin and these here folks, need to listen to the CommanderS on the Ground. Including the Brit.

General Petraeus was speaking at a conservative think tank, the Heritage Foundation. Largely agreeing with British General Layton, that was a great line about the Brits talkinging to thugs, including us, at one time.

Michelle Obama: What a Classy First Lady She'll Make

I just saw Larry King's interview of Michelle Obama. Wow! What a classy First Lady she is gonna make if Barack Obama is elected President of the United States next month.

Here's Michelle Obama on John McCain's and Sarah Palin's negative attacks on Barack Obama...

What a winner this lady is. Talk about sealing the deal. Michelle Obama is gonna be it for lots of Americans. the transcript of the interview is already up on the CNN website.

Michelle Obama is all about "class" and not "race". After listening to her tonight, I'm embarrassed at my own recent pugnacious attitude towards John McCain and Sarah Palin right here on my own blog. My bad, Ma'm!

Now of course even Larry King has a blog.

RACISM: Why Deny the Elephant in the Room?

At this stage of the 2008 US Presidential Election, I think it basically boils down to the very issue that all sides have tried to deny or minimize the existence of, but which has always, in my opinion, been a huge elephant in the room: RACE.

John McCain is of course a white man. His victory would be unexceptional since every president America has ever had has also been white (the claims for Bill Clinton notwithstanding!)

But if elected, Barack Obama would be the first black President of the United States of America and "history would be made" as they say. Even though Barack Obama IS half black (via his Kenyan father) and half white (via his Kansas-born mother), for most everyone he IS black and that's the history that America will be making in November, if Barack Obama wins.

I emphasize "IF" because despite a widening lead in the polls, some percentage of likely voters consistently tells pollsters that Obama RACE will indeed be a factor in their decision on whether to vote for him of McCain.

There is of course no generalization here. America has come a long, long way since the Civil War. Not all, not most, perhaps not even many Americans are true racists, (say in the skinhead mode). But some surely are and it is useless denying, castigating, diminishing, exaggerating, or even rationalizing it. It is simply the truth. Once this is admitted, especially by those who disingenuously or subconsciously go to great lengths to deny both its overt and subliminal presence in the campaign, a great historical opportunity reveals itself--to overcome and transcend this devastating mental disease called racism, once pandemic in America and from which she is still recovering these scores of years later since Gettysburg.

Both campaigns (and their respective blogospheric surrogates and extensions) have been tiptoeing around the issue and DENYING that it even exists or is any kind of major factor. Perhaps, they each fear that it could be an uncontrollable, unpredictable factor, though for very different reasons.

The Obama campaign has been very careful not to let their bet become tarred and feathered with the reputations of racial politicians like Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton (both of whom have run for POTUS). They paint him as a "post-racial" candidate, and all must admit, his demeanor (calm, cool, collected, even, aloof) has certainly helped to distinguish him from those folks. Meanwhile the McCain campaign, perhaps in desperation, and disappointingly, has been flirting with a dangerous negativism seen in the provocative jingoism of Sarah Palin (who has made pit bulls look like kitty cats by comparison).

In March, 2008 -- at the height of the controversy surrounding the Rev. Jeremiah Wright -- Barack Obama himself delivered a speech addressing the Race Issue.
a speech well worth listening to and reading again, now that the elections are entering their crucial last month.


Whoever wins, Barack Obama has already made history. I am so looking forward to America doing the same. Indeed, whether this year or another, I have little doubt that this great country will, for corrigibility is its greatest virtue, and is the reason why America is still humanity's best hope, the shining City on the hill called Mount Improbable.

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From the Hillblogger: Brigitte Bardot on Sarah Palin!

Does Sarah Palin Want Barack Obama Assassinated?

I agree with Andrew Sullivan that the Republican candidate for Vice President, Sarah Palin has crossed the line  in her attacks on Barack Obama regarding an alleged relationship with sixties radical, Bill Ayers.   He picks up on a Washington Post article by Dana Milbank describing a rally in Clearwater, Florida, in which she whips the crowd into well, murderous frenzy:

The reception had been better in Clearwater, where Palin, speaking to a sea of "Palin Power" and "Sarahcuda" T-shirts, tried to link Obama to the 1960s Weather Underground. "One of his earliest supporters is a man named Bill Ayers," she said. ("Boooo!" said the crowd.) "And, according to the New York Times, he was a domestic terrorist and part of a group that, quote, 'launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and our U.S. Capitol,' " she continued. ("Boooo!" the crowd repeated.)

"Kill him!" proposed one man in the audience.

Palin also told those gathered that Obama doesn't like American soldiers. "He said that our troops in Afghanistan are just, quote, 'air-raiding villages and killing civilians,' " she said, drawing boos from a crowd that had not been told Obama was actually appealing for more troops in Afghanistan.

 Sarah Palin has crossed the line into a dangerous and lethal desperation.  Sarah Palin has crossed the line into the moral equivalent of an incitement to murder and assassination.  At first I thought the worst thing about her was being a bad choice.  Now I realize she represents a sociopathetic danger to American politics, not driven by ideology alone, but hatred and strife. 

She's gotta be stopped.  If John McCain has any decency or sense left in him, he will put a stop to this bone-chilling turn of events within his own campaign.  Pit bulls with bloody mouths  are gonna seem like quaint Americana if, egged on by an ice-cold  provocateur like Sarah Palin, the worst should happen. 

The Gloves Come Off

John McCain and Sarah Palin are trying hard to change the subject by going negative on the front-running Obama-Biden ticket which is opening up a widening lead both in national polls and electoral college projections.



The Obama campaign is hitting back hard with a cleverly produced retrospective on Savings and Loan scandal involving Charles Keating and John McCain. Before subprime there was the Savings and Loan crisis...well at least this stuff is true. The Sarah Palin-led guilt by association attacks, practically calling Barack Obama a terrorist, questioning his patriotism, yada yada yada...won't win many undecided voters who are worrying about the ECONOMY, stoopid!



I'm dismayed they've decided to react this way because it'll be hard enough to govern in the likely environment of January, 2009. Tonight's debate between the two presidential candidates could indeed be when "the gloves come off" between the two and not just their campaign surrogates. I hope Obama keeps his cool. It works for me and I think lots of other folks. Let the other guy squawk and talk balderdash. A flash of righteous anger over the troubles of the Middle Class (and downright po' folks) will probably be good but it's becoming time for Barack Obama to start looking and acting Presidential.

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Here in the Archipelago...Archbishop Angel Lagdameo tells Radyo Veritas that

“This is not a war between religions just because each religion happens to have their own position o this RH bill.”

I wonder what he would say about the following ex-cathedra (infallible teachings) of the Roman Catholic Church:

"There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved" (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)

"We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff" (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.)

"[The Holy Roman Church] firmly believes, professes and teaches that none of those who are not within the Catholic Church, not only Pagans, but Jews, heretics and schismatics, can ever be partakers of eternal life, but are to go into the eternal fire 'prepared for the devil, and his angels' (Mt. xxv. 41), unless before the close of their lives they shall have entered into that Church; also that the unity of the Ecclesiastical body is such that the Church's Sacraments avail only those abiding in that Church, and that fasts, almsdeeds, and other works of piety which play their part in the Christian combat are in her alone productive of eternal rewards; moreover, that no one, no matter what alms he may have given, not even if he were to shed his blood for Christ's sake, can be saved unless he abide in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church." (Mansi, Concilia, xxxi, 1739.) (Pope Eugene IV, The Bull Cantate Domino, 1441).

What a hypocrite!

A White Flag of Surrender -- in Michigan

A hundred years in Iraq -- if that is what it takes to achieve Victory -- would be fine with him, but John McCain has apparently given up on the State of Michigan and waved the white flag of surrender to the terrorist (*wink*) forces of Barack Obama. What next, Pennsylvania?

Andrew Sullivan's Quote of the Day features the choice epithets of Emmet County, Michigan GOP party chairman, Jack Waldvogel...

"If you are going to end visits to the state by McCain/ Palin, do it. Just don't formally announce that you are 'pulling out' of Michigan, and then come back two days later asking the base core of support to 'keep working.' What a slap in the face to all the thousands of people who have been energized by the addition of Sarah Palin to the ticket. I've been involved in County Party politics and organization for 40 years, and this is the biggest dumbass stunt I have ever seen... He has given up on our State? What a total and complete crock of crap. Again, I think McCain owes the Republicans and the People of Michigan a HUGE APOLOGY. SOON!"

Must be an early October surprise. Sullivan's also got the juicy stuff on Sarah Palin in Proof, Please. Turns out she once demanded the marriage certificate of a moderate Republican political rival back in her home town because the guy's wife was in the habit of using her maiden name. So, asks Sullivan mischievously, why hasn't she produced all the medical records relating to the birth of her son, Trig. Turns out, the blessed event is absent from the records of the Mat-Su hospital in her home town of Wasilla where Trig was allegedly born. The persistent rumor is that Trig is not Sarah Palin's son at all, but possibly her grandson... Meow!

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Frank Rich thinks Sarah Palin is really mauling the McCain campaign.

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Controversy Over the Reproductive Health Bill (Updated)

My newest post at Filipino Voices considers the Catholic Magisterium on Contraception. It's part of a whole series of posts and lively debates from several contributors at that great new website, for example:

Is the Reproductive Health Bill Unconstitutional
Resolved: That Abortion Be Decriminalized
Remove the Anti-poor Bans on Divorce and Abortion
When Does Human Life Begin?
The Catholic Magisterium on Contraception
Support the Reproductive Health Bill

We'd love to hear your opinion on this crucial national issue.

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Wow! But isn't the Catholic Taliban getting really clever now?

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Congressman Ruffy Biazon offers his take on the Reproductive Health Bill. He dissects and gently exposes the fallacies of the Catholic Church's confounding of contraception with abortion. Read it all, folks.

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Atty Manuel J. Laserna excoriates the Church's Meddling. Well, they are allowed to do that under the Bill of Rights provision on freedom of religion, but it does make you wonder about the reality of Disestablishment...

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Buwayahman answers a questionnaire from the Couples for Christ, who are praying to God against RH 5043. I wonder what wonders they will ponder if the bill is passed given the snowballing support for it in Congress and in the uhmm larger population...

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Prof. Raul Pangalangan, formerly Dean of the UP Law School takes no prisoners in describing the Catholic Clergy's All Out War on the Reproductive Health Bill.

Official figures show some 400,000 abortions carried out each year in the Philippines. As I have written earlier, one-third of all pregnancies in the Philippines have ended up in abortion and, in 2000 alone, they recorded 473,400 cases of induced abortions, more than 90 percent of them by married women. Almost 60 percent of contraceptive users depend on government for their supply of contraceptives.

In contrast, read Thursday’s report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “The abortion rate in the United States has hit a 30-year low, with the decline particularly marked among teens, who once had the highest rate of abortion.” Abortions were dramatically reduced by more than 50 percent within 15 years, due in large part to the increased use of contraceptives.

So, prevention of unintended conception (through modern birth control means like pills and condoms in the Reproductive Health Bill) is demonstrably a most effective way of reducing the abortion rate, which is a desirable goal for all sides.

NEW ON THE BLOG ROLL [via Slate] -- Christian Nymphos

We are women with excessive sexual desire for our husbands! There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, God wants us to be madly in love with our husbands. He wants us to keep that fire burning in our marriage beds! We have the Song of Solomon as a perfect example of a Christ honored union where the two people are obviously intoxicated with each other.

They're serious too!

Barack Obama Honors Filipino-American History Month

Full Text of a letter from Barack Obama (via Filipinos for Obama dot org):

October 1, 2008

Dear Friends,

I appreciate the opportunity to join the Filipino American National Historical Society and its friends in celebrating Filipino American History Month. This celebration is a wonderful opportunity to honor the values and traditions of Filipino Americans, and your role in the story of America.

America's greatness lies in our nation’s ability to embrace and integrate different cultures into our national character. Filipino Americans nurture and maintain important social, cultural and business ties between America and the Philippines. As you celebrate your Filipino heritage and your American identity, I hope you remain inspired to make our country as great as we know it can be.

The stories of Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders are very personal to me. I first became acquainted with the diversity and richness of Asia and the AAPI community as a child growing up in Hawai'i and for a few years in Indonesia. Members of my family are of Asian descent and it is a community that I became a part of while living in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

Filipino Americans have participated in the triumphs and struggles along our road to a more perfect union, from farm workers who helped found the United Farmworkers Union, to the soldiers who fought bravely in World War II, to the thousands of nurses who have saved and improved countless lives, Filipino Americans are an integral part of our country. That’s why I support policies that will honor your sacrifices, like the Filipino Veterans Equity Act.

As President, I will work to ensure that you have access to affordable, accessible healthcare that will also reduce the language and cultural barriers that limit access to our medical system. We will make sure the economy works for you by fixing our financial system, rebuilding public education, and making sure that schools have the resources they need to educate all of our children, regardless of the languages they speak or their family’s income. And we will provide a path to employment by creating a $4,000 annual college tax credit, a new Community College Partnership Program and new training opportunities for workers, and helping minority-owned small businesses.

Many Filipino families rely on family reunification policies to help them build better lives in the United States. However, AAPI families have some of the longest immigration backlogs. That’s why I’ve fought to improve and pass a comprehensive immigration bill. I introduced amendments to put greater emphasis on keeping immigrant families together and to revisit a controversial new points system that would dramatically alter U.S. immigration policy.

The Philippines and the United States have long enjoyed a special relationship, and I am committed to building on our strong ties. We can create the changes we seek in America, but only if ordinary people rise up to demand change. Please accept my best wishes for a joyous celebration. I wish you all continued success and blessings in the years to come, and I thank you for your contributions to America.

Sincerely,
Barack Obama

And I am glad that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo got the snub of her life when she tried to do a lil brown nosing in New York a couple of months back. Just goes to show he DOES have principles and preconditions to uphold before meeting with certain foreign leaders.

Nobel Laureates for Barack Obama

[via Science Blogs] Suck it up Joe Six Pack, but 61 Nobel Laureates in Physics, Chemistry and Medicine have endorsed Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States. The signatories include the most famous names in science, so call me names, but I'm definitely with these elitists:

Alexei Abrikosov Physics 2003
Roger Guillemin Medicine 1977
Peter Agre Chemistry 2003
John L. Hall Physics 2005
Sidney Altman Chemistry 1989
Leland H. Hartwell Medicine 2001
Philip W. Anderson Physics 1977
Dudley Herschbach Chemistry 1986
Richard Axel Medicine 2004
Roald Hoffmann Chemistry 1981
David Baltimore Medicine 1975 H.
Robert Horvitz Medicine 2002
Baruj Benacerraf Medicine 1980
Louis Ignarro Medicine 1998
Paul Berg Chemistry 1980
Eric R. Kandel Medicine 2000
J. Michael Bishop Medicine 1989
Walter Kohn Chemistry 1998
N. Bloembergen Physics 1981
Roger Kornberg Chemistry 2006
Michael S. Brown Medicine 1985
Leon M. Lederman Physics 1988
Linda B. Buck Medicine 2004
Craig C. Mello Medicine 2006
Mario R. Capecchi Medicine 2007
Marshall Nirenberg Medicine 1968
Stanley Cohen Medicine 1986
Douglas D. Osheroff Physics 1996
Leon Cooper Physics 1972
Stanley B. Prusiner Medicine 1997
James W. Cronin Physics 1980
Norman F. Ramsey Physics 1989
Robert F. Curl Chemistry 1996
Robert Richardson Physics 1996
Johann Diesenhofer Chemistry 1988
Burton Richter Physics 1976
John B. Fenn Chemistry 2002
Sherwood Rowland Chemistry 1995
Edmond H. Fischer Medicine 1992
Oliver Smithies Medicine 2007
Val Fitch Physics 1980
Richard R Schrock Chemistry 2005
Jerome I. Friedman Physics 1990
Joseph H. Taylor Jr. Physics 1993
Riccardo Giacconi Physics 2002
E. Donnall Thomas Medicine 1990
Walter Gilbert Chemistry 1980
Charles H. Townes Physics 1964
Alfred G. Gilman Medicine 1994
Daniel C.Tsui Physics 1998
Donald A. Glaser Physics 1960
Harold Varmus Medicine 1989
Sheldon L. Glashow Physics 1979
James D. Watson Medicine 1962
Joseph Goldstein Medicine 1985
Eric Wieschaus Medicine 1995
Paul Greengard Medicine 2000
Frank Wilczek Physics 2004
David Gross Physics 2004
Robert W. Wilson Physics 1978
Robert H. Grubbs Chemistry 2005

An Open Letter to the American People

This year's presidential election is among the most significant in our nation's history. The country urgently needs a visionary leader who can ensure the future of our traditional strengths in science and technology and who can harness those strengths to address many of our greatest problems: energy, disease, climate change, security, and economic competitiveness.

We are convinced that Senator Barack Obama is such a leader, and we urge you to join us in supporting him.

During the administration of George W. Bush, vital parts of our country's scientific enterprise have been damaged by stagnant or declining federal support. The government's scientific advisory process has been distorted by political considerations. As a result, our once dominant position in the scientific world has been shaken and our prosperity has been placed at risk. We have lost time critical for the development of new ways to provide energy, treat disease, reverse climate change, strengthen our security, and improve our economy.

We have watched Senator Obama's approach to these issues with admiration. We especially applaud his emphasis during the campaign on the power of science and technology to enhance our nation's competitiveness. In particular, we support the measures he plans to take - through new initiatives in education and training, expanded research funding, an unbiased process for obtaining scientific advice, and an appropriate balance of basic and applied research - to meet the nation's and the world's most urgent needs.

Senator Obama understands that Presidential leadership and federal investments in science and technology are crucial elements in successful governance of the world's leading country. We hope you will join us as we work together to ensure his election in November.

Biden v. Palin on Abortion and Roe v. Wade

I think abortion will be a big topic in the debate between the two vice presidential candidates. Although the Couric interviews reveal a frighteningly inept, uninformed and even embarrassing Sarah Palin, no one should underestimate her ability to give a good fight, nor Joe Biden's gaffability. The video below comes via the Volokh Conspiracy where there is the usual highly informative exchange of commentary and riposte.


I also a have post at Filipino Voices on this topic. A good summary of the legal and constitutional aspects in the Philippine jurisdiction can be found here. Fundamental is the provision in the 1987 Constitution which proclaims that human life begins at conception and declares "equal protection for the life of the mother" and the "life of the unborn."

Abortion is illegal and criminal in the Philippines and punished abortion with the consent of the mother by imprisonment (6 months to 6 years max), and abortion without her consent with up to 12 years in prison. My sense is that most Filipinos are four-square against abortion when they are asked to express an opinion about it, however, sources such as the World Health Organization estimates that half a million abortions occur in the Philippines annually, but I've never heard of any prosecution or imprisonments as a result.

Clearly this is a moral issue and in principle I am against abortion because I cannot imagine that if I were a woman that I could in good conscience do it. But I am NOT a woman and I doubt I can imagine what it would be like at all. (Women are an inscrutable mystery to me anyway!) I lean towards the decriminalization of "voluntary" abortion in the first trimester on the basis of a fundamental right to privacy and women's right to determine their own reproductive destiny, if you will. I also want to limit State intrusion into such a fundamentally personal issue.

I must admit, my position on this is fluid as I've never had to face the attendant dilemma.

Prediction Markets and Electoral College Map

The Intrade Realtime Electoral Vote Predictor is looking pretty grim for the GOP's McCain-Palin ticket. No doubt the economic crisis has contributed a great deal to the widening lead of the Obama-Biden ticket. But despite perfervid and increasingly desperate help from blogosphere partisans choosing her was a serious blunder that is also alienating those good folks in the GOP who actually read newspapers and magazines for information -- and can name them. Now there are even suggestions from columnists at the National Review [sic!] that Ms. Palin do the GOP a favor and withdraw from the race, say, for personal reasons. (I suppose she could make the announcement during the upcoming debate with Joe Biden, that is, if the latter doesn't forget to press his MUTE button, often.)

For those who don't like the new-fangled prediction market polls like Intrade, there a number of interesting and highly analytical "poll of polls" including one of my favorites, Hominid Views, which also publishes a map that is scaled to the number of electoral votes each state casts (and therefore scales with the state population) instead of the usual geographic map. HV is calling the race for Barack Obama, 309 to 229, if it were held today based on the latest state polls.