Hacienda Luisita case falls on Corona’s lap - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Hacienda Luisita case falls on Corona’s lap - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Listening to the Voice of Humanity

Feature – world crisis

Listening to the Voice of Humanity

Steven Kull

Part-2

Giving Voice to World Public Opinion

While in recent years there has been increasing talk about global society, it is not an entirely new idea. For quite some time people have spoken about world public opinion as a kind of moral force. Even though there was no clear way to define it, there was still a shared sense that it existed and, on some issues, an idea of what it said. However, it was still quite amorphous.

In just the last decade, though, this has changed. For the first time, there have been a substantial number of surveys that have been conducted in parallel in numerous countries –enough to constitute the majority of humanity. These include the surveys conducted by the WorldPublicOpinion project, World Values Survey consortium, the Pew Global Attitudes Project, and the BBC World Services polls conducted by GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland.

…the question of what is emergent in society has increasingly become the question of what is emergent in the world as a whole.

Recently, WorldPublicOpinions.org in partnership with the program on Global Governance at the Council on Foreign Relations developed a comprehensive digest that drew together all of these international polls.  What we found was quite striking. It revealed a remarkable level of consensus on a wide range of issues facing the planet. [See www.cfr.org/thinktank/iigg/pop for more details including questions and country-by-country findings.]

A key example is the issue of climate change. One might think of climate change as a problem that publics would have trouble relating to. People can barely see it effects and they continue to hear debate within the scientific community. Nonetheless, clear majorities in most nations say that it is necessary to take significant action to address that will require real costs – even when it is put in very specific terms – and to make change in their lifestyles.

Given the some of these changes will be uncomfortable, you might expect that the dynamic would be one where the government would be pulling on its citizenry to make the necessary changes, like a parent tugging on a reluctant child. However, the opposite appears to be the case.

To be continued….

For comments, reactions and suggestions please e-mail at abs_damahan@yahoo.com or call to tel No. 062-926-9418 or text Cell. No. 09283147761 Blog: http://absdamahan.wordpress.com

Listening to the Voice of Humanity

Straight from the Heart

Feature- world crisis

Listening to the Voice of Humanity

Steven Kull

When we look at world conditions and project current trends into the future we see much that is disturbing-environmental degradation, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, persisting poverty and injustices, violent conflict, the fiscal collapse of democratic governments. The institutions that have the greatest power-nation states, corporations, and organized interest groups –seem locked in patterns of self-interest behavior such that the necessary changes are hard to imagine.

Yet when we look to the past we see that three have been remarkable evolutionary changes – the emergence of democracy, the abolition of slavery, universally recognized principles of the rights of women and minorities, concern for the environment, international laws against aggressive wars and significant efforts by those in wealthy nations to address global poverty. During the run-up to these changes they too surely seemed unimaginable.

So what is it that brings about such shifts? At every point there are self-interested forces that cling to a status quo, which few like, but still seems impossible to change. And yet somehow, at key points, a new consciousness emerges in society that is less rigid and polarized and more inclusive and flexible, which gradually prompts changes in the way society is structured.

In formulating retrospective narratives of how such changes occurred, it is common to portray the process as driven by heroic and visionary leaders. No doubt they play a critical role. But the people where they do not really want to go. Leaders can only articulate what is already trying to emerge in society and in that way facilitate its realization.

To be continued….

Straight from the Heart

Abs Damahan

Rieth Lightning Rescue

Rieth back to freedom after, he suffered a long ordeal of captivity. He described how the combine PNP and Philippine Navy rescue him. Rieth said, “It was a lightning rescue operation the reason why he can’t describe how troops snatched him from 3 captors, but could explicitly described degrees sloppy terrain when captors transferred him from one Camp to another”.

Mr. Rieth was snatched on April 4 somewhere in Talon-Talon Barangay and rescued allegedly by the team of Philippine National Police and Philippine Navy. The question- How he was rescued and released from the captors? This question still on hang remains unanswered by the Local Officials and the authorities.

Rieth said, it was very quick rescued and he did not recall how it happened when asked by the local media. He cannot directly explain to the press and public. This rescue issue still unconvincing us and other fellow local media practitioners of Western Mindanao based who covered the daily news bit.

City’s Crisis Management Committee (CMC) Chaired by Mayor Celso L. Lobregat still in silence mode up to the press time.  As residence of Zamboanga City the so-called “Latin City of Asia” we are alarmed and in doubt for not fully disclosures and detailed how Mr. Rieth was rescued? Kaya yung rescue issue parang di kapanipaniwala kadudaduda Mayor.

The safety of family is a paramount value of decency in a pluralistic society of diverse cultures. The degree of noble person is how to tell the truth to its people when the demand is required for full details of serious kidnapping issue of Mr. Rieth. It needs transparent accounts to convince public opinion.

In the case Mr. Rieth victim of kidnapping and other victims of the same fate still unresolved criminal activities in the Area of Western Mindanao and the ARMM-Provinces. Big fish if they are involved have not been touched and prosecuted by the authorities only the small fish who are either been killed and languishing in jails by the government authority.

For comments, reactions and suggestions please e-mail at abs_damahan@yahoo.com or call to tel No. 062-926-9418 or text Cell. No. 09283147761 Blog: http://absdamahan.wordpress.com

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