Inverted Philippine Flag During the UN Summit

 UPSIDE DOWN. President Benigno Aquino III and US President Barack Obama 

in a press conference at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Saturday

According to some sources, ABS-CBN does not want to broadcast the wrong installation of the Philippine Flag in United Nations Summit even before Sunday. No Presidential staff for Noynoy made a move to correct this. Is Philippine at war now since the flag has been reverted? The officiali photo above, which is also posted on gov.ph show Obama, President Benigno Aquino, and the inverted Philippine flag -- with its red section on top instead of blue.

There has been a lot of harsh comments in Facebook regarding the abovementioned broadcasting firm. The Social Media community calls this the "ANC and COMM GROUP Conspiracy" regarding this bizarre installation of the Philippine flag during the said summit. Well, I would leave this topic to your individual judgment.

"ANC doing a diversionary tactic/damage control in protection of their BIAS network and their incompetent/coward/stupid Noynoy Aquino. Can't get the link since I'm still banned from posting and commenting on their wall.", says one Facebook user.  

Nevertheless, an apology statement from the US Embassy was published yesterday. The United States embassy apologized on Sunday over the inverted Philippine flag displayed during the meeting between US President Barack Obama and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on Saturday.

US embassy spokesperson Rebecca Thompson described the incident as “an honest mistake.”

“The US treasures its close relationship and close partnership with the Philippines which were demonstrated this past week during President Aquino’s trip to the US, with the signing of the MCC Compact, the US-ASEAN meeting, and the meeting of our two Presidents that followed it,” she said.

The Philippine government’s official website, gov.ph, published the US apology.

Malacañang, however, has yet to comment on the issue.

FACEBOOK Screenshot:

Aquino - Hostage Crisis Will Not Define My Administration

President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III on Thursday he expressed regret over the handling of the August 23 hostage crisis that left eight Hong Kong hostages and the hostage-taker himself dead.

"This incident will not define this administration. In the end, my administration will be judged on what we have accomplished and what we will accomplish in the coming years: a reduction in poverty and the restoration of a government that is honest in its efforts to build a better nation," Aquino uttered during a rare panel interview with TV news anchors from three broadcast networks of the Philippines.

Aquino said he was repeatedly assured that the Special Action Force (SAF), which he said is capable of handling such a situation, would immediately be deployed to the Quirino Grandstand in case there is a need for a tactical assault.

"Nung nangyari na po yung pagbaril sa gulong ng bus, yung napakatagal na pagapasok ng SWAT, yung hindi alam yung gagawin ng SWAT, dun po talagang napuno na tayo na yung assurances na binibigay sa atin eh hindi po natupad at tumungo tayo at hinanap na natin yung mga opisyal na concerned," he said.

Aquino said a letter of apology and the IIRC's findings will be presented to the Hong Kong government by a high-level delegation led by Vice-President Jejomar Binay once the probe is finished.

The president said further possible tension with Hong Kong was avoided when the Philippine government chose not to respond negatively to what he called an "insulting" letter from the Hong Kong government after the crisis.

"Yung sulat ng opisyal na galing sa gobyerno ng Hong Kong na sa ating tingin ay nakaka-insulto ay hindi na rin po natin ni-respond, dinaan na lang po natin sa kanilang People’s Republic of China government na iparating na hindi ho yata tama ito hong sulat na ipinadala, hindi natin nagustuhan yung tono," he said.

The panel interview with Mel Tiangco of GMA Network, Ted Failon of ABS-CBN, and Paolo Bediones of TV5, conducted in Malacañang, was held to settle the questions regarding the president's handling of the hostage crisis.

Philippines and China Regarding Hostage Tragedy

Some govt, PNP officials to face IIRC probe on hostage crisis Friday

China's Ambassador Liu Jianchao met with Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Thursday and discussed the Philippine government's investigation into the August 23 hostage tragedy that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

Liu said he and De Lima talked about the "mutual respect" between the two nations amid the global backlash against Philippine law enforcement authorities for their bungled hostage rescue operations.

De Lima chairs the Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC), which is set to hold on Friday its clarificatory questioning for persons that had key roles in handling the hostage drama last week.

The committee's other members are: Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo as vice chair; Teresita Ang-See, chairperson of the Citizens Action Against Crime, representing the Filipino-Chinese community; Herman Basbaño, president of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas, representing the media; and Roan Libarios, governor of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Eastern Mindanao, representing legal luminaries.

The proceedings will also be held on Saturday and Monday next week.

On the other hand, The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has advised Filipinos there to keep a "low profile" as tension still exists between the Philippines and China over the August 23 hostage tragedy in Manila where eight Hong Kong tourists were killed.



The embassy said that any "untoward incidents" related to this should be reported to them through the hotline 13911180495.

During a Senate hearing Wednesday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Esteban Conejos said he hasn't received any report that Filipinos are being abused in Hong Kong or elsewhere in China because of last week’s hostage tragedy.

President Noynoy Aquino's Statement Regarding the Manila Hostage Crisis

The past May election resulted to President Benigno Aquino being elected as the President of the Philippine Republic. Looking forward to advance and bolster the economy by doubling tourist arrivals and reducing corruption, this was the goal of the administration. But the recent August 23 Manila Hostage crisis proves it wrong somehow. The benchmark stock index yesterday fell the most in 11 weeks and the peso had its biggest drop since June 7.

Moreover, in a recently held press conference, President Noynoy Aquino decided to break the silence and offer sympathy to those people included and involved in the said crisis. Here is President Noynoy Aquino’s official statement regarding the hostage crisis that happened last August 23, 2010 at the Quirino Grandstand:


P-NOY'S PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO:

“With the rest of the Filipino people, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage situation at the Quirino Grandstand. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs has conveyed our deep feelings of sorrow to the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China and the people of Hong Kong through Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald TsangDonald Tsang. I have tasked Secretaries Soliman and Lim to provide everything necessary for the recovery and return home of the survivors. I have directed the fullest cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities on the part of our officials.

From the onset of this incident, the hostage-taker seemed to not be belligerent, as shown by the release of hostages. These were encouraging signs.

We were going to wait him out. The idea was to let the ground commanders who are the experts in this field handle the operation with minimal interference from people who are less expert.

But the situation deteriorated rapidly when, during the course of the negotiations, he was given the letter of the Ombudsman in which she promised to personally review his case. As he was reading the contents of the letter, while talking to an unknown individual on the phone, he became increasingly agitated.

The presence of his brother also added to the tension.

At this point, he threatened to kill a hostage. The police decided to remove the brother from the scene. As the negotiators were departing, the negotiators were shot at.

Media coverage of his brother being taken into custody further agitated the hostage-taker.

Shots were fired. They seemed to be warning shots, as there was no audible indication of tumult or chaos to show that the hostages were in immediate danger.

Nonetheless, the negotiators tried to re-establish contact the hostage-taker but they were unsuccessful as the cell phone of the hostage-taker was continuously busy. He also refused to answer the throw-phone provided for him by the authorities.

The escape of the driver, combined with his reports that the hostages were being harmed, forced the assault to happen. When the vehicle began to move, and with reports that he had hand grenades, a decision was made to immobilize the vehicle as it would have made the situation even more dangerous.

As we know, the incident tragically ended in the deaths of eight innocent civilians.

We expect more of the facts to come to light and I have ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to thoroughly lead this review.”
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P-NOY'S PLAN TOWARDS PHILIPPINE NATIONAL SECURITY

Well, it's hard to say anything regarding President Noynoy Aquino's plan in going about a national security. I'd better leave it to him, and he better give a strategic and systemic plan as soon as possible. Philippine or the National Security should be given high priority and must be look into. Outstanding national security is directly proportional to a nation's economic growth and status. If we Filipino is aiming high for our advancement, then we should take this as a top priority. Our government should better start now and laid some plans.

The Philippines budgeted 49.7 billion pesos ($1.09 billion) to police its 104 million people this year, less than Hong Kong’s outlay to protect a population 1/15th the size. The dearth of funds is mirrored in the military, which has seen spending rise at a quarter of the rate of inflation in the past two decades.

To make up the shortfall the government relies on paramilitary groups linked to local politicians to help fight Communist rebels, Muslim separatists and the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group. One such private army contributed to a massacre of 57 people in the south last year in the nation’s worst act of election-related violence.

Obama supporting Muslim Rights, Mosque Construction in Progress

"An assertion of Islamist triumphalism", a few words that came out of Former Speaker Newt Gingrich tagging the said project. Ever since the news of this project became known, various groups and politicians have vehemently opposing the project. Sarah Palin called this project a stab in the heart of the families of victims from the 9/11 terrorist attack.

President Obama, defending the right of the Muslims to build a 13-storey cultural center and a mosque to be named Cordoba House at a stone's throw from Ground Zero. The US President gave his support for the project in the presence of US Congressmen, government officials and diplomats, stressing out that this project should be pushed through, otherwise, it would contradict to US' commitment to religious freedom. 

Marking the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan,Obama highlighted what opposing parties have avoided mentioning; that the project is short distance away from the hallowed Ground Zero and on private land subject to local laws. Obama further stated that the United States welcomes people of all faith to live in the country and the law treats all religious groups as equal. Furthermore, he said, that the project must have the "GO" signal of the concerned authorities just like any other project of any religious community in the USA.

Among the few notable politicians who did not oppose the project has been the New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. After its initial hesitation, President Obama backed the project with clear understanding of what the US stands for and the values it preaches in its contacts with the international community. He said America's religious tolerance sets it apart from “its enemies” and it is on the basis of that tolerance, the project must be given official approval.

There was one particular reference that made the President's support for the mosque at Ground Zero both refreshing and full of promise. To his audience at the White House, the President said, “Al Qaeda's cause is not Islam…It is a gross distortion of Islam”. In the days, months and years till President Bush left office, the US and its allies had lumped Al Qaeda, Islam and all the Muslims of the world into one; holding them responsible for the 3,000 deaths in the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon.

In June last year, President Obama had given his historic speech in Cairo extending US' hand of friendship to the Muslim world in an attempt to bridge the deep divide his predecessor had inserted between the West and Islam like he was following on Professor Huntington's prophecy of the clash of civilizations.

President Obama is living up to the promises for which just not the USA but the world, particularly the Muslim world, had hoped he would win the election for the White House. The President's support has come when elections to the Congress are due in three months and the Democrats are in a tight corner. He has thus placed ethics and principles ahead of politics that not enhances his credibility to the Muslims only but also his stature as a statesman to the rest of the world.

Source: TheDailyStar.net
M. Serajul Islam

U.S. Finally Ends Iraq Combat Operations

Iraq's military is ready and able to take over security operations as the United States ends it combat role and prepares for a major troop withdrawal, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq said Sunday. With this, The United States will withdraw about 4,000 troops from Iraq by the end of October, the U.S. military commander in Iraq said in testimony prepared for a congressional hearing on Wednesday.

Last remaining batches of American soldiers were pulled out of Iraq on Thursday, a sign that United States will be ending its opeartions in the said Middle Eastern country. The last of the 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division armored vehicles rolled into Kuwait Thursday morning, seven-and-a-half years since former President George W. Bush launched an all-out war against then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein on suspicion that the oil-rich country in the Middle East was keeping weapons of mass destruction. However, thousands of military and civilian deaths later, the U.S. has still to find the purported WMD cache of Hussein’s regime.

 

Gen. Ray Odierno (left) with Lt. Col. Joseph McGee (right)

"We do believe they are ready to assume full operations in Iraq," Gen. Ray Odierno said on ABC's "This Week." He praised the Iraqi security forces for their professionalism and neutrality during the months of political uncertainty that followed elections earlier this year.

Odierno added, however, that it is critical for Iraq to form a government after five months of delay, warning that insurgents will try to take advantage of the political vacuum.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley confirmed the end of combat operations, but he reiterated that America’s involvement in rebuilding Iraq will continue. “We are ending the war … but we are not ending our work in Iraq,” Crowley said. The U.S. military said some 56,000 American soldiers remain in Iraq, still 6,000 short of the end-of-August target set by President Barack Obama.

Iraqi police and military will take over the maintenance of security in the country, while the remaining U.S. forces will play an “advise-and-assist role,” according to a statement by Obama.

China is New Second-Largest Economy next to USA

China has officially claimed the title as the world’s second-largest economy next to the United States after erstwhile no.2 Japan suffered a significant fall in gross domestic product in the second quarter compared to three months ago.

The Japanese government announced on Monday that the country’s annualized GDP growth in the second quarter was only 0.4 percent, a big drop compared to the first-quarter growth of 4.4 percent. Japan’s second-quarter numbers suggest that global recovery from recession is not yet in full swing despite the continuing surge of the Chinese economy.



China is likely to hold on to its new status at least up to the end of the year, as its annual growth is projected at about 10 percent compared to Japan’s 2 to 3 percent. Japan had been the No.2 economy since 1968, when it overtook what was then West Germany.

However, despite its emergence as an economic power, China is still far from Japan when it comes to per capita income. Japan boasts a per capita income of $37,800 a year as of 2009, making the country’s people among the wealthiest in the world. China, on the other hand, has a per capita of only $3,600 despite its booming economy.

Malawi Changes its National Flag

The African nation of Malawi has adopted a new flag starting July 29. The political opposition of the country, Opposition United Democratic Front is challenging it in the courts.

The new flag was endorsed and approved by the country’s President Bingu wa Mutharika. It was proposed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. The new flag has reversed the order of the three colors of the flag from top to bottom. It is now red, black then green. Previously, it had been black, red and green.  The new flag is now youngest state flag in the world.

The previous flag also has a rising sun at the black stripe. The new flag sports a full sun at the middle of the flag. The old flag has been in use since 1964.

OLDEST FLAG TRIVIA:
The oldest state flag that is still in use is that of the country of Denmark, which is more known as the Dannebrog. It has been in use since the 14th century.