North Korea, UN and big bully US

Al Jazeera recently reported that North Korea will soon get its money. The procedure to release a number of bank accounts frozen has started while the world awaits for North Korea to finally abandon its nuclear ambition. North Korea, however, missed the mid-April deadline to scrap its nuclear program but it never missed to test a short-range missile towards the sea of Japan. 

With this development, the US is eager to start anew the six-nations talks by early July so they could move forward to the agreement that was made on February 13, 2007 where North Korea agreed to do as follows (Source: Al Jazeera Report):

• Shut down its main nuclear reactor facility within 60 days of deal
• Allow UN nuclear inspectors entry for all monitoring and verification
• Discuss list of all nuclear programs and materials including plutonium extracted from fuel rods
• Declare all nuclear programs and disarmament of all existing nuclear facilities
• Begin talks on normalizing diplomatic ties with the US and Japan and resume high-level talks with South Korea
• US, Russia, China, Japan and South Korea to initally ship 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil within initial phase
• Additional aid up to the equivalent of 1M tonnes of heavy fuel oil to be delivered to North Korea upon compliance

Around US$20 million was reportedly deposited with the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia and was frozen after the US alleged that it was linked to North Korean money laundering and counterfeiting. However, the US apparently not only eyed this bank but even suspected development funds coursed through the United Nations as a source for money laundering and other illegal activities.

According to a source inside the UN, the US accused UN projects in North Korea as a source of money for the communist regime. My source informed me that the US went as far as threatening to withdraw its funding with the UN unless the UN withdraws all of its projects based in Pyongyang. The UNDP bit the US bluff and withdrawn all of its projects in North Korea this year.

UNDP made a statement in connection to the US allegation and has consistently denied that its funds are transferred directly to the communist regime. It strongly asked the US to substantiate its allegations but have not received any to date.

Here’s the excerpt of UNDPs statement on the US allegations:

Allegation: In 2001 and 2005* UNDP transferred US$7 million to a North Korean government entity called the National Coordinating Committee for UNDP (NCC).UNDP Response: The NCC is UNDP’s counterpart agency within the North Korean government.  UNDP’s records show transfers to the NCC for 2001 and 2005 totaling only roughly $175,000, most of which was used by the North Koreans to host agricultural workshops for participants from Africa and Least Developed Countries in Asia.  The workshops covered topics such as vegetable growing and seed processing.  The money was used mainly for consultants and training activities and not for equipment.

Allegation: $2.8 million was transferred by the NCC to North Korean missions in Europe and New York, which used the money to purchase buildings and houses.UNDP Response:  As stated above, UNDP records show that total UNDP payments to the NCC for 2001 and 2005 amounted to only roughly $175,000 and that a large part of this funding was in support of agricultural workshops.

Allegation: UNDP paid nearly $2.7million to purchase goods and services from companies linked to a North Korean entity designated under U.S. law (E.O 13382) as the main North Korean financial agent for sales of conventional arms and ballistic missiles.
UNDP Response: UNDP has no record of any dealings with one of the companies.  In 2004 our records show that UNDP procured $22,000 worth of workshop equipment and supplies from the other company, on behalf of UNESCO.

Allegation: UNDP procured “dual use” equipment for North Korea, including a GPS system, computers and accessories, and a mass spectrometer. 
UNDP Response: As part of a project to monitor floods and droughts devastating vulnerable arable land in North Korea, in June 2006 UNDP did procure a GPS system costing $65,000 (including 18 personal GPS devices); spectrometer equipment costing $6,000; and various computers, printers, etc.  The project, which centres on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS), was initiated by UNDP and the British government in 2000.  GIS/RS systems are increasingly common in many developing countries and assist with land use classification, natural disaster monitoring and crop yield estimation.  UNDP supports similar initiatives in the Maldives and India.  The project in DPRK has progressed quite slowly since 2002 and was reassessed by an international expert in 2006.  The equipment in question was procured as a result of this reassessment. 

Allegation: On several occasions UNDP local employees withdrew from UNDP’s accounts and circulated counterfeit US funds amounting to tens of thousands of dollars.
UNDP Response: UNDP takes allegations of possible counterfeiting very seriously.  It knows of no instances of possible counterfeit currency linked to its operations in North Korea. UNDP recently transferred to U.S. authorities $3,500 in suspect counterfeit funds that do not belong to it but had been in its safe in North Korea for some time. 

Allegation: UNDP retaliated against a staff member who expressed concerns over UNDP operations in DPRK, and threatened several others.
UNDP Response: UNDP has not retaliated or threatened any staff members. A former consultant who served on a series of short-term contracts for UNDP, including in North Korea, has raised concerns over some aspects of UNDP’s operations there.  These concerns have been reviewed, including by UNDP senior management.  The individual was interviewed by the UN Board of Auditors as part of the recent external audit of UNDP’s operations in DPRK.  The individual does not currently work for UNDP, having left the organization in March 2007, upon the expiration of his most recent short-term contract. 

Blogbastic is a C+ Philippine Traveller

Found out from Yuga about a cool project assessing how well-travelled one is in the Philippines. 

Blogger Eugene Alvin Villar recently launched a beta version of Lakbayan (travelling), which rated a traveller’s coverage of the Philippines. Lakbayan was inspired by the visited countries project, however, Eugene was industrious enough to separate tourist spots to minimize overrating. It was a long form but it was fun. Too fun that I’ve got excited commenting and forgot to edit my comment–me and my fast fingers! (how embarassing and irresponsible!).

I credit my being above average traveller to my former employer–a foreign assisted government project in the Philippines. It got me places and a few rewards flight from Philippine Airlines! 🙂 However, I was a spoiled traveller then as everything was taken care of for me most of the time that when I started travelling on my own–booking a flight, hotel among other things was a little bit challenging. Of course, things changed now.

It feels good to know that I can proudly say that I’ve been to places in the Philippines not only on official business but as a local tourist. The Department of Tourism‘s WOW Philippines Project was one of the reasons that visiting Philippine tourist destinations has become more affordable than usual. 🙂

Oh, ano pa’ng hinihintay ninyo? Tara na! (What are you waiting for? Let’s go!)

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out at Lakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

Tech-savvy teaching, blog passion and blog path

Back in the days when teachers have to use everything under the sun to make learning an unforgettable experience. I remember having to deal with crudely written lessons on Manila papers, blackboards stained with white chalk, diorama made from newspapers among other things. I’m glad that while I studied in a developing country, I was blessed to have diligent teachers and attended reputable schools.

The internet was just made public and was hardly accessible to most people when I started college. So, when I was given a chance to study in Australia I was very impressed that they used Blackboard a lot, however, this was not your ordinary blackboard–it was a web-based e-learning tool. We posted assignments, downloaded lectures and even had our essays checked for plagiarism. 

So, when Inquirer.net reported that blogs are replacing blackboards in Singapore, it certainly brought back good memories. It was also good to know that the University of the Philippines Los Baños was also eyeing blogs as extensions for distance education, which is a welcome development given that schools in developing countries won’t be able to afford (and will not have any funds) a web-based learning software like Blackboard.

When I first blogged more than a year ago, I never expected that blogging would be a potentially addictive habit more so a versatile tool. Blogs are used as journal, review, education medium, venue for political rants, source of income and lately a blogger pointed out other possibilities that blogs can be of use like a tool against poverty and hunger. It actually did already made this change as with the Red Blog, UN Vietnam among others.

Problogging is slowly spreading so, Philanthroblogging (blogging for a noble cause) is also starting. So, what path do you think you’re going with your blogs–are you going pro or Philanthro or just neutral?

Whatever you choose, live your life, enjoy it and blog about it 😉

 

Feels Great to be a Filipino!

After being tagged by Jonas, Shari and finally by Chuckie, I think it is fitting to finally(!!!) post this blog entry especially on this special day–Philippine Independence Day! So, without further ado, here’s my thoughts on why it feels great to be a Filipino!

• Filipinos are resilient even in times of adversities. This character is fuelled, at times, by our faith in God and our innate determination and will to persevere.
• Filipinos are generally kind and can get along with any other person or race.
• Filipinos are well known to be hospitable people who would give the best to guests, no matter what.
• Some of the people that make me proud to be a Filipino included Ninoy, Francis M., (hate it or not) Marcos, Sakay, E-heads among others.

These are general characteristics of every good Filipino and these are not yet the tip of the ice berg–I mean there’s a lot more to this so, it is just the start of a loooong list. However, as with everything good, there’s a bad side, too. Chuckie initiated another tag game to highlight and perk Pinoys around the world to contemplate on uniquely Pinoy bad traits and try to change–but that’s another post. 🙂

Now, I’m done! I have to tag 10 more so that the ball continues to get rolling. The ball’s with Dan, Ivy, Mimie, Rudyard, Paolo, Lynette, Elaine, Czille, Massa P. and spilling my own thunder.

Mabuhay ang malayang Pilipinas!

Judgement Day (UPDATED)

Jittery times indeed as Bangkok prepares for the court verdict on two of its major political parties’s election fraud allegations. The military appointed Constitution Court will hand a verdict on the Democrat Party (the opposition) at 1330hours (GMT+7) while Thai Rak Thai’s (former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s political party) verdict will be handed at 1430hours (GMT+7).

Several bus have already trooped the two parties’ headquarters and around 100,000 people are expected to gather at the Sanam Luang. The king of Thailand has voiced concern on the effect of the verdict on the nation and reminded the judges that either way, they’ll be criticized. But as to whether the verdict, be pro or against the parties, would be for the best interest of Thailand–one would never know or it is still an event to watch.

A policeman uses an explosives sniffer to check all areas in and around the Constitution Court on Chakkraphet road in Phahurat yesterday. — APICHART JINAKUL/bangkokpost.com

If you happen to be here in Thailand, the Royal Thai Police has advised to avoid the following places as possible trouble areas:

• Sanam Luang, from today (30 May)
• The Royal Plaza, from 31 May
• Headquarters of the two main parties involved located at Rama VI road (Democrat Party HQ, near Chatuchak Market) and Navasorn Building at Rama III road

The police has placed various checkpoints around the areas of concern to limit the number of people joining the gatherings to a manageable level. If the situation deteriorates, a state of emergency might be declared (like the one that was declared down south), the Junta suggested.

Schools have been closed as precaution and most UN staff and foreign nationals were advised to avoid the said areas.

There’s also circulating email messages among Thais that Gen. Sonthi, leader of the Council for National Security, might do a Nepal. The email message argued that since Gen. Sonthi is a muslim, he might opt to transform Thailand into an Islamic country and scrap the monarchy. Most Thais that I talked to see the email message as crap but the email has still been widely circulated.

Related links

• The Final Countdown

UPDATE:

1750: The Constitution Tribunal found the Democrat Party NOT GUILTY of election fraud by conniving with smaller parties to lure Thai Rak Thai into illegally funding them.

22:30: The Constitution Tribunal found the Thai Rak Thai Pary (former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party) guilty of election fraud. The party will be disbanded and its executives will be banned to run for public office for five years.

The Constitution Tribunal also found leaders of smaller parties guilty of being in cahoots with the TRT to fool the public that there were a number of parties running for the April elections last year.

The verdict marks the end to a prolonged uncertainty in the country’s political arena. What will happen tomorrow, though, remains to be seen.

Snap it!

My very first camera was a Kodak. It was a PhP500 point and shoot film camera. I think I first got it when I was in elementary or high school. Anyway, the next camera I’ve got was another Kodak, this time it was a handy down from my younger sister, who was already working then. It was a good point and shoot camera, too but it became worn and old that the focus very poor unless you expose the image for a long time–and you hold it very steady.

I always wanted to be a serious photography hobbyist and wanted to enroll to a formal course, however, my late college adviser was against it and said that I can get formal short courses in the future, which I wasn’t able to do so. Anyway, when I started working and as it involved documenting events, I just learned along the way how to shoot for a documentary purpose, creatively and, well, randomly–ehehe! I wasn’t sure I was doing it correct with the prosumer cameras I was using then but I’ve got my inspiration from magazine shots, newspapers, internet among others.

If you’ve guessed it, the reason for this blog–well as the title suggest, is camera. I’ve never owned a decent camera of my own, well as a family man, OUR own. As our trip to Australia draws near, we calculated what else we can invest before going Down Under. We’ve already invested some money on a laptop, guitar and keyboard. We have a long wish list but in the end after some calculations, reality set in that we’ll only be able to buy just one last item out of the short list of our wants and needs.

So, since we still have to own a camera, we settled to buy one. It was a long time of prayer and consultation. We searched the internet and emailed a professional photographer friend. My friend has yet to answer but we already got an offer from a store in Siam Paragon. He offered us a cheap alternative to Canon350D–an Olympus E500. THB19,000 as against THB23,900. He raised the stakes by offering a sigma zoom lens for only THB4,000 including free bag, 1GB memory and tripod. Very, very tempting. But I was the most eager one so, I have to hold on to myself.

We went around Bangkok and asked for the best deal. We never came with a choice, this was last Saturday.

Sunday morning, no answer from Bro. Dan. My wife decided to call him but I was the one who talked to him (actually I was reluctant to call him out of shyness). Anyway, I’ve given him the situation between the Canon350D and the Olympus E500. I told him that I read the reviews among others.

He immediately told me that I should go for a Nikon D40, which I was staring at the laptop at that very moment! He was the one of the authorities on cameras and photography that we trust (see his website/blog as to why), so Nikon is a cheaper and better alternative. I’ve searched Nikon’s site and found out that they have a fresh camera in the market, the Nokia D40X.

So, we rushed to Siam Paragon, we went to the Department store first only to find out that they don’t sell Nikon there. We went to the IT City branch also in Siam Paragon and they don’t have it either. So we rushed to MBK to the Nikon authorized dealer and two other shops selling Nikon. They were selling the camera at a very steep price without any freebies. We were also looking at having an international warranty for the camera.

Alas the last straw was to go to the one of the biggest IT malls, Fortune Town in Ratchadapisek. We asked two more stores and another IT City branch there. We settled for a store, which claimed to have an international warranty for the camera. The representative also offered free bag and 1GB memory including a 512MB thumbdrive for only THB1. We thought hard whether we’ll go for the twin lens (valued at THB30,500) or the single lens (THB22,200).

My wife went downstairs to withdraw some cash. I was inspecting the goods and preparing for the paperworks, I kept on asking the man as to where the warranty cards are. The manual was also missing. When my wife got to the store, she was adamant to take the goods without the manual, which for me wasn’t that big deal. I was frustrated as I and my wife argued. Is she going to take a more expensive camera, few thousand baht difference just because of a missing manual?

Anyway, as loving husband, I followed and we went to see the kits on the other stores. They also have photocopied manuals of the camera and the warranty, as it turns out, is only good in their store (they claim that it is only in Thailand).

We moved to IT City, a more reputable IT store. When I saw the kit, I was ecstatic to see that the box has yet to be opened, as against the unit that we inspected previously. It was complete with accessories and while we are going to pay a few thousand baht more, we’ve got a Nikon camera bag, IT City camera bag, camera cleaning cloth, lens cleaning package, tripod, 1GB memory and card holder for free.

So, after shooting a few test shots, we closed the deal. The Nikon D40X was THB27,900 with one year Thailand warranty on the body and an international warranty on the 18-55mm lens. The kids were excited to get a hand on our new DSLR, so was my wife and, of course, me! Here’s our new baby!

These photos were taken with a Sony DSC-H1, which I borrowed from our organization. 🙂

Jittery times in Thailand

The September coup last year resulted in the scrapping of Thailand’s 1997 constitution. The move was in response to the alleged abuses of the former prime minister by capitalizing on the various loopholes of the constitution for his wealth gains. A new constitution is being drafted by a military appointed committee. Elections were promised in December 2007. 

Thailand is considered as one of the last bastions of democracy here in the Greater Mekong Subregion being the only country with a democratically elected government until the coup. Now most of the GMS countries are under military rule from Burma, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Vietnam. The latter three are not technically ruled by the military but are socialist/communist governments.

Early this evening, I was surprised to see the king of Thailand speaking on TV. He seldom do that unless there’s a very significant event in Thailand. So I waited for the news.

Indeed, he did said something on the state of Thailand. He wasn’t happy at the course Thailand is going. However, news in Thailand showed a different angle of the news while still having the worst case scenario warning.

The political parties here in Thailand are being prosecuted after alleged fraud in the April 2006 election. The said election was boycotted by most parties and eventually was won by the former minister’s party, the Thai Rak Thai (Thai Loves Thai) Party. The election was later nullified after probable evidence of fraud (fielding ghost candidates to avoid failure of election since the opposition was boycotting it).

Individual judges are expected to issue their opinion on the case on 29 May and the constitutional tribunal will meet to hand a verdict on 30 May.

Next week is a critical time–the judgement, the absence of the prime minister (for an official trip) and the expected rallies in support of TRT party and the opposition Democrat Party. To make matters worse, rumours of elephants joining the rallies are persisting (I’m not kidding). Previous rallies by monks were marked with the involvement of these giant pachyderms, which caused traffic and confusion (and posed danger to the public).

If the two parties are convicted, they will be dissolved with senior party officials forbidden to run for office for five years. The military has promised an election come December 2007 but if the parties are dissolved and prominent politicians are excluded in the election, the coming election might as well be a staged one and not a true, fair and free election.

Most people here are growing uneasy with the military’s seemingly tight hold on power. As of now, let’s wait and hope for the best for this country.

Blogbastic’s Top Blogs (UPDATED)

I was meaning to do this long before but fruityoaty beat me to it. Well, she joined a writing project by Janette Toral–The Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs in 2007. After reading about it, you’re now reading my take on this and I said I think this IS the time! 🙂 (feels like the tag game that I got into).

Anyway, I’m very flattered on Massa P’s nomination of Blogbastic as one of this year’s emerging influential blogs. It came at a right time when I realized the calling of blogbastic! Though inside me I was almost shouting… I’m not worthy!!! I’m not worthy!!! (with both hands up in the sky and bowing to Massa P.–eheheh! :D). Massa P. was nominated and I believe she deserves it more with the following she’s getting over at fruityoaty considering that she just started a few days after I went blogbastic!

And now for Blogbastic’s top ten, blogs that I regularly visit and read (arranged in no particular order, drumroll please!….)…

• fruityoaty, started blogging 29 August 2006
• The Comic Blurb, started blogging 26 January 2007
• jun.anteola, started blogging 21 January 2007
• nakanampucha, started blogging 21 April 2007
• Rising Sun, started blogging 29 March 2007
• Jon Cabron, started blogging 7 November 2006 
• kuro-kuro-ko-to, started blogging 18 November 2006 
• Culture Shiok!, started blogging 28 January 2007
• The Philosophical Bastard, started blogging 14 March 2007 (no, he did not beg nor did he bribe me. :), I inspected his blog and found that it’s something to watch out if not this year in the near future).
• Blog Addicts, started blogging 2 March 2007

You can read further information about this Filipino blogging project here (this is open to everybody!). Only blogs created between 1 August 2006 and to date are qualified to be nominated though. Now that feels nice to spill the beans and let you know what new blogs make blogbastic tick.

Oh yes, this is a writing project and it comes with a possible cash prize! weeeeh! 🙂

Visitor Analysis

Blogbastic is taking its course. I think I’ll be sticking to blogging about news, when everybody’s (even the best) is already doing it. Reason that I might take this primary blog objective is my readers. 

I’ve noticed recently that my blog has become the jump-off point for Internet surfers (presumably Filipino OFWs or expats) looking for Filipino news sites. If I had adsense or was an affiliate of Inquirer.net, I might have earned a few dollars in my referrals to radios on Inquirer.net. Here’s a summary of the Top Ten at Blogbastic!

• Philippine radio stations online!
• Blog silence conclusion and controversy
• Chocolate for health, anyone?
• Nominee for blogger’s choice award (UPDA
• Pacquiao loses to rival and a few millio
• The Challenge of the Superduperfriends
• Long wait is over
• One Day Blog Silence on 30 April
• When newsmen become the news (UPDATE)
• Want direction how to get to New York from London? Try Google Maps

This is just for the last 30 days but my post on Philippine radio stations online is a consistent top notcher since I posted it. Some of these posts have been reblogged or appeared in a number of splogs (spam blog), good thing we have akismet here at wordpress. 🙂

But I’ll still be blogging about random thoughts on various issues on the life of an expat (soon to be concluded), family man and student (I’m going full-time soon!). A friend of mine once asked me to blog about Thailand but I’m not a travel blogger but I’m trying to contribute a piece or two, so while I’ll try news blogging (for now?), I’m still open for suggestions. 🙂 Let’s see how it goes. 

Genesis

May 12, 1974, the birth date of my grandfather. It was also the longest day for my mother. She was experiencing a severe stomach pain, which she and my father thought was an ordinary one. The pain was becoming unbearable. They were just a novice couple and don’t know what to do. So just before the break of dawn they walked to a house of a relative to ask for advice. 

My grandaunt and granduncle confirmed that my mother was in labor. So, they rushed her to Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, a government-run hospital famous for baby deliveries (especially for poor communities, since it’s almost free). At the hospital, my father and granduncle were not allowed to come with my mother as she was ready to deliver the baby. She was all alone from then on.

My mother told me that the hospital delivery room seemed to be a market with the long lines of mothers almost lying side by side, waiting for the midwives to assist them in delivering their babies. It was amazing that there haven’t been any confusion as to whose baby is each baby delivered at a particular time. I was told that every time they deliver the baby, they are sometimes put together in one crib and delivered to the nursery room where they are placed in individual bed for viewing–each baby is identified with a tag that is tied either on their wrist or ankle.

At around 6.45am, three decades and three years ago, a son was born–I was born! My father was expecting a girl (too bad–eheheh!) that they don’t have a ready name for me, thus I became the third Domingo but my father was ecstatic nevertheless. He was also the one who gave me the nickname–Jimbo. My father claimed that he did not know what to do after I was born–since he was not allowed to see my mother (I’m not sure why)–that he decided to report for work.

My mother was discharged from the hospital after a day or two, according to my father, but not after suffering terrible hunger. The staff at the hospital have so much babies to deliver that they have easily overlooked feeding the mothers after delivery–come to think of it, delivering a baby and not having anything to eat for almost two days??!! The quality and efficiency of Philippine health service! 🙂

Today is one of the most special days of my life and I think I should have written about it in a more passionate or better way but one thing that I want to highlight today is not that I was born but the way I was born and the strongest and most loving person who tried to make sure that she brought me into this world without a glitch–my mother.

Being a father who personally witnessed the birth of my two daughters, I can now relate with my mother’s pain as she delivered me and the hardship that she and my father had to go through raising me. My father also recalled my mother’s alertness when she felt a cyst on my thigh just before I turned one. I had to undergo an operation for the cyst and I wasn’t given any anaesthetics. My cries made my mother faint.

My father also recalled my hyper-activeness and how I always slipped out of their watch and disappear in public–I remember when I was about 5 years old that I was reported missing for the nth time. I also remember having to stay with a stranger until the police picked me and my sister as we went missing at the San Pablo Cathedral. 🙂

My mother may not be the perfect mother but I know she is the most hardworking and loving mother any child could ever have. Her networking and selling skills made sure that we have food on our table when my father’s remittance fails to meet our monthly demand. She was the mother who found ways how to additionally finance our education from high school to college as the hard-earned money of my OFW father could not meet the financial requirements of four children studying at various level–elementary, high school and college. She was the mother who was also instrumental that the family (not my family) was able to secure a house that we called home.

She was the mother who endured various heartaches when I or some of my siblings have gone astray one time or another. She was always there and welcoming and was always ready to believe every explanation and stand for us in every occassion. She was the mother who tried her best in delivering our mental, financial and spiritual needs. She was the mother who always wanted the best for all of us. She was the mother who tried to remind herself that she needed to find time for herself and put on a make up.

Even if the cycle of life completed and I’m given a chance to start over, I’ll love to have Eva Caro as my supporter, provider and mother. This is my mother, who I dearly love.

Happy Mother’s Day!