It's corporate terrorism, stupid

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
8/31/2005



The broadcast airwaves is full of the terrorism mania the Arroyo government is hyping. Yet, going by the historical records we have more to fear from those in this government than what they point to as threats, i.e. Al Qaeda from Jakarta or the Abu Sayyaf (supposedly have wiped out already). Remember Michael Meiring? He’s the American who blew himself up in a Davao hotel room and survived, only to be whisked away by the U.S. Embassy before local authorities could investigate. That mystery leads to the conclusion that he was assembling bombs used in the destabilizing Mindanao.

The Oakwood young officers, the Bagong Katipuneros, said that they were ordered to grenade Muslim mosques, apparently to sow chaos and fuel renewed Muslim-Christian conflict. A few days ago a bomb exploded on a ferry boat in that well known Mindanao place called Lamitan, famed for the bribery-for-Abu Sayyf escape scandal. Now they say the next target for bombings is Metro-Manila. Did I hear over the TV that one of the reasons why the authorities here believe that Metro-Manila will be the next is “documents” found at the latest Lamitan bombing scene naming upcoming targets? Wow! How convenient for the authroties.

Norberto Gonzales, Arroyo’s so-called security chief, is at the forefront of the terror scare, explaining how we are entering another “cycle of terrorism” – so conveniently timed for crucial impeachment “kill” days. Tough luck for him, most people are skeptical. Ever since Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 explained the methods by which a population can be deliberately kept on edge to prepare them for psychological conditioning, such terror alerts have come to be better understood. A psychologist-congressman in the movie explained how they raise alert levels up and down to condition people into swallowing anything the authorities want to force feed into them.

Bush got two wars using the 9/11 World Trade Center building destruction as justification, as well as Homeland Security legislation and increased military budgets. After two years of Bush’s anti-terror war terrorism continue to grow while America and Iraq bleeds financially, economically and physically with the blood of poor soldiers and civilians. Yet, Bush corporate friends and sponsors are enjoying unprecedented profits as the defense and construction companies like Carlyle (who’ll take in Blair for £300 a year when he retires) and Halliburton rake it in.

The wars have been a boon to the global oil companies too, as perfect excuses for hiking oil prices on supply disruption scares even when Opec keeps saying there’s no shortage. Bush is being pressed by American legislators to releases oil stocks for U.S. strategic reserves to cushion American consumers, but Bush refuses. The speculation is that oil may reach $ 100, that’ll create a perfect crisis for global war over energy the way Japan was prodded by U.S. oil embargo on it prior to World War II. They could even start it earlier to stop Iran’s petro-euro oil bourse slated by 2006.

Terrorism terror is very convenient for the rulers of the world, distracting the 6-billion masses of the world from the real problems and panicking them into stupidity like serving in the Iraq war for oil. Cindy Sheehan, mother of an American solider who died in Iraq, is hounding Bush out of the White House and saying it clearly – bring home the boys, no more deaths for oil. Did Bush and Cheney with the help of the House of Saud allow the 9/11 tragedy just to get us in all this? Some firmly believe they did, and that another more massive 9/11 will be made to push things into a final crisis.

They want to make us all so hyped up about terrorism, meanwhile there’s the terrorism of shattered livelihoods attacking Filipino families now with galloping local oil prices; but the local Shell (of Ayala) and Petron (of Aramco) companies have doubled their profits the 1st half of this year to P 2.87-B and P2.31-B, and expecting over P 10-B by the end of the year. That is twice their 2004 full year profit of P 6.41-B. Catanduanes congressman Joseph Santiago reported said, “ “The two refiners are obviously benefiting immensely from the surge in crude oil prices, which has given them tremendous pricing power…”

What gives these oil companies “tremendous pricing power”? The oil deregulation law, that’s what. After bravely reporting this Cong. Santiago puts his tail between his hind legs saying, “We are not out to judge the two oil firms. It is not a crime to make a profit in this country,” Wrong, Congressman. Santiago, it is indeed a crime to double profits every year at the expense of a suffering nation, destroying livelihood of drivers, workers; taking children out of their schools and food from mouths of innocent tots. How come all this hype about alleged Al Qaeda terrorism and so few sounding the bell on the corporate terrorists and their more lethal economic terrorism?

You listen to radio, hear Mike Enriquez get carried away in fear interviewing Norberto Gonzales, exactly what Gonzales wants to spread among the people. You turn to other stations, they talk about the impeachment “kill”. But jobs and children are dying because of corporate profiteer in these times of crisis, who’ll stand up to these corporate Al Qaedas? Will you join me in this fight? Join us Mon. to Fri. 7:30-8:30am, 1350AM; 6-7pm, 1098AM