CRITIC'S CRITIC
Mentong Laurel
03/28-04/3/2011
The hottest headline the past week has been the impeachment of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, with her top critic being “Hocus PCOS” President P-Noy Aquino.
Although the digital president did not write a newspaper column lambasting his latest pet peeve, he’s been slugging at the Arroyo-appointed Ombudsman covertly and overtly with increasing frequency. Last March 24, in a speech made at Cagayan de Oro, P-Noy said: “As the Senate prepares to try the Ombudsman, I urge you to support this and other efforts to fight corruption.”
Covertly, P-Noy mobilized the money of the state, namely P20 million of the Road User’s Tax, to lobby with congressmen for the impeach-Merci vote. As the covert move was headlined in the mosquito press, now every Filipino knows how P-Noywould use every low down, unprincipled means to get his way -- pretty much the way Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo did.
The question is: Can one use unprincipled means to achieve a principle, in this case, the fight against corruption? Didn’t P-Noy just exacerbate Congress’ already endemic corruption by teaching everyone that money, not principled persuasion, still triumphs?
Is P-Noy’s guiding motto, “Daang matuwid,” true at all? Clearly, the contradiction between his actions and thisprinciple of the straight and narrow reveals the true character
and intent of his claimed advocacy as not being a seriousfight against corruption.
Supplier Rico J
The blatant contradiction that anybody can see, and continues to be on practically every informed Filipinos’ lips, is the appointmentof confirmed rogues to the top echelons of his government.
The prime example is Mr. Rico Puno, alias “Rico J,” undersecretary of the DILG, in charge of the nation’s 114,000 police force and budget of P47 billion. He was an arms and supplies vendor to the PNP before his appointment to the department in July 2010.
Rico J is also known amongst the military and the AFP suppliers’ community as the front man in military deals for a former congressman from Tarlac who, in his three terms,
had zero number of bills filed and laws passed.
Rico J is best known for his admission in September 2010, during the Archbishop Oscar Cruz exposés on jueteng, of receiving bribe offers from representatives of jueteng lords
and failing to make any move to have those people charged for attempted bribery.
Senate Estopped
While P-Noy succeeded in getting Congress to impeach Merceditas Gutierrez before the solons’ Holy Week break, it remains to be seen if the ouster will be completed by the Senate when it reconvenes. Pundits and experts, such as the only credible law commentator Prof. Alan Paguia, are saying that the acquittal of Gutierrez is imminent.
Paguia cites 14 senators who have been on record with comments on the Ombudsman’s case and, therefore, estopped from voting on the issues.
That these senators, including chief impeachment hatchet man TG Guingona, who should be well versed in the rules of Congress, should be making these missteps early in the process raises questions: Why this apparent contradiction between the call for ousting the Ombudsman and the actions that would put them in estoppel? Are they deliberately estopping themselves so there won’t be enough votes to convict the accused Ombudsman, thereby stopping the pursuit of the greater prey--Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo--for her alleged crimes? Why does this track seem oh-so familiar, reminding us of the stillborn Davide Truth Commission?
These contradictions lead us to reaffirm our belief that whatwe are seeing is just the continuity of the corrupt system. It is a system that is unable and unwilling to reform itself and, as such, will never indict anybody else in it by letting its principals (such as Gloria Arroyo) ever face true judgment. As we have asserted from the very beginning, this present administration is an Aquinorroyo regime flying the Yellow banner on its 25th year.
Looking for Consistency
The many columnists and commentators harping on the issue, from pro- and anti-Merci impeachment fences, may all be simply role-playing in a moromoro or zarzuela to distract from the essential truth: It’s all a stage show, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing in terms of real change. Even if by some twist of the law the estopped senators are allowed to vote and Merci is convicted, does that change anything in the country while the Rico J’s of the land are ensconced in power? No way, Jose.
In a contradictory and schizoid society, consistency in word and deed would be a revolutionary act and nothing revolutionary can come from a corrupt political and electoral system.
Looking for consistency in leadership is to look for revolutionary leadership, found in such leading lights as Oliver Cromwell of England to Mao Test-Tung of China, who both decapitated the old ruling class and system. Cromwell did so with King Charles and Mao Test-Tung with the Confucian tradition.
Speaking of revolution and the decapitation of ancient ruling classes, one can say that Moammar Gaddafi’s nondismantlement of Libya ’s old tribalist society has led to his failure of building a nation-state out of the Frankenstein cobbled together from Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan (and all their 140 tribes and clans) by the Italian colonizers in 1934.
Alienated?
This discussion on Gaddafi brings me to another Critics’ Critic favorite, Conrado de Quiros of the Inquirer. In his March 22 column, “Tale of two interventions,” he pontificates on
justifications for the attack on Libya, saying, “The Libyan civil war began as an uprising by the Libyan people following similar uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt .” (Actually, the latter two were in capital cities, reflecting national and popular support; whereas in Libya , it was in Benghazi , reflecting actually only regional and factional initiatives.)
De Quiros then said that Gaddafi was “determined to fight on despite his alienation from his own people and those of the world.” Yeah, right. Weeks into the conflict, popular support for “alienated” Gaddafi has only enabled his successful military and political counter-offensive. What’s more: The African Union is calling for a fact-finding mission instead of precipitate war while the BRICS ( Brazil , Russia , India , China , and South Africa ) abstained from the UN resolution and condemned the attack on Libya . Is that alienation by any stretch?
De Quiros’ third salvo is that “…the strikes on Libya pay service to the truth.” What truth? That the monarchist loyalists funded by Western powerskindled the insurrection (just as
what’s being done in Mindanao)? Or that Western-led disinformation of Gaddafi using jets to mow down unarmed protestorsproved to be a lie by Russian satellite monitoring? Or, that the US-NATO coalition can’t even decide on the true objective for the attack, leading Germany to withdraw all participation, with France and Italy denying “regimechange” as trumpeted by Obama? Or that US-NATO bombs kill Libyan civilians to supposedly “protect civilians,” leading Turkey and the Arab League to protest?
De Quiros’ position is the height of hypocrisy and misinformation, justifying Big Power interference, as well as cynical, murderous, and unjust war on sovereign nations.
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; TNT with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com and watch or listen to our select radio and GNN shows)
Monday, April 4, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Hydro-electric swindle, again
DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
4/1/2011
Can anyone help me make heads or tails of statements made two weeks ago by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm) Corp. president and chief executive officer? Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said that when the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) was enacted in 2001, state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor)’s accumulated financial obligations stood at $16.39 billion. Then, in the same breath, he revealed that for the period of 2001 to 2010, his agency had already paid $11 billion in Napocor debts, including principal and interest, plus $7 billion in independent power producers (IPPs) obligations, all totaling $18 billion, but that the state power generating firm still had outstanding debts of $15.821 billion.
How in heaven or hell’s name could Napocor have started with a $16.39-billion debt and still end up with $15.821 billion, after supposedly paying out $18 billion over 10 years, amid massive privatization (at 70 percent as of 2008) of its fossil fuel, geothermal, and hydro-power generating as well as transmission assets?
Where did all that money go? And, despite hundreds of billions in additional charges to almost 12 million electricity consuming households and establishments, the debt practically remains the same after 10 years. Only the docility and credulity of the Filipino people, as induced by local media and the conspiracy of the political and economic ruling class, could have allowed this swindle to pass without any major revolt.
And a grand, stupendous swindle it is, committed with the dexterity of magicians right before the eyes of millions, over the forewarnings and protestations of consumer advocates such as the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore), the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Sulo ng Pilipino, EmPower, Kaakbay, and countless others.
Today, Psalm and its benefactors are aiming to raise the privatization level to 80 percent. The immediate target is, of course, Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, which serves the water needs of 12 million Metro Manila denizens plus those of surrounding provinces such as Pampanga, Bulacan, etc., not to mention irrigation for 35,000 hectares of farmlands, while producing 246 megawatts of electricity for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) franchise area of at least five million connections.
Psalm actually declared a privatization winner already in 2010. But when the FDC sought complete and accurate information on the bidding for said project, it was flat-out denied, as Psalm claimed that the latter is not a party of interest, all the while requiring $2,500 for any requested document. The deal was only stopped when the Supreme Court (SC) declared a status quo ante until the agency can sufficiently provide such information.
Every Filipino today must really stop to think about these strange turn of events. Whether it is in toll ways, water concessions, or power projects, bid documents are no longer open to the public under the pretext of “confidentiality.” When did this come to be the rule in a “democracy,” more so in public projects imbued with public interest, where it has always been expected that the public has the basic right to know?
It’s good the current SC did right and stopped the Angat privatization on its track. But there are other very serious questions that must be raised, such as Psalm’s awarding of Angat to K-water (or Korea Water Resources Corp.), a 100-percent Korean firm, which violates the very fundamental constitutional rule of dominant corporate ownership of Filipinos in public works projects. In this case, it’s even worse, as K-water, which is not only foreign but also state-owned, will now be tasked to handle a strategic Philippine national utility!
One of the unexpected snags in this deal came from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) regulatory office, in tandem with Manila Water and Maynilad, all of whom raised objections to ensure their water supply commitments (as well as profit targets). But since the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) — a consortium led by China State Grid with the Sy group now at the helm — also hankers for Angat to provide the transmission firm’s “power stability and reliability needs,” in case of a shortage of supply, which sector gets served first and for which purpose?
It’s timely to point out that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), the private company that runs the Fukushima nuclear reactors, is now rightly or wrongly under fire from many quarters for delaying radical measures to safeguard public safety. The Japanese government, otherwise known for its integrity and efficiency, was practically put in a bind as it could only play second fiddle to the private operator of the crippled nuclear reactors.
As told by war correspondent and former UN investigator Keith Harmon Snow to Russia Today: “What we would like to see is for the government to take control of these nuclear reactors from private corporations, because private corporations’ main purpose for existence is to maximize profits, and by maximizing profits in the nuclear sector, we are talking about minimizing concerns for public health and safety.”
We thus recall “Ondoy,” where the private water concessionaires’ alleged interest to fill the water reservoirs to the brim contributed to the over-accumulation and, consequently, the unmitigated release of water at the critical level. If such a calamity were to occur again, will the private concessionaires act to preserve public welfare or risk it for their bottom lines? Billions of tons of water can be just as devastating as a nuclear holocaust.
Likewise, if Angat were to be swindled from the people, then the Agus-Pulangi Hydro Complexes in Mindanao, the Caliraya-Botokan-Kalayaan Hydro Plants, the Sucat Thermal Plant, as well as Power Barges 101 and 104 will follow until nothing — repeat, NOTHING — is left. And no proceeds from these will ever redound to a reduction of Napocor’s debts, now representing 20 percent of our total P5-trillion national debt. This is but one of the many perils of privatization for the public welfare… and a swindle too tragic to bear.
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM dwAD; TNT with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, on “NFA castration: Disaster in the making;” visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus select radio and GNN shows)
Herman Tiu Laurel
4/1/2011
Can anyone help me make heads or tails of statements made two weeks ago by the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (Psalm) Corp. president and chief executive officer? Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said that when the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) was enacted in 2001, state-owned National Power Corp. (Napocor)’s accumulated financial obligations stood at $16.39 billion. Then, in the same breath, he revealed that for the period of 2001 to 2010, his agency had already paid $11 billion in Napocor debts, including principal and interest, plus $7 billion in independent power producers (IPPs) obligations, all totaling $18 billion, but that the state power generating firm still had outstanding debts of $15.821 billion.
How in heaven or hell’s name could Napocor have started with a $16.39-billion debt and still end up with $15.821 billion, after supposedly paying out $18 billion over 10 years, amid massive privatization (at 70 percent as of 2008) of its fossil fuel, geothermal, and hydro-power generating as well as transmission assets?
Where did all that money go? And, despite hundreds of billions in additional charges to almost 12 million electricity consuming households and establishments, the debt practically remains the same after 10 years. Only the docility and credulity of the Filipino people, as induced by local media and the conspiracy of the political and economic ruling class, could have allowed this swindle to pass without any major revolt.
And a grand, stupendous swindle it is, committed with the dexterity of magicians right before the eyes of millions, over the forewarnings and protestations of consumer advocates such as the National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms (Nasecore), the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), Sulo ng Pilipino, EmPower, Kaakbay, and countless others.
Today, Psalm and its benefactors are aiming to raise the privatization level to 80 percent. The immediate target is, of course, Angat Dam in Norzagaray, Bulacan, which serves the water needs of 12 million Metro Manila denizens plus those of surrounding provinces such as Pampanga, Bulacan, etc., not to mention irrigation for 35,000 hectares of farmlands, while producing 246 megawatts of electricity for the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) franchise area of at least five million connections.
Psalm actually declared a privatization winner already in 2010. But when the FDC sought complete and accurate information on the bidding for said project, it was flat-out denied, as Psalm claimed that the latter is not a party of interest, all the while requiring $2,500 for any requested document. The deal was only stopped when the Supreme Court (SC) declared a status quo ante until the agency can sufficiently provide such information.
Every Filipino today must really stop to think about these strange turn of events. Whether it is in toll ways, water concessions, or power projects, bid documents are no longer open to the public under the pretext of “confidentiality.” When did this come to be the rule in a “democracy,” more so in public projects imbued with public interest, where it has always been expected that the public has the basic right to know?
It’s good the current SC did right and stopped the Angat privatization on its track. But there are other very serious questions that must be raised, such as Psalm’s awarding of Angat to K-water (or Korea Water Resources Corp.), a 100-percent Korean firm, which violates the very fundamental constitutional rule of dominant corporate ownership of Filipinos in public works projects. In this case, it’s even worse, as K-water, which is not only foreign but also state-owned, will now be tasked to handle a strategic Philippine national utility!
One of the unexpected snags in this deal came from the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) regulatory office, in tandem with Manila Water and Maynilad, all of whom raised objections to ensure their water supply commitments (as well as profit targets). But since the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) — a consortium led by China State Grid with the Sy group now at the helm — also hankers for Angat to provide the transmission firm’s “power stability and reliability needs,” in case of a shortage of supply, which sector gets served first and for which purpose?
It’s timely to point out that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), the private company that runs the Fukushima nuclear reactors, is now rightly or wrongly under fire from many quarters for delaying radical measures to safeguard public safety. The Japanese government, otherwise known for its integrity and efficiency, was practically put in a bind as it could only play second fiddle to the private operator of the crippled nuclear reactors.
As told by war correspondent and former UN investigator Keith Harmon Snow to Russia Today: “What we would like to see is for the government to take control of these nuclear reactors from private corporations, because private corporations’ main purpose for existence is to maximize profits, and by maximizing profits in the nuclear sector, we are talking about minimizing concerns for public health and safety.”
We thus recall “Ondoy,” where the private water concessionaires’ alleged interest to fill the water reservoirs to the brim contributed to the over-accumulation and, consequently, the unmitigated release of water at the critical level. If such a calamity were to occur again, will the private concessionaires act to preserve public welfare or risk it for their bottom lines? Billions of tons of water can be just as devastating as a nuclear holocaust.
Likewise, if Angat were to be swindled from the people, then the Agus-Pulangi Hydro Complexes in Mindanao, the Caliraya-Botokan-Kalayaan Hydro Plants, the Sucat Thermal Plant, as well as Power Barges 101 and 104 will follow until nothing — repeat, NOTHING — is left. And no proceeds from these will ever redound to a reduction of Napocor’s debts, now representing 20 percent of our total P5-trillion national debt. This is but one of the many perils of privatization for the public welfare… and a swindle too tragic to bear.
(Tune in to Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM dwAD; TNT with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, on “NFA castration: Disaster in the making;” visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our articles plus select radio and GNN shows)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Manufacturing ignorance
DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
3/28/2011
The term agnotology is gaining more usage. I heard it used on television for the first time last week, on the program of Max Keiser on RT (Russia Today, on Global News Network, Destiny Cable). His partner Stacey Herbert described as agnotological capitalism American neo-conservative newspaper and TV (Fox News) pundit Ann Coulter’s rejoinder to the anti-nuke wave in the wake of the Fukushima nuke disaster. Coulter said on Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News that radiation in some dosage levels can be beneficial to humans, i.e. the hormesis theory, citing without naming “a stunning number” of physicists reported on the New York Times and some other papers. Of course there is no “stunning number,” but Coulter added that to create an antologic situation in the minds of audiences who may not be alert to the ploy. Keiser cited this a “manufacture of ignorance,” the same way the tobacco industry has tried to convince people smoking is good for the health.
Agnotologicism or manufacturing of ignorance is an important rephrasing of the old terms misinformation and disinformation, expanding the meaning to include the idea of deliberate, systematic, structured creation of gaps in information and understanding in the public’s mind. The neo-conservatives in the US are often identified with the far right, ultra-capitalist causes, which include the nuclear and defense industry lobbies. Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reily rooted for every American and Nato wars, and they are now for the attack on Libya. The nuclear lobby is a lobby for the uranium based nuclear power because it is also adjunct to the nuclear weapons industry. It all ties in, including their desire to downplay the terror of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The Thorium nuclear reactor has no such lobby as it does not produce the weapons grade byproducts.
Manufactured ignorance can also serve the interest of the complete opposite pole — the solar and wind power lobby. These two lobbies are having a heyday nuking nuke power and selling themselves as the only alternative; but they are not telling anybody that their options simply won’t supply the base load power requirements of modern society and standards of living. We can take from the nuclear lobby the truth against the other side of the issue, writing in Forbes magazine March 18 on “Options for Replacing Japan’s Busted Nukes” or the Fukushima plants Christoher Helman says “Solar — Right now, the Mojave Desert is home to roughly 400 mw worth of solar projects, the biggest concentration in the world. To get 6,000 MW from solar power would require Japan building more installations than currently exist in the entire world — about 50,000 acres covered with parabolic troughs at a price of some $24 billion.”
Even then, Helman says, “the generation capacity would not be baseload, only on when the sun shines…. the long-term cost of solar power comes to 25 cents per kilowatthour.” On wind power to replace the six Fukushiima power lost he says, “You’d need something like 4,200 turbines covering well more than 60,000 acres at a cost of $11 billion. Again, this would not be reliable baseload power. Wind costs roughly 10 cents per kwh.” These solar and wind advocates don’t allow the public to see these, creating an agnotologic situation by glossing over these. Helman, who seems to be of the nuclear lobby, makes an agnotologic move when he describes nuclear power as costing only 11 cents per kwh — which does not include the astronomical costs of storing radioactive waste and the unlimited potential for financial disaster from accidents like Fukushima; financial forensic analyst Hiro Vaswani estimates it would really cost $ 5,000 per kwh.
In our Philippine media setting, agnotologic situations are created every day. One example of this is a recent exposé Quezon City’s councilors’ “ghost employees” by a ratio of 10 to 1 favoring ghost employees: thousands of the walking, salary collecting dead. However, the report omits something. In the last Quezon City elections reform candidates running on a platform to expose former Mayor Sonny Belmonte’s corruption presented facts and figures taken from QC Hall documents. It exposed thousands of ghost employees in city hall itself. This was not cited in the recent exposé as the writer is said to be friendly with Sonny Belmonte. Corruption during the Belmonte nine-year era is very vital because his city administrator is now sitting in Malacañang. If such corrupt officials are riding high and more powerful than an Ombudsman, how can there be a “matuwid na daan?”
The Libyan situation presents agnotology cases galore, such as the admission by the anti-Gaddafi opposition leader Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, in remarks to the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that he recruited al-Qaeda fundamentalists to fight in Iraq. Likewise, that the CIA has been funding al-Qaeda from its very inception. Mainstream media, especially Al Jazeera, hardly report these; especially Al Jazeera, funded by the Emir of Qatar and backed by the Western powers, US and British; now at the forefront of the attack on Libya (Qatar the only Arab country providing planes). Agnotology or the manufacture of ignorance is the groundwork for manufacturing consent for war and other unsavory things.
(Tune in to Sulo M-W-F, 6-7 p.m. on 1098AM; TNT with HTL, Tuesday 8 to 9 p.m., replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our selected radio and GNN shows)
Herman Tiu Laurel
3/28/2011
The term agnotology is gaining more usage. I heard it used on television for the first time last week, on the program of Max Keiser on RT (Russia Today, on Global News Network, Destiny Cable). His partner Stacey Herbert described as agnotological capitalism American neo-conservative newspaper and TV (Fox News) pundit Ann Coulter’s rejoinder to the anti-nuke wave in the wake of the Fukushima nuke disaster. Coulter said on Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News that radiation in some dosage levels can be beneficial to humans, i.e. the hormesis theory, citing without naming “a stunning number” of physicists reported on the New York Times and some other papers. Of course there is no “stunning number,” but Coulter added that to create an antologic situation in the minds of audiences who may not be alert to the ploy. Keiser cited this a “manufacture of ignorance,” the same way the tobacco industry has tried to convince people smoking is good for the health.
Agnotologicism or manufacturing of ignorance is an important rephrasing of the old terms misinformation and disinformation, expanding the meaning to include the idea of deliberate, systematic, structured creation of gaps in information and understanding in the public’s mind. The neo-conservatives in the US are often identified with the far right, ultra-capitalist causes, which include the nuclear and defense industry lobbies. Ann Coulter and Bill O’Reily rooted for every American and Nato wars, and they are now for the attack on Libya. The nuclear lobby is a lobby for the uranium based nuclear power because it is also adjunct to the nuclear weapons industry. It all ties in, including their desire to downplay the terror of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The Thorium nuclear reactor has no such lobby as it does not produce the weapons grade byproducts.
Manufactured ignorance can also serve the interest of the complete opposite pole — the solar and wind power lobby. These two lobbies are having a heyday nuking nuke power and selling themselves as the only alternative; but they are not telling anybody that their options simply won’t supply the base load power requirements of modern society and standards of living. We can take from the nuclear lobby the truth against the other side of the issue, writing in Forbes magazine March 18 on “Options for Replacing Japan’s Busted Nukes” or the Fukushima plants Christoher Helman says “Solar — Right now, the Mojave Desert is home to roughly 400 mw worth of solar projects, the biggest concentration in the world. To get 6,000 MW from solar power would require Japan building more installations than currently exist in the entire world — about 50,000 acres covered with parabolic troughs at a price of some $24 billion.”
Even then, Helman says, “the generation capacity would not be baseload, only on when the sun shines…. the long-term cost of solar power comes to 25 cents per kilowatthour.” On wind power to replace the six Fukushiima power lost he says, “You’d need something like 4,200 turbines covering well more than 60,000 acres at a cost of $11 billion. Again, this would not be reliable baseload power. Wind costs roughly 10 cents per kwh.” These solar and wind advocates don’t allow the public to see these, creating an agnotologic situation by glossing over these. Helman, who seems to be of the nuclear lobby, makes an agnotologic move when he describes nuclear power as costing only 11 cents per kwh — which does not include the astronomical costs of storing radioactive waste and the unlimited potential for financial disaster from accidents like Fukushima; financial forensic analyst Hiro Vaswani estimates it would really cost $ 5,000 per kwh.
In our Philippine media setting, agnotologic situations are created every day. One example of this is a recent exposé Quezon City’s councilors’ “ghost employees” by a ratio of 10 to 1 favoring ghost employees: thousands of the walking, salary collecting dead. However, the report omits something. In the last Quezon City elections reform candidates running on a platform to expose former Mayor Sonny Belmonte’s corruption presented facts and figures taken from QC Hall documents. It exposed thousands of ghost employees in city hall itself. This was not cited in the recent exposé as the writer is said to be friendly with Sonny Belmonte. Corruption during the Belmonte nine-year era is very vital because his city administrator is now sitting in Malacañang. If such corrupt officials are riding high and more powerful than an Ombudsman, how can there be a “matuwid na daan?”
The Libyan situation presents agnotology cases galore, such as the admission by the anti-Gaddafi opposition leader Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, in remarks to the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that he recruited al-Qaeda fundamentalists to fight in Iraq. Likewise, that the CIA has been funding al-Qaeda from its very inception. Mainstream media, especially Al Jazeera, hardly report these; especially Al Jazeera, funded by the Emir of Qatar and backed by the Western powers, US and British; now at the forefront of the attack on Libya (Qatar the only Arab country providing planes). Agnotology or the manufacture of ignorance is the groundwork for manufacturing consent for war and other unsavory things.
(Tune in to Sulo M-W-F, 6-7 p.m. on 1098AM; TNT with HTL, Tuesday 8 to 9 p.m., replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com for our selected radio and GNN shows)
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