Maurizio Gherardini!

Friday Bullets:

• The "One Voice" campaign was launched yesterday by Manuel Quezon Tres and others. Here's their website. Q3 explains why he joined the group.
  
  Here's the report from Malaya on the "One Voice" campaign yesterday.
  
  Ito ang 5 proposals ng "One Voice" group:
  
  

  The first is, to discontinue the present “people’s initiative”; the second, to arrive at a social reform program now; the third is, to ensure that the elections in 2007 are held as scheduled, and to agree that if freely and fairly held, they will serve as an indisputable, indirect referendum on the administration (for this to happen, we need electoral reform now); the fourth, to hold a constitutional convention (not a “con-ass”) after the 2007 elections, assuming a public clamor for it continues; and the fifth, regardless of one’s partisan affiliations, to push for a collective effort to rebuild the trustworthiness of our democratic institutions.

  
  Q3 adds:
  
  

  Allow me to propose that the public has been clear in expressing what it expects:
  
  First, that certain political boundaries be respected by everyone. Those boundaries are: (1) any solution to social or political problems should be peaceful, non-military and non-revolutionary -- in other words, constitutional; (2) confidence in elections as the supreme expression of the people’s will must be asserted -- and therefore, elections, to be credible, must be free and fair; more people should be engaged in the effort to identify and achieve solutions to concrete problems.

  
  Tama siya. So bakit hindi ito ang nangyari noong 2001? Bakit hindi ginamit ang 2001 midterm elections as a "referendum" kay erap? Aber Mareng Winnie, bakit?


• Chemical weapons found in Iraq. Instapundit has a huge roundup.


• 7 Marines, sailor charged in Iraqi's death:
  
  

  Seven Marines and a Navy corpsman were charged Wednesday with premeditated murder in the shooting death of an Iraqi man who was pulled from his home and shot while U.S. troops hunted for insurgents. They could face the death penalty if convicted.
  
  All eight also were charged with kidnapping. Other charges include conspiracy, larceny and providing false official statements.

  
  To the family of the victim, buti na lang sa Iraq nangyari yan, where the Bush adminsitration is under pressure from the Mainstream media and Human Rights organizations not to coverup and whitewash any case of abuse by US soldiers in Iraq.
  
  To the Pinay rape victim naman, I'm sorry to say this, but it's very likely na makakalusot yung mga nang-rape sa iyo with little or no punishment. You're not gonna get much cooperation from the US gov't or from the Arroyo admin, lalo na kay DOJ Sec. SiRaulo Gonzalez.


• Interesting tidbit from Lito Banayo: "But why is the CIDG hounding this Inquirer columnist and his brothers, tailing him here and there, simply because he has fallen out of grace? For reasons unknown to many, this columnist who used to be a good friend of someone most powerful, started writing about the waterfront activities of a mysterious lady and her brother. He knew very well the lady was not a push-over. She’s not exactly pretty by most standards, but someone is over-protective of her "privacy". Why can’t the same CIDG look for Joc Joc?"
  
  Oo nga naman, why can't this admin use it's resources to find and catch Joc Joc? At sino ba yang inquirer columnist na yan? Si Doro ba ang tinutukoy diyan?


• Drop rebellion raps, ‘Erap 5’ ask DoJ.


• The AFP threatens to file charges against the Marine Col. who recently resigned in disgust over the politization in the military under the ARroyo administration. More on this from the PCIJ. And the Tribune: AFP chief threatens court martial vs De Leon
  
  May tanong si Ninez:
  
  

  Yet how can the AFP chief threaten De Leon with court martial when he was no longer part of the service at the time his letter of resignation, dated June 15, was being circulated before a public forum on the 19th of June?
  
  De Leon, being a private citizen and no longer under military control, has every right to air whatever he wants to air, without being sanctioned by the military leadership.
  
  But the AFP leadership insists that De Leon had not resigned, despite evidence of his letter of resignation addressed to his commandant, Gen. Nelson Allaga, who incidentally has been mentioned too in the “Hello Garci” wiretapped conversations.
  
  So why the insistence by the military brass of De Leon not having resigned?
  
  Simple. With his resignation, De Leon is now free to speak out his mind, and even more important, De Leon is no longer covered by Executive Order (EO) 464, Gloria’s gag rule which has already been struck down by the high court, but which Gloria and her cohorts in the military continue to enforce, clearly to keep up with their cover-up operations.
  
  More to the point, if the Senate calls on De Leon to appear before the legislative body on the wiretap probe and the inclusion of the Mayuga Report, the retired Marine official will have no choice but to appear before the body. And this is what Malacañang and the military brass really fear, since De Leon appears to know a lot of funny stuff going around in the military.

  
  UPDATE: From Ellen Tordesillas:

  "Col. de Leon is still in the service. He just resigned from his post as marines chief of staff."

  
  Thanks for the correction, Ellen.
  


• MLQ3: "It seems pretty much official: the State of the Nation address will focus on the super-region scheme, and not on constitutional amendments. Makes sense, since it’s easier to trumpet the regional scheme rather than deal with sustained criticism (despite trotting out Fidel Ramos) of the amendments effort."
  
  I also think she'll focus on her "War vs the Left" and her "War vs. Corruption" <..roll's eyes..> in her SONA.


• The PDI Editorial is very critical of Arroyo's ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez:
  
  

  In the meantime, Gutierrez has been fighting an old order from the Supreme Court to get cracking on the poll automation case. Instead of filing charges against everyone involved in the fraudulent transaction, Gutierrez has been questioning the Court’s authority to issue such an order.
  
  Thus, we have the agency charged with investigating and prosecuting graft cases showing extreme reluctance to do its duty in defiance of a court order and the recommendation of the Senate. By her inaction on these cases, Gutierrez has virtually confirmed suspicions that she was put in the position to protect persons close to the President.
  
  Given how Gutierrez seems to be single-mindedly pursuing that mission, not even throwing billions into the campaign will ensure that the war against corruption will be won. The new war is lost before it begins.

  
  Ganyan rin ang attitute ni Ms. Gutierrez nung nasa DOJ pa siya sa IMPSA corruption scandal ng dating DOJ secretary na si Nani Perez.


• The book "55 Ways to Have Fun with Google" is now in PDF form.


• The Toronto Raptors has hired Benetton Treviso GM Maurizio Gherardini as Bryan Colangelo's right-hand man. This makes Gherardini the first European to hold a senior position at an NBA ballclub. And it's almost certain that Andrea Bargnani, who helped Benetton win the Italian Liga A chapionship two days ago, will be the first overall pick of this year's draft by the Raptors. Here's a great 2004 Chad Ford article on Gherardini, "possibly the most powerful GM in the world, outside the United States." And here are photos of Gherardini.


• In other NBA news, Isiah Thomas now gets to coach the mess of a team he has assembled.