AlandMizell.com

. The insurrections produced anarchy in Libya, civil war in Egypt, and now devolution in Yemen and Syria. It is true that democratic transitions have never been peaceful and are mostly violent. We witnessed transition from communism in Europe, for example, the fall of Berlin Wall, the rise of a criminal mafia, a war in Bosnia between Serbians and Muslims, and the Balkans’ degeneration into ethnic war; even today, there are still tensions between ethnic groups in several central Asian countries like Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan, all from the former Soviet Bloc with the people living under repressive regimes, yet not many want to go back to live under the Soviet regime.  Continue reading →

US Ambassador Philip S. Goldberg said that Cabusao was selected for her “fine work in strengthening a free and responsible media in Mindanao through journalism training programs for budding journalists.”

These training programs come in the form of regional conferences where journalists from around Mindanao gather to, in her words, further understand and discuss what they do.

An award ceremony in her honor, with members of the Aquino family attending, was held last Feb. 12 at the Manila US embassy’s Charles Parsons Ballroom. Goldberg and a member of the Aquino(Ballsy Cruz) family co-presented the journalism award. DEPARTMENT of Tourism assistant secretary Art Boncato; Monsanto Philippines Corporate Affiars lead Charina Garrido Ocampo; Mindanao Times publisher Jesus G. Dureza; editor-in-chief Amalia Cabusao; Mindanao Times columnist Dr. Aland Mizell; Times president Dr. Guillermo P. Torres Jr., and Philippine Press Institute’s Ariel Sebellino.

The peace process between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government depends on a transparent and comprehensive investigation of crimes committed against the 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Forces (SAF) by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, and 17 Moro troopers. The elite police commandos stormed the Mamasapano town in Maguindanao to arrest Malaysian terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Abdu Basit Usman. If the MILF and the Philippine government fail to investigate what happened to the 44 members of the SAF, one can question the sincerity of both the MILF and the Philippine government about the peace process when it is not able to even conduct such a investigation on killing the special law enforcement agents. I will remain skeptic that the government is able or willing to carry out a transparent and independent investigation. Continue reading →

The attack on the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine by Jihadists raised questions of whether Islam is compatible with western democracy. What, if any, are the limitations of freedom of speech?  Secularism, a clash of civilizations, and Islam collided with freedom of speech, and the inquiry about how to balance values leaves so many questions and not enough many answers. I do, however, condemn those who killed the satirists, but we should ask ourselves about the responsibility that goes with freedom of speech. Unfortunately many Westerns are very egocentric and do not care about the interests of others, only their own. Freedom of speech is not being lost due to the Jihadist attack on Charlie Hebdo in France, but due to the erosion of values in Western society. Western countries are filled with pride, and they believe themselves to be wise and able to govern themselves without God, which I argue is what brought Western societies to where they are today. Continue reading →

President Obama was elected President in part to get the U.S. out of the war with Iraq. Obama called the Iraq War a war of choice, not a war of necessity and blamed President Bush and Vice-President Cheney for punishing Saddam Hussein for committing genocide against the Kurdish people and killing hundreds of thousands of Kurdish women, children, and men in 1988. In the Muslim world and in the Middle East only the Kurds are thankful for George Bush, because Bush’s policy of a no-fly zone in Northern Iraq gave dignity to the Kurds, so that they could show the rest of the world that they are capable of ruling themselves. More than thirty million Kurdish people possess the right to have self-rule, but they are denied that right. Today the only peaceful place and the most developed area in the region is not Baghdad, but it is the Kurdish Autonomous Region spanning from Erbil to Sulaymaniyah to Dohuk. Continue reading →

ISIS is a barbaric brutal organization. It is against humanity’s most basic values. It must not just be defeated militarily but also intellectually. The civilized world should not have let this malicious ideology emerge. The problem with this organization is that it is using the name of Islam and Allah and is committing this type of barbaric act, but the Islamic world is dead silent in general. I am sure you will see a large section of Islam and the Muslim world denounce terrorism, violence, and killing in the name of Allah or Islam. Muslim leaders only issue statements or appear on TV saying that ISIS does not represent Islam. I believe actions speak louder than words.  The only question I have for the Muslim world is why don’t I see massive vocal protests on the streets of Egypt, Yemen, Istanbul, Islamabad, Kabul, Indonesia, Europe, Iraq, Tunus, Tehran, or  Lebanon? Why is the Muslim community not conducting a war on terror and preventing the ferocity by all actions necessary? For example, in 2012, thousands of Muslim protesters demonstrated against an anti Islam film, tore down a government building, and burned the American flags in Pakistan and in Egypt. Continue reading →

The West and United States cannot eliminate Islamic terrorism. Only Muslims can win the war on Islamic terrorism by fighting it on their own. In the end only Muslims can decide what their faith is really all about, and it is Muslims who have to decide whether to fight against the terror groups who use the name of Islam or to join them. The United States and the West can covertly support Muslims who fight against the Islamic terrorism. America can’t lead the war on terror nor can it win it. Arabs and other Muslims generally agree that Assad might be a bloody tyrant, but on the grounds that many Muslims believe, the invasion was a family affair to be solved within the family and not by America or the West who intervened in the name of human rights and international justice; they also believe the invasion was wrong because they are just protecting their own self interests and maintaining Muslim subordination to the Christians’ belief. Continue reading →

President of the United States, Barack Obama, now faces the possibility of the United States’ third intervention in Iraq. In 1991, the United States united thirty-four nations and compelled Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait, and in 2003, led by the U.S. a coalition forced Saddam to flee Baghdad after only three weeks. The earlier two wars might have achieved their military goals, but they were political failures, and the third Iraq War will be more deadly. Last week I listened to President Obama’s televised speech during which he unveiled his strategy to “degrade and destroy” the Jihadists Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). Obama’s strategy is to destroy ISI by the development of smart power, which would ensure that American casualties are avoided and that the undertaking would be self-financed with it funded by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Arab states. Continue reading →