text:
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 2011 > July 2011 Decisions > [G.R. No. 168251 : July 27, 2011] JESUS M. MONTEMAYOR, PETITIONER, VS. VICENTE D. MILLORA, RESPONDENT. :
JESUS M. MONTEMAYOR, PETITIONER, VS. VICENTE D. MILLORA, RESPONDENT.
DEL CASTILLO, J.:
When the dispositive portion of a judgment is clear and unequivocal, it must be executed strictly according to its tenor.
This Petition for Review on Certiorari [1] assails the Decision [2] dated May 19, 2005 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 81075, which dismissed the petition for certiorari seeking to annul and set aside the Orders dated September 6, 2002 [3] and October 2, 2003 [4] of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City, Branch 98 in Civil Case No. Q-93-17255.
Factual Antecedents
On July 24, 1990, respondent Atty. Vicente D. Millora (Vicente) obtained a
loan of P400,000.00 from petitioner Dr. Jesus M. Montemayor (Jesus) as evidenced by a promissory note [5] executed by Vicente. On August 10, 1990, the parties executed a loan contract [6] wherein it was provided that the loan has a stipulated monthly interest of 2% and that Vicente had already paid the amount of P100,000.00 as well as the P8,000.00 representing the interest for the period July 24 to August 23, 1990.
Subsequently and with Vicente's consent, the interest rate was increased to 3.5% or P10,500.00 a month. From March 24, 1991 to July 23, 1991, or for a period of four months, Vicente was supposed to pay P42,000.00 as interest but was able to pay only P24,000.00. This was the last payment Vicente made. Jesus made several demands [7] for Vicente to settle his obligation but to no avail.
Thus, on August 17, 1993, Jesus filed before the RTC of Quezon City a Complaint [8] for Sum of Money against Vicente which was docketed as Civil Case No. Q-93-17255. On October 19, 1993, Vicente filed his Answer [9] interposing a counterclaim for attorney's fees of not less than P500,000.00. Vicente claimed that he handled several cases for Jesus but he was summarily dismissed from handling them when the instant complaint for sum of money was filed.
Ruling of the Regional Trial Court
In its Decision [10] dated October 27, 1999, the RTC ordered Vicente to pay Jesus his monetary obligation amounting to P300,000.00 plus interest of 12% from the time of the filing of the complaint on August 17, 1993 until fully paid. At the same time, the trial court found merit in Vicente's counterclaim and thus ordered Jesus to pay Vicente his attorney's fees which is equivalent to the amount of Vicente's monetary liability, and which shall be set-off with the amount Vicente is adjudged to pay Jesus, viz:
WHEREFORE, premises above-considered [sic], JUDGMENT is hereby rendered ordering defendant Vicente D. Millora to pay plaintiff Jesus M. Montemayor the sum of P300,000.00 with interest at the rate of 12% per annum counted from the filing of the instant complaint on August 17, 1993 until fully paid and whatever amount recoverable from defendant shall be set off by an equivalent amount awarded by the court on the counterclaim representing attorney's fees of defendant on the basis of "quantum meruit" for legal services previously rendered to plaintiff.
No pronouncement as to attorney's fees and costs of suit.
SO ORDERED. [11]
On December 8, 1999, Vicente filed a Motion for Reconsideration [12] to which Jesus filed an Opposition. [13] On March 15, 2000, Vicente filed a Motion for the Issuance of a Writ of Execution [14] with respect to the portion of the RTC Decision which awarded him attorney's fees under his counterclaim. Jesus filed his Urgent Opposition to Defendant's Motion for the Issuance of a Writ of Execution [15] dated May 31, 2000.
In an Order [16] dated June 23, 2000, the RTC denied Vicente's Motion for Reconsideration but granted his Motion for Issuance of a Writ of Execution of the portion of the decision concerning the award of attorney's fees.
Intending to appeal the portion of the RTC Decision which declared him liable to Jesus for the sum of P300,000.00 with interest at the rate of 12% per annum counted from the filing of the complaint on August 17, 1993 until fully paid, Vicente filed on July 6, 2000 a Notice of Appeal. [17] This was however denied by the RTC in an Order [18] dated July 10, 2000 on the ground that the Decision has already become final and executory on July 1, 2000. [19]
Meanwhile, Jesus filed on July 12, 2000 a Motion for Reconsideration and Clarification [20] of the June 23, 2000 Order granting Vicente's Motion for the Issuance of a Writ of Execution. Thereafter, Jesus filed on September 22, 2000 his Motion for the Issuance of a Writ of Execution. [21] After the hearing on the said motions, the RTC issued an Order [22] dated September 6, 2002 denying both motions for lack of merit. The Motion for Reconsideration and Clarification was denied for violating Section 5, [23] Rule 15 of the Rules of Court and likewise the Motion for the Issuance of a Writ of Execution, for violating Section 6, [24] Rule 15 of the same Rules.
Jesus filed his Motion for Reconsideration [25] thereto on October 10, 2002 but this was eventually denied by the trial court through its Order [26] dated October 2, 2003.
Ruling of the Court of Appeals
Jesus went to the CA via a Petition for Certiorari [27] under Rule 65 of the
Rules of Court.
On May 19, 2005, the CA issued its Decision the dispositive portion of which provides:
WHEREFORE, the foregoing considered, the petition for certiorari is DENIED and the assailed Orders are AFFIRMED in toto. No costs.
Not satisfied, Jesus is now before this Court via a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FINALITY OF THE TRIAL COURT'S DECISION OF OCTOBER 27, 1999, AS WELL AS THE ORDERS OF SEPTEMBER 6, 2002 AND OCTOBER 2, 2003, THE LEGAL ISSUE TO BE RESOLVED IN THIS CASE IS WHETHER X X X [DESPITE] THE ABSENCE OF A SPECIFIC AMOUNT IN THE DECISION REPRESENTING RESPONDENT'S COUNTERCLAIM, THE SAME COULD BE VALIDLY [OFFSET] AGAINST THE SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF AWARD MENTIONED IN THE DECISION IN FAVOR OF THE PETITIONER. [29]
Petitioner's Arguments
Jesus contends that the trial court grievously erred in ordering the implementation of the RTC's October 27, 1999 Decision considering that same does fix the amount of attorney's fees. According to Jesus, such disposition leaves the matter of computation of the attorney's fees uncertain and, hence, the writ of execution cannot be implemented. In this regard, Jesus points out that not even the Sheriff who will implement said Decision can compute the judgment awards. Besides, a sheriff is not clothed with the authority to render judicial functions such as the computation of specific amounts of judgment awards.
Respondent's Arguments
Vicente counter-argues that the October 27, 1999 RTC Decision can no longer be made subject of review, either by way of an appeal or by way of a special civil action for certiorari because it had already attained finality when after its promulgation, Jesus did not even file a motion for reconsideration thereof or interpose an appeal thereto. In fact, it was Vicente who actually filed a motion for reconsideration and a notice of appeal, which was eventually denied and disapproved by the trial court.
Our Ruling
The petition lacks merit.
The October 27, 1999 Decision of the RTC
is already final and executory, hence, immutable.
At the outset, it should be stressed that the October 27, 1999 Decision of the RTC is already final and executory. Hence, it can no longer be the subject of an appeal. Consequently, Jesus is bound by the decision and can no longer impugn the same. Indeed, well-settled is the rule that a decision that has attained finality can no longer be modified even if the modification is meant to correct erroneous conclusions of fact or law. The doctrine of finality of judgment is explained in Gallardo-Corro v. Gallardo: [30]
Nothing is more settled in law than that once a judgment attains finality it thereby becomes immutable and unalterable. It may no longer be modified in any respect, even if the modification is meant to correct what is perceived to be an erroneous conclusion of fact or law, and regardless of whether the modification is attempted to be made by the court rendering it or by the highest court of the land. Just as the losing party has the right to file an appeal within the prescribed period, the winning party also has the correlative right to enjoy the finality of the resolution of his case. The doctrine of finality of judgment is grounded on fundamental considerations of public policy and sound practice, and that, at the risk of occasional errors, the judgments or orders of courts must become final at some definite time fixed by law; otherwise, there would be no end to litigations, thus setting to naught the main role of courts of justice which is to assist in the enforcement of the rule of law and the maintenance of peace and order by settling justiciable controversies with finality. [31]
To stress, the October 27, 1999 Decision of the RTC has already attained finality. "Such definitive judgment is no longer subject to change, revision, amendment or reversal. Upon finality of the judgment, the Court loses its jurisdiction to amend, modify or alter the same. Except for correction of clerical errors or the making of nunc pro tunc entries which cause no prejudice to any party, or where the judgment is void, the judgment can neither be amended nor altered after it has become final and executory. This is the principle of immutability of final judgment." [32]
The amount of attorney's fees is
ascertainable from the RTC Decision.
Thus, compensation is possible.
Jesus contends that offsetting cannot be made because the October 27, 1999 judgment of the RTC failed to specify the amount of attorney's fees. He maintains that for offsetting to apply, the two debts must be liquidated or ascertainable. However, the trial court merely awarded to Vicente attorney's fees based on quantum meruit without specifying the exact amount thereof.
We do not agree.
For legal compensation to take place, the requirements set forth in Articles 1278 and 1279 of the Civil Code, quoted below, must be present.
ARTICLE 1278. Compensation shall take place when two persons, in their own right, are creditors and debtors of each other.
ARTICLE 1279. In order that compensation may be proper, it is necessary:
(1) That each one of the obligors be bound principally, and that he be at the same time a principal creditor of the other;
(2) That both debts consist in a sum of money, or if the things due are consumable, they be of the same kind, and also of the same quality if the latter has been stated;
(3) That the two debts be due;
(4) That they be liquidated and demandable;
(5) That over neither of them there be any retention or controversy, commenced by third persons and communicated in due time to the debtor.
"A debt is liquidated when its existence and amount are determined. It is not necessary that it be admitted by the debtor. Nor is it necessary that the credit appear in a final judgment in order that it can be considered as liquidated; it is enough that its exact amount is known. And a debt is considered liquidated, not only when it is expressed already in definite figures which do not require verification, but also when the determination of the exact amount depends only on a simple arithmetical operation x x x." [33]
In Lao v. Special Plans, Inc., [34] we ruled that:
When the defendant, who has an unliquidated claim, sets it up by way of counterclaim, and a judgment is rendered liquidating such claim, it can be compensated against the plaintiff's claim from the moment it is liquidated by judgment. We have restated this in Solinap v. Hon. Del Rosario [35] where we held that compensation takes place only if both obligations are liquidated.
In the instant case, both obligations are liquidated. Vicente has the obligation to pay his debt due to Jesus in the amount of P300,000.00 with interest at the rate of 12% per annum counted from the filing of the instant complaint on August 17, 1993 until fully paid. Jesus, on the other hand, has the obligation to pay attorney's fees which the RTC had already determined to be equivalent to whatever amount recoverable from Vicente. The said attorney's fees were awarded by the RTC on the counterclaim of Vicente on the basis of "quantum meruit" for the legal services he previously rendered to Jesus.
In its Decision, the trial court elucidated on how Vicente had established his entitlement for attorney's fees based on his counterclaim in this manner:
Defendant, on his counterclaim, has established the existence of a lawyer-client relationship between him and plaintiff and this was admitted by the latter. Defendant had represented plaintiff in several court cases which include the Laguna property case, the various cases filed by Atty. Romulo Reyes against plaintiff such as the falsification and libel cases and the disbarment case filed by plaintiff against Atty. Romulo Reyes before the Commission on Bar Integration. Aside from these cases, plaintiff had made defendant his consultant on almost everything that involved legal opinions.
More particularly in the Calamba, Laguna land case alone, plaintiff had agreed to pay defendant a contingent fee of 25% of the value of the property for the latter's legal services as embodied in the Amended Complaint signed and verified by plaintiff (Exh. 5). Aside from this contingent fee, defendant had likewise told plaintiff that his usual acceptance fee for a case like the Laguna land case is P200,000.00 and his appearance fee at that time was x x x P2,000.00 per appearance but still plaintiff paid nothing.
The lawyer-client relationship between the parties was severed because of the instant case. The court is however fully aware of defendant's stature in life - a UP law graduate, Bar topnotcher in 1957 bar examination, former Senior Provincial Board Member, Vice-Governor and Governor of the province of Pangasinan, later as Assemblyman of the Batasang Pambansa and is considered a prominent trial lawyer since 1958. For all his legal services rendered to plaintiff, defendant deserves to be compensated at least on a "quantum meruit" basis. [36]
The above discussion in the RTC Decision was then immediately followed by the dispositive portion, viz:
WHEREFORE, premises above-considered, JUDGMENT is hereby rendered ordering defendant Vicente D. Millora to pay plaintiff Jesus M. Montemayor the sum of P300.000.00 with interest at the rate of 12% per annum counted from the filing of the instant complaint on August 17, 1993 until fully paid and whatever amount recoverable from defendant shall be set off by an equivalent amount awarded by the court on the counterclaim representing attorney's fees of defendant on the basis of "quantum meruit" for legal services previously rendered to plaintiff.
SO ORDERED. [37] (Emphasis supplied.)
It is therefore clear that in the execution of the RTC Decision, there are two parts to be executed. The first part is the computation of the amount due to Jesus. This is achieved by doing a simple arithmetical operation at the time of execution. The principal amount of P300,000.00 is to be multiplied by the interest rate of 12%. The product is then multiplied by the number of years that had lapsed from the filing of the complaint on August 17, 1993 up to the date when the judgment is to be executed. The result thereof plus the principal of P300,000.00 is the total amount that Vicente must pay Jesus.
The second part is the payment of attorney's fees to Vicente. This is achieved by following the clear wordings of the above fallo of the RTC Decision which provides that Vicente is entitled to attorney's fees which is equivalent to whatever amount recoverable from him by Jesus. Therefore, whatever amount due to Jesus as payment of Vicente's debt is equivalent to the amount awarded to the latter as his attorney's fees. Legal compensation or set-off then takes place between Jesus and Vicente and both parties are on even terms such that there is actually nothing left to execute and satisfy in favor of either party.
In fact, the RTC, in addressing Jesus' Motion for Reconsideration and Clarification dated July 12, 2000 had already succinctly explained this matter in its Order dated September 6, 2002, viz:
Notwithstanding the tenor of the said portion of the judgment, still, there is nothing to execute and satisfy in favor of either of the herein protagonists because the said decision also states clearly that "whatever amount recoverable from defendant shall be SET-OFF by an equivalent amount awarded by the Court on the counterclaim representing attorney's fees of defendant on the basis of "quantum meruit" for legal services previously rendered to plaintiff" x x x.
Said dispositive portion of the decision is free from any ambiguity. It unequivocably ordered that any amount due in favor of plaintiff and against defendant is set off by an equivalent amount awarded to defendant in the form of counterclaims representing attorney's fees for past legal services he rendered to plaintiff.
It will be an exercise in futility and a waste of so precious time and unnecessary effort to enforce satisfaction of the plaintiff's claims against defendant, and vice versa because there is in fact a setting off of each other's claims and liabilities under the said judgment which has long become final. [38] (Emphasis in the original.)
A reading of the dispositive portion of the RTC Decision would clearly show that no ambiguity of any kind exists. Furthermore, if indeed there is any ambiguity in the dispositive portion as claimed by Jesus, the RTC had already clarified it through its Order dated September 6, 2002 by categorically stating that the attorney's fees awarded in the counterclaim of Vicente is of an amount equivalent to whatever amount recoverable from him by Jesus. This clarification is not an amendment, modification, correction or alteration to an already final decision as it is conceded that such cannot be done anymore. What the RTC simply did was to state in categorical terms what it obviously meant in its decision. Suffice it to say that the dispositive portion of the decision is clear and unequivocal such that a reading of it can lead to no other conclusion, that is, any amount due in favor of Jesus and against Vicente is set off by an equivalent amount in the form of Vicente's attorney's fees for past legal services he rendered for Jesus.
WHEREFORE, the instant Petition for Review on Certiorari is DENIED. The assailed Decision of the Court of Appeals dated May 19, 2005 in CA-G.R. SP No. 81075 which dismissed the petition for certiorari seeking to annul and set aside the Orders dated September 6, 2002 and October 2, 2003 of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 98 in Civil Case No. Q-93-17255, is hereby AFFIRMED.
Corona, C.J., (Chairperson), Leonardo-De Castro. Bersamin, and Villarama, Jr., JJ., concur.
[2] CA rollo, pp. 91-97; penned by Associate Justice Josefina Guevara-Salonga and concurred in by Associate Justices Ruben T. Reyes and Fernanda Lampas Peralta.
[3] Records, pp. 417-420; penned by Judge Evelyn Corpus-Cabochan.
[5] Id. at 4.
[7] Id. at 6, 10-14.
[8] Id. at 1-3.
[10] Id. at 308-314; penned by Judge Justo M. Sultan.
[11] Id. at 313.
[16] Id. at 375-376; penned by Judge Estrella T. Estrada.
[19] This Order was issued prior to the promulgation of Neypes v. Court of Appeals, 506 Phil. 613 (2005), where the Court categorically set a fresh period of 15 days from a denial of a motion for reconsideration within which to appeal.
Before Neypes, the party seeking to appeal should file the notice of appeal within the remaining period from the denial of the motion for reconsideration. Here, Vicente filed his Motion for Reconsideration on December 8, 1999, the 15th day from his receipt on November 23, 1999 of the October 27, 1999 RTC Decision. Having consumed the 15-day period to appeal, Vicente should have filed his Notice of Appeal on July 1, 2000, or the day immediately after his receipt on June 30, 2000 of the June 23, 2000 Order denying his Motion for Reconsideration. Instead, he filed his Notice of Appeal on July 6, 2000.
[23] Section 5. Notice of hearing. The notice of hearing shall be addressed to all parties concerned, and shall specify the time and date of the hearing which must not be later than ten (10) days after the filing of the motion.
[24] Section 6. Proof of service necessary. No written motion set for hearing shall be acted upon by the court without proof of service thereof.
[25] Records, pp. 421-427.
[27] CA rollo, pp. 2-13.
[28] Id. at 97.
[32] Bongcac v. Sandiganbayan, G.R. Nos. 156687-88, May 21, 2009, 588 SCRA 64, 71.
[33] Tolentino, Arturo M., Commentaries and Jurisprudence on the Civil Code of the Philippines, Vol. IV, 2002 ed., p. 371.
[34] G.R. No. 164791, June 29, 2010, 622 SCRA 27, 36.
[36] Records, p. 313.
[37] Id.


text:
package com.navercorp.pinpoint.collector.cluster.route;

import com.navercorp.pinpoint.thrift.dto.command.TCommandTransferResponse;
import com.navercorp.pinpoint.thrift.dto.command.TRouteResult;
import org.apache.thrift.TBase;
import org.slf4j.Logger;
import org.slf4j.LoggerFactory;

import com.navercorp.pinpoint.collector.cluster.ClusterPointLocator;
import com.navercorp.pinpoint.collector.cluster.TargetClusterPoint;
import com.navercorp.pinpoint.collector.cluster.route.filter.RouteFilter;
import com.navercorp.pinpoint.rpc.Future;
import com.navercorp.pinpoint.rpc.ResponseMessage;
import com.navercorp.pinpoint.thrift.io.TCommandTypeVersion;

/**
 * @author koo.taejin
 * @author HyunGil Jeong
 */
public class DefaultRouteHandler extends AbstractRouteHandler<RequestEvent> {

    private final Logger logger = LoggerFactory.getLogger(this.getClass());

    private final RouteFilterChain<RequestEvent> requestFilterChain;
    private final RouteFilterChain<ResponseEvent> responseFilterChain;

    public DefaultRouteHandler(ClusterPointLocator<TargetClusterPoint> targetClusterPointLocator,
            RouteFilterChain<RequestEvent> requestFilterChain,
            RouteFilterChain<ResponseEvent> responseFilterChain) {
        super(targetClusterPointLocator);

        this.requestFilterChain = requestFilterChain;
        this.responseFilterChain = responseFilterChain;
    }

    @Override
    public void addRequestFilter(RouteFilter<RequestEvent> filter) {
        this.requestFilterChain.addLast(filter);
    }

    @Override
    public void addResponseFilter(RouteFilter<ResponseEvent> filter) {
        this.responseFilterChain.addLast(filter);
    }

    @Override
    public TCommandTransferResponse onRoute(RequestEvent event) {
        requestFilterChain.doEvent(event);

        TCommandTransferResponse routeResult = onRoute0(event);

        responseFilterChain.doEvent(new ResponseEvent(event, event.getRequestId(), routeResult));

        return routeResult;
    }

    private TCommandTransferResponse onRoute0(RequestEvent event) {
        TCommandTransferResponse response = new TCommandTransferResponse();

        TBase<?,?> requestObject = event.getRequestObject();
        if (requestObject == null) {
            return createResponse(TRouteResult.EMPTY_REQUEST);
        }

        TargetClusterPoint clusterPoint = findClusterPoint(event.getDeliveryCommand());
        if (clusterPoint == null) {
            return createResponse(TRouteResult.AGNET_NOT_FOUND);
        }

        TCommandTypeVersion commandVersion = TCommandTypeVersion.getVersion(clusterPoint.gerVersion());
        if (!commandVersion.isSupportCommand(requestObject)) {
            return createResponse(TRouteResult.AGENT_NOT_SUPPORTED_COMMAND);
        }

        Future<ResponseMessage> future = clusterPoint.request(event.getDeliveryCommand().getPayload());
        future.await();
        ResponseMessage responseMessage = future.getResult();
        if (responseMessage == null) {
            return createResponse(TRouteResult.TIMEOUT);
        }

        return createResponse(TRouteResult.OK, responseMessage.getMessage());
    }

    private TCommandTransferResponse createResponse(TRouteResult result) {
        return createResponse(result, new byte[0]);
    }

    private TCommandTransferResponse createResponse(TRouteResult result, byte[] payload) {
        TCommandTransferResponse response = new TCommandTransferResponse();
        response.setRouteResult(result);
        response.setPayload(payload);
        return response;
    }

}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Thought Factory
Thoughts on the new millenium; people, politics,economics, environment and technology. What kind of world do we live in and where is it leading to?
Thought Piece
The Vuvuzela Election: Where Rhetoric Reigns & Labour Dithers
The 2011 local elections swept South Africa away in what seemed like another world cup production. The same 'fever' was in evidence across large swathes of the country. No longer is door to door politicking the favoured means of winning over voters. Nowadays, mass rallies are not platforms for visioning and re-envisioning the future of South Africans and all those who live within it. Rather, hooting car cavalcades and mass 'pop concert' styled rallies are the new modus operandi of the South African political elite, who have learnt that they do not need to listen to voters ... all they have to do is stir up their deepest insecurities and channel their frustration at an easy-to-identify enemy.
Election 'fever' even has the opposition leader, Helen Zille, out in the streets getting her knees up high, 'toy-toying' amongst the crowds; attempting to win over black voters who are discontented with lack of service delivery and rampant corruption at street committee and ward levels which the ANC has been reluctant to acknowledge. Similarly, Julius Malema (leader of the ANC youth league) whips up the marginalised black youth into a frenzy of nostalgia about a 'revolution' that in truth never occurred, stirring up even more race hatred than ever before, splitting the populace into black and white sectors that are irreconcilable - the very anti-thesis of the ANC that promised to bring a new unity to South Africa moving forward from 1994. Ironically, the DA now seeks to sell itself as the safeguarders of the legacy of Nelson Mandela, and instead of differentiating themselves from the ANC have adopted the same policies as the ANC, seeking only to do better than the ANC at delivering the same promises as their opponents.
It is an interesting, if vexing time to be living in South Africa. Populism reigns in the absence of intelligent debate, and rhetoric reigns where leaders fear to tread. That is, where our problems are most complex we devote the least intelligence to solving them. A few days ago, Jacob Zuma declared upon visiting a location riddled with service delivery problems that he 'for the first time' understood the issues around service delivery. An appropriate question for the president in that regard is, 'where has he been for the past 17 years?" I'm sure he's been on every election trail, so why the late discovery of something that all South Africans have been aware of for a long time? How can he possibly only understand these issues now?
Electioneering has become the most prominent indicator of how farce has replaced politics in South Africa. No longer do individuals matter. All that matters are the statistics of victory. Like a soccer match, winning is everything. It matters little what the dimensions of the win are ... numbers are everything .... right? Wrong! The numbers can be used to tell many stories, but critically, if I was a shareholder of the ANC I would be worrying, while if I was a shareholder of the DA, I would be celebrating. The ANC has posted percentage losses in many municipalities while the DA has made significant percentage gains for what was thought of as an all-white party, and there is no hiding from this.
Moreover, the ANC itself has recognised that its own voter base did not come out in their full numbers. Yet, the ANC boasts (as did the head of the coalition of unions (COSATU), Zwelinzima Vavi this morning on television) that its voters would rather abstain rather than vote for an alternative. In itself, this is an empty boast ... it's real meaning is that we have not established a true democracy where the alternatives exist for frustrated left oriented voters to make their voices heard. It may be argued that COSATU itself is responsible for this lack of left oriented representation, as by remaining within the ANC as part of a coalition between the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the ANC leadership it has considerably distilled the might of South African workers, worsening their plight.
COSATU was complicit (even though it raised objection) in the decision to further privatise and de-regulate the South African economy in 1996, that has directly resulted in massive job losses amongst workers and rising unemployment way before the crisis of 2008 arrived upon the doorsteps of the planet. Yet, in a twist of logic comprehensible only to those directing the 'party line' of the ANC, Vavi hailed the election results stating that ruling parties all over the world have lost position since the financial collapse of 2008 and it is testament to the ANC's strengths that voters still gave the ANC a large majority win overall. Hogwash; the ANC is guaranteed the majority vote because the over-riding perception amongst loyal ANC voters is that no viable alternative exists.
It is precisely the unholy trinity between the ANC, COSATU and business (not the SACP who are in reality small players in the bigger scheme of ANC governance) that has created a power block that has helped establish a klepto-elitocracy that has hastened the migration towards even greater socio-economic inequality than existed during apartheid. COSATU no longer exclusively represents the interests of workers, but has to walk the ANC party line ... a line that may end up being a gangplank for COSATU in the future. South Africa has the highest Gini coefficient in the world and unemployment sits at 25%. Yet ostentatious wealth knows no bounds amongst the monied and each year more school leavers join the ranks of the unemployed poor. If the history of South African politics is anything to go by, this situation is unsustainable and it is only a matter of time before frustration at lack of service delivery and the exacerbated conditions of the poor return to the forefront of South African politics.
Moreover, it is the close alliance that COSATU enjoys with the ANC that deprives the poor voters who abstained from voting from having a viable choice. COSATU, the largest power broker within the ANC seems more concerned with its survival as an institution of power rather than a body that represents labour-oriented left wing politics. Instead, Vavi blames the sway towards the DA in the Western Cape on minorities whose fear of the 'swart gevaar' (or black danger) is informing their voting choices. In one fell swoop, those who were once thought of as an inseparable component of the struggle against apartheid are now declared minorities with racist fears – a slap in the face for those who, in the new South Africa, are now 'not black enough' and conversely, 'not white enough' to be trusted by either side – a mere appendage (in Verwoerds words) to be valued only if they vote your way.
The majority coloured and creolised Western Cape, instead of being upheld as the rainbow in the rainbow nation, are cast aside because yet again, they are not 'pure' enough to join the ranks of either side. The scores of textile workers who lost their jobs after the ANC lowered trade barriers with Asia, allowing cheap Asian imports to destroy the textile and clothing industry in the Western Cape did not get a mention from Vavi. I suspect he's forgotten they ever existed. It is Jacob Zuma that Vavi proclaimed he is willing to "kill for" in the previous election, and to whom his loyalty remains untarnished. Vavi challenged the previous ANC president, Thabo Mbeki, far more vociferously and regularly than he has challenged Jacob Zuma since he became president – yet the plight of workers has only worsened. So why the silence?
Since 1994, the number of union leaders who have joined the private sector, taking up large-paying positions is in itself a discredit to its role as a worker rights based party. Nowadays, scaling the ranks of political institutions such as COSATU or the ANC constitute one-way tickets to material success ... this is undeniable. The youth league is more reminiscent of the 'young republicans' in the US ... as they corner tenders and are invited onto boards, licking up that gravy. As a reminder to those who may have forgotten, Brett Kebble put together over 80 deals in two years that all involved youth league members. Conveniently, when gold prices soared this year all the noises they were making about nationalising the until now poorly performing gold sector, died down. 'Nationalisation' was just a bid for a quick payout. Indeed, this is what Jeremy Cronin of the SACP himself argued in response to the youth leagues call for nationalisation.
Absolute power of the ANC is an invitation to absolute corruption and absolute hegemony over business, the state, media and the workers. It drowns out all space for a truly democratic representation to emerge in South Africa. Indeed, the ANC would rather that disgruntled supporters abstain from the ballot than go out and exercise their hard won right and have viable alternatives that sit to the left of the ANC's current centrist position on socio-economy. What irony governs the logic of ruling party was unimaginable during apartheid, where the right to vote promised freedom from oppression and apathy. In the last election, another ANC representative boasted that the newspapers would not impact on the election because ANC supporters don't read ... this kind of logic works against everything that the struggle for liberation worked for. Indeed, it is disrespectful of the voting populace. We have a right to expect more from our leaders.
But rhetoric has a power all its own without having to make sense and that is what makes it appealing. When one has rhetoric on one's side, one does not need logic. All that's needed is a reliable hailer through which emotions and nostalgia can be roused, and like puppeteers they can pull on our heartstrings, promise us an enduring loyalty, and we, like a battered wife, welcome the abuser back into our homes, hug them and make peace with a plight that augers no good for our children. Rhetoric, and our inability to discern it from the genuine, consigns us and our children to life in a polarised society that will never become whole, and will never attain freedom. And so in the end, it is Hendrik Verwoerd whose legacy remains intractable in the South African psyche. As a friend of mine describes it, the "Verwoerdian software" remains within us, while only rhetoric remains outside of us. Both are empty of meaning, devoid of vision and are dangerous crutches upon which to limp forward. If this election can be named, it should be named the 'vuvuzela election', as there was a lot of loud noises that remained mostly unintelligible.
In reality, could either the DA or the ANC have remained the same for 17 long years? This is perhaps the most critical question to answer if one wants to unlock the obstacles to democratic representation in a future South Africa. Undoubtedly they have changed, and just as the entire country is still in transition, so are these parties. My bold prediction is that in the absence of a viable left-wing alternative to the ANC the DA will continue to grow in strength. It does not have the luxury of having the undying loyalty of the majority, and will hence be under more pressure than the ANC to provide a broad forum of representation whose politics can evolve with the multi-faceted needs of the populace.
By necessity, the DA will have to be much more adaptive in how it concieves of itself and what politics it represents. Their current political standing, heavily criticised for being pro-business and apathetic towards the poor, will have to change if they wish to grow, and it most certainly will change. It may even re-brand itself as a 'new labour' of sorts (like Tony Blairs business-savvy labour) and if frustrated voters reach a point where they do not feel threatened by giving an alternative party a chance to govern they may win enough votes to rule in coalition in some of the major regions of South Africa.
What remains is for COSATU to show its cards. Indeed, if it cannot take up the leadership role it has in earnest, it isn't difficult to concieve of a DA run South Africa within 20 years. South Africans are not lovers of behemoths, and have a distinct liking for underdogs. If the DA transforms radically over the next five years and becomes a true multi-racial, gender transformed and multi-class alternative that people feel represented within, it is going to be increasingly difficult to hurl "madame" insults at the party.
The DA's key challenge is to break through the barrier of perceptions that was built up during the Tony Leon 'fight back' era. Instead, the DA needs to become a 'fight with' party that wins the trust and support of the broader populace. Window-dressing, corporate style, isn't going to clinch it. The DA needs to have female and black (in the inclusive sense of 'black') leaders who have an aura of trustworthiness about them. They need to provide a forum where the youth can build a vision for the future of the country and the party, instead of feeling compelled to join the Malema crusade for lack of political alternatives.
Ironically, the ANC still tends to sell itself as an underdog, even after 17 years of ruling unchallenged. Yet this ruse is fast unravelling ... and five more years of worsening conditions for the poor and unemployed in the face of ostentatious wealth being enjoyed by a few, is hardly likely to improve the plight of the ANC. The ANC has a proud history but a shaky future. It has strayed considerably from its original status as a liberator and is fast becoming an immovable behemoth that dictates rather than listens, and is a hundred percent confident of its unshakeability and right to rule.
It is difficult to picture a liberated, diverse and democratic South Africa emerging from what is effectively a one-party state, and it is highly concievable that without humble introspection it will be gassed by its own hot air. One of the favourite phrases of ANC comrades is "our people". I have come to view this term with the disdain it deserves. The people of South Africa do not 'belong' to the ANC; the ANC belongs to them, and as long as the ANC perceives this relationship as configured the wrong way round it will be sowing the seeds of its own destruction. After all, the phrase "our people" is as offensive as the dictators of the Middle East who have no shame in referring to themselves as 'fathers' of the nation. It reveals a patriarchal attitude that relegates citizens to subjects and robs them of their true power as a society that owns its government and its state.
Ultimately, COSATU's reluctance to break the alliance and take up the mantle of leadership within the broader political sphere is what will feed the growth of the DA. Indeed, Vavi's nightmare (i.e. of a President Zille) may become a reality in large part due to the fact that COSATU remains within the ANC alliance, sheltering itself from direct leadership on issues that concern the left. Should COSATU find the courage to step outside the ANC's rank and file it will find itself more powerful than before, and with a range of options as a kingmaker in a coalition-oriented democracy.
Not only will the state of democracy be healthier, but coalition politics forces parties to both perform well, and compromise where necessary to achieve power. This, as opposed to a one party state, is far truer to the ideals and practicalities of ensuring democracy, and COSATU would then be in a position to hold both the ANC and the DA to account as it pleases as it will be courted by both. The independence that COSATU would enjoy to represent worker concerns from outside the ANC will free it up to be a proper left-wing party while the ANC will still remain a centrist convenor of different interests. Only, in this new world, the ANC will actually have to work for its votes and alliances rather than it being guaranteed, "until Christ comes" as they so arrogantly put it. In truth, there will be no true democracy in South Africa until government can change hands. It is not 1994 that we should celebrate, but the day when a new party is voted in and allowed to take the reigns of power. The alternative is not revolutionary bliss but unaccountable government.
COSATU is the most critical key to the future of democracy in South Africa. Without a true left wing party the DA will most likely take the most important metropoles in the next ten years, and the ANC will increasingly revert to courting rural voters in Kwazulu Natal, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. They may even conduct a few land invasions a la Zanu PF to maintain support, yet the future will remain bleak. And when all the cheering and ululations are over each election time, only the reality of one-party dictatorship will remain, to the detriment of all those who live in South Africa and on its borders. In order to move forward, one needs to relinquish the past, lest you stay trapped in a prison of ghosts and demons that no longer exist outside of your mind. The same is true of political parties, and the ANC is in danger of becoming trapped forever in a singular psychology and is too blind to lead anybody into the future and so constantly revisits the past.
To do what is right for the plight of the poor in a healthy democracy is the real struggle that is unfolding in South Africa. No longer does the Apartheid regime present any threat, and no longer does it exist ... yet the ANC conjures up its spectre to scare black voters into voting for it, sowing racial distrust at every turn and with every phrase and comment - a shamefully pathetic trick to turn on the voters, and one which cannot possibly be sustainable or inclusive. The real struggle is no longer about overcoming Apartheid but on building the future promised in the Freedom Charter.
Doing what is necessary to achieve this is staying true to the struggle that still remains and which people endure on a daily basis in this vastly unequal society. Propping up a one-party state has nothing to do with this struggle, but has everything to do with maintaining institutional power bases. Should COSATU have the courage to move out of the ANC and represent the left in South Africa it will be staying true to the real objectives of the struggle itself, and perhaps bring about the kind of democracy that South Africans will have the faith in to go out and vote for. In the absence of action from COSATU the vacuum in representation will be taken up by other parties, and this could quite possibly do the left a disservice in the long term, rendering it powerless either way.
It is the absence of COSATU as a full player in the political spectrum that is driving black voters towards the DA. With no viable alternatives to back, they are drawn towards the only party that is actively eating into the ANC vote, and through which they can give voice to their discontentment with ANC performance (note: not vision, but performance). The unholy trinity of labour, government and business that the ANC has become can only damage democracy in the long term and erode the very freedom that those who fought for liberation sacrificed their lives for.
By choosing to prop up what is essentially a one-party democracy, COSATU is creating the conditions for the DA to take up the vacuum that is clearly growing at the core of South African democracy. Should COSATU grow the courage to split from the ANC and court it on more equal terms, it will represent a significant new phase in South Africa's transition to democracy - one that can refresh politics in South Africa and possibly save it from a downward slide into apathetic one-party rule.
***This post was lightly edited on 7-2-2016. Paragraph spacing was changed; and the article was edited to reflect that COSATU did originally raise objections within the tripartite alliance to the decision to liberalise and de-regulate the South African economy in 1996..
Posted by ThoughtFactory at 17:49 No comments:
Labels: south africa
What Comes After Osama Bin Laden?
The cheers and celebrations that rang out in the US at the news of Osama Bin Laden's assassination by US Navy seals is understandible. A whole new generation of youngsters have lived with the face of Osama Bin Laden as the mortal enemy of american society, hidden away in the everlurking shadows, waiting to pounce upon the ever-suspicious populace the moment they allow themselves to drop their guards. I am sure that whenever mortal enemies of one side are eliminated, some level of glass-clinking and congratulation occurs on the other side. I am sure when Adolf Hitler died there were many celebrations across the world because it signalled that the war was nearing its end. Yet the uproarious celebration of death at the hands of other human beings by whatever means tends to be distasteful in some measure.
And moreover, in this case it is premature. It is not by any means the end to Osama Bin Laden, but is another chapter that will be taken up in the narratives that compose the mythology of Osama Bin Laden. His followers and admirers will view his death at the hands of American navy seal soldiers as an assassination, and as an unfair execution of justice. Moreover, the question of what comes after Osama Bin Laden is not straightforward by any means. Revenge killing tends to provoke an unending dance of death between enemies, and the cycles of conflict are only perpetuated through revenge. After all, it is not an act of peace, but an act of hatred. Where there is no resolution, the cycles of violence begatting violence don't find an end. Already, there are early indications that Osama Bin Laden was unarmed when killed so many believe that justice was not served with his killing - and the conspiracy mill has swung into action across the world.
I am no expert in Al Qaeda but it is clear that such a complex organisational structure holds many potentialities. Yet due to the distributed and diverse nature of Al Qaeda's many subsidiary regional and national bodies across the world, what Al Qaeda will become in the future and what modes of operation it may adopt is not clear. In addition, the Arab Spring, constituted of multiple revolutions and widespread civil revolts with the purpose of bringing about revolution of the state, will also present challenges to the vision espoused by Al Qaeda. That is, the restoration of the islamic caliphate and the global rule of islamic law may not be consistent with the gains that the revolutions of the Arab Spring may bring to the citizens in terms of civil liberties and human rights for groups and individuals. Al Qaeda may end up being squeezed from both sides, so to speak, and the need for new strategies and innovations will increase significantly, as they are forced to adapt to the new and perhaps quick-changing sociological terrain of the islamic world in the 21st Century.
How Al Qaeda reacts to this quick changing terrain may actually be aided by the departure of Osama Bin Laden in that it will have more freedom to reconfigure it's modes of operation and to find different ways to appeal to potential members with a bit more autonomy as a new era emerges post Osama Bin Laden. Even if his role in Al Qaeda was now mainly symbolic, his mere presence meant that Al Qaeda could not explore radically different positions from the values he set through his example. The mythology of Osama Bin Laden will remain and grow into the future along various paths and will spawn diverse narratives, yet Al Qaeda itself will have more freedom to reconfigure its modes of operation and attraction.
And what modes of operation and attraction might it be drawn to. It is difficult to say because the Arab Spring has not yet had sufficient time to spawn new norms that govern the reality of everyday life in the Middle East. It is still caught up in a period of transition. And my guess is that Al Qaeda will also undergoe a transition of its own in reaction to these changes. I am unsure exactly what the nature of the transition will be, but I picture decentralised developments in modes of operation and attraction that will then become increasingly shared and tested in different tactical, operational and strategic contexts, and then distilled into a set of principles that dictate what the modes of operation and attracting new members may be. A power transition that parallels these developments might also be in the making.
To hazard a guess at what might emerge, I fear that Al Qaeda will become increasingly radicalised within different regions, nationalities and socio-cultural contexts across the world, and that local leaders may gain more autonomy through the perception of a leadership vacuum emerging out of what has always been a tenuous central command structure. Al Qaeda was designed to have a loosely evolving, spontaneous, distributed structure composed of cell-groups within local, national or regional Al Qaeda aligned islamic radical groups. It is not to be thought of as just a terrorist group, it is also a vast intelligence network of disparate groups and elements - by design, it is a flexible structure that allows for change. If memory serves me correctly Osama Bin Laden himself called for action from muslims whether or not they were members of Al Qaeda. This built-in capacity for bottom up autonomy means that Al Qaeda, as a broad ideological integrator for these disparate groups and elements may begin to change with the ideological positions that emerge and that result in different modes of operation being put into play.
It is concievable that some leaders, with more power and popularity on their side, may make attempts to reconfigure the central command for greater autonomy or may actually seek to take the central command under the guise of 'saving the organisation', and introduce changes that they think are necessary for Al Qaeda to continue to grow its influence. If these groups are more radical then more dangerous and desperate modes of operation (and attraction) may emerge. If the on-the-ground reality is that islamic modernisation significantly changes the way in which muslims view themselves and each other and tolerance and diversity return to the broader social framework of islamic societies across the world, then Al Qaeda may find itself without significant candidates for its ranks.
Yet the flexible organisational structure of Al Qaeda can both work in its favour or against it. It may fragment, or it may adapt. Either way may bring increased or decreased danger. A more fragmented Al Qaeda may take actions in disconnected and disparate ways, with only local control over decision-making, while a more coordinated and integrated Al Qaeda may operate at ever greater skills, mobilising greater numbers of people and funding to commit large-scale acts of terror. The question over the threat of nuclear terrorism remains open. Both avenues offer up room for nuclear adventurism that may escalate the current global crisis of terror to new levels of urgency and devastation. The consequences for the global economy, sociology and order will be dire under these circumstances.
Ultimately, increased radicalism is the main threat to the future, not just within Al Qaeda, but outside of it too. Guantanomo Bay is one such example of radical and illegal means being employed to fight the war against terror. More aptly, it is a strategy to fight terror with terror, and in my view, ony radicalises both sides of the conflict to increased levels. Moral authority is important to maintain when facing a radical enemy. Radicalism cannot be defeated with more radicalism. It can only be defeated by moderation, tolerance and principled thought and action. If the US continues down the path of acting in violation of the Geneva convention on war, it only fuels and justifies radicalism on the other side. Illegal violations of sovereignty, the use of torture and deadly force, and slaking the thirst for revenge above seeking justice; all stand as examples of injustice that culminate to provide the fodder for radical arguments against the legitimacy of the US government and its activities in various parts of the world; namely, Iraq and Afghanistan. Moreover, US policy over the issue of Palestine, and occupations in Arab and/or Muslim countries in general, raise the ire of radicals, or potential radicals even further.
Al Qaeda may well be caught between the US and the Arab Spring, as the song goes, 'the devil and the deep blue sea', that is; between a towering imperial power with vast resources and limited morality and ethical highground, and the abyss of the constant changing waters of the Arab Spring which threatens to bring about an ocean of plurality within the everyday lives and governance of Arabs in Arab countries.
Al Qaeda will have to adapt, or shrink from the pressures exerted by both sides. It's only real weapon will be the ability to convince those within the changing abyss of the evil of its enemy. The more blatant US violations of human rights, sovereign rights and economic rights prove to be in the future, the more they contribute to the actualisation of potential radicals. It isn't wise to adopt a policy of engagement with the enemy that does not set moral standards in relation to the enemy. In other words, if you are as bad as your enemy then you deserve each other. It is only by offering some standard of superiority that is moral and ethical can a distinction between good and evil be made, even if that morality requires one to appear 'weak' in another sensibility. It's strength comes through the moral distinction that is brought about by acting differently in relation to ones enemy. Mercy, for example, is such a powerful act of distinction that history smiles kindly upon forgivers, and those who can turn the other cheek, so to speak, yet the US it seems, clearly adopts the position that mercy is an act of weakness. An act of mercy can change the course of history, while an act of revenge is as common as day and only contributes to it's own reproduction.
Labels: word factory
Capitalism's Revolutionary!
There are many different views on the Trump phenomenon. From classic twentieth century racist in denial, to bold harbinger of a new 'te...
Subscribe to Thought Factory
Get email notifications from Thought Factory
The Vuvuzela Election: Where Rhetoric Reigns & Lab...

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Is There a Connection Between the Release of the Lockerbie Suspect and Libyan Oil?
September 11, 2009 12:00 am Published by Christopher Vasey Leave your thoughts
The release of Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi, the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing, has created a storm of controversy over why he was let out and who ordered his release.
Meanwhile, the multinational BP has been searching for oil off the coast of Libya. The company believes it could create £15bn in new revenue in a 20,000-mile area in the west of the country. Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, took a series of high-profile trips to Libya in 2004 and 2007, to develop Britain's trading relationship with Libya, following the removal of United Nations sanctions. During the latter visit, BP signed a huge exploration deal with Libya's National Oil Corporation. Part of the negotiations included the moving of al-Megrahi via a prisoner transfer agreement under which prisoners could serve out sentences in their home countries. Jack Straw, the justice secretary, revealed this decision in a letter to his Scottish counterpart. He cited "wider negotiations" and the "overwhelming interests of the United Kingdom".
The letters from Straw – to his Scottish counterpart, Kenny MacAskill – date from March to December, 2007 and made headline news in Britain recently after copies were leaked by a Whitehall source. The timeframe and content of the letters indicate that Britain decided in 2007 to make the Lockerbie bomber eligible for a return to Libya, after talks stalled between Libya and BP over a huge oil exploration deal. Weeks later, both sides ratified the Libyan oil deal potentially worth nearly $25bn (£15bn).
Straw wrote: "I had previously accepted the importance of the al-Megrahi issue to Scotland and said I would try to get an exclusion for him on the face of the agreement. I have not been able to secure an explicit exclusion". The wider negotiations with the Libyans are reaching a critical stage and, in view of the overwhelming interests for the United Kingdom, I have agreed that in this instance the [prisoner transfer agreement] should be in the standard form and not mention any individual."
Al-Mehagri's name was repeatedly brought up by the Libyan officials and according the letters released, was a major stumbling block in the negotiations. Within six weeks of the government climbdown, Libya had ratified the BP deal. The prisoner transfer agreement was finalised in May this year, leading to Libya formally applying for al-Megrahi to be transferred to its custody. According to comments by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's son, which aired on the Libyan television station Al-Mutawasat, he lobbied repeatedly for the return of former intelligence agent Abdel Baset al-Megrahi during trade talks with Britain. "In fact, in all the trade, oil and gas deals which I have supervised al-Mehagri was there on the table".
"At all times we talked about the [prisoner transfer agreement]. It was obvious we were talking about him. We all knew that was what we were talking about. "People should not get angry because we were talking about commerce or oil. We signed an oil deal at the same time. The commerce and oil deals were all with the [prisoner transfer agreement]."
His account is confirmed by other sources. Sir Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador to Libya and a board member of the Libyan British Business Council, said: "Nobody doubted Libya wanted BP, and BP was confident its commitment would go through. But the timing of the final authority to spend real money was dependent on politics."
British business executives had made no secret of their intense lobbying for a prisoner transfer treaty proposed by Blair and Col Gadhafi and finally ratified by Britain and Libya in April. Before al-Megrahi's cancer diagnosis, that treaty was seen as the most likely avenue for his return to Libya. But his cancer, and a finding by medical specialists that he was not likely to live for more than three months, cleared the way for his release on compassionate grounds. Edward Davey, the Liberal Democrat foreign affairs spokesman, said: "This is the strongest evidence yet that the British government has been involved for a long time in talks over al-Megrahi in which commercial considerations have been central to their thinking."
With Britain running out of energy and Tripoli needing cash, British energy giants are scrambling to exploit vast unexplored natural resource fields in Libya. The country is believed to possess some 42bn barrels of proven oil reserves and a similar abundance of natural gas. British energy giants Royal Dutch Shell, BG and BP have signed preliminary deals with the Libyan government to help develop the national oil and gas sector. Britain's trade with Libya could soar following the release of the Lockerbie bomber, as the North African country embarks on a massive building programme. In the first five months of 2009, UK exports to Libya were already up by 48 per cent to £165.4m on the same period in 2008.
The implication that Britain's Labour government brokered al-Megrahi's freedom in return for oil profits has explosive potential in trans-Atlantic relations, as well as in British politics. The cosy relationship of the Government, big business and foreign nations with dubious human rights records, is once again at the heart of the matter. Is it possible for an independent, democratic foreign policy to exist, in an international environment based upon commercial enterprise and capitalist expansion?
This post was written by Christopher Vasey


Our service team is available 24/7/365. Call today or email us your service request: . Industrial Service or Medical Service.
As a full service chiller company, Glen Dimplex Thermal Solutions (GDTS) is in a different league than other chiller companies — offering support for the life of our chillers. The GDTS service department is designed to care for all your needs from start-up assistance, to preventative maintenance, to spare parts, to phone support. GDTS can do it all.
The GDTS approach to complete customer care is proactive, ensuring that every chiller provides optimal, efficient cooling performance today and in the future. You are covered during every step of chiller ownership. Service packages are available that include commissioning services and preventative maintenance visit(s) and extensions of our industry-standard 18-month warranty.
As the largest process cooling manufacturer, GDTS is an experienced partner and works with your maintenance staff to be sure they fully understand the care and best practices for the chiller. Proper maintenance ensures not only the life of the machines but the quality of your process output.
With next-day parts available for thousands of components, the warehouse is stocked with the parts you need for regular maintenance or service replacement. Additionally, spare parts kits are available which contain critical key components that you can proactively maintain onsite to avoid unnecessary downtime.
Through component sales, preventative site visits, stellar warranty support and 24-hr phone access, GDTS demonstrates as a true partner to bring you the best possible outcome.


HARBOR SPRINGS — A committee created by the Emmet County Planning, Zoning and Construction Resources Department is working to ensure the concerns and issues facing builders, contractors and tradesmen in the community are heard.
The Construction Resources Committee began meeting in mid-2011 with several goals in mind: Creating a customer service statement, better communication with those in the building trades industry, and improving consistency in code interpretation.
"We want builders and the public to know what we are doing as a committee and that we are a resource for them," said Martie VanBerlo, Emmet County building official.
VanBerlo joins 10 other area builders, tradesmen and community members on the committee, which currently meets monthly at the planning and zoning department offices, 3434 M-119, Suite E, Harbor Springs (in the John R. Watson Community Building).
"Any contractor, builder or homeowner can come to us with a question or concern regarding the service provided by the building department," said committee member Tom Fairbairn, of W.W. Fairbairn & Sons in Alanson.
VanBerlo said sometimes residents looking to have work done at their home or business may feel intimidated by construction laws and regulations.
To help ease the process for all involved, the Construction Resource Committee's "priorities list" includes: Creating a customer service statement; Improving customer service and communication; refining scheduling procedures; surveying at the close of each permit; developing a code of conduct for inspection staff; ensuring accountability of employees to customers and department; consistency in code interpretation; and evaluating the plan review process and timeliness.
Among the Construction Resources Committee members, all trades are represented, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing and building, for example.
To launch public awareness of the committee, the group sent out a customer service survey last summer, with 80 percent of respondents sharing a positive view of the planning, zoning and construction resources department.
The committee will meet quarterly. Meeting times and dates will be posted on the county website, www.emmetcounty.org/construction-resources-committee-537/. A survey form will be available on this site as well.
For more information, call (231) 439-8988.
Construction Resources Committee members are: Emmet County Commissioner Shawn Wonnacott; county staff members Marty Krupa and Martie VanBerlo; builders Melissa Adelaine-Supernault and (alternate) Scott Kennard; plumbing representatives Gregg Griffin and (alternate) Tim Rhine; electrical representatives Emil Buchbinder and (alternate) Dale Mazzoline; mechanical representatives Tom Fairbairn and (alternate) Tim Rhine. Their contact information is available on the county website.


text:
Looking to improve your knowledge of Linux security, but unsure where to start? LinuxSecurity Must-Read articles provide valuable info on critical topics that impact the security of your Linux system.
How Secure Is Linux?
4 - 7 min read 3873 10/25/2021
It is no secret that the OS you choose is a key determinant of your security online. After all, your OS is the most critical software running on your computer - it manages its memory and processes, as well as all of its software and hardware. The general consensus among experts is that Linux is a highly secure OS - arguably the most secure OS by design. This article will examine the key factors that contribute to the robust security of Linux, and evaluate the level of protection against vulnerabilities and attacks that Linux offers administrators and users.
When it comes to security, Linux users are at a decided advantage over their Windows- or Mac- using counterparts. Unlike proprietary OSes, Linux in many ways has security built into its core design. The increasingly popular open-source OS is high flexibility, configurable and diverse. It also implements a strict user privilege model and offers a selection of built-in kernel security defenses to safeguard against vulnerabilities and attacks. The transparency of Linux source code means that vulnerabilities in it - which are inevitable to some degree in any OS - are almost always short-lived. Let's take a closer look at each of these factors and how it contributes to the heralded security of Linux.
The Open-Source Security Advantage
Linux source code undergoes constant, thorough review by members of the vibrant, global open-source community and, as a result of this scrutiny, Linux security vulnerabilities are generally identified and eliminated very rapidly. In contrast, proprietary vendors like Microsoft and Apple employ a method known as "security by obscurity", where source code is hidden from outsiders in an attempt to conceal vulnerabilities from threat actors. However, this approach is generally ineffective in preventing modern exploits and, in reality, undermines the security of the "hidden" source code by preventing outsiders from identifying and reporting flaws before they are discovered by malicious actors. Let's face it - when it comes to discovering security bugs, a small team of proprietary developers is no match for the worldwide community of Linux user-developers who are deeply invested in their work both for their own benefit and for the benefit of the community.
A Superior User Privilege Model
Unlike Windows where "everyone is an admin", Linux greatly restricts root access through a strict user privilege model. On Linux, the superuser owns all the privileges, and ordinary users are only granted enough permissions to accomplish common tasks. Because Linux users have low automatic access rights and require additional permissions to open attachments, access files, or adjust kernel options, it is harder to spread malware and rootkits on a Linux system. Thus, these inherent restrictions serve as a key defense against attacks and system compromise.
Built-In Kernel Security Defenses
The Linux kernel boasts an array of built-in security defenses including firewalls that use packet filters in the kernel, the UEFI Secure Boot firmware verification mechanism, the Linux Kernel Lockdown configuration option and the SELinux or AppArmor Mandatory Access Control (MAC) security enhancement systems. By enabling these features and configuring them to provide the highest level of security in a practice known as Linux kernel self-protection, administrators can add an additional layer of security to their systems.
Security through Diversity
There is a high level of diversity possible within Linux environments as a result of the many Linux distributions (distros) available and the different system architectures and components they feature. This diversity not only helps satisfy users' individual requirements, it also helps protect against attacks by making it difficult for malicious actors to efficiently craft exploits that can be used against a wide range of Linux systems. In contrast, the homogeneous Windows "monoculture" makes Windows a relatively easy and efficient attack target.
In addition to the design diversity seen in Linux, certain secure Linux distros are differentiated in ways that specifically address advanced security and privacy concerns shared among pentesters, reverse engineers and security researchers.
Highly Flexible & Configurable
There are vastly more configuration and control options available to Linux administrators than to Windows users, many of which can be used to enhance security. For instance, Linux sysadmins have the ability to use SELinux or AppArmor to lock down their system with security policies offering granular access controls, providing a critical additional layer of security throughout a system. Admins can also use the Linux Kernel Lockdown configuration option to strengthen the divide between userland processes and kernel code, and can harden the sysctl.conf file - the main kernel parameter configuration point for a Linux system - to give their system a more secure foundation.
Linux: An Increasingly Popular Target among Cyber Criminals
Linux powers the majority of the world's high-value devices and supercomputers and the OS's user base is steadily growing- and cyber criminals have taken note of these trends. Malware authors and operators are increasingly targeting Linux systems in their malicious campaigns. The past few years have been plagued with emerging Linux malware strains - Cloud Snooper, EvilGnome, HiddenWasp, QNAPCrypt, GonnaCry, FBOT and Tycoon being among the most notorious. That being said, Linux is still a relatively small target, with 83% of malware targeting Windows systems in 2020. Furthermore, the recent increase in Linux malware attacks is not a reflection on the security of Linux. The majority of attacks on Linux systems can be attributed to misconfigurations and poor administration, highlighting a widespread failure among Linux sysadmins to prioritize security.
Luckily, as Linux malware continues to become increasingly prevalent and problematic, Linux features built-in protection against malware attacks through its strict user privilege model and design diversity, and there is a selection of excellent reverse engineering and malware scanning tools, toolkits and utilities including REMnux, Chkrootkit, Rkhunter, Lynis, and Linux Malware Detect (LMD) available to help admins detect and analyze malware on their systems.
The security of the OS you deploy is a key determinant of your security online, but is by no means a sure safeguard against malware, rootkits and other attacks. Effective security is dependent upon defense in depth, and other factors including the implementation of security best practices and smart online behavior play a central role in your digital security posture. That being said, choosing a secure OS is of utmost importance, as the OS is the most critical piece of software running on your computer, and Linux is an excellent choice as it has the potential to be highly secure - arguably more so than its proprietary counterparts - due to its open-source code, strict user privilege model, diversity and relatively small user base.
However, Linux is not a "silver bullet" when it comes to digital security - the OS must be properly and securely configured and sysadmins must practice secure, responsible administration in order to prevent attacks. Also, it is crucial to keep in mind that security is all about tradeoffs - both between security and usability and between security and user-friendliness. LinuxSecurity Founder Dave Wreski explains, "The most secure system is one that is turned off, covered in cement, and located at the bottom of the ocean - but this system is obviously not very usable. Admins should configure their systems to be as secure as is practical within their environment. In regards to convenience, Linux has a bit of a learning curve, but offers significant security advantages over Windows or MacOS. It's a tradeoff that's well worth it if you ask me."
We want to hear your thoughts! Connect with us on social media:
Anatomy of a Linux Ransomware Attack
Best Linux Backup Solutions to Prevent Data Loss in A Ransomware Attack
Is Linux A More Secure Option Than Windows For Businesses?
Top Tips for Securing Your Linux System


text:
ENJOYING ASPROMONTE
Themed itineraries
HOSPITALITY AND ACCOMODATION
Vivere l'Aspromonte
Comune di Varapodio
Formerly a military outpost between the strongholds of Oppido and Terranova, Varapodio is located on the Northern mountainside of Aspromonte, in a hilly area only a few kilometres away from the sea.
Originally, this town lay 3 kilometres lower than its present location, and the inhabited area was sited near the Marro river, perched on the main plateau of a hamlet which was called "Il Salvatore" (the Saviour). This name came from its proximity to the Church of the Saviour, which was thought to have been commissioned by Emma of Apulia, a Sicilian princess of Norman origin from the Hauteville family. During the Kingdom of Naples in 1807, Varapodio was promoted to the rank of University and included in the area of the so-called "Oppido administration".
The fountain in Saint Nicholas Square is the iconic symbol of Varapodio; it is also known as "Fountain of the Ace of Cups", owing to the resemblance it bears to the suit of cups of the Neapolitan playing cards. The churches of Saint Nicholas from Mira and Saint Stephen are also worth a visit.
POR Calabria FESR 2007-2013. Linea di intervento 5.1.1.1. - Progetti integrati di sviluppo locale (PISL).
Aspromonteonline di F.lli Priolo Via Risorgimento, 51 Gambarie di Santo Stefano in Aspromonte (RC) P.IVA 02256620804 | Credits


I'll happily get absorbed in any sport but one which I enjoy is snooker, as well as the related sports of pool and billiards.
When you are learning to play snooker, the first basic skill you need to learn is how to pot the balls. Starting with easy pots you learn to make fine cuts, long pots and combination shots like plants and doubles. Trying out trick shots quickly becomes addictive and a good way to show off your growing skills.
But when you watch the pros, you don't see them making difficult pots or trick shots. Why is this? They have trained for years and definitely have the skills. Simply put, it's because the secret of building a good score is in having good cue ball control. The pros' real skills lie in applying just the right amount of spin and force to make sure the cue ball that they strike ends up in just the right spot to make the next pot achievable. A well executed strategy makes building a break a series of straightforward shots, with the cue ball control setting up the right environment to ensure success.
Believe it or not, the process is very similar when it comes to writing a patent. When we are speaking with inventors, we normally focus on explaining the key requirements that an invention must have in order for a patent to be granted. These are the need to show novelty and "inventive step" – the invention must be frist of all new and then non-obvious. However, getting these requirements right is like making the pots in snooker. To ensure that the barriers of novelty and inventive step are overcome in the examination of a patent application, there are in fact some other important strategic factors going on in the background, which are key skills for a patent attorney to master.
That is why this week we attended a seminar run by the European Patent Academy (a program of the European Patent Office for professional representatives) to catch up on the latest developments in various European patent procedural matters. This is the kind of in-depth technical stuff that we don't often end up discussing with our clients – topics covered included clarity, added subject matter, how EPO examiners deal with telephone and oral conferences, how to accelerate a patent application at the EPO, and procedures and restrictions realting to amending a patent application.
We enjoyed (or at least managed to stay awake during!) in depth discussions of these topics with worked examples and interactive participation with our fellow professionals. We came out of it feeling refreshed in our knowledge; and while you may never have the need to discuss many of these things with us in much detail, these kind of strategic topics ensure that we will continue to reach positive patent grant outcomes for our clients.
Now to get back to my local snooker hall to work on my trick shots!