England in shock after lawmaker's murder

Tearful residents laid flowers for their local MP Jo Cox on Thursday in a normally-sleepy corner of Yorkshire now bristling with security after the 41-year-old mother of two was gunned down.

As Britain struggled to comprehend a murder that has cast a shadow over next week's EU referendum, investigators in the northern English village of Birstall sealed off the home of the suspect -- named in the media as Thomas Mair -- and were seen carrying out a forensic search of his garden.

Residents of the unassuming settlement, nestled in the Yorkshire hills, spoke of a "surreal" atmosphere as the world's media and a crowd of onlookers gathered to watch Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn lay floral tributes.

"Today our nation is rightly shocked," said Cameron.

"She died doing her job... Her values, service, community, tolerance -- those are the values we need to redouble in our national life," he said.

A statue honouring local historical figure Joseph Priestley became the focal point for the mourning, with crying mothers carrying babies as they laid flowers.

Among the tributes was a handwritten message that read: "My heart breaks for your children. So many of your constituents are proud to have called you their MP. Our whole country is hurting right now."

Another read: "Jo, what a vile and tragic day."

- Champion of refugee rights -

Hichem Ben Abdallah, an eyewitness to the shooting, fought back tears as he told AFP he was still in shock at the killing -- the first murder of a serving British MP since 1990 when Ian Gow died in a car bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army.

"She stood for peace and transparency, fighting corruption, wanted justice for all. I think her flame will carry on," said Ben Abdallah, who campaigned in the last election alongside Cox.

"I hope we learn lessons from this," he added.

Cox, a former charity worker who was only elected to parliament last year, was best known for her campaigning in favour of refugee rights and for Britain staying in the European Union.

She grew up in the area and made an impassioned maiden speech in parliament about the ethnic diversity of her local community, which saw an influx of migrants from Ireland and the Indian subcontinent when it was a hub for the English textile industry.

"She absolutely worked across the diverse communities here," said Mark Umpleby, a priest in nearby Batley and a friend of the late politician.

As he was speaking, a stream of Christian and Muslim well-wishers filed into church to sign a book of condolences, ahead of a vigil planned for later on Friday.

"I spent two hours this morning walking around the market, shops and cafes chatting and there's just shock, a numbness," he told AFP.

"She had a real vibrancy. People talk about her being a Yorkshire lass and she certainly was," he added.

Sitting outside a local sports and social club, Stephen Lees said of the attack: "It's atrocious. It's not something you expect around here.

"It's not sunk in properly yet."

'You must be joking'

A mile across the village, home to around 16,000 residents, there was another police cordon.

It was here that chief suspect, 52-year-old "Tommy" Mair lived before being taken into police custody.

"I lived near him when I was a child," said Mary, 54.

"He was a lovely lad, Tom did everybody's gardens, old people who couldn't afford it.

"The lady who rang me to tell me there had been a shooting rang back and said 'oh I can't believe it, it's Tom', I said 'you must be joking'."

In London, mourners laid flowers on the roof of the house-boat where Cox lived with her husband and two young children, next to Tower Bridge.

Neighbour Anne Wainwright told mourners: "We have lost a dear, dear friend in the most tragic and outrageous circumstances."

"We pay tribute to our amazing, wonderful and spirited member of this community -- a beacon of hope who believed in love, friendship and values that we all so much need at this time.

"The community will continue to be inspired by her relentless energy and her commitment to all that is good."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

US-based Pinoy nurses angered by Cynthia Villar's statement

Over the weekend, social media was abuzz over a statement perceived to be an attack on Filipino nurses. The statement was made by a former lawmaker who is vying for a seat at the Philippine Senate.

In an electoral forum on Philippine TV, former Las Pinas City representative, now Philippine Senatorial candidate Cynthia Villar answered a question about why she sided with the owners of shut-down nursing schools and not with the nursing student.

"Actually hindi naman kailangan ng nurse ay matapos ng BSN or Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Kasi itong ating mga nurses, gusto lang nilang maging room nurse, sa America or other countries, parang mag-aalaga. Hindi naman sila kailangan maging ganoon kagaling," Villar said.

Filipino nurses took to social media to show their anger on the candidate's statement, including the Filipina nurse recently honored by President Obama during his State the Union address.

"Ang taas na ng pagtingin ng mundo sa atin, naitaas na natin eh, tapos binababa naman niya. Talagang na hurt talaga ang mga nurses, ang sabi ko nga everybody has their own mind, masasabi niya kahit anong gusto niyang sabihin pero tayo meron tayo may magagawa tayo, ang dapat nating gawin, yung mga ganung tao hindi natin nilalagay sa pwesto," said Menchu Sanchez, who was honored by Obama for saving critically ill babies in neo-natal ICU at the height of superstorm Sandy.

Other Filipino nurses in Jersey City said they came to America not to become what Villar calls a "room nurse" but to be professional nurses who can move up the ladder of success

"Yes, nagpupunas kami ng mga pwet ng mga pasyente, naglilinis kami ng mga sugat at lahat ng ganyan pero ang masasabi ko lang sana hindi siya magkasakit ng sobra sobra, dahil alam ko dadaan siya sa mga kamay ng nurses. Sana lang marealize niya na yung sinabi niya mali, kasi it takes so much to be a nurse, it was too degrading, it was too insulting," said Dez Choi, a Filipino nurse in New Jersey.

"Nowadays marami nang roles na ina-assume ang mga nurses especially Filipino nurses. I think we have broken through - na mainstream na tayo, like me personally I'm taking my MSN ngayon, my masters. I've been here almost 6 years so hindi totoo na puro lang kami bedside kasi merong nasa management na," said nurse Maridel Maulawin from Chicago.

Villar earlier has apologized to the Philippine Nurses Association for her remarks, saying she had no intention to belittle anyone--especially the nursing profession.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Gov. Jerry Brown signs California budget

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a new state budget late Wednesday night, ending California's annual haggling over state spending and leaving the future of public schools in voters' hands.



"This budget reflects tough choices that will help get California back on track,” Brown said in a statement.]

The governor plans to veto some individual items as he signs the budget bills, an administration spokesman said, but details are not expected until Thursday.

The budget finalized by the Legislature earlier on Wednesday includes $91.5 billion in general fund appropriations. Spending from special funds and bond funds brings the total size of the budget to $142.6 billion.

The budget, which goes into effect July 1, hinges on the expectation that voters will approve more than $8 billion in temporary tax increases at the ballot box in November. Without a higher sales tax and increased levies on the wealthy, the governor says, the state will cut billions from public schools.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said the budget includes tough spending cuts that will help convince Californians that the state can be trusted with more tax money.

“We are poised to take our case to voters in November,” he said.

Republicans have sharply criticized the budget, saying it relies on new taxes and gimmicks to gloss over the state’s problems.

“It’s the typical kind of budget we’ve had in the past that kicks the can down the road,” said Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar).

Brown's signature capped a long day at the Capitol, where Democrats pushed nearly two dozen budget-related bills through the Legislature. The bills are the result of weeks of negotiation with Brown, and they make wide-ranging policy changes to welfare, healthcare and college scholarships.

The budget may also be a prelude to other legal and legislative fights in the coming months. Lawmakers and local governments are at odds over how aggressively the state can move to scoop up property tax money that once funded redevelopment agencies, which are being dissolved this year. In addition, Republicans are threatening to withhold votes needed to extend a healthcare fee because Democrats are shifting poor children into a less generous insurance program.

article source: latimes.com

Aquino speech 'irresponsible and desperate'

MANILA, Philippines -- An opposition leader in the House of Representatives on Friday said President Benigno Aquino III's call to the public to take a more active role in the impeachment trial was "irresponsible" and "desperate."

"The administration, led by the President, is conditioning the minds of the people that the Chief Justice is already guilty. He is pressuring the senator-judges to vote against the Chief Justice by saying it is their obligation to do what the people want but is it truly what they want or what he wants?” Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros Magsaysay said.

Magsaysay made these remarks after President delivered a speech which said that before the EDSA revolution in 1986, ordinary people embarked on a civil disobedience campaign to show that the power rests on the public and not on the government of then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

The lawmaker said that reminding the people about civil disobedience was like telling them to "recreate history," which she said was "irresponsible" and "desperate." She said there are no short cuts to the trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona and that the process must be observed.

"The role of the senator-judges is to serve the interests of the people by making their judgment based on evidence, not to kowtow to pressure or submit to the demands of the administration," she said. "There are rules to follow and what he (President) wants is to railroad the process as he had with the signing of the impeachment complaint, depriving Corona of the chance to present his side of the story," she added.

Instead of meddling with the trial, Magsaysay said the President should just focus on the economy.

source: interaksyon.com