Death to Death Penalty

In this Inquirer article, the Death Penalty law is dead. Did they really do this so that they have a "gift" to the new pope? Perhaps. There are certain groups complaining about how fast the it was abolished. [And yet, we also complain how slow most laws are enacted. It's always a lose-lose situation.] They may have a point.

But the thing with the Death Penalty law is, did it significantly reduce crime rates? Did it serve its main purpose, which is to deter heinous crimes? I think not. In some countries, it may did in the past but our situation here has been different. So we cannot expect that the implementation of such a law significantly affects the commission of heinous crimes. It's not even mainly about the high moral standards that are being taught and upheld by the Catholic Church.

And this comment by Dante Jimenez in the same article is so foolish.

Strike 4 for Indonesia

Another strong earthquake hits Indonesia according to this Yahoo! News. This time, the 6.2 magnitude quake hits central Indonesia. As of this writing, no immediate casualties and injuries have been reported yet maybe because it happened under sea southwest of Sulawesi. Perhaps later during the day. But nonetheless, it was felt by the locals near the epicenter.

I really don't know what to make of this. I'm pretty sure earthquakes happen almost all the time in various magnitudes around the Pacific ring of fire. However, I'm finding it mind-boggling, slightly bordering on ridiculous, that Indonesia seems to be a favorite target of pretty strong quakes. I'm not sure if I should be thankful that the ground doesn't shake under our foot, or if I should be extra cautious that the Philippines might be next on the list.

At any rate, I hope the damage that this recent event might not be as bad as the recent and not-so-recent ones, but if I were living there, my confidence that I would wake up with my home still standing up or that I would wake up alive and uncrushed is definitely damaged.

Technorati: sulawesi, central indonesia, earthquake