Smoking gun

After issuing restrictions to churchgoers attending mass in short skirts, plunging necklines, spaghetti strap blouses and tight-fitting jeans (both for men and women), Catholic priests are now calling for a nationwide ban on smoking within church premises. Bishops pushing for the ban said the proposal will cover areas inside and outside church premises, saying smoking is harmful not only to smokers but to other people as well.

Everyone knows President Noy is a known smoker, and it would seem that he will now have every reason not to go to church – which could widen the gap between the President and Catholic Church leaders who are already feeling disaffected over P-Noy’s support for the controversial Reproductive Health Bill. House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte had admitted much earlier that the President had pressed the House leadership to vote on the RH Bill, a priority measure of the Aquino government. Debates over the bill have been going on for almost a year with supporters urging for its passage when Congress reconvenes.

The Catholic Church leaders are probably thinking they have found a “smoking gun” against the President by calling for a nationwide smoking ban. Word is that the priests plan to tie with local governments (like Manila which will impose a total smoking ban within the Rizal Park grounds) and the MMDA and other anti-smoking proponents. It can be recalled that the Catholic Church had threatened to excommunicate the President over the distribution of condoms and other contraceptives – with P-Noy virtually challenging the bishops to “go ahead” with their threat when he reiterated his position, saying it is the duty of the state to educate couples on their responsibilities and to respect their decision with regard to managing their families as long as they conform with our laws.

Sources claim the CBCP (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines) reportedly has a list of 1,829 things that supposedly undermine the moral fiber of families – among them the eating of “chocolatey products” since chocolate, being a natural aphrodisiac, allegedly “encourages promiscuity which leads to abortion.” As a matter of fact, a CBCP official was even quoted as saying that the list clarifies the position of the Church as the “savior” of the Filipino race and that as God-appointed leaders, it is their duty to “tell the people how evil they are and how they can avoid the fires of hell” by doing what the priests tell them to do.

Domestic tax

No question the Italian economy is going from bad to worse, with officials now desperate to raise revenues for the cash-strapped government. The proof? A recent proposal to impose taxes on cats, dogs and other domestic “animals of affection.” Not surprisingly, the proposed tax measure raised a howl of protest from animal rights groups, opposition politicians and ordinary Italians who called it “idiotic,” “shameful” and other negative labels. The outrage came so fast (and furious) that the proposal was withdrawn less than a day after it became public, with nobody willing to admit responsibility for the controversial “domestic tax.”

The Italian national debt is now the third largest in the world at €1.9 trillion after the US and Japan. Moody’s had also downgraded 26 Italian banks and lending institutions saying the renewed recession has made them vulnerable given their “already elevated levels of problem loans and weakened profitability” – eliciting anger from the Italian Banking Association who accused Moody’s of being “irresponsible.”

Compounding the economic problem in Italy was a devastating 6.0 magnitude earthquake across the Emilia-Romagna region in the north which destroyed historic churches, castles, palaces and other buildings like factories and warehouses. A school bombing in the southern portion also sent shock waves even among the police who are still trying to find a motive. There are speculations, however, that the attack – noted for its “terror value” since it seems to have been directed against students – was a signal reflecting the growing frustration felt by Italians over their government’s inability to stem the crisis.

China car ‘crisis’

Unsold cars are crowding dealership lots in several areas in China particularly Guangzhou, with inventory exceeding over 45 days as of the end of April, news reports indicated. Describing the situation as “like a contagious disease that will spread,” an auto industry official said the rising number of deliveries reported by companies have not resulted in increased sales, making a lot of small-scale dealerships suffer losses after offering hefty discounts to encourage sales.

The news is certainly distressing considering that last year, car sales in China surged to over 100 million with China having become the biggest auto market. Sales, however, declined 1.3 percent (about 6.4 million units) from January to April this year, said to be the worst on record since 1998 when deliveries dropped by 1.6 percent. Analysts say the slump could be attributed to rising fuel prices as well as the rising costs in parking, with a record 400,000 yuan ($61,963) price for parking space last year in Xi’an, one of the oldest cities in China. The average parking cost in Xi’an is at 170,000 yuan – said to be 31 times higher than the average square-meter price for housing.

In any case, China is trying to stave off this domestic “crisis” by increasing sales to overseas markets and putting up more plants. Chery Automobile for instance is putting up an assembly plant in Vietnam – which has over 1.2 million cars on the road. Over 120,000 vehicle units are sold in Vietnam every year, with the market dominated by such brands as Daewoo, Toyota, Suzuki and Ford which already have their own assembly plants in the country. By 2015, the number is expected to increase to 200,000 units – and no doubt China is looking at a bigger share of the market.

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