A daycare operator -- armed with grenades and a gun -- released more than 30 preschool children and teachers Wednesday after holding them hostage on a bus for more than eight hours.
his aim was to demand better housing and education for the 145 children at his centre in Manila's poor Tondo district.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6501695.stm
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/28/philippines.hostages/index.html

We've already had mention elsewhere today about 'child poverty' in the UK, and then there's the situation of the elderly, and many other situations that many people think should be rectified - but never seem to be. The actions of this Philipino guy might seem extreme, but if nobody was listening, what was he to do to make the authorities respond? A grandmother (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4261075.stm) is risking eviction and jail by continuing to medicate herself with cannabis, demanding that its use be made legal for pain relief. Men have been arrested performing stunts for 'access for fathers to their children' (http://www.fathers-4-justice.org/f4j/).

What inequalities would you like to see publicised, and how would you go about REALLY getting the attention of the media, and, ultimately, ensuring that your cause was dealt with to your satisfaction?

Are 'we' justified in breaking the law in order to bring things to the attention of the rest of the population, or should we toe the line and get on with our lives and leave things to the Government to decide what they will do (or not?)?

After just seeing my dad nearly die following a blunder by THE NUFFIELD HOSPITAL WOLVERHAMPTON we have been met by a wall of silence. Nobody from THE NUFFIELD HOSPITAL WOLVERHAMPTON has bothered to contact us since the event. How many times have we seen the old situation of all the medical arms ganging up and preventing malpractice cases getting to court to cover their own backs?
How far would I go? I'd like to nail the incompetent pillock to the doors of Parliament. in reality, I know we wont get sod all done unless my bank balance was a hundred times bigger than it currently is. :*

Don't know if this counts as publicising a cause, or just supporting it, but my hubby revealed his AC/DC boxers at a fundraiser for a friend with cancer this past weekend. The bidding was $20 against, $160 for the view. That went towards an almost $20k total :ok:

Although not Filipino, I live in the south of the country and have visited Tondo in Manila where this incident occurred.

It is very difficult to describe the abject poverty of the people in this area and the total lack of aspirations they can have. Until recently, many living there survived by scavenging through the rubbish on Manila’s major garbage disposal area known as ‘Smokey Mountain’. I can well understand this guy’s frustration and anger.

My wife and I assist at a centre in the city near where we live, that is run by a charity that helps and schools rescued street children. Some of the stories and cases make you want to weep with frustration at the sheer cruelty shown to these innocents.

The Philippines was recently declared the most corrupt country in SE Asia, finally beating Indonesia to the top spot! This corruption is endemic in all of the society and needs to be experienced before it can be understood. An example I know of is an orphanage where funds for feeding the kids are siphoned off so that they are fed on about 20% of the original money. Such corruption is the norm rather than the rule. Add to that the habit they have of imprisoning these kids in prisons with adults (with the consequences one would expect) and you get the general picture.

I have sympathy with this guy and his frustrations. He has got world wide publicity for his cause but will he achieve anything? One suspects promises will be made, the Government will form yet another ‘Task Force’ and nothing will change.

Incredibly sad.

Video of a Chinese property protest against commercial developers:- http://www.cnn.com/video/partners/clickability/index.html?url=/video/world/2007/03/29/vause.china.resident.last.stand.hktv

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6520317.stm
The home of a Chinese family who defied property developers in a high-profile campaign has finally been demolished.
The family of Wu Ping gave up defending their Chongqing house after reportedly reaching a deal with the authorities.
But did they win, or were they 'steamed-out'?
I wonder how many protesters actually achieve anything . . .

If I felt really really angry about a cause I'd get on an internet forum and moan about it on there to a bunch of annonymous people.. that'd make me feel yards better!!