Thursday, September 27, 2012

Angry Maude Blasts Get Real Post

Guest Article
By Maude Garrison

My cousin is Joe America. We used to call him JoJo when we were young because he used to stutter and we enjoyed ridiculing him in the best Filipino tradition. Only we were Americans.

Well, myself, I am only half American. My father snuck up across the Rio Grande to impregnate my teen age mother somewhere south of Wickenburg, Arizona, on a blanket out amongst the rocks and cacti. "Some picnic" Mom used to say.

So I'm without a father, for that scoundrel scurried back to Mexico faster than a rattle snake on a chipmunk when he heard Mom was pregnant. I am also without a mother for Ma bit the bullet in Iraq01. Fortunately, she had already peddled me off to her sister, JoJo's Mom, when I was 11. So I learned to fend for myself. See, that's how come I relate to Filipinos so well. I was a hand-me-down kid, too.

Angry Maude
I went to therapy for a lot of years when I was in my thirties to try to get rid of the anger that seeped up from my bones and out my mouth now and then. I pretty much have it under control now, but some things just stick in my craw.

I live in the Philippines, too, not far from JoJo. It seems that I have taken to following him around the globe, but that's just because he is rich and I am poor, and so I squeeze off of him. This is in the best Filipino tradition, too, if I judge correctly based on how my neighbors live. Half of them have no jobs but seem happy enough, bumming here and bumming there. I'm happy enough, too, except now and then my girdle gets a little squeezed by the nitwits on these anti blog sites.

I don't know if you caught JoeAm's battle with the anti's on that blog site owned by Benny Kritz the other day. "The Weather On Neptune". What kind of name for a blog is that? It signifies space cadet to me, and I'd guess that what most of the visitors to that site are. I thought the article was written by me in one of my tormented moods, considering how emotional it was. Hysterical, some would say, like my sisters when they run riot during their special time of the month.

Benny was ripping on President Aquino for having gone with "Boom Boom" Trillanes as his back door man to China, trying to get those Chinese boats off that useless pile of rocks called Scarborough Shoals. Did Simon and Garfunkle write a song about that place? Funny name for Asian rocks. "Boom Boom" is the name JoJo says he is going to give Trillanes because he is a loose cannon, crashing about insulting people and undermining the best laid plans of mice and Secretary Del Rosario.

JoJo read Benny's blog as he is inclined to do for its normally fresh insights, but fired off an objection on this one, wholly civil in tone. We know how upstanding and polite JoeAm always is. Suddenly all of the Get Real Post followers jumped out of the Neptune woodwork onto Joe's back, screaming their normal generalized condemnation of the "yellows" in very unkind terms. Joe had to fight them off, about six against one. You ought to read that exchange. Joe laid waste to them all. Rambo with a dictionary, that's my cousin. Here's the link: "Shattered"

One thing you can be sure of is that those Get Real people travel in packs. They have to. For support of their flimsy arguments. They shuffle like gangs through the internet, chains rattling, tattoos flexing. They don't have what it takes to step out into the real world and argue like rational, independent real men and woman. Instead, they tromp the GRP intellectual line like cows heading to the barn in the evening, nose to tail with benigno in the front. Ganging up is their specialty. And sticking to the "Down with Aquino" line is their passion, in the face of fact and reason. They'll ride that line to the Get Real grave.

That's what poor BongV did, I'd guess. I visited his Anto-Pinoy site to have a look-see into the vibrant discussion that used to be there. It ain't there, folks. The longest thread I read had three comments. My toenails are longer than that.

I expect Get Real Post to go that route, too. I mean, how much credibility can you hold onto when you hammer the same line for three years, ever bitter that your man Gordon got beat? They're like some of those creatures I'd run into during my group therapy. Out of touch is a nice way to express it. Holding onto their kiddie blankets like it was Mama's teat. Tinny is the sound of their complaint. Or hollow. It is only loud because the pack of them howl together like a herd of rabid coyotes in heat. There is some strange umbilical cord running from brain to brain in that bunch of depth-deficient robots reinforcing each other with spit and venom. Maybe they are all from Neptune, now that I think about it. Aliens from a gassy planet.

Sigh.

I get sad, actually.

Here is a bunch of grown men and a woman who behave like teens. They need to prove their point so desperately they fail to observe that they behave exactly like the people they criticize. Insecure intimidators. Thuggish. An entire month's worth of their polite wouldn't spill over from a sake cup. They behave like Sotto. Exactly like Sotto. Puffed up with self-importance. No personal ethic. Just win win, manipulate and make excuses. And fer chrissakes, never own up to mistakes.

Have you ever noticed that benigno and Senator Sotto have identical core values?

Face it , any blog site that would ban a crisp thinker like Cousin JoeAm has an onion skin. What's the rationale? Joe doesn't swear much. He only gets personal in response to others who get personal. Can benigno be AFRAID of his reasonableness? His way of looking at things objectively? Afraid of the clout he brings to bear on issues with his sharp wordstyle? 

I figure these are courage-deficient girlie men, though I must offer apology to my liberated sisters for borrowing the insult. Arnie Schwarzenegger calls them like he sees them and I merely Sottoized his fine characterization of certain people of certain quality. Or lack thereof.

Benny Kritz of Neptune concludes his article as follows:

  • ". . .when a country cannot be regarded as a peer by other nations, it ceases to be a sovereign nation in fact if not in name – a hanger-on in the world community, treated with kind indulgence, perhaps, when it’s to others’ benefit to do so, but taken no more seriously in running the global household than the family dog."

Let me untangle this for you, for it is as knotty as the blanket sewed in a quilting bee by nine elderly ladies under the influence of a couple of gallons of Kickapoo Joy Juice.

  1. The Philippines has been embarrassed in the international community because Trillanes was outted as President Aquino's back door man.

  1. Therefore, the Philippines is a "lesser nation", not a peer, in the eyes of China, the US, and the rest of Asia.

  1. Therefore, the Philippines is no longer a sovereign state, just a hanger-on, not to be taken seriously.

Hysterical. Not in the funny sense of the word.

What did the revealing of Wikileaks secrets do to the sovereignty of the United States, I wonder? Carve America up like the remains of a fiesta pig on the second day, leaving the nation without any gonads, a jolly, ineffectual eunuch hanging on in desperation to the real nations of the world? You know, like that real nation China, for example? Or maybe those real nations North Korea and Cuba and Iran and Venezuela. These are Benny's right-behaving nations, I suppose, which gives you some idea of the legitimacy of his characterization of the Philippines.

These hollow, callow Get Real guys. Boy they prove their dedication to the Philippines every day in every way, don't they? Maybe they are on China's payroll, eh? They seem ideologically aligned, in attack mode.

I'm proud of JoJo. He is able to remain apart from these disingenuous men and woman. He sees the hollow in the  callow.  And he speaks to the heart of things.

Joe's been my hero since Mom dumped me on Auntie's doorstep on a cold Colorado night back when. Joe was always smiling then, and he smiles a lot today. The Get Real people probably can't relate. They only snicker if they have someone at the butt of one of their bitter jokes.

But enough of this. I'm a gonna go out and get real stinkin' drunk. Ease off a little steam. Blow some gas if you catch my drift.

My therapist said that's not really the best way to deal with anger, but she concedes it is better than ripping someone's eyeballs out with a fork.

67 comments:

  1. What I know is that one Joe America with an Angry Maude is enough to counter the BS that Get Real puts out.

    Get Real will forever be a fringe group, since it never points to any direction for all the problems it identifies and discusses.

    It's a self-loathing group with pathetic backgrounds, no different from pro-Marcos or pro-Hitler youth. LOL

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Yes, their demand that others toe their line or risk personal condemnation is old school. Their penchant for tearing down is legend. They are proud of it. It is easy for them to do.

      Delete
    2. Scram, JoJo, I got it covered. See you at the fiesta tomorrow.

      andrew, those guys and that gal give me the creeps, the heebie jeebies. I read their stuff and feel unclean. It is so manipulative and insincere. I'm amazed that intelligent people fall for it.

      Delete
  2. Read the thread. Those guys are only good at finger-pointing.

    DocB

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    1. Yes, Doctor, its rather like a colleague of yours who, upon seeing a patient explains, "you have a rash and it sure is ugly!" Then charges them P250 and shows them the door.

      Delete
    2. That one is called "tincture of time". Should be free.

      DocB

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    3. Are you a doctor, a poet or a comedian? Inquiring broads want to know. They also want to know your marital status.

      Delete
    4. Practicing MD, neither poet nor comedian. Wish I were profound and nutty like my idol Woody Allen, the lecher. Happily married. I hope.

      DocB

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    5. Spiro Agnew and Woody Allen, displaying the wide range of human character. Happy is good. Bye for now.

      Delete
  3. Maude,

    I’ll drink to that – although I’d rather add alka seltzer than scotch to my water.

    I’ve gone through “Shattered” and my impression is that here is a group of judgmental people without a proper sense of balance. There is no doubt that the intelligence of the group is high: the hypotheses are clear; the arguments expressed pithily; the language - well the language is full of extreme adjectival and adverbial phrases like “utterly shattered”, “arrogant incompetence”, “serious dolt”, “immature self-aggrandizement” and “nefarious intention”. That is just in the first two paragraphs.

    What seems to be missing is - perspective. Compare the “Shattered” piece to JoeAm’s “President Aquino: Ups and Downs”. In the latter you see words like “opportunity”, “superb”, “good will”, “courage” and “determination”. That’s just in the first paragraph. The contrast cannot be more stark and obvious.

    I cannot surmise on the motives behind this “putting down”, “talking down” and “tearing down”. I have not read enough of the “Get Real” network to learn who or what they are promoting... I’ve just scanned the “Get Real Post” site and it is awash with negativity. There is a value to negativity in that it crystallizes the essential. But negativity for its own sake is plain nihilism, which the dictionary in part defines as “a sense that everything is unreal.” Wouldn’t that be a total contradiction of their name?

    I am reminded of religious fundamentalists who live in a two-dimensional world. There’s “us’ and there’s “them”. I cannot comprehend such blindness. From where I sit, the wonder of creation is so overwhelming that I can forget - for long stretches of time - the pettiness of mankind.

    And, yes, a drink adds to that sense of wonder. Please pour me another – and skip the alka this time.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I just love a man who can use "nihilism" in a regular sentence. I also appreciate that you defined it so we simple Janes who only have a high school degree can get the point.

      Yes, I've read Joe's blog about that "us" and "them" quality that is ripe in the Philippines. He calls them "100 percenters". You have to march precisely according to the drumbeat of their brain or you are considered deficient. No flexibility, no recognition that every person carries around their own ignorance.

      Scotch, no rocks, hold the alka. No girlie drinks for this Jane.

      Delete
  4. After reading Edgar's description of that blog, I can only add Safire's "nattering nabobs of negativism".

    DocB

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    1. Doctor, Safire made Sprio Agnew the man, the one and only,my idol for the eloquence of his zingers. Well, until he got nailed for bribery. Agnew (Safire) even wrote abut the GRP crowd: "an effete corps of impudent snobs who characterize themselves as intellectuals."

      Delete
  5. You know what, we probably wouldn't bother you so much if any of you were actually right about your Bobo the Simpleminded object of veneration in Malacanang. I'm kind of curious what sort of shaitan's bargain Joe made that turned him from an insightful and usually thought-provoking commentator to a caucasian version of Conrado de Quiros. Your barangay captain a big Aquino guy, and you need to keep peace in your neighborhood? Trying to score a columnist gig with the yellow press? Or just not getting over that despite all you've been told about Aquino representing the majority of national sentiment, those of us who see President Cupcake for what he is continue to strike a chord with a lot bigger audience?

    Whatever, don't answer that. That's your business. The reality remains that you feel the national OIC needs defending, and all that says is his results are ineffective at shutting up the naysayers.

    I just wish you could defend him on even terms, the same way we dissent. Discuss what he has done or not done, or, if you must limit yourself to trying to convince everyone of the value of warm fuzzy feelings, then at least try to quantify those into actual progress. I've got real-time clients that would like the answer to that one.

    Remember, small minds discuss people. I don't know what the saying would become if you take down a couple levels to define people who have other people discuss people who discuss issues on their behalf, but it's probably not something complimentary.

    Oh, and by the way Maude, despite striking me as a hormone-addled dipshit at the beginning of your rant, your three points you gleaned from my article are exactly the points I was trying to make, so thanks I guess for reiterating them for everyone in such a clear, Cliff Notes fashion. Y'all can deal with those assertions, I'd prefer you do so, however, by actually proving me wrong (which I doubt you can) rather than just saying I'm bad-tempered (most everyone knows that already) and calling it a day. That doesn't help anyone.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Joe, why did you leave that empty chair here? Now someone's talking to it. LOL

      Delete
    2. Well, Dearie, thanks for stopping by to offer your view. Joe always said you dealt straight, even if your knickers got in a bunch about President' Aquino's elevation from non-entity to the leadership of all Pinoyland. I'm not a detail gal myself, and couldn't tell a Robredo from a Sotto unless I read someone else's report. Trust me, that report would not be on GRP because trust is important to me and I don't trust people who grind an axe for 3 years because they can't get the damn thing sharp enough to get the rest of the nation to fall in line behind them.

      So I note the lady in charge of taxes is talking about a one-stop application for businesses to cut through all the red tape, available in 2013. And read that bidding procedures have been redone to prevent the foxes from making off with the hens and the henhouse. And tourism is up. And Robredo had DILG cooking, and respected. And call centers are tops in the world. And high rises are going up like mushrooms. But that all means nothing to you because you can always demand more, and always point to the shortfall between the Philippines under Noynoy and the Philippines of your imagination.

      So grouse away if that is your main mien.

      Joe told me about his conversion from when he used to idolize benigno to now, after he studied Philippine society for three years and figured out that benigno is just another dysfunctional old school Filipino. Getting thrown out of GRP on his ass might have done something to crystallize the findings of his study.

      Amd if small minds discuss people, it is odd that the GRP crowd obsesses so over Aquino. It is almost perverted, this obsession with the man and his yellow shirts.



      Delete
    3. I bet the Neptune guy would say that whatever you've read aren't true because they were written by the Yellow media.

      But wait, the international media is singing loud praises for PH and Aquino, too! In fact, their hallelujahs are outdoing the Inquirer's.

      Jesus, does this mean that the Yellow cult is going global!?

      Delete
    4. Ben Fritz the hormone-addled dipshit... I like it.

      -patrioticflip

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    5. J, ha, yes, the Yellow cult has gone global, but usually with a few caveats, like poverty is a problem and the economy is fragile. But you bring up a good point. The antis can always argue a good case because it is always easier to prove a negative than a positive. Or is that chemistry instead of logic, I forget? I like the way Joe puts it, if you want to find dirt, you will. And if you want to find good things, you will. Anyone who can't see the good things that have happened since Aquino took office are in very deep denial.

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    6. patriotic flip, thank you for defending a lady's honor. That reminds me of a dirty joke, but I won't defile JoJo's fine blogging site with it.

      Delete
    7. "small minds discuss people"

      Aren't you just categorizing yourselves (GRP Crowd) as small minds?
      It's always Aquino this, Aquino that, Pinoys this, Pinoys that with GRP articles.

      Adding the word mentality to Aquino and Pinoy(s) does not help since we all know you're still talking about the people with those mentalities

      Delete
    8. "Remember, small minds discuss people." -- BenK

      then he proceeds to talk about aquino... so by his logic he is..._________?

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    9. @ Mr. Kritz: Small minds discuss people? Speak for yourself and your friends benign0, ilda and bongV. I have better things to do with my time than whine about how Aquino should have won instead of Gordon.

      Stay classy, Mr. Kritz. Put your foot where your mouth is.

      P.S. You know what's more pathetic about you and your friends? The four of you whine day in and day out in your blogs just to make people say how intelligent you are (that's why benign0 called your group the "intellectual elites").

      Grow up, Mr. Kritz. If you have to keep on telling people how intelligent you are, then you probably aren't.

      Delete
    10. @GabbyD: That's exactly what I had in mind. Just goes to show you - nahuhuli ang isda sa bibig (the fish gets caught through the mouth).

      Delete
  6. @ben kritz

    You are asking, what has he done or not done?

    Compared to whom? Any credible scientific research dissertation or discussion is rated based on double blind study or comparison. Lacking the basic ingredient means your piece is plain crap, shitbag and vacuum pack farts.

    Your contention" the Philippines is a lesser nation compared to its peers".
    Where have you been? Dim witted halfbrain shell eaten by maggots. Philippines has been a "lesser nation" since that frozen fake hero from Paoay destroyed the country. Yellow mom was clipped by dirty soldiers. Nothing happened after his chief of staff took over, made worst by that bumbling movie actor, buried more in deep "caca" by that midget klepto.

    Under yellow stripe, it is still the same "lesser nation" but is now kicking and alive trying to rise above those unworthy rocks in water midst. But hey, finally its stinging back a giant spider even though it's a bumbling green hornet.

    Truth hurts, factual. What matters,it's happening!
    Dont deny, you said it
    He he he

    Johnny Lin

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Ohhh, Johnny, I feel faint here. A serious hot flash. I love a man who do a better job of anger than I can. "Dim witted halfbrain shell eaten by maggots." My God, it took me 10 minutes to climb up from the floor on that one. I'm still flowing tears . . .

      Delete
    2. @maude
      I'm not angry! Not worth with my BP.

      "As I see it", so they say. My comments based on written facts read on this blog and true events before everyone's eyes and ears.

      he he he
      Johnny Lin

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    3. @ maude
      Ben must be "gifted" with his writing prowess although thoughtless ideas.


      Do you know what they call a half brain man?

      Gifted or special child!

      Delete
    4. Well, anger or not, I woke up this morning still chuckling over your lovely linguistics. You have full brained gifts.

      Delete
  7. OMG, I am shattered! The mother country is no longer seen as a peer by our kindly neighbor China. And here I was thinking all these posturing at Panatag was the Chinese way of showing us some respect. What was I thinking?

    And apparently so, the rest of Asia feels the same way now. I just had to make a quick check of Australian media. After all, didn't the esteemed Senator Sotto just recently proclaim that my adoptive country is now part of Asia? (There's one proud moment right there, by the way).

    But I guess the Senator has been proven wrong, Australia really must not be a part of Asia as I couldn't find anything at all that suggests the Philippines is now seen as a "lesser" nation in this part of the world. All I could find on the China conflict was an Op-Ed piece in "The Australian" titled "Beijing Worrying Many Neighbours "(9/27). That title speaks for itself, I suppose. To be sure, it doesn't sound as a put down on the Philippines, does it?

    And so I only had the US media left, and it didn't take long, my search for the cringeworthy piece. Huffington Post sure had a story on the Philippines today, but for heaven's sake! it had nothing to do at all with presidential foibles or bungled attempts at foreign affairs. Twas instead all about this Monsignor from Cebu who has implicated himself in ivory smuggling. I hope his ivory collection is at least shatterproof.








    ReplyDelete
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    1. The following is an interesting read:

      http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/11/opinion/the-rise-of-the-middle-powers.html

      An associate professor of political science at Portland State University points to Indonesia as a rising middle power.

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    2. What's your point, handsome? I read the article and it gives Indonesia credit for not getting into a hard-line position against China like Viet Nam and the Philippines. Of course, no Chinese boats are sitting on Indonesian islands poaching fish, coral and sea turtles. That tends to shade one's attitude regarding China. I've read several articles this past week that tout Indonesia and the Philippines as the rising economic stars in Asia. If you have a point, Sonny, please make it. I'm no mind reader.

      Delete
    3. Miss Cha, thank you for that little bit of informative and humorous research. We shall henceforth refer to Benny K. as "Turkey Lurkey" for running about screaming that "the sky is falling, the sky is falling".

      By the way, JoJo is happily married. You stay out of his way, you hear? He keeps talking you up, something about brains and spice, and it is troubling me. That's just betwixt you and me GF.

      Delete
  8. I think President Yudhoyono started out like Pnoy by being serious on graft and waste in government. But he's had a headstart compared to Pnoy. If Pnoy's so bad, why don't Ben Kritz leave and go to Indonesia and Yudhoyono? Or he likes it much better in Neptune where his principal is not burned by government fixers.

    DocB

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    1. Yes, well facts like this have no bearing on things, Doc. When the GRP loyalists like Benny K. argue a point, they start from the premise, "I must tarnish Aquino", so all facts are twisted to conform. Relevant objective interpretation is set aside in favor of their slanted version. That's why the GRP blog has lost a lot of its intelligent readership. You can't trust these guys and that one inane broad over there to call it straight.

      Delete
  9. Maude,

    I don't read Ben Kritz but because of your post, I did. And I felt like I had listened all night to the neighbor's dog howling at the moon.

    Here's something Kritz does not know. You have to validate your assumptions with facts, you cannot disguise assumptions as fact, and leaps of logic are only possible if there is a here to begin with.

    For example:

    "The Chinese, whatever else they may be, are not stupid or ill-informed about their actual or potential friends and enemies; they undoubtedly have a very efficient process for gathering information about the important issues and personalities in the Philippines, and know exactly who Sonny F. Trillanes is, what influence he has (or does not have), and what they would stand to gain or lose by dealing with him."

    So I wondered where that came from. Here is where it came from:

    "This is, after all, the civilization that gave the world The Art of War."

    Ah so, Chinaman know because some chinaman wrote war book for emperor many centuries ago.

    2. "Everything about Trillanes offends some basic characteristic of the Chinese perspective: His penchant for creating instability, the short half-life of his loyalties within the Philippine political framework, his very junior position within the political power structure, and his mayabang personality."

    Well first of all Enrile said Trillanes was recruited by Chinese intelligence agents. I wonder what page in Art of War that came from.

    Secondly his "penchant for creating instability". If by instability you mean starting a mutiny against military leadership he denounced as utterly corrupt then yes. And if his second attempt at creating instability was the Peninsula hold-out which happened at the heat of the ZTE NBN scandal and because he felt victim of injustce because the state charged him even after it had promised him amnesty then yes he has a penchant for creating instability. Do some reading on the testimony of negotiators during the Oakwood Mutiny to appreciate why Trillanes' believed he was double-crossed.

    Third, "the short half-life of his political loyalties within the political framework." Let's see. He ran for senator in 2007 under the United Opposition. In 2010 he endorsed Villar who was Nationalista Party candidate. In the Senate he is with the Nationalista Party. And now in his reelection bid he is running as a Nationalista party candidate in the NP-LP-NPC coalition slate. So how many times did he change political parties so far? Now compare his record to Dick Gordon. How many political parties has the Dick that Kritz adores been in since he started out in politics?

    Fourth yes Trillanes is junior but not any less junior than any of the other first termers in the Senate.

    Finally, his mayabang personality well that's not a judgment one can make objectively.

    Anyhoo, what is exactly is that "some basic characteristic of the Chinese perspective" that Kritz is referring to?




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    1. Maude,

      (Continuing from above because I reached Joe's character limit)

      3. "the diplomatically-sensitive, risk-averse Chinese government" Tell that to the South Koreans, the Japanese, the Vietnamese, and the Taiwanese with whom they are having terrotorial feuds as well. And tell that to ASEAN countries who were offended by Chinese meddling through Cambodia in the last Asean meeting.

      4. "Using a “backchannel negotiator” of any sort undermines the previously-expressed diplomatic position – a position expressed quite stridently and often, actually – that the claims and activities of concerned parties in the South China Sea should be settled according to international conventions."

      First, the previously expressed diplomatic position was the multilateral approach under the regime of international treaty organizations. China undermined that by using Cambodia to prevent that position from being actually expressed in a joint Asean communiques. So what did Trillanes or Aquino undermine?

      As to back channeling, Kritz reveals he is ignorant of an age-old diplomatic practice. A quick google search would have given him the most simplistic definition of what back channeling is and how useful it is as a diplomatic tool.

      Answers.com: "Backdoor diplomacy is basically the practice of nations to conduct politics out of the view of the public. Basically when there may be a conflict and neither nation is willing to admit its own fault, the nations may use backdoor diplomacy to avoid admitting anything to the public. An example of this was during the Cuban Missile Crisis, backdoor diplomacy was practiced between the USSR and the United States. Neither nation would publically admit to being inferior to the other nation yet both nations knew any act of aggression could result in nuclear war. To save this, they entered backdoor diplomatic negotiations in order to save their nation."

      Comprende, Kritz?

      The thing is Trillanes was supposed to have met with the number 4 person in the Chinese foreign ministry. If he conveyed the president's message and carried back the Chinese official's message then what's wrong with that? That's precisely what back-channeling is all about.

      As to Pangilinan packing up. I didn't get that far. How long can one stand listening to a neighbor's dog howling at the moon anyway?

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    2. Mr. Buencamino, well, you certainly brush my feathers. If words were pesos, we'd both be rich, eh? Thank you for pointing out the ridiculous arguments used by this Benny K. character. It is truly incredible that he is so emotionally blinded by bias as to declare the Philippines as lacking sovereignty because of the Trillanes back door appointment. Talk about not having a grip, both on perspective and comprehension of the ordinary routes of international dialogue.

      Delete
  10. I'd love to join you over there, but benk limits and screens my comments.

    i had lots to say over his gdp analysis, but none of it made to print.

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    1. Well, GabbyD, these are not very courageous people that you and Joe have to deal with. They get their jollies by pretending to be big men, excluding people who don't say things the way they want them said. They are pushing their agenda any way they can and people who get in the way have to be pushed aside. It is the ampatuan approach, on a small and petty scale. But they are entitled to have an agenda, and they are entitled to do whatever they want with their blog sites. In the end, Joe's blog will thrive because he is genuine in dealing with ideas as ideas, and GRP will shrivel because people will not want to be used as a part of their manipulative game.

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  11. I suppose this rant of yours should not come as a surprise to me. After you failed attempt in turning the thread (Shattered) in your favor, which was abysmal at best, I just knew you would be running back "home" like a crying child who just got smacked. Joe (Maude or whatever name you want to use), I can see very clearly what others have tried to tell me about you. The fact is, they are right. You may think of yourself as "knowledgeable" in international affairs but, I can assure you; you are NOT. Some of us who are (or were) legitimate employees, agents and/or contractors deeply involved with foreign policy (US or otherwise) can easily see that you are nowhere near what you claim to be. Much like your so-called US Military Service record, this too is a complete farce.

    I do not begrudge you for your opinions; everybody has a right to express themselves and I, as a LEGITIMATE Veteran, have and will always defend that right. However, this rant of yours goes far beyond acceptable adult behavior. That being said; it would appear you have found a niche target audience to inflate your ego (sounds like a certain Philippine President I know) so have fun at the "Kiddie Table". Just don't interrupt us adults when we are talking or we'll send you to your room with no dinner.

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    1. Jet, I think your perspective is lagging.

      "However, this rant of yours goes far beyond acceptable adult behavior."

      So the GRP collective can whip out its adult language, "retard, BS Aquino, butt-hurt, asshole", all terms defended by benigno as contributing to vibrant discussion. But you have the whiny gall to critique my pointed piece? Dearie, I fear you are of the ilk that can dish it but not take it.

      And I know what Joe did in Viet Nam. You don't. What branch of service were you in, and who did you fight?

      As for international expertise, if that is what BenK offered up in that hysterical piece of his, I can only shake my head, and die laughing.

      Kisses.

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    2. "Just don't interrupt us adults when we are talking or we'll send you to your room with no dinner."

      Oooh, I'm scared. Oooh, I'm scared, Oooh, I'm scared.

      Is this what you consider acceptable adult behavior (aside from comments like "idiot," "asshole," "retard" and "BS Aquino")?

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    3. 1)IDIOT: An utterly foolish or senseless person.
      2)REATRD: To delay academic progress by failure to promote.
      3)B.S. AQUINO: Benigno Simeon Aquino.

      Item ONE is a word (singular or plural)which, I find, best describes the administration from top to bottom and (in general) those who choose to accept said behavior from the Executive Branch.

      Item TWO, though used in its "slang" form, is specifically aimed at the members of the Executive Branch.

      Item THREE is the actual name of your President, in case you did not know that. However, I rarely (if ever) use that name. Normally, I refer to him as "Pnoy", "P-Nut" and (sometimes) "The Anointed One".

      You may want to read my comments on Shattered) more carefully. I think you have mistaken me with someone else.

      I have NEVER used the term "asshole" in any of my comments relating to this subject.

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    4. Maude (Joe or whoever), regarding your question "What branch of service were you in, and who did you fight?"

      US Navy
      Most notable Deployments to Combat Areas;
      USMNF Lebanon: it was pretty much "us" against "everybody" except the Israelis and Christians.
      Desert Storm Kuwait/Iraq: Self explanatory.
      Iraqi Freedom Iraq: Duh...
      Less notable were deployments to Central America (Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

      In other words; I've been there, done that, got the T-shirt and the DD-214.

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    5. Jet, deep military record. Thank you for your service on behalf of me and the other 300 million Americans. No joke, no jokes. Mine was short and surreal, 366 days for 79th Field Artillery stationed in Saigon looking for inbound rockets. I got my DEROS papers and scrammed to Hollywood, one day short of making captain, to swap one surreal for another.

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    6. Mr. Jetlag, version 807, ditto what Joe said.

      We have choices, you know. Start with the decision that goes something like this. "I don't really like this president. But he got elected. What am I going to do about it?"

      Choice one, support him because if he is strong, he can represent the Philippines better.

      Choice two, disparage him at every opportunity to prove, to myself and my friends, what a loser he is. And to hell with the Philippines.

      Choice two (a), defend my right to criticize him as patriotic. By calling him "BS Aquino", a disparaging term keyed to his real name, I can get others to scorn him, too, and then we can ridicule him into acting different than he is".

      Choice two (b), criticize his acts, but not his personality, realizing we are all entitled to a personality without prejudice.

      I think your decision making sucks.

      Your friend, Maude.

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    7. "1)IDIOT: An utterly foolish or senseless person.
      2)REATRD: To delay academic progress by failure to promote.
      3)B.S. AQUINO: Benigno Simeon Aquino."


      @Jetlag807: Wooo...kunwari ka pa, eh. Umamin ka na. Liars go to hell.

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    8. I checked with the dictionary (just to be sure) but I never found the word REATRD, if ever it exists. Well, I guess that explains IDIOT.

      *

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  12. Anonymous: Try checking an ENGLISH Dictionary...
    http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retard
    However, if you are still having trouble finding the definition, try looking up this: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moron

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    1. Hi Jetlag807

      Hey, am sure the people here were just to "hospitable" enough not to point out the defects in your defense. What I expected from you though is that when you try to enumerate and itemize your arguments didactically (to the point of defining each elementary words like my English teacher used to do) you should have at least been more cautious and conscious. Aside from the obvious wrong spelling, you defined RETARD in adjective form when you were supposedly referring to a noun. How does this sound " Pnoy is to delay academic...... Awkward, isn't it?

      Pretty tough being criticized, huh? Now, imagine being president.

      Aside from that, we can move on. Just drop the I-am-Mr. Webster tone.

      Thanks


      *

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    2. My bad, should have been verb not adjective form.


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    3. Anonymous; Quotes from my comment"

      "2)REATRD: To delay academic progress by failure to promote."

      "Item TWO, though used in its "slang" form, is specifically aimed at the members of the Executive Branch."

      "Item TWO" aka RETARD is a NOUN. The "slang" term RETARD is considered and ADJECTIVE (NOTE: Slang is NOT considered proper English as I pointed out when this comment was originally posted)... Will gladly "drop the Webster tone" as soon as you guys READ my comments and fully UNDERSTAND what is written so I don't have to come back and re-explain my use and/or application of the English Language, either in proper or slang form.

      I don't mind criticism; just make sure you come correct. I'm not sure what school you attended (or still attend) but your own comments (and/or failure to read & understand my post) may be the result of the Philippine Governments' prohibition against issuing Working Visas for Foreign English Teachers. Hmmm... That would be an interesting article!

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    4. Whoaa!!!!

      Your blood pressure please.

      Okay, got it. So it reads, in your book "Mr. A, a member of the Executive Branch of government is a (sic) to delay academic progress by failure to promote."

      English Language does evolve quite awkward these days. 'Nuff said.

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    5. For the last time; RETARD is also used as an ADJECTIVE when spoken in "slang" or "informal words and/or phrases". An ADJECTIVE is a word that DESCRIBES a person, place or thing. So...

      "Mr. A, a member of the Executive Branch of Government, is a RETARD." Here, the term RETARD (used as slang) means FOOLISH, DIM-WITTED, IDIOTIC, STUPID and/or RETARDED. In the quoted sentence you may replace RETARD with FOOLISH, DIM-WITTED, IDIOTIC, STUPID and/or RETARDED and the actual sentence meaning will remain the same...

      (American) English, slightly different from "The Queens English", happens to be the language I was born with. In other words; English is my First language. Since English appears to be your Second (or Third) language, it may behoove you to either accept the fact that your understanding of the language is slightly lacking or find an American and ask him (or her) if the term RETARD is used as an adjective in American Slang. Alternatively, you could continue to debate this issue however, that will only re-enforce my theory of the diminishing skill of spoken (and written) English in the Philippines.

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    6. Jet, I'm trying to recollect my English lessons. It was a few years ago. But I think RETARD as you have used it, "he is a retard", is a predicate nominative. That is, it stands in for the noun "he". It is not an adjective. But as many of us know from studying the Humpty Dumpty New World Dictionary, a word means whatever you want it to mean, and its grammatical name is irrelevant to the meaning you wish to convey.

      There is also an asterisk in the HDNWD that says RETARD when applied to the president of your nation is unkind, and if the person in question may indeed have a physical condition that is no one's fault but God's, it is downright despicable to poke fun at him for his deformity. It would be like stepping in front of a kid with Down's Syndrome and shouting "Idiot, Idiot!"

      I rather think it is a word best not used at all, in favor of either kindness or better words. It says more about the person using it than the direct object of the expression.

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    7. I apologize Joe for the grammar brouhaha that's happening here.I promise this is the last of my piece. I will not abuse your hospitality any longer.

      It is said that silence is the wisdom of the fool; better to keep silent that erase all doubts.

      The verb form is RETARD, the adjective is RETARDED, the noun RETARD is colloquially acceptable. I guess in "Queen's English" the adverb RETARDFULLY does not raise any eyebrow (but it sure sounds catastrophic).

      I hope this REINFORCES Jetlag's theory. ROFLMAO.

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    8. Joe,

      I stand corrected on the terminology of the word (whether adjective or noun) however, we are talking about informal English when the word is used in this manner so normal rules don't necessarily apply. But, I do see your point. Thanks.

      As for the person to which the word was aimed at; I do not know, nor do I have any proof that he is indeed suffering from any form of Mental Retardation. If he is, in fact, mentally retarded then, along with having an explanation to the man's behavior, I would wonder why (or how) a person with such an infliction would be able to administer the Office to which he now resides.

      As to the President of MY nation (POTUS), I have heard and read far worse terms used for President Obama within the US and even here in the Philippines. However, this is you page and as such, I will take heed and cease from using that term to describe Aquino. I emphasize; on YOUR page. There are "friends" on FB which have asked me not to refer to Pnoy as P-Nut on their posts and those requests were immediately adhered to as they are THEIR posts. I do, of course, reserve and exercise the right (section 19 of RA 10175 be dammed) to use whatever term I choose on other posts and/or pages until the owners of such ask me to cease & desist.

      That being said; it is probably a word better not to be used at all so I will TRY to control my self...

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    9. Anonymous;

      RETARDFULLY? Is that a word? My Spell Check doesn't seem to think so but... I'm laughing right along with you (NOT at you). As the Brits say; CHEERS!

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    10. Visit any time, Jet. I have a feeling we would agree on a lot. And check out Monday's article, for sure. The tease is on the home page.

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    11. Yep. Just saw the teaser and, considering the topic of this discussion, it just not fair man! How can I be expected to contain myself with an article like that! LOL

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    12. Hi Jetlag,

      Cheers! Now we're talking :-)

      *

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  13. Joe, all kidding aside...
    My OIF Deployments ('03-'07) were as a "Contractor" under Dept STATE & DEFENSE respectively... A few years ago, my father went back to Viet Nam and took the tour of Da Nang Air Base. He said, after the tour (mostly American Vets in attendance), there wasn't a dry eye in the place. If you haven't done so, I highly recommend you make the trip.

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    1. Ah, my. I can imagine. I try to explain to others that I was in country for 366 days, how did I come away with thousands of poignant moments? It was such an intense time, like living a dream or movie, but real. You mention Da Nang, and I respond, yes, that is where my girl friend was from, and where she went to have her baby that was fathered by a married American serviceman who had returned to the States. How did that episode get into my life?

      I'm sure you have a similar portfolio of recollections, good and otherwise. If we were all skilled writers, there would be millions of books by vets trying to upchuck what happened, and why it still resides deep enough for tears.

      If I were single, I'd go back to Viet Nam. To Saigon, actually, to visit the places that used to be my homeland for 366 strange days. But now I have a different life, not surreal, so I'll take the kid to Hong Kong Disneyland instead.

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    2. I used to entertain the idea of going back to The Sandbox and riding a "Hog" from Baghdad to Umm Qasr with stops at Hillah (Babylon) and Basra via Route TAMPA (Highway One). Man! That would really be a nice ride but... The security situation there being what it is, that won't happen for a long time to come. Oh well. Maybe next decade.

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    3. It took about 20 years for Viet Nam to open up to American tourists. But that was a political matter more than a safety and security matter. The Middle East has been an unstable rat's nest of animosity since God created Man. I don't see anything coming down the pike that would change that. Maybe you'd better think in terms of Hong Kong, too.

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