Thursday, November 22, 2012

The Subic Chronicles

American Attack Cruiser in Subic Bay
American ships and subs are arriving in Subic regularly now. The docks have come alive with activity. Businessmen are rushing to re-open dead bars. The Mayor of neighboring Olongapo is enthusiastic about the kick in the economy this will provide. Young women entrepreneurs are happy.

But not all are happy. One guy in particular is not happy.

Father Shay Cullen.

But let me backtrack a bit and provide some credentials. I am intimately familiar with Olangapo and Subic, having lived about an hour north of there for two years. Olongapo is Gordon territory.  The Gordon family rules there, Mayor after Mayor. It is a good rule, in the main. The city is vibrant and comparatively orderly and comparatively clean. Oh sure, it has its axe murderers and thieves like any large burg of 240,000. But it also has its university and its adjacency to the Subic Freeport where one can visit the duty-free Royal Supermarket and get real food, like Spam or California wine.

My son was born in the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital in Olongapo. That's where I ran frantically in the dark from pharmacy to pharmacy at 2 a.m. buying supplies for my wife's emergency Cesarean. Boy howdy, they don't do it like that in America.

Before I had a car, we'd ride the bus into town. It would go through that mad crush of Subic Town, a port city if ever there were one. Even during the depressing era, bars were the heart of the city. Americans still gather there. It is a watering hole, only there is not a lot of water in the hole.

We'd stop at the Café, a little restaurant across from the Arizona International Hotel, to have breakfast. It was American style, with HASH BROWNS alongside the fried eggs and bacon. The featured item on the dinner menu of the place was a giant taco, about the size of a football. It would feed an entire Filipino family, about ten kids, or one good sized, pot-bellied, crew-cut, ex-Navy American guy.

Those bus rides into town are vivid recollections. I remember the Victory Liner "bus ride from hell" that was packed with about 80 passengers and stopped every block or two. Of course, the lady who wanted off was always at the back, dragging her bags of taro root or kids, and each stop would take a few minutes to offload her. It was hot and smelly and trust me, I did not arrive in Olangapo in good mental condition. Or the "wild banshee" blue bus ride home one afternoon, the lunatic driver thinking he was at the Indy 500, blasting past other buses on the narrow highway doing 100. Meanwhile his conductor was busy pouring buckets of water through an iron trap door in the floor to keep the engine from blowing up.

Father Shay Cullen
They don't do it like THAT in America either, unless it is the movies . . . "Speed" comes to mind.

So I'm qualified to talk about this, y'know?

So back to the subject at hand, Father Cullen. Here is his view as stated in the Sydney Morning Herald article entitled "Philippines Divided Over US Return to Subic Bay":

  • The anti-child sex crusading priest Shay Cullen plans to mobilise Filipinos to protest against the return of United States forces to the former home of the US 7th Fleet at Subic Bay, north of Manila, 20 years after the Philippine Senate ordered them to leave.

  • ''They are coming back and civil society will not tolerate it,'' said Father Cullen, a Columban priest from Ireland who helped whip up anti-American sentiment across the Philippines that forced the US from its two largest overseas military installations at Subic Bay and nearby Clark air base in 1992 and 1991.

Well, yes, by gosh, the Philippines is divided for sure. At least one misguided crank says so.

Here is the Gordon family's view of the situation,  extracted from the same write-up:

  • ''We're open for business,'' said James ''Bong'' Gordon,the mayor of Olongapo, a city of 240,000 people next to Subic Bay. ''No matter what you call it … a base or semi-permanent hosting or whatever, the US is back and its great news for Olongapo.''

  • Twenty years ago Mr Gordon's elder brother, Richard Gordon, the chairman of the Philippines Red Cross and a former senator, led the pro-US campaign to retain the bases, bitterly clashing with Father Cullen.

Richard Gordon
  • ''It was a tragic mistake to shut out the world's most important country at that time,'' Richard Gordon said in his Manila office. ''But people who didn't listen to me then are now running around panicking, saying there's a genuine threat from China and we need a strong alliance with the US.''

So the Philippines is not divided, exactly. Father Cullen is divided from the bigger picture.

I personally think that Father Cullen has good intentions, but his aim is way off. He views the U.S. as the guilty party in child trafficking for sex, rather than poverty instilled by the Catholic Church Dark Ages doctrine. In other words, he ought to be looking within rather than chasing the wrong suspect. He ought to fight the disease, not the symptom.

I also like Mayor Gordon's view of the girls who work the bars:

  • Richard Gordon, who was mayor of Olongapo in the 1980s and became head of the Subic Bay Authority which oversaw development of the area when the US forces left in 1992, becomes angry when asked about US personnel attracting prostitutes.

  • ''How dare you people come here and call them prostitutes,'' he says. ''They just want to survive … they don't have anything. They don't have a choice.''

I rather think the Father Cullen needs a brain and conscience transplant.

I rather think Richard Gordon has the bigger brain and the bigger heart.

Richard Gordon for Senate, 2013.

48 comments:

  1. Did Gordon really say that Filipino women did not have a choice except to sell sex? Where is the proof?

    Gordon is cocky, aloof, superior mentality proven true when ran for president despite all odds and advice against it. Remaining in PRC is better for him.

    Qualified more than Enrile, Binay and Ejercito but he does not deserve anymore elective or appointive govt position.

    Wonder why he chose to side with the triumvirateof Enrile, Estrada, Binay considering his fighting principles before? Measure his integrity on this decision. He should have run as an independent. He did it when he was running for president which was much tougher.

    In my book Gordon does not deserve to be elected

    Johnny Lin







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    1. A worthy counter-argument.

      The proof is in any poor village where the young people are trapped with poor education, no way out, and little food to eat. I just have to look out my front door to see the proof. There are no jobs here for women except raising kids. They can't climb the coconut trees.

      Gordon is cocky. I think he would not put up with the Anti-RH horseshit.

      I don't know why he sided with Binay. Maybe he was too low on the priorities from the LP for his cocky self-confidence, and wants a "big party" backing.

      You have zeroed out my vote, so I guess Filipinos will determine if he is better than some of the other yahoos on the ballot.

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    2. One can't call Gordon principled after joining UNA.

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    3. Yes, I have not read anything about his thinking. The main principle of a politician is to do what has to be done to get elected. Like Romney in the U.S., going conservative during the primaries when he was appealing to the Tea Party Republicans, then moving center during the campaign against Obama.

      Maybe he was frozen out of the Liberal Party, or maybe he thought Binay had more popular appeal than Roxas, I dunno. Switching parties is fairly common in the Philippines as I understand it, and party platforms are pretty much the same. I think he is principled in that he is honest and common-sense business-minded.

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  2. No jobs but selling sex is not the only option. There are adjacent villages where some people might need house cleaner, washers or any decent job. Problem people think they are worth a million bucks all the time. They don't want to work far from their domicile, wanted to be paid high salary in rural areas.

    Pride, enviness and greed are bad combinations. And Filipinos have these traits. They are supposed to be well educated but they always fall victims to pyramid scam. They are prone succumbing to bribery and corruption. All because of these bad mixtures

    Johnny Lin

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    1. Yes, selling sex is not the only option, but the available jobs do not get them "out" of their circumstance. The going wage is P2,000 to P4,000 a month for housekeeping work, no career, just a job. Being a mother is more rewarding. Going to Subic to look for a "big fish" who will get them out is a reasonable option for the risk-takers. I'd guess that few go into the sex business as a career, but as a route out. Just guessing.

      I also don't think it is pride and greed to want out. Most prostitutes I've talked to are normal and often entertaining (intellectually) women. They aren't willing to be confined by the judgments of others. I agree with Dick Gordon on his assessment.

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    2. The govt,many NGOs and individuals are willing and able to help out these people and are actually capable of lifting them out, only if there werent so many of them, and they plan their lives.

      The resistance to planning is abetted by the anti-RH mentality of the CBCP.

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    3. One of my favorite archetypes is the hooker with a golden heart. Sonya in "Crime and Punishment"; Fantine in "Les Misérables"; and "Pretty Woman".

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    4. Heart of gold and HIV- negative

      DocB

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  3. 1. When the Senate voted to reject the US bases in 1991, I was quite shocked at the temerity of the “Magnificent 12” senators. Having been bought up on the staples of American culture in movies, Readers Digest, Hershey Kisses and Superman comic books, I was pro-American.

    2. In the intervening years, I have been quite proud that the nation has survived, although I have been aware of the last colonial master’s influence in continuing cultural and ideological dependence and in financial and military aid.

    3. Now the Philippines is on the horns of a dilemma, threatened by expansionist China on one hand and having to request protection from America on the other.

    4. I have no doubt that humanity’s future is with the American ideals of human rights and freedoms. Opposite these principles, China is a bully nation, internally and externally.

    4.1 China censors the access of its 300M netizens to the fruits of the Internet in learning and open communication.

    4.2 Tens of thousands of Tibetans were killed when China took control in the 50’s, and China continues to suppress Tibetan culture. More than 70 monks have immolated themselves since March of last year.

    4.3 China refuses international mediation in its claims to the shoals and islands of the West Philippine Sea.

    4.4 I anticipate with wonder how China will handle the enlightened demands of its citizens as it prospers as a nation. Will it disintegrate like the Soviet Union of Socialist Republics?

    5. In handling the Philippine dilemma, Australia pursues economic partnership with resource-hungry China, which is its major trading partner, and also continues to strongly support the US Asia-Pacific strategy. It continues to jointly operate secret and not-so-secret military bases such as Pine Gap and has opened Darwin to American military presence.

    6. In this light, the Aquino government's agreement with the US for the use of Subic to service American ships is geopolitically correct.

    6.1 The Church should butt out from intervention in State matters. It should cease from teaching and preaching until it learns to behave according to its own teachings. It should stick to the spiritual domain, to helping the poor and to quietly celebrating the rites of birth and death for its followers.

    7. In my opinion, Gordon is a schmuck.

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    1. Ahahahahahahahaha. I respond to the last line, first. It hit like a big, wet, cold snowball in the face. Wonderfully succinct.

      I actually think President Aquino's handling of the China situation has been done very well, Trillanes poor backdoor work the exception. Del Rosario has been firm and steady and dignified. And the President displayed the positive side of his stubbornness when he would not countenance Cambodia's attempt to shuffle the Philippines and Viet Nam into the "irrelevant" bucket.

      Closer engagement with America is an integral part of standing alone, as strange as that may sound.

      I was struck by an observation on Rappler earlier in the week that the Philippines is culturally more closely aligned with China. Authoritarian leaders, many corrupt and manipulative, and a subservient populace.

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    2. 1. I've reread Gordon's biography on the net and he does seem to be a capable manager, and to be on the right side of issues. At the same time, I have a feeling that the biography details were written by his PR team.

      2. I think my poor impression of him is from his radio program, his unnecessary grandstanding, and small news items about his contemptuous treatment of the electorate.

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    3. The Rappler article is correct. It has become apparent that Pnoy leans towards authoritarian rather than libertarian principles. When I said he was a hostage to culture, I had this partly in mind. That only leaves Guingona to man the fort?

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    4. Should add Miriam - when she's good...

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    5. Good or manic...

      DocB

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    6. Great. Miriam on her good days plus Guingona. The hope of the Philippines.

      Gonna go get stinkin' drunk.

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  4. I give high points to Gordon's can-do attitude and management skills. But his alliance with Estrada, Enrile and Binay leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

    He reminds me of another Magnificent Loner, Raul Roco. Their capabilities are tremendous, but their inflated sense of themselves eventually get the better of them.

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    1. Whiff, whiff, whiff. Lin, Torres and Lim, fastballs down the pike, say Gordon strikes out, and JoeAm along with him.

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  5. Which factor is greater and made the Americans leave? Congress or Pinatubo?

    DocB

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    1. No mountain blowing up would cause the U.S. to retreat from a global militarty strategy. Congress voted to end the military relationship. Ultra-nationalists rose up and voices of people like Cullen stoked popular emotions.

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    2. I believe Pinatubo gave the Americans the excuse they need to abandon their bases in Subic and Clark before the Bases Treaty expired. During that time the US is retrenching their defense spending (relatively) since they do not perceive any immediate or mid-term threat back in the 90's. Sure NoKor is a pain in the ass but China (amazing what 20 years did to them) during that time is still in the rise and Japan, despite the trade bickering is a close US ally. Maintaining bases in the Philippines seems like superfluous for them since Japan at that time does not have qualms about the US bases present in their country

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    3. Dont forget the fact that Marcos played footsie with the Americans for a long time, and got support from them, specially the Republicans.

      I think it was the view of the Senators then that Marcos' rule was strengthened and supported by the US due to his support of the bases. Marcos stained the more practical geopolitical view, so when he got booted out, the US Bases was also a goner.

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    4. Ah, that makes sense, too. Fueling the ultranationalist feelings of the time.

      I actually can't say I fault those who voted for ending the U.S. base presence. I do think writing "no foreign bases" into the Constitution is rather interesting, given the lack of any military defensive capacity and some rather thuggish neighbors. I wonder if the U.S. would ever countenance having a foreign country open a base in the U.S.

      Amusing, what? Like, allow Australia to open an naval base.

      Another thought. Tossing the US out was like closing an industry. Saying we don't want that revenue. That's pretty bold for such a poor country. Patriotic spirit must have been running extraordinarily high.

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    5. Agree. Everything got simplistic then. US Bases = foreign meddling = support for Marcos or future dictators. Very few, if any could look at the longer view.

      Japan and Australia are not weak states, so they negotiated to have US bases with strength and maturity.

      In any case, a well thought VFA is good enough.

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    6. I Agree, Japan and Australia negotiated in their own terms, we are not so lucky then. Although if you will really dig it up the Japanese are paying 50% to 70% of costs of maintaining US bases in Japanese soil, the US has a win-win scenario over there.

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  6. Thanks for your answer. What about the end of the Cold War?

    DocB

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    1. You must consider that the US was suffering a recession in the early 90's. There was a popular sentiment back at the States to cut back spending and since the populace believed the US "won" the cold war, it is no use for their military to be used as a global police force (Also the memory of US involvement/fiasco in Somalia is fresh in their memories)

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    2. Here are two articles that fairly sum it up, with Dave's view holding true. US global priorities had changed and even the threat of being evicted did not encourage the U.S. to increase the amount America was willing to pay to lease the bases. The U.S. would have preferred to stay, and tryed to stay. But they weren't all that upset about leaving.

      http://www.deseretnews.com/article/122800/IF-US-LEAVES-PHILIPPINES-IT-MUST-GO-SLOWLY-CAREFULLY.html?pg=all

      http://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/28/world/philippines-orders-us-to-leave-strategic-navy-base-at-subic-bay.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

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  7. We have to agree the US bases gave rise to social ills to which Fr. Cullen was trying to help solve. Same in Okinawa I read somewhere. The other month there was a docu film, "Kano", about a retired US serviceman maintaining a harem of sorts. Free-wheeling booty. ( Gordon is still an asshole with anger management issues )

    DocB

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    1. If he wishes to solve the issues, he will advocate for RH as aggressively as he advocates for removing from the shores the bad behaving Americans, which I would suspect, as a percentage, is about the same as the bad behaving Filipinos. So he ought to remove them, too.

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    2. Yes interesting movie about a misfit Kano who converted to Islam in order to have a harem for himself. Now my question is, how typical is that? If you believe that Kanos do this kind of things than I have to ask another question: How about the Kerida tradition of the Filipino men? If some misfit Kanos would end up having a harem of Keridas than I would love to see a documentary about the Filipino men ways of having harems in the Philippines. Kanos must have learned it from the Filipino men, he did not learned or practiced it in the USA for sure.

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  8. As a priest he would be doctrinally restrained but I would imagine him to be sympathetic just like some Jesuits.

    DocB

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  9. We all know that not the Tan’s killing millions with cigarettes, not the jueting lords and the corrupt politicians stealing billions from the poor and killing them through starvation, not the bishops forcing poor women to undertake abortions by the lack of alternatives but the prostitutes attracting millions of Kanos, they are the thread the Filipino moral values.


    Father Cullen and Gordon. Perceptions can differ. Tan is not killing but as a good citizen he keeps profits away from foreign cigarette companies and can he not make some profit? Jueting lords are just serving a need, selling dreams. Corrupt politicians need the money to get re-elected and their families with them, so they can better serve the people. Bishops are send by God as the sole defenders of the fertilized egg. The ladies in the bar are dating for sugar daddies or even better husbands, the Loto ticket out of misery for them and more important their families, that’s not prostitution. What’s the difference between a bar and a dating site on internet? Which perception is closer to reality?


    With the Americans I have a hate-love relationship. Their simplicity often enlightening, sometimes naive or overlooking the complexity. Their high motives, but sometimes with hidden agendas and CIA covert actions. Their wealth, most through hard work, but some by stolen minerals or child labour and brains from abroad. The American dream, but with much less social mobility then in Europe. Repeat for all thinkable virtues and vices. With the Chinese I only have unlimited admiration for the achievements: 100,000,000’s out of poverty in 30 years time. But I don’t want to live there, I don’t understand their values, they even frighten me.


    Subic, I don’t know. I’m still scared of the Idaho farmer boy bringing civilization to the natives like Rizal (or to Europe for that matters, outside America live the weak hearted, undeveloped waiting for Uncle Sam guidance - there are exceptions as this blog shows) On the other hand I’m scared as for many Filipinas a Kano is a Kano, a source for an offspring with a lighter skin and providing unlimited access to money.

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    1. Wow, what a thought provoking piece. You are welcome to convert your thinking into a guest blog here any time.

      Paragraphs one and two I agree with, taking your last questions in para 2 as statements.

      Americans. Simplicity, naive, arrogant. Smart, hard-working, innovative. Mostly good, some bad. But for 220 years, a field of dreams that delivered. I don't know about the "less social mobility" statement.

      I suppose the Chinese frighten you as Filipinos sometimes frighten me. There are dark alleys in the US but in the Philippines killings occur in daylight on main street by people who go to church the next Sunday, with sincere hearts.

      The Americans are in the Philippines for a reason, balancing China. If you believe that is important, then the risks of what those Idaho boys bring is tolerable. Not to mention the money they bring. Subic is used to them. Olongapo wants them.

      If you think China is no threat, and you don't want the economic boost because of the negative offsets, a wayward American who abuses a Filipina, then Father Cullen becomes a hero of sorts.

      I rather think poverty is the real problem, with a secondary problem being what I would call provincialism. I need a full blog to explain that I think.

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    2. Intergenerational income elasticity is 50% in the USA, 15% in Denmark. So 50% of the Americans with high incomes had parents with high incomes the other 50% came out of lower income classes, in Denmark only 15% or 85% had upward mobility.

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    3. Interesting. I think the U.S. is packed with opportunities for success because the commercial base is so huge. And the employment laws and disciplines reward good work performance.

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    4. One of the reasons is that salaries are related to diplomas and access to good Universites is easier in Europe. Another is the lack is safetynets in the US, when you fall out it's impossible to recover.

      "Packed of opportunities" only for those who have the means, the fit supporting the fit.

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  10. I think Filipinos have absolutely no idea how lucky they are with the Americans. They may hate and love Americans but unfortunately don't understand they luck. Any other nation in the world would be no match to them. Filipinos are absolutely idiots when it comes to the USA. I hate them.

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    1. I like a guy who calls it straight, especially if he calls it right.

      Also, I chuckled about your prior note suggesting that Filipinos, who philander with the best of them, are worried about a few American soldiers doing some philandering.

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    2. Atilla,

      You got it backwards, America is lucky to have an alliance with the Philippines. We are the future of Asia, the center of all trade and commerce. China would be foolish to fight the Philippines. This would only lead to their destruction.

      And what role does Hungary play in a global or regional stage? Absolutely nothing. They export a lot of gypsies I heard. But they also like to complain about other people (who are better than them) and this annoys me. I would like to say "I hate them" too but Hungarians are just simply not worth my time hating.

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    3. I think you are a mental case. All you can do is to mumble some nonsense. You should rename yourself from Proud Pinoy to Moron Pinoy. I know some of your types here in New York. Many Filipino men have psychological problems they have a lot of demons. Should start taking some anti depressants before you start hurting others. They maybe the "rulers in the Philippines but in the USA they often end up being misfits. Filipinas are happy here but Filipino men often end up like you.

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    4. If all Filipinos from 4 corners of the world think like Ms. Atilla here then I can say, we, Filipinos don't have a hope still to alleviate ourselves since the colonization from what & who we are as a people who have their own pride & culture as a nation.We will forever be the "indios", the brown monkeys, the mad man in asia, the US puppet, the service people of the world.A sad, grim truth.

      To those senators who voted against the US Bases back then , hats off to them.They made history. I wish there are more of the kind.Never been I was so proud as Filipino for what they did, in every time I read about it over & over again.

      What surprised me though in this article, it only mentioned about prostitution problem, it didn't mention about the effects of toxic wastes from these US bases to the thousands of people, mostly children in the community.Why we forgot the hundreds of leukemia cases that mostly suffered by children? Did we hold America accountable for these environmental health problems? Are we opening our doors again as Uncle Sam's toxic dumping sites?

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    5. Hi, Teresa. Good of you to visit and comment.

      Attila represents only himself, and his own set of experiences.

      The toxic wastes are a separate issue, and a serious one. A better reason to keep America out than prostitution. I have not read the arguments as to why there was no required cleanup, I just know there were arguments about it. I was always ashamed to drive through Subic past undeveloped plots that I suspected were not developed because of wastes.

      It's interesting, this hot/cold relationship Filipinos have toward America. I've just started drafting a blog that describes America as a "shape shifter", a Star Trek alien creature that can assume many different shapes. The Philippines, on the other hand, seems to be a chunk of metal, an asteroid, ever unchanging. Like people who hold hostilities toward America for its racist undertakings in the Philippine American war are unable to comprehend that values in that day were very different than they are today.

      America is what she is. A big commercial machine generating great wealth and technological and social innovation, and leaving a trail of trash and bad feelings in her wake. But everyone wants to climb aboard.

      It is up to the Philippines to decide if the pros and cons are such that America should return in any capacity whatosever. The U.S. is largely irrelevant to the decision, as she can plant her bases and service her ships elsewhere.

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    6. There is a documentary film called THE BROTHERS OF KAPPA PI. It was made by a Filipino film maker and it is about a group of young Filipinos in New York. This quote is from the director:

      "Why do so many recently arrived Filipino youth join gangs? How have some of these restless youth channeled their angst towards human rights advocacy and community service instead of gang warfare or even worse, murder?"

      It was shown at the International Film Festival Manhattan, New York. Good example about the problems Filipino men have here.
      http://youtu.be/uuCHvly-Fu8

      Teresa: No one here think of Filipinos of "brown monkeys". Whites are already the minority here and in Queens where most Filipinos live their numbers (whites) are less than Hispanics and Asians. No one can use the race card here to rationalize their problems. The white men can no longer be used as an excuse any longer. The Filipinos should stop having the victim mentality.

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    7. Atilla,

      I traveled west coast to east coast: from WA state to Fl, from Az to NY, from Id to Tx. And yes,the foulness of race card does still exist. I believe you saying that you can not feel that in Queens.Neither I feel that in San Francisco,CA nor in Miami. Hope you see the pattern & get what I am trying to say.

      I mentioned: indios, brown monkeys,US puppet (terms that tagged to Filipinos for years in history) so to emphasize that as a people, we haven't gone far yet from that gutter & we will never be totally out if we have that thinking like you have, Atilla. Our problems as a people are systemic, very serious, need psyche-overhauling.Filipinos abroad are the easiest prey of acculturation.In Phils.,Filipinos embraced more the outside culture than our very own.The reason is very obvious.

      In your last statement,this is my reply: I am a Filipina & I do not have that victim mentality.I dont have time for self-pity but I have time to answer you 'coz,the change that I want in my country should start from me.FYI,Filipinos are not "absolutely idiots" when it comes to America.Are you aware of yourself playing the race card here? .... Salamat & may God bless you.

      To Society of Honor, America is America.I admire and embrace her good side but honestly criticize her other side.I hope this time, Philippines will have a stronger backbone to demand for rehabilitation before the full operation on these bases.Its about accountability.America's military is strategically shifting now to the rising Asia Pacific.Geographically, Philippines has the ace card in the game;)

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    8. TERESA, I agree with your last paragraph entirely. Indeed, the idea that the Philippines can leverage the "China crisis", and the pivot of the U.S. to the western Pacific, to establish itself as a credible international player, is very, very good. Indeed, the Philippines has the ace card. I rather suspect the hand is dealt stronger if the U.S. is also in the hand. Clean-up of Subic ought to be made a priority. The U.S. has the technology to do this, and it certainly is as important as a training exercise or two engaging thousands.

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    9. I was just talking to my mother in law in the Philippines. She is clerk in a midsize city in Negros. She is a well educated women with a life long experience working with the municipal judge. I asked her about the US Navy presence at Subic. She believes that the US should not be there at all. The Americans will be blamed again just like before and public anger will turn against them. She has no trust in her own people's judgment and that ordinary people themselves are just as corrupt as the officials they elect. "It is just not worth it for the Americans to receive all the blame and anger again. Let us deal with China alone." She said.

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  11. Yes, NBA star Dennis Rodman's father is named Philander.

    DocB

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