Let us take a quick
fly across the news and catch up on a few loose ends.
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| Anteater Jacket |
The Chinese poaching
vessel that ran around on Tubbataha Reef near where the US minesweeper was
recently extracted carried 11 tons of dead anteaters. Those Chinese, boy, they
are weird in the cuisine and clothing departments. The maximum jail time for poaching is 12 years,
and time for having endangered species is another six. So I'd give the captain
the full 18 years and the next guy in charge eight and all the crew five years
each at labor, assigned to assist Palawan in their re-foresting effort.
I'd guess these are
not spiritual guys. They don't climb to the tops of mountains and reflect on
the power and beauty of God's glorious green earth.
Bias
R Us
"Hey
Joe, what's with letting the American minesweeper crew off without jail time, but demanding the
Chinese get jailed? Your bias is showing!"
That is not bias,
that is a crisp understanding of the TRUTH that commie leftists and
ultra-nationalists deny, the United States is a part of the Philippine family
and we ought not jail our own errant relatives. Especially if we want America to sweep the Chinese
mines off the beaches of Palawan a year or two from now. The distinction is akin to that between a drunken uncle who staggers through the living room and breaks
Mama's favorite vase, and a snarling neighbor caught red-handed on the terrace
trying to steal Mama's prized Australian cockatoo.
Boston
Massacre
When things like
this happen, I recognize what a pitiful place our planet is in the people
department. To hate so much that the murder of innocents is rationalized as
righteous. I ache for the good people who were cast into tragedy by the bomber(s). They were out to celebrate and lost loved ones instead.
Separating Issue from Individual: The President
I've often urged Filipinos, particularly bloggers, to stop criticizing their President as if he were out to "get" the Philippines each time he makes a move they disagree with. Joe Klein of Time Magazine expressed this thought well as follow-up to the Boston Marathon bombing. He was speaking to American media:
Separating Issue from Individual: The President
I've often urged Filipinos, particularly bloggers, to stop criticizing their President as if he were out to "get" the Philippines each time he makes a move they disagree with. Joe Klein of Time Magazine expressed this thought well as follow-up to the Boston Marathon bombing. He was speaking to American media:
- 6. And I would urge those in the media who speak of the United States government as if it were a foreign entity to chill out. You may be further poisoning the demented. Criticism of the government is, of course, as American as oxycont . . . but it is our government and this is our President. You may disagree with one program or another–you may think (wrongly) that Obamacare is socialistic, you may think that the Patriot Act is part of a ruinous, possibly conspiratorial invasion of privacy–but this President has proved time and again that he is a strong American patriot. Any inferences otherwise may reap the whirlwind.
Chinese
Fingers
I love a good
headline. This one was from Reuters a few days ago.- "China points finger at U.S. over Asia-Pacific tension"
The article
describes China's pout, or rant, about the US pivot to Asia. It quotes a
Chinese minister as saying:
- "There are some countries which are strengthening their Asia Pacific military alliances, expanding their military presence in the region and frequently make the situation there tenser."
By howdy, isn't that
the truth. I'm thinking that if China would stand down on its military
build-up, maybe the US would go away and leave Asia to its broad enrichment,
peacefully. And if they'd get their flippin' boats out of the Philippine EEZ,
off Vietnamese islands, and away from Japanese islands, the tensions would
fizzle faster than one of JoeAm's famous flat soufflés.
The Chinese are
horrible at looking inward and accepting accountability for problems. They
remind me a lot of the Catholic Church.
Could be their
cuisine needs changing . . .
Blogging
Platforms
JoeAm will be moving
his blog to the Word Press platform in
early May when he returns from a family vacation to Hong Kong. This will
facilitate a cleaner look to the blog and layered discussion threads. The blogs
are much richer and deeper when commenters engage each other. The system will require that those who wish
to comment indicate their e-mail address. Addresses will be held in private. Perhaps this will also help thin out the spam that has been infesting the Blogger blog. The web site
address will be released when it is opened up for public comment.
Elections
JoeAm has refrained
from engaging in election discussions, not wanting to influence Filipinos who
are unable to think for themselves. The Department of Immigration made clear
that we foreigners are a National Security risk and will be deported if we fool
around with elections. Joe does smirk in ironic pleasure as he drives past his
Barangay Captain's house, which is the vote-buying center for our area. The
candidates for governor of the mighty Biliran Province are playing the election
game as it is always played. Without dastardly intellectual discussion. They won't get deported, I'm quite confident.
Giant Snails and the Slime Infestation
The state of Florida in the US is doing battle with an infestation of giant African snails. The creatures will eat anything green plus your house, if it is made of stucco, because the stucco contains calcium that the snail craves for its shell. The creatures produce 1,200 young a year, which tops even Filipinos. The snails can be horrid as the following excerpt from a Reuters article illustrates:
- In some Caribbean countries, such as Barbados, which are overrun with the creatures, the snails' shells blow out tires o the highway and turn into hurling projectiles from lawnmower blades, while their slime and excrement coat walls and pavements.
Sounds a little like Get Real Post to me.
The Florida government is looking for a good strong poisonto try to eradicate the slimey creatures.
Anteating Chinese ... I looked at Google Map. The shortest distance between China to wherever this Anteater ship was going is thru Tubatubatha Reef rather than skirting the Philippine's 200 mile economic zone. As to why the Philippine Navy not detected this Anteater ship with their 2 dozen military helicopters and 3 Hamilton-class cruiser is beyond MY understanding.
ReplyDeleteBias 'r' Us ... I agree to let the Americans go and imprison the Chinese. Because if Americans were to ask payment for security of the Philippines from Chinese Armada a years remittances of OFWs would not be enough
Boston Massacre ... de Vega was just eng-get that Americans were looking for the bombers with extreme prejudice. They did not rout all Russkies just because the bombers were russians. They picked thru the hay to find the needles. NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER WILL BE HAPPINING IN THE PHILIPPINES.
Elections ... vote-buying has gone down to Barangay level. Barangay Captain is answerable to the party if he cannot deliver the votes. Blessed are those Barangay Captain who do not need to buy votes for him to keep the money. Governors in the Philippines do not need intellectual debate. Becase only 1,000,000 Filipinos "read" newspapers the rest watch dowdy lousy telenovelas
The governorship election on this blissful, peaceful little island is . . . um, intense. A good way to get half the people on the island to hate you is to indicate which of the candidates you favor.
Delete1. Speaking of anteaters and snails, my pet peeve is still... the mentality of the Filipino. Not only of the Filipino voter but of the Filipino himself.
ReplyDelete2. Looking at Kohlberg’s stages of moral development (which the good Dra Holmes pointed out), the Filipino people are stuck at the Pre-conventional level, in Stages 1/2 out of 6 stages. These are:
A. Pre-conventional Level
- Stage 1. Obedience to authority
- Stage 2. Nice behaviour in exchange for future favors
B Conventional Level
- Stage 3. Live up to others’ expectations
- Stage 4. Follow rules to maintain social order
C. Post-conventional Level
- Stage 5. Adhere to social contract when it is valid
- Stage 6. Personal moral system bases on abstract principles
2.1 Politics-wise, the “politics of patronage” reigns. From vote-buying to the pork barrel.
2.2 Religious-wise, the “religion of mind control” reigns. From “vote as we tell you” to “contraception is corruption”. (I cannot resist to note that Risa is the only candidate to publicly state that religious groups should not endorse any candidate. Not Bam, not Jun, not Koko.)
2.3 In truth, I think that Kohlberg’s model is missing one stage at the bottom. Before “obedience to authority” is “non-obedience”. Morals-wise, this is Filipino pedestrian littering, the Filipino politician stealing, the Filipino priest hanging political tarpaulins, the Filipino blogger/commenter spouting untruths.
2.4 The Filipino stands on its head the Cartesian proposition: “I think NOT, therefore I spew.”
2.5 In all other respects, the Filipino relies too heavily on authority – the pope, a book, Wikipedia and even bloggers. :-)
3. You know, I have been trying to come up with a theory that integrates all religions, a theory that is able to enfold the validity of all religious beliefs as being true – not only subjectively and existentially but “objectively”. Like Einstein’s Unified Field Theory. I know, I know, it is an absurd quest. But recently I had an exchange with a believer, and the level of superstitious and magical thinking completely floored me. The guy said that God does intervene in the workings of the world but only in special cases like the selection of a new pope. I asked what about murderous popes in the past, tsunamis and the selection of Filipino bishops? He accused me of being hopeless, frivolously so I might add.
3.1 Could I be the one mistaken? Suddenly I am assailed by doubt. Am I the loose end?
Ahahaha, relax mate. You are an intellectual nut, or eccentric, but fortunately with a quality tungsten bolt anchoring you soundly to reason, kindness and good bearing. The rest of us are the loose nuts tumbling awkwardly between ideas like drunken hexagonal pin-balls.
DeleteI trust that I have set your mind at rest.
As for 2.4, you caused my morning coffee to spew.
Authoritarianism is the subject of Wednesday's blog and I hope you have a good time with it.
Maybe you should talk to CS Lewis.
DeleteAdrian
Thanks, Adrian.
Delete1. I was aware Lewis was an apologist for Christianity, but I didn’t know he was such a fascinating and prolific man. He ran the gamut from atheism to rational belief.
2. I do start at the same starting point that he does: that there is moral order to the universe. Which means that there is justice. For the 6 million Jews gassed in WWII. For the 97 victims and families of the Ampatuan massacre. That God (no matter how the construct is imagined) has “His eye on the sparrow” and that “each hair is numbered”.
3. But it appears Lewis only attempted to arrive at an integration of the various denominations of Christianity. I am trying to come up with an integration of all religions. Integration, not in the Theosophical sense that there is truth in all religions, but in the sense that all religions are literally true as believers believe them to be. If you are a Christian, you will go to heaven. If you are a Muslim, you will go to Jannah. If you are a Hindu, you will be reborn. If you are an agnostic you will go somewhere that is neither here nor there but somewhere in-between. If you are an atheist – oops, where did you disappear to?
4. To my feeble mind, a corollary of the notion of a “universal morality” is that we – Filipino, Hindu, Eskimo, believer or non-believer - are all God’s children and He will reject no one.
4.1 (I am deliberately ignoring the presumption that men is in need of salvation. I am taking religious beliefs at face value.)
5. Taking a cue from the notion of multidimensionality in physics, I have considered that the universe (or multiverses) is layered, with each religion occupying one dimension, a real layer in time and space. That Earth is a portal to multidimensionality. That we are here on Earth to learn from each other and ultimately discover that our separateness is an illusion. That the layers form an onion! (Or if you are a Christian, the preferred analogy might be that “in my Father’s house are many mansions.”)
5.1 And I refuse to believe that churlish mankind is the apex of creation. That would be such a sad reflection of God’s skills. I would like to believe that on other planets (like Krypton!) there are beings that are as distant to man as man is to amoebae. Our current understanding of God and the universe is so feeble.
So I have these flights of fantasy. It keeps me busy and out of mischief at those time when I am not clearing the Bush around the house. (No, not the burning bush, just the normal Aussie bush.) And following your suggestion I will try to catch CS Lewis later – on the assumption that integrationists can meet at a central point, with each coming from his own layer. :-)
Anteater eating Chinese?
ReplyDeleteI think they also "eat" the Philippines and having a heyday.
How is it possible that in a country where the Chinese are only 1.6% of the population the Chinese New Year become a National Holiday? My wife tells me that in her town there are 60,000 people and about 100 of them have Chinese background. That is about 1.6% just like the national figure. She says that now on the Chinese New Year is celebrated by the locals with some Lion dances and so on just for the fun of it. That is a brilliant strategy from the Chinese to advertise their culture and make it liked. It is a paid holiday for the workers and fun time for the rest. Filipinos like having fun.
They could have made it an optional holiday like at my workplace: We have a so called "floating holiday" system and that means that we can choose between 3 holidays: Good Friday, Ramadan or Passover. If the employee is not religious he could use it as a personal day.
Chinese are running the show with Chinese Filipinos in the government and in the business world. Chinese thrive in the corrupt environment of the Philippines. Whites are not good at that. The USA is hated anyway and used as a scapegoat. The Chinese are the masters and they will eat the Philippines, chew on it while Filipinos are smiling in their misery.
Well, we Americans have our Jewish business and financial wizards and the Philippines has her Chinese. I think the lack of law or order in the Philippines is as old as the tribal thinking that drives moral values. You are right, it is nutritious for the Chinese, who don't mind bending a rule now and then to dine high.
DeleteJoe,
ReplyDelete1. In fairness to China, both the Chinese fishing boat and the US naval vessel sailed in an off-limits area. The US immediately sent a rescue team that off-loaded the captain and his crew to safety and away from the short reach of Philippine law. America would deal with its military personnel in its own way, as if there were no Philippine government, no Philippine laws, and no VFA. The US should have surrendered and submitted its crew to Philippine authorities and Philippine laws, allowed the Philippines to decide their fate, not the US government.
China on the other hand did no such thing beyond asking that the Philippine government do what it has to do without violating the rights of the arrested fishermen, its citizens.
2. The US vessel was on an official mission while the Chinese fishing boat was on a private poaching/smuggling expedition. Hence, there is also official US accountability for the actions of its crew. The Chinese government has no similar liability.
3. The drunken uncle analogy only works when he is only a clumsy drunk not when he also asks your daughter or your son to sit on his lap. Uncle Fester is more dangerous than a snarling neighbor.
Let's not fan the flames of war. China has ambitions that must be thwarted. The US has similar hegemonic intents. It must be thwarted as well because whichever one of them succeeds will end up dominating the Philippines and the region. I don't know how our neighbors feel about a hegemon in the region but I find it unacceptable to the Philippines, it is against the national interest.
I have a problem with the way you frame the issue because it leaves no option other than to choose between two masters, both of whom portray themselves as the better choice. But there is never a better choice between two masters. "It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll,I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul."
At the end of the day, the Philippines must be ever vigilant, never taking its eyes off the drunken uncle or the snarling neighbor, never allowing either to have the run of its house. - mb
As per usual, you offer up an articulate counterpoint. Let me start by saying I agree with your conclusion, which why in my discussion on Philippine Defense, I argue that it behooves the Philippines to take the intitiative to build her core military defense capabilities and push the US more and more into the background.
DeleteIt is this notion of "minding one's own house well" that I would interject two asterisks to your point one. (1) The US needs to project strength, dominance if you will, one bully to another. If she agrees to concede to the Philippines she comes across weak, which is not to the advantage of either the US or the Philippines, and (2) the unbalanced VFA agreement on imprisonment says plainly that the US has little confidence in Philippine judicial processes. The Philippines can do something about that, other than cancel the VFA in a spike of pique. It can build a respected judicial branch of government.
To my point (1) I would add that China would chortle in her anteater soup to see the US and Philippines in a snit over how to deal with the ship. It would reflect success in her "divide and conquer" strategy, and the Philippines is wise to project unity, even if top people are choking a bit on their own soup over the American "arrogance".
Delete(1) The US needs to project strength, dominance if you will, one bully to another. If she agrees to concede to the Philippines she comes across weak, which is not to the advantage of either the US or the Philippines,
DeleteProject strength to her ally or to China?
We are treading on dangerous ground if I were to accept your projection of strength argument because doing so will mean that I must also grant China's strong actionsregarding disputed territories.
As to the US not trusting the Philippine judicial process. The judicial process has indeed not been fair to Filipinos. That's true. However, when has it not been fair to America and Americans? Daniel Smith was charged, convicted, held in US custody while his appeal was being heard, and then acquitted. The judicial process was followed, the terms of the VFA were likewise followed. There may have been a lynch mob outside the courtroom but the mob did not influence the final judgment. I think the US must ct based on proof that the Philippine judicial process has been unfair to its citizens before it acts on presumption and frustrates the Philippine judicial process and the terms of the VFA. - mb
Project strength to China.
DeleteUS bully-projection is a reaction to China. China's bully-projection is aimed at acquiring resources. Very different.
Yes, the ending on Private Smith, in the second phase, said the lynch mob did not have as much influence as American demand for objectivity. Plus, as I recall, the second was post-recant from Nicole, so the lynching was cut short. Still, the US is hyper-protective of her servicemen. For myself, personally, I'd have no trouble if an American soldier were reasonably accused of breaking a Philippine law (like Smith), he should be held in a Philippine jail and tried in a Philippine court IF the courts demonstrated comprehensively that they are professional, unbiased, and fair. They have a ways to go to earn my endorsement, which is worth about .00001 centavo. But it shapes my opinion on the matter.
Joe,
Delete1) Bully projection is a reaction to China because it is challenging American hegemony over the region. We both know that resources are but one of the benefits of unchallenged hegemony. There is investment, trade, commerce, economic and political ideology, culture, military superiority, and a host of other benefits for the hegemon. So I put the US and China on the same moral level on this one because both aspire for hegemony, both see hegemony as vital to their national interest now and in the future. That makes those of us in the region less than equal in the eyes of both countries and so it follows that we will be treated as less than equals. Granted that is the way the world works - that those with power do as they please and those without power live with it - it still sticks in the craw of idealists.
2) On Philippine judicial process. The Daniel Smith case proves that there is no IF with Philippin courts demonstrating that they are professional, unbiased, and fair when it comes to Americans covered by the VFA.
We have to go on the basis of demonstrable behavior and not on our presumptions or biases. I put Daniel Smith as an answer to whatever doubts you may have. And until the Philippine courts prove otherwise, the US has no basis to behave as if that were the case. - mb
American hegemony is of the style to pay for the resources that may be available. Chinese is to take it. I still say there is a difference. Military superiority is interesting. In some cases superiority leads to ambition, and in others it leads to peace. It is not clear ot me that China wants peace over claim. You see the US motives very differently than I do, and I'd guess neither of us has the words or power to teach the other differently. We come from different experiential platforms.
DeleteDaniel Smith is an insufficient answer for me, personally. Things like Ampatuans and my wife's father being convicted without trial because he did not have enough money shape my view. And a fractuous Supreme Court and no concept of speedy justice. And a friend having her annulment petition declined (her husband had beat her, failed to support their child, fathered a child outside the marriage, dealt drugs, and was declared by a psychiatrist to be emotionally unbalanced) because she refused to pay the judge. It is too risky here, too shakey to have confidence in Philippine justice. Nope. There are too many pressures being applied outside evidence and law INCLUDING the US leaning on the courts. And the courts give to those pressures.
Joe,
DeleteOkay. We see hegemony differently. I don't believe there is a benign side to it, you do. I believe in alliances and partnerships on specific concerns but I don't believe in a conjugal partnership.
But the Daniel Smith case is the only case you can go by because it is the only case where the judicial processes involved an American covered by the VFA. The Philippine judicial system did not fail Daniel Smith, as a matter of fact it did very well. It closed the case with finality. The cases you cited are of concern to us Filipinos but of no bearing to Americans as the Daniel Smith case has proven. And if the US can successfully lean on Philippine courts then that's all the more reason why it should go through the motions or charade of respecting a host country's judicial system if only for the public relations points it will gain. - mb
I think there is a benign method, but, yes, you are right, both trample . . .
DeleteI don't think the US accepts the judicial system, with confidence, so there is no charade. And the reason is deeper than PR. It's rather like a parent would be biased toward defending a son, reluctant to put their well-being into hands they don't entirely trust.
But we are close enough on both points to understand where the other is coming from. I think the Philippines is on the right track if there is no relapse in 2016, so our gap gets narrower in the future.
Hopefully the gap is bridged somewhere in the middle . Anyway, enjoy your vacation in HK. - mb
Delete"it leaves no option other than to choose between two masters"
ReplyDeleteYou don't have a choice Anonymous. Do without the USA and the Chinese will be your master. Chose the Americans and hope that the USA will be able control the Chinese if it is not too late already. "Educated" Filipinos like you are in Lala land for believing that they have a choice. The Chinese are already in your government and dominating the business of the country. The mother country is now closing in.
You already have a new master and that is China. Congratulation on kicking the USA out from Subic. Now you have your new master and the new culture is shaping your country. I already hear Filipinos bragging about their Chinese blood. The new movie stars are turning to be ethnic Chinese and soon Spanish blood is going to be Artsy Fartsy.
You don't have a choice Anonymous. Do without the USA and the Chinese will be your master. Chose the Americans and hope that the USA will be able control the Chinese if it is not too late already.
DeleteThe correct statement is "Choose the Americans and they will be your master."
Having a master is the problem, not the face of the master.
Your derogatory remarks about Filipinos of Chinese descent reveals you have a servant mentality, choosing one master over another instead of becoming your own boss - mb
Since this has turned into another discussion of phil. foreign policy with respect to china, i would like to express my humble opinion. I think stating that China will conquer the Philippines is reactionary and premature. The Chinese gov't/ empire doesn't have a history of invasion or colonization. I took a course in east asian politics and my professor opined that all they want is to exploit resources but not to colonize. And it's the 21st century already, acquiring resources through colonization/ invasion is so passe. Thus, showing resistance and deterrence is necessary with or without US help but not to the point of overreacting as if there will be an invasion, or worse, war with China-- posturing but not war-mongering
ReplyDeleteOn the Filipinos turning into chinese, i think Fil-Chinese don't identify with those from the mainland.; based on the reactions of fil-chinese on another forum, mainland chinese bemean the already rich fil-chinese because they are "poorer" or not rich enough compared to the filthy rich mainland ones or something along those lines.
in addition, movie stars seem to look like more "asian" because it's the trend nowadays. Young people or teenagers -- i can quite relate because i'm only 22-- prefer chinita/chinito/asian beauty over mestizo and malay/filipino types now; just look at the popularity of korean-pop (K-pop) stars. i don't get how chinese culture is shaping the country. As far as i know, Tsinoys are clannish, still a minority and have no interest in spreading their culture; first/ second generation fil-chinese want their offsprings to only marry Fil-Chinese. In fact, many non-tsinoys i know hold prejudices against fil-chinese; tsinoys are seen as greedy, lascivious (tulo-laway), etc. My conviction tells me that there's no sinofication-- i think i invented a wrong term-- but koreanization is more plausible culturally; man, just look at the gwiyomi/pa-cute vids on youtube.
When I read your perceptive, common-sense bound perspectives, from a 22 year-old -- along with those of young "J" at The Nutbox -- I am absolutely confident that the Philippines has its best years ahead.
DeleteSinofication is a great word. I've just added it to the Humpty Dumpty New World Dictionary.
haha thanks, i know politics because i was a political science major. but frankly, i was torn between my realist side and fledgling patriotic side on the USS Guardian issue. part of me said that we had to demand reparation from the US gov't, another part of me said that we need to preserve ties with them and let bygones be bygones like what you said.
DeleteCorrect Pinoy Realist. Hegemony is better than colonization. It achieves the same thing without having to worry about occupation and all its attendant problems. - mb
Deletehegemony is certainly better than colonization. if china decided to imitate korea's soft power-- gangnam style, k-pop, dramas, etc, they would have marketed their cheap products much better. Still, they chose the hard way-- military build-up, aggression and threats.
Deletebut i don't think US or Chinese hegemony will come to fruition in the Philippines. Cliche as it sounds, the philippine culture is a melting pot and pretty unique; we have america's populism and mass consumerism to a lesser degree, spain's work ethic , and asian collectivsm exemplified by identification by group membership, barkada-mentality, pakikisama (trying to belong), etc
and then there's the looming ASEAN integration, which i hope will make the region competitive as a whole relative to china.
It may be a matter of interpretation but arguably China did colonize Xinjiang (1949) and Tibet (1959).
ReplyDeleteMy impression is that in Tibet China is committing cultural and actual genocide by mass migration of Han citizens into the area.
Yes China colonized Xinjiang and Tibet. And it is paying the price of colonization - mb
Deletei was referring to maritime invasion, though i didn't clear that up. as far as i know, they abandoned their maritime empire dreams in order to become a land-based empire.
DeleteTrue, China was never a naval power. At some time in history, Korea and Vietnam were part of the empire. But now, it's building and/or acquiring aircraft carriers (?). So is future capability indicative of intention?
ReplyDeleteBut as a people, the Chinese tend to "colonize" people by their business acumen. Not as a nation but as a superb mercantile class. In every major city there is a Chinatown. This is happening in Australia as well. Am I stereotyping? Filipinos as entertainers, the Chinese as businessman, and Aussies as swimmers.
it's fair to say that these chinese are influential through their business acumen; even in indonesia & malaysia, the chinese are at the top of the wealth pyramid. in fact malaysian-chinese are discriminated by affirmative action laws favoring the malays--whatever their natives are called. but, there's no concrete evidence which proves that these businessmen act in mainland's national interest; they're doing it for personal gain.
DeleteOn the naval power build-up. i dare to hazard a guess that they are eyeing to "regain" taiwan. i even read an economist article that discussed the potential missile-race between the two nations. i'm no longer updated on sino-taiwan relations, but the idea of them striking us seems far-fetched and irrational on their part. an attack would activate our mutual defense treaty with the US on certain grounds.
Wherever I go there are Chinatowns. New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, France, Quebec, Wherever I go there are Chinatowns. Progressive. Innovative. Clean and safe.
DeleteKoreatown, too, along Financial hub on wilshire blvd in los angeles. Little Ethiopia south of Fairfax Los Angeles ....
Do not bother Historic Filipinotown. There are more hispanics than Filipinos. More hispanic taqueria than Filipino restaurants. I am scratching my head what historic about this place?
Little Tokyo downtown LA, Armenian in Glendale, huge Japanese population in Rowland Heights. Cerritos is the main Filipino city in Southern California. There are Iranians in Beverly Hills, Russians and Cubans and Guatemalans. What is interesting is that all these communities subordinate their ethnic enclave to the American dream, and laws. And the lawless Philippines appears afraid of those who obey the laws.
DeleteThe last sentence is certainly true, Joe. Most Filipinos would even label you weird or laugh at you when you're law-abiding in your OWN COUNTRY, but it's a totally different case when they are working or living abroad.
DeleteYes, it's bizarre here, the sense of pride that goes along with "gaming the system" or flaunting the laws. Well, if the law makers and law enforcers are themselves known to be "gaming the system", it is good to turn the tables on them. That, I think is the motivation. "They can do it, I can do it."
DeleteThey may not strike you. They don't need to. You already volunteered and made your pick.
ReplyDeleteMalay/filipino race is again out of favor despite the fact that they are the majority. After the Spanish and the Americans the new idols now going to be white "tall" Koreans and Chinese.
The Philippines as a version or fusion of China soon? Filipinos do not see it happening because it is going on in a relatively painless way. The USA makes them feel pain vs. the Chinese who are doing it slowly without symptoms. Maybe it will be the first time the Philippines will be changed without serious military conflict.
If that's the case, I hope Filipinos won't adopt the exotic food taste of chinese.
DeleteJoe America is banned from GetReal for two things:
ReplyDelete1. JoeAm speaks and write good Real American English. FILIPINOS hate those that write excellent english better than them. Filipino englischtzes is intimidation tool among Filipinos. When they quarrel they throw englischtzes jabs. When the other respond in kind, the other starts nitpicking on grammar and englischtzes usage. VERY COMMON AMONG FILIPINOS. Filipino commenters envy my conversational englischtzes. Since they cannot have my style, they attack my extremely correct englischtzes. Since then i've been disemboweling and mangling my English. To this day, I just lost my English.
2. JoeAm is philosophical. Philosophy is logic based like math. Filipinos are poor in Math moreso in English. In the U.S. Scripps spelling bee and National Academic Decathlon there will always be no Filipino winners. Recent Scripps spelling bee was won by a female Asian-Indian.
3. Filipinos are territorial like dogs. The difference between dogs and Filipinos is It is easier to teach an old dog new tricks than Filipinos old tricks. My dog pee and pooh on sandbox. Filipinos pee and pooh anywhere except on places where it is posted "Bawal Umihi Dito". This is what I noticed in the U.S., too. American dogs knows it is 10:00 p.m. THEY DO NOT BARK. Filipino dogs bark and bark and bark and bark. When the dog barks, Filipino owners bark back to their dog with strong accented englischtzes "SHUT UP!". So dog and master are barking in the middle of the night.
4. Dogs love assignments and books. Dog eats my son's assignments and books. I checked books of Filipinos it is still in mint prestine condition. Never opened. Never checked twice. When I bring my dog to Filipino parties my dog cowers beneath the couch when TFC is blaring while Filipinos seemed to be amused. The most purchased book of Filipinos is The Bible for display only. Never opened.
5. Filipinos in the U.S. leave their lemons and oranges to drop on the ground to rot. If someone picks up the oranges and lemons they go insane. Whereas, Americans picks up and place oranges and lemons in the bakset outside the house for walkers to pick-up for free.
MOST OF ALL, FILIPINOS HATE COMPETITION. That is why in every election and competition NO FILIPINOS GIVE IN. The only Filipino that accepted defeat in the history of Filipino race is MANNY PACQUIAO. He accepted defeat.
de Vega is one of them.
de Vega is NOT ONE OF THEM.
DeleteFilipinos hate competition. Yes, that is what drives the anger during elections, and the jealousies everywhere. That benign0 is afraid of the opinions of JoeAm, and had to pull the "execution" switch on JoeAm, confirms exactly how traditionally Filipino he is. To the core. He is what he criticizes.
DeleteHas anyone noticed that those Filipinos that blog thought they are superior? If anyone post contrary to what they think they have that one ex-commed, banned and blocked?
ReplyDeleteSomething is totally absolutely wrong.
Filipinos are also credential-conscious. They love to quote dead poet society members.
If I say "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.". IT IS WRONG
But if I say "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.-ARISTOTLE". I AM CORRECT.
What is the diff between the two? The ARISTOTLE thingie. I just wonder why I have to attribute it to someone when the quote is already true.
I tend to view Philipine social values as shifting, as more people are looking inward and seeing the weakness of blame and excuse-making and living a cheating lifestyle. So there is a core of modern-thinkers, college educated, honest people interested in the well-being of the Philippines as a community, rather than as a collection of self-serving power-mongers. You see glimpses of that in the commentary here and elsewhere. So hopefully the generalized social weaknesses you recognize will get squeezed out by a wave of enlightenment.
DeleteMariano,
DeleteTotally agree. Filipinos are not independent thinkers. We rely on authority. MB's comments on the master-slave psychology of the Filipino are pertinent. We have a slave mentality in politics, in religion, in work. The OFW phenomenon is reflective of this mentality. Not all OFW's do menial work, but those who do not are in fact doing menial work with their minds but not their hands.
Question is: How does one overcome the servant mentality? Part of MB's answer is by an act of will, by refusing to have masters. By being self-reliant. That takes strength, all kinds of strength. But even before that act of will, one has to come to the realization that one is a slave. And if one continues to quote Aristotle, believing that constitutes intelligence, then one is far from that realization.
President Ferdinand Marcos and Imelda Marcos had the Philippine Military Academy graduate Generals dressed up as drag queen. And the Generals danced along according to declassified cable of former Ambassador Sullivan.
ReplyDeleteWhy the Americans kept these cables secret tot his day is beyond my understanding. Maybe they did not want to hurt General and former President Ramos and Rambo Gringo Honasan. But for the last time could they dance for the people in Revillame's show?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/09/ferdinand-marcos-forced-generals-to-perform-drag-show_n_3042837.html
The Filipinos totally hate Americans. Lookit, unarmed drone invaded the territorial space of Philippines landed and sank at sea and Senator Legarda raised her arms in condemnation "Que Horror".
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/us-drone-philippines-guam-drill_n_2430770.html
Why are Filipinos so against Americans that helped Filipinos but not against China when they are poaching anteater in Spratleys? What is the noise all about?
HUH? FILIPINOS? Cant they get real better than de Vega?
Vega reminds me of the regional communist party leaders during the "Goulash Communism". He would have had a juicy carrier in the party. At the end of the regime he would have suffered a personal crisis and then conveniently become a capitalist, just like many of the communist leaders did. He sounds so familiar I recognize his type. He was born in the wrong time in the wrong country.
DeleteCultures, customs, even moral values differ. Luckily they do, variation drives evolution. It is scary how MacDonald and Coca Cola (lumpia and pizza) unify tastes, doing for culture what global warming does for the Grand Barrier Reef, where 50% is gone, nothing left in 2030.
ReplyDeleteIs there one superior set of values, one superior culture, one superior religion? Or does it all depend? Walking around in tee-shirt and shorts is awkward in a nudist camp, walking naked in the mall is equally awkward. A hot stew is delicious on a cold winter day, a refreshing salad in the summer.
What I mean is in the West not cheating creates respect , in China not being cheated creates respect. There cheating is not the issue, that’s natural, being naïve and allow systems that foster cheating is to blame. If you mix both cultures, it’s clear who will win.
For me the new big question is how to conserve diversity, Americans and Chinese and Korean and Filipino cultures. The language of armed conflicts is so old fashion.
Recommendation to all: Go to the Ayala museum. The exhibition on Philippine Ancestral Gold and A Millennium of Contact are phenomenal, it opened my eyes as in. In a previous exhibition on Chinese Riches, I thought that Philippine trade and development was originated by Chinese merchants. This exhibition shows how wrong I was. The Philippines before the Spaniards, before the Muslims, before the Chinese was a vibrant society. Hindu and Buddhist as their neighbors in Java, Bali, even Khmer and Thai. Go and see if you don’t believe me. (Mariano first?). But at the same time it is criminal that this is not being thought. For all colonial powers and the church it was important to ignore this. Is it also for current dynasties?
Ah, part poet, part philosopher, part pragmatist. How to cherish differences, refrain from war, and recapture the days when Manila was the dramatic heart of a sailing, trading Asia.
DeleteThe Philippines is the anti-state, the place where mafia-style families run the place, in loose confederation, some more likely to leave a horse head in a competitor's bed than others. The Church is merely one of the larger families. The national government is a deck of cards, stacked like a house, but prone to wobble as cards are forever yanked out and others squeezed gingerly into place.
America was the Wild West only 150 years ago, horses and cowboys and sixshooters and stagecoaches. The phenomenon is preserved in the Western garb of ranchers today, and the occasional rodeo in Cheyenne or Denver. And in movies, with John Wayne riding tall. Or Clint Eastwood staring steely-eyed, from a western movie made on the cheap in Italy.
America today is techologically plugged in and clean and hardworking and consuming goods as if the planet had no bottom. You'll find a few horses in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, but the rest of the city is cement and steel and dishes to catch the little microwave bursts of a bazillion computers and cell phones and gadgets.
You can't stop change, and if you spend too much time pining for the past, you risk falling off the bullet train, or growing old really fast.
Not cheating is superior to not being cheated. The first assumes respect in all dealings. The second assumes there is no respect.
DeleteThe Silver Rule: Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you. (That is Confucian by the way.)
A superior set of values can be arrived at - if the leaders of all religions sat down and came up with a supra-religious code.
Edgar, values are given down over generations. You believe what you experienced or what trusted friends (at young age = your parents) told you. Few people have religious leaders as trusted friends.
Delete(Dutch or German research found that certain lullabies stood more then 400 years in the same families, passed down from mother to daughters.)
The core values of Filipinos are Austronesian, Christianity is just a veneer. They should recognize this and there is plenty to be proud of. It is a set of values that makes life easy, relationships and dependencies important. Colonization indeed had a bad affect, but mainly on the ruling class.
Joe, the dominant culture in the US is protestant, adventures and immigrants were people daring to take a risk. New England, the founding fathers... not the romanticized Far West were dominant.
Yes, and the protestant work ethic served America well, and still does. My point was that old cultural traditions that do not serve the nation well are likely to fade away. We shouldn't worry too much about it. We should not insist that people ride horses when the automobile is upon us, and we ought not weep for horses. Or tribes or dynasties or anything but what serves the community well today. We ought not pine for a "lost Philippines" if modernization brings foreign talent and faces to the Philippines or the internet pushes street dances and fiestas into a quainter part of society. We ought to embrace the present, for what works best.
DeleteThis is easy to say if you come from a proud, assertive and dominant culture. Just read Mariano to understand that Filipinos are afraid of there own culture. Nobody talks about it, only Catholicism, a skin deep veneer, is allowed to describe and explain the beef. (I feel their shame: "Our forefathers were Hindus!!!"... read their textbooks "Our forefathers believed in one God, just waiting for the revelation of Jesus Christ just as the Jews were")
DeleteJoseplvo,
DeleteIt is true as a general rule that cultural values are handed down. But in my case, I am a child of East and West, and as an individuated adult I have come to realize - am still realizing - my own set of ethical values which are superior to my inherited cultural values.
Arguably, there is a superior set of ethical values that all of mankind can adopt and by which they can live in some semblance of peace.
Why can't de Vega posts his rebuttal against JoeAm in Society of Honor? Why hide inside the skirt of benign0's lousy blog? Why? Because JoeAm cannot respond in GetReal. JoeAm is banned. de Vega is a COWARD !!! Intellectually unfit like benign0 TRULY A FILIPINO. Filipinos are cowards. Filipinos hate Americans and when China comes knocking on Philippines door they run to Papa. Yes, the Americans that they hate. !!!!!
ReplyDeletePROMISE HA? HAWR! HAWR! HAWR! HAWR! Do you know that benign0 and de Vega have problem with spoken englsichtzes? Their englsichtzes is soooo fulll of aaaaahs aaaaahs and more aaaaahs because they are not goot englischtzes-speakers as they wanted to portray themselves.
Lookit, people. If Filipinos are criticize of their englischtzes they come out from the forest to protect their spokent englsichtzeas. Come out come out wherever you are !!!!!!!
He asked me via e-mail to post his blog here, but I figured a link was good enough. We've since shared reasonably reasonable e-mails to get rid of the personal animus. It's cool . . .
DeleteHey, Uncle Joe. Loose Ends, a fitting title to this piece.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that you're moving to WP.
Lots of guts in the kitchen, I see. So, good luck with the souffle. I hope you have more luck than us seeing China give up its appetite for our territory. I'll give that as a collective wish from us, Vietnam and Japan.
Maybe China will see exports shrinking and put two and two together to recognize she can't keep irritating her nearby markets by staking claim to their territory.
DeleteKeep those frogs toasting!
As long as there's a market for cheap China goods, its exports won't really dwindle. Even now I can still news on those lead laced painted stuff coming in from that country. So, good luck.
DeleteAnd yeah, the frogs are toasting and roasting. Hahaha.
The Americans are selling their old clunkers to the Philippines to "modernize" its navy! HUH?
ReplyDeleteWhy sell Philippines their obsolete boats without the guns if America wanted inoperatibility between the two?
http://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/04/23/the-u-s-and-the-philippines-a-vital-partnership/
Something is terribly wrong here. Americans knew Philippine navy is weak. Instead, Americans are selling passenger boat to the Philippine Navy. WHERE ARE THE PHILIPPINE MEDIA?
Selling? What can the Philippines afford to buy?
ReplyDelete"The Philippines has the weakest navy in the region, and its air force is unable to patrol and monitor its vast maritime territory. It resorts to the futile filing of diplomatic protests whenever an aggressive China encroaches on its [exclusive economic zone]."
Pathetic.
Of course, the Chinese should be jailed. There were caught with poaches species
ReplyDeleteWas the US Navy even poaching?
But then, typical leftist in the Philippines.
At least the US spend 45million to remove their ship while being fined for just 1/40 of that price while the PCG was the one to remove the Chinese boat.