We beg to differ.
Recently the Japanese pop group AKB48, an “idol” theatre group composed of young girls, created a sensation after a computer-generated “composite” character “joined” the group to appear in a candy commercial. The character, named Aimi Eguchi, became a hit with AKB48 fans who at the time did not know she only existed in a computer….
Read More “AKB48: Computer-generated pop stars and next-gen pop entertainment” »
The alleged assault against court sheriff Abe Andres by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte is now turning into a media circus. But one good thing that came out of this recent dragging of the premier city of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao into the limelight is the renewed interest in the spotty human rights…
Read More “Davao Death Squads – do they deliver results or just more problems?” »
So we want more foreign investment, do we? Stop to think. How much of it have we already received? Look around and take stock of what exactly it is about “the Philippines” that is of any consequence to anyone that is indigenous in origin. Indeed, the Philippines is one big foreign investment. Much if not…
Read More “The Philippines is one big SQUANDERED foreign investment” »
The grand-daddy of our culture-as-root-cause thesis, the late great Teddy Benigno, in his classic 2002 Star article Why investors avoid us: The trust factor highlighted what, at the time, was a very conservative forecast regarding China’s fortunes made in a Nomura Research Institute (NRI) study that foresaw a China that could “burgeon into the world’s…
Read More “Without operational excellence, capital is squandered” »
A visitor to GetRealPhilippines.com sent a letter by email dated 31 October 2005 that, in a nutshell, best describes the whole problem with our society’s regard for the youth. Here is an excerpt: we filipinos are so hypocrete. we live on lies and half truth. when I was a kid (am now 40 [years old])…
Read More “The Filipino Youth: where lies hope for a better Philippines in the future” »
President Noynoy Aquino (PNoy) will be giving his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) soon. Like his first SONA, his speech will most likely be full of motherhood statements similar to all the previous speeches he had delivered since he announced his plans to run for the Presidency in 2009. There is very little…
Read More “President Noynoy Aquino’s Second State of the Nation Address (SONA)” »
In the last couple of months, tension between China and the Philippines around claims of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands have escalated, punctuated most recently by the deployment of the Philippine Navy warship BRP Rajah Humabon which sailed on a “patrol” mission to the Scarborough Shoal off Zambales. The Armed Forces of the Philippines as…
Read More “Should the Philippines increase military spending and prepare for war?” »
As we approach the end of the fiscal year under the administration of a man who, during his campaign, trumpeted his envisioned role as President as one of being a “fiscalizer,” the time to take stock of what has been achieved or, at least, what groundwork had been lain over the last 12 months is…
Read More “What the context of the next State of the Nation Address (SONA) should be” »