We beg to differ.
At the very end of 2012, the US media and public was gripped with near-panic over what was then called the “fiscal cliff,†a combination of tax increases and a programmed series of government spending cuts that was to automatically take effect on January 1 of this year. Just as the deadline passed, the US…
Although the record of the current administration of the Philippines with respect to regulating labor has been unimpressive so far, Republic Act 10361, also known as the Batas Kasambahay or “Domestic Workers’ Act,” which took effective on February 10, is a notable exception. The law, which was signed by President Aquino on January 18, provides…
In past years, the dates of the EDSA People Power revolution were declared national holidays. This means even workers had the day off. This year, though, it seems only students had the day-off. People with jobs had to go to work. For those who normally going through EDSA, it would mean slugging it out in…
Read More “Making sense of EDSA I, 27 years down the yellow brick road” »
Although the topic has not appeared on the media radar for a couple months, the always-contentious issue of the minimum wage will again be front-page news in 2013, if everything goes according to the Aquino Administration’s plans. By the end of this year, the government has a goal to replace the current minimum wage regulations…
(As published in The Manila Times, Thursday, February 21) One of the key reasons Southeast Asia is the world’s most economically-promising region is the strength and stability of the regional multilateral partnership, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). With the debatable exception of the European Union, no other multinational cooperative in the world performs…
Read More “Moving Away from the ASEAN is a Costly Mistake” »
Many ‘activists’ who are focusing on how much money is spent by election candidates and where and when their colourful messages are being flashed miss the whole point of elections. Elections are a necessarily messy occasion. Messiness is a good symptom of a healthy number of options presented to “the people” — those folk that…
Environmentalism is a creed of mysticism. While it often tries to display a veneer of science, it in fact rejects reason and science. It regularly makes claims that are divorced from any objective evidence. –Â In Moral Defense of Forestry, Peter Schwartz. Posted in Ayn Rand Center, January 28, 2000 The Tree Huggers in Baguio and…
Read More “The “Save” Brand of Environmentalism: Sunsets, Trees and Unicorn Poop” »
Nope, this won’t be another 2,000 word entry just about Saving Manila Bay or Saving Baguio Pine Trees, I think people have had enough of that for now. It’s a Saturday morning in the Philippines. Â The sky is bright baby blue, the air is cool, birds are chirping in the yard, one of my house…
Read More “The Rise of Syndicated Environmental Advocacies” »