Category: Politics

The Philippines: an Ampaw Republic governed by an Ampaw President

March 15, 2014 benign0 7 Comments

It all started with former Congressman Teddy Casiño’s morning greeting on Twitter… Good morning citizens of the Ampaw Republic! That pretty much made our morning. Within minutes, hordes of Pinoy Pridists descended upon the hapless activist, denouncing his likening of the Philippines to the no-substance low-nutrition Filipino dessert ampaw. Ampaw is made of puffed-up grain…

Culture, Development, Government, Politics, Society

Senator Miriam Santiago: ‘social media superstar’ or just another ampaw politician?

March 15, 2014 benign0 14 Comments

Of all people. Senator Miriam Santiago was the last person in the world I would’ve expected to request that Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III be “given leeway in making his decisions.” “I will be very careful in criticizing a president because I have close, first hand observation of how difficult it is to…

Politics, Society

President Noynoy Aquino is an ampaw President, a President without substance

March 14, 2014March 14, 2014 Ilda 36 Comments

Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino is not only good at making people angry; he is also good at making people laugh. In fact, he doesn’t seem to mind being the butt of his own jokes. In a forum held recently at Hope Christian High School in Manila, he warned his captive audience – impressionable…

Civics, Politics

Noynoy Says To Shun “Ampaws”

March 14, 2014March 14, 2014 Gogs 10 Comments

An essential album in my collection is a Miles Davis recording called Kind of Blue. The opening track called So What. Wikipedia tell me that it is ” one of the best known examples of modal jazz, set in the Dorian mode and consisting of 16 bars of D Dorian, followed by eight bars of…

Culture, Government, Politics

Social media for social change? Think again, Philippines

March 13, 2014March 13, 2014 FallenAngel 12 Comments

The more I hear people say that social media is going to be a “game-changer” for social good, or however they want to say it, the more I get convinced that it’s actually not going to happen. Social media is commonly delineated in scope to refer to Facebook, Twitter and in some cases Youtube, no…

Civics, Media, Politics, Society, Technology

According to Senator Miriam Santiago, the next Philippine president should have a vagina

March 12, 2014February 20, 2022 benign0 21 Comments

Here is Senator Miriam Santiago’s compelling argument for why the next President of the Philippines should be a woman… “We’ve had 13 male and only two female presidents so far. The Philippines has had a total of 15 presidents. To achieve equality between males and females, since we have had 13 males, the next 11…

Civics, Government, Lifestyle, Politics, Society

Why the good guys need to keep it real when dealing with Russia and China

March 12, 2014March 12, 2014 benign0 13 Comments

One thing about all the conflicts going on around the world today is that their underlying causes haven’t changed. War has always been all about resources — access to and control over it. This is essentially what aspirations to national “independence” are all about. They start with “oppressed” people complaining about being sick and tired…

Economy, Politics, Society

Kim Henares’s BIR tax cheat ad fiasco: All Filipino doctors need is an extra layer of skin

March 10, 2014March 10, 2014 benign0 41 Comments

Poor Kim Henares. The beleaguered Commissioner of the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is caught between a rock and a hard place — her ass is being kicked by President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III to bleed more legal revenue from the Filipino people. Trouble is, Filipino politicians derive illegal revenue from all that…

Crime, Culture, Politics