We beg to differ.
I am Joseph Scott Pemberton. I’ve been that boy in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ve been in dark alleys, rented rooms, and in the company of strange women. But I was lucky (like you’ve been lucky) that the person who could have harmed either of us just didn’t harm us at that…
The Philippines does not negotiate with terrorists. Or so we are told following the miraculous “rescue” of two German hostages Stefan Viktor Okonek and Henrike Dielen held by the Islamic terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. According to Abu Sayyaf spokesman Abu Rami, the ransom they demanded was paid. According to the Philippine Government no such ransom…
I often wonder about the twisted priorities of Philippine society. I read just now how Quezon City Mayor Herbert “Bistek” Bautista is reportedly mulling the allowing of same-sex marriage in his city. Ok, so how is it that something like that takes precedence over — and garners a lot more media mileage than — a…
Read More “Is same-sex marriage a more important issue than divorce??” »
I watched just now the excellent speech delivered by Emma Watson at the United Nations in New York City last Saturday. This was on the occassion of the launch of the UN HeForShe campaign and she spoke as the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, a role she was appointed to about six months earlier. Watson said…
Read More “Emma Watson’s feminism speech and why men should STILL harden the f–k up” »
United States President Barack Obama announced on national television the other night that the US will be stepping up its military involvement in the Middle East to crush the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) — specifically “degrade and ultimately destroy” it. “I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who…
Fascinating the way life’s common vicissitudes are somehow magnified and celebrated when celebrities experience them. Whether it be falling into and then rehabilitation from alcohol or substance abuse, getting sick then recovering, suffering a nervous breakdown, or experiencing the heady bliss of romance, showbiz folk make a big drama out of it. I guess that’s…
Read More “What I learned from Boy Abunda’s and Billy Crawford’s personal dramas” »
For many Filipinos, the fight being waged by Islamic militants to re-establish a Muslim caliphate across vast swaths of the Arab world in North Africa and the Middle East has remained a mere peripheral issue. Recent events however have revealed disturbing insight into how much of the events over there may be resonating among the…
Read More “Philippine Army keeps cool as Malaysia goes on high alert against Islamic militants!” »
There is a world of difference between (1) making a quick visit to the Philippines, and beholding all the usual stock-standard confronting sights of impoverished Filipinos “bravely” scraping together a living and (2) growing up in the Philippines, and experiencing that poverty (either as a part of it or as an observer) everyday for many…