Category: Society

Saving Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign from his own balasubas supporters

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 benign0 61 Comments

Well, what would one expect of a character like Rodrigo Duterte? A man with his character would, indeed, reflect the character of his constituents. Mga balasubas. My colleague Paul Farol earlier wrote about the plight of a certain Jack Labang who had the “audacity” to post a disapproving comment about Duterte’s recent announcement of his…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Politics, Society

Imagining a truly world-class Metro Manila

November 25, 2015November 25, 2015 benign0 17 Comments

The recently-concluded Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Metro Manila proved that to get the best results out of the Philippines’ premiere metropolis, its residents need to be excluded from major events like these. This is quite ironic considering the theme of APEC Manila 2015 was inclusion — getting as many ordinary Filipinos in…

Civics, Development, Lifestyle, Society

Alternative Media (Part 14): Urban Gothic

November 24, 2015 Grimwald No Comments

Urban Gothic is a novel written by prolific horror writer Brian Keene. While still believed to be quite a ways off from Stephen King or Dean Koontz, Brian Keene is nonetheless quite the storyteller when it comes to tales of terror and I will admit that some of my horror stories are inspired by his classics…

Crime, Culture, Glitz and Glamour, Media, Society

Why Americans are embracing Donald Trump’s view of the world

November 24, 2015November 24, 2015 benign0 11 Comments

Donald Trump is on a war path against political correctness. And America is increasingly behind him as he leads the charge to take the beachhead. US media reportedly does not know what to do about Trump. It covers him because he delivers the all-important ratings their shareholders salivate over yet, in doing so, the industry…

Civics, Government, Media, Politics, Society

Rodrigo Duterte’s promise to Filipinos in his bid for the presidency

November 23, 2015November 23, 2015 benign0 10 Comments

The return of former Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte to the Philippines’ 2016 presidential election race says a lot about how little of a foothold real “democracy” has made in Philippine society. Democracy is not just about “freedom” and “elections”. It is also about justice and discipline. Duterte’s main value proposition to Filipino voters addresses…

Crime, Culture, Government, Politics, Society

A Sermon On The Hypocrisies Of The Aquinos And Other Celebrities

November 22, 2015 Grimwald 7 Comments

This is written in response to all those supporters of the Aquino family who keep telling their critics that “they’ve done a lot” for the common people. In all honesty, as much as I’d like to respect other people’s opinions and as much as I hate having to lecture people in a quasi-religious manner, I think…

Culture, Government, Lifestyle, Media, Religion, Society

Do Your Country a Favor: Get Out!

November 21, 2015 zaxx 127 Comments

Stuck in the middle of traffic, inching your way like a tortoise every few minutes while staring at the sea of red tail lights at a standstill on the massive virtual parking lot that’s before you as far as the eye could see, you slam the driver’s wheel asking yourself “Why am I even putting…

Culture, Development, Economy, Education, Society

The Two Knights

November 21, 2015 Grimwald 2 Comments

Introduction After the events of APEC, it’s sad to note that so few Filipinos even know what it was about in the first place. Indeed, the whole APEChottie hashtag, as shown here by Kate Natividad, seems to be a bigger issue than the other problems that trouble the Philippines such as the threat of terrorist…