Category: Society

Philippine ‘Independence’ Day on June 12: a desperate claim to a false achievement

Posted on By benign0 12 Comments on Philippine ‘Independence’ Day on June 12: a desperate claim to a false achievement

Guess what’s coming up: “Independence” Day. More precisely, it is the could-have-been day of independence unilaterally declared by General Emilio Aguinaldo back on the 12th of June 1898 that we are celebrating this coming 12th of June. Many who see that day as a day that defines “Filipino nationalism” are right. We are a nation…

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Culture, Society

Hypocritical respect

Posted on By Ms. Mike Portes 7 Comments on Hypocritical respect

Is this an honest mistake or a subliminal message from the Office of the President based on PNoy’s warning to China regarding the disputed Spratlys? To quote: ““We may not have the capabilities now, but that might force us to increase our capabilities also,”? Or is this a message that the PNoy administration is dead…

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Media, Politics, Society

The key dysfunction of the RH Bill ‘debate’: leaving out the ‘being’ from the ‘human’ equation

Posted on By benign0 59 Comments on The key dysfunction of the RH Bill ‘debate’: leaving out the ‘being’ from the ‘human’ equation

A lot of the “debate” around the issue of Reproductive Health in the Philippines revolves around the notion of the “human” life at stake during various stages of pregnancy from the time of conception. According to Fr Joaquin Bernas in his now famous Inquirer.net column, “The Constitution commands that the life of the unborn be…

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Development, Religion, Science, Society

Iran: model of successful population control and an inspiration to Filipinos

Posted on By benign0 9 Comments on Iran: model of successful population control and an inspiration to Filipinos

The Iranian experience in implementing a successful population management program has become a model for many countries that seek to overcome the debilitating burden overpopulation presents to development aspirations. The most remarkable aspect of Iran’s program is in how what was once a religious directive to go forth and multiply had been repealed by the…

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Development, Economy, Education, Media, Religion, Society

Over-population is not just a problem of poor countries

Posted on By benign0 19 Comments on Over-population is not just a problem of poor countries

Think of what it takes to sustain human civilisation at the standards of living we believe that everyone is entitled to. Have we stopped to think what it would mean for a billion Chinese people, say, to have access to a standard of living equivalent to that enjoyed by Western Europe and North America today?…

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Development, Economy, Environment, Society, Technology

Philippine-style religion equals Philippine-style poverty

Posted on By benign0 13 Comments on Philippine-style religion equals Philippine-style poverty

Over at ProPinoy.net, blogger Doy Santos presents a comprehensive statistical picture of religious fervor in the Philippines. According to Santos’s figures the Philippines counts itself among the Top Ten countries with populations that have the highest rated “confidence in their church”. This Top Ten is predominantly Islamic. Tanzania is reckoned to be 50-50 Christian/Islamic and,…

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Culture, Development, Religion, Society

The Church’s flaccid ‘all-out war’ against Philippine Reproductive Health

Posted on By benign0 5 Comments on The Church’s flaccid ‘all-out war’ against Philippine Reproductive Health

The Church of nowadays is doing what it does best, pointing a finger at the “Infidel” and launching a crusade against it. In this case the Infidel is President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and his Malacañang and the “crusade” is a step up of its “all-out war” against the Reproductive Health Bill currently being pushed…

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Culture, Development, Religion, Society

Should the US share photos of a dead Osama Bin Laden with the public?

Posted on By benign0 12 Comments on Should the US share photos of a dead Osama Bin Laden with the public?

On the 11th September 2001 Americans lost 5,000 of their civilian compatriots and saw symbols of their way of life come crashing down. The need to hold up (at best) evidence of or (at worst) a trophy signifying triumph over an enemy that they’ve been hunting down for almost ten years is not only understandable….

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Civics, Crime, Government, Religion, Society