Tag: china

Pirated DVDs: Ronald Llamas’s apology misses the more important point

February 1, 2012 benign0 30 Comments

According to presidential adviser on political affairs Ronald Llamas, he is sorry for being an enthusiastic patron of pirated (illegally copied and distributed) DVDs because he is â€œno longer a regular guyâ€. I wonder then what this says about the typical regular Filipino guy? I have many times in the past asserted that Filipino government…

Crime, Government, Lifestyle, Media, Society

A Planet-Sized Sense of Foreboding

August 26, 2011August 26, 2011 BenK 3 Comments

â€œIn times of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.â€ â€“ Eric Hoffer Turn on your television, or log on to the Internet, or pick up a newspaper â€“ in whatever way you get your daily news, chances are pretty good…

Culture, Society

BRP Gregorio del Pilar and the China crisis is achieving where Noynoy Aquino has so far failed

July 28, 2011 benign0 15 Comments

Filipinos are surprisingly in general agreement on something — a will to defend the Spratly Islands against threats from China whatever the cost. Perhaps this is an opportunity of a lifetime. This shared sentiment is evident in how a swell of pride is becoming more and more palpable with the arrival of what is so…

Government, Politics, Society

Military hardware – not digital whining – makes it right

June 24, 2011June 24, 2011 benign0 14 Comments

One degeneration after another. The emo-style with which Filipinos think they could initiate reform — Edsa “revolutions”, “unity” walks, “interfaith” rallies, and then online “petitions” and now blog “action” days, Twitter barrages, and Facebook “meme” spreading — yields flaccid one-time results at best. Perhaps there were small wins (Heritage of Smallness, remember?) — a missing…

Crime, Government, Media, Politics, Technology

Should the Philippines increase military spending and prepare for war?

June 24, 2011February 26, 2022 benign0 32 Comments

In the last couple of months, tension between China and the Philippines around claims of sovereignty over the Spratly Islands have escalated, punctuated most recently by the deployment of the Philippine Navy warship BRP Rajah Humabon which sailed on a “patrol” mission to the Scarborough Shoal off Zambales. The Armed Forces of the Philippines as…

Civics, Culture, Featured, Society

Philippine-China conflict: How did we come to be so dependent on Chinese imports?

June 14, 2011March 7, 2014 benign0 24 Comments

Last weekend Governor Joey Salcedo of the Philippine province of Albay issued what on the surface looks to be a ludicrous proposal — that Filipinos “boycott” Chinese-made products. Salcedo made this call to Filipinos to “hurt [China] where it counts” in light of recent military and diplomatic tension between the Philippines and China over the…

Culture, Development, Economy, Lifestyle

The failed ‘globalization’ experiment

May 12, 2011May 12, 2011 benign0 No Comments

Entire generations have been indoctrinated in the concepts of hooking up to the bigger global market rather than maintaining local self-sufficiency. Even the United States with its decades-long wanton “outsourcing” binge ultimately shot itself in the foot. It created manufacturing powerhouses like China that are now racking up surplus upon surplus while globo-“sourcer”, the US,…

Money Talks

Why do Filipinos grieve noisily?

March 31, 2011March 31, 2011 benign0 12 Comments

It baffles me the way the furor over the execution of the three convicted Filipino drug mules in China reached the crescendo that we are seeing today. It’s as if this thing had not been hanging over Filipinos’ heads for the last several months. It first captured the broader public awareness when the Philippine Government…

Culture, Religion