Dog Love and How It Impacts on Love of Country
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by Wilfredo G. Villanueva
Been this way since I was small. Loved the fluffiness and cuddliness of the young ones, the loyal and intimidating presence of the grown-up ones.
It was my Nanay Aurora who stoked the fires of my love for dogs when I was 13. Saw a mixed German Shepherd puppy in my neighbor, it was love at first sight. She haggled, she charmed, got the puppy, smilingly gave it me. Walked around Naga with Boots in my footsteps, young dog owner. I grew up, saw other loves, college and girls, girls, girls, the dog Boots whelped a puppy Midnight, lived on without me, Tatay Deogracias took care of them when he was not having his asthma, the Mongol army of ticks moved in, Frontline wasn’t invented yet, the ticks became the dog, and all I could recall now is the ticks became the dog.
When I got married, my kumpare saw my goo-goo eyes for his pup, gave it to me and Duke had a better deal than Boots and Midnight. Buried him and his progeny Chrissie in the park when they died of old age. Saw a Whippet in a client’s house, he gave it to me because I’m the only Filipino he said who knew what a Whippet looked like. I was a better dog owner to Jock the Whippet, then came Liz the Belgian Malinois, dog training — sat beside Junjun Binay in dog camp because he has a stable of that breed — learned more and more about dogs and here I am pounding on my keyboard again for The Society of Honor, wanting to share with dear readers my take on dogs, how they taught me survival skills in a complex world, and how at the wake of AlDub love and Heneral Luna passion, dogs can teach us love of country.
Huh?
Where’d that come from?
Dogs are rich with metaphors of love. They see us their owners or handlers as their one and only world. They don’t have memory space for bad things, only good things. They are constant from first sight to last touch when they lie dying, ever eager to please, to obey, to love.
An article in National Geographic of November 2013 said, “evolutionary geneticist Olaf Thalmann of Finland’s University of Turku used DNA analysis techniques. . . to conclude that dogs are descended from a population of ancient European wolves that are now extinct.”
The modern dog is traced to “19,000 to 32,000 years ago, around the time that hunter-gatherers were living in Europe.”
Hunter-gatherers would group together for protection and production. They probably saw that gray wolves — large and aggressive predators — have a streak of loyalty and that they loved open fire to keep them warm. The theory is that man did not domesticate dogs, it was the other way around, and when dogs discovered that humans liked to cuddle too — fireworks, drum roll, trumpets blaring, cymbals clashing, boom! — the oldest love affair between different species was born, and it will be here f or as along as man likes to cuddle around fires, the beginnings of home as we know it.
Nothing comes close. Nothing compares to dog love if we pause and think about it. It’s in the eyes, an article said. When dog and man look eye-to-eye, that’s it, creation is complete, east meets west, man as steward (Eden) and dog as obedient companion. As it should be. As God meant it to be.
A quote from The Los Angeles Times, October 8 this year:
“What is it about the bond between human and dog that is not like the relationship between parent and child?
Now science offers a new explanation for the similarity. When our dogs gaze into our eyes with that ‘you are everything to me’ look, our bodies — and theirs as well — are flooded with oxytocin, the hormone of love and nurture that cements the bond between people.
In fact, the more that dog owners and their canine companions gazed into each others’ eyes, the more concentrated the burst of oxytocin both human and canine produced, Japanese researchers discovered. And the more we humans return a pet’s gaze and the greater the resulting surge of oxytocin, the more emphatically we believe ours is the best dog in the whole wide world. (Yes, she is . . . )
These findings, published in Friday’s edition of the journal Science, come courtesy of 30 beloved pets, including Golden and Labrador Retrievers, miniature Schnauzers and Dachshunds, standard and toy Poodles, and a Boxer, Border Collie, German Shepherd and Shetland Sheepdog.”
[“Those puppy-dog eyes trigger chemical connection with humans” – Los Angeles Times]
When I pray, I pray for my dogs. Living and dead, I pray for them. They have pure spirits, so where could dead dogs be except with the angels and saints?
Oops. Too ideal. Come back to reality now, Will. Okay, Philippines. There you go. Been to several countries but I rarely see them as emaciated, as sad and as misbegotten — sorry to have been born, dog-side and sorry to have kept you, man-side — as I see them in the beloved country. Man has devised the most cruel way to treat them, if the world is made up only of the Philippines. Ignoring them is as cruel as cruel gets, leaving them to their own devices on the street, rummaging through garbage, without even a pan of water to drink, open sores welcoming vermin of all sizes, rib cage like Rocinante’s, nose to the ground, tears for a lifetime.
And sometimes they do end up on the dinner table, correction, in a pan together with bottles of beer or gin or whatever makes men forget the cruelty of their own lives.
“Cute yan pag tuta pa lang,” a statement from a Filipino youth I was talking with about dogs. It defines us, really, the way we treat dogs. Cute only when small and cuddly, throw them away when they require the rigor of rabies shots, veterinary treatment when they’re sick, baths, good food, shelter, or water in a pan. Forgive me if I sound religious here, are we this way, punished in many ways, because we treat dogs this way? Read 32,000 years ago, eye-to-eye contact and oxytocin again.
Liz the Belgian Malinois is 12 years, canine years. Human years, possibly 84. Liz is crumbling, near ruination, her life cycle says 12 years, but I don’t see her sad or lackadaisical, no. She’s always pert, jumping over the flower box between yard and carport, coming to me with tail wagging just so, smiling the smile of dogs, narrowing her eyes a bit when I stroke her neck or her forehead as if to say, there, everything’s all right, I may be old, but I’m still your dog, ready to take a bullet for you anytime, Dad, Liz the Belgian Malinois at your service, and oh, did I tell you already today that I love you?
Dogs. Jock the Whippet is less showy than a Belgian Malinois, but it’s the same feeling. When Jock became gaunt, losing his appetite for food and life when he had a growth in his reproductive system, when I call him, he’s still Jock, unmindful of his deconstruction. And when the vet told me to lay him down on the white blanket which would be his death shroud for burial in our front yard, he lay down just like I said, obedient to the end, looking at me like he had just seen me for the first time, knowing it was play time when Dad was around, cheerfulness beyond the call of duty. Dogs do that, they teach us how to live, they also teach us how to die. Valiantly, happily, living and dying.
And back to reality again. It’s possible, isn’t it, that we are this way because we treat dogs generally this way?
Before I tear all over and become unable to finish this article for JoeAm, allow me to line up some points about the subject matter:
What improved in me, courtesy of dogs:
One, better communication skills. We have a different language, dogs and humans. The key is to look for things that will work. A certain look, a particular touch, the right tone, things like that. Verbal skills are important, but 95 per cent of the time, it’s the nonverbal transmission that closes the deal.
Two, persist, persist. Life’s not like that, not the way a computer works, click and up goes the app. Mostly it’s delayed gratification, train the dog until he or she finally gets it. Quitting is not an option.
Three, consistency. A dog will love unconditionally, but it will get cues to its own behavior by way of your own actions, habits, likes and dislikes, anger points, relaxed state. So, be there for the dog. It is sincere in its intention to please you, but you have to give the right cues, a map to the next step. Let me take some more time with this. When I see a dog being taken for a walk by a yaya, I think what a waste of precious resource. Walking itself will exercise both dog and man, that’s one. The interaction is another, makes a person be more reflective, “Aha! That’s the line I’m looking for!” exclaims the handler while he’s out walking the dog. Dogs place us in a spot of creation, makes every step meaningful, the genius in us is awakened, but it’ll happen only with consistency.
Four, firmness. Yes, the alpha dog. They’re pack animals after all. They cannot do without a leader who has earned their respect. Wishy-washy, no. Say it and mean it, yes.
Five, fitness. Some of the best moments in my running life happens with dogs on leash beside me. Dogs are like the canary in the mines. They give clues on impending danger, or that you’re way off tempo, on strat, or exercising excessively because they pant and show their tongues.
Six, loving feelings. That word again, love. Love is also a skill, we should know that by now. It’s an emotion first, then a decision, and finally a skill. Love without gray matter is bound to fail. Treat the dog well and it’ll run miles with you, treat it badly and you are the frustrated guy haranguing his dog, losing his temper on the poor fellow because the communication lines haven’t been established. It takes skill, consummate, untiring skill.
Seven, preventive maintenance. Ah, the words that seem to be Greek to most of us Filipinos. We drink till we’re zonked, eat till we could hardly breathe, emote till the world blurs. What of it, eat, drink and be merry, right? Nothing could be farther from the truth. There’s a right way and a wrong way. Our mothers are the saddest persons on earth because we just don’t listen, not about taking care of ourselves. With dogs, the effect is readily seen since they have shorter life spans. Neglect that Heartgard against heartworms and soon your canine or mutt will be in the doldrums, short of breath because the worms have choked the living daylights out of their hearts. Dogs are people in fast forward. Learn from them, live right.
Eight, good habits. Please memorize if you haven’t yet: WATCHED. W for words, A for actions, T for thoughts, C for character, H for habits, D for destiny. Jumble them up a bit. Watch your thoughts they will turn into words, watch your words they will turn into actions, watch your actions they will turn into habits, watch your habits they will turn into character, watch your character it will lead you to your destiny. (Attribution: Frank Outlaw, late president of Bi-Lo Stores.) What better way to practice WATCHED than with dogs, who will return every bit of goodwill, good turn and good habits to you his handler or owner by way of being a good dog.
Nine, appreciation and gratitude. I introduced an affirmative remark to dog training I think when I was training Liz in protection school. I would say “Thank you, Liz!” when she gets it. I overheard my classmates say, hey, that’s a good word, better than just “Good boy!” or “Good girl!” I thank my dogs for every bit of good deed they do, so that when I don’t say that, they know they have to do better next time. Gratitude separates the strong from the weak. The weak will not show any kind of weakness and saying thanks to another person other than themselves is the height of helplessness because it recognizes that they can’t do it alone. So thank you, and
Ten, good night. I sleep well every night knowing that Liz and my other dogs are awake or would be awake at the slightest strange sound while I’m in dreamland. I actually say good night to them so they’ll be aware of the transition, good morning, too. They’re a part of me, you see, Will moving around in the yard or in the house when Will is actually sound asleep.
So there, dogs. I turn around now and show the metaphor between dog and country, with your kind indulgence. A good country will:
One, make you expressive, to be free is to think and talk as you want.
Two, make you set your sight on a goal and help you achieve it no matter the consequences it entails.
Three, help you to be consistent, because to be true is to be happy, to be fulfilled.
Four, help you to stand your ground. To say this is my land, we have rules here.
Five, help you to be healthy, because health is wealth.
Six, give you love because to love is to be.
Seven, watch out for you, because school reunions will always come, and what joy it is to show the world that you did not only make dough, you made yourself a better person biologically, physically, spiritually.
Eight, help you create good habits. What is life without a destiny spawned by good habits?
Nine, help you to be grateful. A good neighbor. Nation building day after day, victory after victory, and
Ten, keep you secure. Take your eight or seven hours of zzzzzzs, you need that to be a whole person. Walk your talk, your dog, like your country has got you covered.
A country is all these. A good country makes good people, but it’s hard work. Oh yes, the rewards will come, but first, the breaking ground, the persistence, the refusal to accept defeat in the face of adversity.
Love dogs, love yourself, love country. In closing, allow me to share with you dog love by Will:
Liz
You turned 12 years dog life last August 23,
that’s 84 years if you were a human,
but through the years of togetherness,
you have turned exactly that, a human,
we can communicate with a mere look,
I remember when you were new in
our home, your paw got stuck in an
iron grille gate and when I reached over
to free you, you bit me, it surprised me,
it stung, four puncture wounds on my
right forearm, but I understood you,
you must have been in pain, and you
thought I would inflict more pain, and
being the ferocious dog that you are,
you bit me full on like the way you bite
the decoys in padded clothing for practice,
but I understood and didn’t take it against
you, and since that time we were
together through thick or thin, remember
the time when your skin erupted with
a gaping three-inch wound on your chest,
I nursed you with Imflamol ointment,
for months and months, the wound
didn’t seem to heal, always blood red
it was, but I persisted, and one day
the wound got tired of annoying us
for we could not run as much as we
wanted to, and it dried up, from blood
red, it became pinkish, then flesh
colored, a scar, and there were many
more close brushes, like the time
you defended Jock the Whippet from
a pack of dogs (he ran ahead of us
unleashed) and you knew which dog
to bite and bite and bite and you followed
it to its hiding place and when I recalled
you, you obeyed me at first word, and
we survived that attack, yes, many,
many times you defended our family,
what a good dog you are, so thank you,
Liz Girl, thank you for giving us years
and years of joy, it wasn’t easy to take
care of a dog not suited for our climate,
but we managed, and so as I write this,
I reflect and thank you for teaching me
many things, yes, it wasn’t always I who
did the teaching, dogs like you give
good examples for humans to follow,
such as persistence, the will to live,
loyalty, patience, contentment and peace,
how you have taught me these values,
you’re 84 in human years, yet we could
still run together, not as much as before,
but we could still feel the wind in our faces
like we did this morning, what a wonderful
feeling to be one with nature, to be one
with God’s gift to man, a dog loyal and
true, a dog who has claimed the good
life, who never questioned his place in
the sun, no hang-ups, no unforgiveness,
who always obeyed commands, you are
Liz the Belgian Malinois of the Villanuevas,
and I am Will, a human who is loved by a dog.
—Will
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
A few times I saw street dogs in the Philippines (I’m assuming they had no owners because they were so scraggly) hump away (doggy-style, how else), only to get thrown rocks, or water, or other things.
So the poor dogs, attempt to detach from one another, and get stuck. This was the reason for throwing things at them, of course– to see the dogs in this embarrassing and precarious position.
I’ve seen this same phenomenon play out in various 3rd world countries. Though I can see the fun in it. I’ve always sided with the dogs. I can’t imagine something similar play out over here, we tend to be more connected with our dogs– they’re seen as part of the family.
I wished more Filipinos felt for dogs the way you ‘ve written of them, Wil. Great article.
AlDub love and WilDog love!
🙂
Thanks, Irineo, for noticing!
Thanks, LCpl_X! (I thought Ireneo was the Lance Corporal, but maybe I’m just mixed up.) A part of me wanted to run as party-list with the name ASO, as my advocacy for Love of Dogs Equals Love of Country, but my family frowns on any kind of public exposure. Your dichotomy on dog treatment in, uhm rich countries vs. poor countries is precisely the reason for this article.
There was another dichotomy I saw, which involved some rich families in the Philippines.
These families owned full bred German shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, and Rottweilers, and they treated these full bred dogs better than they treated their help/servants and regular Filipinos off the street.
The flipside, and where the irony becomes delicious, is that those same street Filipinos, I’m sure– who had the penchant for dog abuse, kicking them, throwing things at them, etc… would’ve bowed to these full bred foreign dogs, regardless of the status of these dogs’ owners, I’m sure.
So this dichotomy is like a tesseract, multi-dimensional.
https://joeam.com/2015/10/15/dog-love-and-how-it-impacts-on-love-of-country/#comment-141827 – got an important insight from this discussion here – that much of the problems in the Philippines are about different social groups caring ONLY for themselves. Josephivo once made a posting about the different social groups being islands that are badly connected. And one is always afraid the folks on the other islands may cheat you, kill you or eat you, if you think of us as the cannibals and headhunters we still are inside for all our modern coating. My suspicion of Mar Roxas – which is now dispelled – was also based on that. If you look at our “colors” – actually social groups, the different candidates represent them:
1) Mar Roxas – dirty white “color”. Ateneo, Makati, rich landowners etc. The folks that neo canjeca referred to as “Merkano” = culturally “Americanized” Filipinos.
2) Poe – brown “color” (city “brown”, Duterte is country “brown”) – my original folks… Santiago and Marcos are also from this “color”, but Marcos is one who went against a part of his own “folks” – UP. In neo canjecas terminology, Espanols = Latinized Filipinos.
3) Binay – dark color without exclamation points (hehe). Neo calls them the Lumads. Ordinary soldiers, policemen, maids (MRP say house slaves), slum dwellers, etc.
In fact I had my own prejudices which until now prevented me from seeing Mar Roxas’ accomplishments – until I heard about them from giancarlo, one of “brown” color who is successfully working among the “dirty whites” in Makati. Distrust of those perceived to be “higher” and “lower” is a colonial legacy = creoles, mestizos and Indios never trusted one another and todays divisions are carried forth in that. Modern social mobility has lightened things up and “whites” like Mar and Bam Aquino opening up things from the “top” may finally remove postcolonial looking down and crabbing up in the country.
Grace Poe’s adoptive father was a racially white person who grew up among the “dark”, spoke and acted like them, while she has moved up to the brown. Joseph Estrada’s father was a “dirty white” Ejercito, but Erap was a dropout, a patrician who tried to be something like a Gracchus, a Plebeian Tribune. Had I stayed in the Philippines, I might have tried to move up to dirty white with my white skin, or would have dropped out to join the NPA and joined the “dark” guys. But being abroad like MRP, I can afford to be a whistle-blower on the true nature of Philippine society just like him without having to face the consequences of doing so – complete social isolation in a country where you are a nothing without the right networks. It is fun I admit, and nice to see some changes. Marcos Sr. was a brown trying to move up to the “dirty white” color, betraying some of his own folks in the process, marrying an outcast among the “dirty white” group – Imelda, and using the “dark” who wanted to move up to “brown” as allies – but who failed to do so. Aquino, Mar Roxas = “dirty white” but because of their families being marginalized by Marcos developed a certain sensitivity for the “brown”, not for the “dark” yet really, but then again nobody has really cared for them in 500 years of history. At least now dirty white and brown are getting closer in attitudes, at some point the “dark” will no longer be seen as that dark anymore and they will not see the rest as “too white” either. Malcolm Gladwell also wrote about the different shades of dirty white in his mother’s native country – Jamaica – and was amused how only they can see it…
Walk the dog, wash the dog, feed the dog, clean its poopoo, suffer the stench, and the ticks, and the noise, how about the bite, take victim to hospital or worse, be a slave to the dog.
Naaaaah. I love my independence.
There are true stories of Filipinos who came to Germany and initially lived on canned dog food. They saw the dog on the can and thought it was dog meat, found it was cheap and tasted like Spam. Until somebody came and told them you have been eating dog food…
ewwww!
buti ka sa kanila… one of them was Batangueño… “aba’y nagtaka ako aso pala!”
“para sa aso pala”… Mary nakakahawa iyong mga ispeling misteyk mo.
Join the club of happy fools with trigger happy fingers
Haha Irineo, not only Filipinos eat dog food. I was told the story of Iraqi soldiers when they invaded Kuwait 1980, they ransacked malls and all stores. Seemed they ate some canned food that they liked. After the initial stormtroopers, some calm settled in the city, the Iraqi soldiers approached a store and asked for some canned food. They could not understand English so they described the can….the one with a picture of a dog..
You’re missing a very loyal friend, Bert. Since we don’t have time to do all those things that need to be done for them, we ask our kasambahay to assist us. We have all kinds – siberian huskies and other special breeds, askals…. the one we breed provide the fund for their feed, injections, the meds, vet’s fees. Self supporting if I may say. We have experienced what Will did, the mutual love, the joy and laughter shared by the family at their antics, the security at nights, the anxieties when they are too old to be saved by the vet and drugs, the grief when they die. It’s all worth it, Bert.
I understand how you feel, Mary. I too love my two Siamese cats and my 13 years old Iguana, the two cats learned how to poopoo in the toilet bowl, the iguana just kept on staring at me. They did not teach me yet how to love my country but I sure know that I will cry buckets of tears when their time come.
A dog will choose you, Bert. It’s two-way.
For a while there you got me nervous, Willy. My first glance at your comment I thought you wrote your dog will chase me.
Smile. (Don’t know where the icon is.)
Colon close parenthesis…type that you will get a smiley : )
🙂
Thanks, karl! 🙂
We Filipinos are like our dogs, the asongkalye. Mixed in very different ways, sometimes scraggly, sometimes less scraggly, but resilient in many ways, playful, sometimes rabid. Some of us are asong bahay, but nearly every Filipino house dog carries asong kalye traits, few are purebred.
And yes, it depends on our owners, if he have them, some treat us nice, some don’t, some even eat us figuratively. Or eat our tax Money as pulutan while drinking whisky with their buddies.
Some nights, our house dogs at UP Area I would howl in unison – we still have much wolf in us.
May be wolves howl because they see jungle spirits of lions and tigers. But in the UP Campus , in villages, towns or cities dogs howl too for may be the SAME REASON. An OFW veteran of Saigon, Vientianne, Phnom Penh, Dharanh, etc used to tell his drinking buddies. Nights in Cambodia at the time of the killing fields are truly scary. Dogs never bark at nights in Cambodia, they howl, run in circles and scamper away tails between their legs for unseen reasons. Dogs’ howling gives you the shivers, are said to announce when one’s end is near while cats stretches the final buzzer when it makes you count cat’s hair instead of counting jumping sheep over a fence.
when I was in the grades, there was this tall slender man, like an athlete. when he walks in our expansive neighborhood, three to five barking dogs, askals, always follow him with loud barkings and he paid no notice. he was master cook of azucena and eater of dogs meat. my young friends told me if you eat dog’s meat even just once, dogs will smell you by your sweat. So if I know I did not ever eat dog’s meat. I did even have a mantra, a “bulong” that will stop and pacify askals ferociously fighting in the street. It is nice though to read years later WHAT THE DOG SAW by Malcolm Gladwell just to validate ways how to face an angry dog.
so you heard of that belief of dog eating men being hounded by them, it’s common knowledge in our place, too. They have super sense of smell and hearing. Another is when they howl non stop, somebody is about to die. Coincidence maybe, but often times, it happens that way.
No wonder the dogs in UP howled so often non-stop during Martial Law days… 😦
The “Tortyur” documentation makes it clear how many UP people died then – now if you go by MRPs logic there should have been less crooks with so many UP people killed. 😥
Aha! UP students realized it doesn’t pay to be commie, they trained their students to set their sight in the government because it is where the money is.
In a vet clinic a Caucasian lady with a doberman sitting at her feet told me. A doberman is a defender only of his master. In case of a burglar or home invader a doberman will stand by his master, watch as others are being harmed but will kill if the intruder dare approach or attack his master.
Dog Love is culture bound. A Mondo Cane film began in a nice cemetery with scene of ladies crying while they bury a pet. Then fast switched to a distant Asian country where a Chinese looking man with his leg raised to his stool chop sticking what looks like delicious meat while behind him stood several cages of sullen dogs aware of their fate. Any one old enough to have seen that film?
Dogs are more faithful than humans, braver, with a willingness to die for the master, and they are extraordinary teachers. I learned from dogs that dogs don’t trust people who are carrying things. That lesson I learned as a post office worker delivering packages into dog-infested back yards during Christmas. Some people will do anything to pay their way through college. I also learned that it is possible to exude love into the snarl of a barking dog and they will let you carry packages through the yard. That lesson is helpful in dealing with trolls, and can be applied, or not, depending on if the troll has any more redeeming value than a barking dog.
I learned that Poodles are extraordinarily athletic, and are not the fru fru frillies that some make them up to be. I learned that poodles can’t swim like Laboradors that have big webbed feet not too much different than a duck’s. I learned that German Shepherds are bold and playful and protective, but die if bitten by a baby Philippine cobra. I don’t want to read too much into that lesson, for it could be political allegory. I learned that mutts love as well as purebreads and eat just as much, too.
Dogs are wonderful teachers, and not bad as shrinks, either.
Hitler loved his German shepherd… but what was wrong with him… one can see a little if one look at his first name and what he made of it… Adolf comes from Edel (Noble) and Wolf (wolf).. now he was less than noble but he like to be called Uncle Wolf by his nephews. Wolf is a common German first name to this day, while Adolf is totally shunned. He went more for the wolfish side as one can see – like German shepherds if they are not well trained, since this race of dogs is the closest you can get to purebred wolves, strong and dangerous.
I prefer to be the mixture of German shepherd and Filipino dog that I am… 🙂 But I am pretty close to Wolfsburg at this moment. Wolf Castle, the city they stamped out of the ground to build Volkswagen’s factories in Hitler’s time. Adolf’s Castle, Adolf-Hitler-City so to speak. 😥
Off-topic: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaust
Data generated by means of counting and alphabetization equipment supplied by IBM through its German and other national subsidiaries was instrumental in the efforts of the German government to concentrate and ultimately destroy ethnic Jewish populations across Europe, Black demonstrates.[17] Black reports that every Nazi concentration camp maintained its own Hollerith-Abteilung (Hollerith Department), assigned with keeping tabs on inmates through use of IBM’s punchcard technology.[18] In his book, Black charges that “without IBM’s machinery, continuing upkeep and service, as well as the supply of punch cards, whether located on-site or off-site, Hitler’s camps could have never managed the numbers they did.
and to round off the eerie picture: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/nov98/nazicars30.htm
When American GIs invaded Europe in June 1944, they did so in jeeps, trucks and tanks manufactured by the Big Three motor companies in one of the largest crash militarization programs ever undertaken. It came as an unpleasant surprise to discover that the enemy was also driving trucks manufactured by Ford and Opel — a 100 percent GM-owned subsidiary — and flying Opel-built warplanes. (Chrysler’s role in the German rearmament effort was much less significant.)
When the U.S. Army liberated the Ford plants in Cologne and Berlin, they found destitute foreign workers confined behind barbed wire and company documents extolling the “genius of the Fuehrer,” according to reports filed by soldiers at the scene. A U.S. Army report by investigator Henry Schneider dated Sept. 5, 1945, accused the German branch of Ford of serving as “an arsenal of Nazism, at least for military vehicles” with the “consent” of the parent company in Dearborn.
Poodles Joe Am is nostalgia. Poodles The sweetest docile of political pets; that’s what they (the KMs and the Makibakas, who else) call them during Martial Law. On a march to Plaza Lawton on the ebb tide of Martial Law, with raised fist but not shouting, I heard the students behind me yelled like Johnny Weismuller cheered BY THE CROWD
ONLOOKERS ALONG TAFT AVENUE:
HIMAGSIKAN, HIMAGSIKAN
IMPERYALISMO IMPERYALISMO
MARCOS TUTA MARCOS TUTA
IBAGSAK MARCOS TUTA IBAGSAK.
HHHMmmmmmmm, go figure . . . .
*******
1. A paean to man’s four-footed friend. This should keep us grounded, especially me.
2. “Dogs are people in fast forward.”
3. So people are dogs in slow motion?
4. Hmm. Some part of me wishes we had the love and loyalty of dogs… for the “right” causes. Which is the problem.
5. You see, dogs are conditioned. True, their love and loyalty are unconditional… but the love and loyalty are also unconditionally directed only to their masters. Their responses are Pavlovian, which is to say formed by habit.
6. Which is how religions and politicians and nations would have us behave.
7. So, at bottom, the philosophical question for me is: Would one prefer to be a dog and be assured of going to heaven? Or would one prefer to be unconditioned and habit-free… and be assured of nothing but the excitement and peril of the living moment?
7.1. But by all means, have a dog as a pet.
7.2. In the park across the street where I live, there is a section fenced off as a dog park. In early morning and early evenings, dogs are chauffeured there to romp and chase each other in unconfined joy.
7.3. I have thought of getting a dog, but one of the Chihuahuas we had was conditioned to fear me… and could not overcome his fear. The other loved me, but then he never was judgmental.
*****.
Chihuahua, eh. I’ve never quite considered them attack animals, but I suppose they could lock onto an ankle or something. I knew a lady, the mother of a good friend when I was a kid, who had this little snub nosed dog that was like a midget boxer, and it would roam through the house doing killer farts. Mostly we played at my place.
*******
Ahaha!
*****
Yup. But unlike humans, you cannot tell the difference—whether or not they farted. Dogs will win at poker anytime.
I spend around P6,000 a month for my four dogs, more or less, but more when one falls sick. Sometimes I question the wisdom of it. I can feed two or three indigent families a month with that money. But the dogs keeps me at home with wifey, cleaning up humbles me, can’t unleash temper, I’m fit because of the morning walks and runs, and I suppose I’m more loving than if I didn’t have dogs. I always check the pros and cons but so far the pros have it.
I like number seven. “Would one prefer to be a dog and be assured of going to heaven? Or would one prefer to be unconditioned and habit-free… and be assured of nothing but the excitement and peril of the living moment?” I’ve always wondered if dogs had free will—man’s gift and man’s downfall. I suppose they have. But when caught in a prison instead of a home, the dog will choose passive resistance, braving all the blows from the incorrigible master, a model of surrender similar to the man on Calvary, all for love.
Lonely and duty is what people do not see.
I know and see them all the time
Persons of all seasons, man’s humanity to animals
By my window to the park, man and pet walking by
I see kindness, loyalty and love as dog shit
Is picked and bagged. But during winter
By my window from morning to night fall
Like Roy Orbison I see freezing beings walking
only the lonely Only because of duty.
“Seven, preventive maintenance. Ah, the words that seem to be Greek to most of us Filipinos.”
Look at the MRT problems… I am not surprised because most of the stuff that was built in Marcos times rotted after a few years, after the bombastic propaganda had faded and new projects came.. probably not enough tongpats to be earned by Marcos and cornies with preventive maintenance.
So not even dictatorship made things better in that respect. But Marcos had one further thing in common with Adolf – he let the wolf come through. And developed lupus in the end – buti nga.
One, better communication skills. We have a different language, dogs and humans. The key is to look for things that will work. A certain look, a particular touch, the right tone, things like that. Verbal skills are important, but 95 per cent of the time, it’s the nonverbal transmission that closes the deal.
Three, consistency. A dog will love unconditionally, but it will get cues to its own behavior by way of your own actions, habits, likes and dislikes, anger points, relaxed state. So, be there for the dog. It is sincere in its intention to please you, but you have to give the right cues, a map to the next step. Let me take some more time with this. When I see a dog being taken for a walk by a yaya, I think what a waste of precious resource. Walking itself will exercise both dog and man, that’s one. The interaction is another, makes a person be more reflective, “Aha! That’s the line I’m looking for!” exclaims the handler while he’s out walking the dog. Dogs place us in a spot of creation, makes every step meaningful, the genius in us is awakened, but it’ll happen only with consistency.
Four, firmness. Yes, the alpha dog. They’re pack animals after all. They cannot do without a leader who has earned their respect. Wishy-washy, no. Say it and mean it, yes.
Six, loving feelings. That word again, love. Love is also a skill, we should know that by now. It’s an emotion first, then a decision, and finally a skill. Love without gray matter is bound to fail. Treat the dog well and it’ll run miles with you, treat it badly and you are the frustrated guy haranguing his dog, losing his temper on the poor fellow because the communication lines haven’t been established. It takes skill, consummate, untiring skill.
Nine, appreciation and gratitude. I introduced an affirmative remark to dog training I think when I was training Liz in protection school. I would say “Thank you, Liz!” when she gets it. I overheard my classmates say, hey, that’s a good word, better than just “Good boy!” or “Good girl!” I thank my dogs for every bit of good deed they do, so that when I don’t say that, they know they have to do better next time. Gratitude separates the strong from the w eak. The weak will not show any kind of weakness and saying thanks to another person other than themselves is the height of helplessness because it recognizes that they can’t do it alone. So thank you, and
Ten, good night. I sleep well every night knowing that Liz and my other dogs are awake or would be awake at the slightest strange sound while I’m in dreamland. I actually say good night to them so they’ll be aware of the transition, good morning, too. They’re a part of me, you see, Will moving around in the yard or in the house when Will is actually sound asleep.
These are all skills that Mar Roxas could improve, especially in dealing with common people.
The less educated people are more instinctive, meaning dealing with them needs a certain touch. Duterte learned this, coming from a political family, by hanging out with street toughs in his youth.
Yes, he was a black sheep of a good family like Erap, but unlike him he had the willpower and finished his studies – also a sign of perseverance. But he bites too much. Now if Mar Roxas could learn some asong kalye skills – he is trying to one can see – he can be less of an asong bahay…
Because Philippine politics is a mean street democracy… a fish market… a battle zone.
Even with good intentions you have to have strong instincts… In the Philippines the good are often too good and the bad are BERY BAD… it takes a mixture of approaches to win.
Agree, Irineo. Come to think of it. Grace and punching power. The loving look and the threatening gaze, mama’s boy and maton (goon) in one.
Magsaysay embodied that. Quezon as well – he was suwabe, an honorable gentleman who earned his reputation with Filipino nationalists by beating up a Spaniard in his youth – one who had called him a mestizo monkey, Luna was a moreno mestizo who earned the respect of his own followers by using the colorful language he had learned as a typical Manila boy. Rizal for all his suited splendor wrote in the beginning of the Noli about how the streets of Manila had not changed, same istambays, same street lamps still broken… he as an Atenista had a sly humor similar to that of Apo Hiking Society… and of course his being a playboy did not reduce his reputation among fellow Filipinos – hoy matinik si Jose galing ang dami niyang nakuhang puti – hey Jose is a cool cat he got a lot of white women…
But now the Philippines is no longer one big barangay like in Quezon’s and Magsaysay’s time – when it had only 20 million people. It is a rajahnate with many barangays, so the quiet Rajah Mar Roxas must win the respect of the many datus – that also takes a lot of true grit to use the cowboy word for it – and make them convince their followers – maharlika (warriors), timawa (commoners) and uripon (dependents) to trust and follow him. Because finally under all the modern coating, the Philippines is still what it was before Magellan.
I still say that is backward, and Mar is fine. He has demonstrated capability or he would not have been given big jobs by three presidents. He has done more, experienced more than we can possibly see or know, and yet we feel we have the capacity to judge him as falling short. No, the facts are there staring us in the face. He is competent, he is honest, he has the personality that he has and it helps him do his job (his colleagues greatly respect him). We only need to see things clearly, and go with a man who has done more than most to get ready.
Touched.
“I still say that is backward, and Mar is fine.” I fully agree.
But you can’t choose your voters. Many do not just go by the facts at this moment.
You need to catch them by the emotions so they will listen to the facts. Like Joey Salceda.
You need to pick up people at their level to teach them. Those who don’t have high school need remedial courses first to enter college.
Leni might be the one to help Mar do this. I can imagine her as a kind barrio teacher. The kind who will be patient even with half-literate pupils.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Salceda
Prior to his stint in the House of Representatives, he was a Congressional Fellow to the late Speaker Ramon Mitra and Chief of Staff to the late Senator Raul Roco. He was voted by foreign fund managers in Asiamoney’s Annual Survey as “Best Analyst” in 1995 and “Best Economist” for four consecutive years from 1993 to 1996. Salceda brought to Congress a wealth of experience from the financial markets and the field of economics.
During his term of office, he was able to enact three important measures. He was the principal sponsor and co-author, respectively, of Republic Act No. 8751 or the Countervailing Duty Act, Republic Act No. 8752 or the Anti-Dumping Duty Act, and Republic Act No. 8800 or the Safeguard Measures Act. These measures are critical in allowing the country realize the full benefits of its membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and at the same time protect domestic farmers.
Salceda was also fondly regarded as the “Founding Father of Ligao City” after his successful sponsorship of the measure converting the municipality of Ligao into a component city under Republic Act No. 9008.
In recognition of his economic expertise, he held several key positions in the 11th Congress, a rare feat for a neophyte congressman. He served as Chairman of the Committee on Trade and Industry and vice chair of the Committees on Ways and Means and Economic Affairs. He was the lone Lower House representative to the Coordinating Council for Private Sector Participation or CCPSP (formerly the Coordinating Council of the Philippines Assistance Program or CCPAP).
Before joining the legislature, Salceda was the Research Director of UBS Warburg (a division of Swiss Bank Corporation). While with UBS, he was voted among the top five analysts in a 1996 survey of Philippine fund managers. He also served as Research Director of Barings Securities Phils. (now ING Group) for five years. During his term, the Barings research team was voted number one in 12 international surveys of fund managers. He also garnered several awards for his distinguished performance in the field of financial markets research.
On January 18, 2008, Albay Governor Joey Salceda and the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Estrella Alabastro relaunched one of the country’s four P 18-million upper-air receiving equipment in Albay. The other upper-air receiving stations are in Laoag City, Cebu, and Tanay, Rizal.[5]
He communicates to his people via Facebook on his page “Joey Constant Kindness Salceda”, applying Management competence AND AlDub love to lead his people.
http://albay.gov.ph/tag/joey-salceda-constant-kindness/
Photo posted by Marissa Macabuhay on her facebook profile with this caption:
“At NAIA earlier this afternoon, the beloved Gov Salceda of Albay offered his coaster seat to Papa (in orange shirt) who, though looked frail with his lymphoma, immediately lightened up with a smile in gratitude. Nice little chat Sir!”
#constantkindness
Now with just a little bit more of that approach, follow Leni more and Korina less, Mar Roxas can reach the common people. But at provincial level, it is of course easier.
That seems to be the Filipino style. I’ll still advocate for education and awareness and trust.
Read about Joey Salceda’s Albay style, which includes education – and building trust.
It is quite similar to Leni Robredo’s style, or that of her late husband Jesse Robredo.
https://www.facebook.com/jose.salceda.92 – Daang Mabait is his catchword. He regularly informs his people on goal achievement via social media. And BTW is supporting Mar Roxas and Leni Robredo actively, one can see on the page as well.
He is one of the datus that Rajah Mar Roxas needs, and will give him a pretty solid vote from Albay because his word is trusted, so people will trust Mar Roxas if he says so.
So I don’t think Bikolanos Escudero or Trillanes will get so many votes in that province.
I understand the point. If he wants to be California, he is thinking right. But my point is that we will never trust our leaders until we trust them. We can’t keep judging them as deficient because they don’t have the personality or style we set for them. A little less of ourselves ought to go into judgments. This tendency to be demanding and unbendable in our expectations is – to me – dysfunctional. Delegation works two directions, and involves accepting that others will do it different than we would. And that is a GOOD thing. Let Mar be Mar. He does not have to be Jesse or Joey or Leni. He’s good.
” We can’t keep judging them as deficient because they don’t have the personality or style we set for them. A little less of ourselves ought to go into judgments.” Correct – this is something I was forced to learn by being abroad. Tolerance and respect.
Yet still, the original Filipino mentality is strong in me at times. Dysfunctional. Now even more for those who have not been anywhere else. Good that Mar has an intermediary like Jesse for the Albay vote. Hope Duterte as an LP man does the same for him in Davao. It is the simple mentality – if someone they trust trusts someone, they trust him. Kuya Joey or Ate Leni or Kuya Digong says trust Mar, and they give him a chance, trust maybe later.
YEP, he’s good just by being Mar. But first we have to have him elected and to do that, we need to deal with the CDE classes, the masa voters the way they want to be dealt with, speak their language, be with them but with sincerity. Until this sector of the voting populace is educated and informed, they rule the election, a very sad state of affairs here in our country.
It’s quite ironic that Nancy was recorded as saying her father is VP of the land, and he cannot or won’t stoop down to the level of the SBRSC Senators conducting the hearing, but have stooped down to the level of the voters when he joined them in regular Boodle Feasts.
All for the votes, this pandering VP, he really knows how to court them, he has 30 years of practice doing it for the Makati, for the Senate and HOR for Nancy and Abigail respectively….and almost six years for the presidential campaign….. he was on record saying that once he won an election, the next day is campaign time again for the next one.
He justifies such courting by saying “nagpapakilala lang po”, only introducing myself, sir and madam.
He is effective, judging by his 30% core supporters mostly from the blind and gullible masa, including his enablers and supporters from the AB class.
There was a suggestion I read today in Facebook to restrict voting to those who have paid taxes for at least ten years. Or even restrict it more to those who have at least high school.
It is a problem when the principle of democracy – an educated voting base – is not holding to form, due largely to poverty. I’m thinking, however, if the Philippines can get the next six year term right, then steps to alleviate poverty will change the mindset of a lot of voters by 2022.
Yes, Joe. You got me there. We easily forget a man who works in silence. Mar’s finest hour to me is the time he was bypassed—Mamasapano. It was rumored that he would resign in a huff. But he stayed, unquestioningly, calmly and deliberately, again without calling attention to himself. He may turn out to be one of the best presidents we will ever have. A fractious nation has a father who will love it unconditionally. But things are looking up. Miriam allying with Bongbong means the extreme left and right forces will be divided between Binay, Poe and Miriam. Center and left of center will be solid for Mar-Leni, The center will hold as it always does. Is this off-topic? Nah. We’re talking about how dog love can influence love of country. If we recognize the dog in us (32,000 years of living closely, dogs are part human, and humans part dog), our interaction can be guided by science and instinct.
Take a look at this: http://technology.inquirer.net/44857/watch-believe-it-or-not-man-brings-dead-puppy-to-life
http://managementstudyguide.com/level-5-leadership.htm
He might be a Level 5 Leader many of us have not yet recognized:
>We have always associated leadership with a very visible and popular role which gives you recognition and a larger than life status as a leader however the level 5 leadership proposes quite opposing characteristics of a successful leader. Jim Collins and his research team were exploring the factors that made good companies great way back in the 1960s. It was then that they stumbled upon the Level 5 leaders who were invariably at the helm of affairs of all the companies which went on to become great in their respective fields. Who exactly is a Level 5 leader? Collins describes Level 5 leader as Humility + Will = Level 5. They are the nurturing leaders who do not want credit but want success to sustain over a longer period of time, long after they are gone.
Level 5 leaders are modest, shy and fearless and possess the capability to transform an organization from good to great without portraying themselves as wizards with magic wands. They prefer talking about the company and the contribution of other people but rarely about their role or achievements.
Now if I think about how Mar Roxas transformed PNP and developed General Espina as a leader who handled the Papal visit smoothly… yes Mar IS Level 5. Hindi porma lang.
Come to think of it – there is at the moment no candidate who fills the center-right position. Someone of the same mold as Quezon (who was at the right end of center-right, with slight dictatorial tendencies, he did not like Hitler, but Mussolini he admired – and had met both men in Europe) or Magsaysay (more center because he cooperated with the USA especially on SEATO defense pact and got Lansdale to help him, but still nationalistic in scrapping the Bell Trade Act for the better deal which was the Laurel-Langley agreement). Garcia I do not include because his Filipino First policy (I think he put the limits on foreign ownership that are in place up to this day, blocking progress) and Austerity Program were retarded economic nationalism. Duterte straddles the border between extreme right and center-right. Cayetano could embody a new center-right, Salceda a moderate center-right, but it is good Salceda is concentrating on his province – Duterte just stay in Davao…
Roxas will do well if he hopefully wins – the other alternatives being horrible. Probably a bit too little national industrial development for my taste, a bit too little investment in the military and too much reliance on the US instead of being a strong partner like Quezon wanted the Philippines to be with McArthurs valuable assistance but did not quite make it, possibly too much reliance on economic progress automatically lifting all boats – but he would stabilize the economic fundamentals and work further on good governance. Something either Leni, Cayetano or even Bam Aquino can take over and build up upon.
Yes, exactly. I was even going to suggest we give a little dog love to the duly elected president, as it does not have so many strings attached.
I like the suggestion. Dogs humanize us. Spirits rejoice. The stuff of life itself.
Not sure if you’ve seen these but sharing just in case not.
Jessica Zafra of Interaksyon writes verbatim some of Mer Roxas’ responses to questions from bloggers invited to a forum at his house in Quezon City in two articles written for said publication. Zafra also shares her own insights and gives us some clues on Mar’s personality by way of doing a SWOT analysis on Mar’s statements.
For the perceptive, both articles do provide a glimpse of the real Mar. As an example, see his response when asked about regulating car ownership as a way of addressing traffic congestion :
“On the volume of new vehicles on the road:
A blogger noted that new cars are so affordable, and financing plans so easy to get, that so many more vehicles are flooding the roads, adding to traffic congestion. He asked if Roxas would regulate car sales or increase taxes on automobiles.
According to the Department of Trade and Industry, Roxas said, 60,000 new vehicles are added to our roads every year. This year, that number has swelled to 300,000 new vehicles. On one hand, 200,000 of these are commercial vehicles used for business, so it means business is good. On the other hand, there are more new vehicles than the roads can accommodate.
Roxas stressed that he is against regulating car sales or making it more difficult for people to buy new cars. “Most people can’t afford a house, so their first big durable purchase is a car,” he pointed out. “A president has only so much social capital. Is that a battle he wants to get into? I will not tell people to defer their dreams.” He promised a palpable reduction in traffic in three to five years.”
Here are the links to Jessica Zafra’s two articles:
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/118918/jessica-zafra–mar-on-mar-part-2-on-traffic-internet-service-and-trapo
http://www.interaksyon.com/article/118530/jessica-zafra–mar-on-mar-the-candidate-answers-questions-and-we-do-a-swot-analysis
Thanks, Cha. I did see the first article and appreciate receiving a link to the second. It is refreshing to see a writer strive for objectivity instead of emotive flair, and refreshing to see Mar Roxas’ reasonable and constructive answers. Rather than political spin. I say the guy is good, as you hinted to me, the skeptic, many many months ago.
Preconceptions, or ignorance, is a force that needs to be overcome. I hope there are still voters with open minds . . .
Every time you mention that I am reminded that I have been remiss in my promise to eventually write a profile on the man. (Yup, I haven’t forgotten) But every time I feel up to it you’d beat me to it and do a better job than I could have anyway. 🙂
Maybe I should just write about Korina.
ahahaha, I beat you to that one, too. https://joeam.com/2014/12/20/the-korina-stone/
I have this relentless incentive of a calendar that is open and needs to be filled so just keep typing. But I will soon go quiet on politics to avoid meddling during the campaign period, and giving Immigration apoplexy. You can write anything at any time and be assured of a slot.
Hahaha I should have known. I’ll do one on their dogs then. i understand they have two. I’ll profile one and Will can do the other one. 🙂
🙂 🙂 🙂
Cha, okay. Do you have access?
https://z-1-scontent-hkg3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xla1/v/t1.0-0/s370x247/12088093_1512971815682650_738012250523905195_n.jpg?oh=0668a4eb35bbd67b850c476000e7014f&oe=568CCDC6
Oh , sorry Will, I wasn’t really serious there. I don’t even know about dogs that much. So sorry.
Here’s Korina talking about their dogs though :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Zafra is one of the best writers the Philippines has.
Known for her unique style of glasses, called “Zafra” in the Philippines.
Will, your prose is lyrical. I read Dog Love.. once and then, again, feeling the love as soothing breeze in a humid afternoon. Thank you.
Thanks, mcgll! Encouraged.
I do not own a dog. I love dogs. My wife hate dogs. She has dog-o-phobia. I’ve seen so many stray dogs full of scabs. I’d throw food to their way. They’d gobble it up in less than a minute. They’d follow me home. Oh, poor Filipino dogs.
That is why I hate when they say, “Philippines is going to the dogs”! It is not right! It is derogatory! Please give dogs respect. They are the most loyal animal in the world. They can know the sound of your car coming from afar. They’d bark and yelp incessantly and meet you even before reaching the garage. They make such a ruckus neighbors complain.
No matter how Filipinos maltreat their dogs, dogs remain loyal forever. They do not pack up and leave. They stay. No food, they stay. No water, they stay. They sleep on cold floors. They are thrown slippers at to get their attention … hey, I am not talking about Bernardita Inocencio … yes, of course, she was treated like a dog. Went to a dog lawyer and the dog lawyer sued Korina. But that “was in the past” but forever dogged Korina and Mar.
Filipinos do not care about Bernardita … she was only a dog ! Do not say that, because:
“IT IS EASIER TO TEACH AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS THAN FILIPINOS OLD TRICKS”
Evidenciary procedures is as old as Jesus Christ, but, dogs learn new tricks fast and easy while Filipinos still cling on to Mary Magdalene’s witness account written in Biblical Affidavits.
There dog lovers among Filipinos. They give good portion of meat to their dog’s school lunch whereas houseslaves are given left-overs. Dogs do not need to work, houseslaves are over-worked with no overtime pay.
Having dogs in the house improves English. Yeah, ENGLISH !!! Filipinos speak English to their dogs and tagalog to their houseslaves. Example of dog-English: “Sit”, “fetch”, “Quiet”, “come here” “Let’s take a bath” from one word-English sentence to English with predicates and subjects.
Love your dogs because it is the only last animal in the household that meets you at the doorsteps.
Funny, I was just going thru my father’s Claire de Lune stereo and found Three Dog Night. Strange, my father’s CD was humongous. He calls it 33 1/2. Or, Vinyl. Some kind of floppy discs of the year yonder. I gave it a spin. Whoooa !!! Awesome !!! These are the songs I liked:
– Joy to the World
– Easy to be Hard
I love these songs because of the lyrics and rhtythm
My Dad told me all the vinyls I see are for mine to keep when he passes away. I am thrilled ! I did not know my father was into Satanic Cult. I found complete discography of Black Sabbath.
He said he plays Black Sabbath when my mother was pregnant with me. Now I know how I became an Atheist. A Good Atheist. Not a Bad Roman Catholic.
Hahahahaha, oh, the memories a song can bring back. “Joy to the world”, car, first ex-wife, a news broadcaster and his girlfriend, strangers to me, ripping across the California desert after watching the live stage-play with horses and Indians cavorting about in the rocks of Ramona, singing at the top of our lungs, strangers no more.
The records before the thin vinyl ones were thick plastic, about a fourth-inch think, with big grooves. You could actually get sound out of them with a 10 penny nail, but you could only play them once. 🙂
Dog teaches Filipinos fidelity and perseverance, instead, Filipinos eat them before they learn these.
Those who eat dogs should be banned from watching Eat Bulaga.
Sigh….for the nth time ..this NOT true at all.”Bernardita Inocencio … yes, of course, she was treated like a dog. Went to a dog lawyer and the dog lawyer sued Korina. But that “was in the past” but forever dogged Korina and Mar.” AGAIN, this is NOT TRUE at all, this maid was proven by the court to accuse her every employer of the same things over and over again. In fact Korina had a maid who stayed with her for several decades, could she have stayed that long if she was treated like a dog? “forever dogged Korina and Mar” maybe true because of people like you, MRP who are listening only to yourself and no one else. What will it take to stop you from maligning Korina that way, for her to sue you? Be thankful that she is ignoring you but for the love of God, I just can’t. This is campaign season and we need all the help we can get or else a Binay, Poe and a Marcos presidency is in the offing as Trillanes, Cayetano and the rest of the coalition members are only thinking of themselves instead of the country.
For once MRP, please be kind to your former country and stop harassing Korina.
Considering faulty persecution of Binay, I would say the court was swayed with the Media Power of Korina and her U.P. law top-notch compatriots.
The Philippine Court of Law is very very very light-ears behind 1stWorld country. They still rely on witness accounts and affidavits while we already base our prosecution on evidence since the day of Parker in the 30s that sold Brooklyn Bridge, Ulysys Grant mauseleum and more so New YOrks Metropolitan museum of arts. They knew Parker sold these monuments but NYPD didn’t have proof, proof meaning evidence.
So, to this day, they are still calling witnesses against Binay the Vice-President … so if it is faulty on your vice-president it is also faulty with the rest of the prosecution and defense. So, therefore, based on pattern of prosecution and defense of the powerful …. I DO NOT BELIEVE THE HOUSEMAID WAS NOT ABUSED. She just did not have money to hire U.P. crook topnotch lawyers.
Since it is the year of election, ALL THE SKELETONS HAVE TO be exchumed again and autopsied. Let us do HUSTISYA MATUWID American-style not some HUSTISYA MATUWID as Benigno dictates.
Off-topic
WHAT ARE THE ODDS MIRIAM SANTIAGO WILL DIE WITHIN HER TERM, IF SHE WINS?
Very high.
Stage 4 lung cancer survival rates within 5 years are very very slim at 1% based on this American Cancer Society website.
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lungcancer-non-smallcell/detailedguide/non-small-cell-lung-cancer-survival-rates
Other sources like cancer.net cite 4-5%.
So what’s the calculus in running with Bongbong? Did the ill-gotten wealth play a role in the decision? Is Miriam playing a game here with Bongbong? Take care of my family, you might get lucky?
Why are they running for presidency like pack of dogs? Why would they spend their personal money? For what?
Why is the talk more about candidates for Vice-President not for Presidency?
Why is there less coverage for Mar? Too busy to do campaigning? What is LP’s strategy?
All I read is about Poe. What about other cnadidates? Is Inquirer marketing Poe not Mar, like, they marketed The Binays?
Something is absolutely wrong here. Or do they know something that we do not? Maybe the media does not want Mar to win. Ba’t kaya?
Hayaan mo sila. If they continue, Mar will be the Underdog.
Filipinos like underdogs so in the end he will win after all.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/731488/poe-escudero-camp-denies-paying-supporters-at-comelec
Grace denies paying supporters. It is the supporters “paying” fellow supporters. Camp Grace says it was not “payments”. It was “hand-outs” or “dole-outs” for their continued unwavering support.
They play word games.
P50 cash, noodles, fried chicken and water. THIS IS NOT PAYMENT! This is snacks !
P50.00 pesos is not enough to buy Chicken Joy nor bus fares. It cannot pay missing 8-hour work.
U.P. Journalists sure cannot analyze. Well, they all lack critical thinking abilities. I bet Mar will not jump on this. If he did, Mar have no critical thinking capabilities.
It is snacks, which is quite a tradition hereabouts, I notice. All the workers who built our house got snacks all the time. Doubled the price of the home.
Yep, it is tradition, indeed. We do that all the time, my own take in that is that if we can feed strangers or hangers on during fiestas, the more we should do so for laborers building our homes who are paid below minimum wage by their contractors, specially the unskilled ones who do the heavier stuffs. These contractors are complaining that my mother is spoiling them.
In campaign sorties, the supporters like us are the ones providing for drinks, snacks and meals out of our own pockets. I did that for Cory and for Bro. Eddie Villanueva…donated yellow T-shirts by the dozens and brought those to HQs for printing of slogans, etc.
I try to walk my talk.
I agree. Indeed, I was the one getting the donuts a lot of the time. It is a really cool tradition, as is the welcome thrown out at fiestas. The best.
See, Joe and Mary? U.P.-GRADUATE JOURNALSITS sure do know how to twist stories. Maybe the journalists at Inquirer has been outsourced to Shanghai for not knowing the tradition of the Filipinos.
Hahahaha, that’s a funny thought. The Inquirer will be able to save costs. Just use Shanghai warriors and Poe’s trolls for reporters.
I agree, MRP…they sure twist their stories, give them a slant to favor whoever they favor.
Do candidates submit SALN along with their application for Certificate of Candidacy?
I’d require them to submit SALN. I do not want Benigno making issues of their SALNs during their race to Malacanang.
As we all know, SALN is official legal blackmail of the Philippine government.
COMELEC should audit SALN before giving Certificate of CAndidacy. I, meaning ME, do not care about the rest, SALN be anissue after they win the seat.
Listen, folks, SALN should be audited before COC. But this is the Philippines. They will review SALN ALWAYS AFTER CANDIDATES HAVE WON THE ELECTION.
Government officials are required by law to submit those every year. Those candidates who are not yet holders of public positions are not required until they are elected, they will be after the first year of their election.
I wonder if anyone has looked up Senator Marcos’ SALN. I have a sense he is a fiction writer much of the style of Irineo. he he
He must have learned to write fiction from his father. I had to listen to his father’s FICTIONS nearly every day, maybe that is where I learned to deal with absurdity.
Thanks for the
briefer . . . short bio. I look forward to reading her, and hope the novel is out soon.You mean Zafra… Manananggal terrorizes Manila is a funny collection of short stories, the one about the manananggal is about her turning into a flying vampire when falling asleep.
Her “Jessica Rules the Universe blog” is quite entertaining too, and of high quality.
http://www.jessicarulestheuniverse.com/2015/10/06/mar-on-mar-the-candidate-answers-our-questions-then-we-swot-them/ – she likes to refer to her articles in her blog, very much like Raissa does:
Before I proceed, I should mention that I worked with Roxas briefly, when he was guest co-host on this TV talk show I used to host. One day, while waiting for the show to begin, I heard him singing to himself. “And so you’re back,” he sang tonelessly, “from outer space…”
“That’s a gay anthem,” I pointed out.
“No, it isn’t,” he said.
“Yes, it is,” I said.
The following week, he said, “You’re right!”
I repeat this story not just because I’ve seen The Martian twice (it’s terrific), but because it highlights two things about Roxas: he did his due diligence (found out if “I Will Survive” is indeed a gay anthem) and admitted error. Come to think of it, Roxas is a terrible singer and maybe his handlers should let him sing at campaign sorties. This would show that he is able to laugh at his own expense, and demonstrate folksiness more effectively than having him lift sacks of produce.
Now this picture with a large bookshelf convinces me more than anything… Roxas is not like many entitled elitists in the Philippines without any intellectual horizon…
It takes a very confident man to acknowledge that he made a mistake.
And an even more confident man to deal with Jessica Zafra – or Korina Sanchez. Neo is right about Filipino so-called machismo having a problem with confident, tough women.
It is also rare that a Filipino will admit a mistake, because it is usually seen as weakness.
MRP, I graduated A.B. Journalism in UP Diliman, student ID no. 69–01929. True blue First Quarter Storm, Diliman Commune. Didn’t join what was perceived to be the Marcos press. I hope I can temper your opinion on “UP journalists.” Peace.
WGV, there are just too many UP crooks and incompetent journalists to pick thru the haystack. One good journalist out of a thousand doesn’t make UP the vanguard of journalism.
Mar should attack Poe’s hand-outs to supporters NOT AFTER which is customary in the Philippines to delay the inauguration of the winning presidents.
Little-by-Little Drib-a-drab Korina Sanchez is making appearances. Her handler is goot. The drib-a-drab appearance of Mataray Korina will eventually massage the voters mindset. Her handlers made sure Korina is mentioned in the last paragraph without fanfare.
I wish there would be a debate between candidates and bring up Inocencia and how it was handled and ask Mar where he stands.
Meriam taps Bongbong as his VP … Weird
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/731482/santiago-taps-bongbong-marcos-as-running-mate
Harry Roque: It is OK to be weird running for congress
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/731504/happy-to-be-weird-says-roque
Thank goodness. We now have the following categories in congress and Senate:
1. Weirdos
2. Comedians
3. Actors
4. Actresses
5. Terrorists
6. Thieves
7. Basketball player
8. Boxer
9. Fanatic Religious leaders
10.American Citizens
WELCOME TO THE PHILIPPINES, JOE !!!!
Hahahaha, yes. Could you also put “stooges” on the list? Puppets?
and also geckos?
Yes, them, too . . . thank you
The media love Poe as she has star presence. The newscaster on CNN positively blushes when he mentions her. I think he is secretly in love.
Hmm. No, Joe. I have a nose and ears for a star—Noynoy, JoeAm, AlDub, Mar-Leni—you know, the dog in me. Poe isn’t one. Trust me.
Ahahahaha, I do, for sure, I do . . .
I think this is an end of life moment, Senator Santiago seeking one last burst of relevance to prove to herself that she meant something. Otherwise, it is just plain nuts and bad for the Philippines. This is like two of the three stooges careening about. The third is Honasan.
It’s a Joke, Right?
Mandaluyong Loob* flung wide open,
gates of hell unlocked as well,
Comelec flooded with calls to sanity,
Bring back the days when the Quezons,
Magsaysays, Quirinos, Roxases
(other than Marcoses) filed their COCs,
“oh what a tangled web we weave,
when first we practice to deceive,”
Bongbong’s gambit, VP to a Stage 4,
genius hard core, from the pits of
tar and feathers, the son rises like
an angel benign with a faint British
accent, a hit with the millenials,
I suppose, and Poe Francis fielded
forlorn, SET at their heels like
a pack of ravenous wolves,
but hey, they could be Binay fronts,
like Eduviges and Gerry, pushing
their names forward to shield
the man who shouldn’t be president,
it’s a joke, right? all this sound and fury
signifying something, is that something
a return of the Marcoses, Imee with
bloodied legs, Binay scot free,
to serve the poor, oh, the beloved
country, what has happened to you,
shorn of the bands and the shrillness
of it, elections are for redemption,
let the people decide, said a Supreme
Court justice, shelve the law, shelve
reason, shelve outrage, the people
will bring them back, come in once
again please, the Marcoses, Binays,
Santiagos, all the world’s a stage,
and the joke’s on us, wake up,
wake up, the beloved country.
Will
October 16, 2015
*Mandaluyong Loob means the
National Center for Mental Health
in Mauway, Mandaluyong
Hmm. Not so off-topic, Andrew. This article was meant to stir up feelings for the beloved country.
The absurdity of this pack of candidates is only surpassed by the American Republican field. I do see actors, mainly, gamers and players and pie throwers. Even those with potential (Cayetano) tend to go a little loopy in search of reputation, and then there is Marcos and Santiago and Honasan . . . if that is the future of the Philippines I’m outta here . . .
The harder the climb, the greater the view, Joe. It’s good you’re here to help manage the climb.
Three dogs own me: two chihuahuas and a beashund (beagle-dachshund mix). One turned 17 in human years this year. It has less than a dozen teeth left so he mainly eats soft canned food and arroz caldo. He’s cantankerous to my husband and all other animals but always nice to me.
Dogs here are treated very well. They are included in the household budget and bought gifts for their birthday and christmas. They are often taken to the vet when ill and to the dog groomers for haircuts/nail clippings. Some even have health insurance, jewelries and wardrobes. People who maltreat dogs or any animals goes to jail for animal cruelty.
Here is a nifty dog years calculator:
http://www.pedigree.com/all-things-dog/dog-age-calculator/
Hi Juana! (Come to think of it, with Philippine love going around, that’s a good name.) Did you mean 17 in dog years?
Hah! You are right. In human years, he is 84 years old according to that Pedigree calculator. Eating lunch while commenting does not only make my keyboard grubby, it appears to make my brain go to lunch too. 🙂
“When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. ”
– Jimi Hendrix
Thanks, Juana. Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, everyone who is in touch with own art and passion eventually comes to the same realization, but the process has taken 2,000 years so far to even grow roots.
I think you’ve captured well in your ten points what a good country is able to teach and give to its citizens. I hope you wouldn’t mind my paraphrasing them below (my apologies though if I am not able to appropriately capture the essence of an item or two, or possibly more.)
A good country will give its citizens :
1. freedom of expression
2. a sense of purpose
3. a sense of responsibility for others
4. an identity to be proud of
5. good health
6. compassion
7. accountability
8. good citizenship
9. fellowship and community
10. peace of mind
That’s a really good list. So good in fact, it might as well be some presidential candidate’s ten point list for making our country great. But coming from the lips of, let’s say, a Binay or a Marcos the same list loses its transformative ability, and instead is reduced to mere words if not highly laughable.
“A good country makes good people” , you say. And I agree, wholeheartedly. But maybe it’s also like that chicken and egg thing. Good people also make a good country. And people like the Binays and the Marcoses are not exactly the kind of people we can expect to help make, much less lead the Philippines to become the good country it ought to be.
In this election especially, the choice is becoming clearly between the good and the bad. And if anyone is confused or unsure how to weed out the bad from the good, he or she can look at your list and simply assess which candidate can possibly deliver the most if not all to the Filipino people.
Could’t agree more than I do…
Thanks, Cha! You encapsulated it well. Precis to the point.
I thought it’s all about ask not what your country can give you, but what you can give your country?
It’s a two way atreet. That’s why I said, good people also make a good country. I would think that what one can or should give to the country are exactly the same that one expects from it with respect to Will’s ten point list.
The dogs in my life: a half askal half german sheperd,2dackschunds(sp),a peckingnese,and a poodle. Except for the german sheperd and the pekingnese who lived for almost ten human years,the others were ran over and made into pulutan by drinking neighbors. As I got older, I hated dogs and don’t want to be near one, Don’t know why.
Give it another try, Karl. It’s a matter of love. Can’t get anymore basic than that.
I loved Lassie,Rintintin,snoopy and that movie Max about a bomb sniffer.
Yup. Reunite with the child in you.
“a half askal half german sheperd” you were the first in this blog who knew how to handle me, I am not too surprised now…
A wise man named Bert said : u r not an underdog u r an overdog.
mercedes once said u dont really think u r a mongrel do u…….
Is it not?
neither under- nor overdog, mixed but not mongrel… and definitely nobody’s tuta… 🙂
Parekoy once wrote that Bikols are independent-minded… it is true look at me, or Bert enjoying his island… I am not surprised that the strongest forms of democratic participation are being practiced by Leni Robredo and Joey Salceda…
in areas once the hotbeds of banditry and NPA rebellion.. and even before that hotbeds of rebelliousness, back in Spanish times, the Kastila said Bikols are nice but hard to fight.
But one must be careful not to misdirect toughness and fierce independence:
A Texan and an Alaskan are debating who is tougher. The Texan says, OK let us make a contest. Each of us must kill a lion, wrestle with a bear and f… a woman hard.
The Texan starts and finishes all three tests. Tells the Alaskan all right, your turn man. Alaskan kills a lion. The Texan shows him where the bear is. The Alaskan comes back and tells the Texan: “All right man, where’s the woman I gotta wrestle with?”
what did he do to the bear? what’s fierce independence? wildlife?
Parks and Wildlife… Does it still exist in Quezon City? Sometimes one could watch couples there at night from the Pisay boys dorm.
Father Aguilar Zoo on Quezon Avenue close by near Quezon Memorial Circle.. I doubt it still exists, I fondly remember the giant python.
Sa Claret ako nag elementary, one of my first field trips, me oso pa nun bininyagan namin syang Bruno.naalala ko baon ko nun fried pugo. Sa balita ngayon trapik sa circle dahil sa road repairs at bagyo.
Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center
Zoological garden in Quezon City, Philippines
4.5
13 Google reviews
Website
Directions
The Ninoy Aquino Parks & Wildlife Center is a 64.58-hectare zoological and botanical garden located in Diliman, Quezon City, the Philippines. It was named after Benigno S. “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. Wikipedia
Address: Elliptical Rd, Diliman, Quezon City, Metro Manila
Area: 65 ha
Opened: July 5, 1954
——–
Sabi ’IS” hindi was”
OT:
My irritation at the FB Note gave me enough rage to produce this :
Senator Co Authored Bills Passed
Enrile 2
Marcos 2
Lapid 4
Revilla 4
Drilon 5
Binay 6
Osmena 6
Cayetano Alan 7
Escudero 7
Honasan 7
Santiago 7
Angara 8
Ejercito Jinggoy 8
Ejercito JV 8
Legarda 8
Pimentel 8
Guingona 9
Poe 9
Sotto 9
Aquino 10
Trillanes 10
Cayetano Pia 11
Recto 11
Villar 21
I have a few observations but can’t because I have a meeting in 5 minutes.
Sorry for the OT
Why the irritation at the FB? May I know?
As for me, I immediately block those who I discover to be part of the Marcos trolls and propagandists. So far, I have blocked 3 individuals who requested to be friends masquerading as a RORO supporter but later posted a lengthy article justifying Marcos’ administration and theft of the nation’s coffers.
You cant have a decent conversation with Marcos loyalist.
aww… not a good way to start your day.
I noticed that about hollowblocks, too.
Hahaha, when the president mentioned this blog, the friend requests came in like a torrent, and the naive trusting soul I am, I approved everything. Now I am busy blotting out the girls after my money, the trolls, the businessmen seeking to dump ads on my site, and an assorted nut case or two. One learns quickly. I’ve kept Gary Olivar as a friend for the amusement of it all . . .
ouch…what an amusement…
Knowing what I know, I wouldn’t want Gary loitering in my territory. Liz will mind, too.
🙂 No one can say the place is an echo chamber if I keep discordant notes around.
Hi giancarloangulo. This might help. Good to memorize.
http://opinion.inquirer.net/89472/the-luck-of-bongbong-marcos
After a live with successive dogs, 3 well behaving German shepherd girls (bitches sounds so unfriendly) and a short-lived, supper friendly Newfoundlander, (a Flemish Malinois was known to require a lot of excersise and attention (?) and a Brussels’ Tervuren as a little unreliable), I’m admiring how well you express my common feelings (did read it 3 times with watery eyes as I have no dog in the Philippines – and I stopped improving (?). But I missed 2 improvements :
11. Lower blood pressure due to the comfort of having a lightning rod. When someone was angry at me and there was nobody left to pass the blame, the dog felt the tension and prepared to endure my ire, at last someone to accept anger gracefully with sad submissive eyes.
12. Self-esteem. At home when I was enjoying my usual place on the coach and the cats thought they needed it, they had their mysterious ways to make me move. The opposite with our dog, when she was enjoying it and saw me coming, she would move spontaneously. It feels so good to know that you are not always last in the picking order.
oh, yes the aristocratic cats who look down on you with a snobbish expression, forever sneaking on the kitchen to steal the beefsteak reserved for somebody else. They are wonderful fluffy friends who enjoy a rub or two, just like dogs. I particularly like to observe them staring intently at a seemingly unidentifiable object and the suddenly leap with lightning speed and with such precision at the hapless mouse. They just kill them, they so prefer cat foods and beefsteaks, picky eaters these rascals.
Hey, I missed 11 and 12! Yes! Of course! When I’m blowing my top at home, Liz would cower like in a bombing raid. That makes me stop because it’s a sign that I’m already intolerable. Also, when we do our walks, respect is immediately gained, not cumulatively earned, with a Belgian Malinois the size of Liz in tow. I’ll miss her when she’s no longer around. There I go again. Thanks, josephivo!
Once I had a shih tzu. There was one night when I was at the lowest point in my life. I came home alone and feeling wretched. I sat down on the sofa, lost in thought, totally dejected and depressed. Somehow, she sensed my feeling. She jump onto the sofa, snuggled close and placed her head on my lap, kept me company. There was no jumping and licking at me which was her normal style. Just silently keeping me company.
Then there was a German shepherd. One day I saw a snake on the grilles of my back door. I took a stick and as I approached the snake, the dog suddenly pushed me aside. He snatched the snake at mid-section and violently twisting his head left-right which prevented the snake from biting him. Then he released the broken snake.
I also had a bulldog-boxer mix and golden retriever.
I remember nights when I return late from mahjong games. 2 am in the morning and I take the dog out for his CR routine. Light drizzle and I’m holding the unbrella and the dog refuses to do his business until he has settled on a particular spot. There I was, brooding over mahjong losses, in the cold night, and the dog pulls me to spot after spot, and I’m, cajolling him “pooh-pooh” and I’m asking myself what the hell is this all about.
chempo
Wow. Like most commenters here, you have a way with words. When will you write that second article?
Dogs are truly a man’s best friend. I had one who lived 15 years (90 years dog life)
We had to convince the vet to admit him for confinement when he refused to eat and became almost paralyzed. He was confined for a week for intravenous hydration and antibiotics, every time we came to visit him, he would lift his ears and struggle to stand to meet us that I cried as I utter encouraging words. He got well and we enjoyed him again for another year, the second time, the vet was adamant and said he cannot do anything more for him. I could not stand his sad eyes when he looked at me as I said goodbye when his time came.
Mary, I heard there is a dog’s heaven.
There are lots of great writers in this blog, never considered myself in their league.
That’s the reason why I enjoy this blog.
It’s very privileged if ever can come up with an article that Joe considers good enough to publish.
@chempo, you are a superb writer and multi-dimensional thinker. We all have different styles, which is why having guest articles is most entertaining . . . both for form and content. The marker by your name says “find a slot for publication”, not “review for consideration”.
Lots of great writers in this blog, yes. Iron sharpens iron.
Same here, chempo, same as what Mary Grace said. I could picture you. Words of power.
Thanks guys for the doggy encouragement.
I’m sure the dogs think you are quite a good pet, and they enjoy being your master. 🙂
ha ha ha…as Juana says above, “Three dogs own me”
Yes. Precisely. Dogs are good at watch simply because they own territory, and that includes us.
Just parking here two links on the Santiago-Marcos tandem:
http://www.rappler.com/views/imho/109427-bongbong-marcos-good-miriam-defensor-santiago
Written by a neo-Marcos loyalist, I thought it would be a more sensible post unlike the ones we have encountered in the previous blog on Bongbong Marcos.
Until you reach the part where the author says, “Situate the analysis of his (Bongbong’s ) accomplishments in a vacuum and assess it objectively.” Who the eff analyzes in a vacuum?
And condescending. I want to slap the guy in the face. He deserves it.
And the wonderful response to it:
http://www.rappler.com/views/imho/109511-response-david-yap-bongbong-marcos?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=referral&utm_medium=share_bar
Down with the Marcos loyalists!
Reject Bongbong Marcos!
I’m ashamed to admit that I thought that Miriam had the noblest intention for the country’s development. How can she say that we must bury and forget the past, but we must not forget the lessons from the past. Does she think Filipinos are dumb?
Here is my problem with Filipinos, English is their second language. What they say is not what they meant. They just pick-up snippets from poems and pop books and novels and paste it in their statement to sound well-read and intellectual.
Take for example Grace Poe. She said she’ll protect the Philippine Constitution. When Liberal Party Attack Dogs question of her qualification SHE GOT MAD !!!! She was not MAD at the constitution which explicitly say of residency rule. “MAD” came out of her mouth without thinking.
Then MAR ROXAS joined the fray (this was the time when they “friends”). He said, “Go, Girl! Go! Let them have it!” Mar knows the constitution. Mar protects the constitution. Yet he supported Grace Poe to get MAD at her ditractors that “wanted” to protect the sanctity of the constitution.
Therefore Mar Roxas and Grace Poe are “against” the constitution. No, they are not. IT JUST GOT LOST IN TRANSLATION. They do not mean what they say.
So, when talking to Filipinjos, use the other ear to listen and the other to translate what ever they are mumbling about.
ALWAYS REMEMBER, WHEN FILIPINOS SPEAK THEY DO NOT MEAN WHAT THEY SAY. When they say “I hate Binay” they actually “Love Binay”
I do not know to you (ewan ko ba sa iyo) what you mean by lost in translation…
I don’t think they love Binay, but they understand where he is coming from, as hundreds of millions of Filipinos are just like him, foragers in the forest taking whatever nature offers up. Manmade laws are irrelevant when one is busy fending for oneself, and one’s family.
I REPEAT … COMELEC should audit SALNs of each candidates applying for certification to weed out the crooks NOT AFTER THE ELECTION !!!! YOU HEAR ME COMELEC? UP-graduate journalists and columnists knows this but they’d rather not. Because UP-graduate journalists do not give a hoot about Filipinos. They survive thru chaos.
MY CRYSTAL BALL says, there will be SALN investigation AFTER THE ELECTION. WHY? Because that is where the losers get back at the winners …..
What if COMELEC audits SALNs of candidates before giving them CoC ? THEN, NOBODY WOULD BE QUALIFIED TO RUN FOR ANY ELECTED POSITIONS … It is like saying, what if the law is applied to the letter by STRICT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES (Underline and Bold “STRICT”) nobody would be left in the Philippines, they’d be all in jail.
But, Mariano, isn’t it you said in your comments that Philippines is one big huge prison system?
Mariano: “Thank you for reminding me i made those statements, yes, Philippines is one big huge maximum prison. I stand corrected. But like any other prisons in the Philippines they also elect mayor-mayores”
Dear COMELEC,
Please save us from the circus of SALN investigation. AUDIT INVESTIGATION BEFORE GIVING OUT CERTIFICATION. OK?
Once COMELEC has given out certification, there will be no more SALN investigation after the fact.
OK, COMELEC? HUH? i KNOW THE COMELEC chair is graduate from university of the Philippines. SHOW ME IF GRADUATES OF UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES REALLY HAVE BRAINS !!!!
There are something like 190 candidates for President of the Philippines. Ahahahaha. I have a feeling they don’t need SALN’s to reject about 180 of those.
Just lately, when I Wiki crooks from U.P. the school they graduated from is ERASED ! ZAPPED !!!! FRANK ZAPPA ZAPPED !!! Just like the name of Master Scout was erased from Wikipedia when Benigno was connected to Binay’s scheme in buying Mt. Makiling …
Mt. Makiling is no more an issue because if they investate Mt. Makiling Benigno’s thumbprint is all there for everyone to see.
Nice move UP journalists !!!! Nice Move !!!!!
So, what does it take to propel Philippines to surpass Burma and Laos ? Let us start with JOURNALISM. Journalism in the Philippines is still kindergartneriish. They are still coin-operated. If not, they just lack logic and rational sense of right.
You know, I share your rage about journalism here. The Inquirer did a story about another Romualdez running for mayor of Tacloban. How many other mayoral races get featured like that? I suppose it helps if a Romualdez is president of the newspaper. They are gaga breathless about Poe like most media people. The lady is like the Jim Carrey character in “The Truman Show”, mouthing platitudes for the people. But there the situation was reversed. The people KNEW he was fake, and he believed himself.
It took 30 years for UP to realize that it is OK to have UPCAT reviewer which it is discouraged. Harvard Extension classes accepts high-school brushing up their math and English even before UP became college from elementary school in the early 30s.
Now UP offers UPCAT reviewer. Wheeew !!!! 30 years !!!! they didn’t realize it despite UP professors when to UCLA and Harvard and classmates with my classmates and they did not realize it until now !!!!!
My parents were right of sending me abroad instead getting my degree from U.P.
Why people love MDS and Duterte? Why can’t Mar connect as a leader?
I was meaning to share this a few months ago but forgot.
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2015/06/why-it-pays-to-be-a-jerk/392066/
Because people can’t seem to judge between Competence and Overconfidence. And like most geeky people and based on the jessica zafra feature I am gonna claim that mar is of the geeky nerdy policy details kind of guy.
Mar is far too intelligent and humble to walk with the HUBRIS and ARROGANCE of Miriam Defensor Santiago and a Duterte.
Mar knows people make mistakes, Heck he has his more than fair share, Mar knows nothing is foolproof. That is why he focuses on the process. Oplan Lambat Sibat was about making law enforcement people understand the process of gradual improvement what some people would call kaizen but having no training on this I have no idea how apt the term is for what I am writing. Results are snapshots, the process affects a lot of future outcomes.
It is a common observation that the more informed you are of a topic the less confident you are with saying anything.
Basically Mar is not an Arrogant Asshole and that is why people mistake his humility and nerdiness with incompetence.
BTW I am not impressed by MDS based on a hearing I followed the topic I forget now but what I cannot forget is how confident MDS was with her lack of knowledge in Economics. The lacking in knowledge part was not the issue. It was the arrogance that she displayed. It was as if Economics would bow down in the altar of legalisms MDS thrives on. Of course lots of people don’t see her blind spots because they don’t put in the leg work needed to keep yourself reasonably informed.
If I would take a guess. Her greatest dream is to be President. She knows stage 4 cancer means probably dead in half a decade. She can’t let her ultimate dream go.
PS:I was just in a heated FB argument with some marcos loyalist and needed to destress. Sorry for the Offtopic comment.
Gian, Mar is like a silent water that runs deep. Noisy people are like shallow water, very noisy.
I agree with your observation. Mar has that intellectual geeky nerdy look. The rest are nada. Shallow. On the other hand, I like Grace, too !!!! I like her simple look with an auroa of Zen: Simplicity, minimalist
Mar and Grace could go together, what we cannot know what caused the fallinig out. Why Grace did not want to go with Mar. Somebody gotta interview Grace why she did not want to be Substitute President for Mar.
Will some U.P. journalist ask her like they asked State Department Hilary Clinton on whose side she was on: Pacquiao or Marquez.
If UP Journalsits got the ignorance to ask Hilary about boxing they should have the ignorance to ask Grace.
By the way UP, journalists, could you people check out their SALN. I do not want sour loser candidate making an issue of SALN once they lost the election. Will ya !!!!
Yes, look into that Marcos SALN first, eh? His degree from Oxford may have helped him generate some income . . .
Mar is definitely not an arrogant ***h***. If he loses his top because he sees simple things SNAFUed just like Meriam. Meriam is hated not because of her attitude because of her knowledge. Meriam has the right to berate these kindergartner Senators and Congressmen because THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE LAW BECAUSE THEY ARE LAWMAKERS BUT THEY DO NOT !!!!
Ejemplo: Condoned Trillanes and American Cayetano. Hey, nobody attcked Cayetano of being an American. His father is an organic American, by that virtue, so is Cayetano. Grace did not abandon Philippines, she went to rejoin her family that abandoned the Philippines. Thank goodness, she came back to give Philippine election a bit of sizzle.
If you don’t do your homework and you are a senator of the republic people should get mad at you because you are an empty seat in a 24 seat table.
http://blog.marroxas.com/2015/06/01/roxas-lauds-28-calabarzon-cops-for-lowering-crime-vows-all-out-support-for-peace-and-order/ – GIAN!!! – you must TALK, no not talk SHOUT to loyalists this way, and EMPHASIZE the ACCOMPLISHMENTS of Secretary of INTERIOR and LOCAL GOVERNMENT MANUEL ROXAS II in the AREA of PEACE and ORDER!!! You must show that he is giving the POLICE not only EQUIPMENT, but also RESPECT and DIGNITY!!! And then go quiet and show them the real accomplishments behind this:
During Roxas’ visit in Camp Vicente Lim in Calamba, Laguna, PRO IV-A Chief Supt. Richard Albano reported that within barely a month of implementing Oplan Lambat-Sibat in the region, the regional police has arrested a total of 1,147 pushers and users for sale or possession of illegal drugs.
A total of 52 Most Wanted Persons (MWPs) were also arrested by the local police force, on top if the confiscation of 382 assorted firearms and the impounding of a total of 1,661 vehicles for various violations of the owners.
and tell them quietly that a lot of the accomplishments of Marcos were just bombastic, loud window-dressing – and that it is easier to kill like DDS than to build a proper police force, especially one that does not torture like PNPs predecessor, the PC, often did. Also very interesting from Gian’s link is the following passage – which reminds me a bit of my brother’s management style, Mar Roxas most of the time but loud when needed:
Armed with the knowledge that he could “go from 15 to 95 real quick” and then bring it back down just as fast, his “idling state” was extreme calm. But he also became more forceful. He described a recent conversation with a lawyer who was resisting his idea of applying for a trademark. Vesterman cut the lawyer off mid-sentence, with the word stop. In an aggressive tone, he explained that he wanted the trademark because it could have a chilling effect on competitors, even though he understood the lawyer’s point that it could be challenged. Vesterman then brought his tone down, and apologized for raising his voice.
“I love it!” the lawyer exclaimed. Vesterman recalled him saying that he wished more of his clients were as passionate and direct. “I think you can be tough, as long as you’re not toxic,” Vesterman told me. One other distinction sticks with me from an earlier conversation with him: when I used the word aggression, he said he preferred the word aggressiveness.
This is the picture of Mar Roxas giving medals to cops – maybe that kind of picture should be shared MORE in social media. It is the kind of imagery the peace and order folks like, and could get the more moderate right-wing people (with a mindset like mine) on board.
http://blog.marroxas.com/2015/07/08/lanaoenos-celebrate-56th-founding-anniversary-with-22-brand-new-patrol-jeeps-from-the-dilg-pnp/
or SHOW Mar Roxas talking to the PEOPLE! Display his leadership for all to see! And EMPHASIZE his saying “no one chosen, no one left behind, no asking what chaleco these people are wearing”… it seems the image of Mar Roxas projected so far is very wrong…
Roxas aims to galvanize this by ensuring that all municipalities are given the capability to preserve the existing peace and to assist the local governments in enforcing the rule of law in the form of the patrol jeeps.
“Walang pinili, walang iniwan, hindi tinanong kung ano’ng chaleco… lahat ng bayan, magkakaroon ng brand new patrol jeep,” he stressed.
Roxas has previously said that all 1,490 municipalities will each receive a brand new patrol jeep to complement the intensified anti-crime campaign of the Philippine National Police (PNP) called Oplan Lambat-Sibat, which is now being implemented in regions outside Metro Manila, following its success in reducing crime in the nation’s capital by more than 60%.
http://blog.marroxas.com/2015/07/21/roxas-to-zamboanguenos-we-are-our-brothers-keeper/
Or TELL them about this:
As such, the DILG chief urged all stakeholders, including international organizations that helped funnel foreign aid into the humanitarian project, to unite in the midst of religious, cultural, and political differences in order to surpass all other ordeals that might be thrown their way.
Nakita natin na anumang unos, anumang hamon ang ibato sa atin, basta nagkakaisa tayo, nakikiisa tayo, may malasakit tayo sa kapwa, malalagpasan natin ito,” Roxas told the audience.
“In that diversity, we have our strength. In that mixture, we have our unity,” he added.
Kung hindi oobra ang Ingles tagalugin niyo na – ipahayag ninyo na si Mar, hindi katulad ng mga iba na pa-astig-astig diyan pero hanggang porma lang. Na iyong ginagawa niya, mas mabisa at pangmatagalan kaysa mga pasikat ng iba. At na iyon ang makakatulong sa bandang huli para maaring mabuhay ang Pilipino ng tahimik, ligtas sa takot at gulo, at may sapat na hanapbuhay. Dahil sa totoo lang, takot lang sila – at akala nila na walang pagmamalasakit sa kanila si Mar Roxas, patunayan ninyo sa argumento na hindi totoo ito.
Sabihin ninyo sa kanila na ang mga puro pasiklab tulad ni Brenda, walang silbi sa wakas. Na hindi si Bongbong na walang tinapos, walang nagawa at kasama pa sa pagnakaw ng Tatay niya ang may bayag, kundi si Mar. Mapapatunayan naman ang sigasig ni Roxas…
One useful method in dealing with opposing arguments is to ask questions – ask them why they have a problem with Mar Roxas. When they answer, ask WHY again. Ask WHY three times all in all to get to the root of their issue, and then be ready to give an answer…
Birds of the same feather ,MDS aldo just got a certificate at Harvard like BBM at Oxford.he keeos braggibg about Harvard before,what made her stop?
This is the song I think fits Bongbong best… you said you finished Oxford.. but that was just a lie… you ain’t never finished Oxford and you ain’t no friend of mine…
This fits some senators except Juanito Furrugunan.
In Germany this comedy movie is out in theatres right now – a Buck Rogers style movie about Adolf himself coming back to the present day and playing to popular themes like ecology, refugees etc. – “He’s Back”. Here it is a comedy, in the Philippines near reality…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6G8LdcaY5Pc – Hitler learns to use the Internet…
https://books.google.de/books?id=F9nqJDYgpBgC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=marcos+studied+hitler&source=bl&ots=VVtEhujPJo&sig=yKFCsykCLNjwTtB-VWIXvRNc_vw&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0CEEQ6AEwBGoVChMIn_rkhrDJyAIVQk0aCh36Sw28#v=onepage&q=marcos%20studied%20hitler&f=false
. Later, we heard that he had studied how Hitler had used the Reichstag fire as a pretext to seize power, lending credence to the persistent rumor that Marcos himself was behind the bombings…
Marcos, Hitler, diktador, tuta was the leftist slogan against Marcos… neo may have seen me among those marching on Taft back then.. tuta means lapdog.. the left brainwashed people into seeing Marcos as a US lapdog… ibagsak ang diktadurang US-Marcos was the slogan in those days as well – down with the US-Marcos dictatorship… so we are back to dogs again.. ASSO meant Arrest, Search and Seizure Order in those days, not dog…
You remnded me again of jailbird enrile who feigned poor health to get out of jail.
MDS kept bragging about harvard,She is the most credentialed pol i know.but she only went to Harvard for a short course.
On BBM i ever knew there was this rumor that BBM died long ago and the one we are seing is a clone.
Mar must brag of BPO before Americans move back to the US,which might happen sooner than we think.
Du30 Liked everybody to do30 pushups, but his supporters said it was easier to have their heads shaved,that made him backoutof the race. Ayaw syang pakinggan.
Si Sakay, ayaw magpagupit. Sila Sara nagpakalbo na lang.
I do not know to the Filipinos, always different haircuts.
Different haircuts indeed,di mo malaman kung galit sa human rights violations dahil galit ke Marcos gustong gusto naman kay Duterte. Hep Hep di ikaw pinatatamaan ko,nagkataon lang na galit ka ke Marcos at pro Duterte ka.Pero ganyan ang observation ko sa madami.
Duterte as far as I know only has people killed, not tortured. Kung papatayin mo na rin lang, bilisan mo. Torture is a truly sick thing to do. But forcing people to eat their cigarettes is already torture so you have a slippery slope. Other arguments below…
And as long as the victims are groups you do not care about that much, it is easy to rationalize torture and/or murder. The up and coming lower middle class that supported Marcos did not care about US (UP “crooks”) who were the main victims of Marcos. We were the smart-asses and “communists” they hated while they made their careers in business and government bureacracy thanks to Ferdie. Got to know people like that later in Germany – even some ex-Marcos security people and former Metrocoms.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
Much of the newly affluent middle class that lived well under Marcos and did not care then went against him when the economy went down in the early 1980s, because all dictatorships are built on overexploitation of resources and people. My two cents.
Duterte mostly goes for the “patapon” crowd – drug dealers etc. that it is easy to hate, allegedly Mayor Lim went for them as well. But then again, Walter White in “Breaking Bad” started by killing a homicidal maniac who deserved to die and went down the muddy slope.
I originally thought that Mar Roxas was one of these goddamed elitists who don’t care whether ordinary people outside their subdivisions live or die, who speak with a fake AmeriCANNED accent but have no true education except ARneo and their BUSINESS. Well he is first of all truly educated, second fixing the police means he cares whether people outside have a decent life, third since peace and order is the base requirement for people whether they have a talyer or a sari-sari store to make a decent living on their own.
My thoughts, too: galit kay Marcos pero gusto si Duterte. Pull out the checks and balance, you get the same creature.
Maybe, maybe not. I have my reasons for liking Duterte and not liking Marcos:
1) Duterte is doing it for the people, Marcos did it for himself and his KKKs.
2) Duterte allegedly has crooks killed, but no torture and they are warned.
3) Duterte does not kill dissenters, in fact he encourages democratic participation.
of course such an approach without checks and balances is dangerous. Duterte is able to get it done in Davao because he is relatively controlled. But nationwide it might not work. The alternative to that is hard work. And is a national project, Davao does not control that.
1) Get the police working like Mar Roxas is doing, get the justice system working.
2) Then people even not those NOT behind subdivision walls can live without fear.
3) Once more people see police and justice protecting them, more will follow the law.
Over here in Germany nearly everybody except the super-rich do not have to live in subdivisions, and the super-rich do not need walls or sikyos, CCTV and alarm systems connected to the professional firms like Securitas are enough, these are real security people not like the amateurs in the Philippines. Of course this has three reasons: there is not such a vast difference between rich and poor as in the Philippines, even if the gap has widened recently, second police and justice are for the most part machinery, pros working without fear or favor, third private weapons are banned, if I look at some rich teens here in München, I wouldn’t want them in an SUV with guns plus the coke some of them sniff.
Many people were relieved when Marcos had private weapons confiscated BTW.
But that only works only when the police and military are fully professional and impartial.
Mar Roxas is going the right way by making them an efficient machinery – and the human rights training they are getting from Munich’s Hanns-Seidel foundation which I already posted once is correct, they have experience in democratizing ex-Nazi police forces.
Finally, checks and balances are good. But the Philippine system reminds me a person who has the shoelaces of left and right shoes tied together. It is very hard to walk.
For example in Germany a TRO is NOT possible against prosecuting bodies, exactly for the reason that evidence may be taken aside like what might have happened in Makati City Hall, there is NO “immaterial, irrelevant” evidence like in the Erap impeachment trial that is for the judge (or the jury if there is one) to decide and weigh. Now if people tell me I am living in the Fourth Reich, then fine with me. I can vote, I can express my opinion, I can approach police without fear of abuses or bribery, I need no subdivision walls, no sikyos.
Sadly or gladly I believe I got to him. Found one of his posts online about the sadness of being far away from your family. I emphasized and went full emotional. He was a homesick OFW and I just kept hammering the point that if not for 20 years of failed economic policy he would not have had to leave his family to work. How Marcos’ biggest con is convincing OFWs like him that he is the greatest President.
Memories of Romania come back… a country which also suffered under a dictator and carries deep scars from that time… and many people still carry the authoritarian mindset…
Stray dogs roam the streets of Bucharest… some have killed children, some have killed tourists… some are taken care of by gypsies and other low income groups who somehow manage to find the right tone with them, these dogs are always to be found in groups.
Once I encountered a group walking towards me, I was walking down from the old government area near the Ministry of Defense whose style reminds me of Marcos buildings, or Mussolini architecture, or Nazi architecture – monumental buildings designed to make the individual feel small and insignificant. They were feeling tough, and I dared stare at the leader of the pack – calmly and firmly – until he took his head down and the rest of the pack took their heads down too and walked past me – I had asserted my leadership.
Same with some difficult Romanian colleagues – they were pushing me around, laughing and joking behind me and telling me hey is it difficult while I tried to solve a difficult issue on the screen – together with a former anti-Ceaucescu activist and IBM Romania employee. Got mad, stood up and told them, if you are like this I will take the next plane home and not help you anymore, FUCK THIS! – and slammed the door on my way out to have a smoke.
When I came back everybody was silent, so was I. One of the employees told me that I have to do what I am hired for. Told him I can go back to Germany, this is not the way to go… he then explained things to his colleagues in my defense. He is my friend to this day.
———————————————————————–
Traian Baiescu was the populist mayor of Bucharest who tried to solve the stray dog issue by having stray dogs killed. Animal rights activists from the whole of Europe protested this. Baiescu became Romanian President nonetheless, people liked his forceful populism.
Yet he did not manage to clear the country of poverty as the President, did not manage to clear the streets in the whole country of stray dogs – or the orphans that roam the streets of the poorer regions. And in poorest Craiova can be very dangerous – more than dogs.
Now instead of the Dog Duterte Baiescu, Romania has the ethnic German President Klaus who is in his quiet, managerial style bringing the country forward. BPO outfits serve richer countries in Europe, Romanians being very talented with languages. More Romanians are finding jobs at home and less of them need to migrate to Spain, Italy or Germany to work – usually in very menial jobs, sometimes even as thieves (the akyat-bahays are mainly Latin Romanians while the mandurukot are Romanian gypsies) or as prostitutes. Dog lessons.
When I went home later at night BTW in Bucharest, I also saw a pack of stray dogs in front of my dimly lit house entrance. At night I did not dare pull the stunt I pulled during the day – animals will be bolder at night. I sneaked into my apartment using a back entrance…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Iohannis
Daang Matuwid, Romanian-style:
A heavily disputed draft law regarding the amnesty of some misdemeanors and the pardoning of certain penalties was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies at the initiative of Klaus Iohannis and the party he led,[40] after PNL asked the Judiciary Committee 17 times to reject the draft law.[41]
The collaboration with socialist Prime Minister Victor Ponta was praised by both sides at the start of the mandate, but deteriorated thereafter once with foreign visits of the Head of the Executive, without informing the President, but especially with the criminal prosecution of Victor Ponta for 22 alleged corruption charges, prompting Iohannis to demand his resignation from the head of the Government.[42] Relations with Parliament went similarly. Iohannis criticized the Parliament for defending MPs by rejecting the requests of the National Anticorruption Directorate for lifting their immunity, as in the case of PSD senator Dan Șova or Prime Minister Victor Ponta.[43] Regarding the judicial system, Klaus Iohannis pleads for a sustained fight against corruption. Likewise, Iohannis expressed dissatisfaction with attempted amendments to the Penal Code.[44] Since coming into office, President Klaus Iohannis has made a habit to hold consultations with parliamentary parties. The first round of consultations took place on 12 January, the purpose of these discussions being a political agreement that would ensure, by 2017, a minimum threshold of 2% of GDP for the Ministry of Defence, agreement signed by all parties.[45] The second round of consultations focused on the legislative priorities of the parliamentary session: voting in diaspora, financing electoral campaigns and parties and lifting parliamentary immunity. Because the Parliament has not implemented the commitments made on 28 January, Iohannis has organized another series of consultations on the state of electoral laws,[46] but also on rejection of Justice requests for approval of arrest or prosecution of MPs. The topics of other meetings between the president and parties aimed the Big Brother law package and the national defense strategy.[47]
My former project colleague and friend in Romania once told me that a large part of EU assistance used to go back because the money was not allotted for projects – does this sound familiar to anyone as well?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_corruption_scandals_in_Romania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_in_Romania
Just to show that the Philippines is not alone with this kind of problem… in the 1990s Romanian police were feared for extorting bribes from foreign motorists on the road… doctors in state clinics asked for extra money to prioritize patients… public school teachers asked for money to give kids better grades… sorry for the off-topic but this just made sense in the general context and looking at other experiences is often useful..
The image of Romania was badly affected by the 2012 political crisis, when the European Commission expressed concerns about the rule of law, pointing to the power struggle between Prime Minister Victor Ponta and President Traian Băsescu.[6][7] The Commission also criticised Romania for failing to root out corruption and political influence in its state institutions.[8] One year later, in December, the Chamber of Deputies passed, without parliamentary debate, several controversial amendments to the Penal Code, according to that the country’s President, senators, members of the lower chamber, as well as lawyers, are no longer to be considered “public officials”.[9][10] This in turn means they can no longer be held to account for abuse of office, bribery, conflicts of interest and other corruption crimes.[11] The amendments were sharply criticised by Romanian opposition parties and European leaders,[12] while the Constitutional Court of Romania cataloged this move as unconstitutional
Basescu, not Baiescu… think Duterte… Ponta think Binay.
Stray dogs in the Romanian capital…
well at least they do no jaywalk…
That,s not painted zebra lanes it is like a shadow of a picket fence
We accept off topics if they relieve stress from loyal contributors. 🙂 That arrogance of ignorance seems to be a common trait. One of the people I follow on Twitter (Nik) was going nuts yesterday because he read the Poe economic position article done by PhilStar (see “Must Read” section in right column). Her solution for the Manila traffic situation is to create a “War Room” to deal with it. In other words, she has no idea about what is causing the problem – the transportation policies or rules for doing major-ticket investments or conflicts between cities – and would solve the problem by putting OTHER people in a room to solve it for her. But she is confident she is best to run the Philippines and solve the problem.
Then read Mar Roxas comment on PPP, and understand the difference between knowledge and blustering ignorance.
That is even more disheartening because it is the Job of her committee to know. Meaning she has the budget to commission research to go the route of Trillanes hire teams of experts on Transportation and Transportation Policy. Although I suspect this is the effect of Escudero’s teachings. Do not give concrete solutions because concrete solutions are targets that can easily be used against you. Better appear confident you can solve the problem.
OFF TOPIC:
Miriam has stage 4 lung cancer. She “licked” it by taking “miracle pills” and having chemotherapy. Sounds preposterous ( research stage 4 lung cancer) but she should be given the benefit of a doubt. It is known that cancer sufferers could have remission. It is also known that cancer could come back. She filed her COC for president and chose Bongbong as her VP. If she is voted for president in 2016 and her cancer comes back or kills her, Bongbong will become the president.
She had been photographed holding on to her assistant’s arm to steady herself when she went to an award ceremony this week. Is she really up to snuff to manage the country for the next 6 years? Is she even healthy enough to do nationwide sorties for her campaign?
She is the one who said, stupid is forever and forevermore.
To quote karl: wadda#!@, Miriam?
Ahahaha! It is really a stress relief to talk about our anxieties.
Just a thought, if BongBong wins the VP, would the international community treat us with respect? We’ll become the laughingstock of the whole wide world!
bauwow, on fb someone called you doc,are you MD?
baka veterinarian… with that alias…
He told me to tell yu that he is a cardiocologist.
Bauwow is obviously a dog lover.jok only
Bau is building in German… so Bauwow is a dog that builds instead of barking maybe?
A TRUE DOG STORY
About 35 years ago, my family — my wife, two daughters and I — pestered by my two daughters, with the wife joining in, finally came home from a pet store with a beautiful month old fluffy white Japanese Spitz. And I may say, we lived happily ever after. But that is not the point of this story.
Five years into Tiny’s life — that is what the kids named her — though she has grown by then, the family went on a 3-month long vacation and left Tiny to the care of a dog-loving nephew and his family.
When we came back, we were shocked on how Tiny has thinned out. She did give us a great welcome with the usual tail wagging she does when she loves something. It took only a few weeks for her to gain practically all the weight she lost. We were to learn later that there is what is known as separation anxiety or melancholia even with dogs.
Tiny finally died at age 12 or thereabouts. The kids and the wife mourned her passing; I, somewhat less — probably because I had to work hard those days to make a living, but Tiny demonstrates a love for me, by grazing her fluffy fur on my leg when I am home and sit down to read the papers — no computer then to do it — and sit at the floor beside me. (Even she knows who is the boss of the house. Hahaha.)
When I asked the kids if they want to visit a pet store to see if we can get another dog. Both responded with a quick NO. Either they don’t like to transfer their love to another dog or because of the new competition — boy friends.
Hi NHerrera! A beautiful dog story! I’m sure it’s because your daughters don’t want to replace Tiny or to be reminded of the pain of losing Tiny.
Talking about computers, here’s a bit of theory or observation from me: Dogs are man’s first computer. Remember the 32,000 years of togetherness?
Both dog and computer have memories, that’s one.
Second, they go on default option, going through the paces.
Third, they’re always at man’s side, at his or her beck and call, affixed.
Fourth, both perform specific functions usually of a confidential nature.
Fifth, they have passwords, or i.d. systems for access. No I.D. No Entry.
Sixth, both can lead man in memorized sequences.
Seventh, both are extensions of the handler or owner.
Eight, both help in man’s labors.
Nine, both are expensive to maintain and need maintenance.
Ten, both are indispensable to man depending on place or circumstance in matters such as defense, business or admin matters.
Thanks, NHerrera!
Thanks too, Wilfredo, for those dog gems.
Nine, both are expensive to maintain and need maintenance.
Right. Maintaining the kids and the wife too for that matter, and Tiny (we preferred the dog food to maintain her health and her nice fluffy hair — we decided on that from the beginning rather than the human’s unhealthy diet) are not cheap indeed. That is why I have to work extra hard those days. 🙂
Horses were probably man’s second computer… By that analogy, I have three horses – my laptops and two dogs – my business and private smartphones….
Kids today are learning to deal with modern tools like second nature… my brother’s son tried to wipe over his father’s flatscreen TV once, thinking it worked like a smartphone… while another kid tried to wipe over an old cellphone and wondered why nothing happened.
Stone tools, work animals, computers… and in between people as tools, in various forms. The extension of our communicative apparatus is also a story in itself – bush drums, smoke signals, fire on mountains like in Braveheart (old Celtic means of communication also used by some Germanic tribes, the ones who were expert in this were like some nerds of today – social outcasts but highly respected), press, telegraph, radio, TV, Internet… its use for freedom and for fooling people as well is another never-ending story.
Man is king of resources. The dog was probably his first inkling of his power to put nature on his side after discovering fire and the comfort of home. If only the average Filipino will appreciate his aspin more, then it’ll be easier to appreciate his own power over his economy and limited reach but unlimited creativity.
Joe, off-topic to this article, but I uncovered this old “gem” from Teddy Casino. Read, and prepare to weep. This will be relevant for your article next week.
https://teddycasino.wordpress.com/2014/11/08/the-lefts-attitude-on-the-binay-investigations/
It is relevant. It boils down to me as “the Administration is hot on the heels of Binay, so the Left is better occupied chasing down the crooks in the Aquino Administration”. I’d say that kind of rationalization is the same kind that has inspired Senator Santiago to ignore Marcos’ background and the family’s complicity in theft, and go with what is to her benefit. To me, it stinks.
Actually I find Casino’s rationalization well-written, considering the leftist agenda on which it is written.
MY POINT. P-noy’s administration and its probable continuation through RoRo is big NO NO to further the lefitist agenda. Rather, put down P-noy and hasten Binay’s ascendancy — so much the better to later smash the worse Binay’s Administration and come closer to their LEFTIST HEAVEN, whatever that is.
“Not that I love P-noy less, but that I love Binay more,” because when the latter becomes President, the better and easier for us leftist to shoot down his expectedly worse Administration — or something to that effect. (My point phrased another way.)
My take, too, NHerrera. Let it rot till the flies come home. Fan the revolutionary flames.
Roxas an underdog? Hmmmn, I wonder if that’s a pedigree lower than a thoroughbred or an askal. He looks like an overdog to me.
Do you snicker to yourself when you type one of those beuts? “overdog” I chuckle at mine . . . and at yours . . .
i had an azcal once and found him to be very loyal and protective…just wondering the origins of the breed..Mexican ?
Hi maya pula! It’s the care we put into our dogs that make them OUR dogs, the best dog there is, reflections of ourselves actually. I hope this helps, although medyo bale-balentong ang English: http://www.petsclan.com/philippine-askal.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amores_perros is a Mexican movie…
Amores perros is a 2000 Mexican drama thriller film directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and written by Guillermo Arriaga. Amores perros is the first installment in González Iñárritu’s “Trilogy of Death”, succeeded by 21 Grams and Babel.[4] It is a triptych; an anthology film, containing three distinct stories which are connected by a car accident in Mexico City.
Each of the three tales is also a reflection on the cruelty of humans towards both animals and other humans, showing how humans may live dark or even hideous lives. But the film’s theme is loyalty, as symbolized by the dog, “man’s best friend”. Dogs are important to the main characters in each of the three stories, and in each story various forms of human loyalty or disloyalty are shown: disloyalty to a brother by trying to seduce the brother’s wife, disloyalty to a wife by keeping a mistress with subsequent disloyalty to the mistress when she is injured and loses her beauty, loss of loyalty to youthful idealism and rediscovered loyalty to a daughter as a hit-man falls from and then attempts to regain grace.
Who knows, the galleon trade may have brought the Azkals to the Philippines… BTW why do we say PERA for money? Ambeth Ocampo explains the reason.
Spain in the 19th century was divided between the Carlistas (right-wing, pro-clerical) and the Progresistas (liberal, anti-clerical, expropriated a lot of monasteries). During the reign on Queen Isabel, many Carlistas fled to the Philippines. When they saw Progresista Queen Isabel’s head on coins, the often said PERRA which means BITCH in both senses of the world. Natives thought they meant the money, and so money’s a bitch until now.
http://pha1955.blogspot.de/2011/05/ambeth-ocampo-lectures-on-banknotes-and.html
Me and my dad are tutas with several masters.
You have a certain mission, so you are not tutas. Tutas are those who will just serve the next best master for their own advantage, without caring for any principles except their own bottom line. Manuel Roxas I IMHO was a tuta and a sellout, Sen. Gerry Roxas not.
“They are constant from first sight to last touch when they lie dying, ever eager to please, to obey, to love.”—Wilfredo on dog love
Huh? Better than Romeo and Juliet? Or Anthony and Cleopatra?
Next Willy will write a blog, a beautiful story of love… between two of his dogs.
You’re getting the drift, Bert. I’m the love-story guy. Many more where it comes from. Love in the time of predator eyes, lack of respect for traditions, back stabbing and dog poo. Thanks.
In case you were wondering what China would like to do to blogs such as the Society of Honor, read between the lines of China Defense Minister Chang’s recent statement:
“Forces from outside the region are using the Internet, social media and other means to carry out incitements against countries in this region, threatening social stability,” Chang said, without elaborating.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/16/us-china-asean-idUSKCN0SA05420151016
Mr. Chang, wait for my China article to come out. Among other things I would like to get back at the Maoist NDF for fooling Filipino youth like me back in the days. Being activist was the nearly the only game in town against Marcos, and you brainwashed us with Cultural Revolution bullshit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Free_Europe/Radio_Liberty#Radio_Liberty – was an important force for freedom in Eastern Europe. It is autumn, and I will be careful about umbrellas – Ukrainian exile Stepan Bandera was assasinated by a Russian umbrella in Munich where I live in the 50s…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEyovVK8LZM – how the Chinese treat dogs… but this is not for sensitive people. How they treat political prisoners is not nice either… nuff said.
Mahirap magpakatao, pero baka kailangan muna nating magpaka-aso…
The Russian strategy is different from the Chinese… ever wondered why hardly anybody in the Russian-speaking world is on Facebook – there is a map showing global FB usage…
They have vkontakte.ru and mail.ru which are their own social media, so potentially the Russian government has everything under control if they want to.
Propaganda is even found in Russian porn: masseur asks woman “did your husband go to the army”.. she says no, he says “I believe in patriotic duty”.. what happens soon after??
Few Romanians on mail.ru, but many on vkontakte… The Romanians switched allegiance from Germany to Russia when they saw Germany would lose WW2… they eagerly put on NATO uniforms even before they joined NATO after the Eastern bloc came down…
They are like Filipinos in that respect too… not just in their having many stray dogs, being fun-loving, having a strong social hierarchy… having many young people who yearn back for the dictatorship of old, being exporters of workers and having a strong BPO industry…
During their around three centuries of Turkish rule they all wore beards to adapt to their conquerors… they are often lapdogs, tuta. Ready to wag their tails at every new master. Wonder how many Filipinos are now ready wag their tails if new Chinese masters come, just like Artemio Ricarte came with the Japanese invaders, and President Laurel bowed like a Japanese and dressed in Japanese-style suits. Long colonization must breed tuta.
https://joeam.com/2015/10/12/that-nasty-up-professor-harry-roque/#comment-141217
This are the historical precedents – and present realities – I based my tragic comedy sci-fi story of the future Philippines on…
S E P T E M B E R 21, 2 0 5 2… M A R C OS D A Y The seventieth anniversary of the NEW BEGINNING of the Republic of the Philippines. Ferdinand Marcos III bows three times to the statue of Jose Rizal – and the statues of Ferdinand and Bongbong Marcos to the left and right of him.
Obed Ricarte, head of the National Intelligence, Cyberspace and Security Authority (NICSA) is beside him as well as Defense Minister Marcelo Carpio, son of Sara Duterte-Carpio. They go to the middle of Luneta Park to lay a flower wreath on the Imelda Mausoleum, HERE LIES LOVE is engraved on it. Minister of Finance Jejomar Binay III has announced that taxes have to be raised to 60% on all income to finance the Bataan Nuclear Power plant which resumed operation in 2030.
A 21-gun salute is fired from the aircraft carrier Liaoning by the Permanent Visiting Forces of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan at Subic Naval Base. Thousands of Filipinos work as slaves in the re-education camps of Bataan and Olongapo. Comfort women work for the Chinese in Angeles.
Ernie, son of Bert, has revived the Bikol rebel tradition and is leading the Bikol Liberation Army in the jungles of the Caramoan peninsula together with Jose Carbonell-Lim, nephew of the traitor General Javier Carbonell who betrayed the Glorious Coup of 1989 against the Retarded Aquino Radicals. Karl Marx Garcia, son of Pirate Captain Karl Garcia who was hanged at the North Harbor gallows in 2035, is hiding out in the hull of the Sierra Madre on Ayungin Shoal. The Chinese have built structures on top of it, but did not remove it because it had become part of the coral reef. Unknown to the Chinese, he has hacked into the PhilNet backbone and is posting pirate videos against the puppet Filipino government – as well as corny jokes – into OurTube.ph and PangitBook.ph – Youtube and Facebook are banned and subject to labor camp sentence in the Mamasapano natural gas fields. Roberto Kudarat Gerhard Salazar is spreading Garcia’s messages on Chika-Chika – Twitter equivalent.
Ferdinand Benigno Pacifico is imprisoned in Bataan labor camp for agitation on government blogs. John America, culturally ambidextrous son of Joe America, is with him as a suspected American spy. Lance Corporal EX, who makes a living as a smuggler, lands on shore and frees them from captivity…
https://joeam.com/2015/10/12/that-nasty-up-professor-harry-roque/#comment-141251 – the continuation is also a bit pessimistic, based on the precedents of how little Filipinos learn from their past history and repeat it in endless variations – like gian once wrote, it sometimes seems like episodes out of Cloud Atlas…
The INB – Iglesia ni Bathala – of Davao commemorates its founding by Manny Piñol Jr., its creed a mixture of Christianity, Islam and Lumad beliefs. Its block vote usually goes to Manolo Carpio, son of former Defense Minister Marcelo Carpio, grandson of Sara Duterte-Carpio, and his Philippine Nationalistic Party. Robredo is the leader of the Liberation Party, the LP, which has lodged a protest against the Digong Duterte Memorial Circle and Monument in Davao. PNP party supporters are financed by groups in Sulawesi and earn money by smuggling synthetic drugs to Indonesia.
There is a monument to Aldub Santos in Iriga, Camarines Sur. Agta from the mountains continue to protest against the lack of recognition for an Agta martyr for freedom. Both PNP and LP dismiss the story of the Agta as “primitive magical superstition”. His speed train trip to Olongapo took him only 45 minutes on the September 23, 2052, while his walk through the jungle took him three days. His final meditation and reconnection with the spirits took three days. Pinatubo erupted on September 29, 2052. The heroic destruction of Ayungin Shoal Fortress was on September 30, 2052. Fernoy Pacifico was forgotten on the fortress, but managed to jump off before it exploded, swimming half an hour to Mischief Reef. After being captured by the Chinese, he managed a dramatic escape, killing the entire garrison with chemical weapons found on the reef and swimming back to the ruins of the Ayungin shoal fortress. An Abu Sayyaf speedboat picked him up. He converted to Islam and moved to Sulu, never to be heard of again. The Sultanate of Sulu is now an independent state, living on piracy.
The Republic of Cagayan and Batanes is also independent, with its capital in Aparri City. It is allied with Okinawa against the Republic of Taiwan, where survivors of the fallout have fled to.
In a possible third and final episode of this trilogy, a mercenary and INB member, Juan Carlos Magulo, plays a role in reuniting the disparate parts of the country. Mindanao is a thriving center of the MPO – military power outsourcing – industry. JCM is working in Syria, which is occupied by the conservative Turkish Islamic Republic and German troops – of whom the majority are Alawi Muslims descended from refugees. With his K-9 recovery unit, he is helping recover people from under the rubble of ruined buildings. Dogs again.
binigyan mo ng taning si Garcia pirata
ayaw ka kasi ng diktadurang China-Marcos… buti ka pa nalamang pinatay nila. Ako matagal ng nawala, pinatay ng isang ahenteng Intsik sa Munich – tusok ng payong na may lason tulad ng ginawa ng mga Ruso kay Bandera. Official cause of death: heart attack.
Kung tuta talaga ang mga Marcos, kakapit iyan sa nananalo, hindi sa natatalo. Sa bagay, si Mariano Marcos, collaborator na pinatay ng mga guerilla – tinali sa dalawang kalabaw tapos pinapunta sa magkaibang direksiyon iyong dalawa. Masakit talaga na kamatayan. Kung tutuusin mo, ang talagang kaibigan at partner ng Pilipino at katulad niya, kalabaw – mapasensiya pero huwag mo talagang galitin – hindi iyan tulad ng toro na mga Kastila.
“Dogs again.” hahahaha Military power outsourcing would not be a bad business to get into these days. Lucrative, I suspect, if one demonstrates special skills.
The world of VK.com, the Russian Facebook equivalent…
The “form language” of the VK logo is IMHO not a coincidence… it reminds me of the Russian eagle… Putin’s regime is fascist nationalism run by ex-communists… What’s scary is that http://vk.com/ sells itself as a European social network.. not keen on Russian rule…
and I am not surprised by the daily hits coming in from baidu, the Chinese provider, on my business web page which is after all linked in my blog. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baidu
progress… in some gated communities they clean dog poo.before u watch your every step.
It’s not often one can truly say that JoeAm has finally gone to the dogs! But with election season starting its going to be a dog eat dog world. What puzzles me no end is Senator Santiago running for the top post with BBM as her running mate. Thank goodness her chances of winning are low because Marcos is definitely in the lead pack for VP. The five year survival rates for stage 4 lung cancer are next to zero according to the Mayo Clinic and she declared back in 2014. Now it’s only the survey numbers Binay but poor Miriam that needs being closely watched
Popoy painted dogs falling in line to pee,and Will came up with this blog.Caliphman reminded us that it is a dog eat dog world. IN animalvplanet seen snakesveating snakes, apes eating monkeys,shark eating fish,but not yet dogs eating dogs,not even wolves eating dogs.
Maybe I’ll see one in Nat Geo Wild.
Karl, they do kill their own kind. But you’re right, not to eat.
Love this…made some tear fell. Oh, how I missed my dogs.