The three burdens we leave to our youth
Here kids! Have fun! [Photo by codecarvings.com, piczard.com]
By JoeAm
Adults of today are losers. They are leaving the kids of today three huge burdens:
- Global warming
- Poisoned discourse
- Dysfunctional government (Philippines, US, UK, etc)
None of these burdens will be cured by the next president. Or the next. They are built into our way of life.
Global warming
Disasters are coming. Heat, storms, rising seas. Thirst. Starvation. Death.
Countries like the Philippines are basically doing nothing but repairing after disasters. The Philippines not only has weak resource management . . . on both seas and land . . . its leaders are so corrupt or inept as to give the nation’s precious seas and land resources to the hungriest predator on the planet. China.
The Philippines can’t even get to reactionary thinking. It is pro-actively regressive. The Philippines is so regressive that government is helping to destroy its children’s resources and future. And citizens applaud!
Poisoned discourse
Social media has made responsible behavior difficult. First of all, knowledge is typically removed from the equation in favor of opinion. And emotion substitutes for reason. Logical fallacies abound. Government spokespeople like Panelo and Locsin are the worst of the worst, substituting slander for analysis and nonsense for reason. They preen and posture, preach and perform. They utter complete nonsense as if it were wisdom that we should be honored to receive.
Honesty is not a platform for discourse in today’s Philippines. Sincerity is not a style. Knowledge is irrelevant.
Winning is the goal, and winning is expressed in terms of benefits to the people doing the talking, not to the nation or Filipinos as a whole.
How will the adults ever get to candor, facts, solutions, and progress when the field is overwhelmed by gameplayers?
They won’t.
The kids will have to figure out what is wrong with today’s debate, and figure out how to get it corrected. Lot’s of luck with that.
Dysfunctional Government
When government accepts poisoned discourse as its policy framework, and propaganda as a substitute for candor, laws become tools for punishment, not tools for protection. Problems are not solved, they multiply. Corruption rules.
I won’t elaborate. Just look around. The Philippines is a mess. Cruel, illogical, dysfunctional, greedy, destructive, hopeless.
Where youth must start
The adults have botched it. They did not seat values like punishment for crimes. They seated forgiveness. Even worse, they seated admiration for the people who get away with murder and plunder.
The corrective action must start with government. Aggressive good works are needed to address the other two problems. Get government working hard and smart. Put global warming and curing of poisoned discourse first among priorities.
The kids will need to riot, I suspect, to toss out the rot. That’s my guess. I don’t advocate this, but can’t see enough competence among the well-rooted elders to lead the nation to a progressive course. It is unfortunate that the mess is so extreme. The adults are a lost cause. They are a burden themselves, their thinking is so bad. The kids ought not waste too much time with them. Push them aside and start fresh.
Punish those who were negligent though. Don’t forgive them.
Clean house. Then rebuild it much, much better. Value honesty, not deceit. And respect, not condescension. And real productivity. Not showmanship.
It’s that way . . . or the Chinese way, which ends freedom, independence, and self-determination for Filipinos.
If Filipino kids don’t care, there is no reason for the rest of us to care, either. The country and it’s people will be lost to history as an irrelevant failed state.
The Society of Honor by Joe America 
I suspect the kids are too busy taking selfies to care, Joe. Like your era, 60s-70s, kids cared when their asses were on the line, so expand EJKs to selfies!!! you take a selfie, you get shot.
Gadamit Corporal!
“Millenials”? Might as well be “Generation Z” instead.
“The President remains popular because he hasn’t really touched the upper and middle classes. All of his wars are against the poor. And some of his political opponents are seen as unpalatable as him. Good news is he has 3 years left. Then it will be President Sara Duterte. Aaahhh.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/MiaMagdalena/status/1153229601700663296
God forbid
PMFJI.
A few minutes ago, I came upon NH’s use of the phrase “forced move.” It made me say, to myself, “zugzwang.”
I searched for a previous mention of term here at TSOH
http://j.mp/ja-zugzwang
and, being forgetful, I was surprised to learn that I myself had used it here (at Lance’s “Salvation by Austerity” article!
i7sharp
Ah , yes! Bobby Fischer, his “forced move”,
POGOs with Chinese workers are crowding out BPOs with Filipino middle class workers. There is even a moratorium on new BPOs, I gather.
The near future might be indeed like Singapore, with Filipinos working as maids for Chinese.
If they are simply cool with that they deserve it.
Even in Manila condos the Chinese are crowding out Filipinos.
In one generation, fathers can tell their children how they had nicd jobs and sipped Starbucks at the now “Chinese only” malls.
The former Philippines will be Southern Insular China SAR. Taiwan will be Northern Insular China SAR. Fathers who speak to their children of the old days when Native Filipinos had rights risk reeducation camps where they have to sing Chinese songs and recite poems by Xi Jinping 18 hours a day, sleeping 6.
Seems so.
“None of these burdens will be cured by the next president. Or the next. They are built into our way of life.”
What is that way of life? What enables it? What drives it? Surely if it’s just a way of life we can change it, no?
Ans. The way of life is ease, ignorance, anger, and apathy. It is enabled by obedience to and resentment of the greater powers. It is driven by lies and power. Not if you are in the US or are a foreigner in the Philippines.
Nah, it’s too ambiguous a term, it could mean different things to different people. And how could resentment of greater powers as enabler of that still loosely defined “way of life” have caused, among other things, the global warming?
Well, I apologize for being too brief and mixing my messages. The peoples’ resentments (of colonists and yellows) are what elect leaders like Duterte, as a kind of emotional punishment of the righteous elite, and the resulting incompetence leads to giveaway of sea resources, trashing of land resources, and no preparation for climate change. There is a connection.
Hence, expanding EJKs to include apathetic millennials is a valid solution , Joe. Yellows & DDS folk should both be pushing for this.
Corporal, include as one of your non fans.Sup was right to suggrdtest just to scroll down.
“The peoples’ resentments (of colonists and yellows) are what elect leaders like Duterte”
Do you think their resentments were justified?
Not justified in terms of what is best for them and the nation, but justified from their vantage point as discards of the entitled and largely ignorant as to the ways things work. How do you understand freedom and self-directed fulfillment if you’ve not had any real opportunities for centuries?
So what is best for them and the nation? I am here assuming that your view is that of a preservationist of the economic system’s status quo.
The best would be to elect a modern, honest president who would begin a long range program to build exports, manufacturing, and resource management, start defending against global warming (building restrictions on coastlines, more water reservoirs in areas short of water, rice self-sufficiency), and automate government agencies. China would assume a less prominent role in policy development and the nation would stand strong, independent, and self-capable in 10 or 15 years.
Hahaha, nice things to have, no doubt, but in the current unhinged capitalist framework in which the country, given its internal dynamics, has surrendered itself into, there’s very little chance of that ever happening even if provisionally we have a “modern, honest president”.
The reason why that would be so is that in globalized capitalism, the dominant powers will do everything possible to keep third world countries like the Philippines eternally poor. It’s the age old beggar thy neighbor principle. The wealthy ones could only maintain their wealth by impoverishing others.
Part of the reason Marcos felt betrayed by what he consider as his friend, Ronald Reagan, is that he as much as broached the idea to modernize and industrialize the Philippines.
That’s a poor excuse for a popular disaster as president. Who needs foreign influence when Philippines is perfectly capable of drowning itself in the muck?
I remember the (old style) US pushing Vietnam on the road to economic reform and some kind of democracy and look where they are today.
Seems to contradict your position a bit.
The Reagan-Marcos situation had a different background as there was a lot of pressure to get rid of the dictatorship.
No Sir, people here are doing a great job of making a mess out of what was a “pole position” a few years ago.
Well, you asked me what would be best, not to admit it is a lost cause. I answered the question. I don’t think global powers intentionally keep poor nations poor, they just use them for all they are worth, and as the country permits. Corruption and poor domestic policies are more damaging than foreign conniving, I suspect. Marcos is a good example. He raped the Philippines. Reagan just held up the blanket so some could not watch.
@Pablo
You think I’m an apologist for that walking cadaver of a president?
“I don’t think global powers intentionally keep poor nations poor”
I don’t think so either, that 1st world (even 2nd world, China & Russia today) mean to keep poor nations poor.
But like herd of elephants or a heard of wildebeests trampling on ant hills (which actually are more sophisticated network-wise),
the elephants can’t help it, no more than the wildebeests, they’re so big that they neither appreciate nor see the complexity that lies under their feet— that is the 3rd world.
I reject Micha’s conspiracy theory as is, but agree with her that the 1st and 2nd worlds are trampling on the 3rd world— if MMT can alleviate, then have at it. is my position.
You both seem to agree, just differ in your views re intentions of the 1st and 2nd worlds. 😉
Just saw a bunch of documentaries on the 50th anniversary of the Moon Landing this past weekend. Also saw “First Man” a film about Neil Armstrong (on HBO), and came away with more appreciation for NASA in the 60s— now it’s Elon Musk’s SpaceX attempting to replicate but at a lower price margin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Space_Treaty mentioned in the documentaries, stuck out as very (very) relevant to the above discussion. And illustrates somewhat Micha’s description of events,
and weirdly coincides with The Law of the Sea re South China sea/Philippines fracas.
Essentially, everyone (1st and 2nd world) mean well (love , peace , and happiness , and all that crap… ), it’s just when they compete or have intercourse, then the ants below (3rd world) get trampled. Micha’s correct in this regard. Joe’s also correct in that nothing is intentional.
And here’s the pdf , for further reading:
https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1238&context=jil
Abstract
This thesis aims at shedding light into the arising issue of regulating the commercial
utilization of space resources as this new activity is about to become a reality. The
difficulty of regulating space mining activities comes first from the uncertainty of
whether said activities comply with the current provisions of international space law.
Some States have already taken the absence of express prohibition as a sign that the
utilization of space resources is permissible and both the United States and Luxembourg
recently adopted national legislations expressly allowing it. This triggered a response by
the international community mostly underlining that such unilateral initiatives did not
represent a fully acceptable solution and that a collective approach should be preferred
as it was for the High Seas and the Deep Seabed. However an in-depth study of both
regimes shows that they are not easily transferable in the situation of outer space.
Nonetheless, the future legal framework for space mining will need to imperatively
balance the economic development foreseen with the preservation of outer space’s
environment.
p.s. — usually mining companies in the Philippines are owned by multi-nationals, and by rich Filipinos. same-same, they take but not give back, finagling their taxes as to give only the minimum while making bank with what they’ve taken from the below the ground.
Not intentionally keeping the poor , poor, either; but the poor are still poor. 😉
@LcplX
Empires of the past need an invading army to extract wealth from conquered lands. It’s cruel, violent, dirty enterprise. Did the Romans invaded surrounding territories in the Mediterranean with the expressed intention to keep the peoples on those land poor?
If you were Augustus or Caligula, such intentionality doesn’t really matter – they came to invade, period. If such an invasion meant having to harvest the spoils of victory by enslaving adult males, raping the women, looting chickens, jewelries, and gold is beside the point. It’s the natural outcome of their imperial conquest.
Was there a conspiracy to keep conquered people poor? It’s hilarious to even contemplate such a question.
Today’s empire doesn’t have to send an invading army to extract wealth from other lands. All they need is an advisory panel from the IMF and the World Bank and maybe a couple of economic hitmen to do the dirty work covertly in the backdoor. This financial enslavement of third world countries is called super-imperialism.
China is replicating this strategy with their Belt and Road Initiative. Funny thing is that they were lending dollars instead of renminbi which means they are not a serious contender for imperial financial hegemony.
“If you were Augustus or Caligula, such intentionality doesn’t really matter – they came to invade, period.”
That’s a good point, and i’d agree when you’re busy, veni vide vic’ing , you’re not really concerned about human rights and rule of law. it is what it is. might is right.
I see your avatar is weird on you too, I feel like “the Man in the High Castle” now.
that’s sooooooooo weird, what happened to my avatar???? I’m still on my twitter sign-in… hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… I ‘m starting to believe Micha is correct now, there’s a conspiracy here somewhere, though I don’t know what exactly.
either way, at least I caught Ireneo tweet below (sorry, man, but I don’t really check my Twitter i just use it to log on to here).
@LCpl_X
didn’t you once observe that both trigger and muzzle discipline are weak over there?
I can imagine there is also a lack of uniformly implemented Rules of Engagement within PNP.
==================
Yup, some are better than others, but for the most part Yes… also safety is arbitrary too, i’ve seen them make ad hoc firing ranges, facing concrete walls (like outside prison walls), or towards the sea, with just mounds protecting fishermen 50 feet out, etc.
sometimes they pay to have chickens let loose on the range and aim at it, which may be good training (like Rocky) but seems a waste of a good meal to me.
Much of the deficit IMHO is in thinking that to effectively train, you need to shoot bullets. Since there is a shortage of bullets to shoot , they don’t train…
Nonetheless, you can train, holster/unholstering/reholstering (this last part, is actually where most shoot themselves on the knee and/or foot), thumb off the trigger til ready to shoot, acquiring sight picture quickly, etc. etc. all need no bullets ;
i’d say 80% of the crucial muscle memory skillz can be done without bullets (they actually have products, like snap caps and lasers to encourage just training in your bedroom);
20% yes you’ll have to go out in the range (real training not shooting at chickens), especially with long range rifles, which will actually off-set that 80/20 scenario — but for pistols or revolvers, 80% you can do without going to the range.
“The US is notorious for cowboy cops who do the same as Philippine ones. Constantly refusing to isolate the suspect and let time do its job in neutralizing a potentially deadly engagement.”
I also caught this in the same exchange (between Ireneo, and some Israeli???) , granted most cops in small towns in the mid-West and the South are less trained than say California, which has probably the best minimum standards for firearms/tactics than all other states (many bigger California agencies go above-beyond said minimum standards),
and California does have more patience “in neutralizing a potentially deadly engagement”, but most deadly engagements that cops come across do not have the luxury of letting “time do its job”,
example, last year a known violent suspect already used his gun, led police in a car chase thru neighborhoods, and ended up crashing in the parking lot of a grocery store, runs into said store, attempts to grab hostages, cops fire, killing the suspect, but in the volley of fire exchanged, a store clerk died, discovered later that the clerk was shot by a cop’s bullet.
should the cops have waited??? would there have been more deaths??? no one knows, but these are the types of scenarios where the luxury of time is just not present. most deadly engagements are this where the luxury of waiting might end up putting more at risk. it’s a tough call and all shootings are investigated.
that’s Dan Inosanto.
That was between me and an American Jew married to a Filipina, living in the country.
Sure you have unforeseen stuff, but the arrest of a drug suspect is such that you can – I guess – limit the variables by planning and preparation plus routine / ROEs. Too many shootings and little investigation sounds like intent, incompetence or both.
Becuz, essentially Tokhang isn’t arrest, it’s execution. Two different things.
Ecclesiastes 12 King James Version (KJV)
1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;
2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the clouds return after the rain:
3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened,
4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of musick shall be brought low;
5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets:
6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.
8 Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
9 And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs.
10 The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.
11 The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd.
12 And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
===============================
I thought this passage was relevant. 😉 Micha, I know you hate God but this ones worth the read, something to think about…
This view is exactly what I wrote a few days ago when I asserted that the old fart (us) have made a hell of a mess out of our environment and systems and the kids will need to start a riot etc.etc. But the following discussion also mention that apathy, ignorance and obedience give us little hope that the kids will pickup the challenge.
My argument was that in spite of the poor education, there are bright spots of light, but those kids disappear abroad like lightning. The question I struggle with is that ofcourse some of those thinking and motivated kids are left behind. But, as we experienced in the sixties, and now again in France with the yellow vests, you need a few “riotmasters” to kick the flock in action. Philippines is hampered by a few disadvantages.
– The leading kids are few, most potential leaders left the country. Critical mass probably cannot be obtained.
– Analytical thinking is actively discouraged at schools, this makes unlikely that the leaders will be able to persuade the flock to follow.
– issues like environment, injustice, tax evasion, etc.etc. are not at all alive in Philippines. How are kids supposed to get angry at these situations when they are not discussed. Environment was Gina and the mines. Not Paris and 1.5 degrees. Same for the economy and law. Miriam was an example of a bright spot drowning in the sea of ignorance. When potential leaders would start the discussion, they are talking to zombies, I am afraid. Not like in Sweden where the kids followed a single 15 year old… Or even the US where hundreds of thousands followed a bunch of traumatised kids after the latest school shooting.
On the other hand, there are so many kids in Philippines that they would outnumber all old farts in elections if they would get their act in gear.
So, the question is how to tickle the young generation. How to get them hopping mad.
Like we were in the sixties when the straightjacket was too narrow and we burst it at the seams. (But then totally lost the clue when we started singing that all we needed was love).
Ignorance is bliss.
Maybe better this way because Philippines does not have enough resources to build defences against rising sea levels or heavy rains and storms. Better to live in a bubble of ignorance and then be wiped out in a flashflood (warning:sarcasm).
So, we agreed that kids riots would be the only hope for Philippines, but it ain’t going to happen.
Now what? Follow the bright spots and let Darwin’s Law sort out the remainders?
Better idea maybe: make friends in the Chinese community and learn Mandarin?
Sarcasm rules, but what else is left?
Pinays will seduce Chinese en masse and thereby dilute the Han invasion, both racially – and culturally by raising them as Pinoys.
These will migrate to the Mainland and cause it to implode. The world will be at peace again.
I hope these new generation Tsinoys will be a boon for Chi-pop or Fi-Pop, Chinese and Filipino pop, the way K-pop is taking over the world. But i gotta feeling these new Tsinoys will piss off a lot of the old Tsinoys (landed and rich) over there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriesha_Chu
The sky’s the limit when you have light skin in the Philippines, and/or have an East Asian look to you. I can picture all the bar girls and casa girls swooning over every Chinese dude coming in.
suggestion lang po ito. mebe pinays can cut off the ‘underlivet’ of the chinese men rendering them neuter, lol! put them peckers in glass jars, pickled and preserved for generations to come. them are chinese invaders, dat them en masse.
Oh, I don’t read that as sarcasm, but reasonable advice. My son is learning Mandarin. I’m going to learn the curse words.
If this was France and the eighteenth century, the people would all be out in the streets and the heads of many if our politicians and government officials would be on top of pikes or laying in guillotine baskets.How times and people have changed and are now so willing to crushed underfoot by the very officials they chose to serve them.
“The stupidest thing on earth is a people who so desperately need a god to come save them that they will sit and worship a known devil in hopes that he will do for them what they should have long ago done for themselves.”
https://mobile.twitter.com/alders_ledge/status/1153246617794781185
Robespierre thought he was doing a good thing but they went overkill, so much he ended up losing his head.
No one wants a bloodbath ir overkill but Irineo is spot on. If a midterm election results in people reaffirming their blind trust that their devil god will be their salvation, what hope is their for them??
mebe kids got it right: why worry about the future they may not get there, might as well be happy and live for today! therapists detested the phrase, might as well.
climate change and the rise of the super storms and it’s business as usual. instead of planting more trees, high rises are being built. outer space is getting full of satellite junks, exhausts of giant airliners pollute the sky, and the earth, do pinoy kids wants to know? in essays mebe.
poor pinoys kids are busy making a living: stealing, selling drugs, prostitution, begging, being in gangs, and doing anything just to survive. malnourished, too tired and too exhausted to be correcting the wrongs done by adults. there are lucky kids though that got to study and go to school and mebe got enough time to sit still and worry about the future. poor kids rarely have the luxury.
The Chinese schools are better anyway, my daughter went there and that got her started on a rather succeful career. Ideal combination: Pinoy attitude, Chinese base schooling, international university.
But also here: although she loves to come on holidays here, there is no way she will even consider a venture in Philippines.
Waste.
But realistic.
even the air in china is quite happy to venture out in pinas, chinese smog has landed na. laking sementeryo ako entonces, my thinking is unlike unlike, lol! so pardon my understanding po, it’s definitely faulty. sabi nyo po no way your daughter ‘will even consider a venture in pinas’ means to me she is not allowed, not free to go without permission. much like the muslim minority in china, not allowed to go anywhere yata sila, nasa internment camp sila, masquerading as edu centers those camps. watched 24/7 din po yata, cant scratch their bums without being watched, lol!
god knows what goes on those camps. no such thing as free lunch and the chinese being chinese, probly use them for medical research.
I’m sure you have your daughter’s baseline checked, for future comparison in case she comes back an altered person.
The youth should do it the Matteo Guidiceli(sp) way. Wait for a producer to promise being cast as a soldier,then enlist in the army. Then tell all people to stop talking smack by telling them critics to stop talking then tell everyone to enlist.
I wonder if he got favored treatment ala Elvis Presley, or if he actually went thru said training , karl. I’m thinking with Scout Rangers over there, not.
But for said selfies (well, it’s pretty much a selfie), I say guilty , and that DU30 should send him direct to Mindanao ASAP. Lol. What a funny story. thanks.
We have something similar over here too in the name of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bilzerian
if standards are lowered as well as requirements, many batang lansangan will most likely join the army.
Many did but being a houseboy was part of their training, if recruitment exceeded requirements. Ganun din.
no shame po in being houseboy. my ex boss, an adjutant, started in the army as tagapaglinis ng saber. at kahit adjutant na, he sometimes had to make coffee latte for his boss. part of being in a team yan, doing what needs to be done, promptly.
new recruits need to understand that they may have to start at the beginning and sometimes, that means they have to be adaptable and dexterous for they could well be unlearning what they have learned at school, at home and in the community.
to jump when told to jump, no need to ask how high. just jump. there is play of psychology in the army, lol!
I appreciate your thoughts on the matter.
Start below, no need to question after obeying, like.
On the other hand I had a driver security assigned to us at a young age until he retired and he is a teacher now, the last time I checked. Another saying it is better than going to war which he already had enough of.
And I also witnessed young aide de camps retiring as Admirals and Generals.
President Quezon started as aide-de-camp of President Aguinaldo.
glad to know.
A CONSTANT DISTRUST IN CHINA AND TRUST IN US IN POLLING (PROBABILITY) TERMS
Over a period spanning the terms of Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo, Aquino and the ongoing Duterte Presidency, Mangahas of SWS in an article entitled Deepened distrust in China compared the polling results of the Filipino trust in the two countries — China and US. There is an overwhelming trust in US and distrust in China.
https://opinion.inquirer.net/122733/deepened-distrust-in-china
Why is this the case? I offer at least one explanation.
In my younger days when Hollywood churned out Cowboy and Indian movies, the phrase one hears often in the Indian Movies from the Indian Chiefs was “The White (referring to the early American settlers) speaks in Forked Tongue.” Words versus Deeds.
The Words versus Deeds of China, on an average basis, cannot be trusted; and comparably, that of the US can be trusted.
Mangahas: No matter how much Mr. Duterte and company may insist on calling China a “friend,” the Filipino people do not agree.
I have to add the following, otherwise my note above is incomplete: whereas the administration officials defend irrationally and almost “violently” any criticism lodged on the President’s actions with respect to items like EJK and the harassment of the opposition, falling all over themselves in saying so; they at best say softly and diplomatically kind words on China. I believe the reason is that the officials themselves know — without Mangahas polls over a period — these deep distrust in China. I believe they let these go because it acts as some sort of relief valve to the anger which the Filipinos cannot express safely on other things that equally anger them. Since the youth — the subject of the current blog — comprise a big weight of the demographics, they are speaking heavily in those SWS polls.
By the way, the current Chief at the White House, too, speaks in Forked Tongue — perhaps in the worst of Forked Tongues. (Sorry Joe, just my opinion.)
With which I agree.
duterte youth, the youth speaking heavily in those sws polls, is what mayhap mangahas meant by youth. and boosted they did, duterte’s rating.
mention mangahas’name and watch people rolling their eyes heavenward.
one day, relief valve will explode of overuse.
Offtopic: Sorry, but Kris has become the enemy.
Oddly enough, I agree with Kris, although I think ‘authenticity’, which implies honesty, is the wrong word. President Duterte connects with people, with his gross imperfections, because his audience is fully aware, intuitively, of their own (perhaps gross) imperfections. They know they don’t have to live up to the impossible standards the yellows demand.
What’s very disappointing with this supposed polite compliment of hers, is that it took thousands of sacrificed lives — including her father bleeding to death on the tarmac — to liberate this country from the dictatorial yoke.
“Offtopic: Sorry, but Kris has become the enemy.”
Just her nasal, twangy voice alone should’ve place her on the enemy list a long time ago, like when she started whining on TV.
Miranda Sings doesn’t know it but she’s actually impersonating Kris Aquino; she’s never seen her on TV; but i regretfully have— she was so fucking annoying, at least WowoWilly had nice girls gyrating all the time. her and Korina Sanchez should’ve been on ‘the enemy’ list from the git-go.
Expand EJKs on annoying rich girls too, selfies not necessary– annoying voice is enough to prosecute.
Hahaha, these spoiled, entitled, decadent barbie dolls are having their fairy tales.
I loved “Crazy Rich Asians” the film, Micha, but Kris Aquino’s appearance just ruined it for me. And she was playing herself too, rich spoiled, inside own bs bubble… can you imagine growing up in the Philippines without never having took a jeepney, much less a taxi (with driver hopped up on “shabu”) , Micha??? plenty of annoying rich girls like that there, and the poor just idolized them back. hook, line and sinker…
if you ask me, Kris Aquino was the enemy all along.
Couldn’t agree with you more. Kris Aquino’s antics are irritating to the max. Been pounding that point since she started playing roles in b-movies and was branded the massacre queen. Irritating bitch.
Weird that Cory grew up similarly sheltered (no jeepney, taxi) but didn’t become like that.
I might ask @mlq3 as he knows elite Filipino history best.
that’s interesting. i guess a bubble is a bubble is a bubble, whether showbiz or nunnery.
but inaction and/or indecision is usually the outcome of said bubble. whereas, if you’ve taken a jeepney and/or taxi there, even just gone out at night, then you’d have one clear choice, and be prone towards one action or another,
most Filipinos have chosen, and have ordained DU30 with the action they’ve chosen.
hence why Cory never really took action, and why Kris is flipflapping around, not able to decide or take action.
Then who is going to contribute to the inland revenue, Pacquaio who evaded taxes ? Kris is too big to fail as far as Philippines is concerned. She has been the number individual tax payers for years, paying taxes way more than the billionaires in the land.
Number one tax payer
Yes! We may criticise Kris for some of her antics — which to me is no worse than what other celebrities, and for that matter what non-celebrities, do — but what we cannot deny is her very remarkable civic duty to pay taxes!
Compare that with the celebrity-cum-senator Pacquiao’s tax payments relative to his easily documented net earnings. End of story.
chemp,
I didn’t know this, and now you’ve made the discussion interesting.
here goes,
if we know that the Philippines is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, isn’t it more a crime (figuratively) to simply waste your money by giving it directly to gov’t??? ie. by doing so, it’ll just buy Philippine politicians more real estate in America.
thus,
it behooves Kris, to just actually pay the minimum, putting her money to better use either via a business or non-profit.
I’m sure, the top Philippine billionaires in industry will have figured this out, thus off-shoring the bulk of their wealth. But I found this,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top-earning_Filipino_celebrities
is it really more good to pay taxes there, and less good to play keep away from BIR with your wealth??? given that you’ll only be contributing to corruption??? hmmmmmmmmmmmmm…
figuring in this too,
The question is why the tycoons pay less taxes than entertainers.
Something about profit being taxed at a way lower rate than income.
@LCPL_X, yes, lack of exposure to reality can make people indecisive.
Which is why new elites eventually replace old ones, unless the old elite manages to stay fit and not get overbred.
English, Dutch and Scandinavian royalty managed this, the last two practicing salvation by austerity. French Bourbons and Russian Romanovs failed, while it seems the decline of the Spanish Habsburgs was partly due to inbreeding. Something the modern European houses are diligently avoiding by permitting commoner wives. Probably democracy all over Europe today is thanks to inbred 19th century royalty..
I’m googling who the top , number one, tax payer is in the U.S.— and no results. I’m assuming info like this isn’t public in the 1st place, so how come Kris and others get listed there??? Weird. Did they want to be listed???
good point about profit vs. income, Ireneo— I know Trump’s really proud of his ability to pay the minimum only over here, which I empathize with myself, if I were rich and mind you, i know first had how taxpayer money is just squandered by the gov’t— why would I pay the full amount??? I have no need for tax attorneys now (i’ll win the lotto soon 😉 ), thus I pay what I pay, the fair share. I’m the little people, I have to pay taxes, can’t afford a tax attorney.
BUT,
The issue is , is Kris actually being responsible as no. 1 here, or is she being irresponsible, and simply giving into an already corrupt tax system there???
kris is not responsible for the govt being corrupt and its massive failures. kris is just being kris, authentic and charitable citizen. if govt chooses to kulimbat taxpayers money, it’s not really kris’ fault. she has nothing to do with how govt’s carve up its annual budget, which fund goes to which projects. kris is just one person compared to the humongous machinery that is the govt.
and saying as top tax payer, she contributed to corruption, is counter productive and a bad oversight.
l’m glad kris is not a tax evader, her millions of tax money paid may have gone to pay teachers salary, as well as the maintenance of roads, public hospitals, schools and colleges, also salaries of public servants, kapolisan and the military alike.
there are venues and legal remedies for fraudsters that kulimbat tax payers money, and kris in not in those boards.
in the future if kris chooses to run for public office, not filling up her saln correctly and not paying the correct amount of tax will not come to haunt her. clean ang slate niya in that regard.
keep doing what you think is right, kris! dont mind them detractors. they’re not good for your mental health and well being.
Everyone has to pay taxes, it’s the law; but if you have the ability/luxury of tax avoidance, then did not utilize said power (maybe to use said money which was not given to the gov’t for a better cause), you are complicit, no???
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Oh, boy. No, Lance! I believe you have hit rock bottom here.
Please don’t use the Parable of the Talents to grow money. Using your thoughts on the matter, threatening or killing store owners for “protection” — a la Mafia — is ok as a way to grow money?
NH,
I dunno about Mafia stuff, but for sure Kris Aquino vis a vis her taxes, I’m saying that she is the 3rd example of said parable,
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
========================
Master is the Philippine corrupt government (italicized ) , while Kris is the slave that received 1 Talent only.
But the point is how serious the punishment for the last slave is, that’s line 30, for those that don’t read the Bible much, that’s Hell , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weeping_and_gnashing_of_teeth
Thanks for the feedback. We can go back and forth on this, but I won’t, on my part.
By the way, nice picture — appeals to the technician in me. Cheers!
here’s another one, NH!
this one’s etymology:
With due respects to all good taxpayers, they will certainly avoid taxes any which way they can. There is nothing illegal about it.
The reason why Kris and entertainers, celebrities in Philippines tend to pay higher taxes is very simple, the bulk of their income is from endorsements. When making such payments, the sponsors are obliged to withhold taxes and pay directly to the Inland Revenue. Kris and company report the gross income and deduct the tax withheld. There is no much room for tax avoidance.
Tycoons with lots of businesses have lots of opportunities for tax avoidance.
Allocating complicity of bad faith to good tax payers on the rhetoric that they contribute to putting funds into corrupt officialdom is a bit silly.
Got that, thanks. It is — like chess then — a forced move . Which is the fate of most lowly-paid workers extending to many in the middle class. [Do the latter still exist?]
Thanks, chemp!!!
That makes sense, effectively negating my Talents analogy here, becuz if Kris has no choice but to pony up, then there is no complicity— if there was choice then yeah, maybe, for sure, which was the line of argument I was following—
no choice implies, as i7sharp puts it a “forced move” of sorts.
going farther on the Parable of the Talents, I think the last servant was supposed to run away with said Talent given to her, and make a new start. Maybe the moral here is Kris is suppose to emigrate to Australia or something. thus leaving a corrupt Master. effectively zeroing out any complicity.
Yes.
My kids do care of what’s happening to rhe country but they are outnumbered by those who don’t care. It’s really a pity and unfortunate for us Filipinos…
kudos to your kids for caring what is happening to our country. never mind if they’re outnumbered. keep going and continue caring po.
we love, we care and we share. let us not be stymied by those that dont care, those that took and those that dont give back.
yorme isko is a hill of a good official. we should emulate him. he means business and has political will. hope manila will keep to be maintained.
I hope so, too. I know some are wary.
TRIVIA BUT TO ME A RICH NUGGET FROM TSH’S TWEET
BBG = BB Go = “Beijing Bong” Go
I like the term, beijing bong, he that waddles like a duck toing and froing the senate and the executive, quacks like a duck and selfies like one. beijing bong, the pecking duck made to order, in position na, lol!
his malasakit fingers forever hovering on his smart phoen, forever selfie-ings; presumably, his malasakit did not extend to the comfort of he who is almost always the subject of selfies, he whose face is terribly discolored. could beijing bong pls put aside the smart phone and carry umbrella at payongan ang benefactor?
benefactor must have been told to wear hat and limit sun exposure, merong bad reaction yata sa sunlight courtesy of anti psychotic drugs taken. dont look good yata in hats siya, magmumukhang plebian e, plus hats muck up his dyed hair, lol!
payongan na lang, but beijing bong would rather be taking selfies.
ON A TSH TWEET
That scene in The Godfather seems indelible even to one such as I who is now prone to forget: a lesser bad guy waking up with a start after feeling some slimy thing [found by him to be a horse’s head] inside his blanket — compliment of the big bad guy.
I miss Marlon Brando. He’d do a superb Duterte. Xi . . . maybe. He did play a Chinese guy once.
I guess it was Japanese. My bad. “Teahouse of the August Moon”
DEEPLY PUZZLED
Let us grant that the Mueller Report found numerous evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 US Election, but the Trump Campaign did not at all conspire with the Russians. Add, however, that the current FBI Director Wray is saying that there are many cyber activities pointing to foreign [Russian? Chinese?] interference in the 2020 Election.
Considering that free election, un-influenced by outside interference, is at the core of “democracy,” why then would Republicans block many urgent Democrat-initiated House and Senate Bills to provide a stronger protection against future election interference?
Surely, it is not because the GOP want to ensure Trump’s win in the 2020 even with foreign election interference. One may as well tell me, Surely, you are naive, NH.
ADDENDUM
Now tell me that the GOP is behaving any better than the PH’s House and Senate on this particular issue.
They are despicables, it seems to me, driven by the greed of power and money at the sacrifice of principle. Same same.
“… many urgent Democrat-initiated House and Senate Bills to provide a stronger protection against future election interference …”
NH, which bills?
i7sharp
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jul/25/us-election-security-republicans-mueller?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVUy0xOTA3MjY%3D&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&CMP=GTUS_email
@i7sharp, please see the link of @pablo above [thanks, pablo] and this link:
https://edition-m.cnn.com/2019/07/25/politics/republican-senators-block-election-security-legislation/index.html
This second link has this note, among others:
Two of those bills would require campaigns to report to federal authorities any attempts by foreign entities to interfere in US elections, and the third is aimed at protecting from hackers the personal accounts and devices of senators and some staffers.
I have not gone to the drafts of these bills.
Nice bblog you have
Thanks Ella. Good of you to visit.