We will lose all of the West Philippine Sea

Posted by JoeAm on October 13, 2016 · 330 Comments 

By Andrew Lim President Duterte does not understand leverage Don’t blink, the entire West Philippine Sea and its resources will soon be gone. China’s nine-dash line map will be applied, and the fruit of Duterte’s pivot will be economic concessions that may appear substantial on surface but are actually a miniscule percentage of the value … Continue reading →

Category China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Ecology/Global Warming, Economy, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government

A critique of the critiques of the SONA

Posted by JoeAm on July 27, 2016 · 237 Comments 

I have this personal quirk. When there is a major speech on television, I watch the speech and as soon as it is over, I turn off the TV. I don’t want the pundits cluttering my take-away. What I do instead is think about what was said, how it was said, and what it means. … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Ecology/Global Warming, Economy, Education, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

Regarding China: “Okay, so now what?

Posted by JoeAm on July 21, 2016 · 225 Comments 

Review We’ve had two excellent discussions touching on China recently. One was fueled by Lance Corporal X putting matters in a context of global warming which will see the Spratley Rocks (the arbitration panel said none of the ‘islands’ are life-sustaining; therefore, they are just rocks) submerged beneath the rising oceans. We are faced with a reshaping … Continue reading →

Category China, Ecology/Global Warming, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government

Do not go gentle into that good night . . .

Posted by JoeAm on July 14, 2016 · 217 Comments 

w By Lance Corporal X This article was also based on a throw-away comment I made in response to Sec. Yasay’s insensitive comment hinting at detente with China on the issue of the South China Sea, in which I mentioned that man-made (in China) islands are entirely moot when viewed in context of sea level rise. … Continue reading →

Category China, Culture and Arts, Ecology/Global Warming, Education, Technology/Internet

President Quezon’s 1939 “Code of Citizenship and Ethics”, and the Philippines today

Posted by JoeAm on October 6, 2015 · 226 Comments 

I suppose one approaches a pinnacle of presumptuousness when one decides to edit a Philippine president’s earnest works. Such are the demands on bloggers today, forever impelled to re-interpret the world to try to find a path less burdened, or more attuned to modern times. Yet, I somehow think that Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon would have … Continue reading →

Category Citizenship/Patriotism, Culture and Arts, Ecology/Global Warming, Economy, Family/Parenting/Children, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government