A bold program to bring the Philippines into the modern world

By Joe America Every national election represents an opportunity to be bold. It would be wonderful to see boldness in the spirit of the Constitution, rather than the undermining of it. I hope in 2022, candidates will take on some or all of the following steps aimed at bringing the Philippines into the modern world … Continue reading →

Why the Philippines makes bad decisions

By Joe America Social media have been filled with complaints from citizens about lack of transparency from the Department of Health (DOH) regarding the coronavirus. The complaints have returned defensive remarks from DOH officials about the hard work being done. This exchange is instructional because it reminds us that we are in Asia, but trying … Continue reading →

Standing alone after VFA; what it takes

By Joe America President Duterte has cancelled the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, to the surprise of the US and many other people. How can a nation facing off against China toss aside the most powerful military backstop in the world? Well, it’s easy if you aren’t really facing off against China. … Continue reading →

The coronavirus; facts and future.

By Joe America Let me drop off two resource links. One provides the results of a study of 138 coronavirus victims from Wuhan. It is perhaps the best picture of the knowns and unknowns of the virus we have. Clinical Characteristics of 138 Hospitalized Patients With 2019 Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia in Wuhan, China The second … Continue reading →

Why ‘panic’ is good policy to fight the coronavirus

By Joe America The coronavirus is a nasty little bug. I think all the calls for “calm” circulating in social media are wrong. ‘Panic’ is a better policy. But I’ll twist the definition a little: Panic, noun, a highly emotionalized energy state in which the mind calculates all the ways one can get a nasty … Continue reading →