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The Society of Honor by Joe America 
So China may be taking up terrorist tactics. In the Philippines. Mind boggling. Yet not . . . given the threats emanating from their military.
Yes, I hope so. It will be interesting to follow this. I hope it gets big play in the press.
ahahahaha, oops! That’s what I get for updating at 5 in the morning. Thanks. I’ll correct it.
Ha, and I remain too, no matter what the critics want.
Smart Bro was totally useless in this region because of weak signal. Globe Tattoo does much better, but still cuts in and out about 10 times a day, some days more. But web pages load quickly when it is on. Plus my UBS modem has up to 5 wi-fi connections, so I can run the cell phones and a second computer through it. Globe went through a broad upgrade of service about a year ago that improved their delivery speeds.
I hope that helps.
I remain, most days, Joe.
Thanks! So, it really depends on location. I’ll have him check Globe out. Thank you, again.
Thanks for another fine musical introduction to go along with Charmaine Clamor. You are hereby appointed the Society’s Music Appreciation Director, or MAD heh heh. I googled the group and song and it is a Visayan folk song. I find it interesting that music is both an historical and a current obsession . . . well, maybe that’s the wrong word . . . “important part of the Philippine soul”. Native music ought to be a global genre. “Waray Waray” by the One Man Band is roundly blasted from the speakers hereabouts during any festival or party. It’s classic, and I’m sure there are many gems like this lying about in the musty music books.
Thanks Attila. Worth exploring for sure.
80% of lending by Banks in the Philippines is to the Government – this is at least in part due to the lack of a credit scoring system, but also due to conservatism on the part of the bankers. So there’s your answer – the Filipinos own the debts of the Philippines Government!
Thanks, Attila, I’ll note this for viewing when my internet connection gains a little speed. Right now I’m the bandwidth of a gnat. I’m sure other readers will pick it up.
Thanks, Mackyart. The blogs are issued on Facebook (Joe America), Google+ (Joe America) and Twitter (@societyofhonor). I’m glad you get something from the articles.
Permission granted. Thanks for the honor of republishing the article.
Thank you Joe. I guess we are not very competent bloggers. We made an error in our own website address. It should be http://myphilippinelife.com !
Thank you for introducing your web site here. I’m adding a link to your terrific site to my Library, for the benefit of foreigners and OFW’s interested in establishing a home here. Superb documentation of the home-buying and building experience. The dialogue with others is also instructional.
I swear that the human race has gone into some kind of devolution. Rather than advance, we are regressing. Disturbing, those bracelets. I think anyone who puts one on must have a pretty poor sense of self.
Yes, it is strange, this tendency toward shallowness and judgment of others to explain one’s problems. I can’t figure it out, why it persists in getting worse rather than better. Like politics in the US. No one WANTS to be a diplomat, just a loudmouth appealing to extremes.
I despair over US politics, which indeed has gone wildly outside the bounds of true, honorable democracy. It is also a game of favors and power, and occasionally instructional about the Philippines, but a little much for me to take on. The US political process was taken out of the people’s hands by a supreme court ruling from a couple of years ago that permits corporations to contribute unlimited amounts of money to campaign groups. So power-people operate much like Binay to buy votes with the bludgeoning of voters by advertising.
Ha, not good suggestions other than endurance, rather like slogging through the weeds looking for flowers. I wish my system could number comments for ease of reference, as Raissa Robles does at her blog, but it does not have that capability. If the volume of comments remains high, I might have to look for a new platform. But right now, that is not a priority. One tip, you can link to any comment by going to the date line above the comment and copying that link. So you can easily pass links to specific comments to others.
Thanks for the link, yesnoy. Congratulations on the first blog, and I hope there are many many more.
Thank you for the encouragement and kind words, Cleo. I do think Rappler has good intent, but junior reporters, and, like most, editors are reluctant to admit a mistake or apologize. Not that that enables them to see President Aquino’s view and better . . .
Thanks for the news update, sonny. I’d read that the US had returned the money but was not aware of how it was obtained, or delivered.
Thanks for the background, sonny. I’m looking forward to doing that blog.
I would say it is not a theory. It is what is going on. There is no Hitler type, but the clique of military leaders holding sway must be one arrogant pack of puffed up Chinese racial supremacists. I find fascinating the bending of truths and arguments. Binay and the Chinese rulers are cut of exactly the same cloth.
I think that is accurate, sonny. American ownership was purchased through lives lost in WWII perhaps, and the daily use of the lake for passage of product and flight of military jets. China wants the same rights, plus the minerals and foodstuffs under the sea. 12,000 poached turtles were rescued in Palawan the other day. Chinese poachers. Commercial forces, and military, are pushing up against each other.
Aye, Joe. As late as the turn of the 20th century, there was a high demand for trepang (sea cucumbers) by China, high enough to fuel the traffic for slaves by the Moros. The source for humans were the coastal towns of Luzon and the Visayas. This in turn necessitated the Spanish and American interdicts of Mindanao and Sulu.
I read “Asimov’s Guide to the Bible” at the same time I was deeply engaged in Baptist Bible study, late 1980’s. As a result of those two compelling forces, I emerged with my own peculiar faith based upon history, lessons about values and living, and a personal spiritual enrichment that deepened as I visited various churches, cathedrals, mosques, temples and chapels in Europe and Asia. It persists today. Just don’t ask me to explain it.
More power and grace to you, Joe. We are surrounded by primal forces and we seek and pray for the correct lenses and leverages to pull us through. Pax!
Pax
Joe, a good read. I hope you have the time. The article is about the battle for the Turkish mind between Islam and Humanism, a paradigm that can be repeated in our BBL search for answers.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2015/in-the-shadows-of-the-minarets
That is a most interesting read. The “secularism” of Turkey is aimed specifically at preserving the Christian heritage within the nation’s historical and cultural fabric. Erdogan set out to destroy Ataturk’s contributions to the balance Turkey represents, and ran up against the desires of the people for the unique heritage of acceptance.
But the force of Islaam is powerful and single-minded, so the story continues.
The Philippines also has a major religion and a minor (more than one, actually), in terms of membership, and “secular” means none has a preferred role in government. On paper. Christianity had its aggressive day in the sun and is now passive. Islaam is not so passive. It makes for trouble. The MILF presents passive, and hope. If the mode switches to aggressive, I fear there is not much hope.
(Have you ever watched ADVENTURES OF DON JUAN with Errol Flynn?) If not, I’ll just pocket my smile and catch up with the rest of the senior travelers. If yes, I will share.
Missed it. Musta been before my time. 🙂
IMDB list 1948 as release year. Somehow the film found its way to Manila double program theaters in the ’50s. It’s kinda campy by today’s standards. But bear in mind, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg grew up with these swashbucklers. This film particularly was freely laced with memorable pick-up lines, e.g.:
Don Juan: Beloved, no power on Earth could’ve kept me from you. In all this world there’s been but one image in my heart, one vision before my eyes…
Catherine: Yes, yes, go on…
Don Juan: I have loved you since the beginning of time.
Catherine: But you only met me yesterday…
Don Juan: Why, that was when time began!
My in-airport encounters with celebrities were with Charlton Heston (6’3″), Walt Frazier (6’4″) and Carlos Boozer (6’9″). Suffice to say my mouth could have trapped a fly easily. 🙂 Speak of larger than life people. Of course for me, even standing beside a Vatican Swiss guard qualifies; my son at 5’8″ also starts to get my notice. Sen BAM at 5’10” definitely did. You and your son also do qualify, Joe.
Sammy Davis Junior for me. And I sat in a bar in Australia with the actress who played the fiance of King Ralph in that particular movie. Her name escapes me but we had a delightful conversation. She’s taller than I am, I think.
Joely Richardson, perhaps? (British accent maybe)
You know, it was either her or that twin we are all supposed to have somewhere on the planet.
Ms Joely is listed at 5’10” (aw, that’s tall) and attended private academy at Ojai, CA (aw, that’s elite). I tell you, Joe I live in a different planet. Lilliput, maybe. 🙂
She’s very tall, indeed, which was a part of the joke in King Ralph, and in real life, she does not have the deep, manly voice done for the movie. A very pleasant lady, if that’s who I was chatting with. Personable, I guess is the term. Not stuck up.
The article saddens me, in a way, sonny, because of the final call for Christians to leave the Boy Scouts because the new position on homosexuals is non-Christian. The author finds fault with Caesar, and the Scouts following Caesar. That is an example of institutions dividing rather than finding the way to express themselves so that they do not condemn others of different belief. It suggests we are nothing but a species of totalitarian animals fighting for our territory. And Christians are just a part of the pack fighting for dominance.
The BSP is held hostage by the Philippine culture of impunity which mandates the closing of ranks behind the most powerful, and, for the BSP Board, that would be the Totalitarian in Chief, BSP President Binay.
No blocks, so I have no idea why that would happen.
I know what happened, Joe. WordPress your host uses Kizmet, its antivirus filter and when it sees a post with an html address like http://xxx.xxxx.html
anywhere in the post, it will automatically stop processing the post.
HTML is the program language used for web coding unfortunately Kizmet apparently cannot distinguish between html web commands and legitimate web addresses ending in html which is widely used when photo images are included in the web address link.
Hope this info is useful for those other posters in your blog who run into this predicament.
Thanks for the heads up, Caliphman.
Interesting list of distinguished fellows, to include the likes of Gary Olivar and Peter Wallace. I would be interested in what our economic gurus here, Micha and RHiro, have to say about the five arrows.
FEF seems to be a pro-business lobbying group if I read the “Policy Advocacy” initiatives correctly.
Why thank you, HighFive. I appreciate the encouragement. For sure, Mr. Aquino has increased the visibility of the discussions. Good PR guy. 🙂
Welcome, Jay. The rich discussions are here at the blog, so it’s a good place to hang out, for reading or putting in one’s two cents worth.
🙂
Joe, you remind of Dr David Barrows. Would’ve loved to meet the statesman but I was only 11 when he passed away.
I came across him in his articles about the Philippines and Filipinos written for the defunct ASIA magazine of colonial times. He was the first foreigner I know who gave such glowing reports about the Filipino people, a true anthropologist and educator. Jose Rizal himself, our national hero contributed to negative canards on Filipinos. Everyone is familiar with Rizal’s essay THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINO, citing the title description. Dr Barrows on the contrary pointed to the working habit of the ordinary Filipino: waking up before the break of dawn until 10am then works indoors away from searing heat and naps a little before going back around 2:30pm to finish the rest of his work sometime before the evening hours. Dr Barrows ran the Dept of Education always with in-depth and widespread education of the Filipino mind. Sound familiar?
Yes. It’s like a horse can see to the sides when the blinders are removed. There’s a lot of good stuff to see there.
Apologies to Popoy, Joe. I have another phenom to describe in mind. Can’t think of the name. Will write when I find out.
I personally and not ready for that, but it may be that Will or others could take it that direction. It would require a great commitment of time and effort. Not something to take on lightly.
I understand, Joe. It’s just that the payload is quite good and the yellow brick road is opening up. 🙂
Yes, I wonder how the nation can gain the discipline yet keep the fun, the life, the soul of happy-go-lucky and forget the clock. Some would argue that a clock ought not be the center of our lives.
In my personal experience, Filipino migrants tend to have an admirably ‘sunny’ disposition. I asked one Filipino migrant why he thought his fellow countrymen were so cheerful. He thought maybe it is because many Filipino’s have parents or grandparents who have experienced a lot of poverty and suffering, and even now life is fairly simple in the Philippines – he says it’s about being grateful for what you have.
What an uplifting article, sonny, and most interesting trend. Thanks. I’ll find use for it somewhere along the line.
A clear statement of the situation. Thanks, sonny.
I’m glad you found the blog, Shelly, and are enjoying the discussions. The comments come from a wide range of people, of all ages and income brackets and backgrounds. It is the absence of walls that make the comment threads so rich. Enjoy the reading!
thank you for the acknowledgement sir!!
I’d have to study that myself. I’m pretty sure charter change would be required. Federalism could retain democratic forms depending on the set-up. There are strong arguments against federalism, for sure. No size of scale for big infrastructure projects. Funding mechanisms for military expenditures and other central functions. Lots of bickering. It is no easy solution for anything, I think.
Why thank you, kryptonian. Made my day. Best to you and your family as well.
Very interesting reading, sonny, and will go directly into the “Must Read” box. The article states that China is heading for trouble because the one-child policy was a disaster, and now the nation has a bubble of elderly poor that will bog the nation down and force some tough choices between international adventures and domestic caretaking. The point being, we should take care in any kind of population control initiative.
Thanks for the good good-morning read.
Best to you, too, sonny.
Joe, I think now is the time for the Philippines to propagate Baseball as the metaphor for Philippine political life: the weather is suitable, the players and managers are motley in talent and comedy and drama, the fans/spectators are all equal to expectations and satisfaction.
And Karl can be Yogi again. 🙂
Motley is a very fine word. “O’rise ye land of motley fools . . .”
Who’s on first?
Bud and Lou, classic! Yes, I took them all: Billy Martin, Tommy L, Chuck Tanner … ooooh those lazy days, Joe.
It was an honor, in any language. 🙂 Thanks, Sonny. You’ve been with us all the way, and I for sure appreciate that.
What can one say by way of gratitude to the service you have rendered to many of us, sharing your “banking” ( 🙂 ) gifts to keep our national spirits alive. Many many thanks, Joe.
A sincere thanks to you, as well, sonny for your encouragements and friendship.
Thanks for your note, sonny. I appreciate the uplift, and also hope that we are speaking some sense to power.
Ah, what a distinguished realm you circulate in, sonny. We can snob nob together! ahahaha It’s great that you retain these relationships. I lost all my high school contacts shortly after college. Very different . . . although I think some in the home town still get together.
Ahh, yes Joe. I hope a few more moments to grab at. I suspect Sen Bam & his dad & mom will be there too. The elder Aquino is also from our class ’59.
Cheers and regards, Joe! 🙂
Cheers and regards to you, too, sonny.
Ah, yes, Sonny, that was quite a game. Through darkness and rain, an extra inning and 86 relief pitchers. 🙂 If the Cubs can do it in 108 years, the PH can make it in, ohhh, a couple hundred.
Memory lane stroll again … I got into the whole Cubs thingy in 1969: first half of the season thru July 4 season break, the Cubs were at the top of their division or close to. Then it happened, the down slide came at the start of the post-July 4 break, total disaster irreversible losing, the Cub season dropped with a thud; so much so that a Chicago sportswriter called the Cubs, as the Philippine major league franchise, the Manila Folders! Fast forward to 2016, game 6 of the World Series: Addison Russell, Cubs shortstop, Florida youngster, son of a Filipino single mother hits the grand slam homer that saved the Cubs from elimination from the series! Ha, I said, there is Justice in the world!! Russell’s homer stays side by side with Mickey Mantle’s similar World Series feat. Now that is in the books. 🙂
(I don’t know when the series afterglow will wear off, Joe. Cheers!)
Ahhh, my. Baseball is slow and technical but rich with spit and personalities bigger than life. Yogi Berra, Tom Lasorda, Don Larson, Sandy Koufax . . . my recollections are heavy up on the Dodgers plus my own highlights as a young pitcher who got his moments in the glory. I’ve not kept track lately, but who would miss the Cubs going for drama and history? Fantastic game. Cheers back!
That sure seems consistent with what is occuring. The Duterte/Marcos/Arroyo coalition has a huge taxpayer checkbook with which to buy loyalty. There are two flies in the ointment, the economy (potential big losses by businessmen), and the military. People are quiet. No EDSA repeat.
Thanks for the good wishes, sonny, and best as well to you and those near. Two very interesting articles, the latter of which is particularly pertinent to the current discussion on unity, and you may wish to insert it there. Interesting how perspectives change depending on whether one is a politician or philosopher, in one’s heart.
As to Father Schall’s commentary, I find much to disagree with, and am amused that his view of President Obama, whose social work improved the lives of so many, is as an outlaw to Catholics. Contrary to what Schall says, there is an objective evaluation of US presidents most recently done in 2017 that engaged 91 presidential historians in a rating and ranking of all presidents. President Obama came out at 12, a high placement for a president just out of office. Normally, it takes time for them to climb. Bill Clinton came in at 15th and George Bush 33rd out of 43 presidents. Lincoln was number 1, Buchanan came in last.
I find it impossible to begin offering any kind of rebuttal to Schall, as the scope of a president’s work is exhausting to even comprehend, and I find simplistic characterizations that use a few aspects to decide, comprehensively, thumbs up or down generally to be in favor of agenda rather than unbiased knowledge. So I will just go with what the historians say and not take Schall’s ideas as authoritative.
https://www.c-span.org/presidentsurvey2017/?page=overall
I did read about the rankings of the US presidents and really was disappointed by the results. Two things stood out for me: 1) America is a majority secular state and now merely nominally attached in history to its Judaeo-Christian moorings, 2) the rest of American politics is reflective and oblivious to this fact, especially to the ascendancy of FP Obama whose ascendancy and occupancy of he presidency is on the political legacy of his Islamic background and the communism of Saul Alinsky and at the expense of a few decent politicians and the American Christian church especially the Catholic Church. Regrettably, President Kennedy and the majority of Catholic politicians gave him the blueprint for doing this.
Why thanks, sonny. I’m glad you traced the dialogue down. I remember it well because it is the only time I’ve really ruffled J’s feathers.
🙂 I couldn’t stop reading the heartfelt exchanges from almost everybody. More power to THS, Joe.
Even I was almost coherent. ha ha
Hahaha! Yes, occasionally you are! 🙂 🙂
Seems perfect to me. I admire the mind that could acquire that word based on complex contexts surrounding the word choice.
Yes. I had to do a temporary block of your account because it was dumping repeated comments to the discussion thread. Possibly a systems glitch. I’ll go release the block now.
Hi Joe,
Any chance of implementing that free speech you are keen on and letting people post without the need of obtaining their details? Who would want to post what they really think as it is highly probable that these posts are being monitored and no one should be asked to identify themselves if this is even remotely the case.
The system requires three details, name, e-mail, and computer ID. They are not provided by TSOH to anyone, and I’m not aware of Word Press having been hacked or loose with data. Indeed, WP is high on privacy and security. I do use the information from time to time to impose moderation or blocking on people who are offensive with their posts. We welcome civil comments from any viewpoint, and people are free to counter arguments as well, as long as they are civil. If you somehow feel suspicious of these details, then I suppose there is nowhere on line that you will find the pure freedom you seek, because these are common and ordinary tools essential to running a dialogue.
Clarification: The chosen name is public, and can be a pseudonym. The e-mail and computer identification are not public, and not shared outside TSOH.