Diskarte
By JoeAm With a huge contribution by Edgar Lores Sometimes the complex can be simplified, rather like seeing a machine as nothing more than a lot of metal pieces bolted together. Just take them apart to see how it works. Societies are very complex machines and we’ve been working for years here taking the Philippines … Continue reading
Idealism versus pragmatics
By JoeAm I’ve long held the view that there is some idealized form of a more perfect Philippines. A lot of the articles and much of the discussion here has oriented around understanding “the way it is”, and then proposing the actions that are needed to get to a richer, healthier, more secure, and more … Continue reading
Philippine congressmen choose tyranny over democracy
By JoeAm One thing you will notice about Philippine politics is that the President is very good at creating enemies. Think of the enemies he battles every day: drug addicts, terrorists, human rights advocates, NPA, the Catholic Church, leaders of other nations who criticize him, students at universities and other citizens who criticize him, and … Continue reading
Emotionalism versus reason and discipline
By JoeAm One of the things that fascinates me is the emotionalism of humankind, versus our great strength that allows us to dominate other animals, our ability to undertake complex reasoning. I think the development of humankind during the last 100 years was toward more powerful reasoning and the application of enhanced powers for enrichment … Continue reading




