Why do Filipinos see incidents, not concepts?

By JoeAm And it is just not Filipinos. It seems that the whole social media buzz saw has chopped our attention spans into bite-sized pieces and our analysis into irrelevant trivial pursuits. I recently wrote on Facebook and Twitter that President Aquino had a problem because, although he was successful, the fact that he was … Continue reading →

Filed under Citizenship/Patriotism, Education

Of Chinese, racism, and smiling

By JoeAm I was sitting in the restaurant. Four Chinese women in their early thirties, I would guess, came in and asked the Filipina waitress for guidance on the menu. These were not the loud, overbearing Chinese who sat next to us at the Waterfront Casino buffet the last time we were in Cebu. “Those … Continue reading →

Filed under China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Laws and Ethics, Philippine Government

Bully Boys in the West Pacific

By JoeAm Democracy is an idealized form of government that has proved hard to manage because most ‘leaders’ are inept or crooked. Dictatorships or other forms of authoritarian rule are better understood by people who are not educated or who are lazy, crooked, or brutal themselves. They can’t conceptualize freedom and link it to inspiration. … Continue reading →

Filed under China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Culture and Arts, Philippine Government

The principles of criticism

By JoeAm Excoriate: verb, to criticize (someone) severely I was excoriated on a social media posting recently when I said Secretary of Foreign Affairs Locsin was a patriot. It was a beat-down like I have never received before. Then I received another when I tried to explain that there was a context for him calling … Continue reading →

Filed under Blogging/Journalism, Education, Technology/Internet

The Philippines is down for the count . . .

By JoeAm And the count is at six. The Philippine government’s appeasement with China is one of the world’s most self-destructive historical moments. China is sitting in Philippine seas blocking Filipino fishermen from food sources and destroying the ecosystems that support fish re-generation. It is a royal disaster promising long-term devastation . . . done … Continue reading →

Filed under China, Citizenship/Patriotism, Crime/Corruption, Economy, Education, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Philippine Government