Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm I had an interesting crossing of tweets with Ambassador Locsin a few days ago in which he suggested the US give the Philippines some Patriot missile defense systems as they are giving to Ukraine. Well, I agreed, but figured that, since there are no incoming missiles here, the likelihood is zero that it would happen. Then I thought about it some more and changed my mind. It COULD happen if the US (and Europe) thought about it and saw the Philippines as as important to Asian security as Ukraine is to Europe. And got AHEAD of the conflict. Let’s be blunt here. Give ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By Joe America Big nations push. Small nations are pushed. True independence is Cuba. Other nations are pushers, dancers, or beggars. The Philippines was a beggar under Duterte and is becoming a dancer under Marcos. Aquino was a dancer, and skilled at it. President Marcos opened the door to the US, Vice President Harris waltzed into the living room. She started telling the band what to play. Now the question is, what does President Marcos do about it? If we change the metaphor to water, and Harris a wave, one can either get crushed by it, dive under and let it pass quiet ..read more

By JoeAm I’ll be putting the blog on suspension for a time. When I started writing years ago, social media was just beginning to emerge as the untamed, informative, and often dirty place it has become. There were only a few of us engaging regularly in this discussion forum or that. Now life itself seems to be a discussion forum in which we are dedicated to sharing of ourselves in demanding ways. The path is the goal, it really is. In that framing, there is no bad, only hassles we have to deal with before finding our peaceful and fulfilling resting places, islands in the storm. I’m going to s ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm Back in the last century, the main sources of mind-pollution were salesmen, politicians, and preachers. They shaded the facts to favor their interests. Otherwise, we sought and got decent information. Today, everyone is a salesman, politician, or preacher. We thought computers and the internet would give us data, but it’s giving us dirt. Trolls and memes, hard opinions based on lousy information. Sensitivities, defensiveness, ego, and anger. Everyone drags his own pulpit around, and his own encyclopedia. You can’t tell people anything new, you can only tell them ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm It struck me yesterday, as clear as clear can get, that we are living in an era where respect is being misplaced by distrust and knowledge is being replaced by fictions. Even the morally good are buying into this new, dirty model. The occasion of my awareness was a reader in twitter who accused me of being a paid troll due to my recent writings giving President Marcos credit for some ‘good’ decisions (conventional cabinet, using the arbitration win as the basis for policy, good content in speeches). Well, I struggle to remain above the political fray and I deplo ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm If I were to dissect the goals of the opposition to the Marcos Government based on Twitter messaging, it would be: Make sure Marcos fails Stop Marcos from revising history Stop Marcos from partying Get Marcos to pay his Tax and PCGG debts Complain about Marcos not doing enough What the hell kind of agenda is that? Would it be offensive if I proposed an alternative agenda? Get organized and find a leader who is not Leni Robredo Get funded Free Atty Leila de Lima; frame a human rights platform Give visibility to corruption (hidden budgets, agencies, LGUs, pharm ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By LCX The Shanghai Cooperation Organization is ascendant! And the Philippines has a big role to play in it. The Philippines can seize all the opportunities which were never opened to it by the West. The West will be jealous and worried and will entice it with more opportunities. So by the very act of joining the SCO, the Philippines increases its opportunities two-fold. President Marcos! Join the SCO already! You can’t lose. And here’s why. The Philippines is in prime position right now, straddling the East and the West. And the West is on shaky ground. Belarus has deci ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm Philippine President Marcos was interviewed by Bloomberg during his visit to New York. He said the Philippines was looking at dealing with Russia to help solve pressing energy and food needs. He said the domestic needs for these essentials were more important than the political engagement between Russia and Ukraine. The comment was surprising considering that President Marcos had just met with US President Biden at the UN and had stated the US is an ally and friend to the US. One gets the impression that the alliance is a one-way opportunity for President Marcos ..read more

Analysis and Opinion By JoeAm I think the Marcos campaign call for unity was very effective. Now that he’s in office, though, he is more absorbed with practical matters like food, getting in foreign investments, and handling Rodriguez. Also, his definition of unity seems to be a loyalty obligation on citizens rather than an earned joining of interests among all Filipinos. Demanded loyalty is not democratic, not real bonding, and unsustainable in most cases. Wars bind but there is no war. The two possible binding crises today are poverty and global warming. My definition of unity is earned to ..read more

Analysis and opinion By JoeAm I was accused by a number of pinks of being a Marcos apologist for saying on Twitter that I thought the President was trying to do a good job. They said essentially that good and Marcos should not be mentioned in the same sentence. My observation came from seeing his conventional cabinet picks, cleaning up PCOO, international travel to elevate the Philippines, saying the right things in speeches and statements, putting the kabosh on the death penalty, and making crisp decisions on matters like the SMC airport free trade zone. He operates like a corporate boss. H ..read more