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Order has for now been restored in Bangkok through force of arms, but the loyalists of Thaksin melted away vowing that those who run away live to fight another day - and the seriously disquieting specter of an underground and potentially violent resistance to the government has begun to rise.*


*this article was written in 2009.

Even supporters have questioned democratization by mob as having the opposite effect. Predictably, perhaps, the outcome has often been military intervention in the name of political stability. The middle class, who at times support and other times spurn the movement, can be swayed to see people power as acting against their interests by creating disorder, as was the case in April after the UDD riots in Bangkok.

Even while in exile, former Thai prime minister Thaksin continues to hold the fealty of his supporters through video messages and rallies, reminding them of the perceived benefits his premiership and policies brought to his rural supporters. The promise the poor see in “people power” movements in the Philippines and Thailand has often been ridiculed as the attempt of an unruly mob to impose the arrogant demands of the minority over the will of the majority.

These tensions are especially evident in Thailand. After only six months in office, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjavjiva has faced similar street protests to those that helped catapult him to power, with Thaksin exhorting his red-clad supporters to launch a popular revolt. While there are personality issues at play, the unresolved issues that have divided the country between the yellow shirts of the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the red shirts of Thaksin's followers under the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD) are also important to understand.

This opens the possibility that the military in both countries may move to take a far more active role in an effort to either support or change the status quo, as the tensions between the status quo and the popular desire for change is perhaps now the key to understanding politics in both countries.

Whether both institutions can maintain their historical influence going forward remains unclear. Concerns about King Bhumibol Adulyadej's health and succession questions could lead to a vacuum. The Philippine church, or perhaps the country writ large, has not produced a leader of similar standing to the late Cardinal Sin. Senior church figures now often speak at odds with one another when discussing social or political issues.

Transcendent trendsetters

Both the Thai monarchy and the Catholic Church in the Philippines act as moral arbiters in their respective domestic polities, while appearing above the partisan political fray.

Historically much influence has been vested in personalities. These are either established as de jure apolitical leaders, as in the case of the Thai king. Alternatively, in the case of Jaime Cardinal Sin in the Philippines, where church and state are legally separate, such a leadership role was attained by exerting moral and organizational leadership in the face of the massively corrupt and authoritarian Marcos regime.

The Philippines may have a presidential system and Thailand a parliamentary one; however both have similar powerful traditional elites who have established political institutions that are seen as protecting their interests over those of the broader electorate. The political class is unwilling to accommodate popular desire for change and hence feels its privileged position is under threat.

Thailand escaped colonialism under savvy, modernizing monarchs and has since evolved towards a military-influenced constitutional monarchy. In contrast the Philippines has been occupied by three foreign powers, and has tried, often in vain, to adhere to Western-style democracy since its independence in 1946.


(underscoring islander's)

In the past decade, citizen uprisings in each country led to the ouster of democratically elected populist leaders accused of corruption: Philippine president Joseph Estrada in 2001 and Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006. Still, scholars often overlook comparisons between these two countries given that, as with any bilateral comparison, there are differences that can occlude the obvious similarities.

The Philippines and Thailand have often been cited for their close political parallels, with both home to thriving civil societies but with political power dominated by traditional political elites. Both are fragile democracies, with a history of political instability, that are trying to leave their martial law baggage behind.

i came across this 2009 article, which i find very interesting as it is incisive about our politics.  and it's still current because nothing much has changed except the names and faces of our political leaders.

   
People's power and manipulated masses

By Ava Patricia C Avila and Simon Roughneen
Asia Times Online
http://www.atimes.com/

SINGAPORE - Chaos caused by red and yellow clad protestors in Thailand over the past few years must have evoked bittersweet memories for Philippine activists, who donned the same team colors when red pro- and yellow anti-regime protesters took to the streets and brought down Ferdinand Marcos' authoritarian government in 1986.

to each his own strategy in gaining political power.

but frankly, relampagos is going too far.  come on, no legislator uses his own money for infrastructure projects.  so why should he stake his claims or get credit for them?  besides, there is a law against such billboards or banners.  doesn't he read such laws when he's a lawmaker himself?  okay, so maybe it's not a law (as yet) because congress, relampagos included, didn't take up this proposal by senator santiago against "epal", but it's a policy of the local government department.  couldn't he just respect it because he's representing a district, which is local anyway?  it's called delicadeza.

Quote from: Lorenzo on April 09, 2012, 01:05:46 PM
Politics as usual. What is Dan Lim's motive for this? Is he planning to run as congressman after his tenure as mayor ends?

expect that.  he can no longer run as mayor after 3 terms (9 years).  i heard that he tried running for congressman before, but the late venice borja agana (dubbed as "no talk" because she couldn't speak bisaya) prevailed.  it was i think a 3-way  fight--- a certain lapez (dubbed as "no walk" because he was on a wheelchair), and dan lim (dubbed as "putok" because he and his allegedly goons were involved in a gunfight).  viva, boholano wit!

well, one has to start somewhere... wa may nakailag mga imboy sa loay sa una.  karon morag nangambisyon na nga imboy, inc. ang bohol politics, using money naturally.  and we thought political dynasties are supposed to be shameful.  so much for legislators who never made an enabling act for this constitutional provision.

daghan silag nakat-onan gikan ni bugsay.

with france as the rudest, feeling ko tungod ni kay di sila gustong inenglisan.  the french expect the world to speak french.

wow!  bisan tuod ug lisod ang atong taxi drivers, di gihapon ta rude.

maayo gani kay naatol sa papa.

ang kang hubag kay siok tong.

his relatives...



lupig habal-habal nato kay naa man niy side car nga balde.

ajaw palabig lubog ug ginamos diha sa balingsya.  tanda-tanda pod ginagmay diri sa tb.  kasabot ming busy ka jamo... 

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 10, 2012, 05:04:55 PM
Hmm, di ba diay depende sa parte sa lawas nga kusion...

sakit ning kusion sa kiting uy.  lupig pay napaakan ug takla.

kining takla, half-shrimp half-crab?  sorry, wa pa gyod ko makakita ug takla.  mora lagi ug alien.

tagpila kaha ning payonga sa?

mao nay pag-emote kun kusion ni hubag.  lahi pod ang pag-emote kun kusion ni bugsay.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 10, 2012, 04:02:12 PM
Dia ra ang fire-breathing cat...


http://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=44505.msg503558#msg503558

gigamit man god niya ang wasabi as toothpaste, mao nga nagkayo ang iyang ginhawa...

Quote from: chicogon on April 10, 2012, 02:03:53 PM

siawa ning iringa uy.  wa koy iring ing-anag abilidad, so di gyod ako ang tag-iya ani.

uy, mora man nang mga tiyana ug naay alien!?

nakapanotbras lang intawon na siya nga wasabi ang toothpaste uy.

they know how to start 'em young.

uy, similar man diay ang nos. 1 and 16.  no. 7 na diay si chriswise.

Quote from: chicogon on April 09, 2012, 12:04:40 PM

the hilakers galore (the emoters):

1.  chicogon
2.  vrglguapo
4.  raquelproud boholana
5.  hofelina
6.  lorenzo
8.  ms da binsi
9.  grazie7y (similar to no. 15)
10. aspo
11. bugsay
12. islander
13. scarb
14. hubag
16. chriswise

as for the rest, well, i still have to see you cry.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 10, 2012, 04:24:38 PM
He he, same team man mo ni Bugsay. Tan-awa, same uniform. Kanang gapuwa ug ang iyang tupad, si Chriswise na ug si BolBuhol...

wa man nay pilion si bugsay kun mangusi, same team or not.  ikaw nang gapuwa.  ajaw pahiri si chriswise sa nigawas sa "it happens"...

unsaon paglihok nga naka-eget man nang orange ang t-shirt nga si hubag.  si bugsay pod tua, nilikay ug dali-dali kay siya may nagpahilak kay nangusi... 

di ni kasakay ug airplane kay motingog ang alarm, hahaha!

what inspiring posts!  what an inspired thread!

mestizo many times over diay ning chinese dragon kun mao.

mora sad uroy ug di siya ang nagprenda ana nako... hoy, lukata na ning imong bike.

my favorite...

dia pa...

diay way kuti...

makaantos gyod ni siya sa iyang self-flagellation kay nakaantos man gani anang iyang tattoo.

just an innocent question about an innocent act--- is lechon cooking really something that we can call cultural and religious tradition?  if we had a neighbor here in the philippines who has a permanent roasting equipment in his backyard, in a residential area, i will certainly protest, and my protest will have nothing to do with culture and religion.  it will be about public disturbance, like the smoke and the racket. 

Quote from: chriswise on April 03, 2012, 02:18:18 AM
nalipay jod ko karon kay akong pinangga na anak,FIRST HoNOr buyag,,,salamat sa Lord,,,di alkansi hatod sa skwelahan,,,

congratulations, chris!  well worth the effort gyod.

bright gyod tingali imong misis... gawas nga bright pod ka mao nga liwat sa giliwatan ang imong anak. 

i read somewhere nga chances are bigger nga ang utok sa bata liwat gyod kuno sa mama.  ang hitsura maoy liwat sa papa.  mao nga maayo kuno nga kombinasyon guwapo nga laki maminyo ug bright nga baye bahalag unsay hitsura.  problema lang kay wa tay kasigurohan kun mabali.

   

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 03, 2012, 03:12:21 PM
Ako, nalipay lang pud nga naay ni-graduate nga anak sa among silingan...

hehe, duda lang ko nga ang nalipay kay naay silingan nga ni-graduate mao ang amahan.  

Quote from: Lorenzo on April 03, 2012, 02:02:09 PM
when my sister asked me, "kuya is it okay for me to date?"

i told her, "og ma date date ka ron, latoson ka nako, og ang lake ipatjon to sija nako."

she asked me afterwards, "when will i be allowed to date then?"

i told her, "og ma homan na ka, pwede na. OK pod og maka kita kag usang doctor pod. kanang equal pod nimo ba"

perfect big brother advice, hahaha!  sa una, my eldest brother (12 years my senior) di gyod ihatag ang telephone kun naay manawag nako.  i knew he harassed the male callers.  much later, when i was already working, he expressed wonder why i didn't go out on dates and i had no male visitors in the house.  ingon ko niya one day, 'what is it that you really want?  you forbade me before, now you're hurrying me?  make your mind up!'  hah!  he never mentioned such subject again, ever.

rex our beautiful dog died in his sleep monday, april 2.  the vet who rushed to the house was a trifle too late.  of course, i cried, we all cried, a river. 

that's thinking ahead, like being ready to shoot down ufos, in case.

Quote from: Lorenzo on April 03, 2012, 01:36:02 AM
hehehe! and if my memory serves me right, both of you (bai hubag and mareng isles) spent some time in bacolod in your yesteryears?

the truth: i was there for the first time to cover the papal visit of pope john paul II.  i chose bacolod so i could avoid cebu, where i felt things could be worse.  aaahhh, those were energetic times, when one was very young and backaches were ages away. 

considering my purpose, i was given a pass only to the media center.  there i experienced being in the midst of those awesome contraptions of cameras and what-have-you while all that i had was a small instamatic camera, a small tape recorder, and a notebook.  (that was the stone age, so there were no computers then.  even our own national coverage on television wasn't instantaneous; the mailing section of the media center was glutted because tapes had to mailed ahora mismo.) 

the japanese group had the most sophisticated contraptions.  but there was the vatican press who were naturally special though they didn't behave as such.  people like me were on the fringes, so to speak.  (the japanese were very formal; it's those westerners who were the flirts.)       

the security control was tight (naturally) but nothing kept me off the streets when the popemobile passed by.  it was heaven to see the pope inside his bulletproof ride, right hand bestowing blessings, just a mere 3 meters away from where i stood!  i kept jumping and shouting 'totus tuus!' to catch his attention (as if...  ).

years later all i did was make bacolod my stopover for a change of bus in my land trips from cebu on my way to sipalay, where i worked briefly for a mining firm.

i don't know about hubag.       

hahaha!  arang, how fit.  maayo gani kay di 'tears on my pillow' by i-don't-know-who kay karaan na kaajo; must be during the time of bugsay's great grandma.  

thanks, lorenz!  wa man ko kaila ni paula abdul.  is she from the middle east?

the truth, magnified many times over?

Natural laws rule out equality, as some individuals are inevitably condemned to misery.  Human institutions are not to blame for the plight of the poor.  These "unhappy" souls have "drawn a blank" in the "great lottery of life," and in no way does justice require that they receive an "equal share in the produce of the earth." (Malthus, 1933b, 20).

consider the last quoted antiquated malthusian phrase closely, and let's see if this isn't the kind of attitude that could make us sharpen our knives in the night.

and we wouldn't be “modern” if we agreed with malthus, who is sometimes dubbed as the apologist for the aristocracy of his time, that the poor are to be blamed for their poverty while god gets the credit for the rich.  (sounds like the tail-end of the divine right of kings.) 

Malthus deflected blame for poverty from policy and property rights to heredity, nature, and the poor themselves.  He shifted the focus from status and privilege to divine will. (Jim Horner,  http://findarticles.com/)

lessen the population of poorer countries so their resources can be used by the u.s.? what cold realpolitik.  but if you're familiar with the face of former u.s. secretary of state henry kissinger, you would wonder why he concluded that his kind has every right to multiply while our kind has to decrease.

what is modern is what we've been bombarded through media and government campaigns that took off from henry kissinger's policy statement (National Security Memo 200, dated April 24, 1974, titled "Implications of world wide population growth for U.S. security & overseas interests").  it meant  to depopulate the third world.  (that's our world's first name and family name, as baptized by the west.)  the philippines is listed explicity as one of the targets of that policy.
 
Dr. Henry Kissinger proposed in his memorandum to the NSC that "depopulation should be the highest priority of U.S. foreign policy towards the Third World".  He quoted reasons of national security, and because `the U.S. economy will require large and increasing amounts of minerals from abroad, especially from less-developed countries... Wherever a lessening of population can increase the prospects for such stability, population policy becomes relevant to resources, supplies and to the economic interests of U.S. (http://www.rense.com/)

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
We hope that the theory of Thomas Robert Malthus will not come to pass. However, mathematical facts are starting to prove him correct. The Church has to review her stand on population control in the light of modern thought.

after more than 200 years, the theory of the dismal parson (as malthus was sometimes called) has not come to pass.  considering that he lived in that grim century of marked social inequity wrought by feudalism and revolutions, foremost of which was the french revolution of which england was afraid would spill over to it, i can't see why his thoughts can be modern. 

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
It is not only the government that will have to encourage this program but also religious authorities. Man cannot exist as soul alone it must also have body. Then we cannot be all saints when the stomach is empty. No soul can remain pure if the body is starving to death.

is this saying that our saints are well-fed?  that heaven is not for the hungry?  that's scary because that could mean that those who die of starvation might go straight to hell while the obese have special corners in heaven reserved for them.

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
There is no other recourse but population control.

the only recourse is equitable economic policies because there is no correlation between population growth and economic development. 

the conclusion of the 2008 commission on growth and development headed by nobel prize winner economist michael spence does not mention population control as one of the ingredients for high economic growth.  mentioned as factors instead are leadership, openness to knowledge, stable finances, market allocation, investment and savings.

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
One answer may be the increase of overseas employment. But that is no solution. We have experienced brain drain. The best of our professionals are serving people of developed countries when their services are sorely needed here especially in the rural areas. There will be disruption of families. Fathers, mothers, husbands, wives go abroad, Families are broken up. No amount of dollars remitted will take place of parental guidance.

overseas employment is not an answer (to the question of overpopulation, or poverty, or both?) but an option for those who wish to have better incomes.  and while much had been said about our own ofws as the new heroes, this option is open to all nationalities.  an example is the presence of british employees as a force to reckon with in the airline industry and media in the united arab emirates.  britain is not exactly starving. 

to say that the best of our professionals are no longer here may imply that 8 in 10 filipinos are second rate and have lesser brains, which makes for treading on dangerous grounds.   the fact is not everyone wants to work abroad, brains or no brains. 

as for families breaking up (because of overseas work, as the article says) we must be aware that these are the exceptions rather than the rule.  families break up even if couples are together under one roof.  it's the persons and the quality of their relationship, not the job nor the location of the job.

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
We have to increase our rice imports to feed the people.

the u.s., despite its land size, imports its staple, wheat.

in 2007/08 (about the time espiritu's article was written) the u.s. had large stocks of wheat, so it was able to boost its wheat exports with a peak of 30 percent of the world's total.  it was also during this period that the u.s. dollar depreciated by 25 percent, thereby reducing the price of u.s. wheat compared to other major wheat-exporting countries.

by 2011, the u.s. ranked no. 12 as a wheat-importing country.  fluctuations in production, such as what we have with our rice production caused by a myriad of reasons, weather included, and currency value and other market forces obviously make their mark on the world's staples.  our rice supply is no exception.   

a rich country may not even produce enough wheat to feed itself at certain times, so it imports.  is that supposed to be wrong? 

the article in this thread was written in 2007; the following excerpt from a 2011 article by another author may explain why there's more to things than what we know. 

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
In the late 70's, this knowledge, irrigation and Green Revolution made us again self sufficient in rice. In fact we were exporting this cereal. Again nature took over. Now we are importing rice. The irony is that, in the late 60's and early 70's the Philippines had been teaching Thais, Burmese and other East Asian people how to grow rice. Now they are exporting tons and tons of it to us.

Yes, Thai agriculturists studied in UP Los Baños. But no, our country did not fail to benefit from scientific knowledge.  In fact, the growth in rice yield in the Philippines in the last 10 years (2.19% per year) is faster than the growth rate in Thailand during the same period (1.68% per year).  Our average rice yield in 2009 (3.59 t/ha) is higher than that of Thailand (2.87 t/ha).  -EUFEMIO T. RASCO JR.  Executive Director, Philippine Rice Research Institute, October 29, 2011, 7:44pm, http://www.mb.com.ph/)

well, at least one can take comfort in the fact that one is no longer a freshman.

both the woman and the carabao are beauties.

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 28, 2012, 10:37:05 AM
Philippine Navy needs to update its hardware and arm all ships of the Combined Philippine Fleet with SSM, and guided missile platforms. That should deter any Chinese ship from encroaching deep into Philippine Republican Waters.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 02, 2012, 09:19:58 PM
Come on, get real. No amount of upgrading of Philippine military hardware within Philippine financial capability will deter any Chinese intention of encroaching into Philippine waters. If the Chinese will not attack the Philippines, it is not because of our ability to retaliate, but because of what they might expose themselves to for picking on a pushover.

naa ba kaha poy philippine democrat waters...

the entry is in the kind of english that niloandingdigal should better comment on, or edit, if he knows how.

naa lagiy wire, possibly electricity.  motukar tingali ni kun gamiton. 

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 02, 2012, 09:25:42 PM
Maybe, but the nuggets of good within the mud of bad are well worth it, if you ask me...

only if there are nuggets.

10 Ways To Avoid Illegal Recruiters in the Philippines

1. Do not apply at recruitment agencies not licensed by POEA.

2. Do not deal with licensed agencies without job orders.

3. Do not deal with any person who is not an authorized representative of a licensed agency.

4. Do not transact business outside the registered address of the agency.  If recruitment is conducted in the province, check if the agency has a provincial recruitment authority.

5. Do not pay more than the allowed placement fee.  It should be equivalent to one month salary, exclusive of documentation and processing costs.

6. Do not pay any placement fee unless you have a valid employment contract and an official receipt.

7. Do not be enticed by ads or brochures requiring you to reply to a Post Office (P.O.) Box, and to enclose payment for processing of papers.

8. Do not deal with training centers and travel agencies, which promise overseas employment.

9. Do not accept a tourist visa.

10. Do not deal with fixers.

Other information regarding illegal recruitment is shown in the website of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).

true.  anything that doesn't work is bad.

Quote from: niloandingdigal on February 04, 2010, 08:58:55 AM
Hubag-bohol,kindly go back to your english teacher,and ask how to construct a sentence.
Advise lng na sya ha...
Please, if you dont want to answer my question,just ignore it.
And one thing,even if TB members did'nt display their ages,you can observe it by reading those past conversations.And i found out na most of them,nasa above 30's na sila...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 01, 2012, 09:23:14 PM
Until now I still don't how a sentence know to construct. Hmm, kumusta na kaha ning bataa ron...

lingawa nako ani nga thread uy.  now pa ko makabasa.  naawahi ra man diay ang pag-apil nako sa tb ani.  and by chance this thread comes out again this passion sunday.  paskang.

hahaha!  ngilngiga manaway ug iningles ning labaw nga nagkayuring ang ininglesan.  where could this guy be now?  giango-ango sa una as a thread starter, niagi ug lobotomy pagkahuman, ug karon di ko mahibung nga gasiga na lang iyang mata. 

(maayo gani teenager pa ko.  recycled, of course.)       

maayong buntag pod, lorenz!  you sound happy.  must be a fine morning there in this your finer moment.

as for malthus, whose theory has been debunked many times over, he is regarded by some modern social scientists as an apologist for a corrupt system.  for a reason; his time was the 1700s, when feudal lords and aristocrats regarded themselves as god's gifts to europe.

according to a report of the united nations food and agriculture organization, every nation has the capacity to feed its people well.

[The world] currently produce(s) enough food to feed the world 3 times over.  Even if no extra advances in agricultural technology were made this means that we could feed a population of over 19 billion people, assuming as well that no extra land was brought under cultivation.  Even the most pessimistic neo-malthusians do not predict this kind of population increase. (http://pseudonymous.hubpages.com/)

also, the united states, england, hongkong, and other countries became rich during unprecedented growth in population, according to sheldon richman of CATO institute in his testimony on international population stabilization and reproductive health act.

richman further stated that the most densely populated nations are among the richest.  “There is no population problem.  Population growth is the result of the plunging death rate and increasing life expectancy worldwide.  That is progress.”

Quote from: Mike Ortega Ligalig on July 04, 2007, 04:31:36 PM
By Joe Espiritu
Jagna-based Writer

What caught our eye last week was a news item titled “Rice self sufficiency to be decided in the bedroom”. It brings us to the theory of Thomas Robert Malthus, an English economist ant political scientist who wrote the Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798. The essay states that the growth of population tends to increase faster than the supply of food. Some other economists rephrased the statement to read that population growth is inversely proportional to the increase of food supply. Which is rightly so.

Quote from: islander on April 01, 2012, 01:55:26 AM
i realized that the article was written some 5 years ago.

has the writer changed his mind?  i have no way of knowing.  just the same, for purposes of discussion, here goes...

but it isn't rightly so.  man tends to produce more than he can consume.  the problem is in the distribution of food, which from the looks of it no bedroom can solve.

there is no correlation between economic development and population growth, according to nobel prize winning economist simon kuznets.   in his study, he compared population growth rates and economic growth rates of a group of countries over a hundred years.  he found just the opposite of what malthusian theory leads one to believe.  historical data instead showed that population growth is a positive factor in the economic development process.

i realized that the article was written some 5 years ago.

has the writer changed his mind?  i have no way of knowing.  just the same, for purposes of discussion, here goes...

Quote from: islander on March 20, 2012, 10:07:25 AM
Ironically, it is often people in the most overpopulated parts of the planet who have the nicest lives.

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 21, 2012, 08:38:16 AM
Hehe, the difference here is epic.

New York City is the financial capital of the United States, and the per capita in that area is one of the highest in the world. Africa, tho may have a large size is predominantly underdeveloped and poverty is rampant. The former is the part of New York City, the financial capital of the nation with the largest GNP, the latter is a continent riddled with ethnic wars, genocide, unstable political and social climate. eg, Darfur, Sudan; Nigeria; Somalia; Ethiopia etc.

exactly.  doesn't it show that the more people there are, the more vibrant the economic activity is?  (this presupposes the existence of a proper socio-political climate, including equitable economic policies.)  manhattan wouldn't be what it is if its population were only 200.  come to think of it, if new york's population of almost 5,000 in 1700 remained at that level, there could have been only a few sari-sari stores lining lonely narrow streets in that city today. 

fr chic, duha na mo ni lolla nga na-greet ug happy birthday way ahead of the day itself, hehe.  hinoon, one can never go wrong when it comes to good wishes... so, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LOLLA! 

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 21, 2012, 08:29:56 AM
It is the failure of the governing body to dispense resources; the failure of the powerful elites in society to disseminate resources to the masses. The situational quagmire in Africa is a totally man-made catastrophe. The incessant wars, tribal discontinuance, ethnic and religious arbitrary warefare is the cause of the problem(s) there.

Because of this failure, and because of the failure to disseminate resources, starvation is occurring. Competition for resources (power, food, etc) leads to warefare and population decline in regions in Africa.

This is a manifestation of Malthus' Theory.

in a nutshell, the 18th century malthusian theory, debunked many times over in the 20th century, is that population increases in a geometrical ratio while food supply increases in an arithmetical ratio.  what debunks this theory most was that malthus factored in only population growth and food supply.  understandably so, because there was no way he could have predicted the technological improvements in the last 200 years that contributed greatly to the accelerated increase of food supply.

further, malthus is regarded as an apologist for the elite of his time.  when he concluded that the solution is depopulation, he meant the depopulation of the poor, not of the elite. 

Malthus was an apologist for a corrupt system. Outside the economics profession, the ideas of Malthus have dominated the population debate for 200 years. Remnants of his oppressive ideology are uncovered in the emotions of superiority and status, which result in internal violence (racism, sexism, inequality) and in external violence (imperialism, war, exploitation). Inside the economics profession, the Malthusian notion of scarcity remains at the center of economic analysis.(Jim Horner, professor of Economics at Cameron University, Lawton, Oklahoma, in a paper was presented to the Congress of Political Economists, 1996)

i don't see how his theory is manifested in what the world sees as what's wrong in africa.  it's too much of a leap to say that it's the malthusian theory at work when various tribes massacre each other.  we may as well say that the theory is manifested when the u.s. went to war in iraq. 

in the academic world, it is nice to know something about the malthusian theory.  in the daily business of life, it becomes quaint; a good conversation piece like an antique vase, but not much more.

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 30, 2012, 10:07:37 AM



Bwahaha! Nagkalidadis tingali ang unga ni Ondoy...

ungeeehhh!  quick, get me to a nunnery.  why should i be a breeder of sinners? (hamlet kuno) 

yes, they do have models for abayas, the women's standard outdoor attire.





i wouldn't mind wearing these myself.

getting modest in keeping with the coming holy week, eh?

i do.  the first paragraph alone raised my eyebrows to the 7th floor. 

(i wish to chew this article point for point tomorrow.  i'm way past bedtime now.)

goodnight, tb netizens!

Quote from: islander on March 30, 2012, 12:17:29 AM
“While inside the duty free store, she also wanted to purchase a karaoke chip with children’s songs, not a karaoke machine as reported, for her granddaughter in Manila,” the DFA statement said.

“This was to be in addition to the one she brought with her to the store which she also purchased from the same place months earlier to make sure that there was no duplication.

“However, after finding out that there were no new children’s chips available, she returned her chip to her handbag. This must have been the moment caught by the camera which gave the impression of shoplifting.”

Castrence said she also went to the perfume section where she sprayed her wrist with a Gucci tester bottle, but decided not to buy one due to its prohibitive price.

“As the officer was just doing her job, she allowed her to look through her handbag where she found only the chip with a list of songs and no perfume,” she said.

Castrence said the alleged visit to the Philippine embassy by US base officials to show her the video never took place.

The embassy also reported that the diplomatic mission was informed that the non-renewal by the Hartell House of the membership of embassy personnel was a policy extended to all nationalities, not only to the Philippines.

“Castrence stated that she would not impair her reputation and that of her country for a mere karaoke chip,” read the DFA statement.

thus the other side speaks.  strange that the news item (the one at the beginning of this thread) came out 7 months after the alleged act.  but what damage a slant in facts can make.

the "revival" of this tb thread made me curious, so i made a search.  here's what i found:

Diplomat denies shoplifting
By Pia Lee-Brago Friday, June 29, 2007

Ambassador to Seoul Susan Castrence denied yesterday allegations that she was caught shoplifting at a store inside a US military base in South Korea.

Quoting Castrence, Foreign Affairs spokesman Claro Cristobal said the article published in The Korea Herald must be referring to the time in November last year when she went to the PX Commissary at Yongsan Base to shop for Christmas gifts for her staff.

“While inside the duty free store, she also wanted to purchase a karaoke chip with children’s songs, not a karaoke machine as reported, for her granddaughter in Manila,” the DFA statement said.

“This was to be in addition to the one she brought with her to the store which she also purchased from the same place months earlier to make sure that there was no duplication.

“However, after finding out that there were no new children’s chips available, she returned her chip to her handbag. This must have been the moment caught by the camera which gave the impression of shoplifting.”

Castrence said she also went to the perfume section where she sprayed her wrist with a Gucci tester bottle, but decided not to buy one due to its prohibitive price.

“As the officer was just doing her job, she allowed her to look through her handbag where she found only the chip with a list of songs and no perfume,” she said.

Castrence said the alleged visit to the Philippine embassy by US base officials to show her the video never took place.

The embassy also reported that the diplomatic mission was informed that the non-renewal by the Hartell House of the membership of embassy personnel was a policy extended to all nationalities, not only to the Philippines.

“Castrence stated that she would not impair her reputation and that of her country for a mere karaoke chip,” read the DFA statement.

The DFA earlier instructed the Philippine embassy in Seoul to seek clarification from authorities of a US military base in South Korea on the alleged shoplifting incident involving a Filipino diplomat.

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Franklin Ebdalin said yesterday the Home Office has directed the embassy to find out if the report in The Korea Herald is true.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo reportedly ordered the diplomatic mission to look into the incident.

Ebdalin said the DFA has not taken any action on the alleged shoplifting incident because there is no complaint from Yongsan military base authorities.

“ If you really have a complaint put it in writing,” he said.

“We don’t want to be recipient of anonymous and unsubstantiated complaints so we just dismiss it. We’ll take action if it’s true.” 


http://www.newsflash.org/

i see the name of aspo!  she's back, wow!

1. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest


thelistcafe.com

In 1957 the respected BBC news show Panorama announced that thanks to a very mild winter and the virtual elimination of the dreaded spaghetti weevil, Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop.  It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees.  Huge numbers of viewers were taken in, and many called up wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti trees.  To this question, the BBC diplomatically replied that they should “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”


http://listverse.com/2007/10/24/top-15-april-fools-day-hoaxes/

2. Sidd Finch



In its April 1985 edition, Sports Illustrated published a story about a new rookie pitcher who planned to play for the Mets.  His name was Sidd Finch and he could reportedly throw a baseball with startling, pinpoint accuracy at 168 mph (65 mph faster than anyone else has ever been able to throw a ball).  Surprisingly, Sidd Finch had never even played the game before.  Instead, he had mastered the “art of the pitch” in a Tibetan monastery under the guidance of the “great poet-saint Lama Milaraspa.”  Mets fans everywhere celebrated at their teams’s amazing luck at having found such a gifted player, and Sports Illustrated was flooded with requests for more information.  But in reality this legendary player only existed in the imagination of the writer of the article, George Plimpton.

3. Instant Color TV



In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station’s technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that thanks to a newly developed technology, all viewers could now quickly and easily convert their existing sets to display color reception.  All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen, and they would begin to see their favorite shows in color.  Stensson then proceeded to demonstrate the process.  Reportedly, hundreds of thousands of people, out of the population of seven million, were taken in.  Actual color tv transmission only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.

4. The Taco Liberty Bell



In 1996 the Taco Bell Corporation announced that it had bought the Liberty Bell from the federal government and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell.  Hundreds of outraged citizens called up the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell is housed to express their anger.  Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed that it was all a practical joke a few hours later.  The best line inspired by the affair came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale, and he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold, though to a different corporation, and would now be known as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.

5. San Serriffe



In 1977 the British newspaper The Guardian published a special seven-page supplement in honor of the tenth anniversary of San Serriffe, a small republic located in the Indian Ocean consisting of several semi-colon-shaped islands.  A series of articles affectionately described the geography and culture of this obscure nation. Its two main islands were named Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse.  Its capital was Bodoni, and its leader was General Pica.  The Guardian’s phones rang all day as readers sought more information about the idyllic holiday spot.  Few noticed that everything about the island was named after printer’s terminology.  The success of this hoax is widely credited with launching the enthusiasm for April Foolery that then gripped the British tabloids in the following decades.

6. Nixon for President



In 1992 National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program announced that Richard Nixon, in a surprise move, was running for President again.  His new campaign slogan was, “I didn’t do anything wrong, and I won’t do it again.”  Accompanying this announcement were audio clips of Nixon delivering his candidacy speech.  Listeners responded viscerally to the announcement, flooding the show with calls expressing shock and outrage.  Only during the second half of the show did the host John Hockenberry reveal that the announcement was a practical joke.  Nixon’s voice was impersonated by comedian Rich Little.

7. Alabama Changes the Value of Pi



The April 1998 issue of the New Mexicans for Science and Reason newsletter contained an article claiming that the Alabama state legislature had voted to change the value of the mathematical constant pi from 3.14159 to the ‘Biblical value’ of 3.0.  Before long the article had made its way onto the internet, and then it rapidly made its way around the world, forwarded by people in their email.  It only became apparent how far the article had spread when the Alabama legislature began receiving hundreds of calls from people protesting the legislation.  The original article, which was intended as a parody of legislative attempts to circumscribe the teaching of evolution, was written by a physicist named Mark Boslough.

8. The Left-Handed Whopper



In 1998 Burger King published a full page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a “Left-Handed Whopper” specially designed for the 32 million left-handed Americans.  According to the advertisement, the new whopper included the same ingredients as the original Whopper (lettuce, tomato, hamburger patty, etc.), but all the condiments were rotated 180 degrees for the benefit of their left-handed customers.  The following day Burger King issued a follow-up release revealing that although the Left-Handed Whopper was a hoax, thousands of customers had gone into restaurants to request the new sandwich.  Simultaneously, according to the press release, “many others requested their own ‘right handed’ version.”

9. Hotheaded Naked Ice Borers



In its April 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer.  These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds.  They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them.  After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837.  “To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin,” the article quoted her as saying.  Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.