Wrapped in the flag

353 thoughts on “Wrapped in the flag”

1. grd,

   not sure if NY times is a fan of Obama…
   President Apostate:
   That an Obama presidency would cause such complications in our dealings with the Islamic world is not likely to be a major factor with American voters, and the implication is not that it should be. But of all the well-meaning desires projected on Senator Obama, the hope that he would decisively improve relations with the world’s Muslims is the least realistic.

   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/opinion/12luttwak.html

2. And the coup de grace: Soros’ group stage-managed London boy Georgia’s president Saakashvili to stir up trouble in the Caucasus, bringing in meddling U.S.of A., who have two unfinished wars by the way.

   And candidate McCain spews out strong words. He claims he knows foreign policy but may be a Vietnam vet, but my dear, being a POW is so far from the great game. He is definetely clueless.

   Well, its in the same way that that jerk Fox TV host said VP aspirant what’s-her-name Pilan knows foreign policy because Alaska is neighbor to Russia. What the heck?

3. it’s politics by the way. we should not kill each other. My vote will always be for Republicans.

   statistic shows: Obama is up 8 points from female voters while McCain is up 6 points from male voters on rassmussen report…

   Picking Palin is a strategic decision.

4. Simple jedis comprehend not, Leytenian’s last post. Explain, commenter should.

5. Master Yoda,
   On Palin,

   Women swing voters: Democratic Presidential Nomination found that 36% of voters nationwide say they are certain to vote for Obama in November and 34% are certain they will vote for McCain. That leaves a very significant 30% who are not certain to support either of the presumptive nominees.http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/30_of_voters_could_change_their_mind_between_now_and_election_day_56_are_women

   “There have been significant changes in perception of John McCain in the two days of polling since he named Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. Since then, 49% of Republicans voice a Very Favorable opinion of McCain. That’s up six percentage points from 43% just before the announcement. Also, 64% of unaffiliated voters now give positive reviews to McCain, up ten points since naming his running mate.”
   http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/daily_presidential_tracking_poll

   Palin herself made a good first impression and is now viewed favorably by 53% of voters nationwide. Her counterpart, Joe Biden, is viewed favorably by 48%. While Palin has made a good first impression, the more significant numbers will come a week from now after the nation has a chance to learn more about her.

   Palin will make US history as the first Woamn VP and Obama will make US history as the first Black President of which is really his intention. That intention is purely ” utang na loob and debt of gratitude to his ancestors” lol..

6. ang baba ng tax sa usa ha.

   kaya naman hindi librea ang ospital at college tuition.

   baka naman obama needs the tax money to pay for the war?

7. It’s often said that we pinoys engage in ‘personality’ politics.

   Now that I’ve seen Sarah Palin’s speech, aba pati rin pala mga Kano

   Sarah rambled on and on and on about her husband, kung ilang taon na sila kasal, kung ano ginagawa ng anak niya…blah blah blah and all these personal things that are irrelevant…and she ended her speech with “I god bless you all”

8. “Under both Democratic plans, tax rates would increase by 3 percentage points for each of the 25 percent, 28 …..”

   The projected USA deficit for next year is ~$500B

   My naive tambay sa kanto analysis
   1. Don’t increase tax (or even better, say you are going to cut tax) = Pogi points but in reality, you are just prolonging the agony. Eventually someone has to pay if not you, it will be your children. If not them, it will their children.

   2. The republicans have found a way to plug the deficit. (Langis sa alaska? More WMD sales to rogue nations? Take some of Iraq’s money? Maybe Sarah Palin can pray to God who will give her $500B in one dollar ‘in god we trust’ bills? Where, saan kukunin ni McCain ang pambayad sa deficit??)

9. It is very difficult to have a disscussion with pundits bordering on lunacy.

   The Pinoy “utang na loob” is based on an economic base of very little choices and that is why it is called a neo colony and neo feudal society. Your life and limb is dependent on patronage.

   The struggles of the Afriacn Americans in the U.S. was the opposite. They fought to be given equal opportunities from the neo-slave status.

   Hence the influx of colored immigrants benefitted greatly from that opening and increased choices of opportunity.

   Then the issue of Bretton Woods. Replacing gold with the U.S. dollar effectively repudiated the U.S. debt in gold. You simply print ,money without any base of production.

   So the U.S. has the commanding heights in international trade.

   Those countries like China and India who have stringent capital accounts are actually practicing economic sovereignty over their fiscal and monetary policies. Hence they are politically more independent in making economic and political policy choices.

   On the level of a nation state that is what freedom is all about. But that is possible becuse they are economicall developing with a sort of “China Wall” versus economic colonization. They get to choose.

   The U.S. economy has had to pay for all their military advances and had to become a strategic debtor to the world. All that military advances which had also resulted in technological advances has moved the U.S. in the red. It is now called an Empire of Debt.

   It obviously is unsustainable. Rome fell because it’s emperors had to pay in silver for its mercenary armies. They started shaving off the content of silver and that is the basis for monetary inflation.

   Maintaining empire is expensive. The global economic imbalances caused by the U.S. consuming more than it is producing is slowly moving the U.S. downhill.

   The U.S. national debt with the continuing addtional deficit spending plus the trade deficits have to be financed by someone.

   The world is now realizing that the international system is close to collapse.

   Unless the U.S. changes its culture of consumption and puts its fiscal house in order the world will be facing a once in a lifetime crisis again.

   War will become necessary to break the deadlock.

   The ultimate form of demand destruction is warfare.
   Trade becomes a zero sum game.

   http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/magazine/17pessimist-t.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

   “The United States, Roubini went on, will likely muddle through the crisis but will emerge from it a different nation, with a different place in the world. “Once you run current-account deficits, you depend on the kindness of strangers,” he said, pausing to let out a resigned sigh. “This might be the beginning of the end of the American empire.”

10. From Forbes Online
    Croesus Chronicles
    Shiller’s Subprime Solutions
    Robert Lenzner 08.25.08, 6:00 AM ET

    “A general bonfire is so great a necessity that unless we can make of
    it an orderly and good-tempered affair in which no serious injustice
    is done to anyone, it will, when it comes at last, grow into a
    conflagration that may destroy much else as well.”

    So wrote John Maynard Keynes in 1919 after the disastrous Versailles
    peace conference. Provocateur par excellence Robert Shiller uses the
    passage to open his new book on the subprime mortgage crisis, The
    Subprime Solution: How Today’s Global Financial Crisis Happened, and
    What to Do About It. The analogy is as simple as it is frightening.
    From the start, Croesus can almost hear the flames crackling.

    The Yale economist has made investment bubbles his field. He is also
    an expert on housing (he is the Shiller of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home
    Price Index). In this book, he provides the ignoramuses on Wall
    Street, asleep-at-the-switch regulators and dumbfounded investors
    worried about their savings with a stark insight to digest over the
    last two weeks of summer: “We as a society do not understand or know
    how to deal with speculative bubbles.”

    This crisis, believes Shiller, “is a historic turning point in our
    economy and our culture. … The forces unleashed by the subprime crisis
    will probably run rampant for years, threatening more and more
    collateral damage.”

    Ordinary citizen investors and savers “see once-trusted economic
    institutions collapsing around them. Once again, they feel that they
    were lied to–fed overly optimistic stories that encouraged them to
    take excessive risks,” he writes.

    Shiller goes beneath the surface of the write-downs and the bailouts
    and the fines and the litigation to ask whether “the social fabric is
    indeed at risk and should be central to our attention as we respond to
    the subprime crisis.”

    The social fabric–the trust people have for their institutions and
    their investments in them; read Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, UBS, Lehman
    Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–is being challenged. These
    institutions paid their senior officers more money than they have
    written off in bad paper on their books. Everyone wanted to emulate them.

    “To be truly revered, one had to be a smart investor as well. … A life
    as an investor has become more than a means to an end; it is an end in
    itself,” Shiller writes.

    The bubble in real estate, like the bubble in the stock market,
    transformed our culture into an expectation that everyone could be a
    mover and shaker in capitalism. And cable-TV business shows promoted
    that dangerous way of thinking. Yet the truth is that unchecked
    financial innovation works poorly in asset markets.

    The solution, suggests Shiller, is to make policy changes that will
    “inhibit the development of bubbles, stabilize the housing and larger
    financial markets, and provide greater financial security to
    households and businesses.” He proposes a Home Owners’ Loan Corp., as
    established during the New Deal in 1933, that would make credit
    available to home buyers, especially if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are
    crippled. The HOLC could accept mortgages as collateral for loans to
    mortgage lenders.

    In the short term, Shiller says, bailouts are necessary. A cascade of
    failures could make the subprime crisis a disease that continues to
    spread throughout the entire economic system.

    Croesus, too, fears that the time required to get an HOLC up and
    running will be protracted. Rather, the Treasury Department should
    immediately restore confidence in Fannie Mae’s ability to guarantee
    mortgages. It could buy some of Fannie Mae’s publicly owned
    securities, which would de-leverage the agency. That would support the
    securities held by China, Japan, Russia and every commercial bank in
    the U.S., which treat their agency holdings as Tier 1 capital. Mutual
    funds like PIMCO’s have 61% of their portfolio in agency securities.

    As there isn’t time to privatize Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Croesus
    feels the Treasury should use its newfound powers to bail out these
    two giants temporarily to stem a further sharp decline in housing prices.

    “The purpose of the bailouts should not be to maintain high values in
    the housing market, the stock market or any other speculative market,”
    Shiller says. “The essential purpose is to prevent a fundamental loss
    of economic confidence in our institutions and in each other, and to
    maintain a sense of social justice.”

    From Bloomberg
    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=aqu59cnYfsFY&refer=columnist\
    _pesek

    http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=ae3IuR_DTCc0&refer=home

11. “Mabini is in ermita not in malate.

    Last time I was in the area Mabini and M.H. del Pilar ran from Kalaw to Quirino. Both streets run right by the famous Malate Church.”

    OK, mabini and del pilar start in ermita and it reaches malate.(Quirino Avenue)
    but I would not know, if the blondes reach the malate area.I keep on forgetting our age gap, I only rely on stories ,and the song Magdalena of Freddie Aguilar,you might have seen the real stuff.
    unless strict ang parents mo.

    Now the area is out of the fun spots,napalitan na ng mga boarding houses for transients,money changers and some restaurants, and bars.HVRDS,are you still stateside?kasi baka nasa pinas ka na sayang lang yung tinype ko.

12. Leytenian,
    I always try not to disturb you,pero paistorbo ulit.

    Di ba parati mong napapansin ang mga utang ng pinas.
    Ang pambayad sainterest ng inutang natin ay kinuha sa tax at ang pambayad sa principal ay inuutang ulit.

    maaring iba ang sytema sa tate,pero parang ganun na din.
    madami ding utang ang tate(pinakamalaki sa buong mundo)
    wag mong sabihin sa akin na iba dyan iba dito.

    Yang bailouts na yan sa taxes din mapupunta yan.
    yang pambayad sa utang sa taxes din mapupunta yan.
    pag di tinax ang mga big corporations saan kukuha ng pondo ang gobyerno Utang ulit.as the taxman says, there are two things you can not escape:death and taxes.

    yun lang death can be replaced by debt.

13. makikisawsaw na din dyan sa US elections na yan.

    pag Experience ang pinagusapan:if the others side says your VPcandidate has no experience,they will counter your are worse off,your presidentaila candidate has no experience and our candidate has experience in running a state.

14. your presidentaila candidate

    edit to :your candidate for president.

15. From probably the most trusted man in America….

    On why Americans are generally “stupid”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/17/arts/television/17kaku.html?scp=1&sq=Is%20Jon%20Stewart%20The%20Most%20Trusted%20Man%20in%20America&st=cse

    http://www.tomdispatch.com/p/tdvideo/shenkman06302008

    http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174951

16. “Now the area is out of the fun spots,napalitan na ng mga boarding houses for transients,money changers and some restaurants, and bars.HVRDS,are you still stateside?kasi baka nasa pinas ka na sayang lang yung tinype ko.”

    Pumasyal ka sa Japan, Malaysia, Dubai, Hongkong at Singapore. Naging export model na ang mga Malate blondes. At kung medio tisay ang kutis mo masmahal ang singil. Inalis ni Mayor Lim ang mga club diyan kasi kalaban sa mga lugar sa Ongpin. Kaya lumipat sila sa Makati. At pinalayas na ang base militar nang mga kano.

    Di mo ba alam yang ang export model ni Almonte. Kasi ang industriya nang Pilipinas ay nakasentro sa ber, gin and sigarillyo di siyempre yung resulta ay yung service sector ay naka base sa aliwan. Ngayon papasok na diyan ang sugal.

    Matindi ang kasaysayan nang Pilipinas na nakatale sa mga negosyo na galing sa pagsakop nang Pinas nang kano.

    Mag beer muna kayo sa Barangay Ginebra.

17. Major difference between the Pinas and the U.S. as far as foreign debt is the fact that the U.S. has a foreign debt in its own currency.

    We do not have that luxury. Kaya our vaginal economy is part and parcel of our export model.

    My favorite lunatic economist Bernie Villegas once suggested that Filipina women should be encouraged to marry Japanese men to reverse their negative birth rate.

    The Japanese government is slowly moving to allow children born from Japs and foreigners citizenship.I wonder if Pinoy entrepreneurs will have the gumption to open entertainment centers (CLUBS) in Japan to compete with the Japanese. Maybe Pegasus and the other like it could export their business model overseas owned by Pinoys.

    The Pinay is unique in Asia because she is a mis-mash of Western and ethnic tribal cultures. That is what makes her hot to a lot of foreigners.

    Don’t you notice the most popular cultural events all over the islands are beauty contests.

18. More from thought leaders —-

    August 31, 2008
    Economic View NY Times
    Is History Siding With Obama’s Economic Plan?
    By ALAN S. BLINDER

    “CLEARLY, there are major differences between the economic policies of Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. Mr. McCain wants more tax cuts for the rich; Mr. Obama wants tax cuts for the poor and middle class. The two men also disagree on health care, energy and many other topics.”

    “Such differences are hardly surprising. Democrats and Republicans have followed different approaches to the economy for as long as there have been Democrats and Republicans. Longer, actually. Remember Hamilton versus Jefferson?”

    “Many Americans know that there are characteristic policy differences between the two parties. But few are aware of two important facts about the post-World War II era, both of which are brilliantly delineated in a new book, “Unequal Democracy,” by Larry M. Bartels, a professor of political science at Princeton. Understanding them might help voters see what could be at stake, economically speaking, in November.”

    “I call the first fact the Great Partisan Growth Divide. Simply put, the United States economy has grown faster, on average, under Democratic presidents than under Republicans.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/business/31view.html?_r=1&em=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print

    Alan S. Blinder is a professor of economics and public affairs at Princeton and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve. He has advised many Democratic politicians.

19. The awesome powers given to capitalist to control the banking system has almost always resulted in unmitigated failures.
    How does government choose which side or degree of the regulatory spectrum to initiate policies and programs.

    The executive under Congressional oversight is in charge of fiscal policy and currency. The Central Bank is supposed to act as the ultimate check and balance versus abuses in fiscal policy through monetary policy.

    Ultimately even oversight over central banks are exercised by the legislature in theory.

    That is okay in domestic national economies theoretically. What happens when finance capital goes global in unregulated markets.

    There is no global government yet existing to impose regulations.

    Would you trust Villafuerte and Bunye with your savings????These two political hacks of GMA sit on the Monetary Board.. They both have a fixed tenured position.

    More on some theories from dead philosophers that are so relevant in these interesting times.

    ” I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”
    Thomas Jefferson, Letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin (1802)
    3rd president of US (1743 – 1826)

    “The theory that can absorb the greatest number of facts, and persist in doing so, generation after generation, through all changes of opinion and detail, is the one that must rule all observation.”

    Adam Smith

20. KG,

    you are right about US debts, it will eventually be paid by the tax payer but in many ways. US has many options.

    for example: healthcare budget can be capped, clinton did this during his term. as a healthcare professional during his time, I lost my job as a physical therapist in 1997. It took me another year to start my own and venture into business. The rest of my friends were very depressed and some even filed bankcruptcy and have ruined their credits. clinton also cut the budget for national security. for example, he closed almost 3 military bases in florida, not sure how many all over the states. that’s how the democrats balance the deficit at least in my observation during my stay here.

    if obama will win, he will cut the budget for healthcare… hillary clinton propose it as Universal healthcare. It means healthcare for all but reimbursement for service will be cut up to 30%. I have a feeling that many of my relatives who remains to be in the healthcare field will definitely be affected due to salary reduction or may actually lose their jobs. in terms of foreign policy, Obama will pull out of Iraq sooner as he always say to cut expenses. Both policies will eventually balance the budget deficit.

    As for the republicans, it’s policy is to support corporation to grow and employ more people. Full employment will collect taxes and decrease government spending on healthcare costs as employer will supplement and provide healthcare benefit to its employees. Or thru investment like Iraq privatization of its oil resources,trade and many more.

    Both parties have its own agenda. what’s obvious to me is the agenda of democrat to cut healthcare budget . This will hurt our many nurses, doctors here in the US. For those philippine nurses who are planning to come may not be able to come. The ripple effect of losing income and employment in the healthcare industry will decrease OFW remittances. This is my opinion but i have always been prepared and i trust my instinct.

21. Cash is king… It’s in Medicare and Medicaid.. Cutting healthcare costs will balance the deficit but will hurt very many… For those of you who have relatives, let them prepare if Obama wins.

22. How does a state capitalize its own central bank with more debt and expect the central bank to be independent?????

    Opinion
    Core
    By Benjamin E. Diokno
    Window dressing

    “Budget numbers are not always what they appear to be. And for an administration that is obsessed with balancing the budget during her watch, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will no doubt explore all possible means to fudge fiscal numbers in order to show lower spending and higher revenues than what they actually are.”

    “The most recent move to window dress the fiscal numbers is the decision of the government to float bonds to recapitalize the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). For those who are unfamiliar with the issue, as part of the monetary reforms in the early 1990s, recall that the financially distressed Central Bank was replaced by BSP.”

    “But as part of the reform, and in order to ensure the independence of BSP, the national government is obligated to capitalize BSP by P50 billion. After the initial P10-billion capitalization of BSP in 1993, succeeding administrations have failed to appropriate in the national budget the remaining balance of P40 billion.”

    Story Location: http://www.bworldonline.com/BW082708/content.php?id=144

23. “Cash is king… It’s in Medicare and Medicaid.. Cutting healthcare costs will balance the deficit but will hurt very many… For those of you who have relatives, let them prepare if Obama wins.” The lunatic fringe……

    Metaphorically a lot of women still have not found their G-Spot. That would really equalize them with the guys.

    A lot of women still prefer the caressing of the lower sphincter muscle. Hence they prefer to be sodomized. But that is an expression of power on the part of the male species.

    I have always believed that if you educate a woman you will eventually educate the world. However a lot if not a majority of women remain to be educated.

    They have to somehow find their G-Spot …..

    That would be a more worthwhile endeavor than trying to put forth lunacy……

24. Misuari says :

    (1)… armed Christian groups like the Ilaga have expressed unity with the MNLF. “Ilaga would henceforth become an ally of the MNLF,” he said.
    (2) The Moro National Liberation Front is building a 120,000-strong security force to “protect the peace in Mindanao,” MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari told INQUIRER.net . . . . . The security force, Misuari said, would maintain peace and order in the islands of Camiguin, Palawan, Tawi-tawi, Sulu, Basilan, Saranggani, Balut, Samal, and the mainland of Mindanao so that “our people, our children can walk in the middle of the night without any fear of molestation, kidnapping, and like that.”
    . . . . .
    “By March 18, 2009, our forces in MNLF Armed Forces shall reach 300,000 strong. If that is not enough, I will increase it to half a million strong,” he said.

25. “By March 18, 2009, our forces in MNLF Armed Forces shall reach 300,000 strong” – ango-ango

26. “it’s policy is to support corporation to grow and employ more people.”

    how??? low tax, big deficit, high interest rates.

27. “thru investment like Iraq privatization of its oil resources,trade and many more.”

    HOY, please lang, that is IRAQ’s Money! The usa has no right to take that to plug their deficit.

28. Is America ready to elect a black president?

    I’d like to give the Americans the benefit of the doubt, but the way tags are being obliquely hurled, e.g. connection to radicals, terrorist, Muslim, etc, DOUBTFUL.

    Wonder what would they have thought if he was instead named Lee Roy White or Mickey Wright Brown?

29. to Master Yoda:

    The answer is “yes” to the question “are there still Americans who will only accept a male Caucasian as their president?” but that is the wrong the question. For November 2008, the better question really is “…will enough of the voters of the United States of America” elect Barack Obama?

30. master yoda, there was also a terrorist named tomothy macveigh, and a taliban named walker.

31. nash, you think sarah palin’s speech was “personal politics”? what about obama’s speeches and videos about his family, his parentage, his boyhood, played ad nauseam in the media? prejudice stems from ignorance. in america, you usually have to know a candidate before you vote for him, unlike there in the philippines where, most of the time, all one needs is a bayong of cheap groceries.

32. @bencard,

    yes all of them. ironically it is mccain who does not speak too much of his family life. he never mentions his son in the military.

33. HONOR

    “Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, whose popularity plummeted after his government introduced a much-criticized medical plan for the elderly, has announced his resignation, according to media reports”

    And he resigned mainly because he was unpopular!

    Wow, GMA has outlasted, lemme see, 4 japanese PMs!

    To think GMA is the liar and cheat…(forget about her unpopularity…)

34. hvrds,
    “Metaphorically a lot of women still have not found their G-Spot. That would really equalize them with the guys.

    A lot of women still prefer the caressing of the lower sphincter muscle. Hence they prefer to be sodomized. But that is an expression of power on the part of the male species. ”

    hahahaha.. love matters the most. the G-spot topic is only good for young couples with very little experience in bed. I do believe that experience women should guide their men for ultimate sexual happiness. lol

35. AFTER MUCH THINKING I AM VOTING DEMOCRAT

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe the government will do a better job of spending the money I earn than I would.

    I’m voting Democrat because freedom of speech is fine as long as nobody is offended by it.

    I’m voting Democrat because when we pull out of Iraq , I trust that the bad guys will stop what they’re doing because they now think we’re good people.

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe that people who can’t tell us if it will rain on Friday, CAN tell us that the polar ice caps will melt away in ten years if I don’t start driving a Prius.

    I’m voting Democrat because I’m not concerned about the slaughter of millions of babies so long as we keep all death row inmates alive.

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe that business should not be allowed to make profits for themselves. They need to break even and give the rest away to the government for redistribution as it (Democrats)
    sees fit.

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe three or four pointy headed elitist liberals need to rewrite the Constitution every few days to suit some fringe kooks who would NEVER get their agendas past the voters.

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe that when the terrorists don’t have to hide from us over there, when they come over here I don’t want to have any guns in the house to fight them off with.

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe that no borders should exist and I think it would be a good idea to learn another language (or two).

    I’m voting Democrat because I think everyone should have health care and not have to pay for it.

    I’m voting Democrat because I believe oil companies’ profits of 4% on a gallon of gas are obscene but the government taxing the same gallon of gas at 15% isn’t.

    I’m voting Democrat so we can fold all Mexican citizens into our Social Security and Medicare programs free gratis as a carbon credit and atonement for our glutinous consumption of the world’s energy.

    winks****

36. The latest news is that Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is 7-months pregnant. What a surprise this is to the McCain staff!

37. HVRDS,off topic pero medyo nakapasyal na din sa dalawa sa sinabing mong lugar.
    (disclaimer:what I willl tell you ,is nothing new)

    Sa HK malalaman mo pag hawak ng triad ang babae,pag inahit nila ang armpit nila,hawak sila ng triad;yun ay mga instik.pero pag pinoy since sanay na sila mag ahit ng kilikili di pwedeng qualifier ang armpit.
    mas madalas domestic helper ang tingin sa pinay.There was a story that sharon cuneta was blocked by customs dahil ang dami nyang biniling giordano nung time na yun, ang giordano pang pinay dh; akala dh smuggler sya.

    sa singapore naman,mas maganda pa ang mga taga SM, sa mga intsik na naduon.

    sad story about the pinay,.

    But white slavery is not limited to the pinays.
    I just watched the movie “Taken” starring Liam Neeson.
    in that case a rich white female almost got sold to an Arab, the thing is; it was the protagonist’s daughter. Liam neeson was a combination of james bond and wesley snipes in that film.

38. “But white slavery is not limited to the pinays.
    I just watched the movie “Taken” starring Liam Neeson.
    in that case a rich white female almost got sold to an Arab, the thing is; it was the protagonist’s daughter. Liam neeson was a combination of james bond and wesley snipes in that film.”

    Not a movie but the poorer eastern European countries (including Russia) are actually sources of the vaginal economy into Europe toady.

    Pero in almost all of Asia the Pinay rules….She has got attitude…..

    MLQ3 call or support for the legalization of prostitution and raising sex to an accepted social form of relaxation is noteworthy. A lot more Pinays at home would get to experience orgasm from their husband and the debate on birth control would shift to the issue of the chauvinist culture of the Filipino male rather than issue of population control.

    Most women would like the State to intervene in equalizing the power of women to say no -indirectly. to their own husbands.

39. leytenian : Under our unitary system the efforts to promote local autonomy since the 1950s have reached a dead end, because of the reluctance of most national political leaders to decentralize the powers of the national government. The centralization of power enhances their power and control over the local communities.
    x-x-x-x-x-x-x

    It’s clear. You are for local autonomy. It’s good. That’s what we need. We need local autonomy, not federalism. I know you’ll ask, isn’t federalism local autonomy by itself? Think again. Federalism will free us of Imperial Manila. Right! But in its place we will have States! From one collar to another!

    Here’s how it is in mathematical terms using Senator Pimentel’s formula, 20/80. How much of this sharing will actually go to the LGU’s? Ony 56%! 24% of the whole pie will go to the new collar. Federalists term for it is State. Imagine how much would go the LGU’s if we simply decentralize without going through States and a cha-cha? Imagine that we can do it now because we can. It’s the only practical way to defang Gloria and her successors whoever they may be. It’s the shortest path to people empowerment.

    I agree with your analysis. The main stumbling block is the national leadership or Congress. It simply won’t part with much of its powers. But what makes Senator Pimentel and other federalists think it would have a change of heart as soon as it is formed as a con-ass? Nor would a con-con be necessarily more generous! I hear words like vigilance, rallies and letters… anything to create public pressure. But if we can do it for federalism, why can’t we do it for plain and simple local autonomy? No need to create States. No need for a cha-cha.

    Part of the Peace Process is to NOT TO CHANGE OUR UNITARY REPUBLIC TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES. No to CHACHA…

    The serious weaknesses and disadvantages of our unitary system exist only because we are not decentralized enough.

    Our unitary system could be more sensitive to our cultural diversity than federalism could ever be. What does federalism promise to do? Create states on the basis of religion or ethnic groupings? It is the surest formula for trouble. Did the ARMM solve the problem? On the other hand, local autonomy would deal with tribal problems by provinces and towns. RA 8371 tells us how. In federalism we will still have to grope for the rules.

    Federalism will lead us into the realm of the unknown, while in local autonomy all we need is political will, a genuine concern for our less privilege brothers, not for those who point their guns at us. We can do it. RA 8371 tells us how. Federalists diagnosed the problem accurately. It’s the prescription that doesn’t fit.

    Local autonomy emphasizes respect for the socio-cultural diversity of the people and seeks national unity in city and provincial diversity. It promotes national solidarity and cooperation in governance, nation-building, modernization and development.

    Local autonomy emphasizes local self-rule and self-reliance in governance, based on the principle of subsidiarity. This means that decisions should be made at the lowest possible level where the problems can be solved.

    While local governments are designed to be autonomous, the national government provides assistance to the various LGU’s, especially the less developed ones.

    Bakit ba hindi natin harapin agad ang tunay na pagbabago? Bakit kailangan pa nating sumayaw ng CHACHA?

40. Tax Joven,
    “It’s clear. You are for local autonomy. It’s good. That’s what we need. We need local autonomy”

    True . Yet there are about 21 senators who live in Manila representing the provinces. That’s not local autonomy in terms of governance. Its too centralized, don’t you think?

    Pimentel’s proposal on 80/20 is fiscal federalism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiscal_federalism

    There are many types of Federalism. The Philippines can develop its own unique model of federalism based on the various models that have been adopted by other countries.

    http://www.kas.de/proj/home/pub/69/2/year-2002/dokument_id-3228/index.html

    “Bakit ba hindi natin harapin agad ang tunay na pagbabago? Bakit kailangan pa nating sumayaw ng CHACHA?”

    Decentralization of power for local autonomy can be effected only through amendments of the Constitution.–Chacha…

41. Psi, compared to a province or a city, a State is hardly the entity that could kick-start economic development. For one thing, how many years will it take for a State to be able to walk on its two feet? For example, what economic progress has ARMM initiated since its birth? Yes, there will be less control and bureaucratic red tape from imperial Manila, but more of it will take place in the States!

    You worry about duplicate costs and functions? You must worry more about 75 Senators and 350 Congressmen! Worry about 10 or 11 set of bureaucracies instead of only one!

    Leytenian, in a highly decentralized system Senators are almost a redundancy. They may be allowed to concentrate on national and international affairs, rather than on parochial matters which the LG officials can very well take care of. You said that the “senate is a drag to our economy.” So, why create more of them? If we move to unfamiliar territory we would be squandering the lessons learned from past mistakes. We know that our unitary system is not perfect, but at least, we know why it is not so. The problem is half-solve if we know what it is.

    I think we are already spending too much for legislation. Do you know how many artesian wells could be built with the amount used to maintain one municipal or city councilor? How about Senators and Congressmen? So much expense! All for what?

42. Leytenian: There are many types of Federalism. The Philippines can develop its own unique model of federalism based on the various models that have been adopted by other countries.

    Comment: Let’s vote for federalism now. Talk about the type later. Isn’t this rather reckless? Why don’t we, instead, explore how far we could go with local autonomy under the present Charter?

    Leytenian: Decentralization of power for local autonomy can be effected only through amendments of the Constitution.–Cha

    Comment: What is your basis for saying this? We have a LG Code. Is that the limit on how far we can go with local autonomy? Does our Charter say we can’t go 40/60? Or even 10/90?

43. “he latest news is that Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter is 7-months pregnant. What a surprise this is to the McCain staff!”

    Surprise ba yan eh immoral nga ang condom eh. So natural lang na mabubuntis.

44. “I’m voting Democrat because I believe that no borders should exist and I think it would be a good idea to learn another language (or two).”

    That’s already a reality in Schengen Europe.

    And maybe soon, we ASEAN nations will remove our borders to allow free movement of peoples.

    Hay naku, I can’t help it. I’m so socialist.

45. Before becoming mayor, Ms. Sarah Palin was a member of the Alaska Indepedence Party, seeking Alaska’s separation from the federal union of the USA. Apparently, she was vetted her for four days without asking questions from a single Alaskan official.

    Talk of judgement.

46. but Master Yoda: for over 5 years 1967 to 1973, John McCain was not in a position to ask questions from Alaskan officials, much less have a Miss Alaska beauty contestant to chat with.

47. From The Telegraph of UK:

    “The party has lobbied since the 1970s for the right to hold a referendum on whether Alaska should secede from the United States. Its motto, “Alaska First”, contrasts sharply with the John McCain campaign slogan: “Country First.”

    It seeks “the complete repatriation of the public lands, held by the federal government, to the state and people of Alaska” and aims to be “self-sufficient” by using profits from Alaskan oil and gas resources. It claims that the vote held in 1958 which led to Alaska becoming the 49th state of the US was corrupt and did not offer a proper choice.

    http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/uselection2008/johnmccain/2667214/John-McCains-running-mate-Sarah-Palin-was-in-Alaskan-independence-party.html

48. You guys are better off discussing foreign politics than domestic politics. Foreign politics are more discernable and predictable.

    In Philippine politics, well, it depends who got the highest bid on coin-operated pekeng-periodistas.

    What these idiots publish is not what it seems.

    Good! Stick with foreign politics reported by PROFESSIONAL JOURNALIST. There you can have a informed decision.

49. Tax Joven,

    “Talk about the type later. Isn’t this rather reckless? Why don’t we, instead, explore how far we could go with local autonomy under the present Charter?”

    Of course, we can explore. Constituinal amendments or Chacha has been proposed by Ramos. How long do we need to explore?

    “The first Charter change attempt on the 1987 Constitution was under former President Fidel V. Ramos. Among the proposed changes in the constitution included a shift to a parliamentary system and the lifting of term limits of public officials.”

    “Under President Joseph Estrada, there was a similar attempt to change the 1987 constitution. The process is termed as CONCORD or Constitutional Correction for Development”

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_Change#Charter_Change_under_Ramos

50. Leytenian,

    I think my questions are clear enough. Why you diverse isn’t.

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