HOORAY! Philippines!

[Shroom Man 777]

Double-think, man. Everyone goes to Church on Sundays and all that shit, but that's after a hard Saturday's night worth of boozing and sucking and fucking. We're a country of hypocrites, after all. But then again, what country isn't?

And the strict Catholics are the Old People, anyway. And it's the Old People who hold a lot of power. It seems like nowadays, the dissonance or gap between the Young and the Old has really widened - maybe more so than in past generations.

I've got a solution: Petition for Annexation to the United States of America.

If only, dude. The cynical young people often bitch about how America left us, since if we were an American protectorate or something, we could have fancy shit like dollars and could fly to the continental US without passports or something. Oh, but those Fat Old Fucks were oh so adamant about national pride! Oh national pride! The Philippines has a carabao! The Philippines has a monkey-eating eagle! The Philippines has the smallest monkey in the world! The Philippines had a president that was also the greatest thief in the world!

Where the fuck is your national pride now, you saggy old sons of bitches?!

Fuck them and the motherfucking carabaos they rode on.

[Glocksman]

Don't keep your thoughts bottled up, as it's not healthy to do so.
Seriously though, the Philippines benefited from being occupied in a period when the US was honestly examining itself WRT an imperial policy.

Could anyone imagine George Bush's government being willing to grant independence to the Phillippines no matter who was in charge?

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Don't keep your thoughts bottled up, as it's not healthy to do so.
Seriously though, the Philippines benefited from being occupied in a period when the US was honestly examining itself WRT an imperial policy.

Could anyone imagine George Bush's government being willing to grant independence to the Phillippines no matter who was in charge?

Never mind that, George Bush is more likely to support another "strong leader" in Philippines, much as Reagan did.

[Mlenk]

What I wonder is...... just how much political power the Catholic Church has in the Phillipines? After all, this would be the third People Power movement they been involved with, one would imagine that with this history behind them, they would be actively courted by any new politician.

Has the Catholic Church publicly stated their support for this? The news sources I've been reading haven't really mentioned the good ol' church.

[Z-Ha-Dum]

I've got a solution: Petition for Annexation to the United States of America.

People i know who lived during the American Commonwealth, like my parents, actually wanted that. They frequently compare the American colonial and post-independence eras and state it was better when the Americans were here and we should have been a U.S. state.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I've got a solution: Petition for Annexation to the United States of America.

People i know who lived during the American Commonwealth, like my parents, actually wanted that. They frequently compare the American colonial and post-independence eras and state it was better when the Americans were here and we should have been a U.S. state.

How much better really? As it is, the real problem is the political class wreaking havoc on the country with corruption. These guys have been around for decades and won't just go away just because Washington DC is where the main decisions are made. Sure, the military will become less of a problem, but it certainly won't stop the repeated demonstrations.

[Shroom Man 777]

Has the Catholic Church publicly stated their support for this? The news sources I've been reading haven't really mentioned the good ol' church.

Sort of. The Church and its bishops and priests and nuns do, like, prayer rallies wherein folks pray for the "betterment of the nation" - which is really everything short of praying for the President's resignation.

[Z-Ha-Dum]

How much better really? As it is, the real problem is the political class wreaking havoc on the country with corruption. These guys have been around for decades and won't just go away just because Washington DC is where the main decisions are made. Sure, the military will become less of a problem, but it certainly won't stop the repeated demonstrations.

The impression they gave me was that at the very least some influential outside power was holding the politicians' leash and looking over their shoulders so corruption was minimized. If any shit happened Mother America would have given a good spanking. The local military won't be a problem as well as the Philippine Constabulary then was supervised by Americans. So the country was better then since we didn't have those dignified crooks in large quantities and an armed forces who were hungry for power.

What it all boils down to is that Filipinos want economic upliftment, peace and order and a stable society. My parents say they had that during the colonial era and they watched in dismay as everything went downhill since independence.

Our problem is that we can't seem to get our act together and we trap ourselves in a vicious cycle of corruption, poverty, selfishness and instability (Wow! that says much about our Catholic country). The old people want America back because they miss the good old days of peace and order and the younger generations want to move to the US (or the other first world nations) because there are few if any opportunities for upliftment in the Philippines.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

The impression they gave me was that at the very least some influential outside power was holding the politicians' leash and looking over their shoulders so corruption was minimized. If any shit happened Mother America would have given a good spanking. The local military won't be a problem as well as the Philippine Constabulary then was supervised by Americans. So the country was better then since we didn't have those dignified crooks in large quantities and an armed forces who were hungry for power.

Well, in America, there have been instances where Congressmen get kick backs and so forth, so you could still have a fair bit of corruption.

What it all boils down to is that Filipinos want economic upliftment, peace and order and a stable society. My parents say they had that during the colonial era and they watched in dismay as everything went downhill since independence.

True. Also, I guess you guys would get some degree of federal funding to fund schools and so forth and other municipalities. Certainly goes a long way to building the infrastructure to get the country going.

Our problem is that we can't seem to get our act together and we trap ourselves in a vicious cycle of corruption, poverty, selfishness and instability (Wow! that says much about our Catholic country). The old people want America back because they miss the good old days of peace and order and the younger generations want to move to the US (or the other first world nations) because there are few if any opportunities for upliftment in the Philippines.

Ironic I can tell. Oh well, something drastic has to happen to get people moving to correct something.

[Mlenk]

The impression they gave me was that at the very least some influential outside power was holding the politicians' leash and looking over their shoulders so corruption was minimized. If any shit happened Mother America would have given a good spanking. The local military won't be a problem as well as the Philippine Constabulary then was supervised by Americans. So the country was better then since we didn't have those dignified crooks in large quantities and an armed forces who were hungry for power.

Well, at least the way I understand it, Marcos couldn't have stayed in power for as long as he had if the Reagan administration hadn't been supporting him. American support doesn't necessarily make all the problems go away.

[ray245]

HOY! Fingolfin, are you a Filipino? *waves*

No, your friendly neighbour in Singapore. Don't worry, I try not to be arrogant like some of my countrymen.

I know most Filipino hate singapore...but they really hate us that much?

Ouch. So much for our 'friendly' neighbour policy then...we pissed malaysia, Indonesia and thailand for gods know how many times.

Other than Brunei perhaps.

Back on topic, is it easier for Filipino to apply for a green card or become a US citizen compared to other countries?

[Mlenk]

Back on topic, is it easier for Filipino to apply for a green card or become a US citizen compared to other countries?

I'm not sure. All I know is that Filipinos make up either the 2nd or 3rd largest Asian group here in the US, behind or in the middle of Chinese and Asian Indians.

[generator_g1]

Back on topic, is it easier for Filipino to apply for a green card or become a US citizen compared to other countries?

Nope. There are some stories of families waiting for years to get their green cards or having to resort to illegally entering the US (called "T-N-T" or tago-ng-tago in the local language. Before the US embassy started giving interviews by appointment, you had extremely long lines in front of the US Embassy everyday.

Has the Catholic Church publicly stated their support for this? The news sources I've been reading haven't really mentioned the good ol' church.

The main Roman Catholic Church body hasn't yet come out and stated their wish for the president to leave, but there are various religious groups which are calling for the president to resign. But the biggest groups like El-Shaddai and the INC (Iglesia ni Cristo) haven't come out yet to push for the president's resignation. And the members in these orgs are literally sheep, they do whatever their leader tells them to do, who to vote, who to support. That's why politicians actively court these organizations during elections. Where else can you get a solid bloc of votes numbering in the millions?

Also Christianity in the Philippines is not all Roman Catholic, you get a lot of denominations and some may say cults. Many of them are also die-hard creationists like some posts in this BBS's Realm of Thought section.

I know most Filipino hate singapore...but they really hate us that much?

Many of my friends in IT would like to work in Singapore, they say that the environment of Singapore is far more favorable than working at home (besides the monetary compensation).

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

I know most Filipino hate singapore...but they really hate us that much?

Ouch. So much for our 'friendly' neighbour policy then...we pissed malaysia, Indonesia and thailand for gods know how many times.

Our civil service is notorious for its high handed arrogance, to be quite frank. And the constant exhortations that we are "the best" in the newspapers has a way of being infectious, if you go around reading some forums and look around.

[generator_g1]

True. Also, I guess you guys would get some degree of federal funding to fund schools and so forth and other municipalities. Certainly goes a long way to building the infrastructure to get the country going.

There has been some programs to divert investments and jobs from Imperial Manila to the provinces so these provinces can prosper and people in the rural will not have to go all the way to the capital to look for work and not find it. Most of the time, they would end up working menial wage or falling into crime, drugs etc.

Unfortunately, something always happen to derail these projects like those communist rebels attacking and burning civil infrastructure, the Filipinos electing an unfit leader for president etc.

[ray245]

I know most Filipino hate singapore...but they really hate us that much?

Ouch. So much for our 'friendly' neighbour policy then...we pissed malaysia, Indonesia and thailand for gods know how many times.

Our civil service is notorious for its high handed arrogance, to be quite frank. And the constant exhortations that we are "the best" in the newspapers has a way of being infectious, if you go around reading some forums and look around.

Hell, a british PR who wrote articles on Today has been influenced by our 'best in SE asia' thinking.

[Shroom Man 777]

Filipinos hate Singaporeans? I didn't know that. I don't really think that Filipinos in general hate other countries, since we're too busy hating our own countries and looking for other places to escape to. Singapore is a prosperous place and, given the chance, a lot of Filipinos would jump ship. 'Cause a lot of us have been raised with the notion of GTFO.

There might be some annoyance at Koreans though. They're coming to our country in DROVES! WTF's up with that?

And the Old White Men with their mail ordered Filipina wives. Seriously, they're growing in number every day!

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

Filipinos hate Singaporeans? I didn't know that. I don't really think that Filipinos in general hate other countries, since we're too busy hating our own countries and looking for other places to escape to. Singapore is a prosperous place and, given the chance, a lot of Filipinos would jump ship. 'Cause a lot of us have been raised with the notion of GTFO.

There might be some annoyance at Koreans though. They're coming to our country in DROVES! WTF's up with that?

And the Old White Men with their mail ordered Filipina wives. Seriously, they're growing in number every day!

Well, you did burn our national flag a few times if I recall during a controversy over a murdered flippino maid, and I think more recently some other incident.

[AniThyng]

Filipinos hate Singaporeans? I didn't know that. I don't really think that Filipinos in general hate other countries, since we're too busy hating our own countries and looking for other places to escape to. Singapore is a prosperous place and, given the chance, a lot of Filipinos would jump ship. 'Cause a lot of us have been raised with the notion of GTFO.

There might be some annoyance at Koreans though. They're coming to our country in DROVES! WTF's up with that?

And the Old White Men with their mail ordered Filipina wives. Seriously, they're growing in number every day!

Appearently from my chats with Filipino expats here, even Kuala Lumpur is considered to have better infrastructure then Manila. That's saying something