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	<title>Comments on: Politics a la Philippines</title>
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	<description>&#34;lines that expound fact or figment of my imagination&#34;</description>
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		<title>By: Lainy's Musings</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-55</link>
		<dc:creator>Lainy's Musings</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:16:28 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>[...] Politics a la Philippines  2. Independence Day 3. Lessons from [...]</description>
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<p>[...] Politics a la Philippines  2. Independence Day 3. Lessons from [...]
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		<title>By: star</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-22</link>
		<dc:creator>star</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 09 Jun 2009 07:13:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patrickstarj.wordpress.com/?p=5#comment-22</guid>
		<description>Sir, please wait for my daughter to become the president of the Republic of the Philippines, I can assure you that she can manage the whole philippines for the good of all Filipino people...heheheh..atik lang...please go to this link http://www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html  to see the country&#039;s hope and future.  hhahahaha..serious baya ko sir... :lol:

&lt;abbr&gt;&lt;em&gt;star’s last blog post..&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;Opening Remarks.&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/abbr&gt;&lt;/em&gt;</description>
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<p>Sir, please wait for my daughter to become the president of the Republic of the Philippines, I can assure you that she can manage the whole philippines for the good of all Filipino people&#8230;heheheh..atik lang&#8230;please go to this link <a href="http://www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html" rel="nofollow" onclick="urchinTracker('/outgoing/www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html?referer=');">http://www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html</a>  to see the country&#8217;s hope and future.  hhahahaha..serious baya ko sir&#8230; <img src='http://www.patrickstarj.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif' alt=':lol:' class='wp-smiley' /> </p>
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<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p><abbr><em>star’s last blog post..<a href="http://www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html" rel="nofollow" onclick="urchinTracker('/outgoing/www.star-chuu.net/2009/05/opening-remarks.html?referer=');">Opening Remarks.</a></em></abbr>
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		<title>By: Bottom Lines</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-18</link>
		<dc:creator>Bottom Lines</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Jun 2009 07:21:18 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description>Hahaha...Windy, what an impressive assessment of our political status in the region...Ive never met somebody who had that grasp of the state of affairs among neighboring ASEAN countries.   Never thought you&#039;ve been had too!  Indeed, misery loves company...</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Hahaha&#8230;Windy, what an impressive assessment of our political status in the region&#8230;Ive never met somebody who had that grasp of the state of affairs among neighboring ASEAN countries.   Never thought you&#8217;ve been had too!  Indeed, misery loves company&#8230;
</p>
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		<title>By: Windmill</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-16</link>
		<dc:creator>Windmill</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:55:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patrickstarj.wordpress.com/?p=5#comment-16</guid>
		<description>Ahhh POLITICS!

Nothing that I am about to comment here will make an iota of difference to the situation in the Philippines. Just small talk at best.

There is a common denominator amongst all South East Asian politics. What is happening in The Philippines is no different from its neighbouring countries.

Hence, my fellow Filipino Blogpals - you&#039;re not alone.

However, as I see the situation in The Philippines, what appalls me is that despite the high literacy rate and what I believe is a predominantly Christian/Catholic populace, the 7 Cardinal Vices seem to be the virtues of the past and present day.

Whitened sepulchres!!! The Church prelates add to the circus show. Did not Jesus of Nazareth say, &quot;Render unto Caesar what belongs to Ceasar and unto God what belongs to God&quot;? Meddlesome prelates have only added more cause for the powerful and avaricious to get a firmer foothold with slimy connivance.

If anything was wrong with President Marcos&#039; regime, The Philippines are none the better today; albeit even worse. Which would make President Marcos a hero just like his counterpart, President Soeharto of Indonesia.

At least during President Marcos&#039; time, the Peso was 3.2 to a Malaysian Ringgit. Today it hovers around 13.7 Peso. Foreign Investments in The Philippines was brisk during his tenure despite all the moan and groan but Investors were making profits.

Money Politics has destroyed South East Asian politics. It is true in The Philippines, in Indonesia, in Malaysia, in Thailand. 

It is incredulous how the poor who have suffered for years on end and for decades, they would for a twinkling of 30 pieces of silver betray their own well being and future at the poll booth.

And so life goes on, with an Actor who knows best how to kiss his leading lady actress or a Boxer who knows merely one word, K.O. - these are favourite potentials to lead the people of a Country in a World that has become ever more complexed.

Asians have never shown themselves worthy to lead their own. One cannot even point to Singapore as a shining example that Asians can. Singapore&#039;s &quot;success&quot; is hyped. The Media is the propaganda arm of the ruling Party and if at all success can be attributed to the two generations of leaders, it is merely the amount of mortar and sycophantic obeisance that pervades a populace which is forced into silent timidity.

It is also the iconoclasm and nepotism that prevails amongst Asians. The Gandhi&#039;s of India, the Lee&#039;s of Singapore, the sons of ex Prime Ministers of Malaysia, the daughter of Soekarno of Indonesia and its about the same fare in The Philippines too.
Why? even in Thailand its the same protestor(s) donning a Yellow T-shirt today and tomorrow a Red T-shirt to support whoever pays them to demonstrate. Have you ever seen the Yellow shirts and the Red shirts clash? I haven&#039;t. 

Even in Indonesia, it&#039;s big business. A politician will pay the Organiser to have demonstrators for a lunch pack, a drink, a pack of cigarettes and some small change. Several boats will bring in the demonstrators from neighbouring islands to the Capital. It&#039;s an outing for these islanders who would never otherwise have set foot in Jakarta.

And today, teems of Indonesians are regretting that they overthrew their President Soeharto who at least ensured that every Indonesian family had rice and basic essentials and at affordable prices.

Politics in all South East Asian countries is choreographed like some shadow puppet stage show to keep the people&#039;s tongues wagging and divided - so that they can rule them.</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Ahhh POLITICS!</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Nothing that I am about to comment here will make an iota of difference to the situation in the Philippines. Just small talk at best.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>There is a common denominator amongst all South East Asian politics. What is happening in The Philippines is no different from its neighbouring countries.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Hence, my fellow Filipino Blogpals &#8211; you&#8217;re not alone.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>However, as I see the situation in The Philippines, what appalls me is that despite the high literacy rate and what I believe is a predominantly Christian/Catholic populace, the 7 Cardinal Vices seem to be the virtues of the past and present day.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Whitened sepulchres!!! The Church prelates add to the circus show. Did not Jesus of Nazareth say, &#8220;Render unto Caesar what belongs to Ceasar and unto God what belongs to God&#8221;? Meddlesome prelates have only added more cause for the powerful and avaricious to get a firmer foothold with slimy connivance.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>If anything was wrong with President Marcos&#8217; regime, The Philippines are none the better today; albeit even worse. Which would make President Marcos a hero just like his counterpart, President Soeharto of Indonesia.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>At least during President Marcos&#8217; time, the Peso was 3.2 to a Malaysian Ringgit. Today it hovers around 13.7 Peso. Foreign Investments in The Philippines was brisk during his tenure despite all the moan and groan but Investors were making profits.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Money Politics has destroyed South East Asian politics. It is true in The Philippines, in Indonesia, in Malaysia, in Thailand. </p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>It is incredulous how the poor who have suffered for years on end and for decades, they would for a twinkling of 30 pieces of silver betray their own well being and future at the poll booth.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>And so life goes on, with an Actor who knows best how to kiss his leading lady actress or a Boxer who knows merely one word, K.O. &#8211; these are favourite potentials to lead the people of a Country in a World that has become ever more complexed.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Asians have never shown themselves worthy to lead their own. One cannot even point to Singapore as a shining example that Asians can. Singapore&#8217;s &#8220;success&#8221; is hyped. The Media is the propaganda arm of the ruling Party and if at all success can be attributed to the two generations of leaders, it is merely the amount of mortar and sycophantic obeisance that pervades a populace which is forced into silent timidity.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>It is also the iconoclasm and nepotism that prevails amongst Asians. The Gandhi&#8217;s of India, the Lee&#8217;s of Singapore, the sons of ex Prime Ministers of Malaysia, the daughter of Soekarno of Indonesia and its about the same fare in The Philippines too.<br />
Why? even in Thailand its the same protestor(s) donning a Yellow T-shirt today and tomorrow a Red T-shirt to support whoever pays them to demonstrate. Have you ever seen the Yellow shirts and the Red shirts clash? I haven&#8217;t. </p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Even in Indonesia, it&#8217;s big business. A politician will pay the Organiser to have demonstrators for a lunch pack, a drink, a pack of cigarettes and some small change. Several boats will bring in the demonstrators from neighbouring islands to the Capital. It&#8217;s an outing for these islanders who would never otherwise have set foot in Jakarta.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>And today, teems of Indonesians are regretting that they overthrew their President Soeharto who at least ensured that every Indonesian family had rice and basic essentials and at affordable prices.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Politics in all South East Asian countries is choreographed like some shadow puppet stage show to keep the people&#8217;s tongues wagging and divided &#8211; so that they can rule them.
</p>
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		<title>By: Windmill</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-15</link>
		<dc:creator>Windmill</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:15:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patrickstarj.wordpress.com/?p=5#comment-15</guid>
		<description>Hi Bottom Lines,

About italics. Over at the Editor, you may have accidentally mouse clicked the italics button. There is a row of buttons on top of the Editor box. Each Button procedures an effect needed in the contents that you are editing for publication at your Blog Post.

Over time, you will get familiar with the Buttons; at least the ones that are more frequently used.

Cheers!

&lt;abbr&gt;&lt;em&gt;Windmill’s last blog post..&lt;a href=&quot;http://dfoolonthehill.com/?p=3354&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;June 2nd, Confucius says…&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/abbr&gt;&lt;/em&gt;</description>
		<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Hi Bottom Lines,</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>About italics. Over at the Editor, you may have accidentally mouse clicked the italics button. There is a row of buttons on top of the Editor box. Each Button procedures an effect needed in the contents that you are editing for publication at your Blog Post.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Over time, you will get familiar with the Buttons; at least the ones that are more frequently used.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Cheers!</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p><abbr><em>Windmill’s last blog post..<a href="http://dfoolonthehill.com/?p=3354" rel="nofollow" onclick="urchinTracker('/outgoing/dfoolonthehill.com/?p=3354&amp;referer=');">June 2nd, Confucius says…</a></em></abbr>
</p>
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		<title>By: Lainy</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-14</link>
		<dc:creator>Lainy</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:23:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patrickstarj.wordpress.com/?p=5#comment-14</guid>
		<description>Very well said, Sir! 

Our political leaders have  tried to run the government with negligible conscience. Poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But because we come from a Third World Country, I thought everything is just normal. I used to think that we are surrounded by extreme criminalities and corruption because we are impoverished. But news on TV tells us that this doesn’t hold true.

To see these educated, honorable crooks calling each other names and accusing each other of crimes that they themselves are guilty of, I feel so ashamed for having to share the same nationality with them. I feel so worthless for I can not do anything for my country. Political leaders are big disappointments. Scandalous government deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time lawyers on the wrong side of truth and justice. These are only but a few of the scenarios that have gotten our country berserk. We are saddled by politicians’ too much hunger for power. They hang on and cling to power even when they know within themselves that they have betrayed the Filipino’s trust.

I am not losing hope for our country. Just like many other Filipinos out there, I dream of something better for the Philippines. It is the only country I call “mine” and there’s no other place that I could consider “my home.” I want to shout to the entire world that what they hear and see in the news everyday are not all true. 

Not all Filipinos are crook; not all Filipinos are corrupt. There are still more Filipinos’ who are willing to make a stand- to stand for what is right and just.

&lt;abbr&gt;&lt;em&gt;Lainy’s last blog post..&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.lainyonline.com/?p=582&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;Thank You!&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/abbr&gt;&lt;/em&gt;</description>
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<p>Very well said, Sir! </p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Our political leaders have  tried to run the government with negligible conscience. Poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But because we come from a Third World Country, I thought everything is just normal. I used to think that we are surrounded by extreme criminalities and corruption because we are impoverished. But news on TV tells us that this doesn’t hold true.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>To see these educated, honorable crooks calling each other names and accusing each other of crimes that they themselves are guilty of, I feel so ashamed for having to share the same nationality with them. I feel so worthless for I can not do anything for my country. Political leaders are big disappointments. Scandalous government deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time lawyers on the wrong side of truth and justice. These are only but a few of the scenarios that have gotten our country berserk. We are saddled by politicians’ too much hunger for power. They hang on and cling to power even when they know within themselves that they have betrayed the Filipino’s trust.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>I am not losing hope for our country. Just like many other Filipinos out there, I dream of something better for the Philippines. It is the only country I call “mine” and there’s no other place that I could consider “my home.” I want to shout to the entire world that what they hear and see in the news everyday are not all true. </p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Not all Filipinos are crook; not all Filipinos are corrupt. There are still more Filipinos’ who are willing to make a stand- to stand for what is right and just.</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p><abbr><em>Lainy’s last blog post..<a href="http://www.lainyonline.com/?p=582" rel="nofollow" onclick="urchinTracker('/outgoing/www.lainyonline.com/?p=582&amp;referer=');">Thank You!</a></em></abbr>
</p>
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		<title>By: Bottom Lines</title>
		<link>http://www.patrickstarj.com/?p=5&#038;cpage=1#comment-13</link>
		<dc:creator>Bottom Lines</dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:10:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://patrickstarj.wordpress.com/?p=5#comment-13</guid>
		<description>Hi, Windy.  Can&#039;t get why all the words in my post became italics.  Might have typed the wrong key.  I was not able to access my site for almost 5 days.  If not thru Lainy, it could have taken me 40 years to edit my blogs. .. :smile:  

Thanks, again for the wordpress, whatever that is.  I&#039;m not really that blogger yet and certainly not a good techno buff...

Salamat...


Bottom Lines</description>
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<p>Hi, Windy.  Can&#8217;t get why all the words in my post became italics.  Might have typed the wrong key.  I was not able to access my site for almost 5 days.  If not thru Lainy, it could have taken me 40 years to edit my blogs. .. <img src='http://www.patrickstarj.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_smile.gif' alt=':smile:' class='wp-smiley' />  </p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Thanks, again for the wordpress, whatever that is.  I&#8217;m not really that blogger yet and certainly not a good techno buff&#8230;</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Salamat&#8230;</p>
</div>
<div title='Click to quote this paragraph in your reply below' class='clickquote'>
<p>Bottom Lines
</p>
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