Thank You Mr President

This image sent to me by my sister living in Florida , USA got me to thinking about the challenges facing all people , everywhere . Living in a third – world culture poverty is more visible than perhaps in a first world country but may soon be coming more visible in a country near you . 

With Obama having announced a 3.8 trillion plan to restart the American economy i suspect the numbers on the little girl’s sign will rapidly increase . Just wondering what the numbers might be if the child pictured were a Filipino ?

There are , of course , vast differences from being a citizen in a debtor nation like the US versus being one in the Philippines . First and foremost i suppose would be the fact that America has a tendency to print it’s way forward ( as in money ) but someone has to cover those printing obligations at some point in the future .

The US official Unemployment rate is now 10% + and the Philippines rate as 7% + though obviously the American rate is much closer to the reality of everyday life than the Philippines figure. Playing games with the numbers by using ambiguous references such as “under – employed” or “not seeking” doesn’t really fool anyone  except the people who put out the numbers in the first place . 

And , there is a huge difference in being unemployed because you can’t find a job that you really want to do versus not finding a job simply because there aren’t any or aren’t enough to go around . Also , obviously first world countries have much more extensive social networks for folks to fall back on than does the Philippines .

Just wondering if the economy in the US gets bad enough if people will start taking jobs simply because its a job and not because it meets their standard of financial reward ? Some already are of course but the longer this drags out i suspect the larger the percentage will get . And , if that happens , how does that impact the Filipino OFW ?

I have often heard/read the complaint that the only reason illegals are acceptable within American culture is because Americans won’t work for low wages or perform certain types of work but that argument is wearing thin . Have also heard that America  will never close it’s doors to those from abroad but the fact is that the doors not as wide open as it used to be .

With the current financial pressures being applied to the American citizen and given it’s aging population one wonders what the future might hold . No , America will never completely shut off the foreign pipeline because it needs foreign workers but to suggest that it will always have a high demand for such , especially the unskilled or casual worker variety , i suspect is just playing Ostrich . 

And , despite the fact that the Philippine government likes to tout the success rate of employing OFW’s as nurses or other health care workers the vast majority of Philippine OFW’s are classified as unskilled or casual labor . And , as any one knows that has ever lived in America , sooner ot later , the everyday person will have an increase in taxes and a decrease in services .

As the US government becomes more centralized and states continue to lose influence you have to wonder where it is all heading ? An article i read this morning says most Philippine OFW’s are re-hires and not new hires and that there is a 40% shortfall on providing Filipino OFW’s due to lack of skills . The article relates to OFW employment world -wide and not just in the US .

Here’s hoping that the next photo i see of a future generation child holding a placard regarding it’s debt obligation is not a Filipino .

Ok , so it ain’t Memorial day but you get the idea . I have managed to sit at the computer long enough (10am) till the skies cloud over and it looks like the daily rains are approaching which of course means no yard work . 

The wife is at another church function after having spent hours preparing for another presentation of some sort . Sounds like a “test” to me .  My step-daughter showed up last night from college with 3 roomates ( unannounced , of course ) .

Is the Philippines the only country in the world where practically everyone owns a cell – phone but never uses to inform someone of an arrival in advance ?  And how do you equate her and her friends being in front of the tv watching cartoons as a college field – trip . 

For that matter is watching cartoons indicative of the intellectual level i am paying for my step – daughter to achieve while attending college ?  Could be worse of course as they could be watching Wow – Wow – We .

Then there’s the 29 junk “adult” messages i received in my spam folder overnight no doubt courtesy of the guy/guys that were identified as trolls in a previous article .

Seems he is upset with me because i don’t play fair by publishing his comments . Never mind the fact that he doesn’t even have a valid e-maill address to send anything to much less publish a comment . 

And how is your weekend going ? 

Artistic Conception

According to Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center “black holes” are really just the evolutionary end point of of massive stars . According to Hollywood ( and Dr Spock  and the Enterprise crew ) black holes are ‘time – traveling” tunnels to other dimesions that permit one to go back or forward in time . Either way , i am convinced there is one hovering somewhere out there over CDO or at least over my neighborhood . 

Again , according to Nasa , if a star undergoes a supernova explosion it will collapse in on itself and in the process create a gravity field so strong that nothing can escape it , including light . And i am convinced that’s what happening to various items from our house .

Either that or the ET’S ( extraterrestrials )  are grabbing them though for the life of me i can’t comprehend why they would need localized maps , a book about age – regression , a Linux installation CD or bars of soap .  For that matter maybe they are coming through that very black hole to collect souvenirs out of curiosity .

Now , i can understand why the cement blocks in the wall running around the house disappear from time to time . Because this is the Philippines and because someone needed them and because this culture seems to have a “don’t ask , don’t tell” policy .  Or , if it were the rubber tongs left on the front porch i could blame it on the cats or even Larry , the lizard .

But cats and lizards don’t read , use computers or use soap bars to bathe so obviously that can’t be the answer . Besides , the missing items were all in doors and except for Larry on rare occasions or the cats when you leave the front door open and they smell food those guys don’t customarily visit .

Now , granted this may be a far out theory as when i mentioned a “black hole” to my wife she started talking about some hole “underneath” she heard about in regards to CDO . 

Ok , i know what’s coming next . Since we can’t see a black hole in the first place how do we know they exist ? According to Nasa , because as they pass through inter – stellar matter they pull matter in , heat up , gain kinetic energy and are squeezed by tidal forces they emit x-rays and x-rays are detectable . But the real reason i know they  exist is because the Klingons used to come through them . 

Klingon

Now , i don’t know about the book , the cd or the maps but this fellow does look as if he could use a bar of soap .  There are other theories of course such as “worm holes” , “wak wak”, “ascension” and various other types of dimensional shifts but i am sticking to the “black hole” theory because they are scientifically proven to exist . 

You , however , are welcome to submit other theories based upon no particular point of reference but please , no “pink elephant” jokes . 

I had a fairly good day yesterday as i have been in the process of downloading a series of videos for a research data base i am building . When i say a good day that means that a 2 – 3 minute download for those with a real cable connection was only taking 20 – 30 minutes . 

Those expats living in the Philippines will understand and for those that don’t understand then perhaps you haven’t visited/lived in a third – world country .  Anyway , just as i was dozing off while viewing the latest National Geographic episode of another upcoming Earth calamity my wife informs me that we were going to get a pig .

Being resolute and just wanting to crash i basically ignored that remark , or so i thought . Unfortunately , my subconscious did not ignore that remark as it spent the night running pig scenarios by me by the bushel . I should have known better as by previous research i was aware of the best time to make a suggestion to the unconscious is just prior to falling asleep . 

I won’t go into all the possibile scenairos my subconscious presented me with but will say they included everything from seeing myself sloshing around in pig sxxx in knee high waders to listening to the neighbors dogs barking all night non – stop to not being able to sit in the living room with the door open . And all of this for weeks/months just to sell for less than a hundred bucks ?

I will admit to not being totaly unprepared for such livestock options as reminded of the time some of my wifes friends dropped off a box of chickens one night by sitting them down in the front yard and making a beeline back to their vechicle . Not being the farmer type i left them in their box overnight near the front porch and the next day got to watch them running around the front yard doing what chickens do . 

Upon awaking i also remembered my wife saying something about 1500p so i am assuming that would be the amount required for the purchade of a piglet ? Doesn’t matter to me because if i want to invest $30 + in pork meat i will go to the grocery store and buy it . Now , don’t get me wrong regarding livestock as i do appreciate those folks that have an interest in such pursuits but i am not one of those folks .

This morning my wife goes to church early so we didn’t have time to discuss this latest “money – making opportunity” . Then , wouldn’t you just know it that while sitting at the computer downloading i start to feel guilty ( trust me , you have a lot of free time while downloading with my connection ) .  So , to provide relief for my sudden influx of grief regarding my attitude i take to the wonderful world of internet pig research .

Didn’t have to go very far as “pig raising in the Philippines” will get you alot of stupendeous advice . I know for instance that raising a pig/pigs in a back yard environment in the Philippines is pretty common . Partly because there are no neighborhood ordinances regarding such enterprises in the Philippines but mainly because that’s what Filipinos do . I mean you probably couldn’t do that in  Makati City but city anywhere else seems to be pretty much open game ( pun intended ) .

Along the way here are a few things i learned about raising a pig/pigs:

Pigs grow fast. They grow from about 3 pounds at birth to market weight at 225 pounds in about 6 months. It takes some 10 months from the time the sow conceives until her pigs reach market weight.

Now , i have nothing against reaching market weight but 6 months ? And besides , i have no intention of wrestling around with a pig that weights more than me at my age .  I can still remember chasing the little critters around on the 4th of July for the fun of it but there ain’t no 4th of July here . 

And here is what i learned about how to choose a pig for raising in the first place:

• Young female swine should have a minimum of 6 pairs of well-developed and properly spaced function teats. If not, they are likely to have poor milking capacity.  ( You milk pigs ? )

• Teats that are inverted do not secrete milk, so choose pigs whose teats are not inverted.  ( This i could determine )

• Long-bodied sows are desirable because of the more space created for udder development.  ( So , how does one determine what is long-bodied when the piglet is small bodied ? )

• Body width is uniform from front to rear.

• When selecting breeding-animal, see to it that it has well-developed ham, loin and shoulder.  ( I ain’t breeding )

• Well-placed feet and legs. Medium short feet and short upright pasterns are preferable.  ( What’s a pastern ? )

• Select the biggest among the litter.  ( What if you don’t see the rest of the litter ? )

• Do not select young female swine that fail to secrete milk.  ( So , i have to wait around for that ? )

• Select vigorous pigs from a healthy litter in a herd raised under good swine sanitation. Do not keep gilts or boars nor breed from litters that have physical abnormalities for these may be inherited.  ( Does this mean you have to run a DNA test ? )

• In selecting gilt or sow, these pointers should be considered: clearly visible and well-developed primary sex organs, equal-sized testicles, pigs that have been proven and tested with traits that can overcome the defects of the herd, and ignore the minor defects in the pig that are present, provided that they are not present among the sows. ( So , who’s gonna check for that ? )

In summary , i found all the reasons i need to just “say no” . Of course , moma ain’t home from church yet . 

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States said Thursday that it was hauling the Philippines to the World Trade Organization over a dispute on taxes imposed by the Asian nation on imported whiskey and gin.

The US Trade Representative’s office (USTR) charged in a statement that the Philippines taxed imported distilled spirits at significantly higher rates than domestic distilled spirits.

Washington had requested for WTO dispute settlement consultations with the Philippines over the issue, it said.

“We are going to the WTO today because we want to ensure that US producers have access to their markets overseas,” USTR Ron Kirk said.

“Although the United States has raised this issue many times, the Philippines continues to tax distilled spirits from the United States at much higher rates than distilled spirits produced in the Philippines,” he said.

“We urge the Philippine government to eliminate that discrepancy and level the playing field for our exports immediately.”

WTO rules generally bar members from discriminating between imported and domestic products in their tax regimes.

The US government has raised concerns over the issue with the Philippines in the past several years, both bilaterally and in WTO forums.

In addition, the European Union had requested WTO dispute settlement consultations on these taxes in July 2009, and the United States joined these consultations and participated in meetings between the EU and the Philippines in October.

The first step in a WTO dispute is for both parties to consult formally.

If consultations fail to resolve the dispute, the United States will be entitled to request that a panel be established to determine whether the Philippines is acting consistently with its WTO obligations.

Between 2006 and 2008, US distilled spirits exports worldwide averaged more than one billion dollars per year, making it one of the world?s largest exporters of spirits, USTR data showed.

Comment

Why is it necessary to take this to the WTO ? Why not just reciprocate by taxing Philippine imports in the same manner ? Something tells me that would resolve the issue much quicker . 

On The Road To ?

This will be the first post desginated for a new category set up within this blog entitled Philippine News – From Around The World . In short , it will be articles published in foreign media regarding the Philippines in general and specific issues in particular . Along the way i suspect there will also be a fair sampling of opinion .

Guns and goons

Jan 7th 2010 | MANILA
From The Economist print edition

It is hard to imagine Philippine politics without them

AFPJust a little private enterprise

WITH national and local elections scheduled in the Philippines for May, an independent commission was due to begin work on January 7th on disbanding politicians’ private armies before then. The government appointed the commission after public outrage over the massacre of 57 people in the southern province of Maguindanao in November. The authorities accused a local politician and his armed followers of the crime—a charge the politician has denied in court.

Norberto Gonzales, the defence secretary, says there are 132 private armed groups led by politicians in various parts of the country, with a combined strength of about 10,000 armed men. Critics doubt that the commission can complete its task in time. Successive governments that might have disbanded these armed groups have failed to do so—mainly because they have benefited from their existence.

Sometimes, private armies augment the official security forces, and help defend communities threatened by communist or Muslim separatist guerrillas. Almost always, they keep local politicians in power by intimidating rivals and voters. Local warlords also use the threat of violence to ensure the election of politicians at the national level—usually those already in government or most likely to form the next government. National politicians return the favour by providing patronage to the warlords and turning a blind eye to the behaviour of their private armies.

An example is the political clan accused of the killings in Maguindanao. The clan was allied to the president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—at least until the massacre, when the governing party swiftly ended the alliance. The clan has (or used to have) several hundred armed followers. Many belonged to an officially approved militia supposed to support the security forces, and had government-issue weapons.

The commission will first have to decide what exactly constitutes a private army. Many politicians travel with large parties of official or private bodyguards. Some own licensed security-guard companies. The rank-and-file of private armies are often members of official police or military auxiliary forces.

Once the commission has decided which armed groups to disband, it can then do no more than recommend how to go about it. The police or the official army will have to do the actual work. Yet some armies (such as that in Maguindanao) are in cahoots with the police or the army. The commission’s critics suspect that armed groups will be disbanded selectively. The governing party’s presidential candidate is far behind opposition candidates in the opinion polls and Mrs Arroyo cannot run for president again. So the suspicion is that the armies of her allies are for the chop, but those belonging to her opponents will be allowed to soldier on.

The commission comprises a judge, police officer, and army officer (all retired), a broadcaster, a Catholic bishop, an Islamic scholar and an anti-crime campaigner. One member acknowledges that it will take political will to do in four months what previous governments have never seriously tried. And the will might be hard to find in a system where political power often comes out of the barrel of a gun.

Ok , the viulent stage of the “Expat Attack” disease has now commenced . I have nothing better to do .    My comments are within parentheses , all other statements are attributed to Mike , ie , hiding behind Yahoo . 

Now Mrs. Daisy Cline of Cagayan de Oro Philippines has stated on another forum that she holds charity events in brothels because that’s where her husband, Alan Cline, can be found. I want to address her statements. ( What my wife said was that Expats ( including me ) do meet at a night club here in Cagayan De Oro for the buffet prepared for expats and conservation ) . ( The fact that Mike considers a night club a brothel is his interpertation ) . 

Daisy Cline in the photos your husband, Alan Cline, looks very old so I can only guess that you are not his first wife. I also do not know what he has told you about American life but rest assured most men in America , except the type you see on Jerry Springer show, do not bring their wives to brothels like the one seen in link below. ( Link obnitted because i will not give this a-moron a public venue ) . 

( Yes , i am 65 and my wife is 46 . So what ? ) . ( But , at least i am living with a woman i married and not a woman that was legally married to another man .  )  ( Yes , Mikey , i know who you are . Did i not tell you , that what goes around , comes around ?  ) 

I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you did decide to hold charity functions in a brothel because it is the only place you could do it and have your husband included. However, I must ask if you do not condone pimping then why is your name connected all over the Internet to pimps, criminals and brothels?

( The above reference is to the fact that my wife is a moderator on other forums in the Philippines  and the fact that some of those other web – sites do in fact accept advertising . Wow , isn’t that a new idea  ? ) 

Mrs Daisy Cline, Do you expect as to believe these are mere coincidences? Did your father take your mother to brothels? Did your lolo take your lola? I ask as I am interested in why a lady of God and Charity is so connected to seedy persons. Do you not see the harm in supporting the very pimps who are profiting through exploiting the people you state you wish to help? Or are you there trying to bring the prostitutes to Christ?

( Nice try , because my wife happens to be a religious person . I am not , so a-hole if you want to get the dirty laundry out in public , that’s makes your laundry open for review .  And , trust me , your laundry is well – reviewed ) . 

In internet slang , a Troll is someone who posts inflammatory , extraneous , or off – topic messages in an on – line community , such as in a discussion forum , chat room or blog , with the primary intent of provoking other users into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on – topic discussion  ( Wikipedia ) .

Also considered to be folks that need to draw attention to themselves or that “have no life” ( Cline ) . 

Well . it does seem that the  Troll Road is quite congested these days as benefiting the holiday season based upon my receiving another e – mail from the individual that has apparently made it his personal mission to disseminate his opinion regarding a particular expat residing within our midst .

I won’t take the time to go into the sociological or psychological implications of folks who have a need to attack other while hiding behind the anonymity of the internet as that would take far to much time but should you have that need try Goggling “self – identity issues”, “low self – esteem” or similar .

Having grown up in American society i don’t pay much attention to criticism from unknown sources and especially those that do not know me personally but that is not always the case with my wife . As a Filipino she grew up within a culture where public insult is considered a shame or a matter of “losing face” .

Being a Christian she also has trouble understanding “why” a stranger would lump her and other members of a local charitable organization into an on – going tirade against a specific individual that happens to be an Expat . She fails to see , because of being married to an Expat , why she should be responsible for ” cleaning up the garbage” in her neighborhood”

In short , since when are all Expats or their significant others responsible for other Expats ? Just because i shop at Wall – Mart does that give me a direct connection to all the other people who happen to shop Wall – Mart ? Everyone is entitled to their view and when stated openly in a public forum i have no issue with that .

I do , however , have issues with those who want their views to be seen on public forums but are not adult enough to make themselves open to a response from others on that public forum . Standing up for your opinion does not include hiding behind false e – mail addresses and server tag .

Following is the message i received from my e – mail provider Google when trying to respond to the e -mail i received from Mr Iliadis .

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

Technical details of permanent failure:
Google tried to deliver your message, but it was rejected by the recipient domain. We recommend contacting the other email provider for further information about the cause of this error. The error that the other server returned was: 550 550 No Such User Here (state 14).

Author : EVAN ILIADIS (IP: 90.41.24.143 , ANice-157-1-113-143.w90-41.abo.wanadoo.fr)
E-mail : iliadisevan@yahoo.fr
URL    :
Whois  : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=90.41.24.143

My response to Mr Iliadis is taken directly from a quote in his e – mail to me :

” Please , stop covering up the garbage in your environment”