Posts tagged poverty
Teach the Man how to Fish
…and how to paddle and probably even build the boat, too—one step at a time, with not just one person doing the teaching part.
ODA (official development assistance) may no longer be that sustainable, considering the shifts of economic powers and political positions in the world order in the last half-decade. In the last two decades we also saw the rise of corporate foundations (CSRs), multi-laterals, development agencies and bi-lateral relations come to the fore in advancing global development.
So yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the launch of what the Catholic Church declares a period for abstinence, sacrifice and fasting. Today everyone eats bags of chocolates, dines in pricey restaurants, spends a fortune on flowers and f*cks like there’s no tomorrow in honour of another Church-devised icon. The pope has thus so rightfully quit his job. Who’s next?
Sex, Politics and Racism
There’s a racist in all of us, waiting to say it out loud given the right moment. But while we all have our own prejudices on or against certain groups or nationalities, there’s also a little part of us that craves for some understanding as to why we feel that way towards…them.
All jobs require English nowadays.
There is a direct line between the attacks on September 11, 2001 — the most significant instance of blowback in the history of the CIA — and the events of 1979. In that year, revolutionaries threw both the Shah and the Americans out of Iran, and the CIA, with full presidential authority, began its largest ever clandestine operation: the secret arming of Afghan freedom fighters to wage a proxy war against the Soviet Union, which involved the recruitment and training of militants from all over the Islamic world. Steve Coll’s book is a classic study of blowback and is a better, fuller reconstruction of this history than the Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (the “9/11 Commission Report” published by Norton in July).
It’s a good way to cap off this year. Now you all can suck it, Catholic extremists!
The fight is really loaded for the RH bill, but despite that, it was a close vote. Truth is not always determined by the majority…It is not determined by pork barrel, by dangling of government projects, by political convenience, or political whip. They have these to see to it that members of the Liberal Party follow what the President wants, but many did not follow.
Naturally, Reyes sounds off the staunch opposition of the Church to the RH Bill, embedded in a long tradition of keeping the Filipinos ignorant of the realities of poverty and social imbalance brought about by even the church’s abuse of power and influence in Philippine society. Heck, even these men in white robes
But by saying this, it let’s ask Reyes and the Catholic Church: And what, dangling your support and endorsement for national and local candidates in next year’s elections isn’t a game you in the clergy love to play? Don’t be kidding the people, this is not 1521. It’s the 21st century, for f*ck’s sake, Mr. Reyes.
It’s as if we don’t know that you people are lying to the people in poor communities about your antiquated morals and detached grip from reality, ripping them off of their money, refusing to pay taxes while maintaining luxurious lifestyles, murdering the so-called unbelievers, accepting bribes from officials you accuse to be corrupt, engaging in illegal ivory trade, harbouring criminals in your convents, investing in the Philippine Stock Exchange and sexually abusing little kids.
CBCP and Vatican, please wake up…or just sit with your computers and devote all your time on Josef Ratzinger’s Twitter account. You might learn a thing or two.
Europe’s struggling economies ‘most corrupt’, new survey reveals
The countries worst hit by Europe’s debt crisis are also thought to be the most corrupt, according to a new global survey. Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece all had the lowest scores in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index.
Manila’s Changing Skyline
When I left for grad school in 2005, what is now BGC (Bonifacio Global City) used to be nothing but a field of weeds, bushes and some residential towers you could count with just one hand. A short but fast forward to my return in 2009 and BGC resembled the mushrooming of office and residential towers of Dubai or Doha.
Field of Angels
Angeles City is known to many as one of the country’s food capitals for its exotic Kapampangan delicacies. People flock to the province for the food-adventure it offers, particularly the curious, the daring and the fearless. But little would we, even us Filipinos, know that it’s also thriving on another delicacy: strip clubs.
Development progress is about overcoming institutional blockages, usually underpinned by collective action problems. It is not, for the most part, about resource shortages or funding gaps.
An alarming consequence of Greece’s economic meltdown has been the rise of the virulently ultra-nationalist political party, Golden Dawn. In this week’s issue of TIME, we report on the group’s tactics and ideology as well as the political climate that feeds Golden Dawn’s anti-immigrant drive.
Hardly surprising, given the Greeks’ own history of xenophobia in general; and the current economic state coupled with their internal political tiffs.
And lying to the people, ripping them off of their money, refusing to pay taxes, maintaining luxurious lifestyle, murdering the so-called unbelievers, accepting bribes from corrupt officials, engaging in illegal ivory trade, investing in the Philippine Stock Exchange and fucking little kids are also God’s will?
Spot-on rendition of the war between pro-life and pro-choice camps. This image should be framed on the walls of the Catholic clergy, or be mass-emailed to all of them every morning to remind them of what their position really means. They probably don’t have a clue of what they are really fighting for. As if by sheer coincidence I came across this story, very timely as it is: How I Lost Faith in the “Pro-Life” Movement. Story in: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2012/10/how-i-lost-faith-in-the-pro-life-movement.html. (Image a rep-post.)
What I like about this place…the girls are really very, very nice! They all speak English and, for an old white man like me, they are extremely friendly. Amazing!
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