Philippines

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A progressive? I seriously hope you're joking.

I am.

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Just because someone stands up and tells Amerikkka to fuck off doesn't make them defacto progressive.

I agree, but who are we, among so many?

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If Duterte is your idea of a progressive,I wouldn't want to meet what you would describe as regressive.

Sadly, someone somewhere has to try to trump Duterte's ace.  That's how races to the bottom work.

Well, it wasn't sarcasm so much as facetiousness.  But here's a comparison of the two.

"sarcasm" wrote:

Dutarte is so awesomely progressive!  He's the mostest progressive progoressive ever!

"facetious" wrote:

How many "druggies" have to be exterminated by the government before the Phillipines can be free of Imperialism?

This goes to Michael Moriarty.

Your comment and my feeling are unfolding now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKX165_euXg

It's predictable and inevitable.

Traditioanlly the Philippine elite removes presidents who rock the boat too much in politer means, such as impeachment. (That's how they dumped Joseph Estrada in favour of his very establishment VP, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.) These sorts of power shift are politer and more subtle in Southeast Asia than is often the case in other parts of the world. 

Worth noting, then, that the current vice-president, Leni Robredo, is a member of the former ruling Liberal party and that current news stories have her scoring remarkably high popularity ratings across the country. I'd be surprised to see Duterte suffer an "accident" but not at all surprised if he faced protest and ultimately had to give way to Ms Robredo. 

KAIROS Canada is about to host a tour of Ontario and Quebec bya  delegation of progressive Filipinos, by the way - worth checking out for those interested in this fascinating country. 

Thanks Michael. They may be. But I think the Filipino ruling groups are probably able to do these things on their own, not as mere paid puppets of America. 

Philippines Senator Calls For Duterte To Face Crimes Against Humanity Inquiry

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/24/philippines-senator-calls-...

In The Guardian naturally. His real 'crime' is talking to China. 'To the Hague with him, regime change now!'

NDPP wrote:

In The Guardian naturally. His real 'crime' is talking to China. 'To the Hague with him, regime change now!'

You might want to read up on left-wing Filipino perspectives on all this. Walden Bello is one author who has spent his life fighting US military bases and imperialism in the Philippines, but does not endorse mass murders as a tactic of government. Or there's Jose Maria Sison, a main communist spokesperson and Duterte's former professor. There's a huge opportunity to for the Philippines here, but there's a danger of squandering it on a cult of personality and ignoring actual Filipino views by making this all about America and China - when t is about a whole lot more than that, and when Filipinos (not Americans or Chinese) are the authors of their own story. 

Is it too early for NATO to declare a "no-fly zone" to stop Duterte from killing his own people, and give the democratic opposition some space to effect regime change? I'm not close enough to the situation. If someone would kindly advise which Filipino opposition groups we should support, that would be much appreciated.

But will that be enough? Will we need to provide boots on the ground, or at least CF-18s, to help restore peace and human rights to the Philippines?

One thing is certain. Canada can't stand idly by while such events are unfolding. We need to re-establish our authority on the world stage.

[size=8]Irony. Just in case anyone thinks my account was hijacked.[/size]

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Sison also lauded Duterte’s vow to pursue an independent foreign policy.

“Maganda yun, that jives with the desire of the NDFP to have real and more of national independence because the Philippines is semi-colonial, sunud-sunuran sa Kano (That’s good, that jives with the desire of the NDFP to have real and more of national independence because the Philippines is semi-colonial, and is subservient to the Americans),” Sison said.

Asked if he will be giving the President a passing rate, Sison said yes but added that Duterte still faces criticisms over the alleged extrajudicial killings in relation to the anti-drug war.

He also said that the anti-drugs campaign of the government is publicly supported and agreed that the drug menace is widespread.

But Sison said they hope the government initiates “more crackdown on the top level drug lords”.

“Sabi ko nga eh, release all the political prisoners to make space for the drug lords (That’s why I said, release all the political prisoners to make space for the drug lords),” he said.

[url=http://davaotoday.com/main/politics/sison-is-satisfied-with-dutertes-fir... with Commuist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison[/url]

"deep ties" indeed...

The First Vietnam: The US-Philippine War

http://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/franciscofirstvietnam.html

"A million deaths?"

The US Aids And Abets War Crimes in the Philippines  -  by Marjorie Cohn

http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/07/22/us-aids-and-abets-war-crime...

"The jury in the tribunal found defendant Aquino and Defendant Government of the USA, represented by Obama, guilty of war-crimes and crimes against humanity."

A First: Duterte Admin Gets Majority Approval Across All Issues

http://www.rappler.com/national/149426-duterte-majority-approval-nationa...

"It's the first time that an adminstration got majority approval across all issues,' said Pulse Asia..."

Y'know, I understand that some people believe in a deity and will sometimes even talk to that deity. But when deities start talking back, it's a cause for concern.

The difference here is that your example is using metaphor and Duterte isn't.

Duterte Launches New Anti-Poverty Projects in Muslim South

http://v.aa.com.tr/674808

"Philippine president vows that Muslim Moro, other indigenous people in Mindanao will have equal share of national wealth..."

I had not heard that, Smith. Oh, man...

The murderous former pro-US dictator Ferdinand Marcos has been re-interred and is ow buried in the Heroes cemetery despite the protests of left-wing, church, and human rights voices. 

[url=http://www.philstar.com/headlines/2016/11/18/1645054/timeline-marcos-her...’s burial for Marcos: How did we get here?[/url]

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In one of its strongest statements against the President’s actions, the Communist Party of the Philippines said on Saturday that Mr. Duterte “exhibited gross disrespect and insensitivity” to the sufferings of Filipinos under martial law and could face mounting protests.

“In ordering the AFP to give Marcos hero’s honors, Duterte is proving himself a rotten trapo (traditional politician) who has no qualms working with the worst of the bureaucrat capitalists and gives premium to paying political debt and political loyalties even to the detriment of the people’s aspirations for historical and social justice,” the statement said.

The burial has also completed “the political resurrection of the Marcoses,” the CPP said....

National Anti-Poverty Commission chief Liza Maza, a former Gabriela representative, said she was a “martial law baby.”

“I have lived the dark years of Martial Law and was politicized by the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. I will never accept any revision of history. Marcos is no hero,” she told the Inquirer in a text message.

[url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/845934/leftists-rethink-alliance-with-duter... rethink alliance with Duterte over Marcos burial[/url]

The symbolic rehabilitation of the brutal kletpocratic Marcos dictatorship also drew criticism from the vice-president, Leni Robredo. 

Worth watching. 

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I get home, I turn on the TV set and I see the news about the rallies that took place nationwide, including the one on Katipunan. The nation is outraged by this burial. And I believe this is right. We have the right to be outraged because we know the truth. We young people know the truth. They can no longer hide or lie to us about what really happened during martial law. This is the reason we go out to the streets and protest, because we know better.

Thus, I am insulted by those who say the opinion of the youth is irrelevant. How they try to belittle and silence us because we are “too young.” They cannot dismiss the opinion of the youth because our relevance cannot be measured by our age alone. Just because they are older doesn’t mean that they know better. If they truly know better, they will be out there in the streets screaming injustice. But that is not the case. We may be young and we may be just students, but our knowledge can grow as much as in adults. Marcos was not a hero. He did not deserve to be buried in the Libingan. We know the truth.

[url=http://opinion.inquirer.net/99555/youth-and-hope]Youth and hope[/url]

President Duterte of the Philippines For Dummies

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/23/president-duterte-of-the-philippi...

"The louder was the hate speech from abroad and from local mass media outlets, the stronger Duterte's nation stood by its leader..."

Duterte has announced that Marawi has been liberated, which isn't totally true as the following article indicates. Unfortunately, in echos of a past war, they had to destroy the city in order to save it.

 Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared the southern city of Marawi liberated from pro-Islamic State militants on Tuesday, although the military said 20-30 rebels were holding about 20 hostages and still fighting it out.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-militants/philippine-pres...

Destroyed buildings are seen from a government sniper's position on the front-line of the battle against Islamic State-linked militants in the Philippine city of Marawi on Saturday. | AFP-JIJI

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/07/23/asia-pacific/galvanized-asi...

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"The louder was the hate speech from abroad and from local mass media outlets, the stronger Duterte's nation stood by its leader..."

Huh.  Here's who they're supporting.

Philippines’ Duterte says he stabbed someone to death as a teen

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“At the age of 16, I had already killed someone. A real person, a rumble, a stabbing,” Duterte said, adding that the stabbing was prompted by someone looking at him the wrong way. “That was when I was just 16… what more now that I’m a president?”

Indeed, sir.  Indeed!

Counterpunch, as always, thinks the pea is under the wrong shell.