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Excuse my common sense approach in these matters, but all out war with conventional and/or nuclear weapons between major world powers seems to me to be something none of us should wish for, and also something none of these countries will actually engage in.
Sanctions, sure. Covert actions like cyber warfare, sure. Bombs and rockets, no way.
Don't make the mistake of comparing today's nuclear bombs with Hiroshima/Nagasaki. Devastating as they were, they're like baby toys compared to the destructive power of today's nukes. I assume none of you proponents of obliterating China remembers how large swaths of Europe couldn't harvest vegetables in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 because of fall out / radiated dust clouds, or more recently, how many people were displaced in Japan after the Fukushima meltdown, or longer ago, how the USA narrowly escaped disaster at Three Mile Island in 1979.
Please, let's keep everyone's toys in the pram, much safer.
Yes, China is on a long term path of exerting more influence on the world stage; their nine dash line claims in the South China Sea are only one venture on that path; the Belt and Road Initiative represents countless other attempts.
While the former is indeed breaching international law and as such should draw strong reactions from the international community, the latter is in many ways comparable with the Marshall plan after WW2, in the sense that the USA gained strong allied ties in return for their help to a devastated Europe after the war, and China is merely trying to achieve something similar now.
So no, their efforts are in no way selfless, and the West may be watching with trepidation, but to expect the most populous nation on the planet to keep looking inward as their economy is on the verge of overtaking the USA seems naive.

 

Just got back from a day trip to Cebu. It's like pre-covid at the port. Drive down, buy a ticket and drive on. Both ways. No documentation required whatsoever.

 

I read the article and I believe it was generally factual in terms of hard data presented. In terms of the commentary, I will note to non-US readers that America is actually a union of 50 sovereign states that choose to grant their federal government certain rights and responsibilities, for example, conducting foreign policy, to issue a national currency, military defense, a postal service, enforcement of certain federal laws, border controls and a few more misc items such as radio spectrum and setting up agencies like the FDA and CDC.

Any right not specifically so-granted remains in the power of the States.

The power to respond to weather catastrophes, civil disturbances and pandemics was never delegated to our federal government.

Be that as it may, the federal government does have agencies in place to assist in these emergencies. In my opinion the US federal government did rise well to the occasion by encouraging the manufacturing of ventilators, so many that we export them to countries in EU and other places that need them. It has taken other steps to nationalize drug and PPE manufacturing to greatly lessen dependence on foreign counties to have these when we need them. It has even assisted in the construction of special hospital facilities in certain hard-hit states and even commission navy hospital ships to assist the governors who for reasons beyond my understanding did not use them. Much federal assistance was available and done but not all was accepted.

But the operational and logistic responsibilities lies with the State governments alone.

The rest of the world, not knowing this, will naturally, in the present time, place the “blame” on the federal government as the supreme decision making authority responsible for 200K deaths + from covid which in the case of the US includes deaths that may include co-morbidities as being simply “covid”. That is how we do it and a deep dive into that rabbit hole (the CDC 6% figure) will serve no one.

What we have is 50 governors who each implemented their own plans, some doing a great job, others doing not so great. As the article states, history will be the judge and the further we go out in time, current political opinions begin to vanish and the facts (such as the one I just mentioned) come into light by more accurate historians. I am comfortable with that. Certain USA governors may not be.

It is not (or certainly should not be) a political or partisan US issue. The author was correct in stating history will be the final judge but he may be surprised as to what the final judgement may be after he remembers from his civics class 101 how the US federal government is actually structured.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

duterte will address the nation monday the 17th. he states the country does not have any money left to continue to strict quarentine in manila and surrounds. so logical to expect some easing of the rules in that area at least.

also the latest philstar report is that 2115 filipiinos have died of covid. i think its correct that around 600,000 filipinos die each year from all causes. there would be no human civilization at all if we always reacted to every threat as we have to covid. a strong economy is the first defense against any and all threats that a nation faces.

 

Most people would agree that something is better than nothing.
If you go back and look at the Meme. It says the surgical type mask is:

This is the mind control device part of a pandemic PSYOP

Some of us take the precautions in place seriously. Calling the mask part of a PSYOP is offensive.

 

Blackout/brownout...who really cares terminology, bottom line no one is happy when there is an outage. I've have not been to one of the substations to look at relay settings for their breakers. But guessing I would think that there has been rain lately so vines, trees and critters could be a reason for unscheduled outages...even tracking from dirty insulators that went to ground.

Speculation obviously but it does seem like there are less outages than even a couple years ago so hopefully with the slow infrastructure upgrades to their medium voltage lines will help the unscheduled outages. Scheduled outages will continue for the maintenance and the replacement of poles/lines that I've seen. Still sucks but it is what it is here.

Shawn

 

I have two wills, within each acknowledging the other will, basically saying what I own in Australia remains to my kids in Australia and what I own in the Philippines belongs to my partner (all individuals are named not just their status). The will in Australia was prepared by the same legal firm which has an office in Manila and which prepared my Filipino will.

P

 

From the date and time of death you have 24 hours to have the body cremated which will be 45,000 pesos at the Chinese cemetery at the back of the Capitol. The crematorium will not except the body after the 24 hours if the body is not embalmed. That is their rules like it or not.

Sadly I know cuz I have just cremated my good American Amigo RIP mate

 

I have had to watch Family members/friends here die from Leukemia (early 20's lady) Liver Failure (toddler) Stroke and Heart Attack (young and elderly) Dengue (child) Childbirth (young Mother and child) etc... After a while you seem to become hardened to it, but it does still affect you somewhat.

One was an 18 month old Baby. When I noticed his yellow eyes and skin I told the mother to take him straight to a Doctor. She said she had already done that, and that the Dr said it was normal. NOT to me! I insisted! Several months later, the baby became ill, and so she took him back to the Medical Centre, who referred her to a Specialist. Liver failure... He died a few months later. We gave money to help but could not afford the life saving operation nor the ongoing medication needed after a Liver replacement...

We gave money to try and help the young woman receive pain medication. We are not flash with cash, so it was too little too late. It is hard. What can you do? Bleed yourself dry?

In all honesty; if I were to fall seriously ill, I could neither afford treatment nor would I expect anyone to help, so I accept if I do fall seriously ill, then come what may. It is what it is here, we cannot live forever nor can we help everyone who does fall ill... This is life here in the Philippines, something that we all need to accept for what it is.

 

Yes I know that this is an old thread. Sense it has been brought back up I thought I should put in my 5 centavos.
First a little back ground on us;
I been married to a Dumaguete lady for 30 years. The first 22 years we lived in Alaska and returned to Dumaguete at least once a year. We retired here in 2010, 8 years now. I do my best to obey all the laws and that includes, "Republic Act # 10361". A couple of years back I down-loaded it and printed it out and filed it for future reference. At that time I was already doing most of what that law required of me as an employer and promptly corrected where I was lacking, mainly the 13th. month pay part.
My handyman, I call him "my man Friday", has been with us for just over 8 years now and I trust him completely. He started out as a temporary/part time laborer at ₱300 a day paid each and every day that he worked.
After my reading of "Republic Act # 10361" I put him under written contract.
Just before Christmas last year I called him into the office and informed him that I was not going to give him the forgone ₱2,000.oo end-of-the-year, Christmas bonus because of "Republic Act # 10361". I was however going to obey "Republic Act # 10361". I than ask him to sign his pay receipt, he did. I than told him to read what he had just signed. He did and a tear appeared in his eye as he realized that it was his law required 13th. month pay/bonus at ₱10,000.oo.
My point here is, I would have went on, in ignorance, giving him the ₱2,000.oo. if I had not read that "Republic Act # 10361".
I like living here in the PI.
Friday is still, this day, working for me.