camiar

US assassinated Qasem Suleimani, the Iranian military commander leading the proxy wars in the middle east against the US and Saudi Arabia.

Iran vowed to avenge their hero's death.

Is Suleimani's assassination part of the US and Saudi Arabia's retaliation to a drone swarm attack on Saudi's major Oil Processing Facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais? US and KSA accuse Iran to have been behind the attack and Germany, France, and UK jointly stated that Iran should be held responsible for it.

How do you think Iran will retaliate?

Phase out older models of vehicles in general

I have a 21 year-old Honda CRV.

It starts instantly, It still runs beautifully.

I used to have it maintained regularly at Honda service center for the first 15 years, but I found a shop in Banawe in the last 5 years that can provide satisfactory but cheaper service.

As long as I stick to its recommended maintenance care, it will continue to run reliably indefinitely.

Why phase it out?

I would agree to additional stricter tests for older cars (e.g. dynamo-meter test, emission test, equipment integrity and safety inspection,etc...) but as long as the car pass those tests, it should be declared roadworthy.

 

Two-child policy...

Filipinos are now more than 105 million... and with population growth rate of 1.5% per year, we will be in deeper crisis...

 

Singapore had two-child policy to control their population growth during the '70s. Now they are regretting it because now there is a high percentage of old people and not enough young working-age Singaporeans to sustain the retirement benefits of the growing aged population.

China had a one-child policy. Because of Chinese preference for sons, there was a rise in abortions of female fetuses, and the number of female babies killed, abandoned, or placed in orphanages increased as a result of the policy. Now there are more than 33 million more males than female in China. Skewing the population balance.

Even when China rescinded the one-child policy, the fertility rate remained low. They are now facing a rapid rise of ageing population and fast shrinking workforce.

Limiting the population growth rate through artificial means is bad policy.

Educate the Filipinos about responsible parenthood. But do not impose restrictions on haw many children they can have.

As long as our economy grows 2-3 % faster than our population growth, we're OK.

Sa mga ayaw mag divorce, wala naman pipilit sa inyo mag divorce kung ayaw ninyo, pero sa mga gusto they should have that option. And that's the practicality the rest of the world are doing.

Wala namang namimilit mag-divorce, kasi, di puede. Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines. So for those who don't want to divorce, it's no problem for them. For those who want to divorce, they simply can't. They don't have that option.

Just because other countries allow it does not make it morally right.

you can check the argument in the Falling for a Therapist Thread which is yet to see the light of day.

I don't see any post by him in the last few pages of the Falling for a Therapist thread.

Here in the PEaCE thread, at least, I haven't seen any post from him that would merit his getting banned.

Why was he banned in the first place?

After the last May elections, a couple of yellow trolls have already learned to shut up while the game is still in play. Some still haven't learned their lesson.

I googled Fr. Julian Mazana to find out what he looks like.

Still looks young and athletic.

I wouldn't be surprised if he's still capable of "doing acts unbecoming on a man of God".

Well maybe majority of the masses are not vocal or afraid to voice out about divorce. It's going to be a different outcome once divorce is already a legalized.

 

I'm not for divorce but yes, the formation of family foundation should be solidified.

 

Why would they be afraid to voice out their thought on divorce? We have one of the freest freedom of speech in Asia.

I would rather believe it's irrelevant to them.

There are actually so many scholarship slots offered by DOST and CHED, and I’m telling, they are having a hard time filling up these slots with bright and intelligent students, and many of these scholarships go to average-undeserving students.

 

Many of these recipients do not even finish their degrees.

 

Now we are asking for free education for all? SMH

I don't know where you're coming from when you say they cannot fill DOST and CHED scholarships with bright and intelligent students, and they are passed on to "average-undeserving" students. Do you have first hand knowledge of this?

I had the privilege of hiring DOST and CHED scholars, and I can attest from those the I hired that they are all deserve the scholarship.

If DOST and CHED have difficulty getting enough "deserving" scholars. it's probably because of the conditions they impose on the scholars, particularly the requirement for them not to seek employment abroad for a number of years after graduating. They used to have travel restrictions, too.

Many scholars not completing their course? Probably not the whole story. They probably just changed to another course during their final years to get out of the scholarship and be free from the restrictions imposed on them.

 

Hardly the point.

If, as you say, China is trying to woo us then why is it "we should not prod China into imposing their power over our weakness?" Seems contrary to think we have leverage and then to also cower because we cannot use that leverage until we develop muscle. Then it isn't really leverage, is it? As for biding our time, wasn't that the reason PNoy went to the UN, to stave off a threat while we were not able to deal with it militarily? I don't get the inconsistency and especially don't get this deep faith in Duterte's abilities.

As I've said on this thread many years ago, occupation almost always amounts to ownership. Other presidents gave up our islands, I get what Duterte is saying, he's been dealt a difficult hand. But to say he is doing well on this issue is quite the leap. All many of us see is a continuing weakness on his part. I had hoped, given all his bluster during the beginning, that he'd at least be as bold as he was with Canadian garbage.

 

It is already a given that China can use its military might very effectively against us, at the moment. Our military move against China will only prod China to act militarily, too, tit-for-tat, which can be quite overwhelming for us. The artificial islands in one clear point. We, and the great US of A, just stood by and watched them prove to us exactly what they can do to exploit our weakness and the US impotence in the issue.

Yes, we won the Arbitral ruling, but the job of executing the Arbitral Court's ruling falls on us, the Philippines. But we are too weak to do that. No other country would be willing to go to war with China just to enforce a ruling that will benefit only us. We are left on our own to claim and defend what is ours.

Forget the USA. They have become impotent. They can no longer fight for us.

I am in full support of our government's move to strengthen our external defense capability, precisely to counter China's expansive moves into our Exclusive Economic Zone, relying less on the USA, and more on our closer neighbors in Asia.

But that will still take several years.The only real and practical choice left to us at the moment is diplomacy and international political pressure.

 

It's like having a non-graduate of a pilot school, pilot the plane.

Wrong premise.

Making the laws of the land requires integrity and wisdom, not legal skills. A law graduate, with all his legal skills does not guarantee his integrity nor his wisdom.

At di mo ba pansin, pag involved na ang abogado, lalong magulo.

Volume is the issue, too many 4-7 seaters.

 

Add more trains, buses, push for carpooling atleast 4 people

 

take out private vehicles (send them to the provinces)

If volume is the issue, then the answer is more roads and have the alternate routes cleared of illegally parked vehicles. That's being done. Traffic is still heavy in EDSA and major routes. But it's easier to drive now in alternate routes that have been cleared.

We are adding more trains and more lines. That's being done.

Yes, there should be more buses, taxis, school buses and Grab. There should be less jeepneys, and tricycles.

They tried carpooling lane in Los Angeles. It didn't work there. It wouldn't work here.

Take out the private vehicles? Obviously you don't own one.

They already have an airstrip near us, have their claws dug in, why build more islands at a time when they're hurting economically.

 

Point is, I don't think anything they do or don't do with regard to the WPS is because of Duterte.

 

Also don't think China needs us to send a message to the US. We're not that important to either nation.

You'll be surprised how strategically important the Philippines is to them.

The Philippines is part of the First Island Chain. These are island nations who are allied to the USA, namely, Japan, Taiwan, Philippines, etc.. that forms a chain surrounding the South China Sea. The First Island Chain effectively keeps the Chinese Navy contained within the South China Sea. This is a specially useful advantage for the Americans in case hostilities break out between China and USA.

There's also the second and third island chains that form strategic US defense lines in the Pacific against Chinese naval threat.

The Chinese are acutely aware of this vulnerability. That is why they're trying their best to woo the Philippines into their sphere of influence.

And of course all Philippine presidents, including Duterte, knows this. Each of them have their strategies on how to play their cards with both USA and China. I observe that Ramos, GMA, and Du30 played their cards well. Abnoy squandered his chances with wrong moves.

Bakit sa Singapore, wala namang First Class coaches ang MRT nila, pero nae-enganyo ang lahat na mag commute.

Abnoy had a lot of saber rattling and brave words to say against China about the West Philippine Sea.

Did it help? No.

We lost the Fiery Cross Reef (Kagitingan Reef) and Subi Reef (Zamora Reef) when China built their artificial islands on it.

And we just stared and watched them do it. To make matters worse, they used rock and soil materials quarried from Zambales as building materials!

China do what they did to us as a way to send a message to Uncle Sam, sort of using the Chinese idiom "killing the chicken to scare the monkey".

Right now, our military is not strong enough to enforce our sovereignty. We cannot rely on the USA to fight for us. We had to do it ourselves. We need time to quietly strengthen ourselves. In the meantime, we should not prod China into imposing their power over our weakness, because for now, we can't do anything about it. There is time in the future for that, when we have gained our strength.

China stopped further island building when Du30 came to power. If it is because of what you call "cowardice" response, i'd say, his strategy must be working.

I do the same. But you must admit, the optics were disappointing and the response left much to be desired.

That's how he keeps his detractors off-balance.

He rambles on and on in his speeches, knowing fully well that his detractors are eagerly absorbing his every word, looking for slips that they can use against him. What's funny is, he can always get away by saying he was just joking or he was taken out of context. Works everytime.

Ano ba yung bali-balita na 10 Million ang recounted na boto ni Leni at 15 Million naman ang bilang ng boto ni Bongbong?

^^^ I'm not sure exactly what the Raissa Robles leaked report is. Raissa has nothing but negative reports about the President, she has lost her relevance.

Regarding Digong's style of commentaries... three years into his presidency, we should have learned to pay attention to his actions, executive decisions, and policies, not to his rambling words and speeches.

I don't listen to his speeches. I wait for his official actions. I observe that his official actions are consistent with his program of governance. By focusing on his actions rather than his words, I have less confusion figuring out what he's up to.

 

Don't do they teach that already in schools? And you are right parents is the most important factor to instill family values on kids, If the kids have that divorce won't even have an effect on them. But we are not living on a perfect world and those couples may need the Divorce as a last option.

 

Also divorce stats in America is base on their culture not ours. How about the stats from the rest of the world. You mean only PH and Vatican are the only countries that have high family values or better family values than the rest of the world since they don;t have divorce?

It's human behavior. People always take whats seems to be the easier way out, regardless of the long-term effects on them and the people around them. It's true in any culture.

If you make it easy for couples to separate, they will always take the easy way out -- to separate -- instead of working it out, regardless of how much it will make the children suffer.

Many couples separate because one (or both) of them found another person who is more sexually attractive. It's a universal human sexual behavior, regardless of culture.

We do not claim the PH have higher moral values than other countries. But rather, that our families are more cohesive than in the USA.

 

Our family culture is very strong with or without the constitution recognizing it. Its been tested for centuries. Divorce is just an option to those couples that really need to go on separate lives.

Our annulment is very strict? Lahat ata ng lalaking annuled is mentally incapacitated. Pera pera din.

The constitution mandates the principles that the lawmakers should follow. The constitutions recognition of the family as the basic unit of society obliges the State to strengthen and protect the family as an institution.

Divorce is the major reason for the deteriorating family cohesion in America. 40 to 50% of married couples there are divorced. Only 68% of families today are made up of married couples, down from 93% in 1950.

Why not instead make a law to promote family values and the sanctity of marriage?

From CNN:

DOH: Dengvaxia mess a 'major reason' behind 2 million unvaccinated children

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2019/02/06/doh-vaccination-dengvaxia-mess.html

"...DOH Disease Prevention and Control Bureau Director said they were not able to include all children in their immunization coverage program since some parents' are apprehensive of its adverse effects, similar to the controversial dengue immunization program in 2014.

"The major reason, wherein we have a big drop from 70% in 2017, we had only 39% (coverage) in 2018, of course because of the Dengvaxia scare,"..."

And who is to blame for the Dengvaxia fiasco? TK421 and her paymaster Abnoy.

^^^^

Kanino dapat maniniwala? Sa inyo o sa Philippine Star?

You're free to believe or agree with Philippine Star's editorials and commentaries, but you are wrong to claim that they are historical facts.

Again, your inability to discern between opinions and facts shows your immaturity and gullibility.

Divorce Law - the rest of the world has it, why can't we? Are we that religious or are we the only country in the world that the church has control over the state.

It's not about religion. It just so happen that the RCC is also against it, but that's beside the point.

Our constitution recognizes the family as the basic unit of our society. We should preserve and strengthen the cohesiveness of the family.

Divorce will weaken the family as an institution.

We have a strict annulment process as a way for legal separation. That should suffice.