blackshama's commentary on Philippine issues

One of the major national security issues that face the Philippines and neighbouring countries is massive environmental changes that can cause the displacement of hundreds of thousands if not millions of citizens. As of this writing, metropolitan Bangkok is now being innundated by massive monsoon floods and the engineering interventions made by the Thai government in the last 20 years of rapid economic development are proving of very little use. The Prime Minister of Thailand  Ms Yingluck Shinawatra, has to call on the Thai armed forces to offer relief and rescue. Like the Philippines, the massive evacuation of thousands of citizens is a logistical challenge that will tax the capacity of the government of Thailand. However the Kingdom of Thailand is in a much better position to respond. Why? The Armed forces of the ASEAN countries have seen improvements in training, equipment and recruitment. These countries armed forces have enough strength to call in times of national environmen...

The families of the 19 soldiers killed in an MILF-Abu Sayyaf ambush in Basilan are now starting to bury their brave dead. The flag draped caskets are blessed by the priests, taps and the final salute is fired. The coffin is then laid into the tomb. At the end of these military ceremonies whatever the rank of the dead soldier, the flag is lifted from the casket before entombment and folded in the way that every boy scout learns on the first days of service to God, Country and People. The folded flag is presented by the senior officer on graveside duty to the spouse, or if the soldier is not married, to the parents with the words "A grateful Republic thanks your son/daughter/husband/wife for his/her service" The Republic will forever be grateful. The soldier does not guarantee freedom as mistakenly assumed by some. It is the Constitution that does so. The soldier takes the oath to defend the Constitution and rest of the citizenry are just asked to live it and perhaps de...

The Holy Church of Apple has given the Vatican a run for its money (or more accurately a run for its franchise on heaven) by ensuring by iPad acclamation that its founder Steve Jobs gets canonized as a saint. St Steve Jobs has been given a job as the patron saint of gadgets and this is just few days after his death. The Vatican says that there is a heaven but Catholics have to accept that on faith while non-believers seriously doubt that given the recent peccadilloes many of which are scandalous, by priests and bishops. In a sense St Steve Jobs has had it better leading a rather mysterious life and having a lot of cash. Many of the Roman Catholic saints led mysterious lives in the cloister or seeing mysterious things as visions or by dying for the Faith, but the main requirement is and was, to give away the moolah to the poor . Sounds familiar? It's in the Gospel! All these are quite remote for the typical layperson. Similarly St Jobs led a rather mysterious life far detached fr...