He said: “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” – Luke 21:3-4 “The old Washington Consensus is over.” The declaration which was made by U.K. Prime Minister [...]
A pill to cure onion-skinnedness
April 11, 2009 By 42 Comments
Over the nine years of Get Real Philippines‘ illustrious history, I’ve elevated to a fine art the rendering of the rich world of Filipino cultural dysfunction in the written word. As such, I’ve been reflecting lately on the many admonitions I get from my readers to go the whole nine yards and propose solutions — [...]
What’s so wrong with being called a “servant”?
April 8, 2009 By 82 Comments
I have a simple question to ask in light of all the hollowheaded feelings of being “insulted” by the Philippines being labelled “a nation of servants”: What is wrong with being a “servant” anyway? Why feel “insulted” when called a “servant” when one is in fact earning an honest living working as a servant. If [...]
7,000 OFWs March In Protest Against Discrimination
April 7, 2009 By 12 Comments
The Chip Tsao controvery resulted in a blacklisting of the controversial writer because of his article that had many Filipinos protest against what many feel was discrimination against Filipinos. After Chip Tsao apologized for his article, he also added that he would like to visit The Philippines in the future.
The “empowerment” of dimwits
April 2, 2009 By 20 Comments
I recently skimmed through noted Filipino blogger Manuel L Quezon III‘s apology for an apparently ill-thought-out remark he published on his Facebook page that is related to this whole Chip Tsao triviality currently raging across the Philippine blogosphere. So armed with just a superficial knowledge of this little affair I might step up and throw [...]
Choosing when to fight
April 1, 2009 By 21 Comments
The two issues that our country face today, namely, that of Chip Tsao’s brash satire on Manila’s claim to the Spratlys, and the ongoing crisis on the kidnap of the ICRC workers, reminds me of a verse in Sun Tzu’s Art of War: Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: [...]
In Praise of Chip Tsao
March 31, 2009 By 138 Comments
I don’t see why my good friend Manolo Quezon should find himself apologizing to Reyna Elena for correctly appreciating the literary and journalistic nature of Chip Tsao to begin with. (He apologizes for something else but it’s actually beside the point.) The recent satirical piece on the Spratley Islands brouhaha between China and the Philippines [...]
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
March 31, 2009 By 22 Comments
Every journey has to start from somewhere. This could have began like many mornings at Figaro’s along Emerald Avenue. I’m at my favorite spot, by the window, right under the air conditioner, sipping my latte and eating a sandwich. Every morning, 32 oz of latte. Five years back, there was hardly any pedestrian walking at six thirty [...]
Zubiri asks DFA to file formal diplomatic protest vs. HK’s Chip Tsao
March 31, 2009 By 13 Comments
Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri asked the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to send a formal diplomatic protest against Hong Kong columnist-broadcaster Chip Tsao. “In the name of fellow Filipinos toiling abroad and dispensing with their jobs as best as they can, I ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to immediately send a formal [...]
When discriminated…
March 31, 2009 By 22 Comments
The To Kit “Chip on his shoulder” Tsao discrimination scandal shouldn’t be taken that lightly as some op ed columnists write. While we can typically challenge ourselves to be better Filipinos, service workers, managerial workers or rulers of the galaxy and the infinite multiuniverses, the challenge should come from a frank criticism of our weaknesses [...]
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