#EDSA30

Thirty years ago, I remember my parents watching the evening news on TV-- I noticed it looked different that night as the newscasters were informally dressed-- then suddenly my parents erupted in joy. "Yaaaay! Wala na si Marcos!" I was told to hurriedly wear my only yellow shirt (I didn't like it because it was too small for me) and the whole family drove from Las Piñas to Manila. There was a lot of ruckus and blaring of horns along the road, people in yellow holding up Ninoy/Cory signs and flags. My dad drove until there were so many people that we cannot drive anymore, cheered with a few people, then we headed back home via Coastal Road. Along the way, we stopped at a lechon manok stall that was still open and had a midnight snack (not sure what time it was, but when we left the house it was already past dinner so it must've been late). While we were eating a group of soldiers, in fatigues and brandishing their arms, came in. Seeing us in yellow, they immediately smiled and flashed the "laban" sign of the anti-Marcos opposition. They chitchatted with my parents while I examined their rifles and uniforms. They ate quickly and left before we finished our meal, giving my parents a Philippine flag badge-- the one soldiers place on their uniforms-- as a memento. After our lechon manok snack we drove home, got cleaned, and slept.

On Immanuel Kant

http://www.economist.com/node/611077?fsrc=scn/fb/te/pe/ed/meetmrgreen

I know it's not the case, but I sometimes wish that I was named after this Emmanuel. His philosophy certainly influenced mine, from assumptions on human nature (ok, I was predisposed to agree with him) to areligious grounds for morality (to which I was not always predisposed). His intellectual honesty-- the son of a pastor, he set out to make a rational argument for faith but ended up being a father of agnosticism-- strongly appealed to me. Yet I do not place his philosophy on the pedestal of dogma; his theories are only regarded highly until they are falsified. He is not a fount of immutable truth, and the world is not always to be seen with Kantian lenses. Just as he would've wanted.

Bonus to find out that he might've been an Anglophile (I also am one, when I'm not being a Russophile).

An Education

Children should not be taught based on faith and dogma, to not question assumptions and established worldviews. Children should be given the tools for critical thought and the means to acquire knowledge. To constantly reexamine received thought and question assumed moral ascendancy.

Southwest Airlines: If it* matters to you, it matters to us.

Southwest Airlines criticized after incidents involving Middle Eastern passengers

Southwest Airlines: If it* matters to you, it matters to us.

* Includes bigotry, racism, and fear towards Muslims (Sunni, Shia, whatever they're all the same), Arab-speakers, Iranians, headscarf wearers, people who request halal meals, non-hipster men with beards, and anyone who might look like they could've shared a falafel wrap with someone less than 6 degrees of separation from ISIS.

What ticks terrorists

The fundamental motivator of terrorism is not religion or ideology or money. It's self-righteousness. The firm belief that you are right and those who disagree with you, necessarily, wrong. Every dictator who ordered a massacre, every bomber who blew up a public space, every zealot who slew a heretic believed it was for the greater good, a righteous cause. Believe in your own righteousness and you can justify any atrocity your heart desires.

On the Bangsamoro

If it were up to me I'd grant the Bangsamoro outright independence and not mere autonomy. There has just been so much pain and injustice over the centuries. For them, Manila is an occupying power the way the rest of the Philippines saw Madrid, Washington, or Tokyo.

I'd like the peace talks to prosper just like anyone, but I can't see it happening under these circumstances. Too much bad faith. I'm also not sure if MILF are the right people to be talking with-- they have too little control over BIFF/PAGs/lost command/etc. (not to mention ASG) that a deal with them will not really end any of the hostilities (cf. MNLF 1996). It's not like MILF are the sole representative of the Bangsamoro, even if they fancy themselves to be such.

I say just let them go. Give them the vote. Give them the right to self-determination.

Check

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1. Australia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Brunei Darussalam 
4. Cambodia
5. People's Republic of China
6. Hong Kong, China
7. Macau SAR, China
8. Chile
9. Cyprus
10. Czech Republic
11. Ecuador
12. France
13. Germany
14. Indonesia
15. Iran
16. Italy
17. Japan
18. Kazakhstan
19. Republic of Korea
20. Kyrgyz Republic
21. Lao PDR
22. Malaysia
23. Myanmar
24. The Netherlands
25. New Zealand 
26. Papua New Guinea
27. Peru
28. The Philippines
29. Portugal
30. Qatar
31. Russia
32. Singapore
33. Spain
34. Sri Lanka
35. Taiwan
36. Tajikistan
37. Thailand
38. Timor-Leste
39. Türkiye
40. United Arab Emirates
41. United Kingdom
42. United States of America
43. Viet Nam