East Asian Culture and Envy Breeding?

I listened to this video and it's not surprising. I thought of the typical problem, "Nobody is competing with you? Why are you always competing with us?" This would have typical competitions like:

Comparing the performance of each other's children.
Asking someone when one's child will get married.
Telling their child so and so has "matured" by getting married (never mind some of the worst quarrels are between married people) and that the other is still "immature". Never mind that the "immature" person may be raising up valid points!
Getting angry when somebody prospers, even if it's just a little bit of prosperity. Then again, the person getting jealous may be living a glamorous life fueled by unpaid debt.

As I listened to it, I can relate to it because I've been a victim of such practices and also had done such practices. It's a really toxic trait East Asians need to stop.

Let's fact it that no culture is perfect. Culture is something that needs to evolve. After all, China got rid of the awful practice of foot binding and arranged marriages. Chinese women learned their rights. Now, some Chinese men even marry non-Chinese because of the gender imbalance, in some areas. Culture is something that can improve.

Is an Impeachment Just as Effective as a Vote of No Confidence?

Talks about impeachment against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio are on. However, I'd like to show the problem with the impeachment trial. Who can remember when former president Joseph Marcelo Ejercito aka Joseph Estrada was under impeachment trial? One can say that when Estrada resigned, that proved that it doesn't matter if the country is presidential or parliamentary (since some economic powerhouses are still under the presidential system, like South Korea and Taiwan). However, we need to look at the political aspect of the parliamentary system. Is impeachment just as effective as a vote of no confidence? Let's find out! What is impeachment? Impeachment is defined by the Britannica as follows: Impeachment, in common law, a proceeding instituted by a legislative body to address serious misconduct by a public official . In Great Britain the House of Commons serves as prosecutor and the House of Lords as judge in an impeachment proceeding. In the federal government of ...

Why Using CTTO Isn't a Valid Source at All

Right now, I'm having an argument with a certain old man (wearing a toga, presumably graduating from a doctorate degree) on Facebook. One thing I noticed in some of his Facebook posts is the use of CTTO more often than not. Maybe, I can start giving a sample of his arguments since there are many. One of his posts would go like this: All nations have protectionist policies, its their inherent rights. It is the role of the business to use strategies to work within these policies.... ctto... Back then, I remembered I erroneously used Yahoo as a source in my high school term paper. Later on, a college professor placed an X mark on Yahoo and Google as a source . It's because Google nad Yahoo are search engines . Now, we have CTTO which means Credit To The Owner. If we're to really credit the owner, why not post a link or acknowledge the site where it was taken from? For example, the meme above is by 8LIST.PH. It's very eays to say CTTO to make myself look smart. However, I ...

Indigenous Dance in Dayuan District, Taiwan

In the quest to know more about Southeast Asia's indigenous people--Taiwan can become a hit destination. This would look like a group of Filipino indigenous dancers but they're from Taiwan. This long dance number may show how the Taiwanese government may have been treating indigenous tribes better than the Philippines. One article I wrote was about how some Filipino natives now have to travel to Taiwan to learn indigenous weaving . Just watching this video makes me think of what the Inquirer cited about Taiwanese indigenous people: TAIPEI—In communities of the indigenous Amis tribe across Taiwan, locals say lima for five, pito for seven and mata for eye, just like Filipinos . In southern Taiwan’s Alishan mountain, the Tsou tribe calls the community’s meeting hut a kuba, strikingly similar in design to the Philippines’ kubo . Whether in language, architecture or way of life, links among indigenous peoples of the Philippines and Taiwan are undeniable, with...

The Late Lee Kuan Yew Called the Philippines' Press RAMBUNCTIOUS

The Straits Times As April Fool's Day draws near, I intend to write on something the late Lee Kuan Yew said in his book From Third World to First . It was once wrongly said that he said the Philippine presses as masters of intrigue . It was made by a certain Jesus Satorre Jr. who wrongly called Lee Kuan Yew, president . That alone deserves to be fact-checked . It was even funny how a certain someone called Mahathir Mohamad a president when he criticized former president Rodrigo R. Duterte. However, there was a quote from the book concerning the Philippines about the Philippine press: Ramos knew well the difficulties of trying to govern with strict American-style separation of powers. The senate had already defeated Mrs. Aquino's proposal to retain the American bases. The Philippines had a rambunctious press but it did not check corruption. Individual press reporters could be bought, as could many judges . I'm afraid that it's very easy to quote what Lee said about the...

Are People Who Say Systems Don't Matter Be Willing to Prove Their Claims for a Million Pesos?

People often argue that it's not the system but the people who run it. Some people have their examples like the late former Philippine president Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III and former Philippine vice president Atty. Maria Leonor "Leni" S. Gerona-Robredo. They would say that both Noynoy and Leni are "prime examples" why charter change isn't needed, just a change of people in power. Some people even say that the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines is "inviolate". If that's so then what happened to Article XVII that makes it open to amendments? Why wasn't that even used? That means even making a new constitution isn't illegal per se--unless one did what Ferdinand E. Marcos Sr. did during the martial law era! However, if we understand simple psychological science, we need to look at basic psychology. Please, I don't need a doctorate in certain degrees, in the Greenbelt Universities, to understand that there are mist...

Scarier Than Any Horror Movie: Two Trials of the 20th Century in the Philippines, Still Case Unsolved

iStock Happy Halloween, right? I would like to write something scary. I've written some blog entries under the label "crime". My two favorite topics are the Vizconde Massacre Case, which was followed by the Chiong Sisters Case. It's amazing that one of the siblings of Marijoy Jimenea Chiong and Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong, was actually my schoolmate at the University of San Carlos. Some people knew this Chiong sibling as Debbie Jane Chiong-Sia, who by the way, isn't Jacqueline . Jacqueline would be in her 50s would she have lived. I didn't care anymore about the case until someone told me, "Do you remember Paco Larrañaga? He was innocent!" It scared me straight. The question was given to me after someone also mentioned Hubert Jeffry P. Webb as innocent regarding the Vizconde Massacre case. I believed that both Paco and Jeffry were guilty. The scary truth was that they were innocent of the crimes. I got interested in digging into the crimes. Back in t...

The Bataan Death March

April 9 (tomorrow) is a holiday but it's a commemoration of a loss during the Second World War. The Second World War brought about a cheerless Christmas than Odette ever did. It's been some time since I studied history and this blog is just a random history blog. I would like to give my reaction to the brutal Bataan Death March. This was when Japan used to be the Empire of Japan, an enemy of the Philippines, all before Modern Japan. The Japanese Empire deserved to crumble after its atrocities. Today, the Philippines is allied with the former AXIS forces of Germany, Japan, and Italy. I searched on The History Channel to find some information on the Fall of Bataan . The details can be very gruesome. The very description of how the tragedy started isn't very pretty. The surrendered Filipinos and Americans soon were rounded up by the Japanese in April 1942 and forced to march some 65 miles from Mariveles, on the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, to San Fernando. The men we...

The Vizconde Massacre and Trial by "Trust Me Bro"?

As Christmas approaches, another case worth revisiting for history vs. gossip is the Vizconde Massacre. I watched Crime Investigation Asia uploaded on YouTube. I wrote about the documentary Give Up Tomorrow -- a documentary that explores the irregularities while pursuing justice for the late Chiong sisters, Jacqueline Jimenea Chiong and Marijoy Jimenea Chiong. I feel compelled to write about the Vizconde Massacre. For more than 10 years, I used to believe that Hubert Jeffry Pagaspas Webb, son of Freddie Webb, was guilty. It turns out that according to Crime Investigation Asia --it was really a trial by gossip . In my case, I want to call it a trial of Trust Me Bro. I still read comments about how footage of Hubert in the States could've been "easily tampered". Yet, those who comment haven't presented the evidence. I guess if I asked for their evidence, they'll just say, "Trust me bro!" Granted, photo editing was still in its infancy back then so how cou...

A Certain MARITES Vandalized Wikipedia to "Prove" that the Chiong Sisters Are "Still Alive"

Christmas can bring me some memories. One of them was having a Christmas vacation with the Chiong Sisters Case in mind back in high school. Above is a vandalism I found on Wikipedia (which I take with a grain of salt). Please be reminded Wikipedia is where anyone can edit therefore it's a spurious source. Without her permission, the 2023 photo was most likely taken from Mrs. Thelma Jimenea-Chiong's Facebook. I agree with Marty Syjuco that Mrs. Chiong was the victim of the crime. However, seven innocent people were wrongly tagged as the public demanded answers. There can only be justice for either side once the real culprits are discovered. Some cases happen and the real perpetrators have not yet been found. I'd like to really point out some simple facts. Let me remind people of the following facts: Amelie Arquilliano-Chiong was born as Amelie R. Arquilliano. She is the wife of the late Marijoy Jimenea Chiong's brother Bruce. She's in Canada. The three Chiong siste...

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