Although this site has been banned on lists published by the Washington Post, I think we should defy the thought police as much as we can by reading this article before our masters install overt fascism.
Vltchek has recently visited the Philippines and writes about his experiences especially among the many poor people of that country, and about President Duterte's support, or lack thereof, among various factions of the Philippine establishment.
The Philippines has been a colony of the US since we took it from Spain in 1898, given formal independence in 1946, after which the US ruled over the country in a neocolonial fashion. Duterte's administration marks a radical departure from that rule, and we can expect at the very least some retaliatory and/or subversive measures against his administration, and even assassination attempts (like Fidel Castro) for his disobedience (see the latest here) to the diktats of the US Empire.
Duterte has acquired a reputation for lashing out at everything from Western imperialism to President Obama, to Pope Francis (in this staunchly Catholic country), the EU, and the UN. He has threatened to close down all US military bases and to move his country closer to China and Russia. To emphasize his seriousness, he has canceled all joint US–Philippine military exercises.
President Putin is his hero. He is clearly leaning toward the left, and he despises colonialism. He often speaks about the “genocide” committed by the US against his people during the ‘Philippine–American War.'
He refuses to provoke and antagonize China. He is with the poor, introducing and improving social programs. He is gradually releasing political prisoners and actively negotiating peace deals with the Marxist and Muslim guerrillas while seeking peace treaties and territorial compromises with China.
