Surviving Capitalism (Not) : A Longtime US Ally, The Philippines Officially Re-aligns With Russia & China

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Friday, October 21, 2016

A Longtime US Ally, The Philippines Officially Re-aligns With Russia & China

Click here to access article by James Holbrooks from Mint Press News. (Note: I thank my supporters, Caren and Christopher, who have created a sustainable small farm in northwest Oregon for pointing me to this recent development.)

...Reuters is reporting that Duterte announced his official separation from the U.S while speaking in Beijing at a forum in the Great Hall of the People.

“In this venue, your honors, in this venue, I announce my separation from the United States,” Duterte said on Thursday, to wild applause from both Chinese and Filipino business people. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, incidentally, was also in attendance.

Duterte went further than this, however, stating “America has lost” both militarily and economically in its pursuit of imperialistic hegemony. Interestingly, his comments come a day after Filipino police drove a van into a crowd of demonstrators protesting against U.S. imperialism in the region.

I'm sure that the Philippine government and especially its police and military forces are laced with people who are paid by and serve the US Empire. Hence the incident referred to in the last sentence above. There will be many further such incidents to remove Duterte from office or maybe even kill him.