Discussion for article #238138
Clark AFB and Subic Bay Naval Base were closed in 1991/1992. They were reopened, at the invitation of the Philippine government, in 2012. Perhaps the protesters should be protesting outside the Malacañan Palace
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What a bunch of poor deluded people! Unable to deal with the corruption that is plaguing their country and affecting every single Filipino from birth to old age, they go marching against the USA. I know the US (like much of the Western world and China and Japan) has done some pretty despicable things around the world, but what exactly are these protesters talking about?
They are obviously concerned citizens, and should be marching against the nonsense their system calls “requirements”, which must be met before you can APPLY for a low-paying job that will conveniently be terminated just before the 6th month anniversary, thus ensuring that no benefits can come your way; at that point, you have to repeat the process, something that is very expensive and hard for people who have very little to begin with, and which is a system fully approved by the government.
They could be marching against Binai, who is ostensibly the guy who will be the next president, and who it seems, has decided he must become richer than God; they could be marching against the Catholic church, which has such a strong hold over their everyday lives that a woman in an abusive relationship can only look on in horror as her husband brings in additional women right into her home as he beats and otherwise maltreats her, because divorce is illegal. And I could go on and on.
Fact is, these demonstrations probably make the participants feel good that they are doing something to denounce Big Bad America, but the reality is that they are mere distractions, with the demonstrators unwittingly being useful idiots serving those who don’t want them to face their real problems, or the roots thereof.
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I had no idea The Philippines was such a mess. Sounds like the Marcos gang never went away, just got a new face.
I wonder if these protesters would like Chinese troops better?
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I guess war crimes beget some very long lasting and intense hatred. If we don’t like what we’re getting back from people, we might a) never do it again, and b) try to practice forgiveness ourselves.
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Fine. Let’s leave. They will soon find out just how much our military puts into their economy while protecting them.
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To me, at the invitation of implies that the party issuing the invitation initiated the matter. That’s not the case here, is it?
with the permission of the Philippine government
There. That’s true.
How many were in the march? 100,000? Something to worry about. 100? Probably shouldn’t have even been a story.
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I think these are mostly bloggers for ThinkProgress and Salon, but I could be wrong.
Maybe not for the handful of people protesting, but in reality the Philippines is the most pro-American country in the world. 92% view the US favorably. That’s probably a higher percentage than here in the US.
Yes, they want us there. Not China. And our troops give their economy a big boost. In fact, the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the US and Philippines was just signed in 2014.
92% of the people in the Philippines view the US favorably. Highest percent of any country in the world. War crimes? Refresh me on how long ago that was please.
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So? That doesn’t answer the simple question asked: Who originated the idea?
Wake me when you have something relevant about that.
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President Arroyo repeatedly stressed the close friendship between the Philippines and the U.S. and her desire to expand bilateral ties further.
They kicked us out of their bases on 1941, but then decided it was not a bad idea to have us around.
My man, Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao, is Filipino and is an actual representative in his country besides just representing.
I say, set him down with President Obama and lets work out some issues.
As far as the military presence, it’s a double edged sword there like it is pretty much everywhere.
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Excuse me? They kicked us out? Seems to me the Japanese had rather more to do with that than did the Filipinos. (Of course, MacArthur’s blunders sped up the process.) And it was in 1942.
Still haven’t answered the question.
No kidding. And they wanted us back. Like I said. Did you miss this part?
"President Arroyo repeatedly stressed the close friendship between the Philippines and the U.S. and her desire to expand bilateral ties further."
“HER desire to EXPAND bilateral ties”. That’s an invitation from THEM.
They want US there, and we like being there. It’s a very nice arrangement, and the Filipinos love it. That’s why over 90% of them like the US, more than any country in the world. Yet you have to make an anti-America comment like we are invading them and oppressing them. Give it a rest. They would be speaking Chinese right now if not for their relationship with us.
We are not talking about 1900 here (which is when we went in there first to answer your questions). The article is about the CURRENT relationship. A few people are protesting. It should not even be a story. What the hell does 1900 relations have to do with 2015? And prior to that, the Spanish “owned” the Philippines, and the Filipinos were not too happy about that.
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You still haven’t even tried to answer the question.What someone says ex post facto is meaningless.
American Exceptionalism. Some people just don’t get it.
No kidding, the remark was sarcasm. War crimes are no longer relevant. The Japanese and Vietnamese did war crimes to us, and vice versa. Long time ago. Not relevant to current relations.