I smell a coup

[willowtooth]

Has anyone else noticed a massive uptick in news coming out of the Philippines lately?


http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/04/asia/philippines-prison-break/

A coup in the Philippines I say! I have declared it so heed this warning

[RosaAntonio]

Has anyone else noticed a massive uptick in news coming out of the Philippines lately?



A coup in the Philippines I say! I have declared it so heed this warning

Duterte is a reactionary and a murderer. I hope he ends up like Mussolini.

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

Has anyone else noticed a massive uptick in news coming out of the Philippines lately?


http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/04/asia/philippines-prison-break/

A coup in the Philippines I say! I have declared it so heed this warning

While a coup is an ever present risk in many countries, and might happen in the Philippines, the presence of news stories about the Philippines is pretty weak evidence.

[willowtooth]

While a coup is an ever present risk in many countries, and might happen in the Philippines, the presence of news stories about the Philippines is pretty weak evidence.
In the past few months in addition to a free geography lesson in the news we have learned the president's name and face, his controversial stance on drugs, his religion and connection to Muslim separatists, that Osama bin laden funneled money through the Philippines once, all sorts of wonderful numbers of mass killings. Numbering in the millions about how many have died in "their drug war" to how many have been killed or arrested by police with headlines like "millions dead in Duterte's Philippines", rumors about Duterte throwing someone from a helicopter and then a massive denouncing of this story as false. The Philippines connection with Qaddafi. That the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has the funny acronym MILF as in (mom i'd like to fuck) I'm sure that will make the rounds on social media soon enough. Suspicions about the presidents personal drug use, rumors of sexual infidelity. I've seen (for the first time in I don't know how long) people talking about the american invasion in the Philippines, and probably for the for first time since the FDR tapes came out a few years ago. People are randomly talking about Philippines involvement in the start of WW2...

All in the past few months, I have such a manufactured opinion of Duterte right now it's insane.

[Ale Brider]

The "critical support" of Duterte never should have been a thing in the first place. A coup? I don't care. Why should leftists care for the power of a capitalist, reactionary harlequin anyway?

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

In the past few months in addition to a free geography lesson in the news we have learned the president's name and face, his controversial stance on drugs, his religion and connection to Muslim separatists, that Osama bin laden funneled money through the Philippines once, all sorts of wonderful numbers of mass killings. Numbering in the millions about how many have died in "their drug war" to how many have been killed or arrested by police with headlines like "millions dead in Duterte's Philippines", rumors about Duterte throwing someone from a helicopter and then a massive denouncing of this story as false. The Philippines connection with Qaddafi. That the Moro Islamic Liberation Front has the funny acronym MILF as in (mom i'd like to fuck) I'm sure that will make the rounds on social media soon enough. Suspicions about the presidents personal drug use, rumors of sexual infidelity. I've seen (for the first time in I don't know how long) people talking about the american invasion in the Philippines, and probably for the for first time since the FDR tapes came out a few years ago. People are randomly talking about Philippines involvement in the start of WW2...

All in the past few months, I have such a manufactured opinion of Duterte right now it's insane.

If you've only been hearing about these things recently, you aren't reading the news enough. People were talking about the controversial policies of the new Filipino president when he was running.

Also, no news stories have been saying "millions dead", however there are serious stories of alleged drug users and sellers being murdered in the streets. Criticizing such a government is not "manufactured opinion", it's a criticism no less legitimate than that of America's carceral state.

[willowtooth]

If you've only been hearing about these things recently, you aren't reading the news enough. People were talking about the controversial policies of the new Filipino president when he was running.

Also, no news stories have been saying "millions dead", however there are serious stories of alleged drug users and sellers being murdered in the streets. Criticizing such a government is not "manufactured opinion", it's a criticism no less legitimate than that of America's carceral state.
I love russian media everyone says they're hyper nationalist but they have a real way of spraying disinfectant in the air


Like in the days of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, in the Philippines, the press, which is mainly owned by right-wing business interests and by pro-Western collaborators, is now reaching a crescendo, barking and insulting the President, inventing stories and spreading unconfirmed rumors, something unimaginable even in a place like the U.K. with its draconian 'defamation' laws.




My only request, my appeal to all those people all over the planet who know nothing or very little about this part of the world in general and about the Philippines in particular, would be: 'Please do not pass judgments based only on what you read in your own language and especially in English, and from the sources that have been, on so many occasions, and so thoroughly discredited. Come by yourself, come and see and listen. Like Venezuela many years ago, what is taking place in the Philippines is 'an unknown territory', an absolutely new concept. Something different and unprecedented, is developing, taking shape. This is like no other revolution that took place before. Do not take part in ridiculing it, do not help to choke it, do not do anything damaging before you come and see for yourself, before you face those pleading eyes of the millions of people who were defenseless and abused for so long and who are all of a sudden standing tall


Duterte is not as 'poetic' as Fidel. He is aVisaya, a brilliant but rough, candid and an outspoken man. Often he is hyperbolic. He likes to shock his listeners, followers and foes.
But who is he, really? Who is this man who is threatening to close down all US military bases, to reach permanent peace with the Communists and Muslim insurgents, to realign his foreign policy and ideology with China and Russia, and to save the lives of tens of millions of poor people of the Philippines?


A legendary academic, Prof Roland Simbulan, from the Department of Social Sciences of the University of the Philippines, explained, during our daylong encounter in Manila:
"Duterte reads a lot, and he admires Hugo Chavez. He is actually holding very similar positions as Chavez. He is strongly critical of Western imperialism in such places as Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. He cannot stand how the West is treating his own country.He was always persistent in his anti-imperialist policy. Even as Mayor of Davao he banned all US-Philippine military exercises. The US negotiated; it offered plenty of money. It wanted to build a huge drone base in Mindanao, but Duterte refused."As 'punishment', two bombs exploded in Davao: one at the pier, one at the international airport.


Is Duterte Really A Socialist?
Yes and no, but definitely more yes than no. He is actually a self-proclaimed socialist, and for years, he has been forging extremely close links with the Marxists.Prof. Roland Simbulan explains:"When Duterte was a college student, he joined KM, the leftist student organization. He understands the ideology of the left. He also understands the roots of the insurgencies in his country, both Communist and Muslim. He keeps repeating: 'you cannot defeat the insurgency militarily: you have to address socio-economic problems that has led to it."He invited Marxists into his administration, even before they asked him to join. He is gradually releasing political prisoners, who were captured and locked up during the previous administrations.Professors Teresa and Eduardo Tadem agree:"Social reforms are part of the peace talks. The fact that a Communist leader used to be Duterte's professor is also helping. Duterte introduced a moratorium on land conversions, so the land of the peasants could be preserved for agriculture. Labor is also enjoying many good things. He is bringing an end to short contracts, to so called contractualisation. Basically, the government is trying to make sure that after people get hired, they get benefits, immediately.

http://www.pravdareport.com/world/asia/02-01-2017/136562-president_duterte-0/

Where you gettin your news from these days?

[Sinister Cultural Marxist]

He has definitely made some outreach to the left, although I am unsure if he really is a socialist. Whatever the case, Chavez did not demonize drug users and sellers to the same extent or in the same way as Duterte, which is a serious concern. We can't build a new society by demonizing and oppressing addicts and street dealers. We can even oppose drug use, as the IWW did back in the day, without condoning vigilante murder of alleged addicts or sellers.

If he can make peace with Maoists, build peace with Muslims and the Catholic majority, and implement leftwing social and economic policies, then he deserves praise for those policies. We should not let him off the hook for utilizing the state and vigilantes to murder people based on bourgeois moralism against drug use.

That being said, if the West backs any coup against his government, that would rightly be opposed on anti-Imperialist grounds. I don't think we should just dismiss his particularly dangerous version of "tough on crime" politics though. If he wants to kill off mafia and cartel leaders, that is one thing, but the killing of drug users (not in the millions of course, but still worryingly high numbers of people) is a truly dreadful policy.

[pastradamus]

Agreeing with SCM. The west has no business interfering in the Philippines and never should have.

Rodrigo Duterte is a plain and simple maniac, but what does that say about his supporters? Before the elections he admitted to killing "about three people" a few months before the election. He also promised to kill at least five criminals per week and endorsed setting up a state-funded death-squad. Made vigorously Homophobic comments . When he was Mayor of Davao city in 1989, an Australian Missionary was gang-raped and murdered, when questioned about this he said "I was angry she was raped, yes that was one thing, but she was so beautiful, I think the mayor should have been first - what a waste!", when the press questioned him after (thinking this was some sort of a sick joke) he reiterated what he previously said and he meant every word - ALL BEFORE THE ELECTION.

The man is a complete fucking monster. Let us not spare this staunch enemy of the working class any criticism. It's not just drug dealers, its a complete war on working-class society and everything we leftists hold dear.

[Antiochus]

Duterte is the Phillipine's version of Trump/Berlusconi. He is a reactionary to the core. I am not even sure someone could be dumb enough to think he is a leftist. I did notice several stories from Yahoo! News (or linked there whatever) that "mentioned" he was a self-proclaimed 'socialist'. Everything about him, including the sort of voting blocs that voted for him and the support he receives from business groups indicates he is simply a conservative.

Also, Duterte is carrying out a social cleansing campaign. Lets call it was it is. Killing a drug user isn't "combating crime" and this is what he claims he does.