Saturday, January 21, 2017

Phil Butler — What’s Wrong in Canada’s Halls of Power?


Justin Trudeau was banking on a Clinton presidency. Now that Trump is POTUS...?

NEO
What’s Wrong in Canada’s Halls of Power?
Phil Butler

Also
Dr. Reynaldo Ileto, a leading Filipino historian, is concerned about Duterte’s survival, should he move too quickly with the regional realignment:
“He cannot break up with the United States too abruptly… he’d be killed.”
For a while, in Manila, we were discussing the pattern established; the way the West treats the ‘rebellious’ countries and their governments: Ukraine, Brazil, and even the former President of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo.
“Arroyo moved closer to China”, explained Dr. Ileto: “They got her indicted for corruption. Only Duterte managed to release her.”
Antagonizing China, even provoking it into a military conflict, has been the mainstay of US foreign policy in Asia, at least during the later years of the Obama administration. This dangerous trend will most likely continue, even accelerate, since Donald Trump has already taken office.
President Duterte’s stubborn determination to reach a peaceful arrangement with China may put him squarely on the hit list of the Western Empire.
Prof. Roland Simbulan from the Department of Social Sciences of the University of the Philippines confirms what Dr. Ileto suggested above:
“If Duterte moves too fast, he will be overthrown, by the military. He is an outsider. Police and army hold grudges against him. Many top military commanders here were trained by the US, and often even corrupted by the US. Duterte’s anti-US and anti-imperialist policy goes beyond rhetoric; it is real. He is confrontational, he is against the US foreign policy towards the Philippines and the world.”
The Philippines in the Center of Asian Realignment
Andre Vlchek

5 comments:

Peter Pan said...

The Elder Trudeau explained the challenges of sleeping with an elephant. Canada has done well over the decades...

Detroit Dan said...

That was an interesting article about Duterte and the Philippines. I'd almost buy into the Duterte regime, although the thousands of extrajudicial executions give me pause. But when he called Obama "son of a whore", that indicates to me a very provincial and stupid world view. (I do believe Duterte apologized for that.)

Tom Hickey said...

The Philippines was a tough place. I doubt it has changed much. Makes US gangs look mild.

Americans tend to be naïve about liberalism as an ideal in a world that is ultra-real. Just listen to US cops. Don't have to go abroad.

Detroit Dan said...

I've spent a fair amount of time in the Philippines -- most recently in 2016. It's got a big middle class and is generally civilized and peaceful. So I'm somewhat skeptical of the Duterte war on drugs.

Tom Hickey said...

My experience was that where there were people with money, there was high protection. Elsewhere, not. Pretty much the same as US, but the violence tended to be more brutal there.