Printable View
when in rome, do as the romans do.
[quote=ekspat; 1154860]the 2 swedish guys aren't in sweden. they're in pi. it's that simple, isn't it?
in europe hashish is more or less legal, no big deal, but i've never touched it in sea. in germany no speed limit on the highway, in sea we have it. so i accept it whether it makes sense or not. just go by the rules and stay out of these notorious businesses.
should be fine then.[/quote]
[QUOTE=Questor 55; 1154914]After reading several insightful comments regarding the "Swedish Porn Bust"
One can appreciate what a powerful and probing series of articles we could provide
For the S E Asian press establishment. Discrimination, hypocrisy, racism, corruption, double standards,
[url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord908][CodeWord908][/url], the list goes on. They would be interested in the truth, right. Uh, right? [/QUOTE]You may be at the receiving end. Heck, you WILL be at the receiving end for instigating trouble, domestic discord, bringing the honored press and democracy to disrepute, and last if not least, for you being an agent of a western spy organisation hell bent on destabilisation
Stay away from Asia, if you want to preach your morales. .
[QUOTE=Kycuriosity; 1154492]I'm planning another trip soon. I've been to sabang in PG and I took a girl with me, but she said sabang because white beach is more bars and she was very jealous. Is white beach good for picking up women? Or should I still take one with me? Also, if it's not a great place to hobby, what's the best beach to go and hobby? I've been to Angeles a couple times, but never Subic. I was thinking there, but I want a nice beach with several normal bars as well as hooker bars.
Any suggestions? [/QUOTE]Your questions has been discussed numerous times, but I'll answer them. "Humans tend to repeat themselves".
White Beach has a nice beach; there are no girlie bars; there are only bars on the beach that cater to local and foreign tourists. White beach is known for its beach, not its bars. Never partied there during the night; you probably can chase tourist and local staff.
The best place in that area for P4P is Sabang; there are 7 girlie bars. Sabang is developed. But Sabang's beach is not that good. You can walk approx 25 minutes to Big Laguna for the better beach (but it's not as good as White Beach) ; there's no girlie bars in Big Laguna. You can rent a boat (? Maybe 40 minutes) or take the local land transportation (? Maybe between 40 minutes to 2 hours depending on method) to White Beach.
I normally stay in Sabang or Small Laguna. During the day, I would scuba dive or rent a boat, and have fun in the water / small islands or in White Beach, and party in Sabang during the night.
Subic has a decent beach (IMO, but some people don't like it); Subic beaches are better than Sabang, but not as good as White Beach. Subic has many more girlie bars than Sabang. I like Subic for a change of pace from Angeles; plus it's only a short trip from Angeles.
There will be "normal" bars in any area that is developed. Subic probably has the least amount of "normal" female tourists.
[QUOTE=Questor 55; 1154914]After reading several insightful comments regarding the "Swedish Porn Bust"
One can appreciate what a powerful and probing series of articles we could provide
For the S E Asian press establishment. Discrimination, hypocrisy, racism, corruption, double standards,
[url=http://isgprohibitedwords.info?CodeWord=CodeWord908][CodeWord908][/url], the list goes on. They would be interested in the truth, right. Uh, right? [/QUOTE]This wouldn't even be news to them. The press here isn't the problem. It reports all of the above with metronomic regularity. The problem is that no one cares, and it's all accepted as "normal" in this feudal society in which corruption, abuse of power, and a non-functional justice system are integral aspects of the country and the society. Why do you think that with each passing year, it falls further and further toward the bottom of the SE Asia barrel? This is a failed state, and it has been so for several years.
GE
[QUOTE=Fredje1961;1155088]When in Rome, do as the Romans do.[/QUOTE]Sometimes the Romans don't take too kindly to outsiders sexually exploiting their women for financial gain. The mere fact that you're in Rome doesn't grant you the same rights as a Roman. Salutor caveo!
[QUOTE=Econo Tech; 1154631]Sorry to disappoint you. No double standards. To look good, a foreigner getting arrested, and being marked as the cause of all misery. Wins votes. . .
The police chief, I am sure, is the next election candidate.
And if you guys are still trying to argue that the cops were wrong. Get a life. Or stay home. Home. Away and far away from Asia.
Sort of like the time in India, when I was driving and got rear ended by a local tuk-tuk. Lo and behold. All the natives accused ME of causing the accident, as I had stopped FOR A FREAKING RED LIGHT.
I had to say sorry and drive off. Rather than trying to prove who was at fault. [/QUOTE]Excellent post and I could not have said it any better.
Some guys who visit SEA in general, or the Philippines more specifically bring with them a Westernized view on the way things "should be" and are more often than not the guys who find themselves in trouble at some point.
These guys also believe things should operate and run just like they do back home and they don't fully understand or accept they are in another Country with different laws and where sometimes logic and progressive thinking are often suspended, but still exists from time to time.
[QUOTE=Chocha Monger;1155333]Sometimes the Romans don't take too kindly to outsiders sexually exploiting their women for financial gain. The mere fact that you're in Rome doesn't grant you the same rights as a Roman. Salutor caveo![/QUOTE]To which I would add that the mere fact that you're a foreigner, and want to intrude into a closed, opaque oligarchy that controls most if not all of the major businesses, legal and illegal, just pisses people off.
GE
[QUOTE=GoodEnough; 1155392]To which I would add that the mere fact that you're a foreigner, and want to intrude into a closed, opaque oligarchy that controls most if not all of the major businesses, legal and illegal, just pisses people off.
GE[/QUOTE]In other words, you can do whatever and whoever you want as long as you don't step on any big toes or make any money from it. The poor in The Philippines are just a bunch of cash cows, there to serve the privileged 5%, and who gives a toss about them. But, hey, isn't it the same the world over?
[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt;1155406]isn't it the same the world over?[/QUOTE]. . . . . Yes. . . .
Jailed Swedes in Philippine cybersex 'nightmare'
Two Swedish computer experts jailed for life in the Philippines on cybersex charges say they are living a nightmare among hardened criminals and insist they did nothing wrong.
[url]http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4839210[/url]
These are the consequences of doing in Rome as the Romans do when you're not a Roman. The Swedes got a little greedy and now they have to sleep with one eye on their butt holes with 5 other hardened criminals in a small cell. From the Pinoy point of view the Swedes were wealthy citizens from a rich European country who came to one of the world's most impoverished countries to take advantage of poor women for financial gain. The modern day slave trader analogy is not so far fetched in their eyes. This goes beyond the case of some random naughty tourists who like pay the local women for a root. Mongers don't profit from rooting Filipinas. In fact, they often get fleeced in the process.
[QUOTE=Chocha Monger;1155650]These are the consequences of doing in Rome as the Romans do when you're not a Roman. The Swedes got a little greedy and now they have to sleep with one eye on their butt holes with 5 other hardened criminals in a small cell. From the Pinoy point of view the Swedes were wealthy citizens from a rich European country who came to one of the world's most impoverished countries to take advantage of poor women for financial gain. The modern day slave trader analogy is not so far fetched in their eyes. This goes beyond the case of some random naughty tourists who like pay the local women for a root. Mongers don't profit from rooting Filipinas. In fact, they often get fleeced in the process.[/QUOTE]To add, more often, even in Singapore, when a foreigner makes a silly comment to a pinay that she is a hooker, even though she IS A HOOKER, and in no time a dozen filipinos jump in to defend their countryman's (girl's) honour.
And it doesn't help much, when the Church is reminding that foreigners are exploiting the poor people.
[QUOTE=Chocha Monger; 1155650]Two Swedish computer experts jailed for life in the Philippines on cybersex charges say they are living a nightmare among hardened criminals and insist they did nothing wrong.
[url]http://news.ph.msn.com/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4839210[/url][/QUOTE]One can only feel sorry for the two unlucky Swedes.
I assume the two Swedes could not count on any real consular support from their government; a government that has made illegal to buy sexual services, but not to sell them. (Meaning only the men are guilty)
But let's keep in mind that the legal situation for men accused of sexual wrongdoing is not better in the rest of the world: The bizarre cases against IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are example enough.
My practical conclusion is that I encrypt ALL sexually explicit material on my laptop. Better be safe than sorry. (TrueCrypt is a free and excellent option.)
[QUOTE=Cunning Stunt;1155406]In other words, you can do whatever and whoever you want as long as you don't step on any big toes or make any money from it. The poor in The Philippines are just a bunch of cash cows, there to serve the privileged 5%, and who gives a toss about them. But, hey, isn't it the same the world over?[/QUOTE]No, not quite the same. This is a feudal society in which any upward mobility is extremely unlikely and in some cases impossible There's an implicit caste system here that's almost as rigid as that found in India and other unenlightened places, that pretty well foreordains you to whatever life your parents have. Only the lucky ones escape abroad and realize some sort of economic gain that they promptly send back here to support the poor relatives still trapped in the circle.
GE
[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1155869]No, not quite the same. This is a feudal society in which any upward mobility is extremely unlikely and in some cases impossible There's an implicit caste system here that's almost as rigid as that found in India and other unenlightened places, that pretty well foreordains you to whatever life your parents have. Only the lucky ones escape abroad and realize some sort of economic gain that they promptly send back here to support the poor relatives still trapped in the circle. GE[/QUOTE]
Opportunities for upward mobility may be different between the Phils and the West as a matter of degree, but as for the basic structure of corruption and hegemony in the hands of a few, the West merely has a veneer of respectability and secrecy to separate it from practices in developing countries. IMHO. Skip
"The Global Economy’s Corporate Crime Wave" by Jeffrey D. Sachs April 30, 2011
Project Synidcate: A World of Ideas
NEW YORK – The world is drowning in corporate fraud, and the problems are probably greatest in rich countries – those with supposedly “good governance.” Poor-country governments probably accept more bribes and commit more offenses, but it is rich countries that host the global companies that carry out the largest offenses. Money talks, and it is corrupting politics and markets all over the world.
Hardly a day passes without a new story of malfeasance. Every Wall Street firm has paid significant fines during the past decade for phony accounting, insider trading, securities fraud, Ponzi schemes, or outright embezzlement by CEOs. A massive insider-trading ring is currently on trial in New York, and has implicated some leading financial-industry figures. And it follows a series of fines paid by America’s biggest investment banks to settle charges of various securities violations.
There is, however, scant accountability. Two years after the biggest financial crisis in history, which was fueled by unscrupulous behavior by the biggest banks on Wall Street, not a single financial leader has faced jail. When companies are fined for malfeasance, their shareholders, not their CEOs and managers, pay the price. The fines are always a tiny fraction of the ill-gotten gains, implying to Wall Street that corrupt practices have a solid rate of return. Even today, the banking lobby runs roughshod over regulators and politicians.
Corruption pays in American politics as well. The current governor of Florida, Rick Scott, was CEO of a major health-care company known as Columbia/HCA. The company was charged with defrauding the United States government by overbilling for reimbursement, and eventually pled guilty to 14 felonies, paying a fine of $1.7 billion.
The FBI’s investigation forced Scott out of his job. But, a decade after the company’s guilty pleas, Scott is back, this time as a “free-market” Republican politician.
When Barack Obama wanted somebody to help with the bailout of the US automobile industry, he turned to a Wall Street “fixer,” Steven Rattner, even though Obama knew that Rattner was under investigation for giving kickbacks to government officials. After Rattner finished his work at the White House, he settled the case with a fine of a few million dollars.
But why stop at governors or presidential advisers? Former Vice President Dick Cheney came to the White House after serving as CEO of Halliburton. During his tenure at Halliburton, the firm engaged in illegal bribery of Nigerian officials to enable the company to win access to that country’s oil fields – access worth billions of dollars. When Nigeria’s government charged Halliburton with bribery, the company settled the case out of court, paying a fine of $35 million. Of course, there were no consequences whatsoever for Cheney. The news barely made a ripple in the US media.
Impunity is widespread – indeed, most corporate crimes go un-noticed. The few that are noticed typically end with a slap on the wrist, with the company – meaning its shareholders – picking up a modest fine. The real culprits at the top of these companies rarely need to worry. Even when firms pay mega-fines, their CEOs remain. The shareholders are so dispersed and powerless that they exercise little control over the management.
The explosion of corruption – in the US, Europe, China, India, Africa, Brazil, and beyond – raises a host of challenging questions about its causes, and about how to control it now that it has reached epidemic proportions.
Corporate corruption is out of control for two main reasons. First, big companies are now multinational, while governments remain national. Big companies are so financially powerful that governments are afraid to take them on.
Second, companies are the major funders of political campaigns in places like the US, while politicians themselves are often part owners, or at least the silent beneficiaries of corporate profits. Roughly one-half of US Congressmen are millionaires, and many have close ties to companies even before they arrive in Congress.
As a result, politicians often look the other way when corporate behavior crosses the line. Even if governments try to enforce the law, companies have armies of lawyers to run circles around them. The result is a culture of impunity, based on the well-proven expectation that corporate crime pays.
Given the close connections of wealth and power with the law, reining in corporate crime will be an enormous struggle. Fortunately, the rapid and pervasive flow of information nowadays could act as a kind of deterrent or disinfectant. Corruption thrives in the dark, yet more information than ever comes to light via email and blogs, as well as Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks.
We will also need a new kind of politician leading a new kind of political campaign, one based on free online media rather than paid media. When politicians can emancipate themselves from corporate donations, they will regain the ability to control corporate abuses.
Moreover, we will need to light the dark corners of international finance, especially tax havens like the Cayman Islands and secretive Swiss banks. Tax evasion, kickbacks, illegal payments, bribes, and other illegal transactions flow through these accounts. The wealth, power, and illegality enabled by this hidden system are now so vast as to threaten the global economy’s legitimacy, especially at a time of unprecedented income inequality and large budget deficits, owing to governments’ inability politically – and sometimes even operationally – to impose taxes on the wealthy.
So the next time you hear about a corruption scandal in Africa or other poor region, ask where it started and who is doing the corrupting. Neither the US nor any other “advanced” country should be pointing the finger at poor countries, for it is often the most powerful global companies that have created the problem.
Jeffrey D. Sachs is Professor of Economics and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. He is also Special Adviser to United Nations Secretary-General on the Millennium Development Goals.
[QUOTE=Saigon John; 1155868]One can only feel sorry for the two unlucky Swedes.
I assume the two Swedes could not count on any real consular support from their government; a government that has made illegal to buy sexual services, but not to sell them. (Meaning only the men are guilty)
But let's keep in mind that the legal situation for men accused of sexual wrongdoing is not better in the rest of the world: The bizarre cases against IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange are example enough.
My practical conclusion is that I encrypt ALL sexually explicit material on my laptop. Better be safe than sorry. (TrueCrypt is a free and excellent option.) [/QUOTE]I'm all for fair treatment of men by the courts in these types of cases but old Strauss-Kahn seems to have a history of making maids suck his cork. It doesn't look too good for him. His employer, the IMF, also has a history of making poor countries suck cork and that will not endear him to any jury.