Manila

[QUOTE=FreebieFan; 1353368]They are often a sad group who have lots in common with the gangs that roam the streets of England. They hate anyone who is different and they carry knives and arent shy to show how macho they.

[url]http://globalnation.inquirer.net/57853/sharp-tap-on-silver-volvo-triggers-murder-of-us-diplomats-husband[/url][/QUOTE]Two were "businessmen" from Makati, and another (or two) were De La Salle students. Also consider fraternity violence (even murders) at the major universities, presumably among the society's elite young adults. Is this gang behavior or something that rises to the level of national culture-atleast among Filipino men? I posted about the underlying cultural paradox in the general info thread before I saw FF's link to the Inquirer.

Also, I wonder if "inactive" marine waiting for orders means somebody on leave, or is it somebody temporarily relieved from duty due to being questionably "fit for service"? Alcoholism perhaps, which could be related to other mental health issues, or am I reading too much into the story?

FF, I think that you are making a big generalisation here.

I occasionally drink with groups of pinoy, and it usually me that buys the Red Horse. They are friendly, well behaved, and I would never consider treating them with suspicion.

And I would imagine that other foreigners who live here, or who have contacts with families find the same situation.

However, having said that, bunches of pinoy out at night could be seen as a threat. But so are bunches of guys in my local town, or in some areas of capital cities in Australia. What is the difference?

G.

[QUOTE=FreebieFan; 1353368]Always keep your distance from any group of male Filpinos.

They are often a sad group who have lots in common with the gangs that roam the streets of England. They hate anyone who is different and they carry knives and arent shy to show how macho they.

[url]http://globalnation.inquirer.net/57853/sharp-tap-on-silver-volvo-triggers-murder-of-us-diplomats-husband[/url]

And no reason exists to create problems with these fellows. Keep your distance![/QUOTE]

Grahamak at PIatNight posted a Youtube clip of the incident.

[url]http://youtu.be/7ycDVpHCONk[/url]

[quote]Also, I wonder if "inactive" marine waiting for orders means somebody on leave,[/quote]Military "Reservists" can bounce from inactive to active for years. Before 991 a reservist was almost never called up, now its a regular thing. I was always active duty and wish they had some kind of badge to show that.

[QUOTE=Skip Kost;1353473]Also, I wonder if "inactive" marine waiting for orders means somebody on leave, or is it somebody temporarily relieved from duty due to being questionably "fit for service"? Alcoholism perhaps, which could be related to other mental health issues, or am I reading too much into the story?[/QUOTE]Yes, you are.

Inactive Duty in the US armed forces is usually synonymous with Individual Ready Reserve which only means that you have completed any active duty contractual obligation (for school loan repayment, cash signing bonuses, GI Bill etc) ; after discharge from active duty you have a set period of time (typically 4 years) during which time your name will stay on a roster ready for recall so that if a war breaks out Uncle Sam will have more bodies to pull into the grinder before a draft is implemented. Most people in this status do not really consider themselves "on duty", of any sort. Many former soldiers, marines etc do not read the fine print (or forget) and do not even realize they can be recalled or that they are "on duty".

Not saying the guy stabbed wasn't messed up. Walk up to a car of 4 guys at 4 am and start giving them crap...Res Ipsa Loquitur

Ordinarily, I would leave it at that. But you seem to demonstrate limited reasoning in your opinionated posts and so I can only wonder if your prep school teachers tossed your neurons into linguine or perhaps you hit your head when the obstetrician dropped you onto the floor at childbirth.

[QUOTE=Jambo;1353543]Military "Reservists" can bounce from inactive to active for years. Before 991 a reservist was almost never called up, now its a regular thing. I was always active duty and wish they had some kind of badge to show that.[/QUOTE]Thanks for the explanation, J. I now recall being on inactive reserve after discharge from the army in 1969. But as you point out, the prospect of being called up in those days was very slim. I can appreciate that the numbers of troops needed for Iraq and Afghanistan-and the difficulties the services experienced in recruiting replacements-changed all that. I could go on but probably shouldn't, given the likelihood that the brain injury I experienced from being dropped on my head at childbirth might lead me off into some ridiculous, opinionated rant. (A blow to the head might also explain why I had forgotten about the inactive reserves.) Skip

[QUOTE=Gangles; 1353487]FF, I think that you are making a big generalisation here.

I occasionally drink with groups of pinoy, and it usually me that buys the Red Horse. They are friendly, well behaved, and I would never consider treating them with suspicion.

And I would imagine that other foreigners who live here, or who have contacts with families find the same situation.

However, having said that, bunches of pinoy out at night could be seen as a threat. But so are bunches of guys in my local town, or in some areas of capital cities in Australia. What is the difference?

G.[/QUOTE]Groups and individuals who you know are one thing.

After 30 years of living and visiting I know some fabulous Filipino guys. But groups out at night can and possibly will be. The guy who is now dead can attest to that.

The guys who ocassionally are foolish enough to try to take on a trike driver in Angeles one on one, will no doubt wish they had known it was one vs 10.

Point being that for some groups, foreign males can be fair game.

And yes, same in Aus, and UK and US. Only there it will be because you are another guy. In Philippines it will probably be because you are a different skin colour, and a whole lot of resentment and jealousy comes to the surface for the way their women love us more.

Its just amazingly sad that a guy who acted stupid / drunk gets knifed to death for the slightest of problems, by some really nice fellows.

Bottom line is mind your own business. Do not get involved in any altercation local or otherwise.

Act only if you are threatened in person.

Why were those little a$$holes allowed to cover their faces at the police station?

[QUOTE=Slippery;1353863]Why were those little a$$holes allowed to cover their faces at the police station?[/QUOTE]I read this was students at one of phils best unis am I right? And maby some "businessmen" as well:-) Then most of them probably comes from rather powerful families with money(atleast the students) so I would guess the reason they all could cover their faces comes from the reason: more easy to hide them after everyone is beeing paid off(are we sure their actual names are stated?). The only thing can bee a hazzle here is if the victim was US diplomat. Then I guess the US foreign ministry/defence ministry would like a word with how this youngsters are beeing treated according to rather close relations between the 2 countries. But as for now I believe it is so corruption can revolve around its own momentum.

Not long time ago we had this grandson of the founder / owner of the RedBull company in Thailand. He was influated by cocaine running down and killed one cop in his Ferrari. Soon the family stated it was one servant driving the car. Investigation and vitnesses revealed this as a big lie as they recognised the guy. It was a bit hazzle for the family at one point and the story got even into international press before the family had the time to pay media / cops and others off. From my journalist friend this case is no almost closed so she thinks everyone has been paid off and the servants family many million BHT`s as so he can take the grandsons sentence.

This could not work in Norway. The more rich and powerful you are the more punishment you get not only penaltywice but in social stigma as well.

[QUOTE=Skogis;1353911]I read this was students at one of phils best unis am I right? And maby some "businessmen" as well:-) Then most of them probably comes from rather powerful families with money(atleast the students) so I would guess the reason they all could cover their faces comes from the reason: .[/QUOTE]Various news reports say all come from wealthy families. Also if they wanted to enter Bel Air in a Volvo then likley they (or family) has wealth. Be interesting to see what happens

[QUOTE=Slippery;1353863]Why were those little a$$holes allowed to cover their faces at the police station?[/QUOTE]Very naïve question. You can be assured none of the four will ever be convicted of murder. It was a very stupid move for the drunken dumbass American Marine to interject himself while the guard was just trying to do his job. The moron would still be alive today if he would have just taken the time to mind his own fucking business. As for the four, money will be passed around to the appropriate authorities and the matter will all be forgotten in due time. This should be a lesson to all foreigners the importance to remember you are a guest in their country and should behave accordingly

SB is correct, and Skogis, this is a long way from Norway, or from anytihng remotely resembling a Western system of justice. It's a common perceptual mistake to assume that since everyone here speaks a modicum of English, and since this purports to be a "Christian" country, it's more or less like the US or Western Europe. Many people never see beneath the very thin patina of English and Catholicism, and thus don't realize that this is a 3rd world, opaque oligarchy in which money and connections trump the pretense of justice and fair play every single time. If you need further substantiation of this point, look at the case of the Ampatuans, who gunned down more than 50 people more than three years ago in the middle of their fief in Maguindanao, and who haven't come close to coming to trial, and in the meanwhile, witnesses keep "disappearing," never to be seen again. Look at the fact that here in Mindanao, every major politicians maintains his (or her) own private army and that the newish president-despite his pre-election commitment to disbanding them-hasn't even made a move in this direction. Despite his publicly acclaimed denunciation of corruption, note that it's business as usual here, and that no one yet has been tried-much less convicted-of corruption since he took office. Yes, it's true that the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was convicted of impeachment, but so what? There were no criminal penalties involved, and no attempt to recover whatever was stolen.

As SB has stated, we are guests here, and as such, it pays to keep one's head down and to fly under the radar. As a guest, you have the choice of accepting the way things are and enjoying a relatively nice life, or existing in a state of constant turmoil railing against the way things are. For the most part, I prefer the former, and if from time to time I use this forum to vent, it's a healthy outlet as I would never think of venting outside the context of an anonymous Internet site.

Despite what I've said above, the economy of the country is doing relatively well: it's growing at an annual clip of about 6%, the amount of hard currency flowing in from overseas Filipinos is staggering and growing; the call center business is booming; and foreign donors (who seem to actually believe the president's rhetoric and appear unconcerned about actual performance) are pouring money into the place for development projects.

Plus ça change, plus que la même chose (the more things change the more they stay the same) may be the fact on the ground, but the international perception seems to be that things are moving here in a positive direction.

GE

[QUOTE=Screaming Beaver;1353998]Very naïve question. You can be assured none of the four will ever be convicted of murder. It was a very stupid move for the drunken dumbass American Marine to interject himself while the guard was just trying to do his job. The moron would still be alive today if he would have just taken the time to mind his own fucking business. As for the four, money will be passed around to the appropriate authorities and the matter will all be forgotten in due time. This should be a lesson to all foreigners the importance to remember you are a guest in their country and should behave accordingly[/QUOTE]Naive SB? Perhaps you don't speak, understand or comphend English well enough to understand a tongue in cheek question. Geeezzzzzzzz. I agree with the last sentence in your statement however, perhaps you should learn to keep your mouth shut too.

Opened my Yahoo mail page and it says " Top WR pickups". I'm thinking how did Wicked Roger get so famous that hes featured on my front page of Yahoo mail.

Then I realise its some US football thing, talking about a wide receiver. A 250 pound fatty with a helmet?

"TODAY.

Top WR pickups.

Yahoo! Sports' Andy Behrens gives the best receivers to add to your roster in Week 13."

I really thought old Rog had excelled himself once again!

Link or photo or it did not happen.

[url]http://news.yahoo.com/video/top-wr-pickups-190231596.html[/url]