miniZibaldone

“That Hitler came into political existence at all is directly owing to radio and public-address systems. This is not to say that these media relayed his thoughts effectively to the German people. His thoughts were of very little consequence. Radio provided the first massive experience of electronic implosion, that reversal of the entire direction and meaning of literate Western civilization. For tribal peoples, for those whose entire social existence is an extension of family life, radio will continue to be a violent experience. Highly literate societies, that have long subordinated family life to individualist stress in business and politics, have managed to absorb and to neutralize the radio implosion without revolution. Not so those communities that have had only brief or superficial experience of literacy. For them, radio is utterly explosive. [. . .] With TV came the end of bloc voting in politics, a form of specialism and fragmentation that won’t work since TV. Instead of the vot...

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Nikkei Asian Review ,   "Election risks reigniting Philippines inflation: Failure to fix economic bottlenecks leaves country vulnerable to price pressure" What might Milton Friedman make of the Philippines today? The Nobel economist popularized the theory that inflation is "always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon." Since the 1960s, his argument that demand for money controlled all prices won converts from London to Tokyo. Look no further than the Bank of Japan's deflation battle and you see the American's outsized influence 12 years after his death. But events in Manila show that even the great man was not always right. Last month, President Rodrigo Duterte's team demanded that the Manila central bank explain why the nation suffers the highest inflation in Southeast Asia. Though price pressures cooled in late 2018, the 5.2% annualized rate far exceeded the 2.9% gain in 2017. The response from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was to say to Dutert...

Philippine Daily Inquirer ,   "Learn from last year " Many experts agree: After suffering one of the most challenging years in recent memory, the Philippine economy is poised for a comeback this year. And this early into 2019, there are already several encouraging signs that give credence to this belief. For one, the local currency, a key barometer of foreign and local investors’ confidence in the local economy, has appreciated significantly since it hit multiyear lows last year. The equity market has also been on an upward trajectory in recent weeks, with the Philippine Stock Exchange Index no longer flirting with bear market levels as loss-weary investors had grown accustomed to just a few months ago, but with bull market territory that indicates the return of confidence in the country’s economic prospects. Then there is that issue of inflation — the main killer of confidence last year, which forced many consumers and business conglomerates to tighten their purse stri...

Nikkei Asian Review ,   "Apple held hostage by its Chinese puzzle ": How iPhone maker's success manufactured the rise of Huawei TAIPEI/ HONG KONG -- Soon after Tim Cook was hired by Apple's founder Steve Jobs in 1998 to whip the company's U.S.-focused supply chain into shape, he made a bold decision. Within two years he began shutting Apple's U.S. factories and outsourcing production to China. His decision drove down costs and gave Apple the resources it needed to develop its next blockbuster products, the iPod and iPhone. It also created a competitive manufacturing base, capable of mobilizing hundreds of thousands of workers with just a phone call. But eight years after Cook became CEO, this strategy is being called into question. Not only has it left Apple dangerously exposed in the escalating trade war between Washington and Beijing, but the highly complex supply chain that Apple built in China over 20 years has given rise to one of its fiercest compe...

Nikkei Asian Review ,   " Asia shares blame for its export slump " A moment of reckoning for Asia's exporters is a time for somber reflection and for bold action. Since Jan. 1, the region's advanced economies reported export drops thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump's trade war. First came news that December overseas shipments by South Korea fell 1.2% from a year earlier. Then it was Taiwan down 3%, Singapore down 8.5%, and now the biggest collateral-damage victim -- Japan down 3.8%. To no surprise, China also had a rough December. Exports slid 4.4%, the steepest decline in more than two years. Asia's biggest economy is, of course, the main target of Trump's protectionist jihad. But as China's neighbors sustain blows, they must accept some of the blame for their difficulties -- and make urgent adjustments.   [link] Vatican Insider,  " Pope Francis’ 'Montini-inspired realism'" The "criterion" of Christian...

Philippine Daily Inquirer's   "Unfair Protection " Local cement manufacturers appear to have succeeded in presenting a convincing storyline to the Department of Trade and Industry about the alleged destructive impact of imports on their profitability. Last week, the DTI announced the imposition of a provisional safeguard duty on imported cement starting next month, claiming it needed to protect local manufacturers who were at a disadvantage because of cheap imports. “With the elements of surge and injury clearly established, DTI is mandated to impose a safeguard duty. DTI is thus imposing a provisional safeguard duty of P8.40 per [200-kilo] bag, equivalent to about 4 percent,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez told reporters covering him. That’s an additional tax of 4 percent on imported cement.   [link] Mindanao Daily  "Will Moreno join the ‘Roa family’ reunion? " President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is expected to attend the annual “Roa Family Reunio...

Philippine Daily Inquirer's   " Costly traffic " Metro Manila’s traffic mess is one problem that is proving too difficult to untangle. A confluence of events since many administrations ago has led to this nightmare in the capital. Last week, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) estimated that the worsening traffic congestion in Metro Manila now costs at least P3.5 billion in lost opportunities a day — a jump from the estimated P2.4 billion a day in 2012. The future does not seem to present much promise either. According to the Jica study, Metro Manila’s population in 2015 was nearly 13 million while Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite combined had almost 11 million. That puts Mega Manila’s population in 2015 at 24 million.   [link] Mindanao Times  " Missing the point " The stir that the Boracay controversy has created has resulted in concerned agencies scampering for solutions to the garbage problem. In the Davao Region for instanc...

Politics is one of the highest forms of charity. Great politics. And in that I think that polarization does not help. On the contrary, what helps in politics is dialogue. —Pope Francis

Sun.Star Cebu's  Carvajal: "In Aid of" OF COURSE, extrajudicial killings by scalawags in the police force, as Sen. Leila de Lima is passionately crusading against, and extrajudicial killings by drug lords and other lords, as she surprisingly is not crusading against, not as passionately anyway, have both to be stopped. Such killings simply have no place in the nation of laws that we are. It is not a matter of course, however, that Senate investigations can stop these killings. These investigations are conducted by design and intent for nothing more than to aid legislation. Thus in the past these have often turned out to be platforms for grandstanding by legislators in aid of their re-election. From her experience as justice secretary, Senator de Lima should already know what law, if any, is needed to be passed to help stop extra-judicial killings (by all and not just by the police) without having to waste government time and money on endless but ineffective pro-forma ...

Philippine Star  "Super tiny minority" It’s not easy being a member of the opposition when the president enjoys a trust rating of over 90 percent, with a near-total 97 percent in Mindanao. A democracy,  however, needs a functioning check and balance system, which is normally provided by the political opposition.  Even an immensely popular president is vulnerable to the abuse of power and needs a credible opposition to discourage this. Beyond promoting the proper use of power,  the opposition can also help ensure that the annual national appropriation is utilized for the intended purposes, with projects and programs implemented properly. In  short, the political opposition has an indispensable role to play in promoting good governance and making democracy work.  Under the current setup, the opposition in the House of Representatives is also expected to initiate proceedings to remove from office a president, vice president,  justice of the Supreme Cour...