Had I run and won for captain in my barangay, one of the first things I would have done was to open the gates. In the neighborhood I live in (Teachers Village, UP Village, Sikatuna Village) many roads, maintained and lit by taxpayers, have been expropriated by homeowners, including my favorite senator, Miriam Defensor Santiago, who have carved for themselves private enclaves on public property.
All one has to do is have a petition on grounds of barangay and national security approved by the village council. Howard Calleja, whose English and logic leave much to be desired, was just interviewed by Ricky Carandang on the subject. If it's private property then there's not much controversy, but the state still can exercise right of way. But public property! (hey we don't need more legal analysis; what happened to Dean Bocobo's show?).
Because of these gates, one has to go through long detours at night, contributing to unnecessarily to climate change.
I wonder why the so-called 'progressive' and 'left-wing' and 'pro-poor' groups don't bitch about this. Maybe their leaders live in these villages?
The captain of my barangay
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Open those gates!
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10 comments:
King,
Here's a blog you'd like: where so much thought is given to matters we really don't want to think about but would want people like you to think about them for us so we don't have to. Bitaw, Judge Posner is someone you've read previously, no?
Thanks. I subscribed to their rss feed right after I got DSL. Most useful for me so far was their take on Rules vs. Discretion. He is the Posner who wrote Economics of Justice. I remember buying a copy for you in Cambridge.
I haven't heard from Rosario. Is she still in NY?
Will you be in PP in January? If so, see you there.My regards to Leon, Joaquin, Pilar, and Pam.
I bet she's the prettiest barangay captain one ever will find!
Yawyaw is my neighbor and 'godchild.' Let me preempt your curiosity. I successfully lobbied for a barangay ordinance allowing atheists to have godchildren.
Hahah! Funny, lemme say in turn that godfather of my oldest son (who's baptised Catholic) is Jewish!
And one of my closest friends is the atheist son of a Jewish rabbi!
(My Dad, may he rest in peace was atheist -- but my mother 'convinced him to rejoin the protestant fold when he was terminally ill.)
Hi Viking,
I accessed Leon's link and must say it was a good blog. Of particular interest to me was their thread on 14 Oct 2007: Globalization and Inequality --Posner's Comment.
My view:
Clearly written by an American with a rather "insular" view of the world. I accept his ideas based on that premise, but I think we have to look wider than a national basis and consider how we are going to bring prosperity to the billions of poverty stricken in the world. This is the role of the UN and it may mean that the rich nations (G8/G15) have to give up some wealth.
Global wealth has increased. Considering marginal incomes in the US may work as everyone has access to education and there are jobs for almost all those prepared to work and there are equal opportunities to gain wealth if one is clever enough. Much of the world is not in the same situation. Billions of families live on less than 1000 dollars a year and the UN is rightly concerned with these people. It is not enough to say I am in my country and everything is fine - especially with the globalisation of the economy. That way lies the development of disgruntled people who resent the consumption of a minority of the inhabitants of the planet and, in the extreme, are people prepared to commit terrorist acts. This makes the income inequality more than regrettable, unfortunate, deplorable etc - it makes it dangerous.
I agree we are citizens of our nations. We are also citizens of the planet and on this planet there are finite resources of energy, minerals and food. As such we have to consider the wider picture when we consider our relations with the world. We can no longer be insular. Technology is helping and will help more - indeed it will become our saviour or I fear the numbers of humans on the planet is in for a drastic correction.
Education is also different in different countries. In the US the education level is high and I agree that there is little that can be improved and the marginal cost is probably too expensive. However let us look at a country where the literacy rate is 25% (e.g. Afghanistan). In this country how do we run an administration, a legal system, and form a government. No-one can read notices, no-one can fill in forms, no-one can do accounts, no-one can record a contract. Life is based on what you can say and what you can remember - Your Word is Your Bond. This is not a world with which the average US company can deal. The cultural difference between our trade practises, with their armies of legal advisers, and the practises of companies in such a company lead to huge difficulties. Of course more education is needed. Sadly over three quarters of the world is in desperate need of more education.
Mr Posner needs to look more widely and see what the UN sees. He needs to use some imagination and get outside the little island that sits in the middle of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
(Anna)
See what I mean by labels? You're hardly a traditional conservative in the traditional meaning of the word.
The Becker-Posner Blog doesn't seem to welcome comments.
I've been meaning to contribute to your discussion on education but I've been busy. Have you eaten some good onions lately?
It seems you didn't get my mail.
Hahahahahah!
How 'bout a mature conservative...
But if you mean by "traditional meaning of conservative" is being a "fascist", then hell, no, I'm not a fascist!
You sure you sent it to the right addy? Haven't received any... from you that is.
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