Comments by "Rhythmicons" (@Rhythmicons) on "Pentagon Ran a Secret Anti-Vax Campaign to Undermine China at the Height of the Pandemic: Reuters" video.

  1. What's the saddest to me is that the US did this to a staunch ally. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!
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  2. The Philippines never moved away from the US. Perhaps publicly, under Duterte's bluster, but the relationship between the countries is so deep due to the Fil-Am community here in the US, that the Philippines will likely side with the United States in a conflict, even if the US is slated to lose.
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  3. THe issue is that Capitalism is inherently exploitive, and thrives on destabilization.
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  4.  @romulus_  I'm not in the Phils so I can't gauge, but many times a politician will say X in public but Y behind closed doors for optics. SOMETHING happened between Duterte and Obama that hasn't come to light yet that spawned his remarks and resulted in Obama's "let see how this plays out" inaction over Chinese base construction. It's a wise move for the Phils to play both sides for patronage. In the long run it might be best to work toward more peaceful relations with China than end up a battlefront in the next eastwest clash. I suspect that the Phils will remain steadfast with the US in that confrontation just because of the sizeable amount of Filipino citizens and expats in the US. Duterte was just an anomaly in the relationship, not indicative of a real trend. Track the relationship from Marcos to Marcos and neoliberal capitalists in the US ally strongly with Marcos cronys and the status quo is maintained. That's my take.
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  5.  @teatree6228  It's quite telling to look at Filipino migration patterns, first to Hawaii and then from Hawaii to the mainland and compare that with the various immigration acts and anti-miscegenation laws. You'd be surprised to see how labor unions pitted Filipinos against Mexicans and Chinese to keep wages down, and which states fought for and sought to ban Filipino laborers. Eventually white fraternal organizations like the American Legion, The Grange, the Native Sons of the Golden West, and the Commonwealth Club would unite with Filipino nationalists to push for independence. They did so solely to keep immigration quotas low, which is why Tydings-McDuffie granted independence after 10 years but the quota began upon passage. Meanwhile Filipina nurses got the worst jobs, and even during Covid more Filipino nurses died than any other group. Our nations are very intertwined.
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  6.  @romulus_  The Philippines has fought alongside the US in every war since 1899. They just recently reinvigorated the VFA and put new US bases in northern Luzon.
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  7.  @tired5925  At least the OP has figured it out. Give credit where credit is due.
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  8.  @Zerpentsa6598  Says a lot about the duplicitous nature of western post-colonial foreign policy.
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  9.  @boli1435  Thanks for your perspective. The US and the Philippines have a different relationship due to the familial connections amongst their citizens. Your advice essentially encourages vassal states. Given that China is most likely to become the global hegemon, you aim to see that Chinese interests are unchallenged by smaller nations. It is unfortunate that US-China relations have progressed as they have. China suffered so terribly at the hands of the west, and most especially during the Depression.
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  10.  @pong9000  lol As long as she has that bomb Sinigang...
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  11.  @sinic1978  You are of the ilk that introduced the color line in the Philippines in the first place.
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  12.  @user-mhgu6om9mj2t  My colonial masters? GTFOH. Nice try.
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  13.  @Jdwest81  By allyship I'm referring to the loyalty and tenaciousness of the Filipinos. Not to the duplicity of the US in such relations. Your condescension is noted.
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  14.  @Jdwest81  US foreign policy blunders far exceed 80 years, however, empathy towards our Filipino friends and relatives neither reflects nor requires fluency in the literature. Think better, and douche less vigorously.
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  15.  @erikhai1  They ceased being a colony in '46. Don't diminish the sacrifices of Filipino veterans.
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  16.  @kellysilliman  citations needed.
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  17.  @kellysilliman  According to the Guardian, Ikea gave more to the Philippines than China did. hahaha
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  18.  @naervern2107  The ones we need to look out for are the ones who claim the loudest to be patriots while they work to destroy the country.
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  19.  @JawJaw-dt7se  Phils' geography makes it pretty difficult to defend.
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  20. It's not even the Cold War. The working relationship between the US and the Philippines goes back to 1898.
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