The militant wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) is called the New People’s Army (NPA). While most of the armed groups that we are discussing this week are Mindanao based, the NPA operates throughout the Philippines, and actually is more active in Luzon and the Visayas than it is in Mindanao. The […]
Moro National Liberation Front
The Moro National Liberation Front, MNLF, is a Muslim Group that operates in Mindanao. The MNLF was involved in war with the Philippine Government from the 1970’s until 1996. The whole idea of the MNLF, however, got started in 1968 when 299 Muslim Filipino military trainees were killed by the Philippine Government of Ferdinand Marcos. […]
The dangers that lurk
Whenever you start talking about the Philippines, inevitably the talk will turn to “how dangerous it is” to come here. Frankly, I don’t believe it to be very dangerous at all. In fact, I feel it is safer here in Davao City than it is in many major US Cities, so honestly, I don’t get […]
Whoever Said Isaac was Fair Lied To You
Do you know my friend Isaac? Fair Isaac that is. When people talk about their “credit score” in the USA (and who doesn’t, it seems to me) they are normally talking abut their FICO score. FICO is the industry abbreviation for the Fair Isaac Company, the most powerful corporation in the USA, bar none, in […]
Suddenly, I’m filthy rich!
About 6 years ago, not long after I moved from General Santos City to Davao, I met a young man. He was the brother of a friend, and had just moved to Davao himself. This young man, his name was Omar, was half Filipino, half American. Omar had grown up in the USA, and had […]
Dinner with Matt (yes, THE Matt)
Last night, I had dinner with Matt. Matt Mullenweg. For those who don’t know who Matt is, he is the founding developer of WordPress, the software that this site runs on, and that powers millions of blogs on the Internet. Matt is also the founder of Automattic, the company that runs his online ventures. It […]