Many great public issues as well as many private troubles are described in terms of the “psychiatric” — often, it seems, in a pathetic attempt to avoid the large issues and problems of modern society.
— C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination
Tag: Governance
Some Food for Thought
PhilHealth’s Fund Crisis: Illegal Transfers, Congressional Decisions, and Leadership Failures 🇵🇭
The Universal Health Care (UHC) Act of 2019, a landmark legislation for equitable healthcare access, places PhilHealth at the forefront of its implementation. However, recent controversies—ranging from the unlawful transfer of funds to the National Treasury to Congress denying PhilHealth a budget for 2025—have exposed systemic failures and raised serious questions about accountability and leadership.
PhilHealth’s Fund Crisis: Illegal Transfers, Congressional Decisions, and Leadership Failures
Politics at a critical juncture in Philippine history
For so many years, we have complained and howled against political dynasties.
Ever since we established ourselves as a republic and began electing leaders in government, it has become a given, even deep-rooted and thus an innate limitation. Ever since, only a few, and therefore the same people from the same families are always elected into office.
The 20th CPCCC 3rd Plenum: Meaning for PH
There are two lessons for Filipinos and the Philippines from the Third Plenum of the 20th CPC Central Committee, the first is how serious national econ-political-social is properly done. This includes the requisite political system that guarantees its effectiveness and success.
The 20th CPCCC 3rd Plenum: Meaning for PH
Related:
China Forges Ahead Amid Challenges and Shifting Global Dynamics
This article presents a critical analysis of navigating headwinds and seizing opportunities in China’s economic crossroads, based on Yaroslav Lissovolik’s blog.
China Forges Ahead Amid Challenges and Shifting Global Dynamics
Why Did Washington Insist on the Kosovo War?
The following remarks were delivered at a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the NATO bombing of Serbia: “The 1999 Red-Green Bombing Terror against Serbia,” held on March 20, 2024, at the Bundestag in Berlin hosted by MdB Dr. Rainer Rothfuß and his Alternative for Germany parliamentary group.
Why Did Washington Insist on the Kosovo War?
Related:
Bosnia II: The Clinton Administration Sets Course for NATO Intervention in Kosovo
Niger Coup Leader Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou Was Trained By The US Military
The Intercept has verified that Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou, the head of Niger’s Special Operations Forces and a key figure in the unfolding coup in Niger, received training from the U.S. military. Since 2008, military officers trained by the United States have been involved in 11 coups in West Africa.
Niger Coup Leader Brig. Gen. Moussa Salaou Barmou Was Trained By The US Military
Related:
Army in Niger backs coup as U.S. forces in the country assess situation
Fort Moore (formerly Fort Benning) is home to the former School of the Americas.
[2022] Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here’s why it doesn’t have mass shootings
Switzerland has a stunningly high rate of gun ownership — here’s why it doesn’t have mass shootings
Switzerland hasn’t taken part in any international armed conflict since 1815, but some Swiss soldiers help with peacekeeping missions around the world.
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Swiss authorities decide on a local level whether to give people gun permits. They also keep a log of everyone who owns a gun in their region, known as a canton, though hunting rifles and some semiautomatic long arms are exempt from the permit requirement.
But cantonal police don’t take their duty dolling out gun licenses lightly. They might consult a psychiatrist or talk with authorities in other cantons where a prospective gun buyer has lived before to vet the person.
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Gun owners who want to carry their weapon for “defensive purposes” also have to prove they can properly load, unload, and shoot their weapon and must pass a test to get a license.
Switzerland is also one of the richest, healthiest, and, by some measures, happiest countries in the world.
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The Swiss have been consistently near the top of this list. In 2017, when Switzerland was ranked fourth overall among nations, the report authors noted that the country tends to do well on “all the main factors found to support happiness: caring, freedom, generosity, honesty, health, income and good governance.”
Meanwhile, according to the report, happiness has taken a dive over the past decade in the US.
The report authors cite “declining social support and increased corruption,” as well as addiction and depression for the fall.
Related:
The Different Ways That US And Chinese Governments Use Their Power
Russia’s war on Ukraine both reflects and deepens a global split that should remind us of Karl Marx’s famous remark: “No social order ever disappears before all the productive forces, for which there is room in it, have been developed; and new higher relations of production never appear before the material conditions of their existence have matured in the womb of the old society.” The United Kingdom already lost its particular social order—its empire—while the United States is now losing its.
The Different Ways That US And Chinese Governments Use Their Power
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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