Here is my sincere description of what’s in it, based on actually reading it, carefully, from start to finish. VOLUME I: RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE AND THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN Russian Interference was “sweeping and systematic” First, and most importantly, “The Russian government interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.” There were two components…
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Remembering James Blount, an American Who “Got” the Philippines in 1901
America’s official involvement in the Philippines began in 1898 when Commoodore (soon to be Admiral) Dewey sailed the Asiatic squadron from Hong Kong and defeated the Spanish fleet in Manila Bay. With the help of Filipino revolutionaries who fully expected to be granted independence, , the Americans succeeded in ousting Spain — but after doing…
America the Beautiful? You Mean America the Pitiful. I Am Ashamed
One headline reads: Trump’s Travel Ban Off to a Disturbing Start. Another: Refugees Detained, Legal Residents Blocked, as Trump’s Order is Implemented. As the reports come in of chaos around the world as legitimate visitors to the US, including students, scientists, green card holders, and vetted and approved immigrants, are barred from entry, — I just…
Putin, Trump, and the Russian Influence in the US Election — Act of War, or the New Normal?
I’ve been thinking a lot about the Russian influence operation against the American elections. I’ve read and reread the declassified report, and I’ve thought about it from the perspective of both an American observer in 2017 and the perspective of a former Cold War era intelligence officer. I’ve tried to digest all the inputs and…
Dear President Trump: Let Us Be Patriots
Therapy exercise for the day: Dear President Trump, Since the travel ban was enacted last week, protests have erupted and the polarization of America has accelerated. Like many, I’ve been engaged in social media dialogue and debate about this, and in the course of that debate I’ve learned that there is a fundamental concept that seems…
Dec 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor Remembered; The Attack on the Philippines — Forgotten?
For Americans of a certain age, December 7, 1941, will forever be, as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt labeled it — “a day that will live in infamy”. It was on that day, at 7:48 am, that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu, in the process decimating the U.S. Pacific fleet and precipitating…
Trump’s Mastery of the “Era of Anti-Politics” Might Land Him in the White House
There is something darkly profound going on in America political life and discourse. The rise of Donald Trump is, I’m beginning to think, more than a political shift. It’s a deeper cultural and psychological shift that is the logical outcome of the polarization and gridlock that has gripped our democracy ever since the emergence of…
America the Fearful? Spineless Yanks? That’s What Excluding Syrian Refugees Says About Us, So Own It
At latest count 24 states, including one with a democratic governor, have declared they will not host Syrian refugees. Why? Because one of the terrorists who attacked this past weekend in Paris apparently posed as a Syrian refugee. Am I the only one who just feels sickened at the lack of compassion and lack of…
Warriors of Samar
Warriors of Samar is also available via Amazon at this link — but as with Daughters of Samar, we decided to make it available to read online so if you go to Warriors of Samar, you can read it there. It’s the story of the Balangiga Encounter, told exactly as it happened, and it attempts…
A Photo That Will LIft the Spirits
Every once in awhile a picture comes along that says it all. This one, uncredited, is starting to make the rounds on Facebook. I’m trying to find the credit — I did a TinEye.com search (see below) which says it seached 4.2 Billion images and didn’t find a match. If someone knows, let me…
Live Blog of the John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood Free Kindle Promotion on Feb 6, 7
UPDATES 11:30 PM Feb 5 (30 minutes before launch): We’ve laid as much groundwork as possible. My son and biz partner Patrick Sellers is helping me. We’ve signed up at all the major sites, set up Tweets with all the relevant hashtags to go out regularly; we have an email blast ready to go out to my…
Christmas Spirit? "Angel" Grandma swoops into Toyrs 'r' Us store and starts paying for shoppers' purchases
A California Toys R Us just got a visit from the American Express angel. A mystery woman described only as a “retired grandma” surprised and delighted shoppers at a Culver City store Friday by swooping in with her plastic to pay for holiday purchases. “She was very quiet and unassuming and nobody in line had…
Bizarrely Compelling Nightly Border Closure Ceremony at the India-Pakistan Border
The truly bizarre yet strangely compelling nightly border closure ceremony involving both the Indian and Pakistani border guards at the Attaga border crossing. Apparently this is how they close the border every day at the end of the day.
Manny Pacquiao's Legacy Under Siege
I wrote once, quasi-famously it turns out, about the empathy, grace, and humility of Manny Pacquiao. It was gratifying, even thrilling, to see the response — more than 200,000 read the article; 39,000 fowarded it to Facebook, and through it all what came through was a deep, heartfelt appreciation by everyone –myself and all the…
Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright who inspired the world much as Cory Aquino did, is gone
One by one they are leaving us. First it was Corazon Aquino, whose People Power Revolution of 1986 fired imaginations around the world and ignited the possibility of People Power. Half a world away, in grey, central European streets of Prague, another unlikely pro-democracy leader was emerging — a playwright, not a politician, who would…
The Great Carl Sagan loved Edgar Rice Burroughs the way I did — watch!
Here’s a wonderful 3 minutes from Carl Sagan on how as a young boy he was mesmerized by the Mars of John Carter, Tars Tarkas, and Dejah Thoris. The reverence with which he speaks of the imaginative transport that the stories achieved for him, and how they inspired him to consider the possibility of the…
If the World Were a Village of 100 People
A friend of mine sent around a powerpoint presentation entitled “If the World Were a Village of 100 People” which was very moving and I wanted to share it, but Powerpoint doesn’t share so well on a blog, so I went to YouTube and found there are a bunch of people who have done videos…
Christopher Hitchens, the maddening, infuriating, delightful, thrilling essayist and all around bon vivant and troublemaker, is dead
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but it does. Christopher Hitchens, one of the free-est of the free thinkers I’ve ever come across, a guy who tossed ideas like hand grenades and liked enough whiskey “to kill or stun the average mule”, has died after all all too brief battle with esophogeal cancer. He was…
Golden Globes: "The Artist", "The Help", and "The Descendants" lead the way
The Golden Globe nominations are out, and along with a spate of other nominations announced this week, the 2011 Oscar field is taking shape with three films leading the way and a few others close behind. The Artist, a unique silent comedy in black and white that has the critics extremely excited, led the way…
Boy's wish to travel to the Philippines granted
Rolfo “Julius” Dogillo will get to spend Christmas with his father in the Philippines — something he might not have been able to do if it hadn’t been for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Guam and TakeCare Insurance Company. Yesterday morning TakeCare donated $7,500 to fund 15-year-old Dogillo and his family’s trip to the Philippines where he…
Messy Democracy in the Philippines: Aquino administration plans to oust Corona?
This is the kind of thing that is hard to understand from abroad, particularly in America where the institutions of government are given greater weight and value than the individuals occupying them. It bears watching. MANILA, Philippines — Chief Justice Renato Corona on Monday finally broke his silence amid the criticisms leveled against him and…
Portrait of a Hill Station; Daniel Burnham and the plan for Bagiuo in 1904
Rummaging around the internet looking for Fil-Am war nuggets, I came across this interesting 8 minute video on American architect Daniel Burhnam, who was commissioned to design Baguio City as a “Hill Station” and summer capital for the Americans during the early colonial period, and whose name continues to be associated today with Baguio because…
The History of the Philippine Scouts
by Col. John E. Olson, USA (Ret.) “Stand aside, the Scouts are coming.” These simple words contained in a poem written by an American officer in a Japanese POW camp shortly after the fall of Bataan reflect a sincere and respectful tribute to some of the finest soldiers ever to serve in the U.S. Army.…
Mike Wise | Freddie Roach got off the mat and triumphed
Freddie Roach, newly minted Hall of Fame trainer, will have his wares on display tonight when Amir Khan takes on Lamont Petersen. In today’s Washington Post, Mike Wise has written a great tribute to Freddie that reminds us of where Freddie has been, and what he’s had to deal with. Freddie Roach got off the…
Ignatius: A bleak look at America's future
by David Ignatius Is American power in decline, relative to the rest of the world? That question is at the center of a provocative study by the U.S. intelligence community exploring what the world might look like in 2030. The answer, judging by comments from a panel convened to discuss the topic, is that America…
"Forgotten Soldiers", the Philippine Scouts — a documentary film to be released in January 2012
A friend of the Philippines, Carol Merrill, alerted me to “Forgotten Soldiers”, a documentary about the U.S. Army’s Philippine Scouts, which will premiere in January 2012. This is a film that I hope fervently will be seen and gain an audience. For Producer/Director Donald Plata and writer Chris Schaefer it has clearly been a labor…
NY TIMES: Ex Philippine President Arroyo Moved to Military Hospital
Here is how the NY Times is reporting on the transfer of GMA to a military hospital MANILA — The former president of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, was moved through heavy traffic and pounding rain to a government hospital Friday to await trial on charges of election fraud. Mrs. Arroyo’s transfer from a luxurious suite at…
Hindu Business Line: "Philippines is a wake-up call for Indian IT Industry"
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, DEC 8: The Philippines emerging as the most-preferred destination for voice-based BPO destination is a wake-up call for the larger Indian BPO sector, says Mr V. K. Mathews, Executive Chairman, IBS Group. The Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) had declared recently that its call centre business had grown over 20 per cent…
Hollywood Reporter Reviews "Ang Babae sa Septic Tank", Philippine contender for Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film
Philippine director Marlon Rivera exploits cliches to lambast of the pretensions of independent cinema in his country and his fellow filmmakers’ inflated egos. BUSAN, South Korea — A mockumentary about filmmaking and a gritty-realist tragedy of child prostitution in a Manila slum are arguably two of the most je jeune offerings in a festival lineup. Philippine director Marlon…
My new labor of love site "The John Carter Files" is officially up!
Good ol’ michaeldsellers.com has evolved a site where I spend a lot of my time writing about an object of great passion in my life — the Philppines. I have some other sites “on the side” as well — and last Saturday I came to realize that was time to make another one because it’s…