Cultural exchange and understanding

War in the Middle East is not the only thing in my mind. I think about what's happening here in my country a lot. Truthfully, just as fiercely as Israel protects her citizens, the Philippines is doing just the opposite--journalists, leftist, and activists are falling like flies since this current administration cheated its way into office. I wonder what western bleeding hearts will think about a government of a "democratic" country with such a high record of extra-judicial killings and only 2nd to Iraq for the highest number of murdered journalists. Would they condemn a country so brutally for protecting its own when faced with danger from different fronts, when there are countries who are supposedly members of the free world whose citizens are being murdered freely with no justice in sight.

Anyway, lets get back to having a normal life. I went out with old friends and new friends from Japan last night. We had dinner and desert and exchanged stories about our culture and gave each other mini-language lessons. Nice, fun, and peaceful. Two different cultures, forming new friendships. If only it always works this way.