Philippines 
Typhoon Morakot: bright spots amidst tragedy(1)
August 12, 2009
Mother Nature has struck Asia the last few days, with Hurricane Morakot hitting the Philippines, Taiwan, and China, and Hurricane Etau hitting Japan. Japan has also experienced two earthquakes. Confirmed deaths are in the double digits, but the village of Hsiao Lin (小林 or Little Woods) was buried under a landslide, with hundreds feared dead.
Buying and Selling in the Philippines
This weekend I bought a lot and others sold a lot. Amongst the things I bought this weekend: one hour of deep tissue massage at the family massage center (500 pesos). I hesitated to do something that seems so indulgent while working on poverty alleviation in a country with a high poverty level. My knots didn’t care about solidarity politics, though, so I decided to go for it.
