Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte went to Beijing for talks this week. The Chinese government had previously declared its support for Duterte's campaign of murder and violence under the guise of a war on drugs. This week, a joint statement from the two governments announced that China has agreed to provide some fifteen million dollars for his death squads and vigilante drug enforcers.
On Thursday October 20th, Duterte spoke to a business forum in Beijing and announced that he was separating from the United States, saying that the US had lost. By Friday, Duterte was starting to backtrack. Duterte further said that criticism of the brutal murders being committed under the guise of a drug war was one of the main reasons.
The question arises whether Duterte wants to eat his cake and have it, too. That's among the questions State Department spokesperson John Kirby spent more than half of a fifty-minute news conference answering on Thursday.
Also this week, we speak with Tom Burns, former head of marijuana programs for the Oregon Liquor Control Commission and former director of the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program, about how to protect patients' rights while implementing broader adult use legalization of marijuana.
#BoycottThePhilippines
- KBOO