Hey Pete,

I think I know where your coming from as I have been unsettled for years.The country has lost most of the values that made it stand out from rest and what I cant get my head around is why people like myself let it happen without a fight.

I nearly bought a business in Spain but after visiting decided it wasnt for me. Now I`m looking at New Zealand or Australia and may visit on my own to get a feel of the place, but at my age it will be difficult to be granted a permanent visa, I may be able to buy my way in though. My wife and children would also need convincing.

I`ve taken the liberty of posting something I found on another site that is thought provoking about the possible future in the P.I.

"
Which raises an interesting question. What if the muslim extremists do rise in the Philippines and start getting very nasty? The PAF is having a hard time dealing with them now, low morale, poor leadership and of course the absence of real leadership for the entire country. What if the MILF and Abu Sayyaf and JI really start slinging bombs around? First to go would be foreigners in Mindanao, nice and close. Then Cebu, just a ferry ride away and bring the gear in via banka. Off to Boracay and hit a few Europeans then Manila!

Angeles might no longer be spared as the R&R playground of suicide bombers waiting their call and Fields Avenue could be ablaze or deserted after a few hand grenades get tossed about. If they then went and hunted down each and every foreigner living in the provinces and beheaded them, leaving the locals alone.....what then? If they could argue the Filipino troops were dying just to protect the Kanos exploiting their country they might turn public opinion away from using the PAF to fight the terrorists, after all, no Filipino is being targeted!

I would do it like that. Pick only on soft, undefended foreigner targets, spare their wives and kids and be very specific with who gets killed. Isolate the foreign community and wind up the nationalists to help keep the US military away. If they landed, melt away for a year or so, then sneak back and resume, always foreigners, never Filipinos.

Meanwhile all through SE Asia the same thing is going on. I would bet money the non terrorist locals would sooner see the backs of foreigners then spill their own blood defending us in their countries, esecially those whose economy doesn't depend on us being there. Food for thought. " :blink:

By the way I live very close to the start of the M11, did you know that the speed camera on the M11 coming into London near Woodford is the largest (or was) revenue gatherers in the UK.