Politics: You stay classy, Manila.

It was a heady time twenty years ago. The Philippines looked to stop being the world's largest exporter of dictator jokes and the world's largest importer of Maude Frizon pumps. Perky and sincere Cory Aquino was large and in charge. Marcos' staff of graft-riddled ward heelers would be forced to go ply their trade in some other third-world single-party hell hole, like Chicago...

What a difference two decades makes:


You got your basic vote-rigging, rioting, coup-plotting, army-mutinying, islamic insurgenting, dragging-political-opponents-out-of-the-hospital, tear gassing, ballot box stealing, graft, corruption, and all-around misery back in spades. Heck, there may even be gen-yoo-wine commie guerillas hiding out in the hills with the fanatical Japanese holdouts. All we need now is a funny-looking guy with big shoulder boards and a wife with a shoe fetish, and the long-dry punchline pipeline can start flowing again...