Sunday, December 25, 2011
The Hermit Kingdom
North Korea is one of the most secretive country in the planet. It is organized in emperor worship and blood lineage leadership. Watch this document and observe their life comparing to your own.
Click on the colored link.
Assignment: 1. Retain your latest grouping (Video Festival) and submit a paper pointing our the difference between your life in the Philippines and life in North Korea. Two pages only. Deadline January 10 and 11 on class days.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Thursday, December 22, 2011
SO 101, Please view the post Birth of the Universe
Birth of the universe is a four-part series on explaining how the universe came to be. Just go to the post below this.
Birth of the Universe 1-4
National Geographic presents a four-part series on the birth of the universe.
http://youtu.be/phV-Zpy1BeM
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
On Mass behavior in Wukan, China
SO 101 & NSTP students read on this mass behavior phenomenon.
The conflict in Wukan, a coastal settlement near the country’s booming industrial heartland in Guangdong Province, escalated on Monday after residents learned that one of the representatives they had selected to negotiate with the local Communist Party had died in police custody. The authorities say a heart attack killed the 42-year-old man, but relatives say his body bore signs of torture.
The conflict in Wukan, a coastal settlement near the country’s booming industrial heartland in Guangdong Province, escalated on Monday after residents learned that one of the representatives they had selected to negotiate with the local Communist Party had died in police custody. The authorities say a heart attack killed the 42-year-old man, but relatives say his body bore signs of torture.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Monday, December 5, 2011
The last Bo.
The last member of a 65,000-year-old tribe has died, taking one of the world's earliest languages to the grave.
Boa Sr, who died last week aged about 85, was the last native of the Andaman Islands who was fluent in Bo.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1248754/Last-member-65-000-year-old-tribe-dies-taking-worlds-earliest-languages-grave.html#ixzz1fjj6qUab
Boa Sr, who died last week aged about 85, was the last native of the Andaman Islands who was fluent in Bo.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1248754/Last-member-65-000-year-old-tribe-dies-taking-worlds-earliest-languages-grave.html#ixzz1fjj6qUab
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Power point presentation, Chapter report SO 101
As I have given instruction on the chapter reporting you can use power point presentation. You can add a video/s presentation within the power point.
Then present a song that you think that can go with your report.
Lastly, you can share to the class a video of interest that you found which is around 2-3 minutes.
Then present a song that you think that can go with your report.
Lastly, you can share to the class a video of interest that you found which is around 2-3 minutes.
Announcement: SO 101
Students are required to view the two videos posted below this window. Big Bang Theory and Human Evolution videos will be our material for discussion.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Welcome Freshmen, Second Semester 2011-12
Hellow!
Welcome to a new world and space of learning. Now, via this blogspot or we may call it the cyberspace I hope I can provide you with the reading and viewing materials for the Introductory course on Sociology.
Messages will be posted here, so you have to visit this site for the duration of the semester.
I am inviting you to watch the video on the 21st Century enlightenment just below this post.
If you think there are interesting articles you like to read please do so.
Welcome to a new world and space of learning. Now, via this blogspot or we may call it the cyberspace I hope I can provide you with the reading and viewing materials for the Introductory course on Sociology.
Messages will be posted here, so you have to visit this site for the duration of the semester.
I am inviting you to watch the video on the 21st Century enlightenment just below this post.
If you think there are interesting articles you like to read please do so.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Žižek at Wall Street: “don’t fall in love with yourself”
Žižek at Wall Street: “don’t fall in love with yourself”
We are not destroying anything. We are only witnessing how the system is destroying itself. We all know the classic scene from cartoons. The cat reaches a precipice but it goes on walking, ignoring the fact that there is nothing beneath this ground. Only when it looks down and notices it, it falls down. This is what we are doing here. We are telling the guys there on Wall Street, “Hey, look down!”
Click on colored link.
We are not destroying anything. We are only witnessing how the system is destroying itself. We all know the classic scene from cartoons. The cat reaches a precipice but it goes on walking, ignoring the fact that there is nothing beneath this ground. Only when it looks down and notices it, it falls down. This is what we are doing here. We are telling the guys there on Wall Street, “Hey, look down!”
Click on colored link.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Occupy Wall Street! October 2011
Click on colored link below:
Got Class Warfare? Occupy Wall Street Now!
Thursday 6 October 2011
by: Henry A. Giroux, Truthout | Op-Ed
Protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement, the United Federation of Teachers and members of other unions at Foley Square in New York, on October 5, 2011. (Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times)
We're young; we're poor; we're not going to take it anymore. -Occupy Wall Street chant
As thousands of young people are marching against corporate power and rallying in protest against the symbols of Wall Street greed across the United States, the political and economic elites respond by engaging in a form of class warfare and clinging to the celebration of the shark-like culture of casino capitalism, revealing all too clearly their own criminal behavior and how it represents a major threat to American democracy.
Got Class Warfare? Occupy Wall Street Now!
Thursday 6 October 2011
by: Henry A. Giroux, Truthout | Op-Ed
Protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement, the United Federation of Teachers and members of other unions at Foley Square in New York, on October 5, 2011. (Photo: Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times)
We're young; we're poor; we're not going to take it anymore. -Occupy Wall Street chant
As thousands of young people are marching against corporate power and rallying in protest against the symbols of Wall Street greed across the United States, the political and economic elites respond by engaging in a form of class warfare and clinging to the celebration of the shark-like culture of casino capitalism, revealing all too clearly their own criminal behavior and how it represents a major threat to American democracy.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Evolution, Richard Dawkins, Genes
Progressive Evolution?
Professor Dawkins’s great intellectual conviction is that evolution is progressive, and tends to lead to more and more complexity. Species, in his view, often arrive at similar solutions to evolutionary puzzles — the need for ears, eyes, arms or an octopus’s tentacle. And, often although not invariably, bigger brains. So the saber-toothed tiger shows up as a cat in Europe and Asia, and as a marsupial in South America. Different species seized on the same carnivorous solution. (He most certainly does not, however, view evolution as progressing toward us, that is humans — were we to disappear, some other species most likely would fill our evolutionary niche.)
Professor Dawkins’s great intellectual conviction is that evolution is progressive, and tends to lead to more and more complexity. Species, in his view, often arrive at similar solutions to evolutionary puzzles — the need for ears, eyes, arms or an octopus’s tentacle. And, often although not invariably, bigger brains. So the saber-toothed tiger shows up as a cat in Europe and Asia, and as a marsupial in South America. Different species seized on the same carnivorous solution. (He most certainly does not, however, view evolution as progressing toward us, that is humans — were we to disappear, some other species most likely would fill our evolutionary niche.)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Governance
The new hires, who worked as project head coordinators, executive officers, technical writers, project evaluators, field inspectors, client assistance officers, field coordinators, office aides and area coordinators, were paid from P5,000 to P18,500 each.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/54813/coa-probes-3000-qc-%E2%80%98ghost%E2%80%99-workers
Francis Fukuyama, Origins of Political Order
Dr. Fukuyama, a political scientist, is concerned mostly with the cultural, not biological, aspects of human society. But he explicitly assumes that human social nature is universal and is built around certain evolved behaviors like favoring relatives, reciprocal altruism, creating and following rules, and a propensity for warfare.
Because of this shared human nature, with its biological foundation, “human politics is subject to certain recurring patterns of behavior across time and across cultures,” he writes. It is these worldwide patterns he seeks to describe in an analysis that stretches from prehistoric times to the French Revolution.
http://nyti.ms/pgU3ZM
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Public speaking
At school students are not just taught to understand concepts. They are also taught how to face and talk to crowds. If you are motivated to take this skill then it is best that you start early.
Look at how Steve Jobs speak to crowds. He knows. Full of confidence. Search also for other speakers with their famous lines. There is this AL Pacino movie, At any given Sunday. He gave an inspirational talk. You can also look at his piece on Scent of a Woman.
Look at how Steve Jobs speak to crowds. He knows. Full of confidence. Search also for other speakers with their famous lines. There is this AL Pacino movie, At any given Sunday. He gave an inspirational talk. You can also look at his piece on Scent of a Woman.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Effective Power Point Presentation
Effective power point presentation. Please google or search at You Tube, Effective Power Point Presentation.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Forgetfulness a cult.
Moving on: the cult of forgetfulness
By: Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:01 am | Sunday, July 31st, 2011
Memory is so burdensome to many of us that moving on and not looking back has become a kind of value in itself. The argument is that responding to present challenges is demanding enough, we should not compound it by dredging the past. This attitude, so prevalent in our culture, typically rides on the religious notion of forgiveness as forgetting and freeing oneself of a grudge. I argue that while a sense of forgiveness may lead us to disregard a wrong, forgiving does not mean forgetting.
There are two reasons why we should remember, and they are particularly relevant to our context. The first is quite obvious: many of our present problems are practically the same ones we encountered in the past. They recur because we have not taken them seriously enough – meaning, we do not use them as occasions to affirm our basic values, laws, and standards. We are content to catch the small fry hired by the real culprits. Because of the latter’s power, we stop short of calling them to account, or of punishing them. We seldom take the trouble of determining the nature of these problems so as to prevent their recurrence.
The second reason for remembering is that where there is no recognition of wrongdoing, or where there is no remorse and atonement, there is no duty to forgive. The offense is bound to be repeated, if not by the same person, by others who are emboldened by the community’s lack of will to enforce its laws. But, more than this, when a wrongdoing is unacknowledged and altogether blotted out, and the wrongdoer survives in memory without stigma, cynicism displaces idealism. The community loses its capacity to judge and to distribute social esteem. Before long, the unpunished wrongdoer may even come back to claim esteem. In our forgetfulness, we then wonder why, in the first place, it was denied him.
In his book “The ethics of memory,” the philosopher Avishai Margalit wrote of forgiveness in these terms: “The central metaphor is not erasure but, rather, returning. The sinner who has become distanced from God because of his sin now returns to Him. The first step in correcting the wrongdoing is not God’s forgiveness but the sinner’s act of returning to God.”
This is accomplished, Margalit writes, first and foremost by the offender showing remorse. Why is remorse so crucial to the return of the offender to the fold, and to the reconciliation between the wrongdoer and the community that forgives?
Margalit’s insight is instructive: “Remorse offers us a non-magical way of undoing the past. Although it is impossible to undo what has been done, since the past cannot be changed, it is possible to change our interpretation of the past. By expressing remorse the offender presents himself in a new light, a light that can be projected into the past. His ability to feel remorse attests that he is not basically evil, even if the act that he performed was abominable. The sinner does not deny the badness of his deed, as then he would not be expressing remorse, but his very assumption of responsibility for the deed is supposed to create a rift between the act and the doer. Thus, an offender can be forgiven even if the offense cannot be forgotten.”
Let us apply this insight to two of our past presidents, Ferdinand Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who were accused of committing acts considered abominable by society but were never punished. Marcos died in exile before the cases filed against him could be heard and decided. He was defiant till the end and never admitted committing any wrongdoing. A large portion of his wealth was nonetheless pronounced ill-gotten and was confiscated by the government.
A US court declared his regime guilty of human rights violations and awarded compensation to the victims. But the rest of his family had no problem returning to the country from exile after his death. His wife Imelda is now a member of the House of Representatives, his oldest daughter Imee, the governor of Ilocos Norte, and his son Ferdinand Jr., a senator of the republic. Feeling perhaps vindicated by electoral success, they now want a hero’s burial for the former dictator. There is not even a hint of remorse here, no confession, and certainly no atonement. By demanding a hero’s burial for Marcos, they want the nation, in effect, to confess that it had made a mistake in deposing him as president. That is what moving on means in this context.
Gloria Arroyo’s case is slightly different. After claiming the presidency a second time on the back of a highly-disputed electoral outcome, GMA did everything to cover up the criminal acts that went into ensuring her dubious victory at the polls.
The issue came to a head in mid-2005 when recordings of conversations between election operators and politicians, including Arroyo, surfaced. The “Hello Garci” tapes plunged the government into a crisis and prompted the carefully crafted “I-am-sorry” statement of GMA on television. Was this a gesture of remorse that merits reciprocal forgiveness? I think not. This was an attempt at evasion, not atonement. By re-describing her act as merely “a lapse in judgment,” Arroyo sought to decriminalize it. Her subsequent statements were a virtual denial of her participation in these taped conversations.
Now that witnesses have come forward, and the trail of evidence and testimony seems to be leading to the doorstep of the Arroyos, we again hear that tiresome refrain about moving on. It is not forgiveness they seek, but, rather, forgetfulness.
* * *
public.lives@gmail.com
By: Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
1:01 am | Sunday, July 31st, 2011
Memory is so burdensome to many of us that moving on and not looking back has become a kind of value in itself. The argument is that responding to present challenges is demanding enough, we should not compound it by dredging the past. This attitude, so prevalent in our culture, typically rides on the religious notion of forgiveness as forgetting and freeing oneself of a grudge. I argue that while a sense of forgiveness may lead us to disregard a wrong, forgiving does not mean forgetting.
There are two reasons why we should remember, and they are particularly relevant to our context. The first is quite obvious: many of our present problems are practically the same ones we encountered in the past. They recur because we have not taken them seriously enough – meaning, we do not use them as occasions to affirm our basic values, laws, and standards. We are content to catch the small fry hired by the real culprits. Because of the latter’s power, we stop short of calling them to account, or of punishing them. We seldom take the trouble of determining the nature of these problems so as to prevent their recurrence.
The second reason for remembering is that where there is no recognition of wrongdoing, or where there is no remorse and atonement, there is no duty to forgive. The offense is bound to be repeated, if not by the same person, by others who are emboldened by the community’s lack of will to enforce its laws. But, more than this, when a wrongdoing is unacknowledged and altogether blotted out, and the wrongdoer survives in memory without stigma, cynicism displaces idealism. The community loses its capacity to judge and to distribute social esteem. Before long, the unpunished wrongdoer may even come back to claim esteem. In our forgetfulness, we then wonder why, in the first place, it was denied him.
In his book “The ethics of memory,” the philosopher Avishai Margalit wrote of forgiveness in these terms: “The central metaphor is not erasure but, rather, returning. The sinner who has become distanced from God because of his sin now returns to Him. The first step in correcting the wrongdoing is not God’s forgiveness but the sinner’s act of returning to God.”
This is accomplished, Margalit writes, first and foremost by the offender showing remorse. Why is remorse so crucial to the return of the offender to the fold, and to the reconciliation between the wrongdoer and the community that forgives?
Margalit’s insight is instructive: “Remorse offers us a non-magical way of undoing the past. Although it is impossible to undo what has been done, since the past cannot be changed, it is possible to change our interpretation of the past. By expressing remorse the offender presents himself in a new light, a light that can be projected into the past. His ability to feel remorse attests that he is not basically evil, even if the act that he performed was abominable. The sinner does not deny the badness of his deed, as then he would not be expressing remorse, but his very assumption of responsibility for the deed is supposed to create a rift between the act and the doer. Thus, an offender can be forgiven even if the offense cannot be forgotten.”
Let us apply this insight to two of our past presidents, Ferdinand Marcos and Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who were accused of committing acts considered abominable by society but were never punished. Marcos died in exile before the cases filed against him could be heard and decided. He was defiant till the end and never admitted committing any wrongdoing. A large portion of his wealth was nonetheless pronounced ill-gotten and was confiscated by the government.
A US court declared his regime guilty of human rights violations and awarded compensation to the victims. But the rest of his family had no problem returning to the country from exile after his death. His wife Imelda is now a member of the House of Representatives, his oldest daughter Imee, the governor of Ilocos Norte, and his son Ferdinand Jr., a senator of the republic. Feeling perhaps vindicated by electoral success, they now want a hero’s burial for the former dictator. There is not even a hint of remorse here, no confession, and certainly no atonement. By demanding a hero’s burial for Marcos, they want the nation, in effect, to confess that it had made a mistake in deposing him as president. That is what moving on means in this context.
Gloria Arroyo’s case is slightly different. After claiming the presidency a second time on the back of a highly-disputed electoral outcome, GMA did everything to cover up the criminal acts that went into ensuring her dubious victory at the polls.
The issue came to a head in mid-2005 when recordings of conversations between election operators and politicians, including Arroyo, surfaced. The “Hello Garci” tapes plunged the government into a crisis and prompted the carefully crafted “I-am-sorry” statement of GMA on television. Was this a gesture of remorse that merits reciprocal forgiveness? I think not. This was an attempt at evasion, not atonement. By re-describing her act as merely “a lapse in judgment,” Arroyo sought to decriminalize it. Her subsequent statements were a virtual denial of her participation in these taped conversations.
Now that witnesses have come forward, and the trail of evidence and testimony seems to be leading to the doorstep of the Arroyos, we again hear that tiresome refrain about moving on. It is not forgiveness they seek, but, rather, forgetfulness.
* * *
public.lives@gmail.com
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Did you know?
Students of SO 101 are encouraged to view the video Did you know? What could be the impact of technology in future life?
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Supplementary reading on geology
SO 101 students, please see the latest posting on Earth's geological period. Care to read and view the animation.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
2001 Space Odyssey
Ever wonder the vastness of space? Our universe or multi-verse? Listen to this musice.
FUTURESTATES : Plastic Bag By Ramin Bahrani
FUTURESTATES : Plastic Bag By Ramin Bahrani
For SO 101 students. Please watch this film. We will discuss this next month.
For SO 101 students. Please watch this film. We will discuss this next month.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Welcome Freshmen
Welcome Freshmen to a new period of your life.
For starters do visit Carl Sagan's video clips. As a follow-up you can search for the tag "evolution" at the search engine by typing it in.
Carl's Sagan's work may have 12 episodes at YouTube, you can follow it up by viewing them at your free time, which is your choice, and make notes of the questions you have in mind so that we can discuss them in our class.
Sociology as a subject of human study is linked to the origins of humans because we have to answer the question, "Where did we come from?" We have to understand in a scientific way or other tools to understand or origins, our purpose and our destiny as human is this "blue planet" (as seen from outer space).
I encourage you to learn more about this by doing research and by publishing your thoughts about it in your own blogspot.
Enjoy the journey of learning, a life-long learning.
For starters do visit Carl Sagan's video clips. As a follow-up you can search for the tag "evolution" at the search engine by typing it in.
Carl's Sagan's work may have 12 episodes at YouTube, you can follow it up by viewing them at your free time, which is your choice, and make notes of the questions you have in mind so that we can discuss them in our class.
Sociology as a subject of human study is linked to the origins of humans because we have to answer the question, "Where did we come from?" We have to understand in a scientific way or other tools to understand or origins, our purpose and our destiny as human is this "blue planet" (as seen from outer space).
I encourage you to learn more about this by doing research and by publishing your thoughts about it in your own blogspot.
Enjoy the journey of learning, a life-long learning.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Innovation propelled by new technologies
Innovation is driving societies to become more competitive and survive.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/06/04/gps.johnson.innovation.cnn
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/06/04/gps.johnson.innovation.cnn
Drive towards new innovation
The move towards innovation propelled by sharp cutting edge technology is being accelerated by societies to make their population competitive and survive.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/06/04/gps.johnson.innovation.cnn
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2011/06/04/gps.johnson.innovation.cnn
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Big Bang, Human Evolution, Simple presentation 4:38 mins
A video presentation on the Big Bang Theory, rise of replicating DNA, early life forms, evolution, human evolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f7LD1KhddE&feature=fvsr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7f7LD1KhddE&feature=fvsr
Friday, April 29, 2011
Filipino wit
FILIPINO SIGNS OF WIT:
1. The sign in a flower shop in Diliman called "Petal Attraction"
2. A 24-hour restaurant called "Doris Day & Night"
3. Barber shop called "Felix The Cut"
4. A bakery named "Bread Pitt"
5. Fast-food place selling 'maruya' (banana fritters) called "Maruya Carey".
6. Then, there is "Christopher Plumbing"
7. A boutique called "The Way We Wear"
8. A video rental shop called "Leon King Video Rental"
9. A restaurant in Cainta district of Rizal called "Caintacky Fried Chicken"
10. A local burger restaurant called "Mang Donald's" (San Fernando, La Union )
11. A doughnut shop called "MacDonuts"
12. A shop selling 'lumpia' (egg roll) in Makati called "Wrap and Roll"
13. And two butcher shops called " Meating Place and Meatropolis" .
Smart travelers can decipher what may look like baffling signs to unaccustomed foreigners by simply sounding out the 'Taglish' (The Philippine version of English words spelled and pronounced with a heavy Filipino such as:
14. At a restaurant menu in Cebu :
We hab Sopdrink in can an in Batol? [Translation: We have soft drinks in Can and in Bottle].
15. Then, there is a sewing accessories shop called Bids And Pises -
[translation: Beads and Pieces --or-- Bits and Pieces]
There are also many signs with either badly chosen or misspelled words but they are usually so entertaining that it would be a mistake to 'correct' them like.......
16. In a restaurant in Baguio City , the 'Summer Capital' of the Philippines: Wanted: Boy Waitress
17. On a highway in Pampanga: We Make Modern Antique Furniture
18. On the window of a photography shop in Cabanatuan : We Shoot You While You Wait
19. And on the glass front of a cafe in Panay Avenue in Manila : Wanted: Waiter, Cashier, Washier
Some of the notices can even give a wrong impression such as:
20. A shoe store in Pangasinan which has a sign saying:
We Sell Imported Robber Shoes? (These could be the 'sneakiest' sneakers);
21. A rental property sign in Jaro reads:
House for Rent, Fully Furnaced (It must really be hot inside)!
22. Occasionally, one could come across signs that are truly unique - if not altogether odd.
City in southern Philippines which said: Adults: 1 peso; Child: 50 centavos; Cadavers: fare subject to negotiation.
23. European tourists may also be intrigued to discover two competing shops selling Hopia (a Chinese pastry) called Holland Hopia and Poland Hopia - which are owned and operated by two local Chinese entrepreneurs, Mr. Ho and Mr. Po respectively - (believe it or not)!
24. Some folks also 'creatively' redesign English to be more efficient. The creative confusion between language and culture leads to more than just simple unintentional errors in syntax, but in the adoption of new words, says reader Robert Goodfellow who came across a sign.....
House Fersallarend' (house for Sale or Rent). Why use five words when two will do?
25. According to Manila businessman, Tonyboy Ongsiako, there is so much wit in the Philippines. Why? Because we are in a country where a good sense of humor is needed to survive. We have a 24-hour comedy show here called the government and a huge reserve of comedians made up mostly of politicians and bad actors. (Thanks to Mr. George Ma Mon Luk)
1. The sign in a flower shop in Diliman called "Petal Attraction"
2. A 24-hour restaurant called "Doris Day & Night"
3. Barber shop called "Felix The Cut"
4. A bakery named "Bread Pitt"
5. Fast-food place selling 'maruya' (banana fritters) called "Maruya Carey".
6. Then, there is "Christopher Plumbing"
7. A boutique called "The Way We Wear"
8. A video rental shop called "Leon King Video Rental"
9. A restaurant in Cainta district of Rizal called "Caintacky Fried Chicken"
10. A local burger restaurant called "Mang Donald's" (San Fernando, La Union )
11. A doughnut shop called "MacDonuts"
12. A shop selling 'lumpia' (egg roll) in Makati called "Wrap and Roll"
13. And two butcher shops called " Meating Place and Meatropolis" .
Smart travelers can decipher what may look like baffling signs to unaccustomed foreigners by simply sounding out the 'Taglish' (The Philippine version of English words spelled and pronounced with a heavy Filipino such as:
14. At a restaurant menu in Cebu :
We hab Sopdrink in can an in Batol? [Translation: We have soft drinks in Can and in Bottle].
15. Then, there is a sewing accessories shop called Bids And Pises -
[translation: Beads and Pieces --or-- Bits and Pieces]
There are also many signs with either badly chosen or misspelled words but they are usually so entertaining that it would be a mistake to 'correct' them like.......
16. In a restaurant in Baguio City , the 'Summer Capital' of the Philippines: Wanted: Boy Waitress
17. On a highway in Pampanga: We Make Modern Antique Furniture
18. On the window of a photography shop in Cabanatuan : We Shoot You While You Wait
19. And on the glass front of a cafe in Panay Avenue in Manila : Wanted: Waiter, Cashier, Washier
Some of the notices can even give a wrong impression such as:
20. A shoe store in Pangasinan which has a sign saying:
We Sell Imported Robber Shoes? (These could be the 'sneakiest' sneakers);
21. A rental property sign in Jaro reads:
House for Rent, Fully Furnaced (It must really be hot inside)!
22. Occasionally, one could come across signs that are truly unique - if not altogether odd.
City in southern Philippines which said: Adults: 1 peso; Child: 50 centavos; Cadavers: fare subject to negotiation.
23. European tourists may also be intrigued to discover two competing shops selling Hopia (a Chinese pastry) called Holland Hopia and Poland Hopia - which are owned and operated by two local Chinese entrepreneurs, Mr. Ho and Mr. Po respectively - (believe it or not)!
24. Some folks also 'creatively' redesign English to be more efficient. The creative confusion between language and culture leads to more than just simple unintentional errors in syntax, but in the adoption of new words, says reader Robert Goodfellow who came across a sign.....
House Fersallarend' (house for Sale or Rent). Why use five words when two will do?
25. According to Manila businessman, Tonyboy Ongsiako, there is so much wit in the Philippines. Why? Because we are in a country where a good sense of humor is needed to survive. We have a 24-hour comedy show here called the government and a huge reserve of comedians made up mostly of politicians and bad actors. (Thanks to Mr. George Ma Mon Luk)
Monday, February 28, 2011
EDSA 25th Anniversary, Statement by Former Senior Government Officials
25 Years of People Power from EDSA Revolution to Daang Matuwid:
Lessons in Democratic Life for Our Nation’s Future
(A Statement from the Former Senior Government Officials)
We, former senior government officials, join our people in celebrating the silver anniversary of the victory of our democratic revolution.
The Filipino people can rightfully be proud that they took the path of people power revolution, a path taken since by many other nations from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, including the latest from Tunisia and Egypt.
Our own people power revolution banished a dictator, defeated takeover attempts by various military factions, ratified a Constitution that guarantee our rights, rebuilt the institutions essential for our democratic governance, gave power and resources to our local governments, and liberated our media, our economy and our society from the many oppressions of authoritarian rule. Many of our countrymen celebrate just surviving another day; surely our people must celebrate making so much history in the first 25 years of our democracy.
We celebrate our achievements but we must be mindful of the monumental tasks that remain. Thus far, our people power revolution has failed to end corruption at the highest levels of our government, failed to lift millions of our fellow Filipinos from poverty, and failed to bring enduring peace to our countryside, particularly in Mindanao. Our democracy is now a 25-year old young adult. It must rise from the exuberance of the EDSA revolution and embrace the discipline of daang matuwid. It has so much yet to learn and do.
What Have We Learned?
1. Our people like to choose their leaders. They often choose wisely. Sometimes they choose liars, cheats, and thieves but bad leaders do not fool all the people all the time. We must never again compromise the integrity of our elections being the only way for our people to choose their leaders.
2. Our country has many honest, competent and courageous people willing to sacrifice for our democratic institutions to function well. We must get more of our best, most decent and brightest people to become civil servants because their service will save our nation.
3. Our laws speak so clearly: a public office is a public trust. We must keep our leaders, particularly those at the highest levels, and our civil servants, including those at the grassroots, faithful to our laws and worthy of our trust. We must make sure those who violate our trust suffer substantial consequences.
4. The exercise of our freedoms and rights is our best guarantee for a secure and prosperous future. Surrendering our liberties for security and prosperity is a fool’s bargain. The greatness of our leaders will depend on the responsibility borne by our citizens. We revere our dearly departed Corazon Aquino not just because of what she did but even more because of what she was able to inspire our people to do.
What Must We Do?
Now we must join the one-year old presidency of Benigno Simeon Aquino to do what he said in his inaugural he would do: “Ilalaan ko ang aking buhay para siguraduhin na ang ating demokrasya ay kapaki-pakinabang sa bawat isa.”
1. We must first rid our government of the leeches and vampires sucking the blood of our people. We need to restore responsibility and accountability in our public agencies. We must finally take the steps necessary to make the Office of the Ombudsman the “protector of the people” that our Constitution intended it to be, instead of the coddler of the corrupt powerful that it has become. Throughout our government, we must make graft rare not common, corruption unusual not routine, and abuse extraordinary not SOP. Our highest officials must become the leaders in honesty and integrity or serve as prime examples of punishment for violations, when necessary.
2. We must invest in improved health and better education to realize the promise of our nearly hundred million people being the true blessings they were meant to be for their families and our country. Our nation has nearly doubled in numbers since the EDSA revolution 25 years ago. Our society and economy has the means to protect all Filipinos from sickness or disability and to enable all to become literate, skilled and productive in a modern technological world. We need to deploy these means sooner rather than later before the growing numbers of the sick and ignorant overwhelm those who are well and educated.
3. We must expand our economy, not just on the obvious vigor of our cities, but also on the growing prosperity of our farmers, fisherfolks and rural communities. Our economy must grow more by creating jobs at home and less from merely spending the remittances of workers abroad. So many of our economic enterprises survive on the exploitation of our workers that we need to re-discover the powerful virtuous cycles possible when workers are lawfully treated so that they become better consumers. We must give attention to employing our young people who are unable to get jobs because they have no prior job experience. Our government and the private sector should start up internships, apprenticeships, on-the-job options and other modes of providing our young mostly unemployed workers with valuable work experience.
4. We must have a government that serves, not constrains, the individual and collective enterprise, energy and creativity of our people. First of all our government must not insult, scandalize or provoke another outbreak of people power by its failures to retain our trust in its integrity and our respect for its competence. We must use the power of the people, not just to oust dictators or plunderers, but also to educate our children, heal our sick, empower the powerless, and uplift the lives of all. Our government must mobilize our citizens, not just in protest of its mistakes or in the election of its replacements, but also in strategic and sustained participation in governance, enterprise and development.
5. We must build an inclusive and just peace everywhere conflict and insurgency prevails. We should support prudence, perseverance and good faith in the political negotiations between the government and the major insurgencies afflicting our countryside. We should also accelerate the delivery of missing public services, expanded economic opportunities and more knowledge and information to communities long isolated by armed conflict. We urge our political leaders to provide political solutions to our very real problems that continue to kill Filipinos and keep those who survive poor.
Our democracy has the capacity to perform far better than it had done thus far. Whatever imperfections our democracy might have, we can make it work better if we strive daily to strengthen our institutions and if more of our people become responsible citizens. Our most important task is the elimination of the worst miseries of poverty and the lessening of inequities that are the root of all unrest and instability in our beautiful land. Let us dedicate this silver anniversary celebration to our people power revolution’s eventual attainment of this task.
For Reference:
Jesus Estanislao
Former Secretary
Department of Finance
Mobiline: 0918 934 1038
Vicente Paterno
Former Minister
Ministry of Industry
Mobiline: 0917 795 7974
Sixto Roxas
Former Chairman
National Economic Council
Mobiline: 0928 520 3301
Leticia Ramos-Shahani
Former Undersecretary
Deparment of Foreign Affairs
Mobiline: 0915 487 1877
Lessons in Democratic Life for Our Nation’s Future
(A Statement from the Former Senior Government Officials)
We, former senior government officials, join our people in celebrating the silver anniversary of the victory of our democratic revolution.
The Filipino people can rightfully be proud that they took the path of people power revolution, a path taken since by many other nations from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, including the latest from Tunisia and Egypt.
Our own people power revolution banished a dictator, defeated takeover attempts by various military factions, ratified a Constitution that guarantee our rights, rebuilt the institutions essential for our democratic governance, gave power and resources to our local governments, and liberated our media, our economy and our society from the many oppressions of authoritarian rule. Many of our countrymen celebrate just surviving another day; surely our people must celebrate making so much history in the first 25 years of our democracy.
We celebrate our achievements but we must be mindful of the monumental tasks that remain. Thus far, our people power revolution has failed to end corruption at the highest levels of our government, failed to lift millions of our fellow Filipinos from poverty, and failed to bring enduring peace to our countryside, particularly in Mindanao. Our democracy is now a 25-year old young adult. It must rise from the exuberance of the EDSA revolution and embrace the discipline of daang matuwid. It has so much yet to learn and do.
What Have We Learned?
1. Our people like to choose their leaders. They often choose wisely. Sometimes they choose liars, cheats, and thieves but bad leaders do not fool all the people all the time. We must never again compromise the integrity of our elections being the only way for our people to choose their leaders.
2. Our country has many honest, competent and courageous people willing to sacrifice for our democratic institutions to function well. We must get more of our best, most decent and brightest people to become civil servants because their service will save our nation.
3. Our laws speak so clearly: a public office is a public trust. We must keep our leaders, particularly those at the highest levels, and our civil servants, including those at the grassroots, faithful to our laws and worthy of our trust. We must make sure those who violate our trust suffer substantial consequences.
4. The exercise of our freedoms and rights is our best guarantee for a secure and prosperous future. Surrendering our liberties for security and prosperity is a fool’s bargain. The greatness of our leaders will depend on the responsibility borne by our citizens. We revere our dearly departed Corazon Aquino not just because of what she did but even more because of what she was able to inspire our people to do.
What Must We Do?
Now we must join the one-year old presidency of Benigno Simeon Aquino to do what he said in his inaugural he would do: “Ilalaan ko ang aking buhay para siguraduhin na ang ating demokrasya ay kapaki-pakinabang sa bawat isa.”
1. We must first rid our government of the leeches and vampires sucking the blood of our people. We need to restore responsibility and accountability in our public agencies. We must finally take the steps necessary to make the Office of the Ombudsman the “protector of the people” that our Constitution intended it to be, instead of the coddler of the corrupt powerful that it has become. Throughout our government, we must make graft rare not common, corruption unusual not routine, and abuse extraordinary not SOP. Our highest officials must become the leaders in honesty and integrity or serve as prime examples of punishment for violations, when necessary.
2. We must invest in improved health and better education to realize the promise of our nearly hundred million people being the true blessings they were meant to be for their families and our country. Our nation has nearly doubled in numbers since the EDSA revolution 25 years ago. Our society and economy has the means to protect all Filipinos from sickness or disability and to enable all to become literate, skilled and productive in a modern technological world. We need to deploy these means sooner rather than later before the growing numbers of the sick and ignorant overwhelm those who are well and educated.
3. We must expand our economy, not just on the obvious vigor of our cities, but also on the growing prosperity of our farmers, fisherfolks and rural communities. Our economy must grow more by creating jobs at home and less from merely spending the remittances of workers abroad. So many of our economic enterprises survive on the exploitation of our workers that we need to re-discover the powerful virtuous cycles possible when workers are lawfully treated so that they become better consumers. We must give attention to employing our young people who are unable to get jobs because they have no prior job experience. Our government and the private sector should start up internships, apprenticeships, on-the-job options and other modes of providing our young mostly unemployed workers with valuable work experience.
4. We must have a government that serves, not constrains, the individual and collective enterprise, energy and creativity of our people. First of all our government must not insult, scandalize or provoke another outbreak of people power by its failures to retain our trust in its integrity and our respect for its competence. We must use the power of the people, not just to oust dictators or plunderers, but also to educate our children, heal our sick, empower the powerless, and uplift the lives of all. Our government must mobilize our citizens, not just in protest of its mistakes or in the election of its replacements, but also in strategic and sustained participation in governance, enterprise and development.
5. We must build an inclusive and just peace everywhere conflict and insurgency prevails. We should support prudence, perseverance and good faith in the political negotiations between the government and the major insurgencies afflicting our countryside. We should also accelerate the delivery of missing public services, expanded economic opportunities and more knowledge and information to communities long isolated by armed conflict. We urge our political leaders to provide political solutions to our very real problems that continue to kill Filipinos and keep those who survive poor.
Our democracy has the capacity to perform far better than it had done thus far. Whatever imperfections our democracy might have, we can make it work better if we strive daily to strengthen our institutions and if more of our people become responsible citizens. Our most important task is the elimination of the worst miseries of poverty and the lessening of inequities that are the root of all unrest and instability in our beautiful land. Let us dedicate this silver anniversary celebration to our people power revolution’s eventual attainment of this task.
For Reference:
Jesus Estanislao
Former Secretary
Department of Finance
Mobiline: 0918 934 1038
Vicente Paterno
Former Minister
Ministry of Industry
Mobiline: 0917 795 7974
Sixto Roxas
Former Chairman
National Economic Council
Mobiline: 0928 520 3301
Leticia Ramos-Shahani
Former Undersecretary
Deparment of Foreign Affairs
Mobiline: 0915 487 1877
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Have I told you how to get rich?
Want to build some wealth in 2011? Revisit those New Year's resolutions.
You probably haven't thought about your pledges in more than a month. But odds are at least one of them involves getting rid of debt, increasing your income or building some financial security.
http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/112185/9-ways-to-build-wealth-in-2011?mod=retire-planning
You probably haven't thought about your pledges in more than a month. But odds are at least one of them involves getting rid of debt, increasing your income or building some financial security.
http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/112185/9-ways-to-build-wealth-in-2011?mod=retire-planning
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Pia's bill on no age discrimination
MANILA, Philippines—A bill that seeks to eliminate age discrimination in employment by prohibiting and penalizing any employer, labor contractor, and organization that will deny any individual jobs because of age has been filed at the Senate.
In filing Senate Bill 252, Senator Pia Cayetano noted an emerging discrimination against older people especially with a number of fresh graduates joining the labor force.
In filing Senate Bill 252, Senator Pia Cayetano noted an emerging discrimination against older people especially with a number of fresh graduates joining the labor force.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Philippines fails to industrialize, women as drug mules
MANILA--"Maid in the Philippines" was how its top export commodity used to be known, with millions of women from the impoverished country hired abroad as domestic workers.
But as menial jobs vanish in the global recession and opportunities fail to materialize at home, more and more desperate Philippine women are resorting to something far more dangerous -- smuggling drugs as mules.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20110220-321282/Women-drug-mules-pay-as-Philippines-fails-on-jobs
But as menial jobs vanish in the global recession and opportunities fail to materialize at home, more and more desperate Philippine women are resorting to something far more dangerous -- smuggling drugs as mules.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/news/breakingnews/view/20110220-321282/Women-drug-mules-pay-as-Philippines-fails-on-jobs
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Rural situation, Philippines
About half of the Philippines’ 88 million people live in rural areas. Poverty is most severe and most widespread in these areas and almost 80 per cent of the country’s poor people live there. Agriculture is the primary and often only source of income for poor rural people, most of whom depend on subsistence farming and fishing for their livelihoods. In general, illiteracy, unemployment and the incidence of poverty are higher among indigenous peoples and people living in the upland areas. Overall, more than a third of the people in the Philippines live in poverty.
Click on the link.
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/web/guest/country/home/tags/philippines
Click on the link.
http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/web/guest/country/home/tags/philippines
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Can sleep heal us faster?
Can sleep heal us faster?
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18qna.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=science
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/18/science/18qna.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=science
Monday, January 3, 2011
Alzheimer's disease affects society.
Margaret Nance was, to put it mildly, a difficult case. Agitated, combative, often reluctant to eat, she would hit staff members and fellow residents at nursing homes, several of which kicked her out. But when Beatitudes nursing home agreed to an urgent plea to accept her, all that changed. - From New York Times
Population decline
In some cities of America, population has been declining. Click on the link and read on the article.
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