benign0's blog

As usual, ProPinoy.net resident Mr Important is trying to be cute in his latest blurb where he presumes to tell current hero of the Illustrado class, James Soriano a thing or two. Too bad that thing -- even two of it -- falls short on sense . Nice try, Mr Manuel Buencamino. But do think again . English is just another means of communication . That is true -- among a people who have strong traditions of scientific, technological, and commercial achievement . Thus among successful societies, it does not matter whether you speak English, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Swedish, or Singlish. These languages -- and the people who speak them -- are peers among themselves.

Our minds are wired by millions of years of evolution to react to vermin with very primal -- often reflexive -- responses. Not only do we recoil in horror at the sight of decomposing biological matter our other senses are exquisitely attuned to detecting evidence of vermin infestation -- the smell of rotting flesh elicits the gagging sensation, bitter tastes repel us, touching something slimy or squishy disgusts us. All of the chemical agents that oppress our senses are the products of decomposition caused by vermin (of both the microbial and multi-celled varieties).

At the coffee shop where I routinely get my morning fix, customers mill around the counter in a way that often makes it difficult to distinguish those who are (a) in the process of ordering and paying, or (2) waiting for a concluded order to be served. So it is a normal and routine courtesy to politely ask: "Where do I get in line?". The remarkable thing here is that even where a queue is not readily apparent, one actually exists . Each person just makes a mental note of who came first -- and the collective outcome simply comes together in a natural way.

The United States is reportedly taking steps to help beef up the Philippines' "maritime capacity". Southeast Asia is of strategic importance to the United States and the Philippines is the weakest link of the zone. Its long coastline and dense jungle of islands coupled with a flaccid armed forces make the Philippines a blight in a vital junction of shipping lanes -- a potential haven for pirates, transshipment point for arms and illegal drugs, and base for international terrorism.

What by most standards is already a "squeaky clean" society apparently is not enough for a people who set high standards for themselves. The Singapore Government has set a goal to make their 30,000 public rest rooms even cleaner than clean . According to the Restroom Association (Singapore) (RAS), only 500 of these public toilet facilities were "up to its standards". What are these standards that even antiseptic Singapore's toilet facilities struggle to meet?

Interesting, that among the list of sites labeled under "You might also like" at the bottom of my recent article on AntiPinoy.com (AP), Comparing apples to oranges: The Madrigal murders and the Mendoza hostage affair , is one of my oldies-but-goodies How I became a 'Get Realist' which (after re-reading it) is uncannily relevant today.

And they used to call her the "Lame Duck President". Former President Gloria Arroyo seems to be stepping up in the way only a seasoned high-level government officer could as she "moved to calm tensions between the Chinese government and the Philippines over Monday’s hostage incident which killed 8 Hong Kong tourists".

Check out the latest Yellow Army image making the rounds (you can click on the image at right to enlarge it). Nicely done I might say. But still it doesn't count it out from my list of things that make you go "hmmmm..." .

Conrado de Quiros is taking great pains to justify Noynoy Aquino's snub of the 12th June 2010 "Independence" Day commemoration. This guy's certainly doing his bit in expediting the transformation of the Second Aquino Administration into the certified Emo Government it seems destined to become...