benign0's blog

Blogger Paul Farol recently brought to my attention an initiative to develop a "brand" for the Philippines . The initiative is being championed by a certain EON Philippines which, according to its website , is a "stakholders relations firm". EON have written a whitepaper, " Branding the Philippines: Championing the Filipino " that consolidates ideas brainstormed in a recently held forum that included representatives from various business stakholders in the Philippines (chambers of commerce, business clubs, industry associations, etc.).

The Inquirer today crowned President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III " our Filipino of the Year ". This honour was bestowed on the incumbent Philippine president supposedly for being "the living Filipino who made the most positive impact in 2010". And, it seems, on the basis of a November 2010 Social Weather Station survey that showed "seven out of 10 Filipinos were satisfied with President Aquino’s administration" and on a Pulse Asia "trust rating" of 80 percent.

Shocking revelation : In the United States, only 28 percent of teachers taught evolution "effectively", and that 13 percent of them advocated creationism . Unfortunate, considering that a US court had already previously held that the concept of "intelligent design" is not a science . In the landmark Kitzmiller v. Dover case, eleven parents sued a public school board in Pennsylvania for a policy that legitimised intelligent design and creationism. The outcome of the case was a triumph for science and a " defeat[...] of creationism in the courtroom "...