Daily Random Sites and Thoughts

Susan Boyle, the “Britain’s Got Talent” phenom, is obviously talented.  I specially liked how she shut up the people who rolled their eyes or made faces when she said she wanted to be a singer like Elaine Page.  She epitomizes the TRUTH that within each of us is a God-given gift–whether it is singing, sports, business, whatever.  It is just up to us to get past our individual wounds and self-erected imaginary walls to reach out and polish that GIFT.

With that said, I have to say that, without a doubt, Charice Pempengco of the Philippines is a better talent.  While Susan Boyle had the advantage of playing before a crowd that is very willing to embrace talent regardless of appearance, Charice had a harder road to hoe and a tougher climb to make–she was rejected by her own people due to her appearance despite her obvious superiority to local (professional and amateur) talent.  Charice Pempengco only became recognized in the Philippines because somebody posted her video on YouTube as a lark and it led to her bookings on the Elen De Generes show and Oprah.  Before rocketing to international fame, she suffered in relative obscurity in the Philippines despite many singing contests (her best placement, third place at “Little Big Star” after coming back from termination after the first round). It is so so sad that “native” Filipinos only learn to begin to appreciate themselves when someone else (outside of their culture) shows appreciation for one of their own.  Charice is the “stone that the builders rejected” that became the cornerstone of a global appreciation for true talent regardless of appearance and pigmentation.  She suffers what many talented “native” (as many Filipino signs and menu items describe non-mestizo/non-Chinese Filipinos) people face daily–lack of appreciation due to the sad persistence of the alien Mestizo culture that plagues the Philippines and cements its status as a sad Third World country.  Indeed, almost all its top models are mestizo/mestiza.  Skin whitening is a multibillion peso industry. A country that fails to love itself will inevitablly fail to lift itself out of poverty.

It is also particularly lamentable that Filipinos don’t recognize the link between mestizo culture and poverty as judged by the many impoverished Latino cultures of Mexico, Central America and South America.

This post gives appreciation to both Susan Boyle and Charice but it does serve to shine a light on the powerful repressive force that SELF-HATE and MENTAL COLONIALISM effects on people’s ability to make it in their own countries.  Yet another reason why people flee the Philippines to migrate to ‘greener pastures.”

Much has been said about the mass dramatic outburst and overreaction to Chip Tsao’s satirical piece about “The War at Home.”  See here for the full text–courtesy of Indolent Indio.   The Philippines, as of the time of this writing, has even BLACKLISTED Mr. Tsao from the Pearl of the Orient Seas.  His offense: failure to confess his sins and apologize.

But did he really slander and insult the Filipino people by, as his Pinoy critics claim, calling the Philippines a “nation of servants”?

The first step is to take a deep breath, exhale the drama and overreaction, and read Mr. Tsao’s article closely.  The reader will immediately notice that he explains that when the Russians defecate on Chinese sovereignty by killing 7 Chinese crewmembers of a Hong Kong freighter or when the Japanese blatantly plant a flag on Chinese contested territory, the Chinese turn a blind eye.  He even jabs at Communist China’s affinities with Stalin and Lenin and belittles Chinese mass consumer identification with Japanese mass consumer drivel and pap epotimized by Hello Kitty.

This establishes that his audience and his target are the Chinese people.  He is speaking to their docility.  Their supine diplomacy in the face of the potent Russian military presence emanating from Vladivostok and Japan’s imposing economic dominance in the Eastern Asia.

Now, the next paragraph is where the collective Pinoy reading ability is tested.  He starts by emphasizing–”even the Filipinos?”  He is stating with this textual turn that YES–Pinoys have sovereignty too just like the Japanese and the Russians.  The Chinese can accept those–very timidly in fact, as his earlier paragraph shows–but why can’t the Chinese except Pinoy sovereignty claims as well?  He states the fact that the Philippines, flowing from its sovereign right to define its boundaries, passed that national Baselines boundary law.  He emphasizes the Chinese double standard when he notes: This is beyond reproach. This is when he digs deep into Chinese stereotypes of Filipinos and it isn’t pretty.  Not pretty for Pinoys but doubly not pretty for his target audience–the Chinese government and Chinese people who hold a warped vision of their place in the world.

Everything else that follows aims to highlight the ridiculous Chinese double standard against Philippine sovereignty–the fact that there are over 130,000 Pinay domestic helpers in Hong Kong which lead many Hong Kong chinese to consider Filipinos as servants coming from a nation of servants, the fact that many of these “servants” have college degrees, the fact that many Filipinos work long hours doing menial labor, etc.  This long litany serves to cement the ridiculous incongruity in the Hong Kong Chinese mind of the “lowly” Philippines asserting its sovereign rights as opposed to China bending over to perceived ‘greater’ countries like Russia and Japan.  How dare the Chinese treat Pinoy sovereign claims as irrelevant when they are a sovereign nation as well?  Are they less entitled to sovereignty than Russia or Japan just because their stature is “lowered” by the fact that there are many Filipina domestic helpers in Hong Kong?  These are the hard questions Tsao asks of his Chinese audience.  He wants them to dig deep into their collective being.  Of course, the answer to all these are obvious.

Chip Tsao is a very courageous man.  His satiric mention of “Long Live Chairman Mao” would have earned him several years in a ‘reeducation camp’ back in the 60s to early 70s.  He is dragging the Chinese by the ear in front of a mirror and demanding, through clever but direct satire, to examine its double standards, it’s warped view of sovereignty, and it’s view of its place in the world.  The Philippines is merely a dramatic example in this soul searching.

A little bit off topic but still relevant:  Maybe if the many Pinoys outraged by Mr. Tsao’s article focused on the question of WHY there are over 135,000 Filipino domestic helpers in Hong Kong, maybe the rage would not be wasted?  Here’s a hint–bad economic policies at home.  Pinoys can get outraged over racism but why can’t they get outraged over a threat they have control over–economic policies that lead to eroded purchasing power that leads to mass Pinoy emigration?  Read more about this analysis: Why is the Philippines Poor?

Based solely on thinking patterns and world views, Michelle Obama might pass for your average Filipina (and Filipinos, too). Watch the video below and see and hear for yourself

watch?v=D7rAuTE5YcE

One of the biggest hurdles to the Philippines’ economic development is the stubborn attachment of many in the population to a Zero Sum economic worldview.  Put simply, they view the economy as one pie with a fixed size.  Accordingly, if one’s slice of the pie is to get larger, someone else’s slice of the pie has to get smaller.  This is the iron logic of believing that the pie is a fixed size.

Any newbie economist can tell you that the size of an economy’s “pie” is not fixed but grows based on the efficiency of that economy in attracting investments, the multiplier effect of monetary policy, and the economy’s general power of creating value for all its members.   Unfortunately, this does not comport with how socialists and liberals like Mrs. Obama think.   Tragically, this is also how many parts of the Filipino electorate think.

Just a random sampling of Filipino online messageboards and newspaper columns confirm the all abiding idea that if someone were to get ahead it is solely due to the fact that someone else suffered a loss.  The concept of increasing the size of the total “pie” or of a win-win solution remain largely an alien notion.  How did we get to this state of mind?  It is almost excusable for Pinoys to think in these terms because the colonial experience of mass land appropriation by both Spanish and Church authorities still persist in most Pinoys’ mental DNA.  It is indisputable, however, that one major part of maturing as a people is to move past mentalities spawed in the 1800s and earlier.  It also no longer fits modern economic realities and holds us back from converting “dead capital” into a rising economic tide that lifts all boats.

We are in the midst of a global economic tsunami that threatens to destroy much of the economic foundations of the Philippines–from the export sector, to OFW/immigrant remittances, and domestic consumption.  Our current leadership has been caught flatfooted time and time again when it comes to dealing with the economic crisis, transparency/good governance issues, and general forward planning.  As we look forward to 2010 and the hope for change, via the ballot box, for the Philippines, let’s keep in mind the following.  It may mean the difference between a change for the better or continued misery, hopelessness, and degradation for the bulk of Filipinos.

Keep these in mind when voting in 2010:
–> DO NOT vote for anyone just because they are a Lawyer, Doctor, Professor, Economist, “world class” consultant, or Engineer, or is a member of any other supposedly “intelligent” profession.  One can still be an idiot, a lunatic, or a thief (or, sadly too common in the Philippines, ALL of the above) regardless of the “prestige” of his/her day job.  Vote for experience and PROVEN ability to lead in an effective, transparent, and systematic manner.  Be careful of people who possess “fancy” professional titles who never worked in that field or only worked for family businesses.

Accept no less! Accept no substitutes.

–> DO NOT vote for anyone just because they sound intelligent or use fancy words (which they themselves probably barely understand) or projections.  Anyone can babble technogarbage, only a few can deliver on it.

–> DO NOT vote for anyone if you are not going to hold them against their promises.  Elections are about the future–visions of the future and ability to deliver on those visions.  If someone consistently fails to live up to his promises, DO NOT REELECT or vote him to a HIGHER OFFICE.

Simple as that.  Reward those who succeed.  Steer others to other careers.  The country needs proven achievers.

–> DO NOT vote for anyone based solely on the fact that they graduated from a prestigious college or they have an “advanced degree.”  There are many ineffectual and ineffective people that are “professional students” that fail in real work.  Don’t reward them with jobs that impact your family and your life–government work!

Vote them in only if they have proven ability with small things.

Why vote for someone that can’t even be trusted with small responsibilities?  Beware of candidates who run for Senator or other nationwide office on their first try for public office.

–> DO NOT vote for anyone just because they are from the same province as you or speak the same dialect as you.  Our national future is NATIONAL–put nation first.  Stop voting for dynasties that pimp your regional loyalties and give you crumbs in exchange for sucking out the economic and political lifeblood of your province for GENERATIONS.

–>DO NOT vote based on charisma.   From movie stars to “poor boys from the provinces”, the Philippines has been witness to many individuals who pimp Pinoys’ “api mentality” (victim mentality) through populist schtick (”Filipino first”, Erap Para sa Mahirap, Marcos’ “pro-poor” initiatives, etc).  Charismatic leaders manipulate the masses’ dreams while delivering only the same toxic stew of monopolies, closed markets, higher taxes, and other formulas that guarantee the Philippines’ economic basket case status for yet another six years.

Charisma is one thing.  Leadership and vision is another.  A candidate may be boring but maybe you can use the opportunity of your boredom to actually listen to the words emanating from that candidate’s mouth to see if they make logical sense, comport to a workable vision of the future, and can be verified by looking at his/her past record.

–> DO NOT vote based on extraneous garbage that doesn’t have anything to do with the ability to LEAD:  Don’t vote based on appearances.  Don’t vote based on “family.”

Vote based on platform and ability.  Vote using that eight pound piece of gray matter/lipid tissue located inside your skull.  Your future and your children’s future depends on it.

The Maury Povich Show achieved yet another high (or low, depending on your perspective) point when it started a televised paternity test. In these segments, women who claim to have children fathered by some unlucky schlub get to confront him on TV. The paternity test results are then publicized and all hell breaks loose.

Interesting to see how American popular culture has gone down the toilet. Well, at least it generates ratings, right?

Here’s the most famous episode

Here’s an unfortunate Web adaptation (real family picture)

If you think about it, the recent financial crisis all boils down to the American mentality of “keeping up with the Joneses.”  Your neighbor buys a bigger house, you buy one too.  He buys a new car, you want a bigger and better one.  So you rack up credit to buy a house you

Multiply your situation by millions and you have the current American Great Depression: millions of people living in homes they can’t afford trying to pay off debt their jobs can’t support.  America no longer produces commensurate to what it consumes.  It’s consumption is subsidized by foreign US treasury bond holders.

It’s only a matter of time before the house of cards finally implodes and Americans are forced to live life according to these classic and basic terms:

Don’t spend money you don’t have–live within your means.
You have to actually produce someTHING–hype can only carry you so far.
Bigger and more are not necessarily better.
The value of things normally come from their relative scarcity.  Learn to live with scarcity.
Hard work, discipline, and sacrifice are timeless.  They cannot be “managed” or alleviated.  They are what build human character.

Besides sexual sports in bed, Viagra might help athletes gain a competitive edge in cardio-intensive sports according to a recent medical study.

Viagra, or sildenafil citrate, was devised to treat pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in arteries of the lungs. The drug works by suppressing an enzyme that controls blood flow, allowing the vessels to relax and widen. The same mechanism facilitates blood flow into the penis of impotent men. In the case of athletes, increased cardiac output and more efficient transport of oxygenated fuel to the muscles can enhance endurance.

Think of it this way: if the sports competition is at higher altitudes, Viagra increases oxygen supply so that the athletes can compete as if they were on sea level.  So other athletes’ bodies have to work extra hard while the Viagra athletes coast.

Hmmmm.  Maybe the Olympics anti-doping committee should look into this?

cl1p.net is a great free tool for sharing media and files with your friend.  There’s other free file sharing sites out there, what makes this so cool?

1) You don’t have to log in to create a page

2) Drag and drop functionality for pictures and text

3) You can upload files easily.

4) Easy to share, just get a URL and you’re done.  No logins.  No verifications.  No hassles.

5) You can easily get 250+ days of FREE storage just by doing this:  build your page, enter your media, and click on the “Change” link right next to the “This page will expire in 7 days”.  Select 250+ days and then click submit.  You will be taken to a PAY page.  Click BACK on your browser.  Voila–your page is alive for 250+ days

Very interesting video on the history of the concept of evil. Ever notice how concepts that once “liberated” us eventually evolved to oppress us?

Have you received a PDF file from your boss and he tells you later he needs it modified?  Have you downloaded ebooks online for research and need to quote only portions of the book and don’t have the time to transcribe?

If you ever find yourself in these situations, HelloPDF’s free PDF to Doc converter will save your day.  It converts any PDF file to a .doc so you can easily modify it.  It works best with Microsoft Word and Wordpad.  While it works with Open office, the resulting document is not very easy to work with.

Great piece of productivity software for your wordprocessing needs.