… and you are definitely one if you got offended after reading this post’s headline. The truth is that this is one of the biggest differences between Filipinos and other nationalities. This is one of the things I realized in my latest trip to the U.S.

It is probably a culture thing, this oversensitivity of ours. Just like the U.S., the Philippines is a melting pot of different races. However, they are definitely better at handling criticism. There, you can easily yell at someone to turn the volume of his stereo down because it is way too loud. The other person will accept this objectively and respect your wishes for a quieter environment. In the Philippines on the other hand, you’d think twice before doing such a thing. What if that person gets offended? The paradox here is that by thinking twice we try to “respect” everyone else that we end up loosing respect for ourselves.

So it’s no big wonder to me when I heard news of Filipinos in the UK getting offended by a certain BBC comedy show. I grew up watching a lot of Monty Python, and this doesn’t even come close to how “racist” British humor can get. Ask the French, they should know. Or the Scots. Point is, we Filipinos tend to overreact on the smallest of things. Maybe the 300+ years under the rule of the Spanish, Japanese, and Americans made us more sensitive to these things some how. That, plus the fact that we are still riddled with seemingly uncurable social and domestic problems like corruption, pollution, overpopulation has engraved into our minds the feeling of inferiority. We are, after all, a third world country for almost half a century.

For the curious folk, below is a Youtube snip of the BBC video:

Here is the full ABS-CBN news article:

Filipinos in the United Kingdom condemned a BBC sketch comedy for airing a skit that is considered demeaning to Filipino domestic helpers.

The “Harry and Paul” show, aired over BBC on September 26, showed a Filipino domestic worker in a maid’s uniform dancing provocatively in front of a man in an attempt to seduce him.

According to the two title characters, the Filipina was following the wishes of a neighbor who wanted “their northerner” to “mate” with the “Filipina maid.”

Filipino leaders denounced the comedy act as racist and said it promotes sexual exploitation and demeans the image of Filipino domestic helpers.

Philippine Ambassador Edgardo Espiritu criticized the skit as “gutter humor.” He said the show counters the advocacy of the British government to observe equality for all and respect for human rights.

Filipino organizations have started mapping out plans for a protest action against BBC.

Loline Adelina Reed is leading an e-mail brigade to create awareness among Filipinos worldwide regarding the impact of the program to Filipino domestic workers.

Reed said the BBC should issue a public apology for the skit.

Other Filipinos in the UK said the BBC comedy scene was even worse than the script of an episode of the American TV series “Desperate Housewives”, which questioned the ability of Filipino medical graduates. Danny Buenafe and Mike Duque, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

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I just registered for Blog Action Day 2008. Last year the topic was on the environment. This year we’re doing poverty. If blogging for a cause is something that interests you, just click on the button at the top of this post to participate!

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Sounds to good to be true? Exercises in time management repeatedly proves that it is possible. Take, for example, the team in Wufoo and their 4 1/2 day workweek. By focusing their energy on getting things done in 4 days and allocating the last 1/2 day to recreation, team building, communication, etc they were able to successfully meet their productivity goals while enjoying the benefits of a 3 day weekend.

You don’t have to work at Google to enjoy a good work environment. All it takes is a little creativity!

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After working out a partnership with Newsbreak and months of working under the covers, ABS-CBNnews.com has finally unveiled their new and improved website, which features a boatload of new features such as:

• Better and cleaner user interface (less ads too)!
• Dynamic, AJAX-driven content panels
• Kyte powered streaming video feeds
• RSS feeds
• Content search
• Search engine friendly URLs

While some of these features already existed in the old site, it is definitely a huge improvement. Below are screenshots of the old site vs the new one:

Old design:

New design:

With this, it looks like ABS-CBN is finally geared up to go head to head with GMANews.TV and Inquirer.Net, its top competitors.

Inquirer.Net (currently #1):

GMANews.tv (currently #2):

The status quo remains unchanged according to Alexa.com. Only time will tell though, as the new site was just recently launched.

Note that these results may slightly be inaccurate, as there exists two URLs http://news.abs-cbn.com/ and http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/

Can this be considered a successful re-launch? Other bloggers appear iffy. What do you think?

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Taken from the iamninoy website:

Twenty-five years ago, a man named Ninoy Aquino fought
nobly for a cause he believed in. He was a man who believed
in heroism, in justice, in freedom, and he committed his life
to upholding these values in a manner he thought would be
for the greater good.

This man Ninoy lived bravely. And in his conviction and courage,
he died a hero.

(more…)

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Found some very nice designer country logos. Check them out (Click on the thumbnail below):

The original post is in Spanish(?), so I don’t really know who to to give credit to. No Philippines in the list, though

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It seems that Google wants a piece of the VR (virtual reality) revenue pie oh so famously milked to its bare skin and bones by Second Life, by introducing the new Google Lively (beta, of course!)

From the website meta-description:

Chat and hangout with your friends in rooms you design and customize your avatar. Experience another dimension of the web with Lively by Google.

Lively’s features include the following:

• Create your own virtual space

  Chat and interact with your friends in rooms you design

• Express yourself

  Customize your avatar and stream personal photos and video

• Add your room to your site

  Invite your friends to chat and help decorate

Google may have has also embraced the popular torrent based distribution method by providing a 450kb download, which is what I believe to be a torrent downloader. Note that this is just my unconfirmed hunch. After all, the mighty Google has all the bandwidth in the world to spare, and then some.

Of course, creating an account is easy as 1-2-3. If you already have a GMail account, all you have to do is sign in to the Google Lively website and it’s activated.
(more…)

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Got this in my mailbox today. Apparently it is an article sent by Dr. Arsenio Martin of Fort Arthur, Texas.

Enjoy reading.

THE DIFFERENCE

The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country:

This can be shown by countries like India& Egypt, that are more than 2000 years old, but are poor.

On the other hand, Canada , Australia & New Zealand , that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries, and are rich.

The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.

Japanhas a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.
(more…)

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April 22, 2008 is Earth Day. Here are 50 simple tips to fight global warming (taken from http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html):
(more…)

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So the other day something interesting happened. My car was unavailable because of number coding so I had to commute. I was on my way home at around 11:30 midnight and I felt the urge to buy a hotdog sandwich from a nearby 7-11 store at Gil Puyat Ave. I wasn’t even hungry, and I was sure of it, but I just had to purchase a hotdog sandwich. I even thought of the price. Thirty plus bucks for a hotdog sandwich and a regular drink.

So I bought it and after putting on the dressing and ketchup, I was on my way. I caught a jeepney to Guadalupe. When I got on, I immediately noticed the person seated beside me. He was at the very end of the jeepney. He was dressed in rags and appeared very dirty. My initial reaction was to move away, and I immediately felt guilty for even thinking about it.

It was then that out of the blue, it dawned upon me that maybe there was a reason behind me buying a hotdog sandwich, despite not feeling hungry. I looked at the man beside me. He is very thin and dirty. I gave him my half-eaten hotdog sandwich and coke. I hope he appreciated it. When we reached Buendia he alighted. I felt good.

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