On the 8 Spot

For four years, I saw dozens of people enslaved, several of whom traffickers like Benavil actually offered to sell to me. I did not pay for a human life anywhere. And, with one exception, I always withheld action to save any one person, in the hope that my research would later help to save many more. At times, that still feels like an excuse for cowardice. But the hard work of real emancipation can’t be the burden of a select few. For thousands of slaves, grassroots groups like PGS and MSEMVS can help bring freedom. But, until governments define slavery in appropriately concise terms, prosecute the crime aggressively in all its forms, and encourage groups that empower slaves to free themselves, millions more will remain in bondage. And our collective promise of abolition will continue to mean nothing at all.

E. Benjamin Skinner is the author of A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery (New York: Free Press, 2008).

Foreign Policy: A World Enslaved.

This was a great thought provoking story! Wow!

A programmer’s view of the Universe, part 1: The fish

I write a column for computer programmers called “Stevey’s Blog Rants.” It’s basically a magazine column — I publish to it about once a month. The average length of my articles is about 12 pages, although they can range anywhere from 4 to 40 pages, depending on how I’m feeling. But for precedent, don’t think blogs: think of Reader’s Digest. The blog format sets the wrong expectations.

Hence, some people complain that my articles are too long. Others complain that I have not given my arguments sufficient exposition, and that my articles are in fact too short on detail to warrant any credibility. This is a lose-lose situation for me, but I keep at it nonetheless because I enjoy writing. Even if nobody were to read my blog, the act of writing things down helps me think more clearly, and it’s engaging in the same way that solving a Sudoku puzzle is engaging.

You should try it yourself. All it takes is a little practice.

Stevey’s Blog Rants: A programmer’s view of the Universe, part 1: The fish.

and simply put, engineering boards for up students are not the same for non up students,
Its a way for people to show aptitude when studying in places where aptitude for a student isn’t a given
(think other state u’s or non-1st tier educational institutions).

As tipz has already stated at least in the Philippines UP students get the benefit of the doubt even with horrendous transacripts of records.

I think the example of this is if you go to other countries where UP students does not have a reputation for excellence and thus do not get the benefit of the doubt. They usually take certification exams of different sorts to prove at least a minimal level of competence.

I imagine an MIT/Stanford grad is not asked SCJP results when applying for CS jobs, but people from UP are, just expound on this.

And if you love programming you’d probably feel the same about the programming certifications as you feel for the Electronics Board Exams.

I’d say this is how the world works and you have to live with it.

I know its frustrating, and it is in some ways a waste of time.

I somewhat had a change of heart whilst writing this.

The younger batches should thank you because of your honesty.

You can create your own path.

But that would entail sacrifice, work in another country where the license is worth nothing, do your masters or create your own company.

I am rambling sorry , lack of sleep.

In conclusion, sorry if nobody told you the how worthless the board exams is, and what other paths you might have taken.
Thank you for starting the conversation.
This too shall pass.

We do want you and readers of your blog to understand that we (and those involved with these alternatives) are not romancing the past or rural life. But the current food crisis certainly supports the alter-globalization’s focus on increased food sovereignty. “Modernization” of agriculture in the southern Philippines, for instance, has been to the benefit of agribusiness corporations, seed/fertilizer/pesticide companies but not to the average farmer.

Dani Rodrik’s weblog: More on alter-globalization.

This i priceless!

So the federal government is now sending $700 billion of taxpayer money to free market scions who, I remind you, spend millions on collective protest (“lobbying”) against any form of government aid — especially to the middle class, to the poor, and to foreigners.

Whither the Riot? – Freakonomics – Opinion – New York Times Blog.