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Better Class of Politicians Please::Roxas: Villar acting like GMA | ABS-CBN News Online Beta

I should have started an online betting pool of when the mud slinging will begin, but when come to think of it when did it even stop? A Philippines for Filipinos and not Politicians!!!!

Roxas: Villar acting like GMA
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/26/2010 4:29 PM
MANILA, Philippines – Sen. Manuel Roxas II on Tuesday likened Sen. Manny Villar to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for using the usual line of “politicking” to dodge allegations of corruption.
“Ito ang linya ni GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) 'di ba? Lahat ng mga accusation ng anomalya kay GMA, ano ang sagot ni GMA? Politika lang. Hindi sinasagot ang issue (This is GMA's famous line. All accusations of corruption against GMA, what's her answer? It's all politics. She does not answer the issue directly),” Roxas said in an interview over radio dzMM.
He urged Villar to appear before the plenary session on Tuesday to personally refute the charges.
Roxas said that instead of facing the issue of “corruption” head on, Villar and his allies have been trying to divert the issue by hurling allegations against other presidential candidates.
The senator was referring to the claim of Villar's camp that allies of Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III leaked the report of the Senate Committee of the Whole penned by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile.
Roxas insisted that the presidential race has nothing to do with Villar's ethics case.
“The issue here is Senator Villar, as [then] Senate president and chairman of the finance committee pushed the [C-5 road] project and the road passed through his property,” he said.
via Roxas: Villar acting like GMA | ABS-CBN News Online Beta.

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QOTD::Please Don't Be Cynical…

All I ask of you is one thing: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism — it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard, and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.
—Conan O’Brien

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Quote::The Law of Jante « Paulo Coelho’s Blog

Let us start the day right!!! Down with cynicism.

So in order to prevent things from growing any worse, maybe this is the right moment to write the anti-Law of Jante:
“You are worth far more than you think. Your work and presence on this Earth are important, even though you may not think so. Of course, thinking in this way, you might have many problems because you are breaking the Law of Jante – but don’t feel intimidated by them, go on living without fear and in the end you will win.”
via The Law of Jante « Paulo Coelho’s Blog.

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Learned Today::The rise of the irreligious Left : Gene Expression

This was a very interesting post, half of which won’t interest people who doesn’t care for scatter-plots /voter preferences etc.
The possibility is just wow. Imagine when or if Vermont becomes the first minority non-Christian state. What happens to the extra rights religious organizations enjoy whence a majority no longer believe in organized religion. Imagine the research papers one could write about how Vermont is so much better or worse compare to other more religious states. This is wow. To say the possibilities are interesting is a grave understatement.

The rise of the irreligious Left
Posted on: January 24, 2010 6:36 PM, by Razib Khan
Barry Kosmin at CUNY has published the results of three surveys of American religion since 1990. These “American Religious Identification Surveys” (ARIS) were done in 1990, another in 2001, and finally in 2008. One of the major findings of the ARIS has been the rise of those who avow “No Religion”. Looking through the data it is also clear that aggregating nationally understates some of the local changes. In 1990 47% Vermonters were non-Catholic Christians (i.e., Protestants). In 2008 29% were. In 1990 13% of Vermonters had No Religion. In 2008 34% of Vermonters had No Religion! In fact, No Religion has a plural majority in Vermont, with 26% of the population being Catholic. This is a much bigger shift than nationally. In Kosmin’s book One Nation Under God, which drew upon the 1990 survey results, he noted that though the Northeast has a reputation for being relatively secular, it is in fact highly confessionalized in comparison to other regions, such as the Pacific Northwest. This isn’t true anymore; much of New England has experienced a wave of rapid secularization and disaffiliation. If current rates of secularization continue Vermont may become the first minority non-Christian state. It was only 55% Christian in 2008.
via The rise of the irreligious Left : Gene Expression.

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rePost::CoCo's Last Dance: "Hardest Thing I Have Ever Had to Do" – Conan O'brien – Gawker.TV

Nice classy farewell show. See you soon (3 months I think) CoCo!!!!!!!!

CoCo’s Last Dance: “Hardest Thing I Have Ever Had to Do”
Conan O’Brien just closed out his final episode as host of The Tonight Show, and what a show it was: hilarious shenanigans, Steve Carell, Tom Hanks, Neil Young, a tearful statement of gratitude, and Will Ferrell with a mothereffing cowbell.
As per usual, all of the noteworthy clips from tonight’s broadcasts are grouped below by show and labeled accordingly.
via CoCo’s Last Dance: “Hardest Thing I Have Ever Had to Do” – Conan O’brien – Gawker.TV.

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Research::The Dutch Disease Gets a Brazilian

I believe we can do the same study for the natural gas in malampaya (I think I’m not sure but the one that pays taxes to the Provincial Government of Batangas). I feel that the results would be similar. I hope they are not.

The Dutch Disease Gets a Brazilian
By Paul Kedrosky · Saturday, January 23, 2010 · ShareThis
The Dutch disease – the economic hollowing-out and corruption effects of domestic resource exploitation – has an interesting twist when it happens in Brazil:
Oil windfalls and living standards: New evidence from Brazil
Francesco Caselli, Guy Michaels, 20 January 2010
Does the “resource curse” exist? This column presents new evidence from Brazil. Municipalities that receive oil windfalls report significant increases in spending on infrastructure, education, health, and transfers to households. However, the windfalls do not trickle down and much of the money goes missing. Indeed, oil revenues increase the size of municipal workers’ houses but not the size of other residents’ houses. [Emphasis mine]
via The Dutch Disease Gets a Brazilian.

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rePost:: Lodestar : Manuel L. Quezon III: The Daily Dose

The loyalty of the people who serve PGMA always astounds me.

The very first time I set foot on the premises of the Batasang Pambansa was when then-Executive Secretary Joker Arroyo went before the House of Representatives during its “Question Hour,” and almost as much time separates that event from the time Joker finally disgraced himself utterly during the NBN-ZTE hearings, as has passed from the time Cory left office to the time she died. Within that period, the Joker who’d embraced accountability and scrutiny by submitting, as executive secretary, to the House’s questions, became the Congressman Joker who combated President Estrada, only to surrender to impunity by being a cranky sword and shield for President Arroyo and Senate President Villar.
The difference in fundamental attitudes have less to do with the individual choices of one man, and more to do with the approach of those at the top to power. The Joker Arroyo of today cannot possibly be really different from the Joker of yesterday; but it would seem his disgrace and those of the institutions in which he once served and in which he now sits, could only have been made possible by the realization of how powerfully personal example can influence behavior up and down the line. Cory, as the antithesis of Marcos, left people no choice but to try to live up to her example. Arroyo, on the other hand, liberated Joker to be himself.
And this is why Cory will forever be missed.

via The Long View: Lodestar : Manuel L. Quezon III: The Daily Dose.

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rePost::CoCo's Revenge: O'Brien Reunites with the Masturbating Bear and Makes NBC Pay Big while Leno and Letterman Trade Insults – Conan O'brien – Gawker.TV

Don’t go to this link if you don’t want to spend 30 minutes or so.

CoCo’s Revenge: O’Brien Reunites with the Masturbating Bear and Makes NBC Pay Big while Leno and Letterman Trade Insults
Tonight, while David Letterman and Jay Leno were busy insulting each other, Conan O’Brien did everything he could to piss off NBC: the return of the Masturbating Bear, a $1.5 million prop and a bombshell dropped by guest Adam Sandler.
PICKLES! — OK, NOW THAT I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION: FOR ALL OF THE NOTEWORTHY CLIPS FROM TONIGHT’S (THURSDAY, JAN. 21ST) LATE NIGHT SHOWS—ADDED AS THEY AIR—BE SURE TO VISIT OUR NEW POST: [CLICK HERE]
As per usual, all of the noteworthy clips from tonight's broadcasts are grouped below by show and labeled accordingly.
via CoCo’s Revenge: O’Brien Reunites with the Masturbating Bear and Makes NBC Pay Big while Leno and Letterman Trade Insults – Conan O’brien – Gawker.TV.

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rePost :: Microecon of Media

Some people really does have no business in voting.

But again, your primary complaint here should be about those shallow voters, not the advertisers. If you believe that some voters care so little about political outcomes that they are willing to sell their political beliefs to the highest advertising bidder, you should believe that such folks have no business voting! After all, preventing some folks from directly buying political ads may have little net effect – those folks may buy ads indirectly, or find other ways to buy voter beliefs. The key problem is that some voters care way too little about political outcomes.
via Overcoming Bias : Microecon of Media.

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rePost::The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures « OkTrends

Interesting read.

The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures
January 20th, 2010 by Christian
Hello, old friends. I am back from dark months of data mining, here now to present my ores. To write this piece, we cataloged over 7,000 photographs on OkCupid.com, analyzing three primary things:
* Facial Attitude. Is the person smiling? Staring straight ahead? Doing that flirty lip-pursing thing?
* Photo Context. Is there alcohol? Is there a pet? Is the photo outdoors? Is it in a bedroom?
* Skin. How much skin is the person showing? How much face? How much breasts? How much ripped abs?
via The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures « OkTrends.