Category: rePosts

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‘MRT 7 project plunder of funds for President’s uncle’Manila Today | Manila Today

Kulang yung report. Squatter ba mga ito? Sino ba nakinabang sa MRT3, LRT1 and 2? The people who benefit are not exclusively the elite who control the corporations that have extracted onerous or disadvantageous contracts from probably corrupt or incompetent government officials but also the daily commuter who are the back bone of our economy. The Call center people, the services people, the IT, construction, manufacturing people who produce stuff.  What is needed is to ensure that these contracts are not unfair to the government pretty much what the MRT3 contract was.
 

Worth P63.7 billion, the project will displace 1,250 farmers in Barangay Tungkong Manga’s 300 hectares contested agricultural land controlled by Greg Araneta, believed to be a relative of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas. Also, the project will be a threat to displace 40,000 residents of Pangarap Village in Calocan City and thousands more in other parts of Caloocan and Quezon City.
Representative Fernando “Ka Pando” Hicap said that “The Aquino government is willing to sacrifice the livelihood and homes of farmers and urban residents to give way to the whims of his uncle and cronies on their ambitious PPP project. MRT 7 project is a loud example of brazen plunder of public funds.”
via ‘MRT 7 project plunder of funds for President’s uncle’Manila Today | Manila Today.

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Princeton Gets 10 Times as Much Tax Money per Student as Public Colleges – The Atlantic

I’m not that familiar with how corporations/individual pledges to schools are taxed but I have  hunch that something similar is happening in the Philippines.
 
In 2002, Meg Whitman (Princeton class of ‘77), then president of eBay, pledged $30 million to her alma mater to be put toward building a dorm in her own name. The ultimate cost of the 500-student dorm, which required “skilled masons to cut thousands of pieces of stone” and featured three-inch-thick oak doors, worked out to about $200,000 per bed. Despite parting with $30 million at the time, one economist estimated that the real cost of the donation to her was much less: $20 million, thanks to the tax exemptions that come with donating to a university. In essence, the U.S. Treasury covered the $10 million gap.
The government—and thus, taxpayers—give a surprising amount of money to elite private colleges, a lot of which is hard to see because it comes in the form of tax deductions like Whitman’s. Equally hard to see, and perhaps even more lucrative, is that the federal government doesn’t tax the income that universities earn on their billion-dollar endowments. Some of these deductions exist to promote research; others exist because colleges, as institutions, make commitments to serve the public good.
When taking these tax exemptions into account, far more government money per student is going toward selective private schools than to less-selective public schools. According to Robert Reich, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley, the average amount of money that the government gives to public universities is less than $4,000 per student, and the average amount it effectively gives to Princeton, for example, is more than $50,000 per student.
via Princeton Gets 10 Times as Much Tax Money per Student as Public Colleges – The Atlantic.

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Dysprosody: When You Can't Stress Words or You Can't Stress Words

What’s the difference between telling people they shouldn’t do something and telling them they shouldn’t do something? If you have dysprosody, nothing. People with dysprosody can’t control the stresses in their speech, and it makes a world of difference.
Those who have studied poetry will be familiar with, and perhaps exasperated by, the concept of prosody. Prosody is the rhythm, intonation, and stress of speech. Most people study it, however briefly, in school when they cover a poetry unit – mapping out the pauses and stresses in sonnets and other rhythmic poems. Prosody isn’t a strictly artistic invention. The way we stress and intone words in everyday speech conveys a great deal of meaning.
via Dysprosody: When You Can’t Stress Words or You Can’t Stress Words.

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Research shows Portal 2 is better for you than 'Brain training' software

Now you’re thinking with Portals. Or rather, you should be – according to research from Florida State University, which has shown that playing Portal 2 is apparently better for your thinking skills than your average ‘brain training’ software.
The short study, conducted by Valerie Shute, only took place over 8 hours – so whilst it doesn’t give us the full picture for her findings, it does show an interesting starting point for seeing how mainstream video games can aid with a better understanding of Neuroplasticity (the idea that an adult brain can grow and change for the better through training and constructive methods of play).
Shute and her colleagues split their test subjects into two groups: One group played popular brain training software Lumosity for 8 hours, the other played Portal 2. After their playing sessions, the groups were then subjected to a deadly neurotoxin a series of standard cognitive skills tests – and the group that had spent their time outwitting GLaDOS trumped the group who’d played Lumosity in every one.
via Research shows Portal 2 is better for you than ‘Brain training’ software.

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Here’s Why Public Wifi is a Public Health Hazard — Matter — Medium

In his backpack, Wouter Slotboom, 34, carries around a small black device, slightly larger than a pack of cigarettes, with an antenna on it. I meet Wouter by chance at a random cafe in the center of Amsterdam. It is a sunny day and almost all the tables are occupied. Some people talk, others are working on their laptops or playing with their smartphones.
Wouter removes his laptop from his backpack, puts the black device on the table, and hides it under a menu. A waitress passes by and we ask for two coffees and the password for the WiFi network. Meanwhile, Wouter switches on his laptop and device, launches some programs, and soon the screen starts to fill with green text lines. It gradually becomes clear that Wouter’s device is connecting to the laptops, smartphones, and tablets of cafe visitors.
On his screen, phrases like “iPhone Joris” and “Simone’s MacBook” start to appear. The device’s antenna is intercepting the signals that are being sent from the laptops, smartphones, and tablets around us.
via Here’s Why Public Wifi is a Public Health Hazard — Matter — Medium.

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rePost::GamerGate: A Closer Look At The Controversy Sweeping Video Games

As I said in my last note on the subject: “Bring me a chorus of voices, of opinions. I want them all. I want a loud cacophony of differing viewpoints. Agreement is the death of creativity.”It’s up to all of us to make this happen.#GamerGate isn’t about conspiracies. It isn’t about scandal and corruption. It isn’t about feminists or misogynists. It isn’t about any of these things, and it’s about all of them all at once.In the end, it’s about gamers upset with the status quo and demanding something better. It’s about a group of consumers and enthusiasts not simply feeling that their identity is threatened, but believing that they’re being poorly represented by an industry and press that grow more and more cliquish and remote every year. And it’s about the ad hoc, messy series of uncoordinated events that got us here.Perhaps none of this is the answer. Perhaps the only answer is to encourage honest debate between people who truly care about video games. A conversation is a powerful thing.
via GamerGate: A Closer Look At The Controversy Sweeping Video Games.

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BOO RAPPLER::Binay will wallop Aquino in 2016 – survey

Shame  on Rappler. 
This is not news in the strictest sense. This is tabloid news.
File this as another proof that Rappler has become the press agent of the VP.
 
First why is the basic question not stated?
There is a big difference in how you ask/frame the question.
 
For example:
If they go head to head in the 2016 Elections who would you vote for Aquino or Binay?
versus
If President Aquino was not president and ran head to head against Binay who would you vote for.
versus
If President Aquino despite being constitutionally barred from running  ran head to head against Binay who would you vote for.
 
Rappler had so much promise but damn it has shown it’s true colors in it’s coverage of Binay.
EDIT: I think this is too knee jerk a reaction  and too general.
It should rather read: The editorial standards of Rappler are slowly eroding. Instead of aspiring to become the New York Times It is slowly becoming philstar.com.
 

 
MANILA, Philippines – The consistent frontrunner in presidential polls, Vice President Jejomar Binay, will not be threatened so easily.
The results of a confidential survey obtained by Rappler show that, in a one-on-one, Binay will wallop the administration’s best bet for the 2016 presidential elections – President Benigno Aquino III himself.
Binay will get 62% of voters nationwide while Aquino will get 36%.
via Binay will wallop Aquino in 2016 – survey.

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8 Slow, Difficult Steps to Become a Millionaire

2. Start tracking how many people you help, even in a very small way.
The most successful people I know – both financially and in other ways – are shockingly helpful. They’re incredibly good at understanding other people and helping them achieve their goals. They know their success is ultimately based on the success of the people around them.
So they work hard to make other people successful: their employees, their customers, their vendors and suppliers… because they know, if they can do that, then their own success will surely follow.
And they will have built a business – or a career – they can be truly proud of.
3. Stop thinking about making a million dollars and start thinking about serving a million people.
When you only have a few customers and your goal is to make a lot of money, you’re incented to find ways to wring every last dollar out of those customers.
But when you find a way to serve a million people, many other benefits follow. The effect of word of mouth is greatly magnified. The feedback you receive is exponentially greater – and so are your opportunities to improve your products and services. You get to hire more employees and benefit from their experience, their skills, and their overall awesomeness.
And, in time, your business becomes something you never dreamed of – because your customers and your employees have taken you to places you couldn’t even imagine.
Serve a million people – and serve them incredibly well – and the money will follow.
via 8 Slow, Difficult Steps to Become a Millionaire.

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10 Signs You Are Interviewing With a Bad Boss

Here are a few telltale signs of bad bosses.
They get straight to the point: When you are attending an interview, there’s a usual formality of greeting, introducing oneself, setting the context of the interview, and making the interviewee comfortable. This is basic etiquette. If the interviewer just blurts out a “good morning” and begins the questioning process, it’s a red flag. This boss is only concerned about work and not the person performing the work. So requests for leaves, promotion, etc. could be very tough discussions to have.
They are impatient: When you’re answering a question, they’re too impatient to let you finish your thought. They make hand gestures signaling you to hurry up and finish or interrupt you to ask a counter question or finish up your sentences. Such a boss is difficult to work with and may not give you the time or space to do your job well.
They are distracted: Checking email during the interview, making or receiving calls, and stepping out to give instructions to the secretary are all signs that the boss will not have time for you. If they cannot take time to assess a future team member, then the role may not be all that important to their view.
Their body language is intimidating/cautious: Looking down at you, pointing fingers, and crossing legs on the table are all signs of an intimidating boss. On the other hand, if they do not make eye contact, shift uneasily, keep looking at their watch, rechecking your resume, then you have a boss who’s not confident and may not let you grow in your role. “An insecure boss will find you threatening if you are good at your job and will use the power of the position to make your life miserable,” says Pamela Lenehan, president of Ridge Hill Consulting and author of What You Don’t Know and Your Boss Won’t Tell You, speaking to Forbes.
via 10 Signs You Are Interviewing With a Bad Boss.

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Noah’s Spark «

When Donovan recognized this trait in Noah, he understood that he could coach the player hard — that Noah’s desire and toughness wouldn’t falter if Donovan pushed him. Early in Noah’s sophomore season, Donovan noticed that his big man lacked his normal energy. Besides his class and practice schedule, Noah had been accepting invitations to talk at elementary schools and do volunteer work at hospitals, acts of generosity that were tiring him out. “You’re in awful shape because you won’t take care of yourself,” Donovan told Noah in front of the team. “You’re not in the condition you were to start the season. All you’re doing is running yourself down, and now you’re not even in shape to play like you need to play.”
via Noah’s Spark «.