We then watched a clip on YouTube where monkeys in adjacent cages in a university laboratory perform the same task for food. Monkey A does the task and gets a grape – delicious. Monkey B, who can see Monkey A, performs the same task and is given cucumber – yuck. Monkey B looks pissed off but eats his cucumber anyway. The experiment is immediately repeated and you can see that Monkey B is agitated when his uptown, up-alphabet neighbour is again given a grape. When he is presented with the cucumber this time, he is furious – he throws it out the cage and rattles the bars. I got angry on his behalf and wanted to give the scientist a cucumber in a less amenable orifice. I also felt a bit pissed off with Monkey A, the grape-guzzling little bastard. I’ve not felt such antipathy towards a primate since that one in Raiders of the Lost Ark with the little waistcoat betrayed Indy.
Slingerland explained, between great frothing gobfuls of munched hazelnut, that this inherent sense of fairness is found in humans everywhere, but that studies show that it’s less pronounced in environments where people are exposed to a lot of marketing. “Capitalist, consumer culture inures us to unfairness,” he said. That made me angry.
via Russell Brand: what monkeys and the Queen taught me about inequality | Culture | The Guardian.
READ: Jennifer's German fiance reacts | ABS-CBN News
No wonder the monster soldier did think he would get away with it. You show him that every day. Your society does. How should a foreigner respect people like Jennifer if your own society doesn’t?
So face your own guilt. And if the death of Jennifer is for one sense. Learn from it. Listen to the gender protests of those who now finally stand up. Open your eyes (to) what is happening around you and make everyone part of your community.
Isn’t one slogan: STAND TOGETHER OLONGAPO? Why don’t you start with those who you do let stand outside from your society?
Aim high Olongapo? What a joke, regarding what (life) you offer to the majority of your own people.
I will try my best to get there as soon as I can, to pay the honor and respect to Jennifer as the Rose of Olongapo, the honor and respect she simply (deserves) for lifetime but never got from society.
via READ: Jennifer’s German fiance reacts | ABS-CBN News.
In Defense of Obama | Rolling Stone
As you can see, there’s a theme running through each of the areas of domestic policy I’ve covered. In each case, Obama delivered less than his supporters wanted, less than the country arguably deserved, but more than his current detractors acknowledge. The extent of his partial success ranges from the pretty good to the not-so-bad to the ugly. Health reform looks pretty good, especially in historical perspective – remember, even Social Security, in its original FDR version, only covered around half the workforce. Financial reform is, I’d argue, not so bad – it’s not the second coming of Glass-Steagall, but there’s a lot more protection against runaway finance than anyone except angry Wall Streeters seems to realize. Economic policy wasn’t enough to avoid a very ugly period of high unemployment, but Obama did at least mitigate the worst.And as far as climate policy goes, there’s reason for hope, but we’ll have to see.Am I damning with faint praise? Not at all. This is what a successful presidency looks like. No president gets to do everything his supporters expected him to. FDR left behind a reformed nation, but one in which the wealthy retained a lot of power and privilege. On the other side, for all his anti-government rhetoric, Reagan left the core institutions of the New Deal and the Great Society in place. I don’t care about the fact that Obama hasn’t lived up to the golden dreams of 2008, and I care even less about his approval rating. I do care that he has, when all is said and done, achieved a lot. That is, as Joe Biden didn’t quite say, a big deal.From The Archives Issue 1220: October 23, 2014
via In Defense of Obama | Rolling Stone.
This Guy Makes Millions Playing Video Games on YouTube – The Atlantic
The YouTube personality with the most subscribers isn’t Justin Bieber (8 million) or Rihanna (12.5 million). That honor goes to a 24-year-old Swede named Felix Kjellberg, better known by his YouTube handle, PewDiePie.
PewDiePie doesn’t sing or dance, no. PewDiePie has made his name—and a fortune—posting videos of himself playing video games. In one November video, for instance, he plays the Xbox Indie game “Techno Kitten Adventure,” helping a feline avatar navigate dangerous terrain filled with unicorns and narwhals, and shrieking in frustration each time his cat crashes into an obstacle.
via This Guy Makes Millions Playing Video Games on YouTube – The Atlantic.
CALCULATOR: How much less income tax would you pay if reform bills are passed? | News | GMA News Online
Angara bill FTW!
Three measures are currently filed in the Senate to lower the income tax rate. How much less would you pay in income taxes if any of the three measures are passed? Check out in the calculator below.
via CALCULATOR: How much less income tax would you pay if reform bills are passed? | News | GMA News Online.
Japan starting to pay price for halfhearted courtship of foreign workers- Nikkei Asian Review
Japan starting to pay price for halfhearted courtship of foreign workers
TOKYO — Immigration is often discussed as a potential solution for shoring up Japan’s aging and shrinking workforce. Yet many say Tokyo is not doing enough to compete with other governments that offer international workers greener pastures.
The demographic math does not look good.
The Cabinet Office in February estimated that in order to stabilize Japan’s population at around 110 million, the nation will need to accept 200,000 immigrants annually as well as raise its birthrate to 2.07. The number of foreign workers stood at 718,000 in 2013, up only 35,000 from the previous year.
International talent is not exactly flocking to Japan; some workers are also leaving the country. Asokaen, a nursing home for seniors who need special care in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, has seen this firsthand.
Recently, a female Filipino employee in her 30s informed the facility that she had decided to go and work in the U.K. She had been studying to obtain a nursing care license in Japan but the language barrier dissuaded her from continuing. “Japan is losing the global competition to attract skilled workers,” lamented Yukichika Kawahara, who manages the nursing home.
Japan accepts such workers under an economic partnership agreement with the Philippines. Caregivers can come and gain experience while studying for the exam, which they must pass if they want to stay for the long term. In fiscal 2013, through this past March, only 87 Filipino caregivers signed up, less than half the figure for fiscal 2009, when the agreement took effect.
The caregivers make no secret of the reason they prefer to find jobs in places like the U.S., Britain and Canada. Their Facebook pages are awash with comments about the difficulty of passing Japan’s exam.
Despite its growing need for international talent, Japan’s door is barely open. Yes, some foreign individuals can work in the country while studying, but formal working visas are basically reserved for specialists and individuals of Japanese ancestry.
South Korea, in contrast, overhauled its policy regarding foreign workers about a decade ago. Seoul introduced a system that allows companies to hire people of other nationalities when they cannot find South Koreans to fill vacant positions. The system is designed to treat foreigners as an important part of the workforce and allows them to stay for up to nearly 10 years.
via Japan starting to pay price for halfhearted courtship of foreign workers- Nikkei Asian Review.
Binay can kiss his 2016 presidential bid goodbye | The Inbox – Yahoo News Philippines
One interesting information that shows the ties that bind Tiu and the Binays: Tiu is also the CEO, president and chairman of AgriNurture Inc. (ANI), formerly known as Mabuhay 2000 Enterprises Inc., which was identified by Commission on Audit (COA) Commissioner Heidi Mendoza as the supplier of the overpriced hospital beds for the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak) back in 2001 and 2002 when Mrs. Binay was mayor.
via Binay can kiss his 2016 presidential bid goodbye | The Inbox – Yahoo News Philippines.
Revilla P87M deposits found | Inquirer News
BOO YAH!!!
MANILA, Philippines–Justice is catching up with accused plunderer Sen. Bong Revilla, with a forensic investigation into his and his family’s bank transactions from 2006 to 2010 indicating that he received kickbacks from the pork barrel funds he channeled to bogus foundations controlled by Janet Lim-Napoles as exposed by whistle-blower Benhur Luy.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) report on Revilla’s bank transactions involving his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) also showed discrepancies in his official cash declarations that could indicate “concealment of unexplained wealth”; P87.626-million deposits made in the personal accounts of Revilla, his wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado, and his children, and some of his siblings that tended to confirm his receipt of the kickbacks; and more than P40 million in suspicious funds were poured into a dummy corporation, Nature Concepts Development and Realty Corp., controlled by his wife.
The AMLC said the deposits and withdrawals from the bank accounts of the five foundations corresponded with the names, amounts and dates in the entries made by Luy, Napoles’ finance officer, in his ledger of Napoles’ cash and check disbursements, one of the evidence in the P10-billion pork barrel scam case.
“Considering all the foregoing, there are indications of money laundering scheme using the aforementioned bank accounts. There is, however, a need to conduct further investigation to determine the extent of the subjects’ participation and identify the other monetary instruments that were possibly involved in the laundering scheme,” the AMLC said in a confidential report received by the Office of the Ombudsman on Oct. 8.
via Revilla P87M deposits found | Inquirer News.
Why 'Fight Club' Matters More Than Ever – Esquire
The movie was technically good. What Fincher movie isn’t. But as someone who watched it at a particularly perfect time in one’s young adulthood this movie has become a monument.
A decade and a half later, we’re still pissed, but what are we doing about it? We’re still very much immersed in a corporate culture where our things do end up owning us, and we’re not willing to live without our Starbucks skinny lattes, our IKEA furniture, and our smartphones. What began as a means to let off some steam and to feel alive, Fight Club quickly spiraled into a lost generation of men seeking something more than nihilism. “When the fight was over, nothing was solved, but nothing mattered. We all felt saved,” The Narrator says. Durden discusses how his generation, Gen X, has no Great War but a spiritual war. “Our Great Depression is our lives.” Fight Club may be about men coming together for shared experiences, but the themes about experiencing real pain and release are universal.
via Why ‘Fight Club’ Matters More Than Ever – Esquire.
Growing Up Sixty-Four
Kotaku has slowly turned into a haven for decent if not excellent writing about and sometimes not primarily of games.
Case in point is this article which is closer to the writing style of someone wanting to write for The New Yorker than the sensationalist gaming press we have come to know and expect.
It’s suppose to be about the N64 except it is not, and what follows is more a meditation through remembrance of an important part of the writer’s past.
I hope this starts a trend on affiliated sites like io9. Keep up the good work Kotaku!!
I was recently sitting on the sofa at Action Button Entertainment Headquarters in Oakland, California, with a good autumn breeze coming in the windows. Me and Action Button Entertainment programmer Michael Kerwin were working on our game VIDEOBALL (coming QX 20XX (please buy it (I need to go to the dentist (it hurts so badly)))). The breeze was excellent. The sun was bright. I opened a YouTube tab. I put on a thirty-minute extended audio-only video of the Super Mario 64 castle music. It filled the room. Kerwin and I worked while the music played.
It took a minute for me to notice I’d put on that music. Why that track, of all tracks? It’s a nice and friendly track. It sounds like a crisp late-summer day. It also reverberates like the interior of a building. I had the windows and door wide open. We were both outside and inside at the same time.
It was sunny and breezy and cool, and a strong memory of Super Mario 64 jumped into my skull with sudden ferocity.
So I thought about the Nintendo 64 for a couple of minutes, and five anecdotes emerged which I suppose summarize how I feel about the system.
via Growing Up Sixty-Four.