Category: Media

The Mendoza bus hostage massacre: Remembering the victims of a preventable tragedy

August 14, 2011 benign0 51 Comments

Ill-equipped, ill-trained, ill-prepared, and ill-thought-out. These are words that can easily describe anything to do with the Philippines across the board — from its politicians, to its law-enforcement officers, to its Media, and ultimately to the very people they serve (and are consequently reflections of). The propensity to fail consistently is ingrained into the very…

Crime, Media, Politics, Society

MB Claims Philippines Attractive to FDI Based on the “Because We Said So” Metric

August 14, 2011 BenK 2 Comments

Here’s an interesting claim from an article in today’s online edition of the Manila Bulletin, which is apparently too exciting to attribute to a particular author: Two factors â€“ skilled workforce and competitive labor cost â€“ account for investorsâ€™ choice of the Philippines as an ideal investment site. Many foreign companies reportedly prefer Filipino workers…

Economy, Media, Money Talks, Uncategorized

The Establishment Blogger and the Globe Tattoo Tatt Awards 2011

August 12, 2011 benign0 15 Comments

Again, we have an on-going “blog contest”, the Globe Tattoo Tatt Awards that applies some veeerrrryyyy familiar mechanics around who they consider to be deserving of “recognition” across a handful of categories. These categories divide up the general subject areas that blogs tend to focus on — activism, issues, technology, fashion, and entertainment — and…

Lifestyle, Media

The Chris Lao flood incident: what the MMDA could have done

August 5, 2011August 5, 2011 Ilda 47 Comments

Poor Christopher â€œChrisâ€ Lao. He is not your average guy. He seems like the type of person who would not hesitate to just do things. Whether it is driving through a flooded street or speaking his mind in front of millions of people in front of a TV camera, he apparently would not think twice….

Civics, Media

Empathising with flood ‘victim’ Christopher Lao

August 4, 2011August 4, 2011 benign0 24 Comments

The latest “victim” of the most recent media (both old and new) circus is a guy named Christopher “Cris” Lao. The poor sod apparently drove his car past motorists who had prudently stopped at both ends of a recessed and flooded section of a Manila road and ended up with a car submerged and, perhaps…

Civics, Culture, Lifestyle, Media

Facebook exec: Let kids play more video games

August 3, 2011August 3, 2011 benign0 5 Comments

It’s a surreal WTF moment. In a gathering of Silicon Valley “technorati” in Palo Alto, California yesterday to “dole out advice” on “job creation,” Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg emphasised the need for “better education” to “foster growth, competitiveness, innovation, and job creation.” Sounds good so far. But then she lets out these doozies: Sandberg talked…

Education, Media, Society, Tech Talk

The catch-phrase administration of President Noynoy Aquino

August 1, 2011 benign0 29 Comments

Score so far in this game of clever marketing that Philippine President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III is playing on the Filipino people — three. As in three catchy slogans that have so far proven to be effective in its stickiness to the Filipino psyche: – Use of the Yellow pedigree platform and its symbols —…

Development, Media, Politics

What Metro Manila billboards tell us about the Filipino character

July 19, 2011July 19, 2011 benign0 18 Comments

Driving up or down EDSA, the main road transport artery through the Philippine megalopolis of Metro Manila, is like navigating a badly-designed website. The huge billboards that line the iconic thoroughfare competing for the attention of motorists and their passengers are monuments to the aesthetic sensibilities of Filipinos. Manila, after all, is the cultural capital…

Culture, Environment, Media