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Showing posts from June, 2026

School Violence and the Broken Windows Theory

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Credit: Verywell / Dennis Madamba Some time ago, I wrote about the Broken Windows Theory and school insults . Whenever I remember the vicious cycle where the insulter usually gets a free pass (out of the name of "kids just being kids"), I also get more violent despite the interventions done. It wasn't until I was in another school that both sides were usually mediated, even if teachers could often lapse into just "dealing with the bigger offense". It made me think that several fights I got into in high school, even if the conflict wasn't resolved immediately, eventually fizzled because when I got scolded for overreacting, the aggressor still had the punishment that met the offense. For example, I got the harder scolding for overreacting,  while the other person got scolded also for triggering the offense. I even felt that reconciliation with some of my former enemies may have been much harder without mediating between the  two sides of the conflict. I mean, ...

Was Benigno Aquino III's One-Term Presidency Enough to Go Beyond Rising Tiger Philippines?

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GMA News Online Today is the fifth year of Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III's demise . The Philippines can be too easily divided. Honestly, I can admit that I didn't vote for or support Noynoy, or that I actually got caught in between one-sided political debates . As always, I will confess there would be biases,  and I'm not free from them. Now, to make an assessment, it's easy to see tributes for Noynoy can go from what deserves credit ot actually crediting him beyond his power . Whether we want to admit it or not, Noynoy's legacy should be viewed as a complicated legacy . Even good kings made terrible decisions too! We must give credit where credit is due. In fact, even former Singaporean prime minister Lee Hsien Loong actually wrote this on his X account: Saddened to hear of the passing of former Philippine President Benigno Aquino III yesterday. Had the pleasure of meeting him many times over the years, including when he visited Singapore in 2014....

Why I Believe Facebook's Walled Garden, ONGOING Link Preview Glitch May Be a BAD Business Model

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Justin Sullivan—Getty Images News There's no doubt that Facebook is one of the most valuable tools. However, when a business monopoly is created, it becomes a real problem . Facebook took over Friendster, and I used Facebook around 2009. Now it's 2024. It's a real problem, and I noticed that link sharing has become unpredictable . In fact, one of the biggest problems that anyone could face right now is that they spend an entire day, or maybe even a week or more, writing an online article. However, instead of getting that beautiful link preview, you get it without it , which can turn people off. People want the previews because they want to know where the link leads.  Whether I want to admit it or not, Facebook has become a toxic ecosystem that some people opt for restricted access (locking their profile) or even just using Messenger already. The walled garden environment is all about "keep people in Facebook as long as possible". Never mind that when people click ...

Celebrity Zhang Yingfei's Visit To The Philippines Proves Mandarin Chinese (華語) Is Becoming More Important in the World Market

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Chinoy TV This is a viral Facebook post right now. Zhang Yingfei, who was dubbed as "Linda Walker "in a micro-drama  The Heiress Who Won With Brains . Sure, there are tensions right now between the Chinese government and ASEAN countries. Back then, I remember I was "outstanding" in the Chinese class, in the sense of being disconnected from the Chinese language classes and getting bad grades . It's because the classes were taught in Hokkien , where your only reward was actually passing; the siansi (teacher) didn't spank you with a ruler or do any absurd punishment for compliance, and the foundations were built on dead repetition . Thankfully, the Chinese School Association shied away from the mandatory Hokkien to the  open-house approach . It's because the open-house approach would mean, "You learn Mandarin in the language you already know. Let's teach Mandarin using English or your local dialect." It's like one of our Chinese siansis a...

Accepting FDIs isn't a Threat to Philippine Independence, It's All About Developing Economic INTERDEPENDENCE

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Bongbong Marcos' Facebook Page It's June 12, and it's time for Philippine Independence Day. Given that today is a Friday , it's an Independence Day long weekend . I was thinking about not writing anything today, but the IBON Foundation wrote an entry called "Still Dreaming of Freedom" , which is built on the Filipino First Policy . I would be writing this Philippine Independence Day post to talk about economic interdependence . In 2024, I wrote a post where I discussed that Philippine Independence Day doesn't mean rejecting FDI altogether .  Wait, isn't FDI a form of neocolonialism? For a start, FDI isn't neocolonialism. To understand, Britannica defines neocolonialism as: neocolonialism , the control of less-developed countries by developed countries through indirect means . The term neocolonialism was first used after World War II to refer to t he continuing dependence of former colonies on foreign countries, but its meaning soon broadened to ap...

The Deepfake Doctors Social Media Pandemic

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WeLiveSecurity It's crazy how I scroll Instagram to see my friends, then I see Dr. Deepfakes. I remember some images were of an old man, an old woman, and some of them used real doctors to promote quack advice. It also promotes "natural health treatments" that are "too good to be true". I was victimized by a scam in 2012 . Until now, I have  never recovered the money. I couldn't risk taking these blatant scams that says with statements like: "This is what your doctor is never going to tell you." "Only I know this miracle cure." "The big pharma industry doesn't want this or they'd all be shut down ." "The big pharma and hospitals are only after your money, not your health. It's all after money, unlike me." The basic accounting will tell you why hospitals actually need that huge sum of money  Let's refresh back to basic accounting . There's a big difference between the revenues (the money the hospital...

The Economic Tale of Two ASEAN Youth Unions: Kabataan Partylist and Doan Thanh Nien

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Foreign Trade University Some time ago, I remember writing two posts addressed to Kabataan Partylist. The first was where I addressed that  Kabataan Partylist needs to learn economics from Doan Thanh Nien aka the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union . Doan Thanh Nien literally means Youth Union, which makes it nearly synonymous to Kabataan Partylist . It was followed up by a post where KPL should also learn economics from the HCYU . KPL was established on June 19, 2001, while the HCYU was founded on March 30, 1931 . Both the KPL and the HCYU wear blue shirts or use the color blue. Both groups are engaged in community services, with their recruits like disaster outreach programs, cleaning services, and tree planting. However, one group updated its ideology while the other was left in the dust with outdated ideology . The KPL ideology examined  KPL's ideology can be found written in this KPL Laguna   WordPress blog: It believes that the Philippines, as a semi-colonial and...