Category: Society

Thinking beyond just “getting more young girls into STEM”

February 10, 2016February 10, 2016 FallenAngel 8 Comments

In the United States, at least, bridging the gender gap within sectors and industries is a big issue. Simply put, American society is currently concerned with getting more young girls and women to go into fields of study/interest that are perceived to be traditionally male-dominated. The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field happens to…

Culture, Education, Science, Society, Tech Talk, Technology

Feb 26 2016: 30th anniversary of the stupidification of the Philippines

February 10, 2016 benign0 20 Comments

The 26th of February this year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1986 EDSA “people power” revolution. Three decades ago from this day, the “evil” regime of President Ferdinand Marcos was supposedly toppled by a popular uprising that was sparked by an army mutiny led by then General Fidel V Ramos accompanied by then Defense…

Development, Politics, Society

Women are being STEM-shamed into coding work by Silicon Valley!

February 9, 2016February 9, 2016 benign0 9 Comments

You know why Silicon Valley and the whole tech industry is pushing women and minorities into taking up coding and into various techno-geeky fields of study? It’s because they want the other 50 percent of the workforce to join the pool of programming professionals and put downward pressure on tech salaries. So when you come…

Culture, Education, Society, Tech Talk

The stigma of being “alone” in the Philippines

February 8, 2016February 19, 2026 FallenAngel 41 Comments

O, bakit ka nag-iisa? (Why are you all by your lonesome?) Solo flight ka ata ngayon. (You seem to be on solo flight today.) If you’ve ever gone on break by yourself in the office or school, most likely you will get the above remarks from your co-workers or schoolmates, respectively. On the surface, it…

Culture, Lifestyle, Society

Original sin: the hypocrisy of the pro-Mar, pro-Aquino, anti-Marcos groups

February 8, 2016February 8, 2016 FallenAngel 44 Comments

Before we begin, let’s delve into a little bit of set theory. Let’s define three distinct sets/groups in Filipino society. Yes, they all exist. First, the pro-Mar group. This set consists of those whose net political inclination is to back and support Liberal Party (LP) candidate Mar Roxas and his campaign for the presidency for…

Culture, Politics, Religion, Society

Imperial Manila: Uniting the Nation at a Price

February 7, 2016February 7, 2016 zaxx 12 Comments

It was the dawn of April 27, 1521 when Ferdinand Magellan and his handful of men, confident of their superior European weaponry, got off their ship and waded ashore for a face-off with defiant Lapu Lapu and his 1500-strong army of natives defending Cebu’s Mactan Island. Little did Magellan know that this iron-willed Visayan datu would…

Development, Government, Media, Society, The South

Anti-Marcos movements highlight a lack of national vision for the Philippines

February 6, 2016 benign0 25 Comments

We hear a lot about clamours to block the candidacy of vice presidential candidate Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr coming from the alleged ‘victims’ of the rule of his father, the late former President Ferdinand E Marcos. The most recent is one reportedly organised by “a coalition of martial law victims” calling their movement the ‘Campaign…

Politics, Society

The bullshit idea that ‘the next Steve Jobs’ will be emerging from a bunch of Syrian refugees

February 5, 2016 benign0 15 Comments

Will ‘the next Steve Jobs’ carry the DNA of a Syrian refugee? Maybe he will. Then again, maybe he won’t. Tossing a coin won’t really settle that question — because the outcome of a toin coss is a 50-50 proposition. The reality is that “the next Steve Jobs” descending from the DNA of a bunch…

Media, Society