Monthly Archives: June 2015

Government, Law Enforcement, Politics, Social Media

MOTORCYCLE-RIDING, GUN-TOTING PHILIPPINE MAYOR PROMISES TO BAN FACEBOOK IF ELECTED PRESIDENT

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Duterte, left, and Zuckerberg
Duterte, left, and Zuckerberg

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Many Filipinos are urging him to run for president in 2016, despite his reputation as a gun-toting mayor who has no problem with extra-judicial killings of criminals and drug traffickers.  He is Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of Davao, one of the major cities in the Philippines’ Mindanao island.

Although he has repeatedly said in public that he has no intention of running for higher public office, Duterte went on record that if he becomes president, he will abolish Congress and form a revolutionary government to totally rid the government of corruption.

He has also promised to bring back high educational standards by banning Facebook and mandating instead that young people use Google.

“I am sick and tired of our youth using Facebook as their primary news source while wasting hours and hours posting and commenting on insignificant events in their already empty lives,” Duterte said. “They should instead use Google to enrich their knowledge about history, geography and science while keeping abreast on world developments that have a direct impact on our country,” he added.

Duterte criticized Mark Zuckerberg for  the latter’s effort to provide free Facebook access in the Philippines.  At the same time, he said he would encourage Google to set up operations in the Philippines, including the inclusion of Google Search in all school curricula, as a way to bring about a truly informed and intelligent citizenry.

International, Technology

MAJORITY OF AMERICAN TEENS THINK THE G7 IS GOOGLE’S NEW SMART PHONE

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G7 summit meeting in Germany, 2015
G7 summit meeting in Germany, 2015

LOS ANGELES, California ( The Adobo Chronicles ) – Technology has definitely caught up with America’s new generation of teenagers. Or is it the other way around?

Today, the Field Poll released a new nationwide opinion survey involving 5,000 Americans throughout the country — aged 13 to 19 — asking them one open-ended question: “What do you know about the G7?”

The Field Poll, or the California Poll, was established in 1947 by Mervin Field and has operated continuously as an independent, non-partisan, media-sponsored public opinion news service. They cover a wide range of political and social topics.

An overwhelming 85% of respondents thought that G7 was Google’s new smart phone.

Only 5% correctly answered that the G7  was the seven-nation informal bloc of industrialized democracies that meet annually to discuss issues such us global economic governance, international security and energy policy. Even then, none of those who answered correctly could name all 7 countries — United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom.  The G7 has just concluded its 2015 summit meeting in the Bavarian Alps in Germany.

The remaining 10% of respondents did not venture to give any answer.

Because of the overwhelming numbers, the poll has a zero percent margin of error.

The last major poll of American teens was almost a decade ago. That survey found that as many  as 70% of young adults  could not locate Iran or Israel on the map.

Remember this 2007 Miss Teen USA moment?

Food

SAN FRANCISCO WILL REQUIRE HEALTH WARNINGS ON FILIPINO ‘HALO-HALO’

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Halo-Halo
Halo-Halo

SAN FRANCISCO, California (The Adobo Chronicles)  — San Francisco Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to approve health warnings on ads for sugary sodas and some other drinks, saying such beverages contribute to obesity, diabetes and other health problems.

It is believed that San Francisco would be the first place in the country to require such a warning on ads if it receives a second approval from the Board of Supervisors next week and the mayor signs it into law.

The ordinance defines sugar-sweetened beverages as drinks with more than 25 calories from sweeteners per 12 ounces.

That puts the popular Filipino beverage/snack, halo-halo, way above that category.

Halo-halo, is shaved ice served in a tall glass (certainly more than 12 ounces), mixed with ingredients like beans, coconut, sweet fruits, nuts, milk, flan and lots of sugar —  not including the scoop of ice cream topping.  A full version of halo-halo with ice cream could easily contain as much as 100 calories of sweeteners.

San Francisco Filipino restaurants serving halo-halo  opposed the ordinance, claiming that it will not only cost them extra money to include the health  warning in their ads, but could potentially discourage customers from ordering the delicious snack.

The FilAm community had mixed (halo) reactions to the ordinance, with some saying that it is good for the health of the community, and others arguing that it was about time to elect a Filipino supervisor so that their concerns and issues are sufficiently represented in San Francisco’s liberal politics.

Well, well.