Category Archives: Human Interest

Business, Food, Human Interest, International, Politics, Technology

SILICON VALLEY CEOs JOIN RANKS OF FOOD STAMP, SECTION 8 BENEFICIARIES

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Zuckerberg, Page and Brin
Zuckerberg, Page and Brin

San Jose, California – Top Silicon Valley CEOs and executives have applied for federal and county subsidy programs, according to leaked confidential documents from the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the County of Santa Clara.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have all been pre-qualified and approved for the federal Section 8 housing and county food stamps programs.

Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of approximately 3.1 million low-income households. It operates through several programs, the largest of which, the Housing Choice Voucher program, pays a large portion of the rents and utilities of about 2.1 million households. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development manages the Section 8 programs. Eligibility for the housing subsidy is determined based on annual gross income, elderly, disabled or family status.

The food stamp program is administered by counties and is basically a food subsidy for individuals and families that meet certain criteria, not the least of which is income level.

Donahue, left, and Mayer
Donahue, left, and Mayer

By virtue of their $1 a year salaries, Zuckerberg, Page and Brin have qualified for the housing and food subsidies.  Both HUD and the County of Santa Clara have sent notices to the three executives regarding their pre-qualification, according to the leaked documents.

Meanwhile, two other Silicon Valley CEOs, John Donahue II of eBay and Marissa Ann Mayer of Yahoo! are reportedly considering a pay cut to $1 a year so that they can be in the prestigious company of tech executives availing of government subsidy programs.

Film and TV, Human Interest, International, Language, The Media, Travel

MISS PHILIPPINES FINALIST CRIES FOUL OVER Q&A

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Pia Wurtzbach (Photo: Francis Malasig/European Press Photo Agency)
Pia Wurtzbach (Photo: Francis Malasig/European Press Photo Agency)

Quezon City, Philippines – In most beauty pageants, the answer to the final question can often make or break even the most  beautiful of contestants. The 2014 Binibining Pilipinas (Miss Philippines) pageant held last weekend in Quezon City was no exception.

One finalist, in responding to a judge’s question: “Name one thing that you would sacrifice for a (Binibini) crown,” confidently answered: “I think one thing that I would sacrifice for Binibini crown is my shoes.  You know it’s very hard for me to find shoes because I have this very big shoe size.  But for Binibini I will sacrifice this precious thing that I have just to have the crown. Thank you.”  The rest, of course, is history for this aspiring beauty queen.

But the big controversy of the evening came from a complaint from one of the 15 finalists — Contestant No. 8, Pia Wurtzbach.  She happened to pick a senator, Juan Edgardo Angara, to ask the question which he did in Tagalog.  The other 14 finalists were asked their respective questions (and responded) in English.

Wurtzbach who was born in Stuttgart, Germany, didn’t win any of the crowns at stake for the night, and she attributed it to the fact that the senator had asked the question in the national language. “I’m glad that despite my German-sounding name, I proved to all that I am a true Filipina and that I can speak Tagalog quite fluently.”  “However,” she added,” it was not fair that all the other finalists were asked their questions in English.  I’m sure I could have done much better than all the other girls had I been asked the question, and responded, in English.”

Wurtzbach said she has engaged the services of an attorney to see if she could file a lawsuit against Senator Angara for discrimination.

Here is a transcript of the Q&A portion of the pageant.

Health & Medicine, Human Interest, International

AMERICAN PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION MAKES IT OFFICIAL: ‘SELFIE’ A MENTAL DISORDER

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Photo credit: AP
Photo credit: AP

Chicago, Illinois – The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has officially confirmed what many people thought all along: taking ‘selfies’ is a mental disorder.

The APA made this classification during its annual board of directors meeting in Chicago. The disorder is called selfitis, and is defined as the obsessive compulsive desire to take photos of one’s self  and post them on social media as a way to make up for the lack of self-esteem and to fill a gap in intimacy.

APA said there are three levels of the disorder:

  • Borderline selfitis : taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day but not posting them on social media
  • Acute selfitis: taking photos of one’s self at least three times a day and posting each of the photos on social media
  • Chronic selfitis: Uncontrollable urge to take photos of one’s self  round the clock and posting the photos on social media more than six times a day

According to the APA, while there is currently no cure for the disorder, temporary treatment is available through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).  The other good news is that CBT is covered under Obamacare.

This is unwelcome news for Makati City in the Philippines, especially for its mayor, Junjun Binay, son of the incumbent vice president.  Makati was recently named selfie capital of the world by Time Magazine. The mayor even organized a ticker tape parade after his city was bestowed the rare honor.

MORE BREAKING NEWS!! Oxford Dictionaries Announce New Words – including ‘selfitis.’

BREAKING NEWS!!  Apple, Samsung, Nokia Set To Eliminate Front-Facing Cameras From Their Smartphones.  Read the news story.

UPDATE: APA Defends Its Use of ‘Selfitis’ Terminology.