Arts, Health & Medicine, Human Interest, International, The Media

A SATIRE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY, RESEARCHERS FIND

May 7, 2014 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

San Francisco, California (The Adobo Chronicles) – Researchers at the University of California in San Francisco (UCSF) have just released an earthshaking study that links satire to better health and longer life.

Satire is a centuries-old type of literature that uses humor and imitation to attack and ridicule individuals’ moral and character flaws, such as vice, unfairness, stupidity or vanity.

The study involved a large group of self-proclaimed netizens, half of whom admitted to reading news satire at least once every morning and the other half (control group) professed no interest at all in this art form while limiting their news reading to legitimate, traditional media sources.

The results showed that the satire group sought medical attention for health issues on an average of once a year, the bulk of which was for their routine annual checkup. The non-satire group saw their doctors anywhere from six to ten times a year for serious health conditions ranging from hypertension and high cholesterol to sleep deprivation and depression. The satire group tended to be more mature, age-wise, leading the researchers to conclude that satire readers live a longer life.

The satire group also prefers to watch television shows like ‘The Daily News,’ ‘ The Colbert Report,’ and ‘ ‘Saturday Night Live’ over CNN, FOX and MSNBC News.

The study recommends that people add satire to their daily dose of fruits, vegetables, protein, Olive oil , 2 glasses of wine and a morning cup of freshly-brewed coffee.

Food, Health & Medicine, Human Interest, International, Same-sex Marriage, Sports

EATING CORN GRITS LINKED TO HOMOSEXUALITY IN U.S, CHAMPION BOXERS IN THE PHILIPPINES

May 6, 2014 Pol Pinoy 2 Comments

Cebu City, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Two research studies released simultaneously today from opposite sides of the international dateline show an interesting link of eating corn grits to being gay and being a champion boxer.

The Daily Currant reports that scientists at Stanford University in California released a study showing that men who regularly eat grits are 70 percent more likely to have gay children.The prospective cohort study, published in Nature Medicine, followed 15,000 volunteers for 30 years to determine the influence of parental diet on the development of childhood illnesses.

In the Philippines, researchers at the University of the Visayas in Cebu City released their own study linking the consumption of corn grits to being champion boxers. While rice is the predominant staple in most of the Philippines, corn grits are the staple in many areas in the Visayas and Mindanao islands.

The Philippines has its share of champion boxers, many of whom hail from grit-eating cities and provinces. Manny Pacquiao is from Sarangani in Mindanao. Legendary Filipino boxer, the late Gabriel ‘Flash’ Elorde was from the Visayas.

Got grits? Be gay. Be a champion boxer!

Business, Food, Health & Medicine, Law Enforcement, Politics

PHILIPPINES TO TAX ‘BALUT,’ OTHER STREET FOOD VENDORS

May 6, 2014 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Kim Henares will go down in history as the most enterprising commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the Philippines’ tax agency.

She has been in the limelight for her personal crusade to collect taxes from the earnings of world Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao. But she is not focusing only on the rich and famous. She has issued new policies taxing cigarettes and ultimately the cigarette vendors, as well as small business people who make a living by selling used items at flea markets and other short-time street festivals like the Christmas night market.

Now, in the boldest move yet in her career as the taxwoman, Henares has announced that all street food vendors will now be required to pay taxes and to issue official receipts for every sale. These include vendors of balut (boiled duck embryo), taho (sweet tofu snack), mani (roasted peanuts), barbecue pork, chicken, and other favorites like pig ears, chicken feet, and pork blood – more popularly known in the Philippines as walkman, adidas and betamax, respectively.

Balut and taho vendors will feel the brunt of the new regulations because in addition to the sales tax, they will be charged an additional 5% travel tax. Unlike other street vendors who set up stationary stalls along Metro Manila sidewalks, balut and taho vendors are constantly on their feet, moving from one neighborhood to another to sell their goods.