Happy Birthday Men

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Current News and Quotes from the Newsmakers

On the financial crisis:

..... "In the long run, the American people can have confidence that our economy will bounce back…. ……America is the best place in the world to start and run a business, the most attractive destination for investors around the globe, and home to the most talented, enterprising and creative workers in the World.” - George W. Bush

…. That’s in the long-run, but as John Maynard Keynes said, “in the long-run, we’re all dead.”

(Just wondering..... why is there no organized response to the crisis from those who have been affected, those who lost their savings, investments, or jobs? There are no protests, no rallies and demonstrations in the Wall Street, bakit nga ba Danny?)

Meanwhile, President Arroyo crowed to the media that the World Bank was going to set up a $10B bail-out fund for Asia. She sounded as if this came about because of her suggestion when she made the announcement.

But the next day, the World Bank issued a denial. The Asian Development Bank likewise said that it had no idea of such a plan. Nakuryente si GMA. But the Palace won’t admit it. Malacanang explained that Pres. Arroyo got the information from Finance Secretary Teves, who is in the US attending a conference. There could have been another meeting where there were changes in plans but the President was not informed. Later that day, Malacanang said that it was the International Monetary Fund, and not the World Bank. Former Senator, now NEDA Director General Ralph Recto, further said, “They are Caucasians and they look alike. It’s not easy to distinguish them.” (that's why Teves was not able to distinguish the WB from the IMF)

But the IMF representative in the Philippines would not confirm this and said that Sec. Teves would be able to clarify this when he arrives tomorrow (Oct 20). Then Malacanang came up with the name of a certain Michael Klein as being the one who actually made the proposal, Philippine officials merely endorsed it and reported it to the President. (E bakit nag-announce na agad si PGMA? Siyempre para siya ang bida. Kaso, palpak pala.)

Hard times? Look good anyway (from PDI as reported by Alcuin Papa)

Diskwento: Panalo ang Manggawang Pilipino Caravan of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) gives free haircuts, massages, manicure and pedicures to workers and their families.

Another probable case of corruption: There seems to be no end to corruption under PGMA's administration.

105,000 Euros (P6.9 Million) were found by Russian customs authorities in the possession of the wife of newly retired Police Gen. Eliseo de la Paz. Why were they carrying such a huge sum? Why was Gen. de la Paz still sent on travel when his retirement day would fall within the duration of the conference?

“The source of money should be clarified. If it is public money, who authorized it? If it is private money, where did it come from?” - Sen. Miriam D. Santiago

“It is a contingency fund.” – Sec Ronaldo Puno

"There is no such thing as a contingency fund for travel.” – Sen. Panfilo Lacson (There's really none, isn't it Ate Marynat?)

“Napolcom is considering issuing a regulation capping travel emergency funds.” –
..... "If he can liquidate it properly, then there won't be a problem"........ -Napolcom Vice Chair Eduardo Escueta. (But if there is no legal basis for the contingency fund, then, it wouldn't simply be an issue of proper liquidation.)

"The investigation of de la Paz would determine why he was carrying huge sums of money instead of travellers checks." - New PNP Director Verzosa. (Aren't you missing the point Gen. Verzosa? And why was your wife part of the delegation?)


On the lamppost scandal (purchased in Cebu for the ASEAN Conference and was alleged to be overpriced) - Ombudsman Merceditas Guttierez said that "the prosecution is now in doubt that it can prove that the lamppost deals were scandalous????


Heckler in the Cabinet

Quotable quotes from Justice Sec. Raul Gonzalez:

To critics questioning the grant of executive clemency to convict Claudio Teehankee, Jr:
"Plead your case to Jesus Christ."

To the Hultmans: "If they can't accept the decision (of PGMA), they can jump into the lake, very wide naman ang North Sea."..... He also said that they are "hypocrites" for saying that they were never informed about the petition for pardon.

On why high profile prisoners need special quarters (with all the amenities although at their own expense).... "It is a difficult situation to mix them up with the other inmates. You see, inmates tend to kill each other."

And remember his other quotable quotes:

To Susan Roces, when she accused GMA of stealing the presidency not once, but twice... "She's just a griping widow too beautiful to be put in jail."

And to Cory Aquino when she asked for the resignation of PGMA: "She should first take care of her daughter (Kris)".

Latest on the Reproductive Health Bill

Latest survey of the Social Weather Station revealed that majority of the Filipinos are in favor of the passage of the bill.

Other pending bills that deserve to be passed:

HB 4894 filed by Rep. Narciso Santiago III: provides tax incentives to employers who would be promoting breastfeeding (for expenses for equipment such as breast pumps, provision of consultation services, and for providing office space for the exclusive use of mothers who breastfeed or store milk for future use. (What is funny/puzzling is that Cong. Santiago - he's the son of Sen. Miriam Santiago - is a party list representative, and the party he is representing is Agrarian and Rural Concerns (ARC). He is not a farmer and has never been involved in agriculture or agrarian issues, whether in the past and even now that he is supposed to be representing the farmer sector. He is not even one among the many congressmen who filed bills on the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program!)

HB 4910 filed by Rep. Edgar Chatto: This would grant tax incentives up to 10% of their gross income if they render free legal services for the underprivileged.


And finally, for the last item, a different kind of news:

Staying Alive for use in CPR - cardio pulmonary resuscitation - At 103 beats per minute, the old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a stopped heart, based on the study of Dr. David Matlock of the American Heart Association.

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Understanding the Financial Crisis from a Layman's Point of View

These two articles were contributed by Ed.

The financial crisis explained via a nice story…Enjoy. Lots of hugggssss…….. Ed Canela

If anyone has difficulty understanding the current world financial situation, the following should help....

Once upon a time in a village in India, a man announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers seeing there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands of monkeys at $10 each, but, as the supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their efforts.

The man further announced that he would now buy at $20 each. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer rate increased to $25 per monkey and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch one!

The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now act as buyer, on his behalf.

In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at $35 each and when he returns from the city, you can sell them back to him for $50 each."

The villagers squeezed together their savings and bought all the monkeys.

Then they never saw the man or his assistant again, only monkeys everywhere!

Welcome to the WALL STREET.

Twenty-One Economic Models Explained with Cows

SOCIALISM

You have 2 cows.
You give one to your neighbour.

COMMUNISM

You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and gives you some milk.

FASCISM

You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and sells you some milk.

NAZISM

You have 2 cows.
The State takes both and shoots you.

BUREAUCRATISM

You have 2 cows.
The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away....

TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM

You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell them and retire on the income.

SURREALISM

You have two giraffes.
The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.

AN AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.


ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM

You have two cows.
You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax
exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States , leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public then buys your bull.

A FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.


A JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.

A GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.

AN ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You decide to have lunch.


A RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 2 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.

A SWISS CORPORATION

You have 5000 cows. None of them belong to you.
You charge the owners for storing them.

A CHINESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity.
You arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.

AN INDIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You worship them.

A BRITISH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
Both are mad.


AN IRAQI CORPORATION

Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none.
No-one believes you, so they bomb the sh#t out of you and invade your country.
You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy...

AN AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers to celebrate.

A NEW ZEALAND CORPORATION

You have two cows..
The one on the left looks very attractive..

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Ma Mon Luk Mami

Ed, Ma Mon Luk is not just a memory worth writing in your “Maalaala Mo Kaya” series. It still exists!

Last Friday was a rainy day. In fact, classes were suspended in Manila, although the announcement was made late at usual at around 11 am. I had a 9:30 a.m. meeting somewhere near Malacanang (hindi sa loob, sa tabi-tabi). So I left the house early at 8 am, to make sure I wouldn’t be late. Surprisingly, there was not much traffic and there were no flooded areas where the FX ride that I took passed. The meeting ended around 12:30 pm. From out of the blue, one of our colleagues asked if we wanted to eat hot mami at Ma Mon Luk for lunch on a rainy day. I was happily surprised. I love Ma Mon Luk mami. But until then, I didn’t know that it still exists. The last time I had a taste of its mami was more than ten years ago, when there was a branch along EDSA corner Kamias St. (I think, or at least somewhere in that area). I was informed that the other remaining branch is in Quiapo.

So, riding in two vans, nine of us (including the drivers) proceeded to Quezon Avenue near Banawe St., where the old Ma Mon Luk Restaurant still stands. The space in front of the building, which was already part of the sidewalk was almost filled with cars. It is still the same Chinese restaurant of the olden days. It’s not air conditioned, it’s crowded, a bit dirty, with old tables and chairs, pero napalitan na iyong makakapal na baso with thinner but still similar plain transparent drinking glasses. And there are younger waiters now, but there were still the older ones like Lucio, our waiter. He said that he’s been with Ma Mon Luk since 1978. (O 30 years na siyang waiter, pero mukhang hindi pa rin siya ang head waiter).

We ordered the original mami. I ordered large, but their ‘large’ bowl is no longer as big as before. It’s ‘small’ for my appetite for mami. We also ordered siopao special and siomai. The mami still smelled and tasted the same. Medyo mabantot na medyo mabaho, pero ang sarap. It’s still the best mami for me! The siopao special is big and would really fill your hungry stomach. Masarap pa din, no matter if there were rumors before that na karneng pusa daw ang nilalagay. That was really a good meal that I had last Friday. I’m sure that it wouldn’t be my last in my newly rediscovered Ma Mon Luk!

I looked at the history of Ma Mon Luk and I’m reprinting it below. By the way, I didn’t have my camera and I forgot that my cellphone has a camera, so I was not able to take any shot. Luckily I found pictures from “Ajay’s Writing on the Wall” blog. Thanks.

From Wikipedia

Ma Mon Luk (1896-1961) was a pioneering Chinese Filipino chef and entrepreneur. He established the popular Chinese restaurant that bears his name, Ma Mon Luk.

Born in Guangdong, China, he was a grade school teacher in Guangzhou when he decided to emigrate to the Philippines in 1918. According to legend, he migrated to the Philippines in order to earn his fortune and win the hand of a girl whose wealthy Cantonese family looked none too kindly on his poverty. Arriving penniless in Manila, Ma Mon Luk decided to peddle chicken noodle soup, utilizing egg noodles. He soon became a familiar sight on the streets of Manila, plodding down with a long bamboo pole slung on his shoulders with two metal containers on each end. One vat contained his especially concocted noodles and strips of chicken meat, while the other stored chicken broth heated by live coals underneath. With a pair of scissors, he would cut the noodles and meat to serve to his customers. Among his frequent customers were students from the various schools and universities in Manila, whom he would regale with tales about China. Ma Mon Luk himself called his concoction "gupit", after the Tagalog word for "cut with scissors". A popular theory of the origin of the word "mami" is that "Ma" came from his name and "Mi" came from the Chinese word for "recipe"; thus "mami" stands for "the recipe of Mr. Ma. Soon however, Filipinos took the name as an amalgam of Tagalog words for chicken ("manok") and egg noodles ("miki").

Ma Mon Luk soon opened his first restaurant in Binondo, where he introduced his equally famous siopao, a steamed pork dumpling enhanced by a secret sauce. Ma Mon Luk nonetheless continued to peddle his wares on the streets, advertising his restaurant by giving away free samples. By the 1950s, Ma Mon Luk and his mami were nationally known, and Ma Mon Luk became the iconic Chinese restaurant, sprouting many imitators who failed to equal its success. At one point, in the mid 1990s, there were at least six Ma Mon Luk restaurants in Metro Manila, but as of 2006, only the branches in Quezon Avenue and Quiapo remain open.

Ma Mon Luk died on September 1, 1961 of throat cancer and is buried at the Chinese Cemetery in Manila. He is succeeded to date by 3 generations of Ma Mon Luks.

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