Presidential Credentials

As the song goes, "there's no business like show business", you may also say the same thing about Philippine politics.

With only less than 2 months to spare, we really should be creating our own list of candidates so that we wouldn't be confused on "shading" that ballot with a looooong list of names. Because if we make a mistake, then our vote would be totally wasted.

Other than making a list, we should consider the background of our presidential candidates. I have found a reference table (probably made by a Gordon fan.lol), that would supposedly help us know more about them aside from the things they overly sugarcoat on infomercials. I got the pic from Facebook, fyi. Just click on the image to enlarge.

Also, Mock Elections were held at the University of the Philippines (UP) campuses dubbed as "Boto ng Iskolar ng Bayan" spearheaded by the UP Alpha Sigma Fraternity. With 8,000+ respondents in 25 UP colleges, here were the results:

President:
(1) Manny Villar, 28.94%
(2) Noynoy Aquino, 19.02%
(3) Richard Gordon, 13.42%
(4) Gilbert Teodoro, 5.91%
(5) ABSTAIN, 1.74%
(6) Estrada 0.52%
(7) Madrigal 0.39%
(8) Delos Reyes 0.28%
(9) Villanueva 0.1063%
(10) Perlas 0.05%

Vice President:
(1) Mar Roxas, 30.11%
(2) Bayani Fernando, 11.71%
(3) Jejomar Binay, 8.74%
(4) ABSTAIN, 8.35%
(5) Loren Legarda, 6.35%
(6) Pefecto Yasay, 1.21%
(7) Jay Sonza, 0.77%
(8) Dominador Chipeco, 0.31%

Source: ABS-CBN

On Sunday (03.08.10), ABS-CBN will host another debate called "Harapan". This time, the President and Vice President aspirants will showcase their chemistry and teamwork, will convince the people why their match-up is better than the other, and why they deserved to be put in higher office. This can also be participated by a live audience, chatters, bloggers, texters and random people at random parts of the nation via audience response technology provided during the event.

So mark this Sunday's simulcast on Studio 23, ANC and TFC (10 PM Philippine Standard Time). You can also watch it live via streaming at: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/harapan. I'm sure it'll be as interesting as the previous forums.

Facebook More Popular Than Google?

World abomination is coming indeed!

Well, as least for a Google, as Facebook overtook the search engine giant the past week. This was according to market research group Experian Hitwise. However, this is no reason for Google to panic as it would still gain a lot of revenues in terms of advertising, and the results were based on US hits from last week.

Not that I’m saying that there’s anything particularly wrong with using this social networking site, it only made Mark Zuckerberg the world’s youngest billionaire. Moreover, it made facebooking as a household term for someone logging in, updating status, uploading photos, playing games, etc, in Facebook. With over 400 million users, it is considered as the 5th most valuable US Internet company. 

People are actually more interested in wasting time now than ‘ye olde productive browsing and researching? I sure hope not!

Classified Odd -- Japanese airline takes toilet etiquette to new heights

From http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/

TOKYO – Japan's All Nippon Airways, which has asked passengers to visit the toilet before boarding to help the environment, said Tuesday it will fit its jets with a women-only lavatory.

ANA will introduce one female-only toilet per aircraft on international flights next month after a survey of women fliers identified it as the second most attractive service they wished for after being offered desserts.

The rest of the toilets onboard will be for men and women as usual.

"We received many comments that having a women-only lavatory would be a factor in differentiating our airline from others," said an ANA spokesman.

"Many women said that they feel uncomfortable taking their time in the lavatory knowing that a male is waiting just behind them in line," he said.

The spokesman denied that the new service was introduced following complaints about men soiling the bathrooms, telling AFP: "Those opinions may exist, but we do not have that data on hand."

Since 2006 ANA has pursued a one-month awareness campaign each year in which it asks domestic fliers to visit the bathroom before boarding to reduce their body weight and therefore cut the plane's carbon-dioxide emissions.

The airline is also planning to install "washlets" in its aircraft -- electric toilet seats with water sprays for washing -- a common sight in Japan and generally a source of amusement for first-time visitors and users.

The "washlets" will be installed in the Boeing 777-300ER, due to begin operating in April, and the Boeing 787 fleet set to start flying this year.

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On a side note:

Oooh! I so love those toilet seats in Japan. There's this function where you could set the seat on "warm", so it makes it comfortable to sit on. Since the weather was a bit chilly during my visit, the toilet would have to be "the sanctuary".

This is the only toilet where I could dare sit like a queen, unlike when I'm in Manila! Also, I took advantage of the water sprays -- really helpful indeed during my time of need! Need I say more? lol

Posts about my Okinawa trip to follow. :)

Arigatou.

ありがとう