Stroke, also known as “brain attack,” is among the leading causes of long-term disability and mortality worldwide. Anyone can be at risk of a stroke, although it mostly affects older adults. In the Philippines, stroke survivors may struggle to regain their vitality due to damage in their central nervous system, which generally leads to poor...
Category: Specials
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2023 confirmed as hottest year; warning up on worsening climate crisis
The global temperature in 2023 hit 1.45 ± 0.12 °C—the hottest year on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in its Jan. 12 news release. The years 2016 (which had a strong El Niño) and 2020 were previously classed as the warmest on record at 1.29 ±0.12°C and 1.27 ±0.12°C, respectively, above the...
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Ninoy Aquino’s speeches are now available online
“We are called upon to show now responsibility to duty, fidelity to our mandate despite our political diversity. I know that for the majority this may be hard, for what is demanded of us is to place country over party, sanity over the twisted logic of our baser political instincts.” This is an excerpt from...
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Theft of millions of Filipinos’ personal data eroding public trust
The series of data breaches at government agencies has resulted in the theft of millions of Filipinos’ personal information not only once but twice or even thrice, in gross violation of their right to privacy. Understandably, the theft is causing Filipinos to lose trust in the offices that keep their personal data even as the...
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When food tourism in US colonial period spurred fight for Filipino cuisine
The adventurous palate of foodies and their #willtravelforfood motto are interesting phenomena. The trend mentioned in a recent lecture intrigued me and moved a university student in the audience to ask Dr. Kristine Michelle L. Santos if Filipinos of yesteryear inherited their fondness for food from the Americans during the colonial era. Santos, an assistant...
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Zonal values of residential land surging
Zonal values of residential land are rising by up to about 330% in Parañaque City effective Monday, Oct. 2, catching residents and property owners by surprise. The surge is triggering concerns that the high cost of real property in the city will hamper sales and further make homes unaffordable to most people, especially the Gen...
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Norma Rae, Sister Stella L, and newspaper union organizing under martial law
They said it couldn’t be done. It was martial law, after all, and among many freedoms suppressed by Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s repressive regime (1965-1986) was the right to organize a legitimate union. Strikes were banned, and only government-friendly unions were recognized. But a hardy group of journalists at the Journal group of publications (Times Journal,...
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Barbie’s story in the Philippines is not all glamour and glitter
The pink, sparkly dress of the Barbie doll has been veiling something much less glamorous—the loss of thousands of jobs when the company that manufactured the toy in the Philippines closed shop. It is now a blurry episode for most Filipinos, but it may still be fresh in the memory of the workers, mostly women,...
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A meditation on technology and humanity
There is much talk these days about how artificial intelligence or AI could threaten human existence. AI is feared to achieve such a high degree of self-learning that it will surpass human intelligence and may consider us a threat and turn upon us. Really now? Certainly, the importance of AI in our lives is impossible...
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Despite the rains, record-breaking hot days and years may be expected
The rains are here but hot and dry days may be expected because of El Niño possibly starting between June and July and lasting up to March, according to the Philippine weather bureau Pagasa. Elsewhere in the world, forecasters at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said temperatures are likely to soar and break records over...