Bulatlat.com's Photo of the Week

While surfing the various discussion groups at Blogcatalog one day, I chanced upon one invitation which was inviting blogger members to blog about international political figures. I was quite surprised that she mentioned "Gloria" the Philippine president among the figures she wants bloggers to blog about. This made me wonder if truly "Gloria" is that internationally famous. (I wonder if they really knew who Gloria really is or whether they have a real grasp of the Philippine politics?).
Anyway, after coming across a "Photo of the Week" feature on a Filipino website (bulatlat.com), I remembered the blogcatalog blogger and her discussion topic. I tried looking for her discussion group again hoping to be able to share with her the Bulatlat.com link. But with thousands of discussion pages at the site, I soon tired out after browsing 50 pages. So, much as I don't want to put any political color to my blog, I just went on and decided to make this post hoping she'd stumble on my site one of these days so she can get a glimpse of "Gloria" from the standpoint of people "not so close to her".
This photo of the week was posted by the site(www.bulatlat.com) in reaction to "Gloria's" latest State of the Nation Address and her government's on-going tri-media ad campaign dubbed as "Ramdam ang Kaunlaran" (Feeling the Progress). The photo shows shanties amidst the background of tall buildings - a perrenial scene of spreading poverty throughout the country. The photo itself is a political statement by the photographer and counters Gloria's misinformation drive designed to hoodwink her countrymen and the international community into believing that the country is indeed progressing.

CLIPS FROM http://www.bulatlat.com/

PHOTO OF THE WEEK
BY RAYMUND VILLANUEVA
Contributed to Bulatlat
Volume VIII, Number 30, August 31 – September 6, 2008

There's this grating commercial on Philippine networks showing select "success" stories
under the current political dispensation. The commercial declare in the end,
"Ramdam ko ang kaunlaran!" which translates, "I feel the progress."
Yeah, right!
(Caption provided by Photographer)

TOP STORY

• Debt Payments 48% of Proposed 2009 Budget; Allotment for Services Measly

  

  While Mrs. Arroyo claims profits from VAT would be used to fight poverty,
  
• the P1.415T 2009 proposed budget shows the government’s true priorities.

Here are some figures concerning the peoples' rating of gloria from the Ibon Foundation, a non-profit, non-government entity dedicated to providing real economic data and other information about the country:

More relevant facts from Ibon Foundation:

Consumer Price Index (2000 = 100)

July 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Philippines 121.8 130.5 138.8 142.4 159.8

NCR 121.9 132.8 142.2 146.0 158.6

Areas outside NCR

Agricultural 121.8 129.5 137.3 140.8r 160.4

Non-Agricultural 121.8 129.5 137.3 140.8r 160.4

Source: National Statistics Office

Purchasing Power of the Peso (in Peso: 2000 = 100)
July 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Philippines 0.82 0.77 0.72 0.70 0.64

NCR 0.82 0.75 0.70 0.68 0.62

Areas outside NCR
Agricultural 0.82 0.77 0.73 0.71 0.62

Non-Agricultural 0.82 0.77 0.73 0.71 0.62

Source: National Statistics Office
Inflation Rate (in %)
July 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Philippines 6.6% 7.1% 6.4%2. 6% 12.2%

NCR 6.4% 8.9% 7.1%2. 7% 8.6%

Areas outside NCR
Agricultural 6.7% 6.3% 6.0% 2.5% r 13.9%

Non-Agricultural 6.7% 6.3% 6.0% 2.5% r 13.9%r-revised

Source: National Statistics Office

Want to know how"Gloria"is viewed by a growing number of her own countrymen? Look at these pictures!

PLAIN GREED OR PLAIN STUPIDITY

"[Private] I have read your post and I wanted to write a brief comment but your template doesn't have a clickable link for the comment form. Anyway, I just wanted to say that I agree with your views on how to spot fake online FX brokers. I'm still baffled though why some previous victims of other scams keep on falling for the same trap (I have studied the chatroom dialogues at PinoyMoneyTalk and other Pinoy Forums). Why don't they seem to learn their lessons? Is it plain greed or plain stupidity? I cannot seem to figure out anything in between."
Posted on my message board in one of the social networks I am affiliated with was this note. The sender is a financial professional who also blogs about the many investment scams in the Philippines particularly the most recent PIPC-Michael Liew Forex Scam which is the subject of my continuing blog-expose.

"Why don't they (referring to Filipino investors) seem to learn their lessons? Is it plain greed or plain stupidity? "

Before I give my "two-cents worth" of opinion on this, let us approach his query from the opposite side and re-hash the questions to try to get a clearer picture of the situation.

How were these scammers able to do the same scam over and over again and in the same place at that? How were these con artists able to dupe more investors repeatedly when all that they did every time were to merely relocate to other offices and hire a new staff?

In my own opinion, these con artists, armed with years of experience in plying their trade all over the globe, knew their target market here by heart. For one, they knew that they can easily pass off as legitimate enterprises within the local business communities here since the regulatory authorities are drowned in a culture of corruption and bribery is a way of life. For another, they knew damn well that the market is simply big and is still growing! Despite years of their plundering activities, they knew they have not yet tapped the full potential of the already established "have money to invest sector"of the Philippine society - the old rich.

On top of this, they are quick to recognize that there is this emerging sector or the evolving "new rich" - successful newbies or business owners who are fast accumulating new found riches - and, there are also the OFW's whose years of hard work abroad are now showcased via sizable savings ready to be tapped for investments.

The marketing savvy of of these con artists are truly amazing. Yet, they have not changed their proven marketing approach at all through these years. The game plan is to undertake mass recruitment by way of offering easy-to-land high paying marketing jobs. They target people with connections to the well-heeled sector of the community to join their marketing staff. Business patronage is simply established via personal cognizance. A rich uncle or two, a well off neighbor, or long time business associate with excess money to invest, they all easily fall prey to a well prepared marketing presentation made by a relative,a trusted neighbor or a long time business associate. The norm of "throwing caution to the wind" when a new business is offered is easily forgotten. The personalized marketing approach swings the tide to their favor. And decision making is now influenced by local culture which dictates them not to offend the relative, the neighbor, or the business associate by turning down their offer. Often the personal assurances of the 'related' marketing staff become the sole factor for the decision to make the investments.

This marketing approach was so successful in the past because there was a dearth for high profile jobs available for the ever growing workforce and so these con artists were able to grow their businesses without a hitch. However, with the entry of and proliferation of high paying call center jobs in the country in the last three years, recruitment slowed down for these con artists. Their businesses suffered a slack. Obligations to pay up clients were rising faster than the generation of new investments. Finally, rather than to wait for the scam to blowup in their faces, they flew the coop bringing with them the whole caboodle of money invested with them.

Going back to my blogger friend's posted question, the victims of the latest PIPC-Michael Liew Forex scam as well as the investors in the Franc-Swiss capers (the latest forex investment scams to hit the Philippine scene) can not be deemed stupid. They were new victims of an old scam. My friend may argue this with me and say "if this is not plain stupidity then what is?" Well, I believe, if you have been duped before and allowed yourself to be duped again then that is plain stupidity. However, more than 90% of the PIPC and Franc-Swiss scam victims were not the same investors conned by the fake forex brokers in the last decade that they have been active in the country. They were mostly relatively new investors. I would moderate my call and term this as simple ignorance.

Again,my blogger friend may argue with me and say that this is plain stupidity since all the other scams that transpired in the last two decades have been well publicized in both print and broadcast media! Ahh, but here again is were the marketing savvy of the con artists shines out. They knew that there is a high chance that their targeted new victims never heard or read about forex scams in the country or if they did, there is a greater chance that they may not recall them at all. It is quite hard to recall a news item of no interest to you at all at that time, and which happened one or two years ago. These new victims may have been too busy building up their riches to even pay attention to news items of no direct bearing to them at that point. And, if there were those who could recall, these are easily overturned by personal assurances by the marketing staff who happen to be their relatives or close associates. A perfect staging ground for a scam indeed!

It is not plain stupidity that Filipino investors fell prey once more to investment scams. It is plain ignorance and total indifference to what is going on around them. To avoid recurrence of such incidents therefore, every one (investors, regulatory authorities and legislators alike) must be continually vigilant.

As for the greed, I should say investment decisions are often accompanied by a certain amount of greed.

Take A Load of This!

As I was surfing my e-mail today, I noticed one coming from a very special friend from another social network. She is a blogger herself but she never authored her own site. She was in fact contented with writing bits and pieces of her thoughts and publishes them on that network. I had a load of fun reading this extraordinarily long e-mail but boy, I really got a kick out of this. I don’t care where she got it from or who the original author may be but I am publishing the e-mail to share with you the happiness and the laughter this e-mail has given me this morning!

He happened to be a student of the greatest teacher ever.

Monday, September 1, 2008 11:27 PM

From:

“Raven D.S.” (sorry, need to hide her real e-mail add)

An Atheist Professor of Philosophy speaks to his Class on the Problem Science has with GOD, The ALMIGHTY.
He asks one of his New Christian Students to stand and . . .

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So you Believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD Good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor : Is GOD ALL - POWERFUL ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : My Brother died of Cancer even though he Prayed to GOD to Heal him.
Most of us would attempt to Help Others who are ill.
But GOD didn’t.
How is this GOD Good then ? Hmm ?

( Student is silent )

Professor : You can’t answer, can you ?
Let’s start again, Young Fella.
Is GOD Good ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Is Satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor : Where does Satan come from ?
Student : From . . . GOD . . .
Professor : That’s right.
Tell me son, is there evil in this World ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ?
And GOD did make Everything. Correct ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : So who created evil ?

( Student does not answer )

Professor : Is there Sickness ? Immorality ? Hatred ? Ugliness ?
All these terrible things exist in the World, don’t they ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor : So, who Created them ?

( Student has no answer )

Professor : Science says you have 5 Senses you use to Identify and Observe the World around you.
Tell me, son . . . Have you ever Seen GOD ?
Student : No, sir.
Professor : Tell us if you have ever Heard your GOD ?
Student : No , sir.
Professor : Have you ever Felt your GOD, Tasted your GOD, Smelt your GOD ?
Have you ever had any Sensory Perception of GOD for that matter ?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor : Yet you still Believe in HIM ?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist.
What do you say to that, son ?
Student : Nothing. I only have my Faith.
Professor : Yes. Faith. And that is the Problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as Heat ?
Professor : Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as Cold ?
Professor : Yes.
Student : No sir. There isn’t.

( The Lecture Theatre becomes very quiet with this turn of events )

Student : Sir, you can have Lots of Heat, even More Heat, Superheat, Mega Heat, White Heat,
a Little Heat or No Heat.
But we don’t have anything called Cold.
We can hit 458 Degrees below Zero which is No Heat, but we can’t go any further after that.
There is no such thing as Cold.
Cold is only a Word we use to describe the Absence of Heat.
We cannot Measure Cold.
Heat is Energy.
Cold is Not the Opposite of Heat, sir, just the Absence of it.

( There is Pin - Drop Silence in the Lecture Theatre )

Student : What about Darkness, Professor ? Is there such a thing as Darkness ?
Professor : Yes. What is Night if there isn’t Darkness ?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir.
Darkness is the Absence of Something.
You can have Low Light, Normal Light , Bright Light, Flashing Light . . .
But if you have No Light Constantly, you have Nothing and it’s called Darkness, isn’t it ?
In reality, Darkness isn’t.
If it is, were you would be able to make Darkness Darker, wouldn’t you ?
Professor : So what is the point you are making, Young Man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your Philosophical Premise is Flawed.
Professor : Flawed ? Can you explain how ?
Student : Sir, you are working on the Premise of Duality.
You argue there is Life and then there is Death, a Good GOD and a BadGOD.
You are viewing the Concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure.
Sir, Science can’t even explain a Thought.
It uses Electricity and Magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one.
To view Death as the Opposite of Life is to be ignorant of the fact that
Death cannot exist as a Substantive Thing.
Death is Not the Opposite of Life : just the Absence of it.
Now tell me, Professor, do you Teach your Students that they Evolved from a Monkey ?
Professor : If you are referring to the Natural Evolutionary Process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed Evolution with your own eyes, sir ?

( The Professor shakes his head with a Smile, beginning to realize where the Argument is going )

Student : Since no one has ever observed the Process of Evolution at work and
cannot even prove that this Process is an On - Going Endeavor,
are you not Teaching your Opinion, sir ?
Are you not a Scientist but a Preacher ?

( The Class is in Uproar )

Student : Is there anyone in the Class who has ever Seen the Professor’s Brain ?

( The Class breaks out into Laughter )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever Heard the Professor’s Brain, Felt it, Touched or Smelt it ? . . .
No one appears to have done so.
So, according to the Established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that
you have No Brain, sir.
With all due respect, sir, how do we then Trust your Lectures, sir ?

( The Room is Silent. The Professor stares at the Student, his face unfathomable )

Professor : I guess you’ll have to take them on Faith, son.
Student : That is it sir . . .
the Link between Man & GOD is FAITH.
That is all that Keeps Things Moving & Alive.


It turned out later that the student was Albert Einstein!