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Thursday, March 24, 2011

A Tour of Mexico: A Quick Overview of the Nation of Mexico, Plus a Recipe for Authentic Guacamole as Lagniappe






This overview of Mexico – the country, the culture, the people, and a recipe, too – was prepared by Chris Saucedo while a Business Administration major in the College of Business at Southeastern Louisiana University.








Read more:

A Tour of Mexico: A Quick Overview of The Nation of Mexico, Plus a Recipe for Authentic Guacamole as Lagniappe





David Wyld, Professor of Management
Southeastern Louisiana University

Wyld About Business (http://ping.fm/dXGbe) and


Management in a Minute (http://ping.fm/aXH1A)











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A Statement of Condemnation Against The Anti-LGBT Statement of Prof. Lorenzo Laroco

STATEMENT OF CONDEMNATION AGAINST THE ANTI-LGBT STATEMENTS OF PROF. LORENZO LAROCO, MINDANAO STATE UNIVERSITY

Who is to define morality? Who is to define what is ethical? These are the questions positioned by Prof. Lorenzo Laroco, the director of the Office of Student Affairs of Mindanao State University (MSU).

At first glance, these questions echo the more progressive minds of today in rejection to the autonomy and monopoly of so-called truths propagated by certain traditional institutions. In human history, there is a danger towards the assertion of a powerful entity on the monopoly of truths which has led to events such as the Tiananmen Massacre and the Spanish Inquisition.

Such human experience has led progressives and revolutionaries to question institutions that assert autonomy over the truth. This struggle has precipitated to the struggles of various sectors such as women, labor, peasant and youth. One sector that remains a victim of this regressive culture is the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered or LGBT sector.

Being deemed “abnormal”, “sick” or even an “abomination” to what is considered normal (whatever normal is) and an aberration from the “true course of nature” are some of the cultural labels that members of the LGBT community endure. In schools and in the workplace, researches sponsored by The Library Foundation have shown that lesbians and gays, especially cross dressers, are being discriminated upon. These very same derogatory cultural labels are being re-echoed by Laroco’s statement with the lengthy title “On Redefining Morality, Cross-dressing, On Students Wearing Slippers and Shorts, On ASAP and those who Call Themselves ‘Mga Iskolar ng Bayan’”.

Laroco’s statement was a reply to the article released by the Alliance of Students for Alternative Politics (ASAP), a member political party of the Student Council Alliance of the Philippines (SCAP). ASAP’s article communicated their platform of gender equality, more especially in safeguarding the rights of the LGBT community within the MSU. ASAP as a genuine pro-student political party sees the security of LGBT rights under the umbrella of academic and personal freedom that Laroco was quick to respond against.

Laroco’s statement teems of anti-LGBT pronouncements such as “We accept you/gays in the University as our students who are not yet hopeless cases who still can be trained in [sic] the right path” and “Would you want us to call your parents about your crossdressing and your misconduct and let your parents suffer the humiliation instead of just you being ridiculed and jeered at?”

The Student Council Alliance of the Philippines, the largest and broadest formation of student councils, political parties, organizations and young leaders in the country with member-schools in more than 60 provinces and 100 cities nationwide, STRONGLY CONDEMNS the anti-LGBT statements of Laroco.

In response, we give the following points:
In the spirit of authentic humanization, any person of whatever gender should be accorded with full respect as to her or his dignity as a human person. This respect entails the acknowledgment of her/his right to exercise all civil and political liberties, including the freedom to dress in the best way to express her or himself without violating the civil and political liberties of her/his fellow women/men.
Universities as education institutions serve as breeding ground for critical thinkers that could serve as a cogent and potent force towards nation-building. The fascist-like disciplinary tenets that Laroco describes in his statement have no place in a democracy where value for pluralism and dissenting opinion should be respected and upheld.
Ethics and morality are not synonymous. Morality as a social construct is an amalgamation of mores (thus the term) including the present cultural and social values. Morality changes as time and place change. Thus, there is no entity, be it in the person of Laroco, which has the autonomy to prescribe what is moral, proper or decent. Ethics, on the other hand, is the manner of judging an action in relation to the intention and the mode undertaken by the actor.
Good manners is only good manners if it is out of respect. Laroco’s scathing statement goes “What is so wrong is when the taxpayers (sic) money (thousands of pesos for each every semester [sic]) is spent on you – iskolar/s ng bayan – who could not distinguish between right or wrong, between what is ethical/moral, or unethical/immoral, who could not define what decorum is and who could not dignify your elementary and high school teachers who taught you for ten (10) long years Good Manners and Right Conduct (GMRC)!” It has to be understood first by Laroco that he serves as an epitome of what Philippine education should NOT be: fascist, regressive and stupid. The students of ASAP have been dignifying their past GMRC teachers by stressing this golden point: Respecting the way other people dress, speak or think, even if these are not in agreement with yours, is good manners. Belligerently imposing your personal set of values and beliefs upon others, even dictating the way they should dress, is bad manners.

In light of these points discussed above, Laroco has no place in MSU.

Laroco, who impedes freedom of thought and ideas, has no place in an education institution where critical thinking necessary for citizenship should be a culture. Laroco, who is intolerant of others who espouse a different set of beliefs, has no place in an education institution where tolerance coming from genuine human respect should be the baseline of human relations. Laroco, who is anti-LGBT, has no place in an education institution that seeks the eradication of all forms of discrimination and prejudices.

So really, who is to define morality? Who is to define what is ethical? Most certainly not Laroco. In the absence of a single definition of what is moral and what is ethical, respect should still prevail and this should be reflected in the way we deal our fellow women and men, no matter what their gender is. Having to dress “properly”, as what Laroco describes, is merely a pretentious sheen of what is seemingly proper.

Respecting others no matter how they dress: now that’s decorum.

The Alliance CONDEMNS the anti-LGBT statements of Laroco and, in behalf of ASAP and the rest of the membership of the Alliance, DEMANDS Laroco’s public apology to the LGBT community, to the students of MSU especially to the members of ASAP whom he has named and maligned in his statements.

In the name of the Alliance,

GIO TINGSON
National Chairperson

GIBBY GORRES
National Secretary-General

RALPH IVAN SAMSON
Chairperson for Mindanao

NOVA JANE LACBAO
Secretary-General for Mindanao

MAKI ACEDO
Member-at-Large for Mindanao

The Groupon Backlash Is On

By Hamilton Nolan

The Groupon Backlash Is On

The Groupon Backlash Is OnAmong businesses, the initial reaction to the concept of Groupon was: "Give our shit away for half price? Well, it's good advertising." But now, that reaction is changing to: "Give our shit away for half price? Ehhh."

Groupon's own reaction, of course, remains: "What a great fucking scam we've got going here." But the businesses, well, they're beginning to think that maybe paying someone for the privilege of giving away their goods at a loss in order to gain no new customers may not be the sweetest deal out there. Did you know that Groupon likes to keep 50% of what you pay on a typical coupon—which is already a 50% discount? Psht.

The WSJ says that businesses are smartening up and shopping around for better percentages among all the bazillions of Groupon clones that have launched recently. Also, businesses say that coupon sites often don't translate into new customers; instead, they deliver "coupon addicts-customers who bought several deals from a variety of sites and would bounce from one practice to the next."

Coupon addicts! Grrr. You buy something or get out!

It's not just businesses that are kind of fed up with the whole Groupon setup. A while back, we asked for stories from anyone who'd worked for Groupon, after hearing complaints from some writers about Groupon's demands for employment. We didn't receive anything we'd call an absolute horror story, some of the inside perspective was interesting. It mostly seems like an existential hell for aspiring writers and journalists:

After the ["Groupon Academy"] session, I was asked to write another sample, and then another - but I remained unfazed. My masters degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism prepared me well for those three paragraph descriptions of bikini waxes and bowling alleys.

Another former employee called it "a sweatshop for writers," where most of the "editorial" employees make under $30K per year. And you have to act like you like it!:

It's very much "Groupon is the best thing ever," very insular kind of place. Everyone there basically drinks the company Kool-Aid and it's pretty clear when someone is not on that page. In my time there I have heard some management-types plainly say that devoting the majority of one's time to Groupon is the best way to be - not only working a lot, but striving to spend lots of non-work time with coworkers. Coworkers dating coworkers is encouraged - it will somehow increase productivity. There's a lot of talk about a work-life balance, but it seemed to me that it was more like work is life and life is work, that working for Groupon is more of a lifestyle than just a job. Most people who work there seem content with that. Plus a lot of them know each other - the whole hiring from the Chicago theater and improv scene means there are all kinds of friend groups working there.

Sounds terrible. Like 98% of all writing jobs are! Writers are always complaining. As are businesses, when they're not making money! In any case, we're still reserving judgment on Groupon. If you have any interesting stories to share, email me.

[WSJ, photos via Groupon/ Flickr]

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Today in Slate: Is Libya Like Kosovo? Plus, A Farewell to Elizabeth Taylor

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Today: March 24, 2011

Fore More Years

Fore More Years

Enough already with the jokes about Obama playing golf.

By John Dickerson

READ FULL STORY | More News and Politics

Is Libya Like Kosovo?

Is Libya Like Kosovo?

Let's hope so.

By Fred Kaplan

READ FULL STORY | More News and Politics

Elizabeth Taylor, RIP

Elizabeth Taylor, RIP

A farewell to the most fleshly of all actresses.

By Dana Stevens

READ FULL STORY | More News and Politics

Why the Uprising in Syria Is So Troubling

Why the Uprising in Syria Is So Troubling

In Praise of the NCAA's Biggest Ball Hogs

In Praise of the NCAA's Biggest Ball Hogs

Is Congress Still Citing Its "Constitutional Authority" in All New Bills?

Is Congress Still Citing Its "Constitutional Authority" in All New Bills?

Shafer: NYT Shouldn't Worry About Readers Who'll Cheat Past the Pay Wall

Shafer: NYT Shouldn't Worry About Readers Who'll Cheat Past the Pay Wall

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The Scottish Soccer Rivalry That Has Gotten Waaay Out of Hand

The Scottish Soccer Rivalry That Has Gotten Waaay Out of Hand

Will Groupon Kill the Merchants That Offer Its Great Deals?

Will Groupon Kill the Merchants That Offer Its Great Deals?

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The Afternoon Scoop - Panic in the Nuclear Energy Lobby

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The Daily Beast - The Afternoon Scoop - March 24, 2011
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CHEAT SHEET
MUST READS FROM ALL OVER

INFLUENCE
1. Panic in the Nuclear Energy Lobby

With the White House offering $36 billion in loan guarantees, U.S.
nuclear industry lobbyists have little opposition. But Eve Conant
reports they fear overreaction to the Japan disaster.

Read it at The Daily Beast:
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNi5X5B7SwhTB8Z2$aNsjV9olS/dail1
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SHOT DOWN
2. French Jets Hit Libyan Plane

French warplanes shot down a Libyan plane on Thursday, the first one to
be brought down since the no-fly zone began. A U.S. official says it was
a Libyan G-2/Galeb, a trainer aircraft, and that it may have been
attempting to land when it was shot by a French Rafael fighter. French
jets also struck an airbase about 155 miles inland. U.S. and U.K. ships
continued to fire Tomahawk cruise missiles at Gaddafi's air defenses and
ammunition bunkers. Libyan state television showed mangled bodies in
Tripoli and claimed they were the victims of airstrikes, while Rebels
say Gaddafi's forces have been taking bodies from the morgue and
pretending they're civilian casualties.
Read it at Associated Press:
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MIDEAST UPRISINGS
20,000 Syrians Line Streets for Funerals
Local journalist says situation "is out of control."
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNi5X5B7SwhTB8Z2$aNsjV9olS/cht3

CONTENDERS
Bachmann to Form Exploratory Committee
Tea Party darling moves one step closer to the 2012 race.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNi5X5B7SwhTB8Z2$aNsjV9olS/cht4

BARGAINS
Detroit Bomber Liked Cheap Airfare
Abdulmutallab found other targets too expensive.
http://e.thedailybeast.com/a/tBNi5X5B7SwhTB8Z2$aNsjV9olS/cht5

SORRY
Chris Brown: 'Disappointed in My Actions'
Says Good Morning America misled him regarding interview.
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