Good reads (and another thing Pinoys should be proud of)

From The Economic Consequences of Mr. Bush by Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank and Nobel Prize laureat:

"Up to now, the conventional wisdom has been that Herbert Hoover, whose policies aggravated the Great Depression, is the odds-on claimant for the mantle “worst president” when it comes to stewardship of the American economy. Once Franklin Roosevelt assumed office and reversed Hoover’s policies, the country began to recover. The economic effects of Bush’s presidency are more insidious than those of Hoover, harder to reverse, and likely to be longer-lasting. There is no threat of America’s being displaced from its position as the world’s richest economy. But our grandchildren will still be living with, and struggling with, the economic consequences of Mr. Bush....

"Whoever moves into the White House in January 2009 will face an unenviable set of economic circumstances. Extricating the country from Iraq will be the bloodier task, but putting America’s economic house in order will be wrenching and take years."

Read on at Vanity Fair.

Also, from the Asian Sentinel, a story on vigilantism, female style:

"A rambunctious and fearless posse recognizable by their pink-colored saris, the Pink Gang is the nemesis of violent husbands and inept government officials. Having personally suffered abuse, members of the vigilante club thrash abusive men, wife beaters and rapists, confront and shame wrongdoers and storm local police stations to accost lackadaisical cops."

Watch out men. We're on to you.

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Proudly Pinoy again

The Manila Standard Today reports that Lagen and Miniloc islands' resorts have been included in Travel + Leisure's 20 Favorite Green Hotels in its January issue. Actually, the issue was November 2007. Anyway, here is the relevant passage, as quoted by MST on Jan. 19:

“Surrounded by 123,000 acres of protected forests, jagged limestone cliffs, and hidden lagoons, travelers to sister resorts El Nido Lagen Island and El Nido Miniloc Island can take their pick of daily activities: bird-watching, kayaking, rock climbing, or simply watching fish swim below one of the guest cottages-on-stilts, which are set above the crystalline ocean.”

The El Nido resorts were actually ranked number eight out of 20 resorts wordwide, coming after well-established and major establishments in the Maldives , the Swiss Alps, and Bahamas. Just goes to show the Philippines still has something to be proud about.