
Anyone wondering what a “good” president in Philippines looks like, I was made (as a U.S. born Pinoy) to understand this: celebrities go into government because they are celebrities. In my family we used to joke that at the height of Justin Bieber’s popularity, he would get elected if he was Filipino. Just wanted to contrast things.
No joke, Manny Pacquiao was a senator at one time.
Which is?
EDIT: The current government at the time of his death didn’t even want him transported back to the country. He had been in Hawaii for medical treatment. Eventually he got put in a mausoleum. In 2016 when he finally did get a burial, that sparked protest. If you think something other than ex-president can be used as a more appropriate label, I would like to know.
A Philippine general says that ex-Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte threatened him with lawsuits, refused to be fingerprinted and told law enforcers “you have to kill me to bring me to The Hague.”

This news slipped the headlines for most people. Finally, one of the worst (arguably people will say is not THE WORST) presidents the Philippines has had was arrested by ICC. He lead an extra-judicial war on drugs.
If you don’t understand how big a deal it is that ICC arrested Duterte, let me help you understand: BongBong (Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr, son of ex-President Ferdinand Marcos) allowed ICC to take him into custody. The Macros family is historically the most hated family in all Philippines.
Just giving me ideas of how to drink beverages at STLV.
Have you actually been through the Canal? I have been on a cruise that went through it. It takes hours. That is some slow ass war if I’ve ever heard of one.
Yes I would. It is free.
Sus to be hanging out with a 17-year-old.
EDIT: Anyone not understanding the joke, just look up the lyrics to Dancing Queen by ABBA.
But what age range would this be? Can’t be a child. We already got that.
Before Picard season 1 was in production, McAvoy (not sure if he was serious) said he’d like to play a young Jean-Luc.
And there is a official crossover that occurred long before Sir Patrick Stewart starred in the movies.
So he likes to fantasize about Kamala as his surrogate daughter?
EDIT: In case you forgot or were unaware, Famke Janssen played Kamala in “The Perfect Mate” as well as Jean Grey in the original X-Men trilogy.
Got tetanus updated. Apparently that was recommended on my last medical checkup.
I am unable to find a news report now, but I am certain I read one back in 2018 or 2019. I believe that Conservation International (an organization that helped develop the C.A.F.E. standard the company uses) was discovered covering up the certification of one of the farms in Brazil. As I remember reading, that a farm was at the time listed somewhere as being certified but after slave labor was discovered, CI uncertified the farm and attempted to claim it failed to meet the C.A.F.E. standards, thus never was awarded certification. They weren't saying the certification was revoked; it never had any.
Here are three different reports regarding three different instances in Brazil. https://news.mongabay.com/2019/05/slave-labor-found-at-second-starbucks-certified-brazilian-coffee-farm/
https://news.mongabay.com/2018/09/slave-labor-found-at-starbucks-certified-brazil-coffee-plantation/
Here is one on the Guatemala incident. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/01/children-work-for-pittance-to-pick-coffee-beans-used-by-starbucks-and-nespresso
So I guess you don’t mind having to bury it if it catches fire, because they reach insane temperatures. Or the fact that raccoons think they are dumpsters.
Just so people are aware, Starbucks was caught buying from farms in Brazil multiple times that used slave labor. In Guatemala, along with Nestle, were caught buying from farm(s?) that used child labor.
EDIT: On top of this the company partnered with Conservation International to certify the farms met the company’s standards. The incident in Brazil saw CI trying to coverup the certification of that farm. Also CI is involved with arms dealing.
EDIT 2: Their retail products have the claim “100% Ethically Sourced”. That is a lie.
EDIT: I got the slogan wrong. It is “Committed to 100% Ethical Coffee Sourcing”.
Want a worse number? Back in 2019, the price of commodity was at less than a $1. Starbucks, at the time made up 3% of the world’s production. They decided to give $20m to their farmers. Did it help? Well based on available financial data at the time, $20m was approximately single afternoon’s profit for the company. A SINGLE FUCKING AFTERNOON! https://sprudge.com/starbucks-would-prefer-you-dont-think-too-hard-about-that-20m-relief-fund-151839.html
Where does the “French” in French fries come from? What made it French? I’ve never seen it associated with French cuisine. Only American.
Way to offend the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese languages, possibly.
bans identifying as human


Heard a tourism ad for Key West, Florida which has the line “There’s only one road into Key West[…]” on The D-Con Chamber podcast. This is where my mind went.
In anticipation of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season three, coming later this year, Paramount+ released these cosmic new cast portraits.

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EDIT: For anyone doubting the validity of a YouTube channel, Ellie Littlechild and Seán Ferrick are people that attend Trek events. I met Seán at STLV last year. On top of this they have interviewed Mulgrew. While this news is unconfirmed as Ellie stated, Seán relayed this information second hand from Star Trek: The Cruise, which featured the cast of Voyager for its 30th anniversary.
Did Syrran’s teachings change the accepted spiritual and philosophical ideology of mainstream Vulcan society? ENT had the unique position of being a prequel to TOS. It at first presented mind-melds as a deviant act that was socially unacceptable. Moving into the 23rd century of TOS and the movies (I’m going on recall right now), the deviance seemed to have gone away. However the dangers of mind-melds held true even by the time of VOY. When ENT reached the three parter of “The Forge”, “Awakening” and “Kir’Shara”, the story specifically focused on katras.
It feels like the direction ENT was pointed, the people in charge of the big lore wanted to flip what we knew about Vulcan society. One of the major conflicts over the course of the series was the Earth-Vulcan relationship. Of course this was rooted in the Federation arch.
To clarify my question: did the rebellious teachings of a cult (T’Pol specifically calls the Syrrannites a “violent cult”), become the accepted beliefs over a century?


This special announcement comes after previously announcing Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike) and Jennifer Morrison (Winona Kirk) from ST09 for the convention.
Welcome to Universal Studios Hollywood! Learn more about our incredible theme park attractions in California such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ and much more!
Various ticket packages are available (which mainly include access to the park itself). Tickets start at $74 (Sunday dates), $79 (Friday dates) and $84 (Saturday dates).
If you are interested in cosplaying, the website has a list of restrictions. The ones I noted that would apply to Trekkies are no phasers, no balloons (I saw a person with balloons at STLV), or service animals in costume/part of costume (I saw this too at STLV). So please read the list before dressing up.
A big disclaimer at the top here that I am going to be discussing familial death.
Hello to everyone reading this. Not sure why I am greeting you, the reader. Last week my maternal grandfather passed away. He was in hospice care with bone cancer and overall poor health. The lead up to being admitted into hospice was a sudden and unexpected turn. During my grandfather’s final days, my family set up a computer at the foot of his bed so we could watch shows with him. Regardless if he was awake or not I took time by his side and watched Enterprise. As an important side note, I have always lived with my grandparents (I’m Filipino; this is a cultural thing).
In the week since my grandfather’s passing, I have been rewatching Enterprise. When the show first broadcast in 2001, I was 10-years-old. I grew up watching TNG, seeing First Contact and Insurrection in theaters and going on The Klingon Encounter attraction at Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas. For me, my grandfather was the Star Trek fan who I looked up to. I watched it because he did. So when Enterprise premiered, it was the first series I was old enough to watch in completion during its first run broadcast. I remember my grandfather being excited for “Broken Bow”. He let me stay up late on Wednesdays (and later Fridays if I recall correctly, when the timeslot changed) to watch with him.
Getting to watch Enterprise at the age of 10 to 13 (“These Are the Voyages…” aired four days before my 14th birthday) had a big impact on me. I didn’t realize till later as an adult when I finally took the time to watch all of Classic Trek and then all of New Trek (circa November 2023) how much Star Trek meant to me. You’d be hard pressed to not find me wearing a badge on a daily basis. As a Southern California resident, I drove out to Beverly Hills to attend the advanced screening of the Discovery finale in May. Then in August I finally attended my first convention: STLV.
I am writing this as my way of being reflective. Watching Enterprise with my grandfather is one of the happiest memories from my childhood. I miss my grandfather so much. Each time I watch an Enterprise episode, I feel like a kid all over. This brings me joy during a time of grief. I intimately associate Enterprise with my grandfather.
Someday in the future I want to get a tattoo of the mission patch in honor of my grandfather. !
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Tony and Laurie are joined by the Shuttle Pod‘s Matt Wright this week. They kick off with the latest news including a wrestler added to the cast of Starfleet Academy, more details about the Section 31 movie, and the addition of The Wrath of Khan to the National Film Registry. The trio then digs into...

The way The Doctor is able to change appearance so quickly, jump through glass panes and that hallway wall running, scream Matrix to me.
[Lower Decks review starts at 8:47] Anthony and Laurie start off taking a deep dive into the trailer for the upcoming Star Trek: Section 31 streaming movie. They agree it’s a better trailer and the movie looks like it has good production values and plenty of action, and they hope it can make good on...

Biggest take away: Wang was cast in Picard season 3, promoted to admiral, and over time cut out before production.
Spoilers for “Subspace Rhapsody” (Strange New Worlds season 2 episode 9)
This question is 100% hypothetical. Would the episode have the same plot if Spock at completed kolinahr at this point in his life?