AND TO start your Friday with that mischievous smile, let’s begin our conversation with the hilarious stuff.
Of course, this will depend on which side of the fence you’re on. So either you’ll have a good laugh or will be triggered to violent reactions.
Really, I don’t care if you have no sense of humor but for most of us who do have, here we go…
During the campaign period of the last presidential elections, there was a picture of Leni Robredo that went viral. She was walking in what appeared to be a grassy field barefoot (naked feet sans shoes) while her entire entourage were all wearing proper shoes. Mmaybe they should revive that photo-op concept but this time around she should be walking on water – barefoot of course – while her entourage are following her in boats. It would have a more profound meaning.
***
Politics has always been regarded as a circus with all sorts of clowns trying to outperform each other. In fact, the Philippine Senate is seen by many as a three-ring circus complete with clowns, one-eyed midgets and fire-eating dancing queens. The latest is a punch drunk boxer with a combination of messianic and emperor’s-new-clothes complex.
I have no problem if Manny Pacquiao or Ely Pamatong becomes president. We are, after all, a democracy and the people have the right to make fool of themselves or elect fools into public office. Life goes on. What’s the worst that can happen? We’ve already had that nincompoop Noynoy Aquino as president.
Now Manny Pacquiao fancies himself as some sort of “corruption hunter” throwing accusations left and right without a shred of evidence. All he has to show is a stack of newly opened reams of blank bond paper purportedly as “documentary evidence”.
Of course, the sane members of the Senate’s blue ribbon committee did not fall for his stunts.
If you have evidence then the proper thing to do is file a complaint/case in the Ombudsman. But if you’re on a fishing expedition and just after media mileage then the Senate blue ribbon committee is the perfect place as it assures you of investigation in aid of election with full media coverage.
***
So Pacquiao is off to the US for two months to train for his upcoming fight which means he’ll be as usual absent from his duties as a senator of the republic.
Take note that boxing is not part of the job description of a senator and he is not in any shape or form representing the country; he is fighting for money and himself.
Manny Pacquiao desperately needs this fight. He is 40 years old and in most professional sports, particularly a violent one like boxing, he should be retired already. But he needs the money to finance his presidential ambitions and in his simplistic mind if he wins then the people will support his presidential ambition.
It is the epitome of stupidity to vote for someone as president just because he won a boxing match.
***
And we segue to the serious stuff that could be helpful in our fight to cope and live with the COVID-19 virus.
Excerpts from a May 11, 2021 article on www.gavi.org:
Mounting evidence suggest COVID vaccines do reduce transmission
Since COVID-19 vaccines began rolling out across the world, many scientists have been hesitant to say they can reduce transmission of the virus.
Their primary purpose is to prevent you from getting really sick with the virus, and it quickly became clear the vaccines are highly efficient at doing this. Efficacy against symptoms of the disease in clinical trials has ranged from 50% (Sinovac) to 95% (Pfizer/BioNTech), and similar effectiveness has been reported in the real world.
But how likely are vaccinated people to actually pass the virus on, if they do get infected? Evidence is increasing that, not only do COVID-19 vaccines either stop you getting sick or substantially reduce the severity of your symptoms; they’re also likely to substantially reduce the chance of transmitting the virus to others.
In April, Public Health England reported the results of a large study of COVID-19 transmission involving more than 365,000 households with a mix of vaccinated and unvaccinated members.
It found immunization with either the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccine reduced the chance of onward virus transmission by 40-60%. This means that if someone became infected after being vaccinated, they were only around half as likely to pass their infection on to others compared to infected people who weren’t vaccinated.
If COVID-19 vaccines reduce the chances of transmitting the virus, then each person who is vaccinated protects not only themselves, but also people around them. Breaking chains of transmission within the community and limiting onward spread is critical to help protect people who may respond poorly to immunization or may not be able to get vaccinated themselves, such as children, some older people, and some people who are immunocompromised.
While vaccinated individuals most likely have a smaller chance of passing on the virus, it’s still important to keep up responsible behaviors into the immediate future to protect those who have not, will not, or cannot be immunized. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com)/PN
