THAT SPORTS is a unifying force and a great purveyor of any country’s heritage and cultural identity is not a matter to be debated. It is a reality. Sports is and has always been an enabler and should be harnessed for binding us closer as a nation rather than breaking us apart.

It is a simple case to make. We are totally dependent on energy for our essential needs. Our stores and factories require electricity. Our airports, sea ports, and all sorts of transport terminals require power to operate. By any definition, legal or otherwise, any facility that provides such a service is a public utility, a vital installation of national interest for national security.

The transport, accommodations, athletic facilities, press accreditation and food issues, among others that hounded the Philippines’ hosting of the 30^th Southeast Asian Games prior to its opening date, were real enough. But the response of government officials, Netizens, much of the public, and even the press itself to that “cauldron of errors” being reported by the Philippine media also underlined the need for developing authentic media literacy programs not only for the enlightenment of the citizenry but also, and perhaps even more urgently, for the education of the so-called leaders of this country.

The world undergoes upheavals and periods of turmoil. There have been many crises -- floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and wars.

THE FIRST time I caught a glimpse of Latin American democracy in peril, it hadn’t even arrived. This was Brazil, in 1983, when the military government was stewarding what General Ernesto Geisel, president from 1974 to 1979, called a “slow, gradual and secure political opening.” Jobless protesters and union militants were in no mood to wait and, blessed by politicized Catholic bishops, capped three days of rage by rushing the governor’s palace in Sao Paulo. Police beat them back and the governor -- the first elected by popular vote since the 1960s -- threatened to call in federal troops. “The street violence is testing the opening to democracy,” President Joao Baptista Figueiredo, a retired general, warned. After two decades of military rule no one needed a translation.

I’VE LONG wondered what might be the most typical place in the world, and I believe I now have an answer. It is Cebu, the second largest city in the Philippines, from which I have just returned.

Kudos to McDonald’s Philippines for giving senior citizens, presumably retirees, a “second” chance. Golden Arches Development Corp. (which operates McDonald’s Philippines) has said it has signed agreements with the Manila and Pasay City governments for the employment of senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in McDonald’s branches in these cities.

“There is no art which one government sooner learns of another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.” -- Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (1776), Book V, Chapter II, Part II

The performance evaluation has been the traditional way a superior gives feedback to staff. But as I have observed, this evaluation sheet is not the true representation of one’s work. It is either very subjective or objective depending on the situation or on the superior’s opinion. Yes, it is not only a tool to evaluate one’s performance but also a measure of one’s motivation and productivity. However, I find it odd that rank and file employees, even if they worked hard and persevered, may not get the credit for their work. We want to believe that our work speaks for itself. But then, in reality, someone else gets the credit.

Rising coffee consumption and the proliferation of coffee shops have little to do with nutrition or the alleviation of hunger. Coffee is seldom the main course, even when accompanied by chocolate chip cookies.

In 2010 there was a discussion on whether robots should be granted rights or what was termed as “robo-rights.” This stemmed from the consideration that robots may develop the ability to reproduce, develop artificial intelligence, and even possibly, create something independent of its inventor or developer.

We all live in a world that generally seems to be on the cusp of the next big thing. From bigger screens to smaller cameras, faster ways of transportation and communication, innovation has truly shaped our society, behavior and interactions.