Piercing Pens » Internet

Malu Fernandez WTF on Technorati

Julian Alejandro — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 18:14:06 +0000

Below is a Technorati Where’s the Fire? (WTF) on Malu Fernandez. Technorati defines WTFs as “short blurbs that explain the buzz around people, things, or events—why the hot topics are so hot—and you can vote the best ones to the top.”

Society columnist Malu Fernandez of the Philippines, in her now-controversial People Asia article “From Boracay to Greece,” insulted overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) that she encountered in a plane trip to Greece.

Fernandez wrote that she “wanted to slash [her] wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them,” referring to the OFWs at a duty-free shop in Dubai, UAE. She also wrote that the OFWs were noisy and that her “Jo Malone [perfume] evaporated into thin air” while they smelled of cheap perfume brands.

Because of this article, anti-Malu Fernandez sentiments filled the Philippine blogosphere in the recent weeks. Some Filipino bloggers called for her resignation from People Asia and the Manila Standard, where she also used to write a lifestyle column. Other bloggers called for a boycott of these publications, while a group of Filipino journalists in Dubai demanded an apology.

Though she initially dismissed her critics in a follow-up article, Fernandez eventually issued an apologetic statement and gave in to demands for her resignation from these publications.

Full text of article:

http://ederic.tinig.com/images…

http://ederic.tinig.com/images…
http://manilastandardtoday.com…

Angry bloggers and OFWs:

http://tingog.com/social-conce…
http://selvo.wordpress.com/200…
http://ederic.tinig.com/malu-f…
http://pedestrianobserver.blog…
http://quezon.ph/?p=1473
http://maruism.wordpress.com/2…

http://peopleasia.multiply.com
http://tinig.com/filipino-pres…

Resignation and apology:

http://geocities.com/fernandez…
http://piercingpens.net/archiv…

The Malu Fernandez WTF was written by Technorati.com member ederic

Malu Fernandez Quits, Apologizes

Julian Alejandro — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:07:27 +0000

Online news sources abs-cbnNEWS.com and GMANews.tv reported that Malu Fernandez has resigned and apologized over her People Asia article that insulted the overseas filipino workers (OFWs).

Anti-Malu Fernandez sentiments filled the Philippine blogosphere the past few weeks as a reaction to her controversial column “From Boracay to Greece” where she wrote that she “wanted to slash [her] wrist at the thought of being trapped in a plane with all of them,” referring to the OFWs in Dubai.

The Filipino Press Club-Dubai, group of Filipino professional journalists from the print, broadcast and web-based media in the United Arab Emirates, has also issued a statement calling for an apology and disciplinary action against Fernandez.

“We strongly demand that the publishers of People Asia and Manila Standard Today to take full responsibility and do the right thing: give Ms Fernandez and her editors a disciplinary action and apologise to the people insulted by these articles,” the group said.

The official website of People Asia also reported that their September issue will carry Fernandez’s statement in lieu of her column.

Some bloggers earlier linked to Fernandez’s supposed statement, which was posted in Geocities.com. Below is the full text of what appears to be Fernandez’s statement:

Statement from Malu Fernandez on the OFW Controversy

I am humbled by the vehement and heated response provoked by my article entitled ‘From Boracay to Greece!’ which came out in the June 2007 issue of People Asia. To say that this article was not meant to malign, hurt or express prejudice against the OFWs now sounds hollow after reading through all the blogs from Filipinos all over the world. I am deeply apologetic for my insensitivity and the offensive manner in which this article was written, I hear you all and I am properly rebuked. It was truly not my intention to malign hurt or express prejudice against OFWs.

As the recent recipient and target of death threats, hate blogs, and deeply personal insults, I now truly understand the insidiousness of discrimination and prejudice disguised as humor. Our society is bound together by human chains of kindness and decency. I have failed to observe this and I am now reaping the consequences of my actions. It is my fervent hope that the lessons that Ive learned are not lost on all those who through anonymous blogs, engaged in bigotry, discrimination, and hatred ( against overweight individuals , for example )

I take full responsibility for my actions and my friends and family have nothing to do with this. To date I have submitted my resignation letters to both the Manila Standard and People Asia, on that note may this matter be laid to rest.

Winners of the 2007 Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs

Julian Alejandro — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 14:30:32 +0000

Congratulations to the winners of Digital Filipino‘s Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs [in the Philippines] for 2007:

They were recognized during a grand eyeball on the night of August 1 at Max’s Restaurant in Park Square 1 in Makati City. The following participants won $100 each in the raffle held that night:

~~Here are some accounts from those who attended the EB:~~

Here are some entries about the event:

Need Free Hosting?

Julian Alejandro — Fri, 24 Sep 2004 15:41:57 +0000

If you need free hosting for your site or blog, try Devhost. The site is run by a group of students who wants to share their resources and build a community of webmasters. As the site depends only on advertisement revenue, it requires its members to be active in the Devhost Forum.

Devhost offers hosting plans from 25 to 200 MB, depending on the hostee’s participation in the forums. Read the Frequently Asked Questions for more info.

Six New Gmail Invitations

Julian Alejandro — Tue, 21 Sep 2004 15:21:17 +0000

(Note: This offer has already expired. Please check out Google-Powered Piercing Pens Webmail For You.)

I got six new Gmail invites today. Want one? Just leave a comment. Do not forget to leave a real e-mail address. And when you get your own invites soon, you may want to donate one or more to freegmailinvites.com

You may also want to join Gmail Philippines Google Group.