Quirino Grandstand Hostage Situation - Why hasn't anyone been fired?

It's been a day since the hostage drama at the Quirino Grandstand yesterday, when the sheer incompetence of the Philippine police was seen worldwide. I'm just wondering why no one has been sacked?

Even a moron can see that there were blunders, MAJOR, MAJOR blunders, at that! People are calling that SWAT team the worst SWAT team ever. They were too macho to ask for help from units who could have done better.

Also, bad decisions were made. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that arresting the hostage taker's brother would cause him to lose it. All they had to do was humor him and his brother until the hostages were freed. Agree to his demand to be reinstated. After the hostages are free, throw the book at him for hostage taking.

Worst of all, what kind of SWAT is this? No thermal imaging, no bullet-proof armor. And why were they using M-16's for close quarter combat? The assault was very clumsy! Some people say it's not the SWAT's fault because they don't have the equipment that other countries have. Maybe other countries' policemen have a monopoly on intelligence. I've seen kids play Counterstrike with better tactical plans. Also, what happened to all the tax money? They're supposed to be used for training and equipment and things like that. Another guy who was interviewed said that we had all the equipment, but that they weren't used!

I think it's very probable that some of the hostages were injured from police fire/sledgehammer attacks. I wonder what will happen when that comes out. We citizens should really use this incident constructively to demand for a cleaner, better, more professional police force.

I wish Horatio Caine was real and we can import him and his Sunglasses of Justice here. Now here's a thought - require all policemen to watch CSI, NCIS, Flashpoint, 24... and do a Check for Understanding quiz afterwards!

Chicken Pandan and Maid Frustrations

I bought 10 pieces of Chicken Pandan from SM Supermarket last week at Php11 each. It's normally Php12 otherwise. I try to keep something simple to cook on hand just in case. To wit - when I have plans for the day and have to leave the maid to cook lunch/dinner for the rest of the family, for something easy the maid can cook for my sister's baon, or for midnight cravings. Just deep fry on medium heat until done, about 5 minutes.

Are the domestic arts on the way to extinction?

A few months ago I came across Jamie Oliver's School Dinners and a YouTube video of one mother who fed her children takeout and candy their whole lives (Jamie's Ministry of Food - A Kebab a Day). Her children were unhealthy, always sick and saw their doctors a lot. My first reaction was, "you should be ashamed of yourself!", then she said that she "can't cook", and I thought, "is anyone really that stupid?". I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, and Jamie was quite nice to her about it, too. Maybe she was never taught how to cook and didn't have the confidence to try. At least she's willing to try now.

This got me thinking closer to home. Many women of my generation, mothers even, do not know how to cook. They can boil an egg in theory, but probably have never tried it. One friend I know just relays instructions to her maid from her mother-in-law on how to cook some dishes. I wonder how the food turns out. How does she know it's overcooked, undercooked, overly seasoned or not seasoned enough? Besides, in all probability the maid has no idea how the cooked dish is supposed to taste like. I have never been invited over to taste her maid's cooking. I have to admit I am a bit curious but more scared to find out.