WHAT struck me about the crowd down at the SP on Tuesday demonstrating against the proposed Reproductive Health Bill was that not one of them could be said to be in need. Not one of them was pressed to go out and earn a living -- all had time to lounge about the SP for a couple of hours.

Nor did any have five or six kids hanging onto their skirts. Children were either attending a classy school or at home looked after by a nanny.

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Nobody in that crowd on Tuesday would be affected in the slightest whether the Reproductive Health Bill is passed or not so on whose behalf were they demonstrating?

Also on Tuesday I was intrigued by the Sun.Star's front page photo of a fellow painting a large “skate this way” arrow on the cement of Magsaysay Park's skating rink.

Do the skaters obey the arrows? And if so why is it that immediately they climb onto a motorcycle or behind the wheel of a car they ignore all the painted rules of the road?

It might be a good idea to construct a motorist's skating rink painted with double yellow lines, no entry boxes, parking zones and so on to teach road users at an early age to respect the rules of the road. A traffic aide or policeman could be on hand to whistle in offenders and deliver a short road safety lecture.

On Monday came the latest example of a Davao institute living in cloud-cuckoo-land; this time the Chamber of Real Estate and Builder's Association who, apparently, are hoping to lure French retirees to our city.

Here's Davao Chapter president Carlos Vargas: "If one retiree will spend US$1000 every day that would mean hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local economy."

Let me whisper in your ear Carlos: "If I had a thousand dollars a day to spend on my retirement I'd be looking at, say, Hawaii or Barbados or even the sunny French Mediterranean coast. I wouldn't be looking at Davao."

The main reason European expats retire here Carlos is because the Philippines and Davao are cheap (Although not so cheap as they were). A retiree's pension goes further than it would in Europe. Essentials -- water and power -- are inexpensive, so are the basic foods, and there's the climate -- no heating bills, no warm clothing to buy. Stick your head out the door Carlos and ask the first 10 European retirees you see if they've a thousand dollars a day to spend. Should be a good laugh.