ROSEANNE Barr is an American comedian. Her sitcom “Roseanne” enjoyed immense popularity since it was relaunched on ABC Network in March some 20 years after its last episode was aired. She is a favorite of U.S. President Donald Trump.
Her world came tumbling down last Wednesday, however, when ABC canceled her show after she tweeted that Valerie Jarrett, an aide to then President Barrack Obama, was an offspring of the Muslim Brotherhood and Planet of the Apes. The tweet caused a public uproar and ABC agreed that it was racist.
Barr apologized for her tweet, which she blamed on Ambien, a sleeping pill. The drug’s manufacturer quickly replied that: “While all pharmaceutical treatments have side effects, racism is not a known effect of any Sanofi medication.”
If the name rings a bell, it is because Sanofi is the same pharmaceutical company that manufactures the controversial Dengvaxia, the anti-dengue vaccine that, critics of the Aquino administration claim, kills more than offers protection to recipients.
The drug company should thank its lucky stars that Barr is not a Filipino and that she did not take Ambien on Philippine soil. We would have had an epidemic of hysteria, the two houses of Congress would have raced against each other for the distinction of being the first to conduct an investigation, and a government lawyer hugely craving for attention would have scoured the four corners of the Philippines searching for those who might have taken Ambien, regardless of whether they tweet or not, to address their sleeping problems. (By the way, is ambulance chasing now an accepted practice in the legal profession?)
Only in the Philippines.
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Congratulations to the Citi Park Hotel for the Certificate of Excellence that it received from Trip Advisor for the year 2018. Trip Advisor is described in its literature as “an American travel and restaurant website providing hotel and restaurant review and interactive travel forums.” Take a bow, Dra. Pinky Cuenco and Joy Dy.
Indeed, there are good hotels and bad or average ones. In our last trip to Zambales, we stayed in the Oasis Hotel near the Clark airport. After we checked in, we were given the room key and a coupon that said we were entitled to one day free connectivity, indicating the network and the password.
When I get to the room, I immediately logged in but couldn’t get a connection even after more than ten attempts. Finally, I called the front desk, told them my problem and asked them to log in for me. A few minutes later, a bellman came to our room to get my IPad so they could log me in.
Some five minutes later he came back with the iPad together with an apology that our room was in a part of the hotel where the connection is practically non-existent. Together with the letter was another coupon entitling us to three days of free Internet service!
When we checked out the following day, I thanked the front desk for their sense of humor.