Manila is abuzz about the R.J. Owens scandal in Santo Tomas. Threatened with exposure because he wouldn't stop renting his premises for intimate encounters, Owens went to the commandant directly and revealed all, including the names of those with a military past (they're now in Fort Santiago). At 1400 the Japanese banned internees from using their shacks and by 1600 all Manila was discussing it. Worse yet, the nine married women who are pregnant have been sent to the San Jose Hospital, and their husbands to the camp jail.

What makes the Japanese act this way? According to Shorty Hall:

The Japs are brave as all hell — let's grant this. They're fanatics to the hilt and will die willingly for Auld Lang Syne and all that. But they're dumb. They'll make a law one day for instance. In 24 hours we've shot it full of holes. In 72 hours it's become a joke. Two months later the Japs discover their mistake and get mad as the devil.

Which brings to mind the latest funny story doing the rounds in Manila. A Japanese soldier asked a Filipino in Tagalog: "What's this burrshit burrshit I always hear?"

"Ah," answers the Filipino, "bullshit is American for, uh ... Banzai!"