MikeLigalig.com

18. Don’t worry about money. Money is a game, find ways to work together as a team to win it. It never helps when teammates fight. Figure out ways to leverage both persons strength to win.

17. Never stop growing together… The stagnant pond breeds malaria, the flowing stream is always fresh and cool. Atrophy is the natural process when you stop working a muscle, just as it is if you stop working on your relationship. Find common goals, dreams and visions to work towards.

16. Be fully transparent. If you want to have trust you must be willing to share EVERYTHING… Especially those things you don’t want to share. It takes courage to fully love, to fully open your heart and let her in when you don’t know i she will like what she finds… Part of that courage is allowing her to love you completely, your darkness as well as your light. DROP THE MASK… If you feel like you need to wear a mask around her, and show up perfect all the time, you will never experience the full dimension of what love can be.

15. Be vulnerable… you don’t have to have it all together. Be willing to share your fears and feelings, and quick to acknowledge your mistakes.

14. Give her space… The woman is so good at giving and giving, and sometimes she will need to be reminded to take time to nurture herself. Sometimes she will need to fly from your branches to go and find what feeds her soul, and if you give her that space she will come back with new songs to sing…. (okay, getting a little too poetic here, but you get the point. Tell her to take time for herself, ESPECIALLY after you have kids. She needs that space to renew and get re-centered, and to find herself after she gets lost in serving you, the kids and the world.)

13. Don’t be an idiot…. And don’t be afraid of being one either. You will make mistakes and so will she. Try not to make too big of mistakes, and learn from the ones you do make. You’re not supposed to be perfect, just try to not be too stupid.

12. Be willing to take her sexually, to carry her away in the power of your masculine presence, to consume her and devour her with your strength, and to penetrate her to the deepest levels of her soul. Let her melt into her feminine softness as she knows she can trust you fully.

11. Be present. Give her not only your time, but your focus, your attention and your soul. Do whatever it takes to clear your head so that when you are with her you are fully WITH HER. Treat her as you would your most valuable client. She is.

10. Fill her soul everyday… learn her love languages and the specific ways that she feels important and validated and CHERISHED. Ask her to create a list of 10 THINGS that make her feel loved and memorize those things and make it a priority everyday to make her feel like a queen.

9. Be silly… don’t take yourself so damn seriously. Laugh. And make her laugh. Laughter makes everything else easier.

8. Allow your woman to just be. When she’s sad or upset, it’s not your job to fix it, it’s your job to HOLD HER and let her know it’s ok. Let her know that you hear her, and that she’s important and that you are that pillar on which she can always lean. The feminine spirit is about change and emotion and like a storm her emotions will roll in and out, and as you remain strong and unjudging she will trust you and open her soul to you… DON’T RUN-AWAY WHEN SHE’S UPSET. Stand present and strong and let her know you aren’t going anywhere. Listen to what she is really saying behind the words and emotion.

7. Never blame your wife if you get frustrated or angry at her, it is only because it is triggering something inside of YOU. They are YOUR emotions, and your responsibility. When you feel those feelings take time to get present and to look within and understand what it is inside of YOU that is asking to be healed. You were attracted to this woman because she was the person best suited to trigger all of your childhood wounds in the most painful way so that you could heal them… when you heal yourself, you will no longer be triggered by her, and you will wonder why you ever were.

6. Take full accountability for your own emotions: It’s not your wife’s job to make you happy, and she CAN’T make you sad. You are responsible for finding your own happiness, and through that your joy will spill over into your relationship and your love.

5. It’s not your job to change or fix her… your job is to love her as she is with no expectation of her ever changing. And if she changes, love what she becomes, whether it’s what you wanted or not.

4. Always see the best in her. Focus only on what you love. What you focus on will expand. If you focus on what bugs you, all you will see is reasons to be bugged. If you focus on what you love, you can’t help but be consumed by love. Focus to the point where you can no longer see anything but love, and you know without a doubt that you are the luckiest man on earth to be have this woman as your wife.

3. Fall in love over and over again. You will constantly change. You’re not the same people you were when you got married, and in five years you will not be the same person you are today. Change will come, and in that you have to re-choose each other everyday. SHE DOESN’T HAVE TO STAY WITH YOU, and if you don’t take care of her heart, she may give that heart to someone else or seal you out completely, and you may never be able to get it back. Always fight to win her love just as you did when you were courting her.

2. Protect your own heart. Just as you committed to being the protector of her heart, you must guard your own with the same vigilance. Love yourself fully, love the world openly, but there is a special place in your heart where no one must enter except for your wife. Keep that space always ready to receive her and invite her in, and refuse to let anyone or anything else enter there.

1. Never stop courting. Never stop dating. NEVER EVER take that woman for granted. When you asked her to marry you, you promised to be that man that would OWN HER HEART and to fiercely protect it. This is the most important and sacred treasure you will ever be entrusted with. SHE CHOSE YOU. Never forget that, and NEVER GET LAZY in your love.

My advice after a divorce following 16 years of marriage, by Gerald Rogers.

Obviously, I’m not a relationship expert. But there’s something about my divorce being finalized this week that gives me perspective of things I wish I would have done different… After losing a woman that I loved, and a marriage of almost 16 years, here’s the advice I wish I would have had.

SWNS
Stuck: The cat was saved after a neighbour heard its cries

"As usual, we are immensely grateful to the fire and rescue service for their help, not to mention grateful to the neighbour, whose garage wall came off the worst in this incident!

"It was great to see Marv reunited with his family after this real team effort to free him."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/

SWNS
Saved: Firefighters had to knock through the wall to free the cat

Fire fighters spent half an hour chiselling a breezeblock free from the neighbour's wall, revealing Marv's tail and back legs so Simon could pull him out backwards.

Simon Coombs said: "We don't know how Marv got into the space, it may be that he fell into the gap and struggled to get free only to get himself well and truly stuck.

SWNS
Reunited: Marv the cat with schoolgirl owners Tilly and Bella

"He was a little shaken after his ordeal and stayed inside for a day or two, but he was otherwise unharmed."

Marv was found when a neighbour heard miaowing coming from the side of his garage last Wednesday.

RSPCA animal welfare officer Simon Coombs tried to free the puss, but he was so tightly wedged in that he couldn't move him, and called Avon Fire and Rescue Service.

SWNS
Rescued: The RSPCA tried to pull Marv free but they had to call firefighters to help

RSPCA workers couldn't coax him out and firefighters were forced to tunnel through the garage wall with a chisel to get him free.

Miraculously, Marv wasn't injured and was happy to reunited with his schoolgirl owners Tilly and Bella Veale.

Dad Brendon Veale, from Hanham, Bristol, said: "Marv does like to get into things, but this is definitely the smallest space he's managed to squeeze into.

Cat trapped upside down in wall for TWO hours is rescued by firemen with chisel

22 April 2015
By Sarah Ridley

Firefighters spent half an hour chiselling a breezeblock free from the neighbour's wall, so poor Marv could be pulled out backwards


SWNS
Trapped: Marv the cat had somehow become firmly wedged upside down between two garages

Firefighters smashed through a wall to free a trapped cat wedged upside down in a five inch gap.

Unlucky Marv somehow got wedged between his owner's garage and their neighbour's and was left dangling for two hours.

Piyesta Piborit

Kiddy Boxer

Peanut Boxer

Quote from: Lollapalooza on April 21, 2015, 04:26:30 PM
hehehe I remember my friend, she was planning to work in Canada, tapos ako sa Australia. I told her, I'll start processing my papers for Australia, then she said without hesitation, "Ako pod.. Sige dungan ta para silingan ra ta ug lugar" hahahaha...
#knowyourgeography my friend

hihihi, your friend is in the league of president john f. kennedy.


www.notey.com

Evidence That JFK May Have Been Geographically Challenged

what's this?  two sacraments in one go?  i mean, the sacrament of matrimony and the sacrament of last rites?

Asia Map on T-Shirt
Posted by Martin

The Ape Man
Posted by Martin

Sorry Girls
Posted by Martin

Pizza Pockets
Posted by Martin

Funny Family
Posted by John Brown

Lincoln Shirts
Posted by Martin

Spotting a Pharmacy Student
Posted by Martin

Call Me Tshirts
Posted by Martin

now i know you prefer earthy colors.

PUMA!
Posted by Martin

more subtle...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 15, 2015, 04:25:52 PM

nadoble anf letter m sa imong minolde nga img, bai hubs.  mao nga gi-quote na lang nako aron ko makakita kun unsa ba ning labing jamo...

uy, xyz rated man diay.

Sultan of Brunei has divorced his third wife - but remains married to the first

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE
16 June 2010
   
Brunei's sultan announced today he is divorcing his Malaysian wife after five years of marriage.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, the 63-year-old absolute monarch of this tiny, oil-rich country on Borneo island, married Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim, a former Malaysian TV news journalist, in 2005.

Azrinaz, 30, gave birth to the sultan's 11th child, a baby boy, less than a year after their wedding and a daughter in 2008.


Divorced: The Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah said his former wife Azrinaz Mazhar Hakim has had her royal titles revoked

Brunei's palace announced on state television and radio today that the sultan has divorced Azrinaz and revoked all her royal titles.
No other details were made available, but rumours of a royal breakup had been circulating in Brunei.

This is the second divorce for the sultan, whose private fortune has been estimated to total at least $20 billion in recent years.


Double wife: The Sultan with his first wife Anak Saleha, centre, and former wife Mariam Abdul Aziz

He broke up with former airline stewardess Mariam Abdul Aziz, who is of Bruneian, Japanese and Scottish ancestry, in February 2003 after 21 years of marriage.

He remains married to his first wife, Anak Saleha, whom he wed in 1967. Their son, Crown Prince Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah, is heir to the throne.
The sultan ascended to the throne on October 5, 1967, after his father abdicated.

The sultan's wealth is legendary. While playing polo with Britain's Prince Charles, he once had his polo shoes delivered - by helicopter - to the palace field.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

6 FEBRUARY 2003

The fairy-tale story of a flight attendant who married the richest man in the world has come to a sudden end, with the Sultan of Brunei announcing this week he is divorcing his second wife Mariam after 21 years of marriage.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's brother Prince Sufri revealed the news on state television on Sunday. He explained the head of Brunei's royal family was divorcing under the country's Sharia Islamic law and his spouse, HRH Pengiran Isteri Hajah Mariam, would no longer possess a title.

Many portraits of the sultan's former wife, which were hung next to photographs of himself and his first spouse in government and business offices, were removed soon after the royal announcement. No reason was given for the divorce, but the sultan has 100 days to change his mind without requiring new marriage vows.

Forty-seven-year-old Mariam, the mother of two sons and two daughters by the sultan, was working as a stewardess for Royal Brunei Airlines when she met her future husband in 1980. Though he was already married to his cousin Anak Hajjah Saleh, the then 35-year-old took the Bruneian-Japanese-English beauty as his second wife as allowed under the Bruneian Islamic faith.

It is not known what type of financial settlement has been arranged. The sultan was declared the richest man in the world more than a decade ago, but by 2002 his rank dropped to 29th, his wealth estimated at £7.1 billion.

http://www.hellomagazine.com/

White Truffle Bagel
Cost: $1,000

Lunch break? Why not get a white truffle bagel, topped with golden leaves? This Manhattan delicacy was created by Chef Frank Tujague at the Westin New York Hotel in 2007. White truffles, one of the most expensive ingredients in the world, can cost as much as $10,000 per pound.

Chef Tujague said he wanted to create something that spoke to New York, and reflected his culinary passion for fine ingredients. This bagel is no longer being offered, but it’s only a matter of time before chefs release other takes on New York’s signature food.

(Westin Hotel)

http://www.bbc.com/

Cheesed off at the price of this sandwich
Cost: £110 ($190)

This sandwich, first unveiled at the 2011 Frome Cheese Show in Somerset, UK, may be the most-expensive cheese sandwich ever. Made of cheddar embedded with golden flakes and white truffles, the triple-decker also includes a mayonnaise spread made of quail eggs.

While the sandwich is no longer for sale, Chef Martin Blunos applied to the Guinness World Book of Records. It has yet to be recognised.

(BBC)

Cat-poo coffee
Cost: $30 /cup

Colloquially known as “cat-poo” coffee, kopi luwak is brewed from coffee beans picked out of Asian civet cat excrements. Unsavoury as this may sound, the civet cat is known to eat only the ripest coffee beans, ensuring the best quality coffee.

While kopi luwak originates from Indonesia, cafes around the world are now serving this delicacy. Even so, it may take some time to get used to this rich, earthy taste.

(Robert Nightingale/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2)

Paying more for a slice of home
Cost: £1,000/slice ($1,780)

Many turn to meat pie as the ultimate in comfort food. But how much would you be willing to pay for this slice of home? Fence Gate Inn in Lancashire, UK, has created a dish that contains some of the world’s most expensive ingredients, yet may remind you of pleasant family dinners.

The filling includes £553 ($940) of Wagyu beef fillet and £2,250 ($3,840) worth of Chinese matsutake mushrooms. The gravy is made of 1982 Chateau Mounton Rothschild wine. (Not photo of actual dish)

(Getty Images)

Rolls of treasure
Cost: $1,980

These may be the world’s most expensive salmon rolls.

Filipino celebrity chef Angelito Araneta Jr, also known as the “Karat Chef”, tops this sushi dish with 12 Palawan pearls and four 0.2 carat diamonds. The dish includes sea cucumber, wild saffron, and foie gras, which is banned in over a dozen nations.

Sushi del Oriente was showcased in 2010 at a restaurant in Milan, but wasn’t for sale.

Araneta’s other extravagant creations include a rabbit-shaped rice cake covered in gold and diamonds.

(Karat Chef)

The sweetest marriage proposal
Cost: $3.95m

This particular Strawberries Arnaud is famous for more than its Louisiana-grown fruit. Topped with a 7.09 carat pink-diamond ring, this cream and strawberry confection will make a marriage proposal especially sweet. Arnaud’s restaurant, located in New Orleans, said the dessert was created after a customer asked to place a diamond collar on a turkey for a special Thanksgiving Day proposal.

If the multimillion dollar price tag is too much, bring your own ring to the restaurant. Strawberries Arnaud can be enjoyed for as little as $8 without the jewelry.

(Arnaud’s Restaurant)

Glacier water included
Cost: $60,000

If you think $2 is expensive for a bottle of water, how would you feel about paying the equivalent of a year’s salary for one?

Paolo di Verachi created this $60,000 blend using spring water from Fiji Islands, France, and Iceland glacier water, mixed with 5mg of gold dust.

The Acqua di Cristallo bottle, also designed by di Verachi, is made of 24k gold and is based on a sculpture by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani.

The creation was awarded a Guinness World Record for the most-expensive bottle of water. A replica can be purchased online for $3,600. Water included.

(Fernando Altamirano)

Stunning noodles… are stunningly expensive
Cost: 10,000 yen ($110)

This bowl of ramen may appear as simple as any other noodle restaurant budget dish, but don’t be fooled. It includes more than 20 ingredients and Chinese stock, though the specifics weren’t disclosed by the restaurant. Chef Shoichi Fujimaki claims the dish holds 25 years of experience distilled in a bowl.

Does this reflect in the ramen’s taste? Try it for yourself at the Fujimaki Gekijyo restaurant in Tokyo, Japan.

(Ramen Adventures)

Meat without the ‘moo’
Cost: $332,000

You’ve eaten vegetables grown from genetically modified seeds. Now is your chance to sample the latest in technologically advanced beef. Professor Mark Post from Maastricht University in the Netherlands grew this hamburger patty from stem cells in a laboratory. But don’t grab your wallet quite yet. Right now, this special burger isn’t available for sale.

Instead, it was created as part of a research project on environmentally sustainable food in 2013, funded by Google Chief Executive Officer Sergey Brin. Should it go on sale, the price for the burger is estimated at $332,000.

The taste? Close to meat, but not as juicy, critics said.

(BBC)

The golden cannoli
Cost: $26,000 with a diamond necklace and Champagne

In 2011, Chef Jasper Mirabile enlisted the help of baker Carey Iennaccaro, owner of Kansas City’s Sprinkled with Sugar bakery, to create the world’s most expensive cannoli. Having declared September “National Cannoli Month,” Chef Mirabile added this gilded treat to his menu as a limited offer.

Adding to the allure, an Italian diamond necklace and bottle of 1999 Louis Roederer Cristal Champagne were included. Today, the gilded cannoli can be purchased for $50 without the necklace by contacting Jasper’s Restaurant in Kansas City in the US.

(James Ferris Photography)

first, breasts.  and now that?  weird.

Myanmar is in line with the ASEAN trend and has strong foreign market access (6th) but weak domestic market access (97th). Border administration is ranked low (117th) and transport infrastructure (138th), transport services (133rd) and the operating environment (134th) are all towards the bottom of the league tables.

Author: Mark Jones is Commissioning Editor for the World Economic Forum

Lao PDR also does well on foreign market access (4th) due to low tariffs (3rd) and poorly on domestic market access (121st). The country is let down by weak border administration (114th) and infrastructure (115th) â€" particularly the use of information technology.

Cambodia comes top globally for foreign market access as a result of facing very low export tariffs. But the reverse is true for domestic market access (133rd) as a result of high import tariffs (125th). Border administration scores poorly (108th) due to the volume of paperwork and irregular payments in exports and imports (119th).

Vietnam does well on foreign market access (28th) has very low costs to import and export (5th, 9th)but is generally weak on border administration (86th) due to complex administration and a notable issue with irregular payments in exports and imports (123rd).

The Philippines does well on domestic market access (19th) and foreign market access (26th), but border administration (71st) is mired by corruption and red tape, two factors also contributing to weakening the general operating environment (82nd). Like many countries in the region, the Philippines’ biggest weakness is the lack of adequate transport infrastructure (96th). The shortcomings are the most severe in the airport (105th) and port (107th) infrastructure.

Indonesia scores well for market access (20th) with a trade-friendly tariff regime. Indonesia exporters enjoy some of the lowest rates in the world (8th) and costs to import are also low (9th). But border administration presents challenges. Irregular payments in exports and imports (86th) and the Customs transparency index (101st) head the list of concerns on this measure. Weak take-up of information technology (81st) and the business costs of terrorism (109th) drag down what is otherwise a relatively good performance for the operating environment (61st).

Thailand comes third within ASEAN and 57th in the world. It is particularly strong on foreign market access (12th) and on the availability and quality of transport infrastructure (28th) and transport services (39th). The costs to export are consequently very low (5th). But imports are more problematical. While costs to import are relatively low (21st), a complex structure of tariffs damages domestic market access (113th). Thailand’s performance on the operating environment for trading is weak. Scores on physical security are generally low with the business costs of terrorism (110th) notably so.

Malaysia is the best-performer among developing nations in Asia. In a region afflicted by red tape, corruption and lack of infrastructure, Malaysia is an outlier. It ranks a remarkable 14th for the availability and quality of transport infrastructure. Maritime connectivity is among the world’s best (5th) and measures to streamline border administration mean the fees for exporting a container from Malaysia are the lowest in the world, according to the World Bank. However, paperwork for exporters remains much higher than in neighbouring Singapore, and corruption is an issue.

Singapore saw the combined value of its imports and exports climb to nearly three times its GDP in 2012. The country leads the world in border administration, it established the world’s first national single window for trade (TradeNet) in 1989, bringing together more than 35 border agencies. As a result, Singapore Customs estimated that in 2012, the cost per Singaporean dollar of duty it collected was just 1.15 cents, a margin of 98.9%. However, the country scores comparatively poorly on foreign market access (13th) and in the use of information technology (8th).

Which ASEAN country is the top trader?

By Mark Jones   
Apr 9 2015

Ahead of the World Economic Forum’s East Asia Regional Meeting on April 19, we’re looking at how countries in the ASEAN group compare on key issues. Most ASEAN members have built their economies on the back of trade. But how well are they set up for future growth? The World Economic Forum’s Enabling Trade Index (ETI) suggests Singapore is the most trade-friendly nation, not only for the region but for the entire globe. However, no other ASEAN member gets into the top 20 and most are in the bottom half.


Cranes operate in a container storage area at Singapore port February 8, 2014. REUTERS/Tim Wimborne

https://www.facebook.com/gary.yourofsky/videos/10151672130767089/

The facility on Hughes Reef has a main square building and an antiaircraft tower, according to IHS Jane’s. (William Colson/CSIS)

Chris Johnson, a senior CSIS adviser, said that China had carried out more reclamation work on the islands in the past five months than other claimants had done in the past five years. “They want to be able to operate with impunity in these waters, and they want the rest of us to accept it,” he said.

“So what does the game plan ultimately entail? Is it to be able to move around in these areas and operate, and by doing so, in a de facto manner, emphasize their claims? Or do they have intent, over time, to kick rival claimants off?” he asked. “I don’t think there’s a sense of that, but I do think their behavior suggests they are moving in one direction, and they expect the other claimants to respect their growing power.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

Harris said that the pace of China’s construction of artificial islands “raises serious questions about Chinese intentions.”

He added, “How China proceeds will be a key indicator of whether the region is heading toward confrontation or cooperation.”

Foreign-policy experts said China’s activities would not reinforce its legal claims to the islands under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea because only natural land features are relevant to maritime rights. But it could help China enforce de facto control of some of the disputed waters.

China has built an artificial island on Cuarteron Reef and is also building structures on the island. (William Colson/CSIS)

“Although China’s exact intention is unclear so far, they are likely mainly designed to extend China’s power projection, by expanding, for example, its surveillance, early warning and air interception capabilities further out into the sea,” she said. “With these added capabilities, China could have a de facto ‘air defense identification zone’ in the South China Sea, even though it may not rush to declare one out of concern for the political and diplomatic fallout.”

China provoked strong U.S. criticism when it unilaterally declared an air defense identification zone over disputed waters in the East China Sea in 2013, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry was among those who warned Beijing not to do the same for the South China Sea.

“This history matters a great deal, because what Washington and its friends and allies may see as punctuated, lightning-speed construction is likely viewed in China as a perfectly legitimate game of catch-up,” Mira Rapp-Hooper, director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), wrote in a recent report.

“What sets China’s activities apart, however, is that Beijing has been dramatically changing the size and structure of existing physical land features, while other claimants have built upon or modified existing land masses,” she wrote in a related report.

The only major claimant without an airstrip in the archipelago, China appears to be turning the hitherto largely submerged Fiery Cross Reef into the largest island in the Spratly Islands, experts said.

Yanmei Xie, senior China analyst with the International Crisis Group in Beijing, said the island reclamation project was a deliberate strategic decision.


According to IHS Jane’s, China’s active land reclamation of Fiery Cross Reef began in August. (William Colson/CSIS)

“The construction does not target or affect anyone,” he said at a news conference. “We do not accept criticism from others when we are merely building facilities in our own yard. We have every right to do things that are lawful and justified.”

State news agency Xinhua was more forthright in rejecting U.S. criticisms last month, accusing Washington of displaying a “perverted sense of insecurity” and a “pirate-style mindset.”

While China’s attention was focused elsewhere in previous decades, the other major claimants to the Spratly Islands occupied various islands and rocks throughout the archipelago, building ports, piers, bases and airstrips there. China now appears to be rushing to underline its own claims.


Between August and November in 2014, Chinese dredgers created a land mass on Fiery Cross that spans 3,000 meters long and 200 to 300 meters wide. (William Colson/CSIS)

“China is building artificial land by pumping sand onto live coral reefs â€" some of them submerged â€" and paving them over with concrete,” he said. In a region known for its beautiful natural islands, he said, “China is creating a Great Wall of sand with dredges and bulldozers over the course of months.”

China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its territorial waters, but its claims overlap with those of Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.

Last month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that the country was merely carrying out “necessary construction on its own islands and reefs” and that it would continue to uphold freedom of navigation in the busy shipping waters of the South China Sea, as well as resolve disputes through “direct dialogue” and consultation.

Satellite images show rapid construction on various coral reefs and rocks controlled by China within the disputed Spratly Islands, including harbors, piers, helipads, buildings and potentially at least one airstrip, experts say. Last month, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed concerns that the program was an attempt to “militarize outposts on disputed land features.”

Harris said that China has created 1.5 square miles of artificial landmass in recent months.


China’s development efforts at Mischief Reef reportedly include the building of two new structures, though only one is readily identifiable from these photos. (William Colson/Center for Strategic and International Studies)

U.S. Navy alarmed at Beijing’s ‘Great Wall of sand’ in South China Sea

By Simon Denyer April 1



A 2014 photo taken by surveillance planes shows a Chinese vessel being used to expand structures and land on the Johnson Reef at the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. (Associated Press)

BEIJING â€" China is building a “Great Wall of sand” through an unparalleled program of land reclamation in the South China Sea, raising concerns about the possibility of military confrontation in the disputed waters, according to the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.

In one of the strongest and highest-level criticisms of the reclamation project to date, Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. told a naval conference in Australia late Tuesday that competing territorial claims by several nations in the South China Sea continue to stoke “regional tensions and the potential for miscalculation.”

“But what’s really drawing a lot of concern in the here and now is the unprecedented land reclamation currently being conducted by China,” he added.

However, over-the-counter non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen can produce significant cardiovascular side effects, which means it is crucial alternative therapies are found.

Dr Van Dyke recommends people take better care of their teeth to potentially lower their risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems.

The findings are published in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism. (ANI)

https://ph.she.yahoo.com/

The researchers described the discovery as "exciting and promising" because lipoxins and resolvins also have the advantage of naturally controlling inflammation without suppressing the immune system.

Dr Thomas Van Dyke, of the Forsyth Institute in the United States, said unraveling the role of the oral microbiome and inflammation in cardiovascular disease would likely lead to new preventive and treatment approaches.

Significant epidemiological evidence supports an association between oral infections, particularly periodontitis, and stroke, especially among men and younger individuals. Inflammation plays a major role both in gum and cardiovascular disease.

Brushing teeth regularly can save you from future heart attacks

By ANI â€" Fri, Apr 17, 2015


Washington, April 17 (ANI): Want to avoid future risk of heart attack? Keep brushing your teeth regularly, says a new study.

Researchers have found that people suffering oral infections also often have cardiovascular problems, and have discovered a particularly strong link between periodontitis and strokes, especially among men and younger people.

A high dose of the commonly prescribed medication, atorvastatin, which boosts blood levels of anti-inflammatory fats called lipoxins and resolvins prevents both gum and heart disease in humans, and even reverses it.

 
A local resident, who asked not to be named, said 'What a stupid thing to put on top of a boat in a town centre.

'Goodness knows what possessed the boat owner - didn't they realise the panic it would spread?

'We're hoping the police take the time to have a word with them and ask them to remove it.

'It's not funny at all in this day and age, with all the horrible things involving terrorists.'

Reading is just a few miles from Windsor where the Queen was in residence in the Castle this week - presenting the VC to Afghan war hero Joshua Leakey.


Bizarre sight: A local resident, who asked not to be named, condemned the prank, saying: 'What a stupid thing to put on top of a boat in a town centre'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/

Menacing: Alongside the 4ft missile were the head and shoulders of a dummy wearing a balaclava

A spokesman said 'Thames Valley Police received a report from a member of the public about a suspected weapon on a canal boat in Caversham last night.
'Officers attended and conducted a search of the area, and the boat was located. The reported weapon was found to be purely ornamental.

'Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) were also informed and are satisfied it was not a live device.' The canal boat was moored near a children's play area in Christchurch Meadows, where the River Thames flows through Reading.
After approaching the boat, police and the bomb disposal unit inspected the missile and confirmed the deadly-looking weapon was a dummy.

Bomb disposal scrambled and terror police on alert after dummy wearing balaclava is spotted on boat sailing down the Thames with fake missile launcher on top

4ft missile was spotted on the roof of barge as it sailed through Reading

Alarmed passer-by called police and Army bomb disposal team responded

Perched next to missile was the menacing head and shoulders of a dummy

Experts scoured boat and said weapon 'was found to be purely ornamental'

By JACK CRONE FOR MAILONLINE
16 April 2015


Panic: A terror alert was sparked on the Thames this week after someone reported seeing a missile on top of a barge in Reading

A full-scale terror alert was sparked this week after a dummy wearing a balaclava was spotted on a boat sailing down the Thames with a fake missile launcher on its roof.

Thames Valley Police called an Army bomb disposal team after a startled passer-by reported the 4ft long guided missile in a rocket launcher on top of the barge in Reading.

Perched next to the fake warhead were the head and shoulders of a convincing-looking man, his eyes staring grimly from holes cut in a balaclava shrouding his face. 

when is his formal coronation? 

BUGSAY, TUNGHA NA!  gimaw na tawon, ondo!

In short, it makes eminent sense to study coding and statistics today, but also history and literature.

John Adams had it right when he wrote to his wife, Abigail, in 1780: "I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History and Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine."

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/16/opinion/nicholas-kristof-starving-for-wisdom.html?_r=0

Third, wherever our careers lie, much of our happiness depends upon our interactions with those around us, and there's some evidence that literature nurtures a richer emotional intelligence.

Science magazine published five studies indicating that research subjects who read literary fiction did better at assessing the feelings of a person in a photo than those who read nonfiction or popular fiction. Literature seems to offer lessons in human nature that help us decode the world around us and be better friends.

Literature also builds bridges of understanding. Toni Morrison has helped all America understand African-American life. Jhumpa Lahiri illuminated immigrant contradictions. Khaled Hosseini opened windows on Afghanistan.

To weigh these issues, regulators should be informed by first-rate science, but also by first-rate humanism. After all, Homer addressed similar issues three millenniums ago.

In "The Odyssey," the beautiful nymph Calypso offers immortality to Odysseus if he will stay on her island. After a fling with her, Odysseus ultimately rejects the offer because he misses his wife, Penelope. He turns down godlike immortality to embrace suffering and death that are essential to the human condition.

Likewise, when the President's Council on Bioethics issued its report in 2002, "Human Cloning and Human Dignity," it cited scientific journals but also Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea." Even science depends upon the humanities to shape judgments about ethics, limits and values.

My second reason: We need people conversant with the humanities to help reach wise public policy decisions, even about the sciences. Technology companies must constantly weigh ethical decisions: Where should Facebook set its privacy defaults, and should it tolerate glimpses of nudity? Should Twitter close accounts that seem sympathetic to terrorists? How should Google handle sex and violence, or defamatory articles?

In the policy realm, one of the most important decisions we humans will have to make is whether to allow germline gene modification. This might eliminate certain diseases, ease suffering, make our offspring smarter and more beautiful. But it would also change our species. It would enable the wealthy to concoct superchildren. It's exhilarating and terrifying.

"A broad liberal arts education is a key pathway to success in the 21st-century economy," says Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard. Katz says that the economic return to pure technical skills has flattened, and the highest return now goes to those who combine soft skills -- excellence at communicating and working with people -- with technical skills.

"So I think a humanities major who also did a lot of computer science, economics, psychology, or other sciences can be quite valuable and have great career flexibility," Katz said. "But you need both, in my view, to maximize your potential. And an economics major or computer science major or biology or engineering or physics major who takes serious courses in the humanities and history also will be a much more valuable scientist, financial professional, economist, or entrepreneur."