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isoga uy.  mahadlok man sad ang mga wakang ani.

The South China Sea is hotly disputed as it is a major shipping route, fishing ground, and is believed to hold vast deposits of oil and gas. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also claim parts of the strategic sea.


EXPLAINING FEATURES. A screenshot of the DFA primer explaining the maritime features the Philippines claims. Courtesy: DFA, PCDSPO

Why care about the West PH Sea?

Before going into legal arguments and jargon, the DFA took pains to explain why ordinary Filipinos should care about the dispute.

Ang West Philippine Sea: Isang Sipat stated that the West Philippine Sea holds marine resources like corals, fish and oil that affect the Philippines’ economic growth, and environmental, energy and food security.

“Isang sentro ng yamang heolohiko (geological resources) ang karagatan sa kanluran at timog-kanluran ng Pilipinas. Napagtibay na ng agham na may malaking bukal ng langis, gas, at iba pang yamang mineral ang bansa, lalo pa sa bahaging Palawan/Pampang Recto (Recto Bank) ng WPS,” the primer stated.

(The sea in the south and southwest of the Philippines is a center of geological resources. Science showed that the country has a wealth of oil, gas, and other mineral riches, especially in the area of Palawan/Recto Bank of WPS.)

The explainer includes maps and illustrations, and short descriptions of the maritime features the Philippines claims like Scarborough Shoal and Second Thomas (Ayungin) Shoal, using their Philippine names.

The pamphlet is just the latest effort of the DFA to use information and education to promote the Philippines’ maritime claims, and Manila’s historic arbitration case against Beijing. China has its own media offensive, and releases its own position paper with question-and-answer explainers.

The South China Sea is hotly disputed as it is a major shipping route, fishing ground, and is believed to hold vast deposits of oil and gas. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan also claim parts of the strategic sea.

Jose recently told Rappler that the DFA is planning to include the West Philippine Sea in the elementary and high school curriculum, as the department continues its nationwide information drive on the issue.

The following are the 8 questions the primer addresses:

1. Nasaan ang Karagatang Kanlurang Pilipinas o West Philippine Sea at bakit ito mahalaga sa akin bilang Pilipino?  (Where is the West Philippine Sea, and why does it matter to me as a Filipino?)

2. Anu-ano ang karapatang pandagat o maritime entitlements ng isang bansang tulad ng Pilipinas?  (What are the maritime entitlements of a country like the Philippines?)

3. Bakit may alitan kaugnay ng West Philippine Sea/South China Sea?  (Why is there a dispute over the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea?)

4. Ano ang inaangkin ng Pilipinas sa South China Sea at ano ang batayan nito?  (What is the Philippines claiming in the South China Sea, and on what basis?)

5. Ano ang batayan ng Tsina sa inaangkin nitong nine-dash line?
(What is China’s basis for its 9-dash line claim?)

6. Ano ang karapatan ng Pilipinas sa ilalim ng batas pandaigdig na nilalabag ng Tsina? (What are the Philippines’ rights under the international law that China is violating?)

7. Mayroon bang batas pandaigdig na nakasasaklaw sa alitan ng South China Sea?  (Is there an international law that covers the South China Sea dispute?)

8. Bakit naghain ng kasong arbitrasyon ang Pilipinas laban sa Tsina?  (Why did the Philippines file an arbitration case against China?)

“The current focus on the maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea has made it clear that we need to foster the ‘archipelagic consciousness’ among our people,” Jose said.

“By understanding the fundamental link between our maritime heritage and our identities as Filipinos, we build the unshakable will to defend our maritime domain. That is the purpose of this pamphlet and all the other public diplomacy efforts we have been undertaking,” the spokesperson added.

In the pamphlet, the Philippines again accuses China of violating international law, questions the legal basis of China’s 9-dash line claim, and seeks support for its historic arbitration case against Beijing. (READ: Rough seas: Will PH 'lawfare' work vs China?, http://www.rappler.com/nation/77910-philippines-arbitration-china-analysis)

The department said in a statement that the pamphlet aims “to serve as an accessible and comprehensible resource material” on the West Philippine Sea (WPS), the term Manila uses to refer to parts of the South China Sea that it claims.

The Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) helped the DFA develop the primer.

DFA Spokesperson Charles Jose explained that the pamphlet was written “to further facilitate understanding by ordinary Filipinos.”

'Walang batayan': PH hits China in Filipino FAQs on sea row

The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs releases a Filipino primer on the maritime dispute 'to facilitate understanding by ordinary Filipinos'

Ayee Macaraig
Jan 08, 2015


FILIPINO PRIMER. The DFA launches a digital pamphlet on the West Philippine Sea to explain the maritime dispute to ordinary Filipinos. Screenshot of West Philippine Sea: Isang Sipat


MANILA, Philippines â€" “Ano ang batayan ng Tsina sa inaangkin nitong nine-dash line?”  (What is China’s basis for its 9-dash line claim?)

This is just one of the questions the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) asks and answers in a new primer on the South China Sea dispute tailor-made for one crucial audience: the Filipino masses.

The DFA launched on Wednesday, January 7, what it called a digital pamphlet titled “Ang West Philippine Sea: Isang Sipat” (The West Philippine Sea: An Overview), a 4-page explainer written purely in Filipino. (See full primer below.)

http://cheezburger.com/

shorties of the world, unite and cheer!

sincere is sure that.  eat will i one day there.

terrible.  obviously the pan de sal is just the excuse.  there's more to this than that ubiquitous bread as hubag says. 

meanwhile, other newspapers with enough respect for fellow human beings would have pixelated the face of the victim in the picture.  unfortunately, he's not a relative of the news reporter or his colleagues or, for that matter, a politician.  ordinary laborers thus may be respected less this way, huh?     

plus: $100 dollars fine when you're stuck and your hair stands on end
      $200 dollars when you've stopped breathing

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 15, 2015, 07:05:51 PM(The subject of The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven, published in 2010, recently admitted that he made it all up.)

a real spoiler.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 15, 2015, 04:46:12 PM

nadoble ang m sa minolde ni bai hubag sa img... so i quoted and took out that extra m, and voila!  now i can see the image.  good gurrrlll.  

Ouch.  Even the N.Y. Times‘s Choe Sang-Hun, who had recently compared Ri to Kate Middleton, sounds a little like Perez Hilton:

The South Korean news media also noted the apparent “belly fat” â€" or is it a baby bump? â€" that Ms. Ri has developed. The South Korean spy agency believes that Ms. Ri and Mr. Kim already have a child.

Ms. Ri has drawn international attention since she began accompanying her husband in public early last month. Her expensive-looking designer suits stand out among the North Korean elites, who typically wear olive-colored military uniforms and drab Mao suits. Some outside analysts even consider her appearance as a sign of potential change in leadership and even lifestyle that Mr. Kim could bring about as a youthful leader who studied in Europe as a teenager. (Recent visitors to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, reported seeing miniskirts, high heels, Nike hats and Hello Kitty cellphone accessories.)

But Ms. Ri’s fashionable style magnifies how disconnected the ruling Kim family remains from the public.

A famine in the 1990s killed numerous North Koreans and drove many others to flee to China and South Korea. The regime still cannot feed its own people and needs outside aid. But the Kim family has lived in style.

http://freekorea.us/

What Blaine Harden calls North Korea’s extreme makeover has suffered a severe setback:

North Korea’s young first lady has been pictured sporting what appears to be a Christian Dior handbag, in stark contrast to widespread shortages elsewhere in the impoverished nation.

Ri Sol-Ju, the wife of leader Kim Jong-Un, was pictured accompanying him on a “field guidance trip” to an army unit.

It was unclear whether the bag was genuine or an imitation. South Korea’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said Wednesday it would cost 1.8 million won ($1,594) in Seoul. [AFP]



http://freekorea.us/

crrraaazzzyyy.  giving cat lovers a bad name.  i mean the cats, not the humans.  how dare those cats allow themselves to be used for photo ops that way?

as for bill gates, wow.  may there will be more like him in the world.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 12, 2015, 01:00:35 PM
The Philippines, meanwhile, lost the initiative along the way; by the post-Marcos years it had settled in a most unenviable position: Once a world leader in rice production, it now had to import rice to feed its population. By 2008 it had become the world’s largest importer of rice, buying 1.8 million tons from countries it had once mentored on the subject. A cruel irony, and just one more affliction on a country that can’t seem to get its act together after the ravages of the Marcos dictatorship.

sad.  but we can always hope that once the thieves that we elect into office shall have been done with, we could be on track again.

just desserts, doggie.  just don't have too much for the sake of your tummy.

Ms. Swift, who faces a constant barrage of questions about boyfriends and being single, mocked the cat lady stereotype to a reporter, joking that if she does not find a man by 30, she will naturally be scared, housebound and “surrounded by cats. So many cats, they’ve divided themselves up into armies and she wanders around lint-rolling the couch that no one’s going to sit on because she’s afraid to have people over...” Yeah, right.



This generation of young female celebrities is refusing to be portrayed as on a perpetual, sad manhunt. Asked at an event what she looked for in a man, Rihanna tartly and perfectly responded: “I’m not looking for a man. Let’s start there.” Katy Perry told Rolling Stone that she would happily have a child on her own: “I don’t need a dude.” Ms. Swift has become defined by her posse of female friends â€" as well as her feline companions.



Part of the appeal of cats is that they are independent and discerning. They have few needs. They come to you when they want; you can’t force them, or cajole them. They can be fiercely affectionate. They are gloriously indifferent. Cats don’t pretend to like you, and don’t care if you like them.

Let’s start there.

Julia Baird is a contributing opinion writer and a television presenter with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. She is working on a biography of Queen Victoria.

Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook and Twitter.

A version of this op-ed appears in print on March 29, 2015, on page SR10 of the New York edition with the headline: Stand Up for Your Cats

Cat men and women, we have the numbers. There are now roughly 95.6 million cats in America, compared to 83.3 million dogs.



We also have science on our side. Studies have shown that cat owners are less likely than those who have never owned a cat to die of cardiovascular disease, and pet owners have a decreased risk of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Researchers from Miami University and Saint Louis University found “pet owners had greater self-esteem, were more physically fit, tended to be less lonely, were more conscientious, were more extroverted, tended to be less fearful and tended to be less preoccupied than non-owners.” Less lonely, happier, fitter. Pets don’t indicate mental illness; they seem to aid in recovery from it.

It should be pointed out that many men also love cats. Ernest Hemingway was mad about polydactyl, or six-toed cats, and kittens played with Winston Churchill’s newspaper as he read, and sat alongside him during meals.





Ricky Gervais frequently tweets about his cat, Ollie; he even aspires to the cat-lady life, telling HBO: “My evening usually consists of sitting on the couch in my pajamas from 6 p.m. with the cat on my lap watching trash TV.”

Ricky, you may join the sisterhood.

CreditLucia Lambriex/Getty Images

The words associated with cat lady on Urban Dictionary, for example, include: “lame,” “forever alone,” “spinster,” “ice cream” and “smelly.” Nice.

A man and his dog, on the other hand, are icons of independence, freedom and adventure. Granted, this is partly because dogs tend to be happier accompanying you to places outside your own house. But Ms. Swift takes Meredith out in Manhattan and the singer Kesha takes her cat on airplane flights. Must female cat owners constantly have their sanity questioned simply because they like to coexist with purring fur balls?

This is not a tired cat-versus-dog debate. Everyone loves dogs. Even if they do, say, eat the feces of other animals, howl at ambulances, delight in bottom-sniffing and even â€" like my old Labrador â€" eat jellyfish until their faces are numb. (Is there anything a Labrador won’t eat?)

“It is a daily struggle,” she tweeted, “to not buy more cats.”

The longstanding, irrational bias against cats stems from archaic views about women.

Their owners are more likely to be single women than single men â€" according to the American Pet Products Association, 11 percent of cats live with single women but only 2 percent live with single men â€" and so they have become addendums to the spinster stereotype.



We seem unable to contemplate the thought of a woman enjoying the sweet company of a cat, without assuming it is a hallmark of a sad single existence. The words woman and cat don’t conjure up thoughts of a glamorous fast life, but pajamas, Chinese takeout, bowls of Ben & Jerry’s, couches and DVDs.

Stand Up for Your Cats

MARCH 28, 2015
Julia Baird

TAYLOR SWIFT, I salute you.

Not for your snappy songs and sartorial flair, although these are all fine things. I applaud you for the fact that you have almost single-handedly skewered the myth of the owner of the feline as a tragic, rejected “crazy cat lady.”

Ms. Swift regularly poses with, and posts about, her two Scottish fold cats â€" Meredith Grey and Olivia Benson â€" with unabashed pride. She posts their pictures on Instagram and has been featured in commercials where she is swarmed by fluffy cats, all the while still managing to somehow remain desirable.

i hope grammarians won't go as far as giving an opinion on how we name our "animal companion" of a dog who used to be "free-living" until we took him in.  please don't force me to name him as the junior to the banana republic's senior.

i may have problems calling them; one may sneeze and the other may bark, and who knows what will happen to the state of my hearing and i can no longer tell them apart?  or the state of my vision, for that matter?

But Plain English Campaign spokeswoman Marie Clair, said: “It is not plain English … I don’t know of any pet that has complained about being called a three-letter word.”



http://www.petalot.com/
images various online sources

Although the changes are mainly aimed at those contributing articles to the journal, it is hoped the message will influence how other people view their pets.

In the editorial, Reverend Prof Andrew Linzey, an Oxford theologian who has written or edited 20 books and US philosopher Prof Priscilla Cohn call for a major rethink of animal terminology.

“Despite its prevalence, ‘pets’ is surely a derogatory term both of the animals concerned and their human carers. Again the word ‘owners’, while technically correct in law, harks back to a previous age when animals were regarded as … property, machines or things to use without moral constraint.”

Even innocuous phrases such as “sly as a fox” and “drunk as a skunk” are seen as an affront to animals.

The recommendations reflect a feeling in some academic circles that the language we use when thinking or talking about animals affects how we treat them.

The call for a new type of animal language is made in the first issue of the Journal of Animal Ethics, which bills itself as being “devoted to the exploration of progressive thought about animals”.

The Term 'Pet' Is An Insult To Animals: Academics Say



Leading academics have called for pets to be renamed “companion animals”, thus giving a whole new meaning to animal rights

Rather than being a term of endearment, the term “pets” is an insult to the concerned animals and their owners, who should be known as “human carers”.



A new journal devoted to animal ethics, also want the terms “pests” and “vermin” to be dropped. Wild animals, meanwhile, should be referred to as “free-living” or “free-ranging”.

Why This Dog Lay on His Back During Brazilian Gang Arrest

LONDON â€" Apr 8, 2015
By LOUISE DEWAST via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

When Brazilian police raided a home in the southern town of Florianpolis and ordered suspected gang members to get down on the ground, little did they know a dog would lie among their targets.

The picture showing stray dog Piloto, Portuguese for pilot, on his back with his paws up was widely spread on social media and in news outlets. The ambassador for Sweden in Brazil even tweeted about it, saying it was “tragi-comical”.

Officer Teily Fabio of Santa Catarina police told ABC News the dog initially barked, but laid down last Thursday when his owners complied with orders. “We tried to make him leave but he didn’t want to,” he said.



Brazilian animal psychiatrist and dog trainer Barnie Rico told the United Press International news agency a dog’s lying on its back is a way to show submission. "By exposing its soft underbelly to any potential attacker, it is showing that it doesn't mean any trouble," Rico told UPI.

Two men were arrested in the operation but the dog was not, police said.

http://abcnews.go.com/

why kaha?  inspired kaha ko ug mga inodorog nawong?

10. Kenya


Mount Kilimanjaro
Credit: ventz/Shutterstock.com

Iconic Mount Kilimanjaro towers over African savannah. Kibo, the highest peak, is dormant, but Kilimanjaro is the largest of a string of some 20 explosive volcanoes in East Africa's Rift Valley.

http://www.livescience.com/

9. El Salvador


Coatepeque volcano
Credit: Milosz_M/Shutterstock.com

Coatepeque volcano's last violent eruption was more than 50,000 years ago, and it left behind a deep, bowl-shaped depression now filled by a picturesque lake. But smaller eruptions have since built cones in the past 10,000 years, making the volcano a possible threat to people living nearby.

8. Italy


Mount Etna
Credit: Angelo Ferraris/Shutterstock.com

Volcanology got its start at Italy's Mount Etna, where scientists and naturalists have observed volcanic eruptions for more than 2,000 years. Mount Etna is Europe's largest volcano.

7. Ecuador


Tungurahua volcano
Credit: Ammit Jack/Shutterstock.com

Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador is one of South America's most active volcanoes.

6. Guatemala


A view of four of Guatemala's active volcanoes taken from NASA's C20-A aircraft.
Credit: NASA/Stu Broce

Volcán de Agua, a 11,500-foot-tall (3,500 m) volcano, destroyed the first Guatemalan capital city established by Spanish Conquistadors. A devastating mudflow called a lahar buried the city, though the volcano did not erupt, according to historical accounts.

5. Ethiopia


Steaming volcanic cones along the line of lava that erupted in the Afar Desert in June 2009.
Credit: David Ferguson, University of Oxford

From volcanoes with active lava lakes to freshly-formed cracks in the earth, Ethiopia is a hotbed of volcanic activity. This photo shows a fissure that emerged in 2005, when rising magma in the Afar Desert created a tear in the Earth's crust 37 miles long (60 km).

4. Mexico


The astronaut crew on the International Space Station Alpha observed and recorded this image as they orbited to the northeast of the volcano.
Credit: NASA/JSC

Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano has been puffing out ash and steam since it awoke from slumber in 1994. "Popo" is only about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from Mexico City, and is the second highest volcano in North America, at 17,802 feet (5,426 meters).

3. Japan


Mount Sakurajima
Credit: wdeon/Shutterstock.com

Mount Sakurajima is one of the world's most active volcanoes, with hundreds of years of explosive eruptions.

2. Philippines


Mount Mayon
Credit: Ewan Chesser/Shutterstock.com

Mount Mayon towers over Legazpi Airport, a major hub in Bicol on the island of Luzon. Five climbers were killed and seven were injured on Mount Mayon in 2013, when the volcano unleashed an unpredictable phreatic explosion. A phreatic explosion occurs from water seeping into the magma chamber, then blasting out as steam. 

1. Indonesia


Mount Merapi
Credit: Dwi Putri/Shutterstock.com

Two hundreds years after Mount Tambora exploded in the biggest volcanic eruption ever recorded, Indonesia remains the country most at risk of another deadly volcanic eruption. In this photo, people inspect damage caused by the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi, looming in the distance. Evacuations before the eruption saved an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 lives, according to the news report.

10 Most Hazardous Countries For Volcanoes

by Becky Oskin, Senior Writer
April 10, 2015

Here are the countries most at risk of a deadly volcanic eruption, according to an international team of experts known as the Global Volcano Model network.

The volcano scientists accounted for death and destruction wrought by volcanoes in the past and ranked the countries most likely to face such future disasters. Their report, called "Global Volcanic Hazards and Risk," will be published in May by Cambridge University Press.

meaning, poo is money is poo.  aaarrrgh.

maybe they get thinner or produce less milk or tend to believe they are human when they face east-west, who knows.

some things just can't be explained.  boholanos anywhere (and they're all over) allegedly always face bohol when they pee.  no explanation necessary.

kamingaw sa payag nga gisunog.

gwapa ra na siya uy.

that's exactly what i meant by offering them the ways of the world.

Reuters / Tuesday, February 24, 2015
A woman and her son are seen in their 60-square-foot sub-divided flat, with a monthly rent of HK$3,800 ($487), in Hong Kong February 2, 2015. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

Reuters / Thursday, February 19, 2015
Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) deputy Orhan Duzgun falls down as lawmakers from his party and the ruling AK Party (R) scuffle during a debate on a legislation to boost police powers at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara late February 19, 2015. REUTERS/Stringer

Reuters / Monday, February 16, 2015
A Palestinian man scuffles with Israeli border policemen as they clear a protest on land that Palestinians said was confiscated by Israel for Jewish settlements, near the West Bank town of Abu Dis near Jerusalem February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Awad

Reuters / Thursday, February 26, 2015
A fisherman casts his line as birds fly over the Sao Conrado beach in Rio de Janeiro February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

Reuters / Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Singer Madonna falls during her performance at the BRIT music awards at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London, February 25, 2015. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Reuters / Wednesday, February 25, 2015
A fighter of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fires an anti-aircraft weapon from Tel Tawil village in the direction of Islamic State fighters positioned in the countryside of the town of Tel Tamr February 25, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said

What role has sectarianism played in recent crises?

In countries that have been governed by Sunnis, Shia tend to make up the poorest sections of society. They often see themselves as victims of discrimination and oppression. Some extremist Sunni doctrines have preached hatred of Shia.

The Iranian revolution of 1979 launched a radical Shia Islamist agenda that was perceived as a challenge to conservative Sunni regimes, particularly in the Gulf.

Tehran's policy of supporting Shia militias and parties beyond its borders was matched by the Gulf states, which strengthened their links to Sunni governments and movements abroad.


Discontent among the Shia has fuelled street protests in Bahrain


During the civil war in Lebanon, Shia gained a strong political voice because of the military activities of Hezbollah.

In Pakistan and Afghanistan, hardline Sunni militant groups - such as the Taliban - have often attacked Shia places of worship.

The current conflicts in Iraq and Syria have also acquired strong sectarian overtones. Young Sunni men in both countries have joined rebel groups, many of which echo the hardline ideology of al-Qaeda.

Meanwhile, many of their counterparts from the Shia community have been fighting for - or alongside - government forces.

http://www.bbc.com/

Who are the Shia?

In early Islamic history the Shia were a political faction - literally "Shiat Ali" or the party of Ali.

The Shia claimed the right of Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, and his descendants to lead the Islamic community.

Ali was killed as a result of intrigues, violence and civil wars which marred his caliphate. His sons, Hassan and Hussein, were denied what they thought was their legitimate right of accession to caliphate. Hassan is believed to have been poisoned by Muawiyah, the first caliph (leader of Muslims) of the Umayyad dynasty.

His brother, Hussein, was killed on the battlefield along with members of his family, after being invited by supporters to Kufa (the seat of caliphate of Ali) where they promised to swear allegiance to him.


Women from Turkey's Shia minority observe a religious procession in Istanbul

These events gave rise to the Shia concept of martyrdom and the rituals of grieving.

There is a distinctive messianic element to the faith and Shia have a hierarchy of clerics who practise independent and ongoing interpretation of Islamic texts.

Estimates of the number of Shia range from 120 to 170 million, roughly one-tenth of all Muslims.

Shia Muslims are in the majority in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and, according to some estimates, Yemen. There are large Shia communities in Afghanistan, India, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Syria, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Who are the Sunnis?

Sunni Muslims regard themselves as the orthodox and traditionalist branch of Islam.

The word Sunni comes from "Ahl al-Sunna", the people of the tradition. The tradition in this case refers to practices based on precedent or reports of the actions of the Prophet Muhammad and those close to him.

Sunnis venerate all the prophets mentioned in the Koran, but particularly Muhammad as the final prophet. All subsequent Muslim leaders are seen as temporal figures.


Egypt is home to some of Sunni Islam's oldest centres of learning

In contrast to Shia, Sunni religious teachers and leaders have historically come under state control.

The Sunni tradition also emphasises a codified system of Islamic law and adherence to four schools of law.

along comes islam's divide...

Sunnis and Shia: Islam's ancient schism

20 June 2014


Pilgrimage to Mecca is one of many rituals that are shared by both sects

What are the differences between Sunnis and Shia?

Muslims are split into two main branches, the Sunnis and Shia. The split originates in a dispute soon after the death of the Prophet Muhammad over who should lead the Muslim community.

The great majority of Muslims are Sunnis - estimates suggest the figure is somewhere between 85% and 90%.

Members of the two sects have co-existed for centuries and share many fundamental beliefs and practices.

Though they may not interact much outside the public sphere, there are always exceptions. In urban Iraq, for instance, intermarriage between Sunnis and Shia was, until recently, quite common.

The differences lie in the fields of doctrine, ritual, law, theology and religious organisation.

Their leaders also often seem to be in competition.

From Lebanon and Syria to Iraq and Pakistan, many recent conflicts have emphasised the sectarian divide, tearing communities apart.

named after:


Bluma Zeigarnik
Psychologist

Bluma Wulfovna Zeigarnik was a Soviet psychologist and psychiatrist, a member of Berlin School of experimental psychology and Vygotsky Circle.

Born: November 9, 1901, Prienai, Lithuania
Died: February 24, 1988, Moscow, Russia
Education: Humboldt University of Berlin

wikipedia/

ingnon na lang tingali nato nga medyo maila sa imong mga posts...




...nga nalisoan na ko. 

hahaha!  di gyod hinoon mangaway ang pets.  yes, pets don't quarrel you or  complain about the way you look or answer back with rolling eyes.  and unless you've trained them enough in the ways of the world or offer them the ways of the world in a silver goblet, pets don't get drunk either.

hinoon, ikaw bay dyamante, lalim ba.

St Gerard Majella (1726-1755)


St Paul of the Cross (1694-1775)


St Gemma Galgani (1878-1903)

http://www.miraclesofthesaints.com/

some saints on record to have "flown" (levitated):


St Teresa de Avila (1515-1582)


St Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1663)

then it would be too much to expect.  some saints have "flown" (levitation or ecstatic flights) but those were more because of the spiritual heights they've achieved and not because they felt pushed to the edge.

However, there is fascinating research on the horizon.

Morrison is starting to collaborate with a researcher at Cambridge University to study what causes serial killers' apparent lack of empathy.

The team plans to monitor the brain and how it responds to transmagnetic stimulation. Through TMS, magnetic pulses are sent into the frontal left side of the brain, which generates weak electrical currents.

The research project is meant to mimic and study serial killers' lack of feelings.

"It's so fascinating," Morrison said. "We don't know anything about the brain."


Wikipedia
Dennis Rader, known at the BTK Killer, killed 10 people 1974 and 1991

http://www.businessinsider.com/

The real research is just beginning. Unfortunately, the government isn't receptive.

Morrison has to ask permission from the government, whether it be state, federal, or another country's government, to interview an incarcerated serial killer.

Kaimowitz vs. Michigan, a landmark case from 1973, decreed that prisoners could not participate in research because they weren't capable of free will.

That culture of limited to no access is prevalent around the world, which means researchers are essentially stuck.

"For now, we're only speculating with what we know about the brain, which is practically nothing," Morrison said. "True you see behavior, true you see something wrong with the brain, but does that mean they're connected?"

She said the world has become desensitized to serial killers, which makes it difficult to convince governments to allow her to conduct the research.


Wikipedia
Joseph Vacher killed 11 people and was known as "The French Ripper"

While you might expect the men's partners to know what's going on, serial killers aren't easy to spot.

"One of the things is you cannot spot a serial killer by what they show you," Morrison said.

Serial killers can be very charming and charismatic. They aren't the psychopath running down the street; they're the man next door.

"They're so completely ordinary," Morrison said. "That's what gets a lot of victims in trouble."

Why would a woman open the door to an unknown man? It's because of that ordinariness. Victims don't even remotely consider the fact that the serial killer can be just that, because the killer seems so ordinary.


Wikipedia
Fritz Haarmann (center) reportedly killed 27 boys between 1918 and 1924

But don't expect the women to take part in the crimes, at least most of the time.

"No, it's not an equal opportunity kind of thing," Morrison said.

Serial killers are almost always men. Women may become a companion to the serial killer, but they aren't the ones initiating the crimes.

And women companions taking part in the crimes is very rare, she said.

Serial killers' partners are often nearly-incomplete people whom the serial killers can bring into themselves.

"Whatever is missing in that woman is fulfilled in part by the serial killer," Morrison said.

These women take passivity to an extreme, and often exhibit a complete lack of assertiveness.

However, the research on serial killers' partners is limited because often these women feel they can't talk unless given permission by the serial killer.


Murderpedia
John Wayne Gacy and Carole Hoff on their wedding day

The shocking thing is many of these men have partners who are clueless.

In the course of her research, Morrison had the opportunity to interview serial killers' wives as well.

And from what she could gather, none of these women consciously knew what was going on. Or, they never questioned it.

John Wayne Gacy buried his victims under his house. But when Morrison asked Carol Hoff, Gacy's wife, if she smelled anything, Carol said John said the smell was because of mice.

And Carol completely accepted his explanation.

"Wrap your head around that one," Morrison said.


Murderpedia
John Wayne Gacy and Carole Hoff on their wedding day

Because they don't become attached to their victims, serial killers are able to perform experiments on those they've killed

Robert Berdella, the so-called Kansas City Butcher, raped, tortured and killed at least six men between 1984 and 1987.

He experimented on his victims and kept scientific notebooks, Morrison said.

As part of his experiments, he poured Drano down victims' throats so they couldn't scream.

"I think its just like pulling the wings off a fly when you're a kid," Morrison said. "Just that 'let's see what happens.'"

Notorious serial killer John Wayne Gacy also experimented on victims but showed absolutely no emotion, Morrison said.

"The complete lack of humanity is more than just being a psychopath because at least the psychopath has the capacity to express emotion," Morrison said.


jfneon/YouTube
Robert Berdella, the Kansas City Butcher

Because of their lack of development, serial killers don't empathize with their victims.

Serial killers hunt in a variety of ways. But they never develop an emotional attachment to their victims.

Where an enraged man might kill his wife's lover out of jealousy, serial killers feel no such attachment to their victims.

"They have no appreciation for the absolute agony and terror and fear that the victim is demonstrating," Morrison said. "They just see the object in front of them."

"A serial murderer has no feelings," she added. "Serial killers have no motives. They kill only to kill an object."


Wikipedia
Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos raped and murdered 140 young boys

But the desire to kill becomes ingrained much earlier in life.

The most difficult thing to understand is how a baby develops into a serial killer, Morrison said.

Statistically, there is no evidence that anything that happens in childhood turns people into serial killers, meaning the tendency could be deeply ingrained.

In its early stages, a baby is happy to be passed around from person to person. But at a certain point during the first of life, a baby develops attachment and becomes upset when taken away from its primary caregiver.

That attachment is a baby's first awareness that it's a separate being dependent on other people, Morrison said. Serial killers don't develop that feeling and don't see themselves as part of the world.

"Your attachment is not there and attachment is really necessary for developing a full psychology," Morrison said.


Wikipedia
Peter Woodcock killed three young children in Toronto between 1956 and 1957

A chromosome abnormality seems to be the most likely trigger for serial killers.

A chromosome abnormality in serial killers begins to express itself during puberty, Morrison said.

Serial killers, who are mostly men, develop and begin to display their homicidal tendencies during puberty when that chromosomal abnormality expresses itself.

While researchers don't have an exact gene identity, the fact that serial killers are men leads researchers to believe there is "a change associated with the male chromosome make up," Morrison said.

But researchers are still investigating how the gene changes and why it does.

Most serial killers also kill their first victim during those same teen years.


wikipedia
Carlos Eduardo Robledo Puch was convicted on a smattering of charges, including 11 murders and one rape.

But the most shocking thing is, regardless of how different their lives may be, serial killers have shocking similarities.

"No matter what country, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic background, education, familial background, they are all exactly the same," she said.

During our nearly hour-long interview with Morrison, she shed some light about how these people came to terrorize other human beings for years on end. We've compiled the most interesting tidbits here.

A Terrifying Glimpse Into The Mind Of A Serial Killer

ABBY ROGERS
June 8, 2012

Dr. Helen Morrison's hunt for serial killers â€" she has interviewed 135 in total â€" has taken her all across the globe.

"There's no country that's been immune to a serial killer," The Chicago-based forensic psychiatrist told Business Insider.

Through her research, Morrison, who possesses a piece of John Wayne Gacy's brain, aims to identify what causes a serial killer to become a serial killer and how these people develop.


Wikimedia Commons
John Wayne Gacy with First Lady Rosalynn Carter

it looks like an aberration of more advanced countries then, if we must base it only on these cold statistics.

aw, kinsa goy di masuya ug basura.  ikaw bay basurera, lalim ba.

could it happen too that he provides a parachute?

just curious.  maayo untag giapil sa estorya nganong di pa man mopauli si misis pag-apas ni mister nga alas dose sa gabii na man intawon.  di unta siya maguyod... 

hello, gec.  lili more often please. 

made in davao kuno ni, loll.  please send a pair each to hubag and bugsay.

durian slippers

planting rice is never fun...

way to go!



fits the ultimate secret agent.

kini, kilat ba poy kuwang?  ang mo-oppose ani maoy kilatan sa ubang nasod.  (safe ra ta sa ato.) 

not good for the equal opportunity clause.