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Quote from: hubag bohol on July 02, 2014, 01:57:31 PM
Matod ni Batiquin nga si Apas nibutyag nga naglagot siya dihang gihambat sa iro ang iyang walang tiil dihang miagi siya sa may gate sa subdivision padulong mopauli.

Kon gusto siyang mobawos, makigpinaakay lang unta siya sa iro...

SuperBalita Cebu
Ni Guam P. Logroño
Tuesday, July 1, 2014


OVERSEAS foreign worker (OFW) nadakpan sa kapulisan nga nagdala og armas kay buot niyang mobawos sa iro nga mipaak kaniya niadtong Lunes sa alas 7:20 sa gabii sa may Primavera Subdivision, Barangay Yati, lungsod sa Lilo-an.

Si Rolito Apas, 32, minyo,taga Barangay San Vicente, Liloan, nakuhaag usa ka KG-9 sub-machine pistol nga may napulo ka mga bala sa magazine ug usa ka motorsiklo.

Si SPO1 Brian Batiquin sa Lilo-an Police Station nga nahinabi sa dySS Super Radyo ug Sun.Star Superbalita, nagkanayon nga nakadawat ang ilang buhatan og armed person alarm.

Ang ilang mga kauban naabot sa dapit ug naaktuhan si Apas nga nagbitbit sa KG-9 sub-machine pistol hinungdan nga gipusasan.

Matod ni Batiquin nga si Apas nibutyag nga naglagot siya dihang gihambat sa iro ang iyang walang tiil dihang miagi siya sa may gate sa subdivision padulong mopauli.

Gibutyag niya nga gikan siya sa dakbayan sa Sugbo naglukat sa iyang KG-9 nga giprenda.

“Mikanaog ni siya sa iyang motorsiklo kay rakrakan unta niya ang iro nga mipaak niya.

Pero midagan man. Iyang gigukod hangtod nga napunta sa panimalay,” dugang ni Batiquin.

Dunay nitawag sa police station gumikan sa kahadlok sa armadong tawo nga nagbitbit sa armas.

Matod ni Apas nga kon wa pa siya maapike, iya untang tusaktusakon sa mga bala sa iyang KG-9 ang iro nga nakapaak kaniya.

Kasong illegal possession of firearm ang gihikay sa kapulisan sa Lilo-an nga ipasaka batok kaniya.

http://www.mb.com.ph/
by Mar T. Supnad
July 1, 2014


Abucay, Bataan â€" Authorities in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia reported that Engr. Albert Bautista, a 29-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW) was killed in a freak car accident last June 4. But when his remains arrived yesterday in this town, his family found his body chopped in five pieces.

Bautista’s coffin was sealed when it arrived in the posh village of Santana, in Capitangan, this town after midnight.

His father, Alfredo, was in grief and refused to give media any more details about what he knows had happened to his son, other than saying: “Durog ang bangkay (His remains are in pieces.)”

Alfredo said he had nothing else to say for it added to his family’s grief.

The OFW left a wife and three children.

Sources close to the family, who refused to be identified, said Bautista’s death was clouded by suspicion of foul play.

They said the Filipino engineer occupied a high and sensitive post in a Saudi company and was involved in checking industrial purchases.

Alfredo did not say whether or not their family will ask government to seek more information on his son’s death, but lamented that no help has come from agencies like the Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration (OWWA).

For her part, Mayor Ana Santiago of this town said she is cautiously working with the family in seeking additional information on what had happened to the OFW.

Bukit Timah and other shopping centres like it, are the culmination of several networks and organisations that extend from Singapore to various parts of Southeast Asia.

Maids stand in mock living rooms ironing the same shirt, or make over the same bed - scenes which are enacted elsewhere in Singapore, at malls like Katong Shopping Centre.

A maid cradles a baby doll before pretending to change its diapers. Some "maid agencies", as they're locally known, display women at work.

Maids in Bukit Timah mall line up and wait to be taken back to their shelter.

Thio at TWC2 said that she has come across instances where domestic workers end up owing $4,500 to their agencies, adding that the average debts women accumulate are between $2,500 and $3,000.

"High placement fees are charged to the worker because the agencies can get away with it," according to Wham, who said that some agencies disguise these fees as "loans".

"The worker pays these fees because she feels that she doesn't have a choice. And our laws do not make it mandatory for employers to bear the bulk of the fees."

Some domestic maids also work in Singapore illegally. A number of women are employed even though they are underage, according to Thio, and some will be brought into the country under conditions indicative of trafficking.

But at shopping centres, where clients stroll past "Homekeeper" and "Budget Maid", and where domestic workers continue their unending simulation of household work, little of this is expressed or known.

"I watched all those things", recounts Istiana, an Indonesian domestic worker who has recently come to work in Singapore. "Those signs that say 'cheap price' and 'discount maid'. But these are people," she added.

Poor monitoring and high debts

Problems in Singapore are sometimes compounded by unscrupulous practises and weak oversight in the female workers' underdeveloped home countries. In Indonesian training centres, for instance, women commonly complain that dormitories are overcrowded and that they are not given enough food, according to Wahyu Susilo of the advocacy group Migrant Care.

"We are always finding migrant workers in cramped rooms and living with poor sanitary conditions. In one case we found 200 migrant workers sharing two or three toilets."

He adds that monitoring by the Indonesian government is generally weak, which has led to exploitative conditions at a number of centres, including unreasonable fees and deceptive recruitment practises.

In some cases, monitoring of training centres in originating countries is limited due to corruption. According to the managing director of one centre in Indonesia, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity, local police accept bribes from the training centres they are tasked with inspecting.

Most domestic workers who come to Singapore have large debts in the form of placement fees paid to agencies as monthly salary deductions.

Shelley Thio, executive member of Transient Workers Count Too (TWC2), attributes most problems to "working conditions", and cites verbal abuse, non-payment of wages, and excessive work hours as among the most common reasons domestic workers request formal transfers.

Thio also raised concerns over Singapore's "live-in" requirement, by which a full-time domestic worker is legally obliged to live in the home of her employer.

"We have continually advocated that the live-in requirement is unsatisfactory because it easily leads to abuse," Thio said, adding that some women become vulnerable because of the removal of mobile phones, which isolates them from friends and organisations such as HOME and TWC2.

The live-in requirement can leave women vulnerable to sexual abuse. Earlier this year, a Cambodian domestic worker was sexually harassed by her employer's father, with whom she was made to share a room. Although the woman had complained about this arrangement, both to her employers and employment agency, nothing was done to change her situation prior to the abuse.

A multimillion dollar industry

Bukit Timah and other shopping centres like it are the culmination of networks and organisations extending from Singapore to various parts of Southeast Asia: from brokers who recruit women from poor countries, to training centres that prepare women for life abroad, to "runners" who ferry domestic workers from airports to shopping centres, and finally to the employment agencies themselves, of which there are hundreds in Singapore, competing in what is effectively a multimillion dollar industry. Wham says that there are currently 215,000 domestic workers in Singapore.

For most women, according to Wham, the shopping centres are fleeting experiences that last no longer than a week. Before coming to Singapore, most domestic workers have already found their employers after a phone or webcam interview from their home countries. The malls are essentially transition points, and the women are soon sent to their employers after completing a "settling-in programme" and a mandatory heath check.

But some maids return to the malls and can end up staying there for as long as a month. In the language of employment agencies, these women are "transfer maids", and have either been released by their original employers, or have requested to leave after experiencing problems at work.

There have also been complaints of women being underfed at certain employment agencies, according to Ummai Ummairoh, president of the Indonesian Family Network (IFN). "We always receive calls about agencies not giving enough food. In one case, an agency was spending $20 to feed 40 people."

Ummairoh, who also worked as a maid, added that the shopping centres made women look like "dolls at a supermarket".

For Anandha Nurul, a domestic worker who spent seven years in Singapore, her time at the shopping malls was marked by boredom and long hours. "They did not treat me very nicely," she said, recalling that she was fed instant noodles for the three days she was at her agency. "We didn't even boil the noodles properly. We just used warm water."

But standards vary considerably within the industry, and other agencies claim to afford female domestic workers more dignified conditions. "We should be fair and treat these workers as human beings," said Dawn Sng of PrimeChoice Maid Agency, who claims that her agency provides domestic workers with in-house training, free meals, and counselling. "We should not put them into a lower category of people."

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 30, 2014, 01:27:14 PM
On its website, Al Jazeera reported that the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre in central Singapore has galleries called "Homekeeper" and "Budget Maid."

Here's the Al Jazeera report:


Buy a discount maid at Singapore's malls
In Singapore, maids are put on display and made available for 'purchase' in central shopping malls.
Michael Malay Last updated: 27 Jun 2014 08:16


Go to the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre, a 1970s mall in central Singapore, and you will find five levels of brightly lit rooms and galleries called "Homekeeper" and "Budget Maid". Inside these rooms, dozens of women sit in a listless, artificial silence. They nod respectfully as you enter, and some watch closely as you speak to staff. You might take one home with you - for two years, or longer.

The women, domestic workers, come from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Myanmar. They sit beneath garish signs and posters, testifying to their friendliness and industriousness, or advertising "super promo" rates and "special discounts".

Some "maid agencies", as they're known locally, display women at work. Along one aisle, domestic workers push each other around in wheelchairs, as though they're taking care of the elderly. In another gallery, a woman cradles a baby doll and pretends to change its diapers. Others stand in mock living rooms ironing the same shirt, or making the same bed - scenes enacted elsewhere in Singapore at malls like Katong Shopping Centre on Mountbatten Road.

Jolovan Wham, executive director of the Humanitarian Organisation of Migration Economics (HOME), a migrant workers advocacy group based in Singapore, said that some agencies market their domestic workers like "commodities". He adds that racial stereotypes are sometimes used in transactions with patrons. "Some of the stereotypes include Filipinos as 'smarter', Indonesians as 'less bright' and Burmese as 'sweet-natured and compliant'."

A photo of two shelter dogs who, without a real home and people to love them, found friendship in one another, is making its rounds on the Internet this week.

The touching image shows Delaware, a friendly 8-month-old a pit bull mix, and Kyra, a playful 1-year-old Lab mix, spooning together in their shared space at the Fulton County Shelter in Atlanta, Georgia. -- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

He cited the Beatitudes, the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount, as an example of where Christianity had influenced communism.

"The communists say that all this is communism. Yeah, right, twenty centuries later. So one can say to them: 'but then you are Christian,'" the pope said while laughing, according to the interview in Rome daily Il Messaggero.

Since assuming the papacy in March last year, Francis has established himself as a global voice on the side of the dispossessed with his critique of unfettered capitalism -- earning the label of "Marxist" from conservative commentators in the United States.

It is a label he has frequently rejected.

"Marxist ideology is wrong," he said in an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa last year. "But in my life I have met a lot of Marxists who are good people, so I do not feel offended."

Also in Sunday's interview, the Argentinian pope said that he was not supporting any team in the World Cup, currently underway in Brazil.

"I promised the president of Brazil (Dilma Rousseff) to remain neutral," he was quoted as saying.

12 hours ago



Pope Francis leads a mass for the imposition of the Pallium upon the new metropolitan archbishops and the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29, 2014 at St Peter's basilica in Vatican (AFP Photo/Vincenzo Pinto )


Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis has accused communism of stealing its ideas from Christianity, and said its founding thinker Karl Marx "did not invent anything."

"The communists have stolen our flag. The flag of the poor is Christian. The poor are at the heart of the Gospel," he said in an interview published on Sunday.

A number of former service men from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) work as security specialists with US companies Dyn-International and Triple Canopy, entities contracted by the Security Operations Center.

The security specialists are paid anywhere from $2,500 to $3,000 or P107,500 to P129,000 a month, according to Geslani.

Geslani said the employers of majority of Filipinos there have set up their own evacuation plans should ISIL forces succeed in penetrating Baghdad.

"Some OFWs are also in Basra south of Baghdad connected with oil drilling companies who feel that they are very safe in that area, and say that is not necessary for them to leave their job sites," he added.

The rest of the OFWs are in Erbil, Kurdistan, working in hotels and companies where the situation is calm and very progressive. In contrast to the rest of Iraq, only the alert level 2 or Restriction Phase was imposed over Iraqi Kurdistan Region.

"Based on [reactions of] the OFWs that I have spoken to, I am not overly optimistic that the DFA can convince those OFWs still in Baghdad to come home," Geslani said.

The DFA last week raised the Crisis Alert Level to 4, or mandatory repatriation, in Baghdad due to growing security threats there.

The deployment of Filipino workers to Kurdistan has also been partially banned, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.

Only two OFWs of an estimated 900 have so far been listed as availing themselves of the Philippine government help for mandatory repatriation, after the DFA raised the alert level in that country to 4, following the steady advance towards Baghdad of the radical forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

Besides their reluctance at leaving behind generous economic packages, OFWs may also feel no compelling reason to flee to safety because many of them work inside the so-called “Green Zone,” the most heavily fortified area in Baghdad, as support staff to US forces.

Majority of the OFWs work with the United States government and other international companies, Geslani said. Many have been in Iraq since 2005 as maintenance men like electricians, carpenters, plumbers, specialized mechanics and accountants.

Geslani said their salaries range from $1500 to $2000 or P64,000 to P86,000, with benefits like semi-annual paid vacation leaves including airfare.

A few Filipinos are now permanent residents after marrying Iraqi nationals in and around Baghdad, he said.

PERA O PANGANIB | Fat pay, security making OFWs stay put in Iraq despite Alert Level 4
By: Pots de Leon, InterAksyon.com
June 28, 2014 9:28 PM



Iraq's ISIL fighters are seen in captured military vehicles in Reuters file photo. The steady advance of the ISIL towards Baghdad has prompted the raising of Alert Level 4 by Manila's Dept. of Foreign Affairs, but there are few takers among OFWs.


MANILA, Philippines â€" Generous salaries and benefits, ranging from $1,500 and $2,000 for support service workers and $2,500-$3,000 for those in high-risk security work, remain the biggest obstacle to the Department of Foreign Affairs’ mandatory repatriation policy for Filipinos working in strife-torn Iraq.

This was the assessment provided by leading recruitment and migration expert Emmanuel Geslani, who has been in touch with contacts in Iraq. Per his initial observation of the situation, most of the overseas Filipino workers in Iraq will refuse to leave the war-torn country despite the deteriorating security situation there.

A Chile soccer fan cries after his team was defeated by Brazil in a World Cup round of 16 match, as he watches the game on TV in Santiago, Chile.

MANILA. Filipino Muslims pray during the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the Golden Mosque in downtown Manila on Sunday, June 29, 2014. (AP)

Kini nga designs, para palibat man ni sa kontra...

Hmm, naa ba kahay kalag ning mga bakaha...

- Bonanza for breeders -

Cloning is a bonanza for owners of elite cows or bulls, who sell the animals' sperm or eggs at a premium price but face the extinction of that income flow when the animal dies. By paying $20,000 to Trans Ova for a cloned animal, the owner can keep on reaping profits into the future.

Opponents of the practice say dangers loom.

The US authorities have made a major mistake by not regulating it, and allowing consumption of cloned meat before long-term studies of its impact on human health, said Jaydee Hanson, senior policy analyst at the non-profit Center for Food Safety.

Mortality rates are higher than for non-cloned animals at all stages of development, and surrogate cows carrying the cloned egg have more problems during pregnancy and delivery, said Hanson.

He said that of the millions of cows produced every year, the number that are cloned is "overall pretty insignificant."

"But the bottom line is you do not want large numbers of these animals for a number of reasons, number one being that cloned animals are generally unhealthy."

"Any time you take the natural process and you bring change, there's always a learning curve," said Trans Ova's Russell.

The idea of tracking such animals elicits a shrug from Blake Russell, who heads Trans Ova's animal cloning division ViaGen.

The entrance to the labs of the Genetic Advancement Center of Trans Ova Genetics is seen in Sioux Ce …
"There are cattle in the thousands globally now", and their offspring and descendants are "going to multiply every year," Russell said.

"It would be next to impossible to go backwards."

Cloning can boost the production of animal protein to feed the world's growing population, said Mark Allan, Trans Ova's director of marketing and genomics.

The technique allows the preservation of desirable characteristics in the cloned animal, such as leaner meat, higher milk production and disease resistance, he noted.

The specialist in reproductive technologies for livestock began to become interested in the 1990s in cloning, a niche market.

The birth of Dolly the sheep in 1996 -- the first clone of an adult mammal -- had seemed at the time like something straight out of science fiction.

And the advanced technology raised ethical concerns because it deviates from normal reproduction that marries genetic material from two parents.

Still, the controversial technique has spread and is used in a number of countries, including the United States.

In 2008, the agency charged with US food safety, the Food and Drug Administration, approved consumption of meat and milk from cloned cows, pigs and goats.

But on the other side of the Atlantic, just last December, the European Commission, the European Union's executive, proposed a ban on the cloning of animals used for food and their import. That has yet to be decided.

The commission, however, did not seek a ban on the sale of products from the descendants of cloned animals or insist on the traceability of their origin, actions that were pushed by the European Parliament.

By Juliette Michel
22 hours ago


Sioux Center (United States) (AFP) - In the meadow, four white-haired Shorthorn heifers peel off from the others, raising their heads at the same time in the same direction. Unsettling, when you know they are clones.

From their ears dangle yellow tags marked with the same number: 434P. Only the numbers that follow are different: 2, 3, 4 and 6.

The tag also bears the name of the company that bred them and is holding them temporarily in a field at its headquarters in Sioux Center, Iowa: Trans Ova Genetics, the only large US company selling cloned cows.

A few miles away, four Trans Ova scientists in white lab jackets bend over high-tech microscopes in the company's laboratories. They are meticulously working with the minute elements of life to create, in Petri dishes, genetically identical copies of existing animals.

Each year, the company gives birth, using the cloning technique, to about 100 calves. It also clones pigs and horses.

ABS-CBNnews.com
Posted at 06/28/2014 5:19 PM | Updated as of 06/28/2014 8:32 PM


MANILA - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it will look into a report that Filipino maids are among those being exploited at a mall in Singapore.

Speaking to ANC on Saturday, Philippine Labor Attache to Singapore Vicente Cabe said agencies found engaging in malpractice and ill treatment of Filipino helpers will face sanctions.

Cabe said there have been no direct complaints on the matter so far, but noted similar complaints were made in 2013.

He said agencies involved were made to correct their abuses, and employees were either moved to other jobs or repatriated.

"If we will be able to confirm through investigation that these agencies involved are indeed conducting malpractice in their recruitment of housemaids, then we can cancel or suspend their accreditation," he said.

"But if there's physical or verbal abuse or maltreatment, then we will have to refer them to the police," he added.

Cabe, however, admitted monitoring will be a challenge as only 200 out of around 1,000 recruitment agencies in Singapore are accredited by the Philippines.

On its website, Al Jazeera reported that the Bukit Timah Shopping Centre in central Singapore has galleries called "Homekeeper" and "Budget Maid."

The galleries feature domestic workers from Indonesia, Philippines, and Myanmar.

Some signs advertise "super promo" or "special discount" rates.

A migrant workers advocacy group in Singapore said racial stereotypes are sometimes used in transactions.

These include Filipinos as "smarter," Indonesians as "less bright," and Burmese workers as "sweet-natured and compliant." -- ANC

Bantog rang panagsa na lang mogimaw...

...wala namang tinatanaw...

I see you. Ajaw na sigig hupo2x diha!

Look at Julio Cesar's gloved hands: morag periko...

Saudi Arabia will expel non-Muslims who disrespect Ramadan
AFP, Riyadh
Friday, 27 June 2014


Saudi authorities threatened Thursday to expel non-Muslim foreigners who eat, drink or smoke in public during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this weekend.

The interior ministry urged non-Muslims to "respect the feelings of Muslims by refraining from eating, drinking or smoking in public places, streets and at work."

"They are not excused for being non-Muslim," said the statement carried by SPA state news agency, adding that "labour contracts stipulate respect for Muslim rites."

"Those who violate (that)... will face the necessary measures, including terminating work contracts and being deported," the statement added.

Saudi Arabia hosts more than nine million foreigners, mostly Asians.

During Ramadan, Muslims fast from food from dawn to dusk and strive to be more pious and charitable. They are are also required to abstain from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex.

The fast is one of the five main religious obligations under Islam.

Saudi religious police could expel any foreigner caught drinking or eating in public during Ramadan. (Al Arabiya)

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 28, 2014, 10:42:36 PM
The minors ages eight to 15 were turned over to the DSWD for custody.

Hala, mga batang way buot pa man ni sila...

By Mylen P. Manto (The Freeman) | Updated June 28, 2014 - 12:00am


CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Prosecutor’s Office has indicted an Australian national for three cases before the court.

State Prosecutor Ethel Miel elevated the cases of anti-child pornography, child abuse and expanded anti-trafficking in persons act to the Regional Trial Court in Mandaue City after Peter James Robinson, 51, opted not to file a counter-affidavit.

Robinson was charged for allegedly recruiting 11 girls and four boys, all minors, for prostitution, pornography and sexual exploitation.

Miel recommended a P175,000 bail for Robinson’s temporary liberty for the case of pornography and P200,000 for child abuse. However, she recommended no bail for the case of expanded anti-trafficking in persons act.

The alleged cohort of Robinson, a 17-year-old girl who was charged for expanded anti-trafficking in persons act for confederating with the Australian national, was allowed to post bail for P200,000 for being a minor.

The two accused were arrested on June 24, 2014 at around 5 p.m. by the operatives of Cordova Police Station while they were accompanying the 15 minors at a resort in Cordova.

The operatives, together with the representatives from the Children’s Legal Bureau and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, rescued the minors. The minors ages eight to 15 were turned over to the DSWD for custody.

CLB lawyer Noemie Abarintos said they received information prior to the operation that Robinson was with the minors. She added that during operation, the authorities recovered laptops, Universal Serial Bus flash drives and cellular phones from Robinson, a resident of Parkway Ave., Filinvest City, Alabang.

According to Abarintos, the 15 minor victims were not new victims of Robinson.

“We learned that it is second batch. There were first batch-36 and we are now tracing this 36,” she said.

Meanwhile, Abarintos warned the parents of the victims to cooperate with them or else they will file charges against them for qualified trafficking.

With the number of victims, Abarintos said “it is alarming” and needs a legislation to address the matter.

Robinson’s lawyer, Ferdinand Dungog, earlier said that they choose not to answer the allegation filed against his client because he intends to file a motion to quash information of the case in court questioning the legality of the arrest.

He added that during the arrest, his client was not committing a crime and no warrant of arrest was presented.â€" /ATO (FREEMAN)

Ang pahiyom sa kanahan...

Joke time: A modern Ramadan tale


A man is taking a walk in Laleh Park in Tehran during Ramadan.  Suddenly he sees a little girl being attacked by a feral dog.  He runs over and starts fighting with the dog.  Eventually, he succeeds in killing the dog and saving the girl's life.

An Iranian policeman was watching the scene unfold and walks over and says, 'You are a hero, tomorrow you can read all about it in the newspapers, 'Brave Tehrani saves the life of little girl'.

The man says, 'But I am not a native of Tehran!'

'Oh, then it will say in newspapers in the morning, "Brave Iranian saves life of little girl",' the policeman answers.

'But I am not an Iranian!' says the man.

'Oh, where are you from then?'

'The man says: - 'I am a Syrian!'

The next day the newspaper headline says, 'Islamic extremist kills innocent Iraqi dog.'

I name this child

Ramadan may be the ninth month in the Muslim calendar, but it also gained some popularity as a first name for Muslim boys in the USA in the 1990s.

This may seem unusual if compared with Christian naming traditions: children are often named after saints and virtues, but Easter is yet to make an appearance on naming popularity polls.

Ramadan is big business

Although Ramadan is about self-control, it is also a time to be charitable. Muslims believe their charitable actions during the holy month have a longer lasting effect and the gates of hell are closed, so Satan's influence cannot reach them.

Ramadan sales take place in shopping centres in Dubai, but rather than slash prices, stores prefer to offer customers small gifts in exchange for spending money on their brands.

Shoppers also spend their money on Arab sweets and dates to break the fast when the sun sets. Other retail lovers use the time to buy new clothes for Eid al-Fitr, the time to celebrate the end of the fasting period.

At Eid al-Fitr Muslims are not only celebrating the end of fasting, but also thanking Allah for the help and strength he gave them to fast.

World Cup dilemmas

This is the first time in 28 years that the World Cup has coincided with Ramadan.

European teams progressing past the group stages that include Muslim players are France, the Netherlands and Germany. Players such as Germany's Mesut Ozil, France's Karim Benzema and Belgium's Morouane Fellaini will have to make a decision as to whether to adhere to fasting or to wait until their World Cup campaign is over.

Algeria and Nigeria, where Muslims make up respectively 99% and 50% of the population, are the only African countries to qualify for the knockout stage.

During the 2012 Olympics in London the United Arab Emirates football team was granted an exemption from fasting, as Ramadan clashed with the games. This meant the players could begin their fasting when the tournament was over for them.

But if the Muslim players in the World Cup decide to fast for Ramadan, it will be with the added challenges of playing in a subtropical climate in the middle of the day.

'Ramadan rush hour'

In many Islamic states the time on the roads before breaking the daily fast is known as 'Ramadan rush hour'. After a long day of fasting, typical daily activities such as driving or commuting home can be become very taxing.

This year in the United Arab Emirates, Road Safety UAE has launched a set of guidelines to encourage public safety on the roads during Ramadan. Their tips include:

    Always wear your seat belt - Ramadan is a good time to finally start this habit!

    Watch out for other traffic participants potentially under the same effects.

    Motorists should try to anticipate sudden movements by others, including cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians.

Dubai's police force will increase the number of street patrols during 'Ramadan rush hour' in an effort to combat aggressive driving.

The fasting lapse

There are over one and a half billion Muslims in the world, and those adults who are healthy look to Ramadan as a time to honour Allah by fasting. But there was a time in recent history when Ramadan and other Muslim practices were not strictly observed.

Dr Carool Kersten, senior lecturer in the study of Islam and the Muslim world at King's College London, explains:

"A number of large Muslim countries were secular or secularizing through the 1930s to the 1960s, with ideas of pan-Arabism and socialism taking a foothold."

Initially, this was the result of decolonisation and globalisation; later, it was because the communist-led USSR was sponsoring countries from Syria to Egypt and Iraq.

In line with Marxist ideology, the Soviet Union expected people to be atheists so, according to Dr Kersten, it is not surprising that this resulted in a weakening of religious observance. Such external influences gave rise to an era when Muslims experimented with Western ideologies.

This perspective changed again in the 1970s. The Iranian revolution broke in 1979, while further east in Afghanistan various mujahideen groups started fighting the Soviets, re-shaping the Muslim world once more. Dr Kersten, who spent a number of years living in the Middle East, says:

"From the late 1970s there is a sort of pious behaviour, I would call it. Of course with dress code it is clearly obvious. But with respect to fasting and abstaining from alcohol, people would sort of drop that into conversation."

What was happening politically had a direct impact on the social scene of the Muslim world and how Muslims themselves wanted to be perceived.

Ramadan: Five things you may not know
http://www.bbc.co.uk/
27 June 2014 Last updated at 16:25


One of the five pillars of Islam, Ramadan is a religious obligation for all healthy adult Muslims who are able to fast from sunrise to sunset.

Muslims believe that the Koran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during Ramadan. To mark this sacred occasion, they go without food and liquids, smoking and having sex during daylight hours for a month.

But what are some of the lesser known facts about one of the biggest festivals in the Muslim calendar?

...armed and dangerous.

Hmm, who knows? With such a contraption, this fiasco could have been avoided...

Hmm, malagmit di lang orinola, onidoro na galing...

Hinuon, lahi ra ang prediction sa akong periko....

Prediction of Botoy's octopus named Paut:

Quarterfinals winners: Brazil, Uruguay, Nigeria, Germany, Netherlands, Costa Rica, Argentina, Belgium

Semifinals winners: Brazil, Germany, Netherlands, Argentina

Third place: Netherlands

Runner-up: Argentina

Champion: Brazil

Quote from: islander on June 28, 2014, 03:10:38 AM

In theory, ingesting your own stool should not be harmful, as long as it "clean" (i.e., not contaminated with stool from others, as might occur by contact in a toilet bowl, etc). Furthermore, there may be a theoretical minor health benefit in doing so. Bacteria in the colon can metabolize non-absorbed food materials (fiber) and generate useful nutrients (e.g. vitamins such as biotin, or sugars and amino acids from fiber and other undigested materials) that are only partly absorbed during initial production, the rest is excreted with the stool. Re-uptake of these nutrients by ingestion of stool would give a second opportunity for absorption in the gut. In fact, coprophagy in mice (a normal behavior) helps to extract extra energy from food compared to mice that are prevented from coprophagy. -- Lars Eckmann, PhD, professor of medicine at UCSD Medical School, Division of Gastroenterology

More at: http://gawker.com/5985723/can-you-eat-your-own-poop

Iftar





Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with people gathering to break their fast together. Iftar is taken right after Maghrib time, which is around sunset. Traditionally but not mandatory, three dates are eaten to break the fast in emulation of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, who broke his fast in this manner. Many Muslims believe that feeding someone iftar as a form of charity is very rewarding and that such was practised by the Prophet Muhammad. --Wiki

Ramadan 2014: When Does the Muslim Fast Actually Start?
By Lydia Smith
June 27, 2014 13:21 BST


Ramadan, a month of fasting undertaken by Muslims during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is set to begin this weekend.

It will begin on Sunday 29 June in the UK, according to the Saudi Arabian declaration, and will continue for 30 days.

The holy month starts at sunset, or when the new crescent moon is spotted. There is some consideration as to when Ramadan begins, as dates are based on astronomical calculation, meaning that the fasting starts at different times in different countries.

Some Muslims insist on the local physical sighting of the moon to mark the beginning of Ramadan, but others use the calculated time of the new moon or the Saudi Arabian declaration.

During the month, Muslims will fast and practice abstinence from sunrise until sunset, to celebrate the event that marks the anniversary of the Quran being revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

The word "Ramadan" is derived from an Arabic word for intense heat, scorched ground and shortness of food and drink.

During this time, Muslims focus on their purpose in life and reflect on their choices, priorities and plans.

It is also used as a time to study the Quran, as well as a month of generosity and charity. Time is also of consideration, as the major acts of worship in Islam - fasting, breaking and praying - occur as specific times, such as fasting, breaking and praying.

Considered obligatory, fasting is considered one of the five pillars of Islam. Food, drink and sex, as well as fighting and lying, is given up for the month.

The typical greeting during Ramadan is "Ramadan Kareem" or "Ramadan Mubarak."

Ramadan commences annually with a celebration called Hilal, comprised of feasting and prayer. Ramadan ends with the Eid al-Fitr festival, known as Eid, in which feasting and Islamic prayer, known as salat, takes place.

The Arabic greeting that is said to commemorate the holiday is "Eid Mubarak" which translates to "Blessed Eid."

SuperBalita Cebu
Ni Guam P. Logroño
Friday, June 27, 2014


KANHI sakop sa US Special Forces namatay kay gipusil sa gidudahang nag-inusarang gun-for-hire nga nagsakay sa motorsiklo niadtong Huwebes sa alas 5:10 sa hapon sa Barangay Balud, Dalaguete, Sugbo.

Ang gunman nakuhaan og footage sa close circuit television (CCTV) camera sa lungsod nga naniid sa kapulisan.

Si Stephen Ray Gornto, 53, nagpailang kanhi sakop sa US Special Forced ug Iraq War veteran, naka-asawa og Pinay, namatay sa 10 ka mga samad pinusilan sa kalawasan.

Wa pa mailhi sa kapulisan ang killer nga nag-helmet ug gihulagway nga taas og buhok, linginog nawong ug kasarangan ang panglawas.

Nagsul-ob kini og sweat shirt nga puti, nag-cargo shorts, nagsakay sa Yamaha Mio nga motorsiklo, kolor puti ang atubangan, yellow-orange sa kilid ug itom ang cover sa lingkuranan.

Si Insp. Rico Emperwa, hepe sa Dalaguete Police Station nga nahinabi sa dySS Super Radyo/Sun.Star Super­balita, nagkanayon nga ang biktima nigawas sa gate sa giabangang balay kay nagpaabot sa contact nga car dealer.

Ang killer nga nagsakay sa motorsiklo kalit nga nibutho ug nibunot sa dalang armas ug gipusil sa makadaghang mga higayon ang biktima.

Kasagaran sa mga igo sa dughan hinungdan nga dead-on-arrival (DOA) sa tambalanan sa Dalaguete ang biktima.

Ang gunman paspas nga nisibat paingon sa lungsud sa Argao ug wa na maabti sa mga pulis.

Ang kapulisan nakakuha og 13 ka empty shell sa wa pa matinong kalibre sa armas ingon man usa ka slug.

Si Emperwa niingon nga gun-for-hire ang killer, kinsa niinom pa og usa ka botelyang beer sa tindahan mga 50 metros gikan sa giabangang balay sa biktima.

Human nakita ang biktimang nigawas sa gate, nagdali sa pagsakay sa motorsiklo ang gunman da­yon giduol ang Kano ug gipusil.

Ang gunman nakuhaag duha ka footage sa CCTV camera sa atubangan sa munisipyo diin gituohan nila nga naniid una nihimo sa krimen.

Ang unang footage nakuha sa wa pa ang krimen samtang ang ikaduha mao ang pagbiya niini sa crime scene.

Paglabay sa singko minutos, miagi pagbalik sa atubangan sa munisipyo.

Way plate number ang motorsiklo samtang ang CCTV footage ila pang ipa-enhance sanglit di kaayo maklaro.

“Tataw’ng gun-for-hire ni siya. Makita man nato nga gisuhid una niya diri atbang sa may munisipyo, apil ang among buhatan una pa nihimo sa kremin,” dugang ni Emperwa.

Nagtuo silang di taga Dalaguete ang gunman gumikan kay naniid sa biktima ingon man sa dapit.

Ang biktima mga duha pa lang ka buwan nga naabot diha sa Dalaguete gikan sa kauluhan diin taga didto ang iyang asawa nga si Dhalia Repasa.

Ang biktima dunay gikabanging negosyanting Bri­tish national niadtong Dominggo nga dunay asawa nga Pinay nga nagpuyo sa Dalaguete, matod ni Emperwa.

“Kini siyang biktima war shock pud ni siya, trouble maker. Makaduha ka higayon nga nakakitag away. Una Pinoy, pero ma-settle lang gumikan sa kahubog,” matod ni Emperwa.

Nagtuo siya nga hayan nahitabo kini tungod sa nahiaguman sa biktima nga trauma sa gubat sa Iraq.

Nahibaw-an nila nga na-igo kini sa pagpamomba, apan naka-survive.

Siya gitauran og pacemaker.

Nagduda ang kapulisan sa British national kay wa na diha sa ilang pinuy-anan.

Mr. Rogen, who is also a director of the film, seemed eager to milk the unreleased movie’s early notoriety, feigning shock at the uproar in a tweet. “People don’t usually wanna kill me for one of my movies until after they’ve paid 12 bucks for it,” he said.

Rogen and Mr. Franco are actually carrying on a rich tradition of American black humor involving the despotic and over-the-top-cruel Kim regime, which has ruled since the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea’s founding after World War II.

Mr. Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, was portrayed as a waiter in the NBC TV show “Thirty Rock” â€" the man known simply as “Dear Leader” in North Korea claiming to be “the greatest waiter of all time” on the show. Before that, the movie “Team America World Police” featured a singing Kim Jong-il lamenting his lonely perch atop a dictatorship.

The young Kim, who is married to a North Korean pop singer, practically begged to be lampooned for his high-profile courting of former NBA player Denis Rodman, who has made several trips to North Korea and even recruited several of his old NBA chums to go to Pyongyang to play basketball for the Supreme Leader.

Indeed, it may be the implications of “The Interview” for a Kim initiative like the Rodman friendship that infuriated the North Korean leader most of all. If the CIA can convince a talk show team to undertake an assassination, Kim might have to think twice before reaching out to another American celebrity.

But this time the fang-baring riposte follows something that must be a lot scarier to Mr. Kim than sanctions or military exercises â€" namely a Hollywood comedy in which the baby-faced tyrant is the subject of a CIA assassination plot.

Apparently Kim sees nothing funny about a plot line that has a bumbling American talk-show host and his producer, played by James Franco and Seth Rogen, accepting a CIA proposal to turn their trip to North Korea to interview Kim into a hit, so to speak.

The movie, titled “The Interview,” isn’t set to debut on world screens until this fall. But a trailer for the film has been posted on Youtube, prompting a gush of invective from the Pyongyang regime.

Calling the movie “the most blatant act of terrorism and war [that] will absolutely not be tolerated,” the North Korean government said in a statement that “if the US administration allows and defends the showing of the film, a merciless countermeasure will be taken.”

According to the statement, the US “provocation” from a “gangster filmmaker” is prompting a “gust of hatred and rage” toward the US from the North Korean people and the country’s military. The statement did not explain how the North Koreans, whom human-rights organizations consider to be among the world’s least-free people and who are prohibited from accessing the Internet, got wind of the offending movie.

Not amused by Seth Rogen movie, Kim Jong-un vows 'all out war'


North Korea vowing to incinerate the US is nothing new, but this time it's over a Hollywood comedy in which Kim Jong-un is the subject of a CIA assassination plot.


http://www.csmonitor.com/
By Howard LaFranchi, Staff writer June 26, 2014   

   



Washington â€" North Korea’s Kim Jong-un is about to become a Hollywood hit â€" and the pop-culture-loving dictator is so furious about it he’s threatening “all-out war” on the United States.

Pyongyang vowing to incinerate the US is nothing new â€" such threats have been issued in the past in response to US military exercises with South Korea, say, or to new US economic sanctions targeting the rogue nuclear state and human-rights violator extraordinaire.

Hmm, she would then probably ask the artist to add a dagger that, by remote control, thrust up where a sitting Philip's ass would be.

Schoolmarmishish...

Well, well, it's Puppy 2, Kitty 0. I trust your imagination to tell the world what happened next.

P20 M to kill Cebu hotelier? Woman eyed
By Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 26, 2014 - 12:00am


MANILA, Philippines - Police have received information that a hired gun was paid P20 million to kill hotelier Richard King last June 12.

Davao City police chief Senior Superintendent Vicente Danao Jr. said a businesswoman might have paid the hit man.

She could have contacted Senior Superintendent Leopoldo Felonia to allegedly look for a killer, Danao added.

Speaking to reporters at Camp Crame, Davao regional police director Chief Superintendent Wendy Rosario said the three arrested suspects have claimed that a police officer gave them P30,000 with instructions to kill King.

“But they did not know where the money came from,” he said. “Let us remember they are a mere gunman and lookout.”

Rosario said police investigators are looking into business, personal and other possible motives.

King was reportedly losing money in one of his businesses, a possible link to the murder, he added.

Investigators are determining the motive for the killing, Rosario said.

Police have charged with murder Felonia and three others implicated in the killing.

Others charged are alleged gunman Dave Paul Molina Labang; brothers Rommel and Rodel dela Cerna, the suspected lookout and the driver of the getaway motorcycle.

However, Rosario said they don’t have concrete evidence to pin down Felonia, only the statements of Labang and the Dela Cerna brothers.

“We will leave it to the appreciation of the prosecutor’s office,” he said.

“But we believe we have an airtight case against the suspects. Other than the confession of Labang, we don’t have concrete evidence to link Felonia to the murder of King. All we have is testimony of the self-confessed gunman and which was corroborated by the Dela Cerna brothers.”

Labang confessed to killing King for P30,000 allegedly on orders of Felonia.

However, Felonia denied any hand in the murder.

He surrendered to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte after Labang implicated him in the killing.

Felonia was relieved last Monday as chief of Regional Intelligence Unit XI.

Labang said Felonia made them believe that King was involved in the illegal drug trade.

He did not know who King was until the next day when his death was reported in the media, he added.

Former Boxing champion Evander Holyfield (Mike Tyson’s bite victim) hopes for forgiveness with Luis Suarez [Video]
Wednesday, June 25th, 2014



Former Boxing champion Evander Holyfield (Mike Tysons bite victim) hopes for forgiveness with Luis Suarez [Video]Former Heavyweight boxer Evander Holyfield, who was the victim of a bite on the ear from Mike Tyson in 1996, has weighed in on the Luis Suarez bite situation.

Holyfield lost a chunk of flesh from his ear when Iron Mike Tyson gnawed into him during their ’96 Heavyweight clash, so he knows a thing or two about the subject.

Holyfield tweeted about the incident when it happened, and was invited onto CNN to talk about it.

Holyfield said biting is just another form of violent reaction â€" albeit an unorthodox one â€" when things don’t go a competitor’s weigh; they lose control and lash out.

The boxer, though, pleaded almost evangelically for forgiveness with Suarez, saying, ‘Forgiveness keeps you from doing it back to someone’.

Quote from: islander on June 26, 2014, 01:29:43 PM
...and i always thought that the queen was expressionless.  now she has shown otherwise.

Hmm, she could actually be reacting to the fact that Philip is flirting with the comely museum curator...

Sorry, naa man diay automatic editing ning atong website. The link is...


http://thechive.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/oh-s***-32.jpg?w=550&h=568


...with the asterisks replaced with the right letters.

Quote from: islander on June 26, 2014, 01:37:08 PM
hoy, ikaw guam nga di saipan, arang jud ka balik-balik sa pulong nga "kinatawo" aning imong news item.  mora man kag giganahan nga naay putlonon...

Hmm, Ms. Ay Landi, mas gusto diay nimo ang synonyms, such as ut*n or lus*?

Actually, what happens next is a different story altogether...

Ni Guam P. Logroño
Wednesday, June 25, 2014


KINATAWO sa chief tanod posibleng maputol human naigo sa bala sa kalibre .45 nga pistola human siya gipusil samtang natulog sulod sa balay kagahapon sa alas 3:20 sa kaadlawon sa Barangay Papan, Sibonga, Sugbo.

Si William Fernandez, 33, minyo, chief tanod sa lugar, gipaubos sa operation sa usa ka pribadong tambalanan dinhi sa dakbayan sa Sugbo.

Si PO2 Ederlino Bacusmo, imbestigador sa Sibonga Police nga nahinabi sa Sun.Star Superbalita nagkanayon nga nahinanok ang biktima uban sa iyang asawa ug anak.

Apan nakamata siya human nadunggan ang usa ka sipang buto sa armas.

Iyang gidali sa pagsusi ug gitan-aw sa gawas kun si kinsay nagpabuto dihang nabantayan niya nga naigo diay siya.

Sa pagtan-aw niya sa iyang bugan, maayong pagka-igo sa “punoan sa iyang kinatawo,” matod ni Bacusmo.

Ang biktima nagping-it niini sa kasakit nga nangayog panabang sa iyang asawa.

Ang biktima gidala sa iyang asawa ug kabanay sa tambalanan sa dakbayan sa Carcar, apan wa magla­ngay, gibalhin sa usa ka pribadong tambalanan sa dakbayan sa Sugbo.

Si Ederlino niingon nga usa ka kabhang sa kalibre .45 nga pistola ang ilang nasakmit sa sa crime scene nga maoy gigamit sa wa mailhing gunman.

“Ang ingon sa asawa nga punoan gyud sa kinatawo sa iyang bana nasentro sa pagka-igo! Pwerting pagkatumbaha. Depende na lang unya to sa doktor kon putlon o sumpayon,” dugang ni Bacusmo.

Nagtuo siya nga dakong kadaut ang namugna sa bala ngadto sa kinatawo sa biktima sanglit ang kalibre pusil high-powered.

Gipadayag niini nga way kontra ang biktima sa lugar hinungdan nga naglibog ang pamilya nganong gipusil nga gipaagi lang sa bintana.

Matod ni Bacusmo nga naigo ang kahoy nga bintana unya milapos ang bala tumong ngadto sa punoan sa kinatawo sa biktima.

Quote from: hubag bohol on June 26, 2014, 12:29:37 PM
While media reports counted only a few dozen activists at the festival, their presence precipitated a handful of dramatic scenes. One vendor held a live dog from a noose, threatening to kill it unless activists paid him an exorbitant ransom.

Nayabag na.

Animal welfare groups said the dog meat trade was inhumane and unsanitary. "It's an industry characterised by criminality, cruelty and poor hygiene," said Animals Asia's chief executive, Jill Robinson. "Dogs are stolen from their homes â€" increasingly by being darted and drugged in the street. Poisons that will find their way into the meals of the festivalgoers."

While dogs are still considered a delicacy in parts of southern and north-east China, they have also become popular pets among the country's burgeoning middle class.

Protesting against the festival has become a cause celebre online. "Dogs are more loyal to people than I'd imagined â€" I think of dogs as friends, not meat," the actor Yang Mi wrote to her 35 million followers. The message attracted more than 75,000 comments, most commending her for taking a stand.

The state newswire Xinhua urged opponents of the festival to remain level-headed and remember that dogs were prized for their meat in China long before they were considered friends.

"It might be difficult to draw a universally accepted line as to what animals should be eaten. But when there is already a vast variety of meat, maybe it is time to stop serving dog," it said. "Maybe it's also time to take a less strident tone against the dog-meat lovers and to educate them to see a companion rather than a meal."

The local government banned its officials from openly participating in the event, according to Carrot Chen, a spokesperson at the Hong Kong-based NGO Animals Asia. Dog meat sales were down by a third on last year, Chinese media reported.

"My grandfather, my father and I all sell dog meat. I could sell dozens of dogs a day last year during this time, but I only sold a few this year," Zhou Jian, a 55-year-old vendor, told China Daily.

While media reports counted only a few dozen activists at the festival, their presence precipitated a handful of dramatic scenes. One vendor held a live dog from a noose, threatening to kill it unless activists paid him an exorbitant ransom. A diner sustained injuries in a fight with an activist along a restaurant-lined road.

Devout Buddhists from across China strolled through the city's Dongkou wet market performing a religious rite to "console the souls of the slaughtered dogs".

Many locals resent the backlash as an unwarranted moral stand against a deep-rooted â€" and technically legal â€" tradition. They claim that eating dog meat on the summer solstice confers health benefits that last through the winter. Some held the event a week early to avoid the expected animal rights protests.

Chinese dog-eating festival backlash grows
Number of animal rights activists descending on Yulin may be small, but opposition against eating dog meat has broadened


Jonathan Kaiman in Beijing
The Guardian, Monday 23 June 2014 13.50 BST



An animal rights activist buys a dog from a vendor in Yulin, China, to save it from being eaten during the summer solstice festival. Photograph: Barcroft Media


A southern Chinese city kicked off its annual dog-eating festival over the weekend amid a fierce backlash by animal rights groups.

Activists estimate that about 10,000 dogs are slaughtered at the summer solstice event, in which thousands of locals and tourists consume barbecued, stir-fried and boiled dog meat served alongside lychees and grain alcohol.

This year, social media campaigns and a strong showing by a small but dedicated band of animal rights activists have dampened the festivities in Yulin, Guangxi province.

Quote from: islander on June 25, 2014, 11:12:05 AM

Chomping at the bit: Luis Suarez appears to bite Giorgio Chiellini during the Group D showdown

Last year's episode...