MikeLigalig.com

Walk The Walk

That moment before you walk down the aisle can be nerve-wracking; this bridesmaid found a way to lighten up the mood. Photo Credit: Crystal Madsen Photography

A Fly on the Wall

We could all take lessons from this stealthy bridesmaid on how to make a quiet exit. Well played! Photo Credit: The Yodsukars

Nosey Nancy

Scandal! This bridesmaid couldn't resist a quick snoop in the bridal suite. Where's that "privacy please" door hanger when you need one? Photo Credit: Two One Photography

Maid Of Dishonor

At least the MOH is the only one who's looking! Photo Credit: Josh Lynn Photography

mao pod nay imong saad naho sa niaging semana...

pila na may nabuntis sa imong mga saad, noy?

Cry For Attention

This groomsman has had it up to here with the groomzilla's wedding demands â€" help is on the way, pal. Photo Credit: Hoffer Photography

If The Tables Were Reversed…

Proof that even guys get psyched about receiving flowers on special occasions! Photo Credit: Kayla Brooke Photography

Stuck In The Middle With You

This guest was just sitting at the table, minding his own business, when â€" bam! â€" he got caught in a group hug gone wrong. Must. Avert. Eyes. At. All. Costs. Photo Credit: Studio Cabrelli

Where's Waldo?

So he does exist! We knew it. Photo Credit: geekyhostess on Reddit

Leap Of Faith

We give this jumper props for making such a concerted effort to stay out of the way! Photo Credit: Zorz Studios

Celeb Doppelgänger?

When these newlyweds looked through their film, they thought to themselves, hey, that guy kinda looks like that actor from Scrubs. On second glance, when they realized it really was Zach Braff, this photo became Internet gold. Beyoncé, you're welcome to photobomb us anytime. Photo Credit: Sascha Reinking Photography

Bombs Away!

Wait, how do we land this thing again? Way to one-up the bride, thumbs-up rainbow parachute guy. Photo Credit: Neil GT Photography

Lurker On The Loose

Looks like Grandpa raided the limo and found the bridal party's liquor stash! Photo Credit: This is Photobomb

You May Kiss The Bride

It's safe to assume that this planking pastor is on board with the wedding. Photo Credit: awhiteghost on Imgur

Veiled Surprise

The veil covering makes this even more creepy! Photo Credit: Lindsay P. on Ellen TV

ajaw usa, dong, kay wa na koy tuba karon.  ikaw may nakahurot sa ahong tuba sa niaging semana, asa ra man tawon ang bayad aron akong ipuhunan ug balik?

maayo gani kay di chinese wedding.

But this wasn't just any old sea turtle. As many of the commenters pointed out, it's a leatherback -- the largest living breed of turtles on earth. The wedding guests witnessed a very cool moment: the laying of its eggs.

As Redditor In3 explained, "It came ashore, circled around digging a hole, laid its eggs on the beach, covered them back up, and rolled back out into the ocean."


imgur.com

Now that's how you make an entrance.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

This Is What Happens When A Giant Sea Turtle Crashes Your Wedding

The Huffington Post  | by  Taryn Hillin
05/19/2014

Wedding crashers are often a couple's worst nightmare. But when the crasher is a giant sea turtle, the bride and groom might let it slide.

Redditor In3 posted the following picture Sunday after tying the knot in St. Croix, where a very unexpected wedding guest showed up.


imgur.com

mao nay creative.

most welcome!  i'm your secret fan, made in bohol.


sa bata pa ko nga wa pay makeup


with makeup in my adulthood, apil pa facelift

at least smartphones are a lot cheaper.

kopi mo.

her new love must be younger than the late dolphy.

complete with a baby sling.  truly touching.  just don't let my cats express their care and gratitude to me when my time comes.  i can meow, fine, but i don't want to be placed inside a pet carrier...

i surely hope that the benefits credited to apple cider vinegar have already been proven.

some of my days may be sad, but i remain happy!

Tim Carman, food writer for the Washington Post reviewed kopi luwak available to US consumers and concluded "It tasted just like...Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. Petrified dinosaur droppings steeped in bathtub water. I couldn't finish it." (wikipedia)

Kopi luwak is produced mainly on the islands of Sumatra, Java, Bali and Sulawesi in the Indonesian Archipelago. It is also widely gathered in the forest or produced in the farms in the islands of the Philippines (where the product is called kape motit in the Cordillera region, kape alamid in Tagalog areas, and kape melô or kape musang in Mindanao island), and in East Timor (where it is called kafé-laku). Weasel coffee is a loose English translation of its Vietnamese name cà phê Chá»"n, where popular, chemically simulated versions are also produced. (wikipedia)

An investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia found fraud to be rife in the kopi luwak industry, with producers willing to label coffee from caged civets with a "wild sourced" or similar label. A BBC investigation revealed similar findings. (wikipedia)

The traditional method of collecting feces from wild civets has given way to intensive farming methods in which civets in battery cage systems are force fed the coffee beans. This method of production has raised ethical concerns about the treatment of civets due to "horrific conditions" including isolation, poor diet, small cages and a high mortality rate. A 2013 BBC investigation of intensive civet farming in Sumatra found conditions of animal cruelty. Intensive farming is also criticised by traditional farmers because the civets do not select what they eat, so the beans are of poor quality compared to beans collected from the wild. According to an officer from the TRAFFIC conservation programme, the trade in civets to make kopi luwak may constitute a significant threat to wild civet populations. (wikipedia)

Defecated luwak coffee berries, East Java

Although kopi luwak is a form of processing rather than a variety of coffee, it has been called the most expensive coffee in the world with retail prices reaching â,¬550 / US$700 per kilogramme. The price paid to collectors in the Philippines is closer to US$20 per kilogramme. The price of farmed (considered low-grade by connoisseurs) kopi luwak in large Indonesian supermarkets is from US$100 per kilogramme (five times the price of a high quality local arabica coffee). Genuine kopi luwak from wild civets is difficult to purchase in Indonesia and proving it is not fake is very difficult - there is little enforcement regarding use of the name "kopi luwak", and there's even a local cheap coffee brand named "Luwak", which costs under US$3 per kilogramme but is occasionally sold online under the guise of real kopi luwak. (wikipedia)

Producers of the coffee beans argue that the process may improve coffee through two mechanisms, selection and digestion. Selection occurs if the civets choose to eat coffee berries containing better beans. Digestive mechanisms may improve the flavor profile of the coffee beans that have been eaten. The civet eats the berries for the beans' fleshy pulp, then in the digestive tract, fermentation occurs. The civet's proteolytic enzymes seep into the beans, making shorter peptides and more free amino acids. Passing through a civet's intestines the beans are then defecated with other fecal matter and collected. (wikipedia)


A Luwak (Asian Palm Civet) feeding on coffee berries

spoiler alert!

you may find this sexier...

Kopi luwak (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈkopi ˈlu.aÊ"]), or civet coffee, refers to the seeds of coffee berries once they have been eaten and ingested by the Asian palm civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus). The name is also used for marketing brewed coffee made from the beans. (wikipedia)


An Asian Palm Civet

it does have more sense than a samsongite or a crocodile logo whose butt is raised.

The researcher said that there was a 10-percentage-point gap globally between the highest and lowest income brackets, with those who belong to higher tiers tend to have more positive experiences on the survey day.

"A higher income level makes a significant impact on a person's overall happiness, but only up to $75,000. Above that level, income makes much less of a difference," Clifton explained.

Positive emotions was also found to have a more impact on societal progress than solely economic indicators, particularly in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia.
Countries with more positive emotions linked to well being are less likely to experience social unrest.

http://www.philstar.com/

"That so many people are reporting positive emotions in Latin America at least partly reflects the cultural tendency in the region to focus on the positives in life," he added.

Same can be said with the three countries in Southeast Asia on the list.

Gallup noted that approximately 1,000 adults for each country were interviewed via telephone and face-to-face meeting. The margin of sampling error, meanwhile, is ±1 percentage point at the 95 percent confidence level.

Behind a 'yes'

Clifton said that a strong indicator behind a "yes" answer confirming a positive emotion is income, but only up to a point.

"Of the 10 countries in the world with the highest percentages experiencing all of these positive emotions, all but one of them is in Latin America," Clifton, referring to Denmark.


From Gallup

Gallup asked respondents to answer "yes" or "no" when asked whether they experienced positive emotions the previous day such as enjoyment (laughing or smiling a lot), feeling well-rested, being treated with respect, or sense of accomplishment from something learned or did.

"Gallup compiles the 'yes' results into a Positive Experience Index score for each country," Gallup researcher Jon Clifton said in an article posted on the Gallup website.

For the third year in a row, Paraguay topped the list with 87, closely followed by Panama with 83. Three other South American countriesâ€"Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Ecuadorâ€"are tied in the third place with a score of 83.

Filipinos among the most positive in world

By Camille Diola (philstar.com)
May 22, 2014


A resident of Vigan poses for a photo by a foreign tourist. Richard Messenger

MANILA, Philippines â€" Filipinos are among the top nationalities in the world that experience a lot of positive emotions, a survey by US-based research firm Gallup reveals.

Published on Wednesday, Gallup's Positive Experience Index worldwide survey shows that Filipino respondents report more positive emotions than most of those in 183 countries surveyed in 2013.

The Philippines, with a positive experience score of 80, is tied with Southeast Asian neighbors Thailand and Indonesia in 13th place, garnering the sixth-highest score. A total of 138 countries were included in the poll.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50nk2z9jFTk#ws

There used to be Paul the Octopus, now it's Walter the Orangutan.  Deutschland, Deutschland!  Ole, ole, ole, ole...

with the sirens, yes.

moral lesson: ajaw panulong kun magdumot.

at least, nailhan sad ang maleta.

kana man god si vavoyim ching niadto man god na sa scarborough shoal, mao nga tua na-deformed hinoon.  imbis tawo siya nahimo hinoon siyang vavoi.

The crowd cheered as the boy, Jeremy Triantafilo of Bakersfield, California, threw the very first pitch at the Bakersfield Blaze game.

Then Tara stepped up, held by Jeremy's father, Roger Triantafilo.

At first, Tara's attempts to throw out a pitch by swatting a ball guided by a string failed. So Roger Triantafilo simply grabbed a ball and guided Tara's paw. As the pitch sailed, the crowd cheered.

Tara shot to fame by going berserk on a neighborhood dog attacking Jeremy. As the dog bit the boy's leg, Tara was seen on a viral video coming out of nowhere and hurling her body at the dog, disrupting the attack and chasing the dog away.

http://abcnews.go.com/

More Cheers as Tara the Hero Cat Throws Out 1st Pitch

May 21, 2014
By MICHAEL S. JAMES

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSM7L6b1Dgg#ws

The cheers keep coming for Tara the tabby cat: Last week, she was seen saving her owner's 4-year-old son from an attack by a neighborhood dog. Last night, she and the boy threw out the first pitches at a minor league baseball game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taY937ysE10#ws

This very special rooster has impressed people in Jinhua, China, this week by walking upright like a penguin. (ITN)

Maha Abu Dayyeh, a Palestinian Christian, said she came back from visiting her daughter in Sweden last year to find a Muslim family had taken over her mother's old house and thrown out the furniture. She said men threatened her son if she did anything to fight it.
"It will cost us only one bullet," she said they told her son. She indicated the squatters' motives were more criminal than religious.


In this photo taken Sunday, May 18, 2014, a wooden cross and a painting is seen at the office of Father Ibrahim Shomali, the parish priest of Beit Jala and leads meditating efforts between local Christians and Palestinian Christian emigre families who abandoned their homes, in order to keep Christian properties among Christians, at the Annunciation Latin Church, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala. Pope Francis will be arriving this weekend to the land where Christianity was born, and where Christians are disappearing. The Christian community in the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world. But it has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population today, as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent them searching for better opportunities overseas. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Shomali said he is helping Christians like Abu Dayyeh fight for their property in court. He has also recruited local Christians to purchase a half dozen abandoned homes to keep them in Christian hands.

"As a Christian community, it's important to witness Jesus Christ in his land," Shomali said. "If we keep the houses, you keep the Christians here."

__

Daniela Berretta contributed to this report from Jerusalem.

http://news.yahoo.com/

Last year, the Church bought land to build 72 new apartments for Christians in an Arab neighborhood of Jerusalem, and there are similar projects in Bethlehem and in the village of Birzeit, he said.

Properties abandoned by Christian emigres over the years have become a battleground for local priests seeking to keep a Christian presence in the Holy Land.

In the West Bank, many Christians left without selling their homes and land, hoping they might one day return. In some cases, squatters â€" Muslims and Christians â€" have occupied these homes and asserted ownership of lands, said the Rev. Ibrahim Shomali, the parish priest of Bethlehem's sister city, Beit Jala.

The church also offers 350 scholarships a year for Christians, mostly university students, reserving two-thirds for those who commit to staying in the Holy Land, he said.


In this photo taken Monday, May 19, 2014, a welcome banner for Pope Francis with his picture hangs on a building, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem. Pope Francis will be arriving this weekend to the land where Christianity was born, and where Christians are disappearing. The Christian community in the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world. But it has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population today, as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent them searching for better opportunities overseas. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

In recent decades, the Church has built 60 apartments in the West Bank city of Ramallah and rented them to Christians at a discounted rate, said the Rev. Raed Abusahlia, Ramallah's parish priest.

Israel has 130,000 Arab Christians. There are also nearly 200,000 non-native Christians in Israel, including Christians who moved from the former Soviet Union because of Jewish family ties, guest workers and African migrants.

The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the custodian of the Roman Catholic Church's Holy Land properties, said the native Christians who have left are middle-class and well-educated, some of the most vital members of the community.

The Custodian of the Holy Land is one of the top property owners in the region. Its schools, guest houses and other institutions employ about 1,000 people, about 90 percent of them local Christians, Pizzaballa said.

An estimated 80 percent of Christian Palestinians live abroad, says the local Roman Catholic church, where they have had particular success in replanting themselves in Latin America, the United States and Europe.


In this photo taken Sunday, May 18, 2014, Palestinian Christian Maha Abu Dayyeh stands by her next door abandoned house that belongs to a Palestinian Christian emigre family, one of a half dozen abandoned homes that were saved and purchased by local Christians through the mediating efforts led by Father Ibrahim Shomali, the parish priest of Beit Jala, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala. Pope Francis will be arriving this weekend to the land where Christianity was born, and where Christians are disappearing. The Christian community in the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world. But it has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population today, as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent them searching for better opportunities overseas. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

About 38,000 Palestinian Christians live in the West Bank, 2,000 in Gaza, and 10,000 in Jerusalem, according to the local Roman Catholic church.

Israeli-Palestinian violence has also pushed people to leave, and instances of Islamic extremism, particularly in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, have made some Christians feel unwelcome in some cases, though relations between Palestinian Christians and Muslims are generally friendly.

West Bank Christians are preparing to share some of these grievances with Pope Francis, and artisans are fashioning a cross with cement pieces of Israel's barrier for the Palestinian president to give the pope.

Elias Abumohor, a 44-year-old environmental engineer whose family was chosen to have an audience with Francis, says he will tell the pope about his lands in an area partly owned by the Vatican where Israel is planning to route its barrier.

Israeli restrictions in the occupied West Bank have also persuaded Christians to leave.


In this photo taken Sunday, May 18, 2014, the entrance of an abandoned house that belongs to a Palestinian Christian emigre family, one of a half dozen abandoned homes that were saved and purchased by local Christians through the mediating efforts led by Father Ibrahim Shomali, the parish priest of Beit Jala, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala. Pope Francis will be arriving this weekend to the land where Christianity was born, and where Christians are disappearing. The Christian community in the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world. But it has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population today, as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent them searching for better opportunities overseas. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

The concrete and fence barrier Israel built to keep out Palestinian attackers has choked cities like Bethlehem and separated Palestinians from their farmlands. Many Palestinian Christians are prohibited from entering Jerusalem except during holidays.

The pope said in a November speech that "we will not be resigned to think about the Middle East without Christians," lamenting that they "suffer particularly from the consequences of the tensions and conflicts underway" across the region.

Christians in the Holy Land have dwindled from over 10 percent of the population on the eve of Israel's founding to between 2 and 3 percent today, according to the local Roman Catholic church.

The decline began with high Jewish immigration and Christian emigration after the 1948 war surrounding Israel's establishment, and has been abetted by continued emigration and a low birthrate among Christians who stay.

The Christian exodus is taking place across the Middle East. Jordan, where Pope Francis will begin his three-day trip Saturday, has thousands of Christian refugees from war-torn Syria and Iraq.


In this photo taken Sunday, May 18, 2014, a dog guards the roof of a property that is under dispute in court where a Christian family accuses the house occupants of false ownership, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala. Pope Francis will be arriving this weekend to the land where Christianity was born, and where Christians are disappearing. The Christian community in the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world. But it has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population today, as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent them searching for better opportunities overseas. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

For the Church, the phenomenon is particularly heartbreaking in the cradle of Christianity. According to Christian tradition, Jesus was born in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, spent much of his life in Nazareth and the northern Galilee region of Israel, and was crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem.

The Christian exodus, underway for decades, has reached critical levels in recent years. Emigration is a central concern to local Vatican officials, who are trying to stave off the flight with offers of jobs, housing and scholarships.

"I am sad to think that maybe the time will come in which Christianity will disappear from this land," said the Rev. Juan Solana, a Vatican envoy who oversees the Notre Dame center, a Jerusalem hotel for pilgrims that employs 150 locals, mostly Christians.

Solana said he employs Christians to encourage them "to stay here, to love this land, to be aware of their particular vocation to be the witnesses of Christianity in this land."

Christian exodus shadows papal visit to Holy Land

Associated Press
By DANIEL ESTRIN
21 May 2014


In this photo taken Sunday, May 18, 2014, Father Ibrahim Shomali, the parish priest of Beit Jala and leads meditating efforts between local Christians and Palestinian Christian emigre families who abandoned their homes, in order to keep Christian properties among Christians, stands at the Annunciation Latin Church, in the West Bank town of Beit Jala. Pope Francis will be arriving this weekend to the land where Christianity was born, and where Christians are disappearing. The Christian community in the Holy Land is one of the oldest in the world. But it has dwindled to around 2 percent of the population today, as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent them searching for better opportunities overseas. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) â€" Pope Francis will arrive this weekend in the land where Christianity was born â€" and where Christians are disappearing.

This ancient community has dwindled to around 2 percent of the region's population as economic hardship, violence and the bitter realities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have sent Christians searching for better opportunities overseas.

here's a movie script in the making.  enjoy reading, comrades!

Caitlyn Antrim, Executive Director, Rule of Law Committee for the Oceans of the USA, commented that "The U-shaped line has no ground under the international law because [the] historical basis is very weak". She added "I don’t understand what China claims for in that U-shaped line. If they claim sovereignty over islands inside that line, the question is whether they are able to prove their sovereignty over these islands. If China claimed sovereignty over these islands 500 years ago and then they did not perform their sovereignty, their claim of sovereignty becomes very weak. For uninhabited islands, they can only claim territorial seas, not exclusive economic zones (EEZ) from the islands”.


Executive Director
Rule of Law Committee for the Oceans of the USA

wikipedia/
images: various online sources

Maritime researcher Carlyle Thayer, Emeritus Professor of Politics of the University of New South Wales, said that Chinese scholars using historical heritage to explain its claim of sovereignty shows the lack of legal foundation under the international law for the claim.


Professor CARLYLE THAYER
Emeritus Professor
Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales
Director, Thayer Consultancy

Peter Dutton of the U.S. Naval War College agreed, saying, “The jurisdiction over waters does not have connection to history. It must observe the UNCLOS.” Dutton stressed that using history to explain sovereignty erodes the rules of the UNCLOS. It is understood that China ratified the UNCLOS in 1996.


PETER DUTTON
Professor and Director
Strategic Researcher
China Maritime Studies Institute
U.S. Naval War College

At the Conference on Maritime Study organized by the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in June 2011, Su Hao of the China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing delivered a speech on China’s sovereignty and policy in the South China Sea, using history as the main argument. However, Termsak Chalermpalanupap, Assistant Director for Program Coordination and External Relations of the ASEAN Secretariat, said: “I don’t think that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) recognizes history as the basis to make sovereignty claims”.


Dr. TERMSAK CHALERMPALANUPAP
Director of Political and Security Cooperation
ASEAN Secretariat

According to the Kyodo News, in March 2010 PRC officials told U.S. officials that they consider the South China Sea a "core interest" on par with Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang, but subsequently backed away from that assertion.

In July 2010 the Communist Party-controlled Global Times stated that "China will never waive its right to protect its core interest with military means" and a Ministry of Defense spokesman said that "China has indisputable sovereignty of the South Sea and China has sufficient historical and legal backing" to underpin its claims.

Some scholars believe that this line cannot be considered as a maritime boundary line because it violates maritime laws, which states that a national boundary line must be a stable and defined one. The 9-dotted line is not stable because it has been reduced from 11 to 9 dashes in the Gulf of Tonkin as endorsed by Zhou Enlai without any reasons given. It is also not a defined line because it does not have any specific geographic coordinates and does not tell how it can be connected if it was a continuous line.

In October 2008, the website WikiLeaks published a cable from the U.S. Embassy in Beijing reporting that Yin Wenqiang, a senior Chinese government maritime law expert, had "admitted" he was unaware of the historical basis for the nine dashes.

The United States has also called for unfettered access to the area that China claims as its own, and accused Beijing of adopting an increasingly aggressive stance on the high seas.

While China has never used the 9-dotted line as an inviolable border to its sovereignty, this strategy together with the fact that China's authority has never officially explained the meaning of the 9-dotted line have led many researchers to try to derive the exact meanings of the 9-dotted line map in the Chinese strategy in the South China Sea.

Ongoing disputes

According to Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, "China’s 9-dash line territorial claim over the entire South China Sea is against international laws, particularly the United National Convention of the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS)". Vietnam also rejected the 9-dotted line claim, citing that it is baseless and against the UNCLOS. In 2010, at a regional conference in Hanoi, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that "The United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation, open access to Asia's maritime commons, and respect for international law in the South China Sea".

The nine-dotted line has been used by China to show the maximum extent of its claim without indicating how the dots would be joined if it was continuous and how that would effect the extent of the area claimed by China. The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia have all officially protested over the use of such a line.

Immediately after China submitted a map to the UN including the 9-dotted lines territorial claim in the South China Sea on May 7, 2009, the Philippines lodged a diplomatic protest against China for claiming the whole of South China Sea illegally. Vietnam and Malaysia filed their joint protest a day after China submitted its 9-dash line map to the UN. Indonesia also registered its protest, even though it did not have a claim on the South China Sea.

In 2013 the PRC extended their claims with a new ten-dash map, but asserted that they had control over foreign fisheries in only a subset of the region.

History

The nine-dotted line was originally an eleven-dotted-line first shown on a map published by the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China (1912â€"1949) in December 1947 to justify its claims in the South China Sea. After the Communist Party of China took over mainland China and formed the People's Republic of China in 1949, the line was adopted and revised to nine as endorsed by Zhou Enlai. After evacuating to Taiwan, the Republic of China has continued its claims, and the nine-dotted line remains as the rationale for Taiwan's claims to the Spratly and Paracel Islands.


China's 1947 map depicting the "eleven-dotted-line"

The contested area includes the Paracel Islands, occupied by China but claimed by Vietnam; and the Spratly Islands, disputed by the Philippines, China, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam, who each claim either part or all the islands, which are believed to sit on vast mineral resources, including oil. The first widely recognized map to show a U-shaped eleven-dotted line was published in the then Republic of China on 1 December 1947. Two of the dots in the Gulf of Tonkin were later removed at the behest of Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai, reducing the total to nine.

The nine-dotted line, U-shape line, or nine-dash map (Chinese: pinyin: nánhÇŽi jiÇ"duàn xiàn; literally: "Nine-segment line of the South China Sea"; Vietnamese: Đường lưỡi bò; literally: "cow's tongue line") refers to the demarcation line used by the governments of both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) for their island claims of part of the South China Sea.


Nine-dotted line (highlighted in green) as claimed by the P.R. China

heartbreaking.  thanks for the pics that i've never seen before, lorenz.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung adjusts the wreath during a wreath-laying ceremony before the bust of Vietnam's national hero Ho Chi Minh at the ASEAN Garden Wednesday, May 21, 2014 in Manila, Philippines. Dung is in Manila for the World Economic Forum in East Asia and for talks with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III that will focus on toughening cooperation as their countries wrangle with China in tense territorial standoffs in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

http://news.yahoo.com/

China and the Philippines are in a standoff over another South China Sea reef, the Second Thomas Shoal. Chinese coast guard ships have thrice attempted to block Filipino vessels delivering new military personnel and food supplies to Philippine marines keeping watch on the disputed area on board a long-grounded ship.

Many have feared the long-seething territorial disputes in the resource-rich South China Sea could spark Asia's next major armed conflict. Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan also have overlapping territorial claims in the strategic area, but the disputes between China, on the one hand, and Vietnam and the Philippines, on the other, have particularly flared in recent years.

China has steadfastly said that virtually the entire South China Sea has belonged to it since ancient times.

Chinese maritime surveillance ships took effective control of Scarborough Shoal off the northwestern Philippines after Filipino government vessels withdrew from the disputed fishing ground two years ago. Alarmed by China's move, the Philippines challenged the legality of Beijing's vast territorial claims in the South China Sea before an international arbitration tribunal last year.

Vietnam dispatched ships to confront the Chinese oil rig that have jostled with Chinese vessels defending it. Last week rioting broke out in Vietnam that killed at least two Chinese workers and wounded more than 100 others.

Aquino did not mention the territorial disputes with China when he and Dung faced journalists but said they discussed how their countries could enhance defense and economic ties, adding that both governments aim to double two-way trade to $3 billion in two years. The two countries are now considering raising their ties to a "strategic partnership."

"In defense and security, we discussed how we can enhance confidence-building, our defense capabilities and inter-operability in addressing security challenges," Aquino said.

sadly, what the chinese are doing is unilaterally develop the contested areas first and discuss later, if at all.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung waves to media shortly upon arrival at the Manila International Airport in Manila, Philippines Wednesday, May 21, 2014. Prime Minister Dung is here for the World Economic Forum in East Asia and for talks with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III that will focus on toughening cooperation as their countries wrangle with China in tense territorial standoffs in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

"I think Vietnam should make an assessment as to whether resorting to legal means is promotive of their national interest," del Rosario said.

The deployment of the oil rig has led to the most serious outbreak of tensions in the South China Sea in years.

Last year, the Philippines filed a case against the Chinese claims at a U.N. tribunal, to Beijing's displeasure.

Analysts have said Vietnam might now file its own appeal or join Manila's legal challenge against China.

The Philippines took the legal step after exhausting other peaceful means to resolve its territorial disputes with China, Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung walks past members of an honor guard shortly upon arrival at the Philippine Air Force Base in Manila, Philippines Wednesday, May 21, 2014. Prime Minister Dung is here for the World Economic Forum in East Asia and for talks with Philippine President Benigno Aquino III that will focus on toughening cooperation as their countries wrangle with China in tense territorial standoffs in the South China Sea. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)

"The two sides are determined to oppose China's violations and call on countries and the international community to continue strongly condemning China and demanding China to immediately end the above said violations," he said.

The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, has been more vocal in opposing China than Vietnam, which has been trying to quietly resolve its territorial dispute with Beijing using ties between the two country's Communist parties. But Hanoi was incensed by the deployment of the oil rig on May 1, leading to speculation it would shift its approach.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, standing beside President Benigno Aquino III after they held talks in Manila, called on the world to condemn China for causing what he called an "extremely dangerous" situation in the South China Sea by deploying an oil rig near an island that both Vietnam and China claim.

China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, putting it into conflict with Vietnam and the Philippines, which have rival claims.

The "president and I shared deep concern over the current extremely dangerous situation caused by China's many actions that violate international law," Dung told a news conference.

Vietnam and Philippines agree to oppose China

Associated Press
By JIM GOMEZ
22 May 2014


Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, right, greets Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung during his courtesy call at the Malacanang Presidential Palace in Manila, Philippines Wednesday, May 21, 2014. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, POOL)

MANILA, Philippines (AP) â€" Vietnam and the Philippines will jointly oppose "illegal" Chinese actions in the South China Sea, Vietnam's prime minster said Wednesday in a rare show of public solidarity between two Southeast Asian nations wrestling with Beijing's determination to assert its sovereignty claims in the disputed waters.

i understand bugsay was here for some years.

Quote from: Lorenzo on May 22, 2014, 11:29:24 AM
I meant to say four, not five. There were four brothers.

Tita, I was able to connect with a distant relative through tubag bohol, who now is based in Canada. His username here is Ricky Caluen, his grandfather went back to China during the 1930's, the same time that my great-grandfather went back to China in 1930's. His name was Tan Pico (Pico Tan). The only difference was that my great grandfather came back to the Philippines. Ricky Caluen comes from the late Mr. Pico Tan, whom i was told had children. I am trying to find out the names of the 2 other brothers. I do believe that there is a possibility your grandfather may be one of the 2 brothers.

My late grand aunt told me that one of the brothers settled in Cebu, and was an employee in the Chinese Consulate there. I think the best way for us to unearth this information is to go to the Church in Valencia and find out baptismal , marriage certificates. Since my great-grandfather was married in Valencia, they have their marriage information as documented by the church. I believe in attendance were his three other brothers. This will be my next goal next time I am home.

Until then, Tita, that is all i can share. Do enjoy your reunion in Cagayan De Oro, and extend warm and auspicious regards from my family.

thanks heaps, lorenz.  we know our grandfather whose surname is the spanish one taken by his father (our great grandfather, whose name we do not know).  the surname tan was used by our grandfather and his siblings as their middle name instead, but definitely it was their father who was a tan.

hehe, what serendipity.  it looks like we could really be relatives after all.   

that's a human rights lawyer for you. 

hi to gabby!

definitely, our own particular patrilineal chinese ancestor was not your own great grandfather because ours changed his surname to a spanish one!

Quote from: Lorenzo on May 22, 2014, 11:14:37 AM
The Tan brothers. Its amazing really. The 5 brothers that came to Bohol, eventually would have decendents all over the Philippines, and from the looks of it, all over the world.

Tita, I will share with you the name of the village where the Tan brothers came from. The home of our great, great grandmother and great, great grandfather. As far as I know, they are burried in the ancestral grave. My cousins and I want to find it and visit them. Pohon, pohon.

you are luckier in that you can trace your beginnings up to this later point while we can't trace ours.  if we can make a connection that both our ancestors are descended from the same brothers, it's eureka time for me.  help!

our account is that our great grandfather is one of FOUR Tan brothers who came to the philippines.  i wonder if one of the brothers is your own great grandfather or great great grandfather.  the sad part is not one of us can get the name of our own great grandfather (or it hasn't reached me, the assigned chronicler).  can you help me with their names, lorenz?  it looks like your own account is my best source now.  i'm leaving for cagayan tomorrow...

thanks, lorenz.  was this in valencia?  i kind of expected you to be there as you may have planned, you know.

i'm here now for our own reunion (clan reunion, 3 generations) starting tomorrow in cagayan de oro city (because the host is the branch of an uncle who has relocated from valencia to that city).

i may have to share, with your permission, what you shared here in this forum about your ancestors.  our clan's account is that we're also descended from one of the tan brothers.  as fate would have it, yours is a clearer account.

So Desgroseillers took his new pal home overnight. The next day, he contacted the Wild at Heart Animal Shelter, who agreed to take the baby moose in for proper care. But before dropping the baby moose off to the professionals, Desgroseillers shared his miracle moose with his fellow Canucks at the local Tim Hortons. "The wolves would have gotten her," our hero says to the small crowd petting the adorable infant moose in the Tim Hortons parking lot.

Reports that the moose politely ordered a side of poutine before joining a traveling hockey team are still unconfirmed at this time.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/05/meanwhile-in-canada-man-saved-a-baby-moose-and-took-it-to-tim-hortons/371354/

https://celebrity.yahoo.com/news/

"She still had the umbilical cord and was still wet when I found her," Stephan Michel Desgroseillers, the hero of the story, can be heard telling a small crowd in a video posted by a local radio station, Q92 Rocks. The moose was very clearly a newborn whose mother had disappeared. The CBC reports the mother moose was hit by a truck in a nearby residential neighborhood.

Desgroseillers told CTV News he tried to direct the baby calf back into the wilderness, but "the little calf kept wandering back onto the road and into traffic," he said. After some confusion while trying to contact animal rescue centers, the police told Desgroseillers he had to take the baby moose home. "The OPP [Ontario Provincial Police] basically told me, 'You know what, Steph? You have a pet until someone can take her in,'" Desgroseillers said.

Meanwhile, in Canada, a Man Saved a Baby Moose and Took It to Tim Hortons

The Atlantic Wire
By Connor Simpson
22 May 2014



Sometimes, Canada is beyond parody, because a story like this one comes along that includes so many clichés that you expect it's either a Jimmy Kimmel prank or an Onion headline mistakenly reported as facts. But this one is all true.

A man in Ontario found a baby moose on the side of a highway Monday, just outside the town of Sudbury, but before he could take the moose in for proper care, he took it to the local Tim Hortons for a quick coffee.

UN refugee report: Most protracted and largest of all refugee problems in the world remains unresolved


Palestinian refugees represent the world’s oldest and largest protracted refugee situation. (Arjan El Fassed)

by Arjan El Fassed and Laurie King
The Electronic Intifada
26 April 2006
http://electronicintifada.net/content/un-refugee-report-most-protracted-and-largest-all-refugee-problems-world-remains-unresolved

UNRWA estimated palestinian refugees as of 2012: 5,000,000

Palestine refugees (per United Nations Resolution 194) originally included Arabs whose normal places of residence were in Israel and Jews who had had their homes in Mandatory Palestine, such as those from the Jewish Quarter of the Old City. Their right of return was recognized in United Nations Resolution 194 of 1948.


1948 Palestinian exodus - Palestine refugees making their way from Galilee in Octoberâ€"November 1948

wikipedia/