MikeLigalig.com

Bwahaha!

What is known is that Rebecca, the sole word the girl said to doctors, was surrounded by the corpses of her family in her ruined home for six days before she reached a hospital in Tacloban. The traumatised and seriously injured girl has remained silent about her experiences but doctors at the hospital said she was just one of many children injured in the typhoon who were now reliant on rationed drinking water as aid failed to materialise.

Meanwhile, urgently needed operations have yet to take place due to a lack of surgical equipment. Tacloban, a city of some 220,000 people on Leyte Island, has been particularly badly hit by Typhoon Haiyan with roads still blocked and its residents increasingly angry at aid that has not yet appeared.

Bodies remain uncollected and fears that many more may be dead or seriously injured, and not yet accounted for, were given credence by Rebecca’s emergence.

As the Disasters Emergency Committee said aid was “getting through”, it appeared little had improved in Tacloban. Doctors attempting to clean Rebecca’s infected head wound were using what appeared to be a disposable razor.

Typhoon Haiyan: Silent but alive - the girl survivor who emerged from the ruins after six days surrounded by the corpses of her family
http://www.independent.co.uk/
SAM MASTERS  Thursday 14 November 2013



The sole word she said to doctors was her name: Rebecca


Sitting on a metal bed, staring blankly ahead beyond the hospital’s stained walls and hundreds of other patients, the 13-year-old girl remained totally silent.

According to estimates, 11 million people have been affected by the typhoon in the Philippines. But today it was just one, the tiny girl with no family, who came to prominence amid the disaster.

Morag medyo bugo bitaw ni si Korina...

Bwahaha! This story is a great refinement of this well-known old joke:



THE BUS DRIVER


A man gets on a bus, and ends up sitting next to a very attractive nun. Enamored with her, he asks if he can have sex with her. Naturally, she says no, and gets off the bus. The man goes to the bus driver and asks him if he knows of a way for him to have sex with the nun.

"Well," says the bus driver, "every night at 8 o'clock, she goes to the cemetery to pray. If you dress up as God, I'm sure you could convince her to have sex with you."

The man decides to try it, and dresses up in his best God costume. At eight, he sees the nun and appears before her.

"Oh, God!" she exclaims. "Take me with you!" The man tells the nun that she must first have sex with him to prove her loyalty. The nun says yes, but tells him she prefers anal sex. Before you know it, they're getting down to it, having nasty, grunty, loud sex. After it's over, the man pulls off his God disguise.

"Ha, ha! I'm the man from the bus!"

"Ha, ha!" says the nun, removing her costume. "I'm the bus driver!"

President Xi Jinping announced in October the creation of an Asian infrastructure investment bank to promote regional economic integration. And 123 countries count China as their largest trading partner.

"They do give assistance, but in the disaster relief area they generally don't give very much compared to other countries," she said.

The People's Liberation Army provides the largest contingent for United Nations peace keeping operations out of all permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, Glaser said. However, China is not the largest donor to of funds to those operations.

The United States pays the most, covering close to one third of the expense. China kicks in 6.6% of the funding, below Japan, Britain, Germany and France, but its forces take more out of it than those nations.

Bonnie Glaser, an East Asia adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, says the real reason China offers so little is that China is always tight when it comes to disaster aid.

The rising economic power still sees itself as a developing nation, Glaser said.

"There's not a lot of support domestically in China for foreign assistance," Glaser said. "The leadership worries that they would be criticized if they were found to be giving too much money away and not helping the poor at home."

China's power projection capabilities are still limited, she said. It has only one hospital ship, the Arc Peace, and one aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, which its sailors and aviators are still learning how to use. But that has not stopped China from sending numerous military and commercial vessels to the Philippines in the past to stake claims against fishing grounds off its shores.

China does provide foreign assistance, but more in the way of business ventures that are seen as wise investments for the Chinese people. China has funded massive mining and drilling operations in Africa, which has created jobs for thousands of Chinese nationals who China insists be hired for the construction of such projects. And the projects usually involve direct trade with China.

China's pledge, which it boosted after getting flack for its original offer of $100,000, is a fraction of the amounts pledged by other countries in the region and much farther away, including the USA, which pledged $20 million. Australia promised $30 million. The United Kingdom offered $16 million. Japan and United Arab Emirates each pledged $10 million. Ikea is sending $2.7 million, according to UNICEF.

An editorial in the Southern Daily, the Communist Party newspaper in Guangdong, accused Filipinos upset with the first offer of being unappreciative malcontents, according to the International Business Times, a U.K. publication.

"The Philippines is obviously not content or even appreciating of China's 'love', only expecting 'more love' from China," the editorial said.

China and the Philippines have tangled in recent years over territory in the South China Sea, which China says belongs to it alone, even waters near the Philippines that are hundreds of miles from China's mainland.

Oren Dorell, USA TODAY 4:15 p.m. EST November 14, 2013


China is the world's second largest economy and closer to the Philippines than other major donors of assistance to the typhoon-ravaged archipelago.

Yet the paltry $1.6 million in aid it pledged to its neighbor was less than the check written by Swedish furniture store Ikea.

"China's action illustrates the blundering nature of its foreign policy," said Phillip Swagel, a former assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department and co-author of Awkward Embrace: The United States and China in the 21st Century. "This is an unforced error for them, revealing to other countries the limits of Chinese friendship."

Typhoon Haiyan raked the island nation Nov. 7, causing at least 2,350 fatalities, destroying 236,000 homes and wreaking devastation so widespread that bodies have been piled on sides of roads for days and survivors have been desperate for food and shelter.

Stranded tourists in Coron, Palawan on Monday, November 11, help unload and repack relief goods.
www.gmanetwork.com

Grabe na man pud kon ang donations for Yolanda victims apilon og kawat sa mga kanahan...

Hmm, the vagueness could have been intentional, or simply due to imprecise knowledge...

Quote from: islander on November 13, 2013, 10:05:59 PM
aguy.  naa sad diay kabayo nga sadista?

He he, a case of equine schadenfreude...

Quote from: islander on November 14, 2013, 09:00:31 AM
The Philippines - a Spanish colony for more than three centuries and named after a 16th century Spanish king - was taken over by the US in the early 20th century after a protracted rebellion against rule from Madrid. Spanish and US influences remain strong, especially in terms of language, religion and government.

Hmm, "taken over"? How?

Hmm, accurate on the whole. As summaries go, some sectors would have wished for a little mention or two. A word on the BPO industry in the country, for instance, would perhaps not have been out of place.

Reuters photo
Though desperate for food and other supplies, some survivors in Tacloban City observed order amid chaos and chose to fall in line for relief goods.

Getty Images
Elderly survivors’ will to live through the calamity also provided a glimmer of hope for both victims and the rest of the nation whose eyes are all on Yolanda-hit areas.

Getty Images
The bayanihan spirit shone through after the typhoon, with survivors of the devastation helping their neighbors as they found their way out of the region.

Getty Images
The storm may have killed thousands and torn down homes, but those who survived tried to stay together, even as they seek food, water and shelter.

Reuters photo
Help came rushing to the Visayas soon after monster storm Yolanda. Taiwanese military personnel, for instance, carried truckloads of relief goods when they arrived.

Getty Images
The military was quick to respond to the disaster, arriving in worst-hit areas as early as Saturday to help maintain order as residents struggled through the aftermath.

Yahoo Southeast Asia Newsroom â€" 10 hours ago


Acts of kindness caught on cam in the wake of monster storm “Yolanda” seem to break the monotony of devastating images from areas heavily hit by the typhoon.

People from the devastated areas themselves have offered help to survivors struggling to get by. Heroes have also emerged amid the rubble, giving hope to those who despair.

Yahoo Southeast Asia compiles some of the most heartwarming photos we have so far seen after Yolanda hit the country, as we continue to #PrayForThePhilippines:



Reuters photo
A military officer carries a baby into a truck with her family after they arrived at the Villamore Air Base in Manila from the disaster zone.

http://piximus.net/
13 Nov, 2013


Homeless veteran Jim Wolf gets an amazing makeover.

While the U.S. government had previously withdrawn from the anti-American UN “Human Rights” Council, the Obama administration also decided to re-join for purposes that remain unclear. The totalitarian-dominated body responded by lambasting the United States for alleged violations of human rights. More recently, the UN’s self-styled “human rights” authorities have outlandishly called on the U.S. government to “nullify” self defense-related state laws, among other increasingly ludicrous demands.   

With the UN’s myriad agencies and tentacles openly run by mass-murdering despots, there have been few plausible justifications for why American taxpayers should continue to finance the spectacle. However, under the rabidly pro-UN Obama administration, the U.S. government has become increasingly intertwined with the “dictators' club,” even reaching a point where UN “authorities” feel confident enough to make bizarre but bold demands aimed at restricting the unalienable rights of the American people.

A bill already introduced in Congress by Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) and eight co-sponsors, H.R. 75, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act, would end the U.S. government’s membership in the UN and cut off funding for all of its dictator-dominated agencies. As more of the world’s worst human rights abusers join fellow tyrants in “human rights” leadership positions at the UN, the time for an American withdrawal has never been more urgent.

Aside from the human rights council, the regime in Beijing â€" responsible for murdering more innocents than any other entity in human history, estimated at many tens of millions if the unborn are not included â€" has been making powerful inroads across the entire UN. As The New American reported extensively from Rio de Janeiro last year at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, the key global summit was actually chaired by a Chinese Communist Party functionary determined to impose radical visions of so-called “sustainability” on humanity.   

Just last week, meanwhile, the mass-murdering regime’s Vice Minister of Education Hao Ping was elected to serve as the president of UNESCO’s 37th session. Blasting the “unsustainable” industrialization that lifted billions out of poverty in recent centuries, the UN agency’s new boss said there was an “urgent need to revolutionize ways of development.” Ironically, considering the communist autocracy's murderous behavior over the decades, Hao also invoked the “universal dream” of “a world of peace, equality, justice and harmony.” The regime has recently started loudly demanding what it calls a "de-Americanized" New World Order with a global currency.

Despite generally paying for almost a quarter of the controversial UN “education” agency’s budget, the U.S. government recently lost its voting rights in the institution. To protest some actions by UNESCO â€" which, among other radical schemes, has been working to develop a widely criticized “World Core Curriculum” for all students â€" Congress refused to provide any more funding. In retaliation, the Obama administration lost its vote.

Member of the Canadian Parliament Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister for Canada who focuses on human rights, slammed the recent selections for the UN council. “The election of seven of the world's worst human rights violators to the United Nations Human Rights Council is an assault on the UNHCR's mandate to ‘uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights,’” he said. “Indeed, the election of states â€" all designated as ‘Not Free’ by Freedom House in its 2013 'Freedom in the World' Report â€" mocks the struggle for human rights, betrays its victims, and validates the on-going violations of these rights in the name of the UN. The time is long overdue to sound the alarm.”

In Europe, Member of the European Parliament Edward McMillan-Scott, who serves as the EU body’s vice-president for human rights, also lambasted the General Assembly’s controversial choices. “Allowing China to become a member of the UN Human Rights Council calls into question the Council's credibility,” he said in a statement. “China's human rights record is well-documented. Numerous reports by the UN itself have highlighted degrading and inhumane treatment that is routine in China: forcible abortions, religious persecution, the oppression of minorities, etc.”

Pointing out that even the UN’s former “Rapporteur on Torture” found that the use of torture by the Chinese regime was “widespread,” MEP McMillan-Scott noted that any attempt to discuss individual cases with Beijing are met with “defiance.” While the number of cases is massive, McMillan-Scott highlighted the abduction and disappearance of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng as a prime example. With UN assistance and U.S. taxpayer funds, the Communist Chinese regime has also been perpetrating forced abortions.   

Of course, as The New American has documented extensively, the UN’s vision of “human rights” is entirely at odds with traditional U.S. notions of unalienable, God-given individual rights secured by the Constitution. As explained in its “Declaration of Human Rights,” for example, the UN believes “rights” are “granted” by governments, not the Creator as explained in the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

The global entity also claims “rights” can be limited “by law” â€" essentially redefining rights as revocable, government-granted privileges that can be curtailed or abolished merely with pretended acts of “law” decreed by despots. “These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations,” the declaration also states, highlighting the fact that the UN does not believe in actual rights â€" especially if they are used to criticize the UN. 

Meanwhile, more than a few of the regimes sitting on the UN council have views on human rights that are literally diametrically opposed to the God-given rights of Americans. The communist regime in Beijing, for instance, released a report claiming that the constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms is actually a human-rights violation. Such totalitarian views are shared by numerous other UN Human Rights Council member regimes, including the socialist autocracy in Venezuela, which recently disarmed the public with UN help.

As UN Watch pointed out, the election not only casts a “dark shadow” on the future of the Human Rights Council, it also brought back the specter of the body’s recent past. Indeed, the council was actually created in 2006 to replace the thoroughly discredited and “morally corrupt” UN Commission on Human Rights â€" once led by the Gadhafi regime in Libya, and criticized even by top UN bosses such as Kofi Annan. It appears, however, that little has changed.

“Despite the much-vaunted 2006 reform â€" which scrapped the discredited human rights commission and created a new and supposedly improved council â€" today’s election of the world’s worst human rights abusers means that we are back to square one,” continued Neuer in a statement about this week’s appointments. “Instead of reform, we have regression.” In all, the group said, only four of the 16 candidates for the council had human rights records that would qualify them for seats.

The UN Watch chief expects, among other looming problems, that the UN rights body will continue to ignore “egregious abuses” by authorities everywhere from China, Zimbabwe and Cuba to Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. On top of that, Neuer added that he foresees the principles of individual human rights being subverted by “concepts that increase power for governments.”

There were a number of other controversial selections this week for three-year terms on the disgraced UN “human rights” outfit as well: the radical South African government, for example, which has been implicated in genocidal machinations by the world’s top expert on genocide, along with the socialist regime in Namibia. Rulers from Morocco and Macedonia were also appointed. Finally, among the least controversial of the 14 new selections for the council were the governments of France and the United Kingdom.   

As the dubious UN institution cements its status as a planetary laughing stock by adding even more of the world’s worst human-rights abusers to its leadership, more than a few analysts and human rights activists were left scratching their heads. However, when considering the composition of the 193-member UN General Assembly, the vote to add the planet’s leading communist and Islamist autocracies to an entity in charge of human rights â€" as defined by the UN: revocable privileges â€" makes perfect sense. There is a reason that the UN is regularly blasted by critics as the “dictators' club,” and the recent vote illustrated that perfectly. 

Still, outrage was being expressed around the world. “This is a black day for human rights,” noted Executive Director Hillel Neuer with the Geneva-based UN Watch, a non-governmental human rights group that monitors the global body and its activities. “Today the UN sent a message that politics trumps human rights, and it let down millions of victims worldwide who look to the world body for protection.”

http://www.thenewamerican.com/
Wednesday, 13 November 2013 15:12
Written by Alex Newman



Photo of UN General Assembly hall at UN Headquarters in New York City


A motley assortment of the planet’s most ruthless Islamist and communist autocracies were appointed on November 12 to sit on the increasingly discredited United Nations “Human Rights” Council (UN HRC), drawing swift condemnation and ridicule from around the world. The week before, the mass-murdering dictatorship ruling over mainland China had its “education vice-minister” elected to lead the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), adding more fuel to the fire for critics who advocate an immediate American withdrawal from the scandal-plagued planetary outfits.   

Among the mass-murdering regimes selected to sit on the UN’s self-styled “human rights” entity were the brutal communist dictatorships enslaving the people of China, Cuba, and Vietnam, along with the hardline Islamic tyrants ruling over Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Of course, numerous critics have pointed out that those are some of the most repressive tyrannies on earth. Vladimir Putin’s Russian government, widely criticized as a gangster regime, was also chosen to sit on the global body supposedly charged with upholding “human rights” around the world. Other brutal autocrats were already on the council prior to the most recent additions.

Quote from: islander on November 13, 2013, 11:04:43 AM

Hanoi. AFP

You're way over-coiffed, Ms. Hanoi. Look at me...

I'm lonesome...

How apocalyptic...

Lye Liang Fook of the East Asian Institute in Singapore said it was impossible to separate China's anger over territorial claims from the question of disaster relief.

"Politically there is a lack of trust, and under the circumstances, the fact that China is willing to extend aid is quite significant," he said. "The two issues are linked to each other."

Comments on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, overwhelmingly opposed China giving aid to the Philippines.

"For God's sake, give them nothing," wrote one user. "We've given them enough in the past."

Cheng said public sentiment would factor into China's decision.

"I certainly think that relief and aid for natural disasters should not be affected by political relations. But the Chinese authorities are handicapped by domestic nationalist feelings as well," he said. "China should have used the opportunity to improve its image."

(Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard. Editing by Dean Yates, Jason Szep and Nick Macfie)

Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the central Philippines on Friday and flattened the city of Tacloban, where officials fear 10,000 people died. Officials fear the toll could rise sharply as rescuers reach more isolated towns.

Overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster, the Philippines has sought international assistance.

The U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier the USS George Washington, carrying about 5,000 sailors and more than 80 aircraft, will arrive this week after setting sail from Hong Kong on Tuesday. It has been joined by four other U.S. Navy ships.

The United States is also providing $20 million in immediate aid. Japan said it will give $10 million and send a small number of soldiers and medical personnel.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said China would consider more aid as the situation developed, but did not say why Beijing had offered less than other countries.

"China has also suffered from the disaster, so we very much understand and sympathize with the current hardships that the Philippine people are facing," Qin told a regular briefing, referring to the deaths of at least seven people and $734 million in economic losses when the much-weakened storm swiped China's southern provinces.

"We are willing to consider providing more support and aid within our capacity as it goes."

China's ties with the Philippines are already fragile as a decades-old territorial squabble over the South China Sea enters a more contentious chapter, with claimant nations spreading deeper into disputed waters in search of energy supplies, while building up their navies.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also claim parts of the South China Sea, making it one of the region's biggest flashpoints.

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a 10-nation grouping that includes the Philippines, has been talking to China about a binding code of conduct in South China Sea to ease the friction, but Beijing's frugal aid hints at a deeply entrenched rivalry that could make forging consensus difficult.

Even China's state-run Global Times newspaper, known for its nationalistic and often hawkish editorial views, expressed concern about the impact on Beijing's international standing.

"China, as a responsible power, should participate in relief operations to assist a disaster-stricken neighboring country, no matter whether it's friendly or not," the paper said in a commentary.

"China's international image is of vital importance to its interests. If it snubs Manila this time, China will suffer great losses."

China's meager aid to the Philippines could dent its image
By Megha Rajagopalan 19 hours ago


BEIJING (Reuters) - China may have wasted the chance to build goodwill in Southeast Asia with its relatively paltry donation to the Philippines in the wake of a devastating typhoon, especially with the United States sending an aircraft carrier and Japan ramping up aid.

The world's second-largest economy is a growing investor in Southeast Asia, where it is vying with the United States and Japan for influence. But China's assertiveness in pressing its claim to the disputed South China Sea has strained ties with several regional countries, most notably the Philippines.

China's government has promised $100,000 in aid to Manila, along with another $100,000 through the Chinese Red Cross - far less than pledged by other economic heavyweights.

Japan has offered $10 million in aid and is sending in an emergency relief team, for instance, while Australia has donated $9.6 million.

"The Chinese leadership has missed an opportunity to show its magnanimity," said Joseph Cheng, a political science professor at the City University of Hong Kong who focuses on China's ties with Southeast Asia.

"While still offering aid to the typhoon victims, it certainly reflects the unsatisfactory state of relations (with Manila)."

Quote from: islander on November 13, 2013, 10:46:31 AM

The race is on for Filipino-Chinese zoo owner Manny Tiangco as he's pushed in a cart along with his pet orangutan, Manny Pacquiao and an albino python inside the Malabon Zoo in suburban Manila. The zoo joined the world on the eve of World Animal Day to create awareness to people to protect and conserve the environment for the survival of the animals in nature. Picture: AFP

Hmm, Manny Pacquiao ang pangalan sa iyang orangutan?

Grabeha. Mora mag mga amorsiko nga gipangibot...

Quote from: islander on November 11, 2013, 02:10:51 PM
hehehe, how did you know that i'm descended from dragons?

From your name, Yolander. I know that your pet name is Yowler...

Yolanda survivors in Tacloban. Do you know them?


More at: http://anc.yahoo.com/photos/yolanda-survivors-in-tacloban-slideshow/yolanda-survivors-in-tacloban-photo-1384236995347.html

On the ANC 24/7 Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/ANCalerts), Rey Salas identified these three children as his nephew and nieces. They are the children of his sister, Ma. Arlene Salas-Hernandez.

The family lives at #62 Lopez Jaena Street, Brgy. 1&4, Tacloban City.

Rey Salas' request to rescuers: "Please check all the Salas, Tingzon, Penaranda's families in that address. "

Utter distrust it is. Di jud mabasol ang katahap sa katawhan...

They should be...

Quote from: islander on November 12, 2013, 06:58:22 PM
As international aid pours into the Philippines for victims of Typhoon Haiyan, China has offered $100,000 in cash, a figure that seems modest compared with its other recent contributions for humanitarian relief abroad.

Quote from: Chongki on November 13, 2013, 12:00:25 AM
tihik

Hmm, basin cash ra ni, pakapinan pa og $5 million worth of cup noodles...

Although the deadline to find a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol is not for two more years, Labaria said there were things the Philippines can do now to help lower global greenhouse emissions.

Primary among these is to invest more in developing sources of renewable energy.

"Although the Philippines' emissions are negligible, the Philippine government should not make this an excuse to perpetuate the establishment of coal power plants," she said.

Labaria added the country should also include climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in development plans for local government units. This will  require strengthening the implementation of climate change adaptation laws. â€" DVM, GMA News

'Concerned about climate change'

In Warsaw, Labaria told delegates and negotiators that they had the power to alter the trajectory of not only the Earth’s temperature but also the future of the young men and women who look upon them as children looking upon their parents. “Please give us a fighting chance," she asked.

Labaria has been fighting the good fight by helping local governments adapt to climate change and lowering their vulnerability from disasters.

"Up until now, I have been working behind the name of institutions. I have never really put myself out there as myself - as Carlie, a young woman concerned about climate change," she told GMA News Online.

The UNFCCC conference in 2012 was held in the same year that habagat rains brought widespread flooding to Manila and parts of Luzon. It was also the year that Typhoon Pablo devastated southern Mindanao.

During the 2012 conference, delegates agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol, a binding agreement requiring developed nations to reduce their greenhouse emissions. The protocol was supposed to expire in 2012. But a commitment was made to craft a new protocol agreement by 2015 for implementation by 2020.

"We are left with only two years to create a new, fair, ambitious and binding agreement. And it cannot just be any agreement. For my family now, and my future tomorrow, all parties need to reaffirm common principles of humanity, to defend my rights, my generation’s rights, and future generations’ rights," Labaria said.

She reminded delegates from developed nations that cutting greenhouse emissions is more than just a matter of money. "It is a matter of survival. Perhaps more importantly, it is a matter of dignity. Countries,like mine bear the brunt of the burden even though we did not cause the problem," she said.

"For the next two weeks, we will hold you accountable. For the rest of our lives, we will hold you accountable. It is we and it is they, the future generation, who,will live tomorrow with the consequences of your decisions today," she said.

And also like Saño, the devastation caused by the super typhoon hit close to home as Labaria hails from storm-affected Tagbilaran in Bohol.

"My own family is without power and water, and will be for months. I am lucky though, because I know my family are safe - at least for this event," she said.

Unfortunately, Labaria pointed out, many others in her country were in a worse situation. And, with more storms expected before 2013 ends, exacerbating the risks and complications for survivors.

"That is the human cost of climate change," she said to the delegates. "And for my country, this is de ja vu. We began the Doha negotiations with a similar disaster. Now, we begin Warsaw under the same cloud of suffering."

Another Filipino delivers emotional appeal during UN climate change conference
By JONATHAN DE SANTOS, GMA News
November 13, 2013 12:08am
 

Lead negotiator Naderev Saño wasn't the only Filipino to speak out against climate change at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC's) 19th Conference of Parties in Warsaw, Poland.

Like Saño, who on Wednesday pleaded for a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, Filipina Carlie Labaria, delivered a plenary statement to remind delegates of the pressing need to reach a binding agreement to address climate change.

Labaria, a development scientist at the Ateneo School of Government, is a fellow at the Adopt a Negotiator project of the Global Call for Climate Action. And in her speech, she also spoke on behalf of YOUNGO, the official constituency for the youth at the UNFCCC.

"This opportunity is especially meaningful to me today, because I am the child of a country that is today reeling from yet another unprecedented climate disaster," she said Monday in her speech, referring to Super Typhoon Yolanda.

For now, relief has come to a lucky few, including Joselito Caimoy, a 42-year-old truck driver. He was able to get his wife, son and 3-year-old daughter on a flight out of Tacloban. They embraced in a tearful goodbye, but Caimoy stayed behind to guard what's left of his home and property.

"People are just scavenging in the streets. People are asking food from relatives, friends. The devastation is too much ... the malls, the grocery stories have all been looted, "he said. "They're empty. People are hungry. And they (the authorities) cannot control the people."

The dead, decomposing and stinking, litter the streets or remain trapped in the debris.

The Philippines, an archipelago nation of more than 7,000 islands, is annually buffeted by tropical storms and typhoons, but Haiyan was an especially large catastrophe. Its winds were among the strongest ever recorded, and it may have killed more people than the previous deadliest Philippine storm, Thelma, in which about 5,100 people died in the central Philippines in 1991.

The country's deadliest disaster on record was the 1976 magnitude-7.9 earthquake that triggered a tsunami in the Moro Gulf in the southern Philippines, killing 5,791 people.

The storm also killed eight people in southern China and inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to farming and fishing industries, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.

__________

Associated Press writers Oliver Teves, Chris Brummitt and Teresa Cerojano in Manila contributed to this report.

Damaged roads and other infrastructure are complicating the relief efforts. Government officials and police and army officers are in many cases among the victims themselves, hampering coordination.

At Matnog, the port for ferries leaving to another hard-hit island, Samar, dozens of trucks piled high with aid were waiting to cross. In the capital, Manila, soldiers tossed pallets of water, medical supplies and foods into C-130 planes bound for the disaster area.

The United Nations said it had released $25 million in emergency funds to pay for emergency shelter materials and household items, and for assistance with the provision of emergency health services, safe water supplies and sanitation facilities. It's launching an appeal for more aid.

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington is headed toward the region with massive amounts of water and food, but the Pentagon said it won't arrive until Thursday. The U.S. also said it is providing $20 million in immediate aid.

Aid totaling tens of millions of dollars has been pledged by many other countries, including Japan, Australia and Britain, which is sending a Royal Navy vessel with aid.

Tacloban, a city of about 220,000 people on Leyte island, bore the full force of the winds and the tsunami-like storm surges. Most of the city is in ruins, a tangled mess of destroyed houses, cars and trees. Malls, garages and shops have all been stripped of food and water by hungry residents.

The loss of life appears to be concentrated in Tacloban and surrounding areas, including a portion of Samar island that is separated from Leyte island by a strait. It is possible that other areas are devastated, with survivors unable to get through the region's crippled communications and transportation systems.

Most Tacloban residents spent the night under pouring rain wherever they could â€" in the ruins of destroyed houses, in the open along roadsides and shredded trees. Some slept under tents brought in by the government or relief groups.

"There is no help coming in. They know this is a tragedy. They know our needs are urgent. Where is the shelter?" said Aristone Balute's granddaughter, Mylene, who was also at the airport. "We are confused. We don't know who is in charge."

Doctors in Tacloban said they were desperate for medicine. Beside the ruined airport tower, at a small makeshift clinic with shattered windows, army and air force medics said they had treated around 1,000 people for cuts, bruises, lacerations and deep wounds.

"It's overwhelming," said Air Force Capt. Antonio Tamayo. "We need more medicine. We cannot give anti-tetanus vaccine shots because we have none."

The longer survivors go without access to clean water, food, shelter and medical help, the greater chance of disease breaking out and people dying as a result of wounds sustained in the storm.

The official death toll from the disaster rose to 1,774 on Tuesday, though authorities have said they expect that to rise markedly. They fear estimates of 10,000 dead are accurate and might be low. More than 9 million people have been affected across a large swath of the country, many of them made homeless.

An Associated Press reporter drove through the town for around 7 kilometers (4 miles) on Wednesday, seeing more than 40 bodies. He saw no evidence of any organized delivery of food, water or medical supplies, though piles of aid have begun to arrive at the airport. Some people were lining up to get water from a hose, presumably from the city supply.

"There is a huge amount that we need to do. We have not been able to get into the remote communities," U.N. humanitarian chief Valerie Amos said in Manila. "Even in Tacloban, because of the debris and the difficulties with logistics and so on, we have not been able to get in the level of supply that we would want to. We are going to do as much as we can to bring in more."

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said relief goods were getting into the city, and the supply should increase in coming days now that the airport and a bridge to the island were open.

"We are not going to leave one person behind â€" one living person behind," he said. "We will help, no matter how difficult, no matter how inaccessible."

A team from Médecins Sans Frontières, complete with medical supplies, arrived in Cebu Island on Saturday looking for a flight to Tacloban, but hadn't left by Tuesday. A spokesman for the group said it was "difficult to tell" when it would be able to leave.

"We are in contact with the authorities, but the (Tacloban) airport is only for the Philippines military use," said Lee Pik Kwan.

At the medics' intended destination, it was getting out that was the problem. Thousands of people hoping for rescue camped at the airport and ran onto the tarmac when planes came in, surging past a broken iron fence and a few soldiers and police trying to control them. Only a few hundred made it aboard.

"We need help. Nothing is happening," said Aristone Balute, an 81-year-old who didn't get on a flight out of the city. "We haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon." Her clothes were soaked from the rain, and tears streamed down her face.

By TODD PITMAN and JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press | November 12, 2013 | Updated: November 12, 2013 6:30am



Typhoon survivors jostle to get a chance to board a C-130 military transport plane Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2013, in Tacloban, central Philippines. Photo By Bullit Marquez


TACLOBAN, Philippines (AP) â€" The day after Typhoon Haiyan struck the eastern Philippine coast, a team of 15 doctors and logistics experts was ready to fly to the worst-hit city to help. On Tuesday, five days into what could be the country's deadliest disaster, they were still waiting to leave.

Aid is coming to Tacloban: medical supplies, pallets of water and food piled on trucks, planes and ferries, sent by the Philippine government and countries around the world. But the scale of the disaster and challenges of delivering the assistance means few in this city, strewn with debris and corpses, have received any help.

Most likely he's just resting...

What do you say, Percy? I am thinking
of sitting out on the sand to watch
the moon rise. It’s full tonight.
So we go

and the moon rises, so beautiful it
makes me shudder, makes me think about
time and space, makes me take
measure of myself: one iota
pondering heaven. Thus we sit, myself

thinking how grateful I am for the moon’s
perfect beauty and also, oh! how rich
it is to love the world. Percy, meanwhile,
leans against me and gazes up
into my face. As though I were just as wonderful
as the perfect moon.

No, it is not theology itself that people want changed but the moral, ethical, social and personal consequences of Catholic theology: specifically, where Church teaching affects their own lives, which frequently concerns issues of divorce, sex, and birth control. Indeed, “invariably” might be more apposite than “frequently,” and in some cases “exclusively” will do the job rather well. So it’s generally not the virgin birth, the immaculate conception or transubstantiation, but condoms, remarriage and your gay son being able to marry his partner that cause concern. Which is fair enough, I suppose, and in some ways entirely understandable, but please be honest about it.

So, whether we like it or not, many of these issues will have to be addressed in this book. And I make no apology for doing so, because they matter very much in themselves, and in particular to those who are struggling with them, often in great emotional pain. But they can be understood in Catholic terms only in the context of understanding what the Church teaches and believes.

National Post

Excerpted from The Future of Catholicism by Michael Coren. © 2013 by Michael Coren. Excerpted by permission of McClelland & Stewart, a division of Random House of Canada Ltd. All rights reserved.

Many of the people most critical of the Church and most vociferous in demanding change and a different future play the moral prince in public while living as ethical paupers in private. It’s more than mere hypocrisy and directs us to a malfunction, an arrogant presumption, at the very heart of demands for Church change. The fiercest critics insist on change because they are convinced of their own righteousness, but refuse to question whether their moral certainties are anything more than projections of their own desires and insecurities. They claim to be looking down on Catholicism from the intellectual high ground, yet more often are looking up to something they cannot understand and have no intentions of trying to do so. As I said earlier, when critics or even occasional friends of the Church call for change, they are seldom speaking of theological reforms. Actually, theology doesn’t play a major role, perhaps not any genuine role at all, in the general attack on Catholicism. Theologians might regret and dispute this, but it’s an absolute, I’m afraid. It’s perhaps regrettable, but certainly undeniable, that very few people are rushing to the morning newspaper to find out the latest pronouncement from a theologian. “Have you seen the evening news, dear?” “Yes, amazing stuff. An obscure German theologian has demanded a rethink of Thomas Aquinas’s early writings!”

It’s generally not the virgin birth, the immaculate conception or transubstantiation that people want changed, but Church positions on condoms, divorce and your gay son being able to marry his partner.

Being loved, however, is not the same as being relevant. We are often told that Catholicism is not relevant, being a prerequisite for the demand that it changes. This is sloppy reasoning. The Church is more relevant than ever, in that it’s often the sole voice crying out for genuine justice, but it’s less loved than it might be precisely because of its acute relevance. A small but telling case in point: Have you noticed that whenever Hollywood brings out yet another movie about the devil, the man standing up to old Nick and giving Satan a kick between the horns is never â€" with the greatest respect â€" a United Methodist minister, never a Unitarian, never even an Episcopalian!

No, it’s always a Roman Catholic priest. So, when the going gets tough, the toughs get Catholic. That heroic priest defying Lucifer and all of his works is seldom lovable, but he’s always relevant. Boy, is he relevant. This, of course, is the same Hollywood that routinely marginalizes, mocks and even abuses Catholicism and its clergy and followers in its movies â€" those, at least, don’t mention the devil at all.

Something has to be stressed at this point. We do not become Catholics so as to be loved, we become Catholics so as to love. If Catholics want the first, they have almost certainly come to the wrong place. To be genuinely counter-cultural is a dangerous place to be, and Catholicism is always counter-cultural. Being loved is actually relatively easy, whereas loving is often extremely difficult. Television hosts who make politically correct noises are loved, compromising semi-Christians who travel the road of contemporary sexual ethics are loved â€" firm, resolute Catholics far less so, and sometimes are positively hated. This is crucial to a discussion of the future Church and the challenges that will be faced by Catholics in the coming years.



Pope Francis waves to the crowd from the papamobile during his inauguration mass at St Peter's square.
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images

Mark Davies is the Bishop of Shrewsbury in Britain and is one of that country’s most dynamic Catholic leaders. He had fascinating things to say about all this in the May of 2013, when he addressed the Union of Catholic Mothers. The Bishop said that Pope Francis had become “the focus of fascination” in the press because of three factors: his “evident goodness,” his “informal style,” and his “Christian simplicity.” Because of this, he continued, the media assume that all sorts of changes and reforms will shortly take place. That, he said, was certainly not the case. The Holy Father “leads us not towards abandoning the demands of the faith, as some commentators might hope or suppose, but directly to those demands in their most radical, beautiful and uncompromising essence. I can’t remember how many times I have been asked, everywhere from radio stations to petrol stations, whether I liked the new Pope. To the Catholic mind this is a strange question as the loyalty we owe to the Pope is not based upon personal ‘likes’ or ‘dislikes.’ My invariable reply is that ‘We love the Pope whoever he is.’ This may seem just as puzzling to my questioners. Those long experienced in the media warn of something we may already see taking shape and will require of us the very supernatural perspective Pope Francis urges. They tell of how a public personality can be built up in the media. In this case, it is based on the Pope’s evident goodness and an informal style which is then contrasted even with his most saintly predecessors. Expectations are subtly or less subtly raised that this is the man who will change the Catholic faith itself in accordance with the commentator’s own wishes and agenda. I noticed only last week a concern being expressed in our national media that our Holy Father is proving as ‘hard-line’ as his predecessors. We know, as Catholics, that the loyalty we owe to the Pope is greater than the passing loyalties people give to political figures or celebrity personalities.” A roaringly direct and disarming explanation and analysis of Catholic obligations and beliefs, and media and public misunderstanding and confusion.

Then again, we have to understand what change actually is. Let’s take the example of one of Pope Francis’s first public actions, and one that some saw as indicative of their particular fetish for a changing Church. During his first Easter as Pope, Francis continued to conduct the ancient Maundy Thursday commemoration as he had done as an archbishop in Argentina. Rather than wash the feet of selected people in a church as is usually the case in Rome and elsewhere, he ventured out in public to demonstrate his love for the marginalized and for the ostensibly unloved. He had washed the feet of men dying of AIDS in Buenos Aires, and in Rome as Pope he visited a juvenile detention centre and washed and kissed the feet not only of young offenders, but of two female young offenders, one of them a Serbian Muslim woman. It was a magnificent event, and an example of pristine Christian love. It was also, though, a microcosm of the misunderstanding of the Catholic Church, both by mainstream media and perhaps ultra-conservatives as well. Pope Francis was breaking with a minor tradition, but in the fulfilment of a far greater and more profound one. Only men’s feet had been washed in the past, but here was the Pope affirming the tradition, the grace, the supreme vocation of servitude. A woman exiled from her country, her religion, her community, and even the law, having her feet cleaned by the Holy Father. It was a new way of demonstrating the oldest virtue â€" the divine paradox of the leader of more than a billion Catholics reminding the world that he was here to serve. This was not novelty, not trendiness, not fashion, not changing with the times, not trying to appear “relevant” but explaining to the world in the most transparent and golden manner that the Pope and his Church was at the epicentre of the body politic and body theological. The underlying tradition was continued and even extended and magnified, but the cosmetics were slightly changed.

Many of the underpinnings to the questions those journalists in Rome and their international counterparts insisted on asking were staggeringly naïve, but in all honesty, they did represent the views of many ordinary non-Catholics and even numerous “sort of ” or cafeteria Catholics out there. Answering them can be a little frustrating at times because we would hope, perhaps naively, that these critics would have at least a basic understanding of Catholic theology and apologetics. But it is nevertheless, and largely because of this baleful ignorance, that an informed response is absolutely necessary. At the risk of sounding banal or facile, the Pope is the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church is the Roman Catholic Church. There are major commentators and influential pundits who seem to want the Church to be anything other than Catholic and the Pope to be anything other than Papal. Sorry and all that, but the Pope cannot change certain aspects of teaching anymore than he can suddenly decide that Christ is not the Messiah or God not God. It’s not a question of changing with the times; good Lord, the times can be bad just as an idea or a person can be bad. Catholic teaching is not the same as a dinner party opinion or a water-cooler suggestion, and just because it might be difficult to accept does not mean it is impossible to justify or vital to believe. Change, then, is often a euphemism for compromise, if not downright surrender.

Interestingly, the questions centred almost exclusively on moral and sexual issues rather than directly theological topics, and they were almost all based on the stubborn, virtually religious (forgive me) conviction that the Church was wrong, outdated, and in need of fundamental transformation.

Even before the conclave, and as soon as Pope Benedict XVI shocked the world with his announcement that ill health prevented him from continuing in what must be one of the most physically demanding jobs on Earth, the New York Times editorialist and Pulitzer Prize winner Nicholas Kristof tweeted, “At some point, the church will accept contraception and female and non-celibate priests. Could it be in the next papacy?” Well, Nick, there are three different issues there, and that you lump them all together reveals a certain ignorance of what you are discussing. But to answer you on at least two of them, no, not this papacy nor the one after that nor the one after that. Kristof is an intelligent man, he has been praised for his writing, his mind is alleged to be sharp and focused. But that tweet, so typical of the mood of the time, would be akin to stating shortly after the ending of the Obama presidency that the United States would soon become a province of Canada, or the retiring head of state would become a host on Fox News. The idea that the Church could contradict Scripture and ordain women as priests, for example â€" remember, the prime role of a Catholic priest is to represent Christ at the Mass â€" would simply mean the Catholic Church was no longer the Catholic Church. This is not change but destruction.

Michael Coren, Special to National Post | 12/11/13 12:01 AM ET



In a new book on Catholicism's future, Michael Coren writes that those who demand the Church 'reform' are really calling for its destruction.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images


When Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, became Pope Francis in March 2013, there were almost 6,000 journalists in Rome to cover the Papal election. Some of them reported on the conclave with expertise and empathy, but others â€" either out of ignorance or just some jaundiced agenda â€" insisted on asking the same questions again and again. Is the Church going to change; will the new Pope be flexible; is Catholicism going to adapt to the times and alter its teaching on same-sex marriage, abortion, contraception, female ordination, celibate clergy, divorce, and so on.

Ayungin is part of the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). China claims the reef is part of its territory, more than a thousand nautical miles from its nearest 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“They’re safe,” said a senior officer of the Philippine Marines guarding the reef on board the shipwreck BRP Sierra Madre (Landing Ship Tank 57). The Philippine Marine official requested that he not be named because he is not authorized to give any statement regarding operational activities in the West Philippine Sea.

“Hindi naman sila naanod (They were not washed away),” the source added.

The source said the Chinese Navy ship, maritime ships, and fishing vessels left Ayungin two or three days before Yolanda struck the country.

“As of now, we’ve no report that the Chinese ships have returned to Ayungin. Dahil siguro may paparating na naman na isa pang bagyo (Maybe because another storm is approaching the country),” he said.

In June this year, Chinese vessels entered Ayungin and had maintained a presence in the area, as what they did in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal located in Masinloc, Zambales in April 2012.

The territorial dispute between the two countries is being heard by an international arbitration court in Hamburg.

'Yolanda' kicks out Chinese from Ayungin Reef, Philippine Marines on grounded ship safe
By: Jaime Sinapit, InterAksyon.com
November 11, 2013 9:45 AM



BRP Sierra Madre


MANILA - Super typhoon Yolanda has sent home Chinese maritime and Navy vessels at the Ayungin Reef in Palawan, while the half a dozen Philippine Marines on board a rusting and grounded World War II-era ship are safe, a source told InterAksyon.com.

This effectively ends the standoff between the two countries some 100 nautical miles from the island of Palawan.

This is the video made by the Flying Dutchsinse...

By: Azer N. Parrocha, Philippines News Agency
November 12, 2013 6:27 AM


MANILA -- The Department of Health (DOH) on Monday appealed to the private sector to donate medicines and medical supplies for victims of typhoon Yolanda-affected areas as most of their medical supplies have been used up.

A total of P15 million has so far been spent by the agency to provide medicines, medical supplies, cot beds, among others, and the department needs additional supplies, a top health official said.

“We are depleted. We had (the incident in) Zamboanga, Bohol, and (now) we have this (typhoon Yolanda). If we get hit by another big one, our stores are (already) depleted; we are still purchasing our goods,” said DOH Undersecretary Dr. Teodoro Herbosa in an interview.

“We appeal for additional medicines and hospital supplies to be donated to the DOH through our warehouse. We hope the private sector can channel some to us,” he added.

The health undersecretary said DOH can be reached at hotline number 711-1002 for donations.

Presently, more teams both local and foreign are on their way to Tacloban to assist in DOH medical operations and will be staying for about seven to 10 days.

Because hospital personnel have been treating patients for three to four days straight without breaks, new teams will be replacing them, Dr. Herbosa said.

This will allow the personnel to go to their families, have their rest while the new teams continue to provide medical and health services in the typhoon-ravaged areas, he said.

Oops, nilihok na, nanghiwi pa jud...

CEBU. A resident drives through a debris-strewn road in Madridejos, Bantayan Island.(Alex Badayos)

The declaration is also meant to control the prices of basic goods and services and avoid overpricing and hoarding, the President added.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) earlier announced a price freeze in Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Coron in Palawan, Negros Oriental, and Ormoc and Tacloban City in Leyte.

A State of Calamity is defined under law as "a condition involving mass casualty and/or major damages to property, disruption of means of livelihoods, roads and normal way of life of people in the affected areas as a result of the occurrence of natural or human-induced hazard."

Aquino last declared a State of National Calamity on Dec. 7, 2012 in the wake of the devastation caused by Typhoon Pablo in Mindanao.

ANC â€" 16 hours ago


President Aquino declared a State of National Calamity on Monday after Super Typhoon Yolanda wrecked havoc in the Visayas. According to the latest information from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), Yolanda left 1,774 dead, 2,487 injured, and 82 missing.

The President made the declaration in a bid to hasten efforts to help rehabilitate typhoon-ravaged areas.

"Idineklara natin ang State of National Calamity upang mapabilis ang mga pagkilos ng pamahalaan para sa pagsagip, paghahatid ng tulong at rehabilitasyon ng mga probinsyang sinalanta ni Yolanda (We are declaring a State of National Calamity to accelerate the efforts of government to save, to render aid, and to rehabilitate the provinces that were ravaged by Yolanda)," Aquino said, noting he has already approved an additional P1.1 billion for relief and rehabilitation efforts.

“And through time, this energy is accumulated along faults and it does not at all relate to any type of microwave he was referring to,” he added. “And, in that sense, I would think that that person who keeps on stating or mentioning the word Stanford to boost his credibility, I think is just pulling a trick on us.”

Lagmay went on to stress that while anyone is entitled to make a hypothesis, he or she must able to “prove it to be considered as something that is really happening.”

“He must be able to demonstrate it well, clearly. And it must be repeatable. As of this moment, there is no reason to believe this person,” he said.

“It’s just not possible to come up with a Google image or video of what he was demonstrating, which is hard to test and hard to examine, and come up with incredible, incredulous statements about the relationship of these microwave pulses. It’s just not possible in science,” he stressed.

Lagmay, however, did not deny that there were previous studies on a similar topic, which he referred to as “climate engineering.”

“There are research projects that want to test whether it is possible to inject aerosols and sulfur into the atmosphere. It’s a project that was shut down by the government because of public complaints,” he said.

“They say it is possible that the amount and the location where you could put it could control the climate in any particular region. That’s the closest I know, and this one, the microwave theory, this conspiracy theory, has yet to be proven well,” he added.