MikeLigalig.com

By Carmela Bignotia
(OFW Guide)

The recent visit of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (PGMA) to New Zealand brings good news to Filipinos who want to work overseas. The two-day state visit results to a greater chance of skilled Filipinos to migrate to New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister (PM), Helen Clark expressed their country’s willingness to increase diplomatic and trade ties with the Philippines in a joint press conference with PGMA held at Wellington. According to Clark, negotiations are currently underway for the proposed free trade agreement between New Zealand, Philippines, and Australia. This would allow Filipino workers to be employed and even migrate to New Zealand.

The PM of New Zealand said, “The Philippines is important to us economically. It is New Zealand’s 12th biggest market in the world.” Clark also emphasized that the greatest asset of the Philippines is its human resources or the people.

Clark added, “We are short of skilled workers here, so we appreciate an increased flow of people to our country.” Last year, 2,435 Filipinos obtained migrant status in New Zealand. This is a huge increase from the 898 Filipinos who obtained migrant status from 2004 to 2005.

“In other words, the numbers have virtually tripled, and they are almost entirely skilled people” who could easily seek employment because of “their extensive command of English, ” Clark informed.

Clark praised overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in New Zealand with the following words: “But perhaps the greatest contributor to closer ties has been the growth of the Filipino community in New Zealand â€" now over 20,000 people. In my experience, they are hardworking and friendly, and they are proud ambassadors for their country.”

source: <a href="http://www.sentidokomon.com">Sentidokomon</a>

By Dinna Chan Vasquez
<a href="http://www.manilastandardtoday.com">Manila Standard Today</a>

Home-based businesses offer entrepreneurs the chance to embark on low-risk ventures that can become quite lucrative, while still allowing for the freedom that most companies can’t offer.

Gaurav Chitnis, a successful home-based business owner and creative writer in this field, said you should treat your home business like a real money-making endeavor.

“Many people treat their home business like a part-time business and hence do not achieve desired results. Most people start a home- based business to generate extra income. Always try to make it as efficient and as profitable as you can,” he said.

Chitnis also suggests that home-based entrepreneurs continue to study and do research in their chosen businesses.

He added: “There is always a danger of falling behind your competition. The Internet, newspapers, trade magazines, and business books might be a good place to start. But always remember that it is your original ideas that will make you real money.”

Experts say a thorough business plan is still essential. This plan should include a detailed summary of the product or service, the type and cost of equipment needed and a projection of profits and losses for the first five years.

Here are ways to earn money while being a stay-at-home parent or single person:

Accepting sewing and alteration jobs. The shops at the mall are good but many people are looking for a less expensive alternative. This could be a potentially good business because when people buy ready-to-wear clothes, they seldom fit well. How many pairs of pants do people buy a year? Most of these pants need minor alterations, which you can do right in the comfort of your home for P100 or even less.

The basic requirements for a home-based sewing business are space, the amount of which should depend on the volume of business you’re planning to take on and a sewing machine and other paraphernalia such as needles, thread and pieces of cloth.

Printing digital photographs. In this day and age of digital photography, many people still want to see prints. Files on CDs or the computer are beyond them. You would need a desktop computer, a printer (the cheapest one costs less than P6,000), paper and ink (the biggest expense) and other related equipment. Unlike traditional printing, you would not need a darkroom, just small but sufficient space where you can place your equipment.

Consulting. Consultants charge fees for their knowledge, expertise, skills, connections, experience, and other assets. This business can be operated from home with standard office equipment and supplies. If your expertise is marketing, many companies are looking for a person who can boost sales. You would need a computer as reports and proposals are musts for consultants.

Running a one-man travel agency. You could actually be a travel agent while taking care of your family. First, you have to be affiliated with an accredited travel agency. The plus side of this job, aside from the commissions you will earn, are the great deals and discounts on plane tickets.

The Apostle Paul said: "Bad company corrupts good character."

By Michael Caber
<a href="http://www.manilastandardtoday.com">Manila Standard Today</a>

Japan has expressed support for the proposal of the Center of Japanese-Filipino Children’s Assistance to make Japanese-Filipino children become bonafide Japanese citizens.

Kenji Endo, first secretary and chief consul of Japanese Embassy in the Philippines, said that for humanitarian reasons, Tokyo supports the nationwide registration of Japanese-Filipino children.

“We acknowledge this mission, and the Japan and Philippine governments already discussed this issue and agreed to continue the program and find out what kind of assistance both governments can extend to these children,” Endo said.

Endo explained that as of this time the intervention of the Japan government is not yet needed until the total number of registered Japanese-Filipino children was determined.

“We will try what legal remedy could we give but not financial assistance yet,” Endo said.

The center earlier estimated that there were 200,000 Japanese-Filipino children in the Philippines. But Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration said there could be a million of them.

Vivian Tornea, OWWA’s policies and program division’s officer, said there are a million mixed Japanese-Filipino children living in the country and Japan but not properly registered.

Carmelita Nuqui, executive director of Development Action for Women Network said the nationwide registration will help them gather information about Japanese-Filipino children, their demographic profile and other essential details.

Nuqui said the reason CJFCA decided to conduct a nationwide registration is due to clamor of women asking for help.

Nuqui added that there are around 400 women who wrote letters to them asking for help to find the Japanese father of their children.

The nationwide registration will start in August but the seminar has begun, with non-government organizations and government agencies attending.

“With this program, we will be able to see the real condition of the Japanese-Filipino children in the country,” Nuqui said.

Lourdes Tabamo, DFA executive director on Consular Affairs, said the department is willing is help in alleviating the flight of Japanese-Filipino children.

Last March, the Japan embassy and DFA officials discussed the issue on how to help the children and extend program for them at the DFA main office in Roxas Boulevard in Pasay City.

Nuqui explained that the CJFCA will forward all information on Japanese-Filipino children to the Home Lawyers in Japan that will study what legal assistance they could provide.

Home lawyers will provide services for the registration of Japanese-Filipinos and secure necessary documents, contact the fathers for the recognition, work for the financial support of the children, among other matters.

"The friendships formed between good and evil men differ. The friendship of the good, at first faint like the
morning light, continually increases; the friendship of the evil at the very beginning is like the light of
midday, and dies away like the light of evening." -Bhartrihari.

JULY 4, 1744: INDEPENDENCE DAY OF BOHOL
BY Jes Tirol

Proem

Congratulations to all the elected officials on the start of their terms of offices. May you serve the people well.

July 4, 1776 is considered the Independence Day of the United States of America. The American Revolution was not yet finished when it was declared.

July 4, 1946 was the date when the United States granted Independence to the Philippines. However, during the term of President Diosdado Macapagal he transferred it to June 12. It refers to June 12, 1898, the date when Don Ambrosio de Rianzares read the declaration of Philippines Independence of Kawit, Cavite. [Note: Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo did not sign the declaration. However, it was supposed to be ordered by Gen. Aguinaldo.]

Do you know that on July 4, 1744 Francisco "Dagohoy" Sendrijas declared the independence of Bohol from the Spaniards?

Start of Dagohoy Revolution

A revolution is a successful revolt. Since Dagohoy was successful in his revolt then it should be called Dagohoy Revolution.

There is no specific historical date that would indicate the start of the Dagohoy Revolution. There is only a date of the end of the revolution declared by Major Manuel Sanz on August 31, 1829.

However, basing on historical date we can reconstruct the date of the start of the Dagohoy Revolution.

The Apostate Ibong

The Patron Saint of Inabanga, Bohol is Saint Paul. The feast day of St. Paul is June 29. However, in modern times it was transferred to June 30 because June 29 is also the feast day of St. Peter who is the Patron Saint of Loboc, Bohol. To avoid conflict of activities by important people who must attend both feast days, the feast day of Inabanga, Bohol was transferred to June 30.

On June 29, 1744, Fr. Gaspar Morales discovered that Ibong, an important leader in the highlands of Inabanga, was absent during the Holy Mass. Fr. Gaspar Morales ordered his constable, Sagarino Sendrijas to arrest Ibong. Sagarino Sendrijas was an elder brother of Francisco Sendrijas, alias Dagohoy.

Early the next day, June 30, 1744 Sagarino and his companions went to the hinterlands to arrest Ibong. However, Ibong refused to be arrested and a fight ensued. During the fight, Constable Sagarino Sendrijas was killed. Due to the distance and difficulty of the terrain we can surmise that it occurred on the afternoon of June 30.

Ibong escaped and the companions of Sagarino tried to bring the dead body back to Inabanga. Since it is not easy to bring a dead body along the forested area at night, they must have rested along the way. Meanwhile, a runner was sent back to Inabanga to inform the priest and the people what has transpired.

Dagohoy Fetched His Dead Brother

Early morning of July 1, 1744, Dagohoy with some companions went to fetch the dead body of his brother. Before noon of July 1, 1744 Dagohoy would already be back in Inabanga because the companions of Sagarino were already bringing his dead body back to Inabanga.

Dagohoy requested Fr. Morales for a proper burial of Constable Sagarino. However, Fr. Morales refused to bury the body with proper religious rites because, according to Fr. Morales, Sagarino died in a duel.

Dagohoy got angry and left the dead body in front of the church. It lay there for three (3) days rotting in the sun.

On the fourth day, Francisco "Dagohoy" Sendrijas, who was a Cabeza de Barangay, relinquished his allegiance to the Church and Spanish crown and declared war.

Francisco Dagohoy brought his barangay to the hinterlands. It is recorded that about three thousand people followed Dagohoy to the hills.

Reconstructing the Date

The dead body of Sagarino was presented for burial on July 1. Counting July 1 as the first day, then the third day would be July 3. So the next day when Dagohoy declared his independence together with his barangay and followers, must be July 4, 1744.

Therefore we can say that JULY 4 is the independence day of Bohol by virtue of the declaration of Dagohoy and his followers to be free from Spanish domination.

Bohol therefore declared its independence exactly 32 years ahead of the American Declaration of Independence.

Quote from: !!! on June 29, 2007, 08:30:36 PM
Are you kinda sure of this Mike? You are an assuming kind ra ba. I read somewhere when you claimed that Tubag Bohol is the hottest website in Bohol. If I may ask, are there surveys/studies to prove your claims?  

Rose, give ourselves two more months.

Now, tell me which website in Bohol that has a rosy member who was able to produce more than 700 juicy writings in less than seven days?

Let this heroine write 100 more tonight, and by the hour (whichever hour) I see the light of the day tomorrow I would find Tubag Bohol packed with more than 10,000 posts - 10,000 posts barely two months after the site's birth.

I rest my case.

By Miranda Hitti
<a href="http://www.cbsnews.com">CBS News</a>

(WebMD) New alcoholism research identifies five types of alcoholics and shows that young adults account for more than half of U.S. alcoholics.

The high percentage of young adults among alcoholics was unexpected, notes researcher Howard Moss, M.D., the associate director for clinical and translational research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).

"While we knew that many young adults had problematic involvement with alcohol from our research on college-aged drinkers, we were certainly surprised by the proportion of alcohol-dependent individuals who fell into that young adult cluster," Moss tells WebMD.

In the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Moss and colleagues describe the five types of alcoholics. But before you read those descriptions, keep Moss' advice in mind.

"We hope that if someone suspects they may have a problem with alcohol that they talk about this with their health care provider," Moss tells WebMD. "If the health care professional is uncomfortable with assessing alcohol problems (and we hope all such professionals are comfortable with these assessments) the individual should ask for a referral to an addictions specialist for an in-depth evaluation," he says.

Moss and colleagues studied data from 1,484 U.S. adults who took part in a national survey conducted by the NIAAA from 2001 to 2002. The study focused on alcohol dependence and also included questions about personality, family history of alcoholism and other substance use.

The researchers applied the survey's findings to the U.S. population. They estimate that in the year before the study, nearly 8 million people in the U.S. met the standard for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence.

Alcoholism is the nonmedical, popular term for alcohol dependence, notes Moss.

The study describes five subtypes of alcoholics.

The young adult subtype accounts for about 32 percent of U.S. alcoholics. They're young adults who rarely seek help for alcohol dependence. About 24 years old, they became alcoholics by age 20, on average. They drink less frequently than other alcoholics, but they tend to binge drink when they drink. This is the largest subtype.

The young antisocial subtype comprises 21 percent of U.S. alcoholics. They are 26 years old, on average. More than half have antisocial personality disorder. They tended to start drinking at 15 and became alcoholics by 18 â€" earlier than other subtypes. They are
more likely to smoke tobacco and pot. The young antisocial subtype and the young adult subtype don't overlap, Moss tells WebMD.

The functional subtype accounts for about 19 percent of U.S. alcoholics. They're generally middle-aged, working adults who tend to have stable relationships, more education, and higher incomes than other alcoholics. They tend to drink every other day, often consuming five or more drinks on drinking days.

The intermediate familial subtype makes up nearly 19 percent of U.S. alcoholics. Nearly half have close relatives who are alcoholics. Alcoholics in this subtype typically began drinking by 17 and became alcoholics in their early 30s.

The chronic severe subtype is the rarest subtype, accounting for about 9 percent of U.S. alcoholics. This subtype mainly includes men, has the highest divorce rate, and frequently includes users of illicit drugs.

"When most people think of alcoholics, they think of middle-aged men with a profile similar to our chronic severe subtype," Moss tells WebMD. "Our data shows that alcoholism is more a disorder of youth than previously suspected."

Moss warns that while some alcoholic subtypes may function better than others, "in all cases, alcohol dependence must be viewed as a severe disease with a significant adverse impact on health and well-being."

Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.

you're welcome, lumine.

kanimo maalagaron sa kanunay,
mike

By Jack Palmer
<a href="http://www.crescent-news.com">Crescent News</a>

For Sale: Vintage Scrapbook -- 1941 -- baby's birth and first year. Baby's name is Billy Arlen Mack from Defiance and Cecil, Ohio. The date of birth is February, 1941.

Bill Mack couldn't believe his eyes this past January when he gazed at the above advertisement on eBay.com, the Internet auction website.

"I had completely forgotten about it, but when I saw it I recognized it immediately," said the Defiance resident, a retired school administrator.

The scrapbook contained more than 40 "congratulations on the birth of baby" cards, a list of gifts received, receipts from the hospital, birth announcements from the Crescent-News and Cecil Cyclone, Easter cards, Christmas gift cards and first birthday cards.

In the middle of the book was a detailed and chronological diary of baby Billy Mack's first year of life.

"The pages were mostly torn or loose but the cards and paperwork were in good shape," said Mack. "My mother really put a lot of work into it. Plus, she kept everything."

Mack said he was notified that his childhood momento was on the popular Internet auction site by his first cousin, Susan Sweet.

"She is interested in antique items from Defiance and Paulding counties and just happened to see it," reported Mack. "Susie e-mailed the advertisement to me and Norm Cook (a Paulding attorney), who is another first cousin."

Mack immediately contacted the woman in Florida who advertised the book.

"She told me that she purchased the book at the Webster Flea Market in Webster, Fla., last October," said Mack. "But she also said she had just sold it to a woman from Rochester, N.Y., for $8 plus $5 for shipping and handling."

So Mack contacted the New York woman, Kathy Most.

"She collects vintage images to use in auction templates that she sells and uses for crafts," said Mack. "Once she found out it was my book, she agreed to send it to me after she scanned some of the cards."

By mid-March, Mack had possession of his baby book.

"The lady in New York didn't even want any money," he stated. "She said she was just happy to have been part of the book's extraordinary journey."

Mack, the son of the late Arlen and Helen Mack, was born in Defiance Hospital. The attending physician was Dr. George DeMuth, who had an office in Sherwood. Margaret Miller was the supervising nurse.

"This was the old, old Defiance Hospital," Mack said with a smile. "It was about where the sheriff's office is now."

According to the book's narrative of expenses, the hospital bill was $22 and the doctor's bill was $25.

"My wife and I laughed about the hospital bill," said Mack. "My mother sure got a real buy for $22."

Other "first expenses" included a mattress for his bassinet for 49 cents and four dozen diapers for $5.86.

"Those were the old-fashioned kind of diapers," stated Mack. "They were washed and re-used, so that was all I ever needed."

Mack has no idea how possession of the scrapbook left his family.

"When my parents passed away we had an auction (in 1986) and it might have been in something and we did not realize it," he stated. "Or it could have been lost or misplaced when my parents moved from Cecil to Defiance in 1970. How it ended up in Florida and on eBay may always be a mystery."

He called the book "a real treasure."

"Forty years ago this wouldn't have meant as much, but the older you get the more it means," he said.

"It's unreal. Of everything you see on eBay, it's pretty amazing to see something that belonged to you 65 years ago."

By Minerva BC Newman

Oil and gas prospects in Central Philippines are most promising, says the Department of Energy (DOE) in the region after it completed its seismic surveys in the seas of Cebu and will soon start searching for oil and natural gas deposits in the seas of Bohol.

DOE regional director Antonio Labios in a media interview last week said, "DOE and the contractor officials are actually having a continuing dialog with the local officials and NGOs in Bohol since stakeholders in the province opposed the survey but definitely, the seismic survey in the Bohol seas will start this week."

In a briefing conducted by DOE to the members of the RDC-Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) during its June 8 meeting, a delegation from DOE-Manila led by its undersecretary Guillermo Balce presented to the body updates on the government’s exploration surveys in the Philippine area.

Balce revealed that the DOE has scheduled seismic surveys in June and July 2007 in the Cebu Strait within the vicinity of Argao town to explore the prospects of oil and gas resources in the area. The project is called “2007 Trinity Marine Seismic Survey Services Contract 51 LEG in Cebu,” or SC-51.

According to Balce, the contract was awarded to NorAsian Energy Ltd., and SC-51 is just one of the many exploration projects of the Philippine government and whatever oil and gas resources that will be discovered are government-owned.

DOE further said, most of its oil explorations are done in the Palawan and Sulu Sea areas but one of the most promising areas is in the Visayas Basin that covers some 80,000 sq.km in the Central Philippines and 60% of which lies offshore.

The prospects of oil and natural gas resources that are found on both sides of Cebu and Bohol that NorAsian will explore cover some 2040 sq.km portion in the Cebu Strait and another 2400 sq.km mostly on-shore areas of northeastern Leyte and some offshore areas too. These areas had been assessed as “moderate risk, matured prospects with high to very high recoverable reserves potential” for both natural gas and oil, the exploration team explained.

In the same RDC-IDC briefing, the local officials of Bohol and Cebu expressed their concerns on the effect of the survey to the marine life in the areas and to the livelihood of the marginal fishermen.

The DOE has assured the local government officials that NorAsia has already coordinated with the concerned LGUs, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), dive operators and all other organizations and has done an extensive information campaign and consultations with stakeholders relative to the exploration project. Balce added that the contractor had taken all necessary precautions and safety measures before it undertook the surveys.

For safety measures according to NorAsia, they have already requested sea crafts plying the route to keep a distance of 8.5km from the seismic survey vessel while swimming activities must be done at 10km away from the vessel.

The contractor added the survey areas were cleared of fishing gear such as “Payaw” and similar structures. Fishes and whales were also driven away from the survey areas through what they call “Test shots.”

“All these measures are necessary because the seismic survey vessel has limited ability to maneuver and it cannot stop immediately and furthermore, the survey operations emit sound energy of up to 200 decibels, exceeding the sound levels that are considered safe to the hearing of human and whales and other sea mammals,” NorAsia explained.

NorAsia experienced delays in the conduct of the seismic surveys in Cebu’s waters when the affected fishermen in the towns of Argao and Sibonga raised the issue on compensation to their inability to fish for ten days when their “payaws” were dismantled. However, the issue was immediately resolved and the contractor paid about P287,000 and some P250,000 to the affected fishermen in Sibonga and Argao respectively.

As the surveys were on-going, several environmental groups and NGOs in Bohol led by Lawyer Raul Barbarona, ELAC executive director, with City Legal Officer and environmentalist Doni Piquero, Integrated Bar of the Philippines Bohol representative and lawyer Florendo Columnas and Bohol Alliance of Non-Government Organizations (BANGON) went to court for a temporary restraining order on the survey.

As these developed, DOE regional director Antonio Labios said, as soon as the search for oil and natural gas deposits are completed, consultations and public hearings are conducted before the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issues an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the exploration to begin.

According to EMB-7 director Allan Aranguez, “because the project is wide scale, the issuance of the ECC to the project must be supported with resolutions from the affected LGUs that they have conducted public hearings and that they have understood and approved of the project.

Arranguez added, “That will take some time because before the municipalities approve such resolutions, they must also have the endorsements of every affected barangay.”

Meantime, the search for oil and natural gas resources in the Central Philippines continues as the DOE boldly embarked on an aggressive petroleum exploration, development and production to improve the country’s energy self-sufficiency. Oil and gas discoveries will not only increase energy sufficiency, it will also lead to the growth of the energy industry; attract overseas investments; and create more jobs, national pride and technology transfer. (PIA-Cebu)

Macky,

Ang atong gibarogan: "Ang lungsod nga nasayod maoy makahatag ug kusog sa atong demokrasya apan ang lungsod nga mapasagaron maoy makapukan sa atong kagawasan."

By Richard Gray
Science Correspondent
<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk">Telegraph UK</a>

It failed to bring Jim Carrey happiness in the award-winning film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but scientists have now developed a way to block and even delete unwanted memories from people's brains.

Researchers have found they can use drugs to wipe away single, specific memories while leaving other memories intact. By injecting an amnesia drug at the right time, when a subject was recalling a particular thought, neuro-scientists discovered they could disrupt the way the memory is stored and even make it disappear.

The research has, however, sparked concern among parliamentary advisers who insist that new regulations are now needed to control the use of the drugs to prevent them becoming used by healthy people as a "quick fix".

But the US scientists behind the research insist that amnesia drugs could be invaluable in treating patients with psychiatric disorders such as post-traumatic stress.

In a new study, revealed in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, psychiatrists at McGill University, in Montreal, and Harvard University, in Boston, used an amnesia drug to "dampen" the memories of trauma victims.

Prof Karim Nader, of McGill University, said: "When you remember old memories they can become 'unstored' and then have to be 'restored'.

"As the memory is getting restored, we gave patients a drug that turns down the emotional part of the memory. It left the conscious part of the memory intact, so they could still remember all the details but without being overwhelmed by the memory."

The research suggests memories can be manipulated because they act as if made from glass, existing in a molten state as they are being created, before turning solid. When the memory is recalled, however, it becomes molten again and so can be altered before it once more resets.

The drug used by the scientists is thought to disrupt the biochemical pathways that allow the memory to "harden" after it is recalled.

The researchers used propranolol, a drug normally used to treat hypertension in heart disease patients but also known to cause memory problems. They treated 19 accident or rape victims for 10 days with the drug or with dummy pills, while they asked to describe their memories of a traumatic event that happened 10 years earlier.

A week later, they found that the patients given the drug suffered fewer signs of stress such as raised heart rate when recalling their trauma.

The technique echoes scenes from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, where the characters played by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet both undergo treatment to delete each other from their memories.

In the film, scientists ask the characters to remember their unwanted memories in order to target them with small electric shocks. But the treatment goes drastically wrong, when the characters discover they in fact wanted to hold on to the memories after all.

Scientists at New York University have published another new study where they claim to have erased a single memory from the brains of rats while leaving the rest of the animals' memories still intact.

The rats were trained to associate two musical tones with a mild electrical shock so that when they heard either of the tones they would brace themselves for a shock.

The researchers then gave half the rats a drug, called U0126 and known to cause limited amnesia, when playing one of the musical tones.

After the treatment, the rats that had been given the drug no longer associated that particular tone with an imminent shock but still braced themselves upon hearing the second tone, demonstrating only one memory had been deleted.

Prof Joseph LeDoux, who led the New York team, said: "Such treatments may have highly specific and potentially permanent effects."

The research has alarmed some experts, however, who fear that memory altering drugs could be abused by healthy individuals to delete unwanted memories on a whim.

A new report published by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, which advises MPs about scientific advances, warned that regulations need to be put in place to restrict the use of any memory-blocking drugs, imposing strict limits on their prescription.

Dr Peter Border, who edited the report, said: "There has been a deafening silence from the regulators about whether or not they might consider licensing pharmaceuticals for use in individuals where there is no medical benefits. There is a need for someone to consider how to regulate these things."

source: Philippine Entertainment Portal (pep.ph)

Kadarating lang sa airport ni Cesar Montano from Bohol nang tumawag siya sa publicist ng latest movie niya na Paraiso: Tatlong Mukha ng Pag-asa produced by Gawad Kalinga. Tinanong ni Cesar kung makakahabol pa siya sa press con sa Cibo restaurant sa Gateway, Cubao. That time, nakaalis na rin halos lahat ng invited entertainment press kaya hindi na siya pinapunta.

In Paraiso, Cesar plays the role of Rudy Abad na nakapag-asawa ng Italian-American na nasawi sa 9/11 tragedy sa New York. His episode was directed by actor Ricky Davao. Bida naman sa dalawa pang episodes sina Maricel Soriano at Michael V.

Nalaman ng PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal) mula sa misis ni Cesar na si Sunshine Cruz na umalis din pala that same day na dumating ang aktor from Bohol papuntang United States. Meron daw mga importanteng tao doon na kakausapin si Cesar na maaaring may kinalaman sa pagma-market ng kanyang pelikula doon and a possible movie project sa Hollywood.

Nakaabot na rin kay Sunshine ang tsismis na nakitang pumunta si Cesar sa girlie bar na Air Force 1 sa Parañaque. Tinangka ng ilang entertainment press na close kay Sunshine na kausapin si Cesar about the issue, pero hindi ma-reach ang aktor para makunan ng statement. Tumanggi ring magbigay ng pahayag si Sunshine sa pakiramdam niya ay malisyosong tsismis.

Tanggap na rin daw nilang mag-asawa ang kinahinatnan ng pagtakbo bilang senador ni Cesar last election. Hindi naman daw naging mahirap kay Sunshine ang pagtanggap sa pagkatalo ng kanyang mister. Okay naman daw yung experience nila sa pagtangka ni Cesar na pumasok sa pulitika. It taught them a lot of lessons. Nahirapan lang naman daw sila during the campaign period.

One special activity lined up in time for this year's Sandugo festivities is the search for the Boholano cuisine on July 28, 2007 at the Atrium of BQ Mall.

Dubbed as "Bangga sa Bol-anong Linutoan," the event aims to bring out distinctly Boholano cuisine through a cooking competition. Dishes may form part of the hotels and restaurants' menu offering in the province adding value to Bohol's position as a premier tourist destination.

A contest in the professional and student categories will be carried out on that day where five contestant-teams for each type will vie for handsome prizes. Each team will prepare three contest dishes such as main course, salad, and dessert.

For the student category, the search is open to all in-school students currently studying in Bohol for school year 2007-2008 while the participants for the professional group must be practicing cooks who have been employed for at least three months in a local dining establishment. A participating team may be composed of a maximum of only three members.

Dishes to be prepared must be typically Boholano or have the Boholano touch, yet with style, depending on the ingenuity of the contestants. The dishes must be environment-friendly, meaning any of the contest dishes must not utilize an ingredient from endangered or threatened flora and fauna.

Criteria for judging: palatability - 25%; use of locally-available ingredients (those that are distinctly Boholano is a plus factor)- 15%; innovativeness or ingenuity- 20%; presentation - 20%; and practicality or ease of preparation -20%.

Prizes at stake include P30,000, P20,000, and P10,000, for the first , second, and third prizes, respectively for the professional category while P15,000, P10,000, and P5,000 will go to the selected contestants for the student group.

The competition is organized by the Bohol Association of Hotels, Resorts and Restaurants (BAHRR) presently headed by Jun Caturza of JJ's Seafood Village with Vicky Wallace of Bohol Bee Farm as event chair.

Interested and qualified participants may get in touch with Caturza, Wallace, Judith Bomediano of Villa Alzhun or Resti Tejido at telephone numbers 500-0803/ 09154331897.(The Bohol Chronicle)

press release

Dr. Jay Gerona Ylanan and Dr. Almira Eloisa Apalisok Magdoza sealed their vows with the Sacrament of Matrimony on May 30, at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Assumption in Dauis town.

Never in their wildest dreams during the early years in the medical school at Gullas College of Medicine had these two classmates thought they would become lifetime mates.

First, they were just casual friends, then gradually became best of friends until their relationship blossomed into a beautiful and lasting commitment for each other when they were almost at the finish line of their common goal - to be full pledge medical doctors, which they did last year.

The solemn wedding ceremony was officiated by Bishop Leonardo Y. Medroso, D.D. The concelebrants of the Nuptial mass were Msgr. Crispin B. Varquez, V.G., Rev. Fr. Desiderio R. Magdoza, Rev. Fr. Martin Lupiba and Rev. Fr. Valentino Pinlac.

The groom hails from the newly created city of Bogo, Cebu and the youngest of the four children of Cesar Ylanan and Adelaida Gerona Ylanan. He holds a B.S. Biology degree from Velez School of Medicine, before he took up medicine.

Honey, as Dr. Almira Eloisa is fondly called, is the fourth of the five children of Judge Pablo R. Magdoza and Margie Apalisok Magdoza. Like her mom, she is also a pharmacist, with her B.S. Pharmacy degree she got from the University of San Carlos before her medical course.

The wedding reception took place at the lush garden of Panglao Island Nature Resort.
Their principal sponsors were Atty. Angel S. Ucat Jr. and Atty. Sylvia V. Adame, Judge Fernando G. Fuentes III and Nanette A. Rana, Dr. Leonardo Raymund C. Cimafranca and Dr. Florencia T. Miel, Alfredo A. Galagar and Jane R. Galagar, Dr. Cirilo P. Jalad and Atty. Aster A. Piollo, Dr. Walter C. Acusar and Nelda M. Cabucos, Engr. Casiano P. Magdoza and Ma. Luisa M. Mitchell, Dt. Eduardo Z. Alama and Emma A. Aton, Alfred T. Te and Melinda Uy.

Julius Ylanan was the best man, Michelle Rana, matron of honor and Ma. Margarita Magdoza II, maid of honor; Atty. Pablito Grecio Magdoza, Engr. Handro Sincero, Dr. Alexander Wesly Gaw, were the groomsmen while Rhea Bomediano, Ma. Rosario Ty, Atty. Iodine Andan were the bridesmaids. Candle sponsors, Atty. Leo Malagar and Judge Marlo Malagar, the later who had been in London was being proxied by Crishielda Lao; veil sponsors; Monroe Ho and Pier Angeli Ho; cord sponsors: Mariano Barreto Jr. and Mila Barretto, ring, coin, bible bearers: Leonardo Paolo Malagar, Juan Antonio Malagar and Kent Grant Ylanan, respectively, flower girls: Allison Dierdra Briones, Sheryll Jagdon, Snowie Barretto, Gabrielle Andrea Lao and Paulina Catingub.

from The Bohol Chronicle

Adding to the festive mood of the Sandugo celebration this month, product fairs and expositions showcasing local products of Bohol and of neighboring provinces are mounted in strategic areas of the city.

The Trade Fair and Food Fair, which have commenced operations early last Monday, are both situated at the City Tourist Port. The former accommodates some 50 stalls marketing variety of goods while the latter has 16 food courts serving delectable dishes. These are managed by Mario Uy, proprietor of Miravilla Resort, with Jun Caturza, proprietor of JJ's Seafood Village.

The Plant and Garden Show with its display of assorted agricultural products is at the City Hall Grounds. First Ladies of Tagbilaran and Bohol, Dr. Sharlene Lim and Greenie Aumentado, is expected to do the ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow July 2 at 9 a.m. This activity is spearheaded by the Bohol Gardeners and Landscapers Association with the help of the Provincial Agriculture Office through Liza Quirog and Rosanna Lamdagan.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Government of Bohol in coordination with other government agencies and NGOs, sponsors a Sandugo Product & Lifestyle Fair and Creative Industry Agora to be housed at the Island City Mall from July 18 to 22. Formal opening is at 5 p.m.

Peripheral activities are fora and symposia aimed at developing market know-how of and forging business linkages among participants, namely: Tekno-Serbsiyo and Seaweed Industry Symposium on July 18; Back-Strap Weaving 1 and Butterfly Framing, PEF Water Manual Launching, Bol-anon Talk Show, Rabies Program and Climate Change Program on July 19; Back-Strap Weaving 2 and Clay Moulding, Banana Congress on July 20; Social Development Fora, Farmers' Congress, Back-Strap Weaving 3 and Loom Weaving on July 21.

Also featured are Boholano Food Cookfest Gourmet Edition and Professional & Student Edition on July 20 at ICM and on July 21 at BQ, respectively. Cultural Presentations are staged nightly to inject more color to the activity.

Manifold talents in the person of Mrs. Enriqueta Butalid, Prov'l CCAD Head, Nannette Arbon, DTI Provincial Caretaker, and Gardy Labad, BACH Council Head take charge in making the event possible.(July 1, 2007)

The Bohol Chronicle

Corazon Lacea Paras, a consistent national awardee, is a native of Balilihan now a public health midwife of Dauis Municipal Health Office recently received another national award, this time from the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).

She was adjudged the Most Outstanding Midwife for the year 2007. She was among the 42 recipients of the Most Prestigious Award the Outstanding Professionals in all levels.

The awarding was done on the occasion of the 34th Anniversary and Professional Regulations Commission Week celebration with the secretary of DOLE, Arturo D. Brion as guest of honor and speaker.

In 1999, she was among the 10 Most Outstanding Midwives of the Philippines, sponsored by Johnson and Johnson. In 2003, she was again awarded one of the 10 Most Outstanding Midwife Leaders.

In October of 2006, she was a resource speaker on Entrepeneurship during the 6th Triennial International Congress participated in by midwives of the Asia-Pacific region.

On June 22, 2007, at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel, Metro Manila, she was the sole recipient of the Most Prestigious Award, the Outstanding Professional of 2007 Midwifery category.

She received a symbol of recognition trophy. It is in solid glass lined with gold cut to rise on a solid base with the PRC seal above center.

Paras' award-receiving trip was partly assisted by the Bohol Provincial Government Communications with various government offices and aided by the Office of Bohol 1st District Congressman Edgar M. Chatto.

On the occasion, she was escorted by husband, Mar L. Paras Jr., daughter-in-law Maria Therese B. Paras, CPA, sister-in-law Lourdes Paras Mamangon, proprietor of Napoli, an Italian Restaurant in Metro Manila with friend Boholana businesswoman, Sol Alturas Yu, owner of Villa Del Sol, a pension house in Tagbilaran who brought in bunch of expensive flowers.

... "be careful when you hire a maid..."

By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle

The provincial prosecutor has found "sufficient evidence" against a housemaid charged in the murder of a German national and his wife in April.

Provincial prosecutor Macario Delusa, in his resolution promulgated Thursday, found that housemaid Virginia Saluta "participated principally" in the killing of couple Helmut and Eutiquia Malinka.

However, Delusa noted that the crime was allegedly committed by Saluta with other "still unidentified conspirators."

The provincial prosecutor's resolution was based on the complaint for double homicide and robbery filed by the Bohol provincial police against Saluta.

The Malinka couple was killed in their residence in Barangay Laya, Baclayon town early morning last April 13.

Based on the account Saluta gave while undergoing a lie detector test and during the preliminary investigation, the prosecution said she was lying when she claimed two armed robbers forcibly entered the couple's house and tied her up before killing the Malinkas.

The police did not find any evidence of forcible entry in the house and found inconsistencies in Saluta's account, Delusa noted in his resolution.

Saluta is detained at the Bohol Provincial Police Office (BPPO).

She will be transferred to the Bohol Detention and Rehabilitation Center (BDRC) after charges were filed in court last Thursday.

BACKGROUND

Police who responded saw Helmut hogtied in his room with multiple stab wounds while his wife Eutiquia was also stabbed several times in a separate bedroom.

Saluta claimed the robbers tied her up in the servant's quarters before going for the couple.

The house-help was in the employ of the murdered couple less than a day before the incident.

The items which were confirmed lost and carted away by the robbers during the incident were a laptop computer, DVD and audio player, three units of cellphones, assorted jewelries and other valuable items, all estimated in the amount of P267,000.(July 1, 2007)

Read: How to declare War against an Arrogant Filipino

By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle

An alleged "agent" of the 15th Infantry Battalion was criticized after gatecrashing and "conducting surveillance" at the wake of slain Bayan Muna leader Mario Auxilio.

According to Karapatan, the "solemnity" of the last day of wake of Auxilio was disrupted when the alleged military asset "gatecrashed" in the early morning of June 26 at the residence of Auxilio in barangay Cabiguhan, Trinidad.

The "army agent" reportedly admitted to relatives and militant group members, who effected citizen's arrest, that he was "deployed to the wake by a certain M/Sgt. Barrios of the 15th IB with the daily supervision of one PFC Danny Rubico of the 12th IB to monitor the movements of Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo.

Ocampo was here to pay tribute to Auxilio and hold a dialogue with Gov. Erico Aumentado and provincial police chief SSupt. Edgardo Ingking.

However, Trinidad police was quick to explain the release was due to the failure of relatives of Auxilio and other complainants to file charges against Dominador Namatac, 23, a resident of barangay San Pascual, Ubay town.

According to Inabanga police investigator PO3 Bonifacio Flores, they have to release Namatac since the complainants never came back the day after they brought the suspected "army agent" to be detained at the Trinidad PNP lock-up jail.

According to PO3 Flores, activist leaders and relatives of Auxilio brought Namatac at the police station on the morning of June 26 for allegedly disrupting the vigil of the slain Bayan Muna leader.

Namatac purportedly bragged of being "a rebel returnee," and was tasked to monitor Ocampo.

Atty. Poch Cinco, chairperson of Karapatan said in a press statement, that they condemn the military's attempt at sabotaging the wake.

"The recent action of the 15th IB of sending an agent to infiltrate the crowd of mourners only confirms that this military unit has a hand in the assassination of Mayong (Auxilio)," Cinco said

"These soldiers are not only taunting the grief of multitudes but are sending a warning to those who believe in Mayong's cause that they could be next," the press statement cited.

Hundreds of mourners accompanied the interment of Auxilio last Tuesday at the Trinidad public cemetery.

Until now, the prime suspect in the slaying of the peasant leader, Hilario Diola, is still at large.

Auxilio was gunned down allegedly by Diola at the Public Market in Bien Unido town shortly before midnight last June 15.

A case has been filed by the Bohol Police Provincial Office last week against Diola based on the testimony of five witnesses who saw the shooting.

Last Tuesday, during a conference with Rep. Ocampo and SSupt. Ingking at the Governor's Mansion, Gov. Aumentado offered a P50,000 cash reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest of the lone suspect.(July 1, 2007)

... my comment: daghang dag-om, way ulan...

By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle

A militant organization of fisherfolks will be filing "economic sabotage" raps against the Department of Energy and NorAsian Energy Ltd. for the loss of income of some 40,000 fishermen caused by the ongoing oil exploration at the Bohol-Cebu Strait.

Leaders of the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) estimates an income loss of P500 a day for each fishermen in 11 towns of Bohol and Cebu due to the seismic survey, Pamalakaya information officer Gerry Corpuz said in an interview with the Chronicle and dyRD's Pulso Friday.

The owners of the Australian based NorAsian Energy, including national and regional officials of the DOE and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will be the principal respondents of criminal charges to be filed before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with oil and gas exploration activity, Corpuz bared.

Pamalakaya leaders met last Wednesday in Manila to finalize the plan, adding that they would charge NorAsian and top environment and energy officials of economic sabotage for preventing small fishermen to fish off the waters of the marine protected areas separating the island provinces of Bohol and Cebu.

Pamalakaya, in a press statement, said those who would be charged for economic sabotage and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act are owners and officers of NorAsia, Allan Arranguez, acting regional director of DENR Central Visayas, Energy Secretary Rafael Lotilla and DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes.

The militant group said the case they would file is in support to the action taken by Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim and 30 leaders of non-government organizations (NGOs), fisherfolk groups and local government units opposed to the offshore oil survey.

Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap, said in his press statement, that the impact of the "anti-fisherfolk and anti-environment oil and gas chase" is now being felt.

Some 500 small fishermen in Sibonga and 300 fishermen in Argao towns in Cebu now complaining because they were forced to stop fishing from June 14 to June 28 to give way to the vessel M/V Pacific Sword conducting the seismic survey.

"This is economic sabotage and economic massacre rolled into one. The government's shameless and brazen display of national betrayal should be exposed, condemned and stopped," Hicap said.

"Definitely we will bring this case to one of the appropriate courts, including the Supreme Court if the situation merits… to obtain a cease and desist order and stop the corporate giants and their cohorts in Malacañang, in the DENR and DoE from further destroying the environment and from further depriving the small fishermen of their economic and political rights," the Pamalakaya leader added.

Hicap said the case would be filed the soonest possible time, saying the case is being studied and prepared carefully to come up with "a strong class suit" against the "raiders of Bohol-Cebu Strait."

Pamalakaya's Hicap initially pegged income loss for some 800 affected fishermen in Sibonga and Argao between P5.6 million to P6 million pesos.

Hicap said Pamalakaya members in Bohol and Cebu are now coordinating their next move on how to campaign against the oil exploration, saying protests ranging from fluvial actions and pickets will be staged.

Corpuz said a petition will be filed in the Senate and House of Representatives urging lawmakers to conduct a separate or joint congressional inquiry on the harsh effects of seismic surveys in declared protected seascapes of the Visayan Sea.

The fishermen's group had warned of "severe fish crisis" if government would not cancel all offshore mining activities in the Visayan Sea, adding that the far reaching effect of oil and exploration could lead to "a decline of 600,000 metric tons in the yearly production of fish" in the country or approximately 20 percent of the annual national production.

The fisherfolk group said the oil seismic survey will affect not only small fishermen but also fishing workers and their dependents.(July 1, 2007)

By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle

A long wanted top robbery suspect mustering in hold-up was arrested by alert operatives of the Inabanga PNP while resting at his residence in barangay Luyo, Inabanga town last Thursday night.

Michael Lao, 25, is the prime suspect linked to at least 3 broad daylight hold-up incidents in the city.

Lao is linked to the hold-upping of Florencio L:im Caltex Gas Station, employees of FCB Foundation, and a cashier of Unitop Department Store who was about to deposit over P500,000 to a bank here.

The suspect is also known responsible for a series of robberies in Inabanga town and is operating with a younger brother, Christopher Lao, 19, who was also arrested by police last year. Two other members of their group is a subject of a manhunt by the PNP.

According to Inabanga PNP investigator PO3 Herminigildo Abella, Lao was sighted by police agents in barangay Nabuan, Inabanga last Wednesday, prompting them to conduct surveillance at his residence in barangay Luyo.

Lao was allegedly having a drinking session at around 8 p.m. Friday when PO3 Roberto Vistal and PO3 Lybio Suarez Jr. came to arrest him.

PO3 Abella told the Chronicle that Lao did not attempt to elude the policemen.

Lao, who is now detained at the Inabanga PNP Lock-up Jail, will be tried for two counts of theft in Inabanga while he will also be facing trial for robbery cases to be filed by the City PNP.

60-DAY ULTIMATUM

PNP Provl Director SSupt. Edgardo Ingking issued a 60-day deadline for PNP chiefs to arrest robbery suspects behind unsolved robbery cases in the municipalities.

The order was issued after Ingking was irked on reports that some robbery cases in the towns remain unsolved.

Ingking also adopted a reward and demerit system while announcing that the Provincial PNP command will reward P1,000 for every solved robbery.

Towns with no robbery incidents will also be awarded, Ingking assured.(July 1, 2007)

By Kit Bagaipo
The Bohol Chronicle

Tagbilaran Mayor Dan Lim said he is optimistic that the city will reap more victories in his upcoming term.

Speaking on the eve of his induction for his second term, Lim said that notwithstanding the gains in the first three years, so much needs to be done.

Lim noted that what has been achieved so far merely elevated the city to the next level in the struggle for a better life.

In his first three years, Lim was able to accomplished several historic pro-people initiatives particularly in education, health, peace and order and environment.

The city has implemented the multiple intelligence theory to pre-school children in Day Care centers that prepare them for the educational requirements of the future.

To encourage pupils studying in government learning institutions, the city distributes free school uniforms including shoes, bags and school supplies. This year, the freebies include umbrellas and raincoats.

The Blue Card program provides free hospitalization to indigent patients confined in government hospitals while the Botika sa Katawhan distributes free prescription medicines to the poorest of the poor.

The tough-talking Lim has introduced an innovative peace and order approach that gives premium to crime solution more than apprehension of violators.

Lim has also introduced a new garbage collection scheme that has not only removed trash from street corners but also free up the air pollutants.

On the occasion of the 41st year of Tagbilaran as a charter city, Lim said that the future holds much for a city that is only starting to realize its potentials.

"Notwithstanding its limitations, Tagbilaran has awesome potentials because it is relying on its best asset - its people. What it lacks in size and resources, Tagbilaran more than makes up for it with a citizenry that has the right tools for growth," the mayor said.

In paying tribute to Tagbilaranons, Lim described them as "God-fearing, law-abiding, hard-working and unassuming".

The mayor however acknowledges the challenges saying "the odds are daunting".

"Around us we see the festering wounds of anger, resentment, bitterness, cynicism and skepticism due to the years of official neglect and opportunism," he said.

But while the situation seems bad, the mayor said "something exciting is happening in the city by the bay".

Lim said that today, there are enough reasons to be optimistic about the future and to hope for a better life in Tagbilaran.

The mayor said hope will only thrive in the hearts of people who are willing to give the future a chance.

"Despair has little to do with what we have around us but is determined by what is in our hearts and in our minds. If we have already given up, all the efforts to improve external conditions will no longer make any difference," Lim noted.

He reiterated his optimism about a brighter future saying "the best is yet to come" "With God's blessings and provisions, all that will come to pass," the mayor concluded. (July 1, 2007)

"A wife who is 85% faithful to her husband is not faithful at all. There is no such thing as part-time loyalty to Jesus Christ."

Vance Havner

"You are either a Christian or you are not a Christian; you cannot be partly a Christian. You are either "dead" or "alive"; you are either "born" or "not born"."

Martyn Lloyd-Jones

"My basic principle is that you don't make decisions because they are easy; you don't make them because they are cheap; you don't make them because they're popular; you make them because they're right."

Theodore Hesburgh

"Every man is a missionary, now and forever, for good or for evil, whether he intends or designs it or not. He may be a blot radiating his dark influence outward to the very circumference of society, or he may be a blessing spreading benediction over the length and breadth of the world. But a blank he cannot be: there are no moral blanks; there are no neutral characters."

Thomas Chalmers

"While women weep, as they do now, I'll fight; while children go hungry, as they do now I'll fight; while men go to prison, in and out, in and out, as they do now, I'll fight; while there is a drunkard left, while there is a poor lost girl upon the streets, while there remains one dark soul without the light of God, I'll fight; I'll fight to the very end!"

General William Booth

"Kind words produce their own image in men's souls; and a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used."

Blaise Pascal

The Only News I Know
By Emily Dickinson

The only news I know
Is bulletins all day
From Immortality.

The only shows I see,
Tomorrow and Today,
Perchance Eternity.

The only One I meet
Is God, -the only street,
Existance; this traversed

If other news there be,
Or admirabler show -
I'll tell it you.

Apology to Delia: For Desiring a Lock of Her Hair
By William Cowper

Delia, the unkindest girl on earth,
When I besought the fair,
That favour of intrinsic worth
A ringlet of her hair,

Refused that instant to comply
With my absurd request,
For reasons she could specify,
Some twenty score at least.

Trust me, my dear, however odd
It may appear to say,
I sought it merely to defraud
Thy spoiler of his prey.

Yes! when its sister locks shall fade,
As quickly fade they must,
When all their beauties are decayed,
Their gloss, their colour, lost -

Ah then! if haply to my share
Some slender pittance fall,
If I but gain one single hair,
Nor age usurp them all; -

When you behold it still as sleek,
As lovely to the view,
As when it left thy snowy neck,
That Eden where it grew,

Then shall my Delia's self declare
That I professed the truth,
And have preserved my little share
In everlasting youth.

Ode to Evening
by William Collins

If aught of oaten stop or pastoral song
May hope, chaste Eve, to soothe thy modest ear,
Like thy own solemn springs,
Thy springs, and dying gales,
O nymph reserved, while now the bright-haired sun
Sits in yon western tent, whose cloudy skirts,
With brede ethereal wove,
O'erhang his wavy bed:

Now air is hushed, save where the weak-eyed bat
With short shrill shriek flits by on leathern wing,
Or where the beetle winds
His small but sullen horn,
As oft he rises 'midst the twilight path,
Against the pilgrim borne in heedless hum:
Now teach me, maid composed,
To breathe some softened strain,
Whose numbers stealing through thy dark'ning vale
May not unseemly with its stillness suit,
As, musing slow, I hail
Thy genial loved return!

For when thy folding-star arising shows
His paly circlet, at his warning lamp
The fragrant hours, and elves
Who slept in buds the day,
And many a nymph who wreathes her brows with sedge
And sheds the fresh'ning dew, and lovelier still,
The pensive pleasures sweet
Prepare thy shadowy car.

Then let me rove some wild and heathy scene,
Or find some ruin 'midst its dreary dells,
Whose walls more awful nod
By thy religious gleams.
Or if chill blust'ring winds or driving rain
Prevent my willing feet, be mine the hut
That from the mountain's side
Views wilds and swelling floods
And hamlets brown and dim-discovered spires,
And hears their simple bell, and marks o'er all
Thy dewy fingers draw
The gradual dusky veil.

While Spring shall pour his showers, as oft he wont,
And bathe thy breathing tresses, meekest Eve;
While Summer loves to sport
Beneath thy lingering light;
While sallow Autumn fills thy lap with leaves;
Or Winter, yelling through the troublous air,
Affrights thy shrinking train
And rudely rends thy robes;
So long, regardful of thy quiet rule,
Shall fancy, friendship, science, smiling peace,
Thy gentlest influence own,
And love thy favourite name!

Dejection: An Ode
by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Late, late yestreen I saw the new moon,
With the old moon in her arms;
And I fear, I fear, my master dear!
We shall have a deadly storm.

Ballad of Sir Patrick Spence.

I

Well! If the Bard was weather-wise, who made
The grand old ballad of Sir Patrick Spence,
This night, so tranquil now, will not go hence
Unroused by winds, that ply a busier trade
Than those which mould yon cloud in lazy flakes,
Or the dull sobbing draft, that moans and rakes
Upon the strings of this Aeolian lute,
Which better far were mute.
For lo! the New-moon winter-bright!
And overspread with phantom light,
(With swimming phantom light o'erspread
But rimmed and circled by a silver thread)
I see the old Moon in her lap, foretelling
The coming-on of rain and squally blast.
And oh! that even now the gust were swelling,
And the slant night-shower driving loud and fast!
Those sounds which oft have raised me, whilst they awed,
And sent my soul abroad,
Might now perhaps their wonted impulse give,
Might startle this dull pain, and make it move and live!

II

A grief without a pang, void, dark, and drear,
A stifled, drowsy, unimpassioned grief,
Which finds no natural outlet, no relief,
In word, or sigh, or tear -
O Lady! in this wan and heartless mood,
To other thoughts by yonder throstle wooed,
All this long eve, so balmy and serene,
Have I been gazing on the western sky,
And its peculiar tint of yellow green:
And still I gaze -and with how blank an eye!
And those thin clouds above, in flakes and bars,
That give away their motion to the stars;
Those stars, that glide behind them or between,
Now sparkling, now bedimmed, but always seen:
Yon crescent Moon, as fixed as if it grew
In its own cloudless, starless lake of blue;
I see them all so excellently fair,
I see, not feel, how beautiful they are!

III

My genial spirits fail;
And what can these avail
To lift the smothering weight from off my breast?
It were a vain endeavour,
Though I should gaze forever
On that green light that lingers in the west:
I may not hope from outward forms to win
The passion and the life, whose fountains are within.

IV

O Lady! we receive but what we give,
And in our life alone does Nature live:
Ours is her wedding-garment, ours her shroud!
And would we aught behold, of higher worth,
Than that inanimate cold world allowed
To the poor loveless ever-anxious crowd,
Ah! from the soul itself must issue forth
A light, a glory, a fair luminous cloud
Enveloping the Earth -
And from the soul itself must there be sent
A sweet and potent voice, of its own birth,
Of all sweet sounds the life and element!

V

O pure of heart! thou need'st not ask of me
What this strong music in the soul may be!
What, and wherein it doth exist,
This light, this glory, this fair luminous mist,
This beautiful and beauty-making power.
Joy, virtuous Lady! Joy that ne'er was given,
Save to the pure, and in their purest hour,
Life, and Life's effluence, cloud at once and shower,
Joy, Lady! is the spirit and the power,
Which wedding Nature to us gives in dower,
A new Earth and new Heaven,
Undreamt of by the sensual and the proud -
Joy is the sweet voice, Joy the luminous cloud -
We in ourselves rejoice!
And thence flows all that charms or ear or sight,
All melodies the echoes of that voice,
All colours a suffusion from that light.

VI

There was a time when, though my path was rough,
This joy within me dallied with distress,
And all misfortunes were but as the stuff
Whence Fancy made me dreams of happiness:
For hope grew round me, like the twining vine,
And fruits, and foliage, not my own, seemed mine.
But now afflictions bow me down to earth:
Nor care I that they rob me of my mirth;
But oh! each visitation
Suspends what Nature gave me at my birth,
My shaping spirit of Imagination.
For not to think of what I needs must feel,
But to be still and patient, all I can;
And haply by abstruse research to steal
From my own nature all the natural man -
This was my sole resource, my only plan:
Till that which suits a part infects the whole,
And now is almost grown the habit of my soul.

VII

Hence, viper thoughts, that coil around my mind,
Reality's dark dream!
I turn from you, and listen to the wind,
Which long has raved unnoticed. What a scream
Of agony by torture lengthened out
That lute sent forth! Thou Wind, that rav'st without,
Bare crag, or mountain-tairn, or blasted tree,
Or pine-grove whither woodman never clomb,
Or lonely house, long held the witches' home,
Methinks were fitter instruments for thee,
Mad Lutanist! who in this month of showers,
Of dark-brown gardens, and of peeping flowers,
Mak'st Devils' yule, with worse than wintry song,
The blossoms, buds, and timorous leaves among.
Thou actor, perfect in all tragic sounds!
Thou mighty poet, e'en to frenzy bold!
What tell'st thou now about?
'Tis of the rushing of an host in rout,
With groans, of trampled men, with smarting wounds -
At once they groan with pain, and shudder with the cold!
But hush! there is a pause of deepest silence!
And all that noise, as of a rushing crowd,
With groans, and tremulous shudderings -all is over -
It tells another tale, with sounds less deep and loud!
A tale of less affright,
And tempered with delight,
As Otway's self had framed the tender lay -
'Tis of a little child
Upon a lonesome wild,
Not far from home, but she hath lost her way:
And now moans low in bitter grief and fear,
And now screams loud, and hopes to make her mother hear.

VIII

'Tis midnight, but small thoughts have I of sleep:
Full seldom may my friend such vigils keep!
Visit her, gentle Sleep! with wings of healing,
And may this storm be but a mountain-birth,
May all the stars hang bright above her dwelling,
Silent as though they watched the sleeping Earth!
With light heart may she rise,
Gay fancy, cheerful eyes,
Joy lift her spirit, joy attune her voice;
To her may all things live, from pole to pole,
Their life the eddying of her living soul!
O simple spirit, guided from above,
Dear Lady! friend devoutest of my choice,
Thus mayst thou ever, evermore rejoice.

The Last Decalogue
by Arthur Hugh Clough

Thou shalt have one God only; -who
Would be at the expense of two?
No graven images may be
Worshipped, except the currency:
Swear not at all; for, for thy curse
Thine enemy is none the worse:
At church on Sunday to attend
Will serve to keep the world thy friend:
Honour thy parents; that is, all
From whom advancement may befall:
Thou shalt not kill; but need'st not strive
Officiously to keep alive:
Do not adultery commit;
Advantage rarely comes of it:
Thou shalt not steal; an empty feat,
When 'tis so lucrative to cheat:
Bear not false witness; let the lie
Have time on its own wings to fly:
Thou shalt not covet, but tradition
Approves all forms of competition.

I Am! Yet What I Am None Cares or Knows
by John Clare

Written in Northampton County Asylum

I am: yet what I am none cares or knows,
My friends forsake me like a memory lost;
I am the self-consumer of my woes,
They rise and vanish in oblivious host,
Like shades in love and death's oblivion lost;
And yet I am, and live with shadows tossed

Into the nothingness of scorn and noise,
Into the living sea of waking dreams,
Where there is neither sense of life nor joys,
But the vast shipwreck of my life's esteems;
And e'en the dearest -that I loved the best -
Are strange -nay, rather stranger than the rest.

I long for scenes where man has never trod,
A place where woman never smiled or wept;
There to abide with my Creator, God,
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept:
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie, -
The grass below -above the vaulted sky.

The Aged Aged Man
by Lewis Carroll

I'll tell thee everything I can;
There's little to relate.
I saw an aged aged man,
A-sitting on a gate.
"Who are you, aged man?" I said,
"And how is it you live?"
And his answer trickled through my head
Like water through a sieve.

He said, "I look for butterflies
That sleep among the wheat:
I make them into mutton-pies,
And sell them in the street.
I sell them unto men," he said,
"Who sail on stormy seas;
And that's the way I get my bread -
A trifle; if you please."

But I was thinking of a plan
To dye one's whiskers green,
And always use so large a fan
That they could not be seen.
So, having no reply to give
To what the old man said,
I cried, "Come, tell me how you live!"
And thumped him on the head.

His accents mild took up the tale:
He said, "I go my ways,
And when I find a mountain-rill,
I set it in a blaze;
And thence they make a stuff they call
Rowland's Macassar-Oil -
Yet twopence-halfpenny is all
They give me for my toil."

But I was thinking of a way
To feed oneself on batter,
And so go on from day to day
Getting a little fatter.
I shook him well from side to side,
Until his face was blue:
"Come, tell me how you live," I cried,
"And what it is you do!"

He said, "I hunt for haddocks' eyes
Among the heather bright,
And work them into waistcoat buttons
In the silent night.
And these I do not sell for gold
Or coin of silvery shine,
But for a copper halfpenny,
And that will purchase nine.

"I sometimes dig for buttered rolls,
Or set limed twigs for crabs;
I sometimes search the grassy knolls
For wheels of hansom-cabs.
And that's the way" (he gave a wink)
"By which I get my wealth -
And very gladly will I drink
Your Honour's noble health."

I heard him then, for I had just
Completed my design
To keep the Menai bridge from rust
By boiling it in wine.
I thanked him much for telling me
The way he got his wealth,
But chiefly for his wish that he
Might drink my noble health.

And now, if e'er by chance I put
My fingers into glue,
Or madly squeeze a right-hand foot
Into a left-hand shoe,
Or if I drop upon my toe
A very heavy weight,
I weep, for it reminds me so
Of that old man I used to know -
Whose look was mild, whose speech was slow,
Whose hair was whiter than the snow,
Whose face was very like a crow,
With eyes, like cinders, all aglow,
Who seemed distracted with his woe,
Who rocked his body to and fro,
And muttered mumblingly and low,
As if his mouth were full of dough,
Who snorted like a buffalo -
That summer evening long ago
A-sitting on a gate.

Ask Me No More
by Thomas Carew

Ask me no more where Jove bestows,
When June is past, the fading rose;
For in your beauty's orient deep
These flowers, as in their causes, sleep.

Ask me no more whither do stray
The golden atoms of the day;
For in pure love heaven did prepare
Those powders to enrich your hair.

Ask me no more whither doth haste
The nightingale when May is past;
For in your sweet dividing throat
She winters and keeps warm her note.

Ask me no more where those stars 'light
That downwards fall in dead of night;
For in your eyes they sit, and there
Fixed become as in their sphere.

Ask me no more if east or west
The Phoenix builds her spicy nest;
For unto you at last she flies,
And in your fragrant bosom dies.

She Walks in Beauty
by Lord George Gordon Byron

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

A Red, Red Rose
by Robert Burns

O my Luve's like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June;
O my Luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune.

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a' the seas gang dry:

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun;
I will luve thee still, my dear,
While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve,
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my Luve,
Tho' it ware ten thousand mile.

Life in a Love
by Robert Browning

Escape me?
Never -
Beloved!
While I am I, and you are you,
So long as the world contains us both,
Me the loving and you the loth,
While the one eludes, must the other pursue.
My life is a fault at last, I fear -
It seems too much like a fate, indeed!
Though I do my best I shall scarce succeed -
But what if I fail of my purpose here?

It is but to keep the nerves at strain,
To dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall,
And baffled, get up to begin again, -
So the chase takes up one's life, that's all.
While, look but once from your farthest bound,
At me so deep in the dust and dark,
No sooner the old hope drops to ground
Than a new one, straight to the selfsame mark,
I shape me -
Ever
Removed!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise,
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints -I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! -and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

The Fish
by Rupert Brooke

In a cool curving world he lies
And ripples with dark ecstasies.
The kind luxurious lapse and steal
Shapes all his universe to feel
And know and be; the clinging stream
Closes his memory, glooms his dream,
Who lips the roots o' the shore, and glides
Superb on unreturning tides.
Those silent waters weave for him
A fluctuant mutable world and dim,
Where wavering masses bulge and gape
Mysterious, and shape to shape
Dies momently through whorl and hollow,
And form and line and solid follow
Solid and line and form to dream
Fantastic down the eternal stream;
An obscure world, a shifting world,
Bulbous, or pulled to thin, or curled,
Or serpentine, or driving arrows,
Or serene slidings, or March narrows.
There slipping wave and shore are one,
And weed and mud. No ray of sun,
But glow to glow fades down the deep
(As dream to unknown dream in sleep);
Shaken translucency illumes
The hyaline of drifting glooms;
The strange soft-handed depth subdues
Drowned colour there, but black to hues,
As death to living, decomposes -
Red darkness of the heart of roses,
Blue brilliant from dead starless skies,
And gold that lies behind the eyes,
The unknown unnameable sightless white
That is the essential flame of night,
Lustreless purple, hooded green,
The myriad hues that lie between
Darkness and darkness!....

And all's one,
Gentle, embracing, quiet, dun,
The world he rests in, world he knows,
Perpetual curving. Only -grows
An eddy in that ordered falling,
A knowledge from the gloom, a calling
Weed in the wave, gleam in the mud -
The dark fire leaps along his blood;
Dateless and deathless, blind and still,
The intricate impulse works its will;
His woven world drops back; and he,
Sans providence, sans memory,
Unconscious and directly driven,
Fades to some dark sufficient heaven.

O world of lips, O world of laughter,
Where hope is fleet, and thought flies after,
Of lights in the clear night, of cries
That drift along the wave and rise
Thin to the glittering stars above,
You know the hands, the eyes of love!
The strife of limbs, the sightless clinging,
The infinite distance, and the singing
Blown by the wind, a flame of sound,
The gleam, the flowers, and vast around
The horizon, and the heights above -
You know the sigh, the long of love!

But there the night is close, and there
Darkness is cold and strange and bare;
And the secret deeps are whisperless;
And rhythm is all deliciousness;
And joy is in the throbbing tide,
Whose intricate fingers beat and glide
In felt bewildering harmonies
Of trembling touch; and music is
The exquisite knocking of the blood.
Space is no more, under the mud;
His bliss is older than the sun.
Silent and straight the waters run.
The lights, the cries, the willows dim,
And the dark tide are one with him.

Hope
by Emily Jane Bronte

Hope Was but a timid friend;
She sat without the grated den,
Watching how my fate would tend,
Even as selfish-hearted men.

She was cruel in her fear;
Through the bars one dreary day,
I looked out to see her there,
And she turned her face away!

Like a false guard, false watch keeping,
Still, in strife, she whispered peace;
She would sing while I was weeping;
If I listened, she would cease.

False she was, and unrelenting;
When my last joys strewed the ground,
Even Sorrow saw, repenting,
Those sad relics scattered round;

Hope, whose whisper would have given
Balm to all my frenzied pain,
Stretched her wings, and soared to heaven,
Went, and ne'er returned again!

Evening Solace
by Charlotte Bronte

The human heart has hidden treasures,
In secret kept, in silence sealed;--
The thoughts, the hopes, the dreams, the pleasures,
Whose charms were broken if revealed.
And days may pass in gay confusion,
And nights in rosy riot fly,
While, lost in Fame's or Wealth's illusion,
The memory of the Past may die.

But there are hours of lonely musing,
Such as in evening silence come,
When, soft as birds their pinions closing,
The heart's best feelings gather home.
Then in our souls there seems to languish
A tender grief that is not woe;
And thoughts that once wrung groans of anguish
Now cause but some mild tears to flow.

And feelings, once as strong as passions,
Float softly back--a faded dream;
Our own sharp griefs and wild sensations,
The tale of others' sufferings seem.
Oh! when the heart is freshly bleeding,
How longs it for that time to be,
When, through the mist of years receding,
Its woes but live in reverie!

And it can dwell on moonlight glimmer,
On evening shade and loneliness;
And, while the sky grows dim and dimmer,
Feel no untold and strange distress--
Only a deeper impulse given
By lonely hour and darkened room,
To solemn thoughts that soar to heaven
Seeking a life and world to come.

kung mao na napiko diay ang tapaludo sa imong pagbati kaniadto.

Sonnet: O Poverty! Though From Thy Haggard Eye
by William Lisle Bowles

O, Poverty! though from thy haggard eye,
Thy cheerless mien, of every charm bereft,
Thy brow that Hope's last traces long have left,
Vain Fortune's feeble sons with terror fly;
I love thy solitary haunts to seek.
For Pity, reckless of her own distress;
And Patience, in her pall of wretchedness,
That turns to the bleak storm her faded cheek;
And Piety, that never told her wrong;
And meek Content, whose griefs no more rebel;
And Genius, warbling sweet her saddest song;
And Sorrow, listening to a lost friend's knell,
Long banished from the world's insulting throng;
With thee, and thy unfriended offspring, dwell.

Love's Secret
by William Blake

Never seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind doth move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart,
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears.
Ah! she did depart!

Soon after she was gone from me,
A traveller came by,
Silently, invisibly:
He took her with a sigh.

The Broken Heart
by William Barnes

News o' grief had overteaken
Dark-eyed Fanny, now vorseaken;
There she zot, wi' breast a-heaven,
While vrom zide to zide, wi' grieven,
Vell her head, wi' tears a-creepen
Down her cheaks, in bitter weepen.
There wer still the ribbon-bow
She tied avore her hour ov woe,
An' there wer still the hans that tied it
Hangen white,
Or wringen tight,
In ceare that drowned all ceare bezide it.

When a man, wi' heartless slighten,
Mid become a maiden's blighten,
He mid cearelessly vorseake her,
But must answer to her Meaker;
He mid slight, wi' selfish blindness,
All her deeds o' loven-kindness,
God wull waigh 'em wi' the slighten
That mid be her love's requiten;
He do look on each deceiver,
He do know
What weight o' woe
Do break the heart ov ev'ry griever.

Consolation
by Matthew Arnold

Mist clogs the sunshine.
Smoky dwarf houses
Hem me round everywhere;
A vague dejection
Weighs down my soul.

Yet, while I languish,
Everywhere countless
Prospects unroll themselves,
And countless beings
Pass countless moods.

Far hence, in Asia,
On the smooth convent-roofs,
On the gilt terraces,
Of holy Lassa,
Bright shines the sun.

Grey time-worn marbles
Hold the pure Muses;
In their cool gallery,
By yellow Tiber,
They still look fair.

Strange unloved uproar
Shrills round their portal;
Yet not on Helicon
Kept they more cloudless
Their noble calm.

Through sun-proof alleys
In a lone, sand-hemmed
City of Africa,
A blind, led beggar,
Age-bowed, asks alms.

No bolder robber
Erst abode ambushed
Deep in the sandy waste;
No clearer eyesight
Spied prey afar.

Saharan sand-winds
Seared his keen eyeballs;
Spent is the spoil he won.
For him the present
Holds only pain.

Two young fair lovers,
Where the warm June-wind,
Fresh from the summer fields,
Plays fondly round them,
Stand, tranced in joy.

With sweet joined voices,
And with eyes brimming:
"Ah," they cry "Destiny,
Prolong the present!
Time, stand still here!"

The prompt stern Goddess
Shakes her head, frowning;
Time gives his hour-glass
Its due reversal;
Their hour is gone.

With weak indulgence
Did the just Goddess
Lengthen their happiness,
She lengthened also
Distress elsewhere.

The hour, whose happy
Unalloyed moments
I would eternalize,
Ten thousand mourners
Well pleased see end.

The bleak stern hour,
Whose severe moments
I would annihilate,
Is passed by others
In warmth, light, joy.

Time, so complained of,
Who to no one man
Shows partiality,
Brings round to all men

ghost, we're glad that you're also a poet.

feel free to post more poems.

"A man who is wrathful with us is a sick man; we must apply a plaster to his heart - love; we must treat him kindly, speak to him gently, lovingly. And if there is not deeply-rooted malice against us within him, but only a temporary fit of anger, you will see how his heart, or his malice, will melt away through your kindness and love - how good will conquer evil. A Christian must always be kind, gracious, and wise in order to conquer evil by good."

John of Kronstadt
dailychristianquote.com

By Ben Macintyre
<a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk>TIMES ONLINE UK</a>

Ten years ago last month, to the dismay of many chess enthusiasts, the IBM supercomputer program Deep Blue beat the world chess champion Gary Kasparov: the greatest chess mind alive was elbowed aside by raw computing muscle. The quality of Deep Blue’s victory is still debated, but the moment marked a turning point in the relationship between man and machine.

The computer is now dominant in almost every board and card game devised by man. Computers can now beat us not only at chess, but also draughts, Othello, Scrabble, three-dimensional noughts and crosses, Monopoly and even bridge and poker (most of the time). In these games, the computer has a blueprint for “perfect play”: it simply runs the board position through a databank, and chooses the best next move, every time.

The unstoppable march of computer power has long been a staple of science fiction, the nightmare evoked in 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Matrix in which artificial intelligence seeks to control and supersede Man’s. If computers can win at the intellectual challenge of world-class chess, it was assumed, then the computerised brain, for good or ill, must be inevitable.

Yet there is one game in which the computer is still no match for Man, a game in which a competent teenager can beat the world’s most sophisticated computer program with ease: and that is the ancient Chinese board game Go, the oldest game in the world, and the only one at which man remains the undisputed champion.

Go originated in ancient China long before there was writing to record it (the invention, so legend has it, of an emperor keen to teach his foolish son the virtues of balance and patience). The game involves a simple grid board of 19 lines and two players, one with white stones and the other with black. The object, simply put, is to stake out a larger territory by tactically placing the stones and surrounding the opponent’s forces. Go is a beautiful game to play and watch: intricate, complex and, for a computer, distinctly baffling.

The very qualities that mark out the master Go player are precisely those a computer lacks: intuition, planning, character and pattern reading. Go is not merely a matter of probabilities leading to certainties, which is how Deep Blue and similar programs work): at its best, the game reflects the defining characteristics of human intelligence.

Despite the expenditure of millions of pounds, the promise of prize money and several decades of deep-mine research, attempts to create a program to challenge professional Go players have made little headway. Even the most sophisticated programs can only compete with experienced players on a reduced grid.

Go is seen as a key to unlocking the secret of artificial intelligence (AI). If computers can “learn” the game, some scientists believe, mankind would be a huge step closer to replicating human thought processes, with great scientific benefits. Conversely, so long as we can still beat computers at this most human game, then the spectre of a machine that can comprehend rather than merely compute will remain the stuff of fiction.

From China Go spread throughout the Far East, and it is increasingly played in the West. Like chess, despite its complexity at the highest level, Go does not require special mental equipment: Albert Einstein played it; but so, too, does Rod Stewart, and so do I (very badly).

Humans are rather good at Go, but computers are not. Deep Blue won by “brute force” computing power: working out the possible moves and counter moves far ahead of play, at a rate of 200 million positions per second. Compared with the possible permutations of Go, however, that was a doddle. In chess, each player has on average between 25 and 35 possible moves; the average number of moves in Go is more then 250. It has been calculated that there are more distinct games of Go than atoms in the known universe.

In Go, a move early in the game can affect the passage of play hundreds of moves later. The very vastness of the possibilities offers wide scope for individuality, strategy, personality and intuitive spatial awareness, all of which elude computers. If chess is a medieval battle, then Go is comparable to a world war, with unpredictable conflicts and territorial shifts across a wide territory. The hardest task is to tell who is winning at any given moment.

A Taiwanese organisation has offered $1 million for the first computer program to defeat a junior Go champion, yet despite some recent advances, none has yet reached that skill level. Computers crunch numbers, but humans recognise patterns and attach values to them, sometimes subconsciously, in the same way that we recognise faces. To win at Go, a computer would have to be able to spot subtle, complex designs and draw the correct inferences. The experienced Go player can tell whether a configuration is “alive”, meaning it has been developed in a way that leaves it immune to capture, or “dead”, in the sense that no amount of countermoves will save it â€" precisely the sort of fuzzy concept that sends computers into meltdown.

These are the very hallmarks of human intelligence â€" adaptation to uncertainty, intuition, wisdom, the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others, and a sense of mortality â€" that computers cannot replicate, yet.

Alan Turing, the great pioneer of computer science, once said that a machine could be considered intelligent if its responses were indistinguishable from that of a human. Viewed from the level of an ancient Chinese board game, the prospect of a machine that can reproduce the subtleties of the human mind still seems as distant as ever.

Only when the machines surpass Go (and collect $1 million) will artificial intelligence truly be worthy to compete with the human kind.

Tubag Bohol's Prolifics

Ranking

1. mfrandsen      1281
2. yadz26       1256
3. Ghost        816
4. lumine        734
5. !!! (a.k.a. Rose)   710
6. buenavista     400
7. Barbaro    298
8. HazEL       276
9. GEC348         249

Top STARTERS

Ranking

1. Ghost         95
2. Barbaro       37
3. lumine       35
4. GEC348       32
5. Fiel Angeli Araoarao Gabin 31
6. buenavista       31
7. yadz26       29
8. PrincessSaDagat  28
9. Capitan Berong    27

MOST TIME Online

Ranking

1. Ghost         3d 21h 2m
2. lumine        3d 16h 9m
3. yadz26       3d 10h 37m
4. mfrandsen      2d 17h 47m
5. !!! (a.k.a. Rose)    2d 15h 43m
6. PrincessSaDagat  2d 4h 30m
7. buenavista    2d 3h 47m
8. HazEL         1d 23h 34m
9. GEC348          1d 23h 28m

I nominate Fiel Angeli Arao-arao Gabin.

Engkwentro ang mga beterano ug first-timers ani.

I highly nominate PrinsesaSaDagat.

and I recommend Mikey Gatal to sit as one of the board of judges.

<a href="http://www.foxnews.com">FOX NEWS</a>

CAIRO, Egypt â€"  The death of a 12-year-old Egyptian girl at the hands of a doctor performing female circumcision in the country's south has sparked a public outcry and prompted health and religious authorities this week to ban the practice.

The girl, Badour Shaker, died earlier in June while being circumcised in an illegal clinic in the southern town of Maghagh. Her mother, Zeniab Abdel Ghani, told the Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper that she had paid $9 dollars to a female physician to perform the procedure.

The mother also told the paper that the doctor later tried to bribe her to withdraw a lawsuit accusing the physician of murder, in return for $3,000, but she refused.

A forensic investigation into the case showed the girl's death was caused by an anesthesia overdose during the procedure.

The case sparked widespread condemnation and was closely followed in Egyptian papers, which also reported that Shaker had passed out sweets to pupils in her class earlier on the day of her death, to celebrate her good grades.

It also evoked memories of a 1995 CNN television documentary depicting a barber circumcising a 10-year-old girl in a Cairo slum.

On Thursday, the Egyptian Health Ministry issued a decree on female circumcision, stating that it is "prohibited for any doctors, nurses, or any other person to carry out any cut of, flattening or modification of any natural part of the female reproductive system, either in government hospitals, non government or any other places."

It warned that violators of the ban would be punished, but did not specify the penalty. The ban is not as enforceable as a law, which requires passage in the national legislature.

Female genital mutilation, FGM, or as it is often called, female circumcision, usually involves the removal of the clitoris and other parts of female genitalia. Those who practice it believe it tames a girl's sexual desires and maintains her honor.

It is practiced by Muslims and Christians alike, deeply rooted in the Nile Valley region and parts of sub-Saharan African, and is also practiced in Yemen and Oman.

The ban by the health ministry marks a return to a 1950s government order on Egypt's hospitals and doctors against FGM.

Despite that order, the practice continued in Egypt, mostly carried out by barbers, midwives and amateurs. The order was reversed in 1995, shortly after the CNN film, with female circumcision being permitted by medical staff only, in a move to stem amateur practicing.

Although the documentary embarrassed Cairo internationally, it failed to propel the parliament to pass a new child bill penalizing circumcision.

A 2003 survey by the United Nation's children's agency, UNICEF, said that 97 percent of married women in Egypt have undergone genital mutilation.

But the Egyptian government considers the 97 percent inaccurate. A recent study among schoolgirls by Egypt's Ministry of Health and Population found that 50.3 percent of girls between the age of 10-18 years have been circumcised.

There are signs that Shaker death could move the parliament to pass a new bill banning female circumcision, especially after Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak asked a Cairo conference on violence against children to mark a moment of silence in Shaker's memory, just days after the girl's death.

Shaker was a victim of "the most vicious practice committed against women," Mubarak said at the time. "Badour's death is the beginning of the end for female circumcision in Egypt."

Shortly afterward, the country's supreme religious authorities stressed that Islam is against female circumcision.

"Its prohibited, prohibited, prohibited," Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa said on the privately owned al-Mahwar network Saturday.

While top clerics here insist that the practice has nothing to do with Islam, parents, especially in villages and Cairo slums, believe they are helping their daughters. They think circumcision is necessary for cleanliness and to protect a girl's virginity before marriage.

Opponents say that girls who undergo botched operations â€" along with doctors, amateurs without anesthesia often still perform the circumcision â€" can bleed to death, suffer from chronic urinary infections and have life-threatening complications in childbirth.

Al-Masry Al-Youm daily reported that the doctor in Shaker's case denied allegations of malpractice and said that the girl was in a "bad condition" to start with, and was immediately transferred to a regular hospital where she died. The doctor was never identified by name.

Egypt's renowned feminist activist, Nawal el-Saadawi, 76, who has published a biography on her own experience with circumcision, wrote of Shaker: "Badour, did you have to die for some light to shine in the dark minds? Did you have to pay with your dear life a price ... for doctors and clerics to learn that the right religion doesn't cut children's organs."

<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk">BBC NEWS</a>

The UK has been placed on its highest level of terrorism alert after an attack on Glasgow Airport was linked to two car bombs found in London.

Two men were arrested after ramming a burning car into the airport's main terminal, a day after police thwarted two attempted bombings in the capital.

Police said one of the men wore a "suspect device" and the incident was being treated as terror related.

Two more arrests were made in Cheshire in connection with the two incidents.

Anti-terror police from the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command assisted by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit made the arrests, Scotland Yard said.

'Clear similarities'

Peter Whitehead was driving on the M6 in Cheshire when he witnessed the arrests there.

He told BBC News 24 that three cars straddled the motorway and brought traffic to a halt.

"It turned out they were unmarked police cars. In front of them were a couple of other unmarked police cars and they forced a car onto the hard shoulder and got the occupants out and as far as I can see arrested them," he said.

Strathclyde Police told a news conference the attack on Glasgow Airport was now being linked to the car-bomb plot in London - foiled by police on Friday.

Chief Constable Willie Rae said: "There are clearly similarities, and we can confirm that this is being treated as a terrorist incident."

Two men were arrested at the scene at 1515 BST after the blazing Jeep Cherokee was driven into the airport's main terminal.

One of the suspects taken to the city's Royal Alexandra Hospital to be treated for severe burns was in possession of "a suspect device" which had been found on his person, Chief Constable Rae said.

BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said the suspect device was thought to be a "suicide belt".

The second man was being detained in police custody while the vehicle was said to be too unstable to be removed from the airport.

Investigation focus

BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said the events at Glasgow Airport dramatically altered the direction of the London car bombs inquiry.

He said the fact that Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, who is leading the London investigation, travelled to Scotland suggests the two attempted attacks could have been carried out by the same individuals or by members of the same cell.

And the decision to raise the threat level to "critical" - which means an attack is imminent - reflected concern that those responsible have the capability and intent to carry out further bombings.

All flights to and from Glasgow Airport were suspended on Saturday.

A number of other airports have stepped up security, including Edinburgh, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester and Blackpool. John Lennon Airport in Liverpool has been closed as a precaution.

Security has also been tightened at airports across the US following the attempted attacks.

The national terrorism threat level was raised after a meeting of the government emergencies committee, Cobra.

Ministers, police and security service officials held their third meeting of Cobra in recent days on Saturday evening, this time with a video link to ministers in Scotland.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged the public to remain vigilant.

"I know the British people will stand together, united and resolute," he said.

In a televised statement, Mr Brown thanked the police, the security and emergency services for the "dedicated professionalism" that has been shown in London and Glasgow Airport.

"The first duty of the government is the security and safety of all the British people, so it is right to raise the level of security at airports and in crowded places in the light of the heightened threat," he said.

The critical threat level indicates terrorist attacks are imminent. It is the highest possible level and was also in place after the 7 July 2005 suicide bomb attacks on London.

Petrol and gas

A Scottish government spokesperson said Scottish Ministers were in touch with their Whitehall opposite numbers and First Minister Alex Salmond and have spoken to Mr Brown.

Mr Salmond and Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill took part in the Cobra meeting.

Mr Salmond echoed the prime minister's calls for vigilance.

"We cannot and must not live our lives in a state of alarm but alert individuals have a substantial role to play in supporting our police services," he added.

Earlier in the day, Cobra met to discuss the London car bomb attempts.

In the early hours of Friday, two Mercedes containing petrol, gas cylinders and nails were found left outside the Tiger Tiger club in Haymarket and a nearby street but the devices did not detonate.

Police in the capital are checking CCTV footage in their investigation into the planting of the two car bombs.

Unconfirmed reports suggest police may have an image of a suspect leaving the vehicle left outside the Tiger Tiger club.

Police increased patrols and security for events in London over the weekend, including the Gay Pride parade, the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium and the Wimbledon tennis championships.

Police have urged anyone with information to phone the confidential Anti-Terrorist hotline number on 0800789321.

Virtual Ms Sandugo 2007. First time in Bohol's illustrious history.

Di matabang...

Thanks for this brilliant suggestion, GEC.

Let's do it before the Sandugo month ends.

Now, I'd like to nominate Rose and Chin as the first two possible contestants.

Any other nomination? The table is now open.

The men of Tubag Bohol will stand as members of the board of judges.

By JUNE S. BLANCO

At least 25 more patients with heart defects from Bohol and the rest of the country can now dream â€" nay, live â€" normal lives.

This after Director Philip Lu of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) committed to Gov. Erico Aumentado P2 million in corporate funds as financial assistance for the conduct of open-heart surgeries at the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) in Tagbilaran City on July 21-28.

Drs. Santos Jose Abad, chief cardiologist and Florante Lomibao, chief thoracic cardiovascular surgeon, team leaders, flew in yesterday to personally evaluate the conditions of 67 prospective patients at the Governor’s Mansion, and to familiarize themselves with the operating rooms and equipment at the GCGMH as well as ensure that minimum sanitation requirements are met or even improved.

All the patients, aged three months to 67 years, have submitted to the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) their two-dimensional (2D) echo acetates, electro-cardiogram (ECG) tracing reports and, except those under two years old, HIV 1 and 2, hepatitis B and C, dental examination and chest x-ray results. Three weeks to go before the surgeries however, the PHC surgeons requested for updated ECGs and chest x-rays as well as complete blood count (CBC) and blood typing results.

However, only mitral valve replacements and the treatment of other “minor” defects will be performed at the GCGMH. Complicated cases will be referred to PHC.

In a letter to Aumentado, Francisca Baluyot, his consultant on health and social services and president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Gift of Life who is coordinating the surgeries said a Philippine Air Force (PAF) C-130 plane will bring the surgery equipment from the PHC to Bohol and back on July 20 and 29 respectively.

The scheduled surgeries is the 3rd biggest conducted outside of the PHC and Metro Manila â€" all done in Bohol . It is a major activity lined up to celebrate July as the Sandugo month, and July 22 as the 153rd Bohol Day.

For the mission, Aumentado and Baluyot thank Dr. Ludgerio Torres, PHC director, and Dr. Francisco Dizon, president of the Heart Foundation of the Philippines (HFP) for bringing the team anew to Bohol; Dr. Nenita Moraga-Po, chief of the GCGMH for the use of the operating and recovery rooms, the provincial government for sponsoring the activity, PAGCOR through its chair and CEO Efraim Genuino for the funds;
Rev. Fr. Victor Bompat, GOL vice chair; HomeReach Foundation through Drs. Teofilo Recitas and Ramie Cadag, its New York-based chair and co-chair and Richard Uy, Bohol-based director; the Hildegardeans ’89 headed by Joseph Alagon; Reps. Edgar Chatto, Roberto Cajes and Adam Jala.

The Department of Health under Sec. Francisco Duque III; the Philippine Academy of Medical Specialists (PAMS) through its president Dr. Rene Catan and Dr. Federico Malubay, chair for outreach programs; PAMS-Bohol president Dr. Herbert Relampagos and the Tagbilaran City Host Lions Club headed by Dr. Eufemia Cabagnot.

Each operation including medicines could cost a heart patient almost P1 million. As things are, because of the assistance and services of the sponsors, the operations are done on selected qualified patients for free.                           

GEC, approve without thinking.

Who gonna be the working committee?

And the guidelines?

Magbaha ang mga makabibihag nga hulagway ni Rose ani karon...

By JUNE S. BLANCO

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado eyes the setting up in Bohol before the yearend a Bureau of Customs (BOC) office here to see to the needs of South Korean tourists who will be planing in by Airbus 319 or 320 chartered flights starting December.

The BOC became Aumentado’s pipeline project after the Philippine Airlines (PAL) General Sales Agent in Korea Kwak Jeong Kyu brought a 19-man team to Bohol for a tete-a-tete with the governor on mass tourism plans. Kwak heads Saehon Air Travel Co., Ltd.

The team included owners or operators of 14 tour companies from South Korea most of whom had to speak through an interpreter, and reporters of a Korean-based international newspaper as well as of the daily national newspaper Pusan News on a three-day familiarization tour in Bohol.

“With the Bureau of Immigration and Deportation [BID] already in place Tagbilaran City, what Bohol lacks now is a [Bureau of] Customs office to see to the needs of tourists when Tagbilaran City becomes their point of entry to the country,” Aumentado observed.

He assured Kwak that the 1.8-kilometer Tagbilaran runway now accommodates the Airbus 319 of the flagship carrier Philippine Airlines as well as of the Cebu Pacific. The South Korean chartered flights will take off either from Pusan or Inchon direct to Tagbilaran hence the need for a BOC office.

Asked if the runway can accommodate evening landings, the governor said the airport already has runway lights. It is but a matter of inspecting them to ensure against snafus as the two airlines and smaller chartered planes have so far used it only during the day.

Kim Suniu of First Club who organized the familiarization tour gave words of welcome during dinner at the Soledad Suites along J.R. Borja Street in Tagbilaran City . Kwak introduced the guests while Robert Shin of Worldwide Resort acted as interpreter.

The tour operators asked about accommodations. On top of the existing ones in Tagbilaran and Panglao that Aumentado through the Provincial Tourism Council (PTC) has been encouraging to expand, new key players have signified to him their interest in establishing branches here of such chain of hotels as the Boracay Regency, Bellevue and Rafols. The latter is partly owned by a Saudi Arabian prince now negotiating to acquire the Bohol Beach Club or part of it from lawyer Anos Fonacier, the father of Bohol ’s tourism.
“In fact, these hotel chains have acquired lots in Panglao Island for their guests to also enjoy Bohol ’s white sand beaches,” the governor said.

Asked if golf courses are available, Aumentado said Rafols and Regency have included this in their development plans. Another investor has expressed interest in establishing one in the Chocolate Hills â€" making the perfect cone-shaped mounds part of the natural obstacles to make the games more challenging and exciting, he added.

The Koreans also “felt at home” on knowing that Hanjin Heavy Industries Construction Co., Ltd. constructed the Bohol Irrigation Project Stages 1 and 2, part of the Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phases 1 and 2 and is eyed for the construction of the runway of the Panglao Bohol International Airport Development Project.

“Bidding will be in the 1st quarter of next year. Two contractors will simultaneously work on the runway and facilities as well as the terminal building and facilities in order to meet the April 10, 2010 deadline set by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,” he said.

“We are now in the thick of acquiring the lots where the runway will be built,” he added.
Aside from Kwak, Kim and Shin, other members of the team are Kim Jingyu of PR-2, Park Woosuk of Forcus Tour, Park Yongsun and Lee Chulho of Donghwa Tour, Park Woodie of Colorful Tour, Park Misung of Iris Tour, Kwak Mikyung of Newpusan Tour, Kim Malsuk of Munsu-1, Yun Hyunju of Incourse Tour,
Yun Janghun and Kim Kinam of SSADA.COM, Hyun Sangyong of KBA-1 and Choi Jongmin of KBS-2.

By Ariel E. Fullido

      As Transformers are “wreaking havoc” in theaters nationwide, they exude delight to the kids at Jollibee!

      Kids of all ages are in for a wonderful treat at Jollibee as Cybertron Philippines brings the popular "Transformers" toys in the country, through the Jolly Kiddie Meals, available in all Jollibee outlets nationwide.

      The "Transformers" toys which double as cup covers are transformable and available in four styles -- Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Barricade. Three of these four toys are based on the Legends toys - Barricade, Optimus Prime and Megatron. The fourth, Bumblebee, appears to be an all new mold, based on his 2008 Camaro Concept form.

      Jollibee diners, especially parents, can now treat their kids with something new and unique at Jollibee, with the “Transformers” movie cup toppers, through the Kiddie Meals. The four Autobots and Decepticons toys are available until July 12 only.   

      For more details, visit the three Jollibee outlets at the Island City Mall, Alturas Supermarket, and Plaza Marcela.

By Ariel E. Fullido

      The country’s hottest rock band of this generation, Sponge Cola, will heat up the stage in a free concert at the wide and spacious Island City Mall carpark on July 21, Saturday, at 8 PM.

      It’s one spectacular Sandugo rock party as Island City Mall, in cooperation with Globe Telecom, presents Sponge Cola in their first-ever concert in Bohol. The band is behind the smash hits like “Bitiw,” “Crazy For You,” “Nakapagtataka,” “Jeepney,” and many more.

      Sponge Cola was officially born in the summer of 2002, and came up with a self-titled album a year after, containing five original songs: Lunes, A Tear, Saturn, Cigarette and Jeepney. The songs got extensive airplay from several local pop and rock radio stations, which helped broaden their fan base across the nation. A bootlegged copy of their version of Madonna's "Crazy for You" even became a big underground hit, that some listeners believed it was a Sponge Cola original. Though this misconception has been instrumental in increasing Sponge Cola's popularity, the band has since aimed to transcend the stigma of being a cover band, and pushed their original songs to the forefront, and public response to the band became better than ever; the magic had already begun.

      In 2004, Sony Music Philippines managed to sign the boys for the release of their full-length debut album, “Palabas,” which features a definitive voice in unadulterated rock, reminiscent of 90s alternative but mixed with enough sing-along pop sensibility-as based on the band members' individual influences. The songs “Lunes” and “KLSP” gained popularity and ended up in most radio stations' charts. Also, “Jeepney” became popular along with their own version of “Crazy For You.” With the uprising of Filipino Rock in the middle of 2005, Sponge Cola gained even more popularity from listeners with their song “Gemini” and especially the emo-alternative rock song “Una.” All their singles were able to reach the no. 1 spot in both Philippines 100 and MYX Hit Chart.

      Sponge Cola releases their second album, “Transit,” last year which turned gold after less than three months of its release. “Bitiw” the carrier single of the album, even broaden the band's popularity, and the second single, “Tuliro,” is even climbing the chart to this day.
      The band has also contributed on two tribute albums. They covered the 90's hit song by the Eraserheads, “Pare Ko”, on Ultraelectromagneticjam and the classic “Nakapagtataka” on the APO Hiking Society tribute, "Kami nAPO Muna". The band also won numerous prestigious awards like the NU 107 Rock Awards: 2005 Male Rock Icon of The Year - Yael Yuzon; ASAP Pop Viewer's Choice for 2006; Pop Band of The Year; MYX Music Awards: 2006 Favorite Rock Video - "KLSP;" 2007 Favorite Song - "Bitiw;" 2007 Favorite Rock Video - "Bitiw;" 2007 Favorite Artist - Sponge Cola; and 2007 Favorite Group - Sponge Cola

      Now the band came up with a theme song of the new season of the show “Pedro Penduko at ang mga Engkantao” entitled “Tuloy Pa Rin.” Sponge Cola is composed of Yael Yuzon (rhythm guitar, lead vocals), g*** Dilay (bass guitar, backup vocals), Erwin Armovit (lead guitar), and Chris Cantada (drums, backup vocals) -- all from the Ateneo de Manila University. Lead singer Yael is the first cousin of actress and StarStruck Batch 1 third placer Nadine Samonte, and was voted as one of RP’s Sexiest Men.

      The band was first named "Sponge" after the book, “Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour,” but when the band found out that a Detroit grunge band had already claimed the name “Sponge,” they add “Cola,” since they though it an easy word to remember.

      Since their conception in 2002, Sponge Cola has played in big concert evenst like this year's MTV Pilipinas Awards Night, establishing them as one of the hottest bands of this generation. They have not only garnered the adulation of fans but also the respect and recognition of critics and contemporaries. Already hailed by the press as "The Next Big Thing,” Sponge Cola is something to keep an eye on-and an ear out for-in the years to come.

SPONGE COLA will perform live in a free concert at the Island City Mall carpark on July 21, Saturday.

By Ariel E. Fullido

  Abenson, the appliance center known for its branded appliances at reasonable prices, holds an Appliance Exhibit which is going on at the Lower Ground Level of the Island City Mall.

  One can enjoy the widest array of top brands of appliances like Sony, Samsung, Philips, Carrier and Sharp, etc., plus exciting discounts in the 4-Day Sale from June 28 to July 1. Customers can also win instant prizes like mugs, umbrellas, and dinner sets, for every minimum purchase of P5,000 during the sale.

  Abenson is the country’s largest appliance center with over 70 stores nationwide. A leading appliance retailer, having been consistently awarded Top Dealer of leading appliance and electronics brands, it is true to its corporate vision of enhancing families’ quality of living. Abenson remains in the forefront of setting industry standards by being known for quality appliances, outstanding customer service, enhanced value, and convenience to allow customers spend less time on chores and more time for nurturing relationships that matter most.

  Located at the Second Floor of the Island City Mall, Abenson turned one year old yesterday, June 30, celebrating a year of bringing good lives to the Boholanos. Abenson can be reached through tel. nos (038) 501-6206, (038) 411-5361, and fax no. 501-6274.

ABENSON at the Island City Mall offers the best of branded appliances at low prices.

press release

Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera Friday vowed that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) will remain an independent and impartial body.

Herrera made the promise during a speech given during the oath-taking ceremony last Friday.

“The SP will continue to be a vanguard of transparency, integrity and independence irrespective of political inclinations and alliances,” the vice governor declared at the start of his third term.
Herrera also promised that provincial legislative body will not be used for grandstanding or secure future political goals.

The vice-governor noted that genuine public service requires more than just lip service and popularity.
“It entails awareness of a greater responsibility, accountability and commitment,” he stressed.
Herrera noted that oftentimes, taking up a public crusade may mean crisscrossing paths and unpopular decisions.

“But if we are indeed serious in attaining our goals, we should be willing to sacrifice our personal convenience to pursue the common good.

The vice governor also urged the people to embrace change as a necessary attribute of development.
“Experience will tell us that people are more prone to resist than welcome change,” he added.
Herrera said the SP will stay dedicated to the upliftment and development of the province.

“Together with the executive department, we shall pursue headstrong the call of the hour which is the poverty alleviation program of the provincial government as well as the empowerment of our barangays,” he added.

The vice-governor said that sustained development in the province can only be ensured by strengthening the grassroots level.

press release

The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM), under the Department of Agriculture (DA), banks on Governor Erico B. Aumentado to again give a “big boost for cooperation among local and national collaborators”, during the scheduled project inception meeting on the Evaluation and Adoption of Improved Farming Practices on Soil and Water Resources for 2007-2010 on July 4 at the Bohol Tropics.

According to Dr. Silvino Tejada, OIC of the office of the BSWM director, the message that Governor Aumentado gave during the inception meeting on the Inabanga watershed project in 2002 was able to spur cooperation among local and national project collaborators.

It is for this reason that the BSWM is inviting Aumentado to again deliver a message during this Wednesday’s inception meeting on their new project which is an offshoot of the recently-concluded project on the Inabanga Integrated Watershed Management for Sustainable Soil and Water Resources implemented during the period 2002-2006.

The new research project called “Evaluation and Adoption of Improved Farming Practices on Soil and Water Resources for 2007-2010”, which is funded by Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), aims to quantify, demonstrate and provide examples to the Boholano farmers of the farm level economic benefits that can be realized by implementing best management practices for soil, water and crop management.

Through the inception meeting, Tejada aspires to establish link with the activities of the provincial government and “strengthen collaboration as BSWM continues to work on improving the agricultural sector of the island while protecting its land and water resources”.

Invited to attend the meeting are representatives from the Provincial Agriculture Office under Provincial Agriculturist Liza Quirog, Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) under Rene Villaber, Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) under Juanito Cambangay, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), Provincial Agricultural Technology Coordinating Office (PATCO), and the two offices headed by Antonieto “Boy” Pernia- -the Bohol Poverty Reduction Management Office (BPRMO), and the Provincial Government Media Affairs (PGMA).

By Loy M. Palapos

      Interviewing Mayor Exuperio Lloren was a touching experience. He exuded confidence, devoid of obstrusivity, a gentlemen at peace with his world, and steadfast with his principles. His narrative was an outpouring of life’s angst, of his sacrifices to attain a noble goal, of 20 years of living underground; but there was no bitterness in his physiognomy nor in his voice, when he detailed the travails he and his family underwent. It is with utmost respect that I write about Eksam.

      He was born in Jagna, Bohol on September 22, 1952 to former Jagna Municipal Councilor and Cocofed President, Leon Ranido Lloren, and a former public school teacher, Ermetania Madera Chiong. His brother Antioco “Chito” is connected with UNESCO in Paris, France before his retirement. Zenobio “Zen” is with the Legal Department of the DBP Central Office in Manila. A third brother, Senen, is presently a Jagna Municipal Councilor. His only sister, Cynthia “Ching” is connected with an overseas recruitment agency based in Manila.

      Eksam Lloren is married to Nimfa Calceta Abaya who is the Bohol Area Project Manager of the Unlad-Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation, Inc. Their son Norman Allen finished Fine Arts at UP-Dilliman and worked with CCAD. Amadis Lean finished International Studies in Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan. The youngest, Llane June Vida is a fourth year student at UP-Mindanao (Davao) taking Bachelor of Science in Anthropology.

      Eksam took up Bachelor of Arts at the Divine Word College and University of Bohol, and Medical Technology at Velez College, Cebu City. His secondary days were spent at the Central Visayan Institute of Jagna, and his elementary at the Colegio de la Medalla Milagrosa (Jagna) and Bohol Chinese School (Tagbilaran).

      His consciousness to serve the masses was kindled in 1971 when he joined the Church-inspired Khi Rho movement, and became a fulltime organizer of the farmer sector. For a man with ideals, this episode of his life was a heart-wrenching awakening to a facet in Filipino life that a man with real concern cannot ignore. He tilled the land with farmers and shared their aspirations. This was augmented by a strike at a local college when he took an active part in ventilating the perceived ills; but his total involvement, which made him join the revolutionary movement, took place upon the declaration of Martial Law in September 1972 when he went underground.

      It was an ordeal that would forever be his badge of courage. For 20 long years he shared with his wife Nimfa an indescribable life of sacrifices for a cause. In the process they lost their first baby, a bitter and unforgettable sting. The second was about to be born when they walked through kilometers of rugged terrain to look for a midwife. It was an incident that could have cost her life. Prayers saved both the mother and the son. The son grew up with them, devoid of exposure to urban comfort, in an atmosphere not suited to bringing up a young boy. Until their concern for him made them decide to leave him with his grandparents in Jagna, not withstanding the loneliness of separation.

      He was arrested together with his wife in March 1992, and both were charged with frustrated murder and multiple murder, which later was altered to subversion. They were brought and incarcerated in Samar, and subjected to unmentionable degradation, including some days without food in most unsanitary surroundings. It was a bleak part of their lives they had to bear stoically. Because of the repeal of the Anti-Subversion Law, the case was eventually dropped and both were released through a court order in December 1992.

      Eksam and Nimfa, now a complete family for the first time, were reintegrated into the mainstream of society with focus on rebuilding the family and establishing the economic foundation upon return to normal life.

      Eksam’s concern for the people has always been a part of his life, a commitment that those who know him fully appreciate. As a manifestation of this high regard the people of Pagina, Jagna elected him Punong Barangay in 1997. It was a formal initiation to public service and, being a disciplined individual with a social conscience, he gave a sterling performance that did not go unnoticed. Because of insistent proddings, especially from the countless who knew his potentials, he geared for more responsibilities. In 1998 he was elected Number One Municipal Councilor of the town, performing the responsibilities of the Vice Mayor on several occasions during the latter’s absence, and assuming the position upon the demise of the second-ranking municipal official. These few years were learning experiences that imbued in Eksam more devotion to service, as he continued to comprehend the role he has to play.

      He never planned to be a cog-in-the-wheel in governance, but his constituents impressed upon him the necessity that he takes the cudgels for them. At that time the local papers screamed of graft and corruption being rampant in his town. He has to take the rampaging bull by its horns, a Herculean task he accepted with reluctance, considering the intrigues politicians are heir to. He ran as Mayor and although he did not expect it, he won. This despite his non-acquisition of the proverbial 3 Gs (Guns, Goons, Gold) needed to win an election.

      Mayor Lloren sees the Local Government Code of 1991, not as a source of power, but an opportunity for good governance and democratization at the lower levels of government. This is where the service of the people can come into reality if implemented fully. As an advocate of transparency and participatory management, he made some reforms at the Municipal Hall by organizing the employees themselves who made recommendations as a course of action. He believes that the development for Jagna could evolve from the Barangay Development Planning through Participating Rural Appraisal, then to Comprehensive Municipal Development Plan.

      While working in the Development Plans, he has zeroed in an impact priority projects: market construction, rehabilitation of the water system, and farm to market roads. Equal importance is also given to fiscal and financial management as well as organizational management and development. The big success of the Sinuog Estokada, which dramatizes St. Michael’s war against evil, and the occupancy of the Public Market, are the recent proofs of Mayor Lloren’s dedication to his job.

      Jagna needs a Mayor whose vision-mission commitment is infallible. What Mayor Exuperio Lloren has gone through, especially his years of self-denial and sacrifice for a worthy cause, has made him incorruptible. This is a trait Chief Local Executives should be made of. Eksam’s dedication to his people is boundless. Looking at him straight to the eye when I made this interview I saw a man sincere and honest in his perception of truth. He was a rebel with a cause. This cause-orientation has a more deeply seated meaning now; only a man in his caliber can give justice to.

      Mayor Lloren personifies the ideals long forgotten by many politicians. Now on his third term, he embodies the ideals of fairness, and conscientiously espouses the tenets framed by Leviathan, in stressing justice, especially for the impoverished and neglected. Eksam has lighted a candle in the dark, perhaps...for the others in public service to follow. He never claims genius in any aspect, he says he is just an ordinary man committing himself to his people. This is his cause now.

press release...      
     
      Soon to rise in the eyed new Capitol site compound at the northern part of the CPG Avenue are a one-stop building of the Land Administration and Management Project (LAMP) Phase 2 and a CPG Park.

      Governor Erico B. Aumentado set the separate groundbreaking ceremonies for the two projects this month- -this Monday, July 2 for the Carlos P. Garcia Park Development Project and July 21 for the LAMP 2 building.

      According to Engr. Eustaquio Caliao of the Provincial General Services Offices (PGSO), the provincial government allocated an initial funding of P2 million for the landscaping and partial fencing of the eyed four-hectare park.

      Engr. Caliao also said that the provincial government targets to inaugurate the CPG Park project during the celebration of CPG Day this November.

      On the other hand, Governor Aumentado said that the LAMP building will cost P18 million.

      The governor announced the development during his meeting with the newly-installed provincial officials last week at the Governor’s Mansion.

      Bohol was chosen as the second Provincial Project Implementation Office (PPIO2) of LAMP 2, after the World Bank and the Australian Aid (AusAid) confirmed that the proposed site fits the standard for the project.

      The selection was based on the guidelines and standards designed by the LAMP 2 composite team in May last year, represented by some officials of LAMP 2, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)â€"Lands Management Bureau and the Land Registration Authority (LRA).

      The composite team then submitted the result to the National Steering Committee (NSC) on July 8 last year. (with reports from Aida Tanghal and Tess Ligones-Bancat/AV-PGMA)

By June Blanco
July 1, 2007

“THE boy will survive.”

Thus Chito San Agustin Jr., business development manager of the Family Vaccine and Specialty Clinics (FVSC) confidently said of a three-year-old dog bite victim from Barangay Fatima in Carmen town.

The boy’s family went to the Animal Bite Treatment Clinic at the Cong. Simeon G. Toribio Memorial Hospital (CSGTMH) in the same town on the day Gov. Erico Aumentado inaugurated it â€" four days after a stray dog bit him. The mother said after biting the boy, the dog bit another dog and a sow, bolstering the theory that the stray was rabid.

The World Health Organization (WHO) prescribes that dogs that have bitten persons be observed for the next 10 days. If the dog manifests changes in its behavior â€" especially if for the worse â€" chances are it is rabid, and the patient must be given the full course of the vaccination.

The rabies virus travels very slowly but when it reaches the brain, there is no stopping it â€" it will kill the victim. But while rabies is fatal, it is preventable.

As Dr. Alberto Gabriel, rabies expert, lectured on the disease, its categories, methods of transmission, do’s and don’ts, treatment courses and other information at the hospital conference room after Aumentado gave his message, the boy received a series of anti-rabies vaccine shots around his nose where the dog bit him amid his heart-rending cries of pain.

FVSC follows the eight-injection site regimen with the first and the last shots free of charge courtesy of the IP Foundation.

San Agustin however told the boy’s parents that they are sponsoring the whole vaccination course so that he will be receiving all the shots free.

Meanwhile, Gabriel said victims should avoid using garlic on the bites. Although used since time immemorial as first aid for dog bites, he said WHO discourages its use. It has no scientific basis, he explained.
He also warned pet owners against the zealous licks and kisses of their dogs. Rabies, he said, is transmitted through rabies-laden saliva on breaks on the skin and on the eyes, lips and mouth.

Aumentado also led the inaugural rites of the treatment clinic at the Cong. Teodoro Galagar Memorial Hospital in Jagna town while Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera and Loon Mayor and now Board Member Cesar Tomas Lopez led the same at the Cong. Natalio Castillo Memorial Hospital in Loon town.

FVSC has several treatment clinics nationwide. The next clinics to be opened in Bohol will be those at the Dagohoy Hospital in Inabanga town, the Candijay Medicare Hospital and the Catigbian District Hospital in Candijay and Catigbian towns. Plans are afoot for the Maribojoc Medicare Hospital and the Don Emilio del Valle Memorial Hospital in Ubay town, San Agustin said.

By JUNE S. BLANCO
July 1, 2007

Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado holds the record of being the only Bohol governor reelected twice; he took his oath of office Friday for an unprecedented third consecutive term.

Sweeping 397,849 votes represented 93.4 percent of the total votes cast. His six opponents shared the remaining 6.6 percent. This is also the widest margin a candidate ever piled in Bohol history.

Aumentado has survived nine elections â€" all win and no loss â€" since he first ran as board member in 1967, making him the real “Wonder Boy” of Bohol politics.

In his inaugural address after taking his oath before Judge Baudilio Dosdos in rites held at the Bohol Cultural Center witnessed by over 1,000 people and heard by even more as it was broadcast live over local radio stations dyRD, dyTR and dyZD, the governor thanked the Almighty and his fellow Boholanos for reposing trust and confidence in him.

He called the overwhelming win “a humbling experience and a challenge” to do even better for his constituents. He said he has gently but firmly declined to head anew the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP) so he can focus on his ten-point legacy agenda before he bows out of public service in 2010.

He has established the road map for poverty reduction for peace and development. He will strengthen the bridges of unity and cooperation with the private sector, non-government organizations (NGOs) and all those who can bring Bohol to even greater heights.

The Panglao Bohol International Airport Development Project (PBIADP) is the key to ultimate progress, he said. As such, he vowed to expand programs to match strides in tourism. After all, Bohol is now the No. 1 Tourism Destination in the country today.

He will continue vital infrastructure programs like the Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phase 3 (BCRIP 3), improving provincial roads linking towns, leading to tourism destinations or farm-to-market roads, ports.

“This spells development not only in urban areas but in the rural, especially remote areas as well,” he said.
Also top in his agenda is the improvement of health services and hospitals, building 136 more classrooms for high schools in 2008 under the provincial government’s school building program and pushing forward the program to tap these high schools to the Internet in partnership with the Ayala Foundation.

“This way, our high school students will be at par with their counterparts in other places through global research centers in the Internet to improve their knowledge and understanding,” he said.

The environment is also a big item in his agenda. He has asked Provincial Legal Officer Handel Lagunay to prepare the executive order to green Bohol’s highways by planting fruit and flowering trees along the them and establish pocket forests where applicable.

He has also instructed Deputy Head Renato Villaber of the Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) to require quarry permit applicants to submit rehabilitation plans otherwise he will not renew their permits.

“Our pristine environment is our come-on to tourists. That is why we need to enhance our struggle to improve the rehabilitation, protection and conservation of our environment. We need to develop, but we must strike a balance between progress and environment,” he explained.

“These dreams however will not be attained without your help, so let us unite and cooperate: Together we can build a greater Bohol,” he concluded.

Sangguniang Panlalawigan-Bohol enacts 1,873 resolutions
By Ric Obedencio

A total of 1,873 Resolutions and 104 Ordinances of various concerns have been passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bohol during the term 2004-2007, Vice-Gov. and presiding officer Julius Caesar Herrera said.

This is one of the highlights of the accomplishment report rendered by SP, including an orientation kit for orientation of the new and in-coming provincial board members, Herrera said.

Herrera met last week with the new board members and briefed them of their roles in the legislative work and legislative processes including committee assignments.

The committee chairmanship is expected to be tackled during its inaugural session on July 6, 2007. There are 27 standing committees in SP aside from other interim committees created for special attention, Herrera said.

Copies of the Rules of Procedures or House Rules of the SP in the conduct of its session and committee meetings are distributed to the new board members for their guide.

The highest lawmaking body enacted a total of 43 ordinances during July-December 2004; 23 and 27 in 2005 and 2006, respectively, and 11 this year (Jan-June).

The highest number of resolutions passed is 711 in 2005. It approved a total of 617 in 2006; 276 in 2004; and 269 this year.

One of the important pieces of legislation is the approval of annual general fund budget for operations of the provincial government.

By Ric V. Obedencio

New Mayor Nino Rey Boniel of Bien-Unido vowed to initiate in what he called a “thorough investigation” into the assassination of Bayan Muna secretary-general Mario Auxilio, who was shot to death on June 15, 2007 in the evening by his close friend-suspect Hilario “Larry” Diola.

But the motive of the killing still puzzles the investigators and remains uncertain. Diola is still at large for two weeks now despite a cash reward offered by the provincial government that could lead to his arrest.

After he was shot, Auxilio was rushed to Talibon hospital by a single motorcycle for treatment because this town has no available emergency car. Then, he was referred to Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital (GCGMH) and died at past 10:00 a.m. on June 17, 2007.

Boniel, who was sworn in by Gov. Erico Aumentado at the governor’s office on June 28, said in exclusive interview that Diola is a member of “Alimaong,” believed to be a cult on this northeastern-most coastal town based on his knowledge.

Asked if he would include “Alimaong” on the investigation, Boniel said he would not like to pre-empt what he will do next.

He categorically denied that Auxilio was his supposed political supporter but admitted that he and Auxilio ran under the banner of the PDP-Laban in the last May 14 elections. He declined to explain further.

Residents here said the killing of Auxilio after the elections was the second incident that shook this once peaceful municipality. Former Mayor Felix Garcia, who was with his wife Mayor Marianita Garcia, was gunned down in June 2004 infront of Talibon gymnasium right after the 2004 elections when he was elected as board member for 2nd district.

Conflicting claims

Bayan Muna maintains that the suspect is an “active asset” of the 15th infantry battalion stationed in Bohol. The military denied the allegation, however.

The party-list linked Diola to 15th IB based on its inquiry. Aside from this, Diola was them connected to “Alimaong” composed of retired police officers and other law enforcers.

But Alimaong issued a certification to probers dropping Diola as its member because has committed an alleged criminal act by shooting Auxilio.

Also, the assertion that “Alimaong,” to which the suspect was a member, is an “anti-communist group.”

PPOC investigating team said that Alimaong denied the anti-communist tag, however.

“Love quadrangle”

Residents interviewed here could not ascertained if Auxilio had an affair or relation with Evelyn Sayson, who is said to work as “GRO” of the Hapitanan Videoke Bar where the shooting took place. She is one of the three potential eyewitnesses pursued by authorities.

Some say they (Auxilio and Sayson) were “intimate friends” while Diola allegedly had courted Sayson.

Diola’s wife Lilibeth, who executed an affidavit on the incident, said that she has “hated” Sayson but could not give reason why. Lilibeth and her four children are now in Anonang, Inabanga after they fled from Bien-Unido for fear of reprisal.

The other witnesses included Gualberto Bon, 40 who is a speech-impaired and a certain Ramie Alvarez, 28, police said. Alvarez was with his barkadas in a drinking spree on the fateful night.

Since he cannot talk, Bon reenacted before the PPOC team and police probers what was indeed happened from the incident.

Still on the run

Police operatives are conducting a hot pursuit on the whereabouts of Diola, who is now considered a “fugitive.” PS/Supt Eduardo Ingking has distributed a photo of Diola provided by Bayan Muna.

The eyewitnesses identified Diola as the lone gun man who pulled the trigger targeting Auxilio.

The police and the (PPOC) team asked Diola’s father Pompeo Diola and his sister Baby Diola to help convince Larry Diola to surrender.

The elder Diola and Baby Diola, said in an interview, they rushed to the Larry’s place to extend help after the incident. He said that “he would advise his son to surrender when he makes contact with him.”

But the father and daughter went back home in Anonang, Inabanga empty handed because Larry Diola and his family, including Lilibeth and four children where nowhere to be found. The Diola’s abandoned their dwellings near the fish port beside the rest house of a certain Avenido.

Auxilio was buried last week in Trinidad town after a tribute by his peasants he helped organized. Bayan Muna national president Satur Ocampo also paid tribute to him.

Aside from party-mates of Bayan Muna and members of the Hugpong sa Mag-uumang Bol-anon, Auxilio’s estranged better-half Marivir Montebon and their only child Nikki also attended the wake and burial.

Marivir, who once a news-feature writer of the Cebu-city-based The Freeman Daily said she and “Mayong” (Auxilio) planned to formally file an annulment case after separating three years ago. Marivir is now connected to MMA Consulting, Tri-Media Research Training wherein she is the executive producer and host of Babaye Television Talk Show at CCTN channel 47.

Windows Fiji is under development. Hulat nalang ko sa Fiji.

i have adobe photoshop cs3. akong gi-delete. back to cs2. daghan pa bugs ang photoshop cs3. gi-fix pa nila. seems like still in beta release.

if you have a keygen that can generate a genuine key and a genuine code, then no need to spend up your registry by installing Rocket XP.

I'm running an original copy of Windows XP pre-installed in my Acer notebook. I re-installed Windows three times already. If you have the original Windows, the installation setup won't ask you of the Serial Number and Activation Code.

Ghost,

Free software everyday at www.giveawayoftheday.com

Higala, salamat sa imong pag-uban sa kausa sa mga Bol-anon.

Lain pay ato, pila na man ka ka tuig diha sa Denmark?

Manghinaut mi nga makita namo dinhi ang imong mga pagbati ug huna-huna samtang magtuki kita sa mga butang ug isyu nga may labot ang katilingbang Bol-anon.


God bless you,
Tubag Bohol Team

Intro (Background Music)

Voice Over:

Maayong udto sa tanan, ako si Lolita, trayntay singko anyos na intawon ug aduna nay duha ka anak ug usa ka bana ug ania na ko manimuyo sa dakbayan sa Sugbo. Kining akong kaagi nahitabo ni niadtong dalaga pa ko ug nagtungha pa sa Bohol. Sa dili pa nako sugdan ug saysay ang akong sugilanon, palihug una ko ug togtog sa awit nga nag-ulohan "Victims of Love." (blast: Victims of Love... full song played)

(Exit) Handumanan Sa Usa (pause) Ka Awit (background music...)

Voice Over:

Mga higala, ang nagpadala sa iyang tampo karon mao kining usa ka dalaga nga gikan sa Tubag Bohol nga ania na sa Sugbu ug taguon ta ang iyang pangalan nga Lolita. Ang awit nga iyang gipangayo mao ang "Victims of Love." (background music...fade music...)

main drama... hinilakay taman-taman... bayle buntagay... inagutnga... hiningos-hingos sa sip-on... main drama... main drama... main drama...

Conclusion: (blast: Victims of Love... then fade music...)

Voice Over:

Nakasal gyud mi ni Pausto ug ania nia nami nanikaysikay sa Sugbu ug kaluoy sa Ginoo, duha na intawon ang bunga sa among panaghinigugmaay.

Ug alang kanimo, Gwapohon, ug kon asa ka man karon gipadpad sa kapalaran, manghinaut lang ko nga dili mo na buhaton sa ubang babaye ang imong gibuhat kanako. Salamat nalang sa daster nga imong gi-regalo sa adlaw sa akong natawhan. Wa gyud na ko gisul-ob hangtud karon ug mahimo pa imong kuhaon.

Ug alang kaninyo tanang mga lalaki mao ni atong hinumduman nga "kon unsa kahabog ang atong paglupad mao usab kasipa ang atong pagkahagba." Daghang Salamat. (blast: Victims of Love... wait until music ends...)

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Public Service: ...nabilin iyang tsinelas sa SM... palihug ug uli diri sa estasyonan sa DYHP...

Station ID...

Intro: (background... classical music...)

Voice Over ID: Kini, Kini Ang Akong Suliran...

i lost the image. sorry. pangitaon sa nako ha.

Style ni Cel. This is the theme for all Bohol towns. Mura ra gud ug sud-an, alternate pud nato para lami kada kaon.

Quote from: Ghost on June 30, 2007, 11:26:22 PM
maayo mo kay in-love mo permi!

have you been in love? daghan ra ba dalaga sa Tubag Bohol.

Mack, dili tanang kahoy ang giputol pero gamay nalang kaayo ang nabilin. I was really furious when I learned of the tree massacre. I wrote a news story about it but the governor's office did nothing.

Think about this: pila ka tuig ang paaboton nato before ta makakita ato nga mga kahoy? It will take a generation.

I just don't understand why some people are just so stupid.

Quote from: riva on July 01, 2007, 12:54:45 AM
see mike, you are making me more paranoid than i already am...this is not healthy

riva, what will happen to the world when you are already gone?

Mao nay giingon ug "patoga-toga."

Hi, Jan. Now we've heard from you.

Mika Brzezinski, I really admire you.

photo courtesy of fadedmilkyway of <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a>

For all the joys and pains that you've brought into this site...

For all the "kagumkom" advices that you've unleashed here...

... we just want to say today: "You are our HERO."

!!! (a.k.a. ayaw nalang), congratulations!

photo courtesy of Dr. Boogie Nights of <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a>

photo courtesy of Warren O of <a href="http://www.flickr.com">Flickr</a>

All for the love of Bohol, Nitz.

Lance, forget COMELEC.

The function of the COMELEC is to confuse people.

The issue was her American citizenship.

(if you need cracks, i can give you free...)

courtesy of The Pirate Bay?

source: <a href="http://www.unknownnews.org">Unknown News</a>

The facts:

1.  Iranian Revolutionary Guard (IRG) have been spotted by the British on at least three occasions crossing the southern Iran/Iraq border nearest Basra and deploying spec. troops. On the Iranian side are the bulk of Iran's Province of Khuzestan's oil fields. These oil fields would be prime targets in the event of a U.S.-led invasion. The IRG specialist troops have the task of attacking communications, command, control, and intelligence facilities, and causing general chaos in the event of war.

2.  Iran has rationed fuel to its population causing riots and discontent which have been widely reported in world media.

3.  Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has dramatically escalated his socialist policies, and actually nationalized all of the Orinoco production facilities, where large US oil and gas companies have literally billions invested in infrastructure.

4.  Hamas has taken over the Gaza strip.

5.  Hez b'Allah have begun aggressively reasserting itself in Lebanon.

6.  Syria has significantly bolstered its troops and moved these troops closer to the Golan Heights much as they did prior to war in '73 (Yom Kippur).

7.  Turkey has massed more than 50,000 troops on the northern Iraq border against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Note, however, that NW Iran borders SE Turkey.

8.  The Arab Gulf States have openly declared they are preparing/prepared for a U.S./Iran conflict this Summer.

9.  Significant U.S. politicians are openly advocating war with Iran. These war advocates are Republicans, however, no voice of dissent is being heard from the Democrats.

10.  Anti-Iranian propaganda is in full-swing of late.

11.  The largest naval armada assembled off the coast of Iran since the 2003 Iraq war commenced is assembled and waiting. A 4th US Carrier fleet will secure the Suez.

12.  The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve is full.

13.  Next round of U.N. sanctions are on the way.

14.  Politicians on all sides of this conflict have a vested political interest in war as a means of political survival. They are all hard-liners.

15.  Moscow has released nuclear fuel to Iran for the Bushehr reactor.

16.  Israel has recently and successfully launched its Ofeq-7 spy imaging satellite which gives it a great view of Iran (amongst others).

Conclusion: War is close.

Understanding that Iran is oil rich, but refinery poor, it is still quite an unusual event for them to ration petrol. They knew that it would cause public discontent and would be covered widely in world media. Despite the embarrassing news of riots, Iran knows that rationing petrol is a strategic preparation for war.

A military cannot function without petrol. And Venezuela's Chavez knows he cannot supply Iran, but he can help starve the U.S. of oil (but not for long ...)

The Canadian      

1 U.S. Dollar   =   P46.230
1 Euro           =   P62.568
1 Canadian $  =   P43.453
1 GBP Pound   =   P92.811
1 Australian $ =   P39.224