MikeLigalig.com

Pose: Max is incredibly protective of Julian and the two go for a walk every day

Comedy: The pair share their funny side and enjoy a bro hug at the beach

Superdog: The caped canine watches over his human friend

Quirky: Some of the pictures, such as the one on the left where a pineapple adorns Max's head, are just plain bizarre

Shelter: Julian and Max snuggle under an umbrella. The pair were both born in the UK, and Julian still drinks tea in the morning

wafo, bahalag human ug dog:

Photo Diary: A Boy And His Dog

A shaggy dog story: Boy and his pet pose for pictures every day for his father while he is away serving with the navy

*Julian Becker, five, and his dog Max are snapped daily by mother

*The cute pics are for his father, who is frequently away

*The inseparable pair have an incredible bond, says mother

By Sam Webb
11 April 2013
The Daily Mail


Found you! Max (left) and Julian are best friends and pose for a picture with different props every day

hahaha!  gwapoha sa pagka-photoshop uy.  katuhoan man.  hasta sa pele giangin.  good work at modeling, dear cats.

 very helpful cat.  siya tawon ang in-charge sa panghayhay, hihihi.

Quote from: islander on March 21, 2013, 09:53:46 AMPatay nga higanteng buaya, bakanteng papasiya, ug karon selpon nahimong sabon?

anha na ko bilib kun ang sabon mahimong selpon.

Quote from: Lorenzo on March 21, 2013, 11:16:38 AM
haha. let me guess one is from bohol?

all.  ang daghan taga-balingsya, ang usa taga-dimeow.

slaughterhouse, huhuhu.  di na gyod ko moabli ani nga thread, huhuhu.

wrong mistake.  si lolla na sa kindergartener pa siya, di pa tblander.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 14, 2013, 09:34:34 AM

Hoy, Brawni! Stop playing with your food!

brawni is more civilized than that.   just so you may know... try attending a dog school yourself.

how creative.  more cheers to the resilience of the human spirit.  (di pod tingali nang kandilaa dagkot for the souls in purgatory...)

Image courtesy of NASA

1. Siberian Traps, Siberia

A LIP just like Ontong-Java, the Siberian Traps supervolcano has one distinct difference: it is by far the deadliest volcano the planet has ever seen. The traps erupted at the end of the Permian era, 250 million years ago. It was the worst mass extinction the planet has ever seen; 90 percent of all life on Earth was wiped out. The massive traps basalts appear to be the smoking gun. They seeped into huge coal deposits on their way to the surface, and their enormous heat baked the coal, sending billions of tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The global warming that followed was catastrophic -- it took millions of years for life on Earth to recover.

http://news.discovery.com/

Image courtesy of NASA

2. Tambora, Indonesia

Between dozens of volcanoes, the biggest earthquakes in the world, and devastating tsunamis, Indonesia has a lot of geology to worry about. And Mount Tambora, a huge volcano on the island of Sumbawa, is no exception. The mountain produced a gargantuan eruption in 1815 that produced an ash cloud so big, it canceled the summer of 1816 in North America and Europe. The eruption also killed between 70,000 and 90,000 people, making it the deadliest in human history. And the No. 1 volcano in geologic history is ... (you saw this one coming)...

Image courtesy of NASA

3. Olympus Mons, Mars

The biggest volcano in the solar system is also the quietest. It's the size of Arizona, and close to 90,000 feet high, but this gentle giant hasn't erupted in millions of years. When it did it was probably a lot like Mauna Kea, leaking rivers of liquid rock rather than exploding into the Martian skies.

Image courtesy of NOAA/Dimitris Sakellariou

4. Santorini, Greece

Look at the small group of five islands known as Santorini, and it's clear something bad once happened there. In fact, the islands all were one, until an eruption bigger than Krakatau blew the place apart about 3,600 years ago. Ash deposits 100 feet thick have been found 19 miles in all directions from the caldera. Shown here is a wall of the volcano where you can see layers of ash, lava flows, pyroclastic deposits and other volcanic products. The ancient eruption is thought to have spawned the tales of the "Lost City of Atlantis" and perhaps even hastened the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the nearby island of Crete.

Image courtesy of NASA

5. Ra Patera, Io, Jupiter's Moon

Thanks to space exploration, the list of greatest volcanoes can no longer be restricted to Earth. In 1979 the Voyager space probe made a shocking discovery -- Jupiter's moon Io was pock-marked with active volcanoes. Voyager's snapshot of Ra Patera was the first discovery of an active extraterrestrial volcano, though the bigger vents Loki and Pele were discovered soon after. But it didn't make sense. Io is about same the size as Earth's moon, which long ago froze in the vacuum of space. So why was it still active? As scientists soon learned, Jupiter's intense gravity was tugging on Io's innards, creating such heat that the moon was literally disemboweling itself, spewing sulfur-rich lavas all over the surface of the moon, and out into space.

Image courtesy of NASA

6. Krakatau, Indonesia

In 1883, humanity witnessed what scientists call a "caldera-forming eruption" in Indonesia. In plain English, we call that a mountain blowing itself apart. At 200 megatons of explosive power, the eruption was four times more powerful than the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated. Since the volcano and island were one and the same, there wasn't much left after the explosion rocked the Sunda Strait and sent 100-foot-high tsunamis and scalding ash flows ashore up to 25 miles away. In the ruined void the volcano left behind, a new island has been growing back (through a series of much smaller eruptions) and is now around 1,000 feet high.

Image courtesy of NASA

7. Mauna Kea, Hawaii, USA

Given the violent company it's in, Mauna Kea is pretty chill. Dormant for the last 4,500 years, it was never much of an exploder even in its heyday. That's because the lava that comes out of volcanoes in Hawaii is a low-viscosity basalt -- it tends to ooze and flow like a river. Shown here with snowy peaks in the foreground, the mountain has erupted a lot of lava over the eons. It is only 13,796 feet above sea level, but from its base at the bottom of the Pacific, it measures 33,476 feet high, making it the tallest mountain in the world. Its upper reaches used to have enough snow for skiing (and further back, glaciers).

Image courtesy of USGS

8. Grimsvotn, Iceland

Nothing says "explosion" quite like the mixing of searing hot magma with ice from a glacier. It's a common circumstance at Grimsvotn, a volcano buried underneath the Vatnajokull glacier in eastern Iceland that last erupted in 2004. Each time Grimsvotn erupts, huge amounts of liquid build up under the glacier until the pressure becomes so great that the water literally lifts up the glacier and escapes in catastrophic floods, called "jokulhlaups." You don't want to be around for a jokulhlaup. The flood that came after the 1996 Grimsvotn eruption discharged 50,000 cubic meters of water per second, making it briefly the second-largest river in the world. But that kind of thing doesn't faze Icelanders â€" these are the same folks who once sprayed seawater on a lava flow to keep it from engulfing a nearby harbor town.

Image courtesy of USGS

9. Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA

May 18, 1980, was a bad day in Washington state. Silent for over 100 years, the picturesque 9,677-foot peak had by late April grown into a bloated, trembling blister of rock and magma. And like a blister, it popped early on a Sunday morning, rocketing fiery ash out to the north at close to the speed of sound. The eruption killed 57 people and did almost $3 billion in damage when all was said and done. It also lopped 1,314 feet off the height of the mountain, which was reduced to a smoldering crater. This was the most deadly volcanic eruption in Unites States history -- and it was just a pipsqueak, really.

10. Ontong-Java Plateau, South Pacific

This is the biggest volcano you've never heard of. When it erupted 125 million years ago, it covered a region of the south Pacific Ocean the size of Alaska with basalt, in some places as much as 30 kilometers thick. It was so big, the eruption itself is thought to have lasted 6 million years. Scientists call this type of volcano a large igneous province (LIP). They are highly mysterious, and appear to form when huge amounts of hot magma well up from thousands of miles deep in the mantle, near Earth's core. There's a lot of debate as to whether LIPs erupt in huge explosions, or just ooze out in massive sheets of lava. Either way, mass extinctions have a tendency to occur whenever one of these things go off, so it's probably a good thing we've never seen one in action.

Ring of Fire

In 2008, 72 volcanoes erupted around the world -- that's a lot of fire, and slightly above average. 2009 got off to a fast start, too, with Mount Redoubt letting loose in Alaska, Japan's Mount Asama raining ash on Tokyo and an undersea volcano in Tonga breaching the surface and growing an island. But none of these is likely to break into our list of Top 10 Volcanoes in Geologic History. Most of these come with signs that read "Danger: Keep Back at Least One Continent." But if this list of past catastrophes teaches us anything, it's that the biggest, baddest volcanoes can erupt anywhere and at any time. And they will again -- it's just a matter of when.

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

all images from http://photos.denverpost.com/

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

A round circle of smoke coming from the mouth of the Etna volcano is seen in the sky during an eruption on the southern Italian island of Sicily April 11, 2013. Mount Etna is Europe's tallest and most active volcano. Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Italy's volcanic Mount Etna spews lava during an eruption on the southern Italian island of Sicily April 12, 2013. Mount Etna is Europe's tallest and most active volcano. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

Picture taken April 11, 2013. REUTERS/Antonio Parrinello

kun diin ka niadto ug nagkuha ani nga piktyurs.  pareha mo ug shorts, haw?

"The likelihood either of stamping out or legalizing jueteng remains low; too many powerful people benefit," said the embassy cable also sent Mussomeli.

In earlier statements to media, the former First Gentleman and his son, Mikey, have denied all allegations of wrongdoing during the previous administration.

Business leaders quoted by the embassy cables, meanwhile, have yet to confirm the confidential statements made public by WikiLeaks.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/

Another cable, 05MANILA2359, had also linked the husband and son of Arroyo to illegal gambling syndicates.

The memo, dated May 23, 2005, said all that it would take then to oust Arroyo from power then was "for one credible witness--like Governor Chavit Singsong [sic] in the Estrada case--to go public."

"However, there is little enthusiasm for a new impeachment process that could constitutionally bump up Vice President Noli De Castro as President, despite a fairly widespread belief in elite circles that the Arroyos are indeed directly linked to jueteng payoffs," it added.

"Chua said this corruption ... does make it more and more difficult to sustain economic growth," the cable said. "Capital flight is not yet a problem... [but] many of their investments are scaled back, however, from what they would be in a clean market."

US embassy officials also heard similar complaints from then Makati Business Club Director Bill Luz.

"Luz said that people should watch the rumors swirling around the first family carefully," the cable said.

"Regarding Mike Arroyo's involvement, Luz said he senses that the allegations will continue and sooner or later someone will come forward with clear evidence of wrongdoing," it added.

"The FFCCCI maintains an internal settlement process to resolve disputes among member companies because members have so little trust in the court system. This process is being used more frequently now as an increasing number of FFCCCI members see the courts as unreliable and unpredictable because of corruption," the cable said.

"According to [Chua], the Chinese-Filipino business community encounters corruption on a regular basis in the tax bureau, customs, and other government functions... Corruption, he said, is increasingly undermining the ability of companies to operate efficiently in the RP...According to Chua, almost no business people believe the GRP's claims that its efforts are achieving results," it added.

No confidence in Arroyo government

Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FFCCCI) President Francis Chua echoed Sycip's allegations of the then First Gentleman's involvement in syndicates, according to the June 9, 2005 memo.

Chua described Mike Arroyo as "a major problem with respect to corruption, pointing to his links to 'jueteng' and the many politicians and local officials involved in the illegal gambling racket."

Chua added that the Chinese-Filipino community was losing confidence in the government, in particular the courts.

The memo, again quoting Sycip, said Mike Arroyo's behavior damaged the credibility of the government and affected his wife's ability to crack down on corruption.

The SGV founding partner became "increasingly pessimistic, claiming privately that corruption [under the Arroyo administration was] at its worst, surpassing even the Marcos era."

Sycip said the President also rarely followed the advice given by a special group, of which he was a member, regarding complaints about corruption in her administration.

"President Arroyo is more concerned about her ability to stay in office than developing a strategic approach to policy making, he critiqued," the cable added.

"President Arroyo, according to Sycip, is aware of her husband's misdeeds, but she is unwilling to do anything to curb his activities because he was instrumental in marshaling campaign donations and is now keeping those supporters in line to help her maintain her grip on power," it added.

Cabinet officials were also caught in a bind. Many of their subordinates--Arroyo loyalists who were placed in key government positions--reported directly to the First Gentleman, bypassing chains of command, the cable revealed.

The memo also cited reports claiming that the President's son, Congressman Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, "is involved in jueteng racketeering."

Sycip, described as a "long-time US embassy contact," saw the former First Gentleman "as one of the worst offenders, with a reputation for corruption seeping down to all levels of society and eroding PGMA's political standing," the cable said.

back in 2011...

Arroyo knew husband involved in syndicates, US cable says

by Jojo Malig
abs-cbn NEWS.com
09/04/2011

MANILA, Philippines â€" Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo knew of her husband's "heavy involvement" in smuggling and illegal gambling syndicates but refused to stop him because he got her elected as President, a US embassy cable published Friday by whistleblower group WikiLeaks alleges.

Some of the Philippines' top business leaders raised the issue before American government officials in 2005 as they feared for the worst for the country, according to cable 05MANILA2670, classified "Confidential" by US embassy Economic Counselor Robert Ludan and sent by then US Chargé d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli.

Washington Sycip, a founding partner of accounting giant SGV, told US officials that then First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo "is heavily involved in the illegal gambling or 'jueteng' networks and closely connected with major smuggling syndicates," according to the embassy memo.

1. Italy


Gianni Agnelli didn't need color to shine.

Italy's modern synonymy with style began in the 1950s. Gucci became the jet set's label of choice with icons such as Grace Kelly and Jackie Kennedy Onassis rarely seen without one of its handbags.

Meanwhile, on the beaches of the English south coast, sharply dressed Mods in tailored Italian suits showed how to cut a dash during a scrap in their clashes with leather-clad Rockers.

Europe's kinky boot continues to fly the flag. Houses such as Prada, Miu Miu and Armani are legendary, while fashion conscious folks across the world strive to inject some trademark Italian "sprezzatura" (studied nonchalance) into their look.

With two cities -- Milan and Rome -- among fashion's big five, the world still looks to Italy for pointers, which is good news for emerging designers such as Carlo Contrada and Gabriele Colangelo.

Shining example



Gianni Agnelli. One of Italy's greatest industrialists, the impeccably dressed Fiat magnate was also a worthy standard bearer for his nation's fashion sensibility.

Essential items

Miu Miu bag; tailored blazer from Zanetti with pocket square

http://travel.cnn.com/

2. Sweden


Singer Lykke Li shows off the Swedish fashion code: less is more.

Un-demonstrative yet completely assured, the Swedish style sense has become the latest in the long line of successful exports from the Scandinavian nation.

Whereas the country's original breakout phenomenon, pop group ABBA, complemented their melodic nous with outlandish satin loon pants and facial hair, the appeal of Swedish fashion rests in its stylistically clean, minimalist notes.

This utilitarian approach to fashion has spread like wildfire across the globe. Sweden's most famous brand, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), now has more than 2,300 stores in 41 countries and its tie-ins with designers such as Stella McCartney and Roberto Cavalli have set the standard for collaborations between high-street and high-fashion brands.

Smaller labels such as Cheap Monday and Acne meanwhile are also rapidly attaining global reach and influence.

Shining example



Lykke Li. The breakthrough pop star epitomizes the Swedish "less is more" fashion ethos.

Essential items

Long knitted polo neck jumper from H&M; Royal Blue Johnny Sweater from Cheap Monday

3. France


If you dressed like this, you'd have a perma-smug grin, too.

The French royal court became the arbiter of style for the rest of Europe in the 17th century. It arguably still is, although today's fashion aristocracy are not the heavily powdered courtiers of Louis XIV, but the bright young things at houses such as Vuitton, Dior and Givenchy.

Indeed, it's not just the rest of the continent that takes many of its leads from Paris -- it's the entire world.

Foreign stars such as Marc Jacobs (United States), Kenzo Takada (Japan) and Alexander McQueen (United Kingdom) all saw a move to France as the logical way to further their careers.

The birthplace of haute couture -- unique custom fitted clothing -- French fashion can be too precious for some tastes.

New designers such as Yves Andrieux and Vincent Jalbert, however, who use recycled army fabrics and antique embroideries in their jackets and bags, are re-injecting some cutting edge.

Shining example



Eva Green. The former Bond girl favors 1930s- and 1940s-inspired silhouettes like high waists and structured shoulders that evoke the classic designs of Coco Chanel.

Essential items

Cotton tweed culotte skirt from Chanel; Speedster leather jacket from Surface to Air

4. Japan


Nothing if not unique.

Few nationalities take dressing up to such gleeful extremes as the Japanese.

Previous generations may have wallowed in conformity, but youth fashion in big cities like Tokyo is the antithesis of the graceful lady wrapped in a kimono or the workaholic business suited salaryman.

Playful and often provocative, Japanese street fashion draws on a whole raft of influences -- both international and traditional -- to create looks that have transcended the boundaries of hip districts like Harajuku to take catwalks and high streets all over the world by storm.

Styles include "lolita," an updated take on Victorian-era clothing and "oshare kei," a punkish style characterized by bright colors and different patterns.

Elements of these have been exported as a result of the success of homegrown brands such as A Bathing Ape, Uniqlo and, perhaps most notably, Commes des Garçons.

Shining example



Rei Kawakubo. The creative force behind the Commes des Garçons label, Kawakubo -- with her black uniform and severe bob -- is an avant-garde fashion icon.

Essential items

Flannel long sleeve tunic from Uniqlo; Skull Face T-Shirt from A Bathing Ape

5. United Kingdom


Maybe the dipped-in-a-bowl-of-coconut-shavings look is what's in right now.

It's no secret that many turn to the Brits for style pointers.

From the approximation of Edwardian fashions by the Teddy Boys in the 1950s through to the smart-casual looks favored by bands such as Blur, Oasis and the Arctic Monkeys, British youth movements have mined a rich sartorial seam.

While it's possible to put other fashion hubs into defined boxes -- France (femininity), Sweden (minimalism) -- British fashion largely defies categorization.

It can mean anything from a timeless James Bond look courtesy of famed tailor Gieves & Hawkes, classic British brands such as Burberry, Mulberry, Fred Perry and Lyle & Scott, or the steady stream of innovative design talent that emerges from famed fashion schools such as Central Saint Martins in London.

Shining example



Terence Stamp. British fashion was never more influential than at the height of the Swinging Sixties and nobody embodied the sharply dressed ethos more than actor Terence Stamp.

Essential items

Vivienne Westwood Anglomania Accident Slim Pencil Skirt; Barbour trench coat

6. Australia


It takes hours of work to look this effortless.

Fictional guitarist Nigel Tufnel may have once described his band mate’s girlfriend as "dressing like an Australian's nightmare" in the film “This Is Spinal Tap,” but the Aussie style sense is no longer derided. 

The Australian look, which is at once casual and individualistic, is now emulated everywhere. The friendly climate, surf culture and strong outdoor aesthetic have all influenced Australian design.

Yet while a sense of playful informality rules, the refined lines at hip labels such as Minkpink and Camilla and Marc are a world away from the swimsuited and thonged image of popular renown.

Brands such as Camilla and Marc go for a “tailored casual” aesthetic a world away from the elasticized waistbands of board shorts. Other names to drop at the moment include Josh Good and Scanlan & Theodore. 

Shining example



Isabel Lucas. The Transformers actress rocks a vintage, hippie-inspired look perfectly suited to the perpetual Australian summer. Her favored brands include homegrown jewelry label Spell Designs.

Essential items

Dress by Alex Perry; paisley shirt by Arthur Galan

7. Brazil


Proving Brazil can dress just as well as it undresses.

The sun-kissed spiritual home of the body beautiful, Brazilians have traditionally been seen as one of the best-undressed nationalities. Yet while the classic barely there swimsuit/tight trunks and Havianas combo still reigns supreme on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, a more subtle fashion aesthetic has emerged in South America's largest country in recent years.

The catalyst for this change was the advent of the São Paolo Fashion Week at the turn of the millennium.

Now, with the newer Fashion Rio taking place in the same fortnight, Brazil is boldly upping the ante when it comes to hosting extended ready-to-wear events.

The approach appears to be paying off with brands such as Pedro Lourenço, Osklen and Alexandre Herchcovitch beginning to make a mark internationally with their exuberant designs.

Shining example



Carmen Miranda. Her fruit-laden hats and turbans brought Rio's joyous Carnival culture to a wider audience.

Essential items

Bikini from Osklen; classic V-neck T-shirt from Reserva

8. United States


If Marc Jacobs wears it, we want it.

The global reach of its style innovations has matched the geopolitical importance of the United States. From blue jeans and western wear such as checked shirts and cowboy hats to the preppy school and hip-hop street threads, casual American looks have permeated cultures from Columbia to Cambodia.

There have been many missteps along the way -- leather shoestring ties and Crocs to name two -- but at its best American fashion embodies a classic aesthetic that's hard to resist.

Big labels such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein are among the most copied brands on the planet. Their ubiquity doesn't mean that the Americans don't have some cutting-edge aces up their sleeves.

Marc Jacobs is rightfully regarded as a modern master while high-end labels such as Proenza Schouler, Zac Posen, Tuleh, Peter Som and Derek Lam are giving the European fashion powerhouses a run for their money.

Shining example



Steve McQueen. It takes guts to wear khakis and cable-knit sweaters. It takes Steve McQueen to pull it off.

Essential items

Slalom sweater dress by Marc Jacobs

World's best-dressed nations -- and how to fit in

Never again be daunted by the prospect of traveling to a sartorially superior land

By Duncan Forgan
for CNN Travel
4 December, 2012

First impressions count. That, no doubt, is why few first dates take place in lederhosen.

For the traditional Germans among us, no offense intended. But there is something about a sharply cut suit, or a well-matched sweater-pant combo, that hits the style spots small leather shorts and braces can’t.

Of course in a Turkish steam bath even a pair of board shorts would be considered over-dressed. But that’s an extreme we needn't worry about here.

So which country has the best-dressed people?

Is it even possible or fair to evaluate an entire country on the sartorial whims of its fashionable elite?

Probably not. But that’s not going to stop us. And it shouldn’t stop you either.

ang naa sa left ang pinaka-angayan.

Enrile and Ramos later launched an uprising against Marcos that led to the EDSA People Power revolution and the removal of the strongman from power.

Ramos would become Philippine president, beating fellow "Omega 12" member Cojuangco in the 1992 elections. Enrile would become Senate president.

Cojuangco, a cousin of former President Cory Aquino and uncle of current President Benigno Aquino III, would focus on business aside from politics. He is current chairman of San Miguel Corp.

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/

"Marcos chose to decorate the twelve men of defense establishment whom he described as instrumental in deciding and implementing martial law," he added.

It marked the first time that Marcos publicly singled out and thanked the members of the "Omega 12" were their role during the dictatorship.

"There is no question now that their fortunes are even more tightly tied to those of the New Society," Sullivan said.

During the ceremonies, Marcos' wife Imelda was also given a special military award "signed by her least favorite Cabinet member, Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile, for her outstanding contributions to the New Society," the US envoy wrote.

"The twelve had previously been rewarded and identified individually in private during September  1973 Malacañang ceremonies when Marcos presented each of them with a personally inscribed gold watch leading them subsequently to title themselves 'The Omega Band,'" the US ambassador's memo said.

Without specifically naming them, Marcos cited the "Omega 12" during his 1973 address to the Armed Forces.

A year later, Marcos publicly acknowleged their primary contributions to martial law.

"Marcos re-emphasized his need for military in awarding medals to stalwart twelve who he said planned martial law," Sullivan said, referring to the dictator's address to the Armed Forces in December 21, 1974.

Cable 1974MANILA15083_b, which was earlier released in the public domain by the US National Archives, identified the "Omega 12". They were:

    Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile,
    Philippine Constabulary chief Maj. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos,
    National Intelligence Security Authority chief Maj. Gen. Fabian Ver,
    Lt. Col. Eduardo "Danding" Cojuangco, Jr.
    Army chief Maj. Gen. Rafael Zagala,
    Constabulary vice-chief Brig Gen. Tomas Diaz,
    Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo Espino,
    Air Force chief Maj. Gen. Jose Rancudo,
    Navy chief Rear Admiral Hilario Ruiz,
    ISAFP chief Brig. Gen. Ignacio Paz,
    Metrocom chief Brig Gen. Alfredo Montoya, and
    Rizal province Constabulary head Col. Romeo Gatan.

Sullivan said Marcos gifted the 12 with personally inscribed Omega watches during a private ceremony in Malacañang in 1973.

The 12 apparently took pride in the gold watches.

'Omega 12' behind Marcos' martial law - US envoy

by Jojo Malig
ABS-CBN News.com
04/12/2013

MANILA - Twelve military officers personally handpicked by then President Ferdinand Marcos implemented Martial Law during his regime, according to a declassified diplomatic cable published online by anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks.

And contrary to a popular urban legend, Marcos gave them Omega watches, not Rolexes, said then US Ambassador to Manila William Sullivan in a December 24, 1974 confidential memo to the US State Department.

https://www.wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1974MANILA15083_b.html

“It was amazing," Hawking said at the time. "The Zero-G part was wonderful, and the High-G part was no problem. I could have gone on and on. Space, here I come!”

Born in Oxford, England, in 1942, Hawking studied at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. He became a math professor at Cambridge and held that post for more than 30 years.  In 2009, he left to head the Cambridge University Center for Theoretical Physics.

http://www.voanews.com/

Since 1970, Hawking has been almost completely paralyzed by ALS. Confined to a wheelchair, he uses an advanced computer synthesizer to speak.

The renowned scientist has pioneered efforts to unlock secrets of the cosmos, revolutionizing astrophysics and capturing the imagination of millions in the process. He is perhaps most well-known for his book, A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

Despite his disabilities, he continues to work, write and travel.  At the age of 65, he was invited aboard a special zero-gravity jet to fulfill his dream of experiencing the weightlessness of a space-faring astronaut.

Speaking at a 2008 ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of the U.S. space agency, NASA, Hawking called for a new era in human space exploration, comparable, he said, to the European voyages to the New World more than 500 years ago.

“Spreading out into space will have an even greater effect," Hawking said. "It will completely change the future of the human race and maybe determine whether we have any future at all.”

Hawking was in Los Angeles this week for an appearance at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to see its research on slowing the progression of the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. Hawking has suffered from the incurable, neurodegenerative condition for 50 years.

Hawking Gives Humans 1,000 Years to Escape Earth


Stephen Hawking, almost totally paralyzed since 1970 by ALS, enjoys a few moments of weightlessness during a flight aboard Zero Gravity Corp.’s modified Boeing 727. (Jim Campbell, Aero-News Network)

VOA News
April 11, 2013

Famed astrophysicist Stephen Hawking warns that humans will need to go beyond the planet Earth if they are to survive as a species.

“We must continue to go into space for humanity,” Hawking told a gathering this week in Los Angeles, California. “We won’t survive another 1,000 years without escaping our fragile planet.”

Hawking, 71, has long been a proponent of space exploration.

Sergeant Major Pearse Lally inspects Chelsea Pensioners, who will take part in the funeral of the late former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, during a uniform inspection at the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London.

http://www.voanews.com/

Women mourn during the funeral ceremony of shooting victims in the village of Velika Ivanca, about 40 km (25 miles) southwest of Belgrade, Serbia. A war veteran, who killed 13 relatives and neighbors in a dawn rampage in the village this week, before turning the gun on himself, died in a hospital on Apr. 11, 2013.

http://www.voanews.com/

12 April 2013


One of the beaches on Bohol, the tenth largest island of the Philippines (Photo submitted by Jayson Aquino to VOA Photo Contest)

http://www.voanews.com/

Justice civil servants of Baracaldo's court wearing penitents costumes and carrying wooden crosses take part in a protest against the government's spending cuts in justice services, outside the court in the Northern Spanish Basque city of Baracaldo, Spain.

http://www.voanews.com/

Women pro-democracy protesters march on a road past the house of Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, during a demonstration to hail a military shake-up he carried out, in Sana'a. Hadi removed the commander of the elite Republican Guard, a powerful political foe, from the military, state television reported, in an apparent move to unify the divided armed forces under his own control.

http://www.voanews.com/

11 April 2013


Hundreds of crosses, representing gun deaths since the Newtown, Connecticut elementary shootings, are placed on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Two U.S. senators have reached a compromise that would expand background checks for gun sales in what could result in the most ambitious change to gun laws since 1994, an official said.

http://www.voanews.com/

"(The peace process) is too complicated for Senator Aquino to understand," MILF peace panel member Michael Mastura was quoted by the embassy cable as saying at a meeting between a US diplomat and the MILF in February 2010.

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF Peace Panel Chairman, was also at the meeting, which took place in Mastura's house in Cotabato City during the final months of the national political campaign when then-frontrunner Noynoy Aquino was being attacked by his critics as a mentally unstable intellectual lightweight.

Just months after Aquino's victory, Iqbal would begin engaging in secret peace negotiations initiated by Aquino, culminating in the Bangsamoro peace pact. The "framework agreement," signed in Malacanang in October 2012, is considered one of the crowning glories of the first half of Aquino's six-year term.

more at http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/303392/news/nation/wikileaks-moro-islamic-liberation-front-had-underestimated-aquino

WikiLeaks: Moro Islamic Liberation Front had underestimated Aquino

April 12, 2013

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which would later praise President Aquino's leadership on the peace process, had doubted his ability to "understand the complexities" of the Mindanao conflict as he was nearing victory in the 2010 elections, according to a confidential US embassy cable to Washington DC in February 2010.

The cable, written by US Charge d'Affaires Leslie Bassett, was one of some two million confidential communications by US diplomats made accessible by a new WikiLeaks search engine for state department archives.

MILF leaders lamented that none of the presidential candidates in 2010 appeared to take the peace process seriously, but only then-Senator Aquino was singled out for criticism by name.

“(Government of Malaysia's) involvement in the southern Philippines was triggered by evidence in 1968-89 that president Marcos was training Muslims for infiltration of Sabah (the Jabidah affair),” according to the cable.

The official also said the Sabah government would not stop arms smuggling unless Marcos gives up the Sabah claim.

“The mission feels that while present Kuala Lumpur government may be less inclined to condone direct assistance to Moro rebels, the government of Malaysia (Mustapha) will not give up possibility of extending such assistance until President Marcos publicly and categorically abandons Philippine claim to Sabah,” according to the cable.

more at http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/303584/news/nation/wikileaks-libya-used-sabah-to-arm-phl-moro-rebels-in-1970s

“He said it was no secret that his predecessor, former chief minister Tun Mustapha, had been running guns and money from Libya's Gaddafi to the Philippine guerrillas,” according to the secret cable written by an unnamed American Embassy official in Kuala Lumpur.

The official reported that “assistance has been provided to Filipino Muslim insurgents directly by Mustapha, by Libya and perhaps other Arab countries through Mustapha, and there is evidence of GOM (Government of Malaysia) agencies collaborating with Mustapha.”

The official added that Mustapha seemed to have resorted to arms smuggling following reports that then-Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos was training Muslims to invade Sabah, a disputed territory. This project failed and eventually led to the killing of 68 to 200 young Moros on March 18, 1968, an event now known as the Jabidah Massacre.

WikiLeaks: Libya used Sabah to arm PHL Moro rebels in 1970s

April 12, 2013

Sabah had played a big role in the rise of the Muslim secessionist movement in Mindanao in the 1970s when it was used as conduit in the smuggling of arms from Libya to southern Philippines, according to declassified cables published by WikiLeaks.

According to two cables, former Sabah chief minister Tun Mustapha facilitated the arms smuggling from Libya, then ruled by military dictator Muammar Gaddafi, to Mindanao to arm Moro rebels there in the hope that it will force the Philippines to abandon its claim to Sabah.

A cable dated April 17, 1976, quoted then-Sabah chief minister Tun Fuad as saying that it was “no secret” that his predecessor, Mustapha, supplied arms to Philippine guerrillas.

si bugsay na ang expert ani.  huwat ta niya.  busy pa tog himo ug furnitures.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 13, 2013, 09:03:11 AM
He he, si Judas ray akong paborito...

hinaot di pa hunit.  imo na lang pod untang girespetuhan ang bata-bata nga si john...

why man you know? niagi kag nauwak?

eeekkk, gigutom kong gatan-aw. time to eat ug bahaw.

"We are doing nothing at this end to stimulate hopes for meeting with [the] President, and that he will be out of [the] country for [a] good portion of her visit," Sullivan said of that specific visit.

A December 23, 1976 cable also quoted Sullivan as warning the US State Department about Imelda's claim that she was invited to the inauguration of then newly elected US President Jimmy Carter.

"It is conceivable that [the] invitation story may have surfaced [in Philippine media] in expectation [that the] US government would be reluctant [to] embarrass Mrs. Marcos if she insisted on attending [the] inauguration," he said.

Sullivan also said that it should be recalled how Imelda "attempted to invite herself" to the inauguration of former US President Richard Nixon in 1968 and to the dedication of the Sydney Opera House "where she made [an] effort to upstage the Queen." â€" KBK, GMA News


Imelda Attends the Opening of the Sydney Opera House

Gatecrasher?

Other instances of Imelda's alleged misbehavior at international events were also mentioned in other diplomatic cables.

A US Embassy cable dated April 30, 1974 mentioned Imelda's "grandstanding" in Hong Kong when she commented about the relationship between China and the Philippines.

Another cable dated October 25, 1974 also hinted how then-US Ambassador to the Philippines William Sullivan disliked Imelda's visits to the US.

He said Imelda has "all sorts of interests [regarding her visits] which are far from reconciled."

"She was furious,” Anderson said. “Then, President Ford neglected to drop by to greet her at the tea session. She became more furious."

Anderson also said that when Imelda and Betty exchanged gifts, Imelda was "so disappointed" with her gift that she left it behind. "She was literally sputtering with rage, according to my sources, when she [flew] back to the Philippines," he said.

Aside from this, Kissinger also quoted a January 30, 1976 report by Anderson about how the Marcos family and their "rich friends" bought all the copies of the Cosmopolitan magazine issue in the Philippines, which listed Imelda as one of the 10 richest women in the world.

"Now, this is quite an achievement for a working girl who was an airline stewardess only a few years ago. Then she married Ferdinand Marcos and he became president of the Philippines. Well, their sudden rise to riches is not a story they want to advertise in the Philippines. They didn't want to censure Cosmopolitan magazine. That would have attracted attention to the story and would have led to bad, world-wide publicity," he said.

Meeting with the Fords

An earlier memo by Kissinger said that Imelda was in Washington on November 19, 1975 to serve as a keynote speaker at the World Population Conference. She and her daughter, Imee, even had tea with Betty Ford, wife of former US President Gerald Ford, at the White House on the same day.

Imelda then stayed in New York for a few more days until her November 21 flight to Madrid to attend Franco's funeral.

"She likes the pomp and ceremony of such international occasions,” Anderson wrote, as shown in Kissinger's cable. “Meanwhile, she asked to be received at the White House. There was a bickering over schedules but a 45-minute tea break was arranged with Betty Ford."

He said when Imelda showed up at the White House, she was held at the gate because the guards were not notified about her arrival.


Former first ladies Betty Ford and Imelda Marcos

Regarded as "pest than a guest"

"She seldom notifies them. She simply arrives unannounced. Then, she starts making difficult demands and poking her nose into delicate matters. She's come to be regarded as pest than a guest," Anderson further wrote.

One could assume that Kissinger agreed with Anderson's portrayal of Imelda as he did not give any comment on Anderson's report. His cable to Manila was sent at a time when media was heavily censored in the Philippines due to the declaration of martial law by Imelda's husband, then-President Ferdinand Marcos.

In his report, Anderson specifically cited an instance when Imelda "loitered" around New York City "with little to do." He said reports had it that she was waiting for Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco to die so she could attend his funeral.

WikiLeaks: Imelda Marcos was a 'pest more than a guest' in US

KIMBERLY JANE TAN
GMA News
April 12, 2013

For all her glamor and pomp, former First Lady Imelda Marcos was seen as "a pest" in the United States, a gatecrasher who would “invite herself” to important political events and grow furious over something as trivial as gifts, according to US diplomatic cables declassified and published by WikiLeaks.

No less than then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger informed the US Embassy in Manila of this, through a January 31, 1976 memo where he quoted two reports on Imelda by prominent American journalist Jack Anderson on ABC's Good Morning America. 

In his January 26, 1976 report, Anderson mentioned a “foreign visitor whom the State Department hates to see."


Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger with former first lady Imelda Marcos in a meeting in Washington D.C. Dr. Kissinger was considered then as the real power behind the making of American Foreign Policy.

"She happens to be one of the world's most glamorous women. She's the first lady of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, a beautiful woman whose beguiling smiles charm the scowls off the world's most cantankerous leaders," he said, adding the State Department's protocol people "grit their teeth" every time Imelda shows up in the US.

Tehran, Iran 1979 - Ambassador William H. Sullivan, RSO and Bodyguard Personnel

Sullivan was replaced in the spring of 1979 by Charge' d'Affaires Bruce Laingen, who later became one of 52 Americans held hostage by militant Iranian students.


US Ambassador William Sullivan escorted out of US embassy, Tehran, Feb. 15, 1979, Iran

In 1981, Sullivan published Mission to Iran, a memoir of his time as ambassador. His autobiography, Obbligato: Notes on a Foreign Service Career, was published in 1984. He is a father of 4 and grandfather of 6 and lives a quiet life in Washington, D.C.

wikipedia/


for more info, some other links:
http://www.danielpipes.org/25/mission-to-iran
World: Sullivan--Cool Salesman, Time Magazine, Monday, Feb. 26, 1979, http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,920157,00.html

Throughout the revolution in Iran, Sullivan served as chief American diplomat and primary messenger between the administration of President Jimmy Carter and the Shah.

Sullivan felt strongly early on that America should abandon its support of the Shah and move to form an alliance with Khomeini. He wrote in his autobiography: "I had recommended that we accept the fact that a revolution was in progress and seek to use our not inconsiderable influence to steer its success toward its more moderate protagonists." This view, however, was not shared by Washington.


42-year-old Ambassador William H. Sullivan (1964 file photo)

As the revolution gained momentum, Sullivan became increasingly opposed to America's policy, becoming insolent and carrying out the President's directives halfheartedly or, in some instances, not at all. Carter later stated in an interview that Sullivan was "specifically insubordinate" and that he should have fired Sullivan, but was dissuaded to do so by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance.

In the 1970s, America had unusually high military and economic links with Iran. However, in early 1978, growing unrest due to inflation and other economic hardships fueled by the growing tide of fundamentalist Islam led to demonstrations against the Shah. On February 1, 1979, the exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran and on April 1, 1979, Iran officially became an Islamic state.


2/14/1979-Tehran, Iran- US Ambassador, William Sullivan(center), is is escorted by armed guerrillas brandishing bayonets(as seen in the foreground) after he was taken prisoner at the US Embassy. Sullivan was the last of some 70 Americans to leave the building before the Embassy fell to the guerrillas.

Life and career

Sullivan was born in Rhode Island. As Ambassador to Laos during Project 404, he had severe disagreements with the military over the secret war in that country. General William Westmoreland and other officers felt that Sullivan severely damaged the overall war effort. In the early 1970s, Sullivan participated in peace negotiations between the United States and North Vietnam.


Deputy Minister Nguyen Co Thach shook hands with Ambassador William Sullivan (two key diplomats who were responsible for the text of the Agreement and the procedures for signing of the Paris Agreement). The second from left is Mr Le Duc Tho.

During Sullivan's tenure as Ambassador to Iran, he played an important role in communicating America's directives to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the second and last Pahlavi king.

knowing the author of these diplomatic cables:



William Healy Sullivan (born October 12, 1922) was an American Foreign Service career officer who served as Ambassador to Laos from 1964â€"1969, the Philippines from 1973â€"1977, and Iran from 1977-1979.

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 13, 2013, 09:00:42 AM
Hmm, basin finale ang part ni FVR, and by then nakabiya na si Sullivan...

heaven forbid nga siya ang star dancer.

"I replied by saying that I thought I was fairly well tuned in to FM [Ferdinand Marcos]. She replied immediately 'Here you have to be on stereo.' In case I didn't get the point, Ms. Nakpil observed 'Here we have IM [Imelda Marcos] too'," he said.

After uttering these words, he said Imelda gathered the intellectuals for a "a few final words of wisdom" and took a couple of the upper middle class ladies with her to her limousine and sped off into the night.

"As I left, the intellectuals were clustered in some bewilderment on the sidewalk, while one of the security men handed out curfew passes. Newsweek missed a great vignette," he said. â€" Kimberly Jane Tan/ RSJ/HS, GMA News

"One distinguished, but decidedly inebriated UP department head approached Imelda with the same intention. After gently caressing her hand several times in an effort to gain her attention, he was led quietly away to the bar by one of the security men, who occupied two smaller round tables immediately adjacent to our dais," he said.

After this incident, the US ambassador said writer Adrian Cristobal, another Imelda "sheepdog," pronounced that the curfew (1 a.m.) had arrived.

This was when Imelda told Sullivan that he was still obviously "not on her wavelength."