MikeLigalig.com

The North Korean Famine of 1994-1998
3 million dead





As the most recent famine on this list, North Korea suffered a tremendous famine from 1994 to 1998, brought about by a combination of misguided leadership and large scale flooding. Torrential rains in 1995 flooded the farming regions, and destroyed 1.5 million tons of grain reserves. Politically, Kim Jung Il implemented a “Military First” policy, which placed the needs of the military above the needs of the common people, food rations included. The isolated nation suffered from a stagnating economy, and was unable and unwilling to import food. As such, the childhood mortality rate rose to 93 out of 1000 children, and the mortality rate of pregnant women rose to 41 out of 1000 mothers. Over a 4-year span, an estimated 2.5-3 million people perished due to malnutrition and starvation.

The Vietnamese Famine of 1945
3 million dead





As a protectorate under France, Vietnam was under colonial rule for much of World War II. As Japanese expansion began in Indochina, Vietnam was taken for the Japanese, and a collaborationist French government sided with the Japanese. Agricultural focus shifted from sustenance to war-materials, specifically rubber. The Japanese exploited what little crop farms remained, and the invading forces commandeered most of these crops. This, teamed with an unbearable drought followed by biblical flooding, caused mass starvation across much of Northern Vietnam. The resulting famine killed 2 million Vietnamese.

The Great Irish Famine
1.5 million dead, 2 million emigrated





One of the most famous famines in history, the Great Famine was caused by a devastating potato disease. 33% of the Irish population relied on the potato for sustenance, and the onset of the disease in 1845 triggered mass starvations that lasted until 1853. The large Catholic population was suppressed by British rule, and left unable to own or lease land, or hold a profession. When the blight struck, British ships prevented other nations from delivering food aid. Ireland experienced a mass exodus, with upwards of 2 million people fleeing the country, many to the United States. At its conclusion in 1853, 1.5 million Irish were dead, and an additional 2 million had emigrated. In total, the population of Ireland shrunk by a resounding 25%.

Famine is often considered one of the worst natural disasters on Earth. Its effects are widespread, and the damage caused by a famine can last for months, if not years. Often times caused by other natural disasters, it can destroy whole villages, and cause mass exodus. Death by starvation and malnutrition is slow and painful, and often hits the youngest and the elderly the hardest. Unfortunately, at times it is brought upon by political incompetency, and cruelty towards others can exacerbate the situation. Below are 10 terrible famines experienced throughout human history.

"North Korea is using its nuclear programme to keep its people in line and to push South Korea and the United States for concessions," said Kim, who was captured after boarding the doomed 1987 plane in Baghdad.

She got off during a stopover in the Gulf, leaving a time bomb in an overhead compartment, but was arrested with another agent when they tried to leave Bahrain using fake Japanese passports.

Both immediately swallowed cyanide capsules. The man died almost instantly but Kim survived and was brought to Seoul, where she confessed and was eventually pardoned.

Kim published a book entitled "Tears of My Soul" describing her training at a North Korean spy school, and donated the proceeds to families of victims of the bombing.

She married one of her security guards and now lives in Seoul, still fearful that North Korean assassins could strike at any time, ABC said.

"Kim Jong-Un is too young and too inexperienced," she told Australia's ABC television in an exclusive interview from Seoul, where she lives at an undisclosed location surrounded by bodyguards.

"He's struggling to gain complete control over the military and to win their loyalty. That's why he's doing so many visits to military bases, to firm up support."

The North has been turning up the rhetoric for weeks and on Tuesday reiterated a warning that the Korean peninsula was headed for "thermo-nuclear" war, advising foreigners to consider leaving South Korea.

Kim Hyun-Hee told ABC there was method in the North Koreans' madness in threatening thermo-nuclear war.

AFP News â€" 15 hours ago



Former North Korean spy Kim Hyun-Hee arrives in Busan, about 420 kilometres southeast of Seoul, on March 11, 2009. A former North Korean spy who bombed a South Korean airliner said Wednesday that the North's leader Kim Jong-Un is struggling to control his military and using war talk to shore up support.


A former North Korean spy who bombed a South Korean airliner said Wednesday that the North's leader Kim Jong-Un is struggling to control his military and using war talk to shore up support.

Kim Hyun-Hee, who said she was ordered by Jong-Un's father Kim Jong-Il to bomb the airliner in 1987 killing 115 people, said she believes the son is still trying to establish himself following his father's death in December 2011.

The uninitiated questions this with, “Why on Earth would he want to?!” The conspiracy theorist responds with utter incredulity at someone who is unconvinced. The explanations are far and wide but they one common denominator, that President Barack Obama hates the United States, and wants to destroy it however possible.

This cannot be done by force, at least not until the nation decays from within, and the fastest way to effect this is financially. The U. S. has a current total deficit of about $16.4 trillion. At the end of 2013, it should be about $20.5 trillion. If it popularly thought that most of this is owed to China, but actually, China holds about 8% of this deficit. Almost all the rest is held by the U. S. federal government itself because of American investors, future retirees, the Social Security Trust Fund, and pension plans for civil service workers and military personnel.

So if Obama is not allied in any way with the Chinese, why did he campaign on the promise to cut America’s national deficit by half, and then attempt to do so with a pitifully misdirected economic overhaul? This caused monumental protests across the country, as the overhaul’s specific financial points made no sense. If spending digs the hole, spending will not extricate you from the hole.

Theorists do not agree on why Obama is making the American deficit larger, to the tune of $4 trillion since he took office. Bush, Jr.’s second term presided over a $3 trillion increase. So all of Obama’s new ideas for lowering the deficit did nothing at all. It seems he is either incompetent or malicious. Theorists mostly maintain that the latter, based on the principle that he is secretly a Muslim extremist, and Muslim extremists hate America. -- http://listverse.com/

Quote from: islander on April 11, 2013, 10:47:48 AM
wa na koy labot kun fake ang milyonir.

I rest my case...

Quote from: islander on April 11, 2013, 10:45:06 AM
eh? why, wa ba diay monster nga milyonir?

Aha! Your words, not mine. Onsikantot, fake baya ang monster...

Bwahaha! Maypa tuoy Bisaya kay usa ray pis, pis tingyawa!

Quote from: islander on April 11, 2013, 10:31:28 AM
lingaw mo lang... dinhi sa tb lang daan, hehe...

Way monsters diri, oi, milyoners nuon...

Holster ni Islander...





...ideal para sa tirador...

Quote from: islander on April 11, 2013, 09:16:10 AM
ingnon lang wrong spelling.  what he meant was "f*ck the foolish".

He he, siya maoy mapak anang kalakiha...

Hmm, naa ba kahay TB member nga but-an na sa 1975 nga nakahinumdom aning balitaa...

By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom â€" 12 hours ago


U.S. officials in the Philippines in the mid-70s were of the belief that Juan "Jack" Ponce Enrile, Jr. was linked to a shooting incident in 1975, a diplomatic cable showed.

"Some NBI sources have told us unequivocally, and contrary to Secretary Enrile's assurances to [U.S.] Ambassador (Reftel) that Enrile's son did the shooting," the cable showed.

The document is believed to be part of secret U.S. communication that have since been declassified and published by WikiLeaks.org.

Enrile, 54, is the son of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who was then the Defense Minister of strongman Ferdinand Marcos.

The younger Enrile has also ventured into politics and is currently in his fourth term as Cagayan's First District representative.

Enrile is now running for senator under the United Nationalist Alliance, of which his father is among the three party pillars.

It was sent on October 1, 1975 to the U.S. State Department, although the WikiLeaks post did not identify the sender.

The post also noted that Enrile's father left the Philippines while the government investigates the charges against his son.

Enrile had earlier noted in a February interview with ANC, however, that he was cleared in the case, although his bodyguard was convicted of homicide and sentenced to three years in jail.

This, even as Enrile acknowledged that he was involved in a violent confrontation which led to the shooting of De La Salle student Ernest Lucas, Jr. in 1975.

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Oi, katoytoy sa iyang racehorses. Di man na pangkarera, pangkarekare man na...



Horse-tail kare-kare

Quote from: islander on April 11, 2013, 09:41:12 AM
naa na bay nidaog, bai hubs?  wa pa man moapil si fr chic, lorenz, chongki, lolla ug pikoy... maayo pa si jorgeanna kay nag-una.  di ba kaha peke imong prize?

Hmm, why don't you submit more entries rather than cast aspersion on my wealth?

Whatever...


The more monsters, the merrier...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 11, 2013, 09:49:22 AM
Discrimination has no place in the Senate race, Hontiveros said, adding the candidates should be judged according to their political beliefs and vision.

Pastilan, master, er, mistress, sa pahalang man diay nis Risa. Niya pa, "candidates should be judged according to their political beliefs and vision". The unstated second part of the sentence: "...not according to their physical attributes."

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 11, 2013, 09:49:22 AM
"I hope that Ms. Binay be accorded with full respect despite her refusal to heed the public's call for a public debate," she added.

Oops, otro pud diayng maayong mopahalang si Risa...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 11, 2013, 09:49:22 AM
Hontiveros noted, however, "it was a call for a debate, not a catfight," noting that it aimed to "elevate our conversation during the campaign period."

Aw, kon kinawrasay, medyo bawot-bawot...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 11, 2013, 09:48:31 AM
"As of the moment, it seems there is no time for the two of us to debate," reports quoted Binay as saying at the sidelines of a campaign sortie.

"Maybe if the two of us would be fortunate to win and join the Senate, we can debate there," she added.

Agoi, maayo pud mopahalang si Nancy...

Nancy Binay turns down Hontiveros debate dare


Klaro daang kakak. Ngitngit pas alkitran kon modawat sa hagit...

Despite Binay's response, Hontiveros said her offer for a debate still stands, noting that it will "help voters make an informed choice this May elections."

Hontiveros noted, however, "it was a call for a debate, not a catfight," noting that it aimed to "elevate our conversation during the campaign period."

This, as she urged voters to help guard against "a contest of under-the-belt attacks, uncivil behavior, unethical, racist, or sexist banters."

Discrimination has no place in the Senate race, Hontiveros said, adding the candidates should be judged according to their political beliefs and vision.

"I hope that Ms. Binay be accorded with full respect despite her refusal to heed the public's call for a public debate," she added.

Hontiveros had earlier said she was open to a debate with Binay, amid social media taunts placing her credentials side-by-side that that of Binay's.

A former broadcaster and party-list representative for Akbayan, Hontiveros is now running for the Senate under the administration coalition Team PNoy.

Prior to running under the United Nationalist Alliance's Senate slate, meanwhile, Binay has served as personal assistant to her father and mother, former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay.

By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom â€" 16 hours ago



Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom - Vice presidential daughter and senatorial aspirant Nancy Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance declines former Akbayan Party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros' offer for a debate.


Opposition bet Nancy Binay would rather campaign first to ensure a seat in the Senate before she engages in any debate.

Binay, the daughter of Vice-President Jejomar Binay declined calls for her to argue with fellow senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros, with whom she is being compared.

"As of the moment, it seems there is no time for the two of us to debate," reports quoted Binay as saying at the sidelines of a campaign sortie.

"Maybe if the two of us would be fortunate to win and join the Senate, we can debate there," she added.

Mahilig sang lunch si Kim amo nga inimbitar gid siya nga mobisita sang mga Korowai haw...





Korowai: "Dear Kim, we are pleased to invite you to our country. Can we have you for lunch?"

Bwahaha! Pingkis kag josi...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 10:57:23 PM
ano gid daw? way ko kasabot sang hambal sang nyos.

Waay gid unod hang nyos amo nga manoglainlain hang atoang sabaw haw...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 11, 2013, 12:05:34 AM
kong maohon pamingkwit na lang gid mo haw. 

He he, aw, damo gid man hang pingkwitonom haw...

Hmm, indi kagid nakahatlingk to...

Naa ba kahay dili pakidako?

Liwat sa galigwat?

Bawot-bawot ang sumada sa ilang mga abilidad...

The Original

Indi gid sapat hang lagokmon, manogkinahanglam kagid sang sipod sama sang tujom, batuli, tabogok, bakasi, bunog, tihitihi, bugaom, handalitik, salmon, labstir, storjon kabyar, blopin tona...

Quote from: islander on April 09, 2013, 10:58:24 PM
ballet dancers?

Pwede pud bellat dancers...

O kaha ito nga buongom...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 06:01:25 PM
daw gahi na ni gid sir hubs, te manog ogat na gid haw.

Hmm, di heto na lang epol haw...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 06:08:56 PM
If North Korea is not taken seriously, Seoul could become the next Hiroshima.

Really? It's unthinkabolbuhol...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 06:20:51 PM
ambisyosa.

Sin-o sa dalwa?

1. Spartacus





Spartacus, a Thracian, served in the Roman army. He became a bandit and was sold as a slave when caught. He escaped a gladiatorial school, where he had plotted a revolt with other gladiators, and set up camp on Mount Vesuvius, where he was joined by other runaway slaves and some peasants. With a force of 90,000, he overran most of southern Italy, defeating two consuls. He led his army north to the Cisalpine Gaul, where he hoped to release them to find freedom, but they refused to leave, preferring to continue the struggle. Returning south, he attempted to invade Sicily but could not arrange the passage. The legions of Marcus Licinius Crassus caught the slave army in Lucania and defeated it; Spartacus fell in pitched battle. Pompey’s army intercepted and killed many of those escaping north, and Crassus crucified 6,000 prisoners along the Appian Way.

2. Aesop





Aesop, famous for his Fables, is supposed to have lived from about 620 to 560 BC. The place of his birth is uncertain â€" Thrace, Phrygia, Aethiopia, Samos, Athens and Sardis all claiming the honor. We possess little trustworthy information concerning his life, except that he was the slave of Iadmon of Samos and met with a violent death at the hands of the inhabitants of Delphi. Aesop must have received his freedom from Iadmon, or he could not have conducted the public defense of a certain Samian demagogue (Aristotle, Rhetoric, II 20). According to the story, he subsequently lived at the court of Croesus, where he met Solon, and dined in the company of the Seven Sages of Greece with Periander at Corinth. It is probable that Aesop did not commit his fables to writing; Aristophanes represents Philocleon as having learned the “absurdities” of Aesop from conversation at banquets, and Socrates whiles away his time in prison by turning some of Aesop’s fables “which he knew” into verse.

3. Saint Patrick





St. Patrick is revered by Christians for establishing the church in Ireland during the fifth century AD. The precise dates and details of his life are unclear, but some points are generally agreed: as a teen he was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland, and six years later he escaped to Gaul (now France) where he later became a monk. Around 432 he returned to Ireland as a missionary and succeeded in converting many of the island’s tribes to Christianity. Late in life he wrote a brief text, Confessio, detailing his life and ministry. His feast day, March 17, is celebrated as a day of Irish pride in many parts of the world.

4. Frederick Douglass





Born in bondage on the eastern shore of Maryland, Douglass worked for several different slaveholders in both eastern Maryland and Baltimore between 1818 and 1838. During his youth, Douglass became proficiently literate by reading the Bible and classic orations and listening to the sermons of antislavery black preachers and Quakers. These experiences later contributed to his unyielding abolitionism and fierce egalitarianism. In 1838, while a ship caulker’s apprentice, Douglass acquired free seaman papers and escaped to New York City. He then moved to Massachusetts and became involved in antislavery activism, under the tutelage of William Lloyd Garrison. Eventually rejecting the apolitical nature of Garrisonian abolitionism, Douglass moved to Rochester, New York, and founded his own abolition journal, The North Star.

5. Enrique of Malacca





Enrique of Malacca was a native of the Malay Archipelago. Also known as Henry the Black, he was Ferdinand Magellan’s personal servant and interpreter. He had been reportedly captured by Sumatran slavers from his home islands. In 1511 he was purchased by Ferdinand Magellan in a Malaccan slave market and baptized as Henrique (spanish Enrique), (his original name is not recorded). Thereafter he worked as a personal slave and interpreter, accompanying Magellan back to Europe, and onwards on Magellan’s famous search for a westward passage to the Pacific Ocean. He is simply called Enrique on the ship’s muster roll, and Henrich in Pigafetta’s account of the expedition. If a loose definition of circumnavigation (ie, not returning to the exact same spot), then Enrique has an undisputed claim to being the first circumnavigator. He made the first known cultural circumnavigation, travelling around the world until he reached people who spoke his language. He (and Magellan) may also have crossed every meridian â€" that is he crossed every line of longitude, or circumnavigated the poles.

6. James Somersett





James Somerset or Somersett was a young African slave who was purchased by Charles Stuart in Virginia in 1749. Stuart was involved in English government service and traveled as part of his duties accompanied by Somerset, who at the time did not have a first name. In 1769, Stuart along with Somersett traveled to England. While in England, Somersett met and became involved with people associated with the anti-slavery movement in England including the well known activist Granville Sharp. During this period, Somersett was christened with the name James in a church ceremony. Somersett was recaptured after escaping, and his trial ultimately spelt the end of slavery in England (though not English participation in slavery in its other nations).

7. Nat Turner





Nat Turner was a black preacher who led an 1831 uprising in Southampton County, Virginia in which at least 55 whites were killed by a group of about 50 slaves. Turner was a deeply religious man who claimed to have visions and directives from God. On the night of 21 August 1831 he led four other slaves (Henry, Hark, Nelson and Sam) on a murderous spree near the town of Jerusalem, killing men, women and children in their beds. By the next day his mob had grown to at least 40 or 50, but the local militia confronted and captured most of them. Turner escaped, but was eventually captured in October and tried. He was hanged and skinned 11 November 1831. Before he was executed, he described his actions to Thomas R. Gray, and “The Confessions of Nat Turner” was later widely published in newspapers. Turner’s failed rebellion led to hundreds of blacks being murdered by white vigilante mobs, and spurred a new set of strict codes that limited the activities of slaves.

8. Ammar ibn Yasir





Ammar bin Yasir is one of the most famous companions of Muhammad, and was among the slaves freed by Abu Bakr. He is venerated by Shi’a Muslims as one of the Four Companions, early Muslims who were followers of Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ammar was born in the Year of the Elephant (570). Therefore he is as old as Muhammad. Ammar was a friend of Muhammad even before Islam. He was one of the intermediaries in his marriage to Khadijat Al-Kubra. He was a slave of Banu Adi. He was killed by a group loyal to Mu’Awiyah in the battle of Siffin (657). His killer was ibn Hawwa esaksaki and Abu Al’Adiyah.

9. Abram Petrovich Gannibal





Major-General Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal, (1696 â€" 20 April 1781) was an African slave who was brought to Russia by Peter the Great and became major-general, military engineer and governor of Reval. He is perhaps best known today as the great-grandfather of Aleksandr Pushkin, who wrote an unfinished novel about him, The Moor of Peter the Great.

10. Margaret Garner





Margaret Garner was a slave in pre-Civil War America notorious for killing her two year old daughter with a butcher knife, rather than see the child returned to slavery. Margaret was not tried for murder, but was forced to return to a slave state along with her youngest child, and a daughter aged about nine months. The Liberator reported on March 11, 1856 that the steamboat Lewis, on which the Garners were traveling, began to sink and that Margaret and her baby daughter were thrown overboard when another boat coming to their rescue hit the Lewis. Sadly, the baby was drowned. It was reported that Margaret was happy that her baby had died and that she would try to drown herself.

http://listverse.com/

Slavery is a very ancient institution which is even sanctioned in the Bible: “Let your bondmen, and your bondwomen, be of the nations that are round about you” [Leviticus 25:44]. While most of the Western world has abolished this practice, there are still some nations that turn a blind eye to a very active slave trade. This is a list of the most famous slaves in history. It is very difficult to write such a subjective list in light of the enormous number of slaves that are known in history, nevertheless I have endeavored to do so.

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 06:23:06 PM
bisag ongsa lang gid haw, basta kag kinasingkasing hang pag tonol mo kag makaayo sang gihatagang.

Hmm, pode ba indi kinasimkasim pero binatikulom kag tininai kag inatay gid haw?

Way pili...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 06:28:16 PM

Kung manoglupad na, ini na gid siya haw...

Gibuhat  sa Dios  ang tawo  nga   husto  og  pangutok  nga kaantigo  mogamit niini   ilabi  na  sa mga decision-making.

Sa  Biblia  gisugo  sa Dios  sa bana  ug  asawa  nga  di  “magmapait”  sa usa  ug  usa.

Usa  sa pait  nga  bation  sa asawa mao  kun  bisan  kun  wa pa siya  mo-climax,  tua  mihagok na  ang  iyang  bana  kay  nag-una  kini, di gusto  ang  Dios  niini.

Apan labaw  kapait  ang  bation  sa bana  kun  hikawan  sa asawa  sa  pagpakig-sex  pinaagi  sa taphaw kaayong  mga  katarungan ug  ikasuko  kini  sa Dios.

Hinuon  sa  magtiayon  nga  mag-sex  ilabi  na  kun  kabus  kinahanglang  gamiton  ang  utok.

Tinuod ang  bana o asawa  nga  di  makig-sex  sa  kapikas,  nakasupak  sa balaod  sa Dios, samtang  ang  magtiayon  nga magpatuyang  og  sex  nga  moresulta  sa pagdaghan  sa anak   bisan way ikapakaon  ug  ikapa-edukar  labing  nakasala  ngadto  sa Dios.

Ni Wen Celen (Banat) | Updated April 10, 2013 - 12:00am


Niay  balita  nga  usa  ka  bana  nga  OFW  misang-at  og  reklamo pakigbuwag  sa iyang  asawa  sa katarungan  nga  di  na  makig-sex kaniya  ang  naulahi.

Usa  sa katarungan  sumala sa abogado  nga  gikonsulta  sa maong  kihante mao  nga nahadlok  ang  asawa   nga  matakdan  og  sakit nga AIDS  sa pagduda  nga  nakatilaw  ang  iyang  bana  og  babaye  didto sa gawas  nga  may AIDS.

Ang tinuod  ang sex maoy  usa  sa labing  mahinungdanong  gimbuhaton  sa magtiayon  aron  paglig-on  sa bugkos  sa kaminyoon.

Ang  suliran  sa kuwarta  sekondarya  na lang,  kay  kun  maayo  lang  og  relasyon  ang  asawa  ug  bana  unya  pulos  kugihan  maningkamot  aron mabuhi, unya  kanunay  nga  maghinatagay  ang  usa ug  usa  sa ilang  lawas  alang  sa sex, di baya  kaayo  bug-at  ang  suliran  bisan  kun  kuwangon  usahay  sa panginahanglan.

Hinuon  sa Biblia  mabasa  nga  sa  pagsugo  sa Dios  sa  magtiayon  nga  magpakatagbaw  sa sex  aron  magdaghan   hangtud  malukop    ang   kalibotan, iya  usab  nga  gihatagan  og  preno  ang  tawo    nga  magpugong  kun mosanay  na  kini    sa kalibotan.

American officials have reported that North Korea is a principal supplier of missile components to Iran, which boasts of having a vast arsenal of missiles capable of reaching Israel. A recent U.S. congressional report concluded that Iran is years away from having the capability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of crossing the ocean. And yet, in 2009, Iran launched an Omid satellite from its Safir rocket, claiming its aim is to put satellites in space for the purpose of collecting intelligence.

The dangerously escalating crisis between the West and North Korea is enormously important in its own right, but its consequences reverberate beyond the Korean Peninsula. Even if the current upsurge in North Korea’s provocative activities subsides, the impact of Pyongyang’s continuing missile development and military nuclear program could emerge as a challenge to the West thousands of miles from the Eastern Pacific, in its conflict with Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program. -- http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/

North Korea’s official news agency reported that the signing ceremony in Tehran brought together high-ranking North Korean officials, as well as the leaders of Iran’s Defense Ministry and atomic energy agency.

By the time North Korea conducted its nuclear test on Feb. 14, several news agencies, including Japan’s Kyodo, reported that Iranian scientists had likely attended the event. Iranian nuclear scientists were reportedly present during other key North Korean tests.

The two countries have widely different ideologies, but they have one fundamental area of agreement. As Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared, “The Islamic Republic of Iran and North Korea have common enemies.”

In addition to the development of nuclear devices, a key element of developing an effective nuclear arsenal is producing the means to deliver those weapons. On that count, ties between the two countries are well-established.

North Korean and Iranian missiles are virtual replicas of each other. North Korea has openly threatened to attack U.S. soil, which requires long-range missiles. Despite much mockery about its failed launches, Pyongyang was successful in its launch of a long-range missile into space in December.

In the meantime, North Korea is moving ostentatiously forward with its nuclear program, allowing Iran to collect the data it needs.

Some have suggested that North Korea offers Iran an even easier way to acquire a nuclear arsenal. Tehran could forgo the trouble of enriching any more nuclear materials, and simply buy the weapons from cash-starved Pyongyang.

Even before the latest North Korean escalation, officials in Washington had become concerned about growing cooperation, noting that the increasing closeness between Pyongyang and Tehran was reminiscent of the links between North Korea and Syria a decade ago. Those ties culminated with North Korea helping to build the Syrian nuclear reactor that Israel destroyed in 2007. North Korean technicians were seen playing a prominent role in building the facility, which was based on North Korean blueprints.

Last fall, Tehran and Pyongyang signed a memorandum of understanding on scientific cooperation that contained similar wording to the agreement signed between North Korean and Syria in 2002.

The practical lessons drawn by Iran of North Korea’s defiance of the international community are undoubtedly an important reason why a successful response to Pyongyang by the West is important, but there is more.

At least as important are the direct links between the two countries.

Both Iran and North Korea started developing their nuclear programs through links with the nuclear trafficking network of Pakistani nuclear physicist A.Q. Khan, which spread nuclear technology to any country willing to pay for it. Over the years, Iran has benefited from North Korea’s progress in nuclear and missile technology. Iranian scientists were reportedly present at North Korea’s space launch last December, allowing Iran to gain the technical benefits without having to suffer the repercussions of such brazen behavior.

North Korean tests of missiles and nuclear devices come at a time when Iran is believed to have temporarily slowed its own nuclear enrichment program ahead of its June presidential election. As the election approaches, Tehran has apparently decided to leave its stock of 20 percent enriched uranium at less than 550 pounds, according to senior American and Israeli officials, enough for one nuclear weapon, but below the red line set by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last September at the U.N. General Assembly. Officials of both the U.S. and Israel reportedly believe Iran’s decision is simply an attempt to make sure no attack comes before the elections. They fully expect high-level enrichment to resume after the vote.

World Citizen: Iran Crisis Increasingly Tied to North Korea
By Frida Ghitis, on 04 Apr 2013, Column

 
When North Korea surprised the international community by detonating a nuclear device in February, America’s at the time brand new secretary of state, John Kerry, drew a link between Pyongyang and Tehran. Failure to respond decisively to North Korea’s provocation, Kerry warned, risked emboldening Iran.  Kerry was suggesting that the impact of the North Korean crisis on Iran would come as a result of the conclusions Tehran might draw about its own nuclear program from closely observing international reactions to North Korea’s. But it is likely that the impact of the North Korean situation on the diplomatic standoff with Iran is more direct than Tehran’s observations from afar. In fact, technical cooperation and military trade between North Korea and Iran make the parallel between the two geographically distant crises more significant.

Tehran is undoubtedly drawing lessons from observing the interplay between North Korea and the West. It cannot escape notice in Tehran, for example, that despite North Korea’s catastrophic economic weakness, the regime in Pyongyang, now in possession of nuclear weapons, is viewed as a serious threat to be handled cautiously, even respectfully, by world powers fearful of triggering a nuclear confrontation. At the same time, the Iranian regime can easily discern that partly as a result of its nuclear weapons program, North Korea has become an international outcast, a place where foreign investors fear to tread, with even more devastating consequences for its crumbling economy.

Nancy Binay, on the other hand, has no experience in legislation but served as personal assistants to her parents former Makati Mayor Elenita Binay and Vice President Binay, who was also former mayor of Makati City.

The vice president's daughter, also the secretary general of UNA, was the last addition to the opposition ticket after Joey de Venecia III, son of former House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., withdrew his candidacy at the last minute.

In the pre-election surveys, Binay has consistently ranked inside the so-called Magic 12 way ahead of Hontiveros.

Meanwhile, Hontiveros' camp is raising funds to come up with a television advertisement to help increase her popularity among the electorate.

"We are raising resources to produce one last advertisement. You very well know that I'm running a lean and mean campaign. TV ads quite frankly is the most expensive part of the national campaign," Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros said she has not yet received campaign contributions from the sisters of President Benigno Aquino III, who were Akbayan's biggest campaign donors in 2010 with P14 million.

"I do count on their moral support. That's also priceless," she said. (Kathrina Alvarez/Sunnex)

Hontiveros challenges Binay to debate
Friday, April 5, 2013
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/


TEAM PNoy senatorial candidate Risa Hontiveros on Friday challenged United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) senatorial bet Nancy Binay to a debate, a month before the May 13 midterm elections.

Hontiveros offered the challenge to the daughter of Vice President Jejomar Binay after a photo comparing the track record and survey ratings of the two senatorial bets circulated on social networking sites.

"Kung i-call niya yung buyo sa amin (if she accepts my challenge), I would really welcome it because it would give me a chance to talk about my track record," Hontiveros said.

Hontiveros was a three-term representative of the Akbayan party-list in the House of Representatives before she ran for senator in the 2010 national elections. She ranked 13th.

Quote from: islander on April 09, 2013, 10:51:04 PM
ugh, there's something askew here... why not study human sounds to understand baboons?

Hmm, this is a question that can only come to one enjoying a tropical moon from a sleepy lagoon...

Quote from: BolBuhol on April 10, 2013, 04:13:26 PM
pangpabaskog sang kauugatang kag kabokorang hang gulay sir hubs.

Heto hang karots nga paborito mo haw...

Kamote kag imbaw gid hang dayit ko haw...

Ah, ini diay hang rason nga bijitaryan ka, Bay Tobs...

Manila Bulletin â€" 9 hours ago


DASMARIÃ'AS CITY, Cavite - A 69-year-old widow was reportedly raped and then killed by still unidentified men in Sitio Humayao in Barangay Langkaan II of this city.

A belated police report said that the wounded half-naked body of one Adelina Rosales Fernan was discovered in the alley last Sunday.

The grisly find indicated that Fernan was sexually abused before she was killed. No one could tell yet who were responsible for the widow's death. Fernan was a native of Carawan, Camarines Sur, and a resident of Sitio Humayao.

Supt. Joseph B. Penaflor, city police officer-in-charge, ordered a thorough investigation of the incident to identify Fernan's attackers.

Fernan's lifeless body was discovered by passing chief tanod (watchman) Narciso S. Barcena, 54, and other residents in Sitio Humayao last Saturday night.

No one would deny that thirty-four years is a very long time. And every one of those years must feel longer when you’re on death row, waiting for that fateful day when the guards will enter your cell with their heads bowed. Yet that’s exactly what Sakae Menda went through. He spent more than three decades on Japan’s death row for a crime he did not commit.

Menda was arrested in 1948 for the murder of a priest and his wife who lived nearby. The police held him for three weeks without access to a lawyer, and they tortured him into a confession. He was convicted in 1951, and spent those long thirty-four years in a solitary cell with virtually no human interaction, before finally being released.

Menda, now eighty-seven years old, currently works as an activist. In 2007 he delivered a speech against the death penalty to the World Congress. He has also lobbied the United Nations in the hope of abolishing capital punishment around the world. -- http://listverse.com/

Quote from: islander on April 10, 2013, 11:20:09 AM
wa na ko say.  blue-blooded revolutionaries gyod na sila, and true to form, bahal ang fuel sa ilang petromax.

Correction! Processed bahal, you mean. Ihi, that is.

Quote from: islander on April 10, 2013, 11:17:45 AM
mora man na ug si kris aquino nga nag-emote.

Hilak o katawa?

Hmm, looks to me like Lion King's concern is a bit more on the metaphysical side...

The findings were published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the United States, called the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

The results "directly contradict claims that penis size is unimportant to most females," and also hint at why human males tend to have relatively larger genitalia when compared to other primates, the study said.

"Our results show that female mate choice could have played a role in the evolution of the relatively large human male penis," the authors wrote.

"Before clothing, the nonretractable human penis would have been conspicuous to potential mates."

The study did not get into the racial background of men and whether that may affect penis size, but it did document the ethnicity and age of the women it was studying for hints about whether penis size mattered.

More than 70 percent of the women were of European origin, 20 percent were Asian and seven percent were from elsewhere. Their average age was 26.

A sample of 105 Australian women were asked to view 53 of these life-sized robot-like pictures, which rotated so they were visible at different angles.

The women -- all heterosexual -- were not told they were participating in a study about penis size. They were simply asked to rate the figures according to sexual attractiveness. Their answers were collected anonymously.

Researchers found that women rated tall men with long penises as the most attractive.

The women also tended to gaze longer at the larger men. But not too long -- each rating was made in about three seconds.

But how big is best? On that question, researchers were, er, stumped.

"We didn't find an ideal (i.e. 'most attractive') penis size or height," Mautz explained.

"The attractiveness scores were still increasing at the largest values for these traits."

AFP Relax â€" 23 hours ago


The eternal question of whether penis size matters to women has been probed by a team of international scientists who reported on Monday that yes, ladies do find larger men more attractive.

What's more, prehistoric women who could see the sex organs of their scantily clad male counterparts may have helped influence the evolution of larger genitals in men by choosing to mate with partners who were bigger.

Researchers said they decided to tackle the topic because past studies had offered conflicting answers, and may have been sullied by asking the women too directly.

"Since penis size is a sensitive subject, it's hard to determine whether females lied or 'self-deceived' in their responses," lead author Brian Mautz, a postdoctoral researcher in evolution and sexual selection at the University of Ottawa, told AFP via email.

So they embarked on a new type of study, using computer-generated images of generic male figures with varying heights, body shapes and flaccid penis lengths.

Initial reports indicated that the Chinese had no permit to enter the marine sanctuary and were expected to be charged with poaching and illegal entry.

No estimated damage has been released by authorities. A plan to scramble or send a naval aircraft to conduct an aerial survey was aborted due to the harsh weather in the area.

Cmdr. Joseph Rostum Peña of Naval Forces West told the Inquirer that the Chinese vessel ran aground at 11:45 p.m. on Monday at the north atoll of Tubbataha where the park’s Ranger Station is located.

He said that while an  investigation was still being conducted, there were clear indications the fishing vessel had committed several violations.

“That is a marine sanctuary. Entry of fishing vessels there is not allowed and clearly they had no permit,” Peña said.

“We want to determine if they can be charged with poaching and to know what they were doing there. Why is a Chinese fishing boat in the Sulu Sea?” Peña said.

By Redempto D. Anda, DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
12:01 am | Wednesday, April 10th, 2013


The no-sail sign is clear on the maps, but there seems to be a beeline of vessels just waiting to get into Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park.

On Monday night, a Chinese fishing vessel with a crew of 12 ran aground in the popular marine sanctuary, where a US minesweeper got stuck in January and was recently extracted only nine days ago following an elaborate salvaging operation.

The steel-hulled vessel based in Fujian, China, was identified by the Tubbataha Management Office as a fishing boat with the marking 63168. It was unclear why the boat strayed into the 97,000-hectare diving destination designated a World Heritage site by Unesco, the United Nations’ cultural arm, for its rich biodiversity.

“It’s clear in the charts that the Tubbataha sanctuary is off-limits to navigation but there seems to be a line of ships just waiting to violate that regulation,” said park superintendent Angelique Songco.

The Philippine Coast Guard vessel BRP Romblon was dispatched to the area in the Sulu Sea flank of mainland Palawan and detained the Chinese for questioning in Puerto Princesa City.

“Once the boat is freed from its current position and is able to move using its own propulsion, the BRP Romblon will escort it to Puerto Princesa,” said Rear Adm. Rodolfo Isorena, the Coast Guard commandant.

Hmm, mao ba? Aw, kini na lang...

Hmm, brayt gid pood...

Mas cool ni siya, inom cum kaligo...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 10, 2013, 06:10:13 AM
Heavy rain that may cause flash floods and landslides will threaten parts of Mindanao for the next 24 hours, state weather forecasters said Tuesday afternoon.

Na pood, threaten2x na pood...

On the other hand, it said Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be "partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms."

Also, PAGASA said warm weather may remain over other parts of the country as the easterlies or warm winds from the east are affecting the eastern section of the country.

For Wednesday, PAGASA said Metro Manila may expect temperatures between 24 and 35 degrees Celsius, while Tuguegarao City may expect temperatures between 22 and 34 degrees Celsius.

It said the temperature in Metro Manila for Tuesday was highest at 1:50 p.m., at 33.4 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, PAGASA said moderate to strong winds from the northeast will prevail over extreme northern Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to rough.

Elsewhere, it said winds will be light to moderate coming from the east to northeast with slight to moderate seas. â€" DVM, GMA News

PAGASA: Flash floods, landslides threaten Mindanao for next 24 hrs
April 9, 2013 10:54pm





Heavy rain that may cause flash floods and landslides will threaten parts of Mindanao for the next 24 hours, state weather forecasters said Tuesday afternoon.

PAGASA, in its 5 p.m. bulletin, also said light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms may occur over the Cagayan Valley and Palawan areas Wednesday.

"Mindanao will have moderate to occasionally heavy rain showers and thunderstorms which may trigger flash floods and landslides," it said.

Quote from: Lollapalooza on April 02, 2013, 05:09:03 PM
wala man atong si Mr. Weatherman si Bay Tigbao... busy siguro to...

Basta tax-filing season, umulan uminit way anino ni Bay Tigs nga mogimaw...

Hmm, it won't be surprising if updates turned out to have been suppressed...

What a Dick, this Richard...

Quote from: hubag bohol on April 10, 2013, 05:54:08 AM
"This whole affair was a saccharine suffusion of sycophancy which reminded me unhappily of the heydays of Sukarno and Sihanouk," he added. "Although Imelda was responsible, the president seemed to enjoy it and appeared unaware of the negative vibrations among his courtiers, especially the senior military, upon whom so much of his future programs will depend," he said.

An unequivocal reminder to all and sundry who the boss was...

Then-U.S. Ambassador to Manila William H. Sullivan, in his confidential memo to the US Department of State, said the celebration was "too much, too long, and in questionable taste."

He said all but one top-ranking military officers were required to "parade in garish female attire" during a performance. "This caused much grumbling among military hierarchy, and wives of service chiefs stood conspicuously in a grim, un-smiling phalanx throughout the hilarity," Sullivan said.

"This whole affair was a saccharine suffusion of sycophancy which reminded me unhappily of the heydays of Sukarno and Sihanouk," he added. "Although Imelda was responsible, the president seemed to enjoy it and appeared unaware of the negative vibrations among his courtiers, especially the senior military, upon whom so much of his future programs will depend," he said.

"Only the Marcos children, to their credit, appeared embarrassed by the display," Sullivan said.

Ferdinand Marcos ruled the Philippines for nearly 20 years until an army-supported uprising forced him into exile in 1986. He died in Hawaii three years later.

Former first lady Imelda Marcos is currently a Philippine congresswoman and her son is a senator considering running for president in 2016.

Published: April 9, 2013 at 3:30 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com


A WikiLeaks cable suggests that Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos forced Philippine military chiefs to perform a palace show in "in garish female attire."

   

Imelda Marcos, widow of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos and current Filipino politician, in 1966. (CC/Library of Congress)


Wikileaks has released more than 1.7 million US diplomatic and intelligence documents from the 1970s, and ABS-CBN News reports that one cable from 1973 describes a wild birthday party for U.S.-backed dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Although the press in Manila reported that Marcos spent a quiet birthday at his desk, a U.S. Embassy cable says there was a "two-day blast carefully orchestrated by his wife Imelda." The birthday was considered an ostentatious display of wealth, with a parade, dinner, concert, floor show, and other events.