MikeLigalig.com

Supercute reloaded...

Addicted beyond redemption na...

Liwat sa tag-iya--dakog ulo...

Giving Back the Smile to Street Children

Virlanie Foundation is a non-government organization (NGO) reaching out to street children.

It cares for children in need of special protection: abandoned, abused, exploited, neglected, orphaned, poor… Close to 200 staff and volunteers, supported by a network of donors and sponsors, touched the lives of 1,211 street children in 2011.

Founded by French social worker, Dominique Lemay and his Filipino friends, the non-profit foundation celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2012. Since 1992, Virlanie has helped 14,700 children become responsible and self-sufficient adults.

http://www.virlanie.org/

The contract signing between PAL, Airbus and Virlanie Foundation was held at San Miguel Corporation's headquarters in Pasig City. Virlanie's founder and current president Dominique Lemay signed on behalf of the organization.

Lemay calls the children's three-week trip "Tournee en Europe de la Chorale des enfants de Virlanie." He said he is proud to offer the child-performers "a unique opportunity to discover a new culture and a new country."

"We're glad to be of help to these talented street kids," said Ramon S. Ang, PAL president and COO. "We wish them success in their Paris performance."

The Paris trip materialized when the group performed before France's Prime Minister Jean Marc Ayrault and his wife Brigitte Terrien during the French premier's visit to the Philippines late last year. It left the couple impressed, leading to the invitation for the children to perform at the opening of a major art exhibit in Paris.

The exhibit at Musee des Arts Premiers du Quai Branly features a grand exhibition titled "Philippines: Archipel des Echanges (Philippines: An Archipelago of Exchange)," which will showcase Philippine artwork and artifacts dating back to the country's pre-colonial period.

By News Desk in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer | Asia News Network â€" 16 hours ago





Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Members of a choral group of street children will fly to Paris to perform at the opening of a major exhibit of Philippine art and artifacts.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines and Airbus are bringing 25 members of the Street Children Choir of Virlanie Foundation Philippines, a non-governmental organization that helps abandoned and homeless kids.

PAL and the French aircraft manufacturer will sponsor the round-trip tickets of the 25 performers.

Quote from: islander on March 23, 2013, 10:46:58 PM
posible pod na nga gisugo lang siya pagpahiluna sa bag anang mga bawon uy.

Hmm, nakahunahuna uroy ani ang hinugo sa iyang banana republic...

Hmm, mahilig sa pinakalami nga bolinaw ning iringa...

Nighttime Manila as seen from outer space



http://www.gmanetwork.com/


Canadian astronaut Cmdr. Chris Hadfield took this photo of Manila as the International Space Station passed over the Philippine capital early Wednesday, March 6, 2013 (PHL time). Chris Hadfield, via Twitter

Ever wondered what condom ice cream tastes like? Then wonder no more, because now you can taste it for yourselfâ€"if you can get your hands on a Japanese frozen dessert called Gomu Yokki Aisu, that is. (That’s translates to ‘Ice Cream Filled Rubber’ in English, but it’s not being marketed as a condom ice cream in Japan. In my opinion (which many others share, including Youtuber emmymadeinjapan), it looks more like a boob anyway, and ice cream company Kubota agrees, since they used the same packaging as the former and called it Oppai Aisu or ‘Boob Ice.’ -- http://www.ohgizmo.com/

Basta Valencia, hawod jud...

Bwahaha!

“Ang programa ng Kabaka at ni Pangulong Estrada ay tumutugon sa simulain at adhikain na matulungan at maiangat ang antas ng pamumuhay ng mga mahihirap na mamamayan ng Lungsod ng Maynila,” Congressman Bagatsing said.

“Marami pa ang susunod na maglilipat someday (Expect more people to switch sides),” Moreno told reporters in the event.

Kabaka boasts 100,000 members. The event was attended by more than 1,000 leaders waving placards supporting Estrada and Moreno's bid for top local posts.

Unlike previous public appearances, Estrada did not verbally attack Lim after Wednesday's intense debate at the University of the Philippines-Manila. Estrada neither presented concrete plans for the city. “Alam n'yo naman na ang mga programa ko (You already know what my programs are),” he said.

In a press release, Estrada said he aims to create programs for “job creation and livelihood; peace and order, education; women empowerment; child protection and development; stop AIDS/HIV and TB; globally competitive markets; seaport and tourism; transparent tax collection and public expenditures; clean and green spaces and solid waste management; and disaster resiliency.”

Former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza also graced the event and showed support for Estrada's bid for mayoral post. He told Rappler he was dismayed how Lim has been running the city.

“The Pandacan Oil Depot was supposed to be relocated during may term, but they passed an ordinace [preventing it],” Atienza said. He also added that crime was not as rampant in the University Belt when he was still the mayor of the city.

Atienza told Rappler in an earlier interview that he originally wanted to run for mayor again, but gave way to Estrada so as not to split the opposition vote against Lim.

Lim and Estrada are facing off for the second time in the political arena. In the 1998 Presidential Elections, Estrada bested Lim, who placed fifth in the polls. â€" Rappler.com

Veteran Manila pols endorse Erap-Isko
BY JERALD UY
POSTED ON 03/15/2013 6:44 PM  | UPDATED 03/15/2013 6:44 PM



ALL AGAINST LIM. (From left) Former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, Estrada, and 5th district Rep. Amado Bagatsing. Photo by Jerald Uy


MANILA, Philippines â€" Long-time politicians in the city of Manila declared support for opposition candidates former President Joseph Estrada and re-electionist Vice Mayor Isko Moreno on Thursday, March 14.

5th District Representative Amado Bagatsing and former Mayor Lito Atienza, once supportive of the ruling Liberal Party (LP), gathered supporters in Pandacan to endorse the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) bets against re-electionist Mayor Alfredo Lim and Councilor Lou Veloso.

Estrada was inducted as honorary chairman of the Kabalikat ng Bayan sa Kaunlaran (Kabaka), an organization founded by Bagatsing. The congressman and his son, Councilor Don Juan “DJ” Bagatsing, bolted the LP to seek re-election under UNA.

Quote from: islander on March 21, 2013, 04:31:50 PM
interesting.  the tense of a language has some bearing on a nation's savings and wealth and health.  ponderous, but not preposterous.  can a nation change the tense of its language thus, and wealth may follow?

Ah, forcing the issue to make the future perfect will only make the present tense...

March 22, 2013 4:48pm

 
A site believed to be a portal to the underworld of Greco-Roman religion has been found in what is now modern-day Turkey.

A team of Italian archaeologists said it has found the historical Gate to the Underworld of the ancient Phrygian city Hierapolis, ANSAmed.info reported.

"The discovery was made by a mission under Francesco D'Andria from the University of Salento, which is in charge of the excavations in the Greco-Roman city. The ruins of the city are near the modern-day Pamukkale in Turkey," ANSAmed.info said.

D'Andria told ANSAmed he managed to find the site by studying literature from the period and tracing the route of a thermal spring to a cave.

He also cited stories by travelers that bulls were sacrificed to Pluto before pilgrimages into the Plutonium, and priests led the animals to the entrance to a cave.

The cave had fumes that fatally suffocated the animals.

Before this, excavations in Hierapolis started as early as 1957, with an Italian mission under Paolo Verzone from the Turin Polytechnic.

Greco-Roman mythology and tradition indicate the "Gate to the Underworld" -  or Pluto's Gate - was the entrance point to hell.

"Both Cicero and Greek geographer Strabus referred to the Hierapolis Plutonium in their writings, and both had visited it," ANSAmed said. â€" TJD, GMA News

There are 12 gubernatorial candidates in 2013 who have no opponents, 4 times more than in the last elections (3 candidates). The number of vice gubernatorial aspirants, at 13, means it quadrupled from 3 in 2010.

Unopposed congressional bets almost doubled in number to 25, from 14 in 2010. City and municipal mayoral candidates also almost double to 202 this year, from 123 in the last elections. â€" Rappler.com

More unopposed candidates in 2013
BY RAPPLER.COM
POSTED ON 03/21/2013 7:36 PM  | UPDATED 03/22/2013 9:33 PM


MANILA, Philippines â€" Let’s call them the One Vote Club â€" they who will have the easiest campaign (or may not need to mount any campaign at all) because they will only need a vote each to win the elections.

The number of unopposed candidates for main local positions this year have increased from 2010, records from the Commission on Elections show.

"He was showing some signs that people weren't taking very good care of him," Knott said. “I found paint in his fur a couple of times. And then, people took clippers and shaved his back.”

And as Koshka adapted to life inside Knott’s small workspace, the two formed a tight bond. In fact, it was in the aftermath of a bloody battle that Koshka provided Knott with some much-needed solace.

"I'd lost hope in myself. I'd lost faith. Then all of a sudden this cat came over, and it was like ‘hey, you are you,'" he said.

But that same act of kindness made it clear to Knott that if he wanted to do what was best for Koshka, then he had to get his beloved cat out of Afghanistan and to his family home in Oregon.

"He pulled me out of one of my darkest times, so I had to pull him out of one of his darkest places," he told the station.

That’s when Knott staged an elaborate and risky evacuation plan for his cat. First, he enlisted the help of a local Afghan interpreter who transported the cat to Kabul.

Both the cat and the interpreter were at risk. Knott had to trust that the man would take care of the cat, but he also knew that if the man were discovered to be helping an American, his own life would be at risk.

"The risk to him was immense," Knott said. “This is a cat with a purple collar and an American-brand cat carrier, going halfway across Afghanistan. Going across God knows how many Taliban checkpoints.”

But the interpreter did eventually get Koshka to the airport in Kabul. From there, Knott’s family spent $3,000 to fly Koshka to Oregon, detouring through Islamabad, Pakistan, and New York City.

Knott himself has since left Afghanistan and is now stationed in Washington state. His service in the military will soon be over, and he says he can’t wait to be permanently reunited with the animal that meant so much to him during a time of physical and emotional vulnerability.

"He was my saving grace," Knott told KPTV. "He kept me alive during that tour."

Soldier’s cat makes perilous journey from Afghanistan to Oregon
By Eric Pfeiffer, Yahoo! News | The Sideshow â€" 10 hrs ago





A decorated veteran took quite a risk in getting his new friend from the sandbox to the litter box.

And along the way, Staff Sgt. Jesse Knott found an unlikely ally in his elaborate plan to evacuate his adopted cat from the war zone in Afghanistan.

In an interview with KPTV, Knott explains that he met his pet cat, Koshka, at his base of operations inside the war-torn country. Koshka was a stray cat, serving a practical purpose as the unofficial mouse catcher. At first glance, Koshka was the "purrfect" weapon.

However, not having a real owner, the cat was often subjected to neglect and cruelty.

The first lesson we should learn from Iraq is that wars are essentially won or lost not by battalions or tanks or drones, but by understanding the psychology of the enemy. The great Chinese strategist of centuries ago, Sun Tzu, wrote whole books about this. Douglas MacArthur employed distinguished American anthropologists to school him on the Japanese mind -- and, by his own account, won the occupation of Japan in that way.

Instead, we have learned no more from Iraq than we did from Vietnam -- that their interests are always infinite and that ours are always finite.

And now, Afghanistan: The president is doing all he can to get us out of this remaining Middle East/Central Asian war of choice or hypothesis ("If we do this, they will do that"). Amazingly, he's made few big mistakes. Yet, we are deeply engaged there, and anything can happen before 2014, when he says we will totally disengage.

Remember that before the British left in the 1840s, the historically ferocious Afghan tribesmen trapped thousands of them in a pass and killed everyone except one, left free to tell the story.

Our own story there remains to be ended. If only we knew who the Afghans really are.

You have to read the papers carefully to get any news about Iraq today. Only the big East Coast papers carry much at all, and when they do, it is almost always about the two Islamic factions in Iraq -- the Shiites and the Sunnis -- fighting again. Then the Kurds in the north come in, not surprisingly wanting independence.

As I write, The Washington Post's front-page story is headlined, "Iran-Tied Group Is on Rise in Iraq: Former Militants Enter Politics." In short, Iraq has simply reverted to its historic warfare among tribes, among religious factions, among ambitions. Exactly what we, in our wisdom, were going to force them to rise above.

Even the very earth and rivers of Iraq express this obsessive division within the nation. Iraq is a country of great failed civilizations -- Ur, Babylon, Nineveh, Hatra, Samarra. All these great cities, with their incredible walls and artistry that still stand, were destroyed by wars, but also by enormous environmental change in which the rivers, sands and marshes constantly shifted through the centuries.

How could one possibly expect such a world to nurture men and women who would, who could, look with anything but suspicion and hatred upon "the other"?

So now we rush forward to the fall of 2001. The twin towers have fallen. Almost immediately, we invade Afghanistan because that is where al-Qaida is. Not until winter of 2003 do we invade Iraq, although that was NOT where al-Qaida was. In fact, despite Washington's claims, there was no al-Qaida working with Saddam at all.

From then on, what did we learn about the Iraq War?

First, we learned that almost everything the White House and Defense leadership claimed about Iraq was false. They said it would take six months to take over the country, that the people would throw flowers at the American troops and that Iraqi oil money would pay for the invasion. But only the opposite happened.

The people threw bombs and IEDs at the Americans, and the oil wealth has now largely gone to the Chinese. We only began to leave when President Obama, during his first term, gradually eased us out. The new Iraqi government did him an enormous favor by refusing to negotiate a status of forces agreement that would allow any remaining American troops to be tried only in American courts. We kind of crept out, while diplomats began to dismantle the massive embassy we had built there to fulfill the war lovers' dreams.

'KNOW YOUR ENEMY' IS FIRST RULE OF WAR
By Georgie Anne Geyer â€" Tue, Feb 19, 2013


WASHINGTON -- As impossible as it seems, it's been 10 years -- an entire decade in which so much else could have been done -- since our leaders sent us off to Iraq to do what only their psyches and egos could answer for.

Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz -- they were largely the ones who reawakened their bitterness and anger at being stopped at the Iraqi border with Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War, and not going to Baghdad to get the mass murderer Saddam Hussein.

They never really forgot that insult to their manhood, and when President George H.W. Bush nixed their desires to make the United States the only power in the world, they waited for the next, more pliable Bush to come along. And, of course, there were quite enough nutters in the radical Arab world to attack the U.S. on 9/11 and give the Washington cabal the opportunity to live again.

But remember, please, that that first Middle East war was successful simply because the first President Bush, a wise and prudent man, got an amazing amount of military and financial cooperation from the entire world, and then limited the war to its stated intention of clearing the Iraqis out of Kuwait.

My own favorite memory of those days was when a whole bunch of disheveled, dirty Iraqi soldiers out in the desert gave themselves up to American journalists. Talk about desperation!

Quote from: TUBAGBOHOL.com on March 22, 2013, 08:58:20 PM
another version of twilight saga.

Hmm, morag vampire...bat.

Quote from: islander on March 22, 2013, 06:19:18 PM
gil-as.  hala, pangita pag engkwentro.  tagam.

I'm sure he'll be wiser next time. No more lingagngag...

Quote from: Raquelproud boholana on March 22, 2013, 06:07:35 PM
Hahahah pastilang sakita siguro ni kay sakit man gani ning mapatiran ra kono kana ba bang gi pang os na

He he, karon nga recovering pa siya, kinahanglan way excitement otherwise di jud maayo ang pinaakan...

Kining naa sa top picture kay klarong iro ni Bugsay...

Hmm, meditatitoy...

There would be 6 more Crusades, with the Holy Land changing hands several times, costing hundreds of thousands of lives, all in the name of one god or another. All the while, both bibles stated, “Love your enemies.” -- http://listverse.com/

88 years later, Salah ad-Din successfully took Jerusalem back for Islam and allowed all those inside to return unharmed to their homelands provided they paid a ransom. Those who could not afford it were sold into slavery. Two years later, Richard I of England (the Lionheart) arrived with Phillip II of France and Frederick I of Germany. Richard was not the chivalrous hero he is frequently depicted as in films. He spent barely 6 months of his 10-year regency in England. He lived in France, spoke only Langues d’Oil and Langues d’Oc, two dialects of Old French, did not speak any form of English, and used England as a money machine to finance his conquests. He loved the sport and glory of overpowering other nations. His Crusade, the 3rd, ended in an uneasy stalemate.

Once the city fell, the invaders stormed in, ransacked every building and murdered every single man, woman, and child within the walls. 70,000 people were hacked to pieces “in the name of Christ.” The horses waded in blood up to their knees. Probably half the women were raped, and most of everyone was tortured by varying methods. It was unbridled, bacchanalian sadism. About 500 Jews fought alongside the Muslims, then took refuge in a synagogue. The French burned the synagogue to the ground, with everyone in it.

In 1099, the 1st Crusade ended in “Christian” victory, when knights and soldiers from France, England, Germany, and Apulia (southern Italy) successfully besieged Jerusalem from 7 June to 15 July. They were opposed by the Islamic Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, under Iftikhar ad-Dawla, who had 400 cavalrymen and a garrison of Muslim and Nubian troops comparable in size to the invaders, about 13,000 for each side. Inside the city there lived over 60,000 unarmed civilians, mostly Muslims and Jews.

The use of the word “God” in any language to justify one’s actions of violence is but a means to an end, and also sweetens the enjoyment of another person’s pain, since by denouncing that person as an infidel, the malicious party can believe that person is also destined for eternal agony, after the agony s/he is forced to suffer on Earth. Sounds appetizing, doesn’t it? Because we all get angry at other people for various perceived offenses, deep down doesn’t it sound appetizing to believe those people are going to Hell, regardless of how much they suffer in life? No one would ever admit to it, of course, but it’s a primitive passion innate in every human, and precisely the heart of the Crusades.

It lasted from c. 1063 until c. 1434, when handheld gunpowder weapons were first used to good effect in combat. Keep in mind, before you denounce God for allowing or causing it to happen, that doing so is foolishly dismissive. Assuming there is a God, the Crusades were not his fault. They remain humanity’s fault by two causes: first, the refusal to tolerate differences; and second, the active enjoyment derived from hurting things, especially other humans, since they can best voice their disapproval of such actions.

Whereas, Stalin never offered any political explanation for, nor a formal admission of, attempting to starve all of Ukraine, and Hitler explained the Holocaust as “a necessary step” in the process of purifying and strengthening the “master race,” the Crusades were undertaken by both the Christians and the Muslims for the openly expressed purpose of exterminating the opposing religion along with all its adherents, solely to glorify God. It remains the blackest moment in the history of all religion.

Hmm, di kaayo unsang lunhawa. Medyo pughaw...

Hypocrite jamo ning trying hard nga unggoya ni. The sooner his ambition is nipped in the bud, the better for the Philippines.

Quote from: Lollapalooza on March 22, 2013, 04:18:54 PM
Siguraduhon lang gyud nga busog pod ang ilang ka engkwentro hahahahah

He he, di na lang gud unta pakan-on pa, tua hinoon, gihimong dessert...

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/

Following the somewhat standard protocol of giving innocuous-sounding names to shamefully unethical projects, SUNSHINE was part of an effort by the Atomic Energy Commission to determine the long-term effects of radiation exposure on the human gene pool. Specifically, it had become known that above-ground nuclear tests were kind of damaging human genetics on a planet-wide scale, and the AEC wanted to know just how much was too much. The easiest way to do this was by examine bones and teeth of those who had been exposed.

How to acquire these? Why, by grave robbing, of course. Preferably infant graves, as they were particularly interested in examining the underdeveloped bones of infants who had been exposed. This is not an exaggeration: AEC Commissioner Willard Libby said in 1953, and we quote: “So human samples are of prime importance and if anybody knows how to do a good job of body snatching, they will really be serving their country.”

Body. Snatching. Literally stealing human remains, with no notice given to or consent sought from the families of the deceased. Later in the decade, pretty much the same data was gathered in a much more responsible mannerâ€"by collecting and examining hundreds of thousands of baby teeth, which one notably does not have to be dead to surrender. -- http://listverse.com/

By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
9:10 am | Friday, March 22nd, 2013





MANILA, Philippines â€" Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Friday denied that he was an alcoholic as claimed by the parents of his own girlfriend, actress Heart Evangelista.

Escudero answered “no” in his Twitter post to a question by a follower if  it was true that he drank a lot.

“Your lovelife is yours, problems with your future in-laws is personal. But as a voter, I want to know, do you drink a lot?” asked Twitter user @PelitaPeraltaUy.

Responding to this, Escudero said, “No. And the other allegations as well vs me. That’s why I had to come out.”

“If I didn’t answer, people might think it’s true,” he added.

Quote from: Lollapalooza on March 22, 2013, 03:38:04 PM
Hmmm.... they're not blaming Sen. Miriam Santiago for being the matchmaker of Heart and Chiz? heheheheh

He he, beyond blame na nis Miriam. Magkinaunsa gamitan dayon og insanity plea...

Warning ni sa mga mahilig og engkwentro...

Quote from: hubag bohol on March 22, 2013, 03:59:08 PM
He described it as if she were trying to eat his penis and testicles," the report says.

Agoi, kuwang galing ang gikaon sa dinner...

The victim tried to get away, the report states, but Vaughn "was too powerful and he could not get her off of him." She also took his cell phone away when he tried to call for help, the report says.

The Sentinel is not naming the victim because of the sexual nature of the crime.

When deputies searched the room later, they found "a significant amount of blood, knocked over furniture, and strewn belongings," as well as a sex toy that had been severely damaged by bite marks.

"The damage to the toy indicates a desire to cause severe damage," the report says, adding it appeared the damage to the toy was done prior to the attack.

Vaughn, 29, faces charges of attempted second-degree murder, false imprisonment and tampering with the victim's ability to contact law enforcement. She was jailed without bail.

The Orlando Sentinel has requested an interview ith Vaughn at the jail.

They arrived to find the victim "covered in a significant amount of blood, with numerous bite wounds," the report states. He was rushed to the Orlando Regional Medical Center trauma center.

The man had "significant" bites to his penis and testicles, the report states, as well as damage to his leg, abdomen, chest and fingers.

His alleged attacker, Priscilla Vaughn, "was nude, and had blood around her mouth, which had spread to her face and head," the report states, adding Vaughn "growled and snarled" at deputies.

The victim later told deputies his attacker was an escort he'd hired for Monday evening. After dinner, they returned to her hotel room, where they drank alcohol and Vaughn used Ecstasy, the report states.

During consensual sex, the escort "became more aggressive, and she began to bite his genitals. He described it as if she were trying to eat his penis and testicles," the report says.

Priscilla Vaughn, 29, 'growled and snarled' at deputies, report says.


March 21, 2013|By Jeff Weiner, Orlando Sentinel



Priscilla Vaughn, 29. (Orange County Jail )


An escort accused of attacking a man and nearly biting his penis off during a sexual encounter at an Orange County hotel was arrested on an attempted murder charge Tuesday morning.

Deputies were called to the Crestwood Suites on University Boulevard after multiple 911 callers "reported screaming and growling sounds from a room on the second floor" of the hotel.

Agoi, morag matalbog ani si Chiz Whiz. Goodbye, presidential ambition...

Quote from: bugsay on March 22, 2013, 02:10:18 PM
pisot pa ang nag talikod..

Dats way, isog...

Quote from: islander on March 22, 2013, 01:50:07 PM
klarong nahadlok ang dako nga gikapon.

Sakto...

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/

The Philippines confronts China...

Binay candy. Sunod ani, Binay monay...

Way kalainan ang pinahiyoman...

Hmm, now that I know this, what do I do?

Compared to the previous best measurements, the universe is a little older and, surprisingly, is expanding a little more slowly than currently accepted standards.

Plank's data also shows that ordinary matter - the stuff that makes up stars, galaxies, planets and everything visible - accounts for a relatively tiny 4.9 percent of the universe.

Dark matter, which does not interact with light but can be detected by its gravitational pull, comprises 26.8 percent of the universe, nearly one-fifth more than previous estimates.

The rest of the universe is dark energy, a mysterious and recently discovered force that defies gravity and is responsible for speeding up the universe's rate of expansion. New results from Planck show dark energy accounting for 69 percent of the universe, slightly less than previously estimated.

The research is the fruit of Planck's first 15 months on orbit. Additional information, including details of how the universe's early light was polarized, are expected next year. (Editing by Kevin Gray and Todd Eastham)

The fluctuations, which differ by only about 100-millionths of a degree, correspond to slightly more dense regions of space, places that later gave rise to the stars and galaxies that fill the universe.

"It's as if we've gone from a standard television to a high-definition television. New and important details have become crystal clear," Paul Hertz, NASA's director of astrophysics, told reporters on a conference call.

Overall, the new data fits well with existing models of how the universe evolved, but it presents some new puzzles as well.

"The variations from place to place in the map that Planck has made tell us new things about what happened just 10 nano-nano-nano-nano seconds after the Big Bang when the universe expanded by 100 trillion, trillion times," said Charles Lawrence, Planck project scientist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"We can see the subtle effects of gravitational pulls from literally everything in the universe."

By Irene Klotz | Reuters â€" 8 hrs ago



An image of the anisotropies of the Cosmic microwave background (CMB) as observed by Planck is seen in this handout released March 21, 2013 by the European Space Agency. REUTERS/ESA-Planck Collaboration/Handout


CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Closer scrutiny of radiation left over from the creation of the universe shows the Big Bang took place about 13.8 billion years ago, 100 million years earlier than previous estimates, scientists said on Thursday.

The findings are among the first results from analysis of data collected by the European Space Agency's Planck spacecraft, which is providing the most detailed look to date at the remnant microwave radiation that permeates the universe.

This relic radiation was first detected in 1964 and later mapped by two NASA spacecraft - COBE, launched in 1989, and WMAP, which followed two years later. With even greater sensitivity, Planck has picked out details of tiny temperature variations in the so-called cosmic microwave background.

Quote from: islander on March 21, 2013, 03:29:53 PM

tasteless.  you're a senator, and you endorse a hotdog product?  ewwww...

Suya lang ka, sikat ko...

Chen’s research shows that language structures our future-related thoughts. Language has been used before to alter time perception with surprising effects. Ellen Langer and colleagues famously improved older people’s physical health by simple interventions including asking them to talk about the events of twenty years ago as if it they were happening now. Talking about the past as if it were the present changed people’s mindsets and their mindsets affected their physical states. Chen’s research points at the possibility that the way we talk about the future can shape our mindsets. Language can move the future back and forth in our mental space and this might have dramatic influences on our judgments and decisions.

These results also provide evidence for the language-cognition link, which has stirred some controversy among researchers. Early 20th century thinkers such as Ferdinand de Saussure and Ludwig Wittgenstein were among the first who argued that language can impact the way people think and act. More recently Steven Pinker argued that we think in a universal grammar and languages do not significantly shape our thinking. The issue is still hotly debated.

At a more practical level, researchers have been looking for ways to help people act in accordance with their long-term interests. Recent findings suggest that making the future feel closer to the present might improve future-oriented behavior. For instance, researchers recently presented people with renderings of their future selves made using age-progression algorithms that forecast how physical appearances would change over time. One group of participants saw a digital representation of their current selves in a virtual mirror, and the other group saw an age-morphed version of their future selves. Those participants who saw the age-morphed version of their future selves allocated more money toward a hypothetical savings account. The intervention brought people’s future to the present and as a result they saved more for the future.

This is an unconventional way of explaining people’s consumption-saving decisions and health-related behavior. More conventional factors include dispositional, situational, motivational, and cultural factors. The marshmallow studies focus on dispositional factorsâ€"being able to delay gratification is an innate ability. Other research has looked at situational factors. For example, researchers have shown that simply rearranging the placement of food and beverages in a cafeteria can improve sales of healthy items. Other research focused on motivational factors. People often need to curb their current desire to consume in order to reach their future goal of getting out of debt. Researchers have shown that closing smaller debt accounts first gives a sense of accomplishment early on, boosts motivation, and increases the likelihood of completely getting rid of debt. The motivational effect is beneficial even if closing off smaller debt accounts does not make economic sense, for instance when the bigger debt accounts have higher interest rates attached to them. Other research has investigated cultural factors. It has been argued that Americans spend more than they need to because they want to emulate the lifestyles and spending patterns of people who are much richer than themselves. Chen’s findings suggest that maybe we should focus more on how we talk about the future in order to improve our intertemporal decision making.

Similar analyses showed that speaking a language that does not have obligatory future markers, such as Mandarin, makes people accumulate more retirement assets, smoke less, exercise more, and generally be healthier in older age. Countries’ national savings rates are also affected by language. Having a larger proportion of people speaking languages that does not have obligatory future markers makes national savings rates higher.

People’s savings rates are affected by various factors such as their income, education level, age, religious affiliation, their countries’ legal systems, and their cultural values. After those factors were accounted for, the effect of language on people’s savings rates turned out to be big. Speaking a language that has obligatory future markers, such as English, makes people 30 percent less likely to save money for the future. This effect is as large as the effect of unemployment. Being unemployed decreases the likelihood of saving by about 30 percent as well.

Chen analyzed individual-level data from 76 developed and developing countries. This data includes people’s economic decisions, such as whether they saved any money last year, the languages they speak at home, demographics, and cultural factors such as   â€œsaving is an important cultural value for me.” He also analyzed individual-level data on people’s retirement assets, smoking and exercising habits, and general health in older age. Lastly, he analyzed national-level data that includes national savings rates, country GDP and GDP growth rates, country demographics, and proportions of people speaking different languages.

Different languages have different ways of talking about the future. Some languages, such as English, Korean, and Russian, require their speakers to refer to the future explicitly. Every time English-speakers talk about the future, they have to use future markers such as “will” or “going to.” In other languages, such as Mandarin, Japanese, and German, future markers are not obligatory. The future is often talked about similar to the way present is talked about and the meaning is understood from the context. A Mandarin speaker who is going to go to a seminar might say “Wo qu ting jiangzuo,” which translates to “I go listen seminar.” Languages such as English constantly remind their speakers that future events are distant. For speakers of languages such as Mandarin future feels closer. As a consequence, resisting immediate impulses and investing for the future is easier for Mandarin speakers.

Chen’s recent findings suggest that an unlikely factor, language, strongly affects our future-oriented behavior. Some languages strongly distinguish the present and the future. Other languages only weakly distinguish the present and the future. Chen’s recent research suggests that people who speak languages that weakly distinguish the present and the future are better prepared for the future. They accumulate more wealth and they are better able to maintain their health. The way these people conceptualize the future is similar to the way they conceptualize the present. As a result, the future does not feel very distant and it is easier for them to act in accordance with their future interests.

Resisting our impulses for immediate pleasure is often the only way to attain the outcomes that are important to us. We want to keep a slim figure but we also want that last slice of pizza. We want a comfortable retirement, but we also want to drive that dazzling car, go on that dream vacation, or get those gorgeous shoes. Some people are better at delaying gratification than others. Those people have a better chance of accumulating wealth and keeping a healthy life style. They are less likely to be impulse buyers or smokers, or to engage in unsafe sex.

By Ozgun Atasoy | Scientific American â€" Tue, Mar 19, 2013


Does the language we speak determine how healthy and rich we will be? New research by Keith Chen of Yale Business School suggests so. The structure of languages affects our judgments and decisions about the future and this might have dramatic long-term consequences.

There has been a lot of research into how we deal with the future. For example, the famous marshmallow studies of Walter Mischel and colleagues showed that being able to resist temptation is predictive of future success. Four-year-old kids were given a marshmallow and were told that if they do not eat that marshmallow and wait for the experimenter to come back, they will get two marshmallows instead of one. Follow-up studies showed that the kids who were able to wait for the bigger future reward became more successful young adults.

Agoi, maoy mahimong sumsom sa Guinness...

Aitch, whose resume lists work for royalty, diplomats, and other VIPs, cited the example of British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose decision to forego motorcycle outriders drew concern after his official car was pictured caught in central's London slow-moving traffic a few years ago. Such a situation could basically turn him into a sitting duck for any potential attacker.

In general, Aitch said that any leader's decision to drop their guard "creates a security headache" â€" particularly if it becomes a habit.

And the pope isn't just any leader, he's one of the most public figures in the world. During an ordinary week, the pope makes a minimum of two appearances, at his general audience Wednesday and from his apartment window for his Sunday blessing.

For the new pope, it may all boil down to balancing legitimate security concerns with his down-to-earth manner and distaste for luxury.

Francis, for example, famously rode the bus to work while archbishop of Buenos Aires. While that casual style will likely stay, don't expect to meet him in one of the ubiquitous trams that snake through Roman streets.

Francis' meet-and-greet manner is reminiscent of John Paul II's open style in his first years as pope. And an iconic event in the earlier papacy brought to light some of the terrifying potential consequences of papal spontaneity. It was 1981 and John Paul had just handed a baby back to her mother, as his open jeep drove slowly through a crowded St. Peter's Square. Shots rang out. The pope crumbled and bodyguards swarmed around him.

The Turkish gunman's assassination attempt left John Paul severely wounded. While he made a full recovery, an era of light security was over.

Benedict's papacy also had its share of scares.

In 2008, a German man jumped on the pope's jeep and had to be wrestled down by a Vatican policeman. Two years later, a woman with a history of psychiatric problems jumped the security barricade in St. Peter's Basilica during Christmas Eve Mass and pulled Benedict to the ground. The pope was uninjured but a cardinal fell and broke his hip.

Experts say that ditching the motorcade and the security detail can be dangerous in unexpected ways. "If someone like the pope publishes the fact that he doesn't have the usual level of security, it only highlights the potential threats," said British security expert Richard Aitch, the author of "Close Protection."

Giani looked particularly worried by the crowd that gathered after the Sunday Mass. La Stampa newspaper quoted an aide at the scene as saying that things "better get back to normal or we're in trouble."

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said last week that the Vatican was well aware of Francis' informal and open style and that "proper security measures" would be taken, even if that hasn't happened immediately.

"There are a lot of nut cases out there," said another Vatican official, who requested anonymity as he is not authorized to discuss security.

"But you can be sure that the security issues are being examined."

Even Francis' habit of constantly running late can't make his bodyguards happy, since they're used to carefully choreographed and timed events. After Mass on Sunday, it seemed as if one of the monsignors was begging Francis to hurry up, as he nervously looked at his watch â€" but the pope kept diving into the crowd.

The day after his election, Francis eschewed the Vatican's armored limousine and traveled through the chaotic streets of Rome in an ordinary car to pick up his things at a downtown hotel.

At his first Sunday Mass as pontiff, Francis caused a stir by mingling with bystanders at a Vatican gate, shaking hands and even allowing himself to be grabbed by the shoulder, all while people jostled to get closer.

Then on inauguration day, Francis stood for nearly 30 minutes Tuesday in an open vehicle that circled the vast square, kissing babies handed up to him and at one point jumping out to bless and kiss a disabled man in the crowd.

It's not for nothing that Francis has quickly been dubbed the "unpredictable" pope. And for a bodyguard, unpredictable means trouble.

By VICTOR L. SIMPSON | Associated Press â€" 7 hrs ago





VATICAN CITY (AP) â€" Forgive Pope Francis' security team for looking a bit nervous.

One pope was shot in St. Peter's Square while riding in an open vehicle. Another was tackled by a woman with mental problems in St. Peter's Basilica. So in the early days of Francis' pontificate, as the pope delights the flock by wading into crowds and pressing the flesh, it's only natural that chief Vatican cop Domenico Giani seems on edge.

Just consider some of Francis' acts of papal outreach, which have all made for a refreshing change from the reserved style of his predecessor Benedict XVI, but present a huge headache for a security detail attached to one of the planet's most high-profile people.

Large asteroid colliding with Earth probable this century





Published on Mar 20, 2013

Physicist and former Nasa astronaut, Dr. Ed Lu, discusses the possible threat that near-Earth asteroids pose to our planet. Lu claims there is a 30% chance of a five mega tonne impact happening this century. He says technologies exist that may prevent impacts to Earth, but without years of advance notice there would be 'no option'. -- http://www.youtube.com/

Quote from: chicogon on March 21, 2013, 03:17:59 AM
Pari tingale ni nag bendita ug pets

Hmm, sa dagway lang, medyo magpagkaerehes iroa...