MikeLigalig.com

Spanish deck printed in Valencia in 1778.

Quote from: islander on February 16, 2013, 09:26:00 PM

and a happy valentine to you, too!

He he yunik gid hang dawonggan ni Aylangir...

Heirs united

Idjirani said the signing of the framework agreement with the MILF led to the unification of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu and their decision to proceed with claiming Sabah on their own.

Idjirani said the reported differences among the heirs were never personal but involved only policy and direction.

He said the direct descendants and heirs of the Sultan of Sulu and North Borneo were Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, Sultan Bantilan Esmail Kiram III, Datu Alianapia Kiram, Datu Phugdal Kiram, Datu Baduruddin Kiram and Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram, the crown prince who was tasked to lead the 1,000-strong civilian and military force to Sabah.

The "meeting of the minds" of the Kirams happened on November 11 last year in a relative's house, Idjirani said. It was during that meeting that Sultan Jamalul issued the royal decree that authorized Rajah Mudah's journey to Sabah.

Sultanate not mentioned

But the next thing the heirs knew, he said, the framework agreement had been signed without any mention of the "historic and sovereign rights" of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo to territories included in the agreement.

"Until the government includes the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, no lasting and significant peace will come to Mindanao," Idjirani said.

"They should have seen that in the failure of the peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front of Nur Misuari," he said.

"We thought the administration of President Aquino gave weight to ancestral and historic agreements. We were clearly wrong," he added.

He said the sultanate's "desire and intention" to be part of the peace process initiated by the government was expressed in a letter to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dated April 13, 2009.

In that letter signed by Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, he said, the government was acknowledged and referred to only as an ally in the sultanate's ancestral and historic rights over the Sulu archipelago, which includes territories covered in the preliminary peace talks between the government and the MILF.

But Arroyo's term ended in June 2010 with no agreement being reached with the MILF.

It was the Aquino administration that would clinch a preliminary peace deal with the MILF.

Pretended consultation

Idjirani said that before the signing of the agreement, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp) invited the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu to what was supposed to be a consultation on a peace deal with the MILF.

He said he was asked to give a lecture on the stand of the Sultanate of Sulu at a forum held at the University of the Philippines College of Law.

"We thought finally the government of President Aquino wanted a complete and comprehensive resolution management to the peace, security and economic problems of territories in Mindanao by consulting with us. But it was just talk," Idjirani said in English and Filipino.

"The framework agreement was finished without even the shadow of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. They just pretended to consult us," he said.

He said the government encouraged the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu to lead "peace caravans" and they complied. He showed pictures of such a caravan taken in Tawi-Tawi last year. The pictures showed members of the Kiram royal family and their followers participating in the caravan.

Negotiations

In a statement released yesterday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifa Aman had spoken to Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and assured him that the Malaysians would respect the rights of the Filipinos in the Sabah standoff.

The statement said the Malaysian government had resorted to "negotiations to encourage" the Filipinos "to leave peacefully".

Both the Philippine military and the Malaysian military had established that the Filipinos' activity in Sabah had no approval from the Philippine government, the DFA said.
"In this regard, we therefore urge these concerned individuals to return to their homes and families," the DFA said.

To ascertain facts

The presidential office was reluctant to meddle in the reported incursion into Sabah by "100 armed Filipinos" claiming to be descendants of the Sultan of Sulu.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte indicated in a briefing for reporters in the Palace yesterday that the government was not sure about what was going on in Sabah.

She said the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur had sent a police attache to Sabah to ascertain "what's really happening".

Valte said the government would provide assistance "to any Filipino abroad", but added that on the Sabah standoff, "we would like to ascertain the facts first".

Unaware of the situation in Lahad Datu, Philippine officials said the Filipinos were unarmed civilians who had been promised land.

Citing information from Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, Valte told reporters yesterday that the Filipinos were unarmed.

But Rajah Mudah's claim that he was surrounded by his own security forces indicated the dearth of information in the government about the move taken by the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu.

Surrounded

What happened after the landing is unclear, but reports from Kuala Lumpur on Thursday said Malaysian security forces had surrounded the Filipinos, whom they believed were a faction of Muslim rebels unhappy with a peace deal with the administration of President Aquino.

Rajah Mudah said he and his group were not arrested. He said he was communicating with Gen. Zul Kipli, head of the Special Branch of Sabah, the equivalent of the top intelligence officer in the Philippines.

He admitted, however, that he and his group were surrounded by Malaysian police and special forces.

The standoff between the Malaysian authorities and Rajah Mudah's group has sparked one of the biggest security scares in recent years in Sabah, which is less than an hour by speedboat from the southernmost Philippine province of Tawi-Tawi.

Departure on Feb 11

"They are not interested, this government and the previous governments, so we decided to act on our own," Rajah Mudah said.

Early on February 11, Rajah Mudah and about 1,000 of his followers, including armed men from what he called "Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo" left Simunul Island in Tawi-Tawi in speedboats and headed for Sabah.

Rajah Mudah described his action as not an act of aggression but a journey back home.

"We came here in peace. We are not here to wage war. The armed men who are with me are the Royal Security Forces of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. We will never bring war to our own territory, much less to our own people," Rajah Mudah said.

His group landed in the village of Tunduao in Lahad Datu town in Sabah.

By Arlyn dela Cruz in Manila/Philippine Daily Inquirer | Asia News Network â€" 19 hours ago


Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Feeling betrayed and left out in the peace process between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu have decided to press their claim to the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah on their own.

Crown Prince Rajah Mudah Agbimuddin Kiram said in an interview with the Inquirer that the government appeared to have neglected the heirs and ignored their stand that their claim to Sabah was an "integral and essential" aspect of any peace agreement with any armed group in Mindanao.

Abraham Julpa Idjirani, secretary general and spokesperson of the Sultanate of Sulu, said the decision to show not just physical presence but actual occupation of Sabah came late last year, shortly after the Aquino administration signed a Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro with the MILF.

The standoff continued yesterday with Rajah Mudah's claim to be under the protection of the security forces of the Sultanate of Sulu adding more mystery to the bizarre border drama.

Food-related kuno ni...

The US remained the top source of remittances, BSP data showed, cornering 42.6 percent of the total. It was followed by Canada (9.2 percent), Saudi Arabia (8.1 percent), United Kingdom (five percent), Japan (4.7 percent), United Arab Emirates (4.5 percent and Singapore (4.1 percent).

The bulk of remittances were sent by land-based workers, who remitted an aggregate amount of $16.6 billion, against seafarers’ $4.8 billion, central bank figures also showed.

“The large amount of remittance has also helped to bolster peso strength,” Leow said in an e-mail.

The peso was Asia’s second best performing currency against the greenback last year, per BSP data. It has appreciated by 6.8 percent against the dollar, trimming the value of export earnings and remittances when repatriated back home.

“Remittance growth should hover around six- to seven-percent for 2013 as global economic momentum gains traction,” Leow said.

“The resilience of overseas Filipino remittances continues to support the country’s economic growth and development,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.

Continued deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as expansion of bank network services boosted remittances inflows last year, he explained.

A total of 1.737 million OFWs are awaiting deployment for the first 10 months of last year, preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed. This reflected an 8.6-percent growth year-on-year.

As for banks’ network expansion, the central bank said the number of tie-ups among commercial banks and remittance centers increased to 4,750 last year. In 2011, such partnerships only numbered to 4,723.

Sought for comment, DBS economist Eugene Leow said the higher-than-expected remittance reflected “stabilization and pick-up in major economies” where most OFWs are based.

By Prinz P. Magtulis (The Philippine Star) | Updated February 16, 2013 - 12:00am


MANILA, Philippines - Remittances from Filipinos living and working overseas grew faster than expected in 2012, reaching a new record high of $21.391 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported yesterday.

Last year’s tally   represented a growth rate of  6.3 percent from a year ago, surpassing the central bank’s five-percent growth target. It also accounted for 8.5 percent of the country’s total economic output for 2012.

For December alone, a new monthly record of $1.975 billion was also recorded, an improvement of nearly a tenth from the previous year’s level.

Personal remittances â€" the cash and non-cash items or goods sent by overseas Filipinos through formal and informal channels â€"  expanded by 9.7 percent year-on-year to a new record of $23.784 billion.

For 2013, money sent home by Filipinos abroad could grow by five percent, according to latest central bank projections.

The Papal shoes are the red leather outdoor shoes worn by the Pope. They should not be confused with the indoor papal slippers or the Episcopal sandals, which are the liturgical footwear proper to all Latin Rite bishops.

As did many noblemen, the Pope wore slippers (pantofole) inside his residences and leather shoes outside. The indoor papal slippers were made of red velvet or silk and were heavily decorated in gold braid, with a gold cross in the middle.

Before 1969, the Pope, like all bishops and prelates, wore Episcopal sandals during the Mass. The color of the Episcopal sandals varied to match the liturgical color of the Mass.

The Papal outdoor shoes were made of plain red Morocco leather and had a wide cross in gold braid. The cross once extended across the shoe and down to the sole. In the eighteenth century the ends of the cross were shortened, as shown in the photo of Pius VII's shoes. This old-fashioned type of dress shoe is very thin-soled and is sometimes called "pantofola liscia" or smooth slipper model.

After 1958, Pope John XXIII added gold buckles to the outdoor papal shoes, making them similar to the red shoes worn by cardinals outside of Rome. Pope Paul VI eliminated the gold cross and completely discontinued the custom of kissing the papal foot. Paul VI can be seen wearing red buckled shoes in photographs from his 1964 trip to Jerusalem. In 1969, Paul VI abolished buckles from all ecclesiastical shoes, which had been customarily required at the Papal Court and for prelates. He also discontinued the use of the indoor velvet papal slippers and the Paschal mozzetta and shoes. Paul VI wore plain red leather shoes throughout the rest of his pontificate. Pope John Paul I, who was pope for only 33 days, continued wearing the plain red leather shoes worn by Paul VI. Early in his pontificate Pope John Paul II wore red shoes; however he quickly adopted wearing ordinary brown shoes. Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II were buried in the red leather papal shoes.

Pope Benedict XVI restored the use of the red papal shoes, which are provided by his personal cobbler in Rome. --Wiki

Papal shoes of Pope Pius VII (1808)

Red loafers, manufactured by papal shoemaker Adriano Stefanelli, Novara - Worn by H.H. Pope Benedict XVI - The Philippi Collection

While more than nine out of 10 Pinoys say they experience love, in some countries, the figure drops to less than three out of 10.

Armenia is at the bottom of the list of countries in terms of feelings of love at only 29 percent, followed by Mongolia and Uzbekistan, both at 32 percent.

Also in the bottom 10 are Kyrgyztan, 34 percent; Morocco, Belarus and Georgia, 43 percent; Kazakhstan, 45 percent; Moldoca, 46 percent; and Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, 47 percent.

But Gallup said "it is important to note that differences between countries may be due to how cultures define "love" and not in actual day-to-day experiences.

For example, in some countries, the idea of "love" is restricted to a romantic partner, while in others it extends to one's family members and friends.

The Philippines' new title as world leader on love comes after a local survey showed that nearly four out of five Pinoys said they have no love life.

The Social Weather Stations survey results also showed that nearly four out of five Pinoys believe that love "love cannot be planned and pursued, it just comes to a person."

But Gallup noted that "love" felt by respondents are not necessarily that romantic kind but "may also be the love of a child, a parent, family, or good friends."

"On a typical day, around 70 percent of the world's population report that they experienced love the day before," Gallup said.

"The world leader in love is the Philippines, where fully 93 percent of the population reported feeling love," Gallup said in its blog.

"Rwanda isn't far behind at 92 percent, and Puerto Rico is the only other population surveyed where at least nine in 10 respondents reported feeling love," it added.

Rounding out the list of 10 countries with the most widespread feelings of live are Hungary, 89 percent; Cyprus, 88 percent; Trinidad & Tobago, 88 percent; Paraguay, 87 percent; Lebanon, 86 percent; and Costa Rica and Cambodia, tied at 85 percent.

Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom
By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom â€" 4 minutes 55 seconds ago


The number of Pinoys who claim to be "loveless" reportedly rose, but data from a global poll show that the Philippines is the country with the "most widespread feelings of love."

The Philippines topped what U.S.-based pollster Gallup called the "most comprehensive global index of love ever constructed."

The global survey, conducted in 136 countries in 2006-2007, asked respondents: "Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday? How about love?"

He he...

Bwahaha!

By Claudine Zap | The Lookout â€" 18 hrs ago


A homeless man who hit the jackpot in his change cupâ€"a diamond ringâ€"showed he had a heart of gold by returning it.

The woman who accidentally dumped her engagement ring along with all the spare change in her wallet into the cup noticed the mistake long after she had given the pricey item to the Kansas City man, Billy Ray Harris.

Sarah Darling, who hadn't meant to be quite that generous to the man on the street, explained to Kansas City, Mo.'s KCTV that "my rings were bothering me, so I put them in my coin purse."

Darling said she didn't realize what she'd done until the next day.

"I was so incredibly upset because, more than just the value of the ring, it had sentimental value," she said.
Needless to say, Darling returned to the scene the next day.

Harris told the station, "The ring was so big that I knew if it was real, it was expensive."

He recalled, "She squatted down like you did like right there and says, ‘Do you remember me?' And I was like, ‘I don't know. I see a lot of faces.' She says, ‘I might have gave you something very valuable.' I said, ‘Was it a ring?' And she says, ‘Yeah.' And I said, ‘Well, I have it.'"

Harris added that he wasn’t the type to cash in on someone’s misfortune. "My grandfather was a reverend. He raised me from the time I was 6 months old and thank the good Lord, it's a blessing, but I do still have some character," he said.

Darling gratefully told the TV station, "It seemed like a miracle. I thought for sure there was no way I would get it back.”

Harris did not go empty-handed: He again received money from Darlingâ€"this time all the bills she had in her wallet.

Hapi Balintong, ibriwan!

Bwahaha! Matso jud ang dating ni baby!

From a loving look to an affectionate nuzzle, these are the charming images of cute creatures cosying up for Valentines Day. And as the heart-warming pictures show the animal kingdom can be just as romantic as us humans when it comes to celebrating the big day. -- http://news.yahoo.com/

CLAIMED BENEFITS OF COCONUT OIL:


Anti-infective Properties

*Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.

*Kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases.

*Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete's foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.

*Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites.

*Helps prevent periodontal disease and tooth decay.

Energy

*Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.

*Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.

Digestion and Metabolism

*Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.

*Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.

*Relieves stress on pancreas and enzyme systems of the body.

*Reduces symptoms associated with pancreatitis.

*Helps relieve symptoms and reduce health risks associated with diabetes.

*Reduces problems associated with malabsorption syndrome and cystic fibrosis.

*Improves calcium and magnesium absorption and supports the development of strong bones and teeth.

*Helps protect against osteoporosis.

*Helps relieve symptoms associated with gallbladder disease.

*Relieves symptoms associated with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and stomach ulcers.

*Improves digestion and bowel function. (Clients tell me that taken 20 minutes before a meal, it relieves symptoms of heartburn and GERD.)

*Relieves pain and irritation caused by hemorrhoids.

Boosts the Immune System

*Supports and aids immune system function.

*Reduces inflammation.

*Supports tissue healing and repair.

*Helps protect the body from breast, colon, and other cancers.

*Functions as a protective antioxidant.

*Does not form harmful by-products when heated to normal cooking temperature like other vegetable oils do.

*Helps to protect the body from harmful free radicals that promote premature aging and degenerative disease.

*Does not deplete the body's antioxidant reserves like other oils do.

*Improves utilization of essential fatty acids and protects them from oxidation.

*Helps relieve symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.

*Relieves symptoms associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia (prostate enlargement).

Heart Health

*Is heart healthy; improves cholesterol ratio reducing risk of heart disease.

*Protects arteries from injury that causes atherosclerosis and thus protects against heart disease.

Organ Support

*Helps protect against kidney disease and bladder infections.

*Dissolves kidney stones.

*Helps prevent liver disease.

*Supports thyroid function.

*Reduces epileptic seizures.

Balances Body Weight

*Promotes loss of excess weight by increasing metabolic rate.

*Is utilized by the body to produce energy in preference to being stored as body fat like other dietary fats.

*Helps prevent obesity and overweight problems.

*Is lower in calories than all other fats.

Creates Healthy Skin and Hair

*Applied topically helps to form a chemical barrier on the skin to ward of infection.

*Reduces symptoms associated the psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis.

*Supports the natural chemical balance of the skin.

*Softens skin and helps relieve dryness and flaking.

*Prevents wrinkles, sagging skin, and age spots.

*Promotes healthy looking hair and complexion.

*Provides protection from damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

*Helps control dandruff.


More at: http://www.naturalnews.com/032727_coconut_oil_Alzheimers.html#ixzz2KrE9rLJ3

Di lang kay ango2x, tanang sakit pwede tambalan ani. Kuno.

Tag $1,000 each to 7,500 recipients. Sinsiyo ra sa $2 billion judgment against the Marcos estate in 1995, nga itself sinsiyo ra sa dictator's total plunder...

This is either before or after sa buhagay...

With this crocodile steak, solb and puasa...

Kon pwede ang buaya, ang baki kaha?

Agoi, kon di mahurot pwede kusahoson ang sobra...

D.I. kuno unya blackmailer diay. Amateur...

"Getting these supplies to serve communications satellites and coming crewed missions to Mars from in-space sources like asteroids is key if we are going to explore and settle space," Tumlinson said.

Deep Space Industries is just one of two asteroid-mining firms that have revealed their existence and intentions in the past 10 months. The other is Planetary Resources, which has financial backing from billionaires such as Google execs Larry Page and Eric Schmidt.

Deep Space aims to launch a phalanx of small, robotic prospecting probes called Fireflies in 2015. Sample-return missions to potential targets would occur shortly thereafter, with space mining operations possibly beginning around 2020.

Planetary Resources also hopes its activities open the solar system up for further and more efficient exploration. The company may launch its first low-cost prospecting space telescopes within the next year or so.

"While this week's visitor isn't going the right way for us to harvest it, there will be others that are, and we want to be ready when they arrive," Deep Space chairman Rick Tumlinson said in a statement Tuesday.

Deep Space Industries wants to use asteroid resources to help humanity expand its footprint out into the solar system. The company plans to convert space rock water into rocket fuel, which would be used to top up the tanks of off-Earth satellites and spaceships cheaply and efficiently.

Asteroidal metals such as iron and nickel, for their part, would form the basis of a space-based manufacturing industry that could build spaceships, human habitats and other structures off the planet.

The idea is to dramatically reduce the amount of material that needs to be launched from Earth, since it currently costs at least $10 million to send 1 ton of material to high-Earth orbit, officials said.

By Mike Wall
Published February 13, 2013 / Space.com






The space rock set to give Earth a historically close shave this Friday, Feb. 15, may be worth nearly $200 billion, prospective asteroid miners say.

The 150-foot-wide asteroid 2012 DA14 â€" which will zoom within 17,200 miles of Earth on Friday, marking the closest approach by such a large space rock that astronomers have ever known about in advance â€" may harbor $65 billion of recoverable water and $130 billion in metals, say officials with celestial mining firm Deep Space Industries.

That's just a guess, they stressed, since 2012 DA14's composition is not well known and its size is an estimate based on the asteroid's brightness.

The company has no plans to go after 2012 DA14; the asteroid's orbit is highly tilted relative to Earth, making it too difficult to chase down. But the space rock's close flyby serves to illustrate the wealth of asteroid resources just waiting to be extracted and used, Deep Space officials said.

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 14, 2013, 11:24:50 AM
Most of the infected lived or had recently been in the Middle East. Three have been diagnosed in Britain.

NCoV was identified when the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an international alert in September 2012 saying a virus previously unknown in humans had infected a Qatari man who had recently been in Saudi Arabia.

Agoi, bantay2x mo mga kaberks nga naa sa Midol Ist...

New SARS-like virus shows person-to-person transmission
By Kate Kelland | Reuters â€" 7 hrs ago


LONDON (Reuters) - A third patient in Britain has contracted a new SARS-like virus, becoming the second confirmed British case in a week and showing the deadly infection is being spread from person to person, health officials said on Wednesday.

The latest case, in a man from the same family as another patient, brings the worldwide number of confirmed infections with the new virus - known as novel coronavirus, or NCoV - to 11.

Of those, five have died. Most of the infected lived or had recently been in the Middle East. Three have been diagnosed in Britain.

NCoV was identified when the World Health Organisation (WHO) issued an international alert in September 2012 saying a virus previously unknown in humans had infected a Qatari man who had recently been in Saudi Arabia.

The virus belongs to the same family as SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - a coronavirus that emerged in China in 2002 and killed about a tenth of the 8,000 people it infected worldwide. Symptoms common to both viruses include severe respiratory illness, fever, coughing and breathing difficulties.

He he, basin naa pay gahilomhilom ra diha...

Rahman's charges are driven not only out of concern for his brother's well-being, but also for his own, he admitted.

'If my brother had his faculties, I'd be living in a mansion because he always looked after me,' he said. 'As it is, we're lucky to have $150 left after paying our monthly bills.'

Rahman is now living in a $512-a-month apartment in the family's hometown of Louisville, Ky., with his sixth wife Caroline.
Lonnie is Muhammad Ali's third wife and has been married to him for 26 years.

Rahman said he is concerned that Lonnie will write him out of Muhammad's will.

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984 but remained active for many years.

'His wife Lonnie and her family are draining him and there's nothing I can do about it,' he said. 'In my opinion. Lonnie's evil.'

Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 1984 but remained active for many years and made a moving appearance at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games where he lit the flame.

However, he was seen looking particularly thin and frail at the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony where he was helped across the stage by wife Lonnie.

Muhammad Ali's daughter has previously countered similar remarks by Rahman over her father's condition, saying he's 'fine.'

May May Ali said she talked to her father Sunday morning on the phone and he was fine. She said he was watching the Super Bowl at home in Arizona wearing a Baltimore Ravens jersey.

'He's fine, in fact he was talking well this morning,' she said in a telephone interview with CBS this week. 'These rumors pop up every once in a while but there's nothing to them.'

Rahman, who is younger than Muhammad by two years, said his brother is a 'prisoner in his own home'.

Muhammad Ali's brother claims that the 71-year-old boxing legend is being gravely mistreated by his wife because according to him, she is more interested in Ali's money than his well-being.

Muhammad Ali 'is a victim of elderly abuse and his wife is only concerned with his money' claims the boxing legend's brother
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 05:00 GMT, 6 February 2013 | UPDATED: 22:01 GMT, 6 February 2013


Muhammad Ali's brother claims that the 71-year-old boxing legend is being gravely mistreated by his wife because according to him, she is more interested in Ali's money than his well-being.

'I think [Lonnie] married my brother just for the money,' Rahman Ali told the National Enquirer of his sister-in-law. 'She talks to him bad. He doesn't even get fed properly. The last time we were together [for a July gala in London honoring Ali], he was so dehydrated. You could tell from his lips.'

Rahman, who is younger than Muhammad by two years, said his brother is a 'prisoner in his own home.'

Kasabot ka unsa ni?

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 14, 2013, 10:19:22 AM
The number of Filipino adults who said they did not have a love life peaked to 13 percent in 2012 from only 9 percent the year previous, the Social Weather Stations said.

Agoi, apil na si Botoy ani...

Nearly four out of five (78 percent) of Filipino adults believe that "love cannot be planned and pursued, it just comes to a person," the survey said.

The remaining 22 percent believe, however, that "love is planned and pursued until one finds it."

"Belief that love just comes to a person is strong among both men and women..." SWS said.

But the belief is stronger in the female respondents with 84 percent of women saying one should wait for love, higher than the 72 percent in men.

As if fulfilling traditional gender roles, more men (28 percent) think love should be pursued compared to women (16 percent).

"Belief that love just comes to a person is stronger among men aged 35 and above (ranging from 73 to 75 percent), compared to younger men aged 18-34 (66 to 67 percent)," SWS said.

On the other hand, belief that love just comes to a person is slightly stronger among the younger 18-44 women, compared to those aged 45 and above.

Pinoys who said they were "very happy" with their love life dropped to 54 percent last year from a record high of 59 percent in 2011.

Those who say that their love life "could be happier" meanwhile also rose to 33 percent in 2012 from 31 percent a year ago.

Men are generally happier with their love life, with 58 percent answering "very happy" when asked, compared to only 49 percent in women.

More women (36 percent) also wish more happiness in their love life compared to 30 percent of men who wished the same.

But chances of pairing seem high, since the percentages of those who said they do not have a love life are almost the same among men (12 percent) and women (14 percent).

More younger men aged 18 to 24 (31 percent) claimed to be single and ready to mingle versus older men.

On the other hand, a greater number (31 percent) of older women aged 55 above said they do not have a love life compared to other age female groups.

But should one look for love or just wait for it to come? Apparently most Pinoys are not too eager to go on quests for romance.

'Loveless' Pinoys on the rise, says SWS
By Kim Arveen Patria | Yahoo! Southeast Asia Newsroom â€" 16 hours ago


The Philippines has apparently hit another record high last year, a new poll showed, but many Pinoys may not be happy about it--especially not on Valentine's Day.

The number of Filipino adults who said they did not have a love life peaked to 13 percent in 2012 from only 9 percent the year previous, the Social Weather Stations said.

Things aren't so bright for those who said they have a love life either, results of the survey of 1,200 adult Pinoys in Dec. 8-11 showed.

Nindit sa America kay naay daghang rights, sama ani...

Bwahaha! Waay ikahambal hang titser, labi na nga waay puas hang pagkinalot ni Botsoy sang ijang ginabunhok nga itlog haw!

What an idyllic life...

Quote from: islander on February 13, 2013, 11:39:21 PM
the timing, the picture, they're all good fodder for the imagination.  and, well, didn't the creator create science?  it's too much to blame the pope's resignation for the lightning.  i might as well blame the dome for being there in the lightning's path, hehe.

While you're at it, might as well blame the photographer, too...

Jus ad Bellum / Jus in Bello
By Karma Nabulsi


Under international law, there are two distinct ways of looking at warâ€"the reasons you fight and how you fight. In theory, it is possible to break all the rules while fighting a just war or to be engaged in an unjust war while adhering to the laws of armed conflict. For this reason, the two branches of law are completely independent of one another.

Jus (or ius) ad bellum is the title given to the branch of law that defines the legitimate reasons a state may engage in war and focuses on certain criteria that render a war just. The principal modern legal source of jus ad bellum derives from the Charter of the United Nations, which declares in Article 2: “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations”; and in Article 51: “Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defense if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations.”

Jus in bello, by contrast, is the set of laws that come into effect once a war has begun. Its purpose is to regulate how wars are fought, without prejudice to the reasons of how or why they had begun. So a party engaged in a war that could easily be defined as unjust (for example, Iraq’s aggressive invasion of Kuwait in 1990) would still have to adhere to certain rules during the prosecution of the war, as would the side committed to righting the initial injustice. This branch of law relies on customary law, based on recognized practices of war, as well as treaty laws (such as the Hague Regulations of 1899 and 1907), which set out the rules for conduct of hostilities. Other principal documents include the four Geneva Conventions of 1949, which protect war victimsâ€"the sick and wounded (First); the shipwrecked (Second); prisoners of war (Third); and civilians in the hands of an adverse party and, to a limited extent, all civilians in the territories of the countries in conflict (Fourth)â€"and the Additional Protocols of 1977, which define key terms such as combatants, contain detailed provisions to protect noncombatants, medical transports, and civil defense, and prohibit practices such as indiscriminate attack.

There is no agreement on what to call jus in bello in everyday language. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and many scholars, preferring to stress the positive, call it international humanitarian law (IHL) to emphasize their goal of mitigating the excesses of war and protecting civilians and other noncombatants. But military thinkers, backed by other scholars, emphasize that the laws of war are drawn directly from the customs and practices of war itself, and are intended to serve State armies. They commonly use the more traditional rubric, the laws and customs of armed conflict or more simply, the laws of war. -- http://www.crimesofwar.org/

Quote from: mg on February 13, 2013, 05:33:31 PM
on the contrary, nalipay ra man pud ko kay di siya ana ka dali mugahi. May uroy maduolan ug laing chix, di may nalang....

Agoi, ang nakaporke kon laing chix ang moduol, deretso nga mahimong daw puthaw ang hinagiban...

Who Can Be Elected Pope?
By Austin Cline, About.com Guide


Technically, any Catholic male who has reached the age of reason, is not a heretic, is not in schism, and is not “notorious” for simony can be elected pope â€" there is no other requirement for election (although there are several requirements before a person can actually assume the papacy once elected). It might even be technically possible for them to elect a non-Catholic male, if they had reason to believe that he would immediately convert to Catholicism.

The lack of a long list of formal requirements is probably due to the fact that, in times past, it was possible for the elector cardinals to elect a new pope not through formal ballots but rather through sudden acclamation after being inspired. A list of formal rules would make such acclamation much more difficult, even though the rules have now eliminated acclamation (as well as the use of committees) to elect new popes.

In practice, of course, Catholic laity and even common clergy have no real chance to be elected pope and the papacy is restricted to cardinals or perhaps a few bishops. The last non-cardinal elected pope was Urban VI in 1379. Certain cardinals may be more likely to be elected than others (because of age, for example), but within that group there is no way to say who is the favorite.

Indeed, it may be more likely that a non-favorite could be elected. Every “favorite” may be favored by a different group but no group may be able to get the others to accept their candidate. As a consequence, the man finally elected may be no one’s favorite, but ultimately the only man that enough of the cardinals can actually agree upon.

In another informal nod to tradition, the next pope will certainly have to speak Italian. Most people regard the pope as simply the head of the Roman Catholic Church, and that he is; but we must not forget that he is also the Bishop of Rome, and as such he carries with him the same responsibilities of all bishops. Indeed, no one can become pope officially until they are also officially made bishop in Rome.

One of the sources of the the great popularity of Pope John XXIII was apparently the fact that he acted like the Bishop of Rome more than most popes. He visited prisons, visited hospitals, and took a genuine interest in the lives and fortunes of the average Roman citizen. This was as unusual as it was appropriate and it helped guarantee his place in the hearts and minds of Romans for generations to come.

If the next pope cannot address the crowds in Rome in their own language, he won’t be readily accepted or highly regarded. This may not be the “mob” of antiquity, but it seems unlikely that the elector cardinals will completely ignore their needs when it comes to choosing the next pope. The exclusion of non-Italian speakers may not narrow the field of likely popes very far, but it does narrow it.

Any baptized male Catholic can be elected Pope. Although the chances of a non-cardinal being elected is very small.

If the person elected is not yet a bishop, then he is ordained a bishop before accepting the office of the Papacy. -- http://wiki.answers.com/

There are no formal requirements other than the candidate be a Catholic male. In theory, one doesn't even have to be a Cardinal (Or a priest!) to be elected Pope. In practice however, this has not occurred since 1379. There are INFORMAL requirements...unwritten rules if you will, for being elected Pope.

1. RANK: One must be a Cardinal to be elected Pope.

2. AGE: There are no formal age requirements for being elected Pope, but keep in mind that Cardinals are RARELY appointed before age 50. The youngest Cardinal presently serving is 57. Cardinals 80 and over cannot vote for Pope, and no one over 79 has EVER been elected Pope. The window of opportunity, therefore, is from one's late 50's to one's late 70's. Cardinals in their 60's are considered to be the ideal age for election.

3. LANGUAGES: The person who would be Pope must speak at least 3 languages: Latin, Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and German are especially good for a potential Pope to know. -- http://wiki.answers.com/

Published: Feb. 9, 2013 at 4:16 PM


LONDON, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A 3-year-old British girl has been allowed to join Mensa, a society for people with high IQs, becoming the club's youngest member, officials said.

Alice Amos has an IQ of 162 -- higher than those of Albert Einstein and Steven Hawking, both of whom had IQs of 160, The Sun reported.

"It is clear that she has the capacity to do almost whatever she wants in life," said child expert Joan Freeman.

Alice achieved the high score in English, which is actually her second language, after Russian, which her parents speak in their home in Surrey, The Daily Star reported.

The 3-year-old girl is now one of 18 preschool members of Mensa and is in the top 1 percent of the population of the world.

Quote from: mg on February 13, 2013, 04:59:32 PM
ni inom ako bana, wa man epek. mu epekto ba na siya dayon or tumaron jud xa on a regular basis aron maka feel sa effect?

Hmm, way epek? Way ayo diay, nagkinahanglan tingali og lain pang mga pamaagi...

Basta allergy from bee sting na gani angay jud og professional medical attention...

Kahago ba i-maintain ning iroa...

Act of God? Lightning Strikes St. Peter's After Pope Announces Resignation
By Marc Lallanilla, Life's Little Mysteries Assistant Editor | LiveScience.com â€" 6 hrs ago


Monday's (Feb. 11) surprising announcement by Pope Benedict XVI that he was resigning from the papacy struck some observers like a bolt out of the blue.

And a few hours later, an actual bolt of lightning struck St. Peter's Basilica, the centerpiece of the Vatican and one of the holiest sites in Christendom, NBC News reported.

More at: http://news.yahoo.com/act-god-lightning-strikes-st-peters-pope-announces-022219522.html

He he...

Kon haas, ang apdo maoy most potent...

Agoi, basin allergic siyag bee sting...

Quote from: mg on February 13, 2013, 04:41:17 PM
dah...hagbay ray tumaray ako bana ani...kay mao lagi kuno sa dihang wa man. Tungod tingale kay gisagulag emperador?

Ok ra sagolan og emperador, oi. Pero basin gihurot pud ang usa ka botelya...

Quote from: mg on February 13, 2013, 04:20:27 PM
tinuod jud makapawala ni ug panuhot madz? dali ra man gud ko panuhuton...gasto kaayo sige pahilot gud unja usahay malimot kog pamanyos.

Sabagay, sigon sa anad. Kabuhion man kuno ang uban...

Quote from: Lollapalooza on February 13, 2013, 03:58:51 PM
wa pa gyud ko katilaw unsa lasa aning Ginseng... akong uncle sa una before he died, mao ni gina inom niya... ang ulo sa tuko gyud akong unang nakit-an

Hala, naa man diay tuod ulo sa tuko. Ang description nga akong nabasahan kay scorpion and cobra wine ra man. Hmm, naa man pud gani diay morag ginseng nga giapil...

Dia pay kapilian...

Agoi, sori Ms. Lolla. Inom na lang aning ginseng wine aron maulian ka...

Ni Brenda Batuto (Banat) | Updated February 13, 2013 - 12:00am


CEBU, Philippines - Patay ang usa ka lalaki human kini dunggaba sa iyang kainom og tuba nga drayber sa traysikad kagahapon sa hapon diha sa sitio Psalm Base, barangay Poblacion, dakbayan sa Talisay.

Ang biktima giila lang sa pangalan nga “Abay” taga, dakbayan sa Talisay ug giingong “manghingiay” sa maong dapit tungod sa usa ka dakung samad dinunggaban sa iyang buko-buko ug wala na kini makaabot nga buhi ngadto sa Talisay City District Hospital.

Ang suspetsado kinsa mitahan sa mga polis human sa hitabo mao si Luciano Tribunalo, 44, taga barangay Dumlog sa maong siyudad.

Sila si SPO1 Mikie Espina, PO1 Stephen Sefuesca ug PO1 Edwin Campomanes ang miresponde sa maong insidente ug mihatud sa biktima ngadto sa tambalanan.

Si Espina nga nahinabi sa Banat News mibutyag nga ang duha nag-inom kini diha sa lugar nga nahitaboan apan giingong gibugal-bugalan sa biktima ang suspetsado tungod kay gibiyaan kini sa iyang pamilya.

Matud pa nga bisan gibadlong na, wala mopatuo ang biktima hinungdan nga gidunggab kini sa suspek. (BANAT NEWS)

Hmm, quarter life crisis? Naa ba pud kahay three quarters life crisis?

 On Dec. 3, 1993 John Paul II recognized the state of Israel, a move that would not have been possible without a "nod" from Benedict, then the cardinal in charge of theology, according to Hier.

"When John Paul II broke with a 2000-year tradition of the church, that Jews would be eternally punished for their refusal to recognize Christ and it would therefore be impossible for the state of Israel to be born, he was in direct contravention to punishment," said Hier. "He had to get the nod from Ratzinger who was the major theologian and at the time in charge of Catholic doctrine."

"Ratzinger said that the score would be settled in the end of time," said Hier. "This was very important."

In his memoir, Benedict also dispelled traditional thinking that Jews were complicit in the death of Christ.

"That has the imprimatur of a pope," said Hier. "One hundred years from now, a pope who wrote a book on the subject will be an important achievement in Catholic-Jewish relations."

 But in 1998, Pope John Paul II apologized for some Catholic participation in the Holocaust, which set the stage for closer ties between the church and the Jewish community.

"Then Cardinal Ratzinger was one of the most warmly received elections in recent years from many in the Jewish community," he said. "He's such a known quantity to them. He has traveled extensively and is friends with many Jewish leaders around the world." . Benedict's legacy included two achievements "worthy of mention" that Jewish groups applauded and confirmed his standing as a friend, according to Hier of the Wiesenthal Center.

 After Ratzinger deserted the military, he hid to escape the Gestapo units which were "rounding up deserters and shooting or hanging them," he said. Fortunately, he was captured by the American forces and spent time in an internment camp in southern Germany.

"What is interesting is that this was his first experience dealing with Americans and he later wrote about that," said Bunson. "He found Americans very easy to get along with, very impressed with them and, in a way, it laid the groundwork for his high opinion of the United States."

Bunson noted that Catholic priests were also condemned to concentration camps and many worked to hide Jews.

 Ratzinger entered a preparatory seminary for the priesthood in 1939, but joined the Hitler Youth at the age of 14 when it became mandatory in 1941.

"He wrote about the disgust he had -- the exercises they had to go through and the expectation placed upon them," Bunson said of the Hitler Youth.

He and his fellow seminarians were drafted into the Nazi's anti-aircraft corps in 1943. A year later, he was drafted into the regular military, then was sent home. He was called up once more, but deserted in 1945, and was captured by U.S. soldiers and held for several months as a prisoner of war. He was only 18 when the war ended.

Young Ratzinger had already "heard the call of the priesthood," according to Bunson.

 For most of his papacy, Benedict has spoken little about his past.

During much of the Third Reich, he lived with his family in the small, Catholic town of Traunstein, Germany, not far from the part of Austria where Hitler was born.

"So much of that colored almost every aspect of his life," said Bunson. "He grew up within the sound of church bells in the valleys. He went to mass on Sundays. His entire family life was Catholic and he spoke of the beauty of the church liturgies and the mass."

His father, who was in local government service, resisted the Nazis and, as a result, the Ratzingers kept a "low profile," according to Bunson, who has plans to write another biography when Benedict's successor is known. No one in the family ever joined the Nazi party.

"He understood very quickly that he was asked to do things he could not in his conscience do," he said. "They had to move because of pressure to conform to the Nazi party and the whole ideology of the period. That, combined with his own Catholic experience, made him very opposed to the ideology of the Nazis."

 Surprising Facts About Pope Benedict XVI

In 2007, Jewish leaders criticized Benedict for lifting restrictions on the old form of Latin mass, which included prayers for Jews to "be delivered from their darkness" and converted to Catholicism.

According to press reports at the time, Benedict said he had decided to allow celebration of the traditional mass if a "stable group of faithful" requested it. The more liberal Second Vatican Council had allowed mass to be performed in vernacular languages in the 1960s.

Matthew Bunson, editor of The Catholic Almanac and Catholic Answer magazine and author of the first English-language biography on Benedict, "We Have a Pope! Benedict XVI," said the pope had been a "source of controversy and investigation and initially made the world Jewish community uncomfortable."

"But today Jewish leaders have a solidified and strong relationship with the head of the Catholic Church," he said.

 Both Pope John Paul II and Benedict pushed for Pius to gain sainthood. In 2009, as Pius moved toward beatification, the Vatican issued a statement that the church was looking at his "Christian life" as a whole and not "the historical impact of all his operative decisions," according to The New York Times.

Moving Pius toward sainthood "is in no way to be read as a hostile act towards the Jewish people, and it is to be hoped that it will not be considered as an obstacle on the path of dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church," wrote the Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman.

"Pope Pius XII didn't care much about Jews. He was the pope of silence," said Hier.

"They say [Pius] looked at Hitler as a mad man, and if he had opposed him publicly, it would have destroyed the Catholic Church. It was against everything the Christian Church stands for," said Hier.

"In Auschwitz, ten to fifteen thousand people were gassed every day," he said. "Priests and local parishes knew what was happening and the bishops reported to the Vatican."

The Vatican has always denied that Pius ignored the plight of the Jews and Benedict said the Pius worked "secretly and silently" to help Jews.

 Pope Benedict XVI Resigns, First in Six Centuries

The Wiesenthal Center launched an investigation into Benedict's role in the Third Reich only to discover the Ratzingers came from a family of anti-Nazis, with no hint of antisemitism.

"The fact that he was in the Hitler youth -- if you were a young child during the Third Reich and you didn't go, you'd be condemned," said Hier. "He didn't volunteer. That's not a blemish. We've done a bunch of research, and that should be very clear."

But the role of the Catholic Church and most particularly the silence of Pope Pius XII, who served from 1939 to 1958, as millions went off to the gas chambers has dogged Benedict, despite being viewed as a friend by those who are Jewish.

By SUSAN DONALDSON JAMES | ABC News â€" 5 hrs ago





When Benedict XVI ascended to the papacy after the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, world Jewish leaders were nervous about the new German-born pope.

Joseph Ratzinger had joined the Hitler youth as a 14-year-old and went on to serve in the German military, as six million Jews were sent off to the death camps. Though Benedict was eventually exonerated and even embraced by Jews -- he called the Holocaust a "dark time" in his life -- his German past continued to haunt him.

"When he was elected pope a lot of alarm bells went off in the Jewish community," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, who had a one-hour private audience with Benedict when he became pope. "First, it was about the Nazi aspect."