MikeLigalig.com

Quote from: ms da binsi on November 27, 2007, 03:52:16 PM



Yup Dodong!!

kana laging mamiga, mangarte gyud, ingon si Tita Ethyl nimo Hookers Shoes man kuno ni...

Lethal weapon sad ni sha...ma tetanus gyud ang mapatiran ani...

hahhahahhahhaahha

HAHAHAHAHahahahahahahahahha! mao jud mao jud!
You guys crack me up!

ug taas imung uric acid, take medications to reduce hyperuricemia; drink alot of fluids to dilute and flush away uric acid pood. The xanthine oxidase inhibitor allopurinol has been a milestone in the prevention of acute uric acid nephropathy. It blocks the conversion of hypoxanthine and xanthine to uric acid, resulting in both a reduction in serum uric acid concentration and urinary excretion of urates.

hahahahahaha! kaw uy!

hahaha mao ba. pero Hazel wont have it posted in her thread kai dili man vegetarian-based!
She's a meat hater, yo!

hahaha jp jp!
Lami bitaw nang sinigang no? good with rice.

holy shoot! and you were able to walk in those, 'te?

sinigang bangus

lami!

hahaha kuyawa pood na, 'te! You have a whole system diay?
Whoa! yo!

Sexy..

haha naa na pood ning 'love team' da! hahaha! Wa lagi yamo, uy. I have completely put aside any future plans of getting into any relationship anytime soon.

'Te, how is your puppy?? hahaha cute ~

Quote from: ben on November 27, 2007, 03:08:37 PM
Thanks for the information Lorenzo.
It does sound like they were analogous to the Vikings.  Not the nicest people to meet if you lived in their times, but interesting for us to read about today.

Snippet from the ebook:what the hell is that plant?  I'd better be careful in the garden!

Ben, did you know that the ancient Bol-anons used to pierce their penis's? It was a form of male machismo, they would take a small bamboo pipe and pierce the penis vis-a-vis a longitudinal cut and the bamboo pipe would be placed in the opening; and retain presence. This was one thing that was observed by Legaspi when he arrived in Bohol. After the entire region was subdued and placed under Spanish ecclesiastical authority, this form of branding and piercing was outlawed outright.

Read more about it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Genital-penis-Piercing-Body-sexual-art-Ampalang-Borneo_W0QQitemZ330191481491QQihZ014QQcategoryZ33916QQcmdZViewItem

http://www.experiencefestival.com/tagalog

You are more than welcome, Ben. Glad that you are interested in Filipino history, it is a very interesting history, one that is filled with discourse. Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards, the Philippine Archipelago was composed of multiple kingdoms or Rajanates which was ruled by a local Raja (King) and beneath him was the dimunitive Datu-Datu who's role is similar to that of the English Baron, or Noble Lord. The titles were hereditary. And these multiple rajanates and sultanates warred with one another, for the prize of ownership of rice land, sea ports, trade, and slave trade.

It was the Spaniards who forcefully conquored the whole archipelago and forced the whole population to assimilate. The reason why the Warai-Warai have retain this stereotype of being 'war-like' is because multiple rebellions in the Leyte-Samar hinterland took place during Colonial days. 'Hot blooded'. Perhaps there is some truth to the old stereotype. Perhaps there isn't. Who knows.

One thing is for sure. It generates interest in the Warai.

Ate 'thyl! I missed you!!
***BIG HUG****

Pare!! I am so excited for you! Take pictures pood ha? Yes, definitely we need to do an EB sometime this summer--i will be back for over a month and a half this summer pohon.
So are you going back yourself, pare? Or are you bringing your entire family as well?

Remember ha! Give my bear hugs to your Mama!!!
Give her my warm regards~

Mike, my dear brother,

Pare, i cannot even begin to imagine the pain that you are experiencing, your own Papa. What a great man he must have been in life!! To have raised such a noble, intelligent, humble, and caring son! Mike, I know that a loss of a loved one is hard to bear, specially when that person is your own father. If I could hug you right now, pare, I would.

Though our loved ones, and friends that have gone before us, though we will never see them physically again, Mike, we must comfort ourselves that something and somepart of them lives in us, in our heart. Forever. Till the day we draw our last breath. Mike, I feel the same way with my friend Rob. Though I cannot pat him on the back, give him a bear hug as I used to or share a can of beer as we talk in our conversations---i can still feel him. As I know you can still feel your papa. I can still hear his voice resounding in my head, his laughter and the memories where we used to go from one frat house to the other---following the scent of the beer keg!! I can still remember helping him walk back home to our dorm  as he was extremely drunk. Hahahaha, Rob never had the ability to carry his own liquor! And he was Irish! that is the funny part! I would have to help carry him back to our place---and may i remind you that i was drunk myself--soo it was almost an impossible task. "Leave me Al" he would say. And I ushered, "Never. Get Up. C'mon lets walk it off together." Hahaha! I picked him up and we both walked back to our dorm----which was like 3-4 blocks away from the site where we were walking from. I cannot forget that. I will never forget that. How Can I? These are the things, Mike, that we must remember. The good times, as well as the trying times---that builds and defines a friendship, fatherhood, motherhood, childhood etc.
Your father lives in you, Mike. And I know that he is proud of you. You are his Anak. How can Your Papa forget his son? Your father is in Heaven. He is with the angels and saints, singing the un-ending hymn of praise to the Most High. The Lord is a God of Mercy, Love, and Compassion. Remember that, pre.

Blessed are you pare, for your tears will one day be dried.
Your Papa is smiling down from Heaven to you, pare. Be strong, Mike. And keep on writing your thoughts.

Always,
Bran

Luuy pood ang bata, cute kaayo ra ba.

Bless you ate Ging. Wa jud ko naka forget sa last week when na hilak jud ko..when so much tears fell from my eyes, when i felt nothing but absolute emptiness. When i did not call my faith---as darkness and despair covered me. To have lost my only best friend. So much memories and so much laughter made. Gone. No more. Lost. I did not forget what you said to me, and your prayer for Rob. Wa ko ning show nimo, pero, thank you kaayo, Ate Ging. You showed me your faith---and i turned to my faith---helpful jud na, Ate, in the grieving process. Otherwise, i dont know what i would have done. All I can do, Ate, is to help you and comfort you in your time of need. I understand what you and your family, specially your Tita is going through right now. In fact, i really dont know--because--your Tita must be taking this hard right now. For a mother to hear that her own child tried to or did harm himself/herself. To have brought that life into the world...through 9 months and give labor--di jud ko maka imagine ana.

Samuel will be safe. I have faith in him, the fact that it was an attempted suicide bears witness that the Lord was there to save Samuel from doing the unthinkable. Ate, times like this there is no rhythm or rhyme than can answer why what stopped them. Perhaps it was their own guilt, perhaps it was family, one must not forget to remember that our Lord works in mysterious ways. It was not Samuel's time to leave this world. And blessed is he to have such loving, beautiful, and caring family members as yourself who care enough for him. We must be strong, Tam Tam has to be strong and keep his chin up.

This woman, does not deserve his love if she was already considering another man aside from Samuel. That is already a sign for Samuel to give up on her; once the trust is broken--there is no chance for remedy. How can there be a relationship if there is no trust diba? The worst kind of spouse is an unfaithful spouse, one who acts like they are sweat cherry, but in all actually, are nothing but rotten and   fungal ridden prunes. A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing. He must be strong and fight his own battles, and know that these kinds of challenges should be met with a hard and well fought fight. Ayaw pa surrender when the bombs start to fall.

I have a deep feeling that Samuel is alright. Something in me tells me that he will be fine. 

Pare!! Are you leaving this Saturday??

I promise, and I swear it.

Pare, wow, you are a poet.
The Binisaya is soo deep! I had to ask my mom on the phone to translate some of the words, hahaahhaha, she was laughing so hard asking who wrote it. LOL!

I had difficulty trying to hear what she was saying because she was laughing most of the time.

Awww..im sorry, ate.
Did you see any good sales today?

Actually im almost finished on a paper~~been on TB to relax and unwind. hahaha. TB does the job.
Kaw? Did you just get home???

And I salute all the Pinay and Pinoy pharmacists, 'te.

Kummusta naman ka 'te? I hope your day went well!

hahaha kaluuy pood pre. Ah dont worry about pre, kai mo balik man ka sa bohol soon diba? hahaha!
Keep safe dinha pre!

Good talking to you, bro.

Ate Ging,

I dont know if you're catholic, but this prayer is usually one that helps in troubling times; especially for those who are in need (physical and spiritual).

In the Name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen.

Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies,
Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in "our battle against principalities and
powers,
against the rulers of this world of darkness,
against the spirits of wickedness in the high places"
[Eph., 6:12].

Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His
likeness
and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny
of the devil.
The Holy Church venerates you as her guardian and
protector;
to you, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed
to be led into heaven.
Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our
feet,
that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to
the Church.
Offer our prayers to the Most High,
that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us;
take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the
devil and Satan,"
bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit
"that he may no longer seduce the nations." [Rev. 20:2-3]

In the Name of Jesus Christ,
our God and Lord,
strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin
Mary,
Mother of God,
of Blessed Michael the Archangel,
of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints.
and powerful in the holy authority of our ministry,
we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and
deceits of the devil.
God arises;
His enemies are scattered
and those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
so are they driven;
as wax melts before the fire,
so the wicked perish at the presence of God.

V. Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee bands of enemies.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Juda, the offspring of David,
hath conquered.

V. May Thy mercy, Lord, descend upon us.
R. As great as our hope in Thee.

We drive you from us,
whoever you may be,
unclean spirits,
all satanic powers,
all infernal invaders,
all wicked legions,
assemblies and sects.

In the Name and by the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ, + may you be snatched away and driven from the Church of God and from the souls made to the image and likeness of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Divine Lamb.

+ Most cunning serpent, you shall no more dare to deceive the human race, persecute the Church, torment God's elect and sift them as wheat.

+ The Most High God commands you, + He with whom, in your great insolence, you still claim to be equal.

"God who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." [1 Tim. 2:4)

God the Father commands you. + God the Son commands you. + God the Holy Ghost commands you.

+ Christ, God's Word made flesh, commands you; + He who to save our race outdone through your envy, "humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death" [Phil. 2:; He who has built His Church on the firm rock and declared that the gates of hell shall not prevail against Her, because He will dwell with Her "all days even to the end of the world." [Mt. 28:20]

The sacred Sign of the Cross commands you, + as does also the power of the mysteries of the Christian Faith.

+ The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands you; + she who by her humility and from the first moment of her Immaculate Conception crushed your proud head.

The faith of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the other Apostles commands you.

+ The blood of the Martyrs and the pious intercession of all the Saints command you. +

Thus, cursed dragon, and you, diabolical legions, we adjure you by the living God, + by the true God, + by the holy God, + by the God "who so loved the world that He gave up His only Son, that every soul believing in Him might not perish but have life everlasting;" [St.Jn. 3:16] stop deceiving human creatures and pouring out to them the poison of eternal damnation; stop harming the Church and hindering her liberty.

Begone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of man's salvation.

Give place to Christ in Whom you have found none of your works; give place to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church acquired by Christ at the price of His Blood.

Stoop beneath the all-powerful Hand of God; tremble and flee when we invoke the Holy and terrible Name of Jesus, this Name which causes hell to tremble, this Name to which the Virtues, Powers and Dominations of heaven are humbly submissive, this Name which the Cherubim and Seraphim praise unceasingly repeating: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, the God of Hosts.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

V. May the Lord be with thee.
R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray.

God of heaven,
God of earth,
God of Angels,
God of Archangels,
God of Patriarchs,
God of Prophets,
God of Apostles,
God of Martyrs,
God of Confessors,
God of Virgins,
God who has power to give life after death and rest after
work:
because there is no other God than Thee and there can be
no other,
for Thou art the Creator of all things,
visible and invisible,
of Whose reign there shall be no end,
we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy glorious Majesty
and we beseech Thee to deliver us by Thy power
from all the tyranny of the infernal spirits,
from their snares,
their lies and their furious wickedness.

Deign, O Lord,
to grant us Thy powerful protection
and to keep us safe and sound.
We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

V. From the snares of the devil,
R. Deliver us, O Lord.
V. That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty:
R. We beseech Thee to hear us.
V. That Thou may crush down all enemies of Thy Church:
R. We beseech Thee to hear us.

Omg, i just realized that i need to finish christmas shopping soon.
Have you guys started, yet?

hehe, religious man jud ko, Ate Belle.

It is my faith that has always been there for me--through thick or thin.
Everything I am, all the things that I have achieved, would be nothing if I did not have my faith to help me go on. I've thought about the priesthood, actually. But that is too much, for me. That is Total sacrifice. Body and soul. I am too weak of a man to do that---

Perhaps there are other greater men who can fill in for me and to answer the call of the priesthood.

Hahaha..so how do we men charm Boholana single ladies?
What are the quirks about the famed and hard-to-get Boholana?

Unsa man ang courting etiquette bi?

Pre, take it easy over there and stay safe. OK?
Agree jud ko sa gi sulti nimo, pre. "No Other Place Like Home."
Wherever there family is, pre, that is where home is.

Pila edad nimo, pre?

Buanga pood tong bajiha--unsa man diay gi ingoon niya ni Sam? Ug destructive pood ang bah bah sa kadtong bajiha---its best that Samuel just ends the relationship kai---in all reality--it is not worth it. There are many fishes in the sea. You have to fish for the right fish; sometimes it will take a while to find the big fish---don't fall for the quick and meatless little fishies.

Ingna si Samuel that I said that.
I feel for him. I've been that road before, the loss of breaking up with a loved one, but one has to get over it. It is the scars that we have and the cuts that we have that tells our life story. Our character.
So what if you get cut, you will heal from it.

Quote from: grazie7y on November 27, 2007, 12:50:45 PM
Thank you so much, Dong Enzo!  You are a gentle giant of an angel!  I will send this message to my aunt.  I know she will appreciate people like you praying for her son.  This was her earlier message to me:

Auntie Vicky: (November 26, 2007 20:13:11)
Day, ga pray mi to God i-guard iya mind and take Samuel's hand so that the enemy nor its instruments cannot harm him.

Ate, im crying as I read your aunt's message. Please know that your cousin is in our thoughts.
God bless you and your family in your time of need~~

Quote from: adtin2000 on November 27, 2007, 12:35:05 PM
bay Lorenzo pirteng tugnawa diri...lami di ibakod  ug  buntag lami  ibukot,sus pwede palang  mag absent ,bisan pag imnam ug  vodka mao man gihapon baby,di man pareho sa bohol bay  sayo sa buntag naa nako sa among eskina sa waiting shed maglantawlantaw  kung  kinsa ang manglabay ug mag atang ug sakyanan sa mga studyante..

Unsaon man na pre, mao man jud na sa atong buhay. Mo settle down, mo adapt nalang ta kai ug dili ta mo adapt, ma 'freeze' ta. diba? Aha man diay ka karoon pre?
Mao bitaw, na tugnaw na jud.

Samuel. A very beautiful and abrahamic name. Like the prophet of God.
Samuel is young, filled with emotions, and coped with stress in finding a job as well as his current girlfriend. Things like this, Ate, situations like this is perfect for the devil to get into our heads and tempt us to make mistakes that we will regret in life or in death. I pray that your little cousin Samuel can find it in his heart to rise from the ashes of such an event--and move on. There is another day, another morning to somber his moments or to fill it with happiness. I will keep Samuel in my prayers.

O Lord God, loving father who so loved the world that you sent your only son to be satisfaction of our sins. Lord, please keep your grace on our friend, Samuel, Lord please fill him with the Holy Spirit, with love and with compassion to live another day, to be strong enough to carry his own cross that we all bear in our lives. Lord, please instill in him a renewed love for his family, his friends, and love for you. For life is a precious gift that you gave to us; If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me become night,”even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light to you.For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!I try to count themâ€"they are more than the sand; I come to the endâ€"I am still with you. Lord please be with our friend Samuel, strengthen him, Lord God, and keep him with the rest of your flock. Lead away the devil's wolves away from him. This we pray In Your Most Holy Name. Through Our LORD, Jesus Christ. For the Kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours. Amen.

Sweet!

So what do you do for a living, Scott? A photographer, I assume?

Ah but its best to be established first before one breeds.
That is the answer

Oranges. I'm addicted to citrus fruit

Quote from: si makapuling on November 27, 2007, 10:39:48 AM


oniculz, saon ta nalang, the smile man, the smile!!!!!

Mao lagi. Seriouso ra kaayo, pero im very jokester with close friends.
Why? You think i need to smile more often?

hala ka! ayaw pa laugh laugh too hard kai maka headache raba na!
Ngano ning katawa man ka, Ms. S?

Btw, what is your name? we met before didnt we?

Ate, my prayers are with you. I will keep your cousin in my prayers---please please please tell him not to do something rash and grave. He recently graduated college---there is time to find a job; God will provide for him. Please tell him to keep on fighting. No relationship, man or woman is worth committing suicide over. It is not fair for his family, for you, for himself and for all his friends.

I'll keep you in my thoughts, 'te, as well as your cousin. God GRANT him strength and a stern direction; towards the path of Christ Jesus, and away from the lies and temptations of the devil.

Kummusta man ka pareng adtin, unsay balita dinha?

Crazy diay ka Ms. S?

I would have never thought so with your smile.

Trying my best, 'te. Rob's funeral was this weekend---it was a private funeral, but it was beautiful. Mrs. Matson, Mr. Matson, Sam and Damo where there with the rest of his family; Allison was there too (Rob's girlfriend). It was beautiful and solemn. The college will have a program for him this Thursday---we'll all be there. Thanks 'te for your prayers and your concern, ha. It really really means alot to me and our friends. And I'm sure Robbo would have appreciated it (and i know he's probably looking down and smiling reading this)--because he had a strong love for the Philippines. He was a history major--and he was an avid reader on the Philippine-American War, Philippine Revolution and the Rebellion against the Japanese in WWII. He would've smiled to have known that there are Filipinos he never met before that were praying and thinking about him.

I'll send your prayers and your regards to the Matson Family and to my friends, 'te.

Lets smile now. Okay?

Hahaha I like that. "Global Bol-Anon"

I like its international flare.

Are you up for it, dude?

Not bad, Ate Ging. Feeling a lot better. Life goes on jud.

hahaha bitaw no? kaluuy pood sa lalake, ning beg2x na jud. Sounds like me
JOKE.

Walang anuman, 'te.
You have a beautiful smile.

Is there ever going to be an EB Summer 2008 (July/August)? Because i will be going back. The areas that I will be visiting is not limited to Bohol, i will also be visiting my ancestral home of Pintuyan, Island (Leyte), Borgos, Surigao, CDO, Cebu and possibly Manila/Makati if time allows. Anyone planning to be back in that time? We should all meet up at a 4 star restaurant. My treat.

It is even argued to this day by historians and anthropologists that Raja Lapu Lapu was Warai-Warai himself as the areas of Eastern Cebu (including Mactan) were heavily colonized by the Warai Warai (a powerful and seafaring people). And it was the Warai-Warai of Mactan who slayed the famous Conquistadore, Don Fernando de Magellan (Ferdinand Magellan) in 1521.

Quote from: ben on November 27, 2007, 09:40:04 AM
The Warai were the famously warlike tribe of pre-spanish times, correct?  A friend of ours from Leyte could be described as warlike - a very strong woman!  Perhaps it's inherited

I'd love to read the history about that era - the stories of the different peoples of the Philippines.  Saw some stuff on Wikipedia, but here's very little detail.  Apparently the people of Bohol were fond of tattoos.
Can anyone recommend a good book about it? 

Yes. The Warai-warai people of samar, leyte and pintuyan island were masters of the sea, Ben, many of whom became pirates who attacked and raided coastal villages of present day Bohol, Bool, Cebu, the Luzon coasts and Mindanao. They utilized a form of indentured servitude to those who they captured in their raids and forced them in agricultural slavery even in forming ranks of their war parties. The warai-warai people hold similar semblance to the Vikings of Northern Europe. Warai-warai tend to have larger bone structure as well; take myself for instance--as I have warai blood in me, my physical phenotype is that of a large boned and framed man--same as my father and his side of the family (who hail from Leyte and Samar--where the blood of the Warai is strong). Compared to my mother's side--who is of Boholano and Chinese ancestry--are much smaller in stature.

Prior to Spanish times, the people of the Visayas feared the Warai; the Lords of the Seas.

If you're interested in Boholano history and the tattooing phenomena, which is typical for most Malay-Polynesiac societies, check these out:

http://www.questia.com/library/history/philippine-history.jsp

http://www.fullbooks.com/History-of-the-Philippine-Islands-Vols-1-and5.html

http://tattoos.com/jane/steve/giolo.htm

++++++

Some pictures of the old tattoo styles of Boholanos:

hahaha mao ba? dont you play with your bana? just use pennies lang, thats what i use when i play mahjong

**written by Allison B.**


...Steal my heart and hold my tongue
I feel my time my time has come
Let me in unlock the door
I never felt this way before

And the wheels just keep on turning
The drummer begins to drum
I don't know which way I'm going
I don't know which way I've come

Hold my head inside your hands
I need someone who understands
I need someone someone who hears
For you I've waited all these years

For you I'd wait 'Til Kingdom Come
Until my day my day is done
and say you'll come and set me free
just say you'll wait you'll wait for me...

Quote from: ms da binsi on November 27, 2007, 09:15:44 AM
hahahahahha
sus Tiya di man gyud ko mosugal...

mahjong noon tag 25 cents kada supo ok ra...

haha you play mahjong diay, 'te? I actually played my first game this past week with my uncle--that game is pretty addictive. I just love shouting "Pong" hahaha or "mahjong". My uncle is really into that game tho--he got aggressive late in the game.

God bless his soul. May justice be found for him, and my condolences to his bereaved family.

To the Great Rizal


The pulse beats ten and intermits;
God nerve the soul that ne'er forgets
In calm or storm, by night or day,
Its steady toil, its loyalty.
[. . . ]

[. . . ]
The pulse beats ten and intermits;
God shield the soul that ne'er forgets.
[. . . ]

[. . . ]
The pulse beats ten and intermits;
God guide the soul that ne'er forgets.
[. . . ]

[. . . ] so tired, so weary,
The soft head bows, the sweet eyes close,
The faithful heart yields to repose.

by Edgar Allan Poe

Share with us the most memorable moments you've had with your friends. The good. The bad. Everything, if you so choose to. Friends are an extension of our identity---learning and knowing your friends is a way of knowing one's self.

Enjoy and let us Tubag!

Amber

by Three Eleven (311)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yy1twy2p_8w

Brainstorm, take me away from the norm
I got to tell you something
This phenomenon, I had to put it in a song
And it goes like

Chorus:
Whoa, amber is the color of your energy
Whoa, shades of gold displayed naturally

You ought to know what brings me here
You glide through my head blind to fear
And I know why

(Chorus 2x)

You live too far away
Your voice rings like a bell anyway
Don't give up your independence
Unless it feels so right
Nothing good comes easily
Sometimes you gotta fight

(Chorus)

Launched a thousand ships in my heart
So easy, still it's fine from afar
And you know that
Whoa, brainstorm take me away from the norm
Whoa, I got to tell you something

Eric Clapton's Classic "Wonderful Tonight"

It's late in the evening; she's wondering what clothes to wear.
She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me, "Do I look all right?"
And I say, "Yes, you look wonderful tonight."

We go to a party and everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady that's walking around with me.
And then she asks me, "Do you feel all right?"
And I say, "Yes, I feel wonderful tonight."

I feel wonderful because I see
The love light in your eyes.
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don't realize how much I love you.

It's time to go home now and I've got an aching head,
So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.
And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,
I say, "My darling, you were wonderful tonight.
Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight."

For Emily Whenever I May Find Her

by Simon and Garfunkel

http://youtube.com/watch?v=e3OWVLG1C5c

Warai-Warai woman in pose.


Natural beauty 

hahahaha ^^
Maybe you or Ben can start a 'Learning Nihongo/Japanese thread' or something.
That would be nice, eh?

Mata ashita!

hahaha Yoroshiku onegaishimasu! Hai, wakarimasu Nihongo. Hai, sukoshi hanashimasu Nihongo.

gomen nasai..for my limited nihongo...shitsurrei shimasu...

Quote from: Ginger on November 27, 2007, 05:50:29 AM
Bella, Man attacked BY Babies gyud.

Waray-Waray beauty jud. Cute, 'te!

Interesting

Doitashimashite, Orchids-senpai

^^

my avatar is a group picture of my friends and I; taken last month.

willmerit, cute portrait. You guys look adorable together

Ms. Orchids, you have a lovely family. Anata wa lucky desu.

Everyone comes from very loving and splendid parents, and I feel at home with you all.

What I admire most about my father is his ability to cope with problems, his tenacity in conquering problems with the family, his dedication to family, his fatherly charisma that garners love even from those who are not part of the family. His ability to adapt and provide for the family; originally he graduated from CIT as a Civil Engineer and worked in Saudi Arabia for over 10 years to provide for the family. After we immigrated to the US, he took the initiative to go back to college and graduated as a R.N (Registered Nurse) to help my mother in providing for the children and for the family back home. Not once has my father complained about the things he does, the work he provides in the O.R (operating room)--there is no time for thinking for him. Providing, and being the pillar of our family is second nature for my father, who so raised all of us from infancy to now. He is my Father. He has always motivated myself and my siblings to reach higher--and has molded us to be aggressive, competitive, and academically-motivated students in school. He will always say to us "If I can do it, anak, so can you. Never ever doubt your abilities." Hard work, dedication to family, personal growth; all of which I have learned through observing my father.

My mother is one who shows love, tenderness and emotionally supports all of us. She will always be my 'Mommy' because I can still remember being a child and she carrying my sister and I on her arms. My mom is the spiritual force in my family, and one who has cultured our faith in God and trust in HIM. My mom, as a strong and determined I.C.U Nurse is one who has introduced me to all kinds of physicians, who ive shadowed and cultivated my interest in pursuing a medical career. She embodies the true medical professional; hard work, spiritual, highly intelligent, nurturing in body and soul, as well as rigid and strict in the work place. She's highly proficient in separating the hospital work room and her patients from family and friends. She works 12-16 hour days; cares for cancer patients, trauma patients; and has seen countless of patients die in her hands. Yet she is able to retain her strong faith, compassion for those who need her, and cope with stress of the work place and caring for 4 children (2 of which are in college) and her family back in the Philippines at the same time. How she does it, i do not know how. But she does. That is what I idolize and truly admire about my Mom.

Here is another senior portrait. Stoic.

bitaw. we missed you Happy!
Mingaw mi nimo!

Quote from: Happy on November 27, 2007, 05:36:08 AM
I will try to translate this news, as best as I can..
I just pick the paragraph which I think is important.

A 25 year old woman was killed by a traffic accident at Hornbaekvej, Kvistgaard i North Zealand, DK.

A 25-year old Filipina au pair girl, who work and live in one of the family in Kvistgaard, was talking with her friends beside the road . They were sitting inside the car that was parked in tthe right side of the road. After they were talking, she walked in front of the parked car and wanted to cross the road, but there was a car coming from the left side and wanted to pass the parked car. We think that the woman didn't look on the raod properly before she crossed. In this case, we cannot blame the driver for the accident.

Ladies and gentlemen, heres the link, makita ang sakyanan.
http://ekstrabladet.dk/112/article363396.ece

God Bless. My condolences to their family.

Hilarious.


http://youtube.com/watch?v=GHMfI_RRriQ

Science's progress is undaunted; manifested in the brilliance of the human mind and our will to uncover the meaning of the genetic codets. The Glory of God is made true this year as scientists have found out a way to alter the characteristics of adult skin cells to act like embryonic stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are chameleon-like and were harvested by geneticists and neurobiologists as a way to uncover new techniques and cures to repair dead organ tissues, nerves etc in the body (brain tissue, heart tissue, liver tissue, kidney, prostate, stomach, muscle tissue, skin tissue etc). However, such processes were met with stiff resistance by moralists, ethicists and the religious right--seeing the immorality of cloning embryos and then killing them for access of those embryonic stem cells, which are 'pure' unadulterated cells that can act as any kind of cell if placed in any organism.

With this break through, which is lauded by the religious right, moralists, ethicists and scientists, we, as the human race, have surmounted over a huge obstacle in finding cures for diseases as well as respected our cultural norms and practices. Amazed. The human mind can surmount over anything.


Read the whole story:
+++++++++

Stem Cell Breakthrough



Scientists have for the first time grown colonies of prized human embryonic stem cells using a technique that does not require the destruction of embryos, an advance that could significantly reshape the ethical and political debates that have long entangled the research.

The new work, described in today's issue of the journal Nature, shows that even a single cell plucked from an early human embryo can be coaxed to divide repeatedly in a laboratory dish and grow into a colony of stem cells, coveted for their potential to mend failing organs.

It is already common for fertility doctors to remove a single cell from a days-old embryo before transferring that embryo into a woman's womb -- part of a test to screen out embryos bearing genetic defects. Although the safety of the cell-removal process is still under study, there is no evidence that the procedure puts embryos at significant risk or that babies born from such "biopsied" embryos are abnormal in any way.

If scientists were to grow stem cell colonies from some of the single cells already being removed for genetic testing, scientists said, they could vastly increase the number of colonies for research without putting any embryos at added risk. Until now, researchers have isolated stem cells only from older embryos, which are inevitably destroyed in the process.

"I hope this will solve the political impasse and allow scientists to move on," said Robert Lanza, who led the research at Advanced Cell Technology (ACT) in Worcester, Mass.

Several experts said they, too, hope that Congress and President Bush will accept the approach as worthy of funding with taxpayer money, a source of support off-limits to research that harms embryos.

"You can honestly say this cell line is from an embryo that was in no way harmed or destroyed," said Ronald M. Green, director of Dartmouth College's Ethics Institute and chief of an ethics panel that ACT convened to assess the experiment before it was done.

But early reactions from others suggest it will not be that simple. Bush offered little encouragement yesterday and, if anything, raised the bar higher, suggesting he would not be comfortable unless embryos were not involved at all.

"Any use of human embryos for research purposes raises serious ethical concerns," said a statement released by the White House. ". . . The President is hopeful that with time scientists can find ways of deriving cells like those now derived from human embryos but without the need for using embryos."

Lanza and his team started eight months ago with 16 embryos donated by fertility clinic patients. Each embryo consisted of about eight cells. The researchers took not just one cell from each, but as many as they could get -- destroying some of the embryos and ending up with 91 cells.

Kept in their own dishes with special nutrients, 53 of the cells began to divide and two formed robust colonies of what appear to be, by all tests, embryonic stem cells. ACT scientists have since turned some of the cells into blood vessels, retinal (eye) cells and other potentially useful tissues.

The process is inefficient, Lanza acknowledged -- and would probably be even more so if researchers were limited to taking just one cell per embryo. Moreover, the colonies were grown in mixtures containing animal ingredients, which can leave human stem cells too contaminated for use in medical therapies. The team is now developing non-animal nutrients.

But some experts raised more daunting concerns. Several questioned whether using an embryo's single biopsied cell for stem cell cultivation before doing the genetic testing -- a kind of testing that always destroys the cell, so it cannot be done first -- might put that cell at risk of dying before the crucial gene test is done.

Others expressed concern that the single cell removed from an eight-cell embryo might, under certain conditions, itself be capable of becoming an embryo and eventually a baby. If so, the destruction of the cell might violate the president's insistence that scientists not take what some consider a life to save a life.

Experiments have shown that some mammals can develop from a single cell taken from a four-cell embryo. But several scientists yesterday said no mammal has ever been grown from a single cell taken from an eight-cell embryo -- a more advanced stage of development in which each cell has already become somewhat specialized.

Richard Doerflinger of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said he is concerned that such a feat may nonetheless be possible. The new work, he said, "raises more ethical questions than it answers."

James F. Battey, chief of the stem cells task force at the National Institutes of Health, said that if a scientist were to apply for grant money to conduct studies like Lanza's, the agency would ask for a legal opinion from the general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services.

Two issues would have to be considered. The first is whether the work would violate a 10-year-old rider on HHS appropriations that precludes the use of agency funding for research "in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed, discarded or knowingly subjected to risk of injury or death."

Battey asked: "Where is the bar going to be set? I really don't know, but it's not a scientific call. It's a legal call."

The second question is whether the work violates Bush's ban on federal funding of research on any embryonic stem cells created after Aug. 9, 2001 -- a ban based on the presumption, true at the time, that all such research would require the destruction of embryos.

"Here it's a different derivation process, so it's unclear to me where the president's policy stands," Battey said.

John Gearhart, a stem cell researcher at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, said he was hopeful that Lanza's approach would prove fruitful. But he was frustrated, he said, by the fact that Bush's order and the congressional appropriations rider continue to keep federal researchers from a more immediately promising resource: embryos slated for destruction at fertility clinics.

"You have to remember that all this talk of protecting embryos is being done against the background of the routine throwing away of embryos" at clinics, Gearhart said.

Last month, Bush vetoed legislation that would have allowed federally funded scientists to study discarded embryos.


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/23/AR2006082300936.html

Congratulations on a job well done!

Mercy

by One Republic

http://youtube.com/watch?v=RwnEMYWpeuY

Angel of Mercy
How did you find me?
Where did you read my story?
Pulled from the papers
Desperate and hardened
seeking a moment every fix

All I wanted to say
All I wanted to do
Is fall apart now
All I wanted to feel
I wanted to love
Its all my fault now
A Tradegy I fear

Angel of Mercy
How did you find me?
How did you pick me up again?
Angel of Mercy
How did you move me?
Why am I on my feet again?
And I see you

Whoa Whoa Whoa
I feel you
Whoa Whoa Whoa

Before just the daylight
Come and i stand by
Waiting to catch the quickest plane
Flying to nowhere
Is better than somewhere
That's where i've been and nothing's changed

All I wanted to say
All I wanted to do
Is fall apart now
All I wanted to feel
I wanted to love
Its all my fault now
A Tragedy for sure

Angel of Mercy
How did you find me?
How did you pick me up again?
Angel of Mercy
How did you move me?
Why am I on my feet again?
And I see you

Whoa
I feel you
Whoa

Im so lost in you
A tredgy seemed to be over now
A tradegy it seemed to be

Angel of Mercy
How did you find me?
How did you pick me up again?
Angel of Mercy
How did you move me?
Why am I on my feet again?
And I see you

whoa
I feel you
Whoa
I feel you
Oh Whoa
I feel you
Oh Oh Oh

BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- Lebanese President Emil Lahoud has left the presidential palace and stepped down from his post, after not naming a successor, and is calling on the Lebanese army to preserve the nation's security.

A honor guard troops lined the walk in front of the palace for a farewell ceremony as Lahoud departed.

In the final minutes of Lahoud's term, which expired at midnight (2200 GMT), jubilant anti-Syrian demonstrators packed the streets, waving flags and setting off fireworks.

As the pro-Syrian Lahoud left the palace, he said his successor "should be a truly consensus president, and be (a) real man to stand by Lebanon the strong, that the countries of the world did not defeat."

One of Lahoud's last acts as president was to order the army to maintain security.

"There are conditions and risks on the ground that could lead to a state of emergency over all Lebanese territory as of the 24th of November 2007," said presidential spokesman Rafiq Shalala.

"Therefore, the president has entrusted the Lebanese army with security."

He said Lahoud is not declaring a state of emergency but calling on the army to maintain order.

Lahoud's decision to hand security to the military leaves in place, for the time being, the government of Western-backed Prime Minister Faoud Sinioria.

The outgoing president took a swipe at that government, saying it is "illegitimate and unconstitutional -- and they know it. Even if Bush, America and the entire world said that it is a legitimate government, it is still illegitimate, and they know it."

David Welch, assistant U.S. secretary of state, said, "We think it's a good signal that so far, the army is committed and is imposing security."

There are security concerns, he acknowledged, but pointed to two statements from army commanders -- one calling for public order and one banning the carrying of illegal guns -- as a positive sign.

The development came at the end of a day when an opposition boycott kept Lebanon's parliament from choosing a successor to Lahoud.

Earlier Friday speaker Nabih Berri said in a statement that the session was postponed for a week until November 30 to give more time "for additional consultations to reach a consensus on electing a president," according to the Associated Press.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his concern at the "fragility" of the situation in Lebanon in a statement released Friday afternoon. He urged all parties to remain calm as they work to reach a compromise.

Lahoud's presidential term ended Friday at midnight (2200 GMT).

Pro- and anti-Syrian lawmakers have yet to agree on a compromise candidate to replace the pro-Syrian Lahoud.

The Syrian- and Iranian-backed opposition has suggested it might form a rival government.

Observers believe failure to settle on a candidate could create a power vacuum -- or worse. The army and other security forces were on full alert as the nation braced itself for possible violence.

The country's recent history includes near-constant factional fighting, political maneuvering and friction with Syria.

The election has been overshadowed by assassinations and attempted assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians.

In February 2005, the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut sparked widespread protests that led to the ouster of Syrian forces from Lebanon.

U.N. investigators concluded last year that Hariri's death may be linked to high-ranking Syrian officials. Syria has denied any involvement in the killings and said the U.N. tribunal investigating Hariri's death is a violation of its sovereignty.

In the past two years, four members of the Lebanese parliament have been assassinated.

The foreign ministers of France, Italy and Spain issued a statement saying they have tried everything, and it is now up to the Lebanese to craft a solution.

Lebanese presidents are elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term and may not serve consecutive terms, according to the CIA Factbook. Lahoud was elected in 1998, the reference book says, and in 2004 the National Assembly voted to extend his six-year term by three years.

Remark:

A wrong shouldnt be answered by another wrong. The Saudi government should issue clemency for this woman, a citizen of Saudi Arabia; how can the Kingdom of Sa'ud expect to be respected by foreign nations when it continues to behave as a feudal state; where is the admonishment of civil rights violations? Where is the recognition of universal humanitarian rights?

Is this the government that abuses our own Filipino brethren? If they can treat their own in such a barbaric manner, how do they treat our Filipino overseas compatriots....

(CNN) -- Under fire for its treatment of a rape victim, the Saudi Arabian government on Saturday said that the woman had an "illegitimate relationship" with a man who was not her husband, and that both "exposed themselves to this heinous crime."

In a statement, the kingdom's Ministry of Justice said it was "forced ... to clarify the role of the woman and the man who was accompanying her in this case and its circumstances" because of what it claimed were false media reports.

The 19-year-old woman was initially sentenced to 90 lashes for meeting with the man -- described by her attorney as a former friend from whom she was retrieving a photograph.

The seven attackers, who abducted the pair and raped her, received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in jail.

When the woman appealed her sentence, a Saudi court more than doubled it. The Qatif General Court also increased the sentence for the rapists, to two to nine years in prison.

The case has drawn international attention, provoked outrage in the West and cast light on the treatment of women under Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic law.

The ministry has previously said the woman's punishment was increased after further evidence came to light against her when she appealed her original sentence.

She was convicted of violating the kingdom's Islamic law by not having a male guardian with her.

The attacks took place in March 2006, when the woman was 18 and engaged to be married.

The government statement said that according to the woman's signed confession, she called a man on her cell phone and "asked to be with him alone, illegally." The two met at a marketplace, then rode in the man's car to "a dark area of the beach, and stayed there for some time," the ministry said.

The group of attackers "saw her in a compromising situation, her clothes on the ground," the statement said. "The men at this point assaulted her and the man with her."

The woman knew that being alone with a man who wasn't her husband was illegal, "and therefore she violated the covenant of marriage." However, the woman was engaged -- not married -- at the time.

After the incident, the woman and the man did not come forward about the assaults or press charges until someone contacted the woman's husband "telling him what happened, and about his wife's affair and adultery," the ministry said. "She then confessed ... the husband therefore came forward to the police and formally complained nearly three months after the incident."

The woman and her companion "exposed themselves to this heinous crime, causing the crime to take place because of their violations of the pure Sharia ruling" -- the country's strict Islamic law.

The case was handled through regular court procedures, and the woman, her male companion and the attackers all agreed in court to the initial sentences, the government said in a previous statement.

The woman's husband told CNN earlier this week that "from the onset, my wife was dealt with as a guilty person who committed a crime. She was not given any chance to prove her innocence or describe how she was a victim of multiple brutal rapes."

Asked about the ministry's statement Saturday, the husband declined to comment publicly.

The woman's attorney, Abdulrahman al-Lahim, has said his law license was revoked to punish him for speaking to the Saudi-controlled news media about the case. Attempts by CNN to reach al-Lahim Saturday were unsuccessful.

Al-Lahim previously said the woman met the man at a shopping mall in order to retrieve an innocuous photograph from him. He has also said the man was blackmailing his client and forced her to have the meeting to save her engagement and avoid embarrassment.

The woman's husband did not find out about the crime until his friends told him the rapists were bragging about it in the Qatif community, The Arab News reported in its Sunday editions, citing a source close to the case.

Earlier this week, the woman's husband blamed his wife's treatment on a judge with a personal vendetta. Al-Lahim told CNN that the head judge in the three-judge panel that considered the case was opposed to his client from the beginning. Both said they believe the man forced the woman to meet with him, but said she was not allowed to present that in court.

The government has said that al-Lahim was punished by a disciplinary committee for exhibiting "disrespectful behavior toward the court."

Under Saudi law, women are subject to numerous restrictions, including a strict dress code, a prohibition against driving and a requirement that they get a man's permission to travel or have surgery.

Al-Lahim has been ordered to attend a disciplinary hearing next month at the ministry, where he faces a possible three-year suspension and disbarment, according to Human Rights Watch.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration was able to declare a clean sweep when Syria, the last Arab world holdout, said Sunday it would attend this week's high-stakes Mideast peace conference.

But as 16 Arab nations and the Arab League prepared to sit down with Israel for the first time in more than a decade, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni made it clear they should not expect to dictate the contours of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

League members grudgingly agreed a few days ago to send their foreign ministers to the conference, which starts Monday in Washington. The meetings are meant to renew Israeli-Palestinian peace talks after a violent, seven-year lull in negotiations. Most members do not have ties with the Jewish state.

Syria had threatened to skip the three-day meetings in Annapolis, Maryland, and Washington, if they did not address the Golan Heights, a strategic plateau Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed. But with that issue added to the agenda, the deputy foreign minister, Faysal Mekdad, will participate, according to Syria's state-run news agency.

Nonetheless, the absence of Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem appeared to indicate that Syria was not entirely confident the conference would address its concerns over the territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert saw the appearance of a high-ranking Syrian official as a positive development.

"The meetings are clearly about the Israeli-Palestinian process, but could be the beginning of new avenues to peace in the Middle East," said the prime minister's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin.

But she and Livni disputed Syria's account of the conference agenda and insisted that the Golan was never explicitly mentioned.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said the United States would give room for other regional conflicts to be aired at the conference, including the Golan Heights. "If Syria chooses to come and wants to speak to its issues ... certainly nobody is going to rule it out of order," she said last week.

Even before Syria's announcement, Livni expressed confidence that Syria would attend. She reasoned that a session on the search for a comprehensive Mideast peace would give the Syrians a forum to press their position.

On the flight to Washington with Livni, Olmert said Israel would "favorably" consider negotiations with Syria if conditions ripened. Israel first wants Syria to break out of Iran's orbit and stop harboring Palestinian and Lebanese militants opposed to Israel's existence.

Surveying past peace efforts, Livni suggested that a lack of Arab backing contributed to the failure of the last round of Israeli-Palestinian talks, which collapsed amid bloodshed in early 2001. The Arab world, she said, "should stop sitting on the fence."

"There isn't a single Palestinian who can reach an agreement without Arab support," she said. "That's one of the lessons we learned seven years ago." But, Livni added, "it is not the role of the Arab world to define the terms of the negotiations or take part in them."

Arab states had been reluctant to attend the gathering. They feared it would give Israel a public-relations boost while yielding little political benefit for the Palestinians.

But they decided to come to the first large-scale Arab-Israeli gathering since a 1996 meeting in Egypt. That is largely because they wanted to bolster moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and keep him from making damaging concessions to Israel in talks that are to follow the conference.

Abbas has been badly weakened by the Islamic Hamas group's violent takeover of Gaza in June, which left him in control of just the West Bank.

The Arab League has proposed offering normalized ties with Israel if the Jewish state cedes all land captured in the 1967 Mideast war and agrees to a solution for Palestinian refugees who lost their homes in Israel after the country's founding in 1948.

Israel opposes a complete territorial pullback and the repatriation of Palestinian refugees to Israel. It initially rejected the Arab proposal, first presented in 2002. But over the past year Olmert has said it could be useful in new talks.

Ahead of the conference, Israeli and Palestinian delegations were making a last-ditch effort to nail down agreement on where the talks would head after this week.

The Palestinians want the joint statement to address, at least in general terms, the central issues of final borders, claims to Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.

Israel wants a broader and vaguer statement that would allow more room for maneuvering. It says the haggling on those issues should take place in the private talks that are to begin after the conference concludes Wednesday.

"I hope Annapolis will allow the launching of serious negotiations on all the core issues that will lead to a solution of two states for two peoples," Olmert told reporters on the plane.

Abbas acknowledged that negotiations on the joint statement were in trouble.

The positions with the Israelis before Annapolis are still far apart, and the negotiations are still ongoing," Abbas said in comments published Sunday in the Palestinian newspaper al-Ayyam.

Despite the differences, Abbas said he was committed to doing everything possible to hammer out an agreement in the coming year. Both Israel and the U.S. have said they hope to clinch a deal before Bush leaves office in January 2009.

 JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Two strong earthquakes struck eastern Indonesia, collapsing dozens of homes and killing three people, one of them a child. At least 45 other residents were injured, officials said Monday.

The first quake, with a magnitude of 6.4, struck late Sunday, just off Sumbawa island. Several hours later, a powerful aftershock hit the same region.

Rustam Pakaya, the top disaster official at Indonesia's Health Ministry, said that three people, one of them a young child, were killed and 45 others were injured as a result of falling masonry.

"Everyone panicked, they were running from their houses, some to the hills," said Agung Prasetyo, a local police officer, adding that the ground shook violently for around 30 seconds.

State news agency Antara said dozens of buildings were either destroyed or damaged, while witnesses said electricity was temporarily cut in some places, including a hospital, which was briefly evacuated.

Earlier on Sunday, a third earthquake rattled residents on the west coast of Sumatra island. Scores of people fled from their homes in the region, which has been hit by a series of powerful earthquakes in recent months.

Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheavals due to its location on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Typhoon Mitag slammed into the northeastern Philippines after killing at least eight people in other parts of the country, while a deadly storm that blew away days earlier headed back Monday, complicating emergency preparations.

Mitag roared into the coastal town of Palanan in Isabela province late Sunday, its sustained wind weakening but remaining dangerous at 74 miles per hour with gusts up to 93 mph, chief government forecaster Nathaniel Cruz said.

After hitting land, it veered toward the country's mountainous northern provinces, where authorities evacuated thousands of people due to fears of landslides.

The typhoon flooded at least 50 villages in Isabela, a province of more than a million people. A swollen river in the provincial capital, Ilagan, engulfed at least 10 houses, whose residents fled to safety late Sunday, officials said, adding that most of Isabela had no power.

In nearby Cagayan province, two villagers drowned Sunday. Strong winds toppled trees and knocked down power posts, cutting off electricity in the province of nearly a million, Gov. Alvaro Antonio said. The province's rice industry suffered losses.

"We were just one or two weeks away from harvest time. I'm afraid we've lost everything to the flood and strong winds," Antonio told The Associated Press by telephone.

The Agriculture Department estimated losses at $2.5 million, still a fraction of the $246 million incurred during last year's typhoons.

A landslide covered a road in the resort town of Pagudpud, in northern Ilocos Norte province, late Sunday, blocking buses and cars but apparently causing no injuries. Troops were deployed to clear the road, army Maj. Gen. Melchor Dilodilo said.

Classes were suspended in several provinces, partly because some were used to shelter evacuees, officials said.

Among the eight dead, five people drowned and another was electrocuted over the weekend in southeastern Camarines Sur province, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.

Mitag has been the most erratic of the 13 typhoons and major storms that have hit the Philippines this year. It first headed for the populous Bicol region, where more than 250,000 people were evacuated, but shifted Saturday to the north.

As authorities scrambled to shift their focus to the northern provinces of Isabela, Aurora and Cagayan, forecasters said a typhoon that killed 13 people in the Philippines last week before heading for Vietnam had reversed direction.

Hagibis, weakened to a tropical storm, was expected to lash the western Philippine province of Palawan on Tuesday.

Disaster-response agencies, along with troops and police, were ordered to brace again for Hagibis, a Philippine name for rapidly galloping animals.

Mitag and Hagibis were affecting each other, resulting in their erratic movements, government forecaster Frisco Nilo said. Government forecasters were also monitoring a new low pressure area that could develop into a storm over the Pacific Ocean and affect the Philippines in a few days.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- Thousands of Hindu protesters met water cannons and tear gas in Malaysia's capital on Sunday while demanding equal rights and consideration from the government.

CNN confirmed at least 5,000 protesters marched in Kuala Lumpur, but The Associated Press placed the figure as high as 10,000.

Some protesters threw rocks at the water cannon trucks, but others were urging peaceful demonstrations.

The AP quoted witnesses who saw people being beaten and dragged into trucks by police.

Public transportation into the city was stopped, hindering protesters from coming in.

Police stopped protesters as they tried to take a petition to the British High Commission. Talks were under way for authorities to allow six protesters to deliver the petition, should the crowd disperse.

The rally -- rooted in complaints that the ethnic Malay Muslim-dominated government discriminates against minorities -- was the largest protest in at least a decade involving ethnic Indians, the country's second-largest minority population after ethnic Chinese.

Ethnic Indians are generally the most underprivileged group in Malaysia.

Earlier this month, riot police used water hoses and tear gas against thousands of protesters demanding electoral reform, the largest demonstration in Kuala Lumpur in nearly a decade.

Street demonstrations are considered rare among the multiple ethnic groups in Malaysia, which prides itself on its communal and political stability.

Malaysia has maintained racial peace since 1969, when some 200 people were killed in riots sparked by Malay frustration over the economic clout of Chinese.

The violence spurred the creation of programs that give Malays privileges in government jobs, contracts and education.

A Russian judge sentenced opposition leader Garry Kasparov to five days in jail Sunday, a day after the chess champion-turned-politician and other protesters were arrested at a pro-democracy demonstration in Moscow.

Kasparov was charged and sentenced Sunday for organizing an unsanctioned procession, resisting arrest and chanting anti-government slogans.

The chess grandmaster said his conviction is part of a government effort to harass him.

"Everything you heard here is a lie," he told reporters outside the courtroom. "All my rights were violated from the outset, from the moment of my detention."

Kasparov said his arrest was intended to ensure that President Vladimir Putin's party holds on to power. Putin is slated to step down next year at the end of his second consecutive term in office.

Though Russia's constitution prohibits a third consecutive term, Putin is expected to attempt to retain power in some form.

"We are absolutely against Putin's plan and his political course, because it leads us to the Third World," said Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition leader. "It leads to abuse of power, lawlessness and bureaucracy, uncontrolled corruption."

Kasparov told CNN his arrest came after protesters delivered a written resolution demanding fair elections to the Russian Central Electorate commission. He spoke to CNN from a police bus as he was being taken to a police station.

Authorities have been cracking down on a growing coalition of Soviet-era dissidents, leftists and democrats who are demanding that next Saturday's elections be fair.

"The United States is concerned by the aggressive tactics used by Russian authorities against opposition protesters yesterday in Moscow," National Security Council Spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a written statement Sunday.

"We are troubled that Garry Kasparov and other leaders of the opposition have been arrested and detained. We call for them to be given proper access to legal counsel and fair treatment in processing."

Kasparov was detained briefly in April during at another anti-Putin protest. Witnesses said he was seized as he tried to lead a small group of demonstrators through lines of police ringing the square. That time, Kasparov was fined $38 for participating in the rally.

 FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (AP) -- Leaders of the Seminole Tribe of Florida -- the first U.S. tribe to offer high-stakes gambling -- have spent millions of dollars from the group's vast casino income on themselves and their relatives, according to a report.

The spending has triggered audits by federal regulators and complaints among Seminoles that the gambling profits benefit certain members at the expense of the rest of the tribe, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported Sunday after a review of thousands of pages of tribal documents including audits, budgets and Tribal Council resolutions.

Phil Hogen, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, which regulates tribal spending of gambling profits, told the Sun-Sentinel that the spending practices "cry out for some inquiry, and they will receive that."

Each of the tribe's almost 3,400 members receives about $120,000 annually in profits from Seminole enterprises, mostly casinos. However, since 2000, Tribal Council members have spent more than $280 million from discretionary funds they control on travel, lavish homes, luxury vehicles, boxing rings, basketball courts and even cosmetic surgery, the newspaper said.

Under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, tribes can spend gambling profits only in five broad categories, including government services and "for the general welfare of the tribe." Spending on individual members must be through programs such as housing and recreation, with criteria typically tied to financial need, the newspaper said.

Council member Max Osceola Jr. said leaders and their families have received the same assistance available to all Seminoles.

"I'm responsible for every Seminole member," Osceola said. "It's not who my blood family is, it's not who my clan is. It's the 3,320 Seminoles I'm responsible for."

The Seminoles recently purchased the Hard Rock International hotel and restaurant chain for nearly $1 billion. They also recently signed a 25-year agreement with the state that will allow it to offer Las Vegas-style slot machines, blackjack and baccarat at its six casinos.

The Seminoles opened their first gambling enterprise, a bingo hall, in 1979. By 2005, members of the Tribal Council were overseeing a $1 billion-a-year empire.

I love that video, Ms. Orchids. La la la ..i have this song in my head now

very sweet video.

nice vid, agnes.

+++++++++++

Here

by Hellogoodbye

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bUkxTznujo

Yea. For some people, spending and shopping is therapy.

Truly nostalgic, Mike. Thanks.

Photo taken from a great Historian, one who supersedes the men of old.

Ate, I have. He knows I have...
I am emotionally exhausted. Completely.
Seeing Amber, Bryan, Brian, Ken sobbing the way they did was enough to bring me to tears. I could not shed anymore tears; else I'd fall into a depressive state. I just recieved a message from Professor Shapiro, a History Professor, and one who Rob and I both worked with as a Teacher's Assistant. I talked to him this past week---and I have never heard a man sound so depressed as he did. I have to find a way to visit him in his office tomorrow or this week to see if he's alright. God knows how much he adored Robert as a son; a favorite student and assistant.

Sometimes, life isn't fair. You know? I dont know why it has to be so cruel like this.

Balong,

Each one of us is like a snowflake; similar shape, but different folds, weight, densities, and direction as we fall to the ground. Live and let live, mon ami.

Arrived back on campus around 5:50 PM my time. Its gloomy, cold, and dreary. I was met with my friends who met me with tear-soaked eyes. I showed no emotions at all, trying my best to be strong and comforting them. It is a difficult time. This week will be a difficult one for me, I just hope I can muster the strength to attend the eulogy this week. I cannot bear to go through this again,,

Wow. Good job.

There is a saying that my father has shared with us, his children, and his nieces and nephews which reverberates a noble truth. "Spend only what is in your means. Do not overdue what is unnecessary."

As of late, I put on my iPod and listen to music, till i fall asleep.

Beautiful Acton

Be strong, Ate Lumine. Be Strong.

I know everything will be just fine.

Just got back from a jog around the neighborhood, i cant believe that our Turkey break has passed already; now for the 7 hour drive back to campus. Better sleep early. Long day ahead.
Good night guys!
Take care, whatever happens.

Quote from: Bambi on November 25, 2007, 08:06:03 AM

http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff74/Ramped2007/img033.jpg[/img]]                                                                                                                                                                         [/url]]

Pare,

You are stunning and beautiful. Radiance has not left you at all.

@ Bambi,

Pare, the weather back home is extremely chilly--yet beautiful. There is a solemn beauty about it, the coming of Christmas and the birth of Christ comes again. The separation of old and new, and the divide between the past and the present. In this Cold November.
I am excited for you as you will be going back to the warmth and beauty of the Philippines again, take extra pictures for us, ok? 
As for myself, im trying to get ready to go back to college (im driving back to campus tomorrow morning), trying to be strong as I know that my friends back in campus will need someone strong to comfort them in our time of grief. Many of my friends are bereaved severely by this sudden loss; a loss of any loved one is devastating, more so one who is so close to us. Right now, we are trying to stay strong--and trying to keep our priorities in focus, mostly academics and emotional solidarity. Rob wasn't the type who moped along and whined about his problems, he was one who liked to solve it immediately, and I know that if he were still right now--he would have told me and my friends to "stop crying, suck it up, dry your tears, clear your throat, and move on with your days".
You know i have shown my deep emotions in here, in Tubag Bohol, than in person. I normally do not show my sensitivities as openly--as I do hide in a veneer of male machisimo, typical of Filipino men. However, it feels good to release my emotions in here--it has been extremely helpful in the grieving process. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to have been able to release my inner feelings in here.

@ orChids,
What a wonderful picture...Nagano, Japan is so peaceful in winter.