MikeLigalig.com

QUITO, Ecuador - A powerful earthquake shook the border region of Ecuador and Peru late Thursday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.7 quake struck at 10:12 p.m. and was centered in a sparsely populated jungle region, about 150 miles southeast of Quito, the capital. Local media said the temblor was felt strongly in the country's largest city, the port of Guayaquil.

The Ecuadorean Geophysics Institute said it "had reports that the quake was felt throughout the country."

Though the institute said it did not know of any damage, Miguel Seminario, fire chief in Morona Santiago province where the quake was centered, told Channel 1 television that some houses have cracked walls but "nothing serious."

"People went out into the streets, and we don't know of any injuries," said Seminario.

Vanessa Ochoa, 24, a business student, told The Associated Press from the jungle city of Puyo, about 100 miles north of the epicenter, that the quake "was felt very strongly. It lasted 50 seconds."

Peruvian Civil Defense officials told Lima radio station Radioprogramas that the quake was felt strongly in cities in northern Peru but there were no reports of damage.

The quake came after a magnitude-7.7 temblor shook northern Chile on Wednesday, killing two people, injuring more than 150 and leaving 15,000 homeless.

Strong aftershocks continued to rattle Chile on Thursday, with one tremor measuring magnitude 6.2 and another magnitude 6.8, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Chile's, Peru's and Ecuador's Pacific coastlines all lie along the intersection of the Nazca and South American tectonic plates, one of the world's most seismically active regions.

SAO PAULO, Brazil - This month's discovery of a monster offshore oil reserve justifies Brazil's plan to build a nuclear submarine because it would be used to protect the find, the defense minister said.

"When you have a large natural source of wealth discovered in the Atlantic, it's obvious you need the means to protect it," Nelson Jobim said Thursday at a defense conference in Rio de Janeiro.

Jobim said Brazil must safeguard the Tupi field and its 5 billion to 8 billion barrels of oil reserves from other nations and from "actions that could come from the area of terror," the government's Agencia Brasil news service reported.

Brazil has been talking about building a nuclear submarine for decades, but the project got a boost in July when President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced $540 million in funding for uranium enrichment and the sub program.

Jobim said earlier this month that he wants to come up with an outline within three months to build a submarine for about $1.2 billion, the Agencia Estado news service reported.

Brazil has no South American enemies and has not experienced terrorist attacks, although U.S. government reports have sporadically raised suspicions that the nation's Triple Border region near Argentina and Paraguay is a fundraising source for radical Islamic groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas.

The Brazilian navy's nuclear program, begun in 1979, has already mastered part of the uranium enrichment process. But it lags in developing and constructing a submarine reactor entirely from Brazilian technology.

Silva has frequently touted nuclear power as a way to diversify energy sources and meet growing demand in South America's largest nation and economy.

His government moved in June to restart work on a long-planned third nuclear power plant that has been stalled since the 1980s by lack of funds.

Jobim on Thursday ridiculed the idea that Brazil's uranium enrichment program would ever be used to make a nuclear bomb.

"That's total nonsense," he said.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian police detained Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak on criminal charges, a senior police source told Reuters on Friday, declining to give the details of the criminal case.

Ekho Moskvy radio station and Interfax news agency reported, quoting unidentified sources, that Storchak had been due to fly to South Africa on Thursday for a meeting of finance ministers of the 20 most industrialized and important emerging economies but did not show up on the government's plane.

Storchak is responsible for Russia's debt policy and oversees the $148 billion stabilization fund. The Finance Ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Tass news agency quoted a source in the Finance Ministry as saying the FSB security police had searched Storchak's office in the ministry on Friday.

A Finance Ministry delegation headed by Minister Alexei Kudrin is currently in Cape Town for the meeting of G20 central bankers and finance ministers this weekend to discuss the rebalancing of global currencies as the dollar weakens.

Storchak is seen as a close associate of Kudrin, Russia's economic policy tsar who was recently promoted to the rank of Deputy Prime Minister.

LONDON - The shopping list is lavish, including a BMW, a thermal night vision kit for a Hummer, ivory tusks and two karaoke machines.

A British court released details of the list and ordered Saudi Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf to pay $6.3 million to reimburse a personal assistant for hundreds of items bought on the Saudi royal's behalf.

The ruling contains a 13-page list of items Walid El Hage said he purchased in 2004-2005 while working as a personal assistant to bin Nawaf, who was then serving as the Saudi ambassador to Italy. It came to light following reports this week in Britain's Guardian and Daily Telegraph newspapers.

The court case was filed in Britain because the prince became the Saudi ambassador to Britain and Ireland in 2006. In addition, El Hage is a British citizen, according to his lawyer, Ian Bloom.

"If you ignore this order your goods may be removed and sold, or other enforcement proceeding may be taken against you," the High Court said in its Oct. 29 ruling.

Bin Nawaf did not respond to the court claim, but issued a statement Friday saying El Hage's complaint "is a personal matter and not a government matter."

"We are currently in negotiations, and we expect the matter to be settled amicably very shortly," the statement said.

El Hage said in his complaint that he had served as a personal assistant to the ambassador and to his father, Prince Nawaf Al Saud, since 1979. Most of that time, the bills were paid, the complaint said.

But El Hage said the ambassador failed to pay him for the bills he submitted between Jan. 10, 2004, and July 21, 2005.

In addition to airline and hotel bills, the list includes dozens of designer watches, including by Cartier, Patek Philippe and Jaeger Le Coultres purchased for tens of thousands of dollars.

Other items included jewels, Persian rugs, cameras, swords and antique weapons, as well as a fully equipped Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck.

One expense dating to spring 2004 is described as "girls: party night 5," and cost $5,115, the ruling said. It was not clear where the party took place.

Under British law, it is up to the court to decide if the ambassador is entitled to diplomatic immunity, the Foreign Office said. But the brief High Court decision did not address that issue.

Ambassador bin Nawaf is a nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

WARSAW (AFP) - Donald Tusk, leader of Poland's election-winning liberal party, took the reins of power Friday as he was sworn in as prime minister by bitter rival President Lech Kaczynski.

A televised ceremony held at the presidential palace in Warsaw marked the formal start of what is expected to be a testy working relationship between the two men, as Tusk tasted revenge for his narrow defeat by Kaczynski in the 2005 presidential election.

Tusk, 50, won power after his Civic Platform beat the Kaczynski brothers' conservative Law and Justice party in a snap parliamentary election last month.

In a speech Friday, Tusk said he was counting on Kaczynski, with three years left as president, to cooperate.

"I am convinced that if we help each other, we will succeed. I am addressing this sincere request to you too, Mister President," Tusk said.

Tusk's victory brought an end to an unprecedented political double act: defeated prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, 58, is the president's identical twin.

The ousted premier, who is known for his unforgiving political style, broke with tradition and stayed away from the ceremony.

Officially, he is on holiday, having left Warsaw Thursday.

"I'd like to believe it's just a question of a fortuitous coincidence," Tusk said.

The government press office said the ex-premier had left a letter in his former office for Tusk -- insiders said it was just three sentences long, but did not elaborate.

But Kaczynski spared no time settling scores with opponents closer to home, suspending three former aides who disagreed with him from his party Friday.

An internal party inquiry has also been launched against the three, Poland's TVN24 television channel quoted Kaczynski ally Karol Karski as saying.

The conservatives had been in power for two years, but Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who became premier in July 2006, had struggled to hold together his fractious three-party coalition.

Tusk has also been forced to form a coalition because Civic Platform missed its goal of obtaining a parliamentary majority on its own, winning 209 of the total 460 seats.

Law and Justice won 166 seats.

Although the departure of his hardball brother has clipped his wings, President Kaczynski is still expected to give Tusk a tough time.

"The presidential palace has become the headquarters of the conservatives and the president will be the principal opposition tool," said political scientist Kazimierz Kik.

Analyst Eryk Mistewicz said "the knives will be out," and Poles can expect to see Kaczynski seize every opportunity to criticise Tusk.

Poland's president has the power to veto laws piloted by the government, and Kaczynski has already announced he will block Tusk's planned introduction of a single-rate "flat tax" to replace Poland's complex system of tax bands.

While the coalition is short of the two-thirds voting support needed to overturn a veto, it will not be forced into major horsetrading with Law and Justice because the left-wing Social Democrats, who have 53 seats, are expected to support it on many issues.

Tusk has pledged to end the regular tussles with the rest of the European Union, and with neighbouring Germany in particular, which marked Law and Justice's rule.

He has also promised to ease tensions with Russia, withdraw Polish troops from Iraq and warned he will drive a harder bargain in talks with Washington on siting part of a US anti-missile system in Poland.

At home, he has promised to slash bureaucracy, revive the stalled privatisation process and reform the shambolic health service.

He also wants to spur the already robust economy to try to draw home some of the more than a million Poles who have emigrated since the country joined the EU in 2004.

PARIS - French authorities have detained seven suspected Islamic militants who allegedly trained to fight in Iraq by firing weapons in the woods of eastern France, police officials said Friday.

Six of the men are French nationals of Bosnian origin, and the seventh is Algerian, the officials said. The men, ranging in age from early 20s to mid-40s, were arrested on Tuesday in the towns of Besancon and Pontarlier in eastern France. At least one was a student; another is a teacher.

Police and anti-terror investigators say anger over the Iraq war has radicalized some young Muslims in France, which has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated at 5 million.

Judicial authorities believe dozens of youths, some just young teens, have left from France for Iraq to join the insurgency. Some have been killed there. Police are particularly worried that some French youths with roots in North Africa may be traveling to Iraq, without being noticed, traveling via countries including Algeria and Morocco.

French counterterrorism officials worry that such militants could return home with skills learned in combat and a desire to carry out terror attacks in France â€" even though the country opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and has ruled out sending troops to help U.S. forces battling insurgents there.

Last month, French authorities arrested seven suspects, most of them near the southern city of Toulouse, in an investigation of an alleged al-Qaida-linked network recruiting Islamic fighters for Iraq.

Prosecutors alleged that the recruits were sent first to Egypt to learn Islamic teachings and Arabic "in the most radical schools." Via a cell in Saudi Arabia and linked to al-Qaida, the recruits were then put in touch with a network in Syria that took them to Iraq to allegedly commit terrorist acts, notably suicide attacks.

Police officials said the suspects arrested in eastern France this week had not made definite travel plans for Iraq but were training to fight there.

Police raids of the suspects' homes turned up munitions, handguns and pump and automatic rifles, officials said on condition of anonymity because the investigation was continuing.

The case was expected to be transferred to Paris anti-terrorism judges, the officials said.

Prosecutors were expected to file preliminary charges for criminal association with a terror group, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkish authorities on Friday took steps to ban the country's leading pro-Kurdish political party and expel several of its lawmakers from parliament on charges of separatism.

The Democratic Society Party, which won 20 seats in parliament in July, last week called for autonomy for Kurds living in the country's southeast. The call came amid tension over how to deal with separatist Kurdish rebels, with the military preparing for a possible cross-border offensive against their bases in northern Iraq.

Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya said in an indictment "that speeches and actions by party leaders have proved that the party has become a focal point of activities against the sovereignty of the state and indivisible unity of the country and the nation."

He said prosecutors hoped the legal case would shut down the party, which he described as "based on blood and orders from the terrorist organization of the PKK," the acronym for the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party.

The prosecutor's office on Friday sent the 120-page indictment to the country's Constitutional Court. Several predecessors of the pro-Kurdish party were banned by Turkey's Constitutional Court on similar grounds and for alleged ties to rebels.

"We believe that the policy of lynching a political party should be abandoned," Ahmet Turk, a lawmaker with the party, told Dogan news aqency.

Nurettin Demirtas, the party's chairman, said the indictment would harm Turkey's efforts to join the European union, which has pressured the country to grant more rights to its Kurdish minority.

Several party officials helped facilitate the Nov. 4 release of eight soldiers who had been abducted by Kurdish fighters, traveling to the rebel base in northern Iraq where they were held. The party demanded more rights for the Kurdish minority and autonomy for Kurds living in the southeast during a party congress last week.

Turkish leaders have accused the pro-Kurdish party of having ties to the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. Turkish leaders insist the party should declare the PKK a terrorist organization to prove its allegiance to Turkey. Both the U.S. and the European Union have labeled the PKK a terrorist organization.

DEHAP, the predecessor of the present party, dissolved itself in 2005 as prosecutors tried to close it. Yalcinkaya accused leaders of the current party of establishing the new party under orders from Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Kurdish rebel chief who is serving a life term on a prison island near Istanbul.

"By implementing orders they received from the leader of a terrorist organization in prison, (they) have openly shown their allegiance to the terrorist organization and its leader," Yalcinkaya said.

Yalcinkaya said the party should be prevented from participating in elections during the expected trial period. Local elections are scheduled for March 2008.

The chief prosecutor asked the Constitutional Court to ban 221 members of the party, including eight lawmakers, from taking part in politics for five years after the closure of the party.

If the party is disbanded by the Constitutional Court, those eight legislators will be kicked out of the Parliament â€" despite a warning by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday that excluding Kurdish lawmakers could "push them toward the mountains" and bring them closer to the rebel organization, the daily Sabah reported Friday.

"We should especially encourage them to make politics," Sabah quoted Erdogan as saying. "Let them make politics within limits of the constitution."

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - The Emirates' national air carrier denied Friday that any of its employees were among 10 people injured when an Airbus jet slammed into a wall during ground tests a day earlier.

An Airbus spokesman also corrected the company's statement late Thursday that seven employees of Etihad Airways were injured, saying they in fact worked for a firm contracted to test the plane.

Ten people were injured Thursday during engine tests of an Airbus 340-600 near the southwestern French city of Toulouse shortly before the jet was scheduled to be delivered to Abu Dhabi-based Etihad.

Airbus said nine people on board were injured, along with one person on the ground.

Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Bregier said late Thursday that seven Etihad employees were among the wounded. "It was normal for the client to be present on board the plane," Bregier said.

However, Etihad denied on Friday that any of its employees were injured. "At the time of the incident, there were no members of Etihad staff on board of the Airbus plane, which was expected to be delivered to us next week," said Greg Moore, a spokesman for the Dubai-based public relations firm Four Communications, which represents Etihad.

DHAKA, Bangladesh - A cyclone that slammed into the coast with 150 mph winds killed at least 1,100 people, isolating remote towns and villages swamped by a storm surge or hemmed in by piles of debris, aid workers and a Bangladeshi news agency said Friday.

Tropical Cyclone Sidr roared across the country's southwestern coast late Thursday with driving rain and high waves, leveling thousands of flimsy huts and forcing the evacuation of 650,000 villagers, officials said.

The United News of Bangladesh news agency said reporters deployed across the devastated region made their own count in each affected district and reached a toll of 1,100.

The government, which earlier put the death toll at 242, has acknowledged its trouble keeping count â€" with power and phone lines down in most remote areas â€" and said it expected the official number to rise significantly.

The cyclone destroyed homes, crops and fish farms in 15 coastal districts, local government officials and witnesses said. Relief workers struggled to ferry food and medicine Friday to hundreds of thousands of survivors, officials and aid workers said.

Hasanul Amin, assistant director of the cyclone preparedness program sponsored by the government and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, said that about a dozen teams have been deployed to conduct relief operations in the worst-hit areas in the country's southwest.

Aid workers struggled through washed-out roads and areas blocked by debris to deliver relief material to people stranded by the floodwaters. In Bagerhat, one of the hardest hit districts near the Bay of Bengal, some villagers waited for hours to get some dry biscuits and rice, United News reported.

"We have lost everything," Moshararf Hossain, local farmer, told a UNB reporter. "We have nowhere to go."

Another farmer, Alam, said he lost two brothers to the cyclone.

"Nothing can compensate for my loss, but still I need support from the government," said Alam.

Downpours and staggering winds spawned a water surge four feet high that swept through low-lying areas and some offshore islands, leaving them under water, said Nahid Sultana, an official of the Ministry of Food and Disaster Management.

Volunteers from international aid agencies including the U.N. World Food Program, Save the Children and the U.S.-based Christian aid group World Vision have joined the relief effort.

The WFP has begun distributing high-energy biscuits in devastated villages and in shelters, the agency said in a statement. Save the Children said their volunteers were helping to evacuate people across the battered region.

World Vision is putting together seven-day packages for families that will include rice, oil, sugar, salt, candles and blankets, according to Vince Edwards, the agency's Bangladesh director.

But Edwards said debris from the storm has blocked roads and rivers, making it difficult to reach all the areas that had been hit.

"There has been lot of damage to houses made of mud and bamboo and about 60 to 80 percent of the trees have been uprooted," Edwards said.

Power and communications in the capital, Dhaka, also remained down late Friday. Strong winds uprooted trees, snapped power and telecommunication lines and sent billboards flying through the air, injuring several people, said Ashraful Zaman, another official at the cyclone control room.

At least 650,000 coastal villagers moved Thursday to cyclone shelters where they were given emergency rations, Ali Imam Majumder, a senior government official, told reporters in Dhaka.

However by late evening Friday operations had resumed at the country's two main seaports â€" Chittagong and Mongla, as well Chittagong and Dhaka airports, authorities said.

Bangladesh, a low-lying delta nation, is prone to seasonal cyclones and floods that cause huge losses of life and property. The coastal area borders eastern India and is famous for the mangrove forests of the Sundarbans, a world heritage site that is home to rare Royal Bengal Tigers.

Perhaps it is time for the American Super Power to unleash our own hackers onto China.

Like I said before, Sir GEC is not a human. GEC is an ethereal spirit...
Perhaps...he is spirit of the Great Sr. Dr. Jose P. Rizal? ......

Quote from: ms da binsi on November 16, 2007, 11:30:47 PM
For me all churches are house of God...

I am always confortable in all churches...

I dont know, it's just me...

there is always God in there...

I was born and raise a Catholic but i didnt lock myself to one religion...

religion is just a word religion to me...(for me)

i just dont have  faith in that word...


**no personal offense ha?**

A good view, Tita Belle. You have such a good heart, uy! No offense taken at all. Love ya!!!

My mother. My Mom has been the one that has really influenced me to strengthen my faith, specially during times when I questioned my faith. Whenever there was something wrong going on with the family in the Philippines or whenever there was a problem in my family--my mom would always pray. I remember seeing her cry before the image of the blessed Santo Nino and praying the rosary to the Blessed Mother Mary. I would go to my mom and kneel with her and she would teach me how to pray the rosary---and I owe alot of my faith to my mom who has nurtured that faith in our family. My parents, particularly my mom, is the one that wanted my little brothers to go to catholic school and catholic high school--specially with the problems of society and the ills and temptations that prevails.

I do agree with 'te Ethyl, church and mass keeps me sane. Its a balance...

I love it! Keep on sharing, my brothers and sisters!

Happy Birthday, Mari!! I'll drink for you tonight

Yes I truly agree. However this phenomenon is happening specially for college students who are of Filipino ethnic origin, where we were are raised in the United States, acclimated to the social norms of being an American, yet wanting to learn more about our Philippine Fatherland. The yearning to get 'in-touch' with our cultural and racial roots. Its something that I'm too familiar with, specially here in campus. There are Filipinos in college who were born in the Philippines, such as myself, and retain a very thick Filipino-accent and speak it fluently, however, there are other Filipinos who were born in the 'states, and are totally Americanized. I know alot of them that don't even wish to recognize their Filipino roots, or detest being asked about their Filipino roots. There is a fear, specially in the Filipino-American community, of being considered and or type casted as a 'FOB', as there are negative qualities that are correlated with fob-ism, such as a thick accent, old mentality, cultural conservativeness, and the belief of being 'Un-American.'

Filipino-Americans need to remember their roots, and Filipinos need to keep an open mind as well. As in the long run, being Filipino doesnt mean having to wear chinelas, speaking tagalog or bisaya, or retaining some kind of behavioral mannerisms. These are all part of the things Filipinos in the Philippines practice or manifest, but it does not define our nationality, our race.

I personally dont like it how some Filipinos type cast Fil-Am youth as being 'too americanized' or 'too lacking of Bayanihan' because that is simply not true. I remember going to one of my mom's friends parties and greeting her friends with the proverbial mano-po. And I could distinctly remember overhearing one of my mom's friends's husband talking to my dad about 'too much Americanization'. He looked at me and tried to talk to me in English (thinking that I didn't understand Bisaya) but I answered back to him in thick-pure-Bol-anon. Its true that many of our Fil-Am youths are forgetting their roots, and their language, but the older generation should take a positive stance and teach the language (whether its tagalog or bisaya) and instill in our youth of 'Filipina Patriatisimo' or 'Philippine Patriotism'. Not all Fil-Ams want to abandon our roots, many long for it.

In my college alone, we have alot of Filipinos who talk about the culture, and yearning to go back to the "Fatherland". What is also very interesting is that how Filipinos in the Philippines refer to the Philippines as 'Motherland' but most Fil-Ams here refer to the Philippines as the 'Fatherland'. Interesting....diba?

Thats my take on things. This video is shedding light on what really is going on...

Today was a shocker for me, I woke up to my surprise.....snow. 

Im pretty excited cuz we're going down to Pittsburgh tonight. Partayyyyy!


A view outside of my apartment.

Great Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjtVa1yvALI&feature=related

When Will I See You Again

by Three Degrees

http://youtube.com/watch?v=hiMxhEzWy5w

..ah this one...is one of my personal favorites. 

Eternal Flame

by The Bangles

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BUCyZ9JmW_I

Incredible, and truly astute! I never thought about that, per se the reference to the string theory of the universe, and as you mentioned that---I do agree. For there is NOTHING the Lord God cannot do, as he willed the universe to be the way they are--there is order in his mandates. The human mind, which will forever yearn to know more of our creator, can never truly understand all of science. We are finite beings, and incapable of ever understanding the infinite...the Glory of all Glories, which is the Name of God.

As he said to Moses,
I AM THAT I AM

or in Hebraic:

Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh

Quote from: ms da binsi on November 15, 2007, 09:43:52 PM
Happs, when u attend small churches it's different...

ma absorbed nimo tanan ang gipamulong sa preacher...

i could feel like it's GOD speaking straight to ones heart...

i go to diferrent churches honestly...

and i found it out they only have one goal...to be saved...

i even dont go to church sometimes because i can always feel him in me...

Religion or a church have never touched me...

But only GOD...

Amen to that, 'te. Blessed are you that you feel his presence..as others do not..or they simply choose to ignore his presence.

For me, I feel at home whenever I attend a catholic mass because i've always been raised in that setting and have never really felt comfortable in other churches (though ive tried others before--for pesonal reasons). When I read the bible, listen to the word of God form the mouth of the priest, I can feel the word of Christ coming out. I go to church to release my sorrow, confess my lack of faith at times, to ask for forgiveness and when I pray the 'Our Father' prayer, and listen to my brothers and sisters--i feel content that we all are there for a reason. It strengthens my faith to know that other people too retain that faith we all share. Catholic Churches for me are very humbling..because for me..it is the House of God.

Quote from: Bohol on November 15, 2007, 10:35:42 PM


A tranquil sea. A serene picture of nature.
View from Tagaro Vacation House, Valencia, Bohol, Philippines

Ah....a view from my hometown.
God I miss Valencia....the home of my ancestors..

I haven't watched it yet, tho i wanted to this summer. I'll just wait until it comes out on DVD..so maka rent ko

Quote from: Macky Ferniz on November 15, 2007, 02:26:45 AM
Bran,

I need a personal favor from you to ask Dr. Villanueva if his middle name is Ferniz. I suspect he is the son of my Inse Aning. I have not seen her kids ever since. They lived in Davao and my father has some personal differences with thier father. Because of this, we children suffer from alienation, but that was a very long time ago, before I was born.

Thanks in advance Bran. Appreciate.

Mr. Ferniz,

Dr. Villanueva's full name is Dioscoro Tan Villanueva, way kono siya Ferniz middle name.

Please tell me he didn't consecrate the marriage....

Quote from: C2H4 on November 14, 2007, 12:52:00 PM
that too...

but I'm also aware that 'curiosity killed the cat'

so, I never let myself get too curious...



PS. Don't be too curious, dong ha. Hehehe. You're so naturally inquisitive raba.

hahahaha, mao bitaw, 'te. You're too inquisitive, my dear sis, i love that about you! Ako? naturally inquisitive? Sure ba ka, 'te?

LoL!

A husband kissing his wife with both arms around her...

Quote from: Bohol on September 13, 2007, 07:49:48 AM
What’s one of your favorite questions to ask?  What’s your favorite question to answer?

Excuse me, what is your name?

I love to answer that with: Pleasure to meet you, my name is Lorenz...and yours?

My one friend wore Chrome today at the gym. Smelled good.

Smells like...the ocean jud. Love it..

Hahahaha!

One cannot resist our primal insticts, Sir Gec, the harder we resist---the harder the fall. LOL!

Crank That

by Souljaboy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vum3qgoh0x4

All My Life

by KC and JoJo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFhEL-hjxqs
love this song......

Everything I Do

by Bryan Adams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOkxI2YtZXw

Stuck On You

by Lionel Richie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fP4VCRf4xsg&feature=related

Try A little tenderness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0kpA9gNB4Q

You've got a friend

by James Taylor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb8koIkoCLs

You're the inspiration

by Chicago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0jFSQp-Kw8

hahaha Good night Ate Ging! God Bless,

Always,,

Ako sigoro im the one who tries to cut down the biggest apple tree and after cutting the apple tree...the tree lands on me. Aguy! What a short-lived reward, no? Hahahaha!

Quote from: C2H4 on November 12, 2007, 12:22:32 PM
Usa naka ana, dong. You are gifted with a brilliant intellect.

What I found so remarkable with Vanessa Joyce, combination of beauty and brains jud siya dong. She was tall, sexy, with flawless skin, and on top of that, extremely smart. Pero very shy and self-effacing. Dili siya hambugera, she didn't draw attention to herself.

Daghang mga brayt, daghan pud mga guapa...pero dili common nang combination of the two.

God has graced her with so much beauty; inside and out.

Quote from: Ginger on November 15, 2007, 04:47:49 PM
Dong, you can't have all of them otherwise you'll get a terrible stomach ache.

Hahaha mao ba? Mo palit lang ta daghang pepto bismol to reduce the symptoms of gastritis LOL!
Joke joke ra..

Quote from: grazie7y on November 15, 2007, 04:25:51 PM
hahahahha you made me so laugh, Dodong!  you are indeed one of the smart young men I know, if not the smartest!!!

Haha

You know though there are men who are wise to cut an apple tree down, the process maybe troublesome, as it is common for hard apples to fall onto the heads of the chopper as he chops the tree down Sometimes, the assailant is even knocked unconscious--however--if his resolve is strong enough...

Well then, a treasure awaits him, diba? If not...then he leaves for home with a bruised head..

My god, I can't sleep. Though I want to sleep, my body won't let me. So lonely over here in the lab, its 3:45 AM and im still here working---oh i wish someone would visit me..

Very captivated by the regalia these lap-people are wearing, actually. They are indeed beautiful people and I am in awe in how they have retained their culture through these years.
Guapo jud.

That, my dear Hazel, is a secret that only I know. What do you think?

Haha so i was correct?

Speaking as a biologist and at the same time being a Roman Catholic, I come to a crossroad in which my religious faith is put in odds with contemporary science. Living in the 21st century in which religions around the world are being challenged by the prevailing forces of science and intuition in an attempt to banish the superstitious nature of some religions; one can't help to ask "Does religion hold ground in this day of age?"

From intensive studies in the biological sciences including environmental ecology, microbiology, limnology, genetics and functions, organismal physiology, Human anatomy, inorganic chemistry, and organic chemistry etc; I cant help but accept the fact of the absolutes of science. Science, for the most part, has some solid concretes (though there are instances of unexplainable occurances such as how proteins react or how some pathogens operate the way they do or the mutative factors of viruses). For the most part, Science answers most questions and explains why the weather operates the way it does, explains the functions of the systems and imperative nature of the homeostatic nature of cellular organisms, tissues, organs/organ systems and the organism itself. The organic compounds that constitute living things explains how lipids, proteins and nucleic acids play an integral role to the functions of tissues and fats; such as how carbohydrates are composed of 6 carbons, 12 hydrogens and 6 oxygen atoms; it explains the nature of fats, fatty acids, phospholipids, steroids, enzymes, etc.

Science also explains how the bodes within the body integrate with one another. For example, why is it that within the cranium, in the inferior section of the skull, the mandibular fossa (which is a groove in the bone that lies lateral to the occipital condyle) fits perfectly with the mandibular condyle which is attached to the end part of the mandibular bone? Why is it that we have 7 cervical vertibrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, and 5 lumber vertebrae that have distict structural formations, yet have its own purpose? Its amazing how there are multiple foramens (hollow zones within bone structures to allow blood vessels including veins and arteries or nerve endings to pass through and integrate one part of the body to the other).

It is in my view, my personal view, that whoever or whatever influenced the creation of organisms is BRILLIANT. I say this in reference to God. He is marvelous in how he planned the tissues to form and operate with one another, how he designed the skeletal system and the nature of our osseous tissues, our nervous system, our neural operations, our organ systems and how there is a role and reason for things. For once there was chaos, now there is order. I believe in evolution and believe in the divinity of evolution. For God's unexplainable wisdom and divine intellect manifested the creation of gases and atoms, from which compounds formed, from which molecules formed from which organelles formed, from which cells formed, from which tissues formed, from which organs formed, from which organ systems formed and from which organisms formed.

Yes. I am a scientist and yes I am a Roman Catholic. Yes I do believe in evolution and the wisdom and ever changing beauty of this phenomenon. I am in awe in HIS manifestations and creations.

For in the end, science is merely an explanation of the complexities and infinite wisdom of the Lord.

I go to church to strengthen my soul from the bombardments of the toil we experience in daily life. I attend catholic mass every sunday to see the the good Lord and to take of his bread and to drink of his blood, in union with the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ and the Father. Life has no meaning for me, without my religion.

Looy pood sa bata. Sus...

Ah but there are some men who are very wise and will take an axe and chop down the tree and take all the apples for himself.

Quote from: Ginger on November 14, 2007, 05:26:47 PM
dong, look at their cameras. some of them even owns SLR cams. *wink*

So what ethnic family do these people belong to? Are they of Nordic stock? Slavonic stock? Indo-Aryan stock? Their facial phenotype suggests some kind of Finno-Urgic semblance.

My God, the brother should've kept an alert eye on his little brothers, had it not for that, they would have been still alive....
God bless the baby twins, and my deep condolences to those affected. Requiem in Pacem..

Yes, 'te Ging, it is a real game. It came out this year and I've been addicted to it hahaha! What I really do like about it is that you can play multiplayer with this game, literally choose to start a campaign with other players online--and build your kingdom--and make war. Campaigns usually last for days even weeks or months. You play whenever you're all online--and can save the progress--and re-load it again whenever everyone chooses to play again and revert from the save.

As of right now, I am still in my campaign gainst 5 other players (I am playing as the Spanish ). Uy i am currently in a situation considering that I have expanded outside of the Iberian peninsula, after destroying the Moorish base in Cordoba and after forcing the Portugese to acquiesce and become a tributary vassal of my kingdom (really cool cuz they give me tribute per turn in the form of about 1000 gold florrin) haha! My current situation is perplexing me because i have stepped DEEP into French territory, and am currently at war with the French, however, to my dismay, another player (who is playing as the english faction) has joined sides with French, and had the audacity to amass a massive expeditionary force of about ~5,000 units--landed in my northern province of Leon--and blockaded my northern ports. They are demanding I cease hostilities with the French for fear of an outright attack in northern Spain. The english are weak, in this game, and if my forces weren't so spread eastwards in my brutal campaign against the French, i would have squashed these English rebels outright......
So i was forced to commit the unthinkable and cancel my offensive forray into French lands....for the time being. Right now tho, I sent back half of my army to central Spain to amass a larger force to place in Northern Spain----about 15,000 to 20,000 strong---which I will use to invade all of England. England shall perish and suffer total annihilation for their audacity to threaten Spain....

But that is my plan of attack right now, LOL!!

Quote from: smiffytheninja on November 14, 2007, 04:54:44 PM
I think I'm happy with my PS2 right now..  The last game console I got was a PlayStation Portable. As for graphic quality, PC games do the job... I have an alienware and most of the games I play (counterstrike, the sims2, etc...) have excellent quality!

I want to get a wacom bamboo tablet for christmas It will be useful for my 2nd major, graphic design!

A shooter eh..lol. Nice.
You need to try Medieval Total War II, a beautiful tactical game that relies on strategic initiative to prosper in the development of your state, and the rise to an empire (if you choose to do so). There is great emphasis on economic growth (agricultural, industry, inter-regional trade as well as colonization). However, my favorite aspect of that game is the battle gameplay...

Heres a taste of what it offers, Smiffy, :

the aerial view of one of the city-states that you can build: you are responsible for building everything--including stables, estates for the nobility, castes, keeps, archery ranges, bath houses, trade warehouses, bazaars, blacksmiths, guilds, churches, homes, walls, farms, etc.


The battle map of the region; in this case of southern France: this map observes expansionist tendencies of the spanish in their forrays towards Bourdoix region, english challenges to french unity, and of course Imperial power of the Holy Roman Empire in the east..


MY favorite; the battle gameplay. English cavalry (this is the game itself...graphics is simply DIVINE)


Typical battle gameplay; this one is a clash between the heavy infantries of the English and the French.


Beautiful, eh??


I love this game...

'te why dont you just open another thread, kai i can't find it. Sorry lang that i couldn't find it.

---
Today was a great day, attended a lecture by Larysa Chovnyuk, the Director for International Cooperation from the National University of Kyiv Mohyla of the Ukraine. She was the same director that showed us around Ukraine when I studied abroad there for a semester in summer 2006. I had the chance to see her son, Yarislav, again and had a brief conversation about the current discourse in Ukraine. Brought back good memories from 2 years past. I should've taken pictures.

Anybody else? Please share, guys..

hahaha awesome!

Dr. Villanueva is a very down to earth man, tho he stands on a pedestal, showered in prestige as the region's notable physician/surgeon in thoracic and cardiothoracic surgery. He has trained hundreds of American surgeons; and has saved thousands of patients. There is actually an article they had on Dr. Villanueva and another fellow Filipino physician:

here it is:
---------

The power of the region's most advanced ORs â€" in the hands of your surgeon


Surgeons Miguel de Leon, MD, and Dioscoro Villanueva, MD, use Virtua Marlton's advanced surgical suites for minimally invasive surgery.


"Sidné," calls the surgeon. "Camera… Zoom…" Sidné replies: "Camera… Zoom…" The image of the inside of the patient's abdomen appears closer on the flat panel screen. The surgeon then says: "Sidné… light source up." Sidné again replies: "Light source up." The image on the screen becomes visibly brighter.

While these exchanges may seem typical during surgery, Sidné is not a nurse in the operating room (OR). Sidné is actually a computer that allows the surgeon to control many of the tools needed for a minimally invasive surgery â€" with nothing more than the sound of his voice.

"The voice-activated computer system is just one of the highlights of Virtua Marlton Hospital's new leading-edge, minimally invasive surgical suites," says Dioscoro Villanueva, MD, thoracic surgeon and clinical director of surgical services at Virtua Health Marlton. "These are the most advanced ORs in the region." Virtua's new ORs also include futuristic features such as high-definition digital imaging and two-way video linkages.


A minimally invasive approach
Surgeons will use the new surgical suites to perform minimally invasive surgeries using a surgical camera called a laparoscope. Using a minimally invasive approach, surgeries that typically resulted in large scars and long recoveries are drastically reduced to tiny incisions and shorter recovery times. Surgeries will include everything from gall bladder and kidney removals to hernia repairs, colon resections and gastric bypass for obese patients.

"While these types of surgeries can be complex, these new surgical suites put more control into the hands of the surgeon," explains Dr. Villanueva, who will use the new ORs for advanced lung surgeries. "With simple voice commands, the surgeon can manipulate many of the OR's features. This allows the surgeon to maintain his focus on the most important part of the surgery â€" the patient."

It takes a team
Miguel de Leon, MD, colorectal surgeon at Virtua West Jersey Hospitals explains that every surgery takes team work. "We sometimes consult with colleagues during surgical procedures. Using the suite's two-way video linkage, we can bring the team of clinicians into the operating room without having them enter the sterile operating suite. We can get second opinions from other specialists, consult with our pathologists and teach surgeons, medical students and nurses."

Virtua's new surgical suites are equipped with video cameras that allow clinicians to view the surgeon, as well as what the surgeon sees through the laparoscope, from a high-definition flat panel screen outside the room. The cameras, combined with highly sensitive microphones, allow the surgeon to interact with those viewing the surgery.

"During difficult cases, we can even have the post-operative care nurse view the surgery as it's happening," says Dr. de Leon. "This helps the nurse prepare for the special needs of that patient. Also, this technology will eventually allow us to share our expertise and consult with clinicians from anywhere in the world. If there is a leading expert in another country, she'll be able to view the case as it is happening and provide an opinion before the patient leaves the operating room."

Bringing the lab into surgery
Any time tissue is removed from the body, it's sent to the pathology lab to be tested for signs of abnormalities or disease. During some difficult surgical cases, such as those that may involve removing a cancerous tumor, this process can be challenging. The pathologist, who examines the tissue samples to make a diagnosis, may need to consult with the surgeon in the operating room. Or the surgeon may be required to join the pathologist in the lab at some point during the procedure.

"Now the pathologist can be in the operating room through a two-way video linkage in our new surgery suites," says Robert Biondi, DO, pathologist and medical director of the pathology lab at Virtua Marlton. "This new technology provides greater efficiency and easy access to medical perspectives from other specialists."

Two-way video linkage
Dr. Biondi explains that the two-way link enables the surgeon and the pathologist to see and hear each other during the surgery. "The pathologist can also view what the surgeon sees through the laparoscope. Together, they can pinpoint specific areas within the body that need to be examined by the pathologist."

This new technology also enables the pathologist to project images into the OR. The surgeon is able to see exactly what the pathologist sees under the microscope without leaving the patient. If necessary, the two can link with a third physician for another opinion.

"These new operating rooms allow us to work together in ways that were thought to only be possible in the distant future," says Dr. Biondi. "The future is here."

Physician profiles
Robert Biondi, DO, earned his medical degree from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He also completed a residency in anatomic and clinical pathology at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. Dr. Biondi has co-authored several articles in publications such as the Journal of the American Osteopathic College of Pathologists and the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

Miguel de Leon, MD, earned his medical degree from the University of the Philippines in Manila and completed a surgical residency at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He went on to complete a fellowship in colorectal surgery at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Massachusetts. Dr. de Leon is board certified in both general and colon and rectal surgery.

Dioscoro Villanueva, MD, is board certified in general, cardiac and thoracic surgery. He graduated from Far Eastern University in the Philippines. He completed an internship at United Hospital, Newark and surgical residencies at Lakewood City Hospital, Ohio; Memorial Hospital of Burlington County; and, Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center.

This article is from Spring 2006 HealthSavvy
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.virtua.org/images/MarltonOR.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.virtua.org/page.cfm%3Fid%3Dhealthsavvy_display%26savvyID%3D379&h=179&w=275&sz=18&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=SJLCkMT_0zScyM:&tbnh=74&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Ddr%2Bdioscoro%2Bvillanueva%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN

Probably a week.

haha that is if i ever find my 'other half'. Sige, 'te, good night!

Always,

Ondoy Kyle, what grade are you in btw?
You know you remind me of my little brothers. I have two little brothers, one who is in 9th grade and one who is in 3rd grade, and one thing that I always enjoyed doing was help them in their homework assignments. Yea, if you ever need any more help on anything, doy, dont be afraid to ask. Okay?

Like what the good LORD said, "Ask and you shall recieve."

Those are beautiful pictures, Hazel. Its simply glorious how they retain their cultural traditions despite the challenges of globalization..

Quote from: C2H4 on November 14, 2007, 12:55:49 PM
Thanks, dong.

Ang mga pinaka guapo pud nga mga doktor are BisDaks, dong. You will soon be a part of that statistic.

My doctor crushes (take note, plural) are sOoooo guapo, and they are all BisDaKs...

Nag igat igat na pud ko

bwahahahaha

hahaha 'te the BisDAK female docs are also very....what is the colloquial diction? sexy hot....

hahaha scaredy cat diay? dili diay curious cat?

Dr. Villanueva is around late 50s bana siya? Siguro around 58 or 57, my dad used to work with him in the OR and surgical floor and they would converse in bisaya to the wonder of their colleagues, many of which didn't understand bisaya because most of the nursing staff in the hospital where they worked togethe (Virtua West Jersey) are Tagalogs, haha.

Maybe they're related, 'te. I'll ask my dad next time i get the chance to call him.

Dr. Dioscoro Villanueva is from Mindanao, last time I talked to him he had a very THICK bisaya accent, lol. And how can one mistake the colloquial "Lagi Uy" phrase..lol!


The leading Cardiothoracic Surgeon in South Jersey. Dr. Villanueva, M.D. (who so happens to be a bisayan)

Heres his info:
http://www.healthgrades.com/directory_search/physician/profiles/dr-md-reports/Dr-Dioscoro-Villanueva-MD-0B07EEEF.cfm

Quote from: ms da binsi on November 14, 2007, 12:16:27 PM
igno man ang mga taga manila uban!  

some of my friends (acquaintances) kinda laugh at me because i moved to a small town from LA...

wa sila kabalo nga ang mga sosi tua sa ngilit-ngilit...

Most of the Filipinos doctors that I know aren't tagalog, but are bisayan. You know that doctor i told you about, Dr. Villanueva, who is a cardiothoracic surgeon and works in the same hospital as my mom and dad, well he's Bisayan. In fact, when I was in my medical internship this past summer at the Cleveland Clinic, when I rotated around the GI floor, department of orthopedic surgery, neurology, cardiology, and the critical care floor, most of the physician/surgeons that I talked to who were Filipino/Filipina, many of whom were Bisaya. Most of them came from Ilo-Ilo, Mindanao, and a majority of them from cebu, though there were some ilocano docs. Not one did i meet in Cleveland was Tagalog.

So for these tagalog-speakers of the north to come around and spout generalist claims how Bisayans are 'ignorante' is total ludacris. I truly do take offense to these stereotypes, and its rather pathetic how some people look down on others based on the region of birth, life, and work. I personally find it ironic how people who live in squatter regions in Manila looking down on well-to-do Filipinos who are from the 'provincia'.

I'm a die hard fan of Cebu City, Tagbilaran, Cagayan de Oro and Davao, thank you very much.
Nothing special about Imperial Manila...

Very rude jud kadtong taw-hana, ate Ethyl. Siya man ang ignorante kai wa siya kaibao dagahang kastanan development and educated people sa bisayas. You did the right thing, 'te, showed him the error of his ways and embarassed him.

doy, i already posted on your thread, also i provided you some other links that are school-friendy that should get you enough information for your homework. Good luck ha. How long is this paper supposed to be, diay?

If you need anymore help, doy, just aim me: Sillyflipguy

Kyle, i provided you some information on Mesopotamia, some links for additional information. Though I would like to warn you that if you will use the information I provide, make sure you re-state it in your own words, so you will not plagiarize. Okay? Sige. Good luck, kiddo.

Some basics:

+++++++++

GEOGRAPHY



1) WHERE WAS MESOPOTAMIA?
Mesopotamia was approximately 300 miles long and 150 miles wide. It was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These rivers flow into the Persian Gulf. The word Mesopotamia means "The land between the rivers".

Activity: Find a map and see if you can locate Mesopotamia.
(((It is in modern day Iraq)))





2) WHAT WAS MESOPOTAMIA LIKE?
CLIMATE
The climate for the region ranged from seasons of cool to hot seasons with temperatures often over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Mesopotamia experienced moderate rainfall.

ENVIRONMENT
Most of Mesopotamia was located in the present day country of Iraq. The land of Mesopotamia was once dominated by floods, but today is mostly desert. The seasonal flooding was a challenge to the farmers of Mesopotamia. These farmers learned to control the flooding to some degree. The fertile land along the rivers produced such crops as wheat, barley, sesame, flax, and various fruits and vegetables.

The land that was once marshes and channels that provided food, protection, and life to the people there, no longer exists.

---

RELIGION


ZIGGURATS

In Mesopotamia, each town and city was believed to be protected by its own, unique deity or god. The temple, as the center of worship, was also the center of every city.

Around the year 2000 B.C., temple towers began to be built to link heaven and earth. The towers, called ziggurats, were very large, pyramid-shaped structures on top of which the temple was built. The ziggurats were built of mud bricks with 3 to 7 terraced levels.

The Mesopotamians believed that these pyramid temples connected heaven and earth. In fact, the ziggurat at Babylon was known as Etemenankia or "House of the Platform between Heaven & Earth". The ziggurats were often decorated with pillars and other ornamentation.
At first, religious events were held at the temple. Later, as a priesthood developed, the temple became the center of both religion and learning for the entire community.



GODS AND GODDESSES
The people of Mesopotamia had very many gods, called dingir in Sumerian. Their gods and goddesses looked and acted just like people. They had feasts, marriages, children, and wars. They could be jealous, angry, joyful, or kind. The gods and goddesses had supernatural powers.

Every single city had its own patron god or goddess who owned everything and everyone in the city. Everyone was expected to sing hymns, say prayers, make sacrifices and bring offerings to the local temple (ziggurat) for the gods. The people trusted the priests and the priestesses in the temples to tell them what the gods or goddesses wanted, and they dutifully carried out their wishes. They believed that the gods could be annoyed at what you did and punish you, or they could be pleased and reward you.This made the leaders in the temples almost as powerful as the kings.

In Mesopotamia the people looked to religion to answer their questions about life and death, good and evil, and the forces of nature. The dingir followed themes, or divine laws, that governed the universe. The Sumerians believed in divine order, that is, everything that occurs is preplanned by the gods.
There were four all-powerful gods that created and controlled the universe. An was the god of heaven, Enlil was the air-god, Enki was the water-god, and Ninhursag was the mother earth-goddess. Each of these gods created lesser gods who were also important in Mesopotamia. Utu, the sun-god, lit the world with rays shooting from his shoulders. He moved across the sky in a chariot. Nanna was the moon-god who used a boat to travel by night.

----

CLOTHING
What did the Sumerians wear?

The Sumerians made their clothing by using the natural resources that were available to them. Clothing was made from wool or flax which Sumerians could raise and harvest. (Flax is a plant with blue flowers. The stems of these plants are used to make the clothing.) How thick or how coarse the clothing was meant the season in which the clothes would be worn. Like us, heavier clothing would be worn in the winter and lighter clothing would be worn in the summer.

Men were barechested and wore skirt-like garments that tied at the waist. Women usually wore gowns that covered them from their shoulders to their ankles. The right arm and shoulder were left uncovered. Men were either clean shaven or had long hair and beards. Women wore their hair long, but they usually braided it and wrapped it around their heads. When entertaining guests, women would place headdresses in their hair.

Although both rich and poor Sumerians wore the same style of clothing, the wealthier Sumerians wore clothing that was made out of expensive and luxurious materials. Wealthy women and princesses also wore clothing that was colorful and bright.

Both men and women wore earrings and necklaces. During celebrations, even more jewelry was worn. The wealthier Sumerians often wore beautiful gold and silver bracelets and earrings. Necklaces were also worn and were set with bright, precious stones. Some of these stones were the lapis lazuli and the carnelian


---

TRADE AND COMMERCE
How did farmers learn the secrets of trading?
Trade and commerce developed in Mesopotamia because the farmers learned how to irrigate their land. They could now grow more food than they could eat. They used the surplus to trade for goods and services. Ur, a city-state in Sumer, was a major center for commerce and trade. Temples were the chief employer and location for commercial activity.

What if you needed some important things. How could you get them?
The system of trade developed from people's need. People in the mountains needed wheat and barley. Mountain people could give timber, limestone, gold, silver, and copper. Flax was grown in the river valley and then woven into cloth. Linen garments were worn by priests and holy men. Wool and wool cloth was also important for trade. Wood was used for ships and furniture.

Imagine having to take your boat apart after traveling down a river. Read on to find out why these people had to do this.
The Tigris and Euphrates rivers made transport of goods easy and economical. Riverboats were used to transport goods for trade. Strong currents moved the boats downstream, but because of the current they could travel in one direction only. The boats had to be dismantled after the trip downstream.

The Mesopotamians were clever people and used interesting types of boats.
The Mesopotamians used three types of boats: wooden boats with a triangular sail, the turnip or Guffa boat which was shaped like a tub, made of reeds and covered with skin, and the kalakku which was a raft of timbers supported by inflated animal skins. The invention of the wheel by the Sumerians revolutionized the transportation. Wagons could be used to carry heavy loads.

If you lived back then, you would not need money to get things you needed.
Money wasn't used to trade goods and services. The Mesopotamians used the barter system instead. They developed a writing system to keep track of buying and selling. Scribes kept accurate records of business transactions by writing on clay tablets. Business contracts were sealed with a cylinder wheel.

---

The Beginnings of Writing

Farmers needed to keep records.
The Sumerians were very good farmers. They raised animals such as goats and cows (called livestock). Because they needed to keep records of their livestock, food, and other things, officials began using tokens.


Tokens were used for trade.
Clay tokens came in different shapes and sizes. These represented different objects. For example, a cone shape could have represented a bag of wheat. These tokens were placed inside clay balls that were sealed. If you were sending five goats to someone, then you would put five tokens in the clay ball. When the goat arrived, the person would open the clay ball and count the tokens to make sure the correct number of goats had arrived.

The number of tokens began to be pressed on the outside of the clay balls. Many experts believe that this is how writing on clay tablets began.


A system of writing develops.

The earliest form of writing dates back to 3300 B.C. People back then would draw "word-pictures" on clay tablets using a pointed instrument called a stylus. These "word-pictures" then developed into wedge-shaped signs. This type of script was called cuneiform (from the Latin word cuneus which means wedge).

Who used cuneiform?
Not everyone learned to read and write. The ones that were picked by the gods were called scribes. Boys that were chosen to become scribes (professional writers) began to study at the age of 8. They finished when they were 20 years old. The scribes wrote on clay tablets and used a triangular shaped reed called a stylus to make marks in the clay. The marks represented the tens of thousands of words in their language.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you need anymore help, check these sites out:

http://mesopotamia.lib.uchicago.edu/

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/asbook03.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesopotamia

++

Good luck on your homework, Kyle.

That is one factor that perplexes me and always boggles my mind whenever I hear my parents talk about how people in Manila look down on bisayans who live in the 'provincia'. There was one story that my dad told me how a man from Manila was in a bar talking to a Cebuano (who came from an upper middle class family) and was asking the cebuano about his province. The cebuano, like any regular bisayan, answered politely. After hearing the answer of the Cebuano, the Manila belittled the cebuano because of his 'ignorante' personality. The Tagalog talked and talked. In all reality, the Manila native indeed lived in the city limits, but in the squatter's section.

The irony of the situation..

Quote from: C2H4 on November 14, 2007, 11:08:05 AM
I don't like horror movies, dong KyLe. My husband loves them. I never watch the scary movies he rents. Mao gani nga motan-aw ta ug salida para malipay ta, malubat lubatan na hinuon ta. Dakong binuang.

Lol, you're husband is awesome, sexy 'te.

Quote from: Kyle828 on November 14, 2007, 11:04:26 AM
    Me too! I hate Stephen King. His movies are HORRIFYING!

C'mon man, a little scare and tear never hurt anyone.

Quote from: -<GEC348>- on November 14, 2007, 07:38:36 AM

I once read Stephen King's "Pet Semetery". I could not finish the last two chapters. Since then, no more of King readings for me. I just wait for the movie version

And there's this film version of King's novel which I saw in television years ago. I couldn't remember the title but it was about a group of airplane passengers who discovered that the world has changed when they landed at the airport. Far from the distance a strange, crunching sound could be heard as if it was like eating something. And the sound got nearer and nearer.
I enjoyed the show a lot.

Really, Sir Gec? I'm an addict of King's works, a lover of horror stories. This reminds me of Stephen King quote that cracked me up the other day.

"Some people ask me why I do what I do, why I write such gross things. I like to tell them I have the heart of a small boy, sitting in a jar on my desk."

Why? considering there are more bisayans than there are ilocanos, tagalogs, etc in the whole Philippines? I dont understand how the minority can look down on the majority...

haha mao bao, Sir Gec?

Today I had a conversation at lunch with some of my filipino buddies. We were talking about the different stereotypes filipinos have of one another; like of the bisaya, tagalog, ilokano, muslim etc etc. I mean it was clear that it was all fun and games, but one thing that my friend from pangasinan and my buddy whose originally form ilocos said about bisayans being "ignorante" really disturbed me. I mean, where do they come up with that---in my head as i was trying hard to smile to hide my annoyance of what they said, i thought to myself that these guys probably recieved these stereotypes from their parents etc etc. It was a joke, but i wonder to myself if those who told the joke do actually hold some kind of bias against us bisayans.

How is it like back there in the Philippines? Do people in manila, illocos, etc etc look down on bisayans?

  lol mao ba?

Cute pair

I am a 4th year student at Allegheny College, and a double major in Biology and History. However in the field of Biology, specialized in Molecular Biology with a special interest in Physiology, Limnology and Microbiology. In history, however, I focus on French Revolutionary History and the theories of Republicanism and Maratism. I am also a Teacher's Assistant for Ecology class and operate as the laboratory research assistant; I grade student's papers, look over exam questions, grade lab quizzes, and test students on their laboratory skills etc etc.
As of right now, am applying to several medical schools and will be matriculating Medical School proper in Fall of 2008.

Am I happy with what I'm doing?
-------------------------------

I love studying; i love reading, learning. My passion is biology and medical science, however, have a fascination with historical discourse in human civilization, particulary in western civilization. Though there are times when my duties as a full time student, research assistant, and teacher is rather overwhelming, I wouldn't be doing it if I didnt like it. The passion of learning and setting precedent, finding a new causitive agent, bacterial vectors, and ways of control is rather titillating.

On the subject of being a teacher's assistant; I dont mind it. I do what I have to do and dictate grades according to a student's particular strengths and weakness. Am extremely strict and hard towards my students. As much as I enjoy undergraduate college, I am excited to begin 1st year Medical School. Luckily for me, I'll have TB keep me sane for the next 4 years

LOL!!

Yup, with the elves

Quote from: Happy on November 14, 2007, 12:37:36 AM
Today is cold and icy outside. I am very tired.

Yesterday as early as 2:45 in the morning i was awaken by a phonecall from my friend in Us. Delivering the news that, her cousin, that it happens to be one of my close friend has died monday noon and he's burried today or this afternoon.

Happy, I'm sorry for your loss and hope that your family are taking everything alright. My condolences to your family for the loss. God Bless..

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (CNN) -- Ieng Sary, the foreign minister of the Khmer Rouge regime that ruled Cambodia in the late 1970s, and his wife were arrested by a U.N.-backed genocide tribunal Monday, court officials announced

Ieng, the brother-in-law of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, and his wife Ieng Thirith were arrested at their home in Phnom Penh after court officials delivered an arrest warrant early Monday, according to the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia.

"They have both been brought to the ECCC facilities," the tribunal announced in a written statement. "Further details will be released tomorrow."

The special tribunal of Cambodian and international judges was established to prosecute ex-Khmer Rouge officials for the killings that accompanied the communist movement's 1975-1979 rule. As many as 2 million people were killed in the party's efforts to transform Cambodia into an agrarian utopia before troops from neighboring Vietnam overthrew the regime.

Ieng Sary faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, while Ieng Thirith -- also a member of the Khmer Rouge leadership -- is charged only with crimes against humanity, the court announced.

Police surrounded their home in Phnom Penh shortly after 5:30 a.m. (10.30pm GMT) and drove them away about 9:30 a.m.. The arrest comes despite a 1996 pardon issued to Ieng Sary by Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk.

Remnants of the Khmer Rouge continued to battle Cambodia's government into the 1990s before fragmenting in the middle of the decade. Ieng defected from the movement in 1996, taking about 10,000 guerrillas with him, and Pol Pot died of natural causes in 1998.

The top surviving Khmer Rouge leader, Nuon Chea, was arrested in September and faces trial before the special tribunal on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Another Khmer Rouge veteran, Kaing Guek Eav, is charged with carrying out mass executions and torture as the commandant of a notorious prison in Phnom Penh.

SAN'A, Yemen (AP) -- Tribesmen attacked an oil installation in Yemen and then clashed with government troops Thursday, leaving 12 people dead, a local official said. It was the second attack on the country's oil industry this week.

The clash in Shabwa province, about 136 miles southeast of the Yemeni capital San'a, broke out after men from the Bani Harith clan attacked a Ukrainian-run oil installation, said the province's governor, Mohammad Ali Ruwashan.

Six government troops and six tribesmen were killed in the clash. One of the dead was Capt. Abdullah Allwan, the Yemeni commander of the installation's guard unit. Ruwashan said six people were wounded in the shootout.

On Monday, unidentified saboteurs bombed an oil pipeline in nearby Marib province, a government official said. The attack halted the flow of oil and added to concerns in the world oil markets about adequate supplies for heating fuel in the approaching winter. Oil prices hit record highs this week.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the latest clash but Yemen's defense minister was said to have been dispatched to the area.

Tribal clashes are common in Yemen, an impoverished nation where tribesmen often reach for their guns to settle arguments. Tribesmen accuse the government of backing down on pledges to employ a large number of them in the oil installations.

Al Qaeda militants have been active in sabotage operations targeting oil pipelines and power stations in the country.

In June, Yemeni security arrested two men suspected of al Qaeda links who confessed to an unsuccessful attempt to blow up an oil pipeline with TNT near the port city of Aden.

In June, five government troops were killed and five were wounded in a clash with tribesmen demanding jobs in oil fields in Marib.

Yemen produces 330,000 barrels of oil a day. In August, al Qaeda militants attacked a power station and a government building in Marib, some 85 miles east of the capital, San`a, causing a major power outage.

MANILA, Nov. 12 â€" Opponents of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo filed a new impeachment complaint against her today, accusing her of corruption and illegal policies that they said have resulted in the death, torture and disappearance of hundreds of government critics.

The complaint, the second against Mrs. Arroyo this year, includes accusations of several cases of abuse committed by state security forces. It also implicated Mrs. Arroyo in a corruption scandal arising from a contract between the government and the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE.

Mrs. Arroyo did not react directly to the new impeachment effort, although in a speech before health professionals today, she called on legislators “to stop political wrangling and concentrate on legislating.”

Mrs. Arroyo’s political party dominates the House of Representatives, and most analysts believe impeachment efforts are unlikely to succeed.

On Sunday, Representative Matias Defensor, an Arroyo ally who heads the House Justice Committee, told reporters that his committee would not accept any more complaints against the president.

But Renato Reyes, secretary general of the leftist group Bayan, one of the signatories of the new complaint, said prospects for a successful impeachment had improved because of a rift between Arroyo and the speaker of the House, José de Venecia Jr., whose son publicly accused Arroyo of abetting bribery to facilitate the $330 million broadband contract with ZTE.

The success of the complaint, Mr. Reyes said, “depends on the pressure outside Congress,” referring to street protests, “and on the cracks in the administration coalition.”

Representative Teodoro A. Casiño, who endorsed the complaint, said that if Congress rejected impeachment the drafters would “go to the Supreme Court and ultimately to the people, who will pass judgment on this.”

Mrs. Arroyo has faced an impeachment complaint every year since she won a disputed victory in the 2004 presidential elections.

The House Justice Committee today threw out a “supplemental complaint” that was intended to strengthen an earlier impeachment complaint filed by a lawyer. The new complaint was signed by 21 groups and individuals, among them her former vice president, Teofisto Guingona.

The president “abets the plunder of our economy and national treasury through corruption, bribery and anomalous contracts,” the complaint read. “More than plunder, however, President Arroyo is also criminally responsible for the deaths of many Filipinos through a national security policy that allows state security forces to commit heinous human rights violations with impunity.”

The complaint said that a couple had committed suicide because of daily harassment and torture by soldiers who suspected them of being Communist guerrillas. Human rights groups and international agencies have accused the state security forces of implementing a counterinsurgency policy directed not only at insurgents but also at leftist groups that operate legally.

MOSCOW, Nov. 12 â€" An environmental disaster began to unfold in southern Russia on Monday as tens of thousands of oil-slicked seabirds and globules of heavy oil dotted the shoreline, a day after at least 11 ships, including a small oil tanker, sank or broke apart in a fierce storm, Russian officials said.

Three bodies washed ashore, and 20 sailors were missing when searches were called off late Monday because of rough weather, the news agency Interfax reported, citing officials with the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations. But officials added that any survivors were at risk of freezing to death before they could be found.

A local official, Alexander Tkachyov, governor of the Krasnodar region, said 30,000 seabirds were covered with oil and would probably die, Interfax said. The World Wide Fund for Nature, a conservation group, said the heavy fuel oil also settled onto the seabed, surely destroying marine habitat and killing fish.

The tanker, Volganeft-139, split apart as it was pounded by 18-foot waves in the Kerch Strait which links the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea, a strategic pathway for oil exported by tanker from Russia and the Caspian basin to Europe. Its 13 crew members were rescued, but 1,300 tons of heavy, viscous oil â€" the equivalent of 560,000 gallons â€" were discharged into the sea.

“The environmental system of the region has sustained serious damage,” said Aleksey Zimenko, a conservationist with the World Wide Fund for Nature, according to Interfax. “The consequences will persist for many years to come.”

The Russian authorities said captains disregarded storm warnings, but survivors said the seas picked up suddenly and little could be done.

“The waves were too high, so we could not lift the anchor,” one rescued sailor said glumly in an interview on RTR television from a hospital bed in Taman, in southern Russia. “Everything happened instantly. We listed, and then we sank.”

Viktor P. Beltsov, a spokesman for the Ministry of Emergency Situations, speaking in a telephone interview, blamed the captains and ship owners for the disaster. “They all knew perfectly well a storm warning was in effect,” he said. “The leadership of these companies simply ignored these warnings.”

Russian prosecutors said they would open a criminal investigation to assess responsibility for the environmental damage.

But the World Wide Fund for Nature said in a statement that the problem ran deeper than errors in judgment by the ships’ captains, citing the Russian practice of using river tankers, like Volganeft-139, on the open sea in rough weather.

“It’s a systemic problem,” the group said. “Most river tankers simply are not constructed for such storms, and the seagoing vessels cannot sail on the Don and Volga Rivers.”

The statement said the accident, the first significant maritime oil spill in Russia during the current oil boom, should impel the country to adopt more stringent laws on tanker traffic, noting that laws requiring double-hulled tankers were introduced in the United States after the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

Far less oil spilled in this incident than in the sinking of a tanker off the coast of Spain in 2002, when 63,000 tons of oil were discharged, destroying marine life and fouling numerous beaches. But the quantity of oil spilled can sometimes be less important than the location of the accident. The spill on Sunday, in a relatively narrow body of water and close to the shoreline, had the potential to be particularly harmful.

Oil spills from pipelines on land are common in Russia. The country, the world’s second largest oil exporting nation after Saudi Arabia, maintains a vast terrestrial pipeline network tying Siberian fields with refineries as far away as Poland.

BAGHDAD â€" At its oldest spot, a small dusty strip of dirt road near a mosque, the neighborhood of Bab al Sheik â€" a maze of snaking streets too narrow for cars â€" dates from a time, more than a thousand years ago, when Baghdad ruled the Islamic world.

At that time, orchards and palaces of Abbasid princes unfolded in stately splendor not far away.

Ten centuries later, Bab al Sheik is less grand, but still extraordinary: it has been spared the sectarian killing that has gutted other neighborhoods, and Sunnis, Shiites, Kurds and Christians live together here with unusual ease. It has been battered by bombings around its edges, but the war has been kept from its heart, largely because of its ancient, shared past, bound by trust and generations of intermarriage.

“All of these people grew up here together,” said Monther, a suitcase seller here. “From the time of our grandfathers, same place, same food, same everything.”

Much of today’s Baghdad sprang into existence in the 1970s, when oil nationalization drew Iraqis from all over the country to work. The city’s population more than tripled over the course of 20 years, and new neighborhoods sprawled east and west. The war and civil conflict have seemed to take a heavier toll in those areas than in some of the older neighborhoods.

No one knows that better than Waleed, a rail-thin Bab al Sheik native who 10 years ago moved his family to Dora, a newly built middle-class neighborhood in southern Baghdad.

In Dora, residents were from all over. That never seemed to matter until the basic rules of society fell away after the American occupation began. The only bulwark left against chaos was trust between families, and in Dora there was not enough.

“We didn’t know each other’s backgrounds,” said Waleed, sitting recently with Monther in a barbershop in Bab al Sheik, rain spitting on the street outside. Neither man wanted to be identified by his last name out of concern for safety.

“Here, he can’t lie to me,” he said, jabbing a finger in Monther’s direction. “He can’t say, ‘I’m this, I’m that,’ because I know it’s not true.”

In Dora, he said, he did not have those powers of discernment. And he paid the price: his son was shot to death on Oct. 9, 2006, while trying to get a copy of his high school diploma. Waleed moved his family out of the area immediately.

“My first thought was this neighborhood,” he said. “My grandfather is from here. I always felt safe here.”

So did two reporters, who made six visits to the area over two months. It was safe enough, in fact, to walk through the warren of narrow streets, nod at older women sitting at street-level windows, linger in a barbershop and make long visits to Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish homes.

On a recent Friday, a large Kurdish extended family relaxed at home. The living room was dark and cool, tucked in an alley away from the afternoon sun.

Abu Nawal, the father, recounted how a group of men from the office of the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr came to a local cafe, proposing to set up shop in the area. The cafe owner pointed to a sign, which stated in dark script that all discussions of politics and religion were prohibited. The men were then asked to leave.

“The guys in the neighborhood said, ‘If you try to make an office here, we will explode it,’” said Abu Nawal, a shoemaker, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for four generations.

Some time later, Sunni Arab political party members came and were similarly rebuffed.

“They wanted to put their foot in this neighborhood, but they couldn’t,” said Abu Nawal, who asked to be identified by his nickname for the safety of his family.

He said he despised the poisonous mix of religion and politics that was strangling Iraqi society, and he enjoyed cracking wry jokes at politicians’ expense. Playing off the names for extremist militias, which in Iraq call themselves things like the Islamic Army, he refers to his group of friends as the Arak Army, righteous defenders of an anise-flavored alcoholic drink.

The neighborhood has another rare asset: moderate religious men.

Sheik Muhammad Wehiab, a 30-year-old Shiite imam whose family has lived in Bab al Sheik for seven generations, was jailed for 14 months under Saddam Hussein, a biographical fact that should have opened doors for him in the new Shiite-dominated power hierarchy. But his moderate views were unpopular in elite circles, and he has remained in the neighborhood.

He feels connected. So much so that while talking on the phone one night this fall, he walked out into the tiny alley outside his door, lay down and watched the stars in the night sky.

“I think Maliki right now is envying me,” he said to himself. “No bodyguards. Just free. This is the blessing.”

Sheik Wehiab has radical views. One of them is that Muslims have behaved terribly toward one another in the war here and that they have given Islam a bad name in using it to gain power.

“I don’t blame those guys who drew the cartoons,” he said, referring to the Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad that set off riots and protests across the Islamic world last year.

“Muslims are the ones to be blamed,” he said, sitting in an armchair in his quiet living room. “They have given them this picture.” An ice cream seller walked past his window, hawking in a loud voice.

Sheik Wehiab’s friend, a Sunni cleric, holds a similar view.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 â€" The Bush administration is dispatching a high-level envoy to Pakistan to tell the Pakistani president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, face to face that the United States will not be satisfied with his plan to hold elections unless he first lifts emergency law, administration officials said Monday.

While welcoming the news that General Musharraf would hold elections in January rather than delay them, they questioned whether elections could be legitimate if held when the country remains effectively under martial law, with opposition parties in lockdown and unable to campaign or assemble freely.

“The president thinks we need to lift the emergency rule in order to have free and fair elections,” said Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman. A senior administration official said that it remained an open question whether free elections could be held that reflected the true wishes of the Pakistani people if General Musharraf continued to jail or otherwise detain the opposition.

The comments reflected increased frustration within the administration over General Musharraf’s power grab, as well as mounting uneasiness about how much longer Pakistan can continue in the present chaos before descending into further instability. The plan to send an envoy to Pakistan was described by administration officials who declined to elaborate further about the mission.

Publicly, Bush administration officials say that they continue to support General Musharraf, who is still viewed by the Pentagon as America’s best option for tackling operatives of Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s frontier provinces. “Nobody is ready to cut him off at the knees yet,” one official said.

But the official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue, said that many people within the administration were worried that General Musharraf’s missteps would soon so erode his base at home that he could be forced to give up power.

To prepare for that possibility, the Bush administration has been taking care in recent days to try to distinguish between its support for Pakistan and its support for the general.

When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, for example, told the ABC News program “This Week” that “we’ve been in close contact, as you might imagine, through our embassy, through our ambassador there, with all parties in Pakistan,” she was signaling that the United States was hedging its bets in Pakistan by reaching out to civilian institutions and nongovernmental organizations, administration officials said. “This is not a personal matter about President Musharraf,” Ms. Rice said. “This is about the Pakistani people. And the United States has been dedicated to helping the Pakistani people come to a more democratic path.”

Further complicating the issue for the Bush administration so far has been the continuing political tug of war between General Musharraf and the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto: Ms. Bhutto keeps announcing rallies to oppose the general’s emergency rule, and he keeps putting her under house arrest for what he says is her own safety.

The Pakistani authorities issued a seven-day detention order against Ms. Bhutto on Monday in a bid to stop her from leading another planned protest march this week from the eastern city of Lahore to the capital, Islamabad.

General Musharraf’s deputies said they had received intelligence suggesting that Ms. Bhutto could be a target for militants. While American officials say they, too, have been worried about Ms. Bhutto’s safety, one official said the detention order fits neatly with the general’s emergency powers decree.

“He wasn’t exactly running to put her under house arrest when she first arrived,” the official said, alluding to the suicide attack on Ms. Bhutto’s convoy after her arrival in Karachi last month.

LAHORE, Pakistan, Tuesday, Nov. 13 â€" Hundreds of riot policemen today blocked the opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and her supporters from making a planned long march from this eastern city 160 miles through Punjab Province to the capital, Islamabad.

Police officers surrounded the house where Ms. Bhutto was staying here and arrested party workers who tried to cross police lines to reach her. Riot policemen using barbed wire and dump trucks loaded with sand blocked off the neighborhood.

“We will definitely try to come out,” said Farzana Raja, a party spokesman, referring to street protests. “She will definitely try to come out.”

Minutes later, the police arrested Ms. Raja and several dozen other party workers. With the police deployed across the city, it appeared that Ms. Bhutto’s supporters would again be blocked from demonstrating.

Police officers arrested hundreds of workers from her political party around this city on Tuesday. Riot police officers were deployed outside government buildings here as well, in anticipation of protests by Ms. Bhutto’s supporters.

The Pakistani government placed her under house arrest on Monday for seven days, members of her party said, in an attempt to block the march. It was unclear what Ms. Bhutto would do in response to the government’s move. On Friday, a huge police presence in the city of Rawalpindi prevented a rally planned by her there.

Other opposition groups have accused her of mounting only token protests while negotiating a power sharing agreement with Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, at the urging of the United States.

Standing in front of police barriers, Yousuf Arza Giani, a party vice president, said the party had broken off all talks with the government. “It’s really bad, extremely bad,” he said.

A government spokesman, Tariq Azim Khan, citing intelligence data, suggested that Ms. Bhutto could be a target for militants. She survived a suicide-bombing attack last month in Karachi when she returned to Pakistan, after eight years in self-imposed exile, to lead her party in parliamentary elections.

Although there is general agreement that a threat to her exists, General Musharraf is widely seen here as using the specter of terrorism to expand his own powers and squelch all opposition. Party officials scoffed at the notion of a threat. “It’s a drama â€" there is no reality to it,” a local spokeswoman said Tuesday.

About 140 of Ms. Bhutto’s party workers were killed in the attack in Karachi on Oct. 18. The government has used that attack as public justification for stopping her protests. It has also made clear that any demonstrations are illegal under the emergency decree.

The decree has also cast uncertainty on parliamentary elections, scheduled for January.

Two of Pakistan’s bigger opposition parties said Monday that they would probably boycott the elections if emergency rule was still in place. Ms. Bhutto has not said whether she would pull her party, the Pakistan Peoples Party, out of the elections. General Musharraf said Sunday that emergency rule would continue at least until the elections.

On Sunday, Ms. Bhutto called the announcement a “positive” but insufficient step. She assumed a slightly tougher tone on Monday, suggesting that her negotiations with General Musharraf had come to an end.

“We cannot work with anyone who has suspended the Constitution, imposed emergency rule and oppressed the judiciary,” she said in Lahore.

Raza Zafarul Haz, the chairman of one of the country’s biggest parties, the Pakistan Muslim League of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said that for free and fair elections to go ahead, emergency rule would have to be lifted and judges who were fired after the imposition of the rule would need to be reinstated.

The party will make its final decision within a week on whether to participate, he said.

Liaqat Baloch, the secretary general of Pakistan’s most popular Islamic party, Jamaat-e-Islami, said the party was considering withholding its candidates if the emergency was still in place in January.

Despite Ms. Bhutto’s tougher comments on Monday, analysts said they believed she had not completely moved away from her original plan, devised with the backing of the Bush administration, to seek a power-sharing deal with General Musharraf.

As the leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, which has usually commanded about a third of the popular vote, Ms. Bhutto is trying to steer a path between a desire to return to power and not to appear to be too close to the widely unpopular president.

Ms. Bhutto was prime minister of Pakistan twice and was twice dismissed before she was able to complete her terms.

Separately, foreign ministers from the Commonwealth of Britain and its former colonies said Pakistan would be suspended from the organization unless the decree was repealed and General Musharraf stepped down as army chief by Nov. 22, The Associated Press reported.

hahaha! thats what I did
Btw, Halo 3 is worth every waking moment....the graphics and gameplay is too good.

I just started on another Stephen King book, Rose Red.

Quote from: Macky Ferniz on November 09, 2007, 01:27:47 AM
It is not shameful to proclaim that we Filipinos can not speak English perfectly. It is the truth. However, speech is only a skill like singing or dancing, and not necessarily a manifestation of intelligence. Yet, I am certain that we Filipinos are among the highly intelligent race in this planet.

Simply, we are Filipinos with our hard tongues. We speak our own language, we have our own identity. We may not be perfect in terms of communication skills, but in comprehension, we are.

Sadly, the Americans, the people we Filipinos regard to as icons of intellegence and perfect society is dumbing down. Ref: http://www.digitaldivide.net/news/view.php?HeadlineID=241

I am proud of being Filipino, a royal race and not a decendant of some violent wild west.

I love how you coined that, a royal race, Mr. Ferniz.

The dictionary defines social darwinism as the idea that Charles Darwin's theory can be extended and applied to the social realm, i.e. that just as competition between individual organisms drives biological evolutionary change (speciation) through "survival of the fittest" (not a scientific term itself), competition between individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives social evolution in human societies.

What are your views on this social concept, do you view it as validated and legitimized or do you see it as a racist philosophy that biases on one race in favor of another? Share your views.

Quote from: frog70 on November 12, 2007, 03:54:36 PM
are you sure Lorenzo?mawad an man sad ta ug gana nimo uy kay kalimtan ra diay ko nimo,hehehe

ha, tinuud baya pre. I dont know why but i do scream in my dreams or when im in deep sleep, i remember one time where my xgf woke me up saying that i was screaming in my sleep, hahaha. She says that i go physical when i sleep kono..like wrapping my legs around her or roll around, hahaha. I feel bad because i really dont remember what i do when im sleeping.

Normally i dont remember my dreams. Im deep sleeper man gud..

Attractive singer with great skills   

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2U3SY7sHJBU

Hahahaha!!! Always man jud ta sexy and musky, 'te. Ang problema kai wa man jud baji! hahahaha! Pastilan uy.

Isn't it funny? We work so we get paid and use that to buy a home, which houses family and children. We have children because two people are lonely--and the conception of a child is a result of sexual relations. A child also is the reasons for working, to raise it, send it to school, see it succeed in its life. We make friends, do things to take our time. For what? We do all these things, while we wait to die. In the scheme of things..

Quote from: frog70 on November 12, 2007, 10:44:43 AM
maulaw baya ko ani na magsige basa akong ilok uy,even i did nothing except cheering and jumping?why man?

Males usually have a more active eccrine and apocrine glands (sweat glands) than the female sex, additionally, women have a lower skin surface pH than men. As a result, women have a lower acidity in their sweat as compared to men. One of the reasons why men have a more profound body odor than women. Its all apocrinary, lol!!