MikeLigalig.com

I give it two thumbs up for scariness, 'te. The ending was iffy tho..but the actress was hot,

Hahaha, i missed you guys too much to stay away for too long
I missed my Tubag Bohol family

Love you too, Ate.  Tulug na uy

Good day. After a nice hike...went to watch Resident Evil 3 with a bud. Creepy movie, btw. But I recommend it to those who are into the horror/action flicks.

Hey Swakee! Hows the Hawaiian weather ?

Ate Belle, did you catch any big fish today?

After watching Resident Evil 3 today, i just realized another fear: Getting trapped underground in the dark. Ngek

ayaw pa hadlok, te. Mo suko ra man ko to defend. Sensitive ra kaayo ko...patay jud ta ani.

Eh..chatting in TB this weekend has been very emotionally draining for me. So much unecessary drama...
Im going out to go hiking to release some stress. And deal with things that actually matter for me. Im going to take a break from TB for a while...

.

guapo man na si brod mohandis uy! How can the girls not go crazy after him?

hahahaha joke lang gud, ate. Sorry hah ~~

oo someone toinked me again. LoL i can only guess WHO..

Kita duha..

Im done with this. **pushes ignore button**

Hahahahahha i cant believe this guy. Dude you're OLD! Grow up!!!

Im like young enough to be your grandson!! Grow up!!!

I cant believe this guy...

I actually felt sorry for her, during the entire drama with her in prison and stuff. The media was too much uy...and people were HEARTLESS to her...as if they were free from sin, diba? Ironic...

Hope and pray that Paris learns from her mistakes and does truly change.

Since we always fight. Since our ideas are so different, and your hurtful and destructive comments to me--are more than bearable. Why should I choose to listen to you all the time? (rhetorical question, dont answer) So I took the advice of some of my friends in here. I'll just cut you off. Do the same as well.

Adios

You dont exist to me, remember.
So stop talking to me.

Speaking of which...gotta admit, Paris does look hot eh? I mean...sure she has her share of sins and vices...she still is cute.

Hahahaha

HAHAHA its all back home. I'll post em when i get back home and scan em.

The used to call me "Crazy Samoa" hahahaha. Kai my coach thought i was Samoan..and i was very aggressive in the field. One of the reason why i quit playing.

 PASADENA, United States (AFP) - Fifty years after the launch of Sputnik left the United States scrambling to play catch-up in the first Space Race, US scientists fear history may be repeating itself as Asia emerges as the rising force in space exploration.

While the achievements of space programs run by China, Japan and India are modest in comparison to the milestones set by the United States and former Soviet Union, experts at a recent conference in Pasadena believe it is only a matter of time before Asia leads the field.

China, which sent a man into space for the first time in 2003, plans to launch its own moon probe before the end of the year, followed by India in the first half of 2008. Japan kick-started the Asian lunar race on September 14 when it successfully launched its first lunar orbiter.

While China and India have raised the possibility of a manned lunar mission within the next decade, the United States has vowed to return to the Moon in 2020, 48 years after the last US visit. NASA meanwhile has set the ambitious target of wanting to put a man on Mars in 2037.

"When we celebrate 100 years of Sputnik, we might celebrate the 20th anniversary of man landing on Mars," Frank Griffin, NASA's chief administrator said recently.

But many astrophysicists, space engineers and other high-ranking US scientists do not share Griffin's optimism, pointing to waning interest in space exploration amongst young Americans and a lack of government investment in developing elite scientists.

"In America, contrary to our self-image, we are no longer leaders but simply players," said Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium in a recent editorial. "WeÃ,?ve moved backward just by standing still."

The numbers of new scientists in Asian countries are eclipsing those in the United States. In 2004, around 500,000 engineers graduated in China, 200,000 in India and only 70,000 in the US, according to a report from the National Academy of Sciences released this year.

The authors of the report -- "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" -- warned the United States risked losing its position as the leading technological superpower if present trends continued.

"Although many people assume that United States will always be a world leader in science and technology, this may not continue to be the case," the report warned. "We fear the abruptness with which a lead in science and technology can be lost -- and the difficulty of recovering a lead once lost, if indeed it can be regained at all.

"This nation must prepare with great urgency to preserve its strategic and economic security."

According to Ares Rosakis, a professor of Aeronautics at the prestigious California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, the scientific community has struggled to capture the imagination of younger generations.

"We have failed to communicate and infuse the excitement of space into our younger generation," Rosakis said.

Charles Elachi, the director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, echoed Rosakis' comments.

"Clearly, there are so many distractions in our society but every time we have kids visiting JPL and we talk about space exploration, showing them Mars rovers, having astronauts, they get completely taken by it," Elachi said.

"The challenge we have now in our society is the wide distraction that kids get from networks, games, iPods, YouTube and so on. We need to figure a way to get their attention."

Frank Fernandez, director emeritus of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), blamed a lack of investment in human resources.

"We need to invest in people," Fernandez warned. "We don't have people in the pipeline."

 WELLINGTON (Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 hit some 500 km (300 miles) southwest of New Zealand on Sunday, but there were no reports of damage and authorities discounted the risk of a major tsunami.

The quake occurred at around 6:24 p.m. local time, and was felt throughout the south of New Zealand's South Island, said Warwick Smith of state agency GNS Science.

"There was initially some concern there may have been a tsunami, but that possibility has now been discounted," Smith said.

The quake was near to the Auckland Islands, a group of seven uninhabited islands 467 km south of South Island.

A police spokeswoman in Invercargill, a city at the bottom of the South Island, said: "It didn't feel that strong to me: many of the people in the station didn't even feel it."

Japan's Meteorological Agency put the quake's magnitude at 7.4, while Geoscience Australia said it was 7.6.

A spokesman for Geoscience Australia said seismologists were expecting no damage given the distance offshore and might review the magnitude figure.

Volcanic arcs and oceanic trenches partly encircling the Pacific Basin form the so-called Ring of Fire, a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions and the location of the top 10 earthquakes in the world since 1900. All of the top 10 measured an 8.5 magnitude or above.

Earlier on Sunday, a strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.1 swayed buildings on the Pacific island of Guam, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami alert was issued.

KATHMANDU (AFP) - Nepal's embattled king made a low-key, late night trip to receive blessings from a young "goddess" on Sunday, after he was replaced earlier this week at celebrations by Nepal's prime minister.

King Gyanendra's dynasty has hung in the balance since the country's fiercely republican Maoists ended their civil war late last year and entered the political mainstream.

"The king came around and received blessings from the Kumari," Ratna Karji Shakya, who lives in the palace with the girl worshipped as a living goddess, told AFP.

In previous years, the monarch made several public appearances at the Kumari festival, but this year had been replaced by the country's veteran prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala.

"The palace informed us of the visit late this afternoon," said Shakya, one of the goddess's caretakers.

Gyanendra's dynasty was established almost 240 years ago, when his ancestor Privith Narayn Shah -- the founder of modern Nepal -- received blessings from the virgin goddess, marking the spiritual seal on his invasion of Kathmandu.

Traditionally the Kumari -- a young girl selected and worshipped as a living reincarnation of a powerful Hindu goddess -- has to give the king blessings to allow him to continue ruling the country.

But more earthly decisions now look set to determine the monarchy's future, with its fate supposed to be decided in November after elections for a body that will rewrite the country's constitution.

The Maoists have called for an immediate declaration of a republic, and thousands of Maoists gathered in an open air theatre in Kathmandu earlier Sunday as part of their protest campaign.

King Gyanendra has always struggled to win widespread public support.

He came to the throne in 2001 after his brother Birendra and most of his family were massacred, according to the official version, by an alcohol and drug-fuelled crown prince Dipendra, who in turn shot himself.

On November 22, Nepal is due to go to the polls to elect a body to rewrite the constitution and decide the fate of the monarchy once and for all.

The Maoists quit the interim government nearly two weeks ago and are campaigning hard for the monarchy's immediate abolition.

 TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's ruling party approved a resolution Sunday underscoring the island's sovereignty and calling for steps to turn it into a "normal country," a status strongly resisted by China.

The resolution was the more moderate of two versions put to a congress of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

It urged the party to "take active steps such as rectifying the country's name, the enactment of a new constitution as soon as possible and joining the United Nations... in order to turn Taiwan into a 'normal country'."

It also called on the government to promote the identity of Taiwan and act to retrieve assets the DPP alleges the opposition Kuomintang party stole while ruling the island.

However, the resolution is regarded as largely aspirational and is not expected to have an immediate impact on government policy.

Taiwan and China split in 1949 at the end of a civil war. But Beijing still regards the island as a renegade province and has repeatedly threatened an invasion should Taipei declare formal independence.

The other resolution put to the congress by former DPP chairman Yu Shyi-kun was harder in calling for Taiwan to declare itself a sovereign state, but it was defeated.

Yu's version had the support of the DPP's radical independence groups but was opposed by the party's presidential candidate Frank Hsieh, who feared such a move might scare away moderate voters in the 2008 presidential race.

Hsieh is hoping to succeed President Chen Shui-bian of the DPP, who ended the Kuomintang's 51-year grip on power when he was first elected in 2000.

Local newspapers said Washington had warned the DPP not to approve Yu's version.

Taiwan's ties with the United States, its major arms supplier, have been damaged by a DPP pledge to push for a referendum on seeking UN membership for the island.

 KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Ten African Union soldiers were killed and 50 were missing after armed men launched an assault on an AU base in Darfur, the worst attack on AU troops since they deployed in Sudan's violent west in 2004.

The AU called it a "deliberate and sustained" assault by some 30 vehicles, which overran and looted the peacekeepers' camp on Saturday night.

Sudan's army and Darfur rebel movements initially blamed each other for the strike on the Haskanita base in southeastern Darfur. But one rebel source said the attack was carried out by breakaway rebel forces who wanted a seat at peace talks due to begin on October 27 in Libya.

"Reports (indicate) 10 killed and 50 missing in action with seven seriously injured," said AU spokesman Noureddine Mezni.

"Our camp is completely destroyed," he said, adding it was the heaviest casualties suffered since the AU mission deployed.

"There is a feeling of shock."

News of the violence drew swift and widespread condemnation.

"Not only was it a flagrant violation of the ceasefire but an unconscionable crime that breaks every convention and norm of international peacekeeping," said Rodolphe Adada, the political head of a joint U.N.-AU mission due to replace the AU forces.

Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) spokesman Ahmed Hussein said: "It is not fair that the AU should be attacked in this way."

One rebel source said the attack was by breakaway JEM rebels trying to get vehicles, weapons and power, and gain an invitation to talks. He blamed JEM's sacked Vice President Bahr Idriss Abu Garda and former military chief Abdallah Banda.

Another source said they had been working with Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) Unity in the area.

An alliance between JEM and SLA Unity faction have become the largest military threat to Khartoum in recent months.

Abu Bakr Kadu, an SLA Unity commander, denied they were responsible, but said they had been fighting with government forces in Haskanita all day on Saturday until sunset.

"Maybe the AU was caught in the middle of the bombardment during our battles with the government. The government has been moving using the AU as cover and they are still inside Haskanita near the AU base," he said.

The AU said the attack began at 1930 (1630 GMT) on Saturday, after sunset.

ELDERS

The latest violence to threaten Darfur's fragile peace process came as a group of international "elders" was due in Sudan on Sunday to put their hand to resolving the conflict in Darfur and growing tensions in the country's south.

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, rights activist Graca Machel, and peace mediation veteran Lakhdar Brahimi, accompanied by British businessman Richard Branson, were due on Sunday in Sudan for the start of a trip that will take them to Darfur and the southern capital Juba.

International experts estimate some 200,000 people have died in Darfur with 2.5 million driven from their homes. Mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing central government of neglect.

Washington calls the conflict genocide, a term Khartoum rejects and European governments are reluctant to use. President Omar Hassan al-Bashir puts the death toll at 9,000.

A joint U.N.-AU peacekeeping force with 26,000 police and soldiers is due to deploy next year to absorb the AU's 7,000 peacekeepers who, lacking equipment and experience, have struggled to defend even themselves against attack.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said Saturday's "confirms the need to send the African and the U.N. hybrid force (to Darfur) as soon as possible," the state news agency reported.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner condemned the attack as a "murderous and unacceptable act."

(Additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris and Alaa Shahine in Cairo)

 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Dengue fever is spreading across Latin America and the Caribbean in one of the worst outbreaks in decades, causing agonizing joint pain for hundreds of thousands of people and killing nearly 200 so far this year.

The mosquitoes that carry dengue are thriving in expanded urban slums scattered with water-collecting trash and old tires. Experts say dengue is approaching record levels this year as many countries enter their wettest months.

"If we do not slow it down, it will intensify and take a greater social and economic toll on these countries," said Dr. Jose Luis San Martin, head of anti-dengue efforts for the Pan American Health Organization, a regional public health agency.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has posted advisories this year for people visiting Latin American and Caribbean destinations to use mosquito repellant and stay inside screened areas whenever possible.

"The danger is that the doctors at home don't recognize the dengue," said Dr. Wellington Sun, the chief of the CDC's dengue branch in San Juan. "The doctors need to raise their level of suspicion for any traveler who returns with a fever."

Dengue has already damaged the economies of countries across the region by driving away tourists, according to a document prepared for a PAHO conference beginning Monday in Washington.

Some countries have focused mosquito eradication efforts on areas popular with tourists. Mexico sent hundreds of workers to the resorts of Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Acapulco this year to try to avert outbreaks.

Health ministers from across the region meet at the PAHO conference and San Martin said he will urge them to devote more resources to dengue fever.

The tropical virus was once thought to have been nearly eliminated from Latin America, but it has steadily gained strength since the early 1980s. Now, officials fear it could emerge as a pandemic similar to one that became a leading killer of children in Southeast Asia following World War II.

Officials say the virus is likely to grow deadlier in part because tourism and migration are circulating four different strains across the region. A person exposed to one strain may develop immunity to that strain â€" but subsequent exposure to another strain makes it more likely the person will develop the hemorrhagic form.

"The main concern is what's happening in the Americas will recapitulate what has happened in Southeast Asia, and we will start seeing more and more severe types of cases of dengue as time progresses," Sun said.

The disease â€" known as "bonebreak fever" because of the pain â€" can incapacitate patients for as long as a week with flu-like symptoms. A deadly hemorrhagic form, which also causes internal and external bleeding, accounts for less than 5 percent of cases but has shown signs of growing.

So far this year, 630,356 dengue cases have been reported in the Americas â€" most in Brazil, Venezuela, or Colombia â€" with 12,147 cases of hemorrhagic fever and 183 deaths, according to the Pan American Health Organization. With the spread expected to accelerate during the upcoming rainy season in many countries, cases this year could exceed the 1,015,000 reported in 2002, according to San Martin.

In Puerto Rico, where 5,592 suspected cases and three deaths have been reported, some lawmakers called this week for the health secretary to resign.

In the Dominican Republic, which has reported 25 deaths this year, the health department announced Thursday that it would train 2.5 million public school students to encourage parents and neighbors to eliminate standing water.

Researchers have not yet developed a vaccine against dengue and Sun said that for now, the only way to stop the virus is to contain the mosquito population â€" a task that relies of countless, relentless individual efforts including installing screen doors and making sure mosquitoes are not breeding in garbage.

"It's like telling people to stop smoking," he said. "They may do it for a while, but they don't do it on a consistent basis and without doing that, it's not effective."

While dengue is increasing around the developing world, the problem is most dramatic in the Americas, according to the CDC.

Health officials believe the resurgence of the malaria-like illness is due partly to a premature easing of eradication programs in the 1970s.

Migration and tourism also have carried new strains of the virus across national borders, even into the United States, which had largely wiped out the disease after a 1922 outbreak that infected a half-million people.

Mexico has been struggling with an alarming increase in the deadly hemorrhagic form of dengue, which now accounts for roughly one in four cases. The government has confirmed 3,249 cases of hemorraghic dengue for the year through Sept. 15, up from 1,924 last year.

The CDC says there is no drug to treat hemorrhagic dengue, but proper treatment, including rest, fluids and pain relief, can reduce death rates to about 1 percent.

San Martin said he use the meetings starting Monday to urge enforcement of trash disposal regulations, more investment in mosquito control and new incentives for communities to participate.

"It is a battle of every government, every community and every individual," he said.

 MOSCOW (Reuters) - Surprise contenders could emerge in the race to succeed President Vladimir Putin, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday after ruling out running for parliament as a pro-Kremlin party candidate.

Putin says he will step down in 2008 after two four-year terms in office and Moscow's political salons are abuzz with speculation about who he could endorse ahead of Russia's presidential elections in March.

Medvedev, 42, is one of a small group of Kremlin insiders who has been tipped as a possible successor to Putin, along with new Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov and First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov.

Putin's close ally Dmitry Kozak, recently promoted to the post of regional development minister, will not run, Russian media reported on Sunday.

"I'm now excluding the possibility (of me running) because I feel I am not ready," news agency Interfax quoted Kozak, considered a contender in the presidential race, as saying.

Given Putin's high approval ratings and the Kremlin's strong control over the broadcast media, any candidate who wins his endorsement will have a huge advantage when voters elect his successor next March.

That has not deterred the extra-parliamentary opposition, however and one grouping, the Other Russia, on Sunday backed former world chess champion and Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov as its presidential candidate.

"Kasparov was confirmed by an overwhelming majority of votes as the single candidate from the opposition," Other Russia spokeswoman Lyudmila Mamina said.

While he has a high profile in the West, Kasparov's movement has failed to register in opinion polls. There are other opposition contenders including former prime minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, who declared his candidacy in June.

UNITED RUSSIA PLATFORM

Some analysts have focused on the United Russia party, which says its main aim is to support Putin's policies, as a way to elevate potential candidates ahead of a parliamentary election in December.

But, speaking a day before a two-day United Russia congress, Medvedev said: "I will probably disappoint you, but I am not going to be in the party list."

He refused to directly answer when asked if he would run for president. "I can say the following: I am convinced that there will be a sufficient amount of fully worthy candidates, both expected and rather unexpected."

Putin, who has not ruled out returning to power in 2012, has played a careful game to keep everyone guessing about who he favours as his successor.

He surprised observers by appointing Zubkov, a little known 66-year-old former head of an anti-money laundering unit, as prime minister on September 14.

Putin, 54, has said Zubkov is one of five people who could succeed him, though he didn't name them.

"Not long ago no one was really visible (as a possible presidential candidate) and today there is specific number of people who are spoken about -- that is good for a young democracy," said Medvedev, who also chairs gas monopoly Gazprom.

(Additional reporting by Amie Ferris-Rotman in Moscow)

GO UKRAAAAAAAAAAINAAA!!!!

++++++++++

KIEV (AFP) - Parties loyal to Ukraine's pro-Western president, Viktor Yushchenko, scored a narrow victory in Sunday's parliamentary election, according to three exit polls published here.

The exit polls, released immediately after voting ended in the ex-Soviet republic, showed Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc with a narrow lead over parties backing Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

A Western poll commissioned by the ICTV television station gave the combined pro-Yushchenko forces 46.5 percent of votes cast, against 43.2 percent for Yanukovych's Regions Party and all parties that would be likely to join him in a coalition.

The other polls gave similar figures.

Official results in the tense contest were not expected until Monday, but exit polls have proved reliable in past Ukrainian elections.

 BAGHDAD - The U.S. Embassy on Sunday criticized a Senate resolution that could lead to a division of the country into sectarian or ethnic territories, agreeing with a swath of Iraqi leaders in saying the proposal "would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed."

Northwest of the capital, U.S. aircraft killed more than 20 al-Qaida fighters who opened fire on them, the military said Sunday.

The unusual statement from the Bush administration came just hours after representatives of Iraq's major political parties denounced the U.S. Senate proposal calling for a limited centralized government with the bulk of the power given to the country's Shiite, Sunni or Kurdish regions, saying it would seriously hamper Iraq's future stability.

"Our goal in Iraq remains the same: a united, democratic, federal Iraq that can govern, defend, and sustain itself," the statement said. "Iraq's leaders must and will take the lead in determining how to achieve these national aspirations. ... attempts to partition or divide Iraq by intimidation, force or other means into three separate states would produce extraordinary suffering and bloodshed."

The nonbinding Senate resolution adopted last week calls for Iraq to be divided into federal regions under control of Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis in a power-sharing agreement similar to the one that ended the 1990s war in Bosnia. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., was a prime sponsor of the measure.

The firefight between the U.S. aircraft from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division and the insurgent fighters occurred Saturday about 17 miles northwest of the capital, the statement said.

"The aircraft observed about 25 al-Qaida personnel carrying AK-47 assault rifles, with one of the men brandishing an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade), and walking through an area of local shops and into a palm grove. Shortly after spotting the men, the aircraft were fired upon by the insurgent fighters," according to the statement.

The military did not say what kind of aircraft were involved but the fact that the fighters opened fire suggests they were low-flying Apache helicopters.

No Iraqi civilians or U.S. soldiers were killed or wounded, the military said.

Iraq's Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said Iraqi soldiers had killed 42 "terrorists" over the past 24 hours in in Salahuddin and Diyala provinces and around the city of Kirkuk.

The Kurds in three northern Iraqi provinces are running a virtually independent country within Iraq, while nominally maintaining relations with Baghdad. They support a formal division, but both Sunni and Shiite Muslims have denounced the proposal.

"Partition is not on the table," the U.S. statement said. "The United States fully supports the Iraqis in their efforts to achieve peace and stability."

At a news conference earlier Sunday, at least nine Iraqi political parties and party blocs representing both Shiites and Sunnis said the Senate resolution would diminish Iraq's sovereignty and called for an Iraqi law banning any division of the country along sectarian or ethnic lines.

"This proposal was based on the incorrect reading and unrealistic estimations of Iraq's past, present and future," according to the statement read by Izzat al-Shahbandar, a representative of the Iraqi National List, a secular political party.

"(The proposal) opposes all laws of the international community and its legitimate institutions which protect all the rights of people in self-decision, building their future and defending their unity and sovereignty," he said.

On Friday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told The Associated Press that "dividing Iraq is a problem, and a decision like that would be a catastrophe."

Iraq's constitution lays down a federal system, allowing Shiites in the south, Kurds in the north and Sunnis in the center and west of the country to set up regions with considerable autonomous powers.

Nevertheless, ethnic and sectarian turmoil have snarled hopes of negotiating such measures, especially given deep divisions on sharing the country's vast oil resources. Oil reserves and existing fields would fall mainly into the hands of Kurds and Shiites if such a division were to occur.

Also Sunday, a judge delayed court proceedings for a second U.S. Army sniper accused in the deaths of two unarmed Iraqi civilians a day after a military panel sentenced a 22-year-old specialist to five months in prison for his role in the crimes.

Jorge G. Sandoval was convicted Thursday of planting evidence on one of the unidentified Iraqis who died last spring. He was acquitted of two murder charges.

His colleague, Sgt. Evan Vela, testified he had pulled the trigger and killed one of the men Sandoval was accused of murdering, saying the sniper team was following orders. Vela, 23, was expected to undergo a pretrial hearing Sunday until a military judge decided to postpone those proceedings for at least a month.

Separately, the U.S. military also announced the death of an American soldier killed Saturday in a roadside bombing and gunfire attack in eastern Baghdad.

 YANGON, Myanmar - A U.N. envoy failed to meet with Myanmar's top two junta leaders in his effort to persuade them to ease a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters, but was allowed a highly orchestrated session Sunday with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The military government, meanwhile, flooded the main city of Yangon with troops, swelling their numbers to about 20,000 by Sunday and ensuring that almost all demonstrators would remain off the streets, a diplomat said.

Scores of people also were arrested overnight, further weakening the flagging uprising against 45 years of military dictatorship. The protests began Aug. 19 when the government sharply raised fuel prices, then mushroomed into the junta's largest challenge in decades when Myanmar's revered monks took a leading role.

One protest was reported Sunday in the western state of Rakhine, were more than 800 people marched in the town of Taunggok, shouting "Release all political prisoners!" Police, soldiers and junta supporters blocked the road, forcing them to disperse, a local resident said.

Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N.'s special envoy to Myanmar, was sent to the country to try to persuade the notoriously unyielding military junta to halt its crackdown. Soldiers have shot and killed protesters, ransacked Buddhist monasteries, beaten monks and dissidents and arrested an estimated 1,000 people in the last week alone.

But it was not clear what, if anything, Gambari could accomplish. The junta has rebuffed scores of previous U.N. attempts at promoting democracy and Gambari himself spoke in person to Suu Kyi nearly a year ago with nothing to show for it.

Gambari began Sunday by meeting with the acting prime minister, the deputy foreign minister and the ministers of information and culture in Myanmar's new bunker-like capital of Naypyitaw, 240 miles north of Yangon. The meeting, however, did not include junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, or his deputy, Gen. Maung Aye, the two key figures whom Gambari had been pushing to speak with before his arrival.

He was then unexpectedly flown back to the main city of Yangon and whisked to the State Guest House. Suu Kyi was briefly freed from house detention and brought over to speak with him for more than an hour, according to U.N. officials.

Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace prize winner who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in Myanmar, has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.

Gambari flew back to remote Naypyitaw late Sunday in hopes of a possible third meeting on Monday, an Asian diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.N. officials would not comment on speculation that he was carrying a letter from Suu Kyi to the junta but issued a statement that Gambari still hoped to speak with the junta's top leaders before leaving Myanmar.

The junta did not comment on Sunday's talks.

"I view this is very positive," said an Asian diplomat who requested anonymity, citing protocol. "Hopefully, the shuttle diplomacy will bring some positive solutions to the present crisis as to the process of national reconciliation."

Suu Kyi's own party was not as optimistic. National League for Democracy secretary U Lwin told Radio Free Asia that he expects little progress from the talks because he sees Gambari as little more than a "facilitator" who can bring messages back and forth but has no authority to reach a lasting agreement.

Many see China, Myanmar's biggest trading partner, as the most likely outside catalyst. But China, India and Russia, who have been competing for Myanmar's bountiful oil and gas resources, do not seem prepared to go beyond words in dealing with the junta.

Britain's ambassador Mark Canning said Gambari should stay in Myanmar "long enough to get under way a genuine process of national reconciliation."

"He should be given as much time as that takes. That will require access to senior levels of government as well as a range of political actors," Canning told The Associated Press.

The protests drew international attention after thousands of Buddhist monks joined people in venting anger at decades of brutal military rule. Some 70,000 people took to the streets before the protests were crushed Wednesday and Thursday when government troops opened fire into the crowds and raided monasteries to beat and arrest monks.

The government says 10 people were killed in last week's violence but independent sources say the number is far higher.

Truckloads of armed soldiers on Sunday patrolled downtown Yangon near recent protest sites and along the city's major streets. A nearby public market and a Catholic church were also teeming with soldiers.

The atmosphere in the city was intimidating but not always menacing. One witness said soldiers sat inside trucks and on sidewalks chatting, munched snacks or walked around looking bored.

Still, a video shot Sunday by a dissident group, the Democratic Voice of Burma, showed a monk, covered in bruises, floating face down in a Yangon river. It was not clear how long the body had been there.

People suspected of organizing this week's rallies continue to be arrested, an Asian diplomat said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. The diplomat estimated the total number of arrests could be as high as 1,000, including several prominent members of the NLD.

Those joined an estimated 1,100 other political detainees already languishing in Myanmar's jails.

On Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI joined world leaders in expressing serious concern about the situation in Myanmar. About 1 percent of the country's 54 million people are Catholics.

"I am following with great trepidation the very serious events," the pontiff said during an appearance at his summer residence near Rome. "I want to express my spiritual closeness to the dear population in this moment of the very painful trial it is going through."

The Catholic Church has ordered its clergy not to take part in demonstrations or political activities in Myanmar. Worshippers at Yangon's Catholic churches Sunday read posted bulletins from its hierarchy stating that priests, brothers and nuns were not to become involved in the demonstrations, but that lay Catholics could act as they saw fit.

LOL! sigoro hah!


You know i used to play defense nose guard in HS and in freshman year sa college? I really do miss the moments of tackling, sacking and hurting opposing players Kuan jud...the feeling of the rush..hahahaha!

About the beer...you guys can probably beat me.

oh put a lid on it. Dont involve me in anything. I dont want to have anything to deal with you. You dont exist anymore to me.

ya....ya...we lost last week. Its alright, we'll get back up there. The panthers arent known to give up easily.
I saw the results of the game with the gators the other day hahaha. Ate, you're the type of girl that should hang out with me and the guys. hahahaha!!! The girls that hang out with us usually complain cuz of our game addiction, hahaha. Kuyawa man ka uy!

Mo drink pood ka beer with your banana when you watch the game?

hahahahahha!!! you saw that too, 'te?


Dude...you rock!! Hahaha

El. Sr Gobernador Bernardo de Galvaz (1746-1786)



Appointed and declared governor of the Philippine Territory of the Spanish Empire from the Viceroyalty of Nueva Espana (New Spain), by appointment of His Imperial Majesty Philip V, Emperor of the Spanish Empire (at the time, the largest empire in all of europe and the new world).


Emperor Philip V--Emperor of the Spanish Empire

The Spanish Governor-Generals: Servants, of the Emperor-Kings of the Spanish Empire (1565-1898)

El Sr. Gobernador Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera


was a Spanish soldier and colonial official. From 1632 to 1634 he was governor of Panama. From June 25, 1635 to August 11, 1644 he was governor of the Philippines. And from 1659 to his death in 1660 he was governor of the Canary Islands. He is remembered as one of the two greatest Spanish military leaders in the Philippines, the other being Juan Arolas 250 years later.

Hurtado de Corcuera was probably a native of Bergüenda, in the mountains of Burgos, although some sources say he was from Vitoria, in the province of Alava. He was a knight of the military Order of Alcántara. He served many years in the army in Flanders, where he was one of the Spanish military leaders in the siege of Breda and a member of the Council of War. Thereafter he was master-of-camp at the port of Callao, Peru, and captain general of cavalry in that colony. From 1632 to 1634 he served as governor of Panama, at that time part of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru.

He arrived in Manila as governor and captain general of the Philippines and president of the Audiencia of Manila on June 25, 1635. He had sailed from Acapulco, New Spain, bringing with him a large reinforcement of soldiers. He replaced Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, who had been serving in an interim capacity since 1633. Cerezo had taken over from the Audiencia, which had governed for 12 months following the death in Manila of Governor Alonso Fajardo y Tenza.

Corcuera, in his annual report to the king dated June 30, 1636, reported the continuing bad state of the treasury. Fortunately, the pay warrants issued during the last year had been redeemed at one third their face value, thanks to a "voluntary" donation on the part of the holders. He urged that future governors of the colony be appointed in Spain, rather than in New Spain. In addition, he stated he had reorganized the armed forces and enrolled several companies of Pampango "Indians", whom he predicted would make good soldiers and be much cheaper than Spaniards. He further stated he had reorganized the civil and military payrolls with the aim of lowering their demands on the colonial treasury.

Moro raiders had harassed the Spanish and their allies for years. In 30 years, an estimated 20,000 persons were taken captive by the Moro pirates and sold in the markets of Batavia, Ternate, Amboina, Makassar, Java and Madras. A royal decree of 1636 ordered the pacification of Mindanao, where many of these raiders were based. On March 13, 1637, Hurtado de Corcuera left Zamboanga and landed at Lamitan to begin the assault. He had with him about 800 men. They defeated the forces of Sultan Qudarat, capturing many cannons and killing many fighters. Qudarat himself narrowly escaped. Commentators of the time stressed the governor's personal bravery.

This victory gave rise to the Moro-Moro, a blood-and-thunder play which recounts the Spanish defeat of the Moros. The play has become an integral part of Filipino folk and religious festivals. Governor Hurtado became a hero and his return to Manila was attended with pomp and jubilation.

Qudarat took refuge at Lake Lanao, where he delivered a famous speech against the Spanish, exhorting his listeners to renounce submission and take up arms against the invaders. The speech was successful, and the Lake Moros soon recaptured the fort the Spanish had left behind. By 1637 Qudarat had extended his political influence over almost the whole of Mindanao.

On January 4, 1838, Governor Hurtado led another force, this time of 500 Spaniards and 1,000 native allies in 80 vessels, to invade the island of Sulu. Jolo, the capital of the island, was defended by about 4,000 fighters, including allies from Borneo and Makassar. After three months of heavy fighting and great losses on each side, neither side could claim victory. A truce was agreed on.



(to be continued)

Hahaha wala yamo Spanish blood, Ate. My father's side is (from what he knows) is pure Waray-Waray. His ancestors go back to Leyte, Samar and Pintuyan. They are originally from the eastern Visayan area. My mom is half Chinese. Her father's side is native to Valencia or as it was once called "Panangatan". Tho my mom's mother is 100% Chinese--whose mother and father were native to present day Guangzhou Province of China. They were cantonese-Hokkien speakers. And we still have relatives in China, actually (Tan, Wang, Lim, Chiang). Id like to someday visit my Chinese relatives in the Chinese Motherland.

I know, man so much drama involving him right now. Hope he gets his act together. Speaking about the falcons, how are they doing??

Are you watching the Pittsburgh against Arizona today? My buds are betting on the stealers, but i dont know...Arizona's defense is pretty good.

You look like her, Ate. Are you part Spanish??

Old Manila:





Spanish depiction of a "Mestizo Filipino"




Spanish Manila--The most Europeanized city in the Orient. Nowhere in Asia is Western European culture and architecture is so prevalent as in the Philippines. Spain's impact is indisputed.



17th century Spanish depiction of the walled city of Intramuros and outlying 'Patria Manila'


Illustrada Mestiza del Filipinas

^ ate is that really you?

wow..

hahaha happy, ngeww ngeww da!

One thing that creeps me out about cats is their purring...

Kulut2x ra kaayo ahong buhok.

Quote from: C2H4 on September 30, 2007, 08:11:04 AM
I had a good day.

It was sunny and bright.

And the Dawgs won.

Are you watching  cleveland against baltimore today? Right now, cleveland is leading 14-0. What an upset!

Quote from: Bohol on September 30, 2007, 02:52:36 AM
Thyl, the title of the song is "Sa Mata Makikita Ang Tunay Na Damdamin." It's a classic OPM loved by millions.

Love this song.

Puydi diay maka palit armalite sa mall? Unsay's process to aquire high powered weapons sa pilipinas, Mike? Kai dinhi naa man jud national law kanang mo ban sa high power rifle--okey ra ug maka palit shotgun, semi-automatic ug pusil2x--pero naay special clause dinhi to license to hold/shoot high powered. Dinha sa pilipinas, naa bay similar process?

Pero thats good that the tourist police and residents took the initiative and reported this to the PNP. Thank  God no one was harmed.

Quote from: C2H4 on September 30, 2007, 02:21:01 AM
Yes, I'd consider that quite hateful, Mr Franklin.

But I don't care. I doubt if the lion would wanna eat her anyway, there's not enough meat in her.

PS. We are on a weekend avatar thing where we have to show our faces, where's yours, Mr Franklin?

Quote from: Bohol on September 28, 2007, 01:31:57 PM
It's not the typical sort of hot spot she's used to, but Paris Hilton says that she's planning to hit the road to Rwanda.

Apparently making good on her post-jail promise to help others, the socialite, 26, tells E! Online about her African ambitions, "I'll be going in November, after I get back from filming my movie. There's so much need in that area, and I feel like if I go, it will bring more attention to what people can do to help."

Though a trouble spot of notorious proportions â€" an infamous 1994 genocide in Rwanda claimed about a million lives (in a nation of 9 million) â€" the country's multitude of problems doesn't seem to worry Hilton, who vows to pay calls upon a variety of beleaguered regions.

"I want to visit more countries where poverty and children's issues are a big concern," she says. "I know there's a lot of good I can do just by getting involved and bringing attention to these issues."

source: People Magazine Online

I respect her desire to help in this cause to extend the public's awareness of the current situation in Rwanada. More power to her.

C'mon man enough with the insults already. Lets just be happy

God bless you Frank! Lets just let this go and engage in no more fights. Im tired of it, its depressing fighting all the time.


Peace be with you, Frank.

hahahahhahahaha

peace finally



gusto nako mo kaun sugbang nokos da!

i forgive you, Frank

hahahahhaha mura jud! i-butang lang ta ug garlic sa atong neck haha..sigoro ma wa na sila.

mao lagi hahahahaha! maka simhot man jud na sila kai humot man gud nang virgin..hahahahaha! patay ta, pre.

ani..


(waray-waray kris)
I imagine this kind of sword was used by Lapu Lapu to slay Magellan.

Pre!! mo balik raba ko, ug ahong entire pamilya in late june 2008---mo stay ko didto till late july 2008.
Meet up ta sa ICM. Watch out lang---i-targetan sigoro ka sa mga babes..hahahahahahah!

My dad actually has a long broad kriss that was passed down from him from his father--and from relatives from Leyte. When i get a picture of it--ill post it here. The thing is almost 2 feet long--and weighs at least--a good 50-60 lbs.

Could easily cut a man in two.

Quote from: junayag on August 17, 2007, 05:09:05 AM
to all,

it is a promise to have such gathering, i would make it as a one of a kind experience, a meaningful homecoming of TB members.  kon dili available ang tanan, then we have to organize this as bi-annual, every six months or if there is an opportunity to be together.... i would love to host inig oli nako pohon..it is next year.

Mr. Jun Ayag, next year lagi. Mo plano raba jud ko mo uli pohon. Kinsa'y mo uli pood around June-July time frame?

Sadly, Frank, I dont want to play this insult game with you. Its so unproductive.

sus gwapa-han man jud mo uy. Ate, seriousa beauty jud ka da! hahahahaha

When you  hear people ending sentences with "gyud, jud, lagi-lagi" hahaha. God Bless Bohol!! Love that island.

Quote from: EL MUNDO on August 12, 2007, 12:16:13 AM
wala jud ko kasabot sa ecological protection. we all know that tarsier is a nocturnal creature. so, if we care for the trasier, we should respect them.

dili nato tandugon sila during day time kay maoy tigkatulog nila. unsaon pud ning mga turista muanha man og adlawan mao ang tarsier walay tulog. hikapon... unya lingogngog baya ang mga tawo.

mao wala ko kasabot.

Leo, unsa'y diet sa tarsiers? Primarily herbivory? Carnivory? Omnivory ba na sila?

Quote from: Bohol on May 02, 2007, 03:38:55 PM

photo by erick photomurals of flickr.com

cuuute kaayo uy! So adorable..

Quote from: Franklin on September 29, 2007, 01:28:05 PM

Another thing Lorenzo, Where were you born? What does it say on your birth cert.?
You crack me up, acting like a poor Bohol-anon. The joke is that you are a born and bred American, even if you speak visayan.

LOL. Thats coming from someone who doesnt even know me. I was born in Cebu Doctors Hospital, Philippines. 1985.

Raised in Tagbilaran and Valencia Bohol, Philippines.

Yea im a naturalized American citizen. But I also maintain double citizenship. Philippines and American.

Quote from: Franklin on September 30, 2007, 04:08:03 AM
Well you had to chime in with you 2 cents, didn't you.
Saying something stupid like that.

I can say what I want.

Quote from: Franklin on September 29, 2007, 01:28:05 PM
Umm,
The point is a refernce to white?
Is that speaking from the viewponit of a yellow person?

Let' s see, the whites came, and bought the land and rove the yellows out? No, thats not correct.
The whites came and the Pinoy that owned the resorts, kept raising the prices because of greed to get more of the money the disgusting whites brought to their country.
So really it is the pinoy that keeps their fellow pinoy out, not the whites at all.
Yellow against yellow.
Pinoy greed, they could keep the prices the way they were but chose to take as much from the whites as they could get.

Another thing Lorenzo, Where were you born? What does it say on your birth cert.?
You crack me up, acting like a poor Bohol-anon. The joke is that you are a born and bred American, even if you speak visayan.

PS I took exception to her use of the word, "whites". And thats why I said "yellow". Just in case you develope selective amnesia again.
But the fact of the matter is the pinoy that owns the places are the cause of the inflation. They did not have to raise the price, they did it out of their own greed.
The other thing is just as Mike said he never went to the Tarsier preserve, I would guess that 99% of the people in Tagbilaran never went. And I don't remember paying anything there, nor spending any money to see the chocolate hills. So anyone that wanted to see the sights could and should go. All that is just sour grapes blaming the whites about everything.
Next thing you will say is "it's Alexander Graham Bell's fault that that student got killed for his celphone." Of course completely ignoring the insane and sick personality that would kill a fellow human, a fellow yellow man, for a stupid material possesion.
You apologise to me for what you said and then you throw the race thing in my face.
Lorenzo, you are blinded to objectivity.
If you heard someone say that the asians who come to the US ruin our culture, you would be the first one to cry foul. But, I do have a point.
Don't say my example is not the same; because, they are both totally subjective interpretations of reality.
You emind me of that black athelete the other day commenting that he really hated to hear guys calling women "bitches"; but, he said it was ok for black guys to call women "bitches".

Lorenzo, racism is ok as long as it if on your side.

Oh be quiet. Go take some aspirin before you go hypertensive.

LOL, i cant believe you over-reacted to such a simple statement. And how did you 'come up' with all that cr_p? LOL. You're good at imagination, lol.

haha, palamuut.

My Lolo Ciano....

My dear dear and loved Lolo Casiano Salise Salvo. Father of my mother Liza S. Lucino, father of Engr Alex Salvo, Engr Casiano Salvo Jr, father of Mr. Romeo Tan, father of Celeste S. Cagubcub and loving husband of my beloved Lola--Mrs. Fortunata Tan Salvo.

I have soooo many good memories of my Lolo, and I thank God everyday for the good times that I had with him as a child and as an adult. I remember when I was a child, i was waiting for him to come back from work (he was a truck driver--Salvo Lines), i think i was about 4 years old pa to...and he came back. Ning yell ko niya "Lolo Ciano!" pero wa siya ka dungog nako--kai loud baja ang makina sa truck niya. Na suko ko kai i thought he was ignoring me---and when lolo came to me--i tried ignoring him. Ingoon siya "Ondoy Bran, unsa man doy?". Mo hilak ba ja ko ..when i remember that...kai even to this day, mo remember si Lolo adto. When he came to the US in 2003 till 2005---i remember when I first saw him again and had a long conversation with him sa living room. Ingoon siya nako, "pasensya baja ko Doy--kadto sa una naka suko ka nako--sa bata pa ka. Kai naka ingoon ka gi ignored ka nako". I remember when he said that to me...my eyes balled out. I started crying so hard...and remember hugging my Lolo Ciano. Ning hilak kami together. Pinanga jud ko sa ahong lolo and i feel so very lucky and happy that my Lolo is so loving of me and his grandchildren tanan. My lolo Ciano is my favorite jud...kai his personality and his love is very much like my mommy's. Mo hilak ko time and again...knowing that he is 81 y/o and that naa siya didto sa Bohol. Gusto man ko if he was to stay with us..pero gi mingaw man siya sa bohol gud...
Mo hilak ko uy...kai di ko gusto mamatay ahong Lolo. I pray everyday to ask the good and kind Lord to give him a strong heart, strong faith, a strong spirit and a good body so that he will continue to live. Di ko gusto mo parted away from my only Lolo left. He is my one and only grandfather that i met in life. He raised me when i was still a child while my mom was in America as a nurse and my dad was in Saudi as an engineer. All i knew and remember was the face of my Lolo Ciano, my Lola Nating and Mama Luz. The good Lord has already taken my Lola Nating and Mama Luz back home....and all I have left is my Lolo....

I really cannot wait to go back to Bohol this summer. I want to see him again...my heart longs to be with my Lolo Ciano again, to speak and laugh with him and just to be around his presence.


My lolo in the center of the family....he is the rock of our family.


With his two son-in-laws (my dad in the right)


Lolo Ciano ..hahaha..i love you 'LO!!!



Back in Bohol...

GEC is not a man, and not a woman.

GEC is the spirit of the Pilipino! The will of the entire nation!
Viva La Republica Pilipinas del Oriente!!

hahahahahahhaha....its a two legged horse running. lol!!

Last night, i was honored to have met a Filipino student in my college, who comes from Pangasinan, Philipines. Though he lives in Texas now with his family. It was rather odd how we first met, lol. I was in the cafeteria reading the newspaper and enjoying my chai latte and talking to my buddies Don and Bryan, when this guy came up to me out of nowhere and asked in strong tagalog "Pilipino ka?". Outright, I answered "oo Pilipino ko". He sat with us and we began talking about our home province--him talking about Pangasinan and I talking about Bohol and Central Visayas. Conversation was over 3 hours long--as we talked about almost everything, hahaha. His name is Marc DeNueva.

Reading this thread made me realize how very true it is what my parents tell me, "a Filipino will immediately recognize a fellow compatriot". The fact that Marc came up to me, even without meeting me or talking to me before, and asked that I was a Filipino--and our ensuing long conversation, proves that statement. Mostly, i was happy and content to talk to him in my very limited Tagalog--and at times slipped some distinctly Bisayan phrases. But he realized that I was from the Visayas--and asked alot about where I came from etc. As I did the same.

I think Mike said this earlier in another thread, and I think it makes sense and applies to my meeting with Mr. Marc DeNueva, "Blood smells Blood". The Filipino Blood.

This is an absolutely wonderful rendition of "How To Save A Life".

This is the piano version (no singing involved). Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

I am in love with this version....

http://youtube.com/watch?v=1DXKKVO5LZ4&mode=related&search=

correct jud ka, Mr. Ayag.

Your words are true, as always.

hahahahaha. More power to them!

hahaha, agreed jud, Sir Jun Ayag.

mao ba?

Tonight im going out with friends to celebrate a friend's successful examination of the LSATs (Law School Admission Test). She's taking the exam right now...and i hope and pray she gets a 100% on it.

Ngek!? ka ingoon ko laki si winni ug si piglet?

I saw that pood, ate. Those people that jumped off from the top floor to their death-----
Into the hands of God lang...they went. And may those who were responsible for the deaths of those 3,000+ innocent people that day....

May those killers, murderers, may they be shown justice in the eyes of the Lord. May God Rebuke them...

Very very very beautiful pood Mike. Binisaya jud uy! Deep kastanan ang meaning ana...

I fear no one because the Lord my God is with me. The Devil may try his best to steer us of our course in life, and away from the path toward God, but heed not the lies and deception of the Devil. For there is salvation and life eternal--no harm can ever come to those who believe in HIM. He is the LIFE, LIGHT, WORD, and ANSWER to all things.

Blessed, Blessed, is the Lord.

Quote from: ms da binsi on September 30, 2007, 12:43:21 AM



Real smooth Dong...



willsmith nindot lagi pero kalas pod ug gas...


akong Car sa una sa LA pa ko kay Toyota Celica GT, morag 43 miles per gallon, kana gud Las Vegas one tank ra na sa Gas...

Uy..celica diay sa una? Nice roadster car btw! Was it red?

Celicas are sexy cars, imo.

hahaha,,

Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

Original Version by Dr. Jose P. Rizal

Adiós, Patria adorada, región del sol querida,
Perla del Mar de Oriente, nuestro perdido edén,
A darte voy, alegre, la triste, mustia vida;
Y fuera más brillante, más fresca, más florida,
También por ti la diera, la diera por tu bien.

En campos de batalla, luchando con delirio,
Otros te dan sus vidas, sin dudas, sin pesar.
El sitio nada importa: ciprés, laurel o lirio,
Cadalso o campo abierto, combate o cruel martirio.
La mismo es si lo piden la Patria y el hogar.

Yo muero, cuando veo que el cielo se colora
Y al fin anuncia el d ía, tras lóbrego capuz;
Si grana necesitas, para teñir tu aurora,
i Vierte la sangre mia, derrámala en buen hora,
Y dórela un reflejo de su naciente luz!

Mis sueños, cuando apenas muchacho adolescente,
Mis sueños cuando joven, ya lleno de vigor,
Fueron el verte un d ía, joya del Mar de Oriente,
Secos los negros ojos, alta la tersa frente,
Sin ceño, sin arrugas, sin manchas de rubor.

Ensueño de mi vida, mi ardiente vivo anhelo.
i Salud! te grita el alma que pronto va a partir;
i Salud! iah, que es hermoso caer por darte vuelo,
Morir por darte vida, morir bajo tu cielo,
Y en tu encantada tierra la eternidad dormir!

Si sobre mi sepulcro vieres brotar, un d ía,
Entre la espesa yerba, sencilla humilde flor,
Acércala a tus labios y besa el alma m ía,
Y sienta yo en mi frente, bajo la tumba fria,
De tu ternura el soplo, de tu hálito el calor.

Deja a la luna verme, con luz tranquila y uave;
Deja que el alba env íe su resplandor fugaz;
Deja gemir al viento, con su murmullo grave;
Y si desciende y posa sobre mi cruz un ave,
Deja que el ave entone su cántico de paz.

Deja que el sol, ardiendo, las lluvias evapore
Y al cielo tornen puras, con mi clamor en pos;
Deja que un ser ami go mi fin temprano Ilore;
Yen las serenas tardes, cuando por m í alguien ore,
Ora también, oh patria, por mi descanso a Dios.

Ora por todos cuantos murieron sin ventura;
Por cuantos padecieron tormentos sin igual;
Por nuestras pobres madres, que gimen su amargura;
Por huérfanos y viudas, por presos en tortura,
Y ora por ti, que veas tu redención final.

Y cuando, en noche oscura, se envuelva el cementerio,
Y solos sólo muertos queden velando all í,
No turbes su reproso, no turbes el misterio:
Tal vez acordes oigas de c ítara o salterio;
Soy yo, querida Patria, yo que te canto a t í.

Y cuando ya mi tumba, de todos olvidada,
No tenga cruz ni piedra que marquen su lugar,
Deja que la are el hombre, la esparza con la azada,
Y mis cenizas, antes que vuelvan a la nada,
En polvo de tu alfombra que vayan a formar.

Entonces nada importa me pongas en olvido;
Tu atmósfera, tu espacio, tus valles cruzaré;
Vibrante y limpia nota seré para tu oido:
Aroma, luz, colores, rumor, canto, gemido,
Constante repitiendo la esencia de mi fe.

Mi Pátria idolatrada, dolor de mis dolores,
Querida Filipinas, oye el postrer adiós.
Ahi, te dejo todo: mis padres, mis amores.
Voy donde no hay esclavos, verdugos ni opresores;
Donde la fe no mata, donde el que reina es Dios.

Adiós, padres y hermanos, trozos del alma m ía,
Amigos de la infancia, en el perdido hogar;
Dad gracias, que descanso del fatigoso d ía;
Ad íos, dulce extranjera, mi amiga, mi alegr ía;
Adios, queridos seres. Morir es descansar.

++++++

English Translation:

Farewell, my adored Land, region of the sun caressed,
Pearl of the Orient Sea, our Eden lost,
With gladness I give you my Life, sad and repressed;
And were it more brilliant, more fresh and at its best,
I would still give it to you for your welfare at most.

On the fields of battle, in the fury of fight,
Others give you their lives without pain or hesitancy,
The place does not matter: cypress laurel, lily white,
Scaffold, open field, conflict or martyrdom's site,
It is the same if asked by home and Country.

I die as I see tints on the sky b'gin to show
And at last announce the day, after a gloomy night;
If you need a hue to dye your matutinal glow,
Pour my blood and at the right moment spread it so,
And gild it with a reflection of your nascent light!

My dreams, when scarcely a lad adolescent,
My dreams when already a youth, full of vigor to attain,
Were to see you, gem of the sea of the Orient,
Your dark eyes dry, smooth brow held to a high plane
Without frown, without wrinkles and of shame without stain.

My life's fancy, my ardent, passionate desire,
Hail! Cries out the soul to you, that will soon part from thee;
Hail! How sweet 'tis to fall that fullness you may acquire;
To die to give you life, 'neath your skies to expire,
And in your mystic land to sleep through eternity !

If over my tomb some day, you would see blow,
A simple humble flow'r amidst thick grasses,
Bring it up to your lips and kiss my soul so,
And under the cold tomb, I may feel on my brow,
Warmth of your breath, a whiff of your tenderness.

Let the moon with soft, gentle light me descry,
Let the dawn send forth its fleeting, brilliant light,
In murmurs grave allow the wind to sigh,
And should a bird descend on my cross and alight,
Let the bird intone a song of peace o'er my site.

Let the burning sun the raindrops vaporize
And with my clamor behind return pure to the sky;
Let a friend shed tears over my early demise;
And on quiet afternoons when one prays for me on high,
Pray too, oh, my Motherland, that in God may rest I.

Pray thee for all the hapless who have died,
For all those who unequalled torments have undergone;
For our poor mothers who in bitterness have cried;
For orphans, widows and captives to tortures were shied,
And pray too that you may see you own redemption.

And when the dark night wraps the cemet'ry
And only the dead to vigil there are left alone,
Don't disturb their repose, don't disturb the mystery:
If you hear the sounds of cithern or psaltery,
It is I, dear Country, who, a song t'you intone.

And when my grave by all is no more remembered,
With neither cross nor stone to mark its place,
Let it be plowed by man, with spade let it be scattered
And my ashes ere to nothingness are restored,
Let them turn to dust to cover your earthly space.

Then it doesn't matter that you should forget me:
Your atmosphere, your skies, your vales I'll sweep;
Vibrant and clear note to your ears I shall be:
Aroma, light, hues, murmur, song, moanings deep,
Constantly repeating the essence of the faith I keep.

My idolized Country, for whom I most gravely pine,
Dear Philippines, to my last goodbye, oh, harken
There I leave all: my parents, loves of mine,
I'll go where there are no slaves, tyrants or hangmen
Where faith does not kill and where God alone does reign.

Farewell, parents, brothers, beloved by me,
Friends of my childhood, in the home distressed;
Give thanks that now I rest from the wearisome day;
Farewell, sweet stranger, my friend, who brightened my way;
Farewell, to all I love. To die is to rest.

+++++++


Bravo! Sr. Rizal! Bravo!

The passion of the event that is involved.

El Filibusterismo and Noli Me Tangere are both must-reads.

Quote from: Bohol on September 03, 2007, 09:22:01 PM


photo by suave 2358 of flickr.com

Speechless ko.....guapa jud Bohol...

 LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday that bluetongue disease has been detected now in 11 animals, more than double the five cases confirmed three days earlier.

"There are now 11 cases of bluetongue," Brown said in a statement from his offices at 10 Downing Street, a day after veterinarians confirmed Friday that there was a full-blown bluetongue outbreak.

The first case of bluetongue ever recorded in Britain was confirmed in a cow on Saturday near Ipswich in southeastern England. A further four cases were confirmed in the same area on Tuesday before the latest figures were announced.

"We are taking all the action that is necessary within a protected zone," Brown said after chairing a meeting of the government's crisis-response cell COBRA.

After confirming the oubtreak on Friday, veterinarians said that a 12.5-mile (20 kilometre) control zone and a 93-mile protection zone have been set up around the bluetongue cases, confining animals to those areas.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told AFP that 11 animals, apparently all cows, on different farms within the protection zone were infected with the virus.

The protection zone ensures that any infected animals are not moved to areas where they would introduce the virus to healthy populations of midges and other insects which spread bluetongue.

Defra said bluetongue does not present any risks to humans, but in animals it cause high fevers, mouth ulcers, swollen heads and turns an infected animal's tongue blue.

It has hit livestock in Belgium, northern France, Germany and The Netherlands in the past year after previously being confined to countries on the Mediterranean basin.

Brown said health officials had not detected any new cases since Monday of foot and mouth, which spread from animal to animal.

He confirmed that animals on seven premises have been infected with foot and mouth, the same figure as five days earlier.

"While will not be complacent, we are taking action at a very high level within the protected zones there," he said.

Britain is battling to contain foot and mouth -- and avoid a repeat of the devastating 2001 outbreak -- after it re-emerged in the county of Surrey, southwest of London, on August 3.
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The Brits are really great in tackling this situation. Good job, Brittania!

 MANCHESTER, England (AFP) - Michael Owen could be fit for England's crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers, according to his Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce.

Owen had been expected to miss his country's matches against Estonia and Russia next month after having two operations on Friday and Saturday.

But the surgery in Germany has been so successful that the England striker could be back in action in the next few days.

"The second operation on the weaker side of his stomach today (Saturday) has been very successful as we know from the girl in Munich," Allardyce told Sky Sports.

"Only a few days in terms of recovery we're talking now and then there's the abductor (muscle) to think about with the tear.

"He is with the best in the world and that is why it's only a few days' recovery."

Allardyce believes Owen could be fit for Newcastle's Premier League match against Everton next week, which would be the perfect boost for England coach Steve McClaren.

"With what we've heard from Germany it might be a shorter recovery than we thought," Allardyce said.

"Taking that and the abductor into consideration, who knows? He may even be fit for Everton next week.

"There's a possibility, the surgeon said. There was such little damage, hardly any at all, it wasn't really a hernia, it was just a threatening of one and she has tidied that up now.

"We think the recovery will be days rather than weeks.

"We'll make the sensible decision for us and England, we have got to get both of them the injuries really cleared up and strong."

 KIEV, Ukraine - The party of Ukraine's prime minister, who has championed the country's Russian-speaking east, appeared to hold the lead Friday before parliamentary elections, prompting a last-minute reconciliation between his divided, Western-oriented opponents.

Sunday's vote was called early to end a political deadlock pitting forces loyal to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych against those of President Viktor Yushchenko, elected following the mass protests in 2004 that became known as the Orange Revolution.

But experts predict the electorate will split their votes between Yanukovych's forces and those led by Yushchenko and his occasional ally, Yulia Tymoshenko.

Yanukovych's Party of Regions, which draws its support from the mainly Russian-speaking east and south, appears likely to get the most votes, giving him a strong chance of remaining prime minister, according to the most recent polls. But Tymoshenko, the blond-braided former prime minister and Orange Revolution heroine, is also a likely contender for the premier's job.

Voters in the Yanukovych strongholds of the industrial east are eager to maintain Ukraine's traditional ties to Russia. The parties of Tymoshenko and Yushchenko are more popular in central and western regions, where nationalist feelings run higher and voters hope to expand ties with Europe and the West.

Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko is expected to come in second, trailed by the pro-Yushchenko Our Ukraine-People's Self-defense group. But if they follow through on a last-minute decision to work together, their combined forces could outnumber Yanukovych's in the parliament, called the Verkhovna Rada.

All three parties held last-minute rallies in central Kiev on Friday.

Yushchenko has called for unity between the once-estranged Orange forces, hinting he could support Tymoshenko as prime minister.

"I would like to say that we only have one option: forming a democratic coalition. Period," Yushchenko said while meeting with Tymoshenko on Thursday. "There won't be any other coalition."

Yuriy Lutsenko, leader of Our Ukraine-People's Self-Defense, predicted that a majority coalition between his party and Tymoshenko's would be forged the day after the vote.

"I am convinced that ... Ukraine will get a pro-Ukrainian democratic majority," he told thousands of supporters in downtown Kiev on Friday.

Tymoshenko has long called for such a pact, and she cheered the president's decision. "I believe in our victory, the victory of the democratic team, which â€" having learned from its mistakes â€" will work even more effectively," she told reporters.

Analysts are skeptical the vote will bring an end to the political gridlock that has paralyzed Ukraine's government for months.

Experts say the constitution does not clearly explain the division of power between the president and prime minister, and both Yushchenko and Yanukovych have struggled for dominance. Experts say the deadlock is likely to continue until the constitution is changed to clarify who is in charge of what.

Election fraud is another concern. Yanukovych claimed victory in the 2004 presidential race only to have the vote declared fraudulent by the court. This time, his administration is in charge of running the election.

Yanukovych has dismissed fears of voter fraud, instead accusing the forces of Tymoshenko and Yushchenko of planning it. At a rally last week, he told supporters that if the election is stolen, "simple people will rise up" and "someone won't have time to fly out of the country."

Yanukovych aide Taras Chernovil told The Associated Press that his party was prepared for mass protests. "Acts of civil disobedience may become a reality, and we are ready for that."

Tymoshenko dismissed such statements as proof of Yanukovych's insecurity, and accused his party of "preparing pretexts to annul election results."

In an echo of the Orange Revolution, Yanukovych and Tymoshenko followers have erected competing tent camps in downtown Kiev. Both sides say they are ready to stage protests if they judge the vote to be fraudulent.

The Central Election Commission is split down the middle between members loyal to Yushchenko and Yanukovych.

Some analysts say the commission may end up deadlocked when it comes time to certify the results â€" creating yet another political crisis in this former Soviet republic of 47 million people.

 FUJI SPEEDWAY, Japan (AFP) - Lewis Hamilton snatched pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix in a rain-hit Fuji qualifying session on Saturday, denying title rival Fernando Alonso with a thrilling final lap.

The championship leader punched the air in delight and gave himself the thumbs-up after taking pole for the fourth time of his stellar rookie season.

Hamilton, who leads McLaren team-mate Alonso by two points with three races left, bagged top spot right at the end of the session by just 0.070 seconds as he defied the greasy conditions with a time of one minute 25.368 seconds.

The Ferraris of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will line up on the second row of the grid after being outgunned by their rivals in a qualifying session that looked at one stage as though it would have to be postponed after practice earlier had been abandoned because of fog.

Hamilton, 22, said: "I'm feeling relaxed and with the way this weekend has gone I am even more relaxed.

"I know I have got two guys breathing down my neck but I am not bothered. But it is going to be a very close, tough race and the key will be getting to the first corner first.

"I knew it was my last chance at pole and I was delighted when I got it. That's why I punched the air.

"We had not had much practice in the wet conditions and it was difficult to see the pit boards and know where you were. But it was good fun out there and I am sure if the conditions are changing during the race it will be exciting."

Double world champion Alonso said: "I really enjoyed driving here at Fuji for the first time. I liked those conditions. I think for everybody it was quite an exciting qualifying because of the fog this morning.

"It would have been better to be on pole but I am on the front row, which is important. It is very close between the top four drivers."

Raikkonen, 13 points behind Hamilton and needing to win Sunday's race to keep his title hopes alive, finished just a tenth of a second back.

The Finn said: "I had a small problem with the gearbox but hopefully that will be fixed for tomorrow. It was a sensor problem which cost us some time.

"But the car felt pretty OK in the last session and I was happy. I think I am in a good position for the race."

Germany's Nick Heidfeld was fifth fastest for BMW, just ahead of his countryman Nico Rosberg, driving for Williams, who will start 10 places further back after suffering a penalty for changing his race engine earlier in the weekend.

The session got underway on schedule as the fog lifted and the rain eased although officials were already putting in a contingency plan to postpone qualifying until Sunday morning if the weather worsened.

It looked for a time that Hamilton would fail to qualify from the first timed session as he got caught behind two slower cars but he eventually made it through with just 17 seconds to spare.

Germany's Ralf Schumacher marred Toyota's day on the track they own by crashing into Spyker's Sakon Yamamoto right at the end of the first session before spinning to a stop on the track.

The German had qualified for the second timed session but was unable to take further part. He will start 15th

But Britain's Jenson Button gave the home crowd something to cheer, finishing seventh fastest for Japanese giants Honda. He will start sixth after Rosberg's penalty.

By ERIC TALMADGE, Associated Press

KADENA AIR BASE, Japan - While the U.S. has been tied up in Iraq, China is modernizing its military and its air defenses are now nearly impenetrable to all but the newest of American fighters, the senior U.S. military official in Japan said.

Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, commander of the roughly 50,000 U.S. forces in Japan, Washington's biggest ally in Asia, said in an interview with The Associated Press this week that the Iraq war is reducing the availability of U.S. troops and equipment to meet other contingencies.

It's also eating funds that could go toward replacing or upgrading planes that are being pushed to their operational limits, he said.

China, meanwhile, is rapidly filling the skies with newer, Russian-made Sukhoi Su-27 "Flankers" and Su-30s, along with the domestically built J-10, a state-of-the-art fighter that Beijing just rolled out in January.

China has also improved its ballistic missile defenses and its ability to take the fight into space â€" as it proved in January by shooting down an old weather satellite at an orbital height similar to that used by the U.S. military.

Wright stressed he is "positive" about the current efforts to increase diplomatic and political engagement with Beijing. But he said the Chinese military buildup is disconcerting.

China says spending for its People's Liberation Army, the world's largest standing army with 2.3 million members, grew 17.8 percent this year to nearly $45 billion.

The Pentagon estimates China's actual defense spending may be much higher, because the official budget does not include money for high-priced weapons systems and some other items.

In the U.S., the Senate is wrapping up debate on a $672 billion defense policy bill that would authorize more than a half trillion dollars in annual defense spending and $150 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Are we in trouble? It depends on the scenario," Wright said Thursday. "But you have to be concerned about the small number of our forces and the age of our forces."

Wright noted the Air Force's fleet is older than ever before.

The average age of the F-15 fighters, for example, is about 24 years, while that of the KC-135 Stratotanker, a mid-air refueling plane that is a key element in the Air Force's ability to conduct long-range missions, is 46 years.

Wright, who was at this air base on Japan's southern island of Okinawa to meet with local commanding officers, said the improvement in Chinese air defenses has made China's airspace "difficult if not impossible" to penetrate with the kind of U.S. fighters â€" F-15s and F-16s â€" now deployed in Japan.

Doing so would require the F-22 or the Joint Strike Fighter, which both have stealth capabilities. The Air Force sent a dozen F-22s to Japan earlier this year, but only for a temporary deployment. It has no plans to bring more here permanently.

The Joint Strike Fighter, or F-35, is not yet combat-ready.

"Our planes are much older than the planes they would be matched against," Wright said. "For the first time in history, we are seeing another nation, in this case China, with newer fighters than we have. We know that they continue to invest at a level that is unprecedented. We need to be watchful of Chinese military capabilities."

He said the demands of supporting ground troops in Iraq has pushed the Air Force to draw on its fighters from virtually anywhere they can be found. Two U.S. F-16 fighter squadrons from the northern Japan base of Misawa are currently rotating in and out of Iraq.

"The question is how much more are they going to need," he said. "They are already pulling them out of Misawa, so where else are they going to come from?"

Wright noted Beijing is also at an advantage because it is not now at war, and can thus devote more of its resources to building up new capabilities.

"China is not engaged in a tough ground war in southwest Asia so they have the freedom to maneuver to modernize forces that are not current," he said.

Air Force officials have sent up alarms recently regarding funding.

Although the Army and Marines are increasing their troop levels by 92,000, the Air Force had announced plans to cut its costs by reducing 40,000 personnel. That plan had to be scaled back, however, because of the need for support for the larger number of ground troops.

In May, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said drastic action was needed.

"I'm concerned for the future," he said. "We're simply not funded to maintain and do everything that everyone wants us to do."

Wright, who is also commander of the 5th Air Force, which is based just outside of Tokyo, said the crunch is being felt in the Pacific.

"It's not just boots on the ground that's fighting the war right now," he said. "There's a funding top line for the Department of Defense, and the Air Force needs more of it."

 YANGON, Myanmar - The streets of Myanmar's two biggest cities were eerily quiet on Saturday after a brutal crackdown on demonstrators seeking to end 45 years of military rule. Soldiers quickly snuffed out one small demonstration in Yangon, dragging several men to waiting trucks.

The U.N. dispatched one of its chief negotiators to the country to try to persuade the government to ease the crackdown but many demonstrators were losing hope, with soldiers and police seizing control of the streets and sealing Buddhist monastaries to prevent the saffon-robed monks who led the protests from resuming their marches.

Some 300 die-hard protesters, waving peacock-emblazoned flags of the democracy movement, marched down a street in Chinatown to applause on Saturday, but everybody ran when the soldiers arrived. Housewives and shop owners taunted troops and then quickly disappeared into alleyways.

It was not immediately clear if the U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari would meet junta leader Gen. Than Shwe during his brief visit to Naypitaw, the remote new bunker-like capital where the country's military leaders are based, or pro-democracy figures like Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.

Western diplomats said it was unlikely, noting that the schedule had been set by the government, but the envoy told reporters before arriving "I expect to meet all the people that I need to meet."

"Gambari is coming, but I don't think it will make much of a difference," said one hotel worker, who like other residents asked not to be named, fearing retaliation. "We have to find a solution ourselves."

Local pessimism about Gamabari's visit was reflected by diplomats as well: "We are not very hopeful, but it's the best shot we have," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said at the United Nations in New York.

Daily protests began last month and had grown into the stiffest challenge to Myanmar's ruling junta in decades. They were initially started by people protesting massive fuel price hikes, with crowd sizes mushrooming to tens of thousands after monks joined in.

The junta, which has a long history of snuffing out dissent, started cracking down Wednesday, when the first of at least 10 deaths was reported, and then let loose on Thursday, shooting into a crowd of protesters and clubbing them with batons.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, citing unconfirmed witness reports, said he thought the death toll was likely many times higher. One exiled dissident group put it at around 200.

The two biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, were quiet on Saturday.

"I don't think that we have any more hope to win," said a young woman who took part in a massive demonstration Thursday in Yangon that was broken up when troops opened fire on the crowd. She was separated from her boyfriend and has not seen him since.

"The monks are the ones who give us courage," she said, referring to the clergymen who have been the backbone of rallies â€" both those of this week and in past years. Most are now besieged in their monasteries, penned in by locked gates and barbed wire surrounding the compounds.

Images of bloodied protesters and fleeing crowds have riveted world attention, raising fears of a repeat of a 1988 democracy uprising that saw an estimated 3,000 protesters slain.

The United States urged "all civilized nations" to press Myanmar's leaders to end the crackdown, which has also resulted in hundreds of arrests. Win Mya Mya, an outspoken member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, was among those seized overnight, according to family members.

Authorities have also gone after the Internet, which has played a crucial role in getting news and images of the democracy protests to residents and the outside world alike. Few foreign journalists have been permitted to operate and media freedom is severely restricted.

"They don't want the world to see what is going on there," Scott Stanzel, a spokesman for the U.S. government, told reporters in Washington.

The United Nations said it feared the unrest could impede its efforts to feed some 500,000 people. Authorities already have placed restrictions on the movement of food in some areas around Mandalay, Josette Sheeran, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, said in a statement from New York.

Though Myanmar is rich in natural resources, 90 percent of its 54 million people live on less than $1 a day.

 

SYDNEY (AFP) -  Chinese warships arrived in Sydney Friday ahead of the first joint military exercises between Australia and the Asian nation, with officials saying more operations were planned.

Australian defence minister Brendan Nelson said next week's joint exercises involving the Australian, Chinese and New Zealand navies signalled closer military cooperation between Beijing and Canberra.

"At this stage I would expect that primarily we would be looking at naval exercises but we will also be having discussions between our air force and obviously our army," Nelson told reporters.

"Some of those discussions have already commenced," he added as he welcomed the guided-missile destroyer Haebin and supply ship Hongzehu into Sydney Harbour.

While the United States has expressed concerns about China's increasing military muscle, Nelson said the joint exercises showed Beijing recognised it needed to be open and transparent about its growing capability.

"I think if people are looking for evidence of increased efforts by Chinese military and political leadership for transparency, look no further than the visit by these two Chinese warships to Australia and the fact that we'll be doing joint exercises with our navy and New Zealand," he said.

The three navies will conduct joint search and rescue exercises next week in the Tasman Sea.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Chinese President Hu Jintao agreed at a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Sydney earlier this month to hold annual security summits.

At the same time Australia, which has strong trade ties with China, sought to assure Beijing that new trilateral security talks it has entered into with Japan and the United States are not aimed at isolating China.

 BEIJING (Reuters) - Talks on ending North Korea's nuclear ambitions shifted focus on Saturday to U.S. energy aid for the impoverished state as delegates considered a text of a proposed joint statement hopefully to be released on Sunday.

U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday authorized $25 million in aid for the North, which would provide up to 50,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil, as a reward for Pyongyang's commitment to disable its nuclear facilities by the end of the year.

U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said he had seen the draft of the joint statement.

"It's a pretty complete draft and we made some comments, but I don't know what the others think about it," he told reporters. "So I don't know if we will have a joint statement or not."

North Korea, which tested a nuclear device last year, shut down and sealed its Yongbyon nuclear plant and allowed U.N. monitors back to the site in July.

Those were its first steps in carrying out a breakthrough agreement reached in February at the six-party talks, which group the two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China.

But it must now disable its atomic facilities and make a declaration of all of its nuclear programs, in return for a huge injection of fuel aid and an end to diplomatic isolation.

China and South Korea have delivered initial fuel shipments and Russia is expected to do so too, but Japan has indicated it will not participate unless North Korea addresses the issue of Japanese citizens the North abducted in the 1970s and 1980s.

Russian negotiator Alexander Losyukov expected a draft joint statement to be released on Sunday.

"All six nations will continue to discuss the draft joint statement in the evening and tomorrow," Losyukov was quoted by Xinhua news agency as saying.

It quoted South Korean delegate Chun Yung-woo as saying the six sides had reached "some agreement."

He said he could not disclose the details but "the most important part of it will be the timing of declaration and disablement of nuclear facilities."

Hill had initially said this round of talks would aim to set targets for disablement to the end of the year. He later scaled back expectations, saying negotiators hoped to agree to a "road map."

Hill stressed that disablement of the nuclear facilities, a step towards complete dismantling, had to mean that it would be a long and costly process for Pyongyang to restart its reactors.

In 2002, North Korea was able to restart the Yongbyon reactor in two months, after a previous disarmament agreement fell apart.

South Korea said the issue of North Korea's nuclear ambitions should not be allowed to drag on.

"This problem, if not resolved soon, will seriously undermine the NPT regime," said South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon, referring to the nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.

"It also has significant implications for peace and security in Northeast Asia and beyond," he told the U.N. General Assembly.

by Vincent Mayanja

KAMPALA (AFP) - African nations that bore the brunt of the continent's worst floods in three decades face a new epidemic threat and on Friday stepped up appeals for international help.


At least 300 people in 20 countries have died in floods over the past two months, according to figures from governments, hospitals and humanitarian sources compiled by AFP.

As the extent of the damage begins to emerge epidemic warnings are growing.

In Rwanda, where at least 15 people died this month in flash floods, two cholera cases have been reported in flood districts, said Innocent Nyaruhirira, minister in charge of epidemics.

Cholera outbreaks have already caused 68 deaths in Sudan, one of the countries worst hit by the flooding. The United Nations said up to 625,000 people could be in need of emergency aid in Sudan.

Neighbouring Uganda has also been heavily affected by the floods, with at least 400,000 people in need of assistance in eastern regions.

The European Union has decided to donate some two million euros (2.8 million dollars) to Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso, EU officials said.

Besides paying for supplies, the money is also to be used to help prevent the spread of malaria.

The Togo government on Friday made its own urgent appeal for food and medical aid.

Twenty three people have been reported dead in the West African nation and Cooperation Minister Gilbert Bawara told AFP: "We are launching an appeal for solidarity and international aid to relieve the people hit by the floods."

"We need food, medicines and the means to rebuild infrastructure," Bawara said.

The flooding of key roads has paralysed the delivery of aid.

Ugandan Minister of State for Refugees and Disaster Preparedness Musa Ecweru said the floods had affected cross-border traffic into southern Sudan and hundreds of trucks have been forced to take a longer route to the stricken region.

The non-government organisation ActionAid has criticised the relief effort in Uganda, where close to 20 people have died since the floods began and a massive food shortage looms.

"There is still very slow response on the ground especially from government, though a lot has been promised since the floods in northern and eastern Uganda have now been declared a national disaster," it said in a statement.

The organisation warned that the crisis had caused the prices of fuel and basic food supplies to soar.

Nigeria's Red Cross announced Thursday that 64 people had died in the country in the floods and that 22,000 people have been displaced in 10 northern states in Africa's most populous nation, as well as in the Lagos area in the southwest.

Burkina Faso, one of Africa's poorest nations, has reported 33 deaths and nearly 7,500 homes destroyed.

Countries as far north as Algeria were also affected. Algerian officials said Thursday there had been 21 million euros (30 million dollars) of damage in floods last weekend alone.

And there have been warnings about the future.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the number of floods in Africa where the movement has provided relief aid had jumped from five in 2004 to 32 in 2006, which was a "worrying" eightfold increase.

By mid-September, the number of floods on the continent that mobilised Red Cross aid so far this year stood at 42.

 VERACRUZ, Mexico - Hurricane Lorenzo's pounding rains caused mudslides and floods that killed at least five people, slashed roads and drove tens of thousands from their homes in eastern Mexico.

Rivers that had swollen 21 feet above usual levels began to recede on Saturday, but officials said it might take weeks for all flooding to subside.

Lorenzo hit Mexico's Gulf coast on Friday and quickly faded into a potent rainstorm as it moved over the lush, ravine-cut mountains of east-central Mexico, dumping more than 13 inches of rain in some areas in less than a day.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Karen faded into a tropical depression Saturday with winds of 35 mph. It was some 530 miles east of the Leeward Islands, and the National Hurricane Center in Miami said it was likely to dissipate soon.

A new tropical storm, Melissa, also formed early Saturday in the eastern Atlantic, but posed no immediate threat to land.

In the Mexico's Puebla state, a hillside gave way in the village of Ixtaczoquitla, burying a 26-year-old woman and two girls, aged 3 and 5, who appeared to be her daughters, the state government reported.

A 9-year-old girl died in the village of Rancho Nuevo and a 19-year-old man was missing, washed away by a flooded river, the government reported. About a dozen roads were severed by landslides or flooding.

In neighboring Veracruz state, an 83-year-old man died after falling into a hole in drenched soil near his home, local police said.

Veracruz's chief civil defense official, Ranulfo Marquez, said Saturday that the Cazones River that cuts through the oil city of Poza Rica was only 13 feet above normal levels â€" down more than 6 1/2 feet from the night before. He said it could take weeks for all flooding to subside.

Marquez said hundreds of homes had been flooded, 2,000 roofs blown off and 30,000 people forced from their homes in his state. Thousands were also evacuated in Puebla state.

 LONDON (AFP) - Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Saturday that bluetongue disease has been detected now in 11 animals, more than double the five cases confirmed three days earlier.
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"There are now 11 cases of bluetongue," Brown said in a statement from his offices at 10 Downing Street, a day after veterinarians confirmed Friday that there was a full-blown bluetongue outbreak.

The first case of bluetongue ever recorded in Britain was confirmed in a cow on Saturday near Ipswich in southeastern England. A further four cases were confirmed in the same area on Tuesday before the latest figures were announced.

"We are taking all the action that is necessary within a protected zone," Brown said after chairing a meeting of the government's crisis-response cell COBRA.

After confirming the oubtreak on Friday, veterinarians said that a 12.5-mile (20 kilometre) control zone and a 93-mile protection zone have been set up around the bluetongue cases, confining animals to those areas.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) told AFP that 11 animals, apparently all cows, on different farms within the protection zone were infected with the virus.

The protection zone ensures that any infected animals are not moved to areas where they would introduce the virus to healthy populations of midges and other insects which spread bluetongue.

Defra said bluetongue does not present any risks to humans, but in animals it cause high fevers, mouth ulcers, swollen heads and turns an infected animal's tongue blue.

It has hit livestock in Belgium, northern France, Germany and The Netherlands in the past year after previously being confined to countries on the Mediterranean basin.

Brown said health officials had not detected any new cases since Monday of foot and mouth, which spread from animal to animal.

He confirmed that animals on seven premises have been infected with foot and mouth, the same figure as five days earlier.

"While will not be complacent, we are taking action at a very high level within the protected zones there," he said.

Britain is battling to contain foot and mouth -- and avoid a repeat of the devastating 2001 outbreak -- after it re-emerged in the county of Surrey, southwest of London, on August 3.

By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press

BAGHDAD - Iraq wants the U.N. Security Council to extend the mandate of the 160,000-stong U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq only through the end of 2008, then replace it with a long-term bilateral security agreement, Foreign Ministry officials said Saturday.

Aides to Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said the mandate extension for the U.S.-led coalition, due to be discussed at the end of this year, would be "the last extension for these forces."

Iraq would then seek a long-term, bilateral security agreement with the United States like the ones Washington has with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Egypt, he said.

"Iraq needs a new resolution to determine the shape of the relationship between the two countries and how to cooperate with the U.S. forces," said Labid Abawi, a deputy foreign minister.

Zebari first disclosed the plan in an interview with the London-based Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat that was published Saturday.

A resolution adopted unanimously by the U.N. Security Council on June 8, 2004, said the U.S.-led multinational force would remain in Iraq at the request of the interim government that was about to assume control of the country from the United States and Britain.

The resolution, drafted by the United States, authorizes a review of the mandate at the request of the Iraqi government every six months. The mandate last was extended for one year on Dec. 31 and expires at end of this year.

"We will ask the council to extend the mandate for another year...then our negotiations with the Security Council will be kicked off," Zebari was quoted as saying.

"We will ask the council to include an article that allows Iraq to enter into negotiations with the United States to reach long term security agreements to meet Iraq's security needs bilaterally," Zebari added.

"The negotiations and talks over the security agreements will take a long time as they will cover the issues of sovereignty and immunity, the mission of these forces, Iraq's security needs and the role of the U.S. forces in training (Iraqi forces)," he said.

Zebari said the bilateral agreement would "not set a timetable (for withdrawal of U.S. forces) ... but could include an article calls for decreasing their numbers."

Abawi told the AP this would depend "on the situation on the ground and the readiness of the government and the army to deal with this situation."

Last June, Iraqi legislators led by followers of a radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr passed a resolution requiring the government to seek parliamentary approval before asking the United Nations to extend the U.S. mandate.

The measure was approved along party lines â€" with Sunnis joining the bloc loyal to al-Sadr and another disaffected Shiite party to support it â€" and Shiite and Kurdish backers of al-Maliki's government in opposition.

The parliamentary move could snarl the mandate renewal, as Iraqis and their legislative representatives grow increasingly disenchanted with the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's parliament on Saturday approved a nonbinding resolution labeling the CIA and the U.S. Army "terrorist organizations," in apparent response to a Senate resolution seeking to give a similar designation to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The hard-line dominated parliament cited U.S. involvement in dropping nuclear bombs in Japan in World War II, using depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq, supporting the killings of Palestinians by Israel, bombing and killing Iraqi civilians, and torturing terror suspects in prisons.

"The aggressor U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency are terrorists and also nurture terror," said a statement by the 215 lawmakers who signed the resolution at an open session of the Iranian parliament. The session was broadcast live on state-run radio.

The resolution, which is seen as a diplomatic offensive against the U.S., urges Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government to treat the two as terrorist organizations. It also paves the way for the resolution to become legislation that â€" if ratified by the country's hardline constitutional watchdog â€" would become law. The government is expected to wait for U.S. reaction before making its decision.

On Wednesday, the Senate voted 76-22 in favor of a resolution urging the State Department to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. While the proposal attracted overwhelming bipartisan support, a small group of Democrats said they feared labeling the state-sponsored organization a terrorist group could be interpreted as a congressional authorization of military force in Iran.

The Bush administration had already been considering whether to blacklist an elite unit within the Revolutionary Guard, subjecting part of the vast military operation to financial sanctions.

The U.S. legislative push came a day after Ahmadinejad told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that his country would defy attempts to impose new sanctions by "arrogant powers" seeking to curb its nuclear program, accusing them of lying and imposing illegal penalties on his country.

He said the nuclear issue was now "closed" as a political issue and Iran would pursue the monitoring of its nuclear program "through its appropriate legal path," the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.

Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated over Washington accusations that Iran is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons and has been supplying Shiite militias in Iraq with deadly weapons used to kill U.S. troops. Iran denies both of the allegations.

Oh okey ra man, Ate Belle. Nice shot tho, ate! Wow...it looks really beautiful da. Dako ug puti...
Smooth driving na no? Cadillacs are beautiful...

Today is the Feast Day of St. Gabriel, and im dedicating this thread to the Blessed St. Gabriel the Archangel of the Lord.




O Blessed Archangel Gabriel,
we beseech thee,
do thou intercede for us
at the throne of Divine Mercy
in our present necessities,
that as thou didst announce to Mary
the mystery of the Incarnation,
so through thy prayers
and patronage in heaven
we may obtain the benefits of the same,
and sing the praise of God forever
in the land of the living.

Amen.


+++++++

The Jews venerated Gabriel as the angel of judgment, and in both Jewish and Christian tradition he is one of the seven archangels. Gabriel is also known to Moslems, who believe him to be the angel who served as the mouthpiece of God in dictating the Koran to Mohammed.

Mention of St Gabriel occurs four times in the Scriptures:

    * He first appears to Daniel in the guise of a man and proceeds to interpret a vision Daniel has had of a ram with two horns, which is overcome by a he-goat. Gabriel explains that the ram is the empire of the Medes and the Persians which will be destroyed by the he-goat, the king of the Greeks (Alexander the Great). This vision came to Daniel in the year 554 BC, while the Israelites were in captivity in Babylonia. The prophecy was fulfilled nearly 200 years later.
    * The angel Gabriel again appears to Daniel to foretell the coming of the Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem and its sanctuary.
    * The next appearance of Gabriel is recorded in Luke 1:11-20, where he predicts to the priest Zachariah as he is burning incense at the altar in the temple that his wife is to bear a son whose name shall be John.
    * The final mention of Gabriel is found a little later in the same chapter of St Luke's Gospel, where he goes to the Blessed Virgin Mary with the tidings that she is to be the Mother of the Messiah. Thus we see that Gabriel comes as the bearer of good tidings and as the comforter and helper of men.

In Milton's Paradise Lost, (book iv), Gabriel is placed at the eastern gate of Paradise as chief of the angelic guards.

Christian tradition holds that Gabriel is the unnamed angel who spoke to St Joseph and proclaimed the birth of Christ to the Shepherds. He is also believed to be the angel who comforted Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. A fresco of this angel figures prominently in a chapel on the Via Appia, indicating that he was honoured very early in the history of the Church. The Hebrew word from which Gabriel is derived means "hero of God".

"Screaming Infidelities"

by Dashboard Confessionals.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z7itHHrTty0

A Fighting Chance
by Michael Hussin B. Muin, M.D.

The ‘Sell Out’ stigma has since died down. It is now a footnote in the obscure pages of Philippine medical history. But the exodus continues and the situation is a fierce topic in conferences. Even business schools have taken up the issue and debated on the reasons of the plight and flight of doctors and the effects on the public administration of health care. And the conclusion has taken a gentler form. No, they now agree, doctors didn’t sell out, they just gave up fighting.

And what are they fighting for? Among other things, doctorsâ€"and other health workersâ€"fight for better pay and better working conditions. They fight for protection from bogus health companies and quacks in government. They fight for stronger organizational leadership. They fight for a better government. They fight for their patients. They fight for their families.

It is a sad fact that bank tellers and call center agents get better pay than general physicians in HMOs and residents in training. Bank tellers may get as much as P15,000 per month while GPs get P9,000-P12,000. Call center agents get as much as P21,000 per month while residents in private hospitals are lucky to get anything over P10,000. People who handle money and customer service get better wages than those who handle lives. This says much about industry standards, whatever that means.

But isn’t it true that all Filipinos are fighting for higher wages? Yes, but the fight is done in different ways and have different effects. When factory workers stop working, production goes down. When jeepney drivers wage a strike, transportation grinds to a halt. But when doctors go on strike, patients die.

I have seen doctors fight for a collective cause. They threatened work stoppage at a small private hospital unless conditions for better pay were met. They gathered just outside the emergency room and carried placards and signs. But the whispers and conversations within carried in them the futility of their efforts.

‘Tawagin mo ako pag may dumating na pasyente.’

‘Akyat muna ako at mag-a-assist ako sa OR.’

‘Sandali lang, andyan na yung follow-up ko.’

These are phrases uttered by the doctors on strike. Even the venue of the strike is crucial. They to sit it out in front of the emergency room and scramble in when an emergency case arrives. Once the patient is stabilized and brought up to the floors, they then trickle back into the strike area, anxious and ready for another case.

Doctors are not immune to the effects of graft, corruption and poverty. Some doctors are unemployed, while others take double or triple jobs. Many doctors look outside the field of clinical medicine for extra income. Some are into related fields like academics and research, while others go beyond medicine and venture into medical transcription, nursing, information technology and selling jewelry and health insurance.

Not everyone has government officials and actors for patients. In Batangas, moonlighting specialists settle for P1,000 for normal deliveries and P3,000 for caesarian sections. In the provinces, doctors are often faced with poor patientsâ€"and rather than exacting consultation fees, most instruct the patients to just buy the prescribed meds with what is left of their money.

Doctors are pinned to the wall. If they fight back, people die. But if they don’t fight backâ€"well, they go home tired and weary. In any case, the health of Philippine society hinges on the Filipino doctors’ sense of decencyâ€"the decency to put the patient firstâ€"above anything and everything, even their own needs.

Hospitals and managed health companies exploit this sense of decency to a fault. They know doctors will not abandon patients. Yes, some paper work will be delayed if work stops, but they have administrative clerks for that. Patients will still be treated, surgeries will still be performed, follow-ups will still be done.

So, how will doctors fight back without hurting their patients? How will they go to the streets and protest unjust compensation? How will doctors fight unseen ghosts and forces that threaten to push them to acts of indecency and selfishness?

By bringing the fight closer to home. Everywhere doctors are questioning the choices that lay before them. While society continues to flourish in the notion that doctors get full satisfaction from public service, doctors struggle to face the harsh reality that life is full of --. There are no right choices, just promises and responsibilities to keep. There are no wrong decisions, just consequences and the courage to live with them.

The fight to leave or stayâ€"and yes, it is a fightâ€"is not found in the loud voices on the streets and the echoing chants in ---strations, but in the grave discussions at dinner tables and the whispered conversations when the children are asleep. Because doctors are slowly finding out that livingâ€"and leavingâ€"for one’s family is a battle worth fighting for.

For some, it has come down to choosing between loneliness and poverty. Some choose to be lonely, while others choose to be poor. Doctors are not leaving, they are driven away. And these doctors carry their own personal battles in foreign lands, where they fight extreme depths of loneliness and immense levels of uncertainty. Those who stay fight their own battles of survival, where each day is a search for some sense of meaning in the care of other people’s lives.

In the gloom spreading all over the country, people are asking for a chance to get past poverty, a chance to make a difference, a chance to rise above the muck of helplessness. In the current state of desperation, people are looking for a fighting chance. And everybody deserves a fighting chanceâ€"even doctors.