MikeLigalig.com

Crampton added that when she's outside in the fields counting sheep, she has to "check if it's hooves or paws" jumping on her.


Bear looks back to see if his buddy Little Dorrit is going to keep up

The lamb and her dog "squad" do "everything together," Crampton said. "She dances along and runs with them outside and in the fields."


Little Dorrit is more dog than lamb in her responses

The lamb drinks from the same bowls as the pups, eats from their plates and tries to bathe with them, Crampton said.


Evening feeding time I've Little Dorrit & Bear feeding out of the ewes meal buckets

She even responds to whistles and loves scratches under the chin, Crampton added.

"Little Dorrit's brothers would bully her away from her mother's milk, so I took her into the kitchen and raised her," Crampton told ABC News today. "At the time, I also had a puppy inside named Bear, and they became best friends. That's where the story really starts."

Because Little Dorrit was "young and impressionable," she took on the ways of Bear and Crampton's other dogs.


Like Bear sniffs everything Little Dorrit has to sniff & taste everything new

Little Lamb in Ireland Is Convinced She Is a Dog

By AVIANNE TAN
January 15, 2016 11:07 PM
Good Morning America



A little lamb on a farm in southeastern Ireland is convinced she's a dog.

The baby sheep named Little Dorrit was born this past Christmas and was the runt of a litter, according to Suzanna Crampton, Little Dorrit's owner. Crampton is also the director and founder of Zwartbles Ireland, which primarily sells blankets, rugs and yarn made from the wool of sheep on Crampton's farm.

heil!

hahaha! gihimong intsik nga lingon ug mata.

well, there are 26 letters in the alphabet...

the wisest thing that ever came from china.

crispy pata, django!

mao na nga gamay ra sad ang iyang pagka-dedbol. wa matiwasi.

http://www.worldwideinterweb.com/

Star Wars Cats

For some strange reason cats have been totally absent from the Star Wars universe up to this point, but that will all change in Star Wars: Episode VIII (The Empire Claws Back).

naa gyoy tawo nga swerte sa?  purya.

7 Whole grains



Rich in fiber, whole grains help control the insulin response in your body. The high B vitamin content of whole grains also helps reduce the inflammatory hormone homocystine in the body.

http://www.dummies.com/

6 Water



Staying hydrated is essential to flushing inflammation-causing toxins out of your body. Aim for 64 ounces of water per day. Remember: Add an additional 8 ounces of water for every 30 minutes of exercise as well.

5 Spices



Certain spices, including garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and chili peppers, have potent inflammation-reducing capabilities, so try adding them to meals as often as possible.

Omega-3 fatty acids



Research has shown that a diet with a high percentage of omega-3 fatty acids and a low percentage of omega-6 fatty acids has been linked with decreased inflammation. Food sources of omega-3s include walnuts, flaxseed, and fish, such as wild Alaskan salmon.

3 Monounsaturated fats



These heart-healthy fats help raise your healthy HDL cholesterol levels and reduce overall inflammation. Great sources include olive oil, almonds, and avocado.

2 Green tea



This mild beverage is great for helping shrink your waistline as well as for decreasing inflammation. The flavonoids in this tea have natural anti-inflammatory properties. And the compound EGCG in green tea has been shown to help reduce body fat.

1 Fruits and vegetables



All fruits and vegetables, due to their rich nutrient and fiber content, help to combat chronic inflammation, so make sure to include adequate amounts of these foods daily. Some types of fresh produce, however, are even more potent than others.

Some terrific anti-inflammatory fruits and vegetables to include in your meal plan include apples, berries, broccoli, mushrooms, papaya, pineapple, and spinach.

Seven Foods That Fight Inflammation and Belly Fat

By Erin Palinski-Wade
from "Belly Fat Diet For Dummies"

When eaten on a regular basis, foods with anti-inflammatory properties can help reduce inflammation in the body, helping to prevent the long-term health consequences associated with it â€" but only if you also eliminate the foods that cause inflammation. When inflammation is under control, not only will you have more energy and feel better overall, but you’ll also find that weight loss and reduction of belly fat both become easier!

Try adding anti-inflammatory foods into your meal plan on a daily basis. The more often you eat these foods, the less inflammation that will be present in your body. The following foods and nutrients can fight inflammation:

The EDCA is effective for an initial period of ten years, and thereafter, it shall continue in force automatically unless terminated by either Party by giving one year's written notice through diplomatic channels of its intention to terminate the agreement (Article XII, Sec. 4 of EDCA). While the US forces may exercise operational control, put troops and equipment, construct facilities, and be accommodated in certain agreed locations, the Philippines shall still retain ownership of the agreed locations (Article V, Sec. 1 of EDCA). Importantly, the United States is not allowed to establish any permanent military bases, and must hand over any and all facilities in the "agreed locations" to the Philippine government upon the termination of the agreement.

The agreement also stipulates that the U.S. is not allowed to store or position any nuclear weapons on Philippine territory. (wikipedia)

The agreement allows for U.S. forces and contractors to operate out of "agreed locations," which are defined as: "facilities and areas that are provided by the Government of the Philippines through the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and that United States forces, United States contractors, and others as mutually agreed".

The Agreement hands over all operational controls of these "Agreed Locations" to the United States, and allows U.S. forces to preposition and store defense materiel, equipment, and supplies. The Agreement makes clear that this materiel cannot include nuclear weapons.

Summary of the agreement (aka EDCA)

According to Ambassador Goldberg, the goal of the EDCA is to "promote peace and security in the region." While outlining new defense-cooperation measures, the agreement also allows for the United States to respond more quickly to environmental and humanitarian disasters in the region.

Designed to supplement the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty and the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, the EDCA reaffirms mutual cooperation between the United States and the Philippines to develop their individual and collective capacities to resist armed attack by: improving interoperability of the two country's armed forces, promoting long-term modernization, helping maintain and develop maritime security, and expanding humanitarian assistance in response to natural disasters.

or go straight and pore over the SC promulgation of 12 January 2016 if you have the patience:

http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2016/january2016/212426.pdf

The comments of the various SC justices on EDCA has been released on the SC web site:

http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/

The discussions of Justices Carpio and Leonen are fascinating, the former concurring on the basis of the pragmatics of dealing with China and the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the latter dissenting on the basis of legal process requiring senate concurrence. Leonen holds that EDCA is a stand-alone treaty, not an agreement. Carpio holds that it is an agreement under the MDT. (The Society of Honor by Joe America, http://joeam.com/)

Water: PhospHor Tailings Pond #2, Polk County, Florida, USA (2012)

http://edition.cnn.com/

Water: Kumbh Mela #1, Haridwar, India (2010)

Water: Benidorm #1, Spain (2010)

Water: Dryland Farming #21, Monegros County, Aragon, Spain (2010)

Water: Rice Terraces #3, Western Yunan Province, China (2012)

Water: Stepwell #4, Sagar Kund Baori, Bundi, Rajasthan, India (2010)

Water: Xiaolangdi #3, Yellow River, Henan Province, China (2011)

Water: Xiaolangdi #1, Yellow River, Henan Province, China (2011)

Water: Salinas #2, Cadiz, Spain (2013)

Water: Pivot Irrigation #1, High Plains, Texas Panhandle, USA  (2011)

Water: Thjorsa River #1, Iceland (2012)

Prolific Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky has traveled the world, capturing industrial landscapes. The photographer's newest series, "Water," provides a stunning look at how our thirst has affected Earth's topography. (CNN)



Water: Colorado River Delta #2, near San Felipe, Baja, Mexico (2011)

the great equalizer

tired maneki-neko?

yogatowadbugnaw...

how difficult would a psychosociopath be?

http://good.barkpost.com/

ride on, cayetano.  ride on any issue as long as you continue to get your needed exposure, no matter what or how.  hasta si el chapo sa mexico daginoton.  sickening.  how about, not allowing the philippines to be another russia by not having a putin as head of state, or another china by not electing a xi? 

Again, there’s no “magic” in it. It’s simple arithmetic. Government employees contribute 9 percent of their income every month to the GSIS. The private-sector employees contribute only 3.63 percent of theirs to the SSS. What’s more, that 3.63-percent contribution is subject to a maximum P15,000 of income, while GSIS members have no such ceiling; they pay 9 percent on total income. The government contributes 12 percent of income as its contribution, so the total is 21 percent. In the SSS, employers pay 7.36 percent, so the total is 11 percent. If the private sector wants larger pensions, it should contribute larger amounts.  Truth hurts.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

And the speed with which the bill was passed! By the way, the only legislator who voted against the bill was Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile. Good for him.

I will say this, however. I think the President should have allowed the P500 across-the-board increase, that being what the SSS had suggested in the first place. Instead of vetoing the bill outright. Perhaps he was tired of playing “chicken.”

The Reader may well ask: How come the Government Service Insurance System pensioners get much larger pensions than the SSS pensioners? My husband’s SSS pension is something like P5,000 a month; my GSIS pension is something above P20,000â€"and I never earned (as a University of the Philippines professor) anything near to what he was earning.

Which gives rise to another question: Is that the kind of political leaders we want? Who think only of the short term, and think only of the benefits to themselves?  Just listen to what they are saying now: How heartless is P-Noy, how cruel, how lacking in compassion, his fear that the SSS will go belly up is a “phantom fear,” he should give it as a gift to the Filipino people to commemorate Edsa.

Good grief. Look at the facts, the numbers. Ignoring them will not make them go away.

Let’s continue with the thought processes of those legislators: “Anyway, the impact of our (irresponsible) actions now will be felt much later. Public memory is very short. And besides, the future governments will not let the SSS go down. They will save it.”

Well, how much will that “save” cost? That, too, has been estimated by the SSS. A government subsidy (covering the difference between SSS revenues and expenditures) would amount to P130 billion in 2028, and rising by an additional P20 billion a year. Think of the opportunity costs of that money: Which items of competing expenditures would be foregone by the government to save the SSS? And when we talk about a government subsidy, let us remember that it is the Filipino people who are paying for it. But, of course, that’s 14 years from now.

So the question is: Didn’t our legislators know about this when they were studying the bill? Of course they did. Certainly, the SSS must have told them, and given them all the actuarial estimates. I understand that the SSS told them that a P500 across-the-board increase would be affordable, as long as it is accompanied by lower benefits to current members. But a P500 pension increase wasn’t “bongga” enough, and may not assure election or reelection.  So the legislators probably thought (the media reported some of it): “We’ll provide for P2,000. Never mind the impact on SSS long-term financial viability, because the President surely will bring it down to P1,000, rather than veto it. We’ll still come out smelling like roses, because we can blame him for lowering the pension increase.”

In other words, they were leaving it up to the President to worry about the financial viability of the SSS. They were playing a political game.

Next question: How much does the SSS earn from its investments? Yearly? It gives a range of from P30 to P40 billion a year (last year it was P40 billion). So do the arithmetic. The shortfall of the SSS will be anywhere from P16 billion to P26 billion.

So how will the SSS finance that deficit or shortfall? If the SSS takes it from the principal or its corpus, then it will be only a matter of time before it bellies up. Estimates range from 11 years to 14 years. Is that what we want? And think of the pensioners who will still be alive by then. From very little pension to no pension at all.

But doesn’t the SSS collect premiums from current members? Why can’t that be used? Oops, sorry. The SSS has things like salary loans, sickness and disability payments, and help for members who have suffered from disasters and catastrophes. In other words, there are other members that the SSS has to take care of: Membership estimates run to over 30 million, or if we take out the pensioners, 28 million. Their needs also have to be attended to. And those members will be put at risk with this pension increase of HB 5842.

GET REAL

Legislators thinking of themselves in pushing SSS pension hike

By: Solita Collas-Monsod
@inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 16th, 2016


People fall in line at the Membership Assistance Center of the Social Security System (SSS) Building at East Avenue, Quezon City. RAFFY LERMA

House Bill No. 5842, or the proposed Social Security Act, would give our private-sector pensioners an across-the-board increase of P2,000 in their monthly pensions. All 2.15 million of them. What’s wrong with that? It would be great for the pensioners, right?  And moreover, think of the political bonanza it would give to the authors and sponsors of the bill in the respective chambers of Congress, in an election year even.

But take a closer look at it, do a little arithmetic, and you will realize that our legislators were (as usual?) thinking of themselves rather than the country. And they were willing to let the pensioners bask in false hopes for a while, betting that President Aquino would not dash those hopes in an election year.

Their bet failed. The President has vetoed the bill. Only consider: How much will that bill set the Social Security System back yearly?  P2000 x 13 months (Christmas bonus) x 2.15 million pensioners = P56 billion. Yearly. That was easy, wasn’t it?

The Islamic State’s understanding of Christians has only confirmed its view that the Trinity is a fancy name for polytheism; haters of Islam read the Koran and find that its author commands punitive amputation. The conviction that every sacred text is a long-winded paraphrase of the Golden Rule requires, among other things, a rather low regard for those textsâ€"and not much understanding of them, either. As the events of the past year suggest, they all contain recipes not just for peace but for conflict, which means that as long as there are literal-minded people, religion will likely remain as much a force for the latter as for the former.

http://www.theatlantic.com/

Why Global Religious Conflict Won’t End

As long as people interpret texts literally, religion will be a source of conflict.


Stringer / Iraq / Reuters
     
GRAEME WOOD 
The Atlantic
July/August 2015

The past couple of decades have spawned numerous interfaith initiatives and centers for interreligious (sometimes, more narrowly, “Muslim-Christian”) understanding. Their premise: to understand is to forgive, and by knowing more about one another, we’ll learn that all religions share a fundamental interest in universal human flourishing. But now and then, we would be better off with less understanding instead of more.

we have parted ways long ago.  wa koy paryente nga bentahuso ug bentahusa.

Matthew Andrews
LED stickmen will be seen "running riot" over Liberty House

http://www.bbc.com/

Matthew Andrews
Luminéoles by Porté Par Le Vent will be floating along Piccadilly

Cedric le Borgne
Cédric Le Borgne's Les Voyageurs will be on display in the West End

Matthew Andrews
Catherine Garret/Top'lá Design's Elephantastic will emerge from a cloud of dust in Piccadilly

Artichoke
Visitors to Leicester Square will be able to see TILT's Garden of Light

The lights brighten up some of London's more traditional buildings

http://www.bbc.com/

Hannah McKay/PA
Aquarium by Benedetto Bufalino and Benoit Deseille, in Grosvenor Square

The illuminations float over the crowds in Piccadilly

Transport for London (TfL) have warned that roads will be closed and Tube stations will be busier than usual in the areas where the festival is being held.

A number of buses will be diverted or terminate early.

It has been created by producers Artichoke, who held a similar event in Durham.

As well as a "huge" production crew, the company has recruited volunteers from Team London, which supported the London Olympics, to help guide people around the installations.

"The arts should be free and available to everyone," Artichoke's director Helen Marriage told BBC London.

And ethereal figures seem to fall through the air in St James's Square, where Cedric Le Borgne is showing Les Voyageurs (The Travellers).


Ben Pruchnie/ Getty Images
Cedric Le Borgne's Les Voyageurs in St James's Square

Ben Pruchnie/ Getty Images
Patrice Warrener's The Light of the Spirit on the front of Westminster Abbey

Patrice Warrener's The Light of the Spirit projects coloured light onto statues at Westminster Abbey.

Hannah McKay/PA
Janet Echelman's 1.8 London hovers above Oxford Circus

Visitors to Oxford Circus will see the multicoloured cloud of artist Janet Echelman's 1.8 London floating above them.