MikeLigalig.com

Colombia

Peace talks in Havana between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) achieved a series of breakthroughs in recent months, raising hopes that the country may finally see an end to its 51-year-old armed conflict in 2016. The conflict has claimed the lives of an estimated 220,000 people; 50,000 have been “disappeared,” and a staggering 7.6 million people have registered as victims of the conflict.



In December, the two sides announced a milestone agreement on transitional justice, one of the toughest issues on the agenda. They had previously reached agreements â€" with some matters left open for discussion â€" on rural development, political participation, and drug policy.

In what could prove a landmark case, a tribunal in The Hague is considering an arbitration request filed by the Philippines accusing China of violating international law in the South China Sea. Beijing refuses to participate or accept the court’s jurisdiction, but the case could still help unite international opinion and nudge China toward greater cooperation. A decision is expected in 2016.



Beijing should realize that its use of sharp elbows diminishes confidence in regional self-governance and encourages its neighbors to turn to the United States for protection. In turn, Washington must use its words and actions to defend the global commons and support multilateral diplomacy, rather than merely asserting its military supremacy. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations should drive negotiations with China to commit all parties to a code of conduct to manage maritime disputes before small ripples grow into big waves.

South China Sea

The South China Sea risks becoming a theater of big-power competition, as the United States challenges China’s large-scale land reclamation and construction on several disputed reefs. China’s aggressive assertion of its territorial claims sets it on a collision course with several Southeast Asian nations with competing sovereignty claims in one of the world’s busiest waterways, an area rich with fisheries and possible oil and gas reserves. Tensions flared in May, when a U.S. spy plane flew near Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly archipelago, where China is building an airfield. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter called for an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation in the disputed area and announced that the United States “will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.” In October, a U.S. Navy warship approached another disputed reef in the Spratlys, prompting a sharp rebuke from Beijing that the action was illegal and posed a threat to its national security. In November, Obama announced an aid package worth $259 million over two years to boost the maritime security of Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia, all rival claimants to China.

Fighting across multiple provinces continues to inflict heavy civilian casualties â€" one reason that Afghanistan is second only to Syria as a leading source of refugees. Rampant corruption and abuse of power by local authorities continue to be the chief drivers of support for the insurgency. The United States now says that it will maintain troop levels at 9,800 for most of 2016, and NATO’s Resolute Support Mission is committed to providing financial support for Afghan security forces until 2020. But given the potency of the insurgency, there is clearly no military solution to the conflict. And the splintering and proliferation of militant groups threaten future efforts to broker peace. President Ashraf Ghani’s attempts to resume negotiations with the Taliban are controversial and strain the cohesion of his national unity government. For talks to succeed, they must be broadly Afghan-led and owned, and driven more by the interests of the Afghan people than by those of powerful external players like Pakistan and the United States.

Afghanistan

U.S. President Barack Obama’s endgame in Afghanistan seems ever more remote, as the country remains mired in conflict more than 14 years after the United States intervened to oust the Taliban and destroy al Qaeda. Today, the Taliban, despite internal splits, are still a formidable force; al Qaeda maintains a presence, and the Islamic State has established a foothold. A short-lived breakthrough in Pakistan-brokered peace talks last July was scuttled after opponents of the talks disclosed that the Taliban’s reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, had died in 2013. The Taliban eventually confirmed these reports and announced that longtime deputy Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour had taken over. Mullah Mansour, who reportedly has close ties to Pakistan’s intelligence services, consolidated his leadership position with a string of military victories, including the temporary capture of Kunduz in late September. Yet factionalism continues to bedevil the Taliban movement. Unconfirmed reports surfaced in early December indicating that Mullah Mansour may have been injured or killed in a firefight with rivals in Pakistan. A handful of field commanders throughout the year declared allegiance to the Islamic State.

In December, the African Union Peace and Security Council took the bold step of authorizing an African Prevention and Protection Mission in Burundi to halt the slide toward civil war and mass atrocities. Nkurunziza reacted angrily and said Burundians would “stand up and fight” against foreign troops. The African Union has reached out to the government and is calling on both sides to cooperate with peace talks, with the next round scheduled for Jan. 6. It is not clear if the African Union has sufficient member support to impose a mission against the will of the Burundian government.



The humanitarian situation is dire. More than 200,000 people have fled the country, and U.N. officials have warned that without immediate action there is a risk of “catastrophic violence.” So far, the crisis is more political than ethnic. However, some leaders appear to be exploiting ethnic divisions, and there is a risk of mass atrocities if violence continues unchecked. It also threatens to further destabilize the fragile Great Lakes region, with increasing numbers of refugees fleeing to Rwanda, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Burundi

Almost daily, dead bodies appear on the streets of Bujumbura, with the circumstances surrounding their deaths often unknown. More than 300 people have been killed since last April, when President Pierre Nkurunziza announced plans to seek a third term in office despite widespread opposition. Nkurunziza’s re-election in July, following a failed coup attempt, sparked a season of confrontation between government forces and armed opposition fighters. Escalating violence raises fears of a return to conflict after a decade of relative peace. At least 300,000 people died during Burundi’s 12-year civil war, which ended in 2005 after dogged peace-building efforts led by former Presidents Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.

Over the past two years, more than 2.4 million people have been displaced, and tens of thousands have been killed. A report released by the African Union in October detailed atrocities by both sides, including mass killings and rapes. Now, with an increasing number of the country’s more than 24 armed groups aligned with neither the government nor the main opposition forces, the prospect of a multipolar war is real. Regional actors, especially members of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which mediated the peace agreement, and international powers, including IGAD partners China, Norway, the United States, and the United Kingdom, must take urgent, united action to push South Sudan’s leaders to respect their commitments to the peace deal and avert a catastrophic return to war.

South Sudan

Yet again, the world’s newest country is at risk of descending into full-blown civil war. The peace agreement reached between the government and the largest armed opposition group in August after intensive African-led mediation is on the brink of collapse. Meanwhile, independent armed groups outside the deal are proliferating.

The roots of the conflict date back to internecine competition among various factions during South Sudan’s decades-long independence struggle. South Sudan won independence from Sudan, only to explode into civil war on Dec. 15, 2013, as divisions within the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement led to fighting and targeted ethnic killings in the capital of Juba. Only hours after the conflict erupted, tens of thousands of people sought refuge at U.N. bases to escape ethnic massacres and sexual violence. Today, nearly 200,000 people live under the direct protection of U.N. peacekeepers.

Boko Haram is, however, resilient, adaptable, and mobile. Military efforts, to date, have had limited success in countering its use of suicide bombers, who are often young women and girls. Its terrorist attacks on remote and unprotected villages â€" and even on regional capitals, like N’Djamena â€" continue. Indiscriminate responses by state security forces and insufficient efforts to win over the affected communities only pour fuel on the fire. Regional governments are still failing to address the factors behind radicalization. Decades of political corruption, festering grievances, and poor access to basic social services have bred deep anger and alienation. These issues are compounded by rapid population growth and environmental degradation, which drive social tension and migration.

Lake Chad basin

Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon face an evolving threat from the jihadi militant group Boko Haram. Over the past six years, the group has transformed itself from a small protest movement in northern Nigeria to a powerful force capable of mounting devastating attacks across the Lake Chad basin. Last March, it pledged allegiance to the Islamic State â€" an affiliation that appears to have had little impact beyond improving Boko Haram’s online presence.



This past summer, Cameroon experienced the greatest increase in attacks by Boko Haram, followed closely by Niger and Chad. Nigeria, however, remains the epicenter of the conflict. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, who took office in May, ambitiously pledged to end the insurgency by December. While this remains a distant goal, Buhari â€" a former army major general â€" has shaken up his country’s security establishment and joined with regional forces to drive Boko Haram from the areas in northeastern Nigeria it had seized earlier in 2015.

Meanwhile, lawlessness continues to take a heavy toll. Thousands of detainees languish in prisons without proper judicial review while kidnappings and targeted killings are rampant. Libya is also a major transit hub for refugees and migrants trying to reach Europe from other parts of the Middle East and Africa. The unchecked flow of arms and fighters through Libya has fueled conflicts across the Sahel, including in Mali and the Lake Chad basin (see below). Western intelligence officials say that the impoverished Fezzan region in the south is swiftly becoming a haven for criminal networks and radical groups. On top of all this, economic collapse looms on the horizon unless oil production increases and officials act to maintain the integrity of Libya’s core financial institutions, which the two rival administrations have been squabbling over.



The first task for the new Libyan government, and its international partners, must be to bring aboard those Libyans who currently oppose it. At best, the recently signed agreement should be seen as a beginning, not an end, to the peace process.

Libya

The Islamic State’s apparent consolidation of its base around Sirte, on Libya’s Mediterranean coast, has brought fresh urgency to international efforts to end a political crisis that has left the country in a shambles.

Following NATO’s military intervention and the ouster of longtime dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011, assorted political parties, tribes, and militias have been fighting for power and control over the nation’s vast oil and gas riches. Since mid-2014, the country has been governed by two rival factions â€" another way of saying that no one is really in charge. A U.N.-brokered deal to form a national unity government emerged in December, thanks to heavy lifting from the United States and Italy. Members of both factions signed up, but many powerful constituents still oppose the deal. The unity government may not be able to govern much, especially if opponents prevent it from taking a seat in Tripoli.

The violence has its roots in a botched political transition following the departure of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who was forced out amid protests in 2011. After years of indecision about the country’s political future, Houthi militias took matters into their own hands and captured the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014. The Houthis â€" a predominantly Zaydi Shiite movement rooted in the north â€" began moving south in alliance with forces loyal to Saleh. On March 25, 2015, they seized a strategic military base near Aden and held the defense minister hostage. The next day, Saudi Arabia launched a major military campaign â€" Operation Decisive Storm â€" to roll back the Houthi advance and restore the government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi. The Houthis bear much of the responsibility for triggering the war, but the Saudi-led campaign has only escalated the violence and thus far proved largely counterproductive.



Saudi Arabia sees the Houthis as proxies for Iran. While Iran’s role has been minimal, Tehran has not hesitated to make political hay of Houthi successes, thereby further raising the stakes in a volatile region. The perception that it is meddling has alarmed Saudi Arabia, which sees Iran as ascendant and having hegemonic ambitions. A peaceful solution to the Yemen war may well require a prior accommodation between these two regional superpowers, currently a remote possibility.

Yemen

The Saudi-led war in Yemen â€" backed by the United States, Britain, and allies in the Gulf â€" has been grinding on since March 2015, with no end in sight. U.N.-sponsored peace talks in Switzerland in mid-December yielded only an agreement to resume negotiations on Jan. 14. Nearly 6,000 people have reportedly been killed, almost half of them civilians. More than 2 million people have been uprooted from their homes; an additional 120,000 have fled the country. The war has destroyed the country’s already weak infrastructure, deepened political divides, and introduced a narrative of sectarianism where previously there had been little or none. The conflict threatens the security of the Arabian Peninsula, particularly Saudi Arabia itself, by feeding the growth of terrorist networks like al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

Over the past six months, the conflict has escalated to its most violent point in two decades. Both sides know that there is no military solution; however, each wants to weaken the other as much as possible while waiting for the Syria quagmire to settle. To prevent the Middle East’s ethno-sectarian violence from spilling further into Turkey, both sides should urgently end violence, agree on cease-fire conditions, and restart peace talks. Free from electoral pressures for four years, the new Justice and Development Party (AKP) government should formulate a concrete reform agenda to address demands for Kurdish rights â€" including decentralization and mother-tongue education â€" that can be advanced within a democratic framework.

Turkey

Recent photographs from the southeastern city of Diyarbakir show young militants with assault rifles manning sandbagged roadblocks and engaging in bloody urban battles. Such images capture a dangerous escalation in Turkey’s long conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a confrontation that has killed more than 30,000 people since 1984. Many factors have fueled the sharp upsurge in violence following the end of peace talks last spring and the collapse of the cease-fire in July. Turkey’s Kurdish movement backs the PKK’s Syrian affiliate, the PYD, which has made gains in fighting against the Islamic State. Ankara worries that cross-border Kurdish solidarity will further strengthen demands for a separate state. This perceived threat has weakened Turkey’s focus on the fight against the Islamic State, leading many Turkish Kurds to conclude that Ankara supports the terrorist group that is ostensibly their common enemy.

In Iraq, meanwhile, the Western strategy to defeat the Islamic State relies largely on military offensives by Iraqi Kurds, a mostly Shiite Iraqi army, and Iran-backed Shiite militias. This risks feeding the resentment of Sunni Arabs in areas currently under Islamic State control. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government is under pressure from rival Shiite factions for a host of reasons â€" including anger over corruption, the state’s failure to provide basic services and security, resistance to his reform agenda, and intramural jockeying for power. Shiite militias are not only fighting the Islamic State, but have organized to fill the security vacuum and defend Baghdad and Shiite holy sites. The militias’ partial success resonates with many unemployed youth, who have been at the forefront of street protests. The Islamic State rules partly through brutal coercion but also by exploiting fear of the Shiite-dominated government and by empowering formerly marginalized segments within the Sunni community. Iraqi forces have spent months trying to retake Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, after a humiliating withdrawal last May, and in the last week of the year managed to finally gain control of the city. The next priority will be to oust the Islamic State from Mosul, the northern city where it is perhaps best entrenched.

Despite many reasons to be skeptical, it is worth hoping that this latest initiative marks the beginning of a meaningful effort to resolve the conflict. A conference in Riyadh in December exceeded expectations by bringing together an unprecedented range of the opposition’s armed and political factions to agree on a negotiating team. Participants pledged their commitment to a pluralistic Syrian future and conditional willingness to engage in the peace process. For a national cease-fire to work, however, there must be a strategy for dealing with spoilers â€" especially al Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front, which is geographically, and often operationally, integrated into the non-jihadi opposition in much of western Syria.

The pace of diplomatic action has quickened, spurred in part by Russia’s military intervention in Syria in September and the Islamic State-sponsored terrorist attacks in Paris in November. While the growing internationalization of the conflict presents many dangers, it may also open possibilities for diplomacy. In December, the U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution calling for a cease-fire and political solution in Syria. The resolution sets forth an ambitious timetable, with talks between the government and the opposition to start in January; a Syrian-led political process to establish “credible, inclusive and non-sectarian governance” within six months; and elections within a year-and-a-half. Questions about Assad’s future â€" which provoke the most vehement disagreement between major powers on the Security Council, rival regional powers, and Syrian factions â€" remain unaddressed.

Syria and Iraq

At the close of the year, the war in Syria is the world’s gravest, with its effects stretching across the region and sucking in major powers. More than a quarter of a million Syrians have been killed and almost 11 million â€" about half the country’s population â€" displaced in or outside the country. The rise of the Islamic State, which now controls a large swath of eastern Syria and northwest Iraq, has drawn in firepower from countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia. As yet, however, none of these countries has articulated a coherent strategy to defeat the Islamic State.



Worse still, Moscow and Western powers have been working at cross-purposes, with Russian jets bombing anti-Islamic State rebels that Washington considers partners against the jihadi group. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime continues to use indiscriminate aerial bombardment and other methods of collective punishment, inflicting civilian casualties in Sunni-majority areas that dwarf the numbers of victims claimed by the Islamic State’s violence. Assad’s tactics fuel continued cycles of radicalization, in Syria in particular, but also across the region, by fanning sectarian flames and feeding the sense of Sunni victimization from which the Islamic State profits.

There is an alternative to this approach: States could work pragmatically at managing differences rather than overcoming them while leaving political space open for local actors to speak up. This will require courage, patience, and creative diplomacy, but the two most important diplomatic successes of 2015 â€" the Iran nuclear deal and the agreement on climate change â€" give reason to believe an international approach based on finding common interests could work. There are other glimmers of hope, too: major strides forward in Colombia’s peace talks, a cease-fire in Ukraine bolstered by the Minsk process, progress in Myanmar’s democratic transition, and a welcome, if long overdue, resolution from the U.N. Security Council on Syria.

Most of the conflicts listed here require action at several levels â€" between major powers, regionally and locally â€" and none are amenable to a quick fix. Given the challenges of ending conflicts amid the upheaval of a revolutionary era, it is all the more urgent to provide humanitarian aid and to mitigate the human toll of violence â€" evidenced starkly in the hundreds of thousands of refugees who have fled toward Europe in the past year. States must also redouble efforts to forge political agreements, taking advantage of even the narrowest openings to find opportunities for compromise. The fluidity of the present moment can and must be used to shape a new, better-balanced order.

Half of the conflicts on this year’s list involve extremist groups whose goals and ideologies are difficult to accommodate through negotiated settlement, complicating efforts to plot a path to peace. Looking ahead to 2016, it’s time to dispense with the notion that fighting against violent extremism suffices as a plan for world order â€" or even the basis of a solution for a single country like Syria. To be sure, stopping the abominations of the Islamic State and other jihadis is vital, but it also exposes policy dilemmas: The fear of what follows the demise of authoritarians (Iraq and Libya being prime exhibits) creates a strong incentive to back repressive regimes, but order based solely on state coercion is not sustainable. The dramatic increase in the reach and influence of jihadis over the past few years is a symptom of deeper trends in the Middle East: mounting sectarianism, a crisis of legitimacy of existing states, and escalating geopolitical competition, particularly between Saudi Arabia and Iran. When the enemy comes from within a given region, military action directed from abroad is more likely to aggravate than assuage.

10 Conflicts to Watch in 2016

Foreign Policy Magazine
By Jean-Marie Guéhenno
04 January 2016

Pulling together a list of the wars most in need of international attention and support in 2016 is challenging for all the wrong reasons. For 20 years after the end of the Cold War, deadly conflict was in decline. Fewer wars were killing fewer people the world over. Five years ago, however, that positive trend went into reverse, and each year since has seen more conflict, more victims, and more people displaced. 2016 is unlikely to bring an improvement from the woes of 2015: It is war â€" not peace â€" that has momentum.

That said, there are conflicts whose urgency and importance rise above. This year’s list of 10 is weighted toward wars with the worst humanitarian consequences: Syria and Iraq, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, and the Lake Chad basin. It includes those in influential and functioning states, like Turkey, as well as those that have collapsed, like Libya. It features conflicts that are already bad but are poised to get much worse without intelligent intervention, such as Burundi, as well as tensions, such as those in the South China Sea, that are simmering but have yet to boil over. The list also considers the hopeful example presented by Colombia, where considerable progress is being made toward ending a 51-year insurgency.

"sheephearders"? what a sense of humor?

QuoteWa man malipay ning imong doggie, Aylandil...

look again, ol' chap, and you will see how high he is!

say your prayer of thanksgiving first!

well, i now expect your uric acid to be exorcised from your body.

too many pedestrian psychoanalysts?

hehehe, sa way pagduda, kanang nitagbo nga nag-miniskirt.  (hinaot di na siya trans.)

aaahhh, the "floral fluidity of modern romance"... wat dat?  romance may be modern, but are flowers fluid?  do they deserve liquidity, liquefaction, or liquidation?

injured thus, at least, they can thank the fates for not ending up kissing their horses.

whaaat? done away with handwashing laundry? 

it was hell that made us extinct from the world, indeed, sir.  but we're in heaven now.  hope you won't follow us to extinction, sir.

There have been 50 International Eucharistic Congresses since 1881.  The up-and-coming one in Cebu is the 51st.

places where the Eucharistic Congresses have been held:

1st - Lille, France (June 1881)
2nd - Avignon, France (September 1882)
3rd - Liege, Belgium (June 1883)
4th - Fribourg, Switzerland (September 1885)
5th - Toulouse, France (June 1885)
6th - Paris, France (July, 1888)
7th - Anvers (Antwerp) Belgium (August 1890)
8th - Jerusalem (May 1893)
9th - Reims, France (July 1894)

10th - Paray-Le-Monial, France (September 1897)
11th - Bruxelles (Brussels), Belgium (July 1898)
12th - Lourdes, France (August 1899)
13th - Angers, France (September 1901)
14th - Namur, Belgium (September 1902)
15th - Angouleme, France (June 1904)
16th - Rome (June 1905)
17th - Tournai, Belgium (August 1906)
18th - Metz, France (August 1907)
19th - London, England (September 1908)
20th - Köln (Cologne), Germany (August 1909)

21st - Montreal, Canada (September 1910)
22nd - Madrid, Spain (July 1911)
23rd - Vienna, Austria (September 1912)
24th - Malta (April 1913)
25th - Lourdes, France July 1914)
26th - Rome (May 1922)
27th - Amsterdam, Netherlands (June 1924)
28th - Chicago, USA (June 1926)
29th - Sydney, Australia (September 1928)
30th - Carthage, Tunisia (May 1930)

31st - Dublin, Ireland (June 1932)
32nd - Buenos Aires, Argentina (October 1934)
33rd - Manila, Philippines (February 1937)
34th - Budapest, Hungary (May 1938)
35th - Barcelona, Spain (May 1952)
36th - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil July 1955)
37th - Munich, Germany (July-August 1960)
38th - Mumbai (Bombay), India (November 1964)
39th - Bogotá, Colombia (August 1968)
40th - Melbourne, Australia (February 1973)
41st - Philadelphia, USA (August 1976)
42nd - Lourdes, France (July 1981)
43rd - Nairobi, Kenya (August 1985)
44th - Seoul, South Korea (October 1989)
45th - Sevilla, Spain (June 1993)
46th - WrocÅ,aw, Poland (May-June 1997)
47th - Rome (June 2000)
48th - Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico (October 2004)
49th - Quebec City, Canada (May 2007)
50th - Dublin, Ireland (June 2012)
51st - Cebu City, Philippines (January 2016)

-wikipedia and other online sources

What is a Eucharistic Congress?

In the Roman Catholic church, a Eucharistic Congress is a gathering of clergy, religious, and laity to bear witness to the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which is an important Roman Catholic doctrine.

Congresses bring together people from a wide area, and typically involve large open-air Masses, adoration of the Eucharist (Blessed Sacrament), and other devotional ceremonies held over several days. Congresses may both refer to National (varies by country) and International Eucharistic Congresses.
The most recent International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin, Ireland in 2012 and the next congress will be held in Cebu, the Philippines in 2016. (wikipedia)

sinaway gyod diay ug tangkugo ang unang qualification...

natamnan na diay nimog pongkan ang imong yuta sa florida, davao del norte?

hahay.

kailangan munang moapil ka ug intergalactic war to protect trade balance between the galaxies.  may the force be with you, han solo!

Suha or Pomelo (Citrus grandis) is the largest citrus fruit of all with fruits weighing up to 3.0 kilos.  ccording to the Oxford Companion to Food authored by Alan Davidson, the Pomelo is an ancestor of the grapefruit and is believed to have originated in the Malay Peninsula or Western Indonesia. From there it migrated westwards and now thrives in several tropical climates around the world.



as it turns out, mestiza diay si grapefruit:

pomelo, aka buongon or sweet suha + orange = grapefruit


grapefruit

The grapefruit (Citrus × paradisi) is a subtropical citrus tree known for its sour to semi-sweet fruit. Grapefruit is a hybrid originating in Barbados as an accidental cross between two introduced species, sweet orange (C. sinesis) and pomelo or shaddock (C. grandis), both of which were introduced from Asia in the seventeenth century. When found, it was named the "forbidden fruit"; and it has also been misidentified with the pomelo. (wikipedia)

-from various online sources

akong gi-check, rects.  what i know as buongon sa ato, as in pomelo, mas dako man kaayo unya mas baga ang panit, pero mao rang pamilyaha.  di hinoon ko sure kay ang translation sa buongon grapefruit baya.  naniguro lang kog palit sa ang ngan grapefruit gyod, kanang ang gidak-on is in-between an orange and a pomelo.   

happy new year! may your gout disappear in 2016!

philippine postal stamps for the year of the monkey:

anyhow, pilay pad sa unggoy; here are some predictions for 2016 (in addition to those in reply #3, this thread):

CHINA: According to the Chinese zodiac, 2016 heralds the year of the monkey, an auspicious time for expectant parents hoping for quick-witted sprogs.
...
[And, with] 2016 marking 50 years since the start of Chairman Mao’s tumultuous Cultural Revolution, the few who dare to speak out against China’s Big Daddy will face even harsher treatment as Beijing seeks to stifle any criticism of the party he leads.

Jubilant couples will pack maternity wards as China enters the year of the monkey. But for Xi it threatens to prove an annus horribilis. Tom Phillips in Beijing

for more "predictions" about big daddy xi and more of the world besides, here's the link: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/31/what-will-happen-in-2016-predictions

Astrologer and psychologist Michel Gauquelin claimed to have found statistical support for "the Mars effect" in the birth dates of athletes, but it could not be replicated in further studies. The organisers of later studies claimed that Gauquelin had tried to influence their inclusion criteria for the study by suggesting specific individuals be removed. It has also been suggested, by Geoffrey Dean, that the reporting of birth times by parents (before the 1950s) may have caused the apparent effect.

Astrology has not demonstrated its effectiveness in controlled studies and has no scientific validity, and as such, is regarded as pseudoscience.

There is no proposed mechanism of action by which the positions and motions of stars and planets could affect people and events on Earth that does not contradict well-understood, basic aspects of biology and physics. (wikipedia)

meanwhile... astrology vis-a-vis science:

Astrology consists of a number of belief systems that hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events or descriptions of personality in the human world. Astrology has been rejected by the scientific community as having no explanatory power for describing the universe.

Scientific testing of astrology has been conducted, and no evidence has been found to support the premises or purported effects outlined in astrological traditions.

Where astrology has made falsifiable predictions, it has been falsified. The most famous test was headed by Shawn Carlson and included a committee of scientists and a committee of astrologers. It led to the conclusion that natal astrology performed no better than chance. (wikipedia)

The Monkey's Traits: Sharp, Smart...

People born in a year of the Monkey are witty, intelligent, and have a magnetic personality. Personality traits, like mischievousness, curiosity, and cleverness, make them very naughty. Monkeys are masters of practical jokes, because they like playing most of the time. Though they don't have any bad intentions, their pranks sometimes hurt the feelings of others. Monkeys are fast learners and crafty opportunists.

They have many interests and need partners who are capable of stimulating them. While some like the eccentric nature of Monkeys, some don't trust their sly, restless, and inquisitive nature. Although they are clever and creative, monkeys can't always exhibit their talent properly. Monkeys like to take challenges and they prefer urban life to rural.

more at http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/monkey.htm

in keeping with chinese astrology:

The Monkey is ninth of the 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac. Each year is related to an animal sign according to a 12-year-cycle.

2016 is a year of the Monkey. If you're born in a year of the Monkey, you're a Monkey!

Monkey years: ...1920, 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028...

gotta launder you with the money, kitty dear.

great.  a hundred thousand dollars?  and i thought santa claus was the gift-giver...

nagdahom pa ko. will let you know when i get there.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, THANKFULLY ONCE AGAIN, TBLANDERS!

who knows if these kids are contacting rembrandt to ask why a little girl is out in the dark of night.

none of the above.  now, let me see... where did i get this amount i have?

the shoes, the shoes! my kingdom for the shoes!

what intellectual aberrant development are you talking about?  klarong hinan-aw kag sine, way back to the dune universe.  btw, methinks baron vladimir harkonnen relied only on his balloon body and not a hoverboard.  which brings me back to this cool priest whose issue is his use of the hoverboard...

graduated valedictorian i suppose.

a true-blue member of the european union and the schengen zone.  glad you're for real, chap.

hahay. mora man ug daghang gikalagotan ang naghimo ani nga cupcake. unsa kaha ang nag-post?

mao diay nga tagsa na lang mogimaw.  sigeg alima sa iyang hangover.

it looks like the problem then is the hoverboard.  only.  his singing was not.  his celebration was not.  i don't see why a mere machine can make a problem of this his unique presentation of a christmas greeting.

Recommendations for Uric Acid Levels Low:

• Lab Tests/Rule-Outs

Test Copper Levels is highly recommended for Uric Acid

• Mineral

Molybdenum is highly recommended for Uric Acid Levels Low

Uric acid levels can be raised with supplemental molybdenum.  While taking molybdenum orally may raise uric acid levels, IV administration may be required in some cases.  Further evidence of an interaction comes from a study of men who consumed 10 to 15mg of molybdenum per day for prolonged periods who then developed high serum uric acid levels.

• Vitamins

Vitamin B3 (Niacin) often helps with Uric Acid Levels Low


diagnose-me.com/

Risk factors for Uric Acid Levels Low:

Nutrients

Molybdenum Need increases risk of Uric Acid Levels LowMolybdenum Need
Xanthine oxidase, the enzyme that immediately produces uric acid, uses molybdenum as a cofactor.  Molybdenum is known to raise uric acid levels, which is why people with gout (a condition of elevated high uric acid levels) are told to avoid molybdenum supplements.

Conditions that suggest Uric Acid Levels Low:

Autoimmune

Multiple Sclerosis often suggests Uric Acid Levels Low.

It has been proposed â€" and research is supporting the idea â€" that low uric acid levels are associated with increased frequency and longer bouts of multiple sclerosis.  Uric acid works by inactivating peroxynitrite, a toxic compound that may cause damage to the central nervous system in MS patients. 

Researchers report that they found lower levels of uric acid in the blood of MS patients than of people without the disease.  It appears that high serum uric acid levels protect against the development of MS.  These results raise the possibility that the natural biologic product, uric acid, or a more soluble peroxynitrite scavenger that penetrates the blood brain-barrier more readily might have clinical utility in the treatment of MS.  [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1998;95: pp.675-680]

Uric Acid Levels Low: Overview

Several issues are raised when levels of serum uric acid (a natural antioxidant) are low.  It has previously been thought that lower uric acid levels were not associated with any problems but that may not be the case.  Low uric acid levels may be associated with a molybdenum deficiency, copper toxicity, and a worsening of multiple sclerosis.

Causes and Development

Low dietary zinc intakes cause lower uric acid levels.  This effect can be even more pronounced in women taking oral contraceptive medication. [Hess FM et al, 1 December 1977.  "Effect of low zinc intake and oral contraceptive agents on nitrogen utilization and clinical findings in young women".  The Journal of Nutrition 107 (12): pp2219-27.]

Drug(s) indicated for prevention of hyperphosphataemia in patients with chronic renal failure, can significantly reduce serum uric acid.

Treatment and Prevention

Correcting low or deficient zinc levels can help elevate serum uric acid.  Inosine can be used to elevate uric acid levels.

Symptoms

High uric acid level

Causes
By Mayo Clinic Staff

Most of the time, a high uric acid level occurs when your kidneys don't eliminate uric acid efficiently. Things that may cause this slow-down in the removal of uric acid include rich foods, being overweight, having diabetes, taking certain diuretics (sometimes called water pills) and drinking too much alcohol. Other less common causes are a diet high in purine-containing items or your body producing too much uric acid.

Factors that may cause a high uric acid level in your blood include:

Diuretic medications (water pills)
Drinking too much alcohol
Genetics (inherited tendencies)
Hypothyroidism
Immune-suppressing drugs
Niacin, or vitamin B-3
Obesity
Psoriasis
Purine-rich diet â€" liver, game meat, anchovies, sardines, gravy, dried beans and peas, mushrooms, and other foods
Renal insufficiency â€" inability of the kidneys to filter waste
Tumor lysis syndrome â€" a rapid release of cells into the blood caused by certain cancers or by chemotherapy for those cancers

Also, you may be monitored for high uric acid levels when undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer.

mayoclinic.org/

Normal Results

Normal values range between 3.5 and 7.2 mg/dL.

Normal value ranges may vary slightly among different laboratories. Talk to your doctor about the meaning of your specific test results.

The example above shows the common measurement range for results for these tests. Some laboratories use different measurements or may test different specimens.

What Abnormal Results Mean

Greater-than-normal levels of uric acid (hyperuricemia) may be due to:

Acidosis
Chemotherapy-related side effects
Diabetes
Excessive exercise
Gout
Hypoparathyroidism
Lead poisoning
Leukemia
Medullary cystic kidney disease
Nephrolithiasis
Polycythemia vera
Purine-rich diet
Renal failure
Toxemia of pregnancy

Lower-than-normal levels of uric acid may be due to:

Fanconi syndrome
Low purine diet
Syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) secretion
Wilson's disease

Other reasons this test may be performed include:

Chronic gouty arthritis
Chronic kidney disease
Injury of the kidney and ureter

References
Edwards NL. Crystal deposition diseases. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Cecil Medicine. 24th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2011:chap 281.

nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/

Why the Test is Performed

This test is done to see if you have high levels of uric acid in your blood. High levels of uric acid can cause gout or kidney disease.

Your doctor may also order this test if you have had or are about to have certain types of chemotherapy. Rapid weight loss, which may occur with such treatments, can increase the amount of uric acid in your blood.

How the Test is Performed

A blood sample is needed. Most of the time blood is drawn from a vein located on the inside of the elbow or the back of the hand.

How to Prepare for the Test

You should not eat or drink anything for 4 hours before the test unless told otherwise.

Many medicines can interfere with blood test results.

Your health care provider will tell you if you need to stop taking any medicines before you have this test.

Do not stop or change your medications without talking to your doctor first.
Your doctor may also tell you to stop taking any drugs that may affect the test results. Never stop taking any medicine without talking to your doctor.

URIC ACID

Uric acid is a chemical created when the body breaks down substances called purines. Purines are found in some foods and drinks. These include liver, anchovies, mackerel, dried beans and peas, and beer.

Most uric acid dissolves in blood and travels to the kidneys. From there, it passes out in urine. If your body produces too much uric acid or doesn't remove enough if it, you can get sick. A high level of uric acid in the blood is called hyperuricemia.

This test checks to see how much uric acid you have in your blood. Another test can be used to check the level of uric acid in your urine.

interesting. got to do further reading on this...

ouch. where in the world could i buy steamed wikipedia?  i want to try it with oyster sauce and red winepedia on the side.

bahala ba uroy. cup crazies, tse!

gwapoha ana uy.  bilib ko sa tag-iya sa iring ani.  iya pang gipaeskwela ang iyang iring aron makabasa sa doormat.

tiaw bay naay boss nga sige lang ug siyagit kada adlaw.  maka-ulcer pod uy. 

dancing with myself, together

sorry, i prefer to dance with my kind...

sorry, i'm a prima ballerina...

Quote

nakaduol na kog ingon ani ug nakapakaon pa gyod.  ganahan siyag mansanitas.  problema lang, angso siya kay inig pangihi adto tanan sa lawas nga nagbitay ang ihi, mahakop pa gyod sa iyang mga pako.

bug-at ni para nimo, bai.  tan-aw na lang.  ayaw na lang ug sina-sina diha.

president by default?  mao na ni ron.  ang mga young politicians sa una, who were deemed as different from the trapos and on whom the people's hopes for better elective officials were pinned, are now the trapos.  worse, they are now the opportunistic trapos.

It’s all a little disturbing for those of us who want the Philippines to get on with stability and away from self-serving opportunism.

But voters get to decide. So it is not settled yet. The question is, do voters want any of these characters for President... ever? Because that is what the Vice Presidential race is all about.

http://joeam.com/2015/11/08/who-among-the-vp-candidates-are-actually-running-for-president-and-who-is-running-for-vp/

Well, it does not take Jack Ryan to cut through that message and get to the truth of the matter. Marcos has the lead position and is likely going to elbow the others aside. His true aim is not the Vice Presidency, but the Presidency.

Furthermore, there is only one candidate who is running for Vice President to serve the people. Leni Robredo. For the rest, it is a political play, an exercise in opportunism.


Photo credit: http://pinoythaiyo.com

I may be mistaken, but I don’t recall this many people running for VP without a president in previous elections. Why so many now?

Unless they’re banking on Poe winning, and maybe they know she’ll be disqualified . . . making them president!

That’s undoubtedly the plan of Escudero. But it may also now be the plan of his NPC partymates: Trillanes, Cayetano, and Marcos.

So, really, only Robredo is running for VP. Everyone else is actually running for president. (Honasan doesn’t count, being just a Binay prop.)

And since Trillanes, Cayetano, Robredo, and Honasan are apparently from Bicol, they can kiss the regional vote goodbye... this gives Marcos a clear advantage with the so-called Solid North votes, and the rest of the country will be divided among them all.

Oh, my!... If Poe and Marcos win, Poe will be disqualified, making Marcos president.

And there was Imelda Marcos expressing disappointment that her son is only aiming for the VP post. In truth, he isn’t.

WHO AMONG THE VP CANDIDATES ARE ACTUALLY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, AND WHO IS RUNNING FOR VP?

Posted by Joe America on November 8, 2015



Did you parse that headline for grammar? Did you notice the plural and the singular expressions of the verb “to be”?

That’s highly important. It’s what this blog is about, actually.

As you know, this blog is now famous, attracting Chinese trolls like flies on a karabao’s back and notable readers like politicians to donations. Where donations come in the form of ideas.

With the help of this fame, I have developed networks of information spread across the Philippines like so many spider-webs glistening in the morning dew, each node a listening post. If a nameless sultan blinks in Mindanao, we know about it on Biliran Island. The network is now active and producing. Indeed, one of my high-value assets recently sent in a little whisper of striking insight, then slipped quietly back into the dim and smoke-filled rooms where she plays her ploys, and where the future of the Philippines is defined.

I’ll share what she sent in, verbatim, decoded, in her words...

Ayon naman kay Senator Miriam Santiago na eksperto sa batas at isa ding presidential aspirant, malaki ang problema ni Poe dahil malinaw ang saligang batas sa requirements sa pagka-pangulo.

Sa kasalukuyan, patong patong ang disqualification cases laban kay Poe at ito ay may kaugnayan sa kanyang citizenship at residency sa Pilipinas.

philstar.com