MikeLigalig.com

duda ko nga all sound and fury signifying nothing ra nang ilang claims of political clout. so when would news releases ever help demystify it by taking out adjectives like "influential" and "bloc voters" out? that way, this church would stop forcing unqualified church members to government posts.

in the late 1980s, while still in the afterglow of the edsa revolution, then mayor osmeña had a real public fight with an INC minister who took to insulting sto. niño processions ("bato ra nang inyong gipangadyean" or something, the loudspeakers blared outside their church, the person speaking well-hidden inside, protected by a high cement fence) and sinulog street dance as these passed (bottles were thrown out of the INC compound) along the main thoroughfare of gen. maxilom ave. where their church is.

mayor osmeña took the church on and challenged the minister, which became media fodder for weeks. yet osmeña kept on winning. the minister was transferred somewhere else. talk of political clout...

naminaw diay ka?

tingali baya nga nangita pag proof ang inahan kun tinuod ba gyod nga nagbisyo ang asawa sa iyang anak. di siya ganahan ug magubot ang panimuyo tungod lang sa tsismis. hinoon, kay mangulata man ug inahan ang puryang anak, maayo ra pod kun tinuod man nga nagbisyo iyang asawa. one fool deserves another.

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

(Tony Richards)

In fact, touching up photos was common back in the day. Photographers made permanent edits on the plates themselves so that all prints would look brighter and more appealing. This British photography journal from 1875 instructed photographers to use a sharp, fine-pointed pencil to add highlights to a picture, then brighten up things like cheeks that might print darker than desired by “cross-hatching with a rather blunted pencil.”

The result is a touched-up negative that looks more crackled and grotesque than beautiful â€" before it’s printed, that is. Check out the slideshow above for before-and-after images of the plate and the print it produced.

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/

Here’s How Victorians “Photoshopped” Photos

Early photographers used pencils to touch up photographic plates â€" and the results look pretty freaky

By Erin Blakemore
SMITHSONIAN.COM
02 September 2015

With news that Adobe intends to bring Photoshop to smartphones and tablets later this year, it may soon be harder than ever to figure out if it’s real or just “shopped.” But though photo retouching is a fact of life in 2015, it wasn’t quite as simple for early photographers.

British photographer Tony Richards explains on his blog that he first got interested in Victorian touch-up technology when he started to look more closely at fine albumen prints. When he scanned the photographic plates from which albumen prints were made, he noticed the photographers’ touch-up marks on the emulsion side of the plates â€" a result he notes was “quite possibly the opposite effect than that [which] was originally intended for the printed version.”


(Tony Richards)

ngano wa pa man masuta nga nahibaw-an na man nga potot? pila ba diay ang potot anang dapita?

as in TNR? para man tawon na sa stray cats, hihihi.

sa akong nasabtan na karon, nia dinhi ang book, tua didto ang face.

aw, kun mao, pwede pang sukaan ni misis ang nagbuy-od nga gibiyaan sa kamay. (don't tell me nga nasakpan ang patay ibabaw sa kamay, okay?)

bantog ra damo ta brilliant dinhi, to!

nangluod na ko sa ka-brilliant atong wa na mogimaw dinhi. bugsay! vrglguaps! bolbuhol! kinsa pa to... (exempted si lorenz because being a medical intern is truly terrible. and lolla could come in anytime.) anyways, wherefore art thou, peeps?

what balls are you talkin' 'bout? he ain't got any.

hinaot dili pasumanginlan ang baye...

Quote from: balong on September 01, 2015, 05:20:09 PM
kong mao ni, lansar pod ko. rene BALONG econg for president of tubagbohol republic.

start the campaign! we're behind you!

nothing is impossible in the dumbing of the US. there's the donald, and then kanye? must be a spillover of the US's fascination with big butts, ala potential first lady kim.

Kanye for 2020? White House welcomes rapper’s political bid

@inquirerdotnet
Associated Press
September 1st, 2015


Kanye West accepts the video vanguard award at the MTV Video Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015, in Los Angeles. AP

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE â€" Kanye West for 2020? The White House says it is anticipating the rapper’s potential bid for president.

West claimed he would run for president while accepting the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest says of the announcement that he looks “forward to seeing what slogan he chooses to embroider on his campaign hat.” Earnest was traveling aboard Air Force One with the president to Alaska.

This isn’t the first time the outspoken Chicago rapper has dabbled in talk of politics. West is noted for criticism of President George W. Bush and the federal government’s response after Hurricane Katrina. He has also compared the world’s fascination with his wife Kim Kardashian to that of the first lady.

http://entertainment.inquirer.net/

a bizarre story with a happy ending. saludo ko sa mga tawo nga nitabang sa ginikanan ug sa special child nila. saludo pod ko sa ginikanan nga wa pangwartahe ang sitwasyon. imagine, giuli ang mga limos bisan sa ilang kawad-on. bilib gyod ko.

he can roll like a ball anytime.

very, very interesting. this makes it easier for non-muslims to understand that islam is a religion of peace. the atrocities committed in its name can be likened to the atrocities committed by the crusaders of old in the name of christianity. everything boils down to mundane power.

and now,for the rights of the palestinians, regardless of what their religion is...

the text is double, all right. but the image of the girl is quadruple.

What are my other treatment options?

If IV t-PA treatment cannot be initiated within 4 ½ hours or if IV t-PA treatment alone is not enough to dissolve the clot, interventional radiologists that specialize in neurological procedures may be able to provide future treatment.

The interventional radiologist may be able to treat your blocked blood vessel or bulge in the vessel (aneurysm). Treatment depends on the site of the blocked artery and the scans done to tell if you would benefit from invasive treatment.  Not all patients who have a stroke will benefit, but if your doctor believes you could you will be taken for an angiogram (a special X-ray exam of the arteries and veins).

For ischemic stroke, a thrombectomy, or removal of a clot, may be done by inserting specialized devices in through a tiny catheter and guiding them under x-ray to the brain.  Thrombolysis, the dissolving of a clot by administering special medication, can also be administered through the tin microcatheter.  Techniques called Angioplasty (balloon catheter) and Stenting (a metal tube placed in the blocked area) can be done for stenosis (narrowing of a blood vessel) in certain conditions.  These are just some of the treatments that can be offered if appropriate for you.

If you stroke is caused by a ruptured aneurysm your doctor can insert tiny coils to take up the space of the aneurysm and prevent it from bleeding further.  A stent may be used to help keep the coils in place.  With angiographic imaging, your doctor will decide what is right for you.

http://strokeinfo.org/

Barriers to Stroke Treatment

t-PA can potentially benefit most stroke victims. Stroke patients who receive t-PA are at least 55% more likely to leave the hospital with little or no disability after three months.

Only hospitals with certified stroke centers are equipped to immediately treat stroke victims well within the 3- 4.5 hour window.

Less than 3% of stroke patients receive t-PA nationwide.* Some reasons include:

Typically patients arrive 12 â€" 24 hours after the first stroke symptom.
Family and friends as well as bystanders who attempt to help a stroke victim may not recognize the warning signs or the need for rapid transportation

Stroke symptoms may be hard to identify and are often mis-diagnosed by emergency medical personnel.

Patients often wait for their primary care physicians in the emergency room instead of seeking immediate treatment by neurologists at certified stroke centers.

*in the US

Generally, only 3 to 5 percent of those who suffer a stroke reach the hospital in time to be considered for t-PA treatment.  If t-PA is used there is a 32% chance that the patient will be normal or improved after the administration.  After 1 year, the recovery rate with minimal or no deficits is 41% and the overall rate of death is rescued by 4% when compared to patients who did not receive t-PA.  The medication is not risk free and comes with a 6.4% that there will be early worsening from brain bleeding.  Of those who suffer adverse effects from t-PA, 2% will experience worsened symptoms and 1% will be severely disabled or die.

The decision to treat acute ischemic stroke with tPA may change a patients life.  It is important you to discuss the benefits and risks with your doctor to make the best choice. Not all patients with ischemic stroke are eligible for tPA therapy.

Treatment for Stroke

What is the Standard Treatment for Stroke?

This information is not intended as a substitute for professional medical care.  Always follow your healthcare professionals instructions.

The most promising treatment of ischemic stroke is the FDA-approved, clot-busing drug t-PA (tissue plasminogen activator) which must be administered within a four and half hours from the onset of symptoms.  The sooner it is administered, the more effective it is.  It has been used to treat well over 100,000 ischemic stroke patients.

Administering t-PA or other clot-dissolving agents is done through an intravenous (IV) line in the arm by hospital personnel over 60 minutes.  If given promptly, t-PA can significantly reduce the effects of stroke and reduce permanent disability.

TPA, a clot-busting drug, is designed to restore blood flow to the brain in patients who take it within hours of a stroke.

But what about Digoy Duterte? Yes, he is talked about by ordinary folks as one who could enforce discipline in our society. He could fix the chaotic Manila traffic, put the heebie-jeebies on criminal elements in streets and in Customs, etc. The dilemma bothering voters about Digoy is he openly admits he has two wives and several girlfriends on the side. Will this mean there’ll be two first ladies and a bevy of mistresses at the Palace if and when he becomes president?

Now Bongbong Marcos. He’s getting attractive day by day as a presidential prospect. The transformation of Bongbong from a carefree youth with no serious inclination into an articulate political thinker who can examine knowledgeably all angles of national issues has been phenomenal. Eloquent and articulate, the lad has got talent. Isn’t he being a Marcos drawback? Nope. Surprisingly, the name has reacquired its old magic among rural voters.

So, is Bongbong the dark horse in 2016? Abangan.

Gualberto B. Lumauig (lumauigbert@yahoo.com) is past president of the UST Philosophy and Letters Foundation and former governor/congressman of Ifugao.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

Mar Roxas. Here’s a man only a few, if any, can be more honest and decent and trustworthy as a public official. He is every inch a gentleman, a public servant unblemished by a scintilla of corruption, sprung from buena familia with a history of selflessness in public service, bright, hardworking and well-educated. Is there anyone more supremely qualified for the presidency than him?

Roxas has one character flaw, he is too timid to make quick, bold decisions. He temporizes, he studies and restudies, examines and reexamines endlessly obviously doable and logical solutions to problems, such that by the time he acts, the problems have tripled in gravity if they are still salvageable at all.

There you are, three presidentiables who, though deserving of their aspirations, have imperfections that leave people wondering if it’s wise to support any one of them.

Grace Poe. The junior senator is a shooting star, a political phenomenon everybodyâ€"well, almost everybodyâ€"is excited about at this, to use the favorite cliché of politicians, “point in time.” Grace has paper-thin credentials to justify her meteoric rise in the political firmament. But there she is, outshining old political war horses in popularity, propelled to the loftiest position in voters’ preference by startlingly capturing the No. 1 position in the 2013 senatorial elections and by reason of her being a child of cinema’s authentic and revered idol Fernando Poe Jr.

Grace is not without endearing qualities.

Articulate, bright and with steel-like personality, she radiates strong conviction and will. She displayed these qualities as chair of the Senate committee that conducted the investigation and hearings on the Mamasapano tragedy, where she boldly asserted that P-Noy shared accountability for the incident which she unhesitatingly called a “massacre.”

Granted Grace’s sterling qualities, among these a fresh face on the national stage, untainted by the sludge, smudge, slime and scum of politics, still it cannot be denied that it is too soon to shoehorn her into the presidency. She only has a nodding acquaintance with economics, foreign affairs, military matters and such spheres, if at all, that a president cavorts in.

Jojo Binay. The man, admirers proclaim, was a crackerjack mayor who all but transformed the once sleepy town of Makati into a pocket Singapore. Now a city, Makati has grown so rich during Jojo’s watch it has money spewing out of its sewers. It is the only local government unit that can boast of womb-to-tomb social services and benefits for its citizens, from the toddlers to the elderly. Jojo was elected vice president in 2010, streaking from the bottom of the heap to the top, leaving rival veep wannabes awestruck, uncomprehending what windstorm had hit them. For five years thereafter, Jojo kept the top spot in popularity ratings, his number consistently in the high 70s. And up to a year ago, friends and foes alike have all but conceded the presidency to the Makati political kingpin, Jejomar Binay.

Then disaster struck. A Senate investigation uncovered funny happenings in Makati during the decades-long Binay family rule of the cityâ€"happenings which brought, according to allegations, the Binays unbelievable wealth. All these allegations, of course, are just that: allegations yet to be proven in court.

Commentary

Jojo, Grace or Mar? Surprise, it’s Bongbong!

By: Gualberto B. Lumauig
August 31st, 2015

WE OLD political warriors, inured as we are to the vagaries of politics, don’t take too seriously the so-called political analysts and number crunchers who predict the likely winners in the coming elections. They are just guessing, and their guesses cannot be any more accurateâ€"or reflective of the situation on the groundâ€"than yours, mine or ours.

In assessing where the wind blows in a political derby, the preferred protocol by us old in the political game is direct interactionâ€"like random chat, interview, glad-handing braced by eye contact with the public or groups whose political sentiments or leaning we are trying to pin down or plumb. Exactly what I have been doing the last few weeks to try to get the people’s thoughts on 2016 politics which is starting to boil.

My reading of the political environment, as matters now stand? The peopleâ€"most of them anywayâ€"are in a quandary, confused about who to support for president in 2016 from among those planning to run, those sending out strong signals they might run, and those already running. What basically causes their dilemma?

Sen. Francis Escudero, Poe’s potential running mate, said in a statement issued on Thursday that the DOJ should not let the INC issue elbow out other cases that matter to the people.

Escudero said the DOJ’s INC investigation might be misinterpreted as an interference and infringement of the right to religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution.

De Lima should uphold the principle of the separation of church and state, he said.

“It may be a prudent to first let the leadership of the INC resolve what appears to be a purely internal matter. We do not want to see division and misunderstanding during these times,” Escudero said.

The DOJ should instead make the Mamasapano case a priority, Escudero said. It should release its full findings so that those responsible for the deaths of 44 police commandos could be brought to justice, he added. -Leila B. Salaverria

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Marcos

Another aspirant for higher office, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., also came to the defense of the INC.

“The INC certainly has the right to stage a peaceful mass action to express their sentiments in defense of their faith,” Marcos said in a statement.

According to Marcos, the DOJ’s handling of the case “leaves much to be desired.”

He claimed that De Lima discussed the merits of the case, which he said created the impression of undue interest in the case, whether rightly or wrongly.

“For justice to triumph, the DOJ must not only be impartial in its procedure and ruling; like Caesar’s wife, it must also be seen as being fair to all,” he added.

Grace Poe

Interviewed in Nueva Ecija on Friday, Sen. Grace Poe, a potential presidential candidate, said people should not belittle the importance of religion.

“For me, those people are defending their faith. We respect that and they also have to protect their rights,” Poe told reporters.

She also said it would be good if De Lima would face the protesters and explain the situation.

“After all, those of us in [the] government have the responsibility to explain well to the people the reason for the steps we have taken,” she said.

Asked if she believed the DOJ should handle the case, she said the agency already had a lot on its plate.

She cited the Mamasapano clash, noting that while the incident had been investigated, nobody had been placed on the witness protection program.

Poe, other presidential bets predictably speak like politicians

By: Leila B. Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 30th, 2015


Members of the Iglesia Ni Cristo rally near EDSA Shrine, INQUIRER PHOTO/ REM ZAMORA

Few politicians have been critical of the INC, and some of the potential candidates for President and Vice President in next year’s elections are among those defending the group’s mass action.

A former lawmaker, however, said politicians placating the INC should be condemned.

Former Akabyan Rep. Walden Bello said the INC’s “disruption” of Metro Manila was unacceptable.

“Politicians conciliating these fanatics must be condemned,” Bello said in a text message.

Bello said that while he has had differences with De Lima on certain issues, the justice secretary is right in extending protection and judicial remedy to INC members who feel threatened by the INC hierarchy.

“If a Roman Catholic priest is accused of sexual exploitation of minors, he would be subject to secular prosecution by the state and would never be allowed to invoke the separation of church and state principle to protect him from prosecution,” he said.

Binay defends Iglesia ni Cristo, chides Aquino gov’t

August 28th, 2015


Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ NIñO JESUS ORBETA

Vice President Jejomar Binay seemed to be courting the Iglesia ni Cristo’s (INC) favor as he urged the present administration to stop meddling in the affairs of the influential religious sect.

In a statement Friday, Binay said the INC was only exercising its freedom to assembly and religious freedom when a thousand members held a protest action before the Department of Justice on Thursday which continued until Friday.

Binay, a presidential aspirant in the 2016 polls, is seemingly wooing the favor of the INC, known for their bloc voting during elections.

The INC supporters criticized Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, who happened to be celebrating her 56th birthday that on Thursday, for allegedly meddling in the internal affairs of the INC.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/717174/binay-defends-iglesia-ni-cristo-chides-aquino-govt#ixzz3kJgiluqI

Fan Yang is a Canadian bubble artist. He was born in Vietnam in 1962; his mother is a Haiphong native. He has earned international acclaim as a result of his complex displays of bubble theater. In addition to performing he has developed his own bubble solution formulas and equipment to create bubbles. Fan Yang has broken bubble-related world records on numerous occasions. Yang has a show, the "Gazillion Bubble Show", in NYC, and has staged it elsewhere, including Las Vegas. His wife, Ana Yang, performs the show in his absence. (wikipedia)

Fan Yang Gazillion Bubble Show 2011

tell him that...

Bongbong may find in that youthful gushing a quick high, but the ill-informed appraisal of what he believes is the golden era of his formative years says more about the tragic miseducation of the Filipino than about his father’s true record. Still, one hears what one wants to hear, so an apology is not in the offing from the Marcos son, because “history will judge [Marcos] properly, and we’ll leave it at that.”

But he has, in fact, been judged. Marcos is the only president in Philippine history who had to flee with his family in the dead of night to escape the wrath of his peopleâ€"from whom he stole up to the end, by the way, with millions of gold, jewelry and cash brought along with them. There’s the judgment of history right there for you. Unfortunately for Bongbong, that ignominy cannot be erased with a cocky shrug.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

Power generation? The monstrosity that is the Bataan Nuclear Power Plantâ€"built of an outdated design with some 4,000 defects, on a known earthquake fault line, to the tune of $2.3 billion, about $80 million of which ended up as kickbacks to Marcos and his bagman Disini as documented in court records against its builder Westinghouseâ€"is the ultimate indictment of Marcos’ energy policies.

The highest literacy rate in Asia? Sureâ€"against a landscape where press freedom was absent, dissenting journalists were hauled off to jail or allegedly thrown overboard from helicopters, then Minister of Information Gregorio Cendaña had an iron hand clamped on TV and radio, and newspapers were the plaything of Marcos cronies.

And so on. We haven’t touched on the billions of dollars in Swiss accounts, or the thousands of “desaparecidos” and human rights victims. Do current history books reflect these facts? Apparently not, because Bongbong could also claim that one reason he’s getting giddy at the idea of running for president is that “young people who were not even alive at that time say that, ‘Buti pa noong panahong iyon, alam namin, may ganito at may ganyan.”’

It’s a catchy picture, but a false, incomplete one. Marcos’ agricultural policy? He simply parceled out the economy to his cronies; as the Chicago Tribune put it, “Eduardo Cojuangco became the ‘Coconut King,’ Antonio Floirendo the ‘Banana King,’ Herminio Disini the ‘Tobacco King,’ Jose Campos the ‘Pharmaceutical King,’ Roberto Benedicto the ‘Sugar King.’” For years, millions of farmers had to fork over hard-earned money for a so-called coconut levy fund that never went to their welfare, but instead became a P150-billion asset fought over by the likes of Cojuangco and Juan Ponce Enrile.

The land reform that was supposed to be the cornerstone of Marcos’ New Society? It was a sham. Out of some 10 million hectares of private land and 17 million hectares of public land available for disposal, only 50,000-70,000 hectares had been subjected to land reform by the time the Marcoses fled Malacañang in 1986.

In their view, the Marcos years were a halcyon era in Philippine society and politics, when peace and order reigned, the economy boomed, people were disciplined and the government was functioning. In the wake of Lee Kuan Yew’s death, Bongbong even declared with dead seriousness that the Philippines could have been another Singapore had his father’s 20-year stay in power not been cut short by the Edsa People Power revolt.

This week, he was back defending the rampart. There was nothing wrong about martial law, he said on TV, and there is nothing to apologize for. “Will I say sorry for the thousands and thousands of kilometers [of roads] that were built? Will I say sorry for the agricultural policy that brought us to self-sufficiency in rice? Will I say sorry for the power generation? Will I say sorry for the highest literacy rate in Asia? What am I to say sorry about?”

EDITORIAL

President Bongbong

Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 29th, 2015

Sen. Bongbong Marcos is the picture of confidence these daysâ€"some would even say, of cockiness. The son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos has eased himself out of the shadow of his perpetually more quotable mother Imelda and older sister Imee by getting his own voice heard on many of the hot-button issues of the day, from the public transport mess to the Mamasapano debacle and the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The appearance of seriousness and maturity has excited that segment of the population that has never abandoned the Marcos myth; Marcos Jr. is now seen, more than ever, as viable presidential material, whose fateful return to Malacañang one day soon would be a vindication of everything that the Marcoses have endured since their exit from the Palace in 1986.

just go on with your next of kin.  i'll go on with mine.

his name is leonid

"Tama-chan really emerged like a savior,” Kojima said in a speech delivered at the cat’s funeral in June. "It was truly my honor to have been able to work with her.”

The railway's president said that he expects similarly great things from Tama's successor.

Nitama will be an “excellent” stationmaster, he said this month.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/

The cat is said to have served as stationmaster at Idakiso station, also along the Wakayama Electric Railway line, and as a receptionist with the Okayama Electric Tramway. She also worked as deputy stationmaster at Kishi station when Tama -- who has since been elevated to the status of goddess -- was still running the place.


Simon Wong @wimon_song
Nitama started as a receptionist cat, now she is a stationmaster cat. Don't tell me hard work doesn't pay off.
3:45 AM - 26 Aug 2015

According to reports, the Wakayama Electric Railway had been close to financial ruin before Tama's appointment as stationmaster in 2007.

Her popularity, however, is said to have helped save the railway line from bankruptcy.

He added that the main requirements for the role are the ability to “feel comfortable with people at the workplace” and a willingness to wear a hat.

“The reason I appointed Nitama as a successor to Tama is that she had teaching experiences from Tama directly,” said Kojima. “Tama was very mild and she seldom got angry, though she was strict with her subordinate Nitama.”

Nitama is only 5 years old, but she's already had quite the career.

Earlier this month, however, the railway’s president Mitsunobu Kojima announced that the time for Tama’s heir had come.

World, may we introduce Kishi's new stationmaster: Nitama (a.k.a Tama II).


CNN Travel ‏@CNNTravel  Aug 24
"She doesn't dislike wearing a hat." Meet Nitama, Japan's new cat stationmaster: http://cnn.it/1JsEF5B 

Kojima said in a statement that Nitama -- who like her predecessor is also a calico cat -- had clinched the new role after successfully graduating from the “Training school for Cat Stationmaster.”

Nitama The Cat Named Stationmaster At Japan’s Kishi Station

The calico cat is the successor to Tama, the iconic feline stationmaster who saved the Wakayama Electric Railway from financial ruin.

Dominique Mosbergen
Senior Writer, The Huffington Post
08/26/2015

The newly appointed stationmaster at a rural railway station in Japan has some pretty big shoes to fill. Her predecessor was world-famous, credited with saving the once-struggling station and its railway line from financial collapse.

She also happened to be one cute feline who knew how to perfectly wear a hat:


TORU YAMANAKA VIA GETTY IMAGES
Tama in 2008

Tama the cat served as stationmaster at Wakayama Electric Railway’s Kishi station for about eight years before she died at the age of 16 this June. A beloved icon in Japan, Tama’s passing was mourned by thousands.

Following the feline stationmaster’s death, a traditional 50-day mourning period was observed before a successor was named.

The dogs were all rescued by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Auckland, New Zealand

huffingtonpost.com; images from dailymail.co.uk

In just eight weeks, Porter progressed to driving a real car

The controls of the mini the dogs will drive

The dog's paw will rest on the gearstick which has been moved to allow them to access it easily

Ginnie, a one year old Beardie Whippet Cross, is the third driver in the group

Monty, who is 18 months old, in one of the specially built training cars

Dogs Behind The Wheel

The New Zealand SPCA taught dogs to drive as part of a campaign meant to demonstrate the intelligence or rescue dogs and boost adoption rates.

Yes, these dogs are actually driving cars.


The three drivers: Porter, Monty and Ginny

bad humans.

Thai officials arrange seized elephant tusks to be displayed before destruction in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015. Thai authorities destroyed more than 2 tons of seized and smuggled ivory on Wednesday, the latest move by the government to avoid possible economic sanctions over its perceived failure to tackle the illicit trade. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

as declared by Malacanang...

10. TARA: THE CAT - YES, CAT - WHO WON THE "HERO DOG" AWARD


The spcLA presented this tabby with its "Hero Dog" award earlier this year. (Photo: spcaLA)

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) last year presented its 33rd Annual National Hero Dog Award to a cat - yes, cat - named Tara. The 7-year-old Tabby from Southern California was credited with saving a 5-year-old boy from a vicious attack by a neighbor's dog, who had bitten the boy's leg and began to violently shake him. The boy needed stitches but made a recovery and credited the cat with being his "hero" by chasing off the dog.

Sources: KTLA, WTSP,NBC Philadelphia, AKC, KTLA, USA Today, CBS New York, AHA, AHA, AHA, NYDN, NPR, SPCALA

http://crimewatchdaily.com/

9. BRETAGNE: THE SEARCH AND RESCUE DOG


Bretagne was among animals leading search-and-rescue efforts with their handlers in the wake of 9/11. (Photo: AHA)

Bretagne was only 2-years-old when she joined the search-and-rescue effort with her handler at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 attacks, according to the New York Daily News. She is also credited with working search-and-rescue at the 2001 Olympic Winter Games and in the aftermath of Hurricane Rita in 2005. The beloved golden retriever retired from active duty in 2008 and now visits elementary schools where she helps students learn to read, according to the American Humane Association.

8. GABE: THE MILITARY DOG


Gabe served in Iraq and completed more than 210 combat missions with the U.S. military. (Photo: AHA)

Gabe began working with the U.S. military in 2006 and is credited with completing more than 210 combat missions while deployed in Iraq with handler Charles Shuck. He was also stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington; Fort Bliss, Texas; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Fort Hood, Texas before his 2009 retirement. Gabe now spends his time visiting wounded soldiers and sick children. He was selected as the American Kennel Club Heroic Military Working Dog in 2008 and the American Humane Association's Hero Dog of the year in 2012.

7. ELLE: THE HOMETOWN HERO


Pit-bull Elle helps to educate people and spread "positive awareness" about her breed. (Photo: AHA)

Elle, a therapy dog from Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, is a "hometown hero," according to the American Humane Association. The pit-bull visits local schools and retirement communities to educate people about being responsible pet owners and helps to spread "positive awareness" about her misunderstood breed. Elle is also credited with starting a dog reading program called "Tail Wagging Tales." The AHA rewarded Elle in 2013 for her work, naming her the "Hero Dog" of the year.

6. SUSIE: THE THERAPY DOG WHO BEAT THE ODDS
Susies Law.JPG


Susie's story helped pass into law tougher animal-cruelty legislation in North Carolina. (Photo: ohmidog.com)

In 2009, Susie licked the face of her owner's child. The pit-bull mix, then still a puppy, was severely beaten, her teeth knocked out, her jaw broken and her body set on fire, according to the American Humane Association. Her ears were burned off and her third-degree burns were infested with maggots when she was found. Susie made a miraculous recovery and eventually became the face of an anti-cruelty law movement in North Carolina. In 2010, former North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue signed Susie's Law into effect, stiffening penalties for those found guilty of animal cruelty, with Susie also giving her official pawprint of approval. Susie was adopted and is now a certified therapy dog, winning the American Humane Association's Hero Dog Awards in 2014

5. KILO: THE PIT-BULL WHO TOOK A BULLET


Kilo suffered a gunshot wound to his skull while stopping an armed intruder. (Photo: CBS New York)

A Staten Island man says his 12-year-old pit-bull, Kilo, saved his life in 2012 when the dog went after a gunman who posed as a deliveryman and pushed his way into his home, according to CBS New York. Kilo was hit by gunfire during the struggle and was "incredibly lucky" to survive, according to Dr. Greg Panarello, the veterinarian who treated him. Kilo's owner said he was up and going for walks within three days after being shot.

4. FIGO: THE SERVICE DOG


Figo jumped in front of a bus for his owner. (Photo: USA Today)

A service dog named Figo leaped in front of a mini school bus on a rural New York street back in June in order to save his legally blind owner from being hit. The 8-year-old golden retriever and his owner, Audrey Stone, both suffered injuries but firefighters say Figo did not want to leave her side. An anonymous donor took care of Figo's veterinary bills. The dog and his owner were both expected to recover, according to USA Today.

3. YOLANDA: THE SERVICE DOG WHO CALLED 911



Yolanda rescued her owner from a house fire by dialing 911. (Photo: NBC Philadelphia)

A Philadelphia woman's seeing-eye dog came to her rescue this month when she saved her owner from a house fire, reports NBC Los Angeles. Maria Colon said she shouted the word "danger" to her golden Labrador, Yolanda, who had been trained to dial 911 on a specialized phone. Firefighters responded and were able to control the flames. Colon and Yolanda were both treated for smoke inhalation and later reunited. Yolanda had saved her owner the previous year when she fell and was knocked unconscious, according to the American Kennel Club.

2. MABELINE: THE SHELTER DOG


Mabeline is credited with saving a Florida teen from an attack. (Photo: WTSP)

A 17-year-old girl who was volunteering for Friends of Strays animal shelter in St. Petersburg, Florida says she was attacked and pinned to the ground behind the building in 2012. The girl credited Mabeline, a Rhodesian Ridgeback mix she was walking at the time, with saving her by scaring off her attacker, according to WTSP. Mabeline later found a forever home and a new owner who calls her a "hero."

TOP 10 HEROIC, CRIME-FIGHTING DOGS


K-9 Bruno served with the Anaheim Police Dept. for six years before he suffered a career-ending gunshot wound to the face last year, according to Anaheim police.

August 26 is National Dog Day and we're celebrating at Crime Watch Daily by honoring man's best friend with a list of our top ten four-legged heroes and crime-fighters.

1. K-9 BRUNO: THE POLICE DOG

K-9 Bruno was a six-year veteran of the Anaheim Police Department before he was shot in the face during a pursuit of a gunman last year, reports KTLA. Veterinarians performed life-saving operations on the then-7-year-old German shepherd, who subsequently retired. Police, and Bruno's handler, Anaheim police officer R.J. Young, have credited the K-9 with saving the lives of three officers.

Most importantly, continuing economic weakness will necessitate redeploying China’s limited financial resources to sustain domestic growth. Since the Communist Party’s rule rests on its economic performance, if President Xi is forced to choose between external glory and regime survival, no one should doubt which choice he will make.

So the silver lining in China’s economic maladies is that Asia’s new sick man is not as threatening as when he was strong.

Minxin Pei is the Tom and Margot Pritzker ’72 Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College and a non-resident senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

http://www.nationalinterest.org/

If Chinese growth in the short-term requires more exports to the West, it is inconceivable that Beijing can succeed in this task while sticking to its aggressive policies in the South China Sea.

At the same time, declining economic fortunes at home will also significantly limit Beijing’s capacity to finance its grandiose and risky economic projects in the developing world. Given the falling commodity prices and the dubious economic justifications for these projects, we should expect a wave of defaults in the coming years, both embarrassing Beijing and testing its ability to pour money down a rabbit hole.

Now that China’s economic engine is finally stalling and its weaknesses are inescapably visible, the obvious question is whether China can continue to sustain its assertive foreign policy. Based on past Chinese behavior and existing hard constraints, it seems that, if there is anything positive coming out of China’s economic unraveling, it will be a less assertive foreign policy.

Despite the enormous foreign policy risks taken by President Xi Jinping, cautious pragmatism has been the modus operandi of Chinese leaders in the post-Mao era. Xi’s three predecessors, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao, were all keenly aware of the disparity of power between China and the West, particularly the United States. As such they made substantial foreign policy concessions when China’s economic weakness dictated a cooperative foreign policy. For example, Deng did not allow the issue of American arms sales to Taiwan to block the development of U.S.-China commercial relations. Jiang exercised enormous restraint over the Taiwan issue in the late 1990s so that the United States could support China’s entry into the WTO.

The boldest step China has taken in the context of its apparent economic strength is, without any doubt, its approach toward territorial and maritime disputes in East Asia. While previous leaders deliberately shelved the intractable and potentially dangerous disputes over the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea, the current Chinese leadership has taken a far more confrontational approach in the belief that, with its growing economic strength and military power, China no longer needs to be deferential to the interests and sensitivities of the United States and its allies in the region. As a result, in the last two years, China has escalated tensions by establishing a controversial Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands and built several large artificial islands in the contested waters of the South China Sea.

On the economic front, China has committed over $100 billion to capitalize the Asian Infrastructure Bank (AIIB), the New Development Bank, and the New Silk Road Fund, a set of financial institutions and vehicles designed to extend Chinese influence abroad and actively compete against existing international financial institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank. In the developing world, China has also bet heavily on exploiting natural resources and large infrastructure projects. In Latin America, China has loaned out nearly $120 billion since 2005. In Africa, Chinese investments and development loans are estimated to have exceeded $100 billion. Faced with a rival backed by nearly $4 trillion in foreign currency reserves, all the West could do was to worry privately but complain publicly about China’s inadequate environmental and human rights practices in its investment activities abroad.

It was this appearance of economic invincibility that has emboldened the Chinese government to embark on an ambitious but highly-risky new foreign policy in the last few years. Many Chinese elites saw the United States and the rest of the West as in inexorable decline and China’s rise unstoppable. Hubris has led to the adoption of economic and security policies that would certainly make the late Deng Xiaoping turn in his grave. Instead of maintaining a low profile, Beijing has greatly extended its economic commitments abroad and begun openly challenging the U.S.-led security order in East Asia.

Will China's Economic Collapse Save the South China Sea?

"So the silver lining in China’s economic maladies is that Asia’s new sick man is not as threatening as when he was strong."

Minxin Pei
August 27, 2015


Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Li Keqiang, China's head of government and one of the leading figures behind Chinese economic policy (Image: Wikimedia/Marcelo Camargo/Agência Brasil)

Not too long ago, the Chinese economy appeared to defy both gravity and doomsayers. Despite years of unbalanced growth, Beijing has managed to rely on investment to power its economy and keep growth high. The country’s binge on credit since 2009, which has brought the debt-to-GDP ratio close to 300 percent, a perilous level for an upper-middle income country, has not triggered a financial crisis. Its real estate bubble, perhaps the largest the world has ever seen in terms of completed but unoccupied residential housing, is leaking air but has yet to crash totally.

“These cells are already missing PLEKHA7. Restoring either PLEKHA7 levels or the levels of microRNAs in these cells turns them back to a benign state. We are now working on better delivery options.”

It’s not clear at this time when this promising treatment will be available to patients, as it’s likely that more research is needed to come up with treatment protocols for dealing with various types of cancer.

“Initial experiments in some aggressive types of cancer are indeed very promising,” he said. “It represents an unexpected new biology that provides the code, the software for turning off cancer.”

This article was originally published on BGR.com

https://www.yahoo.com/