MikeLigalig.com

with thanks to fr chic!
(who shared these photos from Mike Hosking Breakfast posts)

never have i laughed so loud!

Reuters / Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Vehicles are seen burning after blasts at Binhai new district in Tianjin municipality, China, August 13, 2015. Huge explosions hit an industrial area in the northeast Chinese port city of Tianjin late on Wednesday, triggering a blast wave felt kilometers away and injuring scores of people, Chinese media reported. REUTERS/Stringer

Reuters / Wednesday, August 12, 2015
A migrant is rescued by an Italian Navy helicopter in the area where his boat sank in the Mediterranean Sea in this August 11, 2015 handout courtesy of the Italian Navy. Up to 50 migrants went missing after a large rubber dinghy sank in the Mediterranean Sea, Italian rescuers said on Wednesday, while more than 1,500 were picked up from other vessels in the past 24 hours. REUTERS/Italian Navy/Handout

Looking for a better life and for a brighter future for themselves and their children, this train journey of several hours was just one more step for these migrants. In many respects I found the time I spent travelling with them to be sad, so sad.




What I saw, heard and documented were cries for water, pained expressions on tired faces amid sleeplessness and hunger. Fathers looked nervous and mothers scared while children cried and shouted.

As the train stopped in a place called Tabanovce, close to the border with Serbia, Mahmud gathered his family and luggage, rushing to keep up with the group they were travelling with.

“How long does it take to Hungary?” he asked me.

http://widerimage.reuters.com/

I fell into conversation with a well-educated gentleman called Mahmud, also a journalist, from a small village near Aleppo in Syria.

Thirty minutes later there we were, beneath a flickering strip light, talking Nietzsche and Fromm. I hadn’t expected to discuss philosophy of life when I set out on this assignment.

Mahmud, in his early 40s and travelling with his wife and child, has his sights set on Germany or the Netherlands.

“There’s no life in this country,” Mahmud quoted his father as telling him. “Go and make a better life for your son.”

Viktor, who was travelling with four friends all from home, had been working in Greece for the past few years. He decided to move on because of economic conditions there and is hoping to resettle in France or Switzerland.

When the train set off, I did all I could to move through the carriages to see the whole situation. People were generally numb from the heat and from lack of fresh air. Most of them were sleeping wherever they could find a place.



After two and a half carriages the way became impassable; babies were asleep on the floor and I could go no further.

In the journey of more than four hours, from one border to another, I witnessed scenes charged with emotion.

A woman cradled her baby, only 30 days old. The mother looked so tired: at one moment she was holding the child firmly and then started to nod off. I thought the baby would slip down and fall on the ground - thankfully not.

I managed to squeeze my way through the train packed with people to a place where I could just stand on one foot. Viktor, 22, an economic migrant from Sierra Leone, asked: “Is the air conditioning going to start working?”



A few seconds of silence and everybody around started laughing. That train had no air conditioning…

Migrants arrive after crossing the border by foot. Their aim: to travel the 200 km or so from south to north, as close as possible to the border with Serbia. Another border to pass.



An orange train from the 1960s, nicknamed “Gorbachev”, sets off on the journey amid sweltering temperatures above 40 degrees centigrade. A ticket costs about 6 euros ($6.54).

The small railway station of Gevgelia, a stone’s throw from the border with Greece, has space for about 20 passengers to wait comfortably for a train heading north.



Meanwhile every day thousands of migrants converge on the station, built in 1873. The only toilet is kept locked for the use of staff; alternative facilities nearby have struggled to cope and are unusable.

A train towards a new life

Skopje, Macedonia    Perspective by Ognen Teofilovski




In the past month, an estimated 30,000 refugees have passed through Macedonia, another step in their uncertain search for a better life in western Europe. They all travel in harsh conditions and face many challenges en route.

Photographer finally gets the image that had eluded him for seven years. Photo: Greg McCown

Greg McCown has photographed lightning plenty of times before, but the image that had eluded him for seven years was a bolt of lightning combined with that meteorological phenomenon called a rainbow.

But on Saturday in Marana, Arizona, the stars finally aligned for him, as did a rainbow and lightning bolt, and McCown got his incredible image that included the bonus of a saguaro cactus in the foreground.

“The combination of having a rainbow, a lightning bolt that is powerful enough to really stand out in the daytime, and composed perfectly with a saguaro has never happened for me before,” the 42-year-old realtor from Tucson, Arizona, told the Weather Channel.

Read more at http://www.grindtv.com/nature/lightning-rainbow-and-cactus-align-perfectly-for-photographer/#AOtK0CoMULDSQrzb.99

People with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) have recurring and distressing thoughts, fears, or images (obsessions) that they cannot control. The anxiety (nervousness) produced by these thoughts leads to an urgent need to perform certain rituals or routines (compulsions). With BDD, a person's preoccupation with the defect often leads to ritualistic behaviors, such as constantly looking in a mirror or picking at the skin. The person with BDD eventually becomes so obsessed with the defect that his or her social, work, and home functioning suffers.

BDD is a chronic (long-term) disorder that affects men and women equally. It usually begins during the teen years or early adulthood.

more at http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-body-dysmorphic-disorder

BDD shares some features with eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder. BDD is similar to eating disorders in that both involve a concern with body image. However, a person with an eating disorder worries about weight and the shape of the entire body, while a person with BDD is concerned about a specific body part.

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a distinct mental disorder in which a person has symptoms of a medical illness, but the symptoms cannot be fully explained by an actual physical disorder. People with BDD are preoccupied with an imagined physical defect or a minor defect that others often cannot see. As a result, people with this disorder see themselves as "ugly" and often avoid social exposure to others or turn to plastic surgery to try to improve their appearance.

dysmorphia­­ -- an unrealistic self-image

4 ain't bad either...


multi-colored tiger family

half albino zebra

two halves make a one...


half albino peacock

that's in front of a tiger.

cool cat, as ever!

The Roman army began their assault, as described by Josephus, by throwing up “a wall all around the fortress to make it difficult for any of the besieged to escape, and posted sentinels to guard it” (The Jewish War VII.276).


An incredible amount of work - the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada http://www.pbase.com/bmcmorrow

Archaeological investigations reveal that a 2.5-mile circumvallation wall ringed the area around the desert fortress. The wall, composed of rough stone blocks with a rubble core, measured more than 5 feet wide and 10 feet high. Fifteen towers lined the eastern and northern stretches of the circumvallation wall, while eight camps laid down around the wall served as bases and garrison points for the troops.

Fifteen towers, including the one pictured, were mounted with catapults and positioned along the Roman circumvallation wall. Photo: Gwyn Davies.

Archaeological investigations of the Roman siege works at Masada have been much more limited in scope than those conducted on the cliff-top fortress. According to author Gwyn Davies, we must therefore consider both the account given by Josephus and the surviving archaeological evidence in order to reconstruct what happened in the Masada siege.

After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the Romans turned their attention to stamping out the last of the rebels holding out at the fortresses of Herodium and Machaerus as well as in the “Forest of Jardes” (which has not yet been identified). The last remaining site occupied by the Jewish rebels was at Herod’s desert fortress-palace on the cliff-top of Masada.

Led by Roman general Flavius Silva, the Legio X Fretensisâ€"a veteran military unitâ€"began the siege operation against the rebels in 72 or 73 C.E.


Roman general Lucius Flavius Silva

This final scene in the siege of Masada has been celebrated and immortalized as an act of heroic resistance on the part of the Jewish rebels. But what do we know about the Roman siege itself? In “The Masada Siegeâ€"From the Roman Viewpoint” in the July/August 2014 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, Gwyn Davies examines the assault from the Roman perspective.

The Masada Siege

The Roman assault on Herod’s desert fortress

Robin Ngo      •  06/13/2014


The Romans waged both literal and psychological warfare on the Jewish rebels in the siege of Masada. Evidence of the large-scale siege works, including the great assault ramp on the western slope of the cliff of Masada, reflects this strategy. Photo: Werner Braun.

Masadaâ€"for many, the name evokes the image of a cliff rising dramatically above an austere desert landscape. The name is famously associated with the Masada siege, the final stand between the Jewish rebels and the relentless Roman army at the end of the First Jewish Revolt in 73/74 C.E. Trapped in the desert fortress-palace Herod built in the previous century, the rebels choseâ€"as Jewish historian Josephus tells usâ€"to commit mass suicide rather than be captured and enslaved by the Romans.

Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewishâ€"Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Sicarii rebels and their families hiding there. Masada is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Arad.

Masada is one of Israel's most popular tourist attractions. (wikipedia)


Aerial view showing Masada and the Snake Path

Masada (Modern Hebrew metzadá "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa, on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. (wikipedia)


The fortress of Masada in the Judean Desert was taken over by Jewish rebels

all the way back?  ka-thrilling kun ma-modernize ang 'ave maria' ni gounod.

naa mi iring ingon ana napunitan namo sa dubai adtong panahon sa recession.  daghan intawong expat nga nanguli; ang uban tingali gibuhian na lang ilang iring. i suspect usa tawon to siya sa gibuhian na lang. he was very hungry and dehydrated when we picked him up. tawgon siya ni banana republic ug 'gentle giant' kay arang dakoa, arang buotana. arang sad bugoa.

agaray, tua, naa na poy patay, arang gajod ning tagay.

Cambodia batted away repeated attempts to raise the issue about the disputed waters during the ASEAN meeting last week as well as the ASEAN Regional Forum, which includes Japan and the United States, according to diplomats present.

ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan was cut off in mid-address by Cambodia's foreign minister as he tried to bring up the topic, said several Southeast Asia diplomats.

Del Rosario's microphone malfunction occurred at a Thursday morning ministerial meeting, diplomats said, as he raised the issue despite Cambodia's insistence that it should not be discussed. A Cambodian foreign ministry spokesman said it was "craziness" to suggest that it was switched off deliberately.

CHINA BREACHES INNER SANCTUM

The failure touched on a long-standing ASEAN fear, says Carlyle Thayer, an emeritus professor at the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defense Force Academy -- that lack of unity would allow foreign powers to exploit its differences.

"This is the first major breach of the dyke of regional autonomy," he said. "China has now reached into ASEAN's inner sanctum and played on intra-ASEAN divisions."

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has angrily rejected suggestions that China has "bought" Cambodia's support over the South China Sea dispute. China's foreign direct investment in Cambodia was $1.2 billion in 2011, almost 10 times that of the United States, according to an estimate by the government's Council for the Development of Cambodia. Chinese investment and trade has also surged in neighboring Myanmar and Laos.


Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen

The breakdown has left attempts to craft a maritime "code of conduct" this year between ASEAN and China in tatters, raising the risk that growing incidents of naval brinkmanship over the oil-rich waters will spill over into conflict.

It also underlines the huge challenge facing the United States as it refocuses its military and economic attention on Asia in response to China's rise. The South China Sea has become Asia's biggest potential military flashpoint as Beijing's sovereignty claims set it against Vietnam and the Philippines racing to tap possibly huge oil reserves.

The fast-growing 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which aims to form an EU-style economic bloc by 2015, insists it remains united despite its failure for the first time in 45 years to agree a concluding summit statement.

But Reuters' interviews reveal deep discord and frayed tempers at last week's summit that are sharply at odds with the group's self-styled reputation for harmony and polite debate.

"It was one of the most heated meetings in the history of ASEAN," one diplomat said. Another described Cambodia, which holds the revolving ASEAN chairmanship this year, as "the worst chair", and said China had effectively bought its loyalty and that of some other states with economic largesse.

Phnom Penh, Jul 17, 2012

As Philippine Foreign Minister Albert del Rosario began to raise the sensitive issue of the South China Sea at one of last week's Asian summit meetings, his microphone went dead.

A technical glitch, said the Cambodian hosts. Perhaps something more sinister, hinted some diplomats who were frustrated by Chinese ally Cambodia's dogged efforts to keep the subject off the agenda.

That account and others, described to Reuters by diplomats with direct knowledge of the talks and who asked not to be identified, reveals how deeply Southeast Asian nations have been polarized by China's rapidly expanding influence in the region.

in an earlier ASEAN meeting when the chair, ASEAN member cambodia, followed  china's demand:

The Phnom Penh debacle of 2012

Nine of the ten foreign ministers were amenable to acknowledging these two elephants, but the tenth, the chair himself, would have none of it â€" obviously out of deference to a China that didn’t want any multilateral discussion on its claim to most of the South China Sea.

The ministerial meeting was therefore deadlocked on this matter. The hours passed, the deadlock hardened. Finally it was announced that there’d be no joint communique. It was a diplomatic coup for China at the expense of Asean.

- extract from http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/sideviews/article/never-again-should-asean-kowtow-to-china-jamil-maidan-flores#sthash.06wIL8FC.dpuf

156. We discussed extensively the matters related to the progress of the COC. The Philippines briefed the Meeting on further developments including matters particularly relating to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Link for the whole text of the ASEAN Joint Communique:  http://www.asean.org/images/2015/August/48th_amm/JOINT%20COMMUNIQUE%20OF%20THE%2048TH%20AMM-FINAL.pdf

155. We took note of Indonesia’s proposal to establish a hotline of communications at  the high level in the government between ASEAN and China to address emergency situations on the ground that need immediate intervention, which aim to immediately reduce tensions on the ground.

154. Pursuant to the full and effective implementation of the DOC in its  entirety, and  while the work towards the expeditious establishment of the COC are undertaken, we agreed that preventive measures should be undertaken to address developments in the South China Sea, with the objective, among others, to enhance trust and confidence amongst parties.

153. While noting the progress made in the consultations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC), we reiterated the importance of  expeditious establishment of an effective COC. To this end, we welcomed the recent outcome of the 9th ASEAN-China SOM on the Implementation of the DOC whereby they agreed to proceed to the next stage of consultations and negotiate the framework, structure, elements as well as to address crucial, difficult and complicated issues relating to the proposed COC. We, therefore, tasked our Senior Officials to follow up and  work closely with China on this matter.

152. We looked forward to the effective implementation of the agreed  Early Harvest Measures to enhance mutual trust and confidence as well as to build a conducive environment for the maintenance of peace, security and stability in the region. We tasked our Senior Officials to continue  working on this matter, and to further explore other initiatives, in pursuit of these objectives.

151. We reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, security,  stability, and freedom of navigation in and over-flight above the South China Sea. We emphasised the need for all parties to ensure the full and  effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety: to build, maintain and enhance mutual trust and confidence; to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes; to not to resort to threat or use of force; and for the parties concerned to resolve their  differences and disputes through peaceful means, in accordance with  universally recognised principles of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

from the Joint Communiqué 48th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 4th August 2015


REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

South China Sea

150. We discussed extensively the matters relating to the South China  Sea and remained seriously concerned over recent and ongoing developments in the area. We took note of the serious concerns expressed by some Ministers on the land reclamations in the South China Sea, which have eroded trust and confidence, increased tensions and may undermine peace, security and stability in the South China Sea.

Lawsuit Against God



A Romanian prisoner by the name of Pavel M. decided to sue the Romanian Orthodox Church. The reason? He’s been convicted of murder, serving his 20-year term and blames God for ‘failing to keep him away from the influence of the devil‘.

http://www.lolwot.com/

Big Bear, Big Trouble



In Macedonia, one beekeeper got so fed up with bears destroying his beehives that he took matters to court. He explained that he took to different means such as distracting the bear with music and lights, but to no avail.

He sued the bear for damages and theft, and despite the bear failing to appear in court, it was found guilty and the beekeeper won $2,700. The honey-loving bear is still at large.

Faith In Humanity Lost Because Of Tomas Delgado



A rich Spanish businessman named Tomas Delgado was driving over speed limit when he ran over a young boy. Amazingly, he didn’t get jail time because even while he was speeding, the boy was cycling at night without using helmets or a reflector. To make things worse, he decided to sue the boy’s family over damages to his Audi because of the crash.

British Airways Gets It



A dentist and his partner wanted to see Granada, a beautiful southern city located in Spain. He booked his flight via British Airways. To his surprise, he went on a 9-hour flight to the island of Grenada.

British Airways refused to reimburse the two with their flight tickets, and so he retaliated by suing the airline for $34,000 in damages. Lesson learned, it pays to double check the spelling before hopping onto a plane.

Control Over The Universe



Most people file frivolous cases to get cash quick, but a man from Quebec, Canada had bigger things in mind. He filed a case to gain control over the universe â€" particularly asking for control of all the planets, Jupiter’s moons, the Earth, and space in between.

Hands down, this is probably the craziest lawsuit out there. The judge seemed to agree, who threw the case out the window and banned the Canadian citizen from filing any more future lawsuits without a written consent from a judge.

That’s Ageism!



Another ridiculous lawsuit is filed by aging Rolf Eden, an 81-year-old German playboy who sued a 19-year-old woman because she refused to sleep with him on the grounds of ‘ageism’. After a night out with the young woman, they ended up at his place and she refused to have sex with him because he was too old for her.

He decided to press charges because, according to Eden, ‘there are laws against discrimination’, and it was discrimination against age, after all.

There’s Only One Batman in the World



So a mayor from a city called ‘Batman’ in Turkey decided to sue Warner Bros. because they used the city’s name without permission. He demanded royalties from the highest-grossing movie ‘The Dark Knight’. The mayor claimed that ‘there’s only one Batman in the world’, and sued on the grounds that the U.S. producers used the city without permission from them.

Sued For Wrong Weather Prediction



Weather reports are known to be frequently wrong and highly unreliable. One Israeli woman took it too far by suing a TV station for making a wrong weather prediction.

The TV station’s weather forecast was sunny and well, but it rained. The woman claimed she dressed lightly, only to rain and cause her to catch the flu, miss a week of work, and spend money on medications. The woman filed the lawsuit and won $1,000.

Man Sues Wife over Ugly Child



A Chinese man started asking questions when his beautiful wife gave birth to an ‘incredible ugly baby’. Jian Feng demanded answers, and thought the wife had an affair. The wife admitted she had undergone extensive $100,000 cosmetic surgery before meeting him. Horrified, the husband divorced and sued his wife for damages, claiming his wife tricked him to marriage on false pretenses.

Amazingly, Chinese court felt sympathetic and he was granted $120,000.

Here are 10 of the weirdest lawsuits from around the world proving the judicial system is screwed.


Inaccurate Footlong Claims



A man from New Jersey who alleges he eats 50 Subway footlong sandwiches a year is now suing the food chain, after realizing that the sandwiches were really just 11 inches!

Quote from: chicogon on August 10, 2015, 03:45:24 AM
Kung gyerahon, daghan na pod madatu ani aguy!

WASHINGTON â€" Some truths are best left unsaid, particularly in polite company. So it came as somewhat of a surprise when an analyst at Deutsche Bank posed the following question to Marillyn Hewson, the CEO of Lockheed Martin, in a recent conference call with investors: “If the U.S. does move toward the normalization with Iran over nuclear activities, does that in any way impede what you see as progress in the foreign military sales front there?” The question carries additional weight now that Iran has agreed to a framework deal that would curb its nuclear activities for the next decade and beyond.

The implication of the analyst’s question â€" which was uncovered by Lee Fang, a journalist at The Intercept â€" is that a reduction of tensions in the Middle East could be bad news for Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest arms-producing corporation.

-"Why war is bad for people but good for business" by William Hartung, Apr. 25, 2015, http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/why-war-is-bad-for-people-but-good-for-business

was ist das?

The latest Bohol Poll survey, conducted on March 26 to April 17, showed that 28 percent of Boholanos considered the drug problem as  “not serious” while 18 percent said it was “not a problem at all.” About 30 percent said it was “somewhat serious.”

The Provincial Peace and Order Council, chaired by Chatto, said that out of 1,109 barangays in Bohol, 528 were “slightly affected” by the drug problem, with 311 saying that they were “moderately affected,” 11 as “seriously affected” and 232 “unaffected.”

http://www.mb.com.ph/

The Social Weather Station-trained Bohol Poll had earlier reported that 29 percent of respondents interviewed said that illegal substance abuse in the province was “very serious,” which was a marked increase from the 15 percent posted in 2014.

In 2011 to 2013, only eight percent believed that illegal substance abuse in the province was becoming a serious concern.

He said he called on the provincial leadership under Gov. Edgar Chatto to conduct a thorough investigation into the alleged discovery of the illegal substance.

“If this illegal drugs remained unchecked then the future of our young generation is doomed,” Balite said.

He also question why reports about the discovery of the packets of shabu at the SP session hall only surfaced now when it was found on July 16.

Balite, during the regular session of the provincial board Thursday morning, raised several questions over this discovery, saying that illegal drugs were “found right at the doorsteps of the seat of our provincial government.”

“Were the sachets handed over to proper authorities and subjected to laboratory examination? What was the result?” he asked.

Balite warned that if, indeed a laboratory test conducted and the substance found inside the ante-room was found to be shabu, then the drug menace in the province could already be so widespread that not even the Provincial Capital was not spared.

‘Shabu’ found in Bohol session hall

by Philippines News Agency
August 8, 2015

Tagbilaran City â€" Three sachets of what was believed to be shabu were reportedly found right in the ante-room of the session hall of the Sangguaniang Panlalawigan (SP) here, according to a senior provincial board member.

In a privilege speech Thursday, Dionisio D. Balite disclosed the discovery of the illegal drugs and raised alarm over their presence right in the confines of the SP session hall and at the Bohol Provincial Capitol at that.

“Further information revealed that the hot items were found just below a sala set in the same ante-room,” Balite said.

If Grace intends to make a difference in the nation’s political life, she has to assume a position of influence in an existing party, or build her own. One can rise in politics as an independent, but one cannot hope to shape politics in any significant way without a party.

* * *

public.lives@gmail.com

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

I am glad that Grace has the next two months to reflect before she declares herself a presidential candidate in 2016. She may realize that some politicians are prodding her to run not because they believe in her, but because they expect to run her government in case she wins. She may see how some groups are shrewdly using the threat of her candidacy in their negotiations with the ruling coalition. She may realize soon enough that these same people will not hesitate to dump her if they can cut a better deal with the other candidates.

It is what spells the difference between being a candidate of an established party and running as a lone ranger hoping to attract company along the way. While we don’t have strong political parties as they do in the United States and Europe, we do have enduring ties and loyalties on both sides of the political divide, which have lent some stability to our political system.

In contrast, Grace’s approval ratings seemed to rise with every critical comment she made that zeroed in on the President’s seeming inability to accept full responsibility for the debacle at Mamasapano. The public stance she took in the subsequent investigation of the incident affirmed for many not only her independent streak but also her readiness to call to task the nation’s powerful men. This is what accounts for her immense popularity today. We can’t seem to have enough of brave voices that feed our cynicism for those who rule us, just as we admire powerful individuals who have a feel for their power and are able to use it resolutely. On the other hand, we seem to reserve only grudging praise, if not contempt, for the quiet workers who plod on to make collective governance possible.

“This law,” Michels wrote, “prescribes that men, in every enterprise requiring collective action, must submit their particular movements to the rule of the single will of a leader, and that, of the two possible attitudes, loyalty and mistrust, to be assumed toward that leaderâ€"to whom democracies must have recourseâ€"the former is the only one that is constructive and generous.”

Mar Roxas projected only unwavering loyalty to the President, especially in the aftermath of the Mamasapano tragedy, when mistrust for the party leader appeared justified. Mar could not have acted the way he did solely out of personal friendship. His respectful action seemed to manifest a deep understanding of what was at stake at that pointâ€"namely, the entire program of government that bound him and P-Noy together as leaders of the ruling party. He took a lot of brickbats for this, and some say he missed a golden chance to project himself as his own man.

People tend to forget that Aquino and Roxas are stalwarts of the Liberal Party, one of the oldest surviving political groups in the country. As third-generation members of the nation’s political class, they consider themselves, for better or worse, loyal stewards of a venerable political tradition. They are rare specimens in a liquid political landscape where electability as indicated by surveys, rather than political affiliation, seems increasingly to count for everything.

It would have been unthinkable for the leaders of the Liberal Party, being the party in power, to adopt an outsider for the top position and, in so doing, cast aside one of their own. That would have rewarded mistrust and penalized loyalty. Roberto Michels, who wrote extensively about Europe’s earliest political parties, reminds us about what he calls a “salutary law” in politics.

P-Noy has since proceeded to endorse Mar as his presidential candidate. In retrospect, P-Noy’s courtship of Grace had nothing to do with the presidency; it was all about getting her to run as Mar’s vice president. In that role, she could keep her wish to remain independent, unbound by any commitment to defend the administration’s record. But, for a presidential contender, P-Noy needed someone who not only believed in the administration’s program but also was prepared to defend it. For P-Noy, that person could be none other than Mar Roxas.

She was clearly flattered by the President’s attention. Indeed, she could be forgiven for presuming that P-Noy was choosing between her and Mar Roxas, the then presumptive presidential candidate of the Liberal Party. It was an impression that many people shared. Mar’s survey ratings appeared incurably weak, and voices within the administration coalition itself warned against an easy win by Jejomar Binay if the party could not offer a stronger candidate.

Despite her initial reservations and modest appreciation of her limits, she inched closer to accepting a draft when no less than President Aquino himself began talking to her about the 2016 election. What was not clear in this political courtship, however, was whether she was being eyed for the presidency or for the vice presidency. It is reported that the President spent a good part of his conversations with her trying to establish the compatibilities and the differences in their perceptions of national problems and issues.

PUBLIC LIVES

Glimpses of Grace Poe’s political star


By: Randy David
@inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer
August 6th, 2015

Sen. Grace Poe finds herself pondering a question that materialized only after she topped the 2013 senatorial race. Should she seize the opportunity presented by her impressive ratings in preelection surveys and make herself available as a presidential contender in next year’s election?

not so much...

Despite this, tactically just one legal judgment spreading a little legal light on the issues in the region would be significant. It would, ever so slightly, increase the role of law, not history or political might, as the most sustainable route to an eventual resolution of the South China Sea travails. For that reason, the Philippine move is an important one, and its outcome, beyond all the arcane details and the confusing context, potentially highly meaningful.


Kerry Brown is a Professor of Chinese Politics and Director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, and an Associate Fellow of Chatham House, London

http://www.policyforum.net/south-china-seas-judgement-day/#sthash.7YSBvr7v.dpuf

One of the most striking features of this hugely complex issue, however, is that it pits two views of the world in a head on collision. Very broadly, the Philippines are claiming that international law is dominant, and that it needs to be the common language by which to resolve all these issues. For China, however, the prime claims are historic, and these take precedence.  While not wishing to over-simplify this issue, this is the fundamental challenge for the South China Sea disputes â€" its contesting parties are operating in different conceptual universes and are unwilling, or unable, to speak the same language to each other. This makes resolution, as things stand at the moment, almost impossible. China is likely to simply dismiss an unfavourable judgment from The Hague this month, if it comes, as illegitimate because history, not modern law, takes precedence here.

This alone means that no country involved is going to lie down and simply concede on this issue. At the moment, a complex series of claims, based on different arguments, spreads across the various features of the area. What constitutes an island has become important because of the stipulation under UNCLOS that this gives rights to extensive maritime areas around it â€" up to 200 nautical miles. Thus the attempts to define even features which most of the time are submerged under water as islands.  Since 2009, spats between contesting parties, some of them including the Philippines, have increased. Most of these have involved fishing or lifeguard vessels. But everyone knows they are proxy for harder, military assets. Even the United States has been increasingly sucked in, protesting neutrality but evidently keen to see China’s space pinned back and its grand claims circumscribed. More’s the pity, however, that the US is not a signatory to UNCLOS, somewhat eroding its moral authority here.

The most benign interpretation of the nine-dash line is that it is a hangover from an era in which maritime law was non-existent and which understanding of sovereign borders was in its infancy. The historic origin of the line comes more from the Republic of China (in charge of the Mainland up to 1949, and now based in Taiwan) rather than the People’s Republic, something that creates an extra layer of confusion. It is not even certain where the precise extent of this line is. The one thing everyone can agree on is that it lays symbolic claim to a huge territory of strategically very important waters, with trade and military routes crisscrossing it in an area that is fast becoming the world’s most dynamic economic region.

This is because, with the Philippines, they share one major bone of contention, which this judgment might clear up a little more â€" and that is about the now infamous nine-dash line asserted by China, which stretches almost 1,500 kms from the coast of Hainan, China’s most southerly point. This violates the principle of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) allowing separate countries 200 Nautical Miles of space around their coastal regions, skirting the edges of Malaysian, Vietnamese, Philippine and, at some point, Indonesian, territory. Broadly, the Philippines is stating that the nine-dash line violates this and needs to be questioned, and, even better for them, shown to be invalid.

Not that anyone should expect UNCLOS’s judgment, when rendered, will do much to clear things up overnight, or even in the short to medium term. Firstly, China is not offering a counter-submission and will not recognize the current process if a judgment is issued against it. Secondly, this court has no decision-making powers over territorial rights. That needs to be done through the International Court of Justice, and all the disputing parties have to agree to bring a case to this body â€" something that has so far proved impossible.

The main likely outcome of this current case will be to strengthen the principle that international law has a role to play in the ultimate resolution of the contesting claims. Whether Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan and other actors in this issue will line up with the Philippines and agree with this, let alone China, is a moot point. All of them have different agendas.  But for all of them, except China, it is in their interests to do so.

South China Sea’s judgement day

Ruling on dispute between China and the Philippines will be meaningful, even if it doesn’t quickly lead to resolution

KERRY BROWN

JULY 2015

An important ruling is imminent on contesting claims in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines. But will it hold any water, and what is the significance?

A significant judgement is expected some time this month in the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Brought by the Philippines against China, it will be the first time that legal experts in an international court will opine on matters related to the contesting claims in the South China Sea.

...and sweetmeat?

meaning: an item of confectionery or sweet food

it's sweet, but is it meat?

one answer:

The key is that meat used to just mean "food". The first entry under meat at Merriam-Webster has exactly that definition, though of course the primary sense of meat today is definition #2, which specifically refers to animal flesh. However, the older, broader sense of "meat" still sticks around here and there, such as the practice of referring to the edible part of a nut as the "meat", and in compounds such as "sweetmeat". http://english.stackexchange.com/

pakapin, extra (join-join in swardspeak?):

Valer Kuberch (Bahay Kubo in swardspeak)

Valer kuberch, kahit jutey
Ang julamantrax denchi,
Ay anek-anek.
Nyongkamas at nutring,
Nyogarilyas at kipay.
Nyipay, nyotaw, jutani.
Kundol, fyotola, kyupot jolabastrax
At mega join-join pa
Jobanos, nyustasa,
Nyubuyak, nyomatis, nyowang at luyax
And around the keme
Ay fulnes ng linga.

/wikipedia

please, spokespersons.  speak klingon too.  better still, speak in klingon swardspeak.

Quote from: islander on August 09, 2015, 03:36:44 PM
Salgado said he did not know “beki speak” or gay lingo, “but consulted those who do and came up with that response.”

ahihihi, no need to explain or be defensive.  after all, it's nice to be a linguist.

harvatan yu, ahihihihi.  nag-istiran ng mga beyooti, whiz.  sabunutan tyfe namin. go ahead, make your year.

quotables:

binay camp's salgado:

“Imbey ang fez ni Secretarush dahil trulalu ang spluk ni VP. Pero ang Sona ng pangulo, chaka ever sa madlang pipol dahil hindi trulalu.”

translation to more common tagalog expression:

Imbyerna ang face ni Secretary dahil true ang sinabi ni VP. Pero ang Sona ng pangulo, pangit sa taong bayan dahil hindi totoo.

translation to english:

The Secretary is just irritated because VP told the truth. But the President’s Sona does not sit well with the people because it is false.

***

Salgado said he did not know “beki speak” or gay lingo, “but consulted those who do and came up with that response.”

more at http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/710926/binay-camp-calls-aquino-sona-chaka#ixzz3iIhM3LTP

interesting language, interesting word war:

chaka

adj.; meaning 'ugly' in gay lingo
used by vp binay spokesman joey salgado to describe the president's SONA (state of the nation address)


charot

adj.; meaning 'joke' in gay lingo
used by presidential spokesman edwin lacierda to describe the vice-president's TSONA (true state of the nation address)

Swardspeak (also known as Bekimon and "gay lingo") is an argot or cant slang derived from Englog (Tagalog-English code-switching) and used by a number of homosexuals in the Philippines. (wikipedia)

Scientists explain the strip as a phenomenon caused by the heaving of the seabed more than a meter above the water during the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that brought Bohol to its knees in October 2013.

The undersea upheaval exposed a broad, flat reef covered with seagrasses, corals and other marine organisms that once lived undisturbed despite the neap and ebb tides.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/711420/bohol-quake-triggers-a-phenomenon-land-rising-from-bottom-of-the-sea#ixzz3iIQxWFYN

Bohol quake triggers a phenomenon: Land rising from bottom of the sea

By: Leo Udtohan
@inquirerdotnet
Inquirer Visayas
August 9th, 2015


THIS LAND IS OURS Or so says Maribojoc Mayor Leoncio Evasco Jr. (right), pointing to a strip of broad, flat reef covered with seagrass, corals and other marine organisms that used to lie on the seabed until exposed by the undersea upheaval caused by the destructive 2013 Bohol quake. The 137-hectare strip being claimed by Maribojoc and Loon towns, which envision it as an ecotourism site, counter the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ declaration that it is a “geological monument” owned by the state.  CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

TAGBILARAN CITY, Philippinesâ€"The strip of undeveloped dry land by the sea may not interest buyers of beachfront property in Bohol province, one of the Philippines’ top tourist destinations known for its sandy shores and other natural wonders. Nearly all of the strip’s 137 hectares on the edges of two towns seem riveted down with rocks, some sharp enough to thwart a barefoot walk.

Contrast that with President Aquino’s treatment of his Vice President. And you will know what “inaapi” really means when the Binays are the ones in position nationally.

Now we go to the haka-haka and kasinungalingan, words that the Binays have appended to the Senate hearings and to the Ombudsman’s findings. Except that I’ve run out of space. So we have to save those for some other time.

http://opinion.inquirer.net/

When Mercado was vice mayor, the budget for the Office of the Vice Mayor for 2010 (the last half-year that Mercado was in office) was something like P204 million, including something like P60 million for capital expenditures. Did Peña get the same deal? Stupid question, right? The budget given him was P25 million (now P28 million), and no capital expenditures. Sino ang inaapi?

Apparently, Peña was not given any responsibility (or authority) by Mayor Binay. He said there had been no meaningful conversation (in fact, no conversation at all) between him and the mayor since 2010. It seems Peña was given no chance to show his worth to the people of Makati, because he was a possible contender in future mayoral elections.

So I asked to see the Office of the Vice Mayor. You must understand that Peña was the only opposition candidate in Makati who won, in 2010 when he was independent, and in 2013, as a Liberal Party member. It turns out that he was not given the Office of the Vice Mayor (as occupied by Ernesto Mercado); that was turned into the offices of the congresspersons of Makati (Abigail Binay and Monique Lagdameo). Anyway, a picture is worth a thousand words, and you will see the difference between the mayor’s office and where Vice Mayor/Acting Mayor Peña has been assigned for the past five years. Now that’s an example of inaapi.

Acting Mayor Peña showed me the Office of the Mayor on the 21st floor of Makati City Hall (he had to ask whether he was allowed to go inside). The office gave me the impression that we were in Malacañang. The main office was hugeâ€"larger than a two-bedroom condo in Makati. There was another office, also large, where the mayor does his work. And then there was a bedroom with a queen-size or king-size bed and a lounging chair. Then there was a huge bathroom, and a huge kitchen, with dining space. And, of course, a palatial conference room. One could live there forever, if one were under siege.

This is in direct contrast to how the Vice President treats potential opponents. Take the case of Vice Mayor Kid Peña, who is now acting mayor of Makati. I interviewed Peña for my TV show “Bawal ang Pasaway,” which will be aired on Monday. GMA TV’s policy is to give equal treatment, and suspended Mayor Junjun Binay was also invited. But following the BS (Binay Strategy), he asked his father’s spokesman (Rico Quicho) to agree to be interviewed. I am told, though, that he laughed when he was asked to appear in my showâ€"so it might be a combination of fear and dislike. If the Reader posits that it is not the Vice President who is the mayor of Makati, I refer her to the videos that tend to show otherwise.

He was also given a Cabinet position. True, he wanted the Department of Interior and Local Government. Even then, he was already preparing for 2016 and everybody knew it, including the President. He was given housing, not dissimilar to Imelda Marcos’ Ministry of Human Settlements. Which gave him the opportunity to go all over the Philippines, awarding houses and lots for housing. I doubt whether he ever mentioned to the awardees that he was merely standing in for the President. He was also given responsibility over the overseas Filipino workers, and he made very sure that it was he, the Vice President, who was working single-handedly for them. This has to have given him tremendous advantages for 2016. Is that inaapi?

Moreover, he had a P200-million-a-year share of the pork barrelâ€"until that was removedâ€"which was given him by the legislature/President. I don’t know if his predecessor also had it, but I am certain that the Office of the Vice President’s budget was not reduced. Is that inaapi?