Monthly Archives: September 2013

“ Assad Endgame : How Do We Stand Up for Our Values and Interests in Syria?”


Returning home to Washington from Europe Tuesday evening, I was just in time to hear Pres. Obama’s address to the nation on Syria. In it he rightly expressed the horror and revulsion of the civilized world at the Assad regime’s now confirmed August use of sarin gas to kill over one thousand of its citizens in opposition neighborhoods of Syria’s capital, Damascus. Continue reading

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China is behaving like Janet Lim-Napoles


In two world stage events occurring simultaneously last week, China presented two starkly different faces. On one stage, China acted as a big power statesman and in the other, as a petty barnyard bully. Continue reading

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HIV every 3 hours!


Ten years ago, one case of Human Immunodeficiency Virus infection was reported every 3 days in the Philippines. Today, one case is diagnosed every 3 hours, according to TIME magazine. This does not include those unreported cases because of the stigma associated with HIV and AIDs. There were 24,000 cases in 2012, a low prevalence compared to a couple of other countries, Continue reading

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Esperanto Filipino (Huling Bahagi)


Mapapansin na may pagkakapareho ang layunin ni Dr. Z at mga miyembro ng con-con at con-com sa Pilipinas. Maging susi ang wika sa pagkakaunawaan at pagkakaisa ng mga taong may iba’t ibang wika, kultura, at kasaysayan. Ang Esperanto ay sa lahat ng lahi sa buong planeta. Ang Pilipino/Filipino ay sa lahat ng tribu sa kapuluan ng Pilipinas.
  Continue reading

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Sunny Andorra A Peaceable Kingdom


Rogue Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte is reputed to have said ‘Andorra must be preserved.’ During his march through Andorra en route to invade Spain he was impressed with the tiny well governed country. Charles the Great or Charlemagne is believed to have granted the people of Andorra a charter of autonomy in 988 in return for their loyal service in helping him fight the Moors who occupied Spain. Continue reading

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The morning after…


Jomar was awake before the city rooster gave its first rendition. He checked his email one last time. He did not want to miss any school work. After hanging his back pack on his shoulder, he looked at his phone, said goodbye to his mom and off he want towards the bus stop. Today, he had no plans of going to school. Continue reading

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The ‘Queen’ and the ‘robbing hoods’


Never before in the history of the Philippines has a corruption scandal rocked the corridors of power to its foundations as it had with the pork barrel scam.  With at least 12 senators and more than 180 congressmen allegedly involved in robbing their pork barrel allocations with the help of greedy and unscrupulous scam operators, it makes one wonder if the country’s Fifth Republic could survive this mother of all scandals? Continue reading

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P62-billion conditional cash transfer


September 16, 2013
As the nation grapples for right responses and moves on the expose on the scam of pork barrel funds of senators and congressmen amounting to billions of pesos, the Department of Budget and Management, which is at the vortex in the release of the billions of pork barrel funds, has announced that it has increased the proposed budget for the Conditional Cash Transfer project more popularly known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) from P44 billion this year to P62.6 billion in 2014. Continue reading

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Maricel Soriano returns to comedy


September 16, 2013
Maricel Soriano, the diamond star, is back on the comedy front. This good news to her fans was reported by entertainment editor Isah V. Red in his Manila Standard Today column as he called on the fans to open champagne bottles and toast each other since it has been a long time that she has been out of circulation. The award-winning actress resurrected herself by appearing in a movie playing a role that may be considered her movie “comeback.” Continue reading

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Malaysian airline set to fly the Puerto Princesa-Kota Kinabalu route


September 16, 2013
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY — A Malaysian airline is planning to fly to Puerto Princesa City soon. This means that the Palawan-Malaysia link is not confined to ferry service alone as MASwings, a division of Malaysian Airlines, has applied for a permit to operate at the Puerto Princesa International Airport. MASwings is planning to introduce service to the Philippines with its new fleet of ATR 72-600 aircraft, according to City Tourism Officer Rebecca V. Labit. Continue reading

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