The Bloggers Journal

Learning A New Hobby

The Blogger — Sun, 27 May 2012 00:57:54 +0000

Since my nephews are starting to learn how to play a guitar,he also started to learn how to use some other accessories to make it sounds better, like for example the dwarfcraft effects pedals Musicians friend‘s latest product. According to him,it helps him find the distorted tone a lot easier compare of not having one. Though,I’m not expert on this field of music,but I do admire his determination in learning it on his own way.

Maybe in the days to come,he could put up a little show for all of us here and we will hear him show off his new talent. :)

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Debuts Tom Epperson’s Latest Works

The Blogger — Sat, 26 May 2012 10:27:56 +0000

Looking for that perfect inspiration to help you in your photographic pursuits?

From May 30 to June 5, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf gives photography and art aficionados a real treat as it lets everyone marvel at Tom Epperson’s latest works in a special art show that will be held in Greenbelt 5. Entitled “Brewfinder: Enthusiasm Over Coffee at the CBTL,” the weeklong exhibition highlights the artist’s photographic prowess with a set that revolves around the concept of finding beauty in just about everything.

“This event is part of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s commitment to enrich passions, especially passions that are related with the arts,” shares Walden Chu, President of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. “Needless to say, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has always supported causes we believe can help improve society, and art does that. Art teaches us that perseverance and patience, and not just skills, are important when it comes to creating beautiful things. And this is something that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and its employees live by.”

The six-piece set draws inspiration from Tom’s interest in dealing with erratic objects. “Lately, I have been working with mediums that are basically uncontrollable—a lot is left up to serendipity,” Tom said. “I like the idea of surprise, it reminds me of going into the darkroom in the days of analog and watching a print develop for the first time, it was magic. This is the same feeling I get when working with smoke.”

“Brewfinder: Photography Enthusiasm Over Coffee at the CBTL” is the first of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s Taste Series, a seven-part pocket event series that highlights the brand’s single-serve system—the CBTL. Borne out of a partnership with the Italian design and espresso-making expertise of Caffitaly, CBTL raises the bar for coffee and tea aficionados by bringing the distinct Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf café experience into your home.

The CBTL. One touch. One perfect cup.

Choosing The Right Gift

The Blogger — Fri, 25 May 2012 23:42:56 +0000

Buying a gift for specific person is always a dilemma for me. Although gift card is the easiest way but sometimes, I’d rather give something that will really meant something to me and to the person whom I will give it to.But for doing so, it means I need to exert more effort which I really don’t mind if the person is really special to me.

It’s the reason why I choose to give hubby a personalized gifts for the upcoming Father’s Day. I don’t know what it’s gonna be yet, but it’s going to be personalized to his own taste to make sure he will appreciate it. ;)

Truck Seat Cover

The Blogger — Fri, 25 May 2012 00:03:53 +0000

When hubby moved back to US, he immediately traded our car for a new truck. He thought that it’s a lot less hassle instead of going thru the process of importation and such because our car was registered in Canada plus the fact that the dashboard is in kilometers and not in miles. Since it was also a fully-paid,he doesn’t have any problem at all with all the papers. Then just a several days after, he told me that he also bought a dodge ram seat covers, which I totally understand knowing how dirty his work place is, seat cover is a total neccessity.

When the boys found out that we now have a truck instead of a regular car, they are now more excited to be on it. :)

Postage Journal

The Blogger — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:28:15 +0000

I wanted to introduced my latest blog, Postage Journal,it’s for my stamps thought I don’t officially collect them but I thought it deserved its own blog, just like my blog for my postcard (PostcardPerfect).The blog is still empty since I only created it last night and I still have to scan my stamps then I can start posting.

Now,that I have that blog, I’m also thinking of creating a review blog,since I received a lot of invites to review a certain products, my latest is to write an apidextra review, but just like my latest blog,I have to wait for while until I have enough funds and time to maintain another blog.

If you have time to spare,please do visit my blogs. Thank you.

Celebrating Young Heroes

The Blogger — Tue, 15 May 2012 08:14:44 +0000

“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.” – Christopher Reeve

Last year,Kraft Philippines, makers of Tang powdered juice launched a nationwide, Search for Tang Galing Kids in order to recognized young achievers ,who at their tender age,already demostrated their potential for being heroes even in their own little way. The company wanted to showcase the many heroic efforts of children from all over the country. And with the cooperation of many organizations sending in their nominations,Tang’s jury was able to choose seven of the most remarkable young heroes of today’s generation.

And last May 10, 2012 at Centennial Hall, Manila Hotel, Tang recognized this seven kids. Please meet the heroes:

Diana Suaza, a Laguna Council Representative,inspire less fortunate children to be responsible citizens by teaching Catechism and reading. She does all this through her active participation in Barangay,Church,and Girl Scout Programs.

Young Martha Balagat, in her first grade,created and illustrated her own book and is contributor to the Junior Inquirer where several of her pieces were featured. On top of that, she teaches Catechism every Saturday with her mother, at their parish where she reads to underpriviledge children and creates visual aids for her classes with them.

Love for God is epitomized in young Pade Pio devotee,Angela Serafico, who spends her time helping less fortunate children. The multi-faceted young artist is violinist,writer,public speaker,and painter. In response to the recent typhoon Sendong, Angela sold two of her paintings,donating the proceeds to the calamity victims.

Raynold Dela Cruz, a “My Rights” volunteer, is an active advocate for children’s right and was recognized with a “Good-Deeder” award and “Young Mandela” title in 2010 by the South African Embassy and the Dynamic Tenn Company during Nelson Mandela Day. He is now a trainee in the Dynamic Teen company wi th a project he recently launched called, “Saving Kids With First Aid Kits”, which aims to provide first aids kits to public school clinics, while also raising funds by selling ice candy made with Tang.

A former street beggar and labor-exploited child, young Kesz Valdes began teaching other kids personal hygiene through demonstrations at the tender age of six. A year later, with no consideration of reward,Kesz began to volunteer by giving out slippers and books to street children and scavengers roaming the street.

Trubador Wisely,together with his brother,U Maalam (not in picture), used their creative skills in creaitng illustrated comic collection aimed at uplifting the lives of others. After class, they both try to sell the comics at a higher cost to rich executives,lowering publication cost so they could sell the comics to the masses at a much lower price.

This are the kids who,despite of so many obstacle but with the support of their parents and the people that surrounds them, decided to follow the right path without expecting anything good in return.

Mr Efren Penaflorida,Jr., (aka Kuya Efren)a hero himself that was recognized by CNN Heroes Of The year in 2009 was also there to commend the kids and encourage them to continued doing what they think is right;

Here are the kids celebrating and enjoying their moment while listening to Kuya Efren‘s encouraging message.

Thank you Kraft Philippines, for this wonderful project that will truly encourage and benefit the community that this amazing kids belong to. You may continue encouraging each individual,young and old to keep giving back to the community. It is proven once again,the heroes really comes in all sizes, and knows no boundaries that even kids can be a hero too by doing the little things they could to make a big difference in lives of others.

For more photos from the event,please kindly LIKE The Bloggers Journal on Facebook.

Wine Supplies

The Blogger — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:34:13 +0000

If there’s any place that I would personally recommend to get your wine supplies,then it’ll be http://www.homebrewit.com/. When my husband and I went to our first wine festival at The Shores Of Erie Wine Festival at Amherstburg, most of the participants there who gave us a little wine lecture recommend the place to us just in case we get interested in brewing our own wine. Hubby really wanted to try it but wasn’t able to do so because he got so busy with work.

Maybe,in the days to come, we might be able to take time to experiment and brew our own wine. :)

The I CARE Foundation Crusade Against International Parental Child Abduction

The Blogger — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:23:17 +0000

Best-Selling Author Peter Thomas Senese And The I CARE Foundation Crusade Against International Parental Child Abduction Mr. Senese’s Latest Novel CHASING THE CYCLONE Educates Society While Helping To Rescue Kidnapped Children

Peter Thomas Senese is a best-selling geopolitical thriller writer and child advocate with a mission: he and the renown I CARE Foundation are working tirelessly at raising the public’s awareness on International Parental Child Abduction, while also creating a few miracles such as helping left behind parents rescue and reunite with their kidnapped children. Mr. Senese’s latest novel, Chasing The Cyclone, has been hailed by book critics and child advocates everywhere as an instrumental tool that raises the bar on child abduction awareness, while Mr. Senese has donated 100% of his royalties to the I CARE Foundation.

A young girl living near Los Angeles’s beautiful beaches is internationally kidnapped and taken to Japan.

A young boy not yet three years old living on a ranch outside of Denver is internationally kidnapped and taken to Nigeria.

A young boy coming home from his elementary school in Tampa is kidnapped and taken to Bolivia.

A young girl born in New York City is trafficked to the Philippines after only three months of life.

A young girl residing in New York whose father is a highly decorated police officer is kidnapped and taken to Germany.

A young boy living in rural Pennsylvania is kidnapped to and taken to Egypt.

For each of these children, and tens of thousands of others like them each yea who are internationally kidnapped, they may never come home.
For each child’s parent, having your child abducted, regardless if it is a stranger abduction or not, this is their biggest nightmare.
For the children mentioned above, there is one thing that connects them more than anything else: their criminal abductor was one of their own parents who purposefully violated court orders and illegally removed the child to another country or wrongfully detained the child in a foreign country. This is the illegal act of international parental child abduction (herein referred to as ‘IPCA’). The act of IPCA is a crime against a defenseless child: one that causes both short and long term suffering for stolen child due to the scheming, abusive abducting parents act.

Now you may be asking yourself why is this happening?

The overwhelming majority of IPCA cases appear to occur when two parents who originate from different countries met, have a relationship that creates a child, and then eventually separate or divorce. In these cases, we often see the parent who is residing in their non-native country decide that after the relationship is over, that they would like to return to their country of origin. Except there is a problem: the child’s other parent probably does not want the child to be relocated because then they will seldom see their child. And generally, no court is going to allow a parent to relocate a child to a foreign country unless the other parent consents. So, instead of seeking court permission to do so, what they do is create a scheming plan that will enable them to get the child out of the country. And once they are safely out of the country, they know it will be very difficult for the other parent to ever bring that child home. In addition, there are cases where an abducting parent simply will use the child as a pawn to gain financial advantages against the targeted parent.

As nearly every targeted parent of abduction will tell you, along with the vast majority of lawyers and law enforcement authorities will confirm, recovering a child who is parentally internationally abducted is an extremely difficult, and often hopeless task.

Presently, there does exist an international treaty called the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Many countries in the West such as the United States and Canada, and most of Europe are members of the convention. However, countries such a Japan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt are not members of the convention. Sadly, it is very difficult to have a child returned from a country who is a member of the convention. However, it is near impossible to have a child returned who is abducted to countries that are not members of the convention.

Patricia Lee, one of the United States most respected and prominent international family law attorneys who is a Senior Mentor for the U.S. Department of State’s ‘Hague Convention Attorney Network’ and a board member of the I CARE Foundation provides some insight: “The legal environment for parents whose children are at risk of abduction is daunting. To begin with, targeted parents are often not aware of the other parent’s imminent plans to abduct their child. All too often local courts may not realize the complex issues involved in these types of cases, and the challenging legal remedies that a targeted or left behind parent faces in order to prevent or attempt to reunite with their child, not to mention the incredible financial burden. Present loopholes in existing laws and policies make it possible for children to be abducted internationally, despite injunctive relief or federal assistance under existing programs . . . As a family law practitioner who frequently deals with international issues, I see the risk of, and actual incidences of child abduction growing proportionately to our world shrinking. The failure, or inability, of courts to aggressively pursue reasonable precautions to proactively prevent such abductions is a crime in and of itself. Once an abduction has taken place, the left behind parent faces a morass of legal issues that are not only difficult to surmount due to language and cultural differences, but are also prohibitively expensive for the ordinary parent. The backlash is often permanent, and goes without any redress at all.”

If you do not think this may not happen to you or someone you know, perhaps you should think again. We are only three degrees of separation from knowing a person who has been targeted for IPCA. In fact, we very well may have a global pandemic on our hands.

According to Chasing The Cyclone best-selling author and activist Peter Thomas Senese, the Founding Director of the highly respected not-for-profit I CARE Foundation said, “There may be as many as 125,000 American children and as many as 200,000 children residing in North America internationally abducted over the next decade. Even more troubling is that it is anticipated that only 10% of these kidnapped children will ever come home. Worldwide, the total anticipated number of international parental child abductions over the next ten years is uncertain, however, conservative estimates put the total number of international parental child abductions (IPCA) over the next decade to be over one million children. Unquestionably, we have a pandemic on our hands that is not restricted to urban, suburban, or rural areas. Nor is this a problem associated with wealthy or poor countries, or nations found in the East or West. It is a problem found wherever there are parents. Which means realistically, it a problem found everywhere across the globe other than perhaps isolated North Korea, which has essentially imprisoned its citizens.”

According to the Department of Justice, IPCA is not simply a serious criminal act of federal kidnapping by a parent as stipulated by the International Child Abduction Kidnapping Prevention Act, but it is a serious and severe form of child abuse that has both short-term and long-term manifestations on the abused child.

Ann Marques, who is a highly trained and skilled family law attorney and fierce child advocate who practices family law in New York State and who was formerly trial litigator for New York’s Administration of Children’s Services and who presently serves as a Special Advisor to the I CARE Foundation Board of Directors provided insight on IPCA by stating, “International Parental Child Abduction is a malicious, cruel, and inhumane act perpetrated by the ‘taking parent’ to sever the relationship between the ‘left behind’ parent and the child. The abductor uses the child as a pawn in a vengeful manner, and such an act is a form of child neglect.”

New York based attorney Joel Walter, a highly respected criminal defense and international family law attorney who has practiced law primarily in federal court for over forty years and who is a member of the I CARE Foundation Board of Directors said, “According to various comprehensive studies, the vast majority of parental child kidnappers demonstrate narcissistic behavior that jeopardizes both the child and targeted parent. In IPCA cases, the overwhelming majority of these kidnappings are carefully schemed and crafted. The would-be abductors are prone to violate a series of criminal and civil laws in order to achieve their goal of fleeing the child’s country of jurisdiction. We see repeated, and often severe forms of perjury, contempt, and outright breaches of criminal statutes such as forgery on passport applications, financial documents including bank loans, electronic bank transfers, credit card applications, and deed transfers. And sadly, we regularly see acts of online impersonation and identity theft, coupled with acts of slander, defamation, libel, and harassment all directed at the victimized targeted parent. In essence, what we are all too often dealing with is a highly skilled, manipulative kidnapper who uses the child of a marriage or relationship to cause severe spiritual and emotional harm toward the child’s other parent by denying the child and other parent their rights to one another. In addition, there are times when an criminal abducting parent abducts a child in order to defraud the other parent of financial assets. Sadly, the majority of international parental child abductions are not prosecuted. They should be, and to the fullest extent of the law. I imagine that if the next twenty parental child abductors were to be prosecuted, a strong message would be sent to the community of abductors at large that if you are going to criminally abduct a child outside of a court’s order and another parent’s right of custody, that you are going to jail, I would expect the large number of abduction cases that is predicted to be 125,000 American children alone over the next decade will dramatically go down. We need to prosecute child abductors. Period.”

Statistically, there will be as many children internationally kidnapped from North America that will fill five professional baseball stadiums seated to capacity with innocent children This is unacceptable. And to think that only 10% of these innocent children may come home is beyond words.

Something has to be done about this, and fortunately there is an unbending group of child advocates who have formed the International Child Abduction Research & Enlightenment Foundation (I CARE Foundation), a self-funded not-for-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of IPCA while conducting research in the area of child abduction that manifests into legislative policy initiatives that will help stop abduction from occurring.

The I CARE Foundation was founded by best-selling author Peter Thomas Senese, who once chased into the cyclones of IPCA, and who is fulfilling a promise to help other parents of abduction. “The vicious complexities associated with IPCA are severe, as indicated by the extremely low return number of victimized children of abduction. Understanding the contemptuous act of abduction by a stealing parent who trades in malice and untruths, it is my intent to help other targeted parents to the best of my ability, and this meant not simply raising awareness, but by creating and implementing child abduction prevention laws. And that is exactly what my prestigious colleagues from the I CARE Foundation and I are doing: we’re conducting research in the area of IPCA with the expectation that our findings will drive new laws and government policies. Along the way, we have helped reunite children who have been internationally kidnapped or have prevented abduction from occurring.”

Peter Thomas Senese and the I CARE Foundation’s public awareness campaign has gone mainstream. In fact, Mr.Senese’s latest legal thriller, Chasing The Cyclone, is a gripping novel about a father’s attempt to reunite with his abducted child has book critics raving while child advocates are applauding the author’s mission to raise public awareness of a little-spoken of, but incredible widespread crisis that is impacting families across the United States, North America, and the world.

Ann Marquez provided some insight when she said, “The crisis of Parental Child Abduction requires stronger awareness and a closer scrutiny of the fractured recovery process. Peter Senese should be commended for his valiant efforts in raising awareness of this growing epidemic by advocating from his own personal experience and by this novel.” Joel S. Walter added, “Beyond Peter Thomas Senese’s Chasing The Cyclone being a timeless literary thriller, this novel has many important layers to it, including it being an educational tool for other parents and lawyers like myself who try to protect children from such fate, as it is a call-to-arms against child abduction.”

If you are a fan of legal thrillers that dart you across the globe . . . and if you love a good old fashion love story then I suggest you pick up an e-book copy of Chasing The Cyclone. This is what some of our nation’s top book critics are saying:

The highly influentialNew York Journal of Books said of Chasing The Cyclone, “Chasing The Cyclone is a well-written thriller . . . Senese shares myriad emotions by writing in the first-person as he weaves through the action in this suspense-filled story . . . This novel might also be considered a treatise on international child abduction. Cyclone, while full of actual strategies and resources to assist parents in international abductions, is above all else a love story about a father and son … From Los Angeles, to Canada, to New Zealand, and eventually, Macau, a special administrative region of China, Cyclone is rife with international intrigue and suspense. The protagonist, Paul Francesco, orchestrates a master plan that he hopes will reunite him with the love of his life – his son. Along the way he finds himself swamped in red tape and drenched in frustration. Filled with a plethora of powerful characters and puzzling predicaments and dead ends, the story moves quickly . . . Cyclone will leave you informed and satisfied . . . you will be reluctant to put down.”

The renownGuilty Pleasures Book Review, known as one of the nation’s top book critic book review sites by women for women said, “If I had to use one word to describe Chasing the Cyclone by Peter Thomas Senese it would be phenomenal. As in remarkable.Extraordinary. I have read many books over the years, for enjoyment, for education, because I had to, because I wanted to. I cannot think of any other book that comes close to making me feel as I did when I read this book. I believe these feelings will stick with me forever. This story, inspired by horrific events, is about the love between a father and a son. And that love is beautiful . . . Mr. Senese’s is evidenced by a large number of sworn testimonials by many thankful parents who Mr. Senese has directly helped in either reuniting with their own child or preventing their child from being internationally abducted. Establishing the I CARE Foundation and being closely involved in the rescue attempts of abducted children is but one of the many impactful acts of Mr. Senese. Clearly, ‘involved’ for Mr. Senese means financially, emotionally, legally, and investigative support. His selflessness is inspiring. He is hope.”

The highly respected True Crimes Book Review added, “Chasing the Cyclone is a gripping story. Writing in a style that reads much like a diary, Senese blends cold, hard facts with a fictional plot – a plot which will evoke heartbreak, rage, disgust, and a whole host of other emotions you can’t put a name to . . . I never realized just how prevalent international child abductions are and the ridiculous hoops a Chasing Parent must go through to be reunited with their child . . . And last, but definitely not least, hug your child. Tightly. To know where your child is, is something many of us take for granted. Too many parents would give anything just to know where to start looking.”

But book reviews alone don’t tell just how important the I CARE Foundation and Peter Thomas Senese’s work is. The following are a few excerpts from testimonials I have read about how Peter Thomas Senese and the I CARE Foundation have come to the incredible aid of other parents, and in fact created a few miracles (note: I am only removing the parents name in order to keep their privacy; however, each cited statement comes from a sworn testimonial).

Eugene P, whose child was abducted and living in Africa for eight years speaks of the miracle Peter Thomas Senese created when he said, “On January 16th, 2012 I received a telephone call from Peter Thomas Senese. He said to me that my son was on an airplane 30,000 feet high over Africa and on his way home to the United States . . . As for Peter Thomas Senese, what can I say about this incredible man who led the efforts on all fronts to rescue my son? He asked for nothing other than for me to help others one day when my child was home, he provided financial support, emotional support, and all the necessary legal support required. I will be forever grateful to Peter Thomas Senese and the I CARE Foundation for the selfless acts and considerable kindness.

Amanda B, who has successfully defended against an abduction threat added, “Chasing The Cyclone and Peter Thomas Senese have assisted me and my family significantly in protecting my daughters from being parentally abducted to Saudi Arabia, where women like myself have no rights. If my children were abducted there, I would never see them again. Ever. Today, I sleep a little better due to the incredible efforts of Peter Thomas Senese, knowing that Mr. Senese has helped ensure my children’s safety and has helped protect us from Chasing The Cyclone of international child abduction. Along the way, he has never asked for anything.”

Maurizio R said, “Unequivocally, Peter Thomas Senese is a tremendous person of great honor and integrity, he acts selflessly on behalf of children all across the globe, he is honest, sincere, unbowed, and willing to stand up against those that act against others. My abducted child is coming home, finally after all these years, in no small way because of the great assistance I received from Peter Thomas Senese. There is no doubt in my mind the world and our children are safer because tragically, Peter Thomas Senese found himself once Chasing The Cyclone.”

Therese P, a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy (reserve) and a mother said, “Mr. Senese has assisted me during legal proceedings I have initiated in order to prevent my at-risk daughter from being abducted to Brazil . . . Chasing The Cyclone as a matter-of-fact guide as to the risk factors that may indicate an abduction and legal steps to take in order to prevent this from happening. Today, my daughter resides, and this is in no small way due to the knowledge gained directly from reading Chasing The Cyclone . . . Mr. Senese’s work and network continue to protect my daughter and other targeted children.”

John K added, “Chasing The Cyclone provided me with the necessary insight both my attorney and I required in order to prevent the international abduction of my children, but it has raised the bar of awareness for at risk parents like myself. God bless Peter Thomas Senese and the relentless work he does on behalf of parents.

So how can we pay attention to the threat of IPCA?

Patricia Lee, who has dedicated a great deal of her life trying to protect children said, “Our best recourse is to prevent the removal of children at risk prior to it occurring, and we absolutely must have laws and procedures in place that allow us to do so. Anything less is simply irresponsible, and inhumane on a global scale. Children across the world deserve these simple safeguards from such abduction and victimization.”

The following list of warning signs were provided by Peter Thomas Senese and are included in his informative Chasing The Cyclone official website.

Warning Signs of International Parental Child Abduction

1. Be aware of the possibility of any abduction. Although there are no foolproof warning signs for abduction risk, some indicators should not be ignored. Do not stick your head in the sand and pretend that your child is not at risk.

2. The vast majority of international child abductions occur by a parent who is determined to cause hardship and harm to the other parent. The instrument that they use in order to cause this harm is the child or children of the marriage. A significant number of leading therapist and government agencies from around the world have stated in numerous reports that revenge is the primary and leading reason why one parent will try to end the other parent’s relationship with their own child. Therefore, if you are involved with a person who has jealous or revengeful tendencies, you must be aware that these characteristics are common in the vast majority of would-be parental child abductors.

3. If the issues raised in Section 2 are true in your situation and your spouse or former spouse has in the past used the child of your marriage or relationship to cause you harm, pain, and suffering, or, has tried to control and manipulate your actions, then your concern should be magnified ten-fold. If the same individual has family members in another country or has lived in another country and has expressed a desire or threat to move there with your child, your concern should be magnified one-hundred fold.

4. If there is evidence of previous abductions, disappearances, or threats to abduct the child by your spouse or ex-spouse, these indicators demonstrate that any new abduction threat is real and in more likelihood already planned.

5. If your spouse or ex-spouse has citizenship in another country and strong emotional or cultural ties to their country of origin. This is particularly true due to the ability of traveling on a foreign passport, which I discuss later.

6. Unexplainable removal of cash deposits and diminished assets, or unexplainable increases in credit card or bank debt.

7. Concealment of new credit cards or bank debt.

8. Concealed, hidden, and abrupt communication with individuals or family members living in a foreign country.

9. Concealed, hidden, and abrupt communication with a lawyer.

10. Frequent previous trips with child to a foreign country without other parent.

11. Family and friends living in a foreign country.

12. No strong ties to a child’s home state.

13. Strong foreign support network.

14. No financial reason to stay.

15. Possible use of the child as a pawn in order to gain access to non-joint assets.

16. Engaged in planning activities such as quitting job; selling home; terminating lease; closing bank accounts or liquidating assets; hiding or destroying documents; or securing a passport, a birth certificate, or school medical records.

17. A history of marital instability, lack of cooperation with the other parent, domestic violence, or child abuse.

18. An announcement of an unexpected trip to another country with the child.

19. The taking of easily transportable high-valued items such as jewelry upon departing to another country.

20. Adamant unwillingness to leave the child behind with you while spouse travels to a foreign country.

21. Shipping of personal items to a foreign country.

22. A past tendency of your spouse or ex-spouse to relocate and live abroad.

23. In certain jurisdictions – whereas both parents have a joint-right to custody – it is conceivable that a parent possessing a right of custodial authority over the child (this can be joint or sole custody) can legally remove the child of the marriage/partnership to another country for an undetermined period of time (claiming a holiday or short-term trip) without needing permission or actually informing the other parent if a pre-existing travel agreement is not in place already with the court. Essentially, a parent exercising their right of custody over their child can legally remove the child of the marriage/partnership without permission from the other parent if a court order is not issued previously. Not surprisingly, many international parental child abductions occur when one parent takes the child of the marriage to another country for an alleged short ‘family visit’ – however, in reality that person has no intention of ever returning with the child to the place of habitual residency. What typically happens next in these scenarios is that the abducting parent, unknown to the left behind parent, files for a divorce in the country they have abducted to. The divorce motion and affidavit filed makes claim to all sorts of cruel and dangerous behavior against the spouse (thus the reason why they are able to file under an ex parte [without notice] motion). Once the divorce law suit is filed, the abducting parent usually will go underground with the assistance of family and/or friends who usually assisted in the planning of this act. It is critical to note that deception is a critical element in these typical scenarios: the left behind parent is left to believe that their partner and child are on a short vacation (typically to visit family of the partner) at the time of their departure. A few days or weeks later, reality sets in with either a phone call or a letter saying that the partner and child/children are not returning, and that a divorce action has been filed. So, even if you think you are happily married, it is greatly advised to have a legally binding and court registered travel agreement in place prior to either parent exercising a right of custody is granted permission to leave the country with your child.

24. Trust your instincts: if something feels wrong, it probably is. And remember that most international parental child abductions are carefully planned and typically involve the help of others.

25. BEWARE that the other parent may be trying to prepare an Article 13 Defense while remaining in the country prior to abduction. This may include the other parent filing false police reports or making false claims to social service against you. REMEMBER that if the international courts have reason to believe that the return of your child may put the child in grave danger, they will not order for a return to the country of origin under Article 13. The use of false reporting right prior to international child abduction is a strong indicator that abduction is planned.

26. If a parent living as an alien citizen of one country but has limited roots to that country and is intending to travel with the child abroad, the risks of an abduction are great. MORESO, if the parent who is planning to depart, say on a few week vacation, does not have the ability to purchase a return ticket back to the child’s country of origin and/or does not have employment and/or does not have housing, then you can bet that upon departure for the so-called ‘vacation’, that parent is not returning. Remember, Intent and Sustainability issues are critical. If a person can’t sustain themselves in the country that their child was born, and, they have no deep roots, why in the world would they want to stay?

27. If an alien-parent has deep connections to another country, and has deep connections to that country’s senior government officials, there is a clear risk. Recently, I have been advising on a situation where the potential abductor has immediate family members in charge of overseeing a fleet of aircraft owned by a Middle East family (or you could say government). Obviously, access to aircraft and departing under immunity of a foreign government are very concerning.

28. If you are the victim of online slander, defamation, and identity theft, whereas an anonymous or unknown blogger tries to discredit and defame you in a public light, this is a major warning sign. Often, the Internet is used by a parent who is planning on abducting a child under the concealment of anonymity in order to publicly portray you in an untruthful, but negative light. The reason being that once they abduct the child, they will turn to the public statements on the Internet that maliciously defame you and steal your identity and use this under Article 13’s ‘Best Interest of the Child’ defense. Tragically, under U.S. Federal law, so long as a third party posts onto a hosted website, the site administrator is not required to remove the blog EVEN if it is deemed defamatory, slanderous, or malicious by a court. So, the slander will stay on the Internet, regardless of the legal action you may take. And the abductor, using anonymity, can and often will use various alias names to create a new and unfavorable persona for the targeted parent.

29. Many abducting parents who have deep connections to another country, for example, such as being born in a foreign country and/or having strong family ties will use the idea of a ‘family vacation’ as a means to abduct a child abroad. In essence, the targeted parent is not led on to believe that the relationship is broken, and in fact, the intended abductor will go out of the way to portray a solid relationship in order to have the other partner travel abroad for a ‘family visit’. Then, upon arrival to the destination country, the abductor will make a claim of child abuse or spousal abuse (and it happens equally amongst men and women), and seek immediate relief in their country of origin (where they are supposedly on a vacation seeing family). The relief sought will include a restraining order against the other parent, and immediate separation/divorce proceedings. By stating mistreatment, the abducting parent begins to lay the foundation for an Article 13 defense. Sadly, in countries that are not members of the Hague Convention, a child’s return to their country of origin or original jurisdiction seldom occurs. This is true too for Hague participatory countries, too. And since there was no previous court order issued by a court who had jurisdiction of the child prior to the vacation, the abducting parent has not violated any initial laws. In fact, some of the defenses used by abductors inclusive of false claims of abuse include statements that the targeted parent was aware of and had consented that the child was going to be relocated to a new country. So, beware of vacations to your spouse’s country of origin particularly when your child’s other parent has strong ties to that country and is shipping many valuables that were in the household under the guise of that person trying to support and provide assistance to their family living abroad.

30. A child who has a right to citizenship from another country due to one of its parents being a national of that country has the right to receive a foreign, secondary passport. In some countries, particularly in the Middle East, the passport for a child possessing a right to citizenship may be obtained by only one parent: typically the father. For other countries, only one parent is required to obtain the child’s passport. If you know that your child has a secondary passport that has been issued due to the child’s other parent’s right of citizenship to another country, this is a major concern because that passport can be used as the passport for illegal travel. Equally alarming is that many targeted parents who have a child with a person who has a right to another nation’s citizenship may never know if the other parent obtained a passport from their home country for the child of the relationship. And no U.S. court can take possession of the foreign passport unless an actual crime has been committed. Furthermore, foreign embassies generally will not answer a court subpoena requesting information about whether that nation has issued a passport for a specific child. They are uncooperative. To put it as simple as possible: the issuance of a second passport to a child by the abducting parent’s country of origin is the most dangerous and severe warning sign of an intended abduction.

In parting I would like to simply say that of the tens of thousands of parents who are targeted each year to have a child internationally stolen, very few parents thought this crime would happen to their child. So please take the time to consider what I am sharing.

For more information on international parental child abduction please visit Peter Thomas Senese’s highly informative official website of Chasing The Cyclone. To become more informed you may want to consider reading Mr. Senese’s critically acclaimed legal thriller Chasing The Cyclone. Please note that 100% of the author’s royalties are donated to the I CARE Foundation, which is helping children all around the world. In addition, Mr. Senese is donating 100% of all e-book sales generated from two other geopolitical thrillers to the I CARE Foundation: the financial espionage thriller titled The Den of the Assassin, and, the theological thriller titled Cloning Christ.

Thru TelPad,PLDT Will Tell You How

The Blogger — Sun, 06 May 2012 02:03:41 +0000

Last Thursday, May 03, 2012,I had a chance to witness PLDT, the number one phone company in the Philippines, at Digital Media Night, held at Bonifacio Global City (aka The Fort);

When PLDT outdone itself once again by introducing PLDT’s Tel Pad, the first of it’s kind in the country;

This TelPad is packed with very useful information that we could use in our day to day life, from what to cook for the family, places to go,clothes to wear,music,news, sports to watch, etc..etc.. as in anything that you can think of, and the40,000 plus of apps from Android, everything is only a finger slide away with Telpad.

One thing I like from this pad is,every info and apps are properly categorized and it makes it easy to use even for a non-techy person,a very user-friendly,I must say.My personal favorite is the fashion/shopping category where I could create my own style and shop direct to the outlet from the comfort of my own home,less the hassle of sales people bugging me, I mean,don’t you think it’s the coolest thing ever? :D

By the way, the event was graced by the presence of PLDT executives and mentors for photography and fashion;

Keep yourself updates with PLDT’s latest news and information by liking their FB page, PLDT. For more pictures from the event, please LIKE The Bloggers Journal on Facebook.

Carpet Cleaning Company

The Blogger — Sat, 05 May 2012 00:02:24 +0000

There’s a company in NC called,carpet cleaning chapel hill nc that I would certainly love to recommend because they are the company that we used to call when we’re still living in NC. Though, they don’t only accept carpet cleaning but they also do upholstery and rugs as well.They specialized in getting rid of all kinds of stain and also pet smell in your rugs with very reasonable price and very timely manner.

Please check their website for more information;