The Sun Shines in Edmonton

Why Is Manny Pacquiao Greater Than Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson? Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 21:38:00 +0000

Obviously, Pacquiao learned his lesson well and was smart enough to find the winning formula to start his career in politics. Unlike the majority of pretenders in politics, he attended various trainings and educational programs to widen his knowledge.

2. Manny Pacquiao has exhibited a class never before seen in professional boxing.

He never engages any opponents in unnecessary and bad-for-the-kids hype. After almost every fight, he befriends his opponents. In the ring, he constantly shows compassion for a fallen foe, acknowledges his opponents' success in scoring against him, and never resorts to dirty tactics.

Here are recent examples (There are too many I can site but I will limit these to the most compelling):
a. Instead of celebrating right away, he first tried to help the badly hurt David Diaz to get up realizing that his opponent was in danger. He moved on only after seeing that somebody else was there to attend to Diaz.
b. He was going to do the same to Ricky Hatton until somebody pulled him away.
c. In 3 occasions against Antonio Margarito, he pleaded for the referee to stop the fight because he didn't want to "kill" his opponent. Some people didn't realize that he did the same in at least one occasion when fighting Miguel Cotto.
d. Despite being taunted and belittled by Margarito's team before their fight, he never said anything negative about the guy. He instead appealed to the boxing world to give Margarito a second chance.
e. He personally went to Margarito's dressing room after their fight to make sure his foe was doing okay.
f. In professing his Catholic faith, he constantly displays to the world virtues that what all true Catholics should be.

All these and more are becoming great examples for boxers to follow and emulate. Recent events have proven this to be the case. Boxers are becoming more respectful of their opponents and exchanging praises and love after fights. Juan Marquez and Michael Katsaidis showed it after their encounter.

In contrast (I do not want to mention about Ali until later but it is important to point out here a dark cloud in his career), Muhammad Ali was totally polarizing. As the undisputed heavyweight champion, Ali was the King of the Kings of the Ring. He had the chance to be an example to other fighters and the young kids who look after him. But he, too, championed the fights before the fight drama. And he was attributed for the best parts ever. Ali made it a habit to humiliate almost every opponent (especially the highly rated ones) that he faced in the ring. It might be unfair to say that Ali contributed much to the arrogance and insanity of Floyd Mayweather (Jr. & Sr.) and Mike Tyson but he surely did not help prevent or subdue it either.

In his attempt to apologize to Joe Frazier right after their Thrilla in Manila fight, Ali sent a messenger to Frazier's dressing room to get a representative from his opponent's team to go to his own dressing room where he expressed his apologies. Frazier, who still holds a grudge against Ali, later said: "Why can't he say it to me personally like a real man?"

To be continued...

Why is Manny Pacquiao Greater than Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 08:43:00 +0000

I owe Manny Pacquiao at least another post. Although I did not believe he was using steroids, I did express my suspicions in my earlier posts. His latest victory against Margarito proved beyond any doubt (to me, anyway) that Manny is clean. I apologize to you, champ!

Before I continue with the argument for Manny Pacquiao as the new G.O.A.T., let me first differentiate the two superlative words "greatest" and "best". Is there any difference? I see these two words quite often being used interchangeably by journalists and speakers alike to describe a person who is on top of his field. I totally disagree.

Let's go golfing for a moment to allow me to illustrate my point.

Tiger Woods is described by many commentators as the greatest golfer of all time. Manifest nonsense! There is no doubt that he is the best player the game has ever seen, but there is a huge gap between the ‘greatest’ and the ‘best’. Woods' prodigious talent has been severely besmirched by his petulance, arrogance, and glowering bad temper. His contempt for the fans and his utter disregard for the spirit of the game is disgraceful. Add to that his horizontal off-course activities... he is now a figure of ridicule.

Even if he does overhaul Jack Nicklaus’ total of 18 Majors, he will still not hold the crown of the greatest golfer. That title will still be held by Nicklaus. His determination to win many titles was matched by his graciousness in defeat... Who can ever forget Nicklaus conceding a three-and-a half-foot putt to Tony Jacklin at Royal Birkdale during the 1969 Ryder Cup. It is still one of the greatest act of sportsmanship a competitor could have ever done in a game of golf. Jack’s comment later was, “We were not just talking about a putt. We were talking about a man’s life.” That... is the difference between the ‘greatest’ and the ‘best.’

The Case For Manny Pacquiao:

1. There is no other boxer in history who performs public service as an elected government official "while still very much active fighting" in the ring as a professional.

In the Philippines, voters normally choose the candidate who hands them the most cash or who is simply the most famous. I could not disagree more with the general notion that if one has money and fame, he can be elected to any position in government not only as Congressman. But is this true in the case of Congressman-elect Pacquiao?

Pacquiao was soundly beaten in his first attempt at a congressional seat. At that time, he was already the most popular Filipino on earth and had amassed millions of dollars just from his earnings as a professional boxer. What happened to his money and fame?

In his next attempt, he was up against a wealthy family who can match if not better his net worth. In terms of popularity, the Chiongbian family was well known among business circles and the common Filipino who follows the sport of cockfighting. What happened to the family's money and fame? Despite ruling Saranggani for years, the incumbent lost to a neophyte.

It's so amazing to me how people generalize when specifics are called for. Such is the state of the Philippine politics. A true hard worker and sincere politician is never recognized. People who belittle the little Filipino's achievements in the political arena have no idea about the efforts, perseverance, hard-work, determination, and sincerity the man displayed for the people he wanted to serve. The only thing I can say to that is: "Give the Honarable Congressman and our very own Manny Pacquiao a break, if not full credit, for his victories in and out of the ring."

To be continued...

Pacquiao or Margarito: Cheaters or Redeemers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 19:06:00 +0000

Here is an emergency article hours before an important fight in the boxing world.

Pound for Pound

In all his fights following a contested win over Juan Manuel Marquez at junior lightweight, Manny Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach have been revolutionizing the conditioning techniques in big time professional boxing. His weight management is focused on staying with or close to his fighting weight up to the day of the fight. In contrast, the old school trainers dehydrate their fighters on scale time then rehydrate them to as much as 10 to 20 pounds heavier at fight time to gain the advantage in that department.

Steroids aside and starting from the fight with David Diaz, Pac's strategy has proven to be more successful. As he wins convincingly against taller, biggger, and perceived to be stronger opponents, Manny Pacquiao truly deserves to be called Pound-for-Pound the best fighter in the world today. His recent achievements literally come closest to the accolade.

The Motivation

Pac, in a recent interview, said that he has already accomplished his dreams in boxing and that he now wants to be successful (a champion) in serving his people. This is not the kind of declaration you would want to say going to a fight which would give you 8 world titles in 8 different divisions breaking your own record in the process. A 5 to 1 favorite on the eve of the fight, Pac would gain nothing else in beating a disgraced Antonio Margarito. He would be introduced as the Honarable Congressman from the Philippines, the only boxer in history to be named such. What would that do to his ego?

Conversely, Margarito gains the world with a victory, redeems himself, and likely gains a new counter in defense of the hand-wrap controversy. All aside from getting the all important $$$.

The Training

I for one didn't see much of Pac's training and sparring sessions this time. Only insiders would really know for sure what happened in his camp. But I did see and hear for the first time that even the insiders including Roach and Alex Ariza were worried. We all know about the distractions in the past and how they did not bother him. This time, however, might be a little too much as he had his job at congress in mind while training in a fight as a boxer.

On the other hand, Margarito states that he is in the best condition of his life. He certainly looks that way to me. We can also see from videos of his camp that his training preparations try to emulate those of Pac and Roach. The results are clear. He is definitely ready.

Just like the Americans in basketball, although still vastly superior, were beaten a few times in international competitions. The world has caught-up with them and, armed with sound preparations and teamwork, had challenged and beat them in their own game.

The Styles and the Skills

Style-wise, Margarito is much like Oscar Dela Hoya. Pac should be able to pound his immobile target at will. "Death by a thousand left hands" all-over again. Margarito, though, has a solid and powerful right hand, something Dela Hoya was not known for. Another Margarito weapon is the upper cut, a kind of punch which contantly found Pac's head when both Joshua Clottey and Miguel Cotto threw them. If they were smart, Margarito and his trainer Robert Garcia, would plan for a lethal follow-up like a hard straight right hand to a left upper cut.

In fairness to Pac, he allowed Clottey and Cotto to throw punches so he could either counter or test their power. He did the same in one or two occasions againt Dela Hoya but he should never be over-confident to do that again this time. He should fight the Dela Hoya fight without those two instances.

If Pac found his range early, he would win handily by decision or late round KO. If Margarito is able to keep pressure all through-out, he would win by KO. Margarito cannot win by decision even if he outpoints Pac.

How would training, motivation, and focus affect this analysis? We should find out tonight.

Steroids and Hand-wraps

We should expect to see a fair fight tonight. Fair in the sense that no outside factors (except those already accepted and necessary like the referee, judges, fans, etc.) shall be involved in affecting the result. Margarito's weight, height, and reach against Pac's speed and skill. Did Pac train without the benefits of steroids which help an athlete in training beyond his natural physical limits? Yes. Did he use steroids in other fights before while training? I still do not know for sure.

Would Margarito use illegal substance in his hand-wraps for this fight? Definitely no. Did he know that his former trainer was hardening his hand wraps in his fight against Shane Mosley? Probably yes. Nobody would admit it but one cannot be so stupid not to know or even suspect. Did he and his trainer cheat against Cotto and Kermit Cintron? I do not know for sure. Only time will tell if somebody spits the truth out.

The Dubvious Titles

Forget about the organizations as they make the titles more questionable. Let's concentrate on the most recent. Junior Welterweight (140-lb limit): Pac won it against Ricky Hatton, his first and only fight in that class. He was not even rated in the division prior to the fight. Welerweight (147-lb limit): Pac won it by defeating Cotto at a catchweight of 145 - only his second fight in that class (The first was against Dela Hoya). Again, he wasn't even rated as welterweight prior to both fights. Lightweight (135-lb limit): Pac won it by knocking-out Diaz - Again, his first and only fight as a lightweight.

Now comes the most dubvious of all. And, in my mind, will make all the other accomlishments even more discreditable. Pac's victory will give him another title in another weight division - the 154-lb limit. He is fighting there for the first time, not even rated at all, and the weight limit was brought down to 150 lbs.

Pac fans and fellow Filipinos, I am not questioning Pac's accomplishments and warrior-like courage. The Mayweathers would not even dare think of doing a tenth of what Pac has done recently. What I am questioning is the legitimacy of the titles. This fight could have gone on without a title on the line and it would be better for Pac's 7 in 7 accomplishment. Adding one like this as the 8 in 8 makes people question the rest. But who cares, we are just here for a temporary Pac joy ride. Might as well aim to touch the sky even if it is simply a few inches above earth.

A few hours from now, only the presidential seat shall remain in the table for Manny Pacquiao, THE GREATEST BOXER THAT EVER LIVED!

BASKETBALL VS HOCKEY: PUCK THAT BALL

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 21:15:00 +0000

Some Comparisons

There is a fundamental difference in the kind of players the leagues have. The NBA is a largely inner city urban American crowd. These players often grew up in the "concrete jungle" and learned that they have to do whatever they can to get as much money for themselves as they can.

The NHL is largely composed of Canadians, Europeans and people from northern US states (the ones that voted for John Kerry and Sarah Palin). Hockey is a relatively expensive sport to play (compared to basketball). One must be able to afford much more equipment plus ice time to develop. Hockey is a middle class game. Hockey is established in the more socialist parts of the world where central bargaining unions are commonplace. Many NHL players have parents who were in unions and directly saw the benefits they brought to their families. Hockey players are sticking together.

A racial issue is raised when basketball players, made up mostly of African Americans, are called "thugs" and yet hockey players, more than 90% caucassians, are not despite their game being more physicall and violent.

The Oblivious

If you live in New Orleans, San Antonio, Salt Lake City, Orlando or Cleveland, you are blissfully unaware of how unlucky you are. You have the NBA and you never have had the NHL, and so you live under the impression that you're seeing something urgent and dramatic.

You have no idea that the hockey playoffs are to the basketball playoffs what the William Tell Overture is to Chopsticks.

It's not that the basketball games lack juice. It's just that the hockey games overflow with it. Short of war or a home invasion, nothing seems more imperative.

Injuries

Over the course of winning 16 games, players leave little chunks of themselves on the ice and basically get filleted in every game, and the most telling day is the one after elimination or total victory, when you find out that half the team is getting surgery. And quickly — the offseason is not that long. Shaquille O'Neal waited until training camp to get his toe fixed one year. That would be frowned upon, somewhat, in hockey.

Playoff Excitement

The other difference is when it gets to be 3-1. When Dallas trailed New Orleans, 3-1, Dirk Nowitzki said, "We didn't have a great offensive series, I guess," he said. Problem is, there was one game left. Guess who lost it?

The Dallas hockey team knows what time it is. The Stars led San Jose, 3-0, a juncture in which the typical NBA player starts calling hotels in Vegas. The Sharks skated right into the cannon of inevitability, won Game 4 in Dallas, won Game 5 at home after they trailed 2-0 after two periods, and took Game 6 into a fourth overtime before Brenden Morrow won it for Dallas.

Five times in this decade, and 20 times overall, a team has trailed a Stanley Cup series 1-3 and won it. It happens almost once every 10 times. But not in basketball. When Phoenix ousted the Lakers two years ago, it was only the eighth time an NBA team had been down 1-3 and won.

Then there's noise. Again, the difference is degree. At Mavericks games, the yahoo with the microphone actually yells "Defense" while play is going on. The sound of a disembodied voice while players are skating would bring angry glares from American hockey crowds and perhaps an armed rebellion in Canada, where the buildings throb with people power. Edmonton's crowd in the 2006 playoffs could have lit every lamp in the whole business district, thanks to lung-channeled energy.

Entertainment

In basketball, the game often gives way to the shtick. Between the first and second quarter — not even pre-game — of Game 2 of the New Orleans-San Antonio series, the Hornets' mascot leaped through a ring of fire for a dunk. He survived, unfortunately, but firemen had to use foam-belching extinguishers to put out the flames. It caused a 19-minute delay.

But then Will Smith and what seemed like a hundred dancers performed on the San Antonio court before Game 1 of the 2005 NBA Finals, and Spurs and Pistons were tripping on the cables as they attempted to loosen up for the actual game.

These were produced by something called "NBA Entertainment." The NHL has an entertainment division, too. It's called hockey.

A Filipino-Canadian Perspective

A couple of Caucassian guys who frequented a Filipino bar here in Edmonton were having a drink there. They probably wanted to watch an NHL game while drinking, a favorite past time among Canadians. Unfortunately for them, there was a Filipino hosted party and the TV was hooked on a Sixers' game. I was watching them and couldn't help but listen to their conversation. "Why do they like to watch basketball?", asked the first guy. "I don't know. Probably because they like to see a lot of scoring", the other guy responded.

And then, in a flash AI (as in Andre Igoudala) took off from beyond the free throw line and threw down one of the most thunderous dunks that I've seen since the days of the "human highlight" Dominique Wilkins. I saw the two guys stared at the TV with both their eyes and mouth wide open and seemingly embarassed to look at each other. There was a few minutes of silence. They probably have not seen anything like it before. As for me, it came as something unimpressive. Nate Robinson could have been more flashy.

As a teenager, my only acquaintance with hockey was in television. You remember the Far East Network (FEN) UHF channel 17 (I think) back in the Philippines? My wiz kid brother, with some help from myself, put up a special UHF antenna receiver at home back in the early '80s. In my love for basketball, I always find a way to skip some much needed sleep to watch Dr. J and the Sixers beat the hell out of Kareem and Magic of LA. Unfortunately, they did it only once (in '83) with Moses, Mo, Toney, and Bobby.

Anyway, while I was waiting around for NBA games one early morning or midnight, I chanced upon this game being played on ice. I was hooked for a while because Philadelphia had a team and they also played at the Spectrum. I particularly liked Ron Hextall, the Flyers' goalie. I watched this team breezed by everybody in the playoffs (I believe this was 1984). Then came the finals. They met the Edmonton Oilers for the Stanley Cup. I asked myself then, "Why do they call themselves Oilers?", Where is Edmonton? There was no internet at that time and I did not have the appetite to investigate and I didn't care. All I wanted was for the Flyers to beat them. I was bitterly disappointed. Ron did not disappoint though but the Oilers just had too much fire power and they won in 7 games just because he did not allow them to win easily. That was the last hockey game I watched while in the Philippines. Little did I know that I will be re-acquainted with the Edmonton Oilers.

From then on, I probably watched all NBA Finals games. From Dr. J to Bird and Magic, Olajuwon and the Jordan era, The rise of the Spurs, the Pistons of Larry Brown, Shaq and Kobe and the latest stars & champions, I've seen and liked them all. But I now find the games so boring and unable to amplify my heart bit the way it used to. The slam dunk competition in the All Star weekend used to be a real treat. Now, it's not even worth watching at all. I just wait for the news.

In contrast, hockey games lack any room for the boring stuff. When I began to learn the rudiments of the game, I became even more hooked. Add to the fact that I am now able to watch a live game ten (10) minutes away from my house here in Edmonton, and the transformation becomes natural.

Other distinctions:

•A basketball player who is unselfish is singled out, because it's so unusual to see one. So is a hockey player who's selfish.

•Basketball awards are announced during the playoffs, like Bryant's MVP. Hockey awards are given out at a ceremony in Toronto after the playoffs, in Academy Award fashion. That's the time to recognize the individual stuff, not when a Cup is in play.

•The hockey playoffs have sudden-death overtime. The basketball playoffs don't. Nobody else does. It's like the last shot in a basketball game, except it can happen at any second. If it goes the full 20 minutes without resolution, they play another one. The crowd, having darted so quickly from launching pad to precipice, needs an intermission as desperately as the players.

•In basketball they talk bad about each other but rarely do anything about it. In hockey they say nice things, then try to staple each other to the boards and knock each other out.

•And, when it's all over, the hockey players line up for handshakes and a few appropriate words.

Next: EVENTS, UNTOLD STORIES BEFORE THE PROCLAMATION OF MARTIAL LAW

Searching For The Next Blas Ople

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 02:51:00 +0000

His role on the Erap Impeachment Trial notwithstanding, Blas Ople can be considered one of the most respected and accomplished politicians in the history of the Philippines. He championed the rights of the common man - the Filipino worker. Ople's most enduring role was his nineteen years as Secretary (later Minister) of Labor and Employment during the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, when Philippine labor laws were overhauled through the enactment of the Labor Code of the Philippines that he had helped author.

In 1953, he joined the Magsaysay-for-President Movement, a volunteer group supporting the presidential campaign of Ramon Magsaysay, heading its Executive Planning Committee and working as a speechwriter for candidates of the Nacionalista Party. After Magsaysay's election, he joined the government as special assistant to the Secretary of Labor and technical assistant on labor and agrarian affairs.

In 1965, Ople was appointed as Social Security Commissioner by Marcos. He was later appointed Secretary of Labor and Employment (this position was later renamed Minister of Labor and Employment). He resigned briefly in 1971 to run an unsuccessful campaign for election to the Philippine Senate, but was re-appointed to his post in 1972, retaining the position until 1986.

As Labor Secretary, Ople was instrumental in the framing of the Labor Code of the Philippines, which codified the labor laws of the country and introduced innovations such as prohibiting the termination of workers without legal cause. Ople instituted labor policies institutionalizing the technical education of workers. In 1976, Ople initiated a program for the overseas employment of Filipino workers. It was during his tenure at Labor that the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration were created. Ople obtained recognition from the International Labor Organization during his stint as Labor Minister. In 1975, he was elected president of the 60th general assembly of the ILO, the first Filipino to hold that post. In 1983, that organization awarded Ople a Gold Medal of Appreciation. He was a close adviser of President Marcos, though he was not later to be associated with the corruption of Marcos's government and was perceived as "not corrupt".

In today's Philippines, Filipino workers have practically no chance to advance in the corporate world. In most shopping malls, for instance, contractual workers are hired for a maximum of five or six months and then let go.   In effect, a big majority of them will have 3 pages of resume in less than 3 years if they are lucky enough to find replacement jobs in no time.

Originally meant to lure foreign investors and although already in place for quite some time, this contractual system started to gain acceptance about 18 to 20 years ago (Ople no longer held his popular position). However, most of the international manufacturing companies value their employees and were simply happy with paying lower than average wages.  Shopping malls and grocery stores, big and small, and other local companies like PLDT, MERALCO (now part of PLDT), San Miguel Corporation, etc. were the ones taking advantage.

The long term effects are not so encouraging for the common Filipino. It only resonates the evil of Capitalism: The poor becoming poorer and the rich, richer. Short sited businessmen, having little regard for the workforce, sit on their laurels with their billions. Like horses with blinders on, they only see one way.  The irony is that the comman man makes them rich for what really drives the Philippine economy, Agriculture? Manufacturing? Oil? Overseas Workers? or the Filipino consumers, themselves? The answer is obvious. If only the businessmen can understand the Cycle of Life, they will bring more power to the common men. And the Philippines should be a much better place to live in. With no hope of that happening, the search is on for the new man for the common man.

Next: Basketball VS Hockey

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One-Child Policy Spices Up Cannibalism in China

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 02:39:00 +0000

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Due to popular demand to touch more on this heinous activity and the controversy it stirs, a continuation is in order...

Dr. Mark Miravalle possesses a doctorate degree in Theology at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas in Rome. An author of numerous books, he has been teaching at the Franciscan University of Steubenville since 1986. As President of the international Catholic movement, Vox Populi Mariae Mediatrici (Voice of the People for Mary Mediatrix), he has served members of the episcopal hierarchy with preliminary investigations for reported apparitions. This guy rubs shoulders with The Pope (Kaututang Dila ni Santo Papa). One cannot have any more credibility than that.

In his sobering book, The Seven Sorrows of China, Dr. Miravalle gives, in heart-wrenching detail, accounts of the brutality of the one-child policy and its effects on the Chinese people.

The following is an excerpt from Part III of Dr. Miravalle's book, entitled The Third Sorrow: Abortion Without Conscience: The Indoctrination of a Nation: "The most alarming," he writes, "the most depressing, the most Copernican revelation of all that I have been exposed to (including the yet more grisly examples to follow), is the repeated refrain that the great majority of the people in China have lost any concept that there is anything at all wrong with having an abortion. It is considered less significant than a flu shot, a minor procedure like going to the dentist, a simple solution to a simple problem that doesn't merit any soul searching for any alternative plans.

"China has become a nation who without conscience aborts their own future generations. And this is Satan's ultimate victory here. Is this conscience loss regarding the transcendent dignity and inherent right of human life to be blamed exclusively on atheistic Communism? Have not the recent influences of Western morals of secular humanism, materialism, hedonism, and ultimately unmitigated egoism, also contributed to this Chinese terrorism of the womb? In any case, the combination amounts to self-inflicted Chinese genocide, which so saddens the God that creates and loves the ethnical uniqueness of China.

New macabre manifestations of this conscienceless abortion mentality include the recent opening of five restaurants, which began serving "fetal soup" at the price of 300Yuan (approximately $40) a bowl. Recent medical publications have praised the exceptional health benefits for the consuming of "fetal remains". Therefore, local entrepreneurs jumped on the opportunity to distribute this health breakthrough to the chosen few who could afford the price. So evil and scandalous is this fetal soup trade that the Government shutdown the Web sites advertising the restaurants, in fear that they would scandalize the reputation of the People's Republic to outside countries and businesses.

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Baby Soup in China: The Shocking Truth

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 17:28:00 +0000

I came across this "_______________" (describe it for me, please) story 5 to 6 years ago in an email from a friend and subsequently over the net. I showed it to some co-workers, a mix of North American, Russian, and Asian cultures, and some of them were not able to eat for a couple of days. One friend almost threw up in disgust. As for me, I just tried to dismiss it as plain internet hoax.

Since then, however, it kept on creeping up my mind. And recently, I had a chance to ask a Chinese co-worker about the veracity of this horrifying report. Without blinking an eye, he confirmed it to me. That prompted me to dig deeper and the following is what I found to be credible investigative report which originally appeared in the Hongkong Eastern Express on April 12, 1995. Please read on...

No one could accuse The Chinese of being squeamish about the things they eat - monkeys' brains, owls' eyes, bears' paws and deep fried scorpions are all items on The menu. But most dishes revered as national favorites sound as harmless as boiled rice when compared to the latest pint de jour allegedly gaining favor in Shenzhen - human fetus.

Rumors that dead embryos were being used as dietary supplements started to spread early last year with reports that some doctors in Shenzhen hospitals were eating dead fetuses after carrying out abortions. The doctors allegedly defended their actions by saying the embryos were good for their skin and general health.

A trend was set and soon reports circulated that doctors in the city were promoting fetuses as a human tonic. Hospital cleaning women were seen fighting each other to take the treasured human remains home. Last month, reporters from EastWeek - a sister publication of Eastern Express - went to Shenzhen to see if the rumors could be substantiated. On March 7, a reporter entered the state-run Shenzhen Heath Center for Women and Children feigning illness and asked a female doctor for a fetus. The doctor said the department was out of stock but to come again.

The next day the reporter returned at lunch time. The doctor eventually emerged from the operating theatre holding a fist size glass bottle stuffed with thumbsized fetuses.

She said: "There are 10 fetuses here, all aborted this morning. You can take them. We are a state hospital and don't charge anything. "Normally, we doctors take them home to eat - all free. Since you don't look well, you can take them."

Not every state hospital is as generous with its dead embryos as the Health Center for Women and Children. At the Shenzhen People's Hospital, for example, the reporter was in for a surprise. When a Ms. Yang, the head nurse, was asked for fetuses, she looked anxious and asked other staff to leave. After closing the door, she asked the undercover buyer in a low voice: "Where did you (get to) know that we sell fetuses?"

The reporter answered: "A doctor friend in Hong Kong told me."

"Who? What is his/her name?"

The reporter was not prepared for this line of questioning and could not come up with a name. Yang told him that fetuses were only for sale within the hospital, and were not for public purchase. She added that some staff would, however, sell the fetuses on to Hong Kong buyers.

The reporter learned that the going rate for a fetus was $10 but when the merchandise was in short supply, the price could go up to $20. But these prices are pin money compared to those set by private clinics, which are said to make a fortune selling fetuses. One chap on Bong Men Lao Street charges $300 for one fetus. The person in charge of the clinic is a man in his 60's. When he saw the ailing reporter, he offered to take an order for fetuses that had reached full-term and which, it is claimed, contain the best healing properties. When a female doctor named Yang - no relation - of Sin Hua clinic was asked whether fetuses were edible, she said emphatically: "Of course they are. They are even better than placentas.

"They can make your skin smoother, your body stronger and are good for kidneys. When I was in an army hospital in Jiangti province, I often brought fetuses home. They were pink, like little mice, with hands and feet. Normally, I buy some pork to make soup (with the fetuses added). I know they are human beings, and (eating them) feels disgusting. But at that time, it was already very popular."

A Mr. Cheng from Hong Kong claims he has been eating fetus soup for more than six months. To begin, the man, in his 40's, would make the trip to Shenzhen frequently for business and was introduced to fetuses by friends. He says he met a number of professors and doctors in government hospitals who helped him buy the fetuses. "At first, I felt uncomfortable, but doctors said the substances in fetuses could help cure my asthma. I started taking them and gradually, the asthma disappeared," Cheng said.

Now, Cheng only eats fetuses occasionally to top up his treatment, but there was a time when he made regular cross border trips with the gruesome merchandise. "Everytime [I made the trip], I carried a Thermos flask to Shenzhen and brought the fetuses back to Hong Kong to make soup. If they gave me 20 or 30 at a time, I put them in the refrigerator. I didn't have the soup every day - it depended on the supply.

"Usually, I washed the fetuses clean, and added ginger, orange peel and pork to make soup. After taking it for a while, I felt a lot better and my asthma disappeared. I used to take placenta, but it was not so helpful." When asked if he was concerned about the fetuses containing diseases, Cheng was dismissive. "I bought them from government hospitals. They would check the pregnant women before doing the operations and only sell them to me if there was no problem. Also, I always boil them over high heat which kills any bacteria." Although Cheng has overcome any squeamishness over eating fetus soup, he says he draw the line at consuming whole dead embryos. He also refrains from telling people of his grisly dietary habits.

Zou Qin, 32, a woman from Hubei with the fine skin of a someone several years younger, attributes her well preserved looks to a diet of fetuses. As a doctor at the Lun Hu Clinic, Zou has carried out abortions on several hundred patients. She believes fetuses are highly nutritious and claims to have eaten more than 100 in the past six months. She pulls out a fetus specimen before a reporter and explains the selection criteria. "People normally prefer (fetuses of) young women, and even better, the first baby and a male." She adds: "They are wasted if we don't eat them. The women who receive abortions here don't want the fetuses. Also, the fetuses are already dead [when we eat them]. We don't carry out abortions just to eat the fetuses.

"Before, my sister's children were very weak. I heard that fetuses were good for your health and started taking some to my nephews," Zou says, without remorse. "I wash them with clear water until they look transparent white and then stew them. Making soup is best." But she admits there are drawbacks to this dubious delicacy. "Fetuses are very smelly and not everybody can take the stink," she said. "You can also make meat cakes by mixing fetuses with minced meat but you have to add more ginger and chives to get rid of the smell."

Hong Kong legislator Dr. Tan Siu-tong is surprised that it could be within anyone's capability to overcome the stench of a dead fetus, even if their stomachs are lined with lead. "When all the placental tissue is dead, the smell is awful and is enough to make you feel sick. It is like having a dead mouse in the house," he said.

The fetuses allegedly eaten by the Chinese are all provided by China's extensive abortion services. Last year, doctors in the People's Hospital - the biggest hospital in Shenzhen - carried out more than 7,000 terminations, 509 on Hong Kong women. The Hong Kong Family Planning

Association (FPA) estimates that 24 per cent of all abortions on Hong Kong women are performed in the dubious surroundings of a Chinese hospital. A Ms. Li from Hong Kong has had two abortions in Shenzhen but has never heard of people eating fetuses. "But I didn't want the babies, so after the abortions, I just left them with the hospital," she says. "I didn't want to look at them, and I certainly didn't want to keep them. Fetuses of two or three months are just water and blood when they come out. They are so small."

Doctors in the territory have responded with disgust and incredulity to stories of people supplementing their diets with fetuses. Many have read articles of fetal cannibalism. They are treating the issue with skepticism. Dr. Warren Lee, president of the Hong Kong Nutrition Association, is aware of the unsavory rumors. "Eating fetuses is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine and is deeply founded in Chinese folklore. In terms of nutrition, a fetus would be a good source of protein and fats, and there are minerals in bone. But I don't know if eating fetuses is just folklore or more than that," he says. According to Lee, it is conceivable that fetuses are rich in certain hormones that are beneficial to the adult human body, but should this be the case, the fetal matter would have to be converted into an indictable form for best results, as most hormones including the hormone for diabetes, insulin - are broken down in the digestive system before they have a chance to be absorbed by the body.

But Lee suggests that anyone who eats a fetus would be seeking a remedy that is far more elusive than a hormone or mineral. "Some people may think there is also an unidentified substance or chemical that has healing powers, but there is no evidence that this is true." Lee urges people to be wary - "There are people out there who just want to make money and they will come up with all sorts of formulas or substances, which, they say will cure diseases."

As a child, Patrick Yau was fed on human placentas by his mother who worked at a local hospital, but in his current position as a psychologist with the Social Welfare Department he is both repulsed and shocked by the notion of eating fetuses. "As a Catholic, I object to abortions because I believe the fetus is a human life, and I certainly object to eating a dead baby after it has been aborted," he says. Yau concedes that in China, where the one child policy has turned abortions into an acceptable remedy to an unfortunate human blunder, people may have adopted a new outlook on life before birth, such that embryos are stripped of their status as human beings.

But Tang fails to understand how anyone anywhere can convince themselves "that they are just eating an organism when they are actually eating a dead body". "It may not be a formed human being, but when they think about it most people would think: 'Ugh! No, I can't eat that.' I don't think civilized people with an education could do that sort of thing."

Dr. Wong, a Hong Kong doctor who practices Western medicine, thinks only the ignorant would eat human fetuses. He explains that fetuses contain mucoploysaccharide, which is beneficial to the metabolism, but states that it can be found in a lot of other food - Chinese doctor Chu Ho-Ting agrees that there is no place for fetuses in medicine, and suggests that it might even be unhealthy if the pregnant woman was infected by disease.

"Most bacteria can be killed under 100 degree heat but some require 400 degrees. Some people believe eating fetuses can strengthen the immunity of the human body against diseases, but this is wrong. Although fetuses contain protein, they are not as nutritious as placenta, which contains different kinds of nutrients. But even placenta has to be taken with other Chinese herbs."

Palace, Church, Jonathan, Nathaniel Debate Birth Control in RP Part2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 05:48:00 +0000

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In Germany and other parts of Europe, the same prostitution control by legalizing has already been in place. In other words, prostitution will stay and so does condom. Lovers or partners who ignore or disapprove the Catholic faith will always have the option to use condom. Majority of the poor, who make up the majority, will likely won't bother because buying condoms is not going to be their priority - unless they engage in prostitution. Unfortunately, they are a major major contributor in population explosion. What's funny is that they're just laughing it all out! Does anybody think they care about the condom issue?

The Innocent Youth

According to Nathaniel, the birth rate in RP is 26.01 births/1000 population. Of these 26, how many are from those who really are not ready to take care of themselves much more rear a child? Again, without looking at the numbers, these are probably not too many compared to the number of planned and unplanned pregnancies. The unplanned pregnancies are mostly from the poor who can afford neither a condom nor an abortion and have no idea at all what lies ahead in their lives. Sadly, most were born catholics but could not remember the last time they went to church as an act of faith.

How about those who experienced intercourse at a very young age whether they had abortion or got lucky not to get pregnant, how many are they for every 1000 population? An astoundingly astronomical number, without a doubt! Here, those who had abortion are few (limited to those who can afford) but those who got lucky are plenty as they include the young prostitutes who use condoms.What do these people know about RH Bill HB4110? What do they know about abstinence?, The Catholic faith? The church has failed us and we have failed the church. But most of all, we and the church have failed our youth!

Abortion and Cloning

Evil? Sin? What if these are part of God's plan for humanity? Those who study the genealogy of King David would remind us that he came from two women who committed two wrongs for what they thought to be right results. One was Judah's daughter-in-law and the other was one of Lot's daughters. Without their sins, Goliath would have ruled and Mary would not have had Joseph.

Where did all these knowledge of surgical precision, super drugs, medication, and DNA come from? I know where all knowledge come from! Abortion and cloning? I don't know.

The Special Case of Rape

Who would blame a young woman who wanted to abort her pregnancy because she was raped? Whatever her circumstances may be, nobody has the right to force her to bear a child she didn't want - not even the church.

What is RH Bill HB4110 for?

It is not for the poor because they just laugh it out. It is not for the rich because they have no use for it. It is not for the prostitutes because they don't care and they don't know. It is not for the youth because it is not going to get them to the right path. It is not for the faithful because they always have the choice to abstain with or without the bill. It does not alleviate the problem of population increase because it is not a law that prohibits or reduces birth. It will not change anything for rape victims.

It is another waste!

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Palace, Church, Jonathan, Nathaniel Debate Birth Control in RP

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 19:24:00 +0000

I apologize to those expecting the next topic to be like the one you see in the picture here. A more relevant and timely discussion is in order and in a lot of ways related - Debate on BIRTH CONTROL in the Philippines.

Before I move on, though, I cannot prevent myself from saying another nasty comment, "This debate, important and timely as it is right now, should have been over and done with a long long time ago!" Even before the time of former Health Secretary, Juan Flavier, the government and the churh faced-off quite a number of times about this issue. Judging (I maybe unfair in doing so but I maybe correct, too) from the partial sections that I saw in this RH Bill HB4110, I still see no closure moving forward. For heaven's sake and for humanity's sake, Filipinos have to CHOOSE, DECIDE, & ACT. Effect a closure on this thing, support the decision, and move forward...

Two respected individuals from way back my highschool days are enjoying a healthy exchange in our Yahoo Group board. On the one hand, there's Jonathan who represents abstinence. And on the other, Nathaniel who prefers the government position. Their names could not have been more appropriately thought of by their parents at BIRTH some 42 years ago or so. I guess I can say the idealistic vs the pragmatic or the perfectionist vs the realist. These may not sound too good to one of them but they don't mean they are the wrong sides.

The Facts

Without looking at the numbers, no one can argue that the population of the Philippines keeps growing at a very high rate. A small country which relies heavily on income overseas, it cannot handle the worsening rate of increase in population density. As part of the solution, the government leaders promote the use of condoms and the church obviously opposes. There are several other topics on this issue but I am concentrating on this one for the meantime.

Condom

In partial, here is what Wikipedia has to say: "As a method of birth control, male condoms have the advantage of being inexpensive, easy to use, having few side effects, and of offering protection against sexually transmitted diseases. With proper knowledge and application technique—and use at every act of intercourse—women whose partners use male condoms experience a 2% per-year pregnancy rate. Condoms have been used for at least 400 years. Since the 19th century, they have been one of the most popular methods of contraception in the world."

Unfortunately, the mention of STD has come across another topic, PROSTITUTION, which cannot be isolated from our current one. Let's examine prostitution in the Philippines as briefly as possible without touching on illegal DRUGS.

Nothing enlightens me more than my latest trip to my home country about the extent of the prostitution industry there. I mean it is quite obvious that a huge number of women (and the men are not far behind) engage themselves in this act for the love of money. In reference to my disappearance (tackled on another post), an old friend jokingly asked me, "Baka naman nambabae ka lang?"(Maybe, you just went womanizing?) "Bakit mo naman nasabi yan?" (Why do you say that?), I asked him back. Showing his Bacoor accent, he exclaimed, "E yun ang trend e! Lahat ng nagbabakasyon, sa Airforce 1 agad ang punta!" (That is the trend! All vacationists go to Airforce 1 as soon as they arrive).

Countless young women are either willingly or being forced to work as sex slaves in this country. A word of caution to all parents and guardians: If your daughters always have a lot of money while they say they work at a call center, make sure their IDs aren't fake. These girls easily get fake IDs to show parents they are working for some company to hide their real work. Parents, beware! Thousands of local and foreign customers patronize them and here is where condom sells big time. Motels and hotels who sometimes "own" these girls also profit.

Can anybody stop prostitution, the oldest profession in the world? Here in Canada, there is a move to start legalizing it as a way to control things.

To Be Continued...

Where Were You 35 Years Ago?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:14:00 +0000

I was in my second grade and was supposed to attend school that day but the then president, Ferdinand E. Marcos, suspended school. I remember my classroom. It was an annex of sort, separated from all the other classrooms which is in the main street of Aniban, Bacoor, Cavite. We were inside a "silong" of the house owned by the principal. Our teacher was his wife...

In the weeks leading up to and right on the day of the fight, there were tremendous amount of talks all over my neighborhood. I didn't know anything about boxing at the time so I didn't care. I was just happy that there was no school and planned on playing my favorite game. But I knew there was a big event and they called it Thrilla in Manila.

The fight was held in Araneta Coliseum, not too far from where we lived, but it didn't matter. We were so poor we could not afford to buy a ticket to watch it live. We did not even have a TV set. A neighbour, had bought a new "black and white" set. They were the first and maybe the only house in the neighbourhood that had TV at the time.

And so, I remember a lot of people were in the neighbour's house including myself. I had nobody to play with. Everybody was watching so I went with the flow. I remember somebody asked me, "Who are you rooting for?" I said, "Frazier!" just because most were saying Ali would win.

The fight ended when Joe's trainer won the argument to give up and end the fight but a documentary of the event showed Frazier vehemently opposed to it. Had Joe been allowed, he would have won as Ali admitted in the post fight interview that he might not have been able to last another round. He was evidently so tired at the end that he collapsed in the middle of the ring even before any announcement was made.

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Superfoods for the Brain: Omega 3 in Wild Salmon Tops

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 23:18:00 +0000

1. Wild Salmon

Wild salmon is not only an incredible food for brain health, it qualifies as incredible across virtually every other health standard as well and is clearly one of the healthiest foods that one can eat. Wild salmon (not farm-raised) in particular is a true brain food: one of the best sources of Essential Fatty Acids (such as the all-important Omega-3), a rich source of high-quality non-land animal protein, low saturated fat, generally among the lowest amounts of contaminants (such as mercury) among seafood, and other health properties -- wild salmon can help do everything from improve your brain matter, your mood, your synaptic connections, your arteries, reduce your risk of stroke and Dementia and Alzheimer's and much more.

It's also important to know that only WILD salmon has been shown to contain the highest levels of the good stuff that your brain & body crave...as wild-caught fish grow and evolve their muscles, tissues and fat levels the hard way, fighting for survival of the fittest in the oceans and rivers. By contrast, many or most farm-raised salmon exist in a locked-up, artificial and sometimes contaminated environment and thus have to be fed food (or worse, color added later just before going to market!) to make them LOOK orange and healthy instead of white and sickly. Get a book from AbeBooks to learn more.

2) Cacao Beans

Wait, you mean chocolate, right? Hurray! I've been looking for an excuse to hit that vending machine and grab a candy bar...it has chocolate in it, so now it's actually healthy, right?

WRONG. Well, mostly wrong: what's healthy is the cacao bean, minimally processed. This amazing, hedonistic bean is one of the world's longest-revered foods (think 'time of the Aztecs' old) and has in recent years been shown to be a veritable powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement (thanks in part to the Theobromine in cacao), antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements. In fact, chocolate has been very recently cited by some top health professionals and researchers to be THE single most exciting health food, and as more research continues to pour in, the more true this appears to be.

How is this possible, something that only recently was thought of as an unhealthy, dangerous, guilty indulgence...a sign of dietary decadence, now being hailed as beneficial to everything from brain health to skin elasticity to cardiovascular health to anti-cancer and pretty much everything in between? It's simple: chocolate does not equal cacao bean, nor vice-versa; most candy and chocolate bars contain not only low levels of cacao bean compared to other unhealthy ingredients such as sugars, milk fat, artificial flavorings and so on, but the quality and processing of the cacao used in these products is often of low health benefits due to everything from alkalization (e.g. "Dutch process cocoa") to refining and processing and over-roasting the healthy elements right out of the beans.

So if you want the real stuff, the best bet is to either use 100% organic non-alkalized cocoa powder from a high-quality maker who minimally processes the cocoa to ensure that the health properties are retained, or, second best, choose only high cacao percentage dark chocolate bars (typically at least 75% cacao content or higher), also from a high-quality provider.

Chocolate is a brain health food. Or more specifically, the cacao bean is a true brain health and body health food. And worth considering adding to your diet (barring any allergies to chocolate or contraindications, of course).

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3) Matcha (stone-ground Gyokuru green tea powder)

So those green tea bags at the office water cooler aren't the ultimate form of green tea? Do I need something better? What brand of tea bags are better?

If you're used to getting your tea from tea bags, you'll need to put aside notions of brands, tea bags, and tea in general for a moment and take a big step back. Matcha -- which is the finely-ground powder of the highest-quality, most revered part of the shade-grown green tea plant (Gyokuru leaves...the very top part of the shade-grown green tea plant then dried to become"Tencha") carefully grown, selected, dried, stone-ground, processed and prepared according to an ancient Japanese tradition, is not your average green tea. Nor does it come in tea bags. Nor do you brew it, boil it, or consume the watery extract from leaves.

When you drink real stone-ground Japanese Matcha, you're not only drinking the arguably highest-quality, most carefully cultivated green tea variety, you're actually consuming it all -- you're eating the whole thing, you're drinking the green tea leaf itself, whole, in powdered form mixed with hot (but not boiling!) water. The powder itself is so rich in chlorophyl (from the shade growing) that it's literally bright green, and when mixed with water it becomes a rich, bitter-sweet, Kermit-colored concoction whose effects you can actually FEEL almost immediately after drinking a cup (or small bowl, if doing it the traditional Japanese way) of it.

Perhaps best known as the traditional, ceremonial drink tightly interwoven with the Buddhist ceremonies and tradition, Matcha's unique effects on the brain were a perfect fit for those monks in Japan preparing to endure 12-hour straight meditation sessions: calming and focusing while stimulating at the same time, it's no wonder that Matcha became integrated into the monks' meditative practices (thanks in large part to the amino acid L-Theanine). And when you drink real Matcha yourself, you too will...understand.

But as Matcha has become more known (and researched) in the West recently, even more exciting are the health properties being discovered and reported (and yes, now marketed as buzzwords by tea companies..have you seen that EGCG commercial for a bottled green tea maker?). You've probably already heard about many of the health benefits of green tea in general, so imagine those benefits amplified exponentially (up to 10x or more!) in the case of Matcha...as you're drinking an extremely concentrated, ultra-high quality form, straight. Antioxidants, catechins, vitamins such as C and A, even Fluoride. And the meditatively calming yet focusing effects of L-Theanine.

4) Acai Berries & Blueberries

Acai, a berry that possesses not only all of the antioxidant, vitamin and brain benefits of other purple berries such as blueberries and blackberries but also (oddly, for a berry) contains Essential Fatty Acids like Omega-3's like salmon, and and is even high in protein.

Sounds like a a true superfood, right? It is. With proven ORAC antioxidant levels higher than any other berry ever tested, Acai's unique combination of health properties make it a true superfood for brain and body. Of course, we're talking about fresh Acai berries here...not some local generic health food shop pills claiming to contain Acai. And that's where the challenge can come in as Acai needs to be quickly processed (flash-freeze dried, flash-frozen, etc.) and maintained and processed if you're to get the full benefits of this berry outside of South America.

Fortunately, companies like Sambazon and Bolthouse have created amazing local growing and processing facilities to do exactly that, and we can now buy great Acai in various forms in the U.S., Australia, Europe and beyond these days including our personal favorite: the Sambazon organic Acai powder (their 'PowerScoop' product) as well as in Sambazon and Bolthouse refrigerated juice blends.

Then there's blueberries: it didn't seem fair to leave this time-honored, well-researched superfood off the list, particularly given its reputation as the 'brain berry' and its wide availability in fresh, original form (compared to Acai). And given how relatively easy it is to add blueberries to your daily diet, the combination of proven health benefits with ready availability make it a no-brainer to consider eating blueberries daily if possible. Think about it: what would your brain health, brain abilities, disease/risk profile, and overall health be like 5 or 10 or 20 years from now if you consumed blueberries every day? Exactly...

5) Coffee beans

Ah, coffee. So popular, so ubiquitous, yet still so surprisingly misunderstood when it comes to "healthy or not". How can this be?

You'd think that virtually everyone would be an expert on coffee these days, given the explosion of coffee chains like Starbucks over the last decade. Perhaps it's because the situation is much like chocolate: the coffee bean, much like the cacao bean, is incredibly rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Fresh-ground gently roasted coffee bean powder (again, like with cacao) has numerous brain and body health benefits...yes, including the caffeine content which has recently been shown to be GOOD for the brain, not bad, and particularly in the area of antioxidants. Regular coffee consumption has been shown to actually reduce the risk of mental decline and diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer's, and has also recently been found to be (shockingly) the "#1 source of antioxidants in the average American diet"...showing at once how health food-deprived the average diet continues to be while illustrating the surprising health benefits of something as common as coffee.

GOLF CLUB CLEARANCE

So where's the controversy and confusion? The problem comes in when coffee is combined with other unhealthy things, as is so commonly done: triple-carmel-double-whip-chocolate-creme-mocha-blast-freeze drinks, weak over-extracted brewed cheap poor quality coffee, coffee loaded up with artificial cream and sweeteners, you know the drill. Compare such carb, chemical and fat-laden concoctions with, say, a high-quality organic coffee freshly ground into an Espresso-grade powder and served as a couple shots of fresh espresso, straight? No comparison. This should be obvious, but surprisingly, many or even most people still don't get it.

Equally odd is that for many people, coffee is still viewed as a 'vice', something bad for you, something 'naughty' that should be avoided...as if it were akin to smoking cigarettes or pounding shots of tequila. The origin of this bizarre thinking comes partially from the effects of the caffeine (and other elements) which contribute to the stimulating effects of drinking coffee, and yes, for some people, coffee is contraindicated due to sensitivity to caffeine or gastrointestinal effects that coffee can sometimes produce.

But generally speaking, the coffee bean is a safe, true superfood. And when properly consumed in ideal forms (such as pure Espresso), it's one uniquely enjoyable beverage that also packs a host of brain and health-friendly properties to boot!

Source: http://www.brainready.com/

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Restaurant Review:

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 00:26:00 +0000

GERRY'S GRILL in Tagaytay – A Filipino Kind of Service?

Valentine's Day falling on a weekend must be an unfair time to critic customer service of a restaurant. However, a truly well-managed place should find this opportunity to show its excellence.

My wife and I found ourselves in Taal Vista Lodge on this year's special February weekend. After surviving the heavily congested Aguinaldo Highway and the smokey Casino Filipino, we salivated on some well-missed Filipino dishes. As expected, we had a hard time as almost all restaurants in the

area were full. Our choice was then limited to wherever we can find an open parking slot - at Gerry's Grill.

Reception and The Bar

There were about 3 to 4 groups waiting for a table so we had to sit with them and wait as well. After about 30 minutes and only 1 group seated, we decided to move to the bar area to get a taste of their wine. To our dismay, the bar attendant did not even bother say a word while he saw us approach the bar. He did the same to the next customers who followed us. Another customer asked about his order and only then we found out that he ran out of ice and had been waiting for somebody to get it for him. In the meantime, he was just pretending to be busy and never bothered to talk to any of the customers. Because we were really hungry, we sat there for about 45 more minutes.

The Table

Finally, we got called. While walking through the place, we noticed so many uncleaned tables and we wondered why the long wait. We were about to find out...

We were led to an open area with a view of the lake. Nice! But it was so dark and there was nothing much to look at – not so nice! It was just too windy and the floor was too slippery. Before we sat, I noticed that there was a supervisor in the area who was dressed in “barong”. He was like having fun with his staff and playing around with jokes. Staff passing by simply ignored our call for attention for about 15 minutes until somebody approached us and took our order. This all happened while the supervisor was doing nothing but tell us, “Somebody is coming soon to take your order”. We couldn't help but notice that most of the staff will just pass by and go back and forth doing almost nothing. One staff took a container to pick-up the used plates in another table. He took a good long look at what he was going to do, picked-up some plates and when he realized that the container was too small, he left the whole thing on the table. We did not see him come back until we were almost done with our dinner.

Across us were a couple of foreigners who were all smiles in the beginning but as they got the same treatment as ours, they started showing their disgusts. We stared at each other more than a few times as if saying “What the hell is going on in this place?”

The Food and Drinks

The soup was too salty and the Margarita was served incorrectly. What else can I say?

Out We Go

On our way out, we saw the same thing – more vacant tables than number of groups waiting to be seated.

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Guns and Rage: A True Story

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Guns and Rage: A True Story

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 01:49:00 +0000

In a small Philippine town where NPA's used to camp, the killing of a fellow human being has become an ordinary scene over the years.

Once when he was coming from the city center, Juan made a turn in a busy intersection going up to the mountain via the provincial highway. He did not see an oncoming old motorcycle who overtook another vehicle to his left. The motorcycle almost hit his back while he was startled by the non-stop honking of horn by its driver. Juan got angry and he swore multiple times to the driver of the motorcycle.

Narrow and zig-zagging is the road to the mountain where Juan lives. There, Juan, already in his 's 50's with 3 sons in the elementary school, owns a mini-grocery store. That day, he was going to pick-up the kids at school before they take his wife who was at the store to go to a popular beach resort in their province.

Juan's store was doing good. Because he worked hard for years as contract worker in Saudi Arabia, he was able to buy a brand new Mitsubishi Adventure. The money he got left he used to start putting up the store, the product of which comes from the city - a good 75 to 100 kilometers away. He uses the new vehicle to transport goods to their town in the mountain top which is mostly a farming and agricultural community. Aside from the store, Juan earns money by using his knowledge to fix cars and he has plenty of customers known to him since childhood. Juan's life and that of his family appears to be very promising.

While Juan traverses the narrow and zig-zag road to the mountain, he angrily and intentionally slowed down his vehicle to get even with the motorcycle driver whom he thought was between 35 and 40 years old. The motorcycle made several attempts to overtake the very slow Juan but every time he was about to start the maneuver, Juan would speed away while blocking his passage. This happened numerous times while they were going up the mountain. The motorcycle driver decided to go back to the city because he could not get by Juan. When Juan saw it, he also came back and followed the motorcycle. He wanted to confront the guy and he did not want that day to pass without laying his hands on him. Unknown to him, the hard liquor that he and his friend drunk earlier was starting to affect his thoughts and actions.

Juan was a peaceful ordinary citizen but what he hated most was when he does not get any respect from somebody, especially from people much youger than he was. In many of these instances, his courage and rage show up.

In that fateful morning, an old friend called him to fix his car. Juan immediately went to the city in his friend's place and he quickly fixed the car. His friend was so grateful that he offered Juan to drink an imported whisky with him while the wife opened for them a bag of pork chi-charon (a popular crunchy snack made of pork skin). It did not take long for the 2 friends to gobble-up the 750 ml whiskey. "Imported drinks taste so much different and so much better."

The real reason the motorcycle went back was to get his gun – a birthday gift from his uncle so he has a weapon to use because he gets into fights a lot of times in their neighborhood. Juan saw where the motorcycle stopped. He, too, stopped and waited for the driver to come back. The driver came back and drove the motorcycle to Juan's direction. Juan crossed his path. Startled, the driver alighted from his motorcycle, grabbed his gun and shot Juan 3 times inside his Adventure dead!

In his wake, his family learned that the killer`s uncle was his own friend whose car he fixed on that same day.

Why can't we stop non-sense killings? Why can't we start respecting every human life? Where is our society heading to? When are news like these going to stop?

LIQUID NITROGEN TO POWER CARS OF THE FUTURE

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:04:00 +0000

The process to manufacture liquid nitrogen in large quantities can be environmentally very friendly, even if fossil fuels are used to generate the electric power required. The exhaust gases produced by burning fossil fuels in a power plant contain not only carbon dioxide and gaseous pollutants, but also all the nitrogen from the air used in the combustion. By feeding these exhaust gases to the nitrogen liquefaction plant, the carbon dioxide and other undesirable products of combustion can be condensed and separated in the process of chilling the nitrogen, and thus no pollutants need be released to the atmosphere by the power plant. The sequestered carbon dioxide and pollutants could be injected into depleted gas and oil wells, deep mine shafts, deep ocean subduction zones, and other repositories from which they will not diffuse back into the atmosphere, or they could be chemically processed into useful or inert substances. Consequently, the implementation of a large fleet of liquid nitrogen vehicles could have much greater environmental benefits than just reducing urban air pollution as desired by current zero-emission vehicle mandates.

Schematic of Liquid Nitrogen Car LN2000

Liquid Nitrogen Propulsion Cycle Diagram

In the LN2000 liquid nitrogen powered concept car, being developed at the University of Washington, the liquid fuel is let out of a pressurized tank, preheated by an economizer which takes heat from the exhaust before it quickly vaporizes, expanding rapidly in an endothermic reaction. This expanding gas is converted into energy that moves the wheels of the converted mail truck by a 15 hp radial air motor.

The main problem that developers of N2 powered cars had to overcome was that when the nitrogen was expanding, it absorbed so much heat, that the pipes that carried the gas would freeze up. This problem has been solved in the LN2000 by preheating the liquid nitrogen in such a way that ice is less likely to form and insulate the pipes and nitrogen from the ambient heat.

The Honda Helix, another car of the future, shall make your kids' and grand kids' ride more interesting.

The motivation behind this invention was that although fuel cells were effective at providing electricity with zero-emissions, the cost of a drive train with fuel cell power would be seven to ten times that of a gasoline engine drive train. The inventors feel that nitrogen, once the process is refined, will have a cost per mile comparable to standard gasoline.

Alternative propulsion is a method which relies on alternative fuels to power cars. In the future, it seems not too impossible that anything can be used to propel cars by establishing the now elementary theory E=mc².

The Death of Life in the Philippines and How I Survived It

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:05:00 +0000

This is dedicated to all those who helped, prayed and stayed with my family during my traumatic ordeal. Those who celebrated when I returned gets the privelege as well.

The Warning

Since summer of 2009, news of crime in the Philippines rising in number have been brought to my attention by plenty of Filipinos in exodus to Alberta. “It's terrible out there!”, they said. Life has no more value, according to some. Well, what's new in the news?, I thought to myself. The media is doing its job exaggerating the events as usual. I was not going to allow myself to be affected by negative impressions about my home country. I was planning to stay there and enjoy life with my family when the right time comes. And the right time may not come!

My Guardian Angels

It's not going to happen to me. God and my angels won't allow it. Somehow, I always have the feeling that God, my dad and sometimes my second oldest brother (They both passed away. See "To My Mom, The Greatest of Them All".) are watching over me and keeping me safe wherever I go. I've been to places – nice places and places nobody wants to go to - like in a very remote Siberian river bank. Winter of 2002 brought me to an oilfield camp in Northwestern Siberia called Right Bank. The whole trip and my Russian experience can be done in another blog but I just want to mention the abundance of dangers and uncertainties that convinced me somebody out there was protecting me so that I came out unscathed.

Moving Plans

I am going no matter what. And so I did. My winter struggles have affected the way I want to raise my kids and so I needed change.

To facilitate the move, preparations must be completed. First in the list, sell or rent-out the property in San Pablo City, Laguna. Make something out of nothing is the key. This property has been idle since 1995 so I have to do something about it.

The Nasty Deal

Upon my arrival at the airport, I immediately rented a car at Avis. I bought a cheap local call-and-text cell phone the next day and posted the number on Facebook. Curiously, I got a phone call from somebody offering a hell of a deal in building me a house. I was tempted to find out and arranged a meeting with the guy and his house builder. According to him, this builder would bring me cheap materials and labor. In exchange, he only wanted young dates for a night or two.

On the day of the meeting, the guy gave me 2 numbers of women to call and advised me to pick them up on my way to our meeting. A few minutes before picking them up, the guy called me again and told me to proceed to our meeting place outside the Max's Restaurant in San Pablo City saying “Don't bring them anymore. They will just interfere with our business. We can get them later.”

Robbery at Gunpoint and The Abduction

I came a bit early, parked my car facing the road and waited. At this time, two men: one on each side, guns drawn and pointed at me, told me to unlock the doors. My world suddenly imploded as the men sat themselves inside the car and told me to drive without looking at their faces. I am going to be in the news now! This was made known to me before. Why did I not listen? Robbers are just waiting for their opportunity and the best and most pleasant opportunty is when the driver is in the car or going in the car. They can just point their guns or kill the driver right away and speed away in the car with the key.

They took my wallet and found my Canadian identification and a Metrobank debit card among other things. They then instructed me to withdraw money from a Metrobank ATM machine along the hi-way and asked me to show them the balance after. I obliged. When they got the money, they asked me to drive further south going to Quezon Province. Then, into a remote and what appears to be seldom travelled terrain, they asked me to turn and stop a few meters. I said to myself, “This is it. They are going to kill me!” Indeed, the guy in the back stretched his hand over my head and across my chest with an orange rope and tried to pull it towards my neck. Acting quickly, I grabbed the rope with both hands and pleaded mercifully. The guy loosened his pull on the rope when I said, “You can get more money out of me if you keep me alive.”

They then led me to another side street further south, blindfolded me and then walked me to a 'nipa' hut where they tied me down. A woman removed my blindfold after they left.

The Escape

The next ten days can be part of a novel by themselves and I would not go into details here. On that fateful last day, the three-year old boy who was with the woman approached me playfully saying words I could not understand. I immediately thought of my son, Kristian, who started communicating five word sentences in English clearly when he was barely 2 years old. And I wept for the first time. The woman saw me and asked, “Since you've been here, this is the first time I saw you cry. Why?” We started a long conversation that ended with her helping me escape with a promise from me that I will help her come to Canada through the employment agencies that I know.

She left and brought a person with her when she came back. The guy helped her untie me but before they did that I felt something poked my shoulder before I eventually passed out. Then I woke up in a waiting shed like a bus stop most likely in Lucena or Pagbilao in Quezon province.

The Homecoming

Seeing my sister, cousin, mother, and aunt in that order upon coming home was the best feeling of all. I held them in a tight embrace as if I haven't seen them in decades.

Special thanks go to all the people who have helped and prayed for me. As the value of life approaches the freezing point as far as criminals are concerned, I found many worth living for. There are some people who I did not know cared for me so much. God and my guardian angels did not leave me after all. They just looked for and found other people to join them. You know who you are. I wrote this story for you all. God Bless All of You!

Philippine Elections 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 16:03:00 +0000

ANG BULOK NA SISTEMA – MGA TANONG PARA SA MGA BOTANTENG PINOY:

1.Aling bansa ang may mas maraming politiko, Pilipinas o Amerika?

2.Bakit kailangan ng Kapitan ng Baranggay na may sariling konsehales pa? Ano ang ginagawa ng mga konsehales ng bayan?

3.Ano ang responsibilidad ng mga konsehales na ito? May delineation ba? o tagapagbati lang sila ng nag-aaway?

4.Sino sa mga ito ang humahawak sa sports development, sa human resources, education, skills and development, sa health and environment, sa justice – meron ba? E sino naman sa budget and finance - meron siguro no?

5.Meron bang mission statement ang bawat baranggay? Gumagawa ba sila ng goals and objectives? Short term, medium term o long term? Ang bayan at probinsya, meron din ba?

6.Ilang baranggay/bayan/probinsya ang gumagawa ng mga fund raising drive?

7.Meron ba sa kanilang nag-iisip na mag-attact ng business investors sa kanilang lugar?

8.Anong plano meron sila para mabawasan ang unemployment rate?

9.Bukod sa pagkumpuni ng laging sirang daan, meron ba silang ibang project na kapakipakinabang para sa taongbayan at hindi para sa kanila lang?

10. Gaano ba talaga kahirap gumawa ng kahit katiting na improvement para sa baranggay/bayan/probinsya na hindi gagawing daan sa pangungurakot lang?

11.Ilang taon ng ganito ang Pilipinas? Patuloy ba tayong magpapaloko sa mga politiko?

12.Saan ba talaga ginagamit ang boto ng mga pinoy?

Why would Pacquiao Fight Clottey, a Bigger and Stronger Opponent for Less Money?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 21:56:00 +0000

Manny Pacquiao will fight Joshua Clottey for his newly acquired welterweight title. This promises to be a more action-packed fight in the ring than the one everybody wanted. Fine, I can live with that. However, this poses a more difficult question to answer than the one about his refusal to undergo random blood testing. Why fight a bigger, stronger and more dangerous opponent (somebody who can really hurt him) for much less money?

I have 4 possible answers:

Pacquiao wants to punish the Mayweathers and Golden Boy.
Pacquiao's lack of knowledge about PEDs and their detection and thinks that Mayweather is just trying to get to him mentally.
Pacquiao uses PEDs - HGH in particular.
Freddie Roach believes that Pacquiao is not ready to take on Jr. just yet.

Let's break them down:

While it is true that the other camp won't get the money they are expected to get, he, too, stands to lose financially. Not a very good time to do that when you are plunging yourself head on to the political battles in the Philippines which is pretty much ruled by who hands-out the most money. Besides, he already has a lawsuit filed. That ought to be enough vengeance if he wins as Sr. is probably going to be found guilty;
I believe it's true that Mayweather is trying to get the psychological advantage in everyway. This includes subjecting Pacquiao, whom his father accused of taking steroids, to random blood testing and inconveniencing him during training. However, if you know that this is just a ploy, would you let it affect you? At the beginning of this blood testing issue, Pacquiao himself may not have enough knowledge about HGH and its detection. I, myself, was partly mistaken in my other post of December 23, "Fraud Run-a-Mayweather, The Devil, and the Fear of Losing" when I said that urine testing is the most effective and efficient way to detect illegal substances in one's system. The truth is urine sample is insufficient in detecting HGH as of now. The new process being developed using urine sample to detect HGH, although already proven to be effective, is still neither scientifically nor legally acceptable at this time. By this time, however, Pacquiao should have been told by his advisers that blood testing is required to detect HGH and that should be done in random to ensure it cannot be hidden by masking agents/drugs or by knowledge of the detection period (one would take it only at the time when it would no longer be detected by the scheduled sampling date).
I hope this is not the case. Freddie Roach and Michael Moorer, although now separated, are two of the few credible names in boxing today. They both say publicly that Pacquiao is clean. I hope they are telling the truth because people are becoming suspicious of Pacquiao and Alex Ariza. Ever since he hired his conditioning coach, Pacquiao has been looked at as somebody who is approaching superhuman abilities. "He was just too f---ing fast...For a while I thought Freddie was there hitting me, too…Did somebody get the number of that truck?" David Diaz exclaimed during his humorous post fight interview with Jim Lempley. Although he added that it is not so much the power that he was worried about but the speed, it was so evident in Rounds 7 and 8 that he was feeling the punishment he was taking. And in Round 9, after he was told to throw punches or get it stopped by the referee, one lightly thrown left cross dropped him face first scaring everybody that he could be seriously hurt. It is just a special blend of natural supplements that he is giving Pacquiao, Ariza explained. Plus, Pacquiao and other fighters under Ariza wake up at 5 in the morning to do "crazy stuff". Special blend and crazy stuff – my friends, are these super special and Hanibalistic crazy that no one else in the last 100 and some years has discovered? I would like to believe that Ariza is really doing wonders with Pacquiao which is not at all impossible. My only problem here is that accepting the testing terms would be the best way to prove their innocence. I do not really buy the superstition, fear of needles and/or blood, or the weakening effect as reason for refusing random blood testing.
This is what I believe is the real answer. Pacquiao has been fighting southpaws since his training sessions for the Diaz fight in June 2008. A lot of people may not be aware that Dela Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto are all southpaws using the conventional stance because they want their jabs to be deceptively more powerful. The other common denominator is that their main weapon is the left hook which is susceptible to a right hook counter. See my older post on December 5, "Round 1 to Mayweather: Is Manny Pacquiao Becoming Overly Confident?" for another discussion on this topic. In short, Pacquiao has been so used to fighting the same style of opponents in training and in the ring for so long. Having mentioned that, it is therefore, logical for Pacquiao to train and fight a real right hander with a strong defense and counter punching technique before going against Mayweather. He needs to get used to and beat, not have problems with, the Marquez-like foes again. Yuri Foreman and some other guys as sparring partners and Clottey as opponent shall provide that. Team Pacquiao wanted to make sure they are ready for Mayweather and beat him this fall or later this year even with the Olympic-style testing in place. A fight and a convincing win against Mayweather with random blood testing after beating Clottey is the only way to erase doubts about Pacquiao. Too bad, the elections were done by then. As it is right now, he stands to lose his congressional bid because of tarnished refutations. But who knows, it's the Philippines where anything can happen.

Fraud Run-a-Mayweather, The Devil, and The Fear of Losing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:57:00 +0000

In my previous post (December 5, Round 1 to Mayweather), I pointed out that Fraud Run-a-Mayweather gained a big advantage in luring Manny Pacquiao into a March 13, 2010 fight barely 2 months before the national elections in the Philippines where he is running for a congressional seat. Fraud probably thought that Manny would not agree but he did. Then, negotiations appear to be running smoothly with the only unknown being the venue. Once that is decided, what happens next?
It appears that there is likely another smooth running going on coupled by some devilish trickeries on the part of Run-a-Mayweather. First, they agreed that there will be no disclosures to media about the negotiations although information leak out so fast that this has no use at all. However, no direct communication to the media has really taken place until the Fraud camp starring Run-a-Mayweather, Ellerbe, and Schaefer announced that the other side is refusing their request for random blood sampling prior to the fight to detect illegal drugs. They did this to insinuate that the other camp is trying to hide something and walk away from the fight. Some media people seem to support this right away and hurried to write their reports. The Devil is at work again.
Pacquiao, by all comprehensive accounts, agreed to have his blood drawn in January prior to the scheduled press conference and again after the fight. In addition, he also agreed to have his urine taken at random anytime during training and then the usual before and after fight night as in the Nevada regulations. Is this enough? Is there a point for having additional blood sampling done?
The Truth About Drug Testing

Most write-ups that I see share the same conclusion that urine sampling is the most effective and efficient way of detecting illegal substances. The only drawback is that samples can easily be substituted or altered. In this level, however, I don't see the Nevada Athletic Commission being so negligent as to not ensure that substitution and alteration are prevented. There is a reason why this commission takes urine samples only in some inclusive period such as immediately or up to a couple of days before and after the fight. However, there are drugs that have recently evolved that can be hidden within that short detection period and so there is some merit in getting random urine samples. Oral fluid or saliva can also be substituted for blood sample. With the exception of a couple of drugs, none of which gives any advantage for the user in the sport of boxing, oral fluid samples detect what blood samples can.
So, is Manny trying to hide something or Bob Arum just got tired of unnecessary demands by Run-a-Mayweather and is now thinking that there is really no sense to continue the talks?
Did Fraud find a way to run away again and then pretend that his proposed opponent refused to fight? Is his fear of losing overcoming his desire for money which he can get anyway by appearing in more less-risk fights?
Team Pacquiao feels that they are being harassed and would like this to stop and rightly so.

The Queen’s Sacrifice: A Look Into My Cousin’s Fascinating and Selfless Virtue

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:45:00 +0000

Chess history and literature are filled with illustrations of combinations that involve the sacrifice of the Queen, the most powerful piece on the chess board. Such a move is always the most brilliant and fascinating of all and often the most difficult to undertake in a game of chess. Yet most masters or even the lesser mortals of the game have at one time or another demonstrated their ability to make the ultimate sacrifice for either a quick win or a clear advantage.

The life of Margarita or Meg Santos, the first born of Felix and Petronila Santos, has seen this parallel all throughout and continues on to this day. In 1975 at a young age of 19, she threw herself into this other end of the world and left her family in order to support them. Two years of hard labor in the prairies and soon after her father's death, it would become clear that Meg would be the official breadwinner for her family. Three more agonizing years will pass before the family would finally re-unite with their queen. On December 30, 1980, each member of the Santos clan flew from Manila to meet Meg in Saskatoon. This started, not ended, another parallel and a lot more to come.

From thereon, Meg has dedicated herself even more for the service of her mother and siblings who have gained success one by one. The siblings would later gain stability and enjoy all privileges of living in Canada. However, none of their successes could be credited for each alone. They help and support each other to the fullest but no one could equal that that comes from Meg. Meg would end up as the last member of the family to own a house and she always drives the oldest car. Meg's unconditional support for her family would be the primary reason why she has not married. She would not tell you so but I am 100% sure.

A few years later in 2001, I would become a beneficiary of the Santos family's generosity. Leading the pack is…You guessed it – Meg! My brother, too, would not escape Meg's onslaught. And now that so many of our old neighbors back in Bacoor, Cavite have moved to Saskatoon in the hope of a greener pasture, Meg won't be the last person to offer her support – guaranteed. In fact, any success story that would come out from these people can be attributed to the queen because if not for her original sacrifice, none of us could even think of coming to Canada.

Thank you, Meg for all your sacrifices! You have shaped our future. Now, we can stand-up for ourselves. Through your example, we can pass it on to our families. It is now time for you to think of your own future. Your legacy has been secured but your future deserves better!

TO MY MOM, THE GREATEST OF THEM ALL!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Christmas Day 1935, almost 74 years ago, a girl was born somewhere in a remote barrio in Bacoor, Cavite. I now realized that she could have been a US-born citizen if not for Manuel Luis Quezon and the 1935 Philippine Constitution.

She would, however, later become my grandparents’ Mona Lisa, beautifully crafted and yet genetically armed with great rearing abilities. Sadly enough, they would not have the opportunity to witness their daughter’s greatness. My grandfather died during the war and his wife succumbed to Tuberculosis not long after leaving my mother and 2 more siblings, not even in their teens, separated and to the hands of caring relatives. Some other closer relatives would later deprive them of their right for a greater share of inheritance than what they got. An old case of the greedy taking advantage of the hungry who have no means to fight back.

The eldest became the greatest domestic helper of all time. Way before courses for this profession started to enjoy popularity in that part of the world which is the top exporter of domestic help, she was already making news in the neighborhood. Hampered by a physical affliction, she would not marry and instead would look after every single child in the family and in the family she stayed with right after my grandparents’ death. She would take care of everybody from my oldest brother to my cousin’s youngest daughter - not one was not hugged, fed and loved by my Auntie. People say I was her favorite but purely, she loved everybody.

The youngest, who is like poker’s Money-Maker, first became a seamstress and later did anything and everything that could earn her income. Extremely hard-worker and wise, she would become financially the most successful of the three.

My mother found herself helping out in a relative’s turu-turo in Baclaran and became adept in cooking before she found my dad or my dad found her. Despite being twice her age, she chose to marry my dad, a famous mechanic from Hagonoy, Bulacan. The two would have 6 kids: Reynaldo, Florencio, Rolando, Natalia, Julieta, and myself. From a small nipa hut in a remote, mostly farming land of Looban and a measly amount my father got from selling his share of my other grandparents’ property in Bulacan, the two would start a motor vehicle repair business and also operate a couple of passenger jeepneys. The number of customers would grow. Although most of them wanted free service, they would help increase the number of jeepneys too and life was really getting better.

However, another tragedy would strike the family. Rolando was born with a blue baby syndrome. He had heart defect and would only live 4 months. But my parents would be unfazed. They worked so hard to give my brothers and sisters good education knowing the things they were deprived of will be our ticket to escape poverty. They would re-build our home into a more solid structure and cleaner, safer place to live on.

But success would be halted once again. My dad, wiring our ceiling lights, suddenly fell from the chair he was standing on. He got blood clot on his brain which the doctors had to open-up. The surgery was successful so it was a complete surprise to me to hear the news that on the 21st of January 1975, he died of kidney failure. I hardly remembered anything except for a few encounters with my father and the long way to the cemetery during the interment. I was barely 6 years old and just about to attend school in June of that year. He did not witness Reynaldo graduate from High School getting numerous academic recognitions along the way and Natalia honored as her school’s valedictorian during her own elementary graduation that same year. She would go on to become a Salutatorian in High School and thereby gain scholarships from the University of the Philippines.

With the help of Rodrigo or Ato, who is my father’s godson and more than a brother to me, and to some degree wonder kid Florencio, the family would keep the repair shop and the jeepneys. Slowly but surely, however, the jeepneys were decreasing in number and the business looking as bleak as ever. Mother, knowing best, had to do something and so she did.

She would sell the remaining jeepneys except one to start her own grocery store in the Zapote marketplace. She would get loans here, there, and everywhere and borrowed money from individuals and some well-to-do relatives just so we can continue our studies. She would make all the necessary sacrifices, I know, to make sure we finish our education. She would, of course, pay them all back which allowed her to gain their trust and give her more loans.

In the early ‘80s and in fact even before that, most adult male in our old neighborhood would go to oil rich Saudi Arabia for a promise of a better job and income. Florencio, armed with his Radio and Electronics Technician diploma from Samson University, and Rodrigo would be no different. They worked there to help my mom. Rodirgo would come back less than a year later and the amazing Florencio, who once called himself the greatest technician in the world, became the back bone of the family’s income. He would come back after finishing his contract to reopen the old shop and included electronics repair at home and also to continue his Mechanical Engineering studies.

By 1988, Reynaldo, a graduate of Chemical Engineering, has spent some time in another oil rich country, Kuwait. Natalia, a BS Chemist from UP, has been promoted to a supervisory position in a chemical processing plant in Rosario, Cavite. And Julieta recently finished her BS Commerce degree in the University of Santo Thomas. In the meantime, I was working on completing my own Electrical Engineering degree and have planned on graduating by October of that year. Include Ato to the mix who also finished Automotive Mechanic course and one could interpret this as an overwhelming success for my mother, once a homeless orphan child separated from her 2 beloved sisters. She was definitely so proud of all of us and the success we had were likely not possible without her hard work and perseverance.

Then, a group of heavily armed men surrounded and sprayed bullets on a tinted pick-up truck owned by a relative but at that time was being driven by my brother. Florencio died instantly. (It’s been more than 21 years since that incident and I still find it hard to accept). Tears in the family won’t stop for a while and those from my mother’s continue to drop to this day. Long after his death, I still continue to have dreams of him coming back to us and rejoining our family.

Since then, more tragedy struck the family via the destructive forces of fire. My mother’s store got totally burnt 4 or 5 times and worst of all in 1995 our own home for so many years got burnt down to ashes completely.

Today, thanks to my mother, we all stood tall despite those misfortunes. Although we are all living in far away places and not seeing each other except for me and my mother who are together here in Edmonton, we are proud to say we have become successful in our own little ways and we stay together in our hearts through our mother.

To this day, she still has not stopped taking care of me and nothing I do to her including sacrificing my life would be enough to repay what she has done to me and my brothers and sisters. Let this be my tribute to her and come Christmas day I hope I can find the way to tell her how much she means to me and how much I love her. Now, I dream of one day re-uniting together with my brother and 2 sisters, Ato, together with all our children and my 2 aunts in front of my mother. That is probably the greatest gift we can give back to her and I hope it happens soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS, TOO!

British Porn Star is Latest Member of the Club

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:49:00 +0000

The membership keeps growing. According to the London Daily Newspaper, the latest addition is Holly Sampson, a popular British porn star. The report said:

“One of the two further women who came forward yesterday is a porn star named Holly Sampson whose CV includes films such as Lingerie Or Bust and Diary Of A Horny Housewife. The second is an unnamed cocktail waitress who says she had a two-year affair with the billionaire golfer and claims he told her his marriage was a sham and 'just for publicity'.”

If I were blonde, I would have joined this million dollar club as well. But Phil is really my guy. GO GET THEM, PHIL!

I Had Sex With Tiger Woods

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 07:36:00 +0000

If you are good-looking, have a gorgeous body, white, female and you want to have a million dollars, come join the latest club: I Had Sex with Tiger Woods club. Announce to the world that you had an affair with Tiger and you earn free membership. Just beware of another club – Tiger’s golf club - which can smash your car’s windows into pieces if it ends up in the wrong hands – Elin’s.

Family first; why can’t we fill our minds with that first before we even think of something else? Truly, success and money or fame and fortune are nothing but artificial and without the spiritual balance, can lead to the hazards of life. In a golf course, I have no doubt Tiger can extricate himself and find a way to win when confronted with many hazards. Such a talent cannot help him in dealing with life and family hazards. I can only hope he finds the right path, one that does not ensure winning major championships but can win his family back.

From now on, I will be rooting for Phil Michelson. He knows more about family than some other guys. I do think that 2010 is Phil’s year. GO GET THEM, PHIL!

Saint Andrew’s School (SAS) Grand Alumni Homecoming Dec. 29th, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 07:56:00 +0000

Ikinalulungkot kong ibalita sa inyo mga kapatid na hindi ako makakarating sa nalalapit na pagtitipon ng mga Andreans at maging sa reunion ng Batch ’84. Ganunpaman, ako’y labis na nagagalak sapagkat si pareng Felipe Pagtakhan, Jr. at Roy Arimas na pawang taga rito sa malamig na ciudad ng Edmonton ay makapaghahatid ng mga balita sa inyo. Umaasa akong sa pamamagitan nila ay maging bahagi rin ako ng selebrasyon bagkus ay hindi sa pisikal na paraan. Sabik akong maghihintay sa kanilang pagbabalik dala ang inyong mga ala-ala na kanilang ibabahagi sa akin. MABUHAY ANG MGA ANDREANS! MABUHAY ANG SAS BATCH '84!

Round 1 to Mayweather: Is Manny Pacquiao Becoming Overly Confident?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:00:00 +0000

It appears that Uncle Bob has succeeded in luring Manny Pacquiao into fighting Floyd Mayweather , Jr. as early as March 13th next year. This will create more distractions in Team Pacquiao’s camp as if it is still lacking in that department. Although distractions in the camp do not affect his performance in the ring as Manny has proven repeatedly, this one might be entirely different.

Vying for a congressional seat in the Philippines for the second time after a debacle in his first try is a monstrous task even for a real hero. Which candidate would not have this election in mind 24 hours a day? Some of them even resort to barbaric execution of opponents and their supporters that threaten their positions. Manny just could not say no to anybody and this attitude always succumbs to devilish trickeries. The boxing hero now plunges into dangerous territories against a fighter known for his mastery of the sweet science and whose objective is always to hit without getting hit.

All the advantages now point to Mayweather. How to overcome all these is the job for master trainer Freddie Roach. He may have a doubly difficult task at hand. During the fight with Miguel Cotto, Manny appears to be oozing with too much confidence as he allowed himself to get hit and left his guard wide open too many times. He cannot afford to do the same thing against Mayweather and Freddie Roach better be ready with the correct strategy – again. Confidence is great but too much of it can be disastrous.

While he has looked invincible and has improved astronomically in his last four fights, Manny has yet to prove in the ring that he can effectively deal against a good tactician and counter puncher. David Diaz, Oscar Dela Hoya, Ricky Hatton, and Cotto are all southpaws. All but one uses the orthodox stance. Dela Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto have 3 things in common – They are all southpaws, uses the conventional stance, and their main weapon is the left hook. The ever smart Freddie Roach knew all along that they will be susceptible to Manny’s lightning quick right hook which the duo developed with tremendous success. The master trainer saw this in the Diaz fight and they gave full use of it the rest of the way.

Alas, what a big difference a style makes! Mayweather’s right straight counter will be quicker and more powerful than Marquez’s and he rarely throws left hooks. Manny and Freddie should prepare for this as well. Then there’s Mayweather’s left jab. With a 5-inch advantage in reach, the bigger man might be able to keep the little guy at bay by constantly throwing jabs.

Wapakman may be invincible but the real hero in Manny Pacquiao is only human. And although he is far greater (in the deepest meaning of the word) than his opponent, he has far more weaknesses and disadvantages that can be exploited.

Indeed, if Manny Pacquiao succeeds once again, he can be considered the new G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time). For if there’s another human being not just boxer who has accomplished more and overcame more odds from an impoverished and forgotten place in society, I would be totally surprised.

Wesley So Needs His Freddie Roach

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:37:00 +0000

Wesley So’s exploits in international chess competitions have now reached phenomenal level. He is the latest of the young prodigies that come out of the Philippines – a list that even includes current world champion and India’s pride Viswanathan Anand. Yes, Anand started to play chess while growing up in the streets of Intramuros, Morayta, Recto, Divisoria, Quiapo, etc. While Wesley’s accomplishments at a young age of 16 have been nothing but amazing already, I hate to see him fail to realize his full potential as a chess player.

What does Wesley have that Anand did not? You might think I am mistaken in the way I ask this question but no, this is right because the answer is the failure of the Philippine government to fully and effectively support the development of young talents in the country. Most of these wiz kids start on their own with parent support as in the case of Anand, Wesley, Mark Paragua , and others. Once the National Chess Federation of the Philippines or the Philippine Chess Federation in the old days takes over, they will improve but only to a certain extent. Then, when they become complacent like their government, they start to decline. This has been a recurrent theme in the Philippine chess scene. Anand did not have to go through it and became very successful.

Obviously, something is wrong. Wesley So and the Philippine government need to get their acts together to prevent another failure. If this cannot happen, Wesley better find another country that can do the job for him. You cannot do it by yourself, Wesley. Even Robert Fischer needed help and he got it in the end. Manny Pacquiao did not reach his full potential until he found the Wild Card gym and Freddie Roach.