FINEST KIND CLINIC AND FISHMARKET.... Discussing medicine, culture, and the joys of cooking Pansit.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Everyday Heroes
The bishop and the ball breaker saint
"And what if someone did something?"was Puglisi's favorite saying. and the story is of a simple parish priest who took on the Mafia, and how, after he was killed, the bishop took up the fight.
In the 1960s, Puglisi began his career as pastor in the tiny town of Godrana, in the hills 40 kilometers outside Palermo. When he arrived, there had been 15 murders in this village of scarcely more than 100 people, all related to a feud between two rival clans. Puglisi started going door-to-door, reading the gospel with people and talking about forgiveness. He encouraged small groups to meet together to pray and read the Bible, at first once a month, then every 15 days.
Eventually one of the women who had been hosting a group said to Puglisi that she did not feel she could carry on until she had forgiven the mother of her son’s assassin. After much time, effort and prayer, Puglisi arranged a reconciliation between the two women,...Sunday, December 17, 2006
Millions struggle to read Kareoke lyrics
Did you know we have kareoke channels here in Asia?
HELLO KITTY The Airline
Holocaust denial
Merry Christmas *
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Peter Boyle Rest in Peace
Headlines and propaganda
And to see the Middle East turn into a Happy days rerun, all we have to do is abadon Israel.
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The AP does an editorial against Gitmo as a news story, insisting all those killers released by the US as "non dangerous" are....no longer dangerous. ...of course, none of them did anything wrong. They were merely sightseeing in the Afghan mountains in the middle of winter...
St.Peggywrites that the hype about Obama needs a reality check.
Carolyn Glick ridicules Germany's ability to overlook the Nazi parallels in Iran.
And James Dunnigan gives a one page summary on why various people hated the "plan" against terrorism, and why the plan included invading Iraq...
Too bad Dunnigan wasn't on the Baker panel.
Friday, December 15, 2006
Comet dust
The twelve healthy days of Christmas
Your tax dollars at work. (headsup from Medpundit
Cooking cute
headsup from BoingBoing. How to make boiled eggs pretty using a press.
You can make cubes and stars, and even HELLOKITTY shaped eggs with a mold like this one.
Headlines
Ralph Peters says screw the Saudis who have been funding Sunni terrorists for the last three years in Iraq, and let the Shiites take over Iraq...but make sure they are OUR Shiites, not Irans'. HMMMM.
And the UK has decided to ignore bribes payed to the Saudi Royal Family because they were told if they investigate, the Saudi's won't buy planes form the UK. Hey, what's the big deal about giving "gifts" to friends?
Mugabe, not satisfied with wrecking Zimbabwe and stealing elections by threatening to stop food to famine victims, now wants to be president for life.
We ban transfat and warn against smoking, but why do we allow/encourage promiscuity, asks a doc in the WSJ. No kidding. I used to joke with my smokers that the only "sin" left was smoking. But smokers don't destroy families like drugs, and promiscuity...
Mbeki warns that if Africa exchanges raw materials for cheap Chinese goods, they will never develop their own industries. Well, cheap chinese goods is discouraging Philippine industry, and the bad news is that the undervalued yen is part of the reason. The latest problem here is cheap chinese carrots destroying the local carrot farmers. Globalization, anyone?
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Don't forget to put up your tree
If you listen to the Sanity squad, you will need a joke, so here it is...
The sanity squad
News below the fold
It's a good thing they called off the ASEAN summit in Cebu...turns out that the roof leaked from typhoon damage.
You've probably seen reports saying the US is not prepared for a WMD or ordinary infectious disease disaster?
Well, here is a page with a film about 1918...scary, isn't it?
And, fourty years after a lot of us who were interns were told we were spoiled because we worked every third night instead of every other night, they are still arguing about prolonged hours and lack of sleep causing medical mistakes. Well, duh.
Pres GMA dropped the "people's initiative" on "CHACHA"...her plan to ram charter change down the throats of the people...too many people, including the Catholic bishops, the charismatic leaders, the left, and the Iglesia NiCristo, objected. You can't fight everyone.
Family news:
Nanette visiting.
John being sent to Iraq in January.
Lolo has a diaper on one of the dogs so her tubal ligation wound will heal.
The modem still goes on and off...
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Princess Di Update
Bad news: Spying on an American should have required a court order and there is no paper trail. So either it's not true, or warrentless spying was done during the Clinton administration.
Kids
>> >
>> > NUDITY
I was driving with my three young children one warm
summer evening when a Woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked! As I was reeling
from the shock, I heard my 5-year-old shout from the back seat,
>> > "Mom! That lady isn't wearing a seat belt!
>> > HONESTY
>> >
My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom
to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So
I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary
stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago.
>> >
OPINIONS
On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher a Note from his mother.. The note read, "The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents."
>> > KETCHUP
A woman was rying hard to get the ketchup to come out of the jar.
During her struggle the phone rang so she asked her 4-year-old daughter to answer the phone. "It's the minister, Mommy," the child said to her mother. Then
she added, "Mommy can't come to the phone to talk to you
right now. She's hitting the bottle."
>> > MORE NUDITY!
A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in
the women's locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, "What's the matter haven't you ever seen a little boy before?"
>> >
ELDERLY
While working for an organization that delivers
lunches to elderly shut-ins, I used to take my 4-year-old
daughter on my after noon rounds.
The various appliances of old age, particularly the canes,walkers and wheelchairs, unfailingly intrigued her.
One day I found her staring at a pair of false teeth
soaking in a glass. As I braced myself for the inevitable barrage of questions, she merely turned and whispered, "The tooth fairy will never believe this!"
>> >
Your email of the day from Col. Updraft
Stuff
One of the villages where we grow rice is having a fiesta, so we went and ate lunch with our tenants, then to the chapel for prayer. They had a band and lots of traffic. Since Chano was on an errand (they went later) it meant I had to drive. Everyone looks at me, laughs, and helps me with things such as trying to park.
There were two Army checkpoints that we passed (still hunting the NPA who have friends in the farm areas) but they weren't checking cars today.
The rice land is quite productive. We have several "two season" fields, but two other fields on a rise which can't be irrigated in the dry season.
We have a chicken farm on one of these fields, but alas with the cheap imported chickens from Thailand we never make money from it.
With land reform, Lolo's father's land all was "sold" to our tenants. This meant the government gave them mortgages to buy the land, but often we never got paid. Sigh>
Each of our family members got alloted a small field and we have bought some fields back where people's kids moved to Manila and the adults got too old to farm, so we hire tenants again from outside the area.
It's like a circle: Land reform, people get a little money, educate their kids, kids go to Saudi or Manila and don't want to farm, so the parents sell the land, and the rich buy it back.
In the meanwhile, Lolo is still oldfashioned: the pay is bad but lots of gifts and people "borrow" stuff, but Chano is the newfangled businessman: Pays better but expects you to work and if you borrow you get fired.
strangely, Lolo's employees stayed for years, but no locals will work for his "modern" son, since we are a traditional area.
SIGH.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Ignored stories of the day
Syria is broadcasting "insurgent TV" on an Egyptian satellite...Attention megaman: Can you and your friends hack them off the air?
Santorum's farewell speech...he's either a nut case or Chruchill in 1935....
This guy blasts supporters of Israel, in "the Bible Belt", a place that he claims stretches from (French Catholic)Louisiana to (Mexican Catholic) New Mexico...
Give that man a map....
A thousand students protest the Iranian Holocaust denial conference...no not Colombia or Berkeley, but in Tehran...
Pig tossing...it's not just for rednecks anymore.
Follow the money
As one commenter noted: "This ranks right up there with putting a cockroach on your dinner plate to get a free meal."
The other comments are not that charitable...
Headlines
A Philippine court froze the bank account of a Saudi-based charitable institution, International Islamic Relief Organization, because it found probable cause that the account is being used to bankroll terrorist activities in the Philippines. (repeat after me. The Saudis are our friends).
Fumento observes the WAPOST has now discovered Ramadi is improving..."What gives? You guessed it.The second one was reported from Ramadi.."
Duh...
USA Today on Kofi Annan: "The speech contrasted Truman's support for the United Nations with the Bush administration's unilateral actions."...
Ummm...that's because the UN stopped aggression when Truman asked...Bush's request to enforce the 1991 truce agreement was blocked by countries who accepted "oil for food" bribes...from a program run by Annan.
Afghanistan's Taliban is restarted due to "unlimited" unemployed Pakistani recruits from religious schools...funded by Saudi Arabia...(repeat after me: THE SAUDIS ARE OUR FRIENDS)
In the meanwhile, NATO has lots of troops whose countries refuse to let them fight. Kudoos to Canada, which is bearing more than their share of fighting.
And in Gaza, they are now shooting the children of a Gaza official who actually was trying to stop Hamas' terrorists... Prayers for the guy and his family.
Kersten in the StarTrib notes the immans have links to terrorists...
First the WAPO, now the StarTrib. Who's next ? The NYT?
Well, not Reuters, who reports that "US Academic David Duke" is attending Iran's "The Holocaust never happened" meeting....gee, I didn't know Duke had a PhD from a Ukrainian diploma mill...(headsup LGF)
Zimbabwe continues to slide into chaos. The latest shortage? Passports...since most of those who can have moved elsewhere to work, this is actually bad news.
In the Philippines, the really bad news is that the US may not accept this year's nursing graduates. You see, someone stole the test answers and US officials don't trust the retest either.
Nursing schools here advertise that their graduates can find overseas jobs...and often these nurses support their entire family with their salary. Even Nurses who can't pass the exam work as caretakers or nannies in Hong Kong or Malaysia.
Army survival manual Blogfather has the link...put it on your cellphone for emergencies.
Monday, December 11, 2006
King Tut died of a broken leg
He had questioned if the X rays shows King Tut had been hit on the head...later scans after his book was released said no, the fracture was antemortum, probably caused when Carter took Tut out of his mummy case.
But now other scans show Tut had a broken leg, a femur fracture, probably an open wound that killed him.
Since it would have been fairly easy to arrange a wreck of his chariot when he was drag racing, like Diana's death, it was probably a homicide; at least that is how it will be spun by conspiracy theorists.
It's all Bush's fault.
HIV, Malaria link
Figures. Another triumph for the Greens, who opposed DDT spraying and therefore helped Malaria reemerge as a major killer.
Next discovery? That HIV is spread by when clinics and traditional helpers don't sterilize their syringes and "muti" knives.
Interesting...
Do you mean to say that if Israel did not exist, there would suddenly be democracy in Egypt, that the schools in Morocco would be better, that the public clinics in Jordan would function better?
I think so.
Can you please explain to me what the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has to do with these problems?
The Palestinian cause is central for Arab thinking.
In the end, is it a matter of feelings of self-esteem?
Exactly. It's because we always lose to Israel. It gnaws at the people in the Middle East that such a small country as Israel, with only about 7 million inhabitants, can defeat the Arab nation with its 350 million. That hurts our collective ego. The Palestinian problem is in the genes of every Arab. The West's problem is that it does not understand this.
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He's right. I don't understand it.
Earlier in the essay he also lamented that kids can't learn if a teacher has 70 kids in a class...
Well, sorry buster, but my parochial grade school class averaged 65 until sixth grade, and then classes were 45.
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Kreeft on language in Lord of the rings
I love poetry, but too many modern poets write bad prose. Kreeft, a philosopher from Boston, discusses language.
Monty Python,Monte Python, Monty Python
Family news
Everyone is fine.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Trivia
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Right wing magazine has an update on a muslim woman threatening to sue because she was insulted for praying in a gym...it seems that she was blocking the locker of another patron, and got upset when she was politely asked to move.
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Bill Clinton, when asked about the Baker Report's advice to ask Iran and Syria to help calm things in Iraq, told Dutch TV: "Right now the Iranians don't want to do anything, probably because their policy seems to be, whatever causes America heartburn is good for us,"
The AP reporter, realizing Clinton made a faux pais by speaking the truth, helpfully tried to hide his remarks and instead phrased the headline: "Clinton supports dialogue with Iran".
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There seems to be some sniggering about what the "christian" response to Mary Cheyney's pregnancy should be.
Well, it should be a "we wish you well" to her and a quiet prayer that she have a safe delivery.
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Finally, looking for a house to rent? Complete with goblins? Well here is a deal for you...
Want to own a 16th century fairy tale cottage in England, complete with goblins on the kitchen walls painted by Brian Froud, Alan Lee, Charles Vess and other artists? Here's an extremely rare opportunity to do so. The cottage is located in the middle of a small, bucolic country village at the edge of Dartmoor...perfect for a writer, painter, or dreamer seeking inspiration in the countryside. More information is available on Phillip Fowler's website.
How to put in a Zipper
I like the photos on how to put in a zipper. I never can figure out how to do it right.
Typhoon shuts down ASEAN summit in Cebu
Bad news: Typhoon headed straight for that area.
Tropical storm Seniang (international codename Utor)
and, of course, threats of terror attacks on the meeting didn't help matters.
Good news: Will miss us completely.
War news and spin
But when the oprafication of America allows self defense against those who use civilians as shields to be spun as atrocities we need to take a second, and third look at what is going on, and why.
Everyday heroes
Marines save Iraqi baby...Iraqi police fight Alqaeda...22 local policemen killed, but thanks to crime, Alqaeda outsiders have a lot of money to pay unemployed young men to kill...
(Would someone tell me why there are a million Pinoys and a million and a half Indians in the Middle East working, why are there so many "unemployed young men" in these Arab countries? )
And Jeanne Kirkpatrick, rest in peace...
The more things change the more they stay the same LINK
Friday, December 08, 2006
Quote of the day
Philippine headlines
The good news: Will probably hit south of here
The Bad news: It's aiming at Cebu, where the ASEAN summit is due to meet.
The Good News: The hurricane might mess up the planned Terrorist attacks on the summit...
The Bad News: The rain might discourage the huge rallies against ChaCha..
The Good News: Erap is going on a hunger strike to discourage Cha Cha..
<-----Headline of the story:
The Pinoy is worth dieting for...
The Bad News: US Labor Lawyer kept out...it's unclear if he was denied entry because he is investigating "judicial killings" here, or if China put him on a black list and doesn't want him near the Cebu meeting.
----------------------------
Good news: Smith's conviction in the Subic Rape trial shows that Pinoys can convict powerful Americans.
Bad news: To do it, they had to change the law of rape to include sex while drunk.
Good news: This will protect innocent women
Bad news: the sweet Subic ladies of the evening will now have to work while sober.
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Terrible stories of families searching for loved ones killed in the mudslides HERE, Aid is coming in from local funds and foreign countries LINK2
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Thursday, December 07, 2006
He saved millions but no one knows his name
the founder of the green revolution.
the US Congress just voted him a Congressional medal.
He won the Nobel Peace prize for his work in 1970e
How to win in Iraq
1) Bomb the Mosques
2) Seal the Borders
3) Slaughter al-Sadr
Mr. Gates, former director of the CIA, said he would counsel President George Bush to abandon his “stay the course” strategy in favor of what is known, in military terminology, as “find the evil people who hate you and kill them.”
“Civil war is not breaking out in Iraq,” Mr. Gates said, “civil war is breaking in.”
To end the foreign-funded fighting, and to protect the only democracy in the heart of the Muslim world, he said his Pentagon would “nail the evil, murderous ringleaders as well as the foreign governments who supply them with men, money and materiel.”
(alas, it's not real, it's Scrappleface)
Pssst...want an investment? Bowling Balls.
Palestine is begging money from the EU but Arafat's widow has a hundreds of millions...and the funniest part of the expose is this:
Meanwhile in New York City, the shiny black bowling balls of Bowlmor Lanes in Greenwich Village bare rumbling witness to the long, strong arm of Arafat. Flush with cash during the bloody Palestinian intifada of 2000–2004, Arafat's Kurdish finance chief, Mohammed Rashid, deputized Palestinian American Zeid Masri to pour $1.3 million of Palestinian Authority largesse into the bowling alley's parent company, Strike Holdings LLC. ...
Well, at least they didn't just sit them in Swiss bank accounts like the hundreds of millions stolen from Iraqi reconstruction funding, or the billions stolen by various African leaders, the biggest thief being the Nigerian president from that country's oil wealth...
At least Marco's stolen money was partly from finding Yamashita's gold, which was of course stolen from Philipinos by the Japanese who ran the country during World War II...
By the standards of Africa and the Middle East, Imelda's hundreds of millions is only a pittance. no wonder she is forced to sell shoes in jewelry for a living.
Things to ponder
If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.
Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. It could be a right number.
I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.
Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of OLD LADIES running around with tattoos? (And RAP music will be the Golden Oldies!)
Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
---Your email of the day from Col. Updraft
Everyday heroes
But when Johnson was asked to risk her life for a civic duty, she did what most witnesses of gang homicides in South Los Angeles don't: She testified.
Headlines
Iraq report is out...blogosphere is not impressed. Summary:Iran and Syria as our friends...right.
Blogfather's TCS column: Dear appliances: STOP BEEPING.
Useless Medical news: Psychopaths have bad brains.
Absurd NYTimes headline of the day: Iran to Host Scholarly Seminar on Holocaust.
Scholarly? Right.
Best line in the article: Mr. Mohammadi today brushed off any idea that the seminar could advocate anti-Semitism and declared anti-Semitism to be a Western phenomenon. The proof for that, he said, was Iran’s community of 25,000 Jews...
Umm...fellahs, there were 125,000 Jews in Iran in 1948, and 80,000 there in 1979...
Good medical news: Simvastatin works to treat the endocrine imbalance in Polycystic ovary syndrome. Bad news: Usually we treat PCO so the women can get pregnant, and Simvastatin is "catagory x" in pregnancy, since it causes fetal malformations in animals.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Everyday heroes
And THIS STORY seems to be another "amok Pinoy" story: Demoted policeman kills one, injures five...until you read the details:
Damatac's aide tried to take Poscablo's gun away, but was also shot by Poscablo, who slipped as he started to escape and dropped a grenade, Bacalzo said.
The wounded aide covered the grenade with his body and was killed when it detonated, he said. Three other officers and a waiter were wounded...
The IHT doesn't bother to name the hero who saved lives by falling on the granade, but the Manila Times article names him as Senior Insp. Winnie Temprosa
Senile kitty disease and other stories below the fold
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97% of websites "fail handicapped" people...what they mean is that blind people can't see pictures in popup ads.
Hey, why should they not have to suffer with popup ads for cybersex like the rest of us...
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The most popular Yahoo search? Britney...search number two? WWE wrestling...
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And here's something people don't die from anymore: Being freightened to death by fairies...Freeperlink or Original link
Deaths taken out of the Register of Lamplugh from Janry ye 1 1656 to Janry ye 1 1663
* On a five bar gate, stag hunters: 4
* Two Duels, first fot [fought] with frying pan and pitchforks: 1
* Second between a 3 footed stool and a brown jug: 1
* Kild [killed] at Kelton fell raices [races]: 3
* Knocked on the head at Cockfight: 2
* Crost [crossed] in love: 1
* Broke his neck robbing a hen roost: 1
* took cold sleeping at Church: 11
* hanged for clipping and coyning: 7
* of a sprain in his shouldr by saving his dog at bul bate [bull bait]: 1
* Mrs Lamplughs cordial water: 2
* Knocked on ye head with a quart bottle: 1
* Frighted to Death by faries: 4
* Of strong October at the hall: 14
* Bewitched: 7
* Broke a vein in bawling for a knight of ye shire: 1
* Old women drowned upon trial for witchcraft: 3
* Climbing a crows nest: 1
* Led into a horse pond by a will of the whisp: 1
* Over eat himself at a house warming: 1
* Died of a fright in an Excersise of ye traind bands: 1
* By the Parsons bull: 2
* Vagrant beggars worried by Esqr Lamplughs housedog: 2
* Choked with eating barley: 4
* Old age: 57
Yup...they don't make death certificates like they used to...
headlines take two
And the WAPO has discovered military contractors...they talk as if they were all police (some are) but actually most are truckdrivers, cooks, cleaners etc. And a lot of them are from the Philippines. The gov't forbids it, but the money is good, so people risk their lives...behala na...I can't find statistics on the internet (one 2004 estimate was 6000 OFW in Iraq) but our drivers know people who went there, and talk about going...
Remember the massacre of Srebrenica ? Where 800 Dutch peacekeepers left when 10 000 Serbs arrived, allowing them to massacre 8000 unarmed civilians?
Well, the Dutch government are giving them a medal.
Perhaps instead they should send them to Lucerne to ponder this famous sculpture..and hang their heads in shame...
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Headlines
Funny, my uncle was killed by a suicide bomber back in 1944. The difference, of course, is that back then the reporter didn't spend half the article complaining about all the innocent Japenese civilians who were killed by anti aircraft fire from the evil American navy.
The NYTimes belatedly notes Israel's bombing of "civilian targets" in Lebanon might have been due to Hezbollah hiding among civilians and because reporters counted Hezbollah fighters who were killed as civilian casualties.
Better late than never. But the report only "reports" that Israel offered photos proving that the press reported Hezbollah's lies, but doesn't withdraw or correct their own inaccurate reports.However, their business section has a good article on the inaccurate AP reports from Iraq link (headsup LGF
I have an article about Malaria on BNN LINK.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Regrowing brain cells
"...One week after implantation, the change in signal was consistent with cell accumulation and proliferation around the lesion (Figure 2D). The signal at the periphery of the lesion intensified during the second and third weeks (Figure 2E and 2F), suggesting that the neural stem cells had migrated from the primary sites of injection to the border of the damaged tissue. We did not observe a hypointense signal after 7 weeks, which we attribute to a dilution of signal due to cell proliferation. .."
The main problem after stroke or brain damage is the inability for brain and nerve cells to regrow.
If they can take a few out, zap them and put them back, and they regrow, maybe brains can repair themselves.
Of course, no CLINICAL improvement nosted, and of course, previous experiments using fetal cells ended up with the cells overgrowing.
Gift Idea take 24
A HelloKitty Ski cap for your favorite skier...
From The HelloKitty Knit Along Blogspot, of course.
Hmmm...somehow, I can't imagine Col. Updraft wearing it when he skis at Killington.
US Court case endangers Philippine lives
The way I interpret what's going on, as long as these terrorists groups spend some of their money for "charity", the judge says the government doesn't have the right to freeze their accounts. This means, if the government freezes an account, the "charity" can appeal. Even if the government ultimately wins, these groups can raise money while the cases are being heard...which as we all know can take years.
A lot of the terror in the Philippines comes from such outside groups alleging to be charities, which is why the Arroyo government is cooperating with the US examination of "suspicious money transfers", and why they supported the "US government’s decision to freeze the financial assets of Saudi businessman Abd Al Hanid Sulaiman Al-Mujil, who is suspected of financing terror attacks through the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) which has branches in the Philippines and Indonesia. (PNA).."
Indeed, the arrest of an Abu Sayyaf member who is the the brother of Abu Sayyaf leader Jayrold Nassara confirmed funds are being channeled through an Islamic charitable organization in the Middle East.
The Abu Sayyaf was behind the killing of nine Philippine soldiers and Marines last July, and was responsible for bombing a ferry in 2004 that resulted in the deaths of 200 people.
With the busy Christmas holiday season, which will have increased numbers of people in shopping areas, traveling with public transportation, and fiestas, the Philippine government is on alert for more bombings such as occurred recently in recent fiestas here in the Philippines.
Indeed, reports of women terrorists who could easily infiltrate as suicide bombers, and of increasingly sophisticated bombs found in a recent raid in Jolo suggest that Al Qaeda trained Indonesian terrorists are involved, and that the few members of the MILF who are not willing to go along with the government's amnesty negotiations might be able to mount increasingly lethal attacks against local infrastructure and transportation.
Journalism 101
Hmm...they must be reading my blog...just joking. Actually, this story came out eight days ago, in FreeRepublic by the poster Rightwingassault ....
Crittenden summarizes the AP vs bloggers dispute about a non existent Iraqi police source, not to the AP's credit.
And what do you write when journalism students cheat on an ethics exam? You spend most of the article quoting students whining that their degree was devalued, not about investigating the fraud.
And does the press essentially rephrase Bush's speeches so to mislead their readers?lYes, says a book that analyzes the themes of the speeches and the very different themes in the news reports.
The last three headsup are from Blogfather.
And from PajamasMedia: Dennis Miller dares to say what most of us think:
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Gift Idea take 23
From the catelogue description: "The Japanese love cleaning their ears, and it is often a sign of love if your partner will clean your ears for you. It is not an uncommon sight in Japan to see a man with his head on his partner's lap while she scapes out his ear wax with the precision of a surgeon. This Hello Kitty mimikaki (ear pick) will help you recreate the uniquely Japanese experience of having your ear wax cleaned out."
Headlines
The end of the essay is a joke, but I always wonder: If the US withdraws, the power vacuum in the Middle East will be filled with one of several Islamic powers (probably Persia) but China, that has a long history of empire and expansion into controlling it's neighbors, will be more likely to fill the the power vacuum than India.
But then, what do I know? My area of expertise is Africa. I just live in Asia.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Jane Austen vs Paris Hilton
The ten "novels" I brought along with me include Lord of the Rings, Kristens Lavransdattir, Anna Karenina and my Jane Austen collection.
Of course, I also brought my Janet Evanovich, Robert Heinlein, Dave Barry, and P.J. O'Rourke books with me too. You can't read classics all the time.
Turkey day fertility Dance
Actually, it's Col. Updraft's German Folk Dance group practicing for a show.
Headlines of the day
One is St. Peggy on the need for "grace" in politics. Sigh, if I could only write as well as she does.
The second is about PapiRatz:
"Very simply, he is talking about and defending what we call "the West"--both the place and the classically liberal idea, which radical Islam wants to blow up. Just as John Paul championed the jailed or hiding dissidents behind the Iron Curtain, Benedict is seeking similar protections for persecuted Christian minorities--indeed all minorities--across the Islamic world. Starting in Turkey."
Time Magazine has the facts about Christians in Turkey, but a tin ear for the context found in Henninger's editorial. For example, they write: "...since Turkey's independence in 1923, his Greek Orthodox community has dwindled from around 150,000 to 1,500 people.."
"Dwindled"? and of course, if you start at 1895, the number would be 500 000...LINK. Context, anyone?
GETRELIGION BLOG points out a case where Turkey is prosecuting two Turkish Christians who converted from Islam, accused of "insulting Turkishness", thereby being a troubling case about the lack of both freedom of religion and freedom of speech in that country.
In a related manner, THIS OKIE wrote an editorial condemning Islamofascism, and was banned from his mosque. The mosque claims he was not banned for the editorial, but because when people attacked him, it caused a ruckus in the mosque. No mention if the attackers were banned. Freeper link has the original editorial.
And, of course, the "invisible man" in the discussion of Bendict's concern about freedom for Christians to practice their religion in Muslim lands are the several million overseas foreign workers (OFW). 80% of the one million Filipinos OFW in Saudi are Christian, as are many from India and Africa. LINK. Yet there are NO churches in Saudi Arabia...
Typhoon kills 400 in the Philippines
The bad news is that floods and mudslides killed 388 people. Most of the dead were in a villages which were hit by a mudslide from volcanic ash from the Mayon volcano.
Dave Barry's Holiday gift suggestions
Friday, December 01, 2006
Strange headlines or the lack thereof
Calling Captain Hussein, calling Captain Jamil Hussein...the AP claims he exists, but the US Army and the Iraqi government don't have any records of him....how does that poem go?
One day I saw upon a stair
A little man who wasn't there
He wasn't there again today
Gee, I wish he'd stay away
And on a sadder note, another story ignored by the MSM: But the Belmont Club notices Zimbabwe...(post headsup fromDr.Sanity)
But not all the news is bad:
Did you know Space Aliens love Hello Kitty?
HELLOKITTY CROP CIRCLES.
Everyday Heroes
After the GulfWarI, there was a movie about a heroic helicopter pilot, played by Meg Ryan.Guess things have changed, because when these things happen in real life, it doesn't make the headlines:
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3, 2006 — Back in March in Iraq , Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lori Hill, with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, was piloting her Kiowa Warrior when the lead chopper came under heavy fire. She drew the fire away, simultaneously providing suppressive fire for the troops engaged with the enemy on the ground.
A rocket-propelled grenade hit her, damaging the helo’s instrumentation, but instead of focusing on her predicament, she established communication with the ground forces and continued to provide them with aerial weapon support until the soldiers reached safety.
As she turned her attention to the aircraft, which was losing hydraulic power, the helo took on machine-gun fire, a round crashing into one of Hill’s ankles. Still,with a damaged aircraft and an injury, she landed at Forward Operating Base Normandy, saving her crew and aircraft.
For her actions she was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross by Vice President Richard Cheney at Fort Campbell , Ky. , on Oct. 16.
HOW TO ANNOY YOUR FELLOW WORKERS
- Leave the copy machine set to reduce 200%, extra dark, 17 inch paper, 99 copies.
- Reply to everything someone says with "that's what you think."
- Practice making fax and modem noises.
- Highlight irrelevant information in scientific papers and "cc" them to your boss.
- Make beeping noises when a large person backs up.
- Staple pages in the middle of the page.
- Publicly investigate just how slowly you can make a croaking noise.
- TYPE IN UPPERCASE.
- type only in lowercase.
- dont use any punctuation either
Typhoon missed us, thank God
It could be worse. After all, it's snowing back in Oklahoma
Chano is off to his trade fair in Manila.
Lolo is resting.
I am blogging. My newest blog posts are on Bloggernews network, long boring essays, which hopefully will bring me more than the 3 dollars a month I get from google ads (hit them once in awhile, Luke, I need the dough).
We gave two of the 3 older puppies away, but the bad news is that the latest 6 puppies have started climbing out of their box, so when we walk thru the kitchen/dining room, you have to watch where you step, or you might step on a puppy or worse. I can't wait till the "dirty kitchen" (i.e. the kitchen outside that is covered but open to air) is finished and we can move the puppies out there.
World AIDS Day
I argue HERE that it is western activists who are trying to impose non judgmentalism on African and Asian societies who are the ideologues.