Living in the City

The Universe is Frowning .. on the US East Coast because Sandy is hammering down on them? Not really. These more recent global weather disasters I think were just all waiting to happen.. effects of climate change I suppose.. It seems that world weather conditions have morphmed into what we see now as monstrous flood water carrying climate happenings. Can we still afford not to heed Nature's call of moderation? An animation of satellite observations from Oct. 26-29, 2012, shows Hurricane Sandy move along the U.S. East coast and into the Mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S. Sandy had still not made landfall by the end of this

Bangsa Moro Peace Agreement Signed May the signing of the Framework of the Bangsa Moro Peace Agreement today, lead our country and especially the marginalized peoples of Mindanao to lasting peace and much deserved economic advancement. Let's give Peace a Chance! Thanks to this site for the image and additional info.

Sin Taxing Cigarettes Our law makers can't seem to make sense of what to do with the "sin products". Whether to heavily tax the industries involved  to reduce the number of users in order to lessen government's burden for health care or raise the taxes for more revenue.. is it one or  the other? ..  or should the law serve to complement both objectives.. duh

Anti Cybercrime Law TROd For 120 days the promulgation of the Anti Cybercrime Law is put on hold.. It appears that the Supreme Court would like to re-study some of the contentious provisions of the law.. and there are many.. i think the original provisions should stay but goodness gracious, please remove the insertions..

Christmas Tree or Not October will soon be over. My how time flies. Wasn't that yesterday when I dismantled our Christmas tree? Yes, that was like March this year. My son who is based abroad came for his Christmas holidays last  February. He requested me to allow the Christmas tree to stay until both he and GF arrive, "to retain that holiday ambiance,"  even though Valentines was just around the corner. This year I was thinking of putting up the holiday tree in November. Problem? My old tree is gone. I practically threw it away because it is old,  mud filthy and moldy from Ondoy. Yes,  I managed to salvage and use it for Christmasses  2009 to 2011. And it definitely served its purpose well considering I bought it in 2002. Our old tree For Christmas 2012, I am not very sure. I will leave it at that.

Zac Efron eats lunch on top of Mayon The former 'High School Musical' star Zac Efron guested on the Ellen de Generes show recently and surprise, the Philippines got a free plug for our tourism industry. So this is another boost to the "It's More Fun in the Philippines" slogan. Yey! He said that when he came to Bicol it was, "for a quick trip and it was unreal. I didn't know what to expect and I've heard a lot about it. It seems like a pretty cool place.” Clearly, Zac was impressed with Mayon Volcano's "perfect triangle" form. Zac added that, "they put us on a helicopter and flew us to the top of a volcano. It was sort of a surprise. We got on these ATVs and we rode up the lava fields, up the trails of lava that flowed down a volcano, to the top of an active volcano, and had lunch at the top of the volcano.” Cool!

Preventing Crimes in the City How  do we address the problem of criminality? As of September 2012, according to the PNP, total crime rate is at 18%. It doesn't help to know that this is already a reduced rate from 22% in 2011. City living means citizens have to contend with everyday criminality like kidnapping, crimes committed by motorcycle riding individuals, bank and highway  robberies, carnapping,  illegal gambling, crimes committed against environment protection, human trafficking, smuggling, prostitution and many more. In all of these criminality, it would definitely help if there is consistent police visibility in our communities. Criminal offenders would think twice if there is constant law enforcement presence.  All criminals shudder at the thought of getting caught. So seeing police cars on regular patrol in crime prone areas, criminals would perhaps think twice before committing a crime. The introduction of CCTVs or closed circuit TVs also in crime prone areas

Take your pick Meet the Senatorial Candidates LP Coalition 1. Aquino - cousin of PNoy 2. Angara - son of Sen Angara 3. Baraquel - sister of TV personality Pia Hontiveros and former Party List Rep 4. Cayetano - re-electionist brother of Sen Pia Cayetano 5. Madrigal - former senator and known to come from an "oligarch" family 6. Magsaysay Jr - related to former Pres Magsaysay 7. Pimentel - son of former Sen Pimentel and re-electionist 8. Trillanes - alleged coup plotter and re-electionist 9. Villar - wife of Sen Villar UNA Coalition 1. Tingting Cojuangco - aunt of PNoy 2. JV Ejercito - son of Pres Estrada; half-brother to Sen Jinggoy Estrada 3. J Enrile - son of SP Enrile 4. D Gordon - former Senator 5. G Honasan - alleged coup plotter and re-electionist senator 6. E Maceda - used to be with Pres Marcos and former senator 7. M Magsaysay - malamang kamag-anak din ni President Magsaysay 8. M Zubiri - resigned senator now running again The Adopteds

The Fiesta called Elections 2013 It is election season once again. Officially, it begins today with the candidates' filing their COC or Certificate of Candidacy. More than 2,000 local and national positions are at stake. Precisely, candidates have started to troop down to the Comelec offices as early as 9:00 A.M. It is demotivating however to see mostly recycled if not "re-dynastied" candidates. What is there to look forward to? Uninterestingly, it seems that gold remains THE currency of the season. Is it still surprising that a qualified person who posses the right convictions and intention to lead will not be able to make it because he is poor. Comelec says that candidates are only authorized to spend 10 pesos per voter. If we have 40 million national voters ergo the candidates need around 400 million pesos. That is definitely pocket change. I guess, running a candidacy is much like putting up a business. Business that needs financing - continuously develop