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By Rainier Allan Ronda
The Philippine Star
Transportation and Communications Secretary Leandro Mendoza confirmed the government's plan to open the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal III within the year.
According to Mendoza, NAIA Terminal III is among several airports that they plan to open until 2010.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), for its part, said that structural works had already been conducted on the airport facilities in the past months.
Saturday, 31 May 2008
DOTC gives new timeline for NAIA-3 opening
By Rainier Allan Ronda
Philippines among least vulnerable to inflation shocks — Fitch
By Maria Eloisa I. Calderon
BusinessWorld Online
London-based Fitch Ratings has ranked the Philippines as one of the least vulnerable, among 73 rated emerging markets, to macroeconomic volatility arising from rising inflationary pressures.
The Philippines clinched the 59th spot in an index that ranked 73 Fitch-rated countries according to their vulnerability to inflation shocks, which the global debt watcher said could erode creditworthiness.
Fitch said rising inflation, rather than slowing economic growth, is the "principle challenge" facing policymakers in these emerging economies.
"Failure to contain inflationary pressures risks undermining macroeconomic stability and medium-term growth prospects," Fitch said in a report released yesterday.
"In the worst case scenario, investors will lose confidence in local currency assets, leading to volatile financial and currency markets," Fitch added.
The top 10 most vulnerable emerging markets, according to the index, are Jamaica, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Suriname, Latvia, Lithuania, Ghana, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.
"In Asia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka stand out as the only countries in the region in the top ten, while Malaysia, Taiwan and the Philippines demonstrate low risk," Fitch said.
Fitch currently rates Philippine sovereign debt papers 'BB', or below investment grade.
Posted Saturday, May 31, 2008 0 comments
Labels: inflation, Republic of the Philippines
Friday, 30 May 2008
NAIA 3 to warm up with domestic flights
By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines -- Airport authorities are considering starting domestic flight operations in the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 as they plan yet again a "partial phased opening" of the controversial facility.
Alfonso Cusi, the general manager of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), said the domestic flights would be a kind of "warm up" to the long delayed operations of the controversial NAIA-3, which would later shift to international flights.
Cusi said in a statement that MIAA was pursuing "a deliberate strategy of partial and phased opening, starting with domestic flight operations and subsequently shifting to international flight operations on a selective basis."
But this would be done after the conduct of appropriate engineering tests and assessment to determine the safety and operability of the different sections of the facility, he said.
Airport officials did not set a date for the start of the dry-run but said some 80 percent of air terminal systems, from baggage handling, loading bridges, and security screening to electrical, air-conditioning and fire protection, have been installed since the "completion work" began earlier this year.
"We are doing everything we can to undertake the review and testing of the most important electro-mechanical systems and provision for passenger services so that the terminal could be put into productive use at the soonest possible time," Cusi said.
Last Wednesday, a delegation from the House of Representatives made a tour of the facility, the second visit of members of Congress in 2008.
Last January, members of the House oversight committee toured the terminal and saw for themselves the structural defects that the MIAA cited as the reason for the delayed opening.
Bacolod Representative Monico O. Puentevella, head of the House committee on transportation, headed the House members who went to look at the progress of the repairs and "completion work" at the terminal.
Puentevella said in a statement on Thursday that the committee approved a motion to support any decision that the MIAA board would make concerning the opening of NAIA 3
"We believe it is time to open Terminal 3 and the committee gives its full support to the (Department of Transportation and Communication) and the MIAA," he said.
Damage from the collapse of the ceiling held back the terminal's planned "rolling opening" in 2007. Private engineering consultants, TCGI Engineers and the Ove Arup & Partners HK warned that opening the facility would pose "life safety risks" to users.
MIAA intends to go ahead with the opening of the terminal even as legal cases continue to dog NAIA-3, including claims for payment brought against the government in international arbitration courts by the consortium that built the facility, the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. (PIATCo).
The Supreme Court earlier voided PIATCo's controversial contract.
The government gained control over the facility by making a partial payment to PIATCo for the terminal's construction cost.
Tirso Serrano, the airport development and corporate affairs chief, said the terminal would open "at the soonest possible time."
"We have been addressing all the basic, pressing and most glaring life safety concerns such as the collapsed ceiling through a more comprehensive repair and strengthening program," he said.
Posted Friday, May 30, 2008 0 comments
Labels: aviation, NAIA 3, Republic of the Philippines
PGMA takes a break; no official schedule today
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo took time off today from her usual busy schedules after making rounds of the provinces the past two months.
Yesterday, the President was in Tawi-Tawi, one of the 20 poorest provinces, where she inaugurated the Modified Mariculture project, and observed the sprucing up of classrooms in Sibutu in preparation for school's opening next month.
In Bongao, the capital town of Tawi-Tawi, the President observed the distribution of rice to the poor.
Presidential Security Group (PSG) Chief Romeo Prestoza said the President then flew to Palawan where she spent the night.
Prestoza said the President's activities in Palawan are private.
This week alone, the President had a very busy schedule as she went around the provinces checking on preparations for the opening of classes next month or looking after the relief and rehabilitation operations on typhoon-devastated provinces in Region 1 or inaugurating or groundbreaking vital infrastructure projects.
Last Tuesday, the President was in San Fernando, La Union to inaugurate two vital projects---the $550 million Asian-American Gateway and the P5 –billion Thunderbird Resort, that stand to spur economic development in the area.
She was in Sariaya and Lucena in Quezon province on Wednesday, where she inaugurated the Sentrong Pamilihan ng Produktong Agrikultura ng Quezon and visited an elementary school's science laboratory room.
Last week, the President was in the Visayas and Mindanao to check on priority projects that would propel economic development in the countrysides.
Indeed, the Chief Executive is quite busy and she needs a little time out for herself.
Posted Friday, May 30, 2008 0 comments
Labels: Gloria Arroyo, Republic of the Philippines
Philippines set to open 8 airports in next 2 years
TRANSPORTATION Secretary Leandro Mendoza said eight airports would be completed in the next two years.
"By 2010 the Philippines will have airports of international standards to ease traffic and reduce business cost," Mendoza said during the opening of the two-day Expo on International Transportation and Logistics held at the World Trade Center.
He said this year alone, three airports, namely, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) Terminal 3, the Clark or Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) and the Buswanga airport will be opened in November.
Mendoza said they likewise consider opening the Davao-Iloilo Terminal, the Silay-Bacolod airport, the Laguindingan airport and the Panglao airport in Bohol.
Negotiation for the opening of the Zamboanga airport is also ongoing, he added.
"We expect traffic to double in particular the tourists' arrivals" Mendoza said, adding that this will help decongest the growing passenger traffic in the country.
Records of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed that 11.24 million passengers were recorded last year or an increase of 11 percent from the 10.13 million posted in 2006.
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) cornered the bulk with 2.38 million, of which 1.8 million were overseas.
Of the 11.24 million, about 5.8 million were outbound and 5.43 million inbound, higher than the 2006 arriving passengers with 4.56 million and around 5.26 million outbound.
Aside from PAL, Cebu Pacific carried 1.02 million passengers. Cebu Pacific has 12 international destinations while PAL has 25 destinations.
Asian Spirit had 8,052 international passengers as compared to the 5,810 recorded last year.
Meanwhile, foreign carriers Cathay Pacific Airways transported 1.33 million passengers last year; Singapore Airlines, 537,362; Northwest Airlines, 497,916; Japan Airlines, 435,429; Emirates Air, 448,482; and Korean Air, 414,319.
Likewise, CAB reported that domestic passenger traffic last year also increased by 22.7 percent to 10.39 million from 8.47 million in 2006 due to budget fares introduced by several airlines.
Cebu Pacific carried 4.45 million domestic passengers and PAL transported 4.03 million. Air Philippines had 1.17 million domestic passengers; Asian Spirit, 484,482; and Seair, 245,020.
For 2007, the country's domestic load factor was placed at 78 percent up by 73 percent in 2006. (MSN/Sunnex)
Gov't sets medium-term growth targets
The Development Budget and Coordination Committee (DBCC) has approved the country's economic growth targets for 2008-2010.
Given recent and regional trends, the DBCC reviewed the macroeconomic assumptions over the medium-term period and agreed to set the real GDP growth rates for 2008-2010 at 5.7-6.5 percent, 6.2-7.0 percent and 6.8-7.6 percent, respectively, DBCC Chair and Budget and Management Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. announced today.
The DBCC chair clarified that there had been only a slight downsizing in the government's original growth targets for the medium-term as an offshoot of the prevailing uncertainty in the world economy.
DFBCC records show that the revised growth targets were brought about by accelerating worldwide inflation given higher food prices and the record high and more volatile Dubai crude prices caused by supply and demand concerns, and the strong peso-dollar exchange rate which is assumed at P42-P45 and sustained strong inflows from OFW remittances, even as export growth decelerates given the global slowdown.
Merchandises exports are likely to grow at a slower rate of 6 percent this year and next year, before increasing by 8 percent in 2010. Imports likewise are projected to increase by 7 percent in 2008 and 2009, and by 9 percent by 2010.
The government is bent on balancing the budget by 2010 to enable the government to sustain the much-needed infrastructure and social programs in the next two years to provide for more jobs and poverty alleviation measures in the face of tougher external; conditions," Andaya said.
The budget chief issued the assurance after an agreement was reached in the DBCC that the higher level of spending to help the poor cope with rising oil and food prices would likely result in the budget cap of less than 1 percent of GDP this year.
The finance department remains committed to its P1.2-trillion revenue target in 2008 to ensure that there are enough resources to cover our programmed spending for this year and the coming years," Andaya said.
Palace confident of better growth in second quarter
By Mia M. Gonzalez and Cai Ordinario
The Business Mirror
THE Executive put on a brave face Thursday on news that growth in the first quarter was slower than hoped for, at 5.2 percent from last year's 7.0 percent, saying the country will post better growth figures in the second quarter because of increased targeted spending on vital sectors. This, after the government abandoned its balanced-budget target for the year in favor of a P75-billion deficit.
The government's economists had pinned the blame for the slackening on rising oil prices, the slowdown in the US economy and the negative effects of a strong peso.
"The results for the first quarter are still within expectation, but we expect to make up for it in the second quarter because the government will spend on necessary [items] to help vital sectors. And we can count on the government to take all the necessary steps to attain its revised 5.7-percent to 6.5-percent growth target for the year," Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in an interview.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said in a statement the government will meet its new balanced-budget target in 2010, and that the Department of Finance has committed to meet its P1.2-trillion revenue target this year "to ensure that there are enough resources to cover our programmed spending for this year and the coming years."
The government, he said, is bent on balancing the budget by 2010 to enable it to "sustain the much-needed infrastructure and social programs in the next two years to provide for more jobs and poverty alleviation measures in the face of tougher external conditions."
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo said, "With sustained investments and dollar inflows from OFWs, exports and tourism, we shall sustain our record 29 consecutive quarters of GDP expansion under President Arroyo."
Bunye said that while external challenges are exerting pressure on economies around the world, including the Philippines, the government believes its reforms "are working to provide a firewall against major global economic disruptions."
The economy, he opined, has "matured and diversified so much in the last few years that our economic turnaround is permanent."
Bunye said the country's 5.2-percent GDP growth for the first quarter "shows that our economy continues to have solid momentum" but "high oil prices and reduced global demand, particularly in the United States, for some of our nation's exports have forced our economic team to reduce the target for GDP growth for this year," originally set at 6.3 percent to 7 percent.
"The President is carefully monitoring economic developments to ensure that there is continued investment in key infrastructure that will enhance the competitiveness of the Philippine economy and in the education, health and other social programs that will improve the quality of life of millions of our countrymen and women who are impacted by the challenges brought about by the new global economic environment," he said.
With the deferment of the national government's target of achieving a balanced budget to 2010, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said earlier it is eyeing a maximum deficit of 1 percent of GDP for the year.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) meeting on Wednesday decided to limit the deficit to 1 percent of the GDP or around P75 billion to increase the expenditure of the government and help shield Filipino consumers from the ill effects of high inflation, Neda Acting Director General Augusto Santos said.
"In order to sustain growth, in order for the economy not to suffer [a] less than desirable [economic state], the government needs to spend more to arrest the economic slowdown. Subject to certain information, we are thinking of an upper limit of 1 percent of GDP [as] budget deficit by end of 2008. One percent of GDP is about P75 billion," Santos said in a press briefing on the National Income Accounts (NIA) in Makati City on Thursday.
He said that without the P75-billion spending of the government, the country's GDP will only reach the lower end of the DBCC's full-year GDP projection of 5.7 percent to 6.5 percent in 2008.
To finance the additional expenditure, Santos said the government will likely resort to a supplemental budget, which the Cabinet will submit to Congress soon.
Santos said the government is also open to foreign and local borrowing using a debt mix of 70 percent to 30 percent in favor of domestic borrowing.
He added that proceeds from the sale of government assets and a projected increase in tax collection would also be used to finance the P75-billion expenditure this year.
With this, Santos said the government expects public construction to pick up by the second and third quarters. As Neda chief, he earlier said it would be best to invest the additional funds in infrastructure projects.
The Neda also sees a continuation of subsidies. Currently, the government is subsidizing the cost of rice through the rice sold by the National Food Authority (NFA), oil import taxes, food for school and Pantawid ng Pilipinong Pamilya programs.
"It's really a tough environment and it is putting pressure on the poor. [This is why the] government is consciously spending much more," Santos said.
Earlier, the Neda expressed concern that around 6.4-million Filipino families earning a total gross income of P10,000 and below a month will become highly susceptible to high oil and food prices.
Santos said there are 4.7 million families earning a total gross income of P10,000 a month while there are 1.7 million families who are considered food poor and are earning less than P10,000 a month.
He said that based on the National Statistics Office (NSO), Filipino families have an average size of five members. The Neda said this means a total of 32 million Filipinos will be severely affected by high commodity prices.
If food prices, particularly rice, increases further, Santos said the effect will become worse because 50 percent of the income of families go to food and 50 percent of the food budget is allotted to rice.
In order for families to avoid being susceptible to high prices, Santos said they need to earn a gross income of around P13,000 to P14,000 a month or a gross family income of P156,000 to P168,000 a year.
Posted Friday, May 30, 2008 0 comments
Labels: GDP, Republic of the Philippines
ASEAN on track for open skies by 2015
By Marites S. Villamor
BusinessWorld Online
MACTAN — Senior transport officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, yesterday pushed for signing this November of a multi-lateral agreement that would launch an open skies regime in Southeast Asia.
The officials also signed at the end of the three-day 25th ASEAN Senior Transport Officials' Meeting here a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in aircraft accident and incident investigations to enhance aviation safety in the region.
Transportation Undersecretary Doroteo A. Reyes II, who led the Philippine delegation, said he did not see any more hurdles that would delay the signing of the Multilateral Agreement on the Full Liberalization of Air Freight Services and Air Services during the 14th ASEAN Transport Ministers' Meeting in Manila in November.
"This has been discussed already. It's [agreement] almost finished. There are just refinements that are being made on the grant of reciprocal rights," Mr. Reyes told reporters yesterday.
The target is to establish by 2015 a single unified aviation market within this region of over half-a-billion people.
Mr. Reyes said the multilateral agreement would pave the way for the phased removal of restrictions to air and air freight services within the region and mark the start of the implementation of an open skies policy. "This would be the start of open skies. [The agreement] is an approximation of open skies. And maybe by 2015, we will have full liberalization of air services," he added.
Under open skies, carriers would be able to fly over the territory of an ASEAN member-country, stop for refueling and maintenance servicing without boarding or disembarking passengers, transport passengers and cargoes from one country to another and operate connecting flights to a third country within the region.
This agreement should boost intra-ASEAN travel, Mr. Reyes said. Last year, over 24 million ASEAN nationals and some 30 million non-ASEAN nationals traveled within the region, an ASEAN tourism database showed.
The move to liberalize passenger and cargo air services in the region is also crucial to the creation of an ASEAN economic community by 2015. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In the Philippines, President Gloria M. Arroyo has designated the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Freeport as port of entry under an open skies regime.
"Right now, the NAIA [Ninoy Aquino International Airport] is congested and Clark can accommodate the biggest aircraft. It has two runways while other airports only have one," Mr. Reyes said.
After the signing of the agreement in November, Mr. Reyes said they will meet with the airlines and get their inputs. "We will listen to their position. But it will always be the interest of the government and the people that will prevail," he added.
Thursday, 29 May 2008
Statement of Philippine Press Secretary Ignacio R. Bunye Re: Growth figures
While the Q1 GDP growth of 5.2% shows that our economy continues to have solid momentum, high oil prices and reduced global demand, particularly in the United States, for some of our nation's exports have forced our economic team to reduce the target for GDP growth for this year to between 5.7% to 6.5%.
The administration is making adjustments to the Government's fiscal program in order to support achievement of the GDP growth targets and the President is carefully monitoring economic developments to ensure that there is continued investment in key infrastructure that will enhance the competitiveness of the Philippine economy and in the education, health and other social programs that will improve the quality of life of millions of our countrymen and women who are impacted by the challenges brought about by the new global economic environment.
There are clearly challenges in the horizon that will have an impact on the Philippines, as with most other nations, but we are confident that our reforms are working to provide a firewall against major global economic disruptions and that our economy has matured and diversified so much in the last few years that our economic turnaround is permanent.
Posted Thursday, May 29, 2008 0 comments
Labels: GDP, Republic of the Philippines
Gov't to inject add'l P75B into Philippine economy to avoid slump - NEDA
By Patricia de Leon
MANILA, Philippines - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on Thursday said the government is planning to pump prime the economy by at most P75 billion this year to prevent a "less than desirable" slump.
Acting NEDA Secretary-General Augusto Santos said most of this will be sourced from proceeds of the government's privatization efforts while the balance will be sourced through borrowings.
The government had been planning to end the year with a balanced budget, but Santos said economic managers have agreed to go overboard by at most 1 percent of gross domestic product or GDP in order to prevent a steep economic slump.
On Thursday, NEDA announced that the local economy rose 5.2 percent in the first quarter, barely making the lower end of an earlier announced target. Santos said the less than desirable performance is due to higher oil and food prices.
Santos said the government is preparing a supplemental budget to support the plan which it intends to submit to Congress soon.
Posted Thursday, May 29, 2008 0 comments
Labels: GDP, Republic of the Philippines
Clark to assemble Italian planes
By Rendy Isip
The Manila Standard
CLARK FREEPORT—The Philippines' fledgling aviation sector received a lift after an Italian defense contractor and a Filipino aviation firm signed a deal for the manufacture of training aircraft here.
Alenia Aermacchi of Italy and Aerotech Industries Philippines Inc. signed the agreement to build 18 SF 260F aircraft trainer on April 24, and they will be used by the Philippine Air Force.
The aircraft, spare parts and services to be provided by Alenia will cost the government $13.8 million.
"The agreement will definitely boost the Philippines' aviation industry," said Teresa Parian, Aerotech Industries' chief operating officer.
"The agreement is up to 2015, which means that all orders that Alenia Aermacchi will receive worldwide up to that period will be assembled in and supplied out of the Aerotech Philippines facility.
"Considering that 27 armed forces use SF 260 trainer aircraft all over the world, with about 1,000 units in operation, Alenia Aermacchi estimates 100 new units of this aircraft type will be sold in the next five years," Parian said.
In a statement, Alenia Aermacchi said it would start delivering the aircraft to the Air Force next April, and that and all planes would be supplied within 18 months.
2008 Q1 GDP at 5.2
The domestic economy continued to remain firm notwithstanding the growing difficulties in the external environment. Therefore, for the first quarter of 2008, gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.2 percent while the gross national product (GNP) extended its run to expand by 7.3 percent on account of the 30.3 percent growth registered by the country's net factor income from abroad as compensation inflow grew by 7.2 percent and property income increased by 22.8 percent.
Going into the details, the 3.0 percent growth posted by the agriculture sector can be traced to the higher output of palay, corn, banana, coconut, and poultry. In addition, the significant increase in the country's agro-based exports particularly coconut products, pineapple, coffee, rubber, and seaweeds also helped prop up the sector. The services sector rose at a healthy 6.9 percent, bolstered by real estate, finance, and trade. The real estate subsector continues to be buoyed by demand for office space as well as residential spaces from OFWs. However, industry growth was sluggish at 3.9 percent compared to the 6.6 percent posted in the same period in 2007, on account of the decline in public construction and weak exports. Noteworthy though is the mining sector's continued robust performance due to the 22.6 percent rise in copper output in the first quarter of this year.
On the demand side, the external sector continues to struggle in an environment characterized by high oil prices and weak global demand. Nonetheless, domestic demand provided significant support to overall economic growth as both consumer and investor confidence held up well in the first quarter. Private consumption expenditure rose further by 5.1 percent as households consolidate their income on food (5.4%), transportation and communication (12.2%), household furnishings (9.7%), beverages (3.0%), household operations (2.8%), and miscellaneous expenses (2.8%). Overall capital formation registered a respectable growth of 7.3 percent in real terms. A noteworthy development is the strong growth in investment coming from durable equipment, which grew by 8.2 percent. Data showed increasing investments in agriculture, textile, sugar milling, mining and construction machineries, pulp and paper, air and water transport, and office machines. These investments are seen to enhance the competitiveness of and productivity in these industries.
Looking forward, given the uncertainties and risks prevailing in the external environment, full-year GDP growth is expected to settle between 5.7 – 6.5 percent. During the meeting of the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) yesterday, the members of DBCC committed to finetune the fiscal program in order to support this growth.
Posted Thursday, May 29, 2008 0 comments
Labels: economy, GDP, Republic of the Philippines
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
President Arroyo launches mariculture project in Tawi-Tawi tomorrow
SIBUTU, Tawi-Tawi – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will launch here tomorrow (Thursday) a mariculture development project, a government livelihood intervention program designed to bail this province out of poverty.
Tawi-Tawi is the country's poorest province.
The President will lead the capsule-laying ceremony of the Tawi-Tawi modified mariculture development project at the municipal grounds here, an anti-poverty project that would directly benefit more than 52,000 coastal dwellers and fisherfolks in the neighboring island towns of Sibutu and Sitangkai.
She will also award a P2-million check for the scholarship program of the Institute of Fisheries and Marine resources, as well as distribute various fishing gears for the 10 fishermen association in the province.
The ceremonial fish-stocking activity at the mariculture will also feature colorful cultural presentations by local residents on board the 100 Badjao lepahs (vintas).
Lone District Rep. Nur Jaafar said the project, with an initial funding of P15 million, is expected to place Tawi-Tawi on the map as the mariculture capital of the country.
As the "epicenter of the world's largest coral triangle," Tawi-Tawi boasts of an immense biodiversity and a renowned homegrown talent in fish farming.
With the project, Jaafar said high-value fishing production is expected to generate about P200 million in additional revenues for the province in a year's time.
This tax take is expected to increase by more than double within four years.
Jaafar said the mariculture project will mean more jobs and livelihood opportunities for the more than 52,000 coastal dwellers and marginal fisherfolks who will be trained in scientific and environment-friendly fish farming techniques by experts from the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (DA-BFAR) and the Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanology (MSU-TCTO).
In her State-of-the Nation Address (SONA) last year, the President announced unprecedented investments in the Super Regions, the country's blueprint towards achieving First World status in 20 years, including the establishment of a mariculture park in Tawi-Tawi.
Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 0 comments
Labels: mariculture, Republic of the Philippines, Tawi-Tawi
Philippine Science High School awardees received by President Arroyo
Adrian Patacsil, 17 and Rachel Ruth Cahilig, 16 from Philippines Science High School present to president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo a microtremor device made from a scrap materials that won the Distinguished Achievement Award at the recent concluded Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2008 (Intel ISEF) held in Atlanta, Georgia USA. The President was presented a prototype of a microtremor recorder capable of conducting microtremor analysis or predicting the stability of a structure during her visit Wednesday May 28, 2008 to Intel Technology Philippines in Cavite City. There is currently only one microtremor recorder in the country, and it is housed in the Philippine Institute of Volcanology (Phivolcs). (Rey Baniquet/OPS-NIB Photo)
RP prepays $468M of foreign debts in Q1
By Jun Vallecera
The Business Mirror
CONTINUED foreign inflows that boosted the country's level of foreign-currency reserves allowed the economic managers to pay ahead of schedule $467.6 million worth of foreign debts in the first three months.
This was but a fraction of the foreign debt prepayment the government undertook last year totaling $2.995 billion.
But there is optimism that more could be paid ahead of schedule again this year, according to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr.
In an e-mail, Tetangco said $169.3 million or 36.2 percent of total prepayments for the period were for public-sector foreign IOUs.
The balance totaling $298.4 million was for private-sector foreign debts.
Much of this was possible because of sustained foreign inflows that allowed the BSP to accumulate gross international reserves totaling $36.7 billion as at end-April this year.
Such was also possible because foreign direct investments posted a net inflow totaling $327 million in the first two months alone.
Tetangco said the investments came at a time when fund managers took a generally cautious stance on investing in emerging markets like the Philippines, given the prevalent global uncertainties.
Robust remittances from more than eight million overseas Filipinos workers (OFWs) also allowed the economy to pay its foreign debts ahead of time.
OFW remittances in the first quarter alone totaled $4 billion, higher by 13.2 percent from a year ago.
Tetangco said OFW remittances in March alone totaled $1.4 billion, the highest recorded monthly level ever.
Foreign-debt prepayments in 2006 totaled only $4.4 billion.
Prepayment helps ease the compulsion to borrow overseas and represents a boost to the peso that has weakened against the US dollar in recent weeks.
Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 0 comments
Labels: foreign debt, Republic of the Philippines
RP tuna exports to US rise 25% in first quarter
By RS Sarmiento
BusinessWorld Online
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The country's tuna exports to the United States bounced back in the first quarter this year from the same period in 2007, said an online tuna market news site, citing data from the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Such performance placed the Philippines next to Thailand as the second largest tuna exporter to the US, said a posting at www.atuna.com. Thailand cornered 16% of the entire US tuna market in the first quarter of 2008.
Tuna products shipped by the Philippines to the US surged 24.5% to 12,799 metric tons this first quarter from 10,278 MT in the first quarter of 2007, www.atuna.com cited from the NMFS, an agency under the US Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 0 comments
Labels: exports, Republic of the Philippines, tuna
Companies' 2008 Q1 Net Earnings
(Figures cited are in Philippine pesos.)
(Click here for Companies' 2007 Net Earnings.)
San Miguel Corporation [360%] 11B
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) [21%] 10.4B
Philamlife [16%] 4.8B
SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) [15%] 3.8B
Globe Telecom [32%] 3.4B
San Miguel Brewery Inc [37%] 2.5B
Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) [42%] 1.83B
SM Prime Holdings, Inc [7%] 1.6B
Bayan Telecommunications Inc [20%] 1.51B
Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc (AEV) [9%] 1.18B
Aboitiz Power Corp [143%] 1.01B
Megaworld Corp [29%] 1.01B
Security Bank [10.3%] 835.7M
Vista Land [89%] 781M
China Bank [7%] 703M
Manila Electric Company [23.2%] 655M
Manila Water [22%] 625M
Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) [192%] 554M
Philippine National Bank (PNB) [48%] 457M
GMA Network [6%] 454M
RCBC Savings Bank (RSB) [15%] 212M
Posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008 0 comments
Labels: 2008, companies, net earnings, net profit
Tuesday, 27 May 2008
$550-million AAG cable network gives Philippine Cyber Corridor big boost
PARTNERSHIP BUOY -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo affixes her signature on the yellow buoy otherwise known as the "Partnership Buoy" to formally inaugurate the Philippines leg of $550-million, 20,000 kilometer Asia-America Gateway (AAG) fiber cable network project Tuesday (May 27, 2008) at Barangay Baccuit in Bauang, La Union. The project, scheduled to be completed by late 2008, is expected to meet the forecasted explosive growth in bandwith requirements for new and revolutionary broadband applications such as IP, video, data and other multimedia services. Assisting the President are chairman Manuel Pangilinan of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) Company and La Union Gov. Manuel Ortega. (Alfredo Pancratio/OPS-NIB Photo)
BRGY. BACCUIT, BAUANG, La Union -- The Cyber Corridor super region that cuts across the North Luzon Growth Quadrangle down to Mindanao got a big boost today with the launching of the Philippine leg of the $550-million, 20,000-kilometer Asian American Gateway (AAG) fiber cable network in this barangay.
In her message after she pulled the cable and haul in the symbolic '''Partnership Buoy'' that signaled the formal inauguration of the 2nd International Landing Station of the AAG, the President said the information and communications technology sector in the country would now be provided with resiliency and redundancy of service that is not easily disrupted by natural disasters.
'What a great international partnership,'' the President said of the AAG network, which is owned by a consortium that include the government of Brunei, Telstar of Australia, AT &T of the United States, Bharti of India, CAT of Thailand, PLDT of the Philippines, PT Telkom of Indonesia, Telekom of Malaysia, StarHub of Singapore and VNPT of Vietnam.
The President said the award-winning communications system will support the rapidly growing business process outsourcing (BPO) and call centers industry, and strengthen the country's bid as the most favorable investment destination for BPOs and call centers.
''The AAG international cable system and landing station represent a big boost to the continued growth of our ICT-related industries, especially off-shoring and outsourcing which depend on reliable international broadband services,'' she said.
''Our call centers cannot afford a few seconds of redundancy,'' the President said, as she stressed that the AAG fiber optic cable network would ''provide us with a resiliency and redundancy of service that is not easily disrupted by natural disasters, such as the Taiwan earthquake of December 2006,' she added.'
''The IT companies can breathe easier now,'' the President said.
The President recalled that in her 2007 State of the Nation Address (SONA), she mentioned that "no Taiwan tremor can cut off our cyber services from their global clients, PLDT and Globe are investing P47 billion in new international broadband links through other regional hubs.''
''And here it is,'' the President said, as she underscored the need to invest in vital transport, digital and human infrastructure which ''remains central to the ability of our nation to break the historic cycle of despair and to meet the challenges of the future.''
As of last year, 300,000 Filipinos were employed in the BPO industry, which also generated $5 billion in revenues.
The industry target is to create one million new jobs and generate $13 billion in revenues by 2010.
The President vowed that the government would continue investing heavily in new infrastructure, as she cited the help and support of private companies in building vital infrastructure projects.
With the private sector like the AAG Network spending on vital infrastructure, the government is spared the need to undertake the construction of these facilities, thus boosting its goal of balancing the budget.
The AAG project will link Malaysia to the US via Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and the US West Coast through an undersea cable system.
Scheduled to be completed this year, the project will provide the much-needed direct access and diverse routing between Southeast Asia and the US.
Geof Holland, Alcatel-Lucent survey and engineering manager, said the undersea cable will be embedded two and a half meters below the surface of the seabed to avoid any damage from fishermen and typhoons.
He said a geographic mapping was done before they chose the Bauang location because of its good coastline and bay.
Monday, 26 May 2008
US firm to build P4-B hybrid power plant in Mindoro
By Juancho Mahusay
The Philippine Star
CALAPAN CITY – An American company is putting up a P4-billion wind-diesel hybrid energy power-generation facility in Oriental Mindoro that will produce at least 25 megawatts for the whole Mindoro island.
The Philippine Hybrid Energy Systems Inc. (PHESI), a unit of Breeze Electric Llc of the United States, is targeting commercial operation in January 2010 to supply electricity to the estimated 200,000 consumers of Oriental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Ormeco) and Occidental Mindoro Electric Cooperative (Omeco).
Ormeco distributes electricity to over 99,000 customers in 421 barangays, while Omeco has over 46,000 customers in 135 barangays.
The PHESI power plant will supply about 23 percent of Mindoro's annual electricity demand.
The Board of Investments has granted full incentives to the project since it falls under the Investment Priorities Plan's Energy-Power Generation using indigenous and renewable energy.
BOI managing director Elmer Hernandez said projects like PHESI's are also eligible for pioneer status.
MMDA, MIAA to beautify roads leading to NAIA
By Michael Punongbayan
The Philippine Star
Roads leading to and from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) complex will soon undergo a major facelift in an effort to boost Metro Manila's image as a haven for tourism, trade and investment.
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) and Ayala Properties will jointly undertake the physical improvement of the roads.
"This initiative is in support of the government's thrust to give the premier gateway to our country a world-class character," MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando said.
Under the development plan, hundreds of squatter families occupying six roads within the vicinity of the NAIA complex will be relocated to vacant lots in the area, where they can avail of the government's socialized housing program.
The project will cover the MIA, NAIA, Domestic and Airport Roads as well as Tramo and Andrews Avenue.
The plan also includes the construction of a bridge to connect the NAIA complex to Quirino Avenue; the repair and widening of uneven and narrow sidewalks; the burying of utility wires; and the installation of high-mast lampposts along sidewalks.
The MMDA has also forged a tie-up with the MIAA and the Pasay City government to ease traffic going to and from the NAIA complex through a new traffic scheme that includes a 24-hour ban on cargo trucks, buses and tricycles on Domestic Road and Andrews Avenue. The scheme will be enforced soon.
The proposed NAIA development plan is an offshoot of an earlier directive by President Arroyo to the MMDA, MIAA and related agencies to undertake physical improvements at the NAIA complex and address the other concerns of all stakeholders in the airport.
Sunday, 25 May 2008
Photo updates NAIA 3 related infrastructure
Photo updates NAIA 3 related infrastructure (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=21043313&postcount=626)
Read updates on this project.
Whatever happened to JPEPA?
The Manila Times
First, it was Intel, the world's largest manufacturer of computer chips, from which we heard news that it would have to make China—not the Philippines—its base for expanded activities in manufacturing more advanced products in Asia. Now, it is the United Parcel Service (UPS), the world's largest package delivery company, which in 2010 will move its intra-Asian hub now at the Clark Freeport also to China.
But what is the Philippines doing in the face of all these setbacks? We are giving mixed signals to foreign investors. We cannot seem to put our act together.
One item that could offset the departure of such major investors as Intel and UPS is the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA). The executive branch crafted it, of course with their Japanese counterparts, as a hedge in the event of an economic slowdown in the US, our number one trading partner, and throughout the world.
After protracted public hearings, which started late last year, the Senate seems to have relegated the treaty to the backburner.
This was done after the Japanese government indicated that it was not inclined to sign side agreements to the pact. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, has said that the Senate was willing to adopt the treaty but only through a "qualified concurrence" or subject to additional side documents that the two countries must agree and sign.
Of course this was not acceptable to the Japanese government because the Japanese Diet has already ratified the treaty without any side documents.
The Japanese government has earlier agreed to sign an exchange of diplomatic notes assuring that it would not export toxic waste or hazardous materials to the Philippines, an issue that has been used by anti-JPEPA critics to scare the senators from adopting the accord.
The diplomatic notes or protocols were signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo and his Japanese counterpart, then Foreign Minister Taro Aso during the official visit of President Arroyo to Tokyo in May last year.
But that assurance notwithstanding, the Senate asked for more side documents to correct what it termed as constitutional infirmities in the treaty.
Now, nobody knows when the treaty will be submitted to the Senate plenary for concurrence or whether it will be ultimately junked.
If the JPEPA is junked, we would be missing a great opportunity to cushion the impact of a full US and global recession.
First, our exports to Japan, our second biggest trading partner, will suffer. Japan would obviously prefer exports from countries with which it has bilateral economic accords such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.
Second, direct foreign investments from Japan will also go to these four countries. Under the JPEPA, the Board of Investments has projected Japanese FDIs to increase to P222.5 billion by 2010. This additional investment could have generated some 350,000 new jobs.
Third, opportunities for foreign health workers would be opened to citizens from the four countries but not to the Philippines. This means that our Filipino nurses and care givers would not be able to take advantage of the higher salaries offered by Japan to these workers.
Fourth, without the JPEPA, the country would lose an expected increase in total tax revenues amounting to P7.7 billion as a result of increased economic activities and the surge of exports to Japan.
At the core of the treaty is liberalized trade in goods and services between Japan and Philippines. The effect of liberalized trade on employment is obvious. As tariffs on our agricultural and manufactured exports to Japan are eliminated or lowered, production in our farms and factories will expand, creating more jobs and helping solve the age-old problem of poverty in our country.
Our senators do not seem to look at things that way. Otherwise, they would do something about JPEPA right away. By dilly-dallying action on the JPEPA, they have become unwitting tools of the forces of retrogression and economic stagnation.


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Super Mario 3 is 25 and we're watching The Wizard!
On this day in 1990, "Super Mario Bros. 3" hit store shelves in the United States destined to become arguably the best known and loved video game in history! Upon release, the game was hailed a triumph by the video game press and by 1993, the game had sold over 7 million units […]Read more »

subset: commoncrawl


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Video Marketing
{set everything in motion}
The amount of video online is exploding every day, and YouTube.com has become the second largest search engine online. By 2017, experts predict that more than 74% of Internet usage will be video. Without a way to engage with that audience, your business is missing a huge opportunity.
Compelling copy on your website is essential, but nothing brings your product or service to life like video. In addition, decision makers don't have time to read loads of copy, but they do have 60 seconds to watch a video. The medium can have an incredible impact just where you need it.
JEMSU's motion graphic videos are creative and impactful, distilling and presenting your message in the format that decision-makers will receive.
If you have a product or service that has many facets and is difficult to explain, a motion graphic video can do what text and photos cannot. The voiceover tells the story, and the graphics bring it home.


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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: Summer of Code 2009
Re: Summer of Code 2009
From: Paul Louden <paulthenerd_at_gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 09:58:25 -0600
Michael DiFebbo wrote:
I really must be confused. I remember "audible seeking" as being more or
What, exactly, is being described here?
Page was last modified "Jan 10 2012" The Rockbox Crew


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It may have been almost 2 weeks ago but it is still worth documenting. . . because when you actually go out for New Year's Eve {when you'd rather be in yoga pants on your couch} you blog about it!
We had a low key night that consisted of dinner and champagne at a sports bar. We actually stayed until midnight! We had some good laughs and were all home in bed by 12:30 am!!!
I hope you had a fun NYE!!!


text:
I may have the worlds pickiest eater living in my house. In fact I may have 2 of the worlds pickiest eaters living in my house, Matt being one of them and Chesa the other. Chesa likes the most random things. Most of the time she will not eat strawberries or blueberries, but will scarf down a whole plate of homemade kale chips, so odd to me. Anyhow, we've been on a juicing kick since the new year and that's usually the easiest way to get veggies down my children! I recently took a fellow mother's advice on IG and added spinach to the girls juice, although juicing spinach you don't get much out of but at least I know it's in there. I'll try kale next week. I've also tried a few pinterest recipes, my latest zucchini pizza bites. They ended up being delicious in my opinion, the girls on the other hand didn't quite appreciate them as much as I did.
Juice your veggies first then add apples. Keep testing and adding more apples until veggies aren't tasted. It's alright to trick them, it's for their own good! Here, I used carrots, celery, spinach and apples.


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download stops
- User Forums
- Offline Explorer Enterprise Edition
- download stops
|08/02/2010 08:21 am
|While some download sites that sometimes arise download stops my connection to this case which is also connected to the broswer page site that is currently downloading the program opens, but part of a warning status connect to host www. server.com gives the same mode and remains
|Oleg Chernavin
|08/02/2010 08:48 am
|It is hard to understand what actually goes wrong. Can you please give me more details?
Thank you!
Best regards,
Oleg Chernavin
MP Staff
|08/03/2010 06:49 am
|I don't know what I must explain
my site have about 1.5 million file in queue, sometimes that crash program I have to start missing download it it's work correct first but after about 10 hour I see program don't download missing file
but parsing work any way and I have file in queue for downloading
I read help of program In that writing I should decrease number of connection (I set 20 before) or increase delay time between downloading file
I change setting and in some situation it work correctly but I have problem yet
my site have forum and a lot of video and sound until now it is about 90 GB
A sample site is www.almeshkat.com but you must download about 30 Gb of site to see the problem
my pc are strong cpu is Quad an have 4GB RAM
|Oleg Chernavin
|08/03/2010 09:26 am
|Did you try deleting URL2s.* files as I suggested in reply to your another post?
Please also try to set the Registry value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MetaProducts\Offline Explorer MX\Parameters
Parsing queue limit (in files). If the parsing queue exceeds the limit, downloading new files suspends.
Set it to 1000.


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Columns & Blogs
af2 team's name game drags on
We can only hope that Boise's arenafootball2 franchise moves more quickly once it actually takes the field.
It's been more than two months since the city was awarded a franchise, and the franchise lacks any shred of identity.
It has no name. No logo. No color scheme. No ticket plan.
What the team does have is plenty of interested fans for its inaugural season, which kicks off next March. More than 1,600 entries were submitted through the Idaho Statesman's Web site, www.idahostatesman.com, in the franchise's "Name the Team" contest.
Some ideas were inspired. Love the Atomics and the Inversion.
And some were inspired by a night of heavy drinking.
How else to explain the Idaho Ohadis? It's Idaho spelled backward and not in my dictionary.
Many participants thought the area's rivers should be a part of the name. Hence, the River Rats, River Pirates, RiverCats, River Rafters, River Runners, River Raiders, River Bandits, River Dragons, River Dawgs, River Dogs, Rivermen, River Kings and River Breakers.
Apparently, you can just stick River in front of anything to make a nickname. How about the River Camels?
Or the Desert Fish to join real nominees like the Desert Dogs, Desert Bash and Desert Birdz?
Correct spelling is optional. This is the af2, after all, where teams such as the Memphis Xplorers and Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz play.
Many — many, many — went for the word play, combining Boise with, well, anything that started with a B.
Brawlers, Bombers, Blast, Bayonets, Base Jumpers, Bail Jumpers, Bison, Blues, Barbarians, Blitz, Beasts, Blackshirts, Bolts, Bombsquad, Bulldogs, Boom, Blast, Buzz, Buffalo, Bandits, Blaze, Bulls, Badgers, Bone Crushers, Bulldozers, Brigade, Bombers, Brigands, Blizzard, Bullets, Bruisers, Bandits, Bighorn, Bashers, Braves, Buzz, Bikers, Blast, Bikers, Bobcats, Busters, Blast, Barracudas, Ballers, Bears, Bluster, Bengals, Beetles, Buzzards, Blackhawks, Bruins, Boulders, Bonfire, Broncos, Bengals, Barbarians, Boars, Bats, Battlers, Bellringers, Bucks, Barons, Banshee, Blurrz, Blitzkrieg, Bad Boys, Brash, Battalion, Battle, Bobcats, Burn, Burst, Breach, Bascos, Boilers, Barebacks, Bling, Beets, Bigfoots, Bruisers, Bold, Bravado, Blockade, Beast, Banzai, Blockers, Bears, Bushwhackers, BoardBangers, Blade, Barbarians, Backlash, Battery, Beast, Boomers, Blur, Buckaroos, Bouncers, BoDos, Ballhogs, Basalts, Brawlers, Bang, Barrage.
I think that's it.
But why stop at just two Bs? Why not go all out?
I like the Boise Bad Boys Bold Brash Blitzkrieg Burn.
Oh, I almost forgot. Let's make the Boise Blue Bad Boys Bold Brash Blitzkrieg Burn, since many have adopted Blue as the city's official color.
How else to explain the Blue Bombers, Blue Bulls, Blue Brutz, Blue Lighting, Big Blue, Blue, Blue Dragons, Blue Bandits and Blue Barrons?
Idaho's reputation for potatoes also found its way into the naming process — Tater Tots, Potato Skins, Spud Kings, Spud Runners, Spuds, Spud Devils, Hot Potatoes, Taters, Spud Muffins, Raging Taters and, my favorite, the CommonTaters all received votes.
One voter couldn't decide if was hot (the Heat Wave and the Mirage) or cold (the Freeze and the Icemen). So he sent them all in.
In his honor, why not the IcyHots?
The naming contest will enter its second phase next week, when the franchise picks up to a dozen names for further voting on its Web site, www.af2boise.com.
Names like Rapids, Wildfire, Cutthroats are expected to make the cut. Peregrines and Falcons also seem very popular. The franchise hopes to have a nickname and logo ready to unveil by the middle of next month.
And the process drags on.
Here are a couple of (unsolicited) suggestions to pick up the pace:
Call it Treasure Valley. Less than half of the 1,630 entries for the "Name the Team" contest came from Boise — 727 nominations carried a Boise address. More (783) came from other Treasure Valley mailing addresses, including huge response from Meridian, Nampa and Eagle (656 combined).
Though the team will play its home games at Boise's Qwest Arena, there's no reason not to reach out to football fans across the Valley.
But more than anything, this franchise needs a nickname.
And I found one.
Having dug through nominations for the Salmonheads and Salmontails, the Greenbelt Gunners and the Mean Machine, the Ligers and the Sky Force, the Mudskippers and the Mountain Ninjas, I found the winner almost 20 times — the Mashers.
The Treasure Valley Mashers. Perfect.
Now, about that logo.


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Intel's upcoming Haswell processor is likely to be as big an advance over today's Sandy and Ivy Bridge CPUs as the "Bridge sisters" were over the prior-gen Nehalem chips. That's huge progress, but how could Intel achieve such gains once again?
The answer comes down to three broad areas of change: a nicely improved CPU microarchitecture, design work more carefully tailored to 22-nm fabrication process, and quite likely an improved system architecture. We don't yet have details on the Haswell system architecture, but Intel has disclosed quite a bit about Haswell otherwise. As usual, David Kanter at Real World Tech has put together a very informative write-up covering Haswell's microarchitecture, with some nods to coming changes in the other areas, as well. The article is replete with custom diagrams of the microarchitecture's high-level layout, comparing Haswell directly to Sandy Bridge, and is very much worth taking the time to read carefully.
The scope of changes coming with Haswell may be difficult to absorb if you've been focusing on the breathless talk about 10W variants of the processor. As Kanter notes:
Turning to the microarchitecture, the Haswell core has a modestly larger out-of-order window, with a substantial increase in dispatch ports and execution resources. Together with the ISA extensions, the theoretical FLOPs and integer operations per core have doubled. More significantly, the bandwidth for the cache hierarchy, including the L1D and L2 has doubled, while reducing utilization bottlenecks. Compared to Nehalem, the Haswell core offers 4× the peak FLOPs, 3× the cache bandwidth, and nearly 2× the re-ordering window.
He estimates Haswell will achieve 10% higher performance on existing software—we take that to be a per-clock improvement, with higher frequencies also possible—versus Sandy Bridge. The potential ramps up from there when software takes advantage of the additional FLOPS and integer throughput available with new instructions like fused multiply-add and hardware lock elision.
Interestingly, Kanter doesn't expect the performance gap between Intel and AMD to widen with the coming clash between Haswell and Steamroller. His reason? "Realistically, the performance gap should narrow given the scope of opportunities for AMD to improve, but Haswell will continue to have significant advantages." Hmm. Time will tell if he's right about that.


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As a youth, my mouth watered and eyes grew bigger whenever I had that chance to dine in an Automat, joyous with a handful of quarters. This was distinct a dining experience, beyond the typical restaurant or catered event. As authors Lorraine Diehl and Marianne Hardart chronical in the their book, The Automat, the operation was "A coin-operated glass-and-chrome wonder, Horn & Hardart's Automats revolutionized the way Americans ate when they opened up in Philadelphia and New York in the early twentieth century. In a country where the industrial revolution had just taken hold, eating at a restaurant with self-serving vending machines rather than waitresses and Art Deco architecture instead of stuffy dining rooms was an unforgettable experience. The Automat served freshly made food for the price of a few coins, and no one made a better cup of coffee." The experience was wondrous for a small lad. And, if we had a complaint we could speak to the cashier or just shout through one of those windows.
The Automat was a real forerunner to that expansive vending arena. We now have all sorts of choices, from candies to soda to sandwiches and retail goods. If abroad, you can throw in alcoholic beverages and sexual paraphernalia. The emphasis is still on fresh food products, speedy fulfillment and reasonable price. But, it is not as much fun nowadays, when you consider the endless row of Automat windows with splendid choices in each slot. Oh, happy day!
We do have some comparable examples and hybrids out there. Fast food and some quasi-casual dining spots are into self-service and policing (think of those stares you receive when you forget to self-bus your leftovers and dining debris). In many restaurants the dining aura is particularly pedestrian. Now, we are experimenting with technology to place our orders, play games as we wait, and pay for our meal – all with a clever hand-held device. It sure would be more fun pushing those coins into window slots and be rewarded with hot mac and cheese. What can you say about freshness? This is a vending challenge for some, as it depends upon usage and delivery time to the operation which those machines serve. Nothing is worse than a tired tuna sandwich or Draconian coffee. Lastly, how does the vendor know about the user experience? Drop a note, make the toll free call, speak with the manager on duty at the plant or office park? Immediacy and response is often less that acceptable. So, are we using the vending machine at our own risk, just like swimming at the town pool. At the automat we had far more control and a voice. In the vending world, you can tell how many M&M's are moving but hard to tell what some customers have had to undergo to reach those riches – losing coins, shaking the machine, banging the selection button and the like. A good Mystery Shop program could address those problems. It is a tough business.
Is there a way to return to earlier times where everything was simpler, particularly dining? You tend to wonder why Automats disappeared. You would think that if properly located, these operations would thrive. Just think of putting your ear next to the window and hear the magic from the kitchen on the other side. "Madge, the cherry pie is moving. Let's plate some more!" Old memories die hard.
John Hendrie is the author of the LRA blog, focusing on anything and everything about customer experience. LRA Worldwide is the leading global provider of Customer Experience Measurement services for multinational companies with complex customer interactions. For over 30 years, LRA's innovative brand standards audits, quality assurance inspections, mystery shopping programs, research, and consulting services have helped ensure our clients deliver consistent, memorable, and differentiated experiences to their customers. Many of the world's preeminent global hospitality brands, as well as companies in the gaming, dining, healthcare, sports and entertainment, real estate, retail and travel industries choose LRA to help them measure and improve the customer experience. For more information, visit www.LRAWorldwide.com.
Logos, product and company names mentioned are the property of their respective owners.


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- 34 The Masters Drive
- Ottawa, Ontario K1V9Y4
- $1,385,000
- 4 Bed, 3 Bath
- Single Family
- Office: Purplebricks
Airport-Uplands Real Estates
The Airport-Uplands area of Ottawa, which is often just called Airport or Uplands, is located in the south end of the city. The Hunt Club neighborhood borders it to the north, and the Macdonald-Cartier International Airport is to the south. The majority of the population of the community is concentrated in an area that's northeast of the airport, and west of Airport Parkway. There is also a military community there at CFB Uplands. In the 1960s it was used extensively as a large base, and there is still residential housing there that is used by members of the military.
You don't need to be military to live in the Airport-Uplands area, though. Many people who live there are civilians who simply like the area and all it has to offer. The parks and green spaces are very popular with both adults and children, and they make the area feel cozier by helping to provide a small town feel to the neighborhood. There are single family homes, condominiums, and apartments available for purchase or rent in the area, with prices that vary widely. With the large number of options and the different price points, you're sure to find something you like.
Once you find the place that feels like home, it's time to go shopping so you can furnish and decorate it. There are plenty of great places to find what you're looking for, and it's only a few minutes travel time to the downtown core, where you can take your pick from all the great shopping opportunities. While you're out, you may want to stop in at a local restaurant or cafe and get a bite to eat. That can be a great way to cap off a day of shopping, and can help you get settled in and start feeling right at home.
Airport-Uplands Homes for Sale
|All Listings
|$200,000 - $300,000
|$300,000 - $400,000
|$500,000 - $600,000
|$600,000 - $700,000
|$700,000 - $800,000
|Over $1,000,000
- 3548 Paul Anka Drive
- Ottawa, Ontario K1V9K7
- $1,099,880
- 4 Bed, 4 Bath
- Single Family
- Office: Capital Homes Realty Inc.
- 2374 Arden Court
- Ottawa, Ontario K1V0Y9
- $799,900
- 4 Bed, 4 Bath
- Single Family
- Office: Coldwell Banker First Ottawa Realty
- 50 Lillico Drive
- Ottawa, Ontario K1V9L6
- $729,000
- 5 Bed, 4 Bath
- Single Family
- Office: Royal Lepage Performance Realty
- 338 Wisteria Crescent
- Ottawa, Ontario K1V0N5
- $679,900
- 4 Bed, 4 Bath
- Single Family
- Office: Accsell Realty Inc.
- 43 Vanhurst Place
- Ottawa, Ontario K1V9Z7
- $628,000
- 3 Bed, 3 Bath, 37.99 Acres
- Single Family
- Office: Royal Lepage Performance Realty


text:
Concatenating a null character affecting performance
Original: (taking 16 mins)
SELECT DISTINCT FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME FROM View1@db_link WHERE NUM = '14718' AND UPPER(RNAME) = 'MARKETING';Modified: (taking 1 sec)
SELECT DISTINCT FIRST_NAME, LAST_NAME FROM View1@db_link WHERE NUM = '14718' AND UPPER(RNAME)||'' = 'MARKETING';Any idea how does concatenating a null character makes so much of difference? The explain plan for both the queries are same. I think there is a FBI (function based index--UPPER(RNAME)) on the RNAME col. Appending a null character ('') to UPPER(RNAME) stops using the index. As we know indexes improves the performance, but in this case, it seems using an index is hampering the performance. I just wanted to know the reason and logic behind this. Can you clarify this?
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text:
In an age of cynicism and irony, Northwestern Mutual is a throwback to a more innocent time. The company is the antithesis of 'cool.' It has the kind of culture in which people embrace plain suits and sincere handshakes, take pride in wearing achievement ribbons, and kick off conferences with patriotic music. It's the very portrait of wholesomeness and earnestness—the Boy Scout of the insurance and financial services industry. There's no place for hipster lingo, inside jokes about customers, or snarky tweets.
Oh, and Northwestern Mutual has been in business for more than 157 years and is worth $25 billion in sales. It might not be hip to be square, but it's very good for business.
Mocking irony, snarkiness, and cynicism are very much in vogue, but they are also toxic to your company's culture. Once cynicism gets a foothold in your culture, it spreads— just like an ill-advised tweet or blog post. You need to proactively fight it.
Most of us can agree that cynicism is ugly. It trivializes the gravity of bad behavior and normalizes superior attitudes toward customers and, often, coworkers. It is my feeling that widespread cynicism is also a red flag that something is seriously awry in your company. And that 'something' centers on trust.
Trust underlies effective working relationships. It improves group effectiveness and performance. It underpins organizational credibility and resilience. All of these factors contribute to creating a sustainable competitive advantage, because trust attracts talent, strengthens partnerships and retains customers.
Know that trust has two dimensions
First, there's the external trust between an organization and its customers: Will a company stand behind its products? If something goes wrong, will they do the right thing? The second dimension is the internal trust between employees, managers and top-level management. Do leaders keep their promises? Can employees speak up without censure? Do people have each other's back (or stab them in it)? Generally, what's true externally is also true internally.
When employees can trust leaders and each other, customers can trust employees. And vice versa, of course. Cynicism cannot be eradicated if trust doesn't extend in all directions. But know that you need to start internally, with the employees on whose commitment and engagement your success depends. If they don't feel that they can trust your company with their careers, you're in trouble.
Get clear on what a culture of trust and earnestness looks like
No doubt your employees have (probably very strong) opinions on trust within your company and where they'd like to see improvements. Hold a company-wide summit where everyone can share those opinions, and include an anonymous component like a suggestion box or survey. Get everyone's input, from the C-suite to the custodian. Your goal should be to pin down exactly how a culture of trust translates to leader and employee behaviors.
Then, get the "rules" in writing
Put the results of your trust summit in writing and ask all employees to sign this document. Some companies have even gone so far as to prohibit blind cc'ing in order to promote a culture of trust.
Of course you can't simply outlaw cynicism or talking behind someone's back. Trust can thrive only when employees are treated like the self-respecting adults that they are.
Creating an official 'standards of behavior' document helps crystallize the attitude you're hoping to cultivate. Plus, people are just more likely to abide by an agreement if they've signed their name to it.
Let only "Boy Scouts" lead
(And Girl Scouts too, of course!) People will emulate leader behavior, whether it's good or bad. It's just human nature. Leaders who roll their eyes when a certain customer calls are giving permission for employees to be similarly disrespectful.
Complain about your boss in the break room and you can expect to overhear your own team making fun of you as you approach the water cooler.
Never lie or hide the truth
There are many things you're thrilled to share with your employees. "Our customer satisfaction scores are 15 percent higher this year!" Or, "Our first quarter profits exceeded our goal!" Yet there are other things you might not be so eager to share, like, "We're going to have to downsize," or, "There aren't going to be any raises this year…and by the way, we may have to reduce your benefits." Tell them anyway.
Even when the news is bad, people should never feel they're being kept in the dark. Transparency and trust must coexist.
Show employees that you care
When people don't believe their leaders care about them, not just as workers but as human beings, of course trust can't thrive. This means leaders must be "people persons" who stand up for their employees' best interests and don't mind showing (appropriate) affection. Aspire to predictability Unpredictability destroys trust. As a leader, your team should have total confidence that you'll do what you say you will. They should have no doubt that you'll keep your promises, act with integrity, and look out for their best interests.
Make it safe to speak up
When your employees make an honest mistake, can they admit it without being scolded and belittled? What about input and ideas? Can they share those things and expect to be taken seriously? Hopefully, the answers to both questions is "yes." Everyone should feel confident that they can participate in meetings and projects, say what's on their mind, be respected for their opinions and ideas, and admit mistakes.
Either trust rules your organization, or fear rules it—you have to choose. A fear-based culture kills employee curiosity. Fear saps performance, synergy, teamwork and morale. It makes people feel powerless—and if you have no power over your own work life, of course you'll be cynical.
Celebrate grit and gumption
If you want employees to be worker bees—performing the tasks you designate, on a timeline you set—compensate them with paychecks only. But if you want your employees to be partners, you've got to reinforce them when they act like partners. In other words, take notice when they display passion and motivation (grit) and initiative and guts (gumption).
When employees do the things you want them to do, reward them. A simple thank-you can go a long way. So can public recognition at a meeting or through a company-wide email. And of course perks like 'free' vacation time or bonuses are always welcome.
Constantly drive home the "meaning" of the work people do
One of the best methods to increase trust is to identify your greater purpose, your "true north," as I call it. Why do you exist? What meaningful value do you offer to employees, customers or society? A great purpose should be aspirational, not merely financial. It should create a common cause and promote a collective effort. It should answer all the tough questions of why: "Why commit?" "Why persist?" And, most importantly, "Why trust?" At Northwestern Mutual, employees with whom I've spoken say they aren't driven by dollar signs. They truly feel that their life's work is helping people. And, ironically, that's why so many Northwestern field reps are the millionaires next door.
My point? Figure out what meaningful things your company provides customers, whether that's peace of mind, easier lives, reliable support, or something else, and look for ways to convey that purpose at your company. It's hard to be cynical about your work and your customers when you actually do believe in what you're doing.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Rich Karlgaard (www. richkarlgaard.com) is author of The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success. He is also the publisher of Forbes magazine, where he writes a column, Innovation Rules. He has been a regular panelist on television's Forbes on FOX since the show's inception in 2001. Karlgaard is also a serial entrepreneur, having co-founded Upside magazine, Garage Technology Partners, and Silicon Valley's premier public business forum, the 7,500-member Churchill Club.


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Performance enhancement. Alongside world records being smashed by elite athletes in Rio de Janeiro this week, the UK Equities market is setting records of its own. The FTSE 100, up 11% so far in 2016 to close last week at 6,916 is at its highest level in 14 months. So what is behind the performance burst? No doubt monetary policy measures intended to drive down the returns on bonds, and cut interest rates to record lows have served to stimulate demand. Alongside quantitative easing (QE), the value of the pound also dropped, boosting overseas earnings. In an interesting twist, one of the Bank of England's most notorious hawks, Ian McCafferty, now states that he believes rates could go even lower in upcoming months. Well, well, well…do I hear 7,000?
Money can't buy you bonds. The Bank of England is in the market for gilts. The latest QE plan (announced 9 August) is based on an assumption that as buyers of gilts, the Bank of England would find sellers. The problem with that assumption is simple. The owners (largely financial institutions) are reluctant to sell, particularly their longer dated assets. As a result, the Bank of England failed to buy as much as required, calling into question the viability of the wider QE programme. And this problem appears unlikely to go away anytime soon given the difficulty that long term pensions and savings plans face generating a sufficient return. Why would you sell to the Bank of England at the moment? If the Bank of England want yields to go down, your prices are going up.
Brexit bonanza. The latest retail sales figures could help temper fears that the economy is grinding to a halt. In total terms, sales rose by 1.9% in July, the strongest growth since January. The positive news story will come as a welcome relief to town centres across the country, given early indicators suggesting consumer activity slowing in the wake of the EU referendum. Warm weather and a weak pound are attributed with boosting a feel good factor at home and tourism interest from abroad – the number of foreign visitors to Britain jumped 18% in July. While the numbers are a reason to be cheerful, it is only the first month of full figures post Brexit. Encouraging news, but early days. Best to hold off ordering the bunting for now.


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Cinco de Mayo is probably the most misunderstood "holiday" of all time. Since I grew up in San Diego and have a HUGE affinity for any food and/or drink related to Mexico, I've decided to post some One Delish Dish fun facts relating to this day:
1. The actual Mexican Independence Day is September 16th.
2. Sorry to break it to you beloved college frat boys, but Cinco de Mayo is not when Mexicans commemorate the invention of Jose Cuervo, Tecate and sombreros (you all know who I'm referring to).
3. Just so you can impress someone…Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico's victory over the French in the 1862 Battle of Puebla. French occupation of Mexico took place after the Mexican-American War, the Mexican Civil War and the Reform War (la Guerra de Reforma). This was a significant victory because 4,000 Mexican soldiers overthrew the formerly undefeated, 8,000-man French army.
4. This day is celebrated all over the U.S., but in Mexico, it's mainly celebrated in the southern state of Puebla, where the battle was won.
5. Ohhhh so this is why everyone here gets wasted… "Cinco de Mayo has been heavily promoted by U.S. liquor companies and distributors since the 1960s to boost springtime sales in advance of more solemn — and less party-hearty — observances as Mother's Day, Armed Services Day and Memorial Day."
I know you may want me to just let you drink your salt-rimmed margarita and eat your chimichanga in peace, and I'm all for that, please don't get me wrong – but I do believe it's nice to get a little perspective on a feasty fiesta occasion such as this one. Have fun, be safe y Feliz Cinco de Mayo!


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Welcome to Bozarth Recreational Resort located near the Salamonie Reservoir in southern Wabash County in Indiana! BRR is just minutes away from Dora-New Holland SRA boat ramp and minutes for the Salamonie State Park and Horse Camp. BRR features Seasonal Camping, Camper Group Campsites, Grocery Store, Banquet Room, Laundry Room, Game Room, Country Store, Snack Bar/Grill, Cast Iron Supplies, Camping Supplies, Hunting and Fishing Supplies featuring Bass Pro fishing supplies, Live Bait, DNR Check In Station, Fishing Licenses and Fishing Tournaments. Propane, Fire wood and Ice are also available.
For more information please call 765-981-4522.
Lagro, IN 46941


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WASHINGTON — Loud snoring doesn't just annoy your spouse. It could signal dangerous sleep apnea, yet millions go undiagnosed.
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A government move may help change that: Medicare is poised to allow at-home testing for sleep apnea — letting people snooze in their own beds instead of spending the night in a sleep laboratory.
It's a controversial proposal, but potentially a far-reaching one. Some 18 million Americans are estimated to suffer from sleep apnea, yet specialists think fewer than half know it.
"It's been awkward and inconvenient and expensive to get a sleep test, and now that should be improved," says Dr. Terence Davidson of the University of California, San Diego, a longtime proponent of home-testing.
Today, Medicare pays for sleep apnea treatment — called CPAP, a mask that blows air through the nose while sleeping — only for seniors diagnosed in a sleep lab. Last month, Medicare proposed covering those diagnosed with cheaper home tests, too. The public may comment on the proposal until next week; final approval is expected in March.
While sleep apnea is a problem for seniors, it is most common in middle-aged men. But private insurers now reluctant to cover home apnea testing are expected to follow the government's lead, thus easing access for all ages.
Sleep apnea doesn't just deprive family members of their own zzzz's. Sufferers actually quit breathing for 30 seconds or so at a time, as their throat muscles temporarily collapse. They jerk awake to gasp in air, sometimes more than 15 times an hour. They're fatigued the next day because their brains never got enough deep sleep.
Severe apnea increases the chance of a car crash sevenfold. Research from UCSD suggests 1,400 deaths each year are caused by drivers with sleep apnea.
Worse, sleep apnea stresses the body in ways that also increase risk of high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke and diabetes.
Not every apnea patient is a bad snorer, and a low rumble may not be cause for concern. But sleep apnea's trademark is bad snoring, the snorting, choking kind. Other risk factors: Being overweight, having small airways, and apnea in the family.
Yet patients don't remember the nightly breathing struggle, and often don't see a doctor unless a family member complains about snoring — or until daytime sleepiness gets so bad they can't function.
Only then comes the test debate.
There are dozens of sleep disorders. A night slumbering in a sleep lab, hooked to monitors that measure both breathing and brain waves while health workers watch, has long been the standard for telling who has sleep apnea or another disorder.
But this lab-based polysomnography, or PSG, can cost $1,500. And while access has improved, there are swaths of the country where reaching a sleep lab can mean a few hundred miles' drive.
Only tests for apnea, not other disorders
For about $500, home tests use primarily breathing monitors to detect only sleep apnea, not other disorders. Hook it up at bedtime, and a doctor checks the recordings later.
A home test can miss apnea, because it won't signal if someone never fell into that deep REM sleep where breathing is most likely to falter, says Dr. Thomas Gravelyn of the Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital sleep center in Ann Arbor, Mich., who opposes the Medicare change.
"You have this good feeling that everything was taken care of, when in fact it wasn't," he says.
"It certainly is possible to diagnose severe apnea at home," adds Dr. Joyce Walsleben, chief of New York University's sleep center. "What if it isn't severe? Are you willing to say it doesn't exist at all if you get a negative study?"
Still, a Canadian study published last year randomly assigned suspected apnea sufferers to either a sleep lab or home testing, and found they worked equally well.
Last month, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, which represents sleep centers, changed its position to say home tests can help certain high-risk patients — but should be administered by sleep specialists.
Medicare's proposal wouldn't limit which doctors offer home tests. The American Academy of Otolaryngology, head-and-neck surgeons, requested the change.
Lack of support for some
In fact, Medicare concluded a sleep-lab test isn't perfect, either — and thus proposed that all patients get a 12-week trial of CPAP treatment. Only if their doctors certify they're being helped would treatment continue.
That's important, because about half of apnea patients prescribed CPAP struggle to use it, says Dr. Charles Atwood of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a home-test proponent. What he calls tricks of the trade — trying differently shaped masks, adjusting the air pressure, adding a humidifier to moisten nostrils — early could keep more of them in care.
Consider Raymond Miles, 57, diagnosed with a sleep-lab study a few years ago. While he felt better with CPAP treatment, Miles quit it in frustration when he couldn't get help maintaining it.
Two weeks ago, nudged by his wife, Miles underwent a home test with a different doctor to see if it's time to try care again.
"There's a different level of comfort being at home," Miles says of the testing.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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You have come across Belgium's best cocktail bar, Jigger's, and it happens to be based in Ghent (lucky us).
What makes this bar different from the others?
Let's start with the entrance. It is so secretive that even the neighbors forget it exists. You can't just walk in; you have to ring the bell first. Make a reservation in advance, because the places are very limited — especially in the weekends, it is advised to make a call.
This little bar has won a lot of awards for their amazing cocktails. Their concept is very simple: they change their drinks menu every week, and the menus are handwritten. Every cocktail is an artwork created with an eye for detail and you can choose from a few of them. Don't expect a mojito, but instead some surprising combinations. If there is nothing that you like, they will make you something of the flavors that you like. But I doubt it.
The bar has a classic vintage look from the '30s and the bartenders are top professionals. The prices are a bit more expensive than at the average bar but they are worth it. Better a very good one than two average cocktails, don't you think?
What are waiting for?!


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Let's take a look at some below:
The first has a very basic landing page with ΛΘA larger than life. Although a landing page is always good, I wonder if someone gets irritated having to click ENTER SITE over and over.
Probably one of the better frat sites, ΛΣΥ has a landing page with flash graphics. Once you enter, you're taken to a magical land.
Unlike most frat's and sororities, ΛΘΦ doesn't have a landing page. Instead their flash banner comes up and you can skip it if you want. Very professional, the first Latino fraternity does a good job.
Talk about a cool web-site. I guess some sister must have convinced them to add social media elements. HHMMMM. Just recently launched, ΧΥΣ does a great job of portraying "wisdom" through a web-site. And unlike most organizations, their web-site name is JustBeCus.org, not ChiUpsilonSigma.org (although both take you to the same place).
Simple and to be honest it doesn't look like a Greek web-site. All the flags confused me at first but then I realized they are multicultural. To be honest, sometimes simple is best.
Well well well. I mean what can I say. The landing page really isn't necessary but I like it. And because we are a small organization, updates aren't always necessary. However, our web-master does a good job of changing things when necessary. I mean, did you ever see our old web-site?


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"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will take a shoot from the very top of a cedar and plant it; I will break off a tender sprig from its topmost shoots and plant it on a high and lofty mountain. On the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it; it will produce branches and bear fruit and become a splendid cedar. Birds of every kind will nest in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches." -Ezekiel 17: 22-23
Writing is a form of therapy for me; a way for me to make sense of what often appears to be a cruel and heartless world. And so after watching these "Knock-Out" phenomena for a while my natural inclination would be to come to terms with it through writing. Some people go to parties, some shop…I come to peace with a difficult situation by writing about it. Initially, I could not write about it, because I was so angry. An important skill I would urge all young people to master is to "regret" before you commit the act for which you will regret. I was very angry, and probably would say the wrong thing. I also knew I was too angry because my art form won't let me in when I am angry; I will sit and stew in my anger and no creative words will come. It is only when I pray, calm down and seek my calling which is to educate and not mindlessly excite, will the words flow. And now, as I again watch the video of the teacher who got "knocked-out"; I realize that there is a very different feeling when you can personally identify with a victim. Now, I don't claim to know this teacher; I don't know if he was good, great or average. All that I know is that he had chosen a field (my field) that has a dedicated mission to inspire young people in such a way that "knocking out" random people is not even on their minds; because what we are supposed to do as educators is to occupy their minds with ideas of being smart, knowledgeable, skilled, and the ethical core spirit to put those attributes into service on behalf of the world. I am not saying I would feel less concern if the victim was a sanitation worker, a store clerk, or maybe even unemployed; but the irony (learned thanks to my high school English teachers) of the story is unmistakable. Something else happen that caused me to reflect and feel a deep sense of connected sorrow with the victim in the video. The teacher appears to be comfortable walking toward the young men; perhaps like most of us educators we feel a little more comfortable in the presence of the innocent horse-play, the awkward and un-adult like movements of teenagers. "They are moving like teenagers"; I always think to myself when walking pass them in the streets or at the mall; "they are just looking, moving and sounding like teenagers; nothing dangerous about that". And so it makes sense that an educator would not "profile" them, would not be afraid of them, not be on guard. I say this because perhaps many people who watched the video may have said why was he not on better guard in that situation? Well, maybe not, because like me he may have felt comfortable and not threatened by the presence of teenagers. Further, I don't know the teacher but I also suspect that like me he may have concerns about the reach of: "stop and frisk", as our definition of: "looking like a criminal" would be more fine-tuned then the average person, and perhaps also the average police officer. This would be another irony of this story, as it will give the proponents of "Stop and Frisk" a good source of ammunition; for there is no better motivator then fear to drive normally thoughtful citizens into a place where they are willing to sacrifice their rights, and/or the rights of their fellow citizens, for something that feels like "safe". Those young men who are engaging in these acts have no idea of how they are creating an environment for possible preemptive deadly violence for themselves, and for those teenagers who are innocent, but may look, and move, like them.
And so, as I write I can feel the anger give way to compassion and thoughtfulness; I can now write……I believe every person should discover their "art interest- inclination-gift"; and then pursue it with a passion. You need not get rich from doing it; and perhaps no one will ever see or hear you do it; but do it you should for it is a critical part of what makes us human (I will come back to this what it means to be human in relationship to your fellow humans later). There will always be the professional dancing Dana Marie Ingraham's of the world, the painting artist Romare Bearden's among us; those people who are extremely gifted in an art form, such that they present on a full-time professional level for us, the less gifted at that art form, to admire their work. But that admiration does not mean you can't push your living room furniture back, put on some music, and in the peace of your own home, practice your Pat Dye or Alvin Ailey moves. There is nothing that says we can't go to the local art supply store (they are looking at the amount of money you have, not the amount of talent!) and purchase art supplies and paint your vision of a new world on a canvas! I am by interest and training a Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) person. But I always felt that the creative and performance arts were the other part of the equation for making a young person, fully human. And herein we find the missing component with these misguided and misdirected young men. What is it that diminishes the capacity of a human being to see the humanity in another human being? I read a post from a former student Ana Argudo-Lord; and it made me think about the "Argudo children" (I worked with all three:-). As teenagers they always expressed a deep concern and compassion for the suffering of others. They drove me crazy because, they were always doing food drives, collecting money for some group of people who fell victim to some tragedy caused by either man or nature, and this feeling it seems has carried over into their adult life's work. One-half of the solution, I am convinced is parents; after 30 years of watching a lot of parents and their children; I think it is safe to say that young people who have parents who themselves express compassion and concern for other people, who have a strong spiritual foundation; have a very strong chance of being compassionate, spiritual and caring people themselves.
The second half of the equation is education. I am always inspired by the prophets of the old testament who continuously and perhaps annoyingly cry out for Israel to change her ways, and return to God. They cry out so very often with such consistence, persistence and power that they make people angry enough to want to kill them ("Give us a break with this calling us back to God talk!"). But these prophets are incapable, as Dr. King referenced in his letter from a Birmingham jail cell, of keeping quiet. And so I am going to keep saying that: If we don't translate our blessing of rich resources, both human and financial in this country; into a will and conviction mission about really giving young people a chance to realize their full human worthiness, their talents, their art interest, the ability to read and appreciate great works of literature, to be inspired by creative artist, to utilize STEM skills to heal and protect the planet, to engage in exercises that teach moral and ethical behavior; then these young people will contrast their living in a nation full with great material resources; and feeling themselves disconnected from all that is wonderful about the U.S.; they will become beings of intense anger. These young people who find themselves in a skilled economy, without marketable skills. They have come to the reality that they don't have an education; at least have one that will translate into a job and career. They will be lacking in a sense of meaning and hope in the future. This group living on the edge of wealth and power, and looking in, will create their version of power by indiscriminately visiting pain and suffering upon their fellow citizens. They are oddly, with these brutal acts, seeking to create a community of sufferers, who like them, see the world as a very dangerous and painful place. We have wasted their time for 12 years; except for those who realize their time is being wasted and leave early. Those that remain often leave with a counterfeit educational experience, they emerge (now really angry), with their useless diploma in hand. They now go into the streets to "even the score", seeking revenge on the entire world that betrayed them. People may be content to designate them as "wild criminals"; and they certainly are breaking the law and should be punished; but if we are to be true as a nation; what we are actually watching is a march of the hopeless, who aren't even remotely marching in the direction of hope.
Law enforcement may have its role; but we may find that we can't incarcerate them fast enough, or keep them incarcerated long enough so that they will not be able to inflict harm on themselves and others. We need to put forth our best resourced efforts early, when they are 6, 7 and 8; not huge incarceration expenditures when they reach 16, 17 and 18. If we don't commit to creating quality schools where children from every type of home and community can come to appreciate, and fall in love through learning, with their humanity and the humanity of others, then we are committed to creating monsters; who will roam our streets seeking to knock-out all of humanity, in a wasted and tragic search for their own humanity. And this, I will continue to cry out, no matter who is upset by my words.


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Embodying a good posture does not need much time and complicated teachings. Taoists have been knowing it for five thousand years. With a few easy steps we can correct our posture in a way that respects the physiology of the body and takes advantage of gravity to help relaxing while standing and while walking. It may be sufficient to remove back pain if coupled with a simple gentle stretching according to the Taoist method.
Useful for:
- back and joints health
- reduction of physical fatigue