Pagka Way Swerte!

Would-be rock star plunges from bed to death

Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:20 AM ET

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A teenage guitarist got so carried away while bouncing up and down on his bed mimicking a rock star that he flew out of a third floor window to his death, a Singapore newspaper reported Wednesday.

The Straits Times said Li Xiao Meng, a 16-year-old from China who was studying at Singapore's Hua Business School, was a keen musician who liked to jump up and down while playing his guitar in his hostel room.
"But on November 17 he took things a bit too far," the newspaper said, reporting on a coroner's court findings.

Ruling death by misadventure, the court said evidence "points to the deceased unintentionally falling out of the window to his death when he was hyped up with exhilaration, jumping up and down on the bed placed against an open window while mimicking a rock guitarist.""

Normally the windows were locked, the newspaper said, but students sometimes forced them open so they could smoke, something prohibited by the hostel.

Diskurso ni Propesor Randy David

The National Situation

7 Feb. 2006, Manila Polo Club
Randy David
University of the Philippines

Good evening. Thank you for inviting me to speak at this very interestinggathering. I am happy to share this podium with former Sen. Gregorio Honasan.I am quite certain that we were all brought here tonight by more or less thesame circumstances and the same concerns. We have the money to buy newspapersand watch the evening news, and we have the time to reflect on the informationthey report. It is almost natural for us to worry about the direction ourcountry is taking. We worry for our families, and we worry especially for thefuture of our children.

Unfortunately, the rest of our people, trapped in the rigors of daily survival,are usually unable to think beyond the next meal. They are the thousands that line up every day, rain or shine, outside TV stations, for the rare chance to bechosen as contestants for the "Pera o Bayong" portion of noontime game shows.They were the faces of the hungry and the desperate at the Ultra stampede lastSaturday morning. They too often gripe about the callousness of the leadershipof our country.

But they do not have the luxury of worrying about politics.And even when they do, they feel powerless to influence the course of events.They wait for elections, and for the largesse it brings, and that about sums up their political involvement.

Those who have the time to worry about politics -- like many of us here tonight -- are basically of two types: (a) those who ask in exasperation when all this political bickering would end; and (b) those who ask in exasperation when this presidency would end.

All over the country, forums like this are being organized by thoughtful citizens. They ask more or less the same questions: How will this stalemateend? Whom can we trust? If she goes, who will replace her?How do we solve our most basic problems? How much time do we need to reform ourpolitical system? Is there hope for the country?

These are importantquestions: they belong to the realm of politics. But I will also hasten to saythat politics is not the only attitude we can take towards the world.Be that as it may, the forum tonight deals with politics.

I want to begin by defining the function of politics in society.

Politics is society's way ofproducing collectively-binding decisions. The important phrase here is"collectively-binding decisions" - decisions made in the name of all of us, andtherefore bind all of us. Such decisions can be as innocuous as changing thename of a provincial hospital or as momentous as declaring war against anothercountry.

They can be as high-profile as signing a peace accord with localinsurgents, or as low-profile as floating new dollar-denominated bonds in theinternational bond market to cover maturing obligations and budget deficits.They are of different levels of importance, but, when made by government, theyall equally bind us.

Politics is, in the first instance, the process by which a nation or a communitydetermines who shall be entrusted with the making of such decisions. There areat least two ways of ensuring that decisions made in the name of the wholenation are honored by every citizen of a country.

The first is by making sure that such decisions are made only by persons oragencies that have a clear mandate or the authority to make them. The second isby making sure that such decisions are made in accordance with law.

Authority means legitimate power. Obviously, not all power is legitimate.Usurpers may exercise power, but their power is not legitimate, and so it isresisted. Tyrants assume power on the basis of force, and while they may, for awhile, coerce people into submission, their power will always remain unstable.Public officials elected fraudulently may exercise power, but their power willeventually be challenged.

Legitimacy is crucial to the operation of a systembecause it is precisely what assures compliance with collective decisions.Systems, of course, operate on the basis of a presumption of legitimacy andregularity.

That is why, when there is a challenge to legitimacy andregularity, the system has to act to dispel all doubts. Illegitimate power hasa corrosive effect on the system, and no matter how much it may try to buysupport, or fortify the throne of bayonets on which it sits, it will always beopposed.The point I want to stress is that whatever the form of politics may be in asociety, its main objective is the same - how to ensure that decisions made bythe rulers are collectively-binding.

When rulers are perceived to have mandates enveloped in doubt, the politicalsystem heats up. Time that should be spent in governance -- in definingcollective goals, in implementing these goals and mobilizing publicparticipation towards their attainment - is instead squandered in endlesspolitical communication.

Unable to legitimize their rule by established means,tyrants find themselves resorting to other means to secure their hold on power.They may do this by acts of selective remuneration, or by acts of calibratedcoercion. They may survive in the short-term but only at great cost to theexisting institutional order.Keeping these thoughts in mind, I want to examine the roots of the presentpolitical crisis. I will argue that at the center of the current crisis is thewhole question of presidential legitimacy that our institutional order hasfailed to resolve up to this time.

Let's go back a bit and review what happened.The doubts began to surface as early as May or June 2004, as the legislatorsfrom the administration and the opposition parties went through the rituals of anational canvassing process. The opposition repeatedly questioned theauthenticity of the certificates of canvass or CoCs from some disputedprovinces.

In at least 15 provinces they demanded that the boxes containing thesupporting statements of votes or SoVs be opened to determine if the figuresmatched those on the CoCs. The objections were duly "noted", but not one ballotbox was allowed to be opened. The administration side argued that canvassingwas a ministerial task, and that the proper venue for electoral protestsinvolving the presidency and the vice presidency was the Supreme Court acting asPresidential Electoral Tribunal.If this scene has a déjà vu ring to it, it is because the use of a controlledmajority to override objections is very much reminiscent of the railroadedcanvassing process at the Batasang Pambansa in the 1986 snap election.

LikeCory's supporters in 1986, FPJ's followers in 2004 saw the futility of getting areasonable hearing inside Congress and demanded that the protest be broughtbefore the parliament of the streets. The tide of mass protests led directly toEdsa. That was how Cory Aquino became president 20 years ago. To his credit,the late FPJ dissuaded his followers from protesting in the streets. He broughthis complaint to the Supreme Court, and paid the amount needed to re-open theballot boxes.

Unfortunately he died before even the first election return could be counted.The justices promptly dismissed the protest upon his death. There was only asymbolic legal closure, but the political question of who really won in the 2004election remained unanswered.By nature, political issues have a shelf life of only a few months. After theSupreme Court denied Susan Roces's petition to continue FPJ's protest, the issuewas buried and almost forgotten.

But five months later, in June 2005, the issueof legitimacy returned with vengeance following the public circulation of theHello Garci conversations - if only as cell phone ringbones at first.Malacanang was caught totally unprepared. This showed in Press Secretary andPresidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye's initial attempt at a cover-up that was soclumsy and full of contradictions it was instantly disowned by the Palace.The Garci Tapes contained more than a hundred conversations between a Comelecofficial who sounded very much like Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano and anassortment of politicians and political brokers. About 10 of theseconversations were between Garcillano and someone with the inimitable voice ofGloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

These conversations are revealing and damning. Theyindicate the existence of a conspiracy to manipulate the results of the electionin the vote-rich provinces of Southern Mindanao. They strongly suggest thatMrs. Arroyo herself seemed to have full knowledge of the elaborate scheme topad her votes and shave those of her closest rival, Fernando Poe Jr.Resourceful journalists have scrutinized the content of these conversations,marking out the names, places, and events mentioned in the tapes, andestablishing their factual basis.

The conclusion, as one Newsbreak article socogently put it, was: The shoe fits.The first reaction from Malacanang was to dismiss these conversations as cleverfabrications. Various agencies of government tried to stop the spread of thetapes by threatening people with charges for violation of the Anti-WiretappingLaw.

Yet on June 27, 2005, bowing to public pressure, Mrs. Arroyo came out onnational television to apologize for what she called a "lapse in judgment" - forcalling a Comelec official while the canvassing was going on. Her intention,she claimed, was not to cheat but only to protect her votes. She said nothingmore about the tapes.In subsequent interviews she evaded all questions about these wiretapped, sayingshe was ready to face any impeachment charge that would be filed against her.The story of these tapes remains open.

The man who initially confessed tohaving taken them out of the ISAFP, T. Sgt Vidal Doble, returned to the custodyof his unit in the ISAFP, and has since denied having anything to do with thetapes. While ISAFP is widely believed to have performed the wiretap, no one hascome out to tell the full story. To this day, the ISAFP insists it has nocapability to wiretap cell phone conversations.

The central character in the wiretapped conversations - CommissionerGarcillano - went missing shortly after the scandal broke out. Five monthslater, he reappeared, accompanied by armed men who later turned out to be localpolicemen. The police offered him sanctuary while he waited to face the Housecommittees that were investigating him. The account he gave in the House wasone of studied evasiveness. He admitted talking to GMA once.

This was notunusual, he said, because other politicians, including those from theopposition, also talked to him. But he could not recall if the conversationscaught in the Garci tapes actually took place. He wasn't even sure if that washis voice. He emphatically maintained that he did not cheat for anyone, leastof all for the president. He went into hiding, he said, because he felt thathis life was in danger. The investigation could squeeze nothing from this foxyoperator, who seemed to feel at home in the company of the nation's politicians.This is the first issue. It was so powerful it brought out the first massivedemonstrations against Mrs. Arroyo. It triggered the resignation of keymembers of her Cabinet, as well as the withdrawal of support from key allieslike former president Aquino and Senate President Franklin Drilon, as well as asection of the influential Makati Business Club.

The start of the impeachment proceedings in September brought the issue back tothe legal arena, where Mrs. Arroyo maintained a firm grip on the loyalty of hercongressional allies. The impeachment complaints, as we all know, were killedat the committee level, using technicalities and parliamentary maneuvers thatrelied on the power of the majority vote. The substantive charges against Mrs.Arroyo were never taken up.

Again, only a symbolic closure was achieved, and sothe issue remains politically alive.The second issue revolves around the partisan involvement of key officials ofthe military in the 2004 election. This is being investigated by the committeeof Sen. Rodolfo Biazon.

The purpose is clear-cut: To get to the bottom of thewiretapping and the involvement of some generals in the election in Mindanao.The investigation opened with the revealing testimonies of Gen. Gudane and Col.Balutan, both of whom were sanctioned by the AFP for appearing before the Senatewithout authority from their superiors.

The committee has hit a blank wall.Military officials, citing EO 464 which bars top government officials fromappearing in any congressional investigation without prior permission from thepresident, have declined to appear before any legislative hearing.The third issue is the use of public funds to finance the presidential campaignof Mrs. Arroyo.

Even during the campaign, the funding for the PhilHealth cardsthat Mrs. Arroyo was distributing in the course of her provincial sorties hadcome under question. So too the improper utilization of the Road Users Tax forthe emergency employment of street sweepers in every barangay of the countryjust before the 2004 election.But the one investigation that has yielded the most scandalous findings on themisuse of public money for the presidential campaign of Mrs. Arroyo is thehearing on the so-called Fertilizer Fund being conducted by the committee ofSenator Jun Magsaysay.

The P728 million fund is part of the almost P3 billionfund of the so-called GMA - Ginintuang Masaganang Ani --program. A significantportion of this money appears to have been sourced from the confiscated MarcosSwiss bank deposits. The seized Marcos assets had been previously earmarked bylaw for the agrarian reform program.

Except for the portion of 8 billion pesosset aside for victims of human rights violations, the rest of the Marcos moneyamounting to about P27 billion appears to have vanished into thin air sometimebetween 2004 and 2005. The admission made by Budget Secretary Neri andofficials from the Commission on Audit so angered former Senator Jovito Salongathat last January 30, he felt compelled to write Mrs. Arroyo a letter.

In thatletter, Sen. Salonga told Mrs. Arroyo: "We who do not seek any favor from youare constrained to conclude that to remain in power, you (1) prejudiced thewelfare of our poor, landless farmers and (2) ignored the sacrifices of manypersons who devoted all their God-given resources in terms of time, energy,effort and the little knowledge and talent so they might help recover the morethan 680 million dollars from the Swiss Marcos deposits.

"The one person who is expected to shed light on the nature of the FertilizerFund, its sources and its mode of disbursement, is former Agriculture Usec.Jocelyn "Joc-joc" Bolante, a known friend and associate of First Gentleman MikeArroyo. But, taking his cue from Commissioner Garcillano, Bolante has also madehimself scarce.

These three issues lie at the center of the current political crisis.In stable societies, political questions like these - that challenge the basiclegitimacy of the sitting president - are ultimately resolved by election, or byacts of Congress or Parliament, or they are referred back to the legal andjudicial system for further investigation, prosecution, and adjudication.

But in young societies like ours - where the institutional spheres are not yet fullydifferentiated - legal institutions and government agencies tend to be heavilycontaminated by partisan politics. This compromises their independence.Instead of being able to put an orderly closure to unresolved politicalquestions, these institutions are dragged into the political arena and losetheir credibility.

Consequently, legal issues are re-politicized, and the wholeprocess repeats itself, leaving in its wake the debris of institutionalwreckage.Take a look at some of the major institutional casualties in this unendingpolitical crisis since Mrs. Arroyo succeeded to the presidency in 2001:1. First there is the Supreme Court. Members of the Court came to the EdsaShrine at noontime of Jan. 20, 2001 to administer the oath of office to GMA,even before there was any clear determination that a vacancy had occurred in theoffice of the president.

Without signing a formal letter of resignation, Erapleft Malacanang at around 2:30 p.m. He later claimed that he had not resignedbut only taken a leave of absence. A few weeks later, the same SC had toadjudicate a case challenging the legality of Mrs. Arroyo's assumption of thepresidency. The justices unanimously upheld the legality of Mrs. Arroyo'saccession to the presidency, but they could not agree on the reasons. Many ofthe justices were severely skeptical and critical of the use of people power toeffect a change in government. The majority decision ruled that Erap hadresigned "constructively" - a novel concept that could not be easily explainedto a perplexed public.

If it was quick to state its position on what was clearly a very dynamicsituation in January 2001, the Supreme Court seemed extremely hesitant tointervene in 2005 when members of the House committee investigating theimpeachment charges could not agree on the correct interpretation of the phrase"impeachment proceeding" as found in the 1987 Constitution. What constitutes animpeachment proceeding? When is it deemed initiated? If three impeachmentcomplaints are filed against the same public official for more or less the samereasons within hours of one another, would taking them up on the same day beconstrued as initiating three separate impeachment proceedings, and is thereforeprohibited?

Twice, a lawyer asked the Supreme Court to disallow the rulingcoalition's absurd interpretation of the constitutional provision barring theinitiation of impeachment proceedings against the same public official more thanonce a year. The Court said the question was premature. Then it said nothingmore on the issue after the defective Lozano impeachment complaint was thrownout.By the same token, the SC has so far failed to rule on the constitutionality ofthe so-called Calibrated Preventive Response policy (CPR) of dealing withprotest demonstrations, and of the gag order contained in Executive Order 464.2. Second, there is, of course, the Comelec itself - the one legal institutionthat the Cory Aquino government in the post-Marcos years tried very hard torebuild so that its neutral and professional character may be preserved.

A credible Comelec is the linchpin of a representative democracy. Mrs. Arroyohas done much to erode the Comelec's credibility by appointing to it individualsof unsavory reputation, not the least of whom is Atty Virgilio Garcillanohimself. The man had worked his way up the Comelec bureaucracy, and gained areputation as somebody who has mastered the electoral terrain of Mindanao. Butanother image consistently stuck to him - that of architect of "dagdag-bawas."

Thus, when he was appointed to the Comelec as one of the commissioners barely 3months before the 2004 election, no less than former Comelec Chairman ChristianMonsod appealed to the president to withdraw his appointment. The same plea wasmade by a victim of dagdag-bawas - Senator Nene Pimentel. But Mrs. Arroyowould not be dissuaded. She was such a firm believer in Garcillano'scapabilities.3.

The third is the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Outside of Marcos, noother president perhaps has so brazenly enlisted the services of key officialsof the AFP for partisan purposes than Mrs. Arroyo. Again, the Garci Tapes arevery incriminating. In one conversation, Garci was complaining that thecheating operations in some towns were very crudely done because the ones whowere assigned to perform these tasks were inexperienced soldiers. Several namesof high-ranking officers were mentioned in the tapes.

By a strange coincidence,except for Gudane who retired, almost all of them were subsequently appointed tocushy positions in the AFP.4. The fourth is the Ombudsman. This is a constitutional office that isinvested with the power to initiate investigations and to prosecute erringpublic officials. When the SC ruled that the Comelec computerization projectwas illegal and ordered Comelec to recover the money it had paid, it alsodirected the Ombudsman to investigate the culpability of the Commissioners andto prosecute them.

This has not happened, as far as I know. The Ombudsmancould also have initiated the investigation of ISAFP's (Intelligence Service ofthe Armed Forces of the Philippines)involvement in wiretapping. It could have looked as well into the use of publicfunds like the Road Users Tax and the Fertilizer Fund for the election campaignof the president. We have not seen any such initiative. One wonders if thepeople at the center of all these controversies know something we don't whenthey bravely challenge their accusers to sue them in court and file thenecessary charges.

Somebody - I think it is Sen. Kiko Pangilinan - recently filed a bill callingfor the creation of a powerful office of an American-style Independent Counsel,that would have the authority to mobilize agencies and offices of government toput together a case against accountable public officials. Maybe if we can findenough Kenneth Starrs in our midst who would not be deterred by the powerful,there might be a reason for this bill. But I am not certain if this is theright answer to the dysfunctionality of our institutions.

Let me re-state my basic thesis here.THE CRUX OF THE PRESENT CRISIS consists in the fact that the institutions in thepolitical and the legal systems of our society have failed to arrive at areasonable closure of the issues thrust upon them.

The crisis of legitimacy ofMs Arroyo has led to a questioning of all her decisions and actions. Herstonewalling on a number of important questions - the use of gag orders and ofdiversionary tactics like charter change - has led to a generalized crisis ofcredibility. This has spawned more issues than the political system can handleat any given time without overheating. It is interesting that the economy seemsto be faring well in comparison.

The crisis of the political system may remainisolated for a time, but it may eventually engulf the whole system. It isdifficult to say how long the system can bear the pressure from one of itsparts.What seems clear at this point is that:- More and more people are demanding either an end to all bickering or theoutright removal of Mrs. Arroyo.- More and more people are losing faith in the system's capacity to resolvepolitical questions within the bounds of the Constitution.- More and more people are disenchanted not only with the present administrationbut also with the political opposition.

They are turning to the Armed Forcesand asking them to intervene.Having gone through two people power upheavals, our people are not unfamiliarwith extra-legal solutions involving both military and people powerinterventions. They see people power as the Filipino way of compensating forthe inadequacies of our institutions, even as they are fully aware of the manyproblems it spawns.

WHAT IS TO BE DONE?What is to be done or how we should respond to the crisis is a function of howwe look at the situation. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines(CBCP) explains the crisis as the result of the erosion of our moral values.The bishops are calling for a renewal of our public life.This is a long-term process, and one can understand why our religious leadershave couched the problem in specifically moral terms, even as they are consciousof not overstepping the bounds of their authority. The bishops insist that thesolution can come from the relentless pursuit of the truth by the community as awhole.My own view is quite different from that of the bishops.

Like them, I believethat our public values have changed. But, unlike them, I believe that they havechanged not necessarily for the worse. On the contrary, I believe that thecrisis in our political life arises precisely from the growing refusal of manyordinary Filipinos from all classes to tolerate patronage, fraud, politicalbossism, corruption, and misgovernance of our public life.

The ruling classesof our country - the ones who are used to cynical wheeling and dealing, tocorruption, to intimidation, and the exploitation of mass ignorance anddependence - are beginning to discover that they can no longer rule in the oldway. Every election year they find that they have to cheat harder in order toget elected.Politicians like Ms. Arroyo cannot seem to understand why cheating in electionshas become so suddenly wrong, or why taking kickbacks from government contractsand pork barrel projects is suddenly frowned upon.

They wake up one morning, andthey discover to their dismay that our people are demanding better government.On more than one occasion, Mrs. Arroyo candidly lamented the degeneration of ourpolitical system. It has become such, she said, that one cannot embark on apolitical career and expect to emerge from it with clean hands.

"He who iswithout sin," she says quoting from the Bible, "cast the first stone." Mrs.Arroyo must have been so blinded by ambition that she failed to read what theplacards of the young people who trooped to Edsa in January 2001 were saying:Good government. Accountable government. Competent government.

They did notgo to Edsa because they loved GMA; they went to Edsa because they thought theydeserved a president they could admire, one who could properly discharge theresponsibilities of a young aspiring modern nation in a complex world.

In their attempt to appease the public, the old dying class led by GMA, FVR, andJose de Venecia are offering to change the form of government, little realizingthat the people have moved one notch higher. They now demand a replacement ofthe whole political class itself. Only now, I think, are the politiciansbeginning to realize that the public is not just seeking to change the form ofgovernment, or just to overthrow Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and replace her withthe Opposition.

Filipinos want a whole new set of leaders, imbued with a wholenew set of values and capabilities. They want a new nation equipped forsurvival in a globalized world they are just starting to discover.Am I painting a fictional image of Filipino consciousness? I do not think so.If our political values had not improved, we would not have this crisis.

Wewould allow the politicians to talk it over among themselves, to strike a modusvivendi (what trapos call a "win-win" solution) that would benefit everyindividual politician in the country. The rest of us, ordinary citizens, wouldall retreat into our homes and perhaps amuse ourselves by their antics.

But no,more and more of us are staunchly refusing to let our country to be run by thesame breed of cynical politicians.Our people are better educated today. They are more connected to the outsideworld. They know how other societies work. They have seen more of the worldthan the generation of their parents. And, let us not forget, you cannot sendout more than 10% of your mature population to live and work in other societies,and expect them to remain unchanged in the way they think of theresponsibilities of government.

What they bring home from abroad are not justremittances; they usually bring back with them a new consciousness of whatsocieties can be like when they are better run.Politics is basically an arena of communication. Our political system today ismore complex: it is no longer dominated by traditional political parties. Thereare new voices that are making themselves heard - from the social movements, thenon-government organizations, people's organization, etc.

Edsa I and Edsa IIare symptomatic of the emergence of an educated population that no longer feelsbound by traditional political rules. If we look closely, we may see Edsa I andII as manifestations of a middle class political impatience never seen before inour country. These events are guided by a vision of modernity that howeverneeds to be enriched by social justice.How to bring this vision about is the big question. I believe that as along-range vision, it is not necessarily hitched to any political project.

Allover the country, people are meeting and talking in forums like this.The vision of a new nation is taking shape in these meetings. We are alreadyliving in a post-Gloria era. Gloria is history. The reign of the trapos iscoming to an end.How Mrs. Arroyo will eventually go and when, is probably only a small footnotenow in these discussions. Whether it is by a snap election, or by people powerin combination with a military mutiny - is perhaps no longer the importantquestion.

The question that people are asking is: Who will replace her? But, Ido not take that to mean a simple search for alternative faces. I take that tomean: What kind of agenda for national renewal will bring us forward? What areour basic and urgent tasks as a people? If we take care of the agenda, Ibelieve the right faces will come forward.I would like to end by advancing four basic tasks that I have heard repeatedlyin various fora:First, to end the scourge of absolute poverty once and for all, no matter whatit takes.

The stampede of the poor in Ultra is only a grim reminder of thisunjust reality we must all help to end.Second, to educate everyone of our people, especially the young, in order toequip them for living in a highly competitive world.Third, to rebuild the physical infrastructure of our country, and to protect itsenvironment from long-term damage.And lastly, to create stable institutions appropriate to a complex and modernsociety -- in a climate of freedom, tolerance, and openness.If we remain focused and committed to such an agenda of necessarytransformation, I have every reason to believe that the search for new leaderswill take care of itself.

The quest for change will spawn new politicalformations and new political parties.Having said that, I will hasten to add that it would be a mistake to think thatone needs to be a politician to be able to contribute to the realization ofthese urgent tasks.

Grocery shopping? Take your rubber gloves!

Tue Feb 14, 2006 2:15 PM ET

SEOUL (Reuters) - Shopping cart handles are the most bacteria-infested items among some commonly used objects while doorknobs on public bathrooms are not as bad as might be expected, according to a survey conducted in South Korea.

The Korea Consumer Protection Board tested six items that are commonly handled by the public and ran tests for their bacteria content.

Shopping cart handles led the way with 1,100 colony forming units of bacteria per 10 sq cm (1.55 sq inches) followed by a mouse used on computers in Internet cafes, which had an average of 690 colony forming units.

"The reason that shopping cart handles had so much bacteria is because the area is larger than the others and people have more space to place their hands," Kwon Young-il, an official at the consumer body, said by telephone.

Hand straps on buses were next with 380 units, followed by bathroom doorknobs at 340.

Rounding out the list were elevator buttons at 130 colony forming units and hand straps on subways at 86.

The report released this week said washing hands with soap removes almost all of the bacteria.

Texting tips for Valentine's

Fri Feb 10, 2006 7:41 AM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons texting St Valentine's Day love messages next Tuesday should be careful they don't send them to the wrong person.

A poll of 3,000 mobile phone users that found 40 percent will be texting rather than sending cards and that one in four have misdirected a provocative text or photo.

Recipients of the unwanted texts include bosses or colleagues (9 percent) parents (3 percent) and perhaps most embarrassing of all -- ex-partners (2 percent).

The study for student phone service dot mobile revealed eight in ten 18-25 year olds have sent a flirty text message within the last year, with a third indulging in "text sex."

The survey found 60 percent of respondents had sent a flirty text to someone other than their regular partner although not without consequences for many of them.

Of those who admitted cheating, 65 percent had been caught out by their mobile, with a third saying their partner had read incriminating text messages.

With loved-up texters getting ready for the big day, dot mobile has come up with a few tips:

-- Keep flirty messages short.

-- Observe the two-day rule: get in touch after meeting someone within two days, no longer.

-- Do not drink and text.

-- Avoid over-use of emoticons and jargon.

-- "Xs" at the end of messages should not exceed three.

-- Be careful about picture messaging which others may get their hands on.

-- Adhere to the two text rule; Admit defeat if you have not received a reply after 12 hours and two texts.

Yummy!!!

Japanese women treat themselves on Valentine's Day

Sat Feb 11, 2006 8:31 PM ET
By Miho Yoshikawa

TOKYO (Reuters) - It used to be Japanese women gave men a gift of chocolates on Valentine's Day.
These days, they're more likely to buy pricey chocolates costing up to $200 a box as a treat for themselves.

"It's a small luxury that I allow myself," said 39-year-old Reiko Nozawa, who usually buys champagne truffles for herself and a few other chocolates to share with her husband.

Nozawa is not alone.

Makers of 60 premium chocolate brands have set up special booths at Takashimaya Co., a department store in central Tokyo, where boxes of chocolates costing as much as 10,000-20,000 yen ($84-$168) are selling briskly, helped by Japan's economic recovery.

"There's been a trend the past two or three years for women to buy chocolates for themselves, as a sort of pat on the back for having worked hard," said Takashimaya spokeswoman Yoko Yanagisawa.

That can be on top of what they spend on others.

"I think I'll buy some premium chocolates for myself," said Yoshiko Okajima, a fashionably attired working mother, as she checked out chocolates for herself after spending 7,000 yen on her husband and 8-year-old son.

Tokyo is filled with Valentine Day chocolate adverts in the days leading up to February 14, and some manufacturers rake in about 20-30 percent of their annual sales in a few short weeks.

Until recently, most Japanese women bought cellophane-wrapped sweets in bulk from drugstores to give to colleagues or school friends as an "obligatory chocolate" on Valentine's Day.

A month later on "White Day" men return the favor by giving women gifts -- usually sweets but sometimes lingerie.

Confectionary maker Morozoff Ltd. is widely credited with having introduced Valentine's Day to Japan in a 1936 advertisement for chocolates.

"If we'd been a florist, no doubt we would have tried to sell flowers," Morozoff spokesman Kazuo Kojima said.

Some two decades later, Mary Chocolate Co. Ltd. used Valentine's Day as a sales promotion for its chocolates, in what is generally believed to be the first such commercial endeavour. The company only sold three chocolate bars during the three-day event in February 1958. Total sales -- 150 yen.
Almost a half-century later, Japan's Valentine Day chocolate sales have blossomed into a 50-billion-yen market.

WORTH IT

Upscale chocolate boutiques have sprouted up all over Tokyo, to cash in on increasingly sophisticated palates.

At Belgium-based Pierre Marcolini in Tokyo's trendy Ginza district a steady flow of customers peer at ribboned gift boxes in a glass display.

Customers are ushered in by a young woman whose task is to ensure the softly-lit, modest-sized store doesn't get too cramped.

"It is pretty expensive, but I think they are worth the price and I like them," said a 36-year-old junior high school teacher carrying a sweet-filled bag marked with the store's logo.

Such consumers are likely to help Japan's market for chocolate sweets, some 235,487 tonnes in 2004/05, and cocoa, roughly 56,634 tonnes, grow at a modest pace, said Kenji Kaminaga, executive director of the Chocolate & Cocoa Association of Japan.

"I think sales of premium chocolates are definitely helping to support the market," Kaminaga said.

Premium chocolates are often imported from countries like Belgium and France, with imports worth 36.8 billion yen in 2004/05, up about 36 percent from a decade ago, according to association estimates.

Chocolate aficionados are also beginning to favor high-quality sweets with a high cocoa content and complex tastes, achieved by blending bulk beans with prized flavour beans from countries like Venezuela and Ecuador.

Japanese, however, are still modest chocolate consumers by global standards, swallowing about 2.2 kg per person each year, compared to Switzerland's 11.3 kg and Germany's 10.5 kg.

Trahedya sa Kapamilya...Atong Pahasubu...

Tribu Kapamilya!!!

Ang Tinuod nga Kasaligan! Ang tinuod nga Nagpakabana!

Ruby Watabe & Inday Tikay!

Ang Bag-o nga Balay ni Tikay!

Ang Pinoy Kaha?!?

And the most important trait in a mate is...

Fri Jan 27, 2006 2:29 PM ET

By Kamakshi Tandon

TORONTO (Reuters) - When it comes to romance, women prefer someone who tickles their funny bone while men opt for those who catch their eye, according to an international survey released on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted in 16 countries by Canadian romance publisher Harlequin Enterprises, asked men and women on six continents about traits they liked or disliked and how they went about trying to meet Mr. or Ms. Right.

The poll revealed differences between countries in the way people tried to impress the opposite sex.

Australians and British men frequently admitted drinking too much, while about half of German and Italian men said they had lied about their finances. Spaniards were the most likely to use sex to catch someone's attention.

Eighty percent of Brazilian and Mexican men said they had lied about their marital or relationship status, as did 70 percent of German women, the survey said.

When it came to meeting that special someone, a majority of respondents preferred to rely on friends for introductions. The Internet was not a popular hunting ground except in Portugal, where about half the surveyed men and women opted to find people online.

Both Spain and France suffered a gender gap. Thirty percent of Spanish men, but no Spanish women, looked for love online. In France, 40 percent of men but only 10 percent of women attended parties, bars and clubs to meet someone, but they did have one thing in common: both sexes rated looks as more important than their counterparts in other countries.
When it came to that first meeting, a majority of men polled said beauty was more important than brains, while women put a sense of humor at the top of their list.

Physical attraction was the top priority for men in France, Brazil, Greece, Japan and Britain. And while 40 percent of Portuguese men rated intelligence over looks in a first encounter, no Australian men did so.
In the United States and Canada, humor was considered the most important trait by both men and women, getting 63 and 73 percent of the vote respectively.

Ang Epekto sa Nagkataas Nga EVAT!

ESTIMATED PRICE IMPACT FROM ADDITIONAL 2% VAT


ITEM
CURRENT COST
COST AFTER VAT
DIFFERENCE
% CHANGE

Yellow Corn
10.60
11.23
0.63
5.98

Rice
20.76
22.06
1.30
6.26

Bangus
83.01
90.98
7.94
9.57

Tilapia
67.93
74.96
7.01
10.32

Cabbage
24.01
25.81
1.79
7.47

Eggplant
43.37
47.13
3.71
8.56


ITEM
CURRENT COST
COST AFTER VAT(10%)
COST AFTER VAT(12%)
% CHANGE(10%)
% CHANGE(12%)


Broiler
97.33
105.31
106.96
8.199
9.898


Pork
141.670
149.889
151.655
5.801
7.048



Source: Distributed by BSP Investor Relations Office during press conference with economic managers, Jan. 31, 2006

Inilang Aktibistang Babaye, Ningpanaw Na

Coretta Scott King Dies at 78

Tuesday Jan 31, 2006 7:55am ESTBy Stephen M. Silverman

Coretta Scott King, widow of American Civil Rights icon the Rev. Martin Luther King, died Monday night. She was 78. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young, a longtime friend of the King family, said on Tuesday morning's Today show via phone from Atlanta: "I was not expecting it, but she has been rather ill for the past few months. My first reaction was, she was ready to cross on over." Young said Mrs. King did not stir when her daughter went in her bedroom to awaken her, and that Mrs. King had slipped away in her sleep. "Yet her spirit will remain with us," he added.

After suffering a stroke and heart attack last August, Mrs. King made a surprise appearance at a Jan. 14 event to honor her late husband. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the King family matriarch joined two of her four children, Dexter and Yolanda King, who served as emcees for the annual Salute to Greatness dinner at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta. Born and raised in Marion, Ala., Coretta Scott received a B.A. in music and education from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and then went on to study concert singing at Boston's New England Conservatory of Music, where she earned a degree in voice and violin.

While in Boston she met Martin Luther King, Jr. who was then studying for his doctorate in systematic theology at Boston University, according to her official biography at Atlanta's King Center. (The center was established by Mrs. King in 1968, the year her husband was assassinated. It is dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of her husband's nonviolent movement for justice, equality and peace.)

Coretta and Martin were married on June 18, 1953, and in September 1954 took up residence in Montgomery, Ala., with Coretta Scott King assuming the many functions of pastor's wife at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church. During Dr. King's career, Mrs. King devoted most of her time to raising their four children: Yolanda Denise (born in 1955), Martin Luther, III (1957), Dexter Scott (1961), and Bernice Albertine (1963). In 1957, she and Dr. King traveled to Ghana to mark that country's independence. A year later, they spent a belated honeymoon in Mexico, where they observed firsthand the immense gulf between extreme wealth and extreme poverty.

One year after that, Dr. and Mrs. King spent nearly a month in India on a pilgrimage to see disciples and sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi. And in 1964, she accompanied him to Oslo, Norway, where he received the Nobel Peace Prize. Even prior to her husband's public stand against the Vietnam War in 1967, Mrs. King functioned as liaison to peace and justice organizations, and as mediator to public officials on behalf of the unheard, her biography states.

For nearly four decades Mrs. King remained a dynamic figure in the struggle for civil rights, and Young considered her more of an activist than even her husband was in his prime. "Although people didn't realize it, the action part was always difficult for him," Young told PEOPLE in 1998. "He wanted to preach and reason things out. Coretta wanted to march."

Aside from facing the challenges of being a single mother with four children, Mrs. King made hundreds of speeches, led marches, raised funds and met with human rights and political leaders around the world. She orchestrated a 15-year effort that culminated in 1983, when President Reagan signed a bill creating a national holiday in her husband's memory. She joined the battle to end apartheid, lobbying hard for U.S. sanctions against South Africa. And, not confining herself to racial issues, she campaigned actively to defend gay rights.

Through it all, she kept alive the memory of her husband – and, in a personal touch, the red carnations her husband sent her in March 1968, kept safely in her home on Sunset Avenue in Atlanta. (It was the same one-story brick house she shared with Dr. King and their children.) "What was so strange was that he always sent me fresh flowers, and these were artificial," Mrs. King told PEOPLE six years ago. "When I asked why, Martin said he wanted me to have something I could keep, almost as if he knew they would have to last a very long time." --->