News Update Growth not enough

Jan 31, 2010
Mr Neri, who served as socio-economic planning secretary from 2002 to 2007, said it appeared the wealthy had gained most from economic growth. MANILA - FILIPINOS have mostly not benefited from the country's economic growth - equal to about five per cent annually - during President Gloria Arroyo's seven-year term, a top official admitted on Sunday. While the government had aimed for seven per cent growth annually, the actual figure was insufficient to lift significant numbers out of poverty, Romulo Neri, head of the government-run pension system, said in a gloomy assessment of the outgoing leader's period in office. 'Five per cent is not good enough. We need about seven, possibly eight per cent growth. That is why... this administration's goal was to reach seven per cent on a consistent basis,' he said in a forum aired by ABS-CBN television. 'Unfortunately we have been caught up in some crises and we were not able to sustain it,' said Mr Neri. Government figures show that in 2006, about 30.1 per cent of the population lived in poverty, up from 29 per cent in 2003. Although Mrs Arroyo's government achieved a record 7.2 per cent GDP growth in 2007, this was later brought down by the global financial crisis and various natural disasters. Growth in 2009 was a mere 0.9 per cent, the lowest in 11 years. Mrs Arroyo, who took office in 2001 after a popular uprising toppled Joseph Estrada, is due to step down after presidential elections in May. Mr Neri, who served as socio-economic planning secretary from 2002 to 2007, said it appeared the wealthy had gained most from economic growth. 'Much of this growth is going to corporations. If you look at the savings rates... in the 1970s, much of the savings was in households, now the (bulk of) savings has shifted to corporate savings,' he said. -- AFP How To Teach Children At Risk Of Educational Failure: Coping With Proverty, Bullying, Disease, Crime, And Ethnicity (Mellen Studies in Education)

Kopi Talk - Fengshui In Burial and Offering Pt 2/3

Altars for gods are usually found on backstages at most Chinese Opera theatres. Before performing, troupe members would make incense offerings to the gods and pray for their blessings. Proper offerings also include food items like steamed chicken or roasted pork, though the family will eat the meat after the offerings.  Other food items like rice, orange or apple will be left on the street as offerings. Surprising the food was still warm when kept in the bamboo rattan basket for few hours. As you can see most my relative in China still camera shy, everybody seem to abandon the site when my camera start rolling, However, feast your eye to the food in the basket, maybe I should get some of those basket for my clay pot rice delivery.

News Update Eight dead after Philippine military plane crashes: army

Eight soldiers were killed and a boy went missing when a small military plane crashed into a residential area in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato on Thursday, a military official said.

Eight soldiers were killed and a boy went missing when a small military plane crashed into a residential area in the southern Philippine city of Cotabato on Thursday, a military official said.
All eight people aboard were killed as the Nomad aircraft burst into a ball of flames on impact, setting fire to two houses, said the regional military chief, Major-General Raymundo Ferrer.
All the victims were soldiers, including Major-General Mario Lacson, who commanded an army division, Ferrer told reporters.
A boy in one of the burnt houses remained missing after the plane crashed in the area at 11:25 am (0325 GMT), Ferrer said.

 

News Update Philippine government meets rebels in Malaysia

by Agence France-Presse,  

The Philippine government and Muslim separatists held two days of talks in Malaysia as they work towards a peace deal to end decades of conflict, officials said Thursday.

Malaysian facilitator Othman Razak said negotiators from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest of the country's Muslim rebel groups, met in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday and Thursday.
After a 16-month impasse, the two sides last month resumed negotiations towards ending a separatist rebellion in the southern island of Mindanao that has left more than 150,000 people dead.
In the latest talks they reviewed each other's draft positions, Othman said, adding they would meet again on February 18-19 when they will "identify next steps towards achieving a comprehensive, compact and a negotiated solution".
He also said that international monitors would return to Mindanao "in the coming weeks."
The Philippines' chief negotiator, Rafael Seguis, said there had been no breakthrough in this week's talks.
"I wish to clarify that there is no agreement yet. Both sides are still in the early stages of discussing each other's position papers," he said in a statement.
Seguis said that any negotiations that touched on the Philippines' legislation or policy would have to be submitted to Congress for approval.
In December both sides expressed optimism over the renewed talks, which collapsed after the MILF launched deadly attacks across Mindanao in August 2008.
The violence broke out after the Philippine Supreme Court outlawed a proposed deal that would have given the MILF control over large areas of the south that were claimed by the rebel group as its "ancestral domain".
Over 700,000 people were displaced at the height of the fighting and nearly 400 were killed. A new ceasefire was signed in September, paving the way for the resumption of the talks.
Since then, Mindanao has been rocked by a massacre in Maguindanao province that left 57 people dead and the imposition of martial law there as the government battled militiamen loyal to the powerful Ampatuan clan.
The government had earlier backed the clan as part of a strategy to contain the 12,000-strong MILF.
Seguis has previously said that Manila is aiming to secure a peace deal with the MILF before President Gloria Arroyo steps down this year.
Arroyo opened the peace talks in 2001 in an effort to end the bloody secessionist war in restive but mineral-rich Mindanao.

Just Ask - Is Civet Coffee export to Turkish ?

 Hi Aslan , for your information we are not the distributor or any dealer for the Civet coffee. However, if you required the information to export we can facilitator the local connection. They have their own export rule and regulation and also the unseen rule. Here is a hint the business coffee dealer all talk to each other. 

Many times dealers are good friends and have done business for decades. they often network together. You might be very shocked at how much networking goes on in the Philippine business communities. Beside being friends, business dealers are often related to each other, brothers, sisters, uncles, marriage and so on. It is a small tight community. .To date, communities are sustained by Bote Central-Cafe Alamid's mother company who exports them to Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Australia, United States and Italy. They produce one to 1.5 tons a year, they could go higher but they are very particular about the quality of the coffee and the protection of the environment.  Civet coffee is found all over the Philippines wherever forests are lush, where civets thrive and coffee beans grow. The supply are very regulated therefore the main distributor will be the one that gain much of the benefit, as for business something that is not scalability and very hard to duplicate, at the grace and mercy of nature carry a potential calculated risk factor. When I was back in China the Yunnan Coffee Industrial Corporation (YCIC) only had ten plantations in 1996,  now the sole purchaser of the output of over 100 plantations throughout Yunnan province-40 in the Simao region-China's premier growing region. YCIC is working with every one of these to make improvements to bean quality-installing quality control measures and supporting the growers with both finance and new technology. Yunnan University's Agricultural Department has also been working with growers to try to rid the country's crops of the coffee virus, Dry Leaf, having significant success by cross-breeding local plants with disease-free imported varieties.

Yunnan's temperate climate, height above sea level and general geographical situation make the growing conditions comparable with both Indonesia and Colombia. Indeed, there seems to be no reason whatsoever for Yunnan not to produce some very fine, high quality coffee, especially now that the government is throwing its weight behind the venture.What I heard that plans are already on the drawing board to build two new roasting plants in the province-one in Kunming and another in Simao. A sign of China's optimism in the future of its coffee industry is the YCIC's model factory above Kunming. With a capacity of 1,000 metric tons per shift. If they decided to make it big sometimes the buyer for coffee can be an exporter next .
If you want you can order online at http://www.arengga.com for the civet coffee.

Kopi talk - Tea and Coffee in Mythology

Hi Seth thanks for sending the link, by the way I will be sending you the sample for kalinga coffee.

In Chinese and Japanese cultures, tea is a frequent subject matter of legends. The tea plant was created from eyelids of a certain Buddhist monk, or sage, who, wanting to punish himself for falling asleep during meditation, cuts them off and discards them with contempt. Each eyelid gives rise to one tea shrub. According to the Japanese version of this legend, the eyelids belong toBodhidharma (Daruma), who cuts them off as a preventive measure, since he wants to be unable to ever close his eyes.
The discovery of coffee is sometimes ascribed to goats. Coptic monks, who are compelled to observe a strict religious order of overnight prayers, notice that goats that had nibbled the leaves and fruit of wild coffee shrubs became excited and could not sleep at night. Thus, the monks follow the goats and, although they do not really like the taste of the leaves and bean, they are greatly satisfied with their unusual effect. Another, more poetic legend has Arabic origins: the first cup of this beverage was served to Muhammad by the Archangel Gabriel. The drink has an amazing effect. Right away Muhammad mounts his stallion, defeats forty knights in tournament, and lets forty Arabic ladies "taste the sweetness of love."

Extract from http://www.answers.com/topic/food-in-myth-and-legend

News Update Japanese shot near Manila

Jan 30, 2010

MANILA - A JAPANESE man living in the Philippines has been robbed and shot dead by fellow bus passengers near Manila, police said on Saturday.
Hiromi Honda, 59, was attacked by five unknown suspects shortly after he boarded the bus in Dasmarinas town, south of Manila on Friday morning, a police report said.
The attackers, who were also aboard the vehicle, ordered the driver to stop and immediately opened fire with at least two handguns, it added.
Mr Honda, who lived in the area with a Filipina girlfriend, avoided the initial volley by running away but the suspects chased him and shot him dead, the report said.
The gunmen stole the victim's necklace and wallet and fled, it added.
Police did not give Honda's Japanese address or occupation. -- AFP

Kopi Talk - No junk food for us please

Hi Jacob Thanks for sending the article to me.

Mathew Pereira takes extreme measures when it comes to certain food items.

---

'Anyone who has bought the Alce Nero Organic Whole Wheat Biscuits 'Frollini Con Farina Integrale Biologica' (350g) from Italy, with the best-before date of Jan 23, 2009, should throw them away.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said in a statement yesterday that importers and retailers have been told to recall that particular batch immediately. This follows an alert from the European Commission that the biscuits have been found to contain high levels of peroxide; 'an indication of degraded food quality which may result in rancidity, deterioration in taste and flavour', the AVA said.
Those with queries can call the AVA hotline on 1800-226-2250.'

I could just be flippant and tell you what deadly news you are missing if you just catch the news headlines off TV or radio. It is frightening to think how easily one could miss such a report and merrily continue munching on stuff like that. My son is convinced that the stomach problems he continues to have is due to the melamine-tainted milk he was taking on a daily basis before the news on China's milk scandal broke.

What can we do about it? If you believe in extreme measures, read on. I have some very strict rules in my home and my friends think I am crazy.

Products from some countries are allowed in my home so long as they are used for scrubbing, washing, waxing, etc, but food products from these countries are banned. So, anything that goes into our mouths should not come from the blacklisted countries. I exaggerate only a little, but I assure you, I follow this rule quite rigidly.

When my youngest son was on a trip abroad with his school, he bought a product in a flavour which could not be found in Singapore. He was so excited he actually called me and told me about his find and its purchase.

He was told to flip to the label and check where it was made and promptly ordered to dump it. Then, even I thought I was being unreasonable but not now.

The melamine scare, I notice, has done one thing for my family: they (yes, they. I don't eat junk stuff) have all stopped eating the rubbish biscuits, cookies, wafers they used to. With the economy the way it is and everyone in fat- and cost-cutting mode, it is not necessarily a bad thing.

News Update S'pore most open economy

Jan 30, 2010

Republic scores for its openness to trade and labour movements

By Dickson Li

The Globalisation Index 2009 report released yesterday said the 'movement of goods and services' in Singapore relative to total output outshone all comers. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

SINGAPORE leads the world as the most globally connected economy, after edging out regional rival Hong Kong, according to an inaugural study.
The key factor that drove the Republic to the top of the list compiled by Ernst & Young and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) was the far-reaching tentacles of trade.
The Globalisation Index 2009 report released yesterday said the 'movement of goods and services' in Singapore relative to total output outshone all comers.
With total trade volume of more than 300 per cent of output - since many goods are simply turned around at Singapore ports - the Republic attained a score of 9.59, the highest of all 60 economies. Hong Kong registered 8.66.
This criterion measures the volume of a country's trade as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) - a measure of economic output - and other factors such as trade openness, and any trade barriers, as rated by EIU analysts.
Experts, however, pointed to some downsides to being the most open economy. 'During the global recession, Singapore exports saw the biggest fall ever and this dragged down GDP in the first quarter,' said HSBC economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.

Kopi talk - Mr Tan Hui Yee says going oganic or not is a simple act of exercising conscious choice.

'I THINK that you have to be a cocaine dealer to be able to afford to eat ethically,' my colleague declared recently.

She had just enjoyed a meal made with ingredients like organic free-range chicken, which cost $33 each, and organic free-range pork, which cost a jaw-dropping $49 per kg. This was part of a food tasting session arranged for this Saturday Special Report on ethical eating.

The animals were bred in the United States and New Zealand on organic feed and had access to pastures instead of being cooped up in pens at conventional farms.

Sure, the meat was exquisite, but she and a couple of other colleagues at the tasting felt the cost was just too high for everyday consumption.

That’s fair enough, but it is a stretch to conclude that ethical eating is too expensive as the practice is as much about what you avoid eating as it is about what you eat.

Someone who adopts a vegetarian diet to reduce animal suffering could end up spending less than a conventional diner as meat dishes always cost more at food outlets.

And meat lovers can always eating less steak, chicken and so on, which would mean - again - lower food bills.

Detractors love to thumb their noses at organic food on the basis of its relatively higher cost. Going organic, they say, is just too impractical for the average person.

But organic can be used as a benchmark for sustainable agriculture rather than some standard for ethical eating. In other words, it’s okay not to choose organic produce, as long as you demand your food producer grow your vegetables in a manner that is safe for you as well as the environment.

Internationally certified organic standards can be hard to meet, especially for small farmers who have no means of knowing if chemicals had been used on their soil by previous occupants. A farmer who tries his darndest to reduce pollution and support wildlife on his land deserves support – organic or not.

In fact, part of the process of ethical eating is communicating your choices to those who matter.

Have you ever wondered if those prawns at your fishmonger’s were farmed or wild-caught? (Prawn farming has been blamed for the destruction of the region’s mangroves.) Have you bothered to ask him about it?

If enough people did, he might just think twice about stocking that product in the future.

Simply put, there are no gold standards to ethical eating, no checklists to follow. It is a simple act of exercising conscious choice over what you put in your mouth.

Those who choose to walk this path do what they can, and don’t beat themselves up over the stuff that they miss.

It’s okay to slip up, they say.

Redemption is just a meal away.

Thanks For the Article and write up by Tan Hui Yee Correspondent

Kopi Talk - Fengshui In Burial Pt 1/3

When I was in china paying respect to our deceased ancestor was viewed as a closely united group of living and dead relatives.

Ancestor worship is a religious practice based on the belief that deceased family members have a continued existence, that the spirits of deceased ancestors will look after the family, take an interest in the affairs of the world, and possess the ability to influence the fortune of the living.

Unity of the group is reinforced through ancestor veneration, offering of various kinds help to keep the ancestors happy in the spiritual world, who, in return, will bless the family.
Ancestor worshipping is not asking for favours, but to fulfil one’s filial duties. The act is a way to respect, honour and look after ancestors in their afterlives guaranteeing the ancestors’ well-being and positive disposition towards the living, as well as possibly seeking the ancestors’ wisdom, guidance or assistance for their living descendants in a win win situation.

By paying respect and homage to the ancestors, instilled memories of the deceased, that thay are the ones having brought the descendants into the world, nourished them and having prepared the conditions under which the descendants grew up, hence ancestor veneration is a pay back of spiritual debts.

Being an important aspect of the Chinese culture, the social or non-religious function of ancestor worship is to cultivate kinship values like filial piety, family loyalty, and continuity of the family lineage.

Ancestor worship is a family affair, it is held in homes and temples and consists of offering joss stick, serving as communication and greetings to the deceased, prayers and offering items before tablets.
In homes, the shrines can be a shelf on the wall, a table or an altar like architectural structure, integrated in the structure of the house or even an entire room, depending on the financial status of the family.
The shrine will show a tablet with the ancestor's name inscribed on it, as well as a picture or photograph. Most likely, the patrilineal ancestors and their wives will be honoured. The shrine will have an incense stick holder, at times with a Golden Flower, and plates for food offerings, some might feature glasses or a set of tea cups for quenching the ancestors’ thirst. Some shrines show symbolic objects or objects honoured by the deceased. Flowers,fruit,food offerings, most likely fresh ones or sometimes in form of a garland, can be found as well.

In our China ancestor home the  cemeteries were generally located on hillsides as this is thought to improve the feng shui. The further up the hill the grave is, the better its situation is thought to be a blessing to all the generation to come. In Singapore a whole house dedicated for the dead either you are very rich or strong beliefer in feng shui. In China the Chinese belief that bigger, higher the better. In fact the whole world is obsessive compulsive with height and length, trying their best to compete each other on building the tallest building, medicine to booster the length of our c$%ck etc. 

Kopi Talk Most expensive coffee in the world

Forbes List of Most Expensive Coffees in the World .
1.Starting off the list at $160 per pound is
Kopi Luwak              2.Hacienda La Esmeralda (Panama, $104/lb)
3.Island of St. Helena Coffee Company ($79/lb)
4.El Injerto (Guatemala, $25-50/lb)
5.Fazenda Santa Ines (Brazil, $50/lb)
6.Jamaica Blue Mountain ($49/lb)
7.Los Planes (El Salvador, $40/lb)
8.Kona ($34/lb)
9.Starbucks Rwanda Blue Bourbon ($24/lb)
10.Yauco Selecto AA (Puerto Rico, $22/lb)
11.Fazenda Sao Benedito (Brazil, $21/lb)

News Update Fears of high food prices

Jan 28, 2010


The Philippines is expected to ramp up rice imports this year after two devastating tropical storms in September and October 2009 trimmed annual farm output growth to 0.1 per cent. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
MANILA - THE Philippines, the world's largest rice importer, said on Thursday it feared global food prices would spike this year as India suffers its worst drought in nearly four decades.
'There's been a big drought in India which affected half of her territory and which may affect global food prices,' Economic Planning Undersecretary Dennis Arroyo told reporters.
Mrs Arroyo listed the Indian dry spell as among the potential obstacles to a full Philippine recovery this year from the global financial crisis, which dragged its economic growth last year to an 11-year low 0.9 per cent.
He noted that the Philippines, like India a huge rice consumer, was among the worst nations hit in 2008 when the global prices of the grain spiked to 34-year highs.
The Philippines is expected to ramp up rice imports this year after two devastating tropical storms in September and October 2009 trimmed annual farm output growth to 0.1 per cent. 'In 2008 you had the global food and fuel crisis. In 2009 we had the financial crisis. Now we're seeing a global climate crisis. The world is vulnerable to this,' Mrs Arroyo said.
India, the world's second most populous country, said last year it was suffering its worst drought since 1972. Low rains had ravaged the country's rice, cane sugar and groundnut crops. -- AFP

Kopi talk - They even Map out the country for corruption index what would they think of next ?

 

With all the colorful coded map I guess is a challenge to those who are color blind, White mean no date or nobody there, that prove one thing when there are people,corruption exist more or less. Interesting Map ! LOL

News Update Philippines sees mild rebound

Jan 28, 2010

MANILA - THE Philippines will enjoy a mild economic recovery this year after the global financial crisis and a series of deadly storms dragged growth in 2009 to an 11-year low, the government said on Thursday.

Economic Planning Secretary Augusto Santos said the official target range for gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2010 was 2.6-3.6 per cent, with spending ahead of national elections in May expected to fuel the economy. 'The global rebound is underway, our economy has proven itself resilient, and elections will bring fresh mandates and new energy to our society. We are thus optimistic,' Mr Santos told a news briefing.
However the economy grew by just 0.9 per cent in 2009 after recording an expansion of 1.8 per cent in the final three months of the year, officials said. The full-year figure was the worst for the Philippines since the Asian financial crisis caused the economy to contract by 0.6 per cent in 1998. The economy grew by 3.8 per cent in 2008.
Tropical storms Ketsana and Parma, which killed more than 1,100 people in September and October, was one of the big factors in agricultural growth being limited to 0.1 per cent last year.
Meanwhile, the impacts of the global financial crisis caused industry, which includes manufacturing and construction, to contract by 2.0 per cent, although it rebounded in the final quarter with growth of 3.7 per cent. The services sector managed 3.2 per cent growth for the year.
Mr Santos said the key economic growth drivers for 2010 would include the business process outsourcing industry, of which the government hopes the Philippines will capture 10 per cent of the global market. Others were finance, mining and construction, he said. -- AFP

Just Ask -Do you sell the Kalinga Extoic brand ?

Hi Osmaun

As for the more exotic brand you are referring to is the the exotic and expensive civet coffee with the launching of the "Kape de Motit", a locally processed civet coffee .
According to Miss Maria Cecilia T. Baral, Senior Trade and Industry Development Specialist of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Kalinga, what made this coffee unique is that it come from the droppings of civet or locally known as "motit." or shi@t or poop's The motit is a cat- like wild animal that feeds on delicately selected red coffee berries. But since the beans are not digested they are excreted. These are then collected and processed just like any ordinary coffee bean.
"But unlike the ordinary coffee, civet coffee produces a distinct taste and aroma believed to be due to the enzyme and breakdown of the bean's proteins in the civet's intestine aside from the high quality of beans being picked by the civet when feeding," Baral said explaining why the product is considerably expensive.

In the world market, one the most popularly known civet coffee product is the Kopi Luwak (Civet Coffee) of Indonesia which has a selling price of up to $1,300 per kilo and sold mainly in the US and Japan It is also considered as the most expensive coffee in the world according to Forbes Magazine.
Some who taste  feedback that brewed coffee is smooth, sweet, and lingering dark chocolate flavor with a fruity aroma for the macchiato as for the expresso they had bold, rich, fully developed flavors swirling around your upper and lower tongue, no negative aftertaste. As for me I took a step further to ground and charcoal roast the coffee beans with a dish of peanut husk and some of our so call grandfather recipe and later brewed it in my coffee maker, you had to drank it black without the sugar so as to try the pure aroma fragrant that carry a whiff of unexplained mixture of minty smell and lingering cool mouth feel around and under my tongue similar to the essence of mint but without the minty flavor I agree to the sweet rich flavor and non-acidic clean aftertaste but what really missing is the chocolate flavor maybe I did not add milk which might explain the non-chocolate taste. I'm a coffee fiend and love to drink coffee this so far the smoothest, most fragrant and delicate tasting coffee I've ever drank. Expensive but it is truly wonderful. It's like a Mozart concerto in my mouth and in demand but the supply is limited.Finally, it relatively 30% cheaper compared to Kopi Luwak and the taste I would say unique on it own ground and I guess it also boil down to individual preferences and tastes.

News Update Wife's last words heard

Jan 27, 2010

Esmael Mangudadatu said his wife made one last mobile phone call to him just after she and the others had been abducted by gunmen. -- PHOTO: AP

MANILA - A POLITICIAN whose wife was massacred along with 56 other people in the southern Philippines tearfully recalled on Wednesday her terrified last words moments before she was killed.
Esmael Mangudadatu said his wife made one last mobile phone call to him just after she and the others had been abducted by gunmen, who were allegedly led by a rival politician, as they were travelling in a convoy on a remote road.
'She said: 'We have been stopped by so many men here. Armed men',' Mr Mangudadatu told a court hearing during the trial of Andal Ampatuan Jnr, the rival politician charged with multiple counts of murder over the massacre. 'Unsay (Ampatuan Jnr's nickname) is here. He struck me,' Mr Mangudadatu quoted his wife as saying, as he fought back tears. 'Those were the last words of my wife.'
Aside from Mr Mangududatu's wife Jennelyn, his pregnant sister and an aunt were in the convoy and were shot dead on Nov 23 last year in the southern province of Maguindanao. Also in the convoy were lawyers and over 30 journalists who were travelling to an electoral office where Jennelyn was planning to register her husband's candidacy to run against Ampatuan Jnr for the post of provincial governor.
In his testimony, Mr Mangudadatu said his clan decided to send his wife and female relatives to register for him because they expected a confrontation, but the police and military refused to give them escorts. Mr Mangudadatu said he thought Ampatuan Jnr would not harm women. 'Under Islam, women are given respect and are not harmed, regardless of religion,' he told the court.
Mr Mangudadatu broke down in tears at the witness stand when presented with pictures of his wife's body. Ampatuan Jnr, who has pleaded not guilty, sat quietly and occasionally conversed with his lawyers in the Manila courtroom as Mangudadatu gave his testimony. -- AFP

News Update 6.1 quake hits Philippines

Jan 28, 2010 MANILA - A 6.1 MAGNITUDE quake hit the Philippines region early on Thursday, US scientists said, but no tsunami warning was immediately issued.
The epicentre of the quake was 141 kilometres (88 miles) east-southeast of Pandan, at a depth of 24 kilometres, a report from the USGS said.
The quake hit at 2.49am (1849 GMT Wednesday) the report added.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre did not immediately issue a tsunami warning.
The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity. -- AFP

News Update Presenting... the iPad

Jan 28, 2010 

REUTERS

Apple CEO Steve Jobs shows off the new iPad during an event in San Francisco, Wednesday, Jan 27, 2010. -- PHOTO: AP

SAN FRANCISCO - APPLE chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled a new touchscreen tablet computer on Wednesday dubbed the 'iPad', seeking to carve out a niche between the laptop and the smartphone.
'We want to kick off 2010 by introducing a truly magical and revolutionary product,' said Jobs, who underwent a liver transplant last year and was making just his second public appearance since September.
The long-awaited iPad has a 9.7-inch (24.6-centimetre) colour screen and resembles an oversized iPod Touch or iPhone. It is 0.5 inches (1.3-cm) thick, weighs 1.5 pounds (0.7 kilogrammes) and comes with 16, 32, or 64 gigabytes of flash memory.
The price tag for the device, Apple's first major product since the iPhone three years ago, came in less than expected by most technology analysts.
The cheapest iPad model, with 16G of memory, is US$499 (S$700) while the most expensive - which includes 3G wireless connectivity and 64G of memory - costs US$829.
Apple said it would start shipping the iPad, which has a virtual keyboard but can also be hooked up to an external keyboard, within 60 days, making them available worldwide in late March. The 3G version will reach the market in late April. -- AFP

Review: Not just a bigger iPod Touch

SAN FRANCISCO - AFTER just an hour with an iPad, I came away with a preliminary verdict: Despite some flaws, this is one slick device.
Steve Jobs intrigued me in his slow, showman-like presentation on Wednesday when he said the US$499-and-up iPad is 'so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone'. The comparison to an iPhone makes sense, given the minimalist silver-and-black style of the iPad.
The first thing I wanted to do when I held it was browse the Web and check out the iPad's on-screen keyboard. My favourite websites looked great on its crisp screen, which is 9.7 inches (24.6cm) on the diagonal - while the iPhone is just 3.5 inches (8.9cm). When you hold the iPad with the wider side down, in landscape mode, it's nearly big enough for touch typing - an improvement over the virtual buttons that can sometimes cause typing errors on the iPhone.
As on the iPhone, the iPad's screen is extremely responsive to finger swipes and taps, which made it easy to scroll through websites like Facebook and select photos and articles I wanted to read on news sites.
It also seems like it would be a great way to read a book, curled up on my couch. The iPad comes with Apple's new iBook software, which opens up to reveal a realistic-looking wooden bookshelf stocked with all the titles in your e-book collection.
Click on a book cover, and the book will open. You can read one page at a time in portrait mode, or, turn the iPad to either side and it will show you two pages of text. The screen is sharp and the pages turn crisply, more like a real book than on electronic ink screens found on devices like the Kindle.
Like Amazon.com Inc did for its Kindle, Apple is rolling out its own online bookstore, iBookstore, that can be used to download books straight to the iPad.
I had fun checking out videos and photos on the iPad, too. You can watch high-definition clips on YouTube, and they looked great magnified on the iPad's screen. It was simple to scroll through photos, and I could imagine enjoying sharing a slideshow with accompanying music piped out of the iPad's small built-in speakers.
A glance at the device's music player showed a simple-looking interface that was easy to navigate. I probably wouldn't use an iPad as my main music player - I'm guessing it wouldn't do well strapped to my arm during a run - but I would like to use it to listen to music while reading a book.
I quickly noticed some limitations, though. The iPad's operating software is based on that of the iPhone, so it, too, does not support Flash animation. This means you can't watch videos on some websites like Hulu - a big negative for something with such a pretty screen.
And the pretty screen can't make everything look great. Apple said that nearly any of the more than 140,000 applications available through its App Store will work on the iPad, and you can either view them in their original small size in the centre of the screen or magnified. I tried the magnified version on several apps and it was simply too pixelated to bear.
If you want to use a keyboard with the iPad for, say, writing the next great American novel, you'll have to buy a special keyboard that doubles as a charging dock (Apple announced this accessory but did not reveal its price or availability).
Overall, though, I was impressed by the iPad in the short time we had together. I can't yet say if I'll be among the first in line to buy one, but I'm definitely looking forward to playing with it some more.
A version that includes 16 gigabytes of flash memory will cost US$499 when it comes out in March. Models with 32 or 64 gigabytes of memory will cost US$599 and US$699. These will go online in Wi-Fi hot spots only.
Apple expects to start selling models in April that work with data plans from AT&T Inc in the US and will cost US$130 more. -- AP

Features of Apple's iPad

* Costs US$499 for 16 gigabytes of storage, US$599 for 32GB, US$699 for 64GB.
* 3G wireless capability costs an extra US$130.
* AT&T Inc data plan costs US$14.99 per month for 250 MB of data, US$29.99 for unlimited data.
* 10 hours of battery life, and a month on standby.
* 0.5 inches thick, weighs 1.5lbs (0.68kg).
* New iBook store has partners including Pearson Plc's Penguin, News Corp's HarperCollins, CBS Corp's Simon & Schuster MacMillan, Lagardere's Hachette Book Group.
* WiFi and bluetooth connectivity, compass, ability to view in portrait and landscape modes.
* Runs a variation of the iPhone operating system. Apple says all iPhone apps can run on the iPad.
* Supports iWork, Apple's productivity suite that competes with Microsoft Office.
* 1 GHz Apple-made A4 chip.
* WiFi models ship in late March, 3G shipping in April.

 

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www.class95cafe.co.cc: Kopi Talk - Amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert discovered a massive collection of gold and silver crosses

www.class95cafe.co.cc: Kopi Talk - Amateur treasure hunter Terry Herbert discovered a massive collection of gold and silver crosses

News Update Jailbirds in new MJ hit

Jan 26, 2010

Dancing Inmates perform MJ song (0:58)

MANILA - A GROUP of dancing Philippine prisoners has created a new Internet video hit with a spectacular routine led by Michael Jackson's choreographer dancing to the title track of his posthumous DVD.
The clip has generated more than 600,000 hits on the video sharing website YouTube since it was uploaded Friday by Sony Entertainment ahead of Tuesday's global release of the late superstar's 'This is It' DVD.
The four-minute, 26-second film shows Jackson choreographer Travis Payne leading 1,200 inmates clad in regulation orange prison trousers and black shirts featuring the DVD's logo through a well-synchronised jailyard routine.
Sony said Mr Payne and his crew spent two days this month at the maximum security jail in the central Philippine city of Cebu to record the dance as part of the promotion for the launch of Jackson's DVD.
The Cebu inmates, including murders, rapists and drug traffickers, achieved instant cult fame around the world when a clip of them dancing to Jackson's 'Thriller' hit was posted on YouTube in 2007. The 'Thriller' clip has since generated 37.5 million hits on YouTube, while other dance routines have also been posted and fuelled the prisoners' cult aura.
Officials at the jail began the dance exercises as a way to ease tensions among the inmates and improve their chances at rehabilitation. They, and prisoners who have been previously interviewed, say the programme has been a huge success, with fighting among inmates down markedly since the dancing was introduced. -- AFP

News Update 400kg of dog meat seized

Jan 26, 2010

MANILA - POLICE have seized 79 slaughtered dogs apparently being delivered to restaurants in the Philippines.Police Officer Renato Niturada says the 400kg of dog meat in 10 sacks were confiscated on Sunday from a van at a checkpoint in northern Pangasinan province.Mr Niturada said on Tuesday the van driver was charged with violating animal welfare law. He faces up to two years in jail or a fine of up to 5,000 pesos (S$152).Killing dogs for meat is illegal. But dog meat is a delicacy in northern Philippines, where back-street restaurants serve it despite protests from animal rights advocates.Mr Niturada says the dog carcasses were buried at a public cemetery. -- AP

 

News Update RP mango certified as world's biggest

GMANews.TV -
Monday, January 25

The Guinness Book of World Records has certified a 3.5-kilo mango from southern Philippines to be the world's biggest.
Radio dzBB reported early Monday that the mango, which surpassed the 2.4-kilo mango from Canada, was a product of Sergio at Maria Socorro Bodiongan of Iligan City.
It was submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records last September.
It was also the highlight of the Sundayag activity led by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 10 in Cagayan de Oro last year.
Sergio Bodiongan, with wife Maria Socorro, holds the world's biggest mango during DA's Sundayag Festival in Cagayan de Oro City last year.DA file photoThe DA in Region 10 also rejoiced over the recognition of the mango. Suzie Roa of DA Region 10 said it was a feat for local agriculture.
Roa said they have given the Bodiongan family cash incentives for the feat. - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV

Just Ask - Kalinga coffee come in bigger packaging do they meet export standard ?.

Hi Mike

As for now the kalinga coffee come with 400gm net weight. Vacuum Seal, aluminum foil for all time freshness export Packaging, Once is vacuum-sealed as long as it is unopened, it will last for a long time.

General labeling requirements
The following basic information in English are required to be declared on food labels:

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  Name or description of the food
  A common name or a description which is sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food product should be included.
  
  
  
• 
  
  List of ingredients
  A complete list of ingredients used in the food should be declared. If the respective quantities of the ingredients are not disclosed, they should be listed in descending order of the proportions by weight in which they are present. In other words, the ingredients listed at the top of the list should be the one that weighed the most.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Net quantity
  The minimum quantity of the food in the package expressed in terms of volumetric measure (eg. ml, litres) or net weight (eg, g,kg) or any other measure should be printed on the label to indicate the quantity of the contents. In the case of weight measure, suitable words like "Net" shall be used to describe the manner of measure.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Name and address of the manufacturer or importer
  The name and address of the manufacturer, packer or local vendor should be printed on the label of a food of local origin. In the case of an imported food, the label should indicate the name and address of the local importer, distributor or agent.
  
  
  
• 
  
  Country of origin of food
  The name of the country of origin of the food should be indicated on the label for imported food. The name of a city, town or province alone is not sufficient to indicate the origin of the product.
  
  Date-marking
  The prepacked foods listed below shall bear a date-marking to indicate the expiry date of the food. The date-marking must be permanently marked or embossed on the package or label of the package. This is the date after which the food, when kept in accordance with any storage conditions indicated on the label of that food, may not retain its normal nature and quality.
  The expiry date should be qualified by words like "USE BY", "SELL BY", "EXPIRY DATE", "BEST BEFORE" or other words of similar meaning. Where the validity of the date mark is dependent on its storage, the storage direction of that food must be stated on the label or package.
  For example: "BEST BEFORE : 31 Dec 99. Store in a cool, dry place."