Category: rePosts

Good news“It is won
derful to come home to our country, especially because I have some good news for you again,” the President said.In Italy, Mr. Aquino said, he truly felt the “admiration” of Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and President Sergio Mattarella for the Filipinos’ contributions to Italy.“This is what prompted them to give our countrymen preferential status in choosing [guest workers] in Italy. The Philippines and Italy signed a labor agreement to implement this,” he said.The President also spoke about his meeting with the Filipino community in Rome, where he told them of “the transformation we are experiencing now and emphasized to them the need to take care of this so that we don’t have to return to the dark past we came from.”

Source: ‘Great to be President’ | Inquirer Global Nation

Manuel Luis Quezon, architect of our liberty and father of our people: “This world is the pathway to the other which is the abode free from cares”, but while we tread upon it we pray to God to give us your faith, your passion and your courage, that we may feel the same sacred pride that you felt with respect to your country, and your race, that we may love one another in the face of the bitter animosities of humanity; that our leader of the present in whom we established and recognized the highest possible glory of our generation, to whom with justice you have given the legacy of your genius and whom you regarded as the most worthy among your successors to carry on your noble task, may lead us along the right path that we must follow through all the crises confronting us; and that our independence and our Republic, mdore than in the law and official proclamations, more than in the rhetoric of banquets may live with genuinely pulsating graces in our conscience and our conduct, in the conscience and conduct of others, to the end that our martyrs may not be compelled to return to this earth to sacrifice their lives anew.Manuel Luis Quezon! It matters not that your mortal remains now rest beneath the soil! Your people will not seek for you among the dead! You live even in death!

Source: Before the mortal remains of Manuel L. Quezon, by Claro M. Recto » Manuel L. Quezon III

He said the first draft would be used to engage further different groups to deepen the crating process. The first draft would not only embody the people’s aspirations but various scenarios, as well.The draft will also be used to invite political leaders on a debate.“We want our leaders and future leaders to know the evidence-based aspirations of the people and find out if they have programs, platforms to lead the people to realize their dreams, aspirations,” Balisacan said.The idea is to take the debate to local and national levels through discussions, including use of traditional and social media.“It creates a situation where the candidates tell us what they are going to do and not just telling us what their backgrounds are, or who their parents are. We want to know what they will do to fulfill the dreams/visions of these ordinary people, the beggar Juan, or middle income Pedro, even the well-to-do Maria,” he added.

Source: NEDA draws up Filipino 2040 long-term development plan | Business, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com

Aspi said it was clear the country had learned from the experience of Typhoon Haiyan.“There have been some great strides in disaster risk reduction since Haiyan, both from the government and from the NGOs. This is especially the case on the advocacy side – the children’s emergency relief and protection act was passed this year and gives greater focus on the protection of children who are very vulnerable during times like these,” he said.The Philippines government is reviewing its disaster risk reduction law to incorporate more recommendations made following Haiyan and other typhoons.“The real focus has been making sure communities are at the heart of this preparedness, that’s the only way it can be successful,” added Aspi. “So communities, including children, have been mapping out their areas and pointing out where is a safe place to go and where is not safe. And of course, there is always room for improvement on this, particularly in making sure plans are inclusive and include the knowledge of women as well as the elderly. But we’re definitely making strides.”

Source: Philippines praised by UN for learning the hard lessons of Typhoon Haiyan and upgrading their disaster response efforts | South China Morning Post

As world leaders gather in Paris to discuss how to curb global climate change, the people of Uruguay are enjoying affordable clean energy with very little pollution.Over the last decade, Uruguay has transitioned over from total reliance on dirty fossil fuels and is now getting more than 94 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources. What’s more amazing is that Uruguay made the switch without any government subsidies and is now providing citizens with lower monthly energy bills than before.“What we’ve learned is that renewables is just a financial business,” says Ramón Méndez, National Director of Energy. “The construction and maintenance costs are low, so as long as you give investors a secure environment, it is a very attractive [business].”He is also quick to point out that while the plan they have followed is simple, it didn’t happen overnight.“We had to go through a crisis to reach this point. We spent 15 years in a bad place,” Méndez told The Guardian. “But in 2008, we launched a long-term energy policy that covered everything … Finally we had clarity.”

Source: How Uruguay Shifted from Fossil Fuels to 95% Clean Electricity in 10 Years

“In 20 years I have not heard such intolerance and hatred from political leaders in this society,” Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Guardian.That didn’t come out of nowhere — it’s been building for months, in American politics and media and popular discourse. Trump is just the tip of an iceberg that runs much deeper than many Americans would like to believe. America’s climate of anti-Muslim hatred and fear, a form of bigotry known as Islamophobia, is rampaging out of control. And it has very real and legitimately scary implications for the millions of Americans who follow Islam.

Source: It’s not just Trump: Islamophobia in America is spiraling out of control – Vox

In an unprecedented internal report on its 2012 Romney blunder, Gallup says it made mistakes in its core samples, including its racial makeup and political ideology, as well as its overall methodology.Gallup’s audit, however, also says the entire industry is due for an overhaul, with some of the leading firms using analog, black-and-white methods in a digital, multicultural world. Case in point: the rise of the cell phone and the fall of public engagement in opinion surveys.Besides not being tied to a fixed address – it’s not unusual for owners to have a different area code than where they actually live, and the numbers usually aren’t listed in the white pages – cell phones provide more control over its users’ privacy than a landline. It’s likely, analysts say, that the ability to screen or block incoming calls has accelerated the public’s unwillingness to take part in what used to be considered a civic duty.[RELATED: Who Are Donald Trump’s Voters? The Less Engaged and Less Informed]”Everyone in the industry is worried about the falling response rate,” Tourangeau says.

Source: Why Public Opinion Polls Are Increasingly Inaccurate – US News

“What started as a joke between friends, became a prank that made a fool out of the media and brought out the best in the people who reached out to me. It didn’t bring out the anger and darkness that we often see on the internet, but it brought a levity and humanity in a time we need it most.“Out of this ordeal I’ve concluded not to trust the credibility of the media, it’s twisted by the hungry journalists who mask the truth … It goes to show that an average joe like myself can con the the biggest news sources with ease.”

Source: Man says he invented ‘Phuc Dat Bich’ hoax to fool news media and Facebook | Media | The Guardian

“Any uncertainty in the region affects more of their people. Is it not therefore reasonable to expect China to take the lead in pushing for mechanisms that ensure stability, so that a peaceful rise may truly be achieved, not only by China, but for the entire region?” Aquino added.President Aquino also slammed China’s reclamation activities in the West Philippine Sea.“Excellencies, at this point when we are trying to manage issues, does not conducting massive reclamation and building of structures in contested waters make our collective task harder? We believe it does. Features that were once of limited use now potentially have a lot of use in so many different areas; conceivably, such a situation makes the give-and-take more difficult for parties involved, making a previously complex issue even more complex. None of us benefits in the long run; therefore, such actions should be stopped. This, at the very least could return the issue to more manageable levels,” Aquino said.

Source: One last Hurrah, PNoy slammed China on ASEAN Summit – The Maharlikan