UN-humanitarian aid

You don't want to hear of so many deaths from natural disasters? Easy. The less people, the less deaths to report. UN-believable.

H/T: Michelle Malkin

Enviro-nitwits

Here they come. They really want us to go back to the dark ages.
Who they?

PBA

I just had to post this. I try to make this blog "safe". Although I do not care so much now who the Americans are voting for in November, I have apprehensions over what the next POTUS can do. One conservative blogger said once that if the two candidates for President of the United States are not 100% pro-life, then they can hang it up as a country. It is no wonder that some Republicans will sit out this year's elections.

At the very least, McCain seems to be anti-abortion, while the two Democrats have always been pro-aborts. B. Hussein (and his wife, no less) has always been against the ban on Partial-Birth Abortions. And everyone knows Congress can always repeal laws. An anti-life President with an anti-life Congress can always change the existing law.

In one of Jill Stanek blogposts recently, a commenter left the photoshopped image (shown here) of a photo Jill had in her post. This is how that commenter sees B. Hussein in his PBA stance (caution: very graphic)

South Point Divers at Lemlunay

Sunstar General Santos has a feature entitled "Going to 'paradise' depths". It talks of the Partridge Family's South Point Divers at Lemlunay Resort.

Here's part of it:

As part of the province's tourism circuit, the resort boost of its scuba diving services through a diving shop called South Point Divers.

Sitting some 20 feet above the sea level, the 3.5-hectare property owned by the Partridge family saw its potentials not too quickly.

"This used to be our private, weekend hide-away, where the cabins are good only for the family members. But soon family friends keep coming and borrow the keys. That's the shortcut to the story why we are now operating commercially," recalled Paul Partridge, the resort manager and a certified dive instructor.

It was his father, Don, an American national, who bought the property 17 years ago after retiring from Dole Philippines Inc.

Read the rest here. The website is here.








Here's the link to Mel Ledesma's blog entry "Lemlunay" (you need to scroll down to see).

Requiem for UK fathers

The British Parliament just voted out the fathers. Times Online reports that:

Single women and lesbian couples won landmark parental rights last night as MPs voted to remove the requirement that fertility clinics consider a child’s need for a father.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill will replace the rule with a “need for supportive parenting” after opponents were defeated in two votes by unexpectedly wide margins.

The Government had been prepared for defeat but won the free votes by majorities of 75 and 68. The decisions mean that the legislation will grant the most significant extension to homosexual family rights since gay adoption was sanctioned.

It will stop fertility clinics turning away lesbians and single women because their children will not have a father or male role model. While the current law does not block such therapy, it is sometimes used to justify refusals.

It was bad enough that the UK pushed for IVF and related acts in the Bill in question. It is even worse now as "fathers" are deemed insignificant -- even as that other "half" of the equation is needed to have a child. Then again, this is just an off-shoot, an expected consequence of the tampering of the natural order.

And the proposal to lower the limit for abortions (from the legal 24 weeks), well, 24 weeks it still is.

So what can they think of next, human-animal hybrid embryos? Oh, shoots, they actually thought of that too. Here.

Possible now? H/T: Andrea Mrozek.

(without prejudice to the Narnia Chronicles I love)

Mary in May

Last week, Rachel Balducci wrote about Mary. In part:

Mary had Jesus in her care for so many years – from the moment he was born until the moment he died. She was with Jesus in all these same moments that I am with my own boys – from watching him discover the Father’s creation to frantically searching when he was lost in the temple.

Part of what I love so much about Mary, about her role in our faith, is that she makes Jesus real to us. Regardless of whether you are raising boys or girls or not raising children at all, thinking about Mary’s relationship to Jesus is a reminder that he came to live on this earth – and that she was in charge of him. What a daunting task! But Mary answered the call – she raised God’s son, the boy sent to become a man and then die on a cross so that the rest of us could, with God’s grace, get into Heaven.

Some days, I feel overwhelmed by what God has asked me to do as a mother. He has put me in charge of these precious souls, and it’s my responsibility as their mother to teach them so many things. Some days I feel tired and run down and also (on particularly bad days) distracted and annoyed.

And then I think of Mary, and all the years she raised her boy. Her continual yes to the Father, on a daily basis, is what gives us the grace to do the same. She deserves so much more than a mere month. She deserves our devotion and gratitude.

You can read the rest here.

True, May is the month dedicated to Mary. One Marian tradition is the pilgrimage. Of course, one can organize a BIG pilgrimage to a shrine dedicated to Our Lady (Lourdes, Fatima, maybe?). But you can also go on a small one but BIG in devotion. Organize with family or friends a pilgrimage: praying a part of the Holy Rosary toward the shrine (walking or riding, depends on the distance), praying the part of the day (with Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary) at the shrine, and then praying another set of mysteries away from the shrine.

In Cebu, there is Simala in Sibonga,


Schoenstatt in Talisay City,


or Virgin of the Rule in Lapu-Lapu City.

Another hero

Research meteorologist Tom Knutson of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's fluid dynamics lab in Princeton, N.J. used to warn "about the harmful effects of climate change and has even complained in the past about being censored by the Bush administration on past studies on the dangers of global warming." (foxnews.com). Now he is blowing from the other direction. In a recent study, he argues "against the notion that we've already seen a really dramatic increase in Atlantic hurricane activity resulting from greenhouse warming." (foxnews.com). One by one they're won over.

We don't know about Big Al, though. Now he even equates heroes who founded America and heroes of World War II's war against fascism to those who fight against global warming, a "third hero generation in American history." Yep, we are all sidekicks!

Opposition from the good?

Apparently, not only did Pope Benedict XVI's baptism of Corriere della Sera deputy editor Magdi Cristiano Allam last Easter sit well with the Muslims, it ruffled others' feathers. If this is to be believed, although there is no reason to doubt, then I repeat the question. I do not know much about Comboni's group though.

There, but not quite

I thought I was dreaming when I read an anti-GWA news story in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

"HUMANS MAY BE TAKING TOO much of the blame for climate change when it is largely triggered by natural causes, a biologist from the University of the Philippines said, citing nine errors in former US Vice President Al Gore’s documentary, “An Inconvenient Truth.”

"The award-winning and fourth highest-grossing documentary film ever showed the grim consequences of global warming with anthropogenic or human-caused greenhouse gases as the main culprit.

"But Dr. Perry Ong, director of the Institute of Biology at the UP College of Science, said human-induced global warming was among many environmental problems that interacted in the “eternal tug of war” between global warming and cooling.

"Popular explanations on the warming of the earth identified humans as being mainly responsible for influencing the climate through greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

"According to the documentary, for which Gore was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (together with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC), greenhouse gases emitted by humans were accountable for the death of polar bears, the melting of the snows of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the dehydration of Lake Chad, among others.

"Ong said GHGs spawned by humans contribute merely 33 percent to global warming compared to the 67 percent traced to natural causes, which include changes in solar radiation, volcanic eruptions and the shifting of the Earth’s tilt and orbit.

“Humankind is guilty of a lot of crimes against the Earth and pumping greenhouse gases is just one among many,” Ong stressed.

"The scientist echoed an unconventional and less popular view on such a “hyped up” environmental issue during his lecture at the UP Diliman on Wednesday."

Oh boy, he is a marked man.

But I would say he isn't so much as a "skeptic" really when he says this:

"The surging human population must also be countered so as not to compound other serious environmental issues. More people would mean more deforestation, more demand for food and more loss of biodiversity."

There, but not quite.

Celtic pride & gay marriage plume

Celtics in 7! Nuff said.

Now, although, I had second thoughts about putting what follows in the same post as the Celtics's going through to the Eastern Conference Finals, I had to, since there is a link. Boston leads the way -- in many ways, like, how the Celtics made one of the best turnarounds in NBA history. Massachusetts leads all states in "the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship", a.k.a gay marriage.

With the California Supreme Court's 4-3 decision last week against a ban on gay marriages, despite a previous 61% majority vote in 2000 to reaffirm the 1977 state law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, all is not lost. Pro-family groups are working towards putting on the ballot in November a constitutional amendment to make the CSC's decision moot.

Michelle M. quotes "Conservative religious organizations have submitted more than 1.1 million signatures for an initiative that would amend the state Constitution to outlaw same-sex marriage. If at least 694,354 signatures are found to be valid, a tally that is due by mid-June, the measure would go on the November ballot and, if approved by voters, would override any court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage."

In a quote by Dawn Eden (May 16) of Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, I put a link here of what Elizabeth wrote in her last book on Massachusetts's approval of gay marriages.

In part, as Dawn quotes:

"Many Americans, who come to see same-sex marriage as just another step in marriage’s evolution, will accept the public pronouncements that they are doing no more than supporting 'fairness' by extending some valuable benefits to people of the same sex who happen to love each other and wish to live together without shame or stigma. What could be more innocuous? But for the hardcore activists, the real goal is the destruction of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. They aim to discredit all forms of authority—especially God and nature—that dare to tell people how to lead their lives. In the view of queer activists, desire, like love in Carmen’s 'Habenera,' knows no law—nor should any be imposed upon it.

"In the current climate, the appeal of their position is not hard to understand, especially since most of those who accept it do not begin to understand its implications. If anything, the defense of same-sex marriage looks like yet another logical step in the gradual increase in freedom for all members of society. And since activists, the courts, and the media overwhelmingly encourage this deception, we may readily understand that many people may come to see same-sex marriage as another blow against outmoded and illegitimate forms of authority—a blow for freedom and equality. Buying into this view, however, they will remain blind to the ways in which they are playing into the hands of vast governmental and economic powers. The freedom for gays and lesbians to marry will decisively contribute to disaggregating all of the remaining social institutions that provide the foundations for any collective resistance against political and economic domination."

See also Maggie Gallagher at Mercatornet.com.

Justine-credible

She announced her retirement from professional tennis. She says she'll teach tennis at her academy. Just google. I cannot link. Am affected ;-).

Allez! Your still #1!

Photo SI.com/AP

Update: Justine asked the ATP to take her name off the standings. This will put Masha at the top of the list by May 19.

Usher in Asher

Jill Stanek blogs about another baby miracle.
The story is here.
Image from the story.

Flight risk

One of my pet peeves. Although I am not clear about the level of risk of cellphone use during flights, what I just cannot understand is why some airline passengers cannot follow regulations. Philippine domestic flights are very notorious for such behavior. In the US, airlines actually coordinate with police and prosecute. This recently reported on a Southwest Airlines flight.

I experienced something similar on a flight from Cagayan de Oro to Cebu. Someone took a call as we were descending, less than 5 minutes to landing. Someone shouted at the man "Turn that off!". And it wasn't any of the flight attendants. I learned that the screamer's usual internet handle starts with Forza. Boy, he could have been ticketed also for causing scandal by shouting and waking up some dozing passengers (who also had their phones on silent mode, for sure).

If only we can eject them off their seats!

And the Southwest Airlines cellphone-talking man, Mr. Jones, is president of Skyonic Corp. that specializes in cleaning emissions from coal-fired power plants.

Lefty GWA for sure! Not unusual behavior at all!
You-listen-to-me-only-coz-I-don't-care-what-you-say.

Courage to make the call

Kansas Archbishop Joseph Naumann has asked the governor, Kathleen Sebelius, not to take the Holy Eucharist at communion because of her veto of the Comprehensive Abortion Reform Act (HS SB 389) that would have strengthened Kansas's anti-abortion legislation. In a public letter, the Archbishop made it clear what the governor ought to do: (in part, following)

What makes the governor’s actions and advocacy for legalized abortion, throughout her public career, even more painful for me is that she is Catholic. Sadly, Governor Sebelius is not unique in being a Catholic politician supporting legalized abortion.

Since becoming archbishop, I have met with Governor Sebelius several times over many months to discuss with her the grave spiritual and moral consequences of her public actions by which she has cooperated in the procurement of abortions performed in Kansas. My concern has been, as a pastor, both for the spiritual well-being of the governor but also for those who have been misled (scandalized) by her very public support for legalized abortion.

It has been my hope that through this dialogue the governor would come to understand her obligation: 1) to take the difficult political step, but necessary moral step, of repudiating her past actions in support of legalized abortion; and 2) in the future would use her exceptional leadership abilities to develop public policies extending the maximum legal protection possible to the unborn children of Kansas.

Having made every effort to inform and to persuade Governor Sebelius and after consultation with Bishop Ron Gilmore (Dodge City), Bishop Paul Coakley (Salina) and Bishop Michael Jackels (Wichita), I wrote the governor last August requesting that she refrain from presenting herself for reception of the Eucharist until she had acknowledged the error of her past positions, made a worthy sacramental confession and taken the necessary steps for amendment of her life which would include a public repudiation of her previous efforts and actions in support of laws and policies sanctioning abortion.

Recently, it came to my attention that the governor had received holy Communion at one of our parishes. I have written to her again, asking her to respect my previous request and not require from me any additional pastoral actions.

The governor has spoken to me on more than one occasion about her obligation to uphold state and federal laws and court decisions. I have asked her to show a similar sense of obligation to honor divine law and the laws, teaching and legitimate authority within the church.

Do we have the courage to do this in the Philippines?

Happy conservative

Is not an oxymoron. Happy is redundant.

Foxnews reports on a study funded by the (US) National Science Foundation and appearing in the June issue of the journal Pschological Science that found that:

"Individuals with conservative ideologies are happier than liberal-leaners, and new research pinpoints the reason: Conservatives rationalize social and economic inequalities.

"Regardless of marital status, income or church attendance, right-wing individuals reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than left-wingers, the new study found.

"Conservatives also scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities...

"Our research suggests that inequality takes a greater psychological toll on liberals than on conservatives apparently because liberals lack ideological rationalizations that would help them frame inequality in a positive (or at least neutral) light."

Flygirl

Here's a link to flygirl's blog. If you see pix of her, you would think she couldn't handle the workhorse chopper, the Huey. Yep, she's a pilot alright.

She has also pix taken of mostly Mindanao places from the chopper. She's certified with the stick now so maybe the aerial pix might not be as much in the more recent blogs, so you need to go back previous posts to see more shots as she sat on the left.

Oh, the link: http://flygirl01.blogspot.com/