Hello 2008

New year is a chance for a new beginning
Even when there hasn't been an end
Wheels turn in an interminable bend,
Yet, marked in one spot, seem to wobble spinning.
Each year we hope to do a little better
Although we know that really nothing's changed.
Reason thinks that everything is arranged,

so we must dream if we would fate unfetter......

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!!!

Unique Computer School for BLIND Filipinos

Information Technology (IT) has revolutionized the way people live, but some sectors, specifically the disabled, have yet to truly experience the benefits of this phenomenon.

Fortunately, in the Philippines, a group of blind people or visually impaired persons (VIPs) had the foresight to come together and create a computer school that has not only allowed them to become IT-literate but also earn a decent livelihood.

The computer school for the blind, ATRIEV or Adaptive Technology for Rehabilitation, Integration, and Empowerment of the Visually Impaired, was founded in 1994 by two totally blind professionals - Tony Llanes (president) and Carol Catacutan, a blind writer.

Since the founding, ATRIEV has trained about 500 blind persons on how to use a computer through a voice-activated software called JAWS or Job Access for Windows software. It has also trained special education teachers, rehabilitation workers, and parents of blind children.

To date, the school has trained and assisted in the employment of two blind medical transcriptionists, two recruitment specialist, writers, and instructors. It made news lately when its student created ringing tones for mobile phones.

As a way of gratitude, ATRIEV gave donors a music CD entitled "Love for All, Imagine No More" which its students created. The CD is a compilation of select songs sung and arranged by ATRIEV's current and past trainees. It also includes stories of all the talent and how the school has changed their lives.

ATRIEV said the CD is free to the public, but recipients are encouraged to give donations to cover the cost of producing it.

This interesting article is from Melvin Calimag of Manila Bulletin...

MMFF 2007 BOX-OFFICE RACE

The Imus Productions "RESIKLO" float headed by Senator Bong Revilla won the Best Float award during Monday's Parade in Manila. Second and third placers for the best float honors went to "SAKAL SAKALI SAKLOLO" of Star Cinema and "BAHAY KUBO" of Regal Entertainment.

The winning float won P500,000 while the second and third runner-up were awarded P300,000 and P100,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, "ENTENG KABISOTE 4" and "SAKAL SAKALI SAKLOLO" lead MMFF box-office race. Coming close to no. 3 spot is Regal Entertainment's "SHAKE, RATTLE & ROLL 9" and fourth is "RESIKLO".

No. 5 in box-office ranking is Regal Entertainment's "BAHAY KUBO" and sixth is Maverick Films "KATAS NG SAUDI".

These films will be shown till Dec. 31. The second batch of MMFF 2007 entries are: Regal Entertainment's "DESPERADAS", MP Films "ANAK NG KUMANDER" and Comguild Productions "BANAL".

Coup d' etat this Christmas day?

The Magdalos have tried but failed a new to recruit sympathizers from the Armed Forces and the citizenry last Nov. 29. They will surely try again but we are ready for them. Our countrymen can celebrate Christmas and New Year peacefully.... said a senior police official on condition of anonymity.

Armed Forces chief General Hermogenes Esperon, Jr. and Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino I. Razon, Jr. both maintained that the police and the military are fully behind the duly-constituted government and will fight off any attempt to unseat it through unconstitutional means.

Razon said that apart from Capt. Faeldon who carries a P1 million bounty on his head and ex-Army Corporal Elmer Colon, other Magdalo members being hunted for their role in the short-lived Peninsula Manila siege are ex-Staff Sergeant Noel Aggalut, Corporal Gerson Alabata and Privates First Class Monchito Luterio, Josil Regulacion and Abraham Apostol.

Colon is the armed man who was wearing a wig and an Army Scout Ranger black fatigue uniform during the siege. Among those charged and demoted in connection with the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, Colon turned out to be an employee of the Makati City Hall at the time of the hotel takeover.

by alfred dalizon of people's journal

Wanted: Pinay hairdressers, dressmakers

Where have all the female hairdressers and dressmakers gone?

Women hairdressers and dressmakers seem to have become a vanishing breed that the country is now having difficulty filling up the global demand for such skills.

Lito Soriano, former president of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI), said numerous job orders for women cosmetologists and dressmakers have remained unfilled.

"Local recruitment agencies dread the job orders from foreign employers, particularly from Middle Eastern countries, for women cosmetologists and hairdressers bacause we do not have the supply right now," Soriano disclosed.

Soriano said Filipino women have apparently given up such job opportunities to the "third sex", thus the country is now experiencing a shortage of female dressmakers and hairdressers, whom employers in the Middle East, prefer to hire women," Soriano explained.

Filipino women will again consider taking up skills training to become dressmakers and cosmetologists because of the potential employment opportunities. Soriano said at least 10,000 overseas jobs will be available for Pinay hairdressers and dressmakers in the next two years, and are paid a minimum of $500 but they can earn as much as $1,000 a month, including overtime and tips from foreign customers.

We have so many women workers and I hope they will see these employment opportunities...

by mayen jaymalin of the phil. star

Non-Working Holidays: Dec, 24, 25, 31 and Jan. 1

Filipinos will enjoy two straight long weekends as part of the celebration of Christmas and New Year's Day.

Apart from Dec. 25 or Christmas day, Malacanang announced that December 24 would also be a non-working holiday so that people would have more days off to spend with their families.

The following week will also see the same thing, with December 31 (New Year's Eve) and January 1 (New Year's Day) being regular holidays.

With the four holidays falling on Monday and Tuesday, the workforce would effectively have four days off per week to celebrate the holiday season.

Illegal Recruiter nabbed for luring Pinays to Malaysia sex den

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested a woman charged with illegal recruitment as she was about to leave the Philippine National Police (PNP) premises for allegedly trying to lure a 17-year-old girl to work in a prostitution den in Malaysia.

NBI Deputy Director for Special Investigation Service (DDSIS) Victor Bessat said they apprehended Evangeline Cruz Manapsal just before she was discharged from the PNP-Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for allegedly planning to send off a minor to work in a prostitution den abroad.

This is the second time that the 37-year-old Manapsal has been arrested.

Virginia Jose, legal counsel of the Jesus is Lord Church (JIL) Worlwild, said eight Filipinas, two of whom were minors, escaped a prostitution den in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia last Dec. 5.

The took shelter at the JIL church in the area and, with the help of the evangelical group, were able to return home.

Manapsal was trying to lure the younger sister of one of the women she already recruited. However, the elder sister, who left last June, arrived and said she was made into a sex slave.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) said Manapsal was not a lisenced recruiter for overseas employment.

article by Evelyn Macairan of The Philippine STAR

ABS-CBN vs. GMA 7

TV Guide: ABS-CBN vs GMA 7

ABS-CBN:
12:00 mn - Games Uplate Live
5:00 am - Kape't Pandesal
5:30 am - Umagang Kay Ganda
8:30 am - Cedie ang Munting Prinsipe
9:00 am - Digimon
9:30 am - Capeta
10:00 am - Cooking Master Boy
10:30 am - Boy & Kris
11:30 am - Pilipinas Game KNB?
12:30 pm - Wowowee
3:00 pm - Prinsesa ng Banyera
3:45 pm - Pinoy Movie Hits
5:00 pm - PBB Celebrity uber
5:30 pm - Kapamilya Deal or No Deal
6:30 pm - TV Patrol World
7:30 pm - Princess Sarah
8:10 pm - Pangarap na Bituin
8:50 pm - Lastikman
9:30 pm - PBB Celebrity Edition 2
10:15 pm - Ysabella
10:45 pm - Bandila
11:00 pm - Probe


GMA - 7
12:00 mn - Palaban

1:00 am - Txtube
4:15 am - Pinoy Abroad
5:15 am - Unang Hirit
8:00 am - Love in Heaven
8:30 am - Doraemon
9:00 am - Saint Seiya
9:30 am - One Piece
10:00 am - Cardcaptor
10:30 am - SIS
11:30 am - Couple of Trouble
12:00 nn - Eat Bulaga
2:30 pm - Daisy Siete
3:15 pm - Pasan ko and Daigdig
3:45 pm - My Only Love
4:25 pm - Love Truly
5:00 pm - Bleach
5:30 pm - Ranma
6:00 pm - Hanayori Dango
6:30 pm - 24 Oras
7:15 pm - Zaido
8:05 pm - Kamandag
9:00 pm - Marimar
9:55 pm - La Vendetta
10:40 pm - Hwang Jini
11:15 pm - Kung Ako Ikaw
11:45 pm - Saksi

Pinay brings US cosmetic dentistry to RP

Hawaii and Los Angeles - trained Filipino dentist has brought the US cosmetic dental technology to the Philippines and is now spreading its health benefits and restoring the youth and self-confidence of her many patients, both local and foreign.

Dr. Cecile Infantado does it in her clinic at the 3rd floor of Dusit Hotel Nikko at the Ayala Center in Makati City, where people with various unsightly dental problems com for treatment.

Such problems, according to Dr. Cecile, include chipped tooth, cracked or discolored enamel, uneven length of incisors, edge-to-edge bite, ugly fillings, gaps or big spaces in between teeth, old and leaking crowns, and even teeth that have shortened due to wear and tear over the years.

According to Dr. Cecile, these dental disfigurement can have harmful effects on health, appearance, personality and self-esteem, especially in such inevitable cases as the shortening and darkening of the teeth as we age. The gradual shortening of the teeth eventually makes a person lose the vertical height of the lower third of her face, making her look a lot older than her age. The darkening of the teeth has the same unpleasant and undesirable effect.

Thanks to the so called Computer Aided Design (CAD) and the Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), both in-office systems that enable esthetic and long-lasting restorations to be completed in a single appointment.

CAD and CAM ensure the natural and life-like appearance of the restored and improved teeth.

Cosmetic dentistry highlights the finer details and life-like appearance of tooth restorations. For example, our tooth by nature is poly-chromatic in color. Thus, cosmetic dentistry uses different shades of dental composite to simulate the natural color gradient of a tooth, including its hue, transparency and opaqueness.

Dr. CEcile acquired her expertise in Hawaii and later at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). She is a member of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry. Among its members, Dr. Cecile is the only one practicing in the Philippines.

article from Manila Bulletin by Pinky Concha-Colmenares

OFW inflows seen to hit $16.2B in 2008

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects total remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to reach $16.2 billion in 2008 with labor deployment increasing despite the slowdown in the US economy.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters over the weekend that gross OFW inflows would expand by eight percent next year, including remittances that go through informal and non-bank channels.

Remittances that go through banks, on the other hand, are projected to grow at a faster rate of 10% to reach $15.7 billion compared to only $14 billion this year.

According to Tetangco, the latest estimates of the BSP also upgraded the full-year projection for 2007 when OFW remittances are expected to increase faster by seven percent.

Labor deployment, however, has been criticized by economist as a "cop-out" as the Arroyo administration opted to train workers for off-shore employment rather than working to create higher-paying local job.

Classified by type of worker, the number of deployed land-based workers rose by 10.7% to 64,066 in October, while the number of deployed sea-based workers contracted by 10.7% to 23,992.

Sea-based workers according to POEA, declined due to delays in the workers' visa issued by host countries and increasing competition from workers from other countries. "Nonetheless, the increase in the deployment of land-based workers in October moderated the year-to-date contraction to only 1.1 percent to reach 915,333.

aticle from The Philippine STAR by Mynardo Macaraig

Metro Manila Film Festival 2007

In 2006, the Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF) got a lot of flak from different sectors of the entertainment industry for introducing a new qualifier for the best-picture category - "commercial viability", constituting 40 percent of the criteria.

M-Zet's Enteng Kabisote 3, which raked in millions at the tills early on in the festival, was named best picture, beating films that received in A-rating from the Cinema Evaluation Board-Star Cinema's Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo (second best picture), CM films' Ligalig, and Regal's ZsaZsa Zaturnnah Ze Moveeh. The horror franchise Shake, Rattle & Roll 8, from Regal, won the award for third best picture.

This year, in an even more controversial move, the MMFF committee, Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Bayani Fernando, reasoned out that the move is intended to encourage the moviegoing public to support the movies they want to win.

This year's festival entries:
Comedy: Regal Entertainment's Bahay Kubo; Star Cinema's Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo; and Maverick Films' Katas ng Saudi.
Fantasy-adventure: M-Zet's Enteng Kabisote 4 and Imus Production's Resiklo.
Horror: Regal's Shake, Rattle and Roll 9.

this article is from Yes Magazine

CHRISTMAS BONUS for gov't workers

P10,000 each for 1.4M government workers?

President Macapagal-Arroyo gave the government's 1.4 million workers a Christmas bonus of P10,000, citing a "robust economy" and savings in operations.

They will get the money not later than today, Dec. 17, said Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said that those entitled to the windfall were workers employed by national government agencies, corporations and financial institutions, as well as others who have rendered at least four months of services. Employees with less than four months service will get a bonus on a prorated basis.

Last year, the government gave out a Christmas bonus of P6,000 per government worker.

"This year, because of the good economic situation, the President thought of giving (a higher) bonus," Andaya said... and the government workers will also receive a 13th month pay...