AFP Scores Victory Over Terror Group MILF and Debunks Spyplane Propaganda

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Toyota Prius Now In RP -- Finally!

Manila – The world’s bestselling hybrid car finally goes on sale at all major Toyota dealer in the country today. Initiatives to bring the Toyota Prius to the country started three years ago but adaptability to local conditions needs to be trouble-shooted first, such as floods, humidity and bad roads. But these problems have already been addressed, according to Raymond Rodriguez, first vice president for vehicle sales operations of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. The remaining obstacle in buying a Prius is its price – PhP 2 million ($45,645+) – almost half going to taxes. This is also over twice the amount of the same unit in Japan. Toyota pays three kinds of taxes: import, excise and value-added. But “Once the incentive is introduced, the price may go down,” said Hiroshi Ito, president of Toyota Philippines. He told mediamen during the pre-launch conference that the local auto industry has already petitioned the Department of Trade and Industry for incentives but the government keeps ignoring it. The Prius runs on either or both gas and electricity. A total of 1.7 million units of hybrid cars have been sold – and they have prevented the emission of an estimated 9 million tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere. 70% of that 1.7 million hybrid cars are Prius, said Ito. Despite the lingering effects of the aftermath of the global recession, today “Is always a good time to introduce an eco-friendly product, especially now that there is greater awareness on environmental preservation,” said Rodriguez. Photo courtesy of Tsikot.com. This story originally appeared in AllVoices.com: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3506759-toyota-prius-now-in-rp-finally

Does A Clone Have Human Rights?

When John F. Kennedy was brought into the emergency room after the assassination, a geneticist named Dr. Thor Bitterbaum swiped off some tissue and, with an unsuspecting woman named Millicent Ash as a surrogate mother, had secretly cloned the President. An industrialist named Gerard Kirsten Kelogg financed the scheme and adopted the boy, calling him Josh.

The above scenario is the plot of the grippingly tragic novel Joshua, Son of None by Nancy Freedman. Immortality has enchanted mankind for millennia, but cloning raises more questions than a game show. But any discussion would be pointless if strictly confined to abstract philosophical dilemmas without knowing the established facts, and here they are.

All human being started out as clones. The single cell from a fertilized egg divides exponentially until this cluster of genetically identical cells develop into an embryo. In simplest terms, a clone is a replica of a living organism having the same genetic blueprint.

Cloning is an inherent part of nature. One example is when an amoeba splits into 2 – then 4, 8, 16 etc. – genetic copies. A horticulturalist performs cloning almost everyday: cutting a twig from a plant and placing it in water until it grows roots so it can be transferred to soil. The word ‘clone’ comes from the Greek klon, meaning twig or offshoot.

The first cloned animal was born in July 1996 in Scotland. The world said “Hello Dolly!” to the sheep created by embryologist Ian Wilmut. The lamb was made flesh through nuclear transfer – the removal of the nucleus from an egg and replacing it with the nucleus of an adult cell. With the infusion of specific protein factors and a bit of genetic manipulation, the hybrid cell would divide like a natural embryo.

All creatures big and small were soon cloned. Some became even more famous than humans. Among them are the cat CC (for carbon copy) in 2001; the mule Idaho Gem in 2003; and the Afghan hound Snuppy (for Seoul National University puppy) in 2005.

One of the significant benefits of cloning is the perpetuation of the species. Just in case in they become totally extinct, duplicated were made of endangered animals like the gaur and the mouflon in 2001, and the gray wolf in 2007.

Another forward-looking aim of cloning is the replenishment of the food supply. A cloned bull in 1999 sparked pro-con debates about its milk, while China cloned a water buffalo in 2005 precisely for the purpose of improving its milk. As for meat, ViaGen, the biogenetics firm in Austin, Texas which created the mules, is breeding cloned prime grade-1 cows to get the best beef for the world’s juiciest, tastiest, most mouth-watering steaks.

Clone scan save lives. Five cloned piglets were born in 2000 to act as experimental organ donors to humans. A rabbit was cloned in 2002 to serve as a guide for the physiology of human diseases. Scientists in Iowa cloned a ferret to help them study respiratory illnesses.

But clones are not perfect. The cloned mules lost against naturally-bred ones in a race in 2005. More fundamentally, the survival rate is low, the mortality rate is high, and some of them showed physical abnormalities. As in most pioneering endeavors, the initial stages of this field are largely on a trial-and-error basis.

We are now beginning to understand a miniscule fraction of the miracle that is life. The defects in clones are caused by the irregular timing and pattern of their methyl molecules as these attach to their DNA during development. This explains why the first cloned goat in 2000 died of impaired lung formation.

Advanced aging of clones, on the other hand, was caused by their short telomeres – strains of DNA at the edge of chromosomes whole gradual decline in length serve as a cell’s biological clock – because clones are essentially copies of adult cells. This explains Dolly’s arthritis.

The good news is that a clone’s physical impairment is not hereditary. The offsprings of various cloned mammals and their regularly-bred mates are all healthy and normal, and even Dolly gave birth to five bouncing baby sheeps.

Therapeutic cloning offers exciting prospects in treating diseases. Here’s how it works: the nucleus of a human patient’s body cell containing his genetic material is transferred to a hollowed-out egg. The egg is then chemically activated, and a group of cells called blastocyst soon forms – from which embryonic stem cells can be harvested.

Speaking of stem cells, two relatively recent breakthroughs rocked the scientific world with the impact of a tank smashing into a hotel lobby. The joyful news is that embryonic stem cells can be now be propagated without embryos, eggs or ethical debates.

Two scientists using the same method – direct reprogramming – published their findings on the same day in Nov. 2007. The journal Cell featured Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and his work on cheek cells from a middle-aged woman; while Science featured James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin (the molecular biologist who first isolated the human embryonic stem cells in 1998) and his work on foreskin cells from a newborn baby.

With cells from a patient cultivated in a petri dish, they fused a set of four specific genes into the cells, using retro- and lentiviruses to penetrate the membranes. The cells began to act like embryonic stem cells, which could then be transplanted back into the patient.

As we have seen, cloning is not immoral per se. But is cloning animals immoral? The question should be, “Is a method aimed to help doctors treat diseases immoral?” Besides, God Himself gave man the authority and dominion over all creatures – including those that defy his dominion like sharks.

But what about cloning human beings? Before anyone enters the debate, we should ask, “Is it scientifically feasible to do it?”

The answer seems to be No “I think we cannot make human reproductive cloning safe,” according to Rudolf Jaenisch, a geneticist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “And it’s not a technological issue. It’s a biological barrier. The pattern of methylation of normal embryo cannot be created consistently in cloning.”

So it’s pointless to fret about cloned people. There are more pressing needs our scientists should tackle, like global warming. After all, how could those theoretical clones walk the earth if the whole planet is already submerged in water?

Photo courtesy of RulingCatsAndDogs.com. This story originally appeared in AllVoices.com (http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3444256-does-a-clone-have-human-rights ).

Would You Reveal A Secret To Save The One You Love?

Your name is Michael Berg. You’re a handsome and intelligent 15-year old German student and a virgin. Then you meet a beautiful woman named Hanna. You had an affair with her and were soon initiated into a whole new world. You fall in love in Hanna, but you feel frustrated by emotional detachment. She doesn’t seem to have any friends. Maybe she doesn’t love you – she calls you “Kid,” for crying out loud! What are you, a baby goat? But still, you love her with all your innocent heart, and deep down, you know that you have a special place in her life, even if she has strange ways of showing it, such as being indifferent that it’s your birthday. You spend beautiful moments together, you reading to her, while she imagines places she would never see; characters she would never meet – and soon both of will be quickly taking off your clothes. Then she disappears from your life. Years later, you are already a law student. Your professor takes your class to witness a real courtroom drama. This was just after the Second World War, and unimaginable wounds of the Holocaust are still raw and bleeding. Facing trial are the universally reviled SS prison guards of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where millions of men, women and children are systematically and brutally dehumanized before being murdered. One of the accused is … Hanna. Her fellow prison guards denied involvement even though they were obviously lying, and ganged up on her. She was forced to say that she was the one who signed the papers that condemned and sealed her fate. But you know she didn’t. She couldn’t. Because Hanna couldn’t read. Scene from "The Reader" movie courtesy of Tribes.org

"Great Faith In Humanity"

Rabindranath Tagore once said, "I have great faith in humanity; like the sun, it can be clouded but not extinguished." Hamlet marveled, "How wonderful is man!" Man's scientific progress has invented the microchip and mapped the DNA sequence, among other marvels. Then comes cloning. One reason this issue is fraught with hysteria is ignorance of what it reallly is -- and what it can do help humanity. This week we'll feature the article "Do Clones Have Human Rights?" -- a comprehensive, well-researched and solidly-documented explanation of this phenomenon in simple everyday language. Readers will find it educational, informative, entertaining, and of lasting value.

Photo courtesy of HappinessHelix.com

How Do You Judge A Person?

Our experiences made us who we are, right? Of course there are other factors, like environment, but I have a feeling you’ll agree that how we reacted to the various circumstances in our lives is our more defining measure as effective human beings. I believe that a person’s worth is internal – character. Everything else is secondary. Everything in his resume – including his photo (physical appearance) – is external. Why do I believe that? It is because I have encountered college graduates without good manners and professionals without right conduct. There are kids from decent families who become parasites, and religious people who take advantage of others and stab them in the back. There are those bred in luxury but wallow in self-pity, and there are intelligent folks who only think about self-destruction. I make no judgments whatsoever. I only hope that at least one person who reads this will find it worth thinking about. I also want to listen to George Michael: “People…You can never change the way they feel…Better let them do just what they will…For they will…” Image courtesy of DNForum.com

What Happens At The Hour Of Our Death?

This story originally appeared in the 2009 My Favorite Book Contest, Lifestyle Section, The Philippine Star 

The pharaohs of Ancient Egypt were held as the incarnations of the “myth” god Osiris. To prove worthy, they are sealed in a tomb deep inside the Great Pyramid. They suffocate, die and were revived. The white-robed priests record their experiences.All who went through this ceremony tell of the same journey. A pharaoh would leave his body and glide through a tunnel toward a light. There he will face a life review – and a being of pure radiance. 

What happens when we die? There’s a very personal reason why I began studying the afterlife. I came across two books that taught me there’s more to this world than our finite minds can label and put in a box. I’m writing this to organize and share the insights I gained from those books – concisely, incisively – as only a true believer can. 

One of the most consistent and well-documented phenomena in the world are the stories of near-death experiences (NDEs). If these are just fantasies or hallucinations, then recorded history itself would need to be rewritten. 

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a hieroglyphic description of an NDE. 

The Bardo Thödol, more popularly known as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, says the soul will meet “the Radiance of the Fundamental Clear Light of Reality.” 

The Aztec Song of the Dead is the poetic afterlife of the god-king Quetzalcoatl. 

Plato describes the NDE of a Greek warrior named Er in Book X of The Republic. 

Harvard theologian Carol Zaleski compiled tales of NDEs from different cultures in Otherworldly Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experiences in Medieval and Modern Times (Oxford University Press). 

St. Paul tells of a Christian who went to Paradise and “there he heard things which cannot be put into words,” in 2 Corinthians 12:1-4 (TEV). 

Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg saw the “light of the Lord” during his NDE. 

Spiritual leaders who were transformed by their NDEs include Calvinist theologian Jonathan Edwards, Native American chief Black Elk, and Hindu guru Paramahansa Yogananda. 

The modern scientific investigation of the phenomena was pioneered by Dr. Raymond Moody, Ph.D., of the University of Virginia. He gathered his extensive research and personal interviews of hundreds of patients who’ve had NDEs in his landmark book Life After Life (Bantam), the first book I want to tell you about, in 1975. 

His case studies – of subjects from diverse backgrounds – form the same pattern. 

When a person dies, he “feels himself moving rapidly through a long, dark tunnel.” Then “He glimpses the spirits of relatives who have died. A loving warm, spirit – a being of light – appears. An “instantaneous playback” of his life flashes. He is told that he must go back, but he resists because “he is taken up with his experiences in the afterlife and does not want to return. He is overwhelmed by intense feelings of joy, love and peace.” 

Here in the land of the living, “he can find no words adequate to describe these unearthly experiences. He also finds that others scoff, so he stops telling them. Still, the experience affects his life profoundly.” 

Today, the leading authority in the field of NDEs is Dr. Melvin Morse of the George Washington University. He has been investigating the NDEs of children since the 1980s with his trailblazing Seattle Study. 

“All these years later, I accept what the ancients knew: All men must die and death is not be feared,” he says in his book, co-written by Paul Perry, Closer To The Light: Learning From The Near-Death Experiences of Children (Ivy Books), my second book. “There is a light that we will all experience after death, and that light represents joy, peace and unconditional love.” 

Can a skeptic who never had an NDE be convinced that they are real? Can a man born blind see Van Gogh’s sunflowers? How can you open the eyes of those who want to keep them closed? You don’t. 

As Sir William Osler, M.D., once said, “The greater the ignorance, the greater the dogmatism.” 

The most you can do is to present the facts. 

The sense of awareness during NDEs is the direct opposite of the mental confusion induced by narcotics, halothane, surital, nitrous oxide and Nembutal. 

The vivid memory of the event is the direct opposite of the amnesia caused by Valium and other anesthetics. 

On top of which, these drugs do not cause hallucinations. 

The sense of bliss is the direct opposite of the effects of morphine and heroin, which includes nausea, among others. 

The sense of unconditional love from the being of light is the direct opposite of the paranoia cause by marijuana, cocaine, PCP, amphetamines and barbiturates. 

Moreover, these core elements of NDEs are never experienced by those who use the 60s hippie drug LSD (lysergic acid). 

There is no evidence in scientific literature that the brain produces endorphins or any other neurotransmitters during death. 

The medical records of patients who had NDEs show that almost none of them suffered hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. 

A significant number of people with NDEs were delivered by C-section, which disproves Carl Sagan’s hypothesis that NDEs are subconscious recollections of being born. 

Wilder Penfield, the father of neurosurgery, says it best. “Whether there is such a thing as communication between man and God, and whether energy can come to the mind of man from an outside source after his death is for each individual to decide for himself. Science has no such answers.” 

Photo courtesy of TheGlobalIntelligencer.com. This story also appeared in AllVoices.com (http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3440251-what-happens-at-the-hour-of-our-death)

Is This the Last Independence Day Before the Return of Authoritarianism?

Today is Independence Day in the Philippines. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s term as President will end in 2010. Under the Constitution, she cannot go beyond that. But her allies in Congress recently passed House Resolution 1109, enabling them to convene a constituent Asembly without the Senate to craft a new constitution. With this new charter, the present bicameral-presidential form of government will be changed into a unicameral-parliamentary form. The Members of Parliament – the same congressmen perceived and denounced as being on the payroll of Arroyo – are in turn expected to elect her as Prime Minister. But this British-type set-up also gives Parliament the right to overthrow Arroyo in a vote of no confidence. So in the future, Prime Minister Arroyo is expected to convince her MPs, by whatever means at her disposal, to revert to a French-type parliament. Arroyo can then be both President with an indefinite term and Prime Minister with the power to dissolve Parliament. This is one of the likeliest scenarios in Philippine politics in the future – the same thing that happened when Marcos created the unicameral rubberstamp Batasang Pambansa in the 1970s.

June 10, 2007 Anti-Con-Ass Makati rally photo courtesy of WINWAB.com

How To Get A Raise

Scott Adam’s hugely popular comic strip character Dilbert and his colleagues thought they were getting an increase. But their boss said, “We’re flattening the organization to eliminate levels and put everybody on a wide salary band.” On the second panel, he continued, “Now instead of not getting a promotion, you’ll only not get a raise.” An office drone asked “So, what job title do we use?” The boss replied, “You’ll all be named Beverly.” Why are you working? Your salary is not a charity dole-out from your company; it is the monetary quid-pro-quo for the work – including the time, effort, skills, resourcefulness, sacrifice and talents that you invest in your professional life. So…do you deserve a raise? “To win a raise you must be a top-notch performer –and you have to make your case known,” says Adele Scheele, Ph.D., management consultant, labor negotiator, career strategist and author of Skill For Success: A Guide To The Top For Men and Women. Here are her suggestions to get (and deserve) that bigger paycheck. Change your attitude. In school, you automatically get the grades that are directly proportional to your performance as a student, but the real world is a different culture. “You can’t expect the system to take care of you,” says Scheele. “You must take care of it. Too many of us forget this.” Walk the extra mile. If you’re a customer service representative in a call center, and you were able to charm a warfreak caller, you won’t get a raise because that’s part of the package you signed up for. “To fatten your paycheck you need to do something extra,” says Scheele. Plan your presentation. Pretend that you’re the district attorney and your boss is the jury. You have to build a convincing case with all the evidence you have. “Outline your case on paper,” says Scheele. “List what you’ve accomplished that has particular value to you boss, your department and your company. Cite how you made or saved money or time, which new clients or services you have brought in, any new systems you have created or modified.” Prepare to negotiate. The key to negotiation is give-and–take to find a win-win formula. “You should neither plead nor demand, but hold a discussion aimed at making both sides feel they’ve won something.” Anticipate objections. If life hands you a lemon, maybe there’s still some loose ends to tie up before you get the apple you want. “Let’s say you gave your pitch and the boss rejects it. Don’t despair! Stay calm and ask him to explain his reaction.” There is a time – and a next time—for everything. Just in case you get turned down, get all the information you need. “Find out what you must do, and by what date, to earn a raise. Then restate your boss’ reply in memo of understanding, and keep a copy. Re-schedule an appointment as soon as you have met the requirements.”

Dilbert strip image courtesy of BlogHerald.com

Gloria Arroyo Appoints Raul Gonzales As Presidential Legal Adviser

Manila – Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales is set to assume the post of presidential legal counsel, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita. The controversial actions and decisions of Gonzales, 75, at the DOJ have time and again provoked the ire of mediamen and human-rights watchdogs, such as his order to arrest all journalists covering the November 29, 2007 Manila Peninsula siege. His critics also blamed him for tarnishing the credibility of the Justice Department with his evidently biased attacks on newsmen, private citizens and foreign nationals airing legitimate grievances against the Arroyo administration. Gonzales has many times been slammed for his continued refusal to acknowledge valid complaints against the government, such as the graft charges leveled at the Arroyo family and the genocide against journalist and peasant leaders. Until September But Gonzales intends to stay on as Justice Secretary until September because he wants to conducts the reinvestigation of the twin-murders of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito. The highly-publicized Dacer-Corbito double-murder case points to Sen. Panfilo Lacson as one of the masterminds, along with senior police officials Michael Ray Aquino and Cesar Mancao. Leading Oppositionist Lacson, who ran for president in 2004 and a leading oppositionist, has recently announced his withdrawal from the presidential derby next year. Aquino is in the United States facing federal charges of espionage while Mancao is now under the Justice Department’s witness Protection Program. Running for Mayor “Resignation is inevitable for me because I will be joining the elections next year. I will have to resign by November,” Gonzales told reporters earlier. Gonzales will be running for mayor of Iloilo city in the 2010 elections. Political Ambition Meanwhile, Jesus Dureza, the incumbent legal counsel and presidential adviser on the peace process, says he has not been officially informed of the transfer. Taking up the Justice portfolio is Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera. A Malacañang source speaking on condition of anonymity told Standard Today that Devanadera got the post by virtue of “not having political ambition.” Devanadera has been officer-in-charge of the DOJ on Sept. 1, 2007, when Gonzales was hospitalized for ulcer. On Sept. 5, 2007, when Gonzales had a kidney transplant, Devanadera became Acting Justice Secretary. Midnight Passage The Constitution states that Arroyo’s term will end in 2010. The government has already made assurances that elections will be held, despite the midnight passage of House Resolution 1109, which will authorize the administration-dominated Congress to convene a Constituent Assembly without the Senate to change the present form of government. It is not immediately clear, however, if the elections will be presidential or parliamentary – where Arroyo can legally run for Prime Minister with an indefinite term of office. Raul Gonzales photo courtesy of Manila.USEmbassy.gov. This story originally appeared in AllVoices.com http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3398585-gloria-arroyo-appoints-raul-gonzales-as-presidential-legal-adviser )

Church Calls For Nationwide Protests vs HR 1109 Con-Ass On June 10

Manila – The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) lashed at the subterfuge that Congress used to pass HR 1109, a resolution to convene a constituent Assembly without the legal participation of the Senate. The Lower House, dominated by the allies of President Gloria Arroyo, plans to amend the Constitution to change the government from a bicameral-presidential form into a unicameral-parliamentary form with Arroyo as prime minister. “Our lawmakers should realize that what they did was wrong. They are really wrong. Why are they in a hurry to change the Charter?” asked Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales. Democratically Elected The CBCP in its latest statement reiterated its consistent position since 1997 – Any Constitutional amendments should be done only through a Constitutional convention with elected delegates. In a pastoral letter issued June 6, Jaro [Iloilo] Archbishop and CBCP president Angel Lagdameo declared: “As we had said for the 2007 election, we say it again: Let the 2010 election push through and not be postponed. If there should be a Charter-change, let it be after 2010 and via a constitutional convention whose delegates are democratically elected by the people.” Plan of Mobilization “Therefore, we appeal to the House of Representatives not to pursue House Resolution 1109 convening themselves into a constituent assembly.” “We appeal to members of civil society who wish to publicly protest against HR 1109 to go on with their plan of mobilization to protect the common good and national interest.” Non-Violent Way “Express it in a peaceful non-violent way in order that we may fall into the trap that necessitates martial law again. Learn the lesson from the past.” “We then ask the question which needs to be asked again: Do the proposal shifts provide for greater decentralization that efficiently devolves powers and enable civil society groups to participate more in governance?” Crisis of Truth “We believe that at the bottom of our political chaos is a crisis of moral values, a crisis of truth and justice, of unity and solidarity for the sake of the common good and genuine peace.” Photo courtesy of DayLife.com. Clockwise: Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Jaro Archbishop and CBCP president Angel Lagdameo, Nueva Caseres Bishop Leonardo Legaspi and Bishop Francisco Claver. This story originally appeared in AllVoices.com: http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/3398831-church-calls-for-nationwide-protests-vs-hr-1109-conass-on-june-10

Are You An Asset To Your Company?

Rodrigo “Jiggy” Manicad’s service is tutuo and crucial for GMA News. His track record includes a degree in International Broadcast Journalism from Cardiff, a British Chevening Scholarship, and a Silver Screen Award from the Directors’ Guild of America. He was eyewitness to the heroism of Marine Cpl. Angelo Abeto in combat against the Abu Sayyaf in Tipo-Tipo, and his visceral report won the Gold World Medal at the 2009 New York Festivals. If you vanish and your company goes dedma, then they’re just not that into you. Here are some secrets to establish your importance, from Alan Axelrod’s Office Superman: Making Yourself Indispensable In The Workplace (Running Press). Whip off the glasses. It’s about replacing your negative self-image into an empowering one, like when Superman replaces Clark Kent. Lamar Odom was a light weight in the LA Lakers, but in the Feb. 8 game in Cleveland against the Cavaliers, Kobe Bryant got sick and he decided at that moment to play like he has never played before, and – with his 28 points and 17 rebounds – the Lakers beat the Cavs 101-91. Look! Up in the sky! It’s about setting goals that will maximize your full potential. Sean Penn’s perfectionism is scary, but when asked by filmmaker Gus Vant Sant how he’d portray Harvey Milk, the first openly-gay elected official in San Francisco in the 70s, he said he’d bring out his human side. “I don’t think,” said co-producer Bruce Cohen, “anything could have prepared us for what he brought to the screen.” Bend steel. It’s about showcasing your abilities so they’ll know just how good you really are. Marvin Malig of Adamson Falcons was just recovering from an arm injury when he showed everybody how good he is when they beat Ateneo 12-0 at the UAAP Season 71 Baseball Jewel at the Rizal Memorial recently. The 20-year old also romped off with the major awards – MVP, Best Hitter, Best Slugger, Most Batted-Ins and Most Homeruns.

Jiggy Manicad photo courtesy of GMANews.tv

How Sharp Is Your Mind?

A friend of mine asked me how I would design Bill Gates’ kitchen, and I replied, “With windows!” How would you do it? Here’s another puzzler: Jojo was a man who he thought he was Asero. If Gary Bee’s son is Jojo’s son’s father, what relationship is Jojo to Gary Bee? Intelligence is more than just the accumulation of facts; it’s also about logic and common sense. This is why exams and interviews for job applicants – especially for managerial positions – are oriented towards spatial sequences, real-life situationers and other questions that test the candidates’ critical thinking skills, like the following: Questions 1) How are M&M’s candies – milk chocolate ellipsoids with perfectly smooth colored sugared coating marked with a white m – made, untouched by human hands? 2) Katherine, Rafael, Miguel and Scarlet are managers of different firms, and they’re playing tong-its with this arrangement: Rafael sits across BPI; Katherine sits at the right of WG&A; Scarlet sits across from Miguel; PAL sits to the left of SM; and a guy sits of Miguel’s right. To what companies are they connected? 3) In Jar A there’s 1 amoeba, and in Jar B there are two amoebas. An amoeba can reproduce itself it 3 minutes, and it takes 3 hours to fill Jar B. How long before Jar A is filled? 4) While strolling is SM Manila, Vic Vargas saw his friend – a test pilot who had just finished an around-the –world flight and had just gotten married – for the first time in 5 years. With the pilot is a 2-year old girl. Vic asked her name and the pilot replied, “Same as her mother.” Vic said, “Hello Josephine!” How did Vic knew her name if he never saw the wedding announcement? 5) Paul, Simon and Garfunkel live next door to each other with Simon in the middle apartment. They work as an editor for NewsbreakOnline, a segment producer for The Probe, and a deejay for W-Rock (“The Heart of Lite-Rock!”) but not necessarily in that order. The deejay walks Garfunkel’s dog Fulgoso on weekends. The segment producer taps on Paul’s wall when the latter’s stereo is too loud. What career does each man have? Answers 1) Mars Inc. make M&M’s by casting chocolates on moulds, then putting them on a rotating drum (to prevent congealing) where they’re sprayed with sugary liquids (which harden to become the shell and coating) – and the now solid candies are put in a conveyor belt to be imprinted. The question is used by Microsoft HRD but you don’t really have to know the exact recipe. William Poundstone, in his How Would You Move Mount Fuji ? (Little, Brown & Co.), explains, “The point is to see if the candidate gives a convincing answer – and avoids saying something stupid.” 2) Rafael is SM; Katherine is BPI; Miguel is PAL and Scarlet is WG&A. “This question challenges your skill at organizing information and making logical inference,” says Karl Albrecht, PH.D., author of Brain Power and the developer of “The Thinker’s Test from where this question was adapted. 3) 3 hours and 3 minutes. Once the amoeba has reproduced itself (3 minutes), Jar A is at the same point which Jar B started – the only difference it is 3 minutes behind. Source: James F. Fixx’s Games for the Superintelligent (Doubleday). 4) The test pilot’s name was Josephine. Dr. Abbie F. Salny, in his The Mensa Genius Quiz-A-Day Book (Addison Wesley), asks, “Did you assume that the pilot was male?” 5) Paul is the deejay, Simon is the segment producer, and Garfunkel is the editor. “The trick to successful problem-solving is to assemble all relevant information – every fact and clue – and evaluate each possible combination thereof,” write Karen Billings and Alice Kaseberg Schwandt, in their Ms. Magazine article, from which this question was based. (Note: The Jojo question is adapted from a Mensa exam and Jojo is the son of Gary Bee.)

Photo courtesy of HarryCutting.com

Are You Enjoying Your Job?

Are you happy at work? If a twist of a key can start a bulldozer, then surely a couple of simple techniques can re-energize you workaday world and even boost your professional standing Here are three ways from Dale Carnegie’s How To Enjoy Your Life And Your Job (Pocket Books). Learn to appreciate your colleagues. The “Secret” law of the universe is Like Attracts Like, so try to be nice to people. KC Concepcion had only good things to say about her co-star Richard Gutierrez during the press-con for When I Met You: “In the six months that I’ve worked with him for our two potboilers, he proved to be so nice.” Turn tasks into opportunities for growth. Oftentimes, it’s not the work, but how we do it, that makes a difference. John Lloyd Cruz’s tasks in his next film are to be not eclipsed by Vilma Santos and to kiss Luis Manzano. “I consider every new role as a fresh journey,” he tells the press. “I want to know more about the complex, intriguing but colorful world of gays.” Get them to be on your side. If you can’t beat them, let them join you. Michelle Robinson was the advisor of the new lawyers for their Chicago law firm. One of them courted her. “I just found him intriguing in every way you can imagine,” she tells CNN. “He was funny, he was self-deprecating, he didn’t take himself too seriously. He could laugh at himself; we clicked right away.” But she told him it’s not right that they should date, and he says, “Who cares?” They went steady, and eventually, got married. The guy’s name, by the way, is Barack Obama.

Do You Get Along With Your Co-Workers?

“You are a child of the universe,” says the Desiderata, but it doesn’t mean you’re the King of the World. A worker’s competence may or may be appreciated, but what others will always remember are the little ways he was able to touch their lives. You can get the right attitude at work by following some of the ideas from Edward J. Hegarty’s Talk Your Way To The Top. 1) See you career positively. You are a positive contributor to a better world through your profession, or you’re an overworked corporate non-entity, it depends on you. “Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, that what other people think or say or do,” says Charles Swindoll. 2) Relate with other people. It’s not your position, but how you deal with colleagues, that defines you, to paraphrase Christian Bale in Batman Begins. “The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy,” says Meryl Streep. 3) Do not glorify yourself. You’re a manager, fine, but you’re still an employee, so Huwag kang mag-maganda, as we say in the vernacular. “Half of the harm done in the world is due to the people who want to feel important,” says TS Eliot. 4) Do not downgrade people. If you label others as “dummy” or “moron,” then you really don’t want to know what they think of you. “It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellows,” says Mahatma Gandhi. 5) Do not downgrade people’s jobs. The guy down the hall is “just a janitor”? Actually, for him – unlike you – the only way to go is up. “Talent is always conscious of its own abundance and does not object to sharing,” says Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. 6) Do not judge by status. When you refer to the “have-nots,” does that include you – who pay rent because you can’t afford your own house? Batman photo courtesy of TheCinemaSource.com

Are You Maximizing Your Talents?

Music: My Sharona. Leilana Pierce (Winona Ryder) says, “I was really going to be somebody at 33.” Troy Dyer (Ethan Hawke) replies, “Honey, all you have to be by the time you’re 23, is yourself.” Professional life today is about doing your own thing now – leapfrogging the corporate ladder while making your own rules and being your own boss, says Über-guru Tom Peters. Here’s some ways to drive your career to its fullest, from Talent: Develop It, Sell It, Be It, part of his Essentials Series (DK). Think like an entrepreneur. Drei Felix wanted to be more than just a 103 ½ MaxFM deejay. He knew he has what it takes to be a VJ so he auditioned for Myx. Sadly, he didn’t make it the first time, but since he didn’t quit, he made a fourth try – and got the job. Market yourself. Migs Escueta grew up on the music of Coldplay, Lifehouse and Foo Fighters, and he wanted to chart an alt-rock musical career too. But though he was 1st runner-up in the Magic 89.9 Acoustic Break in 2003, he knew he should take the initiative rather wait for offers so he sent his demo tapes to major record labels – and clinched a deal with MCA Universal. Thrive on ambiguity. Robert Pattinson tasted fame after playing the wizard Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. But his whole world changed after playing the vampire Edward Cullen in Twilight, and he eventually learned to just take it in stride. “Right now its, fine,” says the British actor, “it’s just bizarre.” Embrace technology. Fil-Am nursing student Christine Gambito-Rodgers was an aspiring actress but the cameos she did weren’t enough: she wanted to be a star in her own right. Taking advantage of modern technology, she wrote, directed and produced footages starring herself – including “Mixed Nuts,” winner of the 2006 YouTube Video Awards for Best Comedy – and became famous around the world as Happy Slip.

"Reality Bites" movie poster photo courtesy of Larbage.com