Thursday, September 27, 2007

My fellow brothers and sisters...

For centuries, we have been having a hard time establishing ourselves as people of the Philippines. We have been under Spanish/Japanese and American rule. We just recently were able to stand on our feet. Yet, this is what has happened to our government, and education system. The only outcome and solace that we have is to put our children through college in hopes of what? So that they can go abroad leaving their families in order for the people here to survive daily life? That is not what the future should bring. Overseas employment should not be the answer to our life.

First of all, there are so many students graduating here every year. Thousands of them but there are no vacant job openings that they can fill here. The stronger ones venture abroad in hopes of finding a better life for their families and for them sacrificing what the most precious thing to them is....and that is time. Time is one thing we will never get back no matter how rich we are.

We need to fix the government and the economy, so we as our own people can stand up and say we did it. We need free education for our children so that they can study well and have a chance to succeed in whatever their dreams may be. Pay for teachers should be raised so that they will stay here instead of leaving. Most of our skilled workers and professionals are leaving. Who will be here for us if they are all gone? Only the corrupt persons who have no care for their people and only have the idea for enriching themselves...that is who will be left here. If you ask me, no thank you I would rather not have those people here.

We shall give support to those who wants to help us and hopefully we can make this land a better nation and first world country not only for us now, but also for the future of our generations. We will not stay quiet anymore and let corruption and greed rule our lives. We will fight for our survival for a better life....

For a cleaner greener future...

Saving the environment doesn’t have to be time consuming! Here are just some simple tips on ways to help and do our part for saving the earth not only for our generations but for future generations to come…


Start a recycling program. Segregation of wastes in the forms of plastic, paper and others (metal) and bio-degradable/non-biodegradable can be of great help. You can also sell the aluminum or other various materials to recycling plants for extra cash!!

Form compost for use in gardens/lawn areas. The bio-degradable waste that you separate can be used to form composting compounds for fertilizer in your garden and/or lawn area and is especially great for trees.


Change your current bulbs to fluorescent or halogen bulbs. Incandescent bulbs give off heat better than they are at lighting areas. It will help out on your electric bill and you don’t have to see your meter spinning a hundred revs a minute!

Keep your vehicle clean. By that, I don’t mean on the outside!! Keeping your vehicle tuned up reduces the amount of carbon dioxide and other wastes produced by your vehicle. It also saves you money in the long run and makes your vehicle run smoother. Now you don’t have to hear the other drivers screaming “Smokescreen activated batman!” when they pass you by. For the old R-22 freon users, please replace with R-134 as it is less damaging to our ozone layer.

Try using alternative resources of energy. If you don’t know of any, just Google it on the net, there are many out there that you can read about. You can also try doing some of the projects yourself if you’re handy around the house and mechanically inclined. Instructions are included in most articles and it’s a great and rewarding experience to do it yourself!!

Always recover/dispose of used oil and other hazardous chemicals/materials. Do not dump them in the sewer, as it is illegal and unethical. One drop of oil can ruin thousand of gallons of water. Some of the effects are also detrimental to the health of animals as well as humans. You wouldn’t want to drink or take a bath in oil would you?

Spread the word….This is perhaps the most powerful tool in your arsenal for combating the greenhouse effect and the death of our planet. Read a lot and inform others…be a leader to others from your school or work place. Blog on the environment!

Always turn lights off when not in use and that goes for the water faucet also. Use a cup when brushing your teeth. Use a bucket for washing your car or other items. Water is of the key to life and without it, there is no earth or beauty anymore. Imagine a vast desert, that about sums it up what our earth would look like without water.

Plant a tree!! They are good for the other environment. You can do it yourself or join other people. When you plant a tree, you have left something behind that hopefully will bring other people joy and it will contribute to the healing of the earth.

Use of public transportation systems is a big help. Carpool when you can, or ride the bus. You might even be able to bike/walk to work, depending on the weather and how far it is of course.

Taking short showers instead of baths saves a lot of water not to mention savings on your water/electric bill except for the "once in a while-I'm really stressed and need a hot bath thing!"

Make sure all faucets and supply pipes for the sinks, bathroom fixtures, toilets etc. are not leaking.

Water only in the early morning or evening when the sun is not out so much. It reduces evaporation of the water and once again saves you money!! Remember, sidewalks and driveways don't grow no matter how much you water them, so keep water in the lawn or garden area.

Do not throw away styro-foam cups, plates or anything of that nature from your car. Use containers when you can for lunch items. Litterbugs are the worse pests out there for the environment.

Voting on environmental issues makes a tremendous impact on us all. Your vote counts, so go and vote! If you don't know what the current issues are, just visit your local Environmental Protection Agency and ask, they are always happy to help!


Well, these are just some tips that you can do to help our earth…there are a lot more which are not listed here. If you would like to contribute, comment on it! Every word of advice helps for a greener cleaner future!! Giga

Friday, September 21, 2007

Golden islands mysteries....

There's Gold in them hills...err mountains that
is...

As you can tell from the title of my blog, I know
that the Philippine islands are golden. We aren't
called the "Pearl of the Orient" for nothing. Well,
let's see.....back in World War II, General
Yamashita was to supposedly have buried gold and
other valuables in the mountain provinces of Luzon
(the northern part of the Philippines) after he
looted gold and other valuable items from the
conquered asian countries. He was given the
nickname "The Tiger of Malaya" after his swift and
devastating victories.

The Japanese Imperial Army was vastly spread out at
this time and were looting like madmen all that they
could from the poor civilians and conquered
governments. The Japanese troops were then supposed
to ship all that they had siezed to Japan. But, as
it so happens, the majority of the looted booty had
to be shipped somewhere else because the Americans
had set up a naval blockade, blocking the shipping
lanes of the Japanese. Having no choice, they
decided to ship the rest of the stolen loot to the
Philippine Islands (as it was still not under U.S.
forces control) hoping to recover it after the war
had ended.

After landing in the Philippines, Gerneral Yamashita
decides not to stay in the capital city of Manila
but head to Baguio. Without General Yamashita in
the city, and against his orders, Admiral Sanji
Iwabuchi then turned Manila into a battlefield
hoping to destroy the port city and ended up killing
more than 100,000 Filipino people.

Many say that these treasures were buried in the
mountains and rigged with various cyanide gas, booby
traps, mines and other death traps forbidding access
to the precious but not forgotten treasures. Slave
labor was used along with the Japanese forces also
being forced to dig these massive gold graves. All
of them perished by way of being buried under with
the gold, killed directly or otherwise until there
was no one that could say anything about the gold.

His last stand was in the mountainous area of Luzon
against the Allied generals and lost. After his
surrender, he was tried by a military court and
found guilty of numerous crimes. Some might say
that the hearing was unfair and fixed. He was later
hung on Feb. 23 1946 for those crimes.

Well, if this was half true, then the tons of gold or at
least some of it is still here in the Philippines.
There have been countless attempts to retrieve the
gold at so-called dig sites. The ex-president of
the Philippines is supposedly to have taken some of
it for himself deposited in many bank accounts
spread all over the world. The Segraves, (Sterling
and Peggy) have written a book on this subject,
covering it in detail about how the U.S. secretly
took the gold and brought it back to the U.S. Just
google their names and you can find more information
on this.

Now, whether you believe all of this or not...it's
up to you to decide...legend or truth. As for me,
when someone is actually able to come up with some,
then maybe I will start believing. "Pearl of the
Orient" huh? It's almost like the earth of the
Philippines being the nacre from an oyster...slowly
covering the precious items with layers upon layers
of earth blanketing the items from time and waiting
for someone to recover them...