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bombs, grenades, guns and carnapping – why are they all over the philippines?
crime seems to be all over the country – don’t you get the feeling? it’s all over the news – it seems there is no day of the week where we do not see these things happening all around us.
having evil people around, the law-breakers is expected but here is what we are wondering about – why does it seem to be so easy to commit crimes in the country?
there is the cfase of this woman who was given a gift and a grenade exploded when she opened it.. not only that, four other grenades were in the box but they just did not explode.
5 grenades, really? is it that easy to buy grenades in this country? to buy 1 we thought would be difficult, but a total of 5?
that was not the only case of grenades being used in a crime. there are many others. one more popular case was the grenade bombing in front of la salle on taft avenue during the end of the bar exam. a grenade was also used in that incident.
it is not like a grenade is common in the streets around the country. perhaps guns ate easier to get. guns are understandable – we can see a few gun stores in many many malls. but there are no grenade stores anywhere.
bombs have also been exploded. the most recent is the one that happened today where a home made bomb was exploded on a bus on EDSA. are bomb making materials that easy to find also?
police authorities are concentrating on finding the criminals and the motives but we wonder if they are also looking into how these criminals were able to obtain the tools like guns, grenades and bombs to commit their crimes.
surely the police authorities must know that remove bombs, guns and grenades from the market and you remove crime of these sorts. we have not even heard of efforts to figure these things out.
carnapping has been in the news recently. come on, the authorities never knew about the spare parts industry that is thriving in bulacan and pampanga? these shops selling spare parts are right on the streets in plain sight. it is easy to understand that the parts they are selling in these shops must come from carnapped vehicles.
tv and newspaper reports seem to give the impression the police authorities never knew of these stores selling spare parts of cars.
the other part of the carnapping crimes is that the police actually have names for these gangs. they are syndicates and they know how they look and they operate. why are they out free then?
the other important question – how is it that these carnapping syndicates are able to sell carnapped cars? to be able to sell a car means you need to have registered at the LTO. for sure there is a connection there. but are the police looking into that?
with the frequency of use of grenades and bombs in crimes, you would think they are available for sale in the nearest shopping mall. really? it is that easy?
ateneo de manila’s ACET results posted at Blue Eagles Gym, 8 am, Jan 15
January 15, 8:00 am – results of the ACET posted at the side of the Blue Eagles Gym at the loyola campus.
the crowd at the Blue Eagles Gym at 8:45 am checking out the 2011 ACET results
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this has been confirmed by the admissions office of the ateneo – results of the ACET will be released tomorrow, january 15. results will be posted in the morning, 7:30 am beside the Blue Eagle Gym and the the internet posting will follow in the afternoon.
calls by local singers to regulate and tax higher foreign acts are way out of tune, very pitchy
in the last few days, we have been seeing in the news some local singers like ogie alcasid and kuh ledesma calling for the regulation of foreign acts holding concerts in the country. kuh ledesma was on the forefornt of that one. ogie alcasid on the other hand has suggested foreign acts should be taxed higher while the amusement tax levied on local artists should be removed.
all this noise from the local singers is being made as we approach valentine’s day. there is a large market for valentine’s day concerts in the philippiunes where many go out on dinner and concert dates. on that day, heavy traffic is expected the whole evening through early morning and all the restaurants, hotels and concert venues will be full.
producers of foreign acts know this and they have also made it a point to bring foreign acts to the country on valentines day or a few days before and after valentines itself. bringing the foreign acts to the country on or around valentines day ensures a market for them. there is a ready and willing set of concert goers for these acts even though they will need to pay much,much more for the concert tickets. after all, lovers will not scrimp on a valentine’s date.
why are the local artists calling for regulation and higher taxes?
well, the local singers are singing this tune because they know these foreign acts are very strong competitors for their own valentines concert plans. many if not all the local singers also have their own valentines concerts. they do this in all types of venues, hotels, restaurants big and small and for the brave ones big venues like he araneta coliseum.
in other words, the local signers are scared shit of competition.
is the solution regulation or banning foreign acts in the country or imposing higher amusement taxes on these foreign acts as the local singers are singing?
these local singers are suggesting these to basically ensure that the local singers have an audience during their valentines concerts, that the foreign acts do not siphon out all the concert goers and leave the venues of the local artists empty or not full. in other words, this is a question of their target market or their audience buying in to their concerts.
what are the local signers afraid of?
are local concert goers not buying tickets to local concerts because there are foreign acts around? or because tickets to foreign acts are cheap that as ogie alcasid is suggesting, the amusement tax on local acts need to be removed and the foreign acts increased?
they are all out of tune.
the reality is the prices of tickets of foreign acts as they stand now are already way costly versus local concerts, anywhere from 3 times to 5 times the cost of local acts. if price is the issue which the taxes are supposed to fix, then the foreign acts will not get an audience. but the fact is the foreign acts scheduled for valentines are already sold out since late last year when the tickets went on sale.
these foreign acts are being sold out for one reason – they are world-class performers, world-class singers and they have world-class acts.
we are talking here of someone like justin bieber who at the moment is one of the hottest acts not only in the US but all over the world. bieber has sold many millions of records worldwide. has won awards in the US and considered a phenom in the US music industry. that is the kind of entertainment and performance one buys in spending 3 tp 5 times more on a bieber ticket versus local concerts. and to us that is very much worth it.
if these foreign acts did not go to the philippines, the only way we can see them perform live is for us to fly to the US and watch one of their concerts there. how much is a plane ticket to the US? and how much will you need to spend in hotel and food just to watch a bieber concert in the US? spending 3 to 5 times more than a cost of a local concert ticket is definitely much cheaper than all of the above one needs to spend in the US.
the local artists need to accept that not only do they compete among themselves, they also compete with other singers from abroad. we do hear their songs on philippine radio, watch them on tv in their music videos and other US shows. we even hear the local singers perform their songs on tv almost on a daily basis.
and that is where the core of the problem of the local singers lie.
these foreign acts are popular not only in the philippines but all over the world because they sing and perform their own original songs! they have an audience basically because of the original songs they sing and perform. some of them have even started trends in music and have changed the music industry in the US and in the rest of the world.
bieber, swift and gaga have their own very distinct styles and universe. they are loved for their individuality and the messages they have in their songs.
our local singers cannot even compare to any of them. in this regard. when was the last time that kuh ledesma and ogie alcasid release an original song of theirs?
the local singers , ledesma and alcasid in particular need to accept that the local acts are nothing, as in zero compared to these foreign acts. the local singers are just that – singers. the foreign acts on the other hand are “acts”, “preformers”, “entertainers” and yes they do carry their own message both in terms of music and lyrics.
the foreign acts have set trends in the music world with their own unique brand of originality while the local artists have done nothing but sing the songs of foreign singers and composers. that is the reason why local concert goers do not mind buying concert tickets that are 3 to 5 times more expensive than local concerts. if the local singers want to compete with the foreign acts, then they should start singing their own original songs and setting the trends in the local music industry.
our local singers really need to stop being just singers but more being artists. that is what the foreign acts are – artists.
regulating the concerts of foreign acts will not stop the foreign acts from being popular in the country. we see them on tv and hear their songs on radio. tey are already famous and have a wide fan base in the country even without them being seen in the country in person. the local singers on the other hand are based in the country and we see them in our tv sets almost daily or at least weekly. but when we see them perform on tv, we hear them sing other people’s songs, often the very songs of the foreign acts that they want to regulate.
imposing higher amusement taxes on the foreign acts will also not do it. ticket price is not the issue. local concert goers do not buy the tickets of the foreign acts because they are cheap. these tickets in fact are already way too expensive. they buy them because of the artistry of these foreign acts. they like to see them perform the original songs they are famous for.
martin niviera in this article said it right – he is not afraid of the foreign acts because he knows what to do to compete with them. he says he will deliver a great concert to compete with the foreign acts. i do not think he meant original songs, but martin is on the right track. it’s a good beginning.
alcasid and ledesma on the other hand are way out of tune and yes very pitchy.
Ogie Alcasid wants higher tax rates for foreign acts
abs-cbnNEWS.comPosted at 01/07/2011 5:30 PM | Updated as of 01/07/2011 5:30 PMMANILA, Philippines – Amid all the preparations for his Valentine concert, Organisasyon ng Pilipinong Mang-aawit (OPM) board member Ogie Alcasid has also called for immediate regulation of foreign acts here in the country.
In an interview with ABS-CBN News on Friday, Alcasid seconded Filipino pop diva Kuh Ledesma’s suggestion to regulate concerts of international recording artists in the Philippines.
He said higher tax rates must apply to international artists who wish to hold concerts here.
“We must push for higher taxes on foreign shows and lowering of taxation sa local concerts,” he said.
Meanwhile, Concert King Matin Niever and Popstar Princess Sarah Geronimo refused to get affected by the upcoming foreign shows.
ateneo de manila university’s ACET results release – january 15 & 16?
at the Blue Eagles Gym, 8:45 am:
checking out the names on the 2011 ACET results at the Blue Eagles Gym
this is the latest:
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this is what is on the ateneo de manila website on the ACET (ateneo college entrance test). does that mean the results of the ACET will be released on those dates?
view it here: http://www.admu.edu.ph/index.php?p=1622
new starbucks logo – the resto without a name or the queen with two tails
what? the starbucks logo has a siren? where? since when?
seriously, until now i did not realize the starbucks logo had a siren in it. i know there is some kind of image in it but i didn’t realize it is a siren until i read this whole new thing that is happening to starbucks.
starbucks on it’s 40th year anniversary has announced a change in it’s logo. – from a siren in the middle and around is a band of green with the words in white that says “starbucks coffee”. they have now changed that to having just the siren and the words all together taken out. the starbucks CEO says it is reflective of the changes that will happen for the companystarung this spring.
to me the starbucks logo are the words “Starbucks Coffee” in white over green, dominant, strong and very clean, very simple and great or in many cases those words on green. geea, they just removed the logo i am familiar with and like from their logo. it might be the end of the world!
we don’t get it – starbucks just removed from it’s logo their own name. and the one element that most people can relate to and have come to appreciate. they have removed the equity they have successfully built over the years and during the years when starbucks was most successful.
we think starbucks has 3 enduring brand equities – the logo and name, the decor and design of their shops and their coffee. they just removed 1 of 3 equities that they own.
with the siren logo without a name, what are we supposed to call starbucks now?
we can just see a new generation of consumers, those who are children and not yet coffee drinkers referring to starbucks as The Siren resto or as someoen attempted a similar thing – The Resto Without A Name.
we have seen that happen with Prince. prince built his act and popularity with the name prince. but for some reason and i am sure a stroke of genius in his mind, he changed his name into this characters or symbols that nobody understood, much more pronounce. (they had a sound?) with the name change, he was then called The Artist Withyout A Name or the Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Prince eventually gave up on his creative idea and brought back his old name.
So now we have the same two options to call this resto – The Resto Without A Name (TRWAN?) or The Resto Formerly Known As Starbucks (TRFKAS?).
Oh, there is a 3rd option, people can call it The Siren. That is of course assuming it will be obvious to people the image in their logo is a siren. Come on, let’s face it, with that logo, people can vfery well call it Queen With Two Tails (QWTT?)
if starbucks persists on using this logo, we can have the next generation of starbucks consumers all confused and referring to their restaurant in many names other than starbucks or the options we have here.
why a big company with fiercely loyal customers will want to confuse their future customers is beyond us.
not that they are not having problems with their present customers. there is va firestorm being raised by its customers over the internet complaining and disliking the nameless logo. seriously, we think the starbucks logo is exactly like the Coke or Gap logos – you simply do not mess with it.
this is a WAWAM!
reason for change, from thestarbucks website (source: http://www.starbucks.com/blog/looking-forward-to-starbucks-next-chapter):
As we look forward to Starbucks next chapter, we see a world in which we are a vital part of over 16,000 neighborhoods around the world, in more than 50 countries, forming connections with millions of customers every day in our stores, in grocery aisles, at home and at work. Starbucks will continue to offer the highest-quality coffee, but we will offer other products as well – and while the integrity, quality and consistency of these products must remain true to who we are, our new brand identity will give us the freedom and flexibility to explore innovations and new channels of distribution that will keep us in step with our current customers and build strong connections with new customers.
You’ll begin to see our evolution starting this Spring. And there will be much more to come, as we celebrate our 40th anniversary by honoring the millions of customers and thousands of partners who’ve made Starbucks such a welcoming presence around the world. We think you’ll like what you see.
the creatives explain the design change, from the starbucks website (source: http://www.starbucks.com/blog/so-who-is-the-siren
As a writer, though, I can tell you that there is a lot more to her than just the design and how she looks. This is what she means to me, and to us.
She is a storyteller, carrying the lore of Starbucks ahead, and remembering our past. In a lot of ways, she’s a muse –always there, inspiring us and pushing us ahead.
And she’s a promise too, inviting all of us to find what we’re looking for, even if it’s something we haven’t even imagined yet.
She means something different to every one who sees her, who knows her. For me she’s kind of the final say on the spirit of everything I write and everything we do. Even as I’m writing this, I wonder what she thinks. (She likes it, by the way.)
Here we are today. Our new evolution liberates the Siren from the outer ring, making her the true, welcoming face of Starbucks. For people all over the globe, she is a signal of the world’s finest coffee – and much more. She stands unbound, sharing our stories, inviting all of us in to explore, to find something new and to connect with each other. And as always, she is urging all of us forward to the next thing. After all, who can resist her?
Not me.
UPCAT Results 2011 – now available online, view results here
the 2012 UPCAT (for SY 2012-2013) results are out!
click here :
http://wp.me/paTrm-1CR
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UPCAT Results 2011 – now available online
4th update, Jan 4, 7:35 am – results are out and available online since last night, close to midnight. click for names here. this is an exact copy of what is on the UPCAT site.
good luck to all!
make a comment, greet those who passed or tell us if you passed – post the name for us to celebrate!
where in the world…
1mprayers
2thousand10
alexangelph
antenna1
dandansoy
doorkn0b
gloriavioleta
wawam
xyz123
WAWAM! after hours 
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