http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/10/14/apsa.vote/
Support the Philippines' Himala. A powerful film by Ishmael Bernal as your favorite Asia-Pacific film of all time.
CNN) -- On 11 November 2008, at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, CNN viewers will honor one Asia Pacific film as the best of all time.
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards, which celebrate the finest filmmaking in the region, will be held on Australia's Gold Coast at a glittering, star-studded ceremony.
Now, you can help your favorite win the award by voting in our poll.
Our shortlist of ten films was drawn up by critics, industry insiders, stars (including Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai) and -- most importantly -- CNN viewers. Now, you can decide who will win the award.
Will Peter Weir's "Gallipoli" fight its way to the top? Or will "Chungking Express" race for the prize? Maybe "Crouching Tiger" will pounce the award for Ang Lee -- or perhaps Hayao Miyazaki will spirit it away. It's up to you.
Voting closes on Friday, 31 October at 1800 GMT.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
What if the World can vote in the US Presidential Elections?
http://www.economist.com/vote2008/
The world would vote for Barack Obama. With every country allotted a particular electoral vote, the results are astounding - with the exception of Macedonia, Georgia and Cuba - almost all has a strong Obama preference. 24,219 voted for Obama and a minuscule 4,554 voted for John McCain.
Results are updated every three hours and you must register to be able to vote.
How it works
America's electoral college
All democratic systems have their quirks, and America's is no exception. The electoral college is a 200-year-old institution. According to its rules, Americans do not vote directly for their presidents. Instead they cast a ballot to decide who wins their state's electoral-college votes. The number of these votes is fixed by the number of people the state sends to Congress, which in turn is based on its population. All states have a minimum of three votes and there are 538 electoral-college votes up for grabs in total. The presidential candidate who secures the most electoral-college votes ends up in the White House. The loser invariably ends up on day-time television shows.
Critics of the electoral-college system say it can produce a president who has lost the popular vote, as happened in 2000. They also complain that the winner-takes-all system employed by most states leads candidates to focus on a small number of "swing states" and ignore more reliably partisan ones. There have consequently been many attempts to reform the electoral-college system—over 700 so far—though until now nobody has suggested that the entire world be included.
The Global Electoral College
The Economist has redrawn the electoral map to give all 195 of the world's countries (including the United States) a say in the election's outcome. As in America, each country has been allocated a minimum of three electoral-college votes with extra votes allocated in proportion to population size. With over 6.5 billion people enfranchised, the result is a much larger electoral college of 9,875 votes. But rally your countrymen—a nation must have at least ten individual votes in order to have its electoral-college votes counted.
There are few countries whose votes in the Global Electoral College are a foregone conclusion. So the winner is unlikely to be decided by a small number of "swing countries". Rather, they will have to cobble together a coalition of small, medium and large nations. (A campaign stop in Beijing is recommended, as well as a tour of Africa.) Voting in the Global Electoral College will close at midnight London time on November 1st, when the candidate with most electoral-college votes will be declared the winner.
The world would vote for Barack Obama. With every country allotted a particular electoral vote, the results are astounding - with the exception of Macedonia, Georgia and Cuba - almost all has a strong Obama preference. 24,219 voted for Obama and a minuscule 4,554 voted for John McCain.
Results are updated every three hours and you must register to be able to vote.
How it works
America's electoral college
All democratic systems have their quirks, and America's is no exception. The electoral college is a 200-year-old institution. According to its rules, Americans do not vote directly for their presidents. Instead they cast a ballot to decide who wins their state's electoral-college votes. The number of these votes is fixed by the number of people the state sends to Congress, which in turn is based on its population. All states have a minimum of three votes and there are 538 electoral-college votes up for grabs in total. The presidential candidate who secures the most electoral-college votes ends up in the White House. The loser invariably ends up on day-time television shows.
Critics of the electoral-college system say it can produce a president who has lost the popular vote, as happened in 2000. They also complain that the winner-takes-all system employed by most states leads candidates to focus on a small number of "swing states" and ignore more reliably partisan ones. There have consequently been many attempts to reform the electoral-college system—over 700 so far—though until now nobody has suggested that the entire world be included.
The Global Electoral College
The Economist has redrawn the electoral map to give all 195 of the world's countries (including the United States) a say in the election's outcome. As in America, each country has been allocated a minimum of three electoral-college votes with extra votes allocated in proportion to population size. With over 6.5 billion people enfranchised, the result is a much larger electoral college of 9,875 votes. But rally your countrymen—a nation must have at least ten individual votes in order to have its electoral-college votes counted.
There are few countries whose votes in the Global Electoral College are a foregone conclusion. So the winner is unlikely to be decided by a small number of "swing countries". Rather, they will have to cobble together a coalition of small, medium and large nations. (A campaign stop in Beijing is recommended, as well as a tour of Africa.) Voting in the Global Electoral College will close at midnight London time on November 1st, when the candidate with most electoral-college votes will be declared the winner.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Declaration of Support for the Immediate Passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into Law
http://www.petitiononline.com/rhan2008/petition.html
To: Philippine Congress
We are seriously disturbed that more than 10 Filipino women die every day due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. The big majority of those who die are poor women at the prime of their lives.
We are alarmed that 29 out of 1,000 infants die due to various sickness and illnesses that are preventable and curable.
We are troubled that 4.9 million Filipino youth, aged 15-27 are sexually active but programs that would ensure their safety and help them become more responsible in dealing with their sexuality and relationships are severely lacking. Especially worrisome is the fact that 1 out of 5 female teenagers get pregnant before they reach their 20th birthday.
These are just a few of the problems in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis, escalating poverty, and the ever-increasing prices of basic commodities and services. Moreover, the Philippine population grows unabated with almost 2 million individuals added every year. Researches consistently show that poverty is more prevalent among big families compared to smaller ones.
The acute lack of services and information regarding reproductive health:
* results in the untimely death of women and children;
* is the reason why our youth are largely unprepared to deal with matters pertaining to their sexuality and relationships; and
* exacerbates the effects of economic crisis and poverty on millions of ordinary Filipinos, especially those with big families.
We believe that Filipinos, particularly the poor, urgently need access to information and services that will address their reproductive health needs.
We believe that a rights-based, comprehensive, and responsive reproductive health law will help empower Filipinos to achieve a better quality of life.
We firmly believe that the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into law will help actualize people’s, especially women’s rights to make informed decisions.
Therefore, we call on our legislators to pass the Reproductive Health Bill into law now.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLease repost this link in your social networks, blogs, online message boards. Enough with the meddling of the Church in State Policymaking! And no, WE DONT WANT MIKE VELARDE AND HIS MINIONS RUN THIS COUNTRY!
To: Philippine Congress
We are seriously disturbed that more than 10 Filipino women die every day due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. The big majority of those who die are poor women at the prime of their lives.
We are alarmed that 29 out of 1,000 infants die due to various sickness and illnesses that are preventable and curable.
We are troubled that 4.9 million Filipino youth, aged 15-27 are sexually active but programs that would ensure their safety and help them become more responsible in dealing with their sexuality and relationships are severely lacking. Especially worrisome is the fact that 1 out of 5 female teenagers get pregnant before they reach their 20th birthday.
These are just a few of the problems in the midst of the ongoing economic crisis, escalating poverty, and the ever-increasing prices of basic commodities and services. Moreover, the Philippine population grows unabated with almost 2 million individuals added every year. Researches consistently show that poverty is more prevalent among big families compared to smaller ones.
The acute lack of services and information regarding reproductive health:
* results in the untimely death of women and children;
* is the reason why our youth are largely unprepared to deal with matters pertaining to their sexuality and relationships; and
* exacerbates the effects of economic crisis and poverty on millions of ordinary Filipinos, especially those with big families.
We believe that Filipinos, particularly the poor, urgently need access to information and services that will address their reproductive health needs.
We believe that a rights-based, comprehensive, and responsive reproductive health law will help empower Filipinos to achieve a better quality of life.
We firmly believe that the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill into law will help actualize people’s, especially women’s rights to make informed decisions.
Therefore, we call on our legislators to pass the Reproductive Health Bill into law now.
Sincerely,
The Undersigned
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLease repost this link in your social networks, blogs, online message boards. Enough with the meddling of the Church in State Policymaking! And no, WE DONT WANT MIKE VELARDE AND HIS MINIONS RUN THIS COUNTRY!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Farewell and Welcome Cocktails at the Turkish Ambassador's Residence
Farewell to our friend, Alp Atakcan, outgoing 3rd Secy. and Deputy Head of Mission Berki Tuna Atala at the residence of His Excellency Adnan Basaga, Ambassador Extraordinaire and Plenipotentiary, Embassy of the Republic of Turkey.
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