Its time to wake up!

 Save the future of our children and  join the movement!

In our modern world, we are highly engaged to technology. The paradigm shift of our thinking has drastically changed for a short period of time. Our world population is steadily increasing. More people are very busy with their work and have less time with their families. Children are left home with their nannies and parents just give them money and hi-tech gadgets (thinking that this will make them happy and will do them good).

Most parents do not give full attention to their children. They just leave their children watching TV and surfing the internet. Not knowing what problem may occur, because of the technology that our children are addicted to.

Watch this video and see for yourself, what is the look and future of our children. Its never too late to take action. Let's join the movement of saving our children... WATCH NOW ASAP!

Crime: A chronic ailment of the society

Source: philippinesalawikain.com

Crime is a chronic ailment of the society. This invariable dilemma that our country has faced for the last years has been a doubtful keystone of the economic instability of the country. Despite some improvement in law and order, crime remained a major problem through the end of the decade. Police attributed the country’s chronic crime problems to variety of social and cultural factors. 

Widespread poverty and rapid population growth were frequently cited. Population pressures and a shortage of land and jobs in rural areas had produced a steady internal migration to the cities. This urbanization of a traditionally agrarian society was commonly mentioned as cause for increased rates (www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-10537.html).

Government officials attributed to the decrease in crime to improved police work, but economic conditions appeared to be important. The deterioration in law and order during the early and mid-1980s accompanied a steadily worsening economy, whereas the improvement in the late 1980s paralleled renewed economic growth under Aquino. Not surprisingly, crime rates were highest in major urban areas, where unemployment was the highest. Regionally, peninsular southern Luzon, the western Visayan islands, and, portions of Mindanao—impoverished rural areas where insurgents were active—had the most criminal activity (www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-10537.html).

Many studies in the economics of crime have been conducted and most of these studies focused on the effects of interest rates, labor market conditions, demographic change, poverty incidence and inflation rate. Few empirical studies of the economics of crime have doubted the deterrent effects of the legal sanctions on crime. Yamada in 1985 examined the impact of labor market conditions, represented by either  male civilian unemployment or labor force participation rates, on seven major categories of crime, using the quarterly crime-rate data for the United States. The study made used of the Vector Autoregressive Model in estimating the parameters of the model. They have concluded that labor market conditions have significant effects on crime rates.

Source: bowlersdesk.wordpress.com

A recent study conducted in 2007, Seals and Nunley examined the effect of inflation on property crimes using the structural time series approach. They have shown that it is possible to estimate consistently the effects of macroeconomic variables on aggregate property crimes without introducing endogenous deterrence to the model. Their study concluded that price stability contributes considerably to the reduction of property crimes.

In the Philippines, Gillado (2004) studied crime rates using the panel data of index crime rates for the 13 regions of the Philippines over the period 1983-2000 to analyze the determinants of crime rates in the country using the constant coefficient model. He concluded that there are only two significant determinants of crime rate on rape incidence: unemployment rate and population density.   To access the full version of this research paper, please visit this site: http://www.docstoc.com/docs/83991973/CRIME-AGAINST-PROPERTY-IN-THE-PHILIPPINES-(2003-2007)-THE-EFFECTS-OF-REAL-EXCHANGE-RATE-AND-VISIBLE-UNDEREMPLOYMENT-RATE

Sources:

Becsi, ZSolt (1999). Economics and Crime in the States. Atlanta Federal Research Department. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. First Quarter 1999.

Gillado, M. and Tan-Cruz, T.(2003) Panel Data Estimation of Crime Rates in the Philippines. School of Applied Economics. University of Southeastern Philippines. Davao City, Philippines. March 2003.

Nanley, J. and Seals,A.(2007). The Effects of Inflation and Demographic Change on Property Crime: A Structural Time Series Approach. Department of Economics and Finance Working Paper Series. Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN. April 2007

Yamada, Tadashi(1985). The Crime Rate and the Condition of the labor market: A Vector Autoregressive Model. Working Paper No. 1782. National Bureau of Economic Research. Cambridge, Massachusetts. December 1985.

www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-10537.html

www.inquirer.net

www.pids.gov.ph

Religion and Love: Shamcey Supsup's controversial notion

"Shamcey answered without an interpreter but she was the one misinterpreted."

In the recent Ms. Universe 2011 Pageant held last September 12, 2011 in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Sept. 13 in the Philippines), our very own Ms. Shamcey Supsup landed on the 4th spot (as the 3rd runner-up) in the competition. We have heard a lot of comments from our fellowmen that she deserves to have a higher spot. But what can we do, we are not the judge. 

In every beauty pageant, the final showdown lies on the intelligence of the candidates in answering the final questions. In the pageant, the Top 5 had different set of questions from the judges, unlike before that there is only one question. Shamcey Supsup was asked by Actress and Producer Vivica A. Fox. She was asked if she can change her religion to marry the person she loves. 

Shamcey Supsup answered with a deep thought and confidence and expressed her honest stand on the issue between religion and love. She chose to stand by her religion and she will not marry his future husband if he will not accept her God. 

Do we have different Gods? To quote Ms. Shamcey Supsup, these are the exact words she said : “If I have to change my religious belief, I will not marry the person I love because the first person that I love is God and He created me. And I have my faith, my principles and it what makes me who I am. And if that person loves me, he should love my God.’’

Every person  has the privilege to stand by their own principles, beliefs and religion. Shamcey just answered the question honestly based on her beliefs. Majority of the people is expecting that her answer will be " I will marry the person that I love, because religion won't matter, our love shall prevail", typical answer right?

We Filipinos understand her thoughts, but the judges in the competition did not (even if Lea Salonga was one of the judges). Miss Universe is a pageant participated by 89 women from different countries with diverse cultural background, race, beliefs, traditions and moral values. The Miss Universe promotes unity within diversity. Every candidate is accepted without discrimination and racism. 

The winner of Ms. Universe should possess a quality of versatility in adapting different cultures and their beliefs. In this competition, a stand on an issue or an honest expression of your religious belief, is not a winning formula. The judges were not pleased by her answer.

Shamcey answered without an interpreter but she was the one misinterpreted. There is someone destined for the crown. Our Shamcey is still our winner and she has a big future ahead of her.. Keep it up Shamcey, we Filipinos support you all the way!

Shamcey Supsup 3rd Runner-up in the Miss Universe 2011!!

The recent Miss Universe 2011 pageant was a successful one. Our very own Ms. Shamcey Supsup is 3rd runner-up. Well, a lot of Filipinos are commenting that she should won the crown, but that's competition. Ms. Angola, Leila Lopes won the title. Its the first time that Angola has won the competition.

These are the Miss Universe 2011 Winner's list:

Miss Universe: Angola
1st Runner-up: Ukraine
2nd Runner-up: Brazil
3rd Runner-up: Philippines
4th Runner-up: China

Congrats to Ms. Shamcey Supsup, you may not own the crown, but on your effort to win it, you are still our MISS Universe..

Biofuels: An alternative to crude oil

There is a current dilemma on how we can sourced out alternative fuels to power our cars, homes, appliances, computers and other fuel-powered machines. The main source of our fuel (crude oil) came from fossils which are extracted from decayed bodies of ancient creatures, most of these are found in the Middle East. Little did we know that the answer to the scarcity and expensive consumption of oil in the world market in is the hands of our natural resources. It is very ironic, that only in this century that we have discover how plants can produce oil.

Essentially, were back to the basics, in the time were our ancestors survived from the fittest in the absence of the latest technology today. We just need to discover things and be creative in order for us to realize what’s essential in these things. Currently, a lot of studies were conducted to answer the petitions to minimize the cost of purchasing crude oil. This is due to the fact that the non-renewable energy that are sourced out from fossils will soon be depleted and all of us will suffer from it. We need an energy resource that is renewable and is environment friendly. 

Hurray! An answer has come to town and most of us couldn’t believe that we shall found alternative source of fuels from plants. This alternative source of energy is called Bio Fuels. Bio Fuels are sourced out from different living organisms or from waste of animals and food products. To come up with a biofuel, it must have an 80% characteristic of being a renewable source. It is derived from the scientific process of photosynthesis and it is also referred to be a source of solar energy. A lot of biofuel technologies were undertaken; here are some of the recently studied plants and wastes as source of energy:

1. Jethropa

2. Algae

3. Vegetable Oil Waste

4. Swine Waste

5. Hydrogen Fuel from Non-food sources

6. Bio-based Butanol

7. Woody Biomas Resources

8. Bacteria on ancient living creatures

9. Sugarcane

10. Hydrogen form Farm Waste

11. Hydrogen-producing bacteria

12. and more (some sources for research)

Mother earth has a lot to offer for us, it is never a reason that our resources will be depleted and some drastically pointing it out as a global crisis. It is up to us to use these resources from our natural environment. We should act now and be in the know! Be a green advocate and promote environmental conservation and preservation!

Let's support SHAMCEY SUPSUP!

THE LIVING PROOF OF A WOMAN WITH BODY, BRAINS AND BEAUTY......

Miss Universe-Philippines 2011

MS. SHAMCEY SUPSUP

Click this link, to cast your votes:

http://www.missuniverse.com/members/profile/599558/year:2011

You need to have one email per vote.

Below is an episode of ANC's Future Perfect, with Shamcey Supsup and John Pelias 

Manny Pacquiao KNOCKED OUT in a split second!

Manny Pacquiao KNOCKED OUT in a split second... because of his singing... 

If we hear such news that Manny Pacquiao is knocked-out, nobody will believe you. As everyone knows, Manny is the best pound-for-pond boxer in the world. But God created us humans with different talents and abilities, nobody is perfect right? If Manny is excellent in boxing, he could do other things other than boxing, but we cannot expect him to excel that much. Every human has its own strengths and weaknesses.

During his latest interview last September 7, 2011 in New York, where a press conference was held to promote his fight together with Juan Manuel Marquez.

In the press conference, Manny sang with his favorite singer, After his singing stint, a reporter asked him if there is somebody who told him that he is a lousy singer. The question maybe an insult or just a straight forward and honest comment on his singing, but Manny answered him with ease. He said that he may not be the best singer, but he can sing and he really loves to hear a song.

Manny may not be the best singer, but he is still THE GREATEST BOXER OF ALL TIME!..

Straighten up! : Tips on how to make your hair perfectly straight

Every woman wants to achieve the perfect look, when we say perfect; we mean a well-maintained straight hair. But most women struggle to achieve this vanity dilemma because most of them do not know how to straighten their hair perfectly.

Straightening a curly or wavy hair is the most common topic that most women talked about. Well, it is not surprising because it’s normal to women to get what they want even if it requires painstaking efforts to attain it.

Women should not worry about it. There are a lot of solutions available on magazines, blogs, beauty articles and websites that will surely answer this problem. Here are some tips on how to pull off a flawlessly straightened hair.

First, use shampoo and conditioner when washing your hair to hydrate your porous hair and to prevent it from getting frizzy. You can also use a gloss or oil, if you have curly or wavy hair.

After washing your hair, it is advisable that you should blow dry it. Never go out of the house, when you hair is still wet, because this will make your hair dry and damaged.

In blow-drying, most stylist recommend to use only  a 1500- to 1800-watt hair dryer when styling your hair, because anything below this power requirement will surely curl up your hair even before you’re done with trying to make it straight.

It is also great if you stay with your hair locks that are not thicker than one inch. This is to allow the hot air to pass through and reach all hairs.  You should also aim for small portions and be sure to dry each of them thoroughly before moving on.

Immediately after you blow dry it straight, you should separate it sideways. I think all the weight on each side, when supported with a lot of hair products, particularly on hair straightening, will help the hair not turn stuffed and curly by the end of the day, ensuring that you look stunning all day long.

You should be careful when buying hair straightening products. Always keep in mind that when buying these products; make sure that water is not one of the major components, because water adds moisture to your hair. Using this will make your hair curly or wavy again after straightening it up.

Alternatively after blow-drying, you can also use your hair straightening iron. Before using the hair straightening iron, separate first your hair in 3-5 portions horizontally (left, right and in the middle), this would really depend on the thickness of your hair. Then, clip each portion of your hair into a small hair clip until that part is ready to be straightened.

Subsequently, it is suggested that you should start straightening your hair at the bottom part. It is also advisable to apply a hair protecting serum in the hair to prevent it from getting damaged under the heat of the sun. The serum will also keep the hair straight and make it look really shiny at the same time. This product is available in any beauty stores and groceries (under beauty products section).

When you start straightening your hair, make sure to begin at the root and slowly slide the straightening iron all the way down to the tips. If needed, run the straightening iron through each partition a second or even third time until the hair is super straight. Repeat this with every part of hair, starting at the lowest section, working your way up to the top part.

After doing this hair straightening regimen, angle the hair around your face and parting in the direction you wish it to fall. If your hair needs more volume, angle it out from your head at 90% rather than down towards your shoulders.

With all of these things put into mind, always remember that the straight hair we’ve always dreamed of should be only half an hour of styling away.  As Shana Alexander said “Hair brings one's self-image into focus; it is vanity's proving ground.  Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices”.

Even how vain we are in maintaining a well-managed hair, always keep in mind that inner beauty is still the most important thing in this world.

Are we morally upright?

“I know only that what is moral is what you feel good after and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.” –Ernest Hemingway

As what Ernest Hemingway connotes, you are moral if you feel good about what you are doing and you are immoral if you regret the things you have done in the past (and you feel bad about it).  Morality is an end in itself. If people think deeply on their purpose in life, they will prioritize their responsibilities and justify the actions they’ve made.

Most of us make decisions with respect to our practical reasons. When we comprehend moral situations, we resolve them through arguments in order to justify one’s moral views rather than appeal to feelings and sentiments. We should not use our feelings in justifying the moral to the immoral. More often than not, being moral and immoral is relative on how the person perceived each situation in his/her life.

Due to the different perceptions of people about morality, it sometimes becomes unclear or ambiguous. People are very confused on the decisions they make, because in school they were taught about good moral character and Christian values. These taught them to be morally upright persons. But when people are outside the academe, they see a lot of immoral events and situations everyday, and when they encounter it regularly, they think that this is normal. This explains why some of us make moral decisions even if we are not really sure whether it is right or wrong.

To me, the answer to the question “Why should I be moral?” lies dominantly in the social relationships and natural feelings and partly in the realm of the deontological[1] view.

We should be moral in thought, word and deed. One’s discernment on morality depends on their orientation and how the family instills to them the important moral and Christian values.

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[1] Deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek deon, "obligation, duty"; and -logia) is an approach to ethics that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules. Deontologists look at rules^[ and duties