Voyage to the future is an educational project of the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Network (ABU) that aims to promote awareness of our future global environment.

ABU brings together teenagers from Asia-Pacific Region to visit various locations to learn to appreciate, conserve and rehabilitate the different environments.

Voyage to the future 2009 goes to explore the Philippine shores with the theme “Preserving the Ocean Environment”.

25 students from seven participating countries namely, China, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Qatar and Thailand will arrive the country on March 20, 2009, and will stay till March 31, 2009.

The National Broadcasting Network (the only TV station in the Philippines that is a member of ABU) will be hosting the event. Opening ceremonies will be held at the Manila Hotel come Saturday, March 21, 2009 at  9:00 am.

The participants will visit 3 pre-identified locations in the country – Puerto Galera in Mindoro Oriental, Danajon Double Barrier Reef in northern Bohol and Apo Island in Negros Oriental – in a span of 11 days.

Different fun and educational activities awaits the participants.

A surprise visit by US President George Bush to Iraq turned really surprising.

In the middle of the news conference with Mr Maliki, an Iraqi television journalist stood up and shouted “this is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog,” before throwing a shoe at President Bush.

In traditional Mideast culture, the foot is considered the filthiest part of the human body. And showing the soles of shoes to someone is a sign of contempt in Arab culture.

Unfortunately for the man, Bush was quick to dodge the shoe.

Hurling his second shoe, the journalist shouted, “this is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq.” But he missed again!

Too bad for the guy, he had the marksmanship of a penguin.

Bush joked afterwards, “If you want the facts, it’s a size 10 shoe that he threw.”

I wonder if this incident will cause tighter security measures for all journalists covering news conferences. Will all news crew be strip-searched and made to leave their shoes at the door ?

You can watch the video here.

An event happening for the first time and only in the Philippines, nine ASEAN countries will gather together to watch the most awaited and said to be the ‘Dream Match’ or ‘Fight of the Millennium’ of the country’s pride WBC super featherweight champion and Filipino boxing icon Manny ‘Pacman’ Pacquiao versus Mexican Oscar ‘Golden Boy’ Dela Hoya in a free live telecast from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA at the ASEAN Armies Rifle Meet (AARM) mess hall tomorrow noon.

The delegates came all the way from the countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to the Philippines to participate in the 18th AARM 2008 where the Philippine Army (PA) is the host.

This is not the first time that the PA hosted the AARM but according to 1SG Nicolai Ong, a Singaporean shooter, this year’s competition is yet the most fun and enjoyable compared to all the AARM host countries he’d ever been through.

“I feel very at home in the Philippines,” said Ong.

Army spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, said the free live telecast is actually the PA’s treat to all its soldiers and their families, including civilians living inside the camp so they won’t need to spend a single peso to watch Pacquiao’s fight.

“In a way, it is also to show support to the People’s champ who has been very sympathetic to the military’s cause and soldiers’ plight,” said Brawner.

Indeed, Brawner said Pacman has a way of uniting not only the Filipinos even just for a few hours every time he has a fight, but most especially other Asian countries, whose visit here in the country coincided with his fight.

“The delegates know him very well and can’t wait to watch the fight tomorrow,” said Brawner.

“We love Pacquiao and we are all cheering for him,” Lt. Col. Sorawit Parncharoen, of the Royal Thai Army said.

Brawner said the PA has put up an activity center with food booths, spa services, KTV, and different band shows to entertain the delegates after a whole day of firing.

Army chief Lt. Gen. Victor S. Ibrado wanted this year’s AARM to be marked not only for competition’s sake but a gathering of ASEAN countries for the spirit of camaraderie, goodwill, friendship, and cooperation which is embedded in this year’s theme: “A Shared Vision for a Strong ASEAN.”

The live telecast, however, will in no way disrupt the ongoing rifle competition at the Army’s Light Armor Division firing range as organizers said it will continue even the boxing match is already on. Delegates who have no scheduled event for the day are free to watch.

U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Ruben D. Gonzalez, a deployed Army soldier assigned to the U.S. Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines, was along the shores of the Naval Station in Zamboanga performing logistics tasks when he heard calls for help.

Three students of the MEIN College, who were among the students and staff celebrating the college’s “Foundation Day” at the beach, got caught in the dangerous current and were dragged into deep, unsafe waters.

The water current that day was very strong, that even a 65-ton naval vessel could not dock at the pier.

Seeing and hearing the situation, Gonzales quickly dove headfirst into the water and went for the most exhausted swimmer first. Grabbing the victim around the chest, Gonzalez swam him to the nearest pier piling, which served as a makeshift life-preserver. Telling the student to hold the piling as tightly as possible, Gonzalez swam back out for the other two distressed swimmers, pulling them both through the current to the nearest pier piling.

Seeing Philippine Navy personnel throwing floatation devices down to the distressed swimmers, Gonzalez shouted out words of encouragement to hang on a little longer.

Upon reaching the beach, Philippine Navy medics tended to the victims. After it was clear the students were ashore and in good hands, Gonzalez left the growing crowd of onlookers, unnoticed. He got back in his vehicle and, despite several cuts on his arms, hands, legs, and feet, returned to duty.

This rescue happened last September 30. Staff Sergeant Ruben D. Gonzalez of the U.S. Army was awarded the Soldier’s Medal on November 27, 2008.

The Soldier’s Medal is awarded to any person of the Armed Forces of the United States or of a friendly foreign nation who, while serving in any capacity with the Army of the United States, distinguished himself or herself by heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy. The same degree of heroism is required as that of the award of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

“Knowing the danger on putting his life at risk to rescue my students is a heroism act that forever will be embedded in our hearts, for without him that very moment, my students would have died,” said MEIN College teacher and eye-witness, Margie Janda. “Thank God for giving us Mr. Gonzalez.”

Photo: Colonel Bill Coultrup, Joint Special Operations Task Force-Philippines Commander, pins the Soldier’s Medal on Staff Sergeant Ruben D. Gonzalez as part of a formal ceremony held on Thanksgiving Day, 27 November 2007.

Launched to satisfy the craving to be on the marketing communications industry, to put the Philippines on top of the game, the first MarcommAsia held last September 24-26, 2008 at the World Trade Center is all about marketing communications-related, with the goal to package the country as a regular destination for the industry.

With over 70 exhibitors from all over the Philippines and 20 foreign companies who uses marketing communications as a business tool, delegates and exhibitors as well, had the time of their business life.

People behind the country’s large companies and advertising agencies talked about how viral it is to gain the right knowledge concerning marketing and advertising.

MarCommAsia international exhibition and conference is set to run biennially, alternate with the Ad Congress.

Ok, buck up election campers!  US Election Day isn’t ahead of us — it’s already here!

Early voting began Tuesday in eight states — including the key battleground of Ohio, where voting begins today — and it will be starting in a dozen more states over the next two weeks.

To the American audience who know by heart how elections are conducted back home, that’s not quite big news, but to our Filipino readers, you’d most certainly get a… ‘what?? Isn’t it supposed to be November 4?!’

Humm, ok, here’s what… we should have been doing a “US Election for Dummies” sort of video packages but our election programming had to stop for reasons I find unthinkable to this day.  Anyway, the US Embassy in Manila is fielding its Political and Public Affairs experts to NBN on Friday to conduct briefings along that line.  That should do for now… till we get our act together and figure out how to fill in the info void :/

At stake in Ohio are 20 electoral votes, and yes, even the presidential post!  This battleground state had tipped the scales in favor of President Bush four years ago and may likewise determine his successor… but a lot of unlikely events have come into play so, who knows… really!

Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama are focusing intently on Ohio as they seek to garner state-by-state victories to reach the 270 Electoral College votes needed to land at the White House.

Recent state polls show a dead heat, others give McCain a slight edge, while national surveys show Obama ahead.  Ohio might provide the sneak peek to what’s up ahead.

The upcoming (and much-awaited) Vice-Presidential debate could change the landscape as well.  So, stay tuned, these are interesting times… within and beyond America’s borders!!

Headline : Chinese Astronauts return from their first voyage in space!

‘Twas a triumphant, historic outing for Zhai Zhigang and his fellow astronauts as they embarked on a 68-hour journey that would showcase China’s neo-mastery of space technology.  A notable feat indeed, despite raising alarm bells among developed nations that tend to view it as a sign of China’s impending military adventurism in space!

Back here on earth, humans remain concerned over tainted milk produced in China.  Now, you know where my thoughts are going )

Forget about military ambitions; could economic adventurism (in space!) be in the offing?  Preposterous, I know, but we could all use a little humor in the news.

Let’s just hope extra-terrestrial beings are immune to… or else bolstered by… melamine!

SEPARATING THE SPIN FROM THE SUBSTANCE!

Just as he had suspended pompous activities lined up for Day 1 of the Republican National Convention last September 1 to respond to any emergency posted by a hurricane, Senator John McCain is now suspending his campaign to focus on helping solve the US financial crisis.

The first presidential debate was scheduled for Friday, September 26 in Mississippi, but McCain practically threw the campaign into turmoil Wednesday by calling for a delay in the debate to try to forge a Wall Street rescue plan.

He is expected to return to Washington Thursday to try to help negotiations over a stalled $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street.  Americans are generally skeptical about bailing out Wall Street with a plan that would cost the United States more than it put into the Iraq war, and with the economy hurting citizens at the level of bare essentials, the bailout plan is getting attacks from everywhere.

McCain urged Senator Barack Obama to join him in trying to reach a consensus agreement by Monday.  Obama, however, said he saw no reason the debate could not proceed on Friday, adding that it is exactly the “time when the American people need to hear from the person who in approximately 40 days will be responsible for dealing with this mess”.

Simply put, we ask… should they talk or act?   Here were are, before an arena where both White-House hopefuls are about to show off their expertise: Talk the talk… or Walk the walk!?

When high-profile politics and a staggering economy mix, you get a clear picture of the resulting panic.

It was not too long ago when the Democrats had to crack their heads looking for ways to cut the Republican lead that had obviously resulted from the naming of Sarah Palin as Senator McCain’s running mate.

The Palin pick so enhanced the Republican Party’s image that by Sept. 12, the GOP had narrowed the gap to a slender three-point margin based on Gallup Polls.

And then came the crisis on Wall Street.   Daily headlines about the financial crisis have once again shaken voters’ confidence in the country’s economic situation, and unwittingly revived the appeal of Obama’s call for “Change.”

Although there were slight differences among the various polls, the overall trend was clear: McCain, who led nearly every survey taken Sept. 5-11, now trailed in nearly every poll taken thereafter, resulting in a 5-point shift towards Obama in the Real Clear Politics average.  As of Sept 22, the national average had Obama leading by 2 points at 47.60 over McCain’s 45.60.

Understandably, the staggering economy did hurt the Republicans, partly due to a two-term Republican in the White House, and partly because in the minds of voters, the GOP is closely identified with big business.  Then again, Senator Obama is still largely perceived as poorly poised to handle the current crisis.

Worried about tainted milk? There could be a solution to that. A Chinese woman, sensing business opportunity amid China’s tainted milk scandal, has offered to breast feed other children. However, it comes with a price tag of 300 Yuan (US$44) per day.

The woman, who has a 3-month-old son, put up an advertisement on the internet. She said that she produced more milk than her son can consume, and that she throws away more than two kilograms of excess milk every day. She said that she can feed two more babies.

She prefers the clients to live with her, or rent a house nearby, to allow their babies them to benefit from the freshness of her milk. She’s willing to undergo a complete physical examination to prove her good health or the safety of her milk.

Her on-line ad triggered criticisms, but she doesn’t care. Her husband fully supports her, she said. As for the legality of it, China has no laws forbidding it.

Any takers?