OBAMA’S KINDER, GENTLER WORDS FOR MANILA

Obama inspecting the honor  guard in Manila
Obama inspecting the honor guard in Manila

Manila, Philippines – Author Dan Brown, in his latest novel ‘Inferno’ called Manila the ‘Gates of Hell,’ but visiting U.S. President Barack Obama has much kinder, gentler words for the Philippine capital.

“I would rather call it the ‘Gates of Purgatory,’ since I just have a couple of days  to endure the city’s sweltering heat,” Obama said, soon after he inspected the honor guard during arrival ceremonies at Malacañang, the Philippine presidential palace.  Obama reviewed the troops under 93- degree weather, considered mild by Philippine standards.

Catholics believe that purgatory is the half-way or temporary place their souls go to after they die while they wait for St. Peter to open the gates of Heaven. During this interim period, the souls can atone for their sins with the help of prayers by their living relatives.

It remains to be seen whether Obama will still have the same kind words for Manila after he experiences the enormous traffic gridlock that’s part of everyday life in the metropolis.

OBAMA DISAPPOINTED OVER PHILIPPINE STATE DINNER MENU

statedinnerManila, Philippines – Tenderloin inasal  (grilled beef tenderloin marinated in lemongrass and turmeric) and pili-crusted lapu-lapu (grouper) were on the menu at the state dinner for US President Barack Obama who is visiting the Philippines as part of his Asia tour. Completing the menu were salad of pako (edible fern), pochero-style seafood soup, and dessert of refreshing coconut sorbet.

Balut
Balut

Asked by The Adobo Chronicles what he thought of the dinner menu, Obama said he was extremely disappointed. He said he was expecting to be served balut, the famous boiled duck egg (embryo) and halo-halo, a more elaborate version of his favorite Hawaiian shaved ice.

Obama said he might sneak out of the Malacañang (Philippine Peesidential Palace) guest house later tonight to get some balut and halo-halo from street vendors stationed nearby.

 

 

CNN TO TAKE OVER SEARCH FOR MALAYSIA AIRLINES MISSING PLANE

black holePerth, Australia (The Adobo Chronicles) – Since day one of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, CNN has been in the forefront of the 24-hour news coverage of the massive search operations for the ill-fated Boeing 777 jetliner.

The Atlanta-based news cable network has scoured the four corners of the world in search of experts and pundits who provided top-rate analysis and speculation on what happened to MH370. Its anchors had employed never-before-tried techniques in news analysis, including the use of toy planes to enhance its coverage. It has left no stone unturned in exploring every possible scenario including the plane’s possible abduction by some “higher power.”

After almost two months, nothing has turned up in the massive search participated in by many countries. The latest operations to search the ocean floor is 95% complete and it is now uncertain whether or not the whole search operations will be called off.

But CNN is not about to give up.  In fact, the network has announced that it is taking over the search for the missing plane. “We are committed and extremely passionate about finding the plane and we will use all the equipment and resources available to us,” a CNN spokesperson said. “We are confident we will find the plane and we will continue to devote as much airtime as we possibly could in our ongoing news coverage of MH370,” he added.

For 24-hour coverage of the CNN search for MH370, check your local TV listings or google CNN-Missing Plane.