Category Archives: International

JAPAN OFFERS TO BUY METRO MANILA FOR $57 BILLION

imageTokyo, Japan –  Noting that Metro Manila’s traffic, infrastructure and housing problems can no longer be solved by the Philippines’ National Capital Region, Japan has offered to buy Metro Manila for $57 Billion.

The Japanese government, acting on a report by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), made the offer to Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay. By purchasing Metro Manila, Japan hopes to implement JICA’s “Dream Plan” to solve once and for all Metro Manila’s decades-old woes.

The dream plan seeks to achieve by 2030, the five “No’s” considered to be the ultimate key to the revival of the dying metropolis : no traffic congestion, no excessive transport cost burden for low-income groups, no households living in high hazard risk areas, no barriers for seamless mobility of people and no air pollution.

Under the purchase proposal, Metro Manila will become a Prefecture of Japan and both the local and national governments  of the Philippines will totally give up ownership and control of Metro Manila which consists of 17 cities and towns.

The only remaining obstacle to the proposed purchase is to determine how the $57 Billion will be divided among Philippine President Noynoy Aquino, Estrada, Binay and the rest of the mayors of the cities and towns of the metropolis.

 

 

JUSTIN BIEBER GRANTED FIRST-EVER PRESIDENTIAL EASTER PARDON

imageWashington, D.C. – Every year around Thanksgiving, the President of the United States pardons a turkey, sparing it from being killed, roasted and served on the holiday dinner table. The White House tradition was instituted by then President George H.W. Bush in 1989, although many believe Harry Truman was technically the first president to pardon a turkey.

Now, President Barack Obama has started a new White House tradition which he is calling the Presidential Easter Pardon, in celebration of the Easter holiday. Obama said this involves granting presidential pardon to a worthy individual who has committed non-violent misdemeanors or small infractions of U.S. law.

On Easter Sunday, Obama will grant the first-ever Presidential Easter Pardon to Canadian citizen and teen idol Justin Bieber. Bieber has repeatedly been charged with misdemeanors and violations including driving under the influence (DUI), resisting arrest and drag racing. The presidential pardon all but erases all obstacles to Bieber in applying for U.S. citizenship.

Many Americans have expressed outrage over Obama’s choice for the pardon. It comes on the heels of a recent petition on Whitehouse.gov asking Obama to deport Bieber for his arrogance and disrespect for the law. The petition drew more than 250,000 signatures, way above the threshold that the White House has set in order to merit a response. The White House did respond to the petition with “no comment.”

Bieber will receive the pardon medal from President Obama at ceremonies in the White House South Lawn on Easter Sunday.

‘SELFITIS,’ ‘CYBERESPIONAGE,’ ‘PROTOPLANET’ NEWEST WORDS IN OXFORD DICTIONARIES

imageLondon, Great Britain – Oxford University has just announced the newest additions to the world’s largest dictionary in English.

Technology and the Interet are as popular as ever in providing new words, from lock screen and headcam to cyberespionage. Cyberespionage came about as a result of recently-revealed practices by the U.S. National Security Administration (NSA) to spy on phone conversations and Internet communications among governments and private citizens.

Astrology’s newest word contribution is protoplanet, defined as a small celestial object that is the size of a moon or a bit bigger.  Astronomers believe that these objects form during the creation of a solar system.

Food coma, another addition to the Oxford Dictionaries, is the feeling of listlessness, bordering on sleep, that one feels after eating a large meal, often caused by a rush of blood to the stomach and intestines during food digestion.

But the most popular yet controversial word addition is ‘selfitis,’ the obsessive-compulsive urge to take photos of one’s self and post them on social media.  Earlier this month, The Adobo Chronicles broke the story regarding the American Psychiatric Association officially classifying selfie-taking as a mental disorder.

Last year, Oxford Dictionaries named ‘selfie’ as their 2013 word of the year.  Will ‘selfitis’ be the word for 2014?