Tag Archives: China

MRT BLAMED FOR PHILIPPINES’ LOSS TO CHINA IN BID TO HOST 2019 FIBA BASKETBALL WORLD CUP

August 7, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

FIBA (International Basketball Federation) president Horacio Muratore from Argentina announces China as the host country of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup during a ceremony in Tokyo on August 7, 2015. China has won the right to host the 2019 basketball World Cup, beating out the Philippines in a vote on August 7 in Tokyo. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA

The Philippines’ bid to host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup fell short as China was officially named the host of basketball’s biggest international tournament after both countries made their final presentations to the FIBA Central Board on Friday in Tokyo, Japan.

The Philippine delegation pulled out all the stops but was just up against a formidable foe in China, a known giant in hosting sporting events.

Even the countries’ respective delegations were reminiscent of “David and Goliath,” with the Philippines’ boxing champion Manny Pacquiao standing next to China’s “giant” basketball legend Yao Ming. Capture

The Philippine delegation focused on the Filipinos’ passion for basketball as well as the country’s reputation as the social media capital of the world.

But when it came to infrastructure, China won the FIBA voters’ nod hands down as it laid out its already existing world-class venues as well as trains connecting the no less than eight cities that will host the games.

The Philippine delegation spoke briefly about MRT, Metro Manila’s Light Railway System that’s been plagued with long lines, accidents, train breakdowns and mismanagement.

Right there and then, the FIBA voters picked China.

Business, Health & Medicine, International

U.S. TO IMPORT FACEKINIS FROM CHINA

July 16, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – It’s summertime and that means millions of Americans will be heading down to the beach to beat the warm temperatures. But this is also causing great alarm among U.S. health officials because of the fact that skin cancer, mostly from sun exposure, is the most common of all cancers. One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of their lifetime.

But not to worry. The U.S. has placed an order of 50 crates of ‘facekinis’ expected to arrive from China in time for peak summer season. The government will distribute the crates equally among the 50 states.

Facekinis are face masks that have become popular among middle-aged women in China who enjoy going to the beach on a regular basis. The mask covers the entire head and face except for small openings for the eyes, nose and mouth. It is considered more durable, economical and effective than sunscreens and other protective creams.

A word of caution, however: if wearing the facekini, make sure to still apply sunscreen around your eyes, and on your nose and lips, otherwise you will end up looking like Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer or having black eyes and lips like Edward Scissorhands.

Also, Americans are being warned about fake facekinis that are manufactured by fly-by-night entrepreneurs. In other words, Fakekinis.

International, Technology

WITH ONE MOUSE CLICK, GOOGLE ERASES SOUTH CHINA SEA ISLAND FROM WORLD MAP

July 14, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Capture MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles®) – Before today, a search on Google Maps would point you to an island in the South China Sea called Zhongsha.

Its international name is Scarborough Shoal and is one of disputed territories in the Spratly Islands, a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atols, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The Spratly archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia and southern Vietnam. All three countries plus China claim part of the archipelago as part of their respective territories.

With the click of the mouse, Google erased the island from the map after an outcry from Filipinos who maintained that naming the island Zhongsha would suggest that it belongs to China, when in fact, it belongs to the Philippines, or so it is claimed.

“We’ve updated Google Maps to fix the issue. We understand that geographic names can raise deep emotions which is why we worked quickly once this was brought to our attention,” Google’s office in Manila said in a statement.

China, meanwhile, has accused Google of taking sides on a territorial dispute that should be settled by the governments involved, not by a private company. Furthermore, China says that Google’s action is in retaliation for the Chinese government’s crackdown on gmail and the Google search engine in the Chinese mainland.

So, if there is a name of an island or body of water anywhere in the world that you are not happy about, don’t despair. All you need is to start a petition for Google to erase it from the map. Or at least change its name.