pathet lao="pathet lao" How come the Americans never said anything about Hmong people during the Vietnam War?
From what I have read on the net, etc, The Hmong helped out the US a lot during that war, then the US left Vietnam, and left the Hmong to fight the Pathet Lao and Vietnamese Communist. I don't know how else to put this. yeah well w/e
And also, when will the US and UN realize that Hmong are hiding in the jungles of Laos and getting "yellow rain" poured on them, etc? {buttah42} >> No you dumbass, yellow rain is a type of chemical gas
Cause there trying to cover up one of the biggest mistakes they ever made. If the acknowledge it more then they have to say that they made the mistake which they are to proud to do. I agree with the second poster the Vietnam War should have never happened at least american involvement, the protestors back they knew it and they fought and won. Its much like the Iraq war we have no buisness being there in the first place, the war was started on a lie then snowballed into what it is now, but there are no terrorists in Iraq, no weapons its all lies.
Sorry man but there not gonna realize it cause they dont care. There too busy worrying about this one, which again is a pointless war, countless people/civilians (and yes they were civilians, americans lie) have died, and many more are gonna die from radiation poisoning.
They dont want to look back at this war cause it will bring back bad memories of a loss, and embarrassment.
Hookah Tobacco, Water Pipe Bong, Hookah Shisha, Hookah Accessories
The concept of Hookah originated in India, once the province of the wealthy, it was tremendously popular especially during Mughal rule. The origins of the hookah come from the north western provinces of India along the border of Pakistan in Rajasthan and Gujarat nearly a millennia back . These hookahs were simple, primitive, and rugged in design, usually made from a coconut shell base and tube with a head attached. They were designed to smoke opium, and hashish . The hookah made its way through the Persian Kingdom , which also included Pakistan, Afghanistan, much of Middle Asia and Arab parts of Northern Africa. The hookah acquired tombeik on its way through Persia. Tombeik is a dark tobacco grown in modern day Iran. Tombeik is rinsed and packed in the large older style heads where hot coal is applied directly to the wet tombeik, which gives it a strong flavor. The hookahs designed in the Persian Empire are still hand crafted with each one being cut from a piece of wood.
Most hookah smoking countries serve Naklia shisha. Naklia shisha is a combination of foreign tobaccos, honey molasses and dried fruit. The smoke is filtered through ice cold water to make the smoke cool and soothing. Older generations smoked hashish and opium, which has created a. The hookah has been growing in popularity in the United States and Europe since the experimentation of the 60'S. Now they are in every college head shop and Middle Eastern market across the entire U.S. It is also growing in popularity in Japan. "Cigarettes are for nervous people, competitive people, people on the run . It teaches you patience and tolerance, and gives you an appreciation of good company.
Specialisation of various Hookah tobacco and Hookah products, a premium brand of flavored tobacco because of its unique smoking experience is used primarily by experienced Hookah users. Mixing of different flavors is a terrific experience. The hookah water pipe is imported from the United Arab Emirates and is properly equipped with the Swiss tobacco brand. To shop at Sinbad Hookah one must be at least 18 years old. Freshness and quality is our top priority and we even offer good quality hookah products like Al Fakher hookah tobacco, Al Fakher hookah water pipes, Al Fakher hookah accessories including Golden Al Fakher hookah tobacco, Golden Al Fakher hookah water pipes and Golden Al Fakher hookah accessories. Romman Shisha & Hookah Tobacco: Romman Shisha Tobacco is considered the highest quality hookah tobacco in the world. Hand-made with the highest quality shisha ingredients possible, is experienced an amazingly smooth, flavorful and intensely long-lasting hookah smoking experience. Romman Tobacco is designed to be finest hookah smoking tobacco possible.
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Accessories: Plastic tips are designed to have a sanitary smoking experience. The male tips are designed to go inside the metal and wooden ended hookah hoses. All hoses vary and these fit 90% of the time.The female tips fit over the metal tips of the hose and are not recommended for wooden ended hookah hoses. The plastic can restrict the flow of smoking so please use properly and make sure the ends have no obstructions. The female tips work about 10% of the time and can be cut with scissors to fit larger hookah hoses.Metal Screen for Hookah Head: These metal screens are great for saving time and money. Cutting foil and poking holes take time and costs money. For the long term it is better to use a metal screen.
A bong is a smoking device, generally used to smoke cannabis, tobacco, or other substances.The construction of a bong is similar to a hookah. The functions of bongs and hookahs are analogous, as they produce similar results. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a screened bowl and stem apparatus.Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant."
A hookah or Waterpipe is a single or multi-stemmed instrument for smoking tobacco .Originally from India, hookah has gained popularity, especially in the Middle East and is gaining popularity in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil
About the Author
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"Does the future look as black as they paint it?" This is a question that you should ask yourself when you read troublesome economic predictions. On most days, the prevalent opinion in newspapers is a mixture of distrust and hesitation. Is there a way to make solid decisions about where to place your savings and minimize financial risk?
In investments, like in most things in life, it all boils down to using the right methodology. How can we determine what is true? What facts are relevant? Which predictions make sense? Can we figure out the future by applying principles extracted from experience?
"If you intend to climb a high mountain, always choose the smoothest path," wrote Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu in the year 520 BC. In times of economic adversity, investing becomes the equivalent of climbing the Swiss Alps bare-handed in the middle of the winter.
After suffering the negative results of wrong financial decisions, many individuals are reluctant to place any money in the stock market. Are those fears justified? Making mistakes is inevitable in any human endeavour. A wise man must be willing to accept occasional errors and use them as stepping-stones for building a better future for himself. Why should we not view the stock market in the same way?
The main lesson to be drawn from past financial mistakes is that, when it comes to investing, methodology is everything. More careful research can help us make better decisions in the future. A more disciplined approach can minimize losses. Taking appropriate measures to reduce risk should prevent us from making the same faults twice.
The following principles of risk reduction have endured the best and worst of times. Use them to your advantage to build a prosperous financial future. From time to time, your decisions will not be correct, but if you adopt a prudent strategy, you can keep your losses under control at the same time that you let your profits grow.
[1] Choose shares of solid companies, preferably those that pay regular dividends: Unless you are a professional investor, it is advisable to avoid speculative stocks of small enterprises whose future is dependant on one single product or customer. During periods of economic adversity, well-established companies whose products fulfil fundamental human needs tend to fare better than small undertakings.
[2] Never place more than 5% of your savings on a single investment: Even if you make a correct decision today, circumstances continuously change. The easiest way to minimize risk is to spread your savings into many different assets. The rule of 5% implies that, over time, you should aim at having at least 20 different types of investments.
If you save money every month, it will take you less than two years to achieve this target. Risk reduction is worth the effort of researching 20 different investments. Some of them will turn out to be outstanding places for your money, while others may deliver negative results. Since you cannot know in advance, you will be better off by spreading your money.
[3] Diversify your assets amongst different sectors and countries: You have no control over what problems will affect specific industries or countries in the future. Those negative events are, to a great extent, unpredictable.
Follow the example of professional investors and spread your savings amongst different types of assets. If you diversify internationally by placing a good part of your savings in stable countries around the world, your financial future will be less affected by problems in any particular territory.
[4] Understand that nobody can predict with certainty when markets hit bottom or are about to crash: You should never act blindly on someone else's advice, no matter how brilliant their track record is. Everybody makes mistakes and, as a general rule, it is better to trust facts than opinions. Listen to wise individuals, but always check things for yourself.
[5] Protect your assets with reasonable stop-loss orders: Professional investors also make wrong decisions, but they possess enough flexibility to admit their faults. If they purchase shares of one company and the price goes down, they usually prefer to sell them at a small loss rather than wait to see if their price climbs back to the previous level.
A stop-loss order is an instruction to liquidate your investment when its price reaches a certain level. Some investors are willing to take a loss of 10% before admitting that they have made a mistake. Know your limits and establish a clear strategy to protect yourself from catastrophic losses.
[6] Save regularly, monthly if possible, in order to ensure that you will also invest during periods of pessimism. Psychologically, it is easier to place your money in the stock market when prices are rising than when the world seems to be falling apart. Nevertheless, periods of economic misfortune tend to be the best to purchase assets at a low price.
This last principle is the most difficult to apply, since it requires enormous self-discipline. If we overreact to painful past experiences, we will overlook great investment opportunities. When the stock markets of the world go through a difficult period, the low prices can offer excellent possibilities for the future. If you adopt the habit of investing regularly, you will be able to make profitable decisions when few are willing to take any risk.
The essential principles of risk reduction will not provide you absolute protection, but they can help you keep your losses to a minimum. Whatever your strategy, check facts for yourself and never trust anybody blindly.
Times of economic adversity are often the best to rebuild an investment portfolio. As Lao-Tzu observed twenty-six centuries ago: "Truth is often paradoxical. Don't make the mistake of believing that you know what you don't know." Making risk reduction a part of your financial plan can help preserve your peace of mind as much as your savings.
JOHN VESPASIAN writes about rational living and is the author of the novel "When Everything Fails, Try This." He has resided in New York, Madrid, Paris and Munich. His stories reflect the values of entrepreneurship, tolerance and self-reliance. See John Vespasian's blog about rational living.
JOHN VESPASIAN writes about rational living and is the author of the novel ”When everything fails, try this.” He has resided in New York, Madrid, Paris and Munich. His stories reflect the values of entrepreneurship, tolerance and self-reliance. See John Vespasian's blog about rational living.
Lao-Tzu's Tao: a contemporary interpretation for becoming a better person
THE TAO
45.
The Tao that can be walked on is not the eternal Tao.
The Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao.
Tao has no name,
So it is the creator of heaven and earth.
Tao has a name,
So it is the mother of ten thousand things.
Without desire
Tao reveals its true mystery.
With desire
Tao reveals only a shadow.
It is the same Tao,
Only we give it different names.
The source is unknown,
But it leads to a life that is subtle and sublime.
46.
If someone sees beauty
It's only because they also see ugliness
If they see something as good
It's only because they see something else as bad.
Therefore, you can't have one thing
Without something else.
Some things are difficult because other things are easy.
Some things seem long because other things seem short.
Some things are up high because other things are down low.
Some things sound like music because other things sound like noise.
First one thing and then the other; front and back always follow each other.
Work without struggle,
Teach without saying a word.
Do not deny what is asked of you, even if it is ten thousand things.
Do them without claiming authority over them.
Do them without expecting favors in return.
Do them and move on.
And, the work you do will last forever.
47.
Tossing compliments around freely
Causes people to quarrel
And waste time trying to impress you.
If you value something,
Someone will try to steal it.
Keep it to yourself
Or you will disillusion some people
And confuse others.
Lead by clearing the noise out of people's heads,
Open their hearts,
And fill their bellies.
Weaken their desires and stregthen their bones.
When people are simple and free from desire
No one can push them around.
If they think they know the answers,
mess with their heads.
Stop doing stuff.
Practice doing without doing
And see what happens.
Everything will work out.
48.
Tao is the emptiness of a bowl,
We cannot overfill it as we use it.
It is the source of ten thousand things
Yet remains a deep, unfathomable mystery.
Blunt the sharp points,
Unravel complicated things,
Temper the brightness.
Tao is pure and holy
And goes on and on forever.
It does not need a mother.
It has always been.
49.
Heaven and earth do not wish to be good.
They deal with everything like they would a grass-eating dog.
Do not wish to be good.
Deal with people like you would a grass-eating dog.
Tao is the space between heaven and earth.
It is like a great bellows,
Empty yet never depleted,
The more it moves the more it makes.
Don't fill your soul
With trivial stuff.
Be cool.
50.
The fertile spirit does not die.
She is the first mother
Who gave birth to everything.
She is the root from which
Heaven and earth sprang.
She is an eternal mystery
She has no name.
Everyone has Tao in them.
Dim and barely seen,
Yet ever present.
You just have to use it.
Draw from it all you want;
It will never run dry.
51.
Heaven and earth will last forever.
Why?
Because they do not live for themselves.
Therefore, leave yourself behind
To find yourself out front.
Be defenseless to be defended.
Be self-less to be full-filled.
52.
Goodness is like water.
It benefits ten thousand things.
It fills the voids without working.
It always moves to the lowest place.
And as such is like Tao.
Good houses are built on good land.
Good minds are built on deep stillness.
Good associations are built on good vitures.
Good governments are built on good order.
Good affairs are built on good conduct.
Good moves are made in good time.
Accept where you are in life,
And no one will fault you.
53.
It is easier to carry a vessel that is empty.
If you keep working it,
It will lose its point.
If you fill your house with valuable stuff,
You cannot keep it safe.
Brag about how good you are or how much stuff you have,
And you invite disaster to fall upon you.
When you have done what you had to do,
Withdraw into obscurity.
This is the way of heaven.
54.
Can you let go and embrace the quiet spirit
While your head is full of noise?
Can you be like a newborn baby
While you focus on everything else?
Can you see past what is in front of your eyes
While cleaning your mirror?
Can you not be in charge
While leading other people?
Can you just let it happen
While it's happening?
Can you remain simple and true to your own nature
While you forget what you know?
Help others.
Help them to live and not hold on to things.
Help them without expecting a reward.
Help them without controling them.
That's the way it's done, it's called Hidden Virtue.
55.
A wheel has thirty spokes,
But it is useful because of the hole.
A pot is made from clay,
But it is useful because of the hole.
A window is cut into a wall,
But it is useful because of the hole.
Things work to our advantage,
But it's what they don't have that makes them useful.
When we work with something,
We use nothing.
56.
Color blinds the eye.
Music deafens the ear.
Flavor dulls the taste.
The thrill of the chase messes with your head.
Objects rare and strange,
Makes men evil do.
Seek to satisfy the craving of the belly,
Not the longing of the eye.
Better this than that.
57.
Winning and losing are just the same.
Honor and dishonor are just the same.
You are down because you once were up.
When you are in,
There is fear of being out,
The fear of losing out,
Is the great dishonor.
Trouble comes to those with a physical body.
What can trouble a free spirit?
Love others as you love yourself
Is damn good advice for he who would be king.
58.
We look but do not see,
We call it invisible.
We listen but do not hear,
We call it inaudible.
We grab but do not grasp,
We call it intangible.
These three names do not the Tao make,
But blend them and they become the one.
One side is not bright,
The other is not dark.
It is always moving towards nothing.
It is the shape of the formless,
It is the shape of the invisible,
It is the shape of the intangible.
We cannot tell if it is coming or going.
Cling to the old ways,
Experience the moment of now,
Know that to follow the path of Tao leads back to the beginning.
Which is nothing.
59.
In days of old, Ancient Masters
Were in touch with the subtle mysteries of the universe
That were too deep for ordinary men to comprehend.
There aren't words enough to describe how deep they were.
I can only tell you this:
They were hesitant, like a man crossing a winter stream.
They were nervous, like they were surrounded by enemies.
They were serious, like a visiting guest.
They were fleeting, like melting ice.
They were simple, like an uncarved block.
They were empty, like a valley.
They were dense, like muddy water.
Eventually muddy water clears itself
And the weary rest.
Those who walk this path are not full of themselves.
Because they are not full of themselves,
They do not appear all shiny and new.
60.
Empty your head.
Stay calm,
even when ten thousand things are going on.
Everything will flourish for its time
and then return to its original state,
which is nothing.
When something returns to nothing its destiny is fulfilled.
It has gotten it right with Tao.
Those who don't understand this
move towards screwing things up.
Those who do, always know what to do.
Those who are one with Tao, even after they are gone, got it right.
61.
In days of old,
People did not know that there were rulers.
In the next age, people loved and praised them.
In the next age, people feared them.
In the next age, people hated them.
Do not trust your leaders who do not trust in Tao.
In those days of old,
The Ancient Masters said very few words,
Which made each one important.
They did their work without taking control
And the people were amazed with what they had done.
62.
When people stop following Tao
Kindness and righteousness appear.
Then wisdom and level-headedness
And hypocrisy break out.
When harmony no longer prevails in the family,
Sons rise up.
When the state falls to disorder,
Faithful leaders rise up.
63.
If we stop being such cleaver wise-asses we would be 100 percent better.
If we stop being kind and moral, we can discover compassion.
If we stop being shrewd profiteers, thugs and thieves will disappear.
These three methods of elegant governing
Have often failed before,
But simple views and simple truths
Puts and end to selfish ends.
64.
Don't spend your time thinking about stupid stuff.
Why must you fear what others fear?
Everyone is running around trying to be happy
And having a good time.
I alone am drifting without direction.
Everyone else has more stuff than they need
And are excited about it.
I alone seem in want.
Everyone else is bright and clever,
Alert and self-assured.
I alone am slow and aimless,
Like the wind. Like the waves.
Other people seem to have it all.
I am different from other people. I seem to have nothing.
I am getting right with Tao.
65.
Focus only on the Tao.
Who can say for sure the true nature of the Tao?
You cannot touch it,
You cannot see it,
It's deep and dark as can be,
Yet within it everything exists.
And these things, truth does hold
The same today as in days of old.
The Tao shall not pass away,
Its beauty shall not decay.
How do I know?
I know because I know.
66.
The incomplete is complete,
The crooked is straight,
The empty is full,
The worn is new.
He who desires little, gains
He who desires lots, loses.
Embrace humility for all the world to see.
Be free from showiness to really shine.
Be free from defenses to really be distinguished.
Be free from bragging to really be acknowledged.
Be free from selfishness to really be superior.
Be free from strife to really be free from strife.
This is not given in vain,
The Tao sees everything as complete.
67.
When you have nothing to say,
It is a sign that you know yourself.
A sudden wind does not last all morning,
A sudden rain does not last all day,
To what do we owe this?
Heaven and earth.
If heaven and earth cannot make such things last,
How much less can man!
When you follow Tao,
The people who follow you will agree.
When you follow virtue,
The people who follow you will agree.
When you follow nothing,
The people who follow you will also fail.
Those who agree are happy.
Those who fail are happy too.
But if you're not happy, ain't nobody happy.
68.
It is not easy to stand still
On your tippy-toes.
It is not easy to walk
On one leg.
It is not easy to get somewhere
If you are showing-off.
It is not easy to get respect
If you are bragging.
It is not easy to get credit
If you always have an excuse.
These things are bad,
Like bad food that nobody wants
Or a tumor that no body wants.
Do not adopt them.
69.
Something existed before heaven and earth.
It was still,
And formless,
And did not change.
It stood alone and reached everywhere.
It does not grow weary.
It is the mother of ten thousand things.
It does not have a name
So I simply call it Tao.
But if pressed to give it a name;
I'd call it the great Tao.
Being great, it flows ever on.
Flowing ever on, it flows to distant places.
Flowing to distant places, it eventually returns.
And the return is what makes it great.
There are four great things.
Faithful leaders are great.
The earth is great.
The heavens are great.
The Tao is great.
Man takes orders from earth.
Earth from heaven,
Heaven from Tao,
Tao from itself.
70.
Heaviness is the root of lightness,
Stillness the root of motion.
Travel lightly,
Carry only what you need.
Sightsee along the way,
But never forget your place.
How can the king carry himself lightly around his kingdom?
If he acts lightly he loses his roots.
If he moves around
He loses his throne.
Better to stay in your place.
71.
A skillful traveler leaves no trace behind.
A skillful speaker makes no slip of the tongue.
A skillful thinker can do math in his head.
It is impossible to open that which a skillful closer has closed.
It is impossible to untie that which a skillful binder has tied.
It is the same for the skillful master,
He does not cast any away, therefore he saves other men.
This is known as concealing the truth of your actions.
A skillful man is the master of the unskilled.
The unskilled is the servant of the skilled.
It would be hard to tell which is which and who is who
If the servant did not respect the master, nor
The master appreciate his servant.
This reveals the utmost degree of mystery.
72.
The strength of a man
The gentleness of a woman
Flow together as one,
In him who remains simple as a child.
He who knows which is which and who is who,
Yet keeps himself humble,
Becomes the master of them all
On this endless journey
To return to the uncarved state.
Glory does not last
Neither does disgrace.
To he who walks from either
The Tao in him remains
Simple as a child.
Raw materials form the vessels,
Tao forms the void.
Faithful leaders form the government,
Tao makes them remain, simple as a child.
73.
He who wishes to rule the kingdom
By his own hand
Is doomed to fail.
The kingdom is a spirit-like thing
That can't be held by holding.
He who tries is doomed to fail.
And will destroy everything!
What once was the front is now the back.
What was warm now is cold.
What was weak now is strong.
What we have labored to build now mocks us.
So put away excessive effort,
Put away extravagance,
Put away easy indulgence.
74.
Help the Faithful Leaders stay faithful to the Tao,
Do not assert yourself with a show of arms.
What goes around comes around.
An army camped inside your borders
Sprouts thistles and thorns.
In the course of generations,
There are sure to be some bad years.
A skillful general strikes a decisive blow,
And stops.
He does not pursue
Complete control.
He is not boastful or vain.
He strikes because he has to.
He strikes not for the want of
Complete control.
When things have reached the end of their days,
They shall grow old.
This cannot be said of Tao.
Whatever is, that is not Tao, soon will see the end of days.
75.
Weapons are terrible things,
However beautiful.
Do not use them.
It is customary to consider the left hand favorable.
But in times of war it is the right.
The right to bear the arms,
Is repugnant.
Peace and harmony are the prize to favor.
Victory, undesirable.
To consider this desirable is to delight
In the slaughter of men.
He who delights in the slaughter of men
Cannot get right with Tao.
In happy times the left hand is favored,
In times of mourning, the right.
So then, the army captain on the left,
The general on the right
Ranked according to the number of men killed.
We should weep for them
When they return from war.
76.
Tao has no name,
It is forever unchanged.
Although it may seem simply small,
Its power is immense.
If anyone could hold on to it,
People would instintively follow him.
Heaven and earth, guided by Tao,
Send down the rain,
Without so much as word one from man,
It rains equally everywhere, of its own accord.
Everything that isn't Tao needs a name.
When it has a name, man knows how to use it.
When they know how to use it,
They can set themselves free.
Tao is like the great ocean,
Everything flows back to it.
77.
Knowing others makes you smart.
Knowing yourself makes you wise.
Ruling over others makes you powerful.
Ruling over yourself makes you strong.
To want only what you have is to be truly rich.
Never, Never, Never give up and Tao will help you find a way,
Be true to your own nature and you will succeed.
Live out each day, really live it up,
and in the end you will have really lived.
78.
Tao covers everything like a flood.
It flows in every direction at once.
Everything depends on Tao,
And Tao denies no one,
And no reward does it claim.
It accomplishes its tasks
Yet it does not try to control them.
Therefore, Tao may be called "little."
Everything eventually returns to Tao,
Even though tao does not control them.
Therefore, Tao may be called "great."
So do not desire to be great,
And you will be truly great.
79.
Hold on to the invisible Tao
And everybody will be your friend.
In you they will find
Rest and peace and security.
Music and fancy food can feed the body.
The truth about Tao,
As strange and unusual,
As bland and worthless,
As it appears
Can feed the soul.
It is inexhaustible.
80.
To breathe in, breathe out.
To weaken, strengthen.
To overthrow, elevate.
To take, give.
This is hiding the light
Soft overcomes hard,
Weak overcomes strong.
Fish shold not be taken from the deep.
War machines should not be seen.
81.
Tao does nothing
For the sake of doing.
There is nothing it cannot do.
If our faithful leaders could get right with Tao
Ten thousand things would develop on their own.
If our faithful leaders get out of step with Tao,
They will be drawn back by its simplicity.
Simplicity without a name is freedom.
Without desire imposed upon them,
Everything goes as it will.
About the Author
Mr. Young is a nationally certified activity director working at his local nursing home. He is currently working towards improving his state's education requirements for becoming a certified activity director. He has completed his master's level advanced coursework for his ACC certification.
He is an ordained minister and holds a MetD degree in metaphysics.
He consults with other nursing homes about how to meet spiritual needs and improve their activity programing.
State of the Nation Address of President Gloria Macapagal-arroyo - Because Every Filipinos Must Find the Passage of This Stanzas
STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS OF PRESIDENT GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO DURING THE 2ND REGULAR SESSION OF THE 14TH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, 28 July 2008
Thank you, Speaker Nograles. Senate President Villar. Senators and Representatives. Vice President de Castro, President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, members of the diplomatic corps, ladies and gentlemen:
I address you today at a crucial moment in world history.
Just a few months ago, we ended 2007 with the strongest economic growth in a generation. Inflation was low, the peso strong and a million new jobs were created. We were all looking to a better, brighter future. Because tough choices were made, kumikilos na ang bayan sa wakas. Malapit na sana tayo sa pagbalanse ng budget. We were retiring debts in great amounts, reducing the drag on our country's development, habang namumuhunan sa taong bayan. Biglang-bigla, nabaligtad ang ekonomiya ng mundo. Ang pagtalon ng presyo ng langis at pagkain ay nagbunsod ng pandaigdigan krisis, the worst since the Great Depression and the end of World War II. Some blame speculators moving billions of dollars from subprime mortgages to commodities like fuel and food. Others point of the very real surge in demand as millions of Chinese and Indians move up to the middle class.
Whatever the reasons, we are on a roller coaster ride of oil price hikes, high food prices and looming economic recession in the US and other markets. Uncertainty has moved like a terrible tsunami around the globe, wiping away gains, erasing progress.
This is a complex time that defies simple and easy solutions. For starters, it is hard to identify villains, unlike in the 1997 financial crisis. Everyone seems to be a victim, rich countries and poor, though certainly some can take more punishment than others.
To address these global challenges, we must go on building and buttressing bridges to allies around the world: to bring in the rice to feed our people, investments to create jobs; and to keep the peace and maintain stability in our country and the rest of the world. Yet even as we reach out to those who need, and who may need us, we strive for greater self-reliance.
Because tough choices were made, the global crisis did not catch us helpless and unprepared. Through foresight, grit and political will, we built a shield around our country that has slowed down and somewhat softened the worst effects of the global crisis. We have the money to care for our people and pay for food when there are shortages; for fuel despite price spikes.
Neither we nor anyone else in the world expected this day to come so soon but we prepared for it. For the guts not to flinch in the face of tough choices, I thank God. For the wisdom to recognize how needed you are, I thank, you Congress. For footing the bill, I thank the taxpayers.
The result has been, on the one hand, ito ang nakasalba sa bayan; and, on the other, more unpopularity for myself in the opinion polls. Yet, even unfriendly polls show self-rated poverty down to its 20-year low in 2007. My responsibility as President is to take care to solve the problems we are facing now and to provide a vision and direction for how our nation should advance in the future.
Many in this great hall live privileged lives and exert great influence in public affairs. I am accessible to you, but I spend time every day with the underprivileged and under represented who cannot get a grip on their lives in the daily, all-consuming struggle to make ends meet.
Nag-aalala ako para sa naka-aawang maybahay na pasan ang pananagutan para sa buong pamilya. Nag-aalala ako para sa magsasakang nasa unang hanay ng pambansang produksyon ng pagkain ngunit nagsisikap pakanin ang pamilya. I care for hardworking students soon to graduate and wanting to see hope of good job and a career prospect here at home. Nag-aalala ako para sa 41-year old na padre de pamilya na di araw-araw ang trabaho, at nag-aabala sa asawa at tatlong anak, at dapat bigyan ng higit pang pagkakakitaan at dangal. I care for our teachers who gave the greatest gift we ever received - a good education - still trying to pass on the same gift to succeeding generations. I care for our OFWs, famed for their skill, integrity and untiring labor, who send home their pay as the only way to touch loved ones so far away. Nagpupugay ako ngayon sa kanilang mga karaniwang Pilipino.
My critics say this is fiction, along with other facts and figures I cite today. I call it heroism though they don't need our praise. Each is already a hero to those who matter most, their families. I said this is a global crisis where everyone is a victim. But only few can afford to avoid, or pay to delay, the worst effects.
Many more have nothing to protect them from the immediate blunt force trauma of the global crisis. Tulad ninyo, nag-aalala ako para sa kanila. Ito ang mga taong bayan na dapat samahan natin. Not only because of their sacrifices for our country but because they are our countrymen. How do we solve these many complex challenges?
Sa kanilang kalagayan, the answer must be special care and attention in this great hour of need. First, we must have a targeted strategy with set of precise prescriptions to ease the price challenges we are facing.
Second, food self-sufficiency; less energy dependence; greater self-reliance in our attitude as a people and in our posture as a nation.
Third, short-term relief cannot be at the expense of long term reforms. These reforms will benefit not just the next generation of Filipinos, but the next President as well.
Napakahalaga ang Value Added Tax sa pagharap sa mga hamong ito. Itong programa ang sagot sa mga problemang namana natin. Una, mabawasan ang ating mga utang and shore up our fiscal independence. Pangalawa, higit na pamumuhunan para mamamayan at imprastraktura. Pangatlo, sapat na pondo para sa mga programang pangmasa.
Thus, the infrastructure links programmed for the our poorest provinces like Northern Samar: Lao-ang-Lapinig-Arteche, right now ay maputik, San Isidro-Lope de Vega; the rehabilitation of Maharlika in Samar. Take VAT away and you and I abdicate our responsibility as leaders and pull the rug from under our present and future progress, which may be compromised by the global crisis.
Lalong lumakas ang tiwala ng mga investor dahil sa VAT. Mula P56.50 kada dolyar, lumakas ang piso hanggang P40.20 bago bumalik sa P44 dahil sa mga pabigat ng pangdaigdigang ekonomiya. Kung alisin ang VAT, hihina ang kumpiyansa ng negosyo, lalong tataas ang interes, lalong bababa ang piso, lalong mamahal ang bilihin.
Kapag ibinasura ang VAT sa langis at kuryente, ang mas makikinabang ay ang mga may kaya na kumukonsumo ng 84% ng langis at 90% ng kuryente habang mas masasaktan ang mahihirap na mawawalan ng P80 billion para sa mga programang pinopondohan ngayon ng VAT. Take away VAT and we strip our people of the means to ride out the world food and energy crisis.
We have come too far and made too many sacrifices to turn back now on fiscal reforms. Leadership is not about doing the first easy thing that comes to mind; it is about doing what is necessary, however hard. The government has persevered, without flip-flops, in its much-criticized but irreplaceable policies, including oil and power VAT and oil deregulation.
Patuloy na gagamitin ng pamahalaan ang lumalago nating yaman upang tulungan ang mga pamilyang naghihirap sa taas ng bilihin at hampas ng bagyo, habang nagpupundar upang sanggahan ang bayan sa mga krisis sa hinaharap.
Para sa mga namamasada at namamasahe sa dyip, sinusugpo natin ang kotong at colorum upang mapataas ang kita ng mga tsuper. Si Federico Alvarez kumikita ng P200 a day sa kaniyang rutang Cubao-Rosario. Tinaas ito ng anti-kotong, anti-colorum ngayon P500 na ang kita niya. Iyan ang paraan kung paano napananatili ang dagdag-pasahe sa piso lamang. Halaga lang ng isang text.
Texting is a way of life. I asked the telecoms to cut the cost of messages between networks. They responded. It is now down to 50 centavos. Noong Hunyo, nagpalabas tayo ng apat na bilyong piso mula sa VAT sa langis-dalawang bilyong pambayad ng koryente ng apat na milyong mahihirap, isang bilyon para college scholarship o pautang sa 70,000 na estudyanteng maralita; kalahating bilyong pautang upang palitan ng mas matipid na LPG, CNG o biofuel ang motor ng libu-libong jeepney; at kalahating bilyong pampalit sa fluorescent sa mga pampublikong lugar.
Kung mapapalitan ng fluorescent ang lahat ng bumbilya, makatitipid tayo ng lampas P2 billion. Sa sunod na katas ng VAT, may P1 billion na pambayad ng kuryente ng mahihirap; kalahating bilyon para sa matatandang di sakop ng SSS o GSIS; kalahating bilyong kapital para sa pamilya ng mga namamasada; kalahating bilyon upang mapataas ang kakayahan at equipment ng mga munting ospital sa mga lalawigan. At para sa mga kalamidad, angkop na halaga.
We released P1 billion for the victims of typhoon Frank. We support a supplemental Western Visayas calamity budget from VAT proceeds, as a tribute to the likes of Rodney Berdin, age 13, of Barangay Rombang, Belison, Antique, who saved his mother, brother and sister from the raging waters of Sibalom River. Mula sa buwang ito, wala nang income tax ang sumusweldo ng P200,000 o mas mababa sa isang taon - P12 billion na bawas-buwis para sa maralita at middle class. Maraming salamat, Congress.
Ngayong may P32 na commercial rice, natugunan na natin ang problema sa pagkain sa kasalukuyan. Nagtagumpay tayo dahil sa pagtutulungan ng buong bayan sa pagsasaka, bantay-presyo at paghihigpit sa price manipulation, sa masipag na pamumuno ni Artie Yap.
Sa mga LGU at religious groups na tumutulong dalhin ang NFA rice sa mahihirap, maraming salamat sa inyo. Dahil sa subsidy, NFA rice is among the region's cheapest. While we can take some comfort that our situation is better than many other nations, there is no substitute for solving the problem of rice and fuel here at home. In doing so, let us be honest and clear eyed - there has been a fundamental shift in global economics. The price of food and fuel will likely remain high. Nothing will be easy; the government cannot solve these problems over night. But, we can work to ease the near-term pain while investing in long-term solutions.
Since 2001, new irrigation systems for 146,000 hectares, including Malmar in Maguindanao and North Cotabato, Lower Agusan, Casecnan and Aulo in Nueva Ecija, Abulog-Apayao in Cagayan and Apayao, Addalam in Quirino and Isabela, among others, and the restoration of old systems on another 980,000 hectares have increased our nation's irrigated land to a historic 1.5 million hectares.
Edwin Bandila, 48 years old, of Ugalingan, Carmen, North Cotabato, cultivated one hectare and harvested 35 cavans. Thirteen years na ginawa iyong Malmar. In my first State of the Nation Address, sabi ko kung hindi matapos iyon sa Setyembre ay kakanselahin ko ang kontrata, papapasukin ko ang engineering brigade, natapos nila. With Malamar, now he cultivates five hectares and produces 97 cavans per hectare. Mabuhay, Edwin! VAT will complete the San Roque-Agno River project.
The Land Bank has quadrupled loans for farmers and fisher folk. That is fact not fiction. Check it. For more effective credit utilization, I instructed DA to revitalize farmers cooperatives. We are providing seeds at subsidized prices to help our farmers.
Incremental Malampaya national revenues of P4 billion will go to our rice self-sufficiency program. Rice production since 2000 increased an average of 4.07% a year, twice the population growth rate. By promoting natural planning and female education, we have curbed population growth to 2.04% during our administration, down from the 2.36 in the 1990's, when artificial birth control was pushed. Our campaign spreads awareness of responsible parenthood regarding birth spacing. Long years of pushing contraceptives made it synonymous to family planning. Therefore informed choice should mean letting more couples, who are mostly Catholics, know about natural family planning.
From 1978 to 1981, nag-export tayo ng bigas. Hindi tumagal. But let's not be too hard on ourselves. Panahon pa ng Kastila bumibili na tayo ng bigas sa labas. While we may know how to grow rice well, topography doesn't always cooperate.
Nature did not gift us with a mighty Mekong like Thailand and Vietnam, with their vast and naturally fertile plains. Nature instead put our islands ahead of our neighbours in the path of typhoons from the Pacific. So, we import 10% of the rice we consume.
To meet the challenge of today, we will feed our people now, not later, and help them get through these hard times. To meet the challenges of tomorrow, we must become more self-reliant, self-sufficient and independent, relying on ourselves more than on the world.
Now we come to the future of agrarian reform. There are those who say it is a failure, that our rice importations prove it. There are those who say it is a success-if only because anything is better than nothing. Indeed, people are happier owning the land they work, no matter what the difficulties.
Sa SONA noong 2001, sinabi ko, bawat taon, mamamahagi tayo ng dalawang daang libong ektarya sa reporma sa lupa: 100,000 hectares of private farmland and 100,000 of public farmland, including ancestral domains. Di hamak mahigit sa target ang naipamahagi natin sa nakaraang pitong taon: 854,000 hectares of private farmland, 797,000 of public farmland, and Certificates of Ancestral Domain for 525,000 hectares. Including, over a 100,000 hectares for Bugkalots in Quirino, Aurora, and Nueva Vizcaya. After the release of their CADT, Rosario Camma, Bugkalot chieftain, and now mayor of Nagtipunan, helped his 15,000-member tribe develop irrigation, plant vegetables and corn and achieve food sufficiency. Mabuhay, Chief!
Agrarian reform should not merely subdivide misery, it must raise living standards. Ownership raises the farmer from his but productivity will keep him on his feet.
Sinimula ng aking ama ang land reform noong 1963. Upang mabuo ito, the extension of CARP with reforms is top priority. I will continue to do all I can for the rural as well as urban poor. Ayaw natin na paglaya ng tenant sa landlord, mapapasa-ilalim naman sa usurero. Former tenants must be empowered to become agribusinessmen by allowing their land to be used as collateral.
Dapat mapalaya ng reporma sa lupa ang magsasaka sa pagiging alipin sa iba. Dapat bigyan ang magsasaka ng dangal bilang taong malaya at di hawak ninuman. We must curb the recklessness that gives land without the means to make it productive and bites off more than beneficiaries can chew.
At the same time, I want the rackets out of agrarian reform: the threats to take and therefore undervalue land, the conspiracies to overvalue it.
Be with me on this. There must be a path where justice and progress converge. Let us find it before Christmas. Dapat nating linisin ang landas para sa mga ibig magpursige sa pagsasaka, taglay ang pananalig na ang lupa ay sasagip sa atin sa huli kung gamitin natin ito nang maayos. Along with massive rice production, we are cutting costs through more efficient transport. For our farm-to-market roads, we released P6 billion in 2007.
On our nautical highways. RORO boats carried 33 million metric tons of cargo and 31 million passengers in 2007. We have built 39 RORO ports during our administration, 12 more are slated to start within the next two years. In 2003, we inaugurated the Western Nautical Highway from Batangas through Mindoro, Panay and Negros to Mindanao. This year we launched the Central Nautical Highway from Bicol mainland, through Masbate, Cebu, Bohol and Camiguin to Mindanao mainland. These developments strengthen our competitiveness.
Leading multinational company Nestle cut transport costs and offset higher milk prices abroad. Salamat, RORO. Transport costs have become so reasonable for bakeries like Gardenia, a loaf of its bread in Iloilo is priced the same as in Laguna and Manila. Salamat muli sa RORO.
To the many LGUs who have stopped collecting fees from cargo vehicles, maraming, maraming salamat. We are repaving airports that are useful for agriculture, like Zamboanga City Airport. Producing rice and moving it cheaper addresses the supply side of our rice needs. On the demand side, we are boosting the people's buying power.
Ginagawa nating labor-intensive ang paggawa at pag-ayos ng kalsada at patubig. Noong SONA ng 2001, naglunsad tayo sa NCR ng patrabaho para sa 20,000 na out of school youth, na tinawag OYSTER. Ngayon, mahigit 20,000 ang ineempleyo ng OYSTER sa buong bansa. In disaster-stricken areas, we have a cash-for-work program.
In training, 7.74 million took technical and vocational courses over the last seven years, double the number in the previous 14 years. In 2007 alone, 1.7 million graduated. Among them are Jessica Barlomento now in Hanjin as supply officer, Shenve Catana, Marie Grace Comendador, and Marlyn Tusi, lady welders, congratulations. In microfinance, loans have reached P102 billion or 30 times more than the P3 billion we started with in 2001, with a 98% repayment record, congratulations! Major lenders include the Land Bank with P69 billion, the Peoples' Credit and Finance Corporation P8 billion, the National Livelihood Support Fund P3 billion, DBP P1 billion and the DSWD's SEA-K P800 million. For partnering with us to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit, thank you, Go Negosyo and Joey Concepcion.
Upland development benefits farmers through agro-forestry initiatives. Rubber is especially strong in Zamboanga Sibugay and North Cotabato. Victoria Mindoro, 56 years old, used to earn P5,000 a month as farmer and factory worker. Now she owns 10 hectares in the Goodyear Agrarian Reform Community in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay, she earns P10,000 a week. With one hectare, Pedro and Concordia Faviolas of Makilala, North Cotabato, they sent their six children to college, bought two more hectares, and earn P15,000 a month. Congratulations!
Jatropha estates are starting in 900 hectares in and around Tamlang Valley in Negros Oriental; 200 in CamSur; 300 in GenSan, 500 in Fort Magsaysay near the Cordero Dam and 700 in Samar, among others. In our 2006 SONA, our food baskets were identified as North Luzon and Mindanao. The sad irony of Mindanao as food basket is that it has some of the highest hunger in our nation. It has large fields of high productivity, yet also six of our ten poorest provinces.
The prime reason is the endless Mindanao conflict. A comprehensive peace has eluded us for half a century. But last night, differences on the tough issue of ancestral domain were resolved. Yes, there are political dynamics among the people of Mindanao. Let us sort them out with the utmost sobriety, patience and restraint. I ask Congress to act on the legislative and political reforms that will lead to a just and lasting peace during our term of office. The demands of decency and compassion urge dialogue. Better talk than fight, if nothing of sovereign value is anyway lost. Dialogue has achieved more than confrontation in many parts of the world. This was the message of the recent World Conference in Madrid organized by the King of Saudi Arabia, and the universal message of the Pope in Sydney.
Pope Benedict's encyclical Deus Caritas Est reminds us: "There will always be situations of material need where help in the form of concrete love for neighbour is indispensable."
Pinagsasama-sama natin ang mga programa ng DSWD, DOH, GSIS, SSS at iba pang lumalaban sa kahirapan sa isang National Social Welfare Program para proteksyonan ang pinaka-mahihirap mula sa pandaigdigang krisis, and to help those whose earnings are limited by illness, disability, loss of job, age and so on-through livelihood projects, microfinance, skills and technology transfer, emergency and temporary employment, pension funds, food aid and cash subsidies, child nutrition and adult health care, medical missions, salary loans, insurance, housing programs, educational and other savings schemes, and now cheaper medicine-Thanks to Congress.
The World Bank says that in Brazil, the income of the poorest 10% has grown 9% per year versus the 3% for the higher income levels due in large part to their family stipend program linking welfare checks to school attendance. We have introduced a similar program, Pantawid Pamilya.
Employers have funded the two increases in SSS benefits since 2005. Thank you, employers for paying the premiums.
GSIS pensions have been indexed to inflation and have increased every year since 2001. Its salary loan availments have increased from two months equivalent to 10 months, the highest of any system public or private-while repayments have been stretched out.
Pag-Ibig housing loans increased from P3.82 billion in 2001 to P22.6 billion in 2007. This year it experienced an 84% increase in the first four months alone. Super heating na. Dapat dagdagan ng GSIS at buksan muli ng SSS ang pautang sa pabahay. I ask Congress to pass a bill allowing SSS to do housing loans beyond the present 10% limitation. Bago ako naging Pangulo, isa't kalahating milyong maralita lamang ang may health insurance. Noong 2001, sabi natin, dadagdagan pa ng kalahating milyon. Sa taong iyon, mahigit isang milyon ang nabigyan natin. Ngayon, 65 milyong Pilipino na ang may health insurance, mahigit doble ng 2000, kasama ang labinlimang milyong maralita. Philhealth has paid P100 billion for hospitalization. The indigent beneficiaries largely come from West and Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and Ilocos. Patuloy nating palalawakin itong napaka-importanted programa, lalo na sa Tawi-Tawi, Zambo Norte, Maguindanao, Apayao, Dinagat, Lanao Sur, Northern Samar, Masbate, Abra and Misamis Occidental. Lalo na sa kanilang mga magsasaka at mangingisda.
In these provinces and in Agusan Sur, Kalinga, Surigao Sur and calamity-stricken areas, we will launch a massive school feeding program at P10 per child every school day.
Bukod sa libreng edukasyon sa elementarya at high school, nadoble ang pondo para sa mga college scholarships, while private high school scholarship funds from the government have quadrupled.
I have started reforming and clustering the programs of the DepEd, CHED and TESDA. As with fiscal and food challenges, the global energy crunch demands better and more focused resource mobilization, conservation and management.
Government agencies are reducing their energy and fuel bills by 10%, emulating Texas Instruments and Philippine Stock Exchange who did it last year. Congratulations, Justice Vitug and Francis Lim.
To reduce power system losses, we count on government regulators and also on EPIRA amendments. We are successful in increasing energy self-sufficiency-56%, the highest in our history. We promote natural gas and biofuel; geothermal fields, among the world's largest; windmills like those in Ilocos and Batanes; and the solar cells lighting many communities in Mindanao. The new Galoc oil field can produce 17,000-22,000 barrels per day, 1/12 of our crude consumption.
The Renewable Energy Bill has passed the House. Thank you, Congressmen. Our costly commodity imports like oil and rice should be offset by hard commodities exports like primary products, and soft ones like tourism and cyberservices, at which only India beats us.
Our P 350 million training partnership with the private sector should qualify 60,000 for call centers, medical transcription, animation and software development, which have a projected demand of one million workers generating $13 billion by 2010.
International finance agrees with our progress. Credit rating agencies have kept their positive or stable outlook on the country. Our world competitiveness ranking rose five notches. Congratulations to us. We are sticking to, and widening, the fiscal reforms that have earned us their respect.
To our investors, thank you for your valuable role in our development. I invite you to invest not only in factories and services, but in profitable infrastructure, following the formula for the Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway. I ask business and civil society to continue to work for a socially equitable, economically viable balance of interests. Mining companies should ensure that host communities benefit substantively from their investments, and with no environmental damage from operations.
Our administration enacted the Solid Waste Management Act, Wildlife Act, Protection of Plant Varieties, Clean Water Act, Biofuels Act and various laws declaring protected areas. For reforestation, for next year we have budgeted P2 billion. Not only do forests enhance the beauty of the land, they mitigate climate change, a key factor in increasing the frequency and intensity of typhoons and costing the country 0.5% of the GDP.
We have set up over 100 marine and fish sanctuaries since 2001. In the whaleshark sanctuary of Donsol, Sorsogon, Alan Amanse, 40-year-old college undergraduate and father of two, was earning P100 a day from fishing and driving a tricycle. Now as whaleshark-watching officer, he is earns P1,000 a day, ten times his former income. For clean water, so important to health, there is P500 million this year and P1.5 billion for next year. From just one sanitary landfill in 2001, we now have 21, with another 18 in the works.
We launched the Zero Basura Olympics to clear our communities of trash. Rather than more money, all that is needed is for each citizen to keep home and workplace clean, and for garbage officials to stop squabbling. Our investments also include essential ways to strengthen our institutions of governance in order to fight the decades-old scourge of corruption. I will continue to fight this battle every single day. While others are happy with headlines through accusation without evidence and privilege speeches without accountability, we have allocated more than P3 billion - the largest anti-graft fund in our history - for real evidence gathering and vigorous prosecution. From its dismal past record, the Ombudsman's conviction rate has increased 500%. Lifestyle checks, never seriously implemented before our time, have led to the dismissal and/or criminal prosecution of dozens of corrupt officials.
I recently met with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US agency that provides grants to countries based on governance. They have commended our gains, contributed P1 billion to our fight against graft, and declared us eligible for more grants. Thank you!
Last September, we created the Procurement Transparency Group in the DBM and linked it with business, academe, and the Church, to deter or catch anomalies in government contracts. On my instruction, the BIR and Customs established similar government-civil society tie-ups for information gathering and tax evasion and smuggling monitoring.
More advanced corruption practices require a commensurate advances in legislative responses. Colleagues in Congress, we need a more stringent Anti-Graft Act.
Sa pagmahal ng bilihin, hirap na ang mamimili - tapos, dadayain pa. Dapat itong mahinto. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na magpasa ng Consumer Bill of Rights laban sa price gouging, false advertising at iba pang gawain kontra sa mamimili. I call on all our government workers at the national and local levels to be more responsive and accountable to the people. Panahon ito ng pagsubok. Kung saan kayang tumulong at dapat tumulong ang pamahalaan, we must be there with a helping hand. Where government can contribute nothing useful, stay away. Let's be more helpful, more courteous, more quick.
Kaakibat ng ating mga adhikain ang tuloy na pagkalinga sa kapakanan ng bawat Pilipino. Iisa ang ating pangarap - maunlad at mapayapang lipunan, kung saan ang magandang kinabukasan ay hindi pangarap lamang, bagkus natutupad. Sama-sama tayo sa tungkuling ito. May papel na gagampanan ang bawat mamamayan, negosyante, pinunong bayan at simbahan, sampu ng mga nasa lalawigan.
We are three branches but one government. We have our disagreements; we each have hopes, and ambitions that drive and divide us, be they personal, ethnic, religious and cultural. But we are one nation with one fate. As your President, I care too much about this nation to let anyone stand in the way of our people's wellbeing. Hindi ko papayagang humadlang ang sinuman sa pag-unlad at pagsagana ng taong bayan. I will let no one - and no one's political plans - threaten our nation's survival.
Our country and our people have never failed to be there for us. We must be there for them now. Maraming salamat. Magandang hapon sa inyong lahat.
About the Author
The Author is an academic person who owns a passion for peace and self development. He who travels the world in search of a well defined political governance; where peace, abundance and security are of bounty.
He owns a strong faith in the theory of self preservation and self trust.
From his own conviction, He value not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumble, or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
He also believes that ones good effort should be credited with recognition that belongs to the man who is in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at best knows achievement and who at the worst if he fails at least fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be like those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. agp_von@yahoo.com
Hmong in Laos Defying Vang Pao by using modern technology to harvest their rice.
