Listen, Your Heart is Speaking...

Hello Curious Mind Subscriber,

I found something in my archives today.  It made me think, made me cry, made laugh, made me remember beautiful things.  LOVE is a miracle in itself.  How has love treated you?  It's a good read, I hope you like it!

Echoes of Our Hearts by Joe D' Mango



Sometimes we close our eyes and just listen to the echoes of our hearts.


We all fall in love and there are times when we love so much


that we lose ourselves in our own emotions. More often than not


we wonder why they are love that grows and love that grows cold.


We would start to search for answers and try to find where love has gone wrong.


But in the end we find ourselves, where we started for we cannot question


love when it has its own reasons. Love will always be as it always has been ..


silent, mysterious and deeply profound.


Many of us believe that love is forever, that love never dies,


only to be disillusioned in the end when we find our hands empty,


and our hearts longing. We mistakenly have looked at love as a need to be


fulfilled. But love is only a gift given to us. We should not hold it in our hands


for we may never find the strength to let it go when it decides to leave.


We should only embrace its warmth and glow while it last


and then freely open our arms when its time to say good bye.


When we fall in love with someone, we dont want that feeling to end for it is


everything we are, everything that we wanted to be. We pray that


love will stay and grow in our hearts. But, if it doesn't then we should


never let our lives be taken by it, for life should not end where heartaches


begin.


There is always a reason why we have to move on. When we have to say


goodbye to the feelings we wanted to stay forever, let us not wave


our hands with a heavy heart. For love will have to set it wings


free and find the place where it belongs. We may have lost


it but then again, when we close our eyes and listen to the echoes


of our hearts, we will hear that feeling resounding silently forever.


Then we'll know that it has never left us, for the good that we


have become because of love will always stay. It will always


be there reminding us that we should be thankful and happy, not


because we have lost love, but because, for once in our


lives, that feeling lived in our hearts and made us happy.

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Gulf News / Headline : New work permit rules in the UAE

Good news or bad news?

2011 looks promising to UAE expats and nationals alike with the implementation of new rules that will ease the process of  job switch in this part of the globe.  Fears of having a ban and not getting an NOC from employer will all be wiped out from the minds of workers. 

And what about the reduction of labor card and residence visa from three to two years?  My say is simple, atleast you are not stuck to a company / sponsor for a long period specially if there is a need to leave. Even thefees look fair by the way the structure is done.

Obviously I am speaking from the point of view of an employee.  I'm sure company owners have something else to say.  But if yours is a humane organization that give workers what is due theirs, then there should be no issue.

I believe rules are created to improve the lives of people within a community.  The question here now is how well the law will be implemented.

 

Filipino actor 'Sid Lucero' gets Emmy nomination

Once again the Philippines proved that Filipinos excel in the field of entertainment and are at par with the best globally.

Cannes: Bob Hoskins and Filipino actor Sid Lucero are among the nominees for the 38th International Emmy Awards, it was announced yesterday by The International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, while Simon Cowell will receive a special honour.

The actors are among 39 nominees in 10 categories for the television awards. The winners will be announced at a black-tie ceremony hosted by actor Jason Priestley on November 22 in New York.

The nominations span 15 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The competition took place with three rounds of judging over six months, with participation from over 700 judges in 50 different countries, including the UAE.

Sid Lucero is nominated for Best Actor in his role in the telenovela 'Dahil May Isang Ikaw'.  Lucero coming from a known showbiz clan in the Philippines (he is Timothy Mark Eigenmann, son of veteran actor Mark Gil) is definitely one of the best actors of his genre having won acting awards both in the international and local scene.  In 2008, he and Emilio Garcia were among the first Filipinos who won the Best Actor award in Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece for their outstanding portrayal in the film “Selda”.  Lucero won the 31st Gawad Urian Best Actor award also for the same role. His first acting award was given by Golden Screen in Donsol for Best Breakthrough Performance of an Actor.

Good luck on your nomination, you make the Philippines proud!

Hostage taking in the Philippines - August 23, 2010

It has been a week now since the tragic hostage taking in the Philippines where innocent tourist died. This is a sad day for many Filipinos who once again became the headline in international press for an incident no one cannot be proud of.

As a civilian watching scenes unfold in-front of me, I am deeply saddened by the way things were handled during and after the incident.  

It is true that there were many loopholes in the way the PNP managed the situation.  The whole world saw how incapable and unequipped the police force is in handling a crisis like this. And even more embarrassing was how the media covered the incident without limitation on what is acceptable for the general public to view.  The Philippines have expressed their sympanthy and in humility have given all the necessary assistance to the victims and their family.

On the otherhand, we cannot blame the remorse felt by Hongkong nationals at this time.  Lives were lost and wounds still fresh. But this incident could happen to anybody anywhere.   It feels sad to hear news about unfair treatment to Filipinos who are working in HK.  They have not done wrong, it is not fair to charge one for another man's mistake.

     
I received a mail today and it got me thinking.  What have become of man?  Is it not that we all came from one divine God who have given each one of us a human heart to love.  Why and how have greed and anger turn this heart into stone.  I too am guilty...



Jesus Lord, please soften my heart. Teach me to love the way you do and in my small ways help me to spread love.  Amen.

Original message:

Subject: Family of tourists killed by crazed man: A Filipino family, that is, in Beijing


Interesting contrast/parallels......

The known facts are these:

On August 19, 2005, Emmanuel "Bong" Madrigal, a Manila-based Filipino executive of the multinational Shell, was visiting Beijing on vacation with his wife Vivian, his daugher Regina Mia, and two younger daughters. That day, they rode a tourist bus to Tiananmen Square, the heart of the capitol.

Upon arriving at the square, Emmanuel Madrigal was the first to descend from the bus, followed by Vivian and Regina Mia. A Chinese man wielding a scythe--in some reports it was described as a sword--suddenly appeared out of nowhere and hacked Emmanuel across his torso. He died on the spot. The man also attacked and seriously wounded Vivian. He then slashed at and killed Regina Mia. By this time, bystanders were trying to subdue the man, and Vivian shouted to her two other daughters to get away and save themselves. Somehow the girls made their way back to the hotel. Vivian was brought to a Beijing hospital, where she died several days later of her injuries.

An Associated Press report still circulating on the internet states that the killer was Wang Gongzuo, 25, a farmer from eastern China's Jiangsu province. He was sentenced to death for the murder of the Madrigals and executed a few weeks later, in September. The AP report states: 'Wang's motive for killing the two is unclear. After the incident occurred the Beijing Morning Post reported that he had wanted to 'affect society using extreme actions,' but didn't elaborate."

Reflect on the parallels. A family of vacationers on a tourist bus: the Leungs and the Madrigals. A killer out to "affect society using extreme actions": Mendoza and Wang. A massacre in a  public place of symbolic significance: The Quirino grandstand, where the presidential inauguration had been held just weeks before, and site of the civil society protests against the Marcos regime; and Tiananmen Square, since ancient times the symbol of the centralized power of the Chinese state, and site of the 1991 civil protests against the government.

In both incidents, the state failed miserably in protecting innocent tourists.

And there the parallels end.

President Aquino has apologized to the families of Mendoza’s victims and conveyed his sorrow to the people of Hongkong, Chief Executive Donald Tsang, and Ambassador Lin Jian Chao. The Philippine National Police acknowledge that they botched matters beyond comprehension. Philippine legislators, ahead of their Hongkong counterparts, called for a full investigation. Philippine media organizations are looking to their own culpability in the affair. And masses of ordinary Filipinos, on TV, radio, print, and the Internet, are expressing collective horror, remorse and pity over the terrible fate of the innocent tourists, and bow their heads in shame before the Hong Kong people's sorrow and anger.

That is how it should be, that is only right. But.

To this day, five years after it happened, there is no public record of any Chinese official acknowledging the tourist killings in Tiananmen Square and apologizing to the Madrigals, much less the Filipino people, for the murder of Emmanuel, Regina Mia and Vivian. Not a single expression of regret that the Chinese police failed in their duty to protect the lives of innocent tourists in the very heart of Beijing, in the symbolic center of a state that prides itself most of all for its ability to control and contain disorder. There was a total blackout on the part of the Chinese press, and, according to another news report, government censors quickly blocked many internet sites where Chinese users had begun to post comments about the killing. So we will likely never know what ordinary Chinese citizens had to say about about the incident. Maybe some of them were actually sorry for what happened.

The closest thing to expressed regret was in fact the final reported action of the killer Wang, who waived his right to appeal the sentence of execution, and got a bullet in the back of his head.

To add to the horror, it would appear that the Arroyo administration was complicit in the silence. No public statement was ever made by the Philippine government regarding the incident. Unlike in Hongkong, no flags were flown at half-mast in Manila, and no three-minute silence was observed to mark the deaths of the innocent Filipino tourists. No demand has ever been made by any Filipino official for an apology, and for an accounting.

A full investigation of the Quirino Grandstand killing is ongoing. But what of that other killing, also in August, five years ago in Tiananmen Square?

ANGELINA JOLIE stars in SALT

'Twas another movie night on Tuesday (27 July) and we are watching SALT, the new Angelina Jolie flick.  I usually check out reviews before viewing, this time I didn't.  I was a bit apprehensive, don't know what to expect but I was not at all disappointed.

SALT is a notable spy-thriller that will keep you at the edge of your seat.  Angelina Jolie, once more proved that she can punch, kick, and shoot just like any male action star out there. Amazing!

  

Before becoming a CIA officer, Evelyn Salt swore an oath to duty, honor, and country. She will prove loyal to these when a defector accuses her of being a Russian sleeper spy. Salt goes on the run, using all her skills and years of experience as a covert operative to elude capture, protect her husband, and stay one step ahead of her colleagues at the CIA. 

SOURCE 

The movie opens with Evelyn SALT (Angelina Jolie), seen as captive in a military base in North Korea.  We go back to a dark time in Salt’s life, when she was captured behind enemy lines and violently tortured. With the love and dedication of her boyfriend (and later on husband) Mike (August Diehl), and help from fellow CIA Ted Winter (Liev Schreiber), she is saved from hell. 

Back in Washington, from hard-hitting lady spy, Salt returns as a CIA agent who is now content to stay behind a desk while enjoying her marital bliss.  

Conflict arise when a Russian defector named Orlov (Daniel Olbrychski) comes into the picture and reveals plans about a plot to assassinate the Russian president, who will be coming to New York City to attend the funeral of the recently-deceased U.S. Vice President. He says there is a sleeper agent in the agency's midst -- Salt herself!

This is where the chase begins.  Salt, fearing that her husband could be in danger is forced to go on the run - working her way from Washington, D.C. to New York and back again.  Could it only be to save her husband or to clear her name… or could she really be the assassin Orlov claims her to be. 

Salt, written by Kurt Wimmer is a good mix of suspense, drama and thriller.  You can't say the movie keeps you guessing about what's next as attentive viewers will figure out the true villain(s) well before the climax.

Overall , Salt is filled with your usual spy-movie conventions but the chase is the whole point and this is what will keep you entertained.

 

The movie ends with Jolie escaping by jumping out of the plain... could there be a sequel?



SOURCE

The First State of the Nation Address of President Benigno Aquino (P-Noy)

Today, 27 July 2010 marks another important day in Philippine history.  Today at 4pm (Philippine time), our 15th President, Benigno Aquino III will deliver his first SONA.  The whole world is watching, keen to hear the present state of the country and more importantly to know the actions the Aquino administration will be taking.  I personally am eager to know what to expect in the next 6 years.

I am not in the Philippines, and as much as I want to be a witness to this important event - I can't.  I will have to be content with seeing what's written in print and shown on television. 

But one thing is certain, today we will hear strong words from a sincere and honest man.  A man of action who will be the instrument to help alleviate the Philippines from its present state. The leader who works for the service of the country.  But one man cannot do this alone.  He needs the support of the people, he needs our help.  Let us give this to him, do our share and help build a new Philippines.

 Good luck to you Mr. President, God bless you.  God bless the Philippines. 

Philippine president's first state of the nation address seen to be peaceful

The Philippine Armed Forces (AFP) is expecting a peaceful Monday when Philippine President Benigno Aquino III delivers his first state of the nation address (SONA) on July 26 at the Batasan complex in the country's capital.



The military is expecting only few people to hold rallies since Aquino, who assumed office last June 30, enjoys a high trust rating based on surveys, AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabata told reporters on Wednesday.


"The president is at this point has a very high approval rating, trust rating. As such, we believe that that there will be minimal disturbances during the SONA. But be that as it may, we are always ready for any eventuality," Mabanta said.


Nonetheless, the AFP and the Philippine National Police are coordinating to ensure the security of the SONA which are usually met with protests by progressive groups, he said.


The military's National Capital Region Command is also always alerted for such occasion, he added.


To date, Mabata assured that they have not yet received any " real" threats of possible disturbance.

SOURCE
 
Aquino’s first SONA will be ‘memorable’ — PalaceJAM SISANTE, GMANews.TV
 
President Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III’s first State of the Nation Address (SONA), to be delivered Monday afternoon, will be “memorable," Malacañang assured on Sunday.



"It will be memorable. It will be a realistic speech," presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in an interview with state-run Radyo ng Bayan.


Lacierda pointed out that Aquino would not only dwell on the problems left behind by the Arroyo administration, but also offer ways to solve such snags


"It will spell out the realities that Aquino has inherited from the Arroyo administration, then move on to his solutions, move on to the budget, and move on to other things which he believes would wipe out production and alleviate poverty. And a call to support his government," he said.


SOURCE

State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA)

For weeks now, the State Of the Nation Address (or SONA for short) of President Aquino has been on every news channel in the Philippines.  Everybody seems to be so curious of what P-Noy has to say and how he will be delivering his speech.  Is he going to have somekind of 'gimik' as that of GMA?  I don't think so.  But like most Filipinos, I am curious to hear his first ever SONA. 


But what is the SONA, and why is it so important?  Is it really relevant?

From wikipedia...

The State of the Nation Address (Filipino: Talumpati sa Kalagayan ng Bayan, abbreviated SONA) is an annual event in the Republic of the Philippines, in which the President of the Philippines reports on the status of the nation, normally to the resumption of a joint session of the Congress (the House of Representatives and the Senate). This is a duty of the President as stated in Article VII, Section 23 of the 1987 Constitution.

So this is what it is, the President's report to the Congress.  I wonder what P-Noy is going to be reporting?

I am not a fan of politics.  Actually this is the first time that I am actually looking forward to hear a SONA. 

Tomorrow, 26 July 2010 (Monday) at 4 pm - Phillipine time, the whole world will know.