Well yeah. Its called withdrawal symptoms. Folk cant get their shopping fix so easily. But thats it. That doesnt mean that the UK and its entire population are falling over the precipice.
LOL everything is fine. I say that because it is. The biggest problem are the doom and glom merchants. Whats that? Chinese flag for your Avatar? Or Taiwanese?
Thats not nice!! I suppose its time for England to think of designing a new flag too.. I think it seems most are scared to fly the old one these days.. Might be appropriate? What do you reckon?
Ask the EDL and the BNP about that.... Actually, next year it will be the St Georges Cross. Meantime for me its the Triskelion just now.
Almost twenty years ago a Philippines-resident friend and I hired a Cessna 172 for the day (he had a PPL). We flew South over Manila and over Taal to Batangas, where we banked west and flew to Lubang, where we landed at an airport so quiet that we had to overfly to get the carabao moved first before landing, and the road to the strip was covered in drying palay. Then we flew north over the west side of Bataan and landed at Cubi, which at that date was equally quiet. This part of the flight was instructive - the only timber we saw was in places that were quite impossible for a wheeled vehicle to reach. The whole place had been clear cut. I remembered seeing a map of "Philippines Log Ports", published by Smith Bell, on the wall of Freddie Clemo's office in Intramuros. The biggest stand of virgin forest in the Philippines is in Subic - because the Americans kept it as a jungle warfare training area.
December 2012. Typhoon Bopha, Deforestation, Reforestation, Illegal Logging Illegal logging and mining has stripped many hillsides bare in Mindanao, which has forest cover of only 10 percent. Deforestation means flash floods flow unimpeded, leading to cataclysmic land and mud slides that can bury whole towns. "The water was as high as a coconut tree," a local farmer, Joseph Requinto, told the Associated Press. "All the bamboo trees, even the big ones, were all mowed down." Unfortunately these tragic environmental disasters are becoming a recurring theme in the Philippines, less than a year Typhoon Sendong killed over 1,200 people on the same island. The extensive destruction wrought by this storm—which impacted over 300,000 people—was also blamed at least partly on illegal logging. Logging has banned throughout the Philippines since February of 2011 in order to avert disasters such as this, but illegal logging remains a rampant problem. Yet, while illegal logging and mining certainly worsened the death toll of Typhoon Bopha, there may another component to the storm's wrath: climate change. Read more at http://news.mongabay.com/2012/1206-hance-typhoon-bopha.html#RYfOBrQPHWU0Zd0H.99
Save the Philippine Seas ( maxed out on credit ) “Save the Philippine seas now—before it’s too late,” Greenpeace, marine experts and fisherfolk made the call today as they renewed their demand for the Philippine government to enact and enforce stronger policies to preserve the country’s oceans. The groups also urged all Filipinos to be part of efforts to revive the seas. The call came on the eve of World Oceans Day, the UN-designated celebration meant to remind the world about how crucial the oceans are for our survival. This year’s theme is “Together we have the power to protect the ocean!” "All stakeholders must be involved in the rehabilitation of the Philippine seas,” said Dr. Perry Aliño, of the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute. “We need to strengthen our existing social and ecological networks. Government mechanisms must be set up, with concrete solutions such as increasing the number and effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).” The report Oceans in the Balance is an overview of the worsening crisis in the Philippine seas. The report compiles data which show that as the country’s marine ecosystems such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows and mangrove forests are being destroyed, we are extracting more and more fish from the sea than it can sustainably provide. In short, we are not only emptying the oceans of fish, but we are also destroying vital habitats necessary for marine species to propagate. “We are killing the goose that lays the golden eggs,” said Vince Cinches, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia. “Our seas are nearing their tipping point—overfishing, destructive and illegal fishing, poaching, pollution and climate change are sucking the life out of our waters. There is a very urgent need for the government to elevate oceans protection as a matter of national priority. This needs to happen now before the country drowns in a sea of problems.” The report notes that despite the Fisheries Code of 1998, which mandates the protection of 15% of fishing grounds as marine protected areas, legislation seems unable to ensure the sustainability of our seas due to pervasive illegal commercial fishing activities and the encroachment of foreign fishing vessels into the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone. Small municipal fisherfolk who are edged out by massive industrial fishing operations are the one who suffer the most. Greenpeace says that the high incidence of poverty in coastal fishing communities is reflective of the crisis attributed to the declining marine ecosystem and overfishing. “There are around two million Filipino fishers who are heavily dependent on the sea,” said Maricel Gacela of Samahan ng mga Maliliit na Mangingisda sa Calatagan (SAMMACA). “We all have nothing to fish and nothing to feed our families. With a net income of only 250 Pesos a day, most fisherfolk end up in debt. Commercial fishing vessels take all the fish, sometimes from municipal fishing grounds, leaving us with very little fish to catch and barely enough money to cover gasoline costs for going out to sea.” The report is intended as a call to action to address the two-pronged crisis of marine degradation and overfishing. Along with a broad range of stakeholders[1], Greenpeace is calling on the Aquino administration to immediately act against the crisis of overfishing and marine ecosystem degradation. http://mb.com.ph/News/National_News..._before_it’s_too_late—Greenpeace#.UbGj5su9KSP
We are aware of this but there's not a dammed thing that you, I or any other foreigner can do. It is up to the Philippine government - or rather, their paymasters - to recognise and accept the problems and agree that government money should be spent to tackle this and other issues.
Well apologies, but I distinctly recall someone posting that there was no problem, plenty of fish about and cheap too. Yes, it certainly is up to the Philippine government. But also the people. The people that voted them in and the people to carry out and abide by the governments laws. The laws are in place already.
That'd be me and judging by what I see at both supermarkets and wet markets, both statements hold true. My wife regularly buys Tuna steaks, each a couple of centimetres thick, for around 30 Pesos (50p). Canned Tuna, which we buy as a treat for our American Cocker Spaniel, is a little more expensive at around 24 Pesos. Bangus (Milk Fish) is plentiful and available either frozen or fresh as is John Dory which, when dipped in batter and deep fried and served with chips makes a very good substitute for Cod - and certainly nowhere near as expensive as Cod which I see is up to £22 (1320 Pesos) a kilo in Tesco. You're forgetting that the Philippines is an oligarchy, the people have very little say when it comes to law-making or law-enforcement.
Not true. It is possible for a Filipino to takes its own government to court and win. And it happens. Law enforcement is partly down to the people. Not everyone requires a copper behind them to do what is within the law. Hence, the need for education and awareness. Also, in the Philippines the people have a choice at the ballot box, just like in the UK.
Interesting reading for Mindanao. 20 tons of mercury released into the river bodies annually from mining in the region. Firstly I wonder about the quality if the fish and secondly wonder about a tad of HS and E to put it right. http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/004/ab417e.htm From the World Health Organisation. Davao doesnt seem to elude the issue on this occasion. Aside from the occupational exposure to inorganic mercury, another area of concern is the direct discharge of mercury into the environment. It is estimated that an average of 20 tons of mercury had been released annually into the river bodies of Mindanao Island alone (2). The dietary intake of the people examined, fish being one of their staple diets have a significant contribution to their overall mercury intake. This could be attributed to the fact that the fish habitat significantly showed elevated levels of total mercury specifically in water and sediment samples collected. Anthropogenic sources of mercury pollution in the environment in the area could be attributed to the mining processes which discharges mercury into the river systems and the ambient air This significantly contributes to the mercury intake of the children. Thus, the schoolchildren are exposed to at least two forms of mercury - inorganic and methyl mercury simultaneously. I suppose this kind of fish would be cheap and plentiful on the open market.... And where does the mercury end up eventually, that which isnt injested in the fish in the rivers, but in the sea. And it still goes on now: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/413839/fishers-wage-war-for-hidden-paradise http://www.mindanaotimes.net/140-countries-adopt-mercury-treaty-by-nina-larson/
Whilst that is possible in that cases could theoretically be filed, in practice those cases would never ever reach the trial stage. And it's not up to you or I to "educate" the people, we'd be laughed at and told to take our first-world thinking elsewhere. Did you not read Methersgate's accurate precis on elections? The electorate votes for personalities, not political parties or policies. And when in power, the politicians serve the interests of their backers not their electors. That is the system here and it's not about to change.
Well in some cases they have gone beyond that trial stage and been succesful. Not first world thinking, Filipino thinking. Raising awareness will work, it will have too. And you are proving to me that it is needed. I did read Methersgate precis, but the 12 senators that got voted in could easily have been a different 12 or a better 12. The electorate decided there. Was voting for perceived personalities the right thing to do? There were some greens amongst them.
