Strong Peso making the value of money transfer weak

It sounds really good, finally strong peso. Hey our
economy has started so good with the new year but
I found this posting from this think-tank foundation
IBON
FYI
IBON News / January 10, 2008
DUE TO STRONG PESO: OFWS LOSE P700 PER $100 REMITTED
The strengthening peso has resulted in a sharp cut in overseas
Filipino workers’ (OFWs) incomes, costing them over P700 per $100
remitted,according to independent think-tank IBON Foundation.

From January to December 2007, the exchange rate of the peso
to the dollar has strengthened by almost fifteen percent. This means
that over the period, the family of an OFW who remitted $100 in
January were able to exchange it for P4,891. By December this had
fallen to P4,174 or a decline of P717.

Such a reduction is especially painful given the increasing prices
of basic goods and services in the country.
For example, from January to November 2007 the cost of an 11-kg
liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder increased by P76.94
to almost P600. Manila Water also recently implemented a rate
hike that will cost consumers who consume 30 cubic meters per
month an additional P60 on their bills.

“Overseas workers were forced to tighten their belts and remit
more of their income to make up for the lost value,” said
IBON research head Sonny Africa. Monthly remittances grew 26% from
P1.1 billion in January to P1.4 billion in October.

The strengthening peso and its effect on OFWs’ incomes reveals the
folly of the government’s labor export policy and its continuing
reliance on migrant workers’ remittances. (end)


The strengthening peso is one of the issues that will be discussed
at the IBON Yearend Birdtalk on January 14 at the UP Balay
Kalinaw. The media is cordially invited to attend the press briefing
on January 15 at the IBON Bookshop, 114 Timog Ave. Quezon City.
For details, please call IBON at tel. (02) 927-7059 or 927-6986.


(Ang immediate na kahulugan nito ay: Mas maraming "moneyobra" ng
mga allowance at pera sa daily needs ng mga sarileng pamilya
sa Alemanya para makapagpadala pa ng sapat na suporta duon
sa Pinas. Hindi lang yun mga tao ang nagTT and T, pati yun mga
household money kailangan tipirin, itago, palaguin, sumama pa
sa ibang paluwagan para may nakatabing pera, hanap pa ng extrang
trabaho, walang party party muna, saka na lang muna yun mga sales
after Christmas at mga iba pang stratehiya para makapagpadala ng
pera sa naiwang bansa na habang tumataas ang halaga ng salapi
lumalaki naman ang problema ng mga taong lumabas ng bansa...
hay ano ba yan?)

Tita Bee

Bless this Mansion Three Queens' Day 2008

Remembering the Holy Night on December 24

December 26...Boxing Day...who will clear up the stuffs?

December 8, International Day of Climate Action

Ciao! Chanced on these posters today,
December 8, Saturday. Actually, I am transcribing interviews
with IT experts from India for a radio feature and before I
turn into some kind of (pili)nut for deciphering the meanings
of some spoken words,I decided to check on my long unattended blogs
which have not been updated since summer this year. I think
I have done my part in contributing to saving our dear planet
earth without going to Bali for this climate conference. I have
not been using much energy since August...see, no updates!
But today, Saturday, another date for another small
Christmas party celebration and will meet my mama manita...
hope she is generous and fun to be with and just a nice
person. She will love my gift certicate from Tchibo where
she could get her energy conserving electric blanket
and egg cooker, electric peeler, shaker, can opener
chocolate and breadmaker and what have you.
No, Tchibo does not deal yet with electric hair curlers
and electric...relaxation... chairs.
BTW, remember those T-shirts sold by Apo Hiking Society
with funny logos and one liners like:
Anong ginagamit ng mga Pilipino bago nila naimbento
ang gamit ng kandila? Electricity!
For translation, ask your NPs...nice Pinay and Pinoy
friends and neighbors.

Tita Bee

Invitation to a Philippine Summer Festival in Duesseldorf

Philippinen-Forum NRW
Sommerfest 2007
Samstag, 25. August. 2007
Ev. Gemeindezentrum in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim
Programm:

Ab 12:00 Uhr: Anreise
Philippinische Erfrischungen
(kleine Speisen und Getränke)
13:00 Uhr: Ökumenische Andacht
mit Rev. Joy dela Cruz und Fr. Jun de Ocampo, SVD
in der Gustav-Adolf-Kirche

14:00 Uhr: Eröffnung des Sommerfestes

14:30 Uhr: Zeit zum Kennenlernen
Vorstellung der Aktionstische und Ausstellungen
Philippinische Speisen und Getränke

ab 15:30 Uhr: Kultur und Informationsprogramm
mit Tanzen, Musik und Liedern aus den Philippinen
Beiträge zur aktuellen Situation auf den Philippinen,
Präsentation der neuen Ausstellung "Armut unter Palmen"
Vorstellung von Nord-Süd-Projekten
Zeit für Gespräche, Diskussionen und Austausch
Lustiges Kinderprogramm

ab 19:30 Uhr Verabschiedung

20:00 Uhr Ende des Sommerfestes

20.07.2007 As good luck would have it

As good luck would have it.
William Shakespeare "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Got this forward today from another "kababata"
a childhood friend. He has found my email and since then he has
been sending me interesting stuffs and forwards. I have no idea how
he would look like today but I have with me a group photo
after we had performed a dance number during our Kindergarten days.
I could not recall what dance we performed but I still could remember
or maybe I am also imagining that we danced this
"step-close-step, step-close-step" or "heel and toe, forward
backward" sort of folk dancing.
The photo shows little girls standing in a row wearing
long gowns with butterfly sleeves while the boys were half-kneeling
in front wearing Barong Tagalog. And how cute looking these kids
are in this photo.
So when I got the forward about Anti-Ageing Diet today from my
Kindergarten classmate, that group photo suddenly flashed back to
me. From cute looking Kindergarten kids to recipients of Anti-Ageing
tips...

So here's the forward from Boy K. if you have not yet received it
from your own loop.

If AGING IS AN ISSUE WITH YOU.......READ ON.

If I want to live as long and as healthily as possible, what should
my daily menu look like? Something like this, created by
Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D.
It's a balanced diet packed with the best anti-aging foods: colorful
fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and whole foods. And because
research has shown that reducing calories by 25 percent has
impressive anti-aging benefits, it contains around 1,700 calories
a day — about a quarter fewer calories than the National Academy
of Sciences average requirements for an active 30-year-old woman.
(If you're only as active as the average gal, then drop to around
1,500 calories by cutting the last snack.)
Use these first 3 days as your guide, then mix and match.

Day 1
Breakfast
8 oz fat-free yogurt mixed with 1/2 c raspberries
8 oz green tea

Lunch

2 c mixed greens,
1/4 c tomatoes, 1/4 c carrots,
1/4 c red cabbage,
1/3 c chickpeas, 1/3 c red beans,
1/3 c edamame, 1 oz slivered almonds, tossed with 1 Tbsp olive oil
and as much red-wine or balsamic vinegar as you'd like
1 plum
8 oz sparkling water mixed with 1/4 c pomegranate juice
and a twist of lime

Snack

A mini-sandwich: 1 slice whole-grain bread with 1 oz low-fat cheese
and 1 tsp mustard
3/4 c blueberries

Dinner

3 oz grilled wild salmon
1 c brussels sprouts and 1/2 c thinly sliced beets sautéed in
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small sweet potato, baked
1 glass red wine

Snack

1/2 c high-fiber cereal
1 c fat-free milk
1,710 cal

Day 2
Breakfast

1 slice toasted whole-grain bread, spread with 2 Tbsp peanut butter
(or other nut butter, like almond)
3/4 c strawberries

Lunch

2 oz white turkey, 3 spinach leaves, 2 slices tomato, and
1 Tbsp mustard on 2 slices whole-grain bread
1 c red grapes
8 oz green tea

Snack

6 oz or 100-calorie pack low-fat popcorn, sprinkled with
2 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Dinner

5 oz grilled albacore tuna
1/2 c whole-wheat pasta tossed with 1/2 c broccoli and
garlic to taste (about 1 clove) sautéed in 1 tsp olive oil
1 c red-leaf lettuce and 1/4 c shredded fresh beets topped
with 1 Tbsp chopped pecans and 1 Tbsp dried
cranberries, tossed with 1 tsp olive oil
1/2 pink grapefruit
1 glass red wine

Snack

3 graham crackers, topped with 2 Tbsp low-fat whipped
cream cheese and 1/4 c sliced berries of your choice

1,730 cal

Day 3
Breakfast

3/4 c high-fiber cereal
1 c fat-free milk
1/2 banana

Lunch

4-egg-white omelet with 5 spinach leaves,
1/2 c diced red peppers, and 1 slice low-fat cheese
1 small whole-wheat pita
3/4 c grape tomatoes mixed with 1/4 c diced avocado
3/4 c blackberries

Snack

1 Tbsp peanut butter on 2 whole-grain crackers
8 oz raspberry iced tea

Dinner

1 veggie burger on a whole-wheat bun
1/3 c cooked brown rice
1/3 c black beans
1 c sautéed yellow and green squash
1 c mesclun greens with 1/4c shredded carrots, topped with
1 Tbsp chopped walnuts and 1/2 c diced apple
1 glass red wine

Snack

1/2 c low-fat frozen yogurt with
5 c fresh berries of your choice

1,740 cal

While posting this forward, hubby told me that the recent
kidnapping of Giancarlo Bossi (PIME)in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay
has ended today. He was released on this lucky day 20.07.2007.
Luck-bringing Filipino tactic. Kidnap for Kidnap. See daily bulletin
today.

Summery Tags

 
Summertime and the living is easy
Saueregurkenzeit
Italian ice cream
summer camp
when the sun is hottest
and the days are longest
rainstorms
grill partys
candles cozily burning
garden time
summer house
summer holiday
summer job
traffic jam in the Autobahn
cafés
punks in the cities
summer sales
Halo-halo
Love Parade
CSD
cherries and all berries
tanning lotion
shades and caps
open-air-concerts
umbrella and sweaters
fan
eau de cologne
season of B.O.
bikes
cabrio
rollerskates
trip to the zoo
fruit salad
flea markets
summer love
summer wedding
FKK season
daylight saving time
Ozone alert
Sommerloch

Cologne Lights

 

If you are planning to visit Cologne, check the calendar for the
summer activities to get the most of your visit. Kölner Lichter or
Cologne Lights is one of the main summer attractions in the city.
Thousands of tourists and local residents alike flock yearly to the old
city to watch the magnificent display of fireworks from the Rhein
river starting at about 11 in the evening with accompanying music.
But one word of caution...the city could get really so crowded
especially after the spectacular show of fireworks.
I experienced for the first time this crowd, coming out from
a birthday celebration of Helen S. at the flat of Marilou F. where
we enjoyed the lights and sounds of Cologne Lights from a live tv
coverage of the show and from her windows where we enjoyed seeing
some stray bursts of fireworks.

I really panicked when I was caught in this crowd of spectators who
were heading to the platform for their trains. My Japanese
fan came out to be a handy rescue when the heat inside the train
station became unbearable, und all I could see were Caucasian heads
towering over me. I forced myself to walk on toes fearing I might get
lost in the crowd while furiously fanning myself to the delight of the
people around me. To make the Cologne Lights story short, I was able
to catch my train which was similarly jamp-packed with homeward
bound sweating spectators, and I reached home nearly one in the morning.


Photos of Fireworks taken from www.wdr.de and
http://files.koeln.de

Eve of CSD in Cologne on 07.07.07

 
 
 
 
Was checking on some hostels for our scheduled conference in
October when I passed by Altermarkt or the old market area in this
city where tourists and Koelners alike are flocking for rounds and
rounds of Kolsch (local beer brewed in Cologne)when I saw rows of
white tents lining one pavement leading to the old city and crowd
of people flocking to Altermarkt.
The alleys were all lined with stands selling bags, silver ornaments,
t-shirts trinkets, belts, drinks, multi-cultural fingergoodies and info
stands for networking for gays and lesbians, holidays and health
info about HIV. There was this particular stand offering Health Check
and info about TransFamily.Near the Rathaus or City Hall, crowd of
elegantly dressed people were cheering and throwing rice, confetti
to newly married couples coming out of the ceremony hall. It was
the 7 of July on the year 2007, shortly coded as 07.07.07 and
it is a common belief that such combination of numbers brings
luck and harmony in marriage and so the rush of many couples to the
city hall to get official blessing and recognition for their
marital relationship...well marital can mean so many things and
what I would like to say is the legal relationship. Kasalang Opisyal.
(Sa atin sa Pilipinas, maraming possibilidad na makasal na
ilang beses, depende kung marami kang kilalang huwes at loyalists
sa record section ng mga city halls). I will not translate that one,
if you wish, ask a Pinay or Pinoy for this especial feature of
marrying in the Philippines. BTW, we have theoretically no divorce
law but that can like the word marital mean many surprising things.

So this is the weekend of the traditional, yearly Christopher
Street Day of Cologne with the parade scheduled today, this
sunny, beautiful Sunday.More posting later. Aloha ala Cologna!

Anita's Kitchen

On the eve of July 4th, here's a especial recipe shared by
Anita Sese Schoen from the States. Instead of the photo of the
cooked goodies (which I have been searching in my files)
I've posted instead her logo from her kitchen.
Enjoy trying them.
Tita Bee

WELCOME TO ANITA'S KITCHEN!

This is Anita. I love cooking, specially for my nine co-directors
of the OFC (Overseas Filipino Council).
Let me share with you my favorite recipes.

Cooking, I believe is an art. The artist, more of than not, does
not depend on measuring cups or high-tech kitchen gadgets.
She uses her creativity and her senses. She has confidence that
whatever she cooks will be a winner.
I, am a good cook... nobody has complained, no one has gotten
sick and I see their smiles after partaking of whatever I cooked
for them. Anyway, they can always go to Mcdonald's or to
pizza parlors...they are all over the place.

There are many ways of cooking our favorite dish-the Adobo.
Let me share with you the best Adobo recipe
I have tried and tasted so far. But first here is a tip to
make your kitchen odor-free. Be kind to your neighbors,let them smell
the aroma of your adobo. Cook outside, in the patio. If this is not
possible,boil some water and add in some cinnamon. The cinnamon
will absorb the unwanted smell of garlic and vinegar.
If your husband is sensitive to this smell cook inside your house.
I promise you, you will either be kicked out or nobody will visit you anymore...anyway, the cinnamon mix will save on house cleaning.

ADOBO DE CARAJAY

Ingredients:

1/2 pound chicken
1/2 pound pork
1 head garlic, crushed
1 cup thinly sliced onions
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 piece bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white (Paombong) vinegar
1 tablespoon Virgin Coconut Oil

Procedure:

In a cooking pan, marinate the chicken and the pork in vinegar,
soy sauce, salt and pepper, minced garlic and bay leaf for 30 minutes.
Do not add water (do not use aluminum pan or aluminum frying pan).

Remove the chicken from the marinade. Boil the pork in the mix then
simmer for 15 minutes.Add the chicken and simmer for another 15
minutes or until tender. Remove the bay leaf.

In another frying pan, caramelize chop onions. Remove the sauce
from the pork and chicken mix. Add the VCO and fry until brown then
add the onions. Now, if you don't have VCO, forget everything...
order some pizza.

You found some oil? Ok, olive oil will do. Saute the mix and add the
sauce. Simmer for 2 minutes... presto, you have the best Adobo.

BISTIK TAGALOG

Ingredients:

1 pound beef sirloin, sliced thinly across the grain
1/2 cup lemon or calamansi juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Virgin coconut Oil or olive oil
1/2 cup water
1 medium-size onion, sliced in rings

Procedure:
Marinate the beef in the soy sauce and lemon juice for 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Remove the beef in the marinade and fry
these in the hot oil for about 1 minute on each side.
Place the fried beef in a serving platter and set aside. Fry the
sliced onion rings for a minute or until it becomes tranluscent.
Arrange the onions on top of the beef in the platter.

Add water to the marinade and boil this in a pan until mix thickens.
Season with salt and pepper, cook for 3 minutes.Remove from heat
and pour boiled marinade, while still very hot, over the steak.
Serve with rice. Serves 4 to 5.

This is one of my husband's favorite Filipino food. When i was in
Sydney, Australia in November 2006,I prepared this recipe for
my friends Yasue and Gonz Reynaldo and Nitz and Dindo Generoso.
It has become one of their favorites since then.
*******************************************************************

Enjoy your July 4th Celebration, with tempting Philippine
Adobo! Thanks Anita and keep in touch while you are in
Manila or share highlights of your visit.