Saturday, April 29, 2006

Newsflash: Mexico legalizes drug useā€¦ may have to put up wall to keep Americans out!


No rumor on this one...

I must admit this item below from the TUCP which came out with a press release is osmething that may lessen tension on Labor Day; which aftrall is suppoeed to be workers day.
I condensed the report - it's a different look for the group and something that may change the strategy of others who are fast learning protests and rallies have "lost some appeal" to many workers and the middle class.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines will not hold workers' rallies on Labor Day they have put up a "job fair at the Quezon City Hall" 30,000 jobs both local and abroad.

" The job fair, which will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is hosting employers in need of personnel as well as government agencies that applicants seek to facilitate employment like the National Bureau of Investigation, Social Security System, PAGIBIG Fund and the National Statistics Office." ABS-CBNNews.com reports.

The TUCP has a 10-Point Labor Agenda it will send to President Arroyo and members of Congress that contain it demands from "Labor groups".

The TUCP's demands include " Employment generation, P75 across-the-board wage increase, immediate passage of tax exemption bills; creation of a workers' bank, universal coverage of medical insurance to include fisherfolk and farmers, expeditious resolution of labor cases pending in government agencies and an investigation into the deaths of labor leaders."

"The TUCP will also ask the President for the suspension of the value-added tax on petroleum products due to the world oil crisis."



Sunday, April 16, 2006

Monday, April 17, 2006

Getting back to work...

Monday April 17th, 2006 -- BACK TO WORK......

It's monday the holiday of easter is past and I'm back to the my daily grind anew in a few hours getting ready to meet people - do my job and make all those wonderful observations from overseas for people who still are twevel hours behind me in time on the east coast of the USA.

So whats a typical day of getting around for myself like going to offices and getting the facts together for a story can never really be seen as easy at time.

Sure we have to go through those checks and ID inspections and patdowns every k\now and then but sometimes it can be a bit of a routine one can often whish one didnt have to go through after a holiday of overeating!

I mean going through a pat-down check - and someone says- hey- this wasn't here before last week when you came by this way sir.
"Excuse me... but you don't have a double- err... almost triple chin you have now in this picture!"

So lastly I leave you with the image of a little traffic that most likely will be full on monday!

I hope you enjoyed the vacation time - because it's monday and time to work and get back to the flow of things and everything goes back to the normal abnormal whatever your work may be!

I'll come up with weekend ideas next post- the nice thing about going back to work is it inspires you to think of new ways to goof off when a chance comes.

Happy Easter all!

Saturday, April 15, 2006

Here are a few "Travel tips" for a city on the move - getting around in more than the ussaul ways!

first is if time is an urgent issue there are rapid transit networks to get you from manila to queson city- options not often mentioned in the tourist maps but effective forms of transportation are the metro train systems now three of them that run most of the day starting at about 5:30 AM and run til about 9:00 pm




Costs is minimal but if you have to get from say Manila - to the financail districts of ortigas and or Makati - they remain your est option. two lines offer fast transits - the older LRT line and the newer MRT.

They make getting around in Manila is something you can do easily by day But you have to plan for very well.

peak hours resemble tokyo subways and you need shoe horn to fit into some of the cars.

Women and children and the elderly do have special cars ussaully the first cars reserved for them.

The newest line cuts east to west from Manila to near the two major university campous of Ateneo and UP and is a short taxi ride to shoe capital of the Philippines and many say the world Marikina.

The LRT-1 fleet is undergoing modernization as it copes with increasing ridership. The trains now have an increased capacity of 1350 passengers

The original two-car trains could hold 748 passengers while the modified three-car trains could hold 1122 passengers, air conditioning for the original fleet, and technical repairs.

It runs through a older part of the capital and is somewhat run down although constantly being upgraded the some incidents where the trains have suffered some delays. but overall it is well run and maintained and a effective way to reach the makati bound system or MRT.

The LRT-2 fleet runs four-car trains which have a capacity of 1622 passengers, 272 more than LRT-1. The fleet also came with air-conditioning and is also fully automatic. Also, LRT-2 trains are more disabled-friendly and are more convenient to use for elderly passengers than the trains of LRT-1.

The MRT system is operated by the Metro Rail Transit Corporation, a private company operating in conjunction with the Department of Transportation and Communications.

The LRT is government run and operated.

MRT-3 (Blue Line)

MRTLine3.gif
  • Monumento (proposed, connects with LRT-1)
  • Balintawak (proposed)
  • Roosevelt (proposed)
  • North Avenue
  • Quezon Avenue
  • GMA-Kamuning
  • Araneta Center-Cubao (connects with LRT-2)
  • Santolan-Annapolis
  • Ortigas Avenue
  • Shaw Boulevard
  • Bonifacio Avenue
  • Guadalupe
  • Buendia
  • Ayala
  • Magallanes
  • Taft Avenue (connects with LRT-1 at Taft Avenue)

The following are the stations for LRT lines.

LRT-1 (Yellow Line)

LRTLine1.gif
  • Monumento (transfer with MRT-3 when MRT-3 extension is finished)
  • 5th Avenue
  • R. Papa
  • Abad Santos
  • Blumentritt
  • Tayuman
  • Bambang
  • Doroteo Jose (transfer with LRT-2)
  • Carriedo
  • Central Terminal
  • United Nations
  • Pedro Gil
  • Quirino Avenue
  • Vito Cruz
  • Gil Puyat
  • Libertad
  • EDSA (transfer with MRT-3)
  • Baclaran

LRT-2 (Purple Line)

LRTLine2.gif
  • Recto (transfer with LRT-1)
  • Legarda
  • Pureza
  • V. Mapa
  • J. Ruiz
  • Gilmore
  • Betty Go-Belmonte
  • Araneta Center-Cubao (transfer with MRT-3)
  • Anonas
  • Katipunan
  • Santolan
Note: graphics and pics coutesy of Wilkpedia

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