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Thursday, March 24, 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Italian Flavors by Salvatore de Vincentis (in Davao City)
Davao City
Level 
Contributor
Contributor
88 reviews
49 restaurant reviews
49 helpful votes
“Italian Flavors by Salvatore de Vincentis”
I love Italian special dishes. This March 2016, Seda Hotel Abreeza's Misto buffet is offering delightful and regional dishes from Italy. You wish to try something Italian special, you should go there: minestrone, broiled red snapper fillet with rice or the trio panna cotta. I loved it. The "Italian-Filipino Culinary Fusion" is indeed unique in Davao and must for all who love Italian first class cuisine.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Trip Advisor: An amazing dining experience
Davao City
Level Contributor
Contributor 88 reviews 49 restaurant reviews 49 helpful votes
“An amazing dining experience”
I love Japanese food but left several Japanese restaurants in Davao City really without praises and unsatisfied. Now I tried Yakimix in Abreeza Mall. Wow, I was really delighted and speechless with all the different choices (not ONLY Japanese style!) and a very well trained staff. What I liked most: grill everything according how you like it at your personal table.
If Disney Princesses Were Filipinas
By Heather Chen
Goh Wei Choon
Once upon a time, Disney's famous princesses were re-imagined as zombies and even as bowls of water. But one of the most intriguing spins on the iconic characters is what is happening among fans in the Philippines.
The fairy tales have taken on a new life, which is poignant but with a bittersweet edge. So princesses were re-imagined singing karaoke, but there were also Disney princesses to reflect the political and social preoccupations of the Philippines.
"If Disney princesses were Pinay, then Mulan would definitely be claimed by China," said one user from Cavite province.
"They are the faces of fairy tales today and are huge internet favourites," said Rebecca-Anne Rozario, a professor from Monash University who has written on the cultural significance of Disney princesses.
"Their happy endings aren't discarded - new stories are being told. Fan artists are "freeing" them, re-imagining them in different styles and ethnicities but what's also interesting is that new stories involving tweets and memes are fleshing out the lives of the princesses themselves."
This is the take of Disney-mad Philippine social media on the trials and tribulations of ordinary Filipina women.
Cinderella gets stuck in traffic
Goh Wei ChoonPrincess Jasmine probably wouldn't be able to escape the Manila traffic either, and would, like many Filipinos in the capital, "arrive at least 30 minutes late to work".
She would ride a traditional 'Jeepney', the country's most popular means of cheap public transport, and not a converted pumpkin.
Cinderella as a domestic helper
She would be an overseas foreign worker, a domestic helper, which is a path that awaits some Filipina women who travel to find better incomes than they would get at home in households in the Middle East, Hong Kong and Singapore.
"If Disney princesses were Filipina, Cinderella would be an OFW in Hong Kong," one post read drawing the direct comparison with Cinderella's harsh beginnings.
Goh Wei ChoonElsa the snow queen would create ash and floods, not blizzards
Elsa, one of Disney's newest princesses, is known for her ability to produce or manipulate ice, frost and snow at will. But that didn't stop users talking about her weather powers, the kind of conditions that frequently wreak havoc in the Philippines.
"Elsa would not be creating snows but flood," remarked one user. "More fun in the Philippines!"
Goh Wei Choon
To another user, a Filipina version of Elsa would be more adapted to creating ash, not snow at Mount Pinatubo, near the island of Luzon.
Others were more optimistic. Elsa should maintain the ice rinks at mega-malls in Manila.
Whitening products...for the fairest of them all
Fair-skinned princess Snow White, was another popular focus among many Filipinos discussing the trend.
Goh Wei Choon
"The evil queen would have given her a poison mango," said one user.
Her much vaunted fair complexion would make her the perfect ambassador for whitening products, used by a number of Filipinas, others pointed out.
"Snow White would also be on a lot of whitening commercials because she's the fairest of them all."
Karaoke microphones and singing competitions would be the obvious choice for a Filipina Ariel: "She and Snow White would be fighting it out in singing battles," said one Twitter user.
The princesses imagined in the Filipina context play on both the power and powerlessness of women.
This social conversation has cleverly twisted the popular global trend and recreated a Philippine version with humour and ruefulness.
But the Philippines already has its own Disney princess
World-renowned Filipina singer and actress Lea Salonga, has voiced not one but two Disney icons: Princess Jasmine and Mulan.
And while many saw the dark side of Disney in putting her in Philippine scenarios, others remembered her role in one the world's most enduring entertainment phenomena and cite her as a role model for Filipina women.
Getty Images
"Idina Menzel and Mandy Moore may be modern and nice but Lea Salonga will always be the reigning 'Disney princess' in the hearts of Filipinos," said a fan on Twitter.
Another said: "When I hear Lea Salonga, I get emotional because she sang as my two favourite princesses."
Illustrations by Goh Wei Choon.
Nuclear Energy Booming in Asia
Nuclear energy booming in Asia
IN MY OPINION
BY KLAUS DORING
Yes, in my opinion, it’s indeed amazing and is actually taking my breath away. Five years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, India and China have still embraced nuclear power. Other countries in the region also want to build more plants – even in high-risk areas prone to earthquakes and tsunamis. GRABE.
When Sun Qin talks about the future of nuclear power, his eyes light-up. In China alone, there are 31 nuclear power plants and another 24 are under construction, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Now, the president of the China’s National Nuclear Corporation wants (CNNC) wants to build 30 additional nuclear power stations – not only in China, but also in the neighboring states along the so-called “New Silk Road.” CNNC has already exported six reactors abroad, but the Chinese want to expand further.
“We face very strong competition in the international nuclear market,” says Sun Qin, adding that “countries like Russia, South Korea, Japan and the United States are all exploring the global nuclear market aggressively.”
Five years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and thirty years after Chernobyl, the nuclear industry, in particular in China, is on the upswing.
China: on track to becoming number 1?
Following the Fukushima disaster, China’s government initially suspended the construction of additional nuclear power plants. Instead, comprehensive security policies were adopted. But in the autumn of 2012, Beijing lifted the moratorium on future development – and since then, has pursued a more ambitious nuclear program.
What China’s nuclear industry wants to expand – also internationally -is making me breathless. China needs to restructure its massive energy sector. Currently, the country produces some two-thirds of its total energy from outdated coal power plants. The Chinese people complain of air pollution and other environmental damage, which is why the government in Beijing will shut down about 1,000 coal plants by the end of this year.
Nuclear power, on the other hand, is considered a relatively “clean” alternative to coal. In daily congressional meetings, the Communist Party has been discussing plans for a massive expansion of nuclear energy. By 2030, a total of 110 nuclear power plants will be in operation.
With this, China would overtake the US as the country with the most nuclear power plants connected to the grid. German Greenpeace nuclear expert Heinz Smital views the speed at which the reactors are being developed as problematic: “The Chinese safety authorities do not have the capacity to examine the buildings properly,” said Smital. “They will likely wave things through, rubber-stamp everything and not mess with the state-run construction consortium. There is a big security risk.” Indeed, there is! Who on earth seems to care?
India’s economy grows at a rate of about six percent per annum. But its ailing energy infrastructure inhibits economic development. Large areas of the country suffer from regular blackouts and obsolete infrastructure. Like China, India’s renewable energy sector needs to be massively expanded. But the country’s political elite are convinced that India must exhaust all possibilities of electricity. Therefore, Delhi is planning a far-reaching expansion of nuclear power. Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to build dozens of new reactors in the next 15 years.
The technical know-how is sourced internationally. Over the past decade, India has reached civil nuclear agreements with the United States, Canada, France and Russia. 21 nuclear power plants are already in operation. Two of the plants are in Kudankulam and Kalpakkam, located on the southeast coast of the country – areas prone to tsunamis. In December 2006, a tsunami hit Kalpakkam causing extensive damage, but not to the nuclear power plant, according to its operator.
Let’s take a look to Pakistan: Do you remember several reactors in flood-prone areas? India’s neighbor, Pakistan, is also struggling with blackouts and outdated infrastructure. The country currently operates three small reactors, with the nuclear plant west of Karachi – located in a flood-prone area – being one of the oldest in the world.
The remaining two reactors are situated in an earthquake-prone area some 300 kilometers (186.4 miles) south of the capital Islamabad. The government is planning to build two other reactors in the same area. According to Pakistan’s Atomic Energy Commission, Islamabad wants to build a total of seven new reactors by 2030 – with assistance from China.
Although South Korea is about the size of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), the country boasts 25 active nuclear plants. Three additional ones are under construction, while two others are set to be completed by 2029. South Koreans are becoming increasingly skeptical about nuclear energy – and not just because of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. In 2012 and 2013, a scandal related to the use of fake safety certificates rocked the country’s nuclear industry lobby. State-owned (KHNP) had thousands of small components featuring falsified certificates fitted into the country’s nuclear plants. As it turns out, large amounts of bribe money changed hands between KHNP employees, construction firms and politicians.
This led not only to Korean media speaking of a “nuclear mafia,” but also to a massive drop in the approval ratings for nuclear energy – from 70 percent before the Fukushima disaster to 35 percent. In spite of this, Seoul is sticking to its plans to expand the use of nuclear power in the East Asian country.
In Southeast Asia, the production of nuclear energy is a hotly debated issue. For instance, while Vietnam wants Russian assistance to build eight nuclear plants, Hanoi has yet to make a final decision. Thailand is planning to build five reactors, whereas Malaysia and the Philippines each want a nuclear reactor to go online.
Despite protests, the South Korean government wants to expand the use of nuclear energy
However, it’s unclear whether such plans will ever see the light of day. “It will be very difficult to find people willing to invest billions of dollars in this area, especially given the likelihood of another accident taking place in another part of the world,” said Greenpeace nuclear expert Smital.
“The costs related to the production of nuclear energy are only likely to increase, whereas renewable energy is becoming increasingly affordable. This is why the free market can only barely manage to finance nuclear plants at the moment,” Smital added.
Nuclear energy is keep on booming in Asia. Where are the disadvantages and benefits for us and our future generations? Somehow, I feel scared. And not only me. You too?
+++
Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visitwww.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 17, 2016
World Happiest: Philippines Ranks 82nd
The report, which urged nations, regardless of wealth, to tackle inequality and the environment, showed the Philippines as a happy place to live in, one notch higher than China. Philstar.com/File
MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines is the 82nd happiest place out of 157 economies, according to a report released yesterday by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and the Earth Institute at Columbia University.
The report, which urged nations, regardless of wealth, to tackle inequality and the environment, showed the Philippines as a happy place to live in, one notch higher than China.
The top 10 this year were Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
The United States came in at 13th, followed by the United Kingdom at 23rd; France, 32nd, and Italy, 50th.
Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries are the 10 least happy places on earth to live, the report said.
The bottom 10 countries were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi.
In Asia, Singapore (22nd) was categorized as the happiest country to live in, followed by Thailand (33rd), Taiwan (35th), Malaysia (47th), Japan (53rd) Hong Kong (75th) and Indonesia (79th).
“There is a strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier,” said Jeffrey Sachs, head of the SDSN and special advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
While the differences between countries where people are happy and those where they are not could be scientifically measured, “we can understand why and do something about it,” Sachs, one of the report’s authors, told Reuters in an interview in Rome.
“The message for the United States is clear. For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating,” he said.
The report, now in its fourth edition, ranked 157 countries by happiness levels using factors such as per capita gross domestic product and healthy years of life expectancy.
It also rated “having someone to count on in times of trouble” and freedom from corruption in government and business.
“When countries single-mindedly pursue individual objectives, such as economic development to the neglect of social and environmental objectives, the results can be highly adverse for human wellbeing, even dangerous for survival,” it said.
“Many countries in recent years have achieved economic growth at the cost of sharply rising inequality, entrenched social exclusion, and grave damage to the natural environment.”
The first report was issued in 2012 to support a United Nations meeting on happiness and well being.
Five countries – Bhutan, Ecuador, Scotland, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela – now have appointed ministers charged with promoting happiness as a goal of public policy.
The 2016 survey showed that three countries – Ireland, Iceland and Japan – were able to maintain their happiness levels, despite external shocks such as the post-2007 economic crisis and the 2011 earthquake, because of social support and solidarity.
Sachs cited Costa Rica, which ranked 14th, ahead of many wealthier countries, as an example of a healthy, happy society, although it is not an economic powerhouse.
The report, which urged nations, regardless of wealth, to tackle inequality and the environment, showed the Philippines as a happy place to live in, one notch higher than China.
The top 10 this year were Switzerland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia and Sweden.
The United States came in at 13th, followed by the United Kingdom at 23rd; France, 32nd, and Italy, 50th.
Syria, Afghanistan and eight sub-Saharan countries are the 10 least happy places on earth to live, the report said.
The bottom 10 countries were Madagascar, Tanzania, Liberia, Guinea, Rwanda, Benin, Afghanistan, Togo, Syria and Burundi.
“There is a strong message for my country, the United States, which is very rich, has gotten a lot richer over the last 50 years, but has gotten no happier,” said Jeffrey Sachs, head of the SDSN and special advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
While the differences between countries where people are happy and those where they are not could be scientifically measured, “we can understand why and do something about it,” Sachs, one of the report’s authors, told Reuters in an interview in Rome.
“The message for the United States is clear. For a society that just chases money, we are chasing the wrong things. Our social fabric is deteriorating, social trust is deteriorating, faith in government is deteriorating,” he said.
The report, now in its fourth edition, ranked 157 countries by happiness levels using factors such as per capita gross domestic product and healthy years of life expectancy.
It also rated “having someone to count on in times of trouble” and freedom from corruption in government and business.
“When countries single-mindedly pursue individual objectives, such as economic development to the neglect of social and environmental objectives, the results can be highly adverse for human wellbeing, even dangerous for survival,” it said.
“Many countries in recent years have achieved economic growth at the cost of sharply rising inequality, entrenched social exclusion, and grave damage to the natural environment.”
Yardstick of happiness
Five countries – Bhutan, Ecuador, Scotland, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela – now have appointed ministers charged with promoting happiness as a goal of public policy.
The 2016 survey showed that three countries – Ireland, Iceland and Japan – were able to maintain their happiness levels, despite external shocks such as the post-2007 economic crisis and the 2011 earthquake, because of social support and solidarity.
Sachs cited Costa Rica, which ranked 14th, ahead of many wealthier countries, as an example of a healthy, happy society, although it is not an economic powerhouse.
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