There seems to be so much important stuff going on in the world. Maybe too much. Uprising after uprising in the Middle East, the Japanese nuclear disaster, the demonstrations all across the US in defense of the middle class and the working poor, the assault on the environment, the corporate coup on the electoral process, the wars on two, now three fronts, etc., etc. Each of these has the potential to at worst get very ugly and maybe catastrophic or at best to wake people out of our self-centered apathy.

I have developed a new site called ExpatSavvy. It addresses the needs of international travelers and Expats. It's not your run of the mill site with links to the various embassies (there's already enough of those). It's primarily a shopping site with products geared to travelers and people living overseas or in the planning stages. At ExpatSavvy you'll find everything from luggage, multi-time zone watches, books (both paper and digital for download) and pretty much anything you can think of to help your travel and life overseas be more pleasant. Check it out at: ExpatSavvy. You'll find what you're looking for (most with international shipping available) at a great price and help out a fellow expat at the same time.

I am sort of surprised to be posting about DM Billiard Academy reopening but in fact it is. Today! However, it's smaller and less ambitious: fewer computers, sans the live music (at least for now) but the billiard table is there as is the food and drinks. Our monthly expenses should be considerably less than in the other place. My hope is that we can do as well with fewer headaches and complications. We shall see if my plan works. 

BTW, if you are wondering what happened to the info I was planning on sharing about politics, the climate and the world in general, you can find my new site at Our World Report.

March 10, 2011

To Whom It May Concern:

This is to inform all interested parties that DM Billiard Academy & Clint Internet Café will be closing our business by April 1, 2011. The following is a list of the primary reasons for this decision:

We have consistently been singled out by the various government offices to pay fines or penalties. I have often been told that since my husband was a foreigner the fines were no big deal. It seems that everyone wants “their” share. On one occasion I was told that the fine was ok because the staff needed to have their snacks supported.

Quite a bit has happened since my last post. I was very enthusiastic about the new developments at DM Billiard Academy and Internet Cafe. Our lease was about to expire and I fully expected a rent increase. Much to my surprise, an increase didn't come. Instead a letter showed up informing us that our lease would not be renewed.

This post is the entire Manifesto on Seeds. It's much more interesting then it sounds. It filled in big gaps in my understanding of food biodiversity, genetically modified seeds, and industrial agriculture. I got this as a pdf at Dr. Vendana Shiva's site: Navdanya International. Dr. Shiva is a physicist and an environmental activist. She is also very cool.

MANIFESTO ON THE FUTURE OF SEEDS

Introduction

The Manifesto of the Future of Food laid out practical steps and far-reaching concepts toward ensuring that food and agriculture become more socially and ecologically sustainable and strengthen the movement toward a more equitable and caring world. Translated into different languages, it has been widely disseminated to individuals and organizations, as well as at various conferences and gatherings including the WTO ministerial in Cancun, Mexico in 2003 and adopted by different communities throughout the world. The principals contained in the Manifesto on the Future of Food led to the imperative of addressing seeds and related issues as a matter of emergency. Thus the International Commission on the Future of Food has prepared the present Manifesto on the Future of Seed, with the support and active participation... 
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Life in the Philippines is good. That being said it is definitely not for everyone. It requires adjustments that not everyone is willing to make. The infrastructure leaves much to be desired. Getting things done that requires a government agency can range from harrowing to boring (falling in line). If you have white skin, everyone will assume that you’re rich. The less than honorable people will rationalize that you are so rich that you wouldn’t mind if they got a little of your vast fortune. Where I live, actual robbery is probably less common than in a comparable size city in the States. However, people often overcharge foreigners when they can. But that usually amounts to a minor inconvenience. continue reading…