Here is another Pinay making us all proud. Amazing singer and more power to her!

That should have been NY Times ESOL 2008 Teacher of the Year.

Anyway, congratulations kuya Chito!

I really like her song that goes like this: Panahon na Panahon na Man, thats quite incomplete but I really like that song!

Shes reliving the music of Filipinos the jazz way! I have listened to some of it and they were really good!

Way to go ate Charmaine!

For how many years are they going to clean our Manila Bay?

As a family, we have seen her concert and performance at and are very proud of her accomplishments. Her rendition of Dahil Sa Iyo is the best and another song that I love to play and made her quite famous and is played in mainstream radio is Minamahal Kita.

Yes, please listen to her music and if you love jazz her music is indeed something to be proud of as a Filipino.

Mabuhay!

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Candice Adea wins Ballet’s Top Prize at Helsinki Competition

Here is another Pinay making us all proud. Amazing singer and more power to her!

That should have been NY Times ESOL 2008 Teacher of the Year.

Anyway, congratulations kuya Chito!

I really like her song that goes like this: Panahon na Panahon na Man, thats quite incomplete but I really like that song!

Shes reliving the music of Filipinos the jazz way! I have listened to some of it and they were really good!

Way to go ate Charmaine!

For how many years are they going to clean our Manila Bay?

As a family, we have seen her concert and performance at and are very proud of her accomplishments. Her rendition of Dahil Sa Iyo is the best and another song that I love to play and made her quite famous and is played in mainstream radio is Minamahal Kita.

Yes, please listen to her music and if you love jazz her music is indeed something to be proud of as a Filipino.

Mabuhay!

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De Ocampo receives from UK’s QE II Order of the British Empire

Interviewee: Thomas Bollyky, Senior Fellow for Global Health, Economics, and Development, Council on Foreign Relations Interviewer: Toni Johnson, Senior Editor/Senior Staff Writer June 22, 2012

The Rio+20 conference on sustainable development is unlikely to deliver the sweeping international environmental mandates that followed the original high-level environmental summit of 1992 in Rio, which set the international agenda for the next two decades. Much has changed since then, from the rise of emerging economies to increasing urbanization, the global financial crisis and "summit fatigue," says CFR's Thomas Bollyky, who also notes that Rio+20 comes "on the heels of a series of global summits that produced little." He says that there is possible space to negotiate on sustainable technology cooperation and transfer and lowering trade barriers to environmental services. "Relative success, or at least a somewhat positive outcome, would be a perception of the Rio+20 conference that does not entirely sap the momentum around sustainable development and small-scale initiatives that create momentum for the future," he says. "We may see tangible, productive proposals emerging at the national, city, and state level."

How would you compare the 2012 Rio summit with the one twenty years ago?

The original Rio conference introduced the concept of sustainable development and made climate change a standing issue on the world's agenda for world leaders to discuss. It produced treaties and multilateral institutions to help shape international cooperation on climate change, biodiversity, desertification, and global funding to address these challenges. It was really met, at the time, with tremendous optimism. The 1992 conference was attended by [then] President George H.W. Bush, and environmentalism was an issue in the U.S. presidential election; more European leaders were there as well.

The situation now is quite different, and a much more difficult terrain. There is has been tremendous population growth; unprecedented urbanization, particularly in low- and middle- income countries; and a rise of emerging economies, all combining to put pressure on the environment and social systems. Energy needs are predicted to grow 50 percent by 2035 and water demand to grow about the same rate over the same period. Cities in China and India alone will add five hundred million people to their urban populations in the next twenty years. Throw that into the mix with the gloomy economic situation, and major leaps forward at this conference were just non-starters.

There's tremendous fatigue with summits and a lack of consensus, particularly on these broad, systemic issues.

The one other element is summit fatigue. There's just not a good history of a global summit of this kind, with a broad agenda, actually delivering change in how the world does its economic or energy business. It is also coming on the heels of a series of global summits that produced little, including the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009 and similar gatherings in Cancun and Durbin. It's coming on the heels of a UN general assembly on non-communicable diseases last year, which was also meant to replicate what was perceived as a successful summit on HIV years ago. There's tremendous fatigue with summits and a lack of consensus, particularly on these broad, systemic issues, on how responsibilities and costs should be shared by major powers.

What's significant in terms of what's on the table in the communiqu to be debated?

First, there will be a recasting of the notion of sustainable development, broadening it to encompass the concepts of poverty eradication and social inclusion--which is really about income and wealth disparity, which is growing throughout the world, in middle income countries in particular.

The other strong theme in this communiqu is setting up a process to negotiate sustainable development goals, which are meant to mirror or complement the Millennium Development Goals when they expire in 2015. These goals are intended to provide a yardstick for this conversation as it proceeds around sustainable development, a framework for that discussion, and a flag to rally civil society supporters around. These goals are expected to cover topics connected to sustainable consumption and production, particularly with regard to oceans, food security, agricultural production, access to water, and sustainable cities. It will be a challenge to negotiate though. These issues are complex and politically contentious, and you'll need these goals to be both universal--to apply to both developed and developing countries--and comprehensive.

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Nuclear Power Safety Concerns

ALISTAIR Campbell has been working the media to flog his latest book, The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq The Alastair Campbell Diaries. He did not download it off the internet in 45 minutes. But on the web (here) can read thethe full transcript from last nights book launch at Queen Mary, University of London, where Campbell was interviewed by John Rentoul Independent on Sunday columist and Queen Mary History Fellow, and introduced by Alun Evans of the Cabinet Office.The event was hosted by the Mile End Group.

Campbell talks about:

- The Vanity Fair journalist who said, can I ask you about your faith. Campbell stepped in and said David, we dont do God. That is how it started. He put I, in his piece, on like page 25. The Daily Telegraph picked it up and ran it on like page seven. And it then just sort of went whoosh. And now I get asked about it all the time.

- Tony Blairs time in office: Tony had only a small group around him who he could completely trust. Trust in the obvious sense but also trust to say what we think. I thought one of his huge strengths as a leader was that he was surrounded by people who werent at all deferential, we would always say what we thought and he would then kind of weigh that up.

- Blairs decision to sack Gordon Brown in 2003. He obviously thought that was the right thing then but very quickly he got in to the mindset of thinking actually its not black and white and you cant quite predict what will happen if I do, and so he didnt.

- Having to read his diary, in full, to a complete stranger for the Hutton Inquiry: I did read the really personal bits in there and I did at one point break down in tears saying I just cant do this, I dont see why and I having to do this?. And he said: look I know this is really, really hard but the Prime Minister has set up an inquiry, you are a key advisor to the Prime Minister, youve got to cooperate in every which way. Now, Im glad I took the advice. Because with Lord Hutton I think my diaries actually helped rather than hindered.

First-year Queen Mary geography student, Temitayo Akindeinde caused much hilarity from the rest of the audience when she asked Campbell which of his legs was longer than the other? He took off his shoes to pull out his orthotics, revealing that the right leg was shorter. Campell told Temitayo that her question was something no one had ever asked him, and he bought her a copy of his diaries at the book-signing afterwards.

The full transcript:

John Rentoul:

I have read all of the fourth volume, I am pleased to say I have defaced and damaged the book, turned down most of the corners and scrawled in the margins. Im not really middle class as you can tell; youre not supposed to do that to books.But its fascinating stuff, as you would expect because this was really the turmoil years of the Blair Government, 2001 to 2003. Youve got everything from 9/11 to the Iraq War, which, of course, was the sort of turning point for Blair Government.What is absolutely amazing reading this is that Tony Blair carried on being Prime Minister for four years after all this happened, and after he lost Alastair Campbell, who was such a huge supporter.And there are all sorts of very important things in this, such as one of Alastair Campbells legs is longer than the other. I dont know what that signifies but it makes running marathons pretty difficult.But let me start by asking Alastair, if you could just tell us how you wrote this? How often did you write this? How long did you spend writing it? Was it done on the computer or was it hand written?

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The Alistair Campbell Interview and highlights from ‘The Burden of Power: Countdown to Iraq – The Alastair Campbell ...

ELLSWORTH Jaspers restaurant in Ellsworth is marking 55 years in business this Saturday, June 23, with live music from 2 p.m. till closing.

Troy Adams, the third generation of the family to own and operate the popular restaurant, observed that June 23 is, coincidentally, Jasper Tildens birthday.

Three live bands will perform outdoors and indoors on Saturday. The local rock group Whoopie Kat will play outdoors at 2. At the same time, Jaspers will put on a barbecue. The price for a single serving will be $10; all you can eat is $15.

The band Skyscaper will take over from 5:30-8 p.m. and then the party moves indoors for open mike and the music of the Fairmoans.

My grandfather ran this place from 1957 to 1980, then my mother ran it from 1980 to 2000 and Ive run it since 2000, Adams said. He started it on fried clams and here we are.

Among the many anniversary specials will be fried clams at $5.55 for a lunch portion and $19.57 dinner specials.

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Jasper’s Celebrates 55th Anniversary

Published on June 21, 2012

The so-called Green economy will intensify the plunder of the worlds remaining natural wealth and the privatization of critical services, technologies and products through Public-Private Partnerships and similar market-driven mechanisms. Frances Quimpo, Kaliakasan Partylist

By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO Bulatlat.com

MANILA Hundreds of environmental activists in the Philippines held a protest action in front of the United States Embassy to show solidarity with peoples from other countries during the June 20 Global Day of Action. The Global Day of Action coincided with the opening of the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development. In Brazil, Filipino environmentalists, agrarian reform advocates, womens rights leaders and progressive economists also led parallel activities at the conference site in Rio de Janeiro.

The Rio+20 conference is the follow-up to the 1992 Earth Summit also held in Rio de Janeiro that promoted the concept of Sustainable Development. The Agenda 21 was the summits resultant action plan, which was adopted by the 178 participating governments.

The groups led by the International League of Peoples Struggle (ILPS) and Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) challenged world leaders to reverse the prescribed natural resource and industry privatization and commercialization schemes packaged as the greening of key economic sectors, a business-as-usual approach that benefit top polluter nations led by the US.

Trying to save face after destroying global ecology

In a statement from Brazil where he is attending counterpart activities to Rio+20 Conference, Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE, said the worlds advanced capitalist nations are trying to save face after 20 years of global ecological destruction and socio-economic crisis under the banner of sustainable development.

The green economy paradigm peddled in the United Nations has given nothing but public-private investments and other market-based mechanisms in reducing the ecological and carbon footprints of industries, he said. The transition to a Green Economy, according to its architects, calls for financing from international financial institutions, speculators, conditional loans and other market-driven forces. It is clear from our two decades of experience under the corporatization of such sectors as energy, water and mining that public development standards are never met when project implementers are profit-oriented, he said.

The activities are sponsored by Ibon International, Rights for Sustainability and Cupula dos Povos.

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‘Greening’ of economy, a business ploy

"You see thousands of people using the dirty water of the canal because there is no other option," he said.

"We have never experienced this sort of massive load shedding before in Pakistan. It's unprecedented."

In April, a 19-year-old woman fell into a coma in a Lahore hospital because a power cut during an operation to remove her appendix shut off her oxygen supply.

Other problems include the spoiling of frozen food and the crippling of industrial production, including in Pakistan's vital textile sector.

The government has sought to give the impression that it has the situation under control. On Tuesday prime minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, speaking before the supreme court disqualified him from office, announced a high-powered "energy conference" of top officials. It would have been the eighth such event in 14 months, but critics say they lead to no substantial changes.

Economists say there is very little the government can do, given the country's dire fiscal position.

Years of not paying electricity providers has created huge debt piles, which grow constantly as a result of interest charges and continued spending on electricity.

In March, the country's natural resources minister told parliament that the so-called "circular debt" stood at 2.7 billion.

The state coffers are in no position to help as public funds have been consumed by the country's huge defense budget and interest payments on existing debt. Those two items alone make up about 65% of state spending.

Last month, Gilani suggested the power problem could be solved by simply printing more banknotes, despite already soaring inflation.

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Pakistan Power-Cut Riots Spread As Politician's House Stormed

In response to the developing health crisis on L.A.'s Skid Row, the City of Los Angeles today launched a comprehensive program to address the ongoing health hazards on the area's streets, such as human waste, hypodermic needles and condoms.

Dubbed Operation Healthy Streets, the program was initiated by the Department of Public Works and includes an intensive, multi-day cleaning of the poverty-stricken neighborhood's streets and sidewalks. A release, which notes some of the other health hazards as rodent infestations and contaminated objects, says "the required cleanup will include street and sidewalk power washing and disinfection, which necessitates the removal of all items from the affected public rights-of-way."

To aid in this removal, the city along with the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) have reached out daily to the homeless and other encampers to inform them of the cleaning and request that they move their belongings in advance. Two free property storage options -- 500 new storage bins at the Central City East Check-In Center and a secure warehouse on East Temple Street -- have been provided by the city for the area's inhabitants.

Patrick Butler, assistant chief with the Los Angeles Fire Department and acting spokesman for Operation Healthy Streets, told Los Angeles Downtown News, "Were coming out Tuesday morning with the Bureau of Sanitation, Bureau of Street Services and public health experts and were going to identify those items which are clearly public health issues as referenced in the county report."

The 32-page report followed the city's May request for a public health inspection of Skid Row, which revealed the neighborhood's hazardous conditions. Ordered by the county to clean up the area by May 29, the city obliged and is obviously taking cleanliness matters further. The city hoped the inspection would aid in its fight against a court injunction limiting controversial sweeps to dismantle sidewalk encampments; a decision by 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is expected this summer.

Focusing within the six blocks of Skid Row bordered on the north by East 5th Steet, on the south by East 7th Street, on the east by Gladys Avenue and on the west by Wall Street, the cleanup is expected to last for about two to three weeks. The release added that the work area will expand as needed to address all public health concerns.

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'Operation Healthy Streets' Starts Power Washing, Disinfecting Skid Row Today

A homeless couple gets up before dawn to dismantle their encampment before businesses open October 12, 2007 in the downtown Skid Row area of Los Angeles, California.(Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

LOS ANGELES (CBS) City cleanup crews descended on Skid Row Tuesday to clean up the human waste, hypodermic needles, condoms and rats that have built up in the area.

On orders from Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the citys Department of Public Works began a two- to three-week effort called Operation Healthy Streets to literally scrub down the sidewalks after a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health report noted the health dangers of living among feces, urine, rats and hypodermic needles found on Skid Row.

Crews will remove all items including the possessions of homeless people from the sidewalks on the streets on the east side of downtown where the homeless congregate and the sidewalks will be power-washed.

Possessions collected from the streets will be held in storage for at least 90 days at the Central City East Check-In Center, and a Storage facility at 432 E. Temple St.

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority personnel have been telling Skid Row occupants about the cleanup operation and where to claim their belongings. Four outreach workers are accompanying clean-up crews, spokesman Peter Griffith said.

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Crews Prep Skid Row Sidewalks For Power Washing

BUCKSPORT Shortly before 9 a.m. on June 9, a caller reported to police that the snack shack at the Reggie Ginn ball field on Spoffard Avenue had been burglarized.

In less than a half-hour, another call came in reporting that there had also been vandalism in the dugouts.

According to Sgt. David Winchester, candy and food items were missing from the concession stand, while the dugouts had been vandalized with paint.

Criminal Trespass

Shane A. McNally, a 25-year-old transient, was arrested June 4 for criminal trespass after police received a report of someone going into the abandoned house next to Family Dollar on Route 1.

Taken Tools Turn Up

While conducting a bail check at a Silver Lake Road residence June 5, police recovered stolen property that was then turned over to the Ellsworth Police Department.

According to Winchester, the stolen property consisted of tools.

Vehicle Fires

A Central Street resident called police shortly after 7 a.m. June 6 to report that a vehicle caught fire during the night but is out now. A police officer and a firefighter responded to the scene as a precaution.

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Bucksport Police: Burglary, Vandalism Reported at Ball Field