Particles a million times smaller than objects

"Even the structure of the atom has been found by the mind. Therefore the mind is subtler than the atom. That which is behind the mind, namely the individual soul, is subtler than the mind."
--Ramana Maharshi

ATOMS CANNOT BE SEEN. To show that the world was made of particles a million times smaller than objects visible to the naked eye was so difficult that their existence was not established beyond reasonable doubt until the end of the nineteenth century.

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WELCOME THE WIND. Many products can cause air pollution to build up in our home, including modern cleaners, which contain strong chemicals. Let's make sure to ventilate our home well, ensuring a through-flow of air to help reduce pollution levels and encourage good ventilation.

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FILTER IT AWAY. The human body requires at least 1 gallon of water a day. If we are considering stocking up on emergency supplies, let's bear in mind that plastic bottles are thought to leach chemicals into the water if left for a length of time. Let's save space and the environment by stocking up on water filters instead.

Acid transmits nerve cells and brain signals

"Saturated fat is a fundamental building block for brain cells. It's certainly interesting to consider that one of the richest sources of saturated fat in nature is human breast milk."
--David Perlmutter


NEW YORK CITY -- Phenylalanine is an essential amino acid that is a neurotransmitter, a chemical that transmits its signals between the nerve cells and the brain. It reduces hunger, increase sexual interest, improve memory and mental alertness, and alleviate depression. (Vitamin Bible)

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DON'T LET OUR DOGS EAT THIS! Grapes and raisins have been shown to cause kidney failure in dogs. The toxic ingredient is unclear, but it is currently being studied in the veterinary community (a fungus is suspected). The amount of grapes or raisins that may cause kidney failure is not exactly known, so any amount could potentially be dangerous.

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MENINGITIS VACCINE FOR KIDS BENEFITS THE ELDERLY, TOO. Since the meningitis vaccine was introduced in 2000 for children ages two months to two years, not only have meningitis cases declined by 64% among children, they also have dropped by 54% among people 65 and older. With fewer children spreading germs, fewer adults are getting the disease.

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MIDLIFE SUICIDE MORE COMMON. Rates are increasing among men and women ages 40 to 64. The current economic malaise could be a contributing factor. Warning signs: Acting highly pessimistic, hopeless or angry, increasing alcohol or drug use, making impulsive, out-of-character decisions, getting rid of previously prized possessions, talking about wanting to die, withdrawing from friends, family and society, mood changes.

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SAVING OUR PLANET. Clean clothes with bleach. If we want to get rid of blood in our clothes without using bleach, let’s pour salt or cold club soda onto the stain and soak in cold water before washing. For a more stubborn stain, mix cornstarch, talcum powder, and a little water into a spreadable paste and apply; then allow to dry and brush away.

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SAVING OUR PLANET. Let’s polish off watermarks. Instead of using chemical treatments for wood, or varnishes that contain air-polluting chemicals, let’s get rid of watermarks using a dry cloth. Let’s rub the mark with olive or almond oil, or mix butter with cigarette ash to turn it brown, then polish.

Hispanics will outnumber whites in US

"You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption."
--Noam Chomsky

NEW YORK CITY -- By 2020, Hispanics will outnumber the whites in the United States, according to a census report. While some white couples have one or two babies, some Hispanic couples have four to six babies. No wonder.

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Women may find B12 helpful--as part of a B complex--during and just prior to menstruation while elderly people frequently have difficulty absorbing vitamin B12 and require supplementation by injection.

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If we are a vegetarian and have excluded eggs and dairy products from our diet, then we need B12 supplementation. If we keep regular "Happy Hours" and drink a lot, B12 can be a most effective revitalizer.

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There were 69% increase in portion sizes at the Last Supper over the past 1,000 years, according to researchers who studied 52 paintings that depict the meal (Time).

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LONGING FOR SWEET ITALIAN CUISINE? An Italian meal may contain as much monosodium glutamate (MSG) as an Oriental meal since both tomatoesand cheese are natural sources of this substance.

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PREMENSTRUAL SYNDROME (P.M.S.). For two to ten days before the onset of menstruation, millions of women are affected by a wide range of physical discomforts and mood disorders--from bloating, depression, and insomia to severe pains, uncontrolled rages, crying spells, and even suicidal depression. This is known as P.M.S. (Vitamin Bible)

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Foods and nutrients that can lower our cholesterol naturally: Activated charcoal, barely, carrots, chromium, corn bran, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower), eggplant, evening primrose oil, fenugreek seed, fiber, garlic, ginger, lemon grass oil, soy beans, yogurt, red pepper, onions.

In bocca al lupo, Fabiano

“Chess is ruthless: you've got to be prepared to kill people.” --Nigel Short

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If Bobby Fischer were alive today, he would spearhead the applause on 25-year-old compatriot Fabiano Caruana.
The reclusive genius died at 64 in Reykjavik, Iceland in 2008 without seeing his dream to see another American-born chess grand master competing for the world chess championship.
When another American, Gata Kamsky (2677), battled and lost to Russia’s Anatoli Karpov (2623) for world championship in 1996, Fischer wasn’t impressed that another American after him was able to take a stab at the world chess crown.
Unlike Caruana (2784), who was born in Miami, Kamsky, 43, was born in Novokuznetsk, Russian and moved only to the United States in 1989.
Fischer, born in Chicago in 1943, was very particular about US-born chess world title candidates and challengers.
He also didn’t believe that that the world chess crown should remain in the hands of the Russians.
Although Caruana is Italian-American, he was born and raised in the US territory.

THIRD

By winning the FIDE Candidates Tournament 2018 in Berlin March 27, Caruana became officially the third American to battle for the world championship after Fischer in 1972 and Kamsky in 1996.
If Caruana will dethrone 27-year-old defending champion Magnus Carlsen (2843) of Norway in their 12-game match in London in November, he will only be the second American to win the global chess tiara since 1975, the year Fischer relinquished the title, three years after his epic win over Soviet star Boris Spassky in Reykjavik.
In Berlin during the Candidates Tournament 2018 that started on March 10, Caruana sent a strong message when he blasted fellow US player, Filipino Wesley So (2799), in a Catalan match in the opening day.
So finished solo seventh with six points.
In the 14th and last round on March 27, Caruana booked a ticket to London to face Carlsen when he trounced Alexander Grischuk (2767) in Petroff’s Defence, the only victory of the day in the eight-man tournament.
He wound up with nine points, a point ahead of second placer, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2809) who had eight points.
“I am absolutely thrilled,” Caruana, the world No. 3, said afterward. 

“Coming into today, I wasn’t sure what would happen and things couldn’t have gone better. A few days ago, I thought the tournament was already out of my hands, but somehow things just came together perfectly at the end. I really couldn’t be happier.”
In bocca al lupo, Fabiano or good luck, Fabiano.

Final Standings: 1st Caruana 9 pts, 2nd Mamedyarov 8 pts, 3rd Karjakin 8 pts, 4th Ding Liren 7.5 pts, 5th Kramnik 6.5 pts, 6th Grischuk 6.5 pts, 7th Wesley So 6 pts, 8th Aronian 4.5 pts

Will Sara Duterte back Joe III vs Jerry?

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.” --Groucho Marx

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- If we stretch our imaginations, the only way for Iloilo City Mayor Jose “Joe III” Espinosa III to face Rep. Jerry Treñas for mayor in the 2019 elections is for Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP) founder, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, to endorse his candidacy and for House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez’s PDP-Laban to officially back acolyte Treñas.
HNP is currently slowly inching its way to forge a tie-up with various satellite political parties first in Mindanao, and now in the Visayas, in a hope to grow and expand in time for the next congressional elections.
PDP-Laban, of course, is not happy about the new kid in town and is, in fact, getting increasingly pissed off and insecure especially that it is being spearheaded by the most powerful and influential daughter in the Philippines today, who is rumored to be the next candidate for president.

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HNP and PDP-Laban are still currently “distinct and separate” from one another in as far as legitimacy and recognition by the Comelec are concerned, although they both can sleep in the same presidential bedroom together albeit in two separate beds.
Still on infant stage, HNP is obscured by its regional-level status, while PDP-Laban is a behemoth party with strongholds and incumbent elected officials all over the archipelago.
It’s a common knowledge that Inday Sara and Alvarez are not on speaking terms after the latter had branded Inday Sara’s group as “the new opposition.”
Joe III and Treñas are both PDP-Laban stalwarts and have also allegedly quarreled (of course we didn’t believe this).
The most likely scenario in the event the Joe III-Treñas alleged spat was authentic and they are hellbent to dispute the top city hall post in 2019, is for HNP and PDP-Laban to pick between the two “magbilas” (their wives are sisters).
Inday Sara might go for the “underdog” and fellow incumbent local chief executive, while Alvarez might choose a colleague in congress he thinks will be a “sure winner” for mayor.
This is, of course, a wishful thinking and, as we mentioned earlier, can only be possible if we stretch our curious imaginations.

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We still strongly believe that Mayor Joe III and Rep. Treñas will swap positions and are only trying to confuse their rivals who still continue to read between the lines and mutely observe the Joe III-Treñas “civil war” from afar.
By keeping the cards closer to their sleeves, Joe III and Treñas increase the chance for their opponents to face a grim prospect of kicking off their campaign offensive against a windmill like Sancho Panza in Don Quixote.
In fact, Joe III confirmed to city hall reporters recently that he would be running for an elective post in 2019.
The fact that he did not reveal which position he intends to aspire for in 2019 is a clear indication that he (or they) really plans to further draw a jigsaw puzzle in the minds of his (or their) political rivals.

Slice the cake equally for airport alternative project

"It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity."
--Albert Einstein

By Alex P. Vidal

The $10-billion proposed alternative international airport project dangled by San Miguel Corporation (SMC) to the government should not be limited to serving Metro Manila alone.
There are many airports of international standards outside Metro Manila and are better equipped and ready for whatever expansion or development programs in the future.
Although Manila is the seat of national government, massive economic activities and development have also been felt in various regions outside Luzon these past years.
Modern airports in Iloilo, Bacolod, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, among other major cities in the Visayas and Mindanao, are among the busiest; Imperial Manila should not devour the entire cake.
When investors and tourists fly to other cities in Visayas and Mindanao, they will realize there is more than meets the eye when it comes to tourism and investment opportunities normally advertised in the internet and other media of happening only in Metro Manila areas.
Industrialization and economic growth should be a national phenomenon.

REGIONS

If airports in other regions are developed and upgraded, more economic zones will germinate nationwide.
Economic zones help small scale businesses and exporters in the countryside. The playing field is leveled. And this is the essence of globalization.
Tiny cities in neighboring Asian countries have become economic tigers because both the government and private sector spread the sunshine nationwide in terms of public works and infrastructure development.
Airports in these bustling cities have become sophisticated and upgraded to international standards, thus attracting tourists and investors from America, Australia, Africa and Europe.
If the capital city improves by leaps and bounds, the rest of the cities all over the country should also improve by leaps and bounds. Everybody happy.
The wonders of this egalitarian-type approach in nationwide expansion and development have been experienced in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia.

REPORT

SMC has been reported to have submitted its own proposal for a $10-billion alternative international airport serving Metro Manila "even as the government separately pursues a similar project, likely at a former US naval base in Sangley Point, Cavite."
The report mentioned SMC president Ramon S. Ang confirming reports that the airport project would cover around 800 hectares and would be located at an unspecified area in Metro Manila.
"SMC, a diversified conglomerate and owner of a minority stake in flag carrier Philippine Airlines, has long sought to build its own air gateway but uncertainty over the government’s stance on the matter prompted it to shelve the plan last year," said the report.

CHALLENGES

The proposal still faces other challenges, the report further said, given the current administration’s bias against unsolicited projects.
"Moreover, the Department of Transportation and Communications is looking at its own international airport project, to either operate alongside or as a replacement to the congested Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the country’s busiest air gateway," it added.
"The three terminals at Naia handled about 32 million passengers last year, above its intended capacity of 30 million."

Social media ‘friends’ don’t help win elections

“The more social media we have, the more we think we're connecting, yet we are really disconnecting from each other.” --JR

By Alex P. Vidal

NEW YORK CITY -- There was a joke that a popular politician in Iloilo in the Philippines lost in the 2016 local elections because he “campaigned” mostly in the social media instead of moving his butts to woo the votes personally in the barangays.
The politician, who maintained several Facebook accounts, miscalculated his “high” popularity rating.
He thought being popular in the social media was tantamount to instant victory in the election.
His Facebook account only had 5,000 “friends list” while the number of voters in his district was 313,112.
The former only massaged his ego, the latter were the ones who cast the actual votes that sealed his fate.
The politician, a smart aleck, ignored his partymates’ admonishment and allowed himself to be mesmerized by his admirers’ fallacy and dazzling Facebook comments foretelling his “landslide” victory for being a "good" and "deserving" candidate.

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It was too late when he realized he had been taken for a ride by the false prophets in his “friends list.”
After winding up second to the last in his district, he cursed his political party; he ended up a bitter and sore loser.
The next congressional elections in 2019 still won’t be about the number of “followers” or “friends” in the social media, it’s about the number of village chiefs or punong barangay that will support the candidates.
Local elections in the Philippines will continue to be decided by the degree of influence the candidates wield in the barangays or villages, considered as the smallest political units.
Those who have strong connections with the village chiefs usually wrap up the contest for mayor, congressman, and the the municipal, provincial, and city legislatures.
The village chiefs are the ones who have direct access to the voting populace.
Eighty percent of the candidates whose names are on the sample ballots being distributed in the villages are usually shoo-in in the winning column.

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We’ve noticed that some election wanna-bes at this early find it riveting to hammer away with the faults and imperfections of their prospective rivals in the next elections using the social media.
They believe that if they start to dig holes on their prospective rivals’ credibility and shatter their myth of invincibility earlier in the ballgame through the power and influence of the social media, it will be easier for them to deliver the knockout blow during the campaign period.
Those who usually initiate the aggressive offensive blitzkrieg are wanna-bes with low name-recall ratings, or those who belong to inferior or ragtag political parties.
But even if they succeed in portraying their prospective rivals as wicked men and women in the social media, this won’t give them any assurance of sure victory when they tangle during the official electoral contest.