Japan allows its citizens same-sex marriage abroad

TOKYO (AFP) - - Japan has given the green light for its nationals to marry same-sex foreign partners in countries where gay marriage is legal, a justice ministry official said Friday.

Japan does not allow same-sex marriages at home and has so far also refused to issue a key document required for citizens to wed overseas if the applicant's intended spouse was of the same gender.

Under the change, the justice ministry has told local authorities to issue the key certificate -- which states a person is single and of legal age -- for those who want to enter same-sex marriages, the official told AFP.

Gay activists praised the move.

"This is one step forward," said Taiga Ishikawa, who leads a gay support group. "Gay Japanese have suffered a disadvantage... although they should be able to marry in some countries overseas."

Same-sex marriage is allowed in countries including Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, South Africa and some US states.

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About the Photo: Participants hold up placards as they take part in the Tokyo Pride Parade in 2007. Japan has given the green light for its nationals to marry same-sex foreign partners in countries where gay marriage is legal, a justice ministry official said Friday.

Source: http://ph.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090328/tls-japan-gays-rights-aeafa1b.html

TOMASINO Ako! Eh Ikaw?

Kung ang mga dakilang mga taga-peyups ay may umiikot na note tungkol sa kanilang buhay sa diliman, paano naman ang mga mag-aaral ng bahaing pamantasan sa may espana? pwes, sumagot ka!

1. ANO STUDENT NUMBER MO?
*2002-003655! in fairness, lam ko pa rin kahit nawala na ang ID ko. huhu!

2. NAG-UST KA BA DAHIL DI KA PUMASA SA UP O ATENEO? (FORGET LA SALLE)
*nope. dream school ko before ang MAPUA dahil nga gusto ko ng Engineering.

3. ANO FIRST CHOICE MO (COURSE)?
*Civil Engineering.

4. ANO PABORITO MONG KARINDERYA?
*One-Two, Almers at yung sa Dapitan.. forget the name, gusto ko pa naman yung Bicol Express nila. hehe!

5. MAGKANO ANG PAMASAHE SA DYIP NUNG NAG-AARAL KA PA?
*6 pesos kapag student ka. =)

6. NARANASAN MO NA BANG MABAHA SA UST?
*yeah... stranded pa nga eh....

7. ANO ORG MO?
*Engineering COMELEC
*Chamber of COMELEC Chairpersons
*EnTER-CoDe (Engineering Team for Emergency Response and Community Development)
*ACES (Association of Civil Engineering Students)

8. NAG ROTC KA BA?
*yes... tapos nag-Military Police pa ako nun... hehe!

9. KAMPEON BA ANG TIGERS NUNG NAG-AARAL KA O IKAW ANG MALAS SA KANILA?
*YES! last year ko na sa UST nun ng nag-champ sa Men's Basketball... 2006 yun!

10. KABISADO MO BA ANG UST HYMN?
*God of all nations, merciful lord of our restless being.... hanggang diyan lang ang alam ko...

11. NABISITA MO BA ANG UST MORGUE?
*once lang... nagpa-tour ako sa friend ko. hehe!

12. SINO PINAKASIKAT NA ARTISTANG TOMASINO ANG KILALA MO NOON?
*at that time, si Aiza Seguerra at si Ciara Sotto...

13. NAKA-HONOR KA BA?
*asa pa ako. haha!

14. ANO FAVORITE SUBJECTS MO?
*Environmental Engineering

15. ANO NAMAN ANG PINAKAAYAW MO?
*Integral Calculus dahil sa prof... haha!

16. NAKAPAGSWIMMING KA BA SA POOL NG USTE?
*hindi kasi naubusan na ako ng slot...

17. NAKASALUBONG KA BA NG PARING NAG-JO-JOGGING SA FIELD NUNG NAG-AARAL KA PA?
*oo naman lalo ng PE namin...

18. NANAGINIP KA BANG MAKASAYAW TULAD NG MGA TAGA-SALINGGAWI?
*yup... pangarap ko din before na maging part ng Salinggawi... hanggang panaginip lang!

19. ANO PINAKAMAGANDANG UNIFORM PARA SAYO?
*hmmmm..... yung CFAD pa before at color blue pa sila nun at gusto ko kasi yung pants nila.. daming bulsa. hehe...

20. ANO NAMAN ANG PINAKABURAOT?
*anu na nga ba? yung IPEA kasi parang ginaya lang yung blouse ng Engineering women eh...

21. UMAATTEND KA BA NG PASKUHAN?
*of course. wala akong pinaglapas nun eh...

22. MAGKANO TUITION NUNG PANAHON MO?
*1st year - 20K yata tapos nung 5th yr, naging 30K na. waaah!

23. SINO PINAKAKINATAKUTAN MONG PROPESOR?
*si Tandang Roque. haha...

24. NAKA-ATTEND KA BA KAHIT ISANG RALLY?
*mukhang wala. haha!

25. NARAMDAMAN MO BANG MAY CSC (CENTRAL STUDENT COUNCIL)?
*of course... kaaway kasi silaminsan ng COMELEC eh. lalo na kapag Election Days. haha@!

26. SI CLAVIO BA ANG REGISTRAR NUNG NAG-AARAL KA?
*parang. pero lam ko siya yun...

27. SINO REKTOR NUNG PANAHON MO?
*Fr. Lana tapos napalitan.. forgot the name. hehe!

28. ANO MGA NAGING PE MO AT NATUTO KA NAMAN BA?
*Basic Volleyball, Table Tennis, Advance Volleyball at Handball (the best ito)

29. KUMAIN KA BA NG MGA ISAW O FISHBALL SA DAPITAN?
*oo naman... samahan mo pa ng cheese sticks...

30. NARANASAN MO BA ANG MAYRICS, TAPSI, 1611 o KITTENS?
*sa Mayrics at Tapsi pa lang... sa 1611 hindi pa... san yung Kittens? di ko yata alam ito...

Feel mo, feel nya, feel nating lahat...PHILIPPINES!

Para maiba naman sa aking usual emotera notes, I'm posting some "panalo" intro lines ng mga gay beauconeras ng Miss Gay pageants sa mga bara-baranggay. Kelangan basahin ninyo ng malakas with matching feeling!

Hindi ko na alam sa iyo kung manhid ka lang talaga pag di ka pa natawa after the first 30 seconds of reading this. Tignan natin kung di kayo maloka, hahaha!!! :P



Beauties of Asia and the Pacific:

Boom! Kabum! Kablam!... AFGHANISTAN!
Bratatatatatatatatat... IRAQ!
Harutan, Laplapan, Ariputan... JAPAN!
I sit...I stand...I walk... IRAN!
Mula sa lupa na kulang ang bigas, sandamakmak na mandurugas…PILIPINAS!
(Alternate version: Feel mo, feel nya, feel nating lahat... PHILIPPINES!)
King Kong, Kangkong, Korikong…HONGKONG!
(Acting as Mongoloid) Eeehhh aaahhhh...MONGOLIA!
Saan ang gimik? Sa Megamall or sa Glorietta?... SAMOA!
Red Tea, Green Tea, Iced Tea...TAHITI!
Ako ay bonggang-bongga, Walang kasing bongga, from... TONGA!
Amnesia, Anesthesia... INDONESIA!
One little, Two little, Three little… INDIA!
Singaone, Singatwo, Singathree... SINGAPORE!
(Alternate version: Sing ka na, sing ka pa, ilabas ang Magic Sing... SINGAPORE!)
Taifour, Taithree, Taitwo... TAIWAN!
Tama ako, tama ka, tama tayong lahat... MALAYSIA!
Aray ko po, aray ko po, wag nyo po akong saktan... KAZAKHSTAN!
Parang Spam, Brick Ham, at Chinese Ham…ako ay malinamnam... VIETNAM!
Hindi na In, Hindi na Sikat, eh ano sya?... LAOS!
Move over Lutong Bahay...Here comes Lutong... MACAU!

Beauties of Europe:

EDSA, Ayala, Buendia… ESPAÑA!
Alms…spare me a piece of bread…I am... HUNGARY!
(Alternate version: Gutom ako, gutom kayo, gutom tayong lahat… HUNGARY!)
Antagal-tagal naman... PORTUGAL!
Mula sa bansa na unang nagpauso ng po, opo, at mano po… POLAND!
One way, two way, there’s no other way... NORWAY!
Seduce me…I’m not Amy Perez, I’m Amy… AUSTRIA!
Palagi na lang ako…ako…ako... MONACO!
Taliba, Tiktik, People’s Tonight… BULGARIA!

Beauties of the Americas:

Baha doon, baha dito, baha sa buong mundo... BAHAMAS!
Olah, viola, kaserola, tinola, saranggola, arinola ni Lola… VENEZUELA!
Mula sa Bayan ng mapupulang Gumamela…GUATEMALA!
Tang ina mo wag kang pasaway... PARAGUAY!
Anna Karenina, Flor De Luna… ARGENTINA!
Ako po ang nawawalang kapatid ni Majah Salvador at Phillip Salvador… EL SALVADOR!
I'm sorry Sir, I'm sorry Ma'am... SURINAME!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh…! CHILE!

Beauties of Africa:

Hindi sa akin, hindi sa yo, kanino sya?... KENYA!
Alin…alin…alin ang naiba. Isipin kung alin ang…naiba… NAMIBIA!
(Ala Nora Aunor) Isang beses ko lang sasabihin ito…hindi ako si Bembol Roco… MOROCCO!
From the land where nobody is less than nor greater than… SUDAN!
Ako po ay maganda, saksakan ng ganda, putang ina ang ganda from... UGANDA!


=============================
*got this post from my friend, Joel.

Critics target reuse of building site soil

Critics target reuse of building site soil
Chicago environmental activists urge delay of proposed law change

By John Keilman |Tribune reporter
March 16, 2009

Chicago environmental activists urged the city Sunday to delay approval of a proposal that would allow crews to reuse soil from construction sites even if the dirt contains lead, arsenic, benzene and other chemicals.

Activists from the Pilsen neighborhood said their community has too often been a dumping ground for toxic materials and that the ordinance, which will come before the City Council's Environment Committee on Monday, raises too many questions to merit speedy approval.

"For many, many years the city has not taken soil contamination seriously, and it's our responsibility as communities of color that are severely impacted to call upon them and say it's too quick to make a decision," said Kim Wasserman of the Little Village Environmental Justice Organization.

The city's soil contains plenty of contaminants after decades of heavy traffic and industrial activity. Dirt removed from construction projects must be transported to landfills and replaced with earth that typically is taken from Downstate farmland.

The ordinance would allow Chicago's dirt to be reused at other construction sites as long as tests showed that its level of contaminants was beneath thresholds established by the city and state. Soil deemed unsafe would continue to be taken to landfills.

Suzanne Malec-McKenna, the city's environment commissioner, said trucking away construction soil and importing new dirt add needless expense to public works projects.

"You're going to have certain levels of chemicals in the soil, but not levels that are unsafe for human health and the environment. ... It's the reality of living in a community that has cars and trucks and the history of a city," she said.

Malec-McKenna said the city and state have been working on the plan for two years, and that the Environment Committee held a hearing last month on the proposal.

The Pilsen activists said they wanted more time to study the proposal's impact. If the ordinance clears the committee, the City Council could vote on it Wednesday.

jkeilman@tribune.com

Source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-soil-ordinance-16mar16,0,1043028.story?track=rss

VOTE! EARTH

VOTE! EARTH: YOUR LIGHT SWITCH IS YOUR VOTE

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming.

For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the opportunity to use their light switch as their vote – Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes, which will be presented to world leaders at the Global Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen 2009.

This meeting will determine official government policies to take action against global warming, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. It is the chance for the people of the world to make their voice heard.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when 2.2 million homes and businesses switched off their lights for one hour. In 2008 the message had grown into a global sustainability movement, with 50 million people switching off their lights. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum, the Sydney Opera House and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness.

In 2009, Earth Hour is being taken to the next level, with the goal of 1 billion people switching off their lights as part of a global vote. Unlike any election in history, it is not about what country you’re from, but instead, what planet you’re from. VOTE EARTH is a global call to action for every individual, every business, and every community. A call to stand up and take control over the future of our planet. Over 74 countries and territories have pledged their support to VOTE EARTH during Earth Hour 2009, and this number is growing everyday.

We all have a vote, and every single vote counts. Together we can take control of the future of our planet, for future generations.

VOTE EARTH by simply switching off your lights for one hour, and join the world for Earth Hour.

Saturday, March 28, 8:30-9:30pm.

Visit http://www.earthhour.org/

Sexy Window Washer

I just love the video. So sexy and so tempting. Lols!

One-Year Ago.

March 3, 2008, I AM SYKES. This was the first day I started working with Sykes and I never regret working in a call center like Sykes. Although I don’t have any experience in a call center. I was glad that I had a work that time even though my course was totally different from it.

Two weeks of core skills and call center communication training was given by Sykes to its new employees like me and had two weeks also of product training from the account which I was affiliated which was Office Depot. During those weeks, I had the pleasure meeting new people and gaining new friends, which I was thankful. Especially the Unwritten Girls: Julius, Sushi, Red, Jan, Jojo and Me; and we were all gay.

I stayed for Office Depot as a Customer Service Representative for almost 7 months and had one of the closest friends,Jojo Bauda. Yes, he is gay also and we clicked so much but not to the aspect of moving to the next level. Heis like my elder brother. I also had the pleasure of working with three team leaders. First one, he is Vince Marcelino, which I was under from him for two and a half months then followed by Pat Paggao and stayed for three months. And last but not least, Daniel Pancho, that only last for 2 weeks also. I know it was short but all of my TL’s were the best.

Then came October, which I need to transferred to another account, and it was a totally different account. Right now, I was a Technical Support Representative for Kodak US Account. I underwent for product training for a month and started going live on November. I had the pleasure working with Heidz Mendoza, my team leader. I stayed for her for three months and she was a friend to me.

Sad to say but I need to leave Sykes so soon. I need to fulfill a greater destiny. Yes, I need to take the upcoming Civil Engineering board exam this coming May. Heidz doesn’t want me to leave but I need to. I leave Sykes last February 8, 2009 and it was really a hard decision for me.

It is almost a month since I left Sykes but I don’t have any regrets from it. Today, this is supposed to be my anniversary in Sykes and I am glad that I had been a part of it. Rather, I WAS SYKES.