The implementation of the Final General Firearms Amnesty for the period of one month, from October 1 to 30, 2009 was extended for another one month period, from November 1 to 30, 2009.

This was contained in Executive Order No. 817-A entitled, Providing for the Extension of the Final General Firearms Amnesty under Section 2 of Executive Order No. 817 dated July 7, 2009 recently promulgated by Malacañang.

The gun amnesty extension was recommended to Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by the National Firearms Control Program Executive Committee (NFCP EXECOM) in view of pressing public clamor for more time to register their firearms, particularly from many prospective registrants in remote areas and provinces.

The continuous processing of gun amnesty applications was also adversely affected by recent tropical storms “Ondoy” and “Pepeng” which hit most parts of Luzon.

The extension of the gun amnesty period will synchronize with the expected passage into law of House Bill No. 6779, or the proposed Gun Control Act, which seeks to impose stiffer penalties against those caught with illegal firearms and ammunition.

Meanwhile, the Region 1 police, in a recent memorandum for the National Secretariat of “Bilang Boga,” has reported to have received and processed 1,799 applications for loose firearms registration and 2,658 applications for firearms license renewal.  The figures represent PRO1’s accomplishment on the gun amnesty program for the period ending October 31, 2009. pnppro1

NCOM Agenda -- Portland, OR

Some things are immutable.  You’ve got to show up for appointments on time.

And speaking of meetings the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (NCOM (Region 1)) meeting and seminar is set for Saturday, October 17th in PORTLAND, OR.  The venue is the Holiday Inn (Portland Airport) at 8439 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland OR 97220.

Speakers at the daylong event includes:

James “Doc” Reichenbach – Chairman, National Coalition of Motorcyclists — “Freedom of the Road Throughout the Nation”

Sam Hochberg – A.I.M. (Aid to Injured Motorcyclists) Attorney, Oregon — “Other Legal Issues In Our Region” and “Trademark Defense Update”

Jim Hernandez – Professor Criminal Justice — “New Federal Gang Bill”

Guest Speaker — “The Defender Program”

NCOM was founded in 1986 with the idea that motorcycle groups from across America could “come together” and address the overwhelming need for a national voice to protect our life-style and right to ride.  NCOM is not another association, but rather a bringing together of existing motorcycle groups for the purpose of mutual exchange of information, legislative strategy and to combine strength to fight all that is adverse to the freedom of the road.

All motorcyclists are invited to this free event.   Hopefully you can join your fellow riders as it’s your opportunity to hear about the status of the fight for personal freedom across the country and weigh in on the various motorcycle topics effecting the northwest.  I received information that the WA CoC will be riding in as a master pack which should make for an interesting entrance visual in of itself.

True, I’m on a mini blogging timeout this month, but the meeting is important and I wanted to help get the word out.

Photo courtesy of NCOM.

All Rights Reserved © Northwest Harley Blog

The Philippine Orchid Society held a field trip last April 19 to 22, 2008 . The group went to several provinces up in the Northern Regions of the country. The tour was called Baguio, Benguet , La Union , Pangasinan and Tarlac tour.

Pozorrubio is a 2nd class municipality in the province of Pangasinan. According to the latest census, it has a population of 63,689 people in 11,288 households. Often the town’s name is mistakenly written as “Pozzorubio” but the correct spelling is “Pozorrubio“.

group photo

The name were said to derived from old Hispanic name Pozo ( meaning well) rubio ( blonde  color) referring to the type of soil in the area.  Some people would say that the term was used in reference to the color of dried tobacco leaves – a large portion of the municipality was used as a tobacco plantation during the Spanish regime.

The municipality is politically divided into 34 barangays. The farm was located in Barangay Alipangpang beside the main highway , The town main livelihood is farming .

Mrs. Remedios Rodis- Santelices

The owner Mrs. Remedios ” Remy ” Rodis- Santelices is a lifetime member , a former board of director of the Philippine Orchid Society , Philippine Horticultural Society among others.

semi-terete vanda

She was born in the town and thus she named her farm ” Pozorrubio Orchidarium Farm” the farm according to Mrs. Santelices  had contributed somehow to the fame of the town . The farm would conduct  annual sale which buyers from all over Northern Luzon  would come and buy orchids , ornamental plants, ferns , hoyas among others.

Hoya meliflua- an endemic species from the Philippines

Her clientele includes local government officials, governors , generals , wholesalers, landscapers, ordinary hobbyists and even passers-by .

The group was treated with an assortment of native Pangalatok kakanins like Pangasinan puto,  biko and kutsinta.

a blooming sized Cymbidium finlaysonianum variety alba

While the group hurriedly bought rare orchids like Cymbidium finlaysonianum variety alba ,Grammatophyllum multiflorum variety citrinum , various Hoya species , Platycerium grande ferns, Platycerium coronarium , Platycerium bifurcatum , Asplenium nidus , Asplenium musifolium among others.

This rare albino form of Cymbidium  finlaysonianum command a handsome price tag

She had several varieties of ferns which quickly germinate in the orchid  media pots.

Her farm would had several  cut flower orchid  varieties like Dendrobium, Vandas, Mokaras, Kagawaras, strap leaf Vanda.

Mrs. Santelices used to host a popular late afternoon agricultural show on IBC channel 13 during the early 1990’s together with Mr. Zacarias Sarian and Ka Philip  ” Ipe” Daffon.

She also operates a retail outlet within  Greenhouse 3, Manila Seedling Bank and in Project 8.

Image via WikipediaΗ εταιρεία TDK φαίνεται ότι έχει ξεπεράσει κατά πολύ αυτό το νούμερο και ετοιμάζεται να παρουσιάσει το επίτευγμά της, την επόμενη εβδομάδα στην έκθεση CEATEC (Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technology) στην Ιαπωνία. Ο δίσκος Blu-ray της TDK αποτελείται από δέκα στρώσεις των 32GB έκαστη, κάτι που εστί 320 ολόκληρα GigaByte σε έναν και μόνο δίσκο!zougla.gr

Ever since ADV lost all their Sojitz titles, my respect for them have gone up ten folds. They’ve managed to get back on their feet after hitting rock bottom, which a lot of other anime companies who faced similar problems simply closed down for good. They’ve also been correcting their past mistakes like how they used to strip the extras off their thinpack releases and so on. But as you know, ADV eventually closed down and became Sentai Filmworks.

What I really like about Sentai Filmworks is how they’ve been managing to license many titles lately and getting street dates for said titles months after their acquisition announcements. The latest example being To Love Ru which was announced today and already has part 1 scheduled for a December release. I also love the fact that they’ve been focusing on picking up a lot of niche titles. Stuff like Blue Drop, Indian Summer, etc. were shows I’d never expect to see get released in North America and yet Sentai Filmworks has managed to do just that. And the fact that their dvds are some of the lowest priced anime in the market is the icing on the cake.

Although it isn’t to say that Sentai Filmworks doesn’t suffer from it’s share of problems. Probably the most notable example is the constant lack of spell checking on their translations. Every release I’ve bought from them has had spelling errors in their translations, probably more common than with other region 1 anime companies. Some fans also don’t like the fact that Sentai Filmworks is releasing their titles subbed only. And a lot (not all) of their titles are just getting bare bones treatment (lack of extras) but to be fair a lot of companies have been going this route so I can’t fault Sentai Filmworks too much for it.

Overall I welcome Sentai Filmworks current strategy. If what they’re doing means getting more anime into the market and at really cheap prices then I’m all for it.

A few days ago FUNimation uploaded Strike Witches episodes 3 and 4 uncensored on their video channel. They had implemented an age verification system since it was rated TV-MA. Nothing wrong with that, right? Anyway, ANN reported on this yesterday by writing an flame bait article about the uncensored episodes (accompanied with news about the new anime To Aru Kagaku no Railgun, another show ANN deems to be lolicon). ANN has been on a crusade against Strike Witches (see motivator pic) and anything loli in general since the dawn of time. Now the thing I like about FUNimation is that despite the harassment by ANN, they didn’t cave into the pressure. As I previously mentioned in another article, FUNimation even bragged about doing the “unthinkable.” They stood by that motto since the announcement of the license… that is until now. It seems that as soon as ANN wrote the article, FUNimation went back and changed episodes 3 and 4 to the censored versions and got rid of the age verification system.

Now, if this was just a single incident I probably wouldn’t have cared, especially since FUNimation stated that the uncensored episodes would be provided on the dvds. However, this is not the case. It seems like more and more anime companies are caving into pressure by various groups to censor their products. And just to give you examples of such cases… one example is Media Blasters constantly editing the cover art of their dvds. A lot of my recent rants have been on this specifically and unfortunately they are still doing it. The latest case being their Green Green collection having some of the characters clothing changed and covered up as seen here. Another example of a company giving into pressure is Crunchyroll. When I wrote an article on their censorship on Charger Girl, they specifically stated that they had the option to use the uncensored versions of the show, yet they chose the censored versions so they could appeal to a wider range of audience (even though this show is not intended for such an audience). I also pointed out the ironies of their censorship in the article. And finally, lets not forget Toei’s latest escapade. In the end though it’s a bad sign when companies in this day and age are opting to choose to censor or edit their products, especially now that they don’t have the pressures of getting their titles on big name networks or b&m stores like they used to. It’s sad because it feels as if the anime industry is going back in time to the age where censorship in anime was deemed okay when it’s been proven that fans don’t want or appreciate it.

Λίγα λόγια για την τεχνολογία Light Peak. – TheLab.gr
Light Peak είναι το κωδικό όνομα της νέας, ταχύτατης, τεχνολογίας διασύνδεσης ηλεκτρονικών συσκευών μέσω οπτικών καλωδίων. Τι εννοούμε με το ταχύτατη; Το εύρος ζώνης της συγκεκριμένης τεχνολογίας ξεκινά από τα 10 Gb ανά δευτερόλεπτο με δυνατότητα δεκαπλασιασμού μέσα στην επόμενη δεκαετία!
Πως μεταφράζεται το εύρος ζώνης των 10 Gb/δευ. σε απλά Ελληνικά; στο ότι η μεταφορά μίας ταινίας Blu-Ray από συσκευή σε συσκευή, θα διαρκέσει μόνο 30 δευτερόλεπτα.[next]

District 9 was released in New Zealand and Australia on 13th August. The following day it was shown in America and Canada, however the critically aclaimed film did not reach British shores until 4th September. Germany and India had to wait even longer.

These facts taken into consideration is it any wonder that the film has been downloaded a reported 1 million times? If the distributor refuses to do a universal simultaneous release of the film it’s pretty hard to feel sorry for them when their film gets pirated to hell and back.

No doubt the same thing will happen again when the Region 1 DVD is inevitably released first.

CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO — Five suspected members of a “bolt cutter” gang that earlier ransacked a residential house in Mangatarem, Pangasinan were arrested by the Pangasinan police in Barangay Poblacion, Bugallon, Pangasinan on Friday (August 21).

Police Chief Superintendent Ramon V. Gatan, head of the Region 1 police, identified the gang members as Frederick Cervantes, 23, a native of Barangay Pantal, Bugallon, Pangasinan; Randy Roque, 30, of Porac, Pampanga; Renato Lacsina, 47, also of Porac, Pampanga; Fernando Fernandez, 48, married, resident of Barangay Mining, Angeles City; and Antonio Cortez, 43, also of Angeles City in Pampanga.

The gang got its name from its modus operandi of using a bolt cutter and similar tools to forcibly enter into buildings and establishments to commit robbery.

PCSupt. Gatan said nearby police stations were immediately alerted after a reported robbery incident in Mangatarem town.

The five suspects were arrested when their get-away vehicle, a Nissan Urvan with plate number CRZ-707, was flagged down in a checkpoint established by the police in Bugallon town.

The police seized from the suspects one live fragmentation grenade, two unlicensed firearms (Caliber 38 and Caliber 22), thirteen live ammunition for cal. 38, and seven live ammunition for cal. 22.

The police also confiscated a number of items found in the possession of the suspects, believed to be their tools and part of their loot, which include: a bolt cutter, a crowbar, a hammer, seven screw drivers, a Toshiba laptop computer, a JVC DVD player, a Sony Bravia LCD TV, a Nokia 8310 cell phone, three TV remote controls, assorted jewelry, assorted watches, five photocopies of OR/CR of various vehicles, five pieces of vehicle plates, one early warning device (EWD), and a few money bills of various currency.

The arrested persons together with the confiscated items were brought to Bugallon Police Station for proper documentation and disposition.

PCSupt Gatan commended the Pangasinan police for their quick apprehension of the robbers.  “Let us keep up the good work and remain ever vigilant in our fight against all forms of criminality,” Gatan said. ###

A fugitive listed as Most Wanted Person in Region 1 died after he shot it out with a composite police team sent to arrest him in the early morning of Saturday (August 1) at Barangay Mayabobo, Candelaria, Quezon Province.

In his report to PRO1 Headquarters, Pangasinan police head PSSupt Percival G. Barba identified the dead person as Gerry Andal y Caronongan, who has a standing warrant of arrest for murder issued by Honorable Judge Tita Rodriguez-Villarin of RTC Branch 46 in Urdaneta City, Pangasinan.  Andal is listed Most Wanted Person in the Regional Level with a monetary reward of P300,000.00 approved by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Barba’s report disclosed that combined elements of Pozorrubio (Pangasinan) Police Station and Quezon province police led by Pozorrubio police chief PCInsp Domingo D. Soriano, went to serve the warrant to Andal at about 5:15 A.M. last Saturday.  Andal, however, resisted arrest and fired a shotgun on the arresting team, prompting the lawmen to shoot back.

The brief shootout resulted in the wounding of Andal who was immediately brought to Peter Paul Hospital in Candelaria town but was declared dead on arrival (DOA) by the attending physician, the report added.

PCSupt Ramon V. Gatan, PRO1 Regional Director, commended the arresting team and expressed satisfaction over the recent gains of PRO1 in its anti-criminality efforts.

“Let us continue our intensified campaign against wanted persons in coordination with other agencies, even as we maintain good relations with the community whose support and cooperation are indispensable to our overall success,” Gatan urged his subordinates. PNPPRO1

CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO – Five members of a group allegedly engaged in kidnap-for-ransom and robbery/hold-up activities were killed in a shootout with combined elements of Region 1 police, Presidential Anti-Crime Emergency Response (PACER), Regional Intelligence Office 1 (RIO1), Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG-NCR) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) at about 12:30 AM today (July 29) along Lucao Dawel Diversion Road in Dagupan City.

PCSupt Ramon V. Gatan, PRO1 Regional Director, identified the fatalities as Elisco Emuslan, 34, resident of San Andres Bukid, Manila; Jesus Matienzo Jr., 40, of Masbate, Masbate; Joey Tindugan, 34, of Mlang, North Cotabato; Glenn Ares, 32, of Caalibangbangan, Cabanatuan City; and Edgardo Estrella, 39, a resident of Bagong Barrio in Caloocan City.

In his report, Pangasinan Provincial Director PSSupt Percival Barba disclosed that prior to the incident the Dagupan City Police Station received information that a kidnap-for-ransom gang will kidnap an unidentified person somewhere in Dagupan City or in the adjacent towns.  The suspects were later spotted by a Dagupan mobile patrol unit (MPU) on board a white KIA KC2700 van without plate number, along Bonuan Binloc area.  The van was earlier reported to have been stolen the previous day (July 28) while parked in front of a restaurant in A.B. Fernandez East, Dagupan City.

Barba reported that when about to be accosted by the police officers of the MPU, the van sped off, prompting the lawmen to give chase.   Cornered at the place of the incident, the suspects fired at the lawmen.  The law enforcers fired back, and the ensuing shootout resulted in the wounding of the suspects.

The five injured suspects were rushed by the responding Dagupan City Emergency Medical Team to the Region 1 Medical Hospital in Arellano District, Dagupan City, but all of them were declared dead on arrival (DOA) by the attending physician.

Initial investigation revealed that the fatalities were armed with different types of handguns, and that four of them have in their possession AFP identification cards.  The authenticity of the ID’s is now the subject of verification by the police.

Gatan commended the operatives for their swift and coordinated action that led to the neutralization of the suspects, urging them to remain focused and committed in the performance of their mandated duties.

“The sustained implementation of our integrated campaign plans has brought PRO1 a number of major accomplishments.  Let us continue the good work in partnership with the community,” Gatan said.

CAMP BGEN OSCAR M FLORENDO – Police Chief Superintendent Ramon V Gatan, head of Region 1 police, conferred this morning during the Monday flag-raising ceremony (July 20) appropriate medals to three outstanding police officers of Region 1 who recently brought pride and honor to Police Regional Office 1.

PCSupt Gatan awarded the “Medalya ng Kasanayan” to Police Superintendent Eric E. Noble, Chief of Police of Santa Barbara town in Pangasinan, and to Police Officer 3 Arturo D. Melchor, Jr., Investigator and Human Rights Affairs PNCO of Pangasinan Police Provincial Office (PPO). The two were among the ten winners in this year’s Metrobank Foundation search for the Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service (COPS).

Gatan likewise pinned the “Medalya ng Katangi-Tanging Asal” to Senior Police Officer 4 Virgilio D. Cardinoza of San Carlos City Police Station in Pangasinan after he was cited twice as “Most Outstanding Policeman” in San Carlos City and for having been adjudged “Most Outstanding Farmer of the Year 2007-2008” in the said city.

PSupt Noble was cited by the COPS Selection Committee for, among many other things, being “responsible for the discovery of more than a hundred ‘ghost’ cops who have been dismissed or discharged, or are serving time in jail or otherwise dead, but who continue to receive their salaries and benefits.” Noble’s feat saved the PNP more than three million pesos per month worth of payroll funds, earning him the monicker “ghostbuster.”

On the other hand, PO3 Melchor got the nod of the selection committee for his sterling record in tracking down and neutralizing lawless elements, for his successful effort to make the police accessible to the community through the Text 2920 project, and for initiating special programs for the youth and women, among other significant accomplishments.

In his message, PCSupt Gatan praised the three awardees for their inspiring achievements and urged all PRO1 personnel to emulate their good example.

“Our honorees this morning truly epitomize Mamang Pulis. Let them be our role models as we press on towards our goal of genuine transformation in the Philippine National Police,” Gatan said.(PNPPRO1)

Ahhh Nagi, Kannagi is one of the series I most want on DVD, but it has yet to be released.

I read Neo’s big fansub article in the new issue, 61, and felt compelled to write something, cos I do download fansubs, yes its illegal, but I, unlike alot of people, buy the series when they’re out. And I only watch anime I know I like, I don’t go downloading everything under the sun, that would be a complete waste of time.

In the past year, less actually, I’ve bought more anime than I ever have before. Online, at conventions, in stores. I like to think I do my part for the anime market. And this is mainly thanks to being able to watch and test out anime using fansubs. Anime like Clannad, Ouran High Host Club, Onegai Twins, Kanon, all anime I bought because of the fansubs I watched. Some series I buy just cos I know I’ll like them, To Heart, Midori Days, I hadn’t seen them before, maybe one episode of Midori Days on a anime preview disc from Newtype or something. Other stuff I bought when I saw it cheap, like Bleach, and, god forbid Naruto…(just tried the first part of the first season, didn’t get through the first disc… Bleach was better, have the first season of that. There are also occasions when I rented anime from the library. Did that with Elfin Lied and few others. Tsukihime I got because I had the first volume in a big-multipack of anime and loved it, mostly volume 1’s in the set.

I do what I do with fansubs with american shows which have never made an impact on british tv, How I met your mother specifically. I bought seasons 1&2, downloading 3, the bought 3, and then downloaded 4 and am waiting for the dvd release this september. I rarely dl american tv without the intention of buying it at some point. (LOST!!! :WOOOP: There also Castle and Dollhouse, will be importing Castle when they’re released, since its questionable whether or not it’ll get a UK release… It so should…)

I will say this now, I very rarely buy single disc volumes. I did when I was younger, bought Haibane Renmei and .hack//Legend of the Twilight and a fair few others that way, would have saved so much money if I waited for the boxset. Also got Haruhi in the single discs, but there were super-enticing freebies to consider, so I just had to. I LOVE boxsets. LOVE them. Best thing ever. I know that its a much-much better deal than anime is in Japan. The pricesthey charge are… phenominal… And its just for 2 episodes, 3 if your lucky. I remember thinking that £20 for 3/4 episodes was such a ripoff, still do a bit, but alot of anime has decreased their price to around £15. Still… more than I’d like to pay for that many episodes. Freebies is a BIG incentive. I paid around £25 for each volume of Haruhi. Most I’ve ever paid for a 14 episode series, will probably remain that way, unless they release like, Sky Girls, Lovely Complex and Nogizaka Haruka at the same kinda price. (Those are 3 series I WANT so much, but will probably never getreleased in the US or the UK. So fansub is what I put up with.) I might add, I don’t care if a dub is included in the release or not. I only ever use the dub if I’ve got an anime on in the background, and usually I switch to the original Japanese cos the english is too hard to listen too… awful… compared to the original, with all the super cute voices.

I’d be more than happy if anime companies or distributers just streamed them online for a limited time so I can watch them and not fill a hard drive with anime. Or did something like 4oD, and make them available to download and watch for a 24 hour period and then they expire. I just wanna keep up with the releases in Japan, and not be limited to the very limited release in the west. I just hope and wait with baited breath that the series I’ve come to love via fansubs  are released in the west, in the UK would be preferred, but I’ve had a multiregion DVD player since 2003, so a US release is fine.

Stuff I NEED to buy if/when its released + Stuff to buy thats already been released -
Higurashi(the tv, the movie, the ova’s, all of it!!)
K-On!
Code Geass
Kannagi(GAWD I hope thats getting a release, it should, considering the fandom in Japan, and its got its english fanpage now, its either advertising a DVD release OR a 2nd season, both of which I’d be happy to see.)
Lovely Complex
Kara no Kyoukai movies(love Type Moon, Canaan is awesome.)
Maria+Holic
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
All the To Heart related anime. I have the first season, but theres a series for ToHeart2 and ova’s and stuff.
Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha (been meaning to watch the the other series too, but got disctracted by Bamboo Blade and Witchblade. Lots of blades it seems lol.)
Sky Girls
Strike Witches
Kurenai
Rideback

And theres anime that I saw on tv and want very much.
Medabots
Pokemon, seasons 1,2+3
Digimon
Monster Rancher
The rest of Moomins
Flint the Time Detective

And a bit of Kyon to finish off. Lovely semi-undressing Kyon.

If more fansub watchers were inclined to buy the dvds when they get released, fansubs might not be as widely frowned upon… but cos they dont… they are… Its the squealy pocky-prostitutes of the world that are the main problem I say!! lol. Actually Neo said that, “the fans who squeal over actors and prostitute themselves for pocky don’t actually spend money on dvds”. Which I’m fairly sure is true… since they’re spending all their money on pocky when they’re not getting it for free. Don’t get me wrong, I will squeal for certain actors(Tennant, Pine, Cusack etc) and certain JAPANESE voice actors(Sugita, Noto, Nonoka etc) well, theres a few dub voice actors, like Crispin Freeman, voice of Hideki Motosuwa AND Kyon. And he was in Howls Moving Castle as the prince at the end. Soft spot for him, and a few others, but otherwise… bleh. I would never however, prostiture myself for pocky.