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i like tikis in the house, they keep the insect population down and provide entertainment for me. they've learned to come when i call out tiki tiki tiki like you would call a cat.

some hang out on the stovetop under the grates and wait for me to feed them small bits of ground meat on my fingertip, they're not afraid of a cooking vessels placed over him or the piezoelectric igniter or the burner flame.

they'll try to snitch bits of food when i'm prepping dinner or take a sip of my evening cocktail. i wasn't watching once and found a tiki tail poking out of my kaluá drink; guess he had too much to drink.

there's several that follow me from the kitchen to my desk and stalk me for food. one tiki hangs out under my keyboard and comes out for bits of tiki snacks that i put on a spoon for it. it also, licks the condensation on a cup.

the tukos knock things over and are too big to be indoor pets.

it's more fun in the fils...

 

No, this conspiracy theory is sometimes mentioned in the US news. Most people have heard these ravings just as they have heard about UFO’s and little green mensevretlymeeying with President Trump. American, European and other research organizations have funded studies in the Wuhan lab; it is common to pay for research and it is quite a prominent facility. There are laws about transporting bio materials and a few people were caught doing that but such material did not include bio weapons. They break the law to expedite their work. It is not common for foreign researchers to pay for bioweapons development or viruses that cause pandemics; they are usually trying to formulate new vaccines and the like for useful and peaceful purposes. A few nutbags buy into the conspiracy theories you are implying but not many, even the anti-Trump news media. The Chinese have also funded studies in the US and other locations sophisticated enough to have level 4 security bio-labs. Not many if those exist in the world. Most people do not believe that China or anybody else intentionally released a virus to take over the world, or reduce the population of a new world order lol. Such people need to be locked up with the people who have been accosted by aliens from Area 52 while sleeping. And Bill Gates is not trying to create demand for a vaccine so he can plant microchips into everyone. And that is not the mark of the beast. Lol.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

No matter there's a law, which forbid, when enforcement is lacking, any law is just a paper tiger.

 

Ouch. Maybe they are evil people and they had the worst of intentions. But consider that this as described (sans hanging out in your underwear drinking beer with the supposed help) is something any foreigner not paying attention could run into.

The take-away is to be highly vigilant against being in a situation where you might be alone with minors who aren't your children. And this could be very difficult for some.

I recall a thread recently where someone (supposedly family of a friend) was arrested while accompanying minors on a bus trip. Maybe evil intentions, maybe not. There are also a lot of foreigners here who are raising children but have never become a legal guardian. These people could be wide open to problems.

I wonder how often minors end up working in a foreigner's house because of a hire by a live-in partner while the foreigner pays no attention. Hiring minors as helpers isn't uncommon for locals. I have never paid much attention myself to helpers hired by the people close to me and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them was underage. And sometimes those helpers would bring their children. Sometimes those children would sleep over for a night or two.

Of course, nobody would think to tell a lie here. You could easily get into a bad situation here just by an accusation. Getting cleared still wouldn't erase the headlines and the time you spent in jail because you couldn't get bail.

 

They have been very successful with that, great place to relax some days, pls. don't tell it to anyone don't want to spoil it

 

Animals have distribution ranges. So the birds and insects you see in the Philippines will not be the same as species found in other countries and vice versa.

Parrots for example, are common and very diverse in Australia, New Guinea and South America, but are less so in other regions. The Philippines has one endemic species of cockatoo - the Katala, which is sadly critically endangered. But it is restricted to mountainous areas.

A few species are rare, endangered, or extinct because of human encroachment on habitats or overhunting - like Philippine eagles and hornbills. Others simply can't survive in cities, which are usually infested with sparrows which they can't compete with. Others simply don't live in or have never been common in the Philippines, like seagulls which don't really exist in most tropical islands.

But rest assured, there are plenty of birds once you get to the countryside. You just have to know where to look. In my province, these birds are common near towns and villages:

• Sparrows - nuff said.
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• Cave swiftlets - at least two species. They're the birds that are the source of bird's nest soup. Called balinsasayaw ("tumbling dancer") locally, they can be quite beautiful to watch swooping and gliding about.
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• Chestnut munia - called maya locally. They look like red and black sparrows and are very common in ricefields.
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• Olive backed sunbird - very tiny birds with brown, yellow, and blue coloration. They are common visitors of flowers. They drink nectar and are very similar to American hummingbirds (they can also hover mid-air and fly backwards).
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• Kingfishers - various kinds. My favorite to watch because they are a brilliant blue. Common near streams and ricefields.
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• Brahminy kite - Often seen soaring above farmlands and bodies of water.
  
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• Zebra dove - A gray and brown pigeon that blends perfectly with the ground. They have a distinctive coo-ing sound.
  
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• Philippine pied fantail - again one of my favorites. They are commonly seen flashing their black and white fan-shaped tails to each other near meadows and farmlands. We call them sayaw (literally "dancer").
  
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• Rails - usually called tikling. Common in ricefields and marshes.
  
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• Pipit - smaller than rails, but similar in behavior. Also common in ricefields.
  
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• Cattle egrets - commonly seen on cattle and water buffaloes.
  
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As for uncommon birds I've only seen a few times, they include ravens, crows, and several species of owls. Also note that chickens (more accurately - the red junglefowl) are native to and were first domesticated in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, which is why chickens here are usually far more colorful than your average European chicken.

 

I work in Korea and none of my staff are worried about the bravado going back and forth, though I do have a friend working in Japan that says folks are tripping a bit there. I personally have no worries.

Shawn

 

I see this as a human rights topic, thus it is a global issue. The rape and murder of women is just plain wrong and not to be joked about no matter how black your gallows humour may be. An aspiring President of any country needs to watch what s/he says as they aspire to lead a nation in a global community. Mr D talks about raising his people, breaking the shackles of corruption that keep the majority in grinding poverty. Lofty, laudable aspirations. Just as important is breaking the injustices of macho culture that condones this sort of violence - after all roughly 52% of his voters belong to this gender and populate this green earth.

A bit more humility, a bit more of a softer edge would go a longer way to enhance his message that he will serve ALL Filipinos. Part of that is demonstrating that you were wrong and made an error of judgement in speaking the way he did 20+ years ago. As it is he just seems to dig himself deeper and deeper to me. I fear for the future if this guy wins - a likely bloodbath, purges, gulags, extra-judicial killings, the lot. I also fear for him, if he fails, the people will turn on him.

Glad I am stuck on a pretty relatively unimportant little island. The older folks here remember the days of Marcos. Their take on it is that those excesses barely touched them. If he does get elected, l hope pretty much the same thing happens.

Over and out,

C