THE NEW BEGINNING

A month after the first automated general elections was held, apparently the Filipino nation is rejoicing because this coming June 30, 2010 would be the dawn of a new day for the Philippines which had been at the mercy of its crook politicians longer than the poor people could remember.
The inauguration of the incoming president and vice president will commence right in front of invited world leaders, guests and local and international media. Seemingly, everyone is eager to witness the turn-over of power from one dirty hand to another.
As expected the incoming President Noynoy Aquino will recite his promised campaign speeches that he will fight and stop corruption and do away with transactional politics which was part of the legacy of the outgoing president. Some quarters say that a new beginning will unfold and bring drastic change in the government after nine years of impunity and evil.
But based on the system of things prevailing in this God forsaken country, the Philippines could not match or compete against its Asian neighbors simply because political dynasties, showbiz personalities cum politicos and the elite class rules the country with regularity. These elite members of society do not want the country to achieve progress and development because they are afraid of losing their power, clout, influence and evil intentions.
They deliberately stall or impede the peoples’ will to survive and gain high standard of living by not equally distributing the country’s wealth. Instead, the political elite and their subalterns continuously bleed the country of its wealth by holding onto power in their lifetime.
And because most of the people are poor, illiterate, homeless, landless and powerless, the political elite, showbiz personalities cum politicos created them to become idolaters. The gullible idolaters often vote into office the political elite and showbiz people cum politicos with shameful regularity. This political circus has completely stalled the Philippines resolve to have social, economic and political maturity. May God help the Philippines in this new beginning?

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ANCHORS AWEIGH!!!

Anchors aweigh! This is what usually heard during anchor operation when the ship’s anchor had already cleared the seabed and after which the vessel start to move away after staying for a certain period of time in a place where it was safely anchored. Normally, anchor operation is a task initiated by a deck officer assisted by ratings on duty with proper coordination in the bridge headed by the Captain.
As the word implies “Anchors Aweigh” means not only about to sail away but it connotes different meanings or understanding. Bad and good impressions go with the word. First, precedence of good impression is when the Captain himself is true to himself and broadminded. He takes full control of himself and his subordinates with kindness and respect.
And that’s what Captain Jessie Juanico did during the time when I was one of his ratings who witnessed and approved his leadership aboard LPG Tanker Minorca. He put in high regard the interests of his men and the ship itself. Thus the men anchored their trust and confidence to Captain Juanico and together they hollered “Anchors Aweigh” and sailed in unison.
Like in any other story, good times come and go, and so with seafaring. The Captain signed-off after his contract ended. Showing the quality of an officer and a gentleman, Captain Jessie Juanico turned-over his command to the incoming Captain, also from the Philippines.
At first the situation remained normal until suddenly, at the snap of a finger the ship’s aura turned dark. The precedence of bad impression ultimately filled the ship’s atmosphere. The new Captain intentionally has shown his arrogance and egotistic behavior of exaggerated sense of importance and superiority to all his subordinates. Worse, he made it hard for all crews to suffer without fresh water and letting them to use yellowish/rusty water for their daily needs. And shore leave was rare, prompting subordinates to express disapproval.
The Captain’s brand of leadership and doctrine lacks propriety but then seafaring is like any other military establishment where the chain of command always being followed, even if wrongs are part of it. And when everybody hears “Anchors Aweigh” all are up and about to sail with the Master and no questions ask.
The photo shows Captain Jessie Juanico supervises fire drill at the poop deck.

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VIETNAMESE BOAT TRADERS EARN DOLLARS FROM FOREIGN SHIPS

During the end of the Vietnam War in the 70’s a big number of people living in the south of the country fled to escape from the victorious Red Army of the late Ho Chi Minh of the North. The then intense and dangerous situation had prompted the southerners to leave their beloved country using boats made of wood which the fleeing men and women, young and old were later called as the “Vietnamese Boat People.”

The “Vietnamese Boat People” chose to leave the country not because the Americans were defeated, as confided to me by Mr. Treth Theat Hao, a shipping agent from Quy Nhon City. According to him, the “Vietnamese Boat People” fled because they anticipated reprisal and death from the conquering northern brothers.

The very long years of sufferings of the “Vietnamese Boat People” was one of the history’s worst kinds of human degradation or humiliation recorded in the 20th century. And after that humiliating part descended upon the “Vietnamese Boat People” in the “cold war era,” a new generation of “Vietnamese Boat People” resurfaced but not as refugees but they are the “Vietnamese Boat Traders.”

The so called “Vietnamese Boat Traders” hawks their merchandize to both locals and crews of foreign vessels calling port mostly in Saigon a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh and nearby cities. The floating market or boat traders sell different kinds of goods from fruits, vegetables, wine with preserved curled snake inside of the bottle, drinks, souvenir items, apparels, shoes or sneakers and many other which have prices lower than in the department stores.

The “Vietnamese Boat Traders” are usually smiling young women in their colorful dress and paddy hat. Every time foreign ships approached ports or jetties, they scramble to get alongside the ship and immediately offer their goods to excited crews and officers. These young women are beguile and attracts attention so easily that ship personnel buy more goods in DOLLARS of course.

The “Vietnamese Boat Traders” has become a burgeoning class of Vietnamese society considerably because they earn DOLLARS in their own backyard without going the usual route of working abroad.
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SAND QUARRYING THREATENS VIETANAM’S PICTURESQUE LANDSCAPE

Vietnam’s Mekong River crisscrossing the country’s picturesque landscape is so important that it is not only serves the locals for its fishing industry but it is where shipping activities makes the river busy all year round. Foreign and local ships use the many branches of the river to travel inland specifically Ho Chi Minh (formerly Saigon) the biggest and the most vibrant city in Vietnam.

Before the rivers streaming south of the country looked placid and devoid of life. Normally locals ply their trade in their usual get-up – the common Vietnamese dress with matching conical hat or paddy hat. Their daily routine is repeated in as much as they could remember under the communist style democracy.

But after decades of underdevelopment Vietnam pole-vaulted into the 21st century and the country’s rivers, the primary access to the outside world was finally opened. The rivers’ “gate of development” was practically wide open that merchant shipping started to grow fast and brought in progress to the Vietnamese people.

Unfortunately, Vietnam which is trying to muster the threshold of maturity - economically and politically speaking - misread or did not pay attention to the other side of progress and development. The government which is too busy counting exports is seemingly unaware of their responsibility to protect their rivers from commercial destruction.

In our repeated sorties to deliver LPG cargo to Ho Chi Minh and neighboring cities like Can Tho, Dong Nai and other city, I came to witness the wanton destruction of the rivers we pass-by. Dredging equipments and boat-haulers continuously do their thing extracting sands near river banks and right on the middle of the river where big foreign ships travels.

Locals living near the river channels complain of soil erosion and they are afraid of losing their lands once the river completely gobbles-up the affected areas. According to a worker of an LPG depot, sands extracted were being exported to Singapore for construction purposes.

THE DIRTY BUSINESS OF CARGO OPERATION EXPOSED

In my nine months (April 2009-Jan 2010) of working aboard a Singapore Flag LPG Tanker vessel I came to know first hand the intricacy or the complex nature of ship operations. I thought ship operation is only about loading and unloading cargo from one port to another and from a ship to another. I thought that cargo operations were done expeditiously and smoothly. But it wasn’t.

I came to know that cargo operations in general are quite complex or intricate because deceit or dishonest practices go hand in hand before, during and after commencing cargo transfer operations. Cargo operations normally commenced after clearing all papers reviewed and signed by the Captain, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer and shore personnel

But usually disagreements, protest, counter protest come into view during and after cargo transfer operations. In most cases the involve party argue about the actual number of tons of cargo transferred. In ship to port or vice versa cargo operations, the problem is minimized to a low level and ultimately resolved immediately.

But not with ship to ship cargo operations because the receiving party is always the one shortchanged of deficient cargo transferred. Here, protest and counter protest normally happened. Tons of cargo ends on the hands of deceiving party.

The worst violator in cargo operations are the bunker vessels. They use techniques to deceive or cheat and manipulate cargo transfer. Their techniques, honed to perfection, are pretty much applied during bunkering. They pumped bunker fuel mixed with full of oxygen to reached the agreed tons but actually falls flat when measured using sounding tape.

Crews of bunker vessels are stern and dirty looking men (literally indeed), shaped by their being dishonest. No wonder that they are easily agitated when confronted regarding deficient bunker fuel transferred. In some cases officers, particularly Chief Engineer unwittingly colludes with the bunker personnel in exchange for money. Bunker vessels earn millions of dollars through tricks and deceit. Singapore is the place where bunkering operations thrives and keeps in business all year round.

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THE CONTINUING PROBLEM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

A latest report on human trafficking released by the United States two days ago showed that the rate of occurrence of human trafficking have gone up in years. In spite of warnings from the US to all countries that have high incidence of human smuggling, the problem persisted owing to the fact that the countries identified in the said report were known to have a weak legal system and corrupt airport and immigration officials and other concerned authorities who tolerates the problem.

The Philippines and Vietnam which was on the top list of the US report failed to stamp-out human trafficking even though warnings and notice of communication had been continuously relayed by the US. In the Philippines human smuggling is a daily routine for scheming government officials in cahoots with progenitor of evil.

Most of the people being trafficked involved young women. Worst, these people ends in the Middle East, Malaysia and Singapore and other countries. The term modern slavery applies to these hapless people. They work in brothels and known hotels as masseuse cum sex partners, household slaves and work as prostitutes in well known parks of the host country.

In Singapore, many Filipino women recruited as tourists works as prostitutes catering to seafarers and other “seeker of flesh.” In Malaysia, Vietnamese and Filipinas work in prostitution dens and hotels providing sexual pleasure to patrons.

I honestly hurt and feel sadness when I was informed by my fellow crew member that Filipinas in Singapore ply their trade openly in the “Dragon City.” Shore leave is a must in Singapore because the country offers everything one could dream of. The same with Malaysia; young Vietnamese and Filipino women is a fixture in the country’s sex trade. But the thing is, these people are victims of human trafficking and the root cause is poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and abuse inflicted upon them by the environment they belong.

FISHING ON DECK

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 Shore leave is not only the one that keep seafarers spend their free time. Fishing on deck is also part of their activity during the time when the ship is anchored off the berthing area. Fishing actually relaxes the mind and body after rendering four hours of duty. Excitement and joy filled the poop deck every time fish is pulled out of the water using hook attached to a string.

During daytime fishing is not easy to do unless one has patience. But night time is more exciting because not only fish is being caught but various sizes of squid which is more than attracted to the ship’s lights. Squids and fish playfully swims and flips right on the spot of light that beams through the water. Catching these sea creatures right on the spot is a delight to sailors because its fresh meat gives tasteful eating binge accompanied with cool beer on the table.

CAMARADERIE AT SEA

Camaraderie at sea is not what we think is good and welcome to all seafarers. Often brickbats and ego triggered by too much pride gets in the way. More often than not ratings always on the receiving end simply because rank and superiority dictates the tempo or pace of everything that happens aboard ship. Feel-good is pretty much hard to do especially so when one is new on board. You’re like looking for light (friendly characteristics) in the dark.

Camaraderie at sea is superficial or shall I say not profound. Friendly characteristic is limited to a given few. In today’s seafaring activity, poor camaraderie compounded by poor behavior is generally the reason behind discord and strife among seafarers. Misunderstanding, rivalry, squabbling, shop talking and other nonsensical things permeates the cabin, bridge, crew and officers’ mess and the engine room.

However officers and ratings do not compromise the safety and security of the ship in spite of opposing views and attitudes. Drills, assigned duties and responsibilities and other activities like birthdays, holidays and shore leaves are being taken care of. Salary in dollars keep seafarers runs their ship in an indefatigable manner so to speak.

VIETNAM’S SERENE BEAUTY

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Vietnam is not only about socialism or is it communism, but the country offers strong presence from its burgeoning economy and natural beauty. Foreign tourists visit Vietnam in droves to witness the country’s transformation from being one of the poorest in the region to becoming the emerging economy in Asia.
Now that the world had accepted back Vietnam after being spurned for decades, the country started to look great since then. Tourism started to show sign of hope and subsequently the country experienced unprecedented tourism boom. Tourist spots were primed and developed and foreigners responded in a hurry to see Vietnam’s emergence after taking a cue from the late Chinese leader Deng Xiao Peng.
Vietnam is now one of the preferred destinations in the region because of its natural beauty. But in spite of it, some part of the country is still unspoiled or unchanged by the rapid modernization of the country. Vung Ru is one of them. This rural coastal area is located south of the country. The place is quiet, calm, and serene and blows rustic winds coming from both the sea and the majestic mountain that serves a tunnel for a railroad and a long road carved on the side of the mountain. Both infrastructures were historic because it was constructed by the Americans in the 70’s Vietnam.

TRI COLOR PUPPIES

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Believe it or not, nine puppies consisting of three black, three white and three brown were born to a white pet dog last April 2010. Their attractive and distinctive feature is pretty much exciting to see and nice to stroke. Family members were astonished on why it happened because every time their pet dog delivers her puppies, it had the same colors or usually only one or two looked different from the rest.
But this time three sets in threes have different colors. And every set have identical colors and cloned-like body structure. Maybe this is one of a kind for dog owners in this part of the world. This unusual thing really makes perfect for picture taking.
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THE IMPORTANCE OF SELF DEFENSE

Bad elements in the society are just too many to describe but the first thing that crop-up in our mind are those ruthless muggers or hold-uppers, thugs, junkies and other urban losers who bully and take advantage the people’s weaknesses and not to mention those self made terrorists who despise tolerance and social equality.
In as much as we understand this problem, we look-up to authorities for help. But sometimes authorities fail to protect the vast majority against bad elements. Security comes with a price when not being executed properly. That is why other people who give importance to life and property try to take security and protection on their own. They join martial arts as self defense.
Many forms of martial arts offer trainings to people interested in having their own security and protection. We have seen Asian martial arts lording over the other form of self defense and it gets big follower from around the world. But there is other form of self defense that truly conforms to street fighting. It completely makes you tough once you try this new martial art technique. So why not try this one and beat bullies, muggers in your neighborhood? Please follow this link.

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HOW TO FIGHT PORN ON THE NET

Well this may sound way-off-line for porn-viewer netizens but to those who are family oriented, morally upright and decently motivated individuals, fighting porn is just a matter of selfless interest to protect their family especially children from sexual perverts encroaching into their lives. Fighting porn is not easy, it takes one to be serious because it operates the net 24/7. So, before it's too late take action to stamp-out the menace. A good website will explain to you on how to fight porn.Please follow this link.
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LNG: ONE OF MALAYSIA’S IMPORTANT WEALTH

Malaysia has the world’s 13th largest natural gas reserves and 24th largest oil reserves. The country’s natural resources are located in Peninsular Malaysia with 32.9%(in trillion) LNG and 42%(in billion) crude oil, Sarawak with 53% LNG and 32.8% crude oil and Sabah with 11.1% LNG and 24.8% crude oil. Malaysia is abuzz in business in Oil and Gas and draws foreign investments like no other.
Shipping activities makes Malaysia busy all year round. Large tanker vessels coming from different countries calls port every single day. But Malaysia also has its own fleet of VLCC type and other size of tanker vessels. Most of the vessels that call port in Malaysia are manned mostly by Filipino seafarers known worldwide for their skills and traits.
In the picture, 2 Malaysian owned LNG Tankers with Filipino seafarers onboard, safely anchored in Bintulu’s (Sarawak State) anchorage area waiting for their turn to call port. While on the other hand, our vessel M.T. Minorca rest on its belly nearby shrouded by clouds.

IS OBAMA ANTI-CHRIST?

Fiction or not? or is it an abomination of some groups who despise Barack Obama? Weird but people are perplexed and are looking for answers as to what is really the truth behind the story that is trying to get into the psyche of every individual. To fully understand of what I am trying to emphasize please read...
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Shipboard Enclosed Spaces a Dangerous Task for Seafarers

Getting into action entering enclosed spaces on board ship is somewhat tricky and dangerous. An honest to goodness preparations must first put into place and one must be brave and sternly up to the task to face the challenge. Enclosed spaces which includes cargo spaces, double bottoms, fuel tanks, pump rooms, compressor rooms, void spaces, cofferdams, duct keels, inter-barrier spaces, engine crankcases, sewage tanks, ballast and fresh water tanks is a life and death assignment because casualties normally occur every time seafarers enter these shipboard spaces.
Before going inside confined or enclosed spaces, proper ventilation is applied and appropriate and continues atmospheric testing follows to obtain 21% oxygen by volume, 1% LEL of hydrocarbons, max. 30 ppm carbon monoxide, max. 10 ppm sulfate oxide and max. 5 ppm benzene. Personnel entering the space are required to be equipped with a portable gas meter for continuous monitoring of the atmosphere and this requirement will suffice for ongoing gas testing.
Of course entry permit is necessary before going into action. This permit is issued by a responsible person (Chief Mate or the Master) permitting entry to a space or compartment during a specific time interval. No person should open or enter an enclosed space unless authorized by the Master or designated officer and unless the appropriate safety measures were laid down. Communication is also important to maintain a high level of safety and security during enclosed space work.

Exposure or vulnerability to harm is part of entering confined or enclosed spaces. Asphyxia caused by toxic vapors is the common cause of casualty among seafarers. Enclosed spaces are left with different types of vapors produced by clingage (i.e. oil remaining on the walls or surface of the tank interior), sludge and other materials forming inside spaces.
Shown on the picture is C/M Alejandro Bersaluna, a cadet, an AB and the author ventilating a ballast tank located at the Bosun’s store.

The Prophecy on Barack Obama

The Prophecy on Barack Obama