The files provide an insight into President Bashar al-Assad’s strategy to suppress anti-government protests, including the lengths the government went to for protecting its strongholds.

The documents, running into hundreds of pages, pointed to a government that was desperate to keep control of the capital Damascus and included clear orders to stop protesters from getting into the city.

They also revealed detailed security plans for crushing protests in the cities of Aleppo and Idlib.

One leaked paper spelt out clear orders to top officials to give financial and moral support to Assad’s supporters in Aleppo, the second major city.

Whistleblower

The documents were passed on to Al Jazeera by Abdel Majid Barakat, who until recently was one of the government’s most trusted officials.

The former Baath party member, who was in charge of collating information from across Syria at the secret joint crisis management cell in Damascus, has fled to Turkey.

“For months, the opposition had a mole at the heart of Assad’s security apparatus working in this joint co-ordination cell that co-ordinates the work of all the intelligence agencies across the country, “ Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from Turkey, said.

In one leaked cable marked confidential, the government cautioned the Syrian foreign minister about countries trying to influence Syrian diplomats to defect.

“Every evening at 7:00 pm Damascus time, there is a meeting of all the intelligence and security chiefs looking back at what happened across the country during the day, making their plans, making their orders for the next day,” Bays said.

“These orders then go to the office of the president the next morning and he himself signs all the orders, the final go ahead,“ he said.

The documents indicate that the government spied on the Arab League monitoring mission, which was in Syria at the end of last year.

They also spell out where protests have been taking place, and how many people were involved. They show that some of the biggest rallies have been in the province of Idlib.

Barakat, the whistleblower, told Al Jazeera “any person reading these reports will be shocked, will realise that Syria is living a true crisis: killings, criminality and suppression of protesters”.

“However security chiefs paint [a] beautiful picture in their reports. They ignore many substantial facts on the ground, simply to boost the president’s morale,” he said. Al Jazeera

Press in the Middle East and Gulf region have praised the poll, remarking that most of Yemen’s interest groups have rallied behind Mr Hadi as a consensus candidate who might unite the divided nation.

Newspapers in Iran, however, criticised the election, seeing the hand of America and the West involved in the process, and speculating that a deal is in place to protect former President Saleh.

Editorial on privately-owned English-language Yemen Fox website

Yemenis are today bound to make their future, end the past and open a new page under the leadership of Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is going to be the consensus President of Yemen… to transform monocracy and family rule to real republic thanks to the blessed revolution. It is worth mentioning that many political forces, social figures, revolution youth, and political parties have announced their full support to the consensus candidate, in order to take Yemen out of political paralysis, and out of the dark tunnel to which Saleh dragged the country.

Editorial in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Jazirah newspaper

Although the election result is known beforehand, the Yemeni main political forces’ consensus on supporting this candidate helps a lot to implement the mechanisms to solve the Yemeni crisis… Only few Yemenis, specifically the separatists in southern Yemen and Houthis in Saadah, oppose this election. This opposition will not affect the election as indicators show that millions of Yemenis will cast their ballots to end the crisis.

Yusu al-Kuwaylit in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyad

Yemen is an important country at the Arab level. Its stability means that a key door to foreign interference will be closed, especially regarding those who support Al-Qaeda and terrorist organisations. It is a basic need for Gulf security.

Hashim Abduh Hashim in Saudi Arabia’s Ukaz newspaper

When Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi becomes president of Yemen in one of its toughest historical phases, the political solution will be victorious over any awful alternatives… Yemenis will have the right to enjoy what their Gulf brothers and neighbours enjoy, especially with regard to the privileges of solidarity, integration and unity.

Abd-al-Wahab Badrakhan in the United Arab Emirates’ Al-Ittihad

The important thing as of today is to start getting the country out of the crisis it has been going through. More importantly, Abdrabbuh needs to know how to attract Gulf and international attention and translate it into urgent aid to accelerate the process of getting life back to normal in Yemen.

Sati Nur-al-Din in Lebanon’s Al-Safir

Voting in presidential elections scheduled today in Yemen is a good event and a happy conclusion to the Yemeni revolution in a long transitional period that has faced some difficulties but has risen to the level of a miracle… It is not a model or ideal experiment. It is the best available option.

Editorial in Iran’s hard-line Jomhuri-ye Eslami

The presence of the American vice president [John Brennan, deputy national security advisor] in Yemen, which coincides with holding a theatrical presidential election in this country, is clear evidence of this election being a planned conspiracy by Washington to not allow Yemenis to control their own destiny. America is trying to confiscate the revolution and force its mercenary elements into the country by freely riding on the popular wave.

Hasan Hanizadah in Iran’s hard-line Qods

Holding a presidential election in Yemen has turned the county’s political situation into a new stage of confrontation between the nation and the government… In fact, the plan’s aim was to restrain the Yemeni people’s revolution in order to pave the way for judicial protection for the fugitive Yemeni dictator.

Ali Totmaj in Iran’s Hemayat

Most Yemeni people stress that Hadi is the same dictator as Saleh who was imposed on the Yemenis by the Arabs and the West… It can be said that the election is not in accordance with the people’s demands, it is based on the wishes of Arab and Western countries that ignore the rights of peoples. Yemeni voters have gone to the polls to elect a new president to replace Ali Abdullah Saleh. The only candidate in the election, which comes a year after anti-government protests, is Vice-President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. BBC

Mohammad Hejazi, deputy head of Iran’s armed forces, made his comments to the Iranian Fars news agency.

Iran is facing mounting international pressure over its controversial nuclear programme.

On Monday it unveiled fresh military exercises in the south that it said was to protect its nuclear sites.

“Our strategy now is that if we feel our enemies want to endanger Iran’s national interests, and want to decide to do that, we will act without waiting for their actions,” Mr Hejazi told Fars.

The BBC’s Iran correspondent James Reynolds says Iran’s military and political leaders routinely stress that they are capable of defeating the country’s enemies should the need arise.

Their comments are closely scrutinised by those trying to work out Iran’s military capability and also its overall intentions, he adds.

Iran insists its uranium enrichment programme is for peaceful purposes but Western powers suspect Tehran intends to make weapons.

Neither Israel nor the US have ruled out military action if sanctions and diplomacy fail to rein in Iran’s nuclear activities.

In recent weeks speculation has been increasing that Israel may launch a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Last week, US Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt Gen Ronald Burgess told the US Congress that Iran may launch missiles if it is attacked but was unlikely to initiate or intentionally provoke a conflict.

On Monday senior inspectors from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) began another round of talks in Tehran – their second in three weeks.

They say they want Iranian reassurances about “possible military dimensions” to the nuclear programme.

Late last year Iran conducted 10 days of military exercises near the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf.

Iran has threatened to block the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil exports pass, in retaliation for Western sanctions over its nuclear plans. BBC

SHOULD Israel decide to strike Iran, its pilots would have to fly more than 1600 kilometres across unfriendly airspace, refuel in the air, fight off Iran’s air defences, attack multiple underground sites simultaneously – and use at least 100 planes.

That is the assessment of US defence officials and military analysts close to the Pentagon, who say an Israeli attack meant to set back Iran’s nuclear program would be a huge and highly complex operation. They describe it as far different to Israel’s ”surgical” strikes on a nuclear reactor in Syria in 2007 and Iraq’s Osirak reactor in 1981.

”All the pundits who talk about ‘Oh, yeah, bomb Iran’, it ain’t going to be that easy,” said Lieutenant General David Deptula, who retired last year as the US Air Force’s top intelligence official and planned the US air campaigns in 2001 in Afghanistan and the 1991 Gulf War.

Speculation that Israel might attack Iran has intensified in recent months as tensions between them have risen. Iran blames Israel for a string of apparent assassinations against its nuclear scientists; Israel blames Iran for blasts last week seemingly aimed at its diplomats in Georgia, India and Thailand.

In a sign of rising US concern, the US national security adviser, Thomas Donilon, met the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem on Sunday, and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, warned on CNN that an Israeli strike on Iran right now would be ”destabilising”.

Similarly, the British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, told the BBC that attacking Iran would not be ”the wise thing” for Israel to do ”at this moment”.

While an Israeli spokesman in Washington said the country continued to push for tougher sanctions on Iran, he reiterated that Israel, like the US, ”is keeping all options on the table”.

The possible outlines of an Israeli attack have become a source of debate in Washington, where some analysts question whether Israel even has the military capacity to carry if off. One fear is that the US would be sucked into finishing the job. Michael Hayden, who served as the director of the CIA from 2006 to 2009, said last month that air strikes capable of seriously setting back Iran’s nuclear program were ”beyond the capacity” of Israel.

Given that, Israel would want to strike Iran’s four major nuclear sites – the uranium enrichment facilities at Natanz and Fordo, the heavy-water reactor at Arak and the yellowcake-conversion plant at Isfahan – military analysts say the first problem is how to get there. There are three potential routes: to the north over Turkey, to the south over Saudi Arabia or taking a central route across Jordan and Iraq.

The route over Iraq would be the most direct and likely, defence analysts say, because Iraq has no air defences and the US, after its December withdrawal, no longer has the obligation to defend Iraqi skies.

Assuming that Jordan tolerates the Israeli overflight, the next problem is distance. Israel has US-built F-15I and F-16I fighter jets that can carry bombs to the targets, but their range falls far short of the minimum 3200-kilometre round trip.

Another major hurdle is Israel’s inventory of bombs capable of penetrating the Natanz facility and the Fordo site, which is built into a mountain. Assuming it does not use a nuclear device, Israel has US-made GBU-28 2200-kilogram ”bunker buster” bombs that could damage such targets, although it is unclear how far down they can go.

”There’s only one superpower in the world that can carry this off,” General Deptula said. ”Israel’s great on a selective strike here and there.” By Elisabeth Bumiller, Canberra Times

Well, enjoy yourself while you can because, if some anonymous and long-deceased Mayan calendar-maker is to be believed, it’s the last new year you’ll ever get.

That’s right: The official countdown to the biggest blowout Ma Earth has ever seen has begun.

Unless, of course, it hasn’t.

Wishy-washy? Sure. And for that, blame a calendar created by the Mayans a few thousand years ago that, some believe, portends all sorts of apocalyptic ugliness happening on or around Dec. 21, 2012.

Sure, sure. You’re not buying any of that mystical hooey. But admit it.

It’s still kind of fun to think about, right?

No need to be embarrassed. We humans always have been suckers for a good apocalypse story. And be it a rogue asteroid heading our way, a pandemic that turns us into characters in a Stephen King novel or armies of the dead arising to turn us into not-so-happy meals, nothing gives us a tingle in that part of our brain that loves scary stuff more than thinking about how it all might end.

This most recent version of Our Coming Inescapable Doom involves what’s known as the Mayan long-count calendar. While it’s not the only calendar the Mayans used and it’s a pretty complicated piece of work — expressing a date in Mayan apparently involves smushing a half-dozen “Star Trek” star dates together — the long-count calendar is notable for one reason: On or around Dec. 21, 2012, it wraps up a 5,000-years-and-change-long cycle.

And that means … what exactly?

For some, the end of the cycle — and some, by the way, have disputed the calculations used to arrive at that date — means the beginning of a new era of peace and progress.

For others, it means The End of Life As We Know It.

For that latter view, blame, at least partly, doomsday scenarists who have attached to this reset of the Mayan calendar all sorts of dire apocalyptic events.

“It got tied in, first of all, to the conclusion that, OK, the end of the cycle means the end of the world,” said Ronald A. Lindsay, president and CEO of the Center for Inquiry and the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.

However, Lindsay added, “actually, there’s nothing in Mayan religion or culture that indicates that you can’t have another cycle. So many experts are kind of dumbfounded by this.”

Then, Lindsay said, the calendar somehow became linked with such supposed havoc-causing, even apocalyptic events as the impending arrival of a mysterious — and, NASA says, nonexistent — planet into a near-Earth orbit, the alignment of the sun with the center of the Milky Way galaxy and, even, some sort of reversal of the Earth’s magnetic poles, any of which apparently means very bad things for Earth and its inhabitants.

“There is this kernel of truth, that the long-count calendar will end a cycle on or about Dec. 21, 2012,” Lindsay said. “But there’s no indication in Mayan culture that supports the signaling of some sort of catastrophe, let alone the end of the world. Quite contrarily, the Mayans use the end of the cycle as an occasion for celebration and beginning a new cycle.”

Count Michelene K. Bell among those who think that, while there is significance to the ending of the Mayan calendar’s cycle, there’s no reason to think the worst.

Bell, founder and publisher of In Light Times, a Las Vegas-based metaphysics journal, said the Mayan calendar and 2012 have been popular topics of discussion among readers during the past year or so. But, she added, “many of the people, unfortunately, are buying into the doomsayers.”

“It’s never been the end of the world,” Bell said, even if some “have taken it and made it into a fear-based event, and that was not what the Mayans intended.”

On the cosmic upside, “in the metaphysical world, people are noticing a higher vibration or frequency out there,” Bell noted. That’s good, because it means the beginning of an era of planetary change that, while painful, ultimately will prove beneficial.

“Most of what I hear is optimism,” said Lori Steele, general manager of The Psychic Eye Book Shop, 5835 S. Eastern Ave. “(People) think it’s more of a beginning than an end. I get a couple of doom-and-gloom people in here, but not many.”

So why all the apocalyptic talk? Because apocalypses — apocalyii? — are so fun to ponder.

People always have held “a sort of fascination” with morbid doomsday tales, said Clayton Schmit, professor of preaching and academic director of the Brehm Center for Worship, Theology, and the Arts at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif.

Stories of death, tragedy and disaster, whether they’re in film, books or real life, always have piqued our interest. “If the death of an individual is interesting, how much more interesting is the death of humanity?” Schmit said.

Our fascination with hearing about how It All Will End also “may be just kind of an existential thing,” said Felicia Campbell, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas English professor who teaches courses in the always doomsday-friendly genre of science fiction.

“In terms of existentialism, you live for the day, and the fact that death is imminent makes living more intense,” Campbell said.

A good doomsday tale also may offer a vehicle for taking a huge, nebulous, free-floating fear — nuclear war, a terrorist attack, global climate change — and turning it into a more easily focused-upon fear.

“We feel kind of helpless in the face of all these events, so maybe by watching them … it becomes more familiar,” Campbell said.

A good doomsday prediction also feeds our simple love of fantasy.

Fantasy “captures a person’s imagination and kind of takes them out of the humdrum, day-to-day mundane existence,” Lindsay said. “And even though you’re talking about a doomsday scenario, still, that’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?

“For a lot of people, it’s just a question of fantasy is better. A Dan Brown novel sells better than some dry book about the Mayan culture itself.”

A good doomsday tale also can bestow on those who buy into it “a sense of privilege,” Schmit said. “They’re the ones who seem to be on the inside, they’re the ones in the know who’ve been given a revelation about such things.”

Take, for instance, California radio evangelist Harold Camping who twice in 2011 swung and missed with his predictions that the Rapture, an event that some Christians believe will kick off the end times, would occur. (However, Schmit noted that several Bible passages say the date cannot be predicted.)

While Schmit said he “wouldn’t say that’s what motivated” Camping, “it certainly gave him his moment in the spotlight.”

So, now, a quiz: What does every doomsday prediction in recorded human history have in common?

Answer: Every single one was wrong, because … well, just look around.

Yet, a failed doomsday prediction seldom deters a truly determined believer. Even when doomsayers strike out, “they get a huge amount of publicity out of it … and really no penalty for it,” Lindsay said.

That’s because studies have shown that “our beliefs are formed through a prism of emotions,” Lindsay said. “And, yes, we reason about things, but our reasons are heavily influenced by our emotional commitment. If you are really emotionally committed to something, it becomes a critical part of your life. You’re not going to give up that belief, at least not easily.”

It’s one of the reasons conspiracy theories are so popular and so indestructible.

“Lots of times, people get angry when you give them the history or the science,” Lindsay said. “If your belief is central to your worldview, you’ll cling to it and come up with some other explanation: ‘Oh, they’re not telling you this because they don’t want people to know’ because they might panic or something.’ “

But most of the time, and for most people, savoring the potential End Of It All a mere 348 days from now represents nothing more dangerous than a reality-based thrill.

“You may be half-serious about it,” Lindsay said, “but if you aren’t true believers, you aren’t going to sell the house or anything like that.”

Besides, the really interesting thing about apocalypses is that they’ll probably always arrive when you’re not looking for them. “I have this personal belief that people have been predicting the end of the world since the beginning,” Steele said.

“I do think the world is changing, but I don’t think it’s ending.”

Still, do us a favor: If Dec. 21 does turn out to be a really bad day, just pretend you never read this story, OK? By John Przybys, Las Vegas Review Journal

Most people find the 2012 prophecies laughable, but that’s only because the earth, tenacious planet that it is, has managed to survive many doomsdays in the past decade.

People may think of it as an unfulfilled prophecy, but it is actually an incredible feat of survival on the earth’s part. Why, just last year, we’ve survived the apocalypse twice when Harold Camping made his two magnificently mistaken rapture predictions.

Of course, the skepticism is understandable, but you’d do well to suspend your disbelief. This year will really be the year it all ends if you go by the Mayan calendar, an ancient relic made by a long-dead civilization may be a credible source to some.

If that’s not enough to convince you that the world will end this year, well, just look around. Temperatures are rising and dropping by extremes. Polar bears are disappearing. Justin Bieber is said to have fathered a child. The signs are everywhere.

You’d best take heed and take a page from the preppers, a group of people who’ve read the signs, seen the truth, and started preparing for the catastrophic event that will alter life as we know it.

We may not know how it’s going to happen yet. It could be a stock market crash, nuclear warfare, alien invasion, coronal mass ejection, zombie apocalypse, or the coming of Bieberspawn. Whatever it is, here are preparations you and your family can do for the apocalypse that’s sure to come eventually.

Tip #1: Create a self-sustaining food farm in your backyard pool

One admirable prepper featured on a National Geographic documentary came up with the ingenious idea of turning his pool into an aquaponic farm. The most brilliant feature by far is the farm’s design, which makes sure that his tilapia colony can feed on the chicken droppings that fall from the coop—because we all love the taste of chicken-crap-fed-fish.

According to the prepper, he created this farm to lessen his dependence on electricity, which is crucial to survival in the case of a coronal mass ejection that will destroy the earth’s electric grid.

In that context, it really makes sense. But for those who don’t have backyard pools or cannot abide the taste of tilapia, another option would be to live with the Amish, or to experience a Filipino-style brownout. Either two are equally effective ways to learn how to live without power.

Tip #2: Stock up on canned goods, cup noodles, and MREs

Canned goods, cup noodles and MREs (meals-ready-to-eat, food eaten by American soldiers on the field) are the holy trinity of no-cook food.

They don’t taste half bad either. Remember not to overstock, though. Just about one cellar’s worth will be enough.

Do not forget to stock up on can openers and hot water keepers too, although when you’re on the move from looters or zombies, you might have to stick to your trusty Skyflakes, which, come to think of it, should also be on your prepper shopping list.

Tip #3: Purchase a luxury underground shelter

In most doomsday scenarios, this is really the only way you’ll survive. Food and water won’t matter when a collision with Planet X/Nibiru causes a torrent of fire to rain down from the heavens.

Lucky for us, there are a number of doomsday shelters already on the market. Those who want a no-nonsense roof over their heads can choose among some safehouses:

All these promise to provide safe and secure accommodations underneath cement-thick foundations and climate-proof ceilings.

But those who want to rough out the rapture with a touch of style might want to check out Vivos, a luxury underground safehouse placed in secure locations in the American desert.

For a co-ownership fee of only $9,950 per person you will receive a sure supply of food, fuel, materials, and a space in the Vivos community for 6 months.

Sure, it may sound like a steep price to some, but the kind people at Vivos do have a financial aid plan that allows the poorlings to pay the full amount in installments over a number of years. Because of course, even in the post-apocalyptic world, currencies, the economy, credit cards, and checks will continue to work in the same way as they do now.

Then again, for us here in the Third World, this third tip is barely an option. Doomsday shelters here are virtually non-existent, so in the case of a collision with Planet X, or any other earth-shattering catastrophe, well, to be perfectly frank, we’re good as gone, so let’s hope that the apocalypse comes in the form of something we know how to handle like EDSA traffic jams.

Sarcasm aside, for all we know, the preppers could be spot on in their beliefs, in which case, the apocalypse would be the biggest “I-told-you-so” in the post-history of mankind.

But until then, let’s focus on not letting paranoia get the better of us, and starting the New Year with optimism. By Amanda T. Lago, GMA News

Sadly, mankind’s use (abuse?) of dogs did not change during the Age of Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution. In fact, some thinkers viewed dogs much like machines. Many dogs were killed as they were trained to run along the front lines so as to draw enemy fire and to reveal the gun positions of opposing forces. Wars in the 20th century witnessed military dog training centers and specialized breeding to produce the ultimate canine warrior. They were gassed, used to blow up tanks (known as suicide dogs) and to detect land mines or booby traps. Dogs also flushed-out enemy snipers and uncovered terrorist bomb materials.

In a world ruled by man, you would never know that tens of thousands of dogs (and many other types of animals like horses, mules, pigeons, elephants, etc…) have died in wars. The history of warfare is, of course, usually written from a male dominated and victors perspective. Histories have always emphasized how fortunate canines were to be the chosen ones, and how loving and tender their masters were, including the bonds they developed. Regarding the dog that was used to help assassinate Osama bin Laden, news reports emphasize superior technologies at the expense of the debate over animal rights.

Evidently, the canine’s teeth had been extracted and replaced with titanium “choppers.” The one drawback, states the article, is that many of the dental sets fall out when the dog is chomping on the enemy. Not only do these war dogs have a metallic smile consisting of fearful fangs, but they are equipped with infrared/night vision wireless cameras. This technology helps them see 1000 yards away and through concrete walls. American canine warriors, just like troops, are sent into battle wearing body armor. The Navy Seals waterproof “Canine Tactical Assault Suits” even comes in an array of colors. The bargain price is only $86,000.

The word “betryal” comes to mind in thinking about how mankind has conscripted dogs for the purpose of their dirty little wars. When dogs are drafted against their already somewhat domesticated wills, they have to go through innumerable endurance tests, some that include electrical shock. Those who are considered “fit” are made into canine warriors to be sacrificed in battle or in times of war. These wars were not of their choosing nor of their doing. And just like Adolf Hitler who poisoned his beloved German Shepherds the night before he committed suicide, training war dogs to die in battle must also be the ultimate betrayal. In other words, mans best friend is really dogs worst enemy.

In “Straw Dogs: Thoughts On Humans And Other Animals,” John Gray writes: “…the Taoists looked to other animals as their guides to the good life. Animals in the wild know how to live; they do not need to think or choose. It is only when they are fettered by humans that they cease to live naturally. If humans differ from other animals, it is partly in the conflicts of their own instincts. They crave security, but they are easily bored; they are peace-loving animals, but they have an itch for violence; they are drawn to thinking, but at the same time they hate and fear the unsettlement thinking brings.”

Perhaps the fatal flaw in mankind, the original sin, is the cult of domestication. Man has always tried to domesticate nature, children, women, animals and even each other through war and killing. Ironically, it is in war that man himself is also remade in an unnatural image and reduced to the status of a domesticated animal, one that must always obey his/her master. Man might view dogs as his best friend, but if only dogs could speak and be unfettered to think and act in their original state of nature, they just might view man as their worst enemy. By WorldNews.com Correspondent Dallas Darling.

Modesty aside, had these BPCI organizers really been doing their job honestly and religiously then all these things now could have been possibly prevented. Granting that all their allegations against this very talented and beautiful lady from Camarines Sur are all true and authentic, but the mere fact that the organizers know about it after a series of constant interviews and queries made by them, and aside probably from the organizers initiative in conducting a background and thorough check towards all its contenders, then it is presumed that they had fully admitted the fact because if not, then she should no longer be permitted to vie for that title and stand before the eyes of million Filipino people only to be humiliated later on publicly.

Nevertheless, how disheartening really the organizers decision because it was not the fault of Ms Raj, hence, they are putting the shame upon her for the blunder they’ve made. Thus, with all of the foregoing, I do not see any reason why she should have been strip of her title just because of the organizer’s ineptitude. Well, the recent interview made by ABS-CBN TV host Boy Abunda in one of their show, Ms Raj reveals that they’ll be filing a case against the pageant’s organizer which to our mind is the best thing for her to do. Anyway, you have all our support Ms Raj whose only fault is winning that title.

Bountiful banquets offered to the gods and eaten by Egyptian priests and their families were laden with saturated fat and bursting with calories – from the highly-popular goose to fortified bread, eggs and rich milk.

Researchers at Manchester University in northern Britain have found that hieroglyphic inscriptions on temple walls and the priests’ mummified remains bear the unmistakable signs of damaged arteries and heart disease.

Their findings, published in the medical magazine The Lancet Friday, said salt intake was also high and alcohol consumption would have exceeded modern recommendations.

Sumptuous meals of beef, wild fowl, bread, fruit, vegetables, cake, wine and beer were offered to the gods at the temple up to the three times a day, and often the priests would take the leftovers home to their families.

‘There couldn’t be a more evocative message: live like a god and you will pay with your health,’ said Professor Rosalie David, who led the study.

The findings also showed that blocked arteries caused by rich diets are not just a modern malaise, she said.

The findings are based on a new translation of hieroglyphs in Egyptian temples to reveal the offerings menu, much of which was rich in saturated fat and would be classified as ‘junk food’ now.

Goose, which was commonly consumed, provided 63 per cent of its energy from fat, of which 20 per cent was saturated, said the study.

In addition, the priests ate a type of bread fortified with fat, milk and eggs, while cakes were typically made with animal fat or oil.

Salt intake was also likely to have been high, since it was often used as a preservative.

Mummified remains of the priests showed high levels of calcified hardened deposits on the walls of arteries – clear signs of atherosclerosis, the narrowing of diseased blood vessels.

‘There is unequivocal evidence to show that atherosclerosis is a disease of ancient times, induced by diet, and that the epidemic of atherosclerosis which began in the 20th century is nothing more than history revisiting us,’ said co-author Professor Tony Heagerty, a heart expert.

The Manchester team looked at computed tomography (CT) X-ray scans of 22 mummies of high social status Egyptians. In 16 of these where hearts or arteries could be identified, nine mummies showed evidence of calcification.

The state of the priests’ arteries and hearts may explain why even the ancient Egyptian elite had low life expectancies of 40 to 50 years, the study said.

It pointed out that the rich fare was markedly different from the frugal, mostly vegetarian diet of ordinary Egyptians. M & C

In a 78-page resolution, the DOJ eight-man panel of investigation prosecutors led by Senior State Prosecutor Leo Dacera said “the confluence of events before and immediately after” the massacre took place led them to conclude that Ampatuan Sr., his son Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov.  Datu Zaldy “Puti” U. Ampatuan, Datu Akmad “Tato” Ampatuan, Sr., Datu Norodin Ampatuan, and Datu Jimmy Ampatuan connived with the actual perpetrators.

The panel said evidence on record showed that the respondents instigated the plan to ambush members of the Mangudadatu clan on their way to the office of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Cotabato City to file the certificate of candidacy of Esmael Mangudadatu for the gubernatorial post in Maguindanao.

It said witnesses identified respondents Datu Andal “Unsay” Ampatuan, Jr., Datu Kanor Ampatuan, Datu Bahnarin A. Ampatuan, Datu Mama Ampatuan, Datu Sajid Islam U. Ampatuan, Datu Anwar Ampatuan, Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Jr., Datu Ulo Ampatuan, Datu Ipi Ampatuan, Datu Harris Ampatuan, Datu Moning Ampatuan, Mogira Hadji Anggulat, Parido Zangkala Gogo, Jun Pendatun, Kagi Faizal and Sukarno Badal as having directly participated in the massacre.

“These respondents were plainly pinpointed as among those who fired their high-powered firearms which consequently ended the lives of their intended victims. Positive identification of a person being implicated in a crime, when categorical, resounding, consistent, and without any ill motive on the part of the eyewitnesses testifying on the matter, is given credence. Considering such positive identification of these respondents as direct participants in the commission of the crime of murder, they should be indicted,” the DOJ said.

The DOJ panel said there is viable evidence to prove that some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) “dipped their fingers in the preparation and subsequent consummation of the despicable killing of the victims.”

“There is direct evidence that these respondents agreed to commit the crime.  Their acts and the attendant circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime unveil a common aim that would make all of them co-principals in the crime committed.  We can deduce from their communal conduct a common design, concerted action and concurrence of sentiments… All the conspirators are answerable as co-principals regardless of the extent or degree of their participation,” the resolution said.

Aside from the murder charges, Ampatuan Sr. and the 196 accused are also facing rebellion charges for allegedly mobilizing supporters to resist, defy and undermine security forces who were investigating the massacre last November.

Judge Vivencio Baclig of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 77 is currently conducting the hearing on the rebellion charges in Camp Crame. He is expected to rule on the defense lawyers’ motion to stop the transfer of the suspects from Cotabato City to Manila.

Prosecutors asked the court to transfer the Ampatuans after the Supreme Court granted a petition seeking the transfer of the rebellion case from Cotabato City Regional Trial Court to Quezon City due to the Ampatuans’ strong influence in the ARMM.

Andal Sr. is currently detained at the Camp Panacan Hospital in Davao City. Other Ampatuan clan members linked to the massacre were also arrested and confined in military camps. Yahoo Daily News