Dagdag-bawas in bodies?

In Taguig, Rizal, a 27-year-old man ran amuck during a service at the Jesus King of Glory Christian Church and started stabbing the pastor and four other members of the congregation. Police later said he was angered at the sermon and kept saying the pastor was wrong. At this point, maybe the pastor cannot decide whether to be glad that he could elicit such an emotional response, or shocked that his words could lead to an attempt on his life and that of others. One thing I can say, is at least this shows that he gets listened to, unlike some churchmen whose sermons make people asleep.

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Beware of swindlers whose new ploy now is to con gullible people into hiring them to procure visas for them. The United States embassy has already issued warnings against unscrupulous people who are offering, through the internet, or through text messages, assistance in acquiring U.S. visas, for a fee, of course. The U.S. warning says the documents being provided appear genuine and that is why many have fallen for them. We all know how many people are anxious to get such visas which are not only becoming more difficult to obtain, but also more expensive.

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It's not only the American Embassy that is worried about such scams, the United Kingdom has also recently uncovered a group involved in forging visas for entry to their country. With the help of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation, the British Embassy has succeeded in having eight such forgers arrested through an entrapment operation. Aside from the forgers, also apprehended were some people posing as officials of the British Embassy and offering to help applicants acquire visas for a certain amount. If you want to get a visa to any country, go to the embassies yourself, or ask a reputable and reliable travel agency to help you. You'll probably spend less, and avoid trouble, too.

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How many soldiers actually died in that "ambush" or "encounter" in Basilan? The military has reported 14, with 10 allegedly beheaded. The bodies have been turned over to their grieving families and the appropriate eulogies have been delivered. However, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, believed to be the ones who had perpetrated the crime, now claims that there were not only 14 killed, but 30. While denying that they had anything to do with the decapitation of the bodies, they also insist that only seven were beheaded. What did they do with the 16 other bodies? Cremated or buried them? This is a challenge for the military to find out. Surely they did not mislead us by saying there were only 14? Is there also dagdag-bawas in accounting for fatalities?

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Meanwhile, the Chinese government ordered the execution of their Food and Drugs Regulator when it was discovered by other countries that some of the foodstuff their manufacturers were producing and even exporting abroad, contained toxic materials or substances that should not be eaten.

The other day, the production of a Chinese businessmen of "siopao" containing cardboard softened and chopped, and seasoned with some additive to appear like meat, was exposed. Earlier, Americans discovered that toothpaste from China also contained some poisonous substance. Yesterday there was news that some candies, particularly the old favorite called "White Rabbit" is also not safe. Will the killing of the official in charge really reform these manufacturers?

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And ugh! Another report yesterday said that rats are now having an outbreak in Southern China, especially in Hanoi Province, and truckloads of the rodents are being delivered to the towns to be used as food. The people there are said to consider rat meat more nutritious than chicken and grab them. How do we make sure that the sausages, corned beef, luncheon meat that we are buying aren't actually rat meat? By the way, another item from abroad says that the Chinese are enraged over the bad publicity their exported food is getting and are hitting back by banning food exports from the United States, Vietnam and the Philippines. At least we are sure we don't can rat meat. Maybe dogmeat?

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Are you or your kids fond of using your iPod all the time, even when the outdoors? Just make sure you don't when there is a storm, especially a thunderstorm. A Canadian who was doing it was hit by lightning and the electricity traveled through his iPod, burning his chest and back and even threw his jerking body about eight feet from where he had been standing. It will be a different kind of music you will hear, and you'll be lucky if it comes from harps and you see angels.*

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