Affordable Vacation Getaway in Subic

Subic was first known because it was very near the former American base in the Philippines. Now, although the American base is no longer there, Subic has managed to keep up with modern developments making it one of the thriving areas in the Philippines.

Located in Subic is the Subic Bay International Airport which makes this place very accessible. This modern airport caters to international flights and can handle up to 700 passengers at one time. The Subic Bay International Airport is competitive when it comes to technology and security so one will always feel safe here.

The Subic Bay Freeport is one of the reasons why Subic is frequently visited. The Subic Bay Freeport is located north of Manila and it is surrounded by Olongapo City, Morong and Subic. Because of its strategic location, Subic Bay Freeport has become a deepwater seaport that can handle the largest ships. It currently services all kinds of vessels and is used by both importers and exporters.

Subic is part of the Olongapo area which is a known tourist destination in Manila. The former Subic Navy Base has been transformed into an economic zone and is now the center of recreational activities. It’s also very easy to get to Subic from Manila because of the recent improvement of the North Expressway and the completion of the Subic-Tarlac expressway. The biggest attraction to Subic among tourists is the expansion of tourism facilities and the promotion of ecotourism. Add this to the fact that going to Subic is very affordable, we’ve got the perfect holiday right at our fingertips.

The Greater Subic Area has several provinces including Bataan, Zambales, Olongapo and the Subic Freeport Zone. The area is inherently beautiful thanks to its rich biodiversity, historical landmarks and white sand beaches found along the coastline.

A great place to stay at when in Subic is the Kokomo’s Subic Bay Treasure Island. Being in a tropical island has never been so enjoyable than at this place where the beach is not just the main attraction but the whole relaxed atmosphere. When in Subic, it’s a good idea to pick up diving and other water sports such as jet skiing and parasailing. Many offer these activities in Subic at competitive prices. Indeed Subic has something to offer the backpacker, honeymooners and just about everyone else.

A national landmark in Subic that is a must see when in the area us the Shrine of Valor. Among other trips that should be made are to the Zoobic Safari and in particular, the Tiger Safari which showcases a dozen or so golden-eyed tigers. The Ocean Adventure is definitely a wonder and Jungle Joe’s World has many attractions for kids and adults alike.

Food is not a problem when in Subic even if one is a picky eater. There’s a wide choise when it comes to dining and there are restaurants that serve international cuisine for foreigners who want a touch of home in their food.

Aside from being affordable and offering such a wide Array of activities that will annihilate the word boredom, Subic is an affordable getaway for both locals and foreigners alike.

The US controversy of immigration

“With liberty and justice for all,” is the world-renown slogan for which people go to the USA to live. Nowadays, liberty doesn’t seem to be for all, especially with the rising controversy of illegal immigrants. If our country’s economy is booming with them, then why make laws to deport them back to where they came from? They take up the tedious, physically challenging jobs that white Americans do not want to do, such as agriculture, construction, landscaping, etc. If you had Americans filling those jobs, they would demand higher pay, as illegal immigrants work underpaid at these places, subsequently causing the prices of food and homes to go up. Deporting them is simply ridiculous.

People from Third-World Latin American countries struggle daily with money because simply, they do not get paid enough to cover their necessities such as food and clothing (which is very expensive). They deal with insecurity in the streets and corrupted governments that do not do anything to help get the country functioning, somewhere where nobody would want to raise their children. So they turn to America, apply for a tourist visa, take all their belongings on the plane, and stay until their visa expires. The alternative for the lower class which cannot be granted visa as they do not own property is to simply jump the border.

The reason they do not apply for a legal “permanent stay” visa, is because it would take forever, for example: you would have to wait up to 23 years in the Philippines if you wanted to legally move to America. In contrast, tourist visas are given out about 3 months to a year after application.

On May 1st, 2006 when it was the day without immigrants, political figures across America speculated that illegal immigrants were taking the jobs of legal, white Americans since they are willing to work for lower wages. They do this because where they are coming from, what they make with that low wage monthly is what they would make in six months back at home. “The Pew Hispanic Center found no evidence that increases in immigration led to higher unemployment among Americans, said Rakesh Kochhar, who authored the study.” As seen by the even of May First, illegal immigrants are a critical part of American industry since many agricultural industries were shut down, a handful of restaurants across the US had to close due to a worker shortage, and many Tyson food processing plants closed and lost millions in daily gains. Work at construction sites ceased as well,

That Big Red Bug

 

For the many Filipinos locally and globally, there will always be one kind of fast food restaurant that can provide them with the taste that they’ve gotten used to. A taste that lets them reminisce on their childhood memories, memories that involved a big red bee, wearing a blazer, shirt and chef’s hat. And that fast food restaurant can only be the Jollibee Philippine.

The Jollibee Philippine is the biggest fast food chain restaurant in the Philippines. Catering to all ages, the Jollibee Philippine offers an American-style foods with Filipino-influenced dishes specializing in burgers, spaghetti, chicken and some local Filipino dishes.

Jollibee Philippine has been serving us with their delectable collection of fast food such as the Chickenjoy and Yumburger, but have you ever stopped and asked, “where and when did all of this started?”

As far as we can remember, the Jollibee Philippine provides us with the most delectable fast-food foods, but did you ever know that the Jollibee Philippine didn’t start off selling hamburgers or chickens? Yes, the first Jollibee store didn’t sell hamburgers, but ice creams

Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia Ice Cream parlor at Cubao in 1975 with Jolibe as the original name.

But after sometime in 1978, they decided on getting the services of a management consultant in the person of Manuel C. Lumba. Lumba suggested that to shift their business of ice cream parlor to hamburgers after his studies showed that a much larger market was waiting to get tapped.

And sure enough, their hamburgers became a hit for a lot of Filipinos. After this success, Lumba next reformed the name Jolibe to Jolly Bee and made the two words form a single name Jollibee. Then Lumba next created the product name “Yumburger” as well as the name “Chickenjoy”.

The stores were re-designed, the service transformed into a full self-service, fast food operation with drive thrus. Not long after, Tony Tan and Manny Lumba went on an observation tour in the United States, attended food service and equipment conventions. Tony Tan put Manny Lumba on center stage by putting him in charge of franchise development.

Today, the Jollibee Philippinehas become the biggest fast-food chain in the country; it also has locations in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Dubai and Brunei. As of March, 2008, JFC has 1,466 stores in the Philippines namely, Jollibee having 627 stores, Chowking having 377 stores, Greenwich Pizza having 236 stores, Red Ribbon Bakeshop having 194 stores, Délifrance having 28 stores and Mang Pepe having 4 stores. It had 191 stores overseas.

Now every Jollibee Philippine has their own delivery services, but if you’re a Filipino working abroad and wanted to send some Jollibee Philippine food products to your loved ones back home. Then Express Regalo can provide you with the right services that you needed.

That’s about it, but if you want to know more about the Jollibee Philippine products then visit www.expressregalo.com.

Sharks of Gambling Industry. Part 2

Steve Wynn

The third serious player on the market of gambling entertainments in Las Vegas and Macao. Steve was born in 1942 in Connecticut. Unlike Kirk and Sheldon, Steve received very good education, according to American standards – he graduated from Pennsylvania university. Steve had to engage in private business straight after graduation. His father, the owner of the network of bingo clubs in the west of the U.S., died when Steve was still a student. The son continues his business. Steve’s career in “big” business starts in 1967. Having saved some money, he buys a small share of the casino-hotel “Frontier” in Las Vegas, where he moved for permanent residence together with his wife. Having no funds to build his own casino, Steve gets acquainted with the owners of the already existing casinos and offers them his services in renewal of their business. His first project was reconstruction of the casino «Golden Nugget». Steve transformed the absolutely ordinary casino into a luxurious institution, which immediately became a great success with the players. Having showed himself and earned a pretty penny, Steve decided to invest money into buying shares of other Vegas casinos, in order to reconstruct them as well. The following major project is renovation of the casino «The Mirage». According to Steve’s conception, it was to become the most outstanding, rich, elite casino of Las Vegas. He intends to found there a big park and an artificial volcano, and make the best rooms and hotel service in Vegas. Steve bets on luxury. Despite apprehensions of the partners (the project was very expensive), he managed to embody his ideas. «The Mirage» became and for a long period remained the most prestigious casino of Las Vegas, bringing huge profits to its owners.

After this project Steve’s name enters the history of the world capital of gambling. However, Steve does not rest on his laurels. Conversely, he becomes thoroughly engrossed in a new reckless venture. Developing his conception of a “luxurious casino”, he totally changes the casino-hotel «Bellagio»: an artificial lake, an internal greenhouse, an art gallery with canvases of great painters, expensive boutiques and restaurants. Enormous diligence, multiplied by talent, made Steve one of the richest people in Vegas, the owner of casinos. In 2000 he sells «The Mirage» to the company «MGM Grand», which after this purchase changes its name to «MGM Mirage».

Wynn spends most of his money on building a new institution, which opens in April 2005 on the site of «Desert Inn». The new brainchild of Steve is called «Wynn Las Vegas».

Apart from interests in Vegas, Steve invests funds into conquering the Asian market. In the short-term perspective it is planned to open the casino «Wynn Macau». Steve’s activity has brought him 2.1 billion dollars, which allowed him to occupy the 365th position in «Forbes» world rating.

Stanley Ho

The wealthiest representative of gambling industry in Asia who for more than 30 years was the single ruler of this industry in Macao. Stanley was born in 1921 in Hong Kong. His great-grandfather was a Dutch Jew who married a local woman. The Ho family was one of the most renowned and influential in Hong Kong. But Stanley was not able to make use of the wealth of this family. His father went bankrupt, when Stanley was a student. Due to financial break-down his two brothers committed a suicide, and his father renounced his family and left Stanley with two sisters and mother. Despite all hardships, he successfully graduated from Hong Kong university and mastered three languages. Stanley started his career in a trade company, located in Macao. Outstanding business skills and proficiency in several languages allow him to become a shareholder of the company at the age of 21. Ho received his first fortune as a result of a very unpleasant accident. Stanley was responsible for sea trade. During one of the voyages the ship with Stanley, who carried a great amount of money, aboard was subject to an armed attack. Stanley, practically on his own (many of his fellow employees were killed) stands against the gang and returns both the money and the ship. The company duly appreciated the courage of their employee and rewarded him a bonus of one million! In 1943 Ho invested his million into construction industry, his new company is located in Hong Kong. At this time the city undergoes a real construction boom, and Stanley receives very decent dividends from his business. But his ambitions are not limited to construction business, together with his partners he wins the tender for the monopolistic right to open gambling institutions in Macao. Stanley won the tender with the sum of only 410 thousand dollars. For many years Ho’s company becomes the monopolist of Macao gambling market. Stanley invests all his money and skills in this company. By 1972 he owns 9 casinos, including casino-hotel «Lisboa», one of the most beautiful casinos of the world.

In the 90-ies Ho extends beyond the borders of Macao and opens 9 casinos on the Philippines, however, as a result of a conflict with the president of this country, he had to renounce his Philippine business. Apart from the casino, Ho owns many betting operators and totalizators. In 2003 the budget of Macao by 30% consisted of revenues from the activities of the companies that belonged to Stanley. His business provides work to more than 10 thousand people. In 1998 Ho becomes one of the first living inhabitants of Macao, in whose honour the local street was named. But earlier or later everything comes to an end. Ho’s idyll ends in 2000, when Macao authorities decide to cancel monopoly for gambling industry. Since 2002 Ho has to share gambling industry with American “sharks” – Wynn and Adelson, who immediately used the chance to become familiar with Asian market. Presently Stanley Ho’s fortune is 6.5 billion dollars, he has the 84th position in the «Forbes» world rating.

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Baguio promoted as RP’s convention capital

BAGUIO CITY — Baguio City, generally regarded as the “Summer Capital” of the Philippines, may yet have another feather in its cap — RP’s Convention Capital — courtesy of local leaders of the travel and tourism sector.

“We want all roads leading to Baguio not only during summer, but throughout the year,” said Dangal Guevara Jr., an officer of the Baguio Conventions and Visitors Bureau (BCVB).

Noting this mountain city’s consistently cool climate even as lowlanders swelter in blistering heat, Guevara said that selling Baguio as a convention center can’t be too difficult. He said that people flock to Baguio for several other reasons. “There are many ways to package Baguio — as a university city, a honeymoon haven, or a travel and adventure destination.”

He noted that tourism in Baguio traditionally peaks in February when the Panagbenga Festival is held. The Panagbenga, which attracts local and foreign tourists, also ushers in the Holy Week exodus of holiday-seekers trying to escape the scorching temperature in the lowlands.

After summer, however, tourism and other businesses generally slow down, with the slack prevalent for the greater part the year. To fill up the void, the BCVB decided to launch a vigorous tourism campaign designed to encourage businessmen to hold their conventions in Baguio. The decision was firmed up during a recent marketing forum spearheaded by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) in connection with the company’s “Rediscover the North,” a campaign meant to promote the tourist spots of northern Philippines.

Guevara said the city has adequate facilities to host any convention, ranging from modest company meetings to industry congresses. “Depending on the company’s needs, we have a place to offer. If it’s a big gathering, we have the 3,000-seat Baguio Convention Center, or the entire Camp John Hay. For modest ones, we can offer the universities and hotels as venues,” Guevara said.

What makes Baguio best for conventions is that it has the facilities of both an urban center and a rural resort. It has restaurants that Metro Manila has. Additionally, it has hot springs and wellness centers in natural settings. For nature-lovers and the more adventurous souls, Baguio has enough areas for trekking and kayaking.

Guevara said corporations eyeing Baguio as a convention site should not encounter any problem about coordination. “All they need to do is get in touch with us, and we will help them facilitate the processes. For big events, we can even act as the secretariat,” Guevara said, adding that the BCVB personnel, being homegrown, know the place like the palm of their hands, as well as the sentiments and culture of the people. Such familiarity, he said, comes in handy for the success of big events such as the Advertising Congress. “We can make different venues work together. The BCVB can do the negotiations. We’re here to make everyone win,” Guevara said.

For more information visit Baguio Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website www.visitbaguiocity.com.

The Many Petals of Flowers

 

Flowers, though beautiful and attractive, have many other uses than just that. Some flowers are used as ingredients on some rare cuisines or one-of-a-kind dishes. Some flowers are also used for medicinal purposes, for medicines and first aid kits. Some flowers are also used beautification purposes such as in soaps and other beauty products.

 

But asides from that, flowers are also used as a way to convey feelings such as grief, thanks or gratitude, welcome or greetings, respect, and most especially love.

 

People have been generally using flowers for this reason, which is why flowers have become on the demand from all over the world, with flower shops popping out from anywhere. But flower shops don’t only appear of the streets. Some flower shops can be found on the internet, and among of the many online flower shops and gift shops in the Philippines, the Express Regalo is among of the most popular and well respected.

 

Express Regalo is an online gift shop that specializes in selling a wide variety of gift items such as balloons and gift baskets, beauty products, electronics and home appliances, entertainment, foods, NSO certificates, prepaid cards, toys, and some Philippine flower.

 

Express Regalo’s collection of Philippine flower ranges from the most common such as roses from rare and high-styled collection of Philippine flower such as Equadorian roses. Other collections of Philippine flower involve Alstroemerias, Carnations, Ecuadorian Roses, Gerberas, Lilies, Orchids, Spring Flowers and Tulips.

 

Express Regalo was developed and launched to provide Filipinos abroad a fast, reliable, convenient and hassle-free way to shop and send gifts to their loved ones in the Philippines.

Express Regalo is owned and operated by eLBC Direct, Inc., an LBC company that is dedicated to providing Filipinos overseas access to products and services apart from the traditional products offered by LBC.

LBC has become a household name to Filipinos since launching its cargo and courier services in the Philippines during the post World War II period over half a century ago. Its vision then remains the same today: to link people to people through the express delivery of services that include cargo, courier, money remittance and travel. Having proven itself in supplying its services domestically, LBC trained its eye towards catering to the needs of overseas Filipinos.

The demand for LBC’s services grew rapidly in tandem with the number of Filipinos who moved abroad. Given this direct correlation and a trusted record of reliable performance, LBC has become a trusted name and commercial success.

So if you ever wanted to buy some Philippine flower and send it to your love ones, then visit Express Regalo and check out their collection of Philippine flower at www.expressregalo.com.

 

Tips for bargaining in Asia

Hi, I’m Jayden, a Chinese Language expert. I’m a Chinese who received Chinese education since young. I’ve been in overseas for years, and I’ve lots of foreign friends in Australia, Philippines, Indonesia, Europe wanting me to teach them English, so I did.

The first question my students always ask me would be “Is Chinese hard to learn? I would say ‘YES, if you use the wrong method!’, so, for me, Chinese isn’t hard to learn at all, It’s just like when you first watch a magic trick, it’s amazing! But when you know the secret about it, you will master it in the shortest period.

So, how do you bargain when you travel in Asia?

I found out a lot of European or U.S visitors who visited Asia find it real hard to adapt to one of the cultural here, which is to bargain! Second, Asia itself has a lot of languages, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Thai, Viet, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia Languages. It’s very difficult for a non asian to do bargain here because

1. You don’t have the habit to bargain.

2. You don’t know how much you should bargain.

3. You don’t know the cultural here when you should bargain and till what limit you should bargain.

4. You don’t speak the local dialect here and they don’t understand you! You both will end up using calculator saying ‘Yes Yes, No No, Cheaper Cheaper!’.

As because most of the countries that you visited in Asia would be Chinese, or at least do understand Chinese, and most of the places that you need to bargain are Chinese area! Don’t say Chinese are mean, they are just too good in doing business, besides they know they’ll hardly see you the 2nd time because you are just a visitor, a tourist.

I’ve already listed some Chinese language in bargaining that you can check at the resource box later, learn some basic language about bargaining part.

If you can speak some good Chinese, the price they quote you would be cheaper, and you can even do bargaining with them. Why? Simply because they thought u work for the Embassy, or you work there, and they know there’s a potential you would be coming back or bring your friends there when they visited China or others.

So, What are the step to do bargaining with them. Here it is.

Step 1 – Find what you want. Don’t bargain if you don’t plan to buy.

So, the only place that you can do bargain, are mostly at flea market, stalls lining up the whole street that sells maybe piracy, memorable goods. Remember, Don’t bargain if you don’t want to buy! Don’t bargain at any restaurant or air conditioned shop where they put “nett Price”, or “fixed price” sign. If you found something you like, remember, there’s definitely the same thing down the street, don’t rush buying it. Bargain first!

This is how it goes, let’s say if you find a dress that you like. Point at it and say…

You :”How Much?”
You :”Duo1 Shao3 Qian2?”

The seller will answer in either English or Chinese, go to the resource box later and find under Price & Number and Shopping.

Now when you understand how much they offer, you need to ask yourself how much do you think this is worth, usually if they say $100, you’ll say, “$25!” Which means start with 25% of what he offered.

There will be only 2 situations he’ll response, First, he would say no, and ask for a higher price. Second, he would say no, and ignore you.

If it’s the first situation, you know he can easily sell for $25, but he just wan to get the most out from you, in that case, walk away, and he might ask you to go back and sell you the dress. If you walk away and he never ask you to go back, means $25 is really too low for them and they would rather keep it.

Step 2 – Identify the best price you can offer.
Ok, so 25% of what he offered isn’t the right price for them, don’t worry, as long it’s a bargaining area, there will always have the same item down the street. Don’t rush! So when you find the same item at the 2nd stall, do Step 1, ask again.

This time, ignore what the price that seller is going to give you, it could be up to $200! Maybe you can raise from the previous $25 to $40. Get the response from the seller, and see what you can do about it.

Remember, when you walk away, as long as they ask you to go back, 80% of the chances you get to buy the stuff at $40, unless you don’t mind to buy at $50. Well, this is the easiest way to bargain.

Lastly, I wish you all the best in Learning Chinese.

I list all my free Chinese lessons and articles at : http://www.LearnChineseForFree.com

Best wishes,
Jayden

Travel destinations: Camiguin, Philippines

Camiguin is a small island that attracts countless numbers of tourists every year due to its natural beauty. It is one of the top tourist spots in the Philippines and ranks number 7 as a diving spot in the world. Camiguin is a pear-shaped volcanic island which has a total land area of only 238 square kilometers. Small as it is, it could be a giant as far as beauty is concerned. Camiguin has a very unique setting with its 7 volcanoes, natural cold and hot springs, waterfalls, mountains and the hospitable, fun-loving and friendly people around. It makes a perfect and unforgettable experience for travelers and adventurers.

Camiguin is said to be, “Born of Fire.” One would not wonder why this tiny island has seven volcanoes. Despite being almost covered with volcanoes, it is a safe place to go and enjoy. The weather here is good with seasonal rain showers. From April to June, one is guaranteed a fine weather. The coldest month is from November to January and the rest of the year would be hotter.

Camiguin has a lot to offer guests. There is the Old Ruins of San Roque Church, Convent and Belfry which are remnants of the volcanic eruption in 1897. Along with this is the Sunken Cemetery, a large white cross stands in the water where once a cemetery stood but was eaten by the sea during the eruption of Old Vulcan Daan in 1987. This is a perfect place to view the sunset over the ocean. This island has all the remnants of the Spanish time when Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards. Catholicism has been introduced by the Spaniards in the 1800’s and Filipinos became Catholics. The Via Cruzes proves how faithful Filipinos are to their religion. This is an old volcano slope where life-size statues depicting the passion, death and ressurection of Jesus could be seen. Included here in the mountain are the 14 stations of the cross. There is also a centennial house that still stands to remind people of the Spanish era the 1800’s/

If you tire being sentimental, you can change your mood by watching the Katibawasan Falls. This is a 70 meter high, cascading falls and around it are orchids, wild ferns, trees and boulders. The waterfalls looks majestic. Tuasan Falls is ideal for a picnic and Binangawan Falls provides for a lovely view with its small and big falls rushing down majestic granite stones and joining as one big falls . The mist forms an arched rainbow when the sun’s rays shoots to the waters making it look like wonderland.

You can experience a hot pool bath which is therapeutic. The Ardent Hot Spring is a hot mineral pool with water that is 400 degrtees Celsius. This pool is very ideal for night bathers. There are picnic huts and tables for rent here and a restaurant is also available. There is no problem at all because everything here is accessible. Aside from the hot springs, Camiguin also has cold springs.

Mount Hibok-Hibok an extinct volcano which is 1250 meters high above sea level is ideal for climbing. Mountain climbers love this place for what it offers them. On top of this mountain is a crater-like lake and steam outlets. And here, you culd also have a panoramic view of the entire Bohol Province while enjoying your trek.

Camiguin is rich in natural resources and offers lots of fun and enertainment including sports. There is the Burias Shoal where one could enjoy a good dive at the same time have a close encounter with schools of different kinds of fish. What makes this Burias Shoal unique is the black coral covered bottom. There are more places to enjoy boating, fishing, snorkeling and diving and with what Camiguin could offer, where else would one choose to go? Camiguin is something to experience in life as it boosts its majestic beauty and rich natural resources.

Short stories: The dump

I’ve had some interesting experiences with dumps throughout my long life. In fact, while in college, I had the choice of a job at the local fast food joint for $2 an hour, or working for the city sanitation department for $5.75 an hour. And since my trash pick-up job began at 2:30 am and ended at 10:30 am at the dump, I could keep a full college schedule each day. Of course, before showing up in class, I had to change clothes and take a quick shower.

However, my most unique experience with city dumps happened more than 63 years ago in the Philippines. With Manila not yet secured by the GIs in April 1945, I was part of a Navy team assigned to set up a fleet landing station. The SeaBees came in, built us a Quonset hut and set up four tents right on the pier of the Pasig River.

With scattered groups of enemy soldiers still roaming the city, we needed to carry our carbines at all times and stand watches every night. Several times a day, we drove in Jeep teams into the city, where we chowed down with GIs or Philippine Army units.

It was heartbreaking to see how the Japanese soldiers had devastated the once-beautiful city during the fighting and their retreat from advancing Allied troops. Most of the widespread destruction was random, including the burning of homes and wanton murder of thousands of people in the city.

The saddest scenes as we rode through the streets were the many orphaned and homeless kids who wandered through the rubble looking for food and shelter. Whenever we stopped, hordes of them surrounded our Jeeps, their thin faces turned up to us and their hands outstretched, begging for food.

Soon we were taking (sometimes swiping) food supplies from the Army, and began handing them out to the kids every day. However, as much as we could give, it was never nearly enough to feed more than a small percentage of the starving kids in what was once downtown Manila.

We felt no guilt in giving out GI food, and in at least one situation, we operated a sort-of reverse black market. The Army allowed us to buy one carton of cigarettes a week at a cost of 50 cents. As we rode our jeeps through the city, we tossed them to the most ragged-looking kids. We knew they could get $25 to $50 for each carton by selling individual cigarettes on the street.

Maybe the most tragic scenes we witnessed were when we were frequently assigned to guard convoys of Navy and Army trucks to the city dump. There they deposited loads of trash and garbage. When we approached the area, we could see hundreds of civilians, including many of the street kids, waiting for us. Then, as the backs of the trucks started to tilt, the kids jumped on top and rode the contents down into the heaping piles of refuse.

There were frantic gatherings in the trash piles as people loaded up sacks to take to their families. Many of them picked through to find edible bits of food to eat while continuing to root for more of anything useful.

WWII ended a few months later, and of all the heartbreaking wartime sights I had seen, one I most remember today is what I witnessed at the Manila city dump.

US Court Orders India to Pay $ 42.4 Mn Tax

New York (PTI): A US court has ordered India to pay a real estate tax of USD 42.4 million after it rejected New Delhi’s argument that a 26-storey building occupied by its diplomatic staff is exempted from tax under international treaties.

The building located in posh mid town Manhattan partly houses the Indian Mission to the United Nations which is exempt from tax. But the New York city is demanding a tax on the 20-storeys occupied by its diplomatic staff.

India has been arguing that tax cannot be levied as the diplomatic staff, who occupy the apartments, are exempted from tax, but US District Court Judge Jed S Rakoff ruled Monday that under Vienna conventions, only the residence of head of the mission is exempted.

The Indian Ambassador to the United Nations has a residence in a nearby building in Manhattan and the residential apartments in the Mission building are occupied by the junior diplomatic staff.

Besides, India, the Judge also ordered Mongolia to pay USD 4.3 million and the Philippines USD 10.9 million. Mongolia’s tax obligations arise from the two floors of its six-storey building occupied by the staff.

But the Philippines case is quite different as it has rented parts of the building to a restaurant, an airlines office and bank.

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