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SEA Games-bound Gilas out to ease pain of Korea loss in FIBA Asia Cup

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Reporter

FEELING the pain of their “big brothers” and the entire nation after the country’s loss to South Korea in the quarterfinals of the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup, the Gilas Pilipinas squad bound for the 29th Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has vowed to bring home the gold medal to soothe the pain of the stinging loss the Philippines absorbed at the hands of an old nemesis.

SEA Games-bound Gilas out to ease pain of Korea loss in FIBA Asia Cup
The SEA Games-bound Gilas Pilipinas with its various stakeholders during the team’s sendoff yesterday. — MIKE MURILLO

In the sendoff hosted for them by major backer Chooks-to-Go at the Edsa Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City yesterday, members of the Jong Uichico-coached Gilas SEA Games team said like every basketball-loving Filipino, they, too, were reeling from the shock 118-86 loss their FIBA Asia Cup counterparts were dealt by the Koreans, something they would like to make up for as they embark on their own quest.

“We all know what happened last night. We want to make up for our big brothers. We want to win the gold medal in the SEA Games so that when we go back home everybody will be happy,” said guard Baser Amer of the Meralco Bolts.

He went on to say that from his end, he has become more determined to do everything he can to help the team win and secure for the country its 18th SEA Games basketball title.

Like Mr. Amer, Kiefer Ravena cannot wait to start their job in Malaysia and begin the “healing.”

“The SEA Games got added meaning for us after what happened in the FIBA Asia Cup. We are taking the lessons of it. That’s basketball for you and sometimes things do not go your way. But all is not loss. We have an opportunity to bounce back and hopefully we get the job done,” the former Ateneo King Eagle said.

Apart from Messrs. Amer and Ravena, also part of the team are Kevin Ferrer, Troy Rosario, Almond Vosotros, Von Pessumal, Reymar Jose, Mike Tolomia, Kobe Paras and Ray Parks, Jr.

Also part of the squad are Christian Standhardinger and Carl Bryan Cruz, who will rejoin the team after seeing action in the FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut, Lebanon. On standby is forward Mac Belo.

ALL-OUT SUPPORT
Meanwhile, Chooks-to-Go, which has been a staunch supporter of the Gilas basketball program, from the 3×3 World Cup, Jones Cup and FIBA Asia Cup, reiterated its commitment to it notwithstanding the “shortcomings” Gilas has been having in tournaments it is participating in so far.

“Personally, win or lose, I enjoy watching our national team play. So the entire journey since January this year has been exciting for us and our organization. The Gilas program and team can rest assured that Chooks-to-Go would be supportive and behind the team in whatever way we can,” said Ronald Mascariñas, president of Chooks-to-Go parent Bounty Agro Ventures Inc.

“We are happy with the progress of the program,” he added.

Birdshot: inspired by a true story

MIKHAIL RED was only 23 when he and his film crew shot his second full-length feature Birdshot (his first was Rekorder) over 23 days on location in Davao (“for the eagles”), Isabela, Fairview in Quezon City, and Tanay, Rizal.

Birdshot tells the story of a farm girl who wanders into a forest reserve where she shoots and kills a critically endangered and protected Philippine Eagle. When local authorities track down the poacher of the national bird, they find more than they expected.

Birdshot was the opening film of the recently concluded Cinemalaya Film Festival.

“It is based on a true event,” Mr. Red told BusinessWorld. “I read a news article about a farmer who shot, killed, and ate a Philippine Eagle. I was intrigued by the scenario — a man unaware of the crime he commits — his motivation is purely survival.

“Birdshot is about coexistence, and the food chain or pecking order of Philippine society.”

There seems to be another layer beneath this theme: agrarian unrest. While reticent about discussing it, Mr. Red said: “We reference a lot of injustices that have occurred in the past, and even the present. The film shows how we destroy our national symbol through the extinction of the Philippine Eagle and through the extinction of societal truth and justice itself.”

Producer Pamela Reyes lead the search for the film’s protagonist, Maya. The girl had to be a fresh face, someone who had never been seen on the big screen. “We needed a girl who transforms within the film. She has to come of age. We needed her to look 14-15. Mary Joy [Apostol] was 17 at the time of production [she is now 19, and a college student]. But her versatility and her balance of grace and ferocity made her perfect for the role of Maya,” Mr. Red said.

The film features Ku Aquino as Maya’s father, Arnold Reyes and John Arcilla as the town policemen, and Dido de la Paz as the town’s police chief. Mr. Red co-wrote the screenplay with Rae Red.

Birdshot, which had participated in 16 festivals, competing in four of them, was adjudged Best Film at the Asian Future Competition of the Tokyo Film Festival 2016, and was accorded special mention in the Bangkok ASEAN Film Festival. Birdshot has more festivals lined up until mid-2018.

Mr. Red is shooting his third feature, Neomanila, this month, planning to premiere it in October during the QCinema film festival. He is also preparing a horror film (Eerie) for 2018.

Birdshot is one of 12 featured films in the Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) which runs from Aug. 16 to 22. — Susan Claire Agbayani

MTRCB Rating: R-13

Preparations under way for 1st BIMP-EAGA culture and arts festival

ARTISTS AND indigenous cultural experts from the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) are gathering in General Santos City and Sarangani province on Sept. 20-24 for the 1st Budayaw Festival. The sub-region’s diverse art forms will be simultaneously featured in various venues. The Budayaw Festival is envisioned to be held every two years, rotating within the four member countries. In a press conference earlier this month, Engr. Maritess K. Maguindra, director of the Bureau on Cultural Heritage of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said “Budayaw is a platform and mechanism to bring about cultural appreciation.” The ARMM will be showcasing works of its cultural artists and will be setting up an exhibit on the Muslim Filipino’s history and culture. “Twenty years of economic cooperation in the BIMP-EAGA led to the realization that culture is an element in the sustainable development of the four countries,” said artist Nestor T. Horfilla, who is heading the festival organizing committee. Budayaw comes from words ‘Budaya,’ a Malay term that means culture, and ‘Dayaw,’ a Filipino word that signifies goodness, value and beauty. — Mindanao Bureau

Elvis’s jumpsuit tops $1.5-M memorabilia auction

FORTY YEARS ago, Elvis Presley left the building – permanently. The original rock-and-roll superstar died Aug. 16, 1977, of a myocardial infarction, but his death gave birth to a multibillion-dollar industry that seems to be immortal.

Right now, tens of thousands of devotees are in Memphis for Elvis Week. Of course, that takes place at Graceland, the King’s residence and the second most visited home in America (after the White House). It has undergone significant upgrades in the past year, including the addition of a 450-room luxury hotel, the Guest House at Graceland, and an entertainment complex, both the result of a $137-million makeover by Authentic Brands Group LLC.

Among the week’s fan reunions, dance parties, and concerts, the festivities included a memorabilia auction that closed Aug. 12 – and that featured some impressively high-ticket items, with the total haul topping $1.5 million.

Big ticket items included an Elvis-owned and stage-worn sleeveless jumpsuit and jacket that sold for $250,000.

Jeff Marren, consignment director for Graceland Auctions, said the stage-worn suits tend to fetch the most money because only 15 to 18 of them are owned by collectors.

Elvis’s “Blue Armadillo” jumpsuit – a sleeveless, bell-bottom jumpsuit with matching jacket and rhinestone details – sold for $250,000, including the buyer’s premium, the high end of its estimate and the most expensive item at the auction. Worn by the performer in 1975, when he was 40 and touring, it’s apparently “an exemplary example” of his “evolving style.”

The King’s jewelry also attracted high bids, with a gold-and-diamond ram’s head necklace going for $138,750 (near its high-end estimate) and a gold-and-diamond, guitar-shaped ring selling for $112,500, far above its estimate of $20,000 to $30,000. Several legal documents sold – a contract with Colonel Parker, a power-of-attorney letter, a contract for Elvis to appear on the Louisiana Hayride radio show – along with a couple of perhaps surprising items: Elvis’s weapons.

A Savage .32 semi-automatic pistol he bought in Palm Springs, Calif., sold for an above-estimate $10,000, while an M1 rifle, similar to the one he trained on in the Army, went for $9,375. His Spanish percussion rifle sold for $4,500.

The most bid-on lot, with 45 bids, was a 16-millimeter reel of Elvis’s first post-Army press conference, but right behind it, with 44 bids, was a note he wrote by hand: “When you’re not in love your [sic] not alive. God is love, E.P.” That Instagram-ready letter was estimated to go for $2,000 to $3,000 but sold for $27,500.

A couple of notable items among the 315 lots that did not sell include the Bible used to officiate at his funeral, a puka-shell necklace he wore while shooting Blue Hawaii, and a 30-foot, trailer-ready mini-museum (“Your own personal Graceland!”).

Maybe next year?

Although the auction brought in some surprising bids, it was by no means a record-setting sale of Elvis merchandise. In May, a red Lockheed Jetstar the singer once owned sold at auction for $450,000, while Elvis’s white piano – built in 1912 and a fixture in Graceland’s Music Room for 12 years – is currently up for auction, through Aug. 20, on EBay. The estimate is $2.5 million to $5 million, but if it’s anything like that “Blue Armadillo” suit, you might want to put aside a little extra. – Bloomberg

Benguet swings to profit in Q2

BENGUET Corp. was back in the black in the second quarter as it bounced back from last year’s loss even as revenues went down.

In a disclosure, the firm said its consolidated net income for the second quarter amounted to P28.1 million, a turnaround from the net loss of P86.3 million it registered in the same period last year. This put the company’s first half profit at P9.5 million from a loss of P31.3 million in the comparable year-ago period.

This, even as consolidated revenues during the second quarter dropped to P497.3 million from P516.5 million a year ago.

“The negative variance is due to decline in nickel revenue partly offset by increase in gold revenue,” it said in a statement. It attributed the drop in nickel revenues to the suspension of its Benguetcorp Nickel Mines, Inc. (BNMI) in Sta. Cruz Zambales.

In the first half, BNMI shipped six boatloads of nickel ore for a total volume of 326,710 tons at an average price of $21.50 per ton versus 15 boatloads with an aggregate volume of 1.28 million tons for of $24.82/ton on average in 2016.

Meanwhile, gold sales at its Acupan Gold Project climbed to P329.4 million from P242.5 million last year as production rose 25% to 1,058 ounces and prices rose to $1,242.13 per ounce from $1,217.67/ounce in 2016. — JCL

Former teller Duke named top woman in US bank industry

BETSY DUKE was working in a Virginia Beach dinner theater in the mid-1970s, struggling to make ends meet, when she applied for a job at a dry cleaner. It turned her down. Instead, she became a part-time teller.

A sign is posted at a Wells Fargo Bank branch office on July 14, 2017 in San Francisco, California. — AFP

On Tuesday, Wells Fargo & Co. named her the first woman to oversee one of the largest banks in the nation. She will become chair of the lender’s board at the start of next year, capping one of the most epic climbs — by man or woman — into the financial industry’s top echelons. Her career already included a stint as a Federal Reserve governor, starting on the brink of 2008’s financial meltdown. This time, she will supervise a management team contending with scandal after scandal.

“Walking into the middle of a crisis is not new to me,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday. With executives already enacting a plan to overhaul the bank, “it’ll be my job to communicate between the board and management, and to make sure that our oversight is as strong as it can possibly be,” she said.

Duke, 65, is succeeding Stephen Sanger as part of a broader board overhaul, in which he and two other directors are leaving following scandals on their watch. Sanger, a member of the board since 2003, became the lender’s chairman less than a year ago when John Stumpf stepped down from both that role and as chief executive officer. At the time, lawmakers were assailing the bank for opening millions of accounts without customers’ permission.

Last month, calls for further changes on the board intensified after more scandals erupted in the bank’s auto-loan operations. Regardless, Sanger wasn’t likely to remain its leader for much longer. He’ll turn 72 before the next annual meeting, and the bank requires directors to retire by that age.

While Duke has deep roots in community banking, she also understands the perspective of US watchdogs after spending five years as a governor at the Fed.

“She exudes real credibility not only with investors and her fellow board members, but also regulators,” Mary Jo White, the former head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, said in an interview. White, now a partner at law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, oversaw the board’s annual self-evaluation.

But Duke’s initial passion was acting.

After graduating from the University of North Carolina in 1974 with a degree in drama, Duke landed a non-singing role in a Cole Porter musical at a dinner theater, and a second job on Sunday afternoons serving beer and all-you-could-eat flounder. She eventually took a third job, as a drive-up teller. The aspiring actress caught the banking bug.

She soon landed a full-time job at Bank of Virginia Beach, where she met her mentor, then-CEO Burt Harrison, as well as her future husband, Larry Harcum. Along the way, she earned an MBA at Old Dominion University.

That bank was sold in the mid-1980s, and the trio started another, Bank of Tidewater. When Harrison died of a heart attack on a golf course in 1991, Duke took charge the next day and led the bank through its already-begun acquisition of branches from failed lenders in the savings and loan crisis.

A decade later, she sold the bank to SouthTrust, becoming an executive there. When Wachovia Corp. bought that company in 2004, she stayed on.

That year, she became the first woman to chair the American Bankers Association since its founding in 1875. A few years later, President George W. Bush nominated her to the Fed board just as global credit markets were starting to seize up. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke swore her in just a few minutes before the start of her first meeting on the Federal Open Market Committee on Aug. 5, 2008. Duke told the committee she hadn’t seen such low confidence in banking since the S&L crisis in the early 1990s and warned that lenders didn’t have enough capital.

A month after she joined, Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc. collapsed. Shortly after, her old firm, Wachovia, was bought by Wells Fargo.

Duke “brought a practical banker’s perspective,” Bernanke recalled in his book on the crisis. He described her as “friendly and good-hearted, but blunt when she needed to be.”

Things seemed like they would be relatively quiet when she joined Wells Fargo’s board in January 2015. Profits were climbing steadily, and the stock was on a long tear, almost doubling over the prior three years, making Wells Fargo the world’s most valuable bank. But behind the scenes, executives were struggling to rein in abuses in the branch network.

For years, employees had been opening unauthorized checking and deposit accounts. Some were angling for bonuses. Others were worried they would lose their jobs if they couldn’t hit untenable sales targets. The whole debacle exploded in public view last September when Wells Fargo agreed to pay $185 million in fines. At congressional hearings, lawmakers from both parties took turns lambasting the bank.

Some of Wells Fargo’s harshest political critics said Duke’s appointment doesn’t assuage their frustrations over its scandals. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said in a statement Wednesday that “shuffling around current board members simply doesn’t cut it.” She renewed her call for the Fed to remove directors who served on company’s board between 2011 and 2015.

Duke “failed to rein in the bank’s rampant customer abuses” while on that panel, Representative Maxine Waters of California said in a separate statement. “This superficial change in leadership at Wells Fargo isn’t enough to restore the trust and confidence of the American public.”

Duke wasn’t a board member during much of the misbehavior, but was part of the bank’s leadership castigated for being slow to recognize the problems and respond to the severity of the scandal. The board ultimately clawed back pay from executives and promoted then-Chief Operating Officer Tim Sloan to CEO. He’s repeatedly promised to rebuild trust.

Duke praised his work so far.

“I don’t think you could have brought in somebody from the outside that’s more committed to change than Tim’s been — or more effective,” she said. “He’s been relentless on it.”

Wells Fargo ranks third by assets among the nation’s six giant banks, none of which has had a female chair or CEO. Over the years, Duke has come to embrace her role breaking glass ceilings — though she was reluctant at first. At the American Bankers Association, she tried to play it down, she said.

“I thought it would make it seem like I was only the chairwoman because they wanted the first woman — something stupid like that,” she said. “After I got done, I realized that, that was truly a mistake. It’s really important to embrace being a role model of high visibility positions for women.” — Bloomberg

SEA Games: Philippine ‘Mighty Ducks’ skate for gold and history

A SHOPPING mall in tropical Manila closes for the night but a once ragtag team of skaters is hitting the rink aiming to make history in the Southeast Asian Games.

SEA Games: Philippine ‘Mighty Ducks’ skate for gold and history
Head coach Daniel Brodan (R) giving instructions to members of the Philippines men’s ice hockey team, dubbed the “Mighty Ducks,” during a practice session at a mall skating rink in Manila ahead of their games at the Southeast Asian Games in Malaysia on Aug. 15. — AFP

Dubbed “The Mighty Ducks” after the 1992 Disney film, the Philippine men’s ice hockey team are targeting gold in Malaysia where the SEA Games begin on Saturday — a far cry from the days when their players knew only of the sport from watching movies.

“The Mighty Ducks has been an inspiration to most hockey players, especially if you’re in a tropical country like the Philippines,” team forward Lenard Lancero, 22, told AFP by the rink in the mall where the team practice.

“You’ve only been watching hockey, seeing it just in the movies. But when there was ice hockey here in (the mall), it’s like a dream come true.”

In a nation known for its pristine beaches and obsession with basketball, ice hockey has only recently emerged as an unlikely but increasingly popular sport.

What started as a hobby for boys who would ask their parents to take them to rinks in the country’s sprawling shopping centers slowly turned into a competitive sport with the creation of a national federation two years ago.

Teenage students and professionals in their thirties all represent their country, and they bagged a bronze medal in their first official tournament at the Asian Winter Games in Japan in February.

Despite their achievements, the squad still get strange looks from surprised shoppers as they haul their gear to the rink, said defenseman Julius Santiago, 21.

“But when they see us play, they’re really amazed. They like watching it because it’s intense, especially when there’s full contact. And Filipinos love fighting, the hitting, so that’s what excites them to watch us play,” he said.

BABY STEPS
This year marks the first time winter sports have featured in the SEA Games.

French-Filipino Francois Gautier, the team’s alternate captain, said practicing in the Philippines was much tougher than in France, Canada or the United States which have thousands of skating rinks as opposed to the Asian nation’s four.

“It’s more organized there for sure. The level is higher. Here, we’re doing the baby steps,” Gautier, 33, told AFP.

Funding is another challenge, with sticks, helmets, shin pads, elbow pads and gloves costing at least $1,000 a set. The group gets by with contributions from corporations, the government and their own pockets.

Team members divide time between school or work and training as well as cutting through Manila’s notorious traffic to get to practice sessions.

For Lancero, a fresh graduate, goals outweigh obstacles.

“If your career is into sports, that’s really different from most Filipinos. People think where is the money in sports? But we’ve been representing the national team and a couple of years after, it will be a career I hope,” he said.

Compared to older teams like Thailand and Singapore, the Philippines is a newcomer and an underdog but the squad are confident.

“I think our chances are really good. We’re actually one of the favorites. I think we’re considered a big threat to the other countries,” Gautier said.

The squad hope their performance in the regional games will bring them a step closer to their Olympic dream and earn the sport a bigger following in the Philippines.

“Every single one of us here, playing or coaching, we are leaving our mark. That’s extremely gratifying than being in a system that’s already been established for years,” said Gautier.

“Here we’re making history every day.” — AFP

Trump disbands business councils

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK — President Donald J. Trump disbanded two high-profile business advisory councils on Wednesday after several chief executive officers (CEOs) quit in protest over his remarks blaming weekend violence in Virginia on both white nationalists and anti-racism activists who opposed them.

Prominent Republicans and US ally Britain also rebuked Mr. Trump, leaving him increasingly isolated after his comments on Tuesday about the bloodshed in Charlottesville further enveloped his seven-month-old presidency in controversy.

The Phoenix mayor asked Mr. Trump to delay a rally planned for next Tuesday, an appeal the president appeared to reject.

A memorial service was held on Wednesday in Charlottesville for 32-year-old Heather Heyer, killed when a car plowed into anti-racism protesters. A 20-year-old Ohio man said to have harbored Nazi sympathies has been charged with murder.

Mr. Trump, a real estate magnate who had never before held public office, was elected president in November touting his experience in business and ability to strike deals. But some of the Republican president’s moves and words have alienated many corporate leaders.

Mr. Trump said he would dissolve the American Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum after eight executives including Campbell Soup Co. CEO Denise Morrison and 3M Co. CEO Inge Thulin quit the panels. Both of the councils were moving to disband on their own when Mr. Trump made his announcement on Twitter. “Rather than putting pressure on the business people of the Manufacturing Council & Strategy & Policy Forum, I am ending both,” he wrote.

The Strategic and Policy Forum was headed by Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a close ally of Mr. Trump in the business world.

Mr. Schwarzman organized a call on Wednesday for member executives to voice concerns after Mr. Trump’s comments, and an overwhelming majority backed disbanding the council, two sources said.

Mr. Schwarzman then called Mr. Trump to tell him about the decision to disband.

“Racism and murder are unequivocally reprehensible and not morally equivalent to anything else that happened in Charlottesville,” Morrison said.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon, a member of one of the panels, said in a statement that “fanning divisiveness is not the answer.”

Dow Chemical Co. Chief Executive Andrew Liveris, who headed the manufacturing council, said he told the White House on Wednesday that “in the current environment it was no longer possible to conduct productive discussions.”

The Strategic and Policy Forum was intended to advise Mr. Trump on how government policy impacts economic growth, job creation and productivity. The manufacturing council was designed to promote US job growth.

Along with the snubs from business leaders, Mr. Trump was rebuked by a string of Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ohio Governor John Kasich, Senator Lindsey Graham and former US presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The president needs the support of fellow Republicans as he tries to push his policy agenda, including tax cuts, through a Congress that is controlled by the Republicans.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, a Democrat, said Mr. Trump would “enflame emotions and further divide our nation” if he used next week’s rally to pardon Joe Arpaio, a former Arizona sheriff who was found guilty last month of criminal contempt of court.

Mr. Arpaio gained a national profile due to his harsh treatment of inmates and outspoken opposition to illegal immigration.

Shortly after Stanton’s statement, Mr. Trump urged supporters on Twitter to attend the rally.

Few public figures have voiced support for Mr. Trump over his response to the violence. Vice-President Mike Pence, who is cutting short a trip to Latin America, told reporters in Chile that “I stand with the president and I stand by those words.”

Former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke praised Mr. Trump’s “honesty and courage.”

Richard Spencer, head of a white nationalist group, lauded the president for “speaking the truth.”

US stocks ended slightly firmer but off the day’s highs as investors worried that the backlash to Mr. Trump’s remarks could stunt his ability to deliver on pro-business promises.

POSSIBLE RESIGNATIONS
A former senior Mr. Trump administration official raised the prospect that some White House officials could quit because of Mr. Trump’s comments.

The demise of the councils raised Wall Street speculation that senior administration figures such as White House economic adviser Gary Cohn or US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin might step down to avoid the tarnish of being associated with Mr. Trump.

Messrs. Cohn and Mnuchin, as well as Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao stood awkwardly by Mr. Trump during his remarks at Trump Tower on Tuesday.

“He’s worried about his reputation being trashed, which is much more valuable to him than anything else,” the former administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said of Mr. Cohn.

Mr. McConnell, who last week drew Mr. Trump’s ire over the Senate’s failure to pass health care legislation, issued a statement saying “messages of hate and bigotry” from white supremacists, should not be welcome in the United States. Mr. McConnell’s statement did not mention Mr. Trump by name.

The Republican Jewish Coalition, a group whose board includes big party donors including casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, called on Mr. Trump to “provide greater moral clarity in rejecting racism, bigotry and antisemitism.”

There is “simply no place” in American public discourse for “hate and violence” displayed in Charlottesville, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said before meeting with Canada’s foreign minister.

‘BLAME ON BOTH SIDES’
Mr. Trump’s remarks on Tuesday were a more vehement reprisal of his initial response to the bloodshed.

At a heated news conference in New York, he said “there is blame on both sides” of the violence, and that there were “very fine people” on both sides.

In London, British Prime Minister Theresa May offered a rare rebuke of Mr. Trump from so close a US ally. “I see no equivalence between those who propound fascist views and those who oppose them and I think it is important for all those in positions of responsibility to condemn far-right views wherever we hear them,” Ms. May told reporters.

Politicians in Germany, which has tough laws against hate speech and any symbols linked to the Nazis who murdered six million Jews in the Holocaust, expressed shock at the images of people in Charlottesville carrying swastikas and chanting anti-Jewish slurs. The country’s justice minister accused Mr. Trump of trivializing anti-Semitism and racism.

Senior American military officers usually stay clear of politics, but two more of the US military’s top officers weighed in on Wednesday, without explicitly mentioning Mr. Trump.

US Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley wrote on Twitter, “The Army doesn’t tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It’s against our Values and everything we’ve stood for since 1775.”

Air Force Chief of Staff General Dave Goldfein said on Twitter that “I stand with my fellow service chiefs in saying we’re always stronger together.”

Their comments followed similar ones from the top officers of the Navy and Marine Corps. — Reuters

‘Missing link’ bolsters bold theory on dino evolution

PARIS — An oddball, vegetarian dinosaur with the silhouette of a flesh-ripping velociraptor, whose fossilized remains were unearthed in southern Chile 13 years ago, is a missing link in dino evolution, researchers said Wednesday.

A revised assessment of the kangaroo-sized Chilesaurus, reported in the journal Biology Letters, bolsters a theory unveiled earlier this year that threatens to upend a long-standing classification of all dinosaurs.

Dinosaurs were the monarchs of Earth for 160 million years until a space rock collided with the planet 65.5 million years ago and wiped out those confined to land.

The survivors, which could fly, are the direct ancestor of today’s birds.

“Chilesaurus genuinely helps fill an evolutionary gap between two big dinosaur groups,” said co-author Paul Barrett, president of Britain’s Palaeontographical Society and a researcher at the Natural History Museum.

When first presented to the world in 2015, Chilesaurus — despite its penchant for plants — was lumped together with theropods, the suborder of meat-eating dinos that not only includes fleet-footed velociraptors but Tyrannosaurus rex, the ultimate carnivore.

Experts acknowledged at the time, however, that it was an awkward fit. One described the beast as “the most bizarre dinosaur ever found.”

An upright posture, powerful hind legs and foreshortened front limbs were all reminiscent of theropods.

But an inverted, bird-like hip structure and flattened, leaf-shaped teeth — proof of an exclusively vegetal diet — suggested that it also shared traits with another major suborder, the Ornithischia.

Well-known ornithischians include Triceratops and the three-ton Stegosaurus, which boasted large armored plates along its spine and a brain the size of a walnut.

“Chilesaurus initially looked like an earlier offshoot of the theropod line, but it seemed suspicious that it had all these adaptations for eating plants,” Barrett told AFP.

It lived about 150 million years ago, far earlier than the handful of theropods known to have turned away from meat, he pointed out.

COMMON ANCESTOR
To verify Chilesaurus’ place in the dino family tree, Barrett and Matthew Baron of the University of Cambridge analyzed more than 450 anatomical features of early dinosaurs.

What they found confirmed a hunch.

“We realized that it was not a strange, early plant-eating theropod, but rather a strange plant-eating animal that was an offshoot of this other group, Ornithischia,” Barrett said.

Reassigning Chilesaurus to a new family tree might seem like something only a dino lover could find exciting.

But the new affiliation has major implications.

For most of the last century, experts have agreed that theropods were more closely related to a third major evolutionary branch, the Sauropods, that included long-necked beasts such as Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus.

But the neither-fish-nor-foul Chilesaurus shows that the fearsome killers under the theropod umbrella shared, in fact, a greater affinity with the docile Ornithischia menagerie.

This was the bold theory that Baron and Barrett, along with other colleagues, proposed in a landmark study published last March in the journal Nature.

“Our reorganization was putting Ornithischia and theropods much closer together, and this new animal helps cement that relationship,” Barrett explained.

“Chilesaurus gives us more confidence that this rearrangement was correct because it has a combination of features found in those two groups.”

The first dinosaur emerged some 228 million years ago. The new findings support the idea that theropods and ornithischians shared a common ancestor as early as 225 million years ago, not long after the dino saga began.

Ornithischia thrived for more than 100 million years, but dead-ended when the rogue rock smashed into what, today is the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.

The impact probably created a massive firestorm followed by a decades-long winter that destroyed vegetation, the starting point in the dinosaurs’ food chain.

Most theropods were wiped out too, although the forerunners of modern birds persevered. — AFP

Zamboanga-Sandakan flights to boost BIMP-EAGA ties, says MinDA chief

SECRETARY Abul Khayr Dangcal Alonto, chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), welcomed the launching of direct flights between Zamboanga City and Sandakan, Malaysia, saying this will boost ties within the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). Cebgo, a unit of budget airline Cebu Pacific, will have four-times-a-week flights from Zamboanga to Sandakan beginning Oct. 29. This route, said Mr. Alonto, “is among the major connectivity projects” in the four-country sub-grouping within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). “(It) is a clear manifestation that with strong private and public partnership, we can truly make things happen as one BIMP-EAGA family,” Mr. Alonto said in a statement. BIMP-EAGA is composed of the entire Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam; the provinces in Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua in Indonesia; the States of Sabah and Sarawak and the Federal Territory of Labuan in Malaysia; and Mindanao and Palawan in the Philippines. — Mindanao Bureau

See related story on https://goo.gl/P5HYZn

Philippine fighters at risk in brain scan scam

A TOTAL of 150 professional boxers have been banned for falsifying brain scan results aimed at detecting serious head injuries in the sport, regulators said Tuesday.

The government has been imposing strict medical testing procedures following the deaths of several boxers from injuries sustained in professional fights in previous years.

“The welfare and safety of our boxers is part of our mandate. We do not want any more boxing deaths,” Games and Amusements Board Chairman Abraham Kahlil Mitra told reporters Tuesday.

The ban means one in seven of the country’s 1,054 Filipino professional boxers are not allowed to step on the ring, the country’s sports regulator said.

The board found 150 boxers had submitted “fake” CT scan results this year, apparently because they could not afford an actual test, the board’s medical officer Radentor Viernes told AFP.

About half of those blacklisted have since submitted the required medical examinations and the ban against them will be reviewed, Mr. Mitra said.

The board is also investigating the involvement of other parties in the CT scan fraud, he added.

In 2012 the undefeated flyweight Karlo Maquinto, aged 21, collapsed and later died from a brain injury after only his 9th pro fight, having rallied from two early knockdowns to salvage a majority draw against a local opponent.

Two other professional boxers also died from ring injuries in 2005 and 2008, Mr. Mitra said.

Apart from the boxing deaths, Mr. Viernes said the board had also refused to renew the licenses of five other boxers due to brain injuries or fluid buildup.

Four of them had been diagnosed with “minute hemorrhage” from blood vessels in the brain, believed to have been sustained in previous fights, while the fifth had brain edema, Mr. Viernes added.

The Philippines is a boxing hotbed that has produced the likes of legendary Manny Pacquiao, winner of world titles in an unprecedented eight different weight divisions.

For many, Mr. Pacquiao is an icon and role model and prizefighting offers one of the shortest tickets to fame and fortune for young Filipino males.

However, Mr. Mitra said many success-starved Filipino fighters were earning puny prizes and could not afford CT scans that the health ministry says cost at least P6,000 pesos or the more expensive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans costing almost three times as much.

“We’ve been criticized for being too strict but still that’s our job and we maintain it that way,” he added.

Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial told reporters Tuesday the government had no plans to outlaw boxing, only to “regulate” it.

To help the hard-up boxers and prevent more boxing deaths, Mr. Mitra and Ms. Ubial announced Tuesday that government hospitals will in future offer free medical tests to Filipinos applying for professional boxing licenses. — AFP

Quirks

Everyone has a particular quirk or a peculiar mannerism.

Quirks

The narcissist “I — Me — Myself” loves to admire her image in the mirror; the miser who counts pennies and irons his cash bills; the OC (obsessive compulsive) germ-hater who douses his hands with alcohol; the intense exercise freak who has cycles of work outs and weighs ins; the picky OC woman who washes stuff (clothes, dishes) every night; the superior being with the inflated, afflicted ego. These oddities are found around the world.

In the local scene, the selfish individual with the “territorial fence syndrome” thinks only of his domain. He excludes the community that he belongs to. (This happens more frequently in the big cities rather than in the simple, rural areas.)

To illustrate, let us observe an urban residential village. The house (big or modest) is usually kept immaculately clean. The garden or yard is impeccable. It has with flowering plants, healthy trees, and a lush lawn or hanging plants.

Beyond the fence is a different scenario. There is an assortment of tossed litter, dried leaves and twigs, weeds, garbage right outside — on the sidewalk or the empty lot.

For some odd reason, the homeowner only keeps his/her immediate surroundings clean. Anything outside the perimeter wall is considered “outside the boundary” and therefore, not in the area of responsibility.

“It is not my territory. It is outside my fence. Why should I care?”

The driver, motorcycle commuter, and pedestrian are among the flawed characters. With a natural predilection for shortcuts, the driver (public or private) disregards traffic rules and regulations — when it is convenient. The motorcyclists weave through traffic. They ignore signs and consciously breaks speed limits. There are thousands who suddenly crisscross from behind — left and right — and surge like swarms of ants. They are hazards who even scratch cars as they pass.

The pedestrian jay walks and avoids the white pedestrian lane. He waits for his bus ride on the highway. Until recently, he used to throw cigarette butts in the sidewalk and smoke in the no-smoking zones. No that there is nation-wide no smoking law, there are no more human smokers — except for the smoke-belchers.

Self-absorbed, self-important, he considers himself beyond the rules and laws. “I can do as I please; when I please; where I please.”

The lazy employee (office staff or household member) tends to take his work for granted. He/she is slow in completing simple tasks but quick to take stretched lunch and snack breaks, siestas. He/she rushes out to punch the bundy clock. The lackadaisical attitude shows that he/she is there to collect a salary but not work and earn it.

In contrast, when the Filipino is transplanted to another country, he is transformed into a model citizen. It is an amazing change in a different land. The loud, reckless, devil-may-care character becomes a subdued, disciplined, law-abiding individual (while he is residing abroad). He works hard and is proud to do so.

As soon as he sets foot on native soil, he reverts to his carefree, careless ways — with a sudden change. It’s a puzzling reversal, a personality switch. A quirk a la Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

In the gated villages, one would expect a certain amount of order and discipline. After all, the genteel residents are well-educated, well-mannered, and law-abiding citizens. Their families and staff are expected to behave in the same low-key fashion.

There are glaring exceptions. As expected.

A speed freak terrorizes innocent strollers. His antics cause major accidents. Unfortunately, the influential driver-owner manages to pass the blame conveniently. The power tripper carries a gun to intimidate the victim.

At resorts, the serenity of nature is an essential element. However, the indulged, pampered set and their underlings exhibit variations of the “Me-first/I-feel-important syndrome.”

From dawn till dusk, despite specific restrictions during certain hours, the roar of motorbikes and jet skis echo through the restricted zones. The culprits feel entitled to disturb the peace.

People blindly disregard hazard signs.

This irresponsible attitude is evident in the utter disregard for the environment. (During the summer season, the favorite island destinations have plastic, broken glass bottles, and cigarette butts that litter on the beaches.)

The seas, rivers, and lakes have become convenient garbage dumping areas. Careless passengers on inter-island ships and local ferries contaminate the waters with trash. Factories and squatters located along the riverbanks pollute the water with toxic chemical and human waste.

Factories and dilapidated vehicles spew noxious fumes. The owners simply do not care about the atmosphere or the safety of the general public.

This behavior is bizarre. Some questions come to mind.

Is it carelessness or callousness? A lack of self-discipline?

Or the selfish desire to be different?

Maria Victoria Rufino is an artist, writer and businesswoman. She is president and executive producer of Maverick Productions.

mavrufino@gmail.com

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