Saudi women to be told of divorce by text message under new law

LONDON/BEIRUT - Women in Saudi Arabia will be notified by text message if they are divorced under a new law designed to protect them from having their marriage ended without their knowledge, the government said on Sunday.

The new law, that came into effect on Sunday, was seen as a way to end secret divorces and ensure women are fully aware of their marital status so they can protect rights such as alimony.

The move comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has started to give women more rights in the conservative kingdom, which included lifting a ban on women driving last year.

"Saudi courts have started to send such (divorce) notifications ... a step aimed at protecting the rights of female clients," the Saudi Ministry of Justice said in a statement on their website.

It said women could check their marital status on the ministry's website or visit the relevant court to get a copy of divorce papers.

"In most Arab countries, men can just divorce their wives," said Suad Abu-Dayyeh from global rights group, Equality Now.

"At least women will know whether they are divorced or not. It is a tiny step, but it is a step in the right direction," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

But Abu-Dayyeh said knowing about a divorce does not mean a woman will get alimony or the custody of her children.

In recent years women in Saudi Arabia have been allowed to enter sports stadiums for the first time, vote in local elections, and take a greater role in the workforce as Saudi Arabia tries to diversify its oil-dependent economy.

But many Saudi women have taken to social media to push from more freedom, including protesting against the country's strict dress codes with women required to wear an abaya - a loose, all-covering robe - when in public.

Campaigners said the main sticking point remained Saudi Arabia's guardianship policy, whereby women must have permission from a male relative to work, travel, marry, and even get some medical treatment.

"The male guardianship system is a core issue and it must be dismantled. It controls women in each and every step of their lives. This system strangles Saudi women," said Abu-Dayyeh.

Although many have hailed the Saudi government's reforms, these have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent with about a dozen female activists arrested.

In November, rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch accused Saudi Arabia of torturing and sexually harassing some detained female activists - allegations denied by a Saudi official to Reuters.

A group of British parliamentarians and lawyers on Wednesday requested an "urgent response" from the Saudi ambassador by Jan. 9 to allow them to speak with the detained activists.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

With books and jewels, drag queens teach children tolerance

LONDON - Dressed in a yellow gown and rainbow cape, drag queen Topsie Redfern reads a story to a group of young British children about a little girl who likes herself - even when she develops "stinky toes" and "purple polka-dotted lips".

"It is really important to remember we are all different and it is good to like ourselves for what makes us different from each other," Redfern told about 20 children aged one to five at a central London pre-school.

Redfern is one 30 cross-dressing male performers touring British schools as part of Drag Queen Story Time, telling stories that spread a message of self-acceptance to promote diversity in early education.

The idea originated in the United States in 2015 when writer and LGBT+ parent Michelle Tea was looking for ways to introduce her young son to "queer culture".

"Drag queens are a no-brainer for kids' events," Tea told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Los Angeles.

"They are larger than life, fantastical, beautiful and take everything kids like about princess culture out of the box (and) make it kind of radical, feminist and more fun."

Used to the limelight of nightclubs and bars, they also know how to handle a raucous crowd, she added.

In a few years the format has spread all over the world.

Also known as Drag Queen Story Hour, the group has opened more than 25 chapters worldwide, holding readings at hundreds of nurseries, schools, libraries and other venues across the Americas, Asia and Europe, Tea said.

KIDS AND ADULTS

Tea said the reception had been overwhelmingly positive, particularly in big cities.

But story hours have also drawn controversy in some corners of America, where conservative groups have criticized the initiative as amoral and inappropriate for children.

A US group named Common Sense Campaign Tea Party organized a small protest outside a library in Mobile, Alabama, where a story time was held earlier in September - but it was outnumbered by a counter-demonstration, local media reported.

In Lafayette, Louisiana, plans to hold a reading at a public library have sparked controversy. The city's Republican mayor has said he would look to cancel or move the October event.

Tea said drag queens, like any artists, were capable of adapting their act and making it appropriate for young audiences. "Drag isn't by definition adult entertainment," she said.

Teaching children about diversity made them better citizens, she added - a view echoed by LGBT+ activists in Britain.

Young LGBT+ people are less likely to experience bullying in schools that create inclusive environments and celebrate difference, said Sidonie Bertrand-Shelton, head of education at British rights group Stonewall.

"Bringing in LGBT role models like drag queens and teaching about diversity means children from all families feel welcome and helps every young person understand that LGBT people are part of everyday life," she said.

Almost half all British teenagers who are LGBT+ or questioning their sexuality have self-harmed, according to a study released in August that found homophobic bullying and "highly gendered" environments were partially to blame.

ROLE MODELS

At the London nursery, Redfern's gender appeared of little concern to the children, who were much more interested in the flashy jewellery worn by the performer.

At one point, a heavily made-up Redfern acted out an adapted version of the "The Three Little Pigs" - replacing the pigs of the fairytale with "little misses", who outsmart the wolf.

"Generally in fiction and children's fiction, the boy is the hero. The boy saves the girl, (while) the girls are submissive characters, whereas that story is empowering," said the cabaret artist and actor trained in musical theater.

Nursery manager Gregory Lane said there were educational benefits to Drag Queen Story Time.

"Drag queens happen to be very good at telling a story and making that story come alive for young children so that it's not just words on the page and it's a story that they can stretch their imagination," he said.

For Redfern, who spoke of the difficulty of not being allowed to wear girls' clothes outside home when growing up, the focus was on showing children it is okay to be different.

Almost a third of those aged between 18 and 21 in the United States and 17 percent of 16- to 18-year-olds in Britain identify as LGBT, according to separate surveys.

"In every class there's going to be a girl who's a tomboy (or) a boy who likes running about in a Princess Elsa dress," Redfern said, referring to the Disney movie "Frozen".

"It is about giving them different role models and showing that's fine. Not everyone has to fit into a black and white mold."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Saudi women gear up for new freedom as driving ban ends

RIYADH - Women in Saudi Arabia took to the roads at midnight on Sunday, ushering in the end of the world's last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women's repression in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.

"It feels weird, I am so happy ... I'm just too proud to be doing this right now," said 23-year-old Majdooleen al-Ateeq as she cruised across Riyadh for the first time in her black Lexus.

The lifting of the ban, ordered last September by King Salman, is part of sweeping reforms pushed by his powerful young son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to transform the economy of the world's top oil exporter and open up its cloistered society.

Women drove up and down a main road in the eastern city of Khobar and cheered as police looked on.

"We are ready, and it will totally change our life," said Samira al-Ghamdi, a 47-year-old psychologist from Jeddah, one of the first women to be issued a license.

The lifting of the ban, which for years drew international condemnation and comparisons to the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, has been welcomed by Western allies as proof of a new progressive trend in Saudi Arabia.

But it has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, including against some of the very activists who previously campaigned against the ban. They now sit in jail as their peers take to the road legally for the first time.

Women with foreign drivers' licenses only began converting them earlier this month, so the number of new drivers remains low. Others are training at new state-run schools, with 3 million women expected to drive by 2020.

Some still face resistance from conservative relatives, and many accustomed to private drivers say they are reluctant to take on the country's busy highways.

"I definitely won't like to drive," said Fayza al-Shammary, a 22-year-old saleswoman. "I like to be a princess with someone opening the car door for me and driving me anywhere."

ECONOMIC BOON

Concerns that women drivers will face abuse in a country where strict segregation rules usually prevent women from interacting with unrelated men prompted a new anti-harassment law last month.

The Interior Ministry plans to hire women traffic police for the first time, but it is unclear when they will be deployed. The public security directorate reported no unusual incidents one hour after the ban ended.

Riyadh resident Amr al-Ardi said the women in his family would wait to see how the system works before they start driving.

The decision to lift the ban in the tightly controlled kingdom - where once-forbidden cinemas and concerts have also returned - is expected to boost the economy, with industries from car sales to insurance set to reap returns.

The change should save families billions of dollars on chauffeurs while encouraging more women into the workforce and raising productivity, if only modestly at first.

Auto companies have produced theatrical ads marking the ban's end, while private parking garages designated "ladies" areas with pink signage.

Many Saudis celebrated on social media, but some reactions were derisive or expressed concern about social impacts.

One Twitter user said he would not allow his wife to take the wheel: "If she wants to drive she can go to her father and God willing she will drive lorries. Decisions like this depend on personal freedom #She_Won't_Drive."

Much of the kingdom's overwhelmingly young population supports Prince Mohammed's reforms, but many Saudis fear their speed could provoke a backlash from religious conservatives once seen as dominant.

ACTIVISTS ARRESTED

Activists and diplomats have speculated that the arrests of more than a dozen women's rights advocates over the past month were aimed at appeasing conservative elements or at sending a message to activists not to push demands too far.

The crown prince's modernization efforts have won praise at home and abroad, but he has also provoked unease with an anti-corruption purge last year, when scores of royals and top businessmen were detained at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. Most were freed after reaching settlements with the government.

Billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, an early advocate of women driving who was detained at the Ritz for three months, tweeted a video of his daughter driving.

"Saudi Arabia has just entered the 21st century," he said to his granddaughters in the back seat in the video. "Thanks to King Salman for this achievement."

Even with the end of the driving ban, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most restrictive countries for women, who need permission from legally mandated male guardians for important decisions such as foreign travel and marriage.

Amnesty International said lifting the ban was "a small step in the right direction," but called for an end to other practices that discriminate against women.

Activists have already begun campaigning to end the guardianship system, which has been chipped away at slowly over the years. Prince Mohammed declared in an interview earlier this year that he believes men and women are equal.

But veteran Saudi activist Hala Aldosari says women remain second-class citizens and criticized the crown prince's "piecemeal approach" as serving the interests of the elite at the expense of women from more restrictive families.

"Worst of all will be if these small-scale reforms, and the silencing of feminists, slow the momentum for pushing the Saudi regime into making more meaningful change," she wrote in a U.S. newspaper. (Reporting by Sarah Dadouch and Stephne Kalin Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad and Reuters TV Editing by Ros Russell and Leslie Adler)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Turkish socialite dies in plane crash after bachelorette party

ISTANBUL/DUBAI -- A wealthy Turkish socialite and her friends were among the 11 people killed on Sunday when a private plane bringing them home from a Dubai bachelorette party crashed into an Iranian mountainside.

The plane was owned by the private holding company of Turkish businessman Huseyin Basaran, and carried eight passengers and three crew, an official for Turkey's transport ministry said. Those on board included Basaran's daughter Mina and seven of her friends, all flying back from a party ahead of her planned wedding next month.

Basaran, a former deputy chairman of Trabzonspor football club, owns businesses that span yachts to energy. One of his companies is the top shareholder in Bahrain Middle East Bank BSC , a small investment bank. His construction projects include a series of luxury apartment blocks on Istanbul's Asian side called "Mina Towers," named after his daughter.

The last photo on Mina Barasan's Instagram account showed her surrounded by seven other young women, all wearing robes and sunglasses. The post, tagged #minasbachelorette, said it was taken at the One and Only Royal Mirage luxury hotel in Dubai.

By late on Sunday evening, just a few hours after news of the crash, there were more than 7,000 comments on the photo.

"The wreck of the jet and the bodies are found. They will be carried down from the mountain when sun comes up. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones," the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, Kerem Kinik, said on Twitter, citing his Iranian sister organisation.

Kinik had earlier told Reuters there was "no chance" of any survivors, given the aircraft was a jet and it was flying in snowy weather, although he was unable to officially confirm fatalities.

Calls to Basaran Holding's office in Istanbul went unanswered.

Reza Jafarzadeh, spokesman for Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, told state television the jet had crashed near the southwestern city of Shahr-e Kord.

Local residents who had reached the site of the crash said there appeared to be no survivors and victims' bodies were burnt, ISNA news agency reported, quoting Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for Iran's emergency services.

ISNA earlier quoted emergency services as saying the wreckage was burning and was clearly visible.

Emergency crews had a difficult approach to reach the crash site because of the mountainous terrain, ISNA said.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ad industry makes diversity push in Trump era

NEW YORK - Walk into your average ad agency in America and you could be forgiven for thinking you had traveled back in time, with many still resembling the white male bastions immortalized in the series "Mad Men."

That may be about to change as the industry redoubles efforts to recruit more minorities, sensing a chance to strengthen ties to populations that feel assaulted in the Trump era -- and better reflect contemporary US society.


Outreach efforts towards minority populations have long been complicated by the paltry number of African Americans who work in advertising: they remain in the single digits as a percentage of staff, while Latinos also are underrepresented.

For award-winning ad veteran Valerie Graves, who rose from being among the first black copywriters at the firms where she worked, to leading entire creative departments, the sector needs to recognize that non-whites "drive the popular culture of this country and of the world."

"It hardly seems likely that we're not capable of doing advertising at a very high standard," she said, urging industry leaders to "realize that diversity is not just something that (they're) being forced to do but is something that responds to the demographics of the country."

That message seemed to be resonating at last week's giant Advertising Week conference in New York, where numerous panels spotlighted efforts both to bridge the diversity gap, and connect with minorities alienated by President Donald Trump's tough stance on immigration and racial issues.

"There's a real opportunity to forge a bond," said Ludwig Ortiz, a senior vice president at Energy BBDO.

When Ortiz' firm surveyed Hispanic shoppers -- long seen as a key sector poised for growth -- 70 percent said they had seen displays of prejudice rise since the 2016 presidential election.

Researchers have also found that Hispanics took notice when Apple, Facebook and other technology companies called on Trump to maintain protections for so-called "Dreamer" immigrants, brought to the country as children, said research consultant Marissa Romero-Martin.

Hispanics "are looking at what brands are doing and not doing," Romero-Martin said.

LONE VOICES

An ad by Budweiser emphasizing the positive role of immigrants drew positive reviews at last year's Super Bowl.

But other campaigns have misfired -- such as when Pepsi was roundly criticized for an ad in which Kendall Jenner made light of the "Black Lives Matter" movement -- in what marketers see as sympomatic of the lack of internal diversity.

Nearly half of advertising employees believe the industry is "terrible" or "not great" at hiring diverse professionals, according to a 2016 survey by the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A's).

"We are losing an opportunity to bring in diverse views," said Keith Cartwright, executive creative director at BSSP, who often finds himself the lone African American at client meetings.

To remedy the situation, the sector has put in place mentoring programs and scholarships to introduce young minority talent to industry leaders.

But a key driver has been large clients -- such as Verizon last year -- who are increasingly demanding that their ad agencies step up the pace of change.

The telecoms company did not set quotas for minorities, but demanded "meaningful progress" from its ad firms, said Diego Scotti, its chief marketing officer.

"We have 130 million customers," Scotti said. "We appeal to everyone, so we have to represent internally the understanding of our audience. If we don't, we won't be successful."

HP saw a jump in the promotion of women after delivering a similar ultimatum to its ad firms, although it says minorities are still too few.

"On the underrepresented minorities, we didn't move the needle as much as we want," said Antonio Lucio, HP's global chief marketing and communication officer. The company shifted recruitment to different schools and agencies to address the problem.

MAJORITY-MINORITY 'CLASH'

Her own success story aside, Valerie Graves fears progress will remain slow until there is a change in "mind and hearts."

But speakers at the New York fair urged executives to stay the course when they encounter resistance in the diversity push.

"When you really start to see organizational tension, don't get scared and back away," said Keesha Jean-Baptiste, senior vice president of talent engagement and inclusion at the trade association 4A's.

"At that point that's when real change happens, which is underrepresented groups and majority culture starting to clash and creating real dialogue and a place of discomfort that start to drive outcomes... that change the nature of who's rising to the top."

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Taiwan crowds march in Asia's biggest gay pride parade

TAIPEI - Tens of thousands marched in Taiwan's capital Saturday in Asia's biggest gay pride parade, with many hoping presidential elections next year bring to power a pro-gay government that will legalize same-sex marriage.

About 78,000 people took part in the 13th Taiwan LGBT Pride event, with supporters waving rainbow flags and handmade placards calling for marriage equality as they circled downtown Taipei.

Some donned costumes including a group of men dressed up as characters from Japanese manga Sailor Moon while a choir group called G-Major sang as they walked with the crowds.

While Taiwan is one of the most progressive Asian societies when it comes to homosexuality, a bill to make same-sex marriage legal has been stalled in parliament since it was first proposed in 2013.

"There's been huge changes in the society in recent years with a lot of grassroot efforts pushing for equality," said Jennifer Lu, an openly gay candidate for the Social Democratic Party in next year's elections.

"But the government hasn't kept pace. That's why I want to run," she told AFP.

Widely expected to become Taiwan's next president -- and the island's first female leader -- Tsai Ing-wen of main opposition Democratic Progressive Party expressed support for same-sex marriage.

"Everyone is equal before love," she said in a video posted on her Facebook page Saturday.

But Tsai has yet to commit to pushing the bill through, saying in a separate statement that it's "an issue the whole society must face together as there are many who support marriage equality but there are also many who are reluctant."

This year's march coincides with several events held in Taipei, including a queer film festival and a regional LGBT conference.

"Taiwan certainly is one of the more progressive in Asia," said Ashley Wu, co-chair of this year's conference which attracted about 400 activists from countries including China, Thailand, Cambodia, and Nepal.

"But there is still strong opposing voices such as Christian groups. Their numbers aren't big but their political influence is significant," Wu said.

While marriage is not yet an option, some are encouraged by recent developments in gay rights.

Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan earlier this year became the first city to allow same-sex partners to be listed in household registration records.

"Progress is inevitable," said 25-year-old JJ Chang, taking part in the parade for the fourth time.

This year Chang chose to celebrate his aboriginal identity by wearing a colourful headdress from his tribe in eastern Hualien county.

"Someone said there is no 'tongzhi' in the aboriginal community, so we couldn't stay silent," he said, using the Chinese term for gay and lesbian people.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Bouncers in Baron Geisler viral video speak up

ANGELES CITY- The bouncers involved in the viral video showing a rowdy Baron Geisler have finally aired their side of the story.

The Facebook clips show the 33-year-old actor, who appears to be drunk, being disallowed entry to the establishment in Pampanga. In the second video, Geisler is seen cursing and even challenging the bouncers to a fist fight.

Edgar Tolentino, head bouncer, said that Geisler was denied entry to their establishment because he was very drunk.

"May rules kasi kami dito, 'pag lasing na at di mo na kaya, bawal na," explained Tolentino.

When told about the policy, Geisler allegedly started shouting and throwing invectives at the bouncers.

"Sabi n'ya, 'magkano ka ba? P*tang ina mo, papatayin kita, pati anak mo,' sabi niya," Ronnie Tanglao, another bouncer, narrated.

Tanglao said that the altercation caught in the viral videos was not the first time Geisler made a scene at the bar. Geisler allegedly made a pass at dancers in the bar three years ago.

"Nanigarilyo s'ya sa dancefloor, tapos nanghipo. Akala siguro, okay lang dahil artista," Tanglao recounted.

The management of the bar has yet to decide whether to press charges against Geisler.

GEISLER'S CAMP ISSUES STATEMENT

In a statement, ALV Talent Circuit, which manages Geisler's career, empathized with the actor's "plea against the discrimination he suffered" from the club's management and security.

It surmised that Geisler's past controversies were the reason he was denied admission to the venue.

The talent firm expressed support for its ward, saying it was the establishment that "caused the incident and aggravated the situation by hurting the feelings of Baron."

Here's the full statement of ALV Talent Circuit:

"We are greatly concerned about the viral video of Baron Geisler’s latest bar incident in Angeles City, Pampanga which is currently making the rounds on social media.

"We empathize with Baron Geisler's plea against the discrimination he suffered from the bouncer and management of the said venue.

"As can be seen in the longer version of video, Baron may have overreacted due to frustration but had reason and was well within his rights to question and demand explanation from the manager or somebody who had authority, why he was being denied admission into a public place that offers entertainment and serves alcoholic beverages.

"We do not know of any bar that discriminates against incoming patrons whether they appear inebriated or not. We can only conclude that this is a result of the stigma caused by similar incidents involving Mr. Geisler in the past.

"Management caused the incident and aggravated the situation by hurting the feelings of Baron. As clearly appearing in the video, there is no single justifiable reason for the management to deny admission except that he is Baron Geisler with obvious past issues.

"Nevertheless, a place for entertainment open to the public, locals and foreigners alike, cannot single out any individual purely because of the stigma of his past, unaccompanied by any illegal act, untoward incident, violation of law, ordinance and rules of the establishment.

"Despite the commotion outside the bar, we are thankful that Baron had the right mind to walk away in the end from the said incident.

"We pray for sobriety and that the public be more discerning before judging anyone." - with a report from Gel Sigui, ABS-CBN News Pampanga

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Advocates offer Ash Wednesday for detained immigrants

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - A group of Christian and immigrant rights advocates gathered near the Statue of Liberty in New Jersey on Ash Wednesday.

Kathy O’Leary of Catholic organization Pax Christi, New Jersey said, “Ellis Island is a tremendous symbol of this myth that our country is a country that welcomes immigrants and that we celebrate our immigrant heritage. And yet within a five minute drive we have over a thousand immigrants in detention.”

Ash Wednesday is a Christian feast day that marks the beginning of the season of Lent.

As they receive the blessed ashes on their foreheads as a sign of penance and repentance, they are protesting the reported inhumane treatment and deaths of undocumented immigrants inside detention facilities.

They are also praying for release of these detained immigrants.

“An immigrant who got caught living here without proper documentation — we’re filling up our jails with people who really should not be punished. People we don’t need to lock up, they’re not a threat to society,” said O’leary.

Immigrant rights advocate Bea Sabino said privately-owned detention facilities are benefiting from the arrest of undocumented immigrants.

“The federal government has contracts with the private prison corporations and how they make money of it is the way they have to fill a certain number of beds and they get reimbursed by the federal government,” said Sabino.

Meantime, immigrant rights advocates are also protesting against the Texas ruling to defer President Obama’s expanded Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that officially starts receiving applications today.

"We’re here to stand in solidarity with prisoners, the inmates, especially the immigrants. We’re also thinking about our political prisoners in the Philippines, making sure that their rights remain intact," Sabino said.

Read more from Balitang America.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Chelsea condemn fans filmed in racist incident in Paris

LONDON - Chelsea Football Club have condemned an incident, captured in amateur video footage in the Paris metro, that shows fans pushing a black man off a train and chanting "we're racist".

The video was filmed before Chelsea's Champions League match against Paris St Germain at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on Tuesday evening, according to reports in British media.

"Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society," the club said in a statement in response to the reports.

"We will support any criminal action against those involved, and should evidence point to involvement of Chelsea season-ticket holders or members the club will take the strongest possible action against them, including banning orders."

The amateur footage, posted on the website of the Guardian newspaper, shows a black man trying to squeeze onto a busy train at the Richelieu-Drouot metro stop only to be pushed back repeatedly by a group of men.

The men can be heard chanting "we're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it".

The BBC reported that French police were investigating the incident.

Paul Nolan, a British resident of Paris who filmed the video, told BBC Radio Four the Chelsea fans in the metro carriage had seemed "very aggressive" and it was an "ugly scene". (Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How Google Glass can be addictive

PARIS - A 31-year-old American was treated for addiction after wearing Google Glass for up to 18 hours a day and even experienced dreams as if looking through the device, doctors said.

It is the first known case of Internet addiction involving Google Glass, a fledgling technology which provides online access via a tiny screen attached to a spectacle frame, they said.

The naval serviceman had a history of drinking, depressive moods and relationship difficulties, according to the case study reported in the journal Addictive Behaviors.

He was admitted to the US Navy's Substance Abuse Recovery Programme (SARP) in San Diego, California, in September 2013 after resuming heavy drinking.

"The patient had been wearing the Google Glass device each day for up to 18 hours for two months prior to admission, removing the device during sleep and bathing," the paper says.

"He noted that when he dreamed during his residential treatment, he envisioned the dream through the device.

"He would experience the dream through a small grey window, which was consistent with what he saw when wearing the device while awake."

His superiors had allowed the man to use the device for his job as it sped up his work of identifying and logging convoy vehicles.

Social aid

The gadget also helped him socially, as a topic of conversation with strangers.

The serviceman developed a dependence on the device, and without it "he was less confident and exhibited significant craving similar to patients desiring their substance of abuse," the study said.

Examined on admission, the patient repeatedly raised his right hand to his temple to tap it with his forefinger -- an almost involuntary motion that he had used to turn on Google Glass and gain access to the Internet.

During the admission interview, the man's short-term memory was poor, he often lost his train of thought and rarely made eye contact, doctors found.

Under the facility's rules, patients have to give up computers and mobile phones during treatment -- something that caused the patient much frustration and annoyance.

"He stated, 'The withdrawal from this is much worse than the withdrawal I went through from alcohol'," the study reported.

After his 35-day treatment, the patient became less irritable, the tapping of his temple became less frequent and his thought process and short-term memory improved.

But he still intermittently experienced dreams as if looking through the Glass window.

The investigators did not point the finger of blame at Google Glass but rather at a phenomenon called "Internet addiction disorder", or IAD.

This is not an officially-recognised medical condition but a term used by some specialists to describe a damaging craving to be online, through video games, computers, phones or other mobile gadgets.

The problem often has an underlying psychological cause, and can be interwoven with other addictive behaviours, such as alcohol or drug abuse.

"To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of IAD involving problematic use of Google Glass," said the probe, led by Andrew Doan of the SARP.

"Technology has numerous benefits to individuals and to society. However, excessive utilisation of any substance, behaviour and technological device will be associated with physiological and emotional dysfunction."

Google France told AFP it would not comment on the study.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.con

Pope launches review of Church teaching on family, marriage

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis on Sunday launches a major review of Catholic teaching on the family that could have far-reaching implications for the Church's attitude to marriage, cohabitation and divorce.

An extraordinary synod, or meeting, of nearly 200 bishops from around the world and a sprinkling of lay Catholics will, for the next two weeks, address the huge gulf between what the Church says on these issues and what tens of millions of believers actually do.

Addressing tens of thousands of believers in St Peter's square on the eve of the synod on Saturday night, Francis said the synod could open the door to a "renewal of the Church and society."

Since becoming pontiff just over 18 months ago, Francis has repeatedly highlighted the "wounds" caused by family breakdown in modern society, while suggesting the Church needs to adapt to this new reality.

"The wounds have to be treated with mercy. The Church is a mother, not a customs office, coldly checking who is within the rules," he has said, in an allusion to the many divorced people, cohabiting couples and single mothers within the ranks of the Church.

Francis underlined where he stands last month by personally marrying 20 Roman couples, some of whom had been "living in sin" prior to their weddings.

- Deep divisions within Church -

In his 18 months in the Vatican, the 77-year-old pope has already taken steps to overhaul the way the Vatican bank and administration are run and has sent out strong signals about the determination of the Church to deal with the issue of clerical sex abuse.

But a reform agenda on social issues could prove much harder to implement because of deep divisions within the Church, Vatican experts say.

Conservatives in the Church hierarchy have already made it clear they will fight any dilution of traditional doctrine.

The Church's view of marriage has come to be seen as increasingly outdated by many in a world where, in some developed countries, nearly one in two marriages ends in divorce and where the notion of the institution itself has been challenged by the global trend towards the legalisation of same-sex weddings.

The bishops gathered in Rome are certainly not about to embrace gay marriage and few Vatican observers expect much, if any, change on questions such as contraception, another area where Catholic teaching contrasts with the daily practice of millions.

But with Francis on the side of reform, the feeling is that the synod process could lead to some highly symbolic changes when it finally reaches conclusions, which is not expected to happen before 2016 at the earliest.

The most notable of these could be a change in the rules to make it possible for Catholics who divorce and then remarry to receive communion.

That has been banned for centuries but critics say the Church's stance is ludicrous given that individuals who have declared their repentance from more serious breaches of the Christian code, including murder or involvement in organised crime, can take communion.

While the Church may not yet be ready to take a step that would amount to a de facto acceptance of divorce in certain circumstances, the discussions could result in steps to make it easier for failed marriages to be annulled.

Another area in which the Church could send out a signal of compassion is by making it clear that priests should be ready to baptise the children of same sex couples, regardless of the doctrinal disapproval of their parents' union.

The synod will also discuss how priests and parishioners can practically help to shore up marriages within their community. Among questions to be addressed on that score is whether the easy availability of pornography in modern society is a factor in family breakdown.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Koreans gorge on online dining shows

INCHEON, South Korea -- Park Seo-yeon sets the table with dishes of Korean beef, kimchi casserole and rice. Switching on her computer and camera, she begins to eat alone as thousands of viewers watch and chat with her in real time over the Internet.

South Korea's latest fad -- gastronomic voyeurism -- offers surprising amounts of money to thousands of online diners while serving up a sense of community in the wealthy Asian country's increasingly solitary society.

Known as The Diva, Park broadcasts for up to three hours every day from her apartment outside Seoul. During the show, viewers send her virtual balloons worth 100 won (9 U.S. cents) each, giving her an average monthly income of about $9,400.

Park, 34, said the most she earned in one sitting was 1.1 million won ($1,000). She began her show as a hobby three years ago but has since quit her job at a consulting firm and plans to get into retailing.

"People enjoy the vicarious pleasure when they can't eat this much or find that food at night or are on a diet," she said minutes before a recent broadcast.

She checked on the chatroom while eating a Korean-style beef tartare called yukhoe.

"Let's eat together. Together!" Park said, responding to a viewer's message that said: "I just rushed off and picked up yukhoe".

In modern South Korea, families are fragmenting as old social ties break down.

One-person households are set to increase from 25.3 percent of the total in 2012 to 32.7 percent in 2030, the fastest rate in the rich countries that make up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, research papers show.

"Loneliness is another crucial factor," Park said. "The show is addictive as you can communicate with thousands of people at home."

About 3,500 people are running food-eating shows and some hit programs are sponsored by restaurants.

"It feels as if I am the one eating that much," Park Sun-young, a 26-year-old viewer of The Diva's broadcasts, said at an Internet cafe. "It is comforting for people who eat alone."

The Diva said she is not simply making money from a food binge but is a providing a benefit to society.

"It feels great when people said 'I recovered from anorexia thanks to you' or 'Thank you for a fun and delicious time'," she said. "I am the woman who lives a life to eat."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

'Lifestyle diseases' are new threat to Asia

MANILA - Asia-Pacific countries face serious challenges from "lifestyle" diseases and ageing populations even as they overcome more traditional illnesses, the World Health Organisation's regional director said Monday.

Western Pacific WHO director Shin Young-soo said such ailments, often arising from a change in diets and less exercise, were sharply rising in Asian nations.

He said recent studies showed that as many as 12 percent of Chinese adults had diabetes, while as many as 50 percent had a "pre-diabetes" condition, meaning they were on the borderline of developing the illness.

This was a huge jump from the estimated 3-4 percent diabetics in China's adult population in the 1990s.

About 10 percent of adults in countries like South Korea, Japan and even Vietnam also had diabetes, Shin told reporters at a WHO regional meeting in the Philippine capital.

"It is because of the big change in our diets in the last 30-40 years' time. There is also a very interesting observation that Asian people... tend to have more diabetes than Western people," he said.

"We must have behaviour change. The whole society must tackle the issue," Shin said.

Other non-communicable ailments like hypertension and high cholesterol were also on the increase despite the fact that they could all be prevented, he said.

Shin said countries such as some Pacific island nations were experiencing diabetes among 40 percent of adults while 75 to 80 percent were suffering from obesity.

"Over many years, this will lead to huge health care costs. Societies will lose this productive labour power," he warned.

Shin also said ageing populations in some Asia-Pacific countries like Australia, Japan and China would force these nation to spend more on caring for the elderly.

Other problems facing the region like relatively high rates of blindness and the spread of drug-resistant diseases will also be discussed at the WHO meeting being held in Manila this week.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pope urges Brazil's youth to seek change, fight apathy

RIO DE JANEIRO - Pope Francis on Saturday encouraged Brazil's young people, who have protested against corruption in their country, to continue their efforts to change society by fighting apathy and offering "a Christian response."

The 76-year-old pope spoke to a crowd estimated by the Vatican to be more than 2 million people gathered on Rio's famed Copacabana beach for an evening rally where he also urged young people to shun fleeting fads and be "athletes of Christ."

Francis, nearly concluding his first overseas trip, received yet another rapturous welcome when he arrived at the crescent-shaped beach. He stopped his popemobile several times to kiss babies and an Argentine flag that was waved at the car.

Most participants planned to spend the night on the sand and adjacent pavement to hold their places for Sunday's closing Mass on the same spot, making the place a giant campsite.

Brazil, Latin America's largest nation, was rocked by massive protests against corruption, the misuse of public money and the high cost of living. Most of the protesters were young.

Francis told the gathering he knew that young people had taken to the streets in Brazil and elsewhere "to express their desire for a society that is more just and fraternal."

Speaking from a giant white stage, he encouraged them to fight apathy and be "protagonists of change" and offer "a Christian response to the social and political concerns arising in many parts of the world."

In his prepared text, he had added that they should do it in an "an orderly, peaceful and responsible way" but he improvised and did not read that part of his address.

The Vatican says that when the pope departs from his prepared text and omits phrases, his thoughts are considered valid nonetheless.

Francis has dedicated much attention in his speeches to the problems, the prospects and the power of young people.

On Friday night he urged them to change a world where food is discarded while millions go hungry, where racism and violence still affront human dignity, and where politics is more associated with corruption than service.

The day before, during a visit to a Rio slum, he urged them to not lose trust and to not allow their hopes to be extinguished. Many young people in Brazil saw this as his support for peaceful demonstrations to bring about change.

STRANGE BEACH FELLOWS

The Copacabana events were to have taken place on a pasture on the outskirts of Rio, but days of unseasonable rain turned the area into a field of mud.

Before Saturday's event, young people in jeans and nuns in their habits shared the beach with Rio residents who had streamed out of their homes to welcome back the sun after days of clouds and downpours.

The nuns wet their feet in the surf next to women playing volleyball in bikinis. Young people carrying flags from dozens of nations sat in the sand in groups to pray and play music.

In his address to the young, the pope asked them to hone and perfect their faith like athletes who train for a match.

"Jesus offers us something bigger than the World Cup," he told them, saying they could have a "fulfilled and fruitful life" if they followed him and not "momentary fashions and fads."

He asked them to be "true athletes of Christ."

Earlier in the day, a group of feminists bared their breasts on the beach in a protest against the Church's restrictive views on female sexuality and abortion.

But most Rio residents were happy to have a visit by the pope, who leaves for Rome on Sunday night.

"The Brazilians have welcomed us so warmly. The only hiccup has been the crammed public transport," said Father Martin O'Reilly who led a group of 60 young people from the Diocese of Clogher in Ireland.

With hundreds of buses still arriving in Rio bringing more pilgrims, security officials said they expected the crowd to peak at 1.5 million people during Sunday morning Mass.

Police and soldiers were deployed on waterfront streets while warships patrolled off shore. (Writing by Philip Pullella; Editing by Philip Barbara)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

How this Pinay coped with discrimination in Switzerland

SWITZERLAND - Since moving to Switzerland 19 years ago, I have experienced my fair share of discrimination: My race, job, size and religion among others.

I took it all in with dignity, proud of my roots as a Filipino. It was not easy. But I managed to keep my sanity by focusing on my family, growing children, work, and projects that will help reach out to others.

Looking back, I should say I was able to hold my ground during encounters wherein any other individual would have shied and ran away.

At school

When my daughters got sick for two weeks, I was deprived of sleep and forgot to bring a document to the kindergarten class. Across the street, the Swiss-Italian kindergarten teacher screamed at me in Italian, “Hey, Asian brownie, what kind of memory do you have? I heard that many women in your country are in prostitution. Is that how you fished out your Swiss husband?”

Other mothers waited for my reaction as I fought to hold back tears that were threatening to fall. I replied calmly in Italian, “Can I set an appointment with you so we can talk about my country?”

The Swiss Italian teacher who did not speak English was quite impressed on how I fluently spoke Italian without any foreign accent. I told her that her overt, hostile statement was offensive, based on her very limited knowledge of the Philippines no thanks to Swiss-Italian TV programs.

Aided by a travel book, I explained to her at great length our Philippine history as well as how much we value our education, family, strong spiritual foundation and concern for compatriots. Needless to say, I gained her respect.

At home

The worst discrimination I suffered was with my former, Swiss-Italian husband. He treated me like I was “nothing.” For him a woman’s role is to obey the man, serve the man and stay at home. As a religious woman taking seriously the vows of matrimony, I submitted myself to his chauvinistic demands but was treated like a slave for seven years. Luckily, I found a good job at an aviation company, giving me the courage to file for divorce.

Even that did not free me from more racial slurs.

Once during shopping, I was approached by an Italian woman shouting insults at me.

“Stay away from my son! You’re a divorced woman with baggage, too young and small to be a mother! You married a Swiss to have a better life. You come from a Third World country, just looking for someone to lean on,” screamed the woman.

Later, I realized that her 30-year-old son was one of my suitors, sending me flowers. With controlled anger and a fair amount of respect for the woman, I shot back in fluent Italian, “If you wish to talk to me, do so without prejudice.”

I added, “What is it in a Third World country that makes First World people like you behave in the way you do? I married because of love but was treated like a slave. My daughters are not baggage, they are my life. I’m not interested in your son!”

At work

While working in a law firm, I had to endure daily insults from a lawyer.

One such encounter went this way: “Didn’t you consider how lucky you are working for us and not work as a maid like your compatriots in Italy or are you much better in cleaning toilets than working on my court cases?”

Calmly I replied, “To match your provocations with anger will only court disaster. Most of my compatriots are degree holders too. It’s the system that does not give them much better job opportunities because companies save money on lower salary by giving the lowly jobs to migrants.”

Fellow Filipinos discriminate, too
A Filipino friend, jealous of my suitors of German, French, Italian, Swiss, Dutch, Finnish and American nationalities, showed her claws by spreading rumors about me to our friends.

“She’s very much a European now, so modern, so precise, too independent. Maybe, she is collecting passports so she dated them,” remarked the friend.

It’s one of those sad realities that some kababayans don’t look at divorce with an open mind. One time, as I was going out of the church, a lady exclaimed at me:

“You left your husband! You’re doomed for life! You still go to church?”

I replied, “Did the church issue a ban on divorcees? Did you see me melt to ashes when I knelt down to pray? Or do you want to check my ticket to heaven or hell?”

Things to do
How should you act when facing discrimination?

It is wise to reply and act in a diplomatic way with self-respect and dignity intact. Learn to speak fluently the language of your new country. Knowing their history, culture and social mores will give you more confidence when talking to them.

Don’t let any form of discrimination lower your self-esteem.

Be the better person, exercise patience, broaden your insights, and weigh the degree of the circumstance. That way you can flexibly handle the situation with wit, humor, dignity, finesse, wisdom and respect.

You have RIGHTS against discrimination

Following the Amsterdam Treaty in 2009, The European Union mandates every member state to protect your rights against discrimination in religion or belief in school or workplace, sexual orientation in the areas of social protection, social advantages and access to good and services, ancestry, skin color, disability, age, chronic diseases and civil status.

You have a right to go to court and are entitled to compensation when it is proven that you have been discriminated.

What you should do if you feel discriminated?

1. Be informed - know the official organizations in your country that helps victims of discrimination, the legal and administrative procedures, the nature of legal coercion available, how to prove that the discrimination took place, etc.

2. Write it down - make notes of what happened, who said what, where did it take place, were there witnesses and why did you feel that you were discriminated.

3. Register it with the authorities - you can go to the police, call anti-discrimination hotlines in your country or talk to official organizations that can help you. It is important to make your complaint official.

For more information visit www.stop-discrimination.info

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Boy Scouts delay decision on gays

NEW YORK - The Boy Scouts of America, a youth group long seen as symbolizing traditional US values, announced Wednesday it was delaying a decision on the contentious issue of whether to allow gays to join.

The Scouts had ruled last year to maintain the ban on openly gay boys and adult leaders. Amid political pressure and rapidly shifting social attitudes, the Scouts' leadership said it would meet on the issue -- leading to speculation that a U-turn was in store.

However, the executive board issued a statement afterwards, saying that "after careful consideration and extensive dialogue within the Scouting family, along with comments from those outside the organization..., (it) concluded that due to the complexity of this issue, the organization needs time."

"The approximately 1,400 voting members of the National Council will take action on the resolution at the National Annual Meeting in May 2013," the statement said.

The 103-year-old institution, famed for its outdoor training programs and preaching of simple virtues, has close links to the country's conservative and religious heartlands.

However, the group, which is separate from the Girl Scouts of the USA and counts 2.6 million boys in its membership, is increasingly unsure of its position in wider society.

President Barack Obama said Sunday in an interview aired right before the Super Bowl that "nobody should be barred" from the Scouts.

On Wednesday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a prominent backer of same-sex marriage, added his voice to the debate.

"Discrimination against gays in the Boy Scouts, I think, is wrong and I think they'd be well advised to eliminate it," he told reporters.

With New York among the growing number of US states allowing gay marriage, and Obama ending the ban on gays serving openly in the military, the Scouts appear to find themselves increasingly behind the times.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that voters across the country are 55 percent in favor of an end to the Scouts' ban, with only 33 percent against.

There was a notable gender gap in the poll, with 61 to 27 percent of women in favor of ending the ban, but men split 49 to 39 percent.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2000 in favor of the Boy Scouts, saying that the prohibition against openly homosexual members was part of its right as a private organization to free association and that it could not be forced to adopt an unwanted message.

In his interview, Obama called the Scouts a "great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to opportunities and leadership that will serve people for the rest of their lives."

However, he added: "My attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life."

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Gabby Lopez on ABS-CBN's 'North Star'

MANILA - ABS-CBN Chairman Eugenio 'Gabby' Lopez III on Thursday reminded hundreds of communication students from different schools about the role of media in the Philippines 60 years after the birth of Philippine television.

In his speech before the Pinoy Media Congress, Lopez said media is like the truthful child in the Hans Christian Andersen story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

“Media’s role is like that of the child. When everyone else is lying through their teeth and exclaiming how grand the Emperor’s new clothes are, we need media to be like the child who will exclaim for all to hear that the Emperor is in fact, naked,” he said.

“We don’t aim to win friends or even keep them in this business. The role of media as we see it in ABS-CBN is to serve the Filipino,” he added.

ABS-CBN has partnered with the Philippine Association of Communication Educators Foundation (PACE) for the last 8 years in sponsoring the Pinoy Media Congress. This year's theme is "Media: Beyond Information and Education."

In his speech, Lopez confessed to being a “digital migrant” compared to this generation’s “digital natives.”

He admitted that he is in a state of denial after turning 60 last year, and getting his senior citizen’s card.

“I am as old as Philippine Television --- all 60 years of it. I was a kid when the first locally produced black and white television show was aired on a station that was to become today’s ABS-CBN. I was in college when color television broadcasting was born in this country. I was getting my feet wet as a disc jockey in one of ABS-CBN’s radio stations when the network covered the moon landing with the first man walking on the moon,” he said.

Lopez said that like the youth, the media also has a role to play in society, which is “to bring information and entertainment to people in a convenient and cost effective manner.”

He said that while state-owned media has served as tools of oppression, commercial media thrives through the interplay of market forces and gets its reward through excellence in providing information and entertainment.

“We have long recognized our obligation to the public arising from our use of the air lanes, a public resource. This is why successful networks like ABS-CBN spend time and money on news and current affairs. A democracy like ours thrives on information – timely and accurate information. Given the nature of our development, it is also necessary to provide a good interpretation of the significance of unfolding events. That too, is a function we must serve,” he said.

Lopez said ABS-CBN has also sought to educate its audience through the curriculum-based e-learning programs of ABS-CBN Foundation and through the Knowledge Channel of SKY Foundation.

He conceded though that the entertainment side of commercial media tends to reflect current social mores rather than attempts to change them. “Perhaps there should be a more conscious effort to promote positive social values through telenovelas but even here, it ought to be more subtle than many policy makers and academicians want,” he said.

The cost of serving the Filipino

Lopez said working in service of the Filipino captures the essence of ABS-CBN. “The ways and forms of service may change. But our desire, commitment and passion to serve the Filipino will remain. These words are from my father, Eugenio Lopez, Jr. It is our North Star, our constant guide. It defines us and everything we do,” he said.

He said this commitment to service has made the company expand its horizons and take bold stands on public issues, at great risk to personal and corporate survival. He said the commitment also caused misunderstanding with the political powers-that-be.

Lopez reminded the audience of how President Ferdinand Marcos shut down ABS-CBN and its sister media company, The Manila Chronicle, during the martial law years.

He said that while the 1986 EDSA Revolution ended Marcos’ oppression, ABS-CBN still suffered “when unpopular administrators used their powers to try to make us see things their way.”

“It would have been more financially rewarding and less of a headache to follow the dictates of Malacanang but to do so wouldn’t have been of service to the Filipino,” he said.

He added: “The trust and confidence of our people have given us the power to stand up in defense of our people’s rights against an oppressive government. I confess to be very traditional in this respect… in believing that the most important function of media in a free society is to protect its people from the abuses of government. No one citizen can stand up to an oppressive government but an independent media standing up to be counted and leading the people in political action ensures the preservation of democracy and its institutions.”

Partnering with PNoy

Lopez also took time to praise the changes in the nation under the leadership of President Benigno Aquino III. He said that under Aquino, “I see a nation so different from what it was, just three years ago.”

“I see a nation that is more confident of its direction, more determined of the strategy it is taking and more imbued with the moral conviction of its actions. I see a nation about to break out from the debilitating clutches of the past. I also see a nation divided between the old centers of power and a new civil society fighting hard for much needed social change,” he said.

The ABS-CBN Chairman said he personally supports the President’s economic development programs and efforts to rid the bureaucracy of corruption. He said ABS-CBN is ready to partner with the Aquino administration in promoting good government by identifying backlogs in public service, corruption in government and the waste of public resources.

He admitted though that this does not mean that ABS-CBN will always see things the President’s way.

“There are times when Malacanang will accuse us of sensationalism, unwarranted criticism and negativism. And some of it will be accurate. In the pursuit of ratings, in being a network imbued with a commercial interest, we just like any other media outfit can cross the boundaries. But as some wise man once said: ‘Freedom means having to watch some disgruntled citizen burn your flag down.’ This is not to excuse any excesses but it is to recognize that those very abuses are part and parcel of democracy in our society. It is the price we pay. And the solution is an open and continuing dialogue between government and media,” he said.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Mystics, Internet fuel 'end of the world' fears

CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico -- A few words by an American scholar, a crumbling Mexican monument and the love of a good yarn were all it took to spawn the belief that the world could end this week.

Dec. 21 marks the end of an age in a 5,125 year-old Maya calendar, an event that is variously interpreted as the end of days, the start of a new era or just a good excuse for a party.

Thousands of New Age mystics, spiritual adventurers and canny businessmen are converging on ancient ruins in southern Mexico and Guatemala to find out what will happen.

"No one knows what it will look like on the other side," said Michael DiMartino, 46, a long-haired American who is organizing one of the biggest Dec. 21 celebrations at the Maya temple site of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula.

It is not the world but "the way we perceive it" that will end, said DiMartino, who pledged his event at ground zero for 2012 acolytes will be a "distilling down of various perspectives into a unified intention for positive transformation, evolution and co-creation of a new way of being."

A mash-up of academic speculation and existential angst seasoned with elements from several world religions, the 2012 phenomenon has been fueled by Hollywood movies and computer games, and relentlessly disseminated by Internet doom-mongers.

Mass hysteria in a Russian prison, a Chinese man building survival pods for doomsday and UFO lovers seeking refuge with aliens in a French mountain village are just some of the reports that have sprung up in the final countdown to Dec. 21.

Robert Bast, a New Zealander living in Melbourne who wrote a book called "Survive 2012" on how to cope with the possible catastrophe, believes the Maya may have sent out a warning.

"The most likely thing for me is a solar storm, but that's not going to kill you straight away. It's more of a long term disaster," said Bast, 47, noting a flu pandemic could also strike the planet. "I feel the world isn't as safe as we think it is. The last couple of generations have had it very cozy."

When dawn breaks on Friday, according to the Maya Long Count calendar, it marks the end of the 13th bak'tun -- an epoch lasting some 400 years -- and the beginning of the 14th.

This fact would probably have languished in academic obscurity had not a young Maya expert named Michael Coe written in the 1960s that to the ancient Mesoamerican culture the date could herald an "Armageddon" to cleanse humanity.

Since then, the cult of 2012 has snowballed.

Among the sun-bleached pyramids, shaded mangroves and deep cenotes of the Maya heartland, there are hopes Dec. 21 will bring a spiritual re-birth.

Nobody seems quite sure what to expect on Friday, but it has not stopped people getting their hopes up.

"This is the Arab Spring of the spiritual movement," said Geoffrey Ocean Dreyer, a 52-year-old U.S. musician wearing a sombrero and mardi gras beads. "We're going to create world peace. We're going to Jerusalem and we're going to rebuild Solomon's temple."

Anxiety attacks

The words of Coe, a highly respected Maya scholar, were published in 1966 at the height of the Cold War, stirring fears in a world haunted by the prospect of nuclear holocaust.

Coe could not be reached for comment for this article, but friends and academics who know him insist he never meant to inspire a vision of apocalypse when he committed them to paper.

Stephen Houston, a Maya expert at Brown University in Rhode Island and student of Coe's, said too much has been read into the end of the 13th bak'tun, which was little more than a "dull mathematical declaration" used to bracket dates.

"I see it all as an expression of present day anxiety and not much more than that," Houston said.

Few remaining inscriptions refer to the event, and the best known one is part of a monument recovered from a Maya site in Tabasco state called Tortuguero -- much of which was torn down in the 1960s to make way for the construction of a cement factory.

Still, the mix of religion, ancient inscriptions and media-driven speculation about impending doom remains potent.

"I got an email the other day from a mother who was contemplating taking her own life, because she didn't know what was really going to happen, she didn't want her children to live through this ordeal," said David Stuart, a Maya expert at the University of Texas. "We can dismiss it as a kooky idea, which it is, but they're still ideas and they still have power."

U.S. space agency NASA has sought to allay fears of impending catastrophe, noting that "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than 4 billion years, and credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012."

Nothing has given the 2012 theories more oxygen in the run-up to the big day than the Internet, noted John Hoopes, a Maya anthropologist at the University of Kansas.

"Computers come straight out of the same people who were smoking pot and protesting at Berkeley and Stanford," he said, referring to U.S. student movements in the 1960s.

"This Maya calendar stuff has been part of hacktivism lore for 40 years, since the beginning, and with every significant change in computer technology, it's gotten another boost."

Many of those gathering in Chichen Itza praised the Internet as a discussion forum and organizing tool for New Age events.

"We don't need leaders now we have the Internet," said Muggy Burton, 66, who had traveled to Mexico from Canada with her 15-year-old, blue-haired granddaughter, Talis Hardy.

The two, who communicate with each other by whistling, plan to live in Mexico for six months, according to Burton, who is going to homeschool Hardy. "It's the end of the world for her, and the beginning of a new one," she added.

Maya skeptics

Mexico's federal government is not officially marking the phenomenon, but the country's tourism agency has launched a "Mundo Maya 2012" website with a countdown to Dec. 21.

Up to 200,000 people are expected to descend on Chichen Itza alone for the night of Dec. 20.

Among modern descendants of the Maya, the idea it could all come to an end on Friday generally raises a wry smile - but they are happy to play along if it makes money.

"It's a psychic epidemic," said Miguel Coral, 56, a cigar salesman in Merida, a colonial town and capital of Yucatan state. "It's all about business, but that's fine. It helps our country. I think it's excellent we've exported this idea."

Nearby, workers built a pyramid of spray-painted polystyrene blocks for the opening of the town's Maya festival.

"If people who believe in this joke want to come, let them," said Jose May, a Merida tourism official of Maya descent. "Nobody here believes that. Those people were sold an idea."

Hazy rumors have helped feed the sense of anticipation.

A few hours' drive south of Merida in the remote Maya town of Xul, which means "the end," media reports began circulating as early as 2008 that a group of Italians were readying themselves for impending doom by building apocalypse-proof bunkers.

Today, the settlement dubbed the "end of the world resort" is open for business as "Eco Spa Las Aguilas."

"There's no truth in it," said deputy manager Andrea Podesta, 45, referring to speculation it was a cult.

"Some people came here, took some hidden photos, and published some very unpleasant articles about us," he added, noting the glistening new spa was booked up well into 2013.

Inside, a group of elderly Italians, mostly dressed in white, were watching the path of an asteroid on a giant screen. A black-and-white image of Christ's face hung from the wall and a large stone statue of a robed woman greeted visitors.

Whatever lies in store for the planet, even Maya academics who have fought to play down the hype surrounding the passing of another 24 hours feel there could still be some surprises.

"I think there may be some mischief on Dec. 21 because the whole world is watching," said Hoopes in Kansas, citing rumors hacktivist group Anonymous was planning a stunt. "It's a very fertile opportunity for a tremendous prank."

source: abs-cbnnews.com