Pinoy Blog Machine (Beta)

Healthy Backs Quiz Poster

The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy will be celebrating BackCare Awareness Week from 4 to 10 October 2008. This year’s theme is Believe You Can Do It and focuses on the importance of positive thinking in the management of back pain.

Grab a copy of the Healthy Backs Quiz Poster here.

News, indeed, never sleeps.

Just a few minutes ago, the U.S. House of Representatives, voting 228-205, rejects the $700-billion Wall Street bailout bill (Twitted this too). U.S. stocks down as bailout plan fails in the House.

Analysts also said that Barack Obama scored some victory points in the recent U.S. Presidential debate. With a few days left before the upcoming vice-presidential elections, Newsweek’s Fareed Zakaria writes: Palin Is Ready? Please.

In local news, journalists who sued presidential spouse Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo for his mass filing of libel suits want him to testify. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility is a signatory to the complaint.

SENSORY PROCESSING DISORDER: Advanced Research and Innovative Practice

When & Where
November 7 & 8, 2008 – International Symposium

November 6 – Pre-Conference Institute

Hyatt Regency Boston
One Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Start planning now to attend the SPD Foundation’s 7th International Symposium in Boston. The Symposium will feature two information-packed days of presentations by top researchers and leading clinicians preceded by a first-ever day-long Pre-Conference Institute showcasing new assessment tools.

Program highlights:

• Four keynote presentations spotlighting the latest SPD research
• One keynote presentation on the status of the DSM-V initiative
• Separate break-out tracks for research and treatment A pre-conference day dedicated to new assessment tools

Keynote and featured speakers:

• Lucy Jane Miller, PhD, OTR, Founder and executive director, SPD Foundation
• David L. Pauls, PhD, Director of Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit in the Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School
• John J. Foxe, PhD, Professor and program director, Cognitive Neuroscience Department, City College of the City University of New York, and the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research
• Alice S. Carter, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts
• Margaret L. Bauman, MD, Medical Director, Department of Pediatrics, Massachusetts General Hospital Ladders, and Harvard Medical School

For more information, click here.

Here is the first 2008 U.S. presidential debate between Republican nominee Sen. John McCain and Democrat nominee Sen. Barack Obama. The debate focused on issues related to foreign policy and national security, including the global financial crisis. It is more than one hour and 30 minutes, so make sure you have the time and good Internet connection to watch it.

PinoyPress also reports the two candidates’ views on political, economic, and social issues between U.S. and Asia.

Speaking of the financial crisis, Jon Friedman of MarketWatch criticizes the press for its “wimpy” coverage of the economic meltdown.

Media shouldn’t shy away from explosive language
Commentary: Mealy-mouthed financial reporters should tell it like it is
By Jon Friedman, MarketWatch
Sept. 26, 2008

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Over the past few, stunning weeks, the reporters covering the apparent collapse of capitalism have tried mightily to be prudent and proper. In this extraordinary period, however, I’d prefer bluntness and brutal truth.

This is no time for journalists to be hedging their bets and falling back on imprecise, sugar-coated language.

The Wall Street media may want to dispel notions that they’re merely trying to capitalize on a scary time and sell newspapers, increase their Web clicks and raise television ratings. Remember, journalists were skewered after the tech bubble burst in 2000. The public blamed the media for acting as cheerleaders for the fragile Internet stocks.

But these days, the media are taking their good intentions too far. They’re failing to describe accurately the bloodbath (and, you bet, “bloodbath” is an acceptable word, too).

Read more here.

Technology has allowed the rise of blogging and citizen journalism, and at the same time, helped produce the current 24/7 news cycle and multimedia journalism practice among media organizations. News gathering has become increasingly complex as well, offering challenges to journalists in covering events and issues. As citizens shift to the online medium both to consume and produce information, decreasing circulation figures and ratings have sparked fears of the demise of the media as we know it.

In these interesting times, journalists should review the values of the profession–why we are here in the first place. What is journalism’s function and purpose in society? What are the obligations and responsibilities of journalists?

Citizens too have rights and responsibilities when it comes to news; rights and responsibilities which have become specially pronounced since the advent of blogging and citizen journalism.

Written by respected American journalists Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, comprehensively discusses the essential elements that define journalism and the role of press in society. It also discusses the role of citizens in newsmaking in the Internet age.

“The Elements of Journalism delineates the core principles shared by journalists across media, even across cultures. These principles flow from the essential function news plays in people’s lives,” the Committee of Concerned Journalists said. A new edition, published April 2007, includes a 10th principle: the rights and responsibilities of citizens. This 10 principles flows from the “new power conveyed by technology to the citizen as a consumer and editor of their own news and information.”

What are the Elements of Journalism?
From The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect
Source: Committee of Concerned Journalists

1. Journalism’s first obligation is to the truth.

2. Its first loyalty is to citizens.

3. Its essence is a discipline of verification.

4. Its practitioners must maintain an independence from those they cover.

5. It must serve as an independent monitor of power.

6. It must provide a forum for public criticism and compromise.

7. It must strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.

8. It must keep the news comprehensive and proportional.

9. Its practitioners have an obligation to exercise their personal conscience.

10. Citizens, too, have rights and responsibilities when it comes to the news.

The book’s introduction, which explains how the book got started, can be read here.

Debbie Uy, a colleague and MA classmate who currently serves as readers’ advocate of the Davao-based Mindanao Insider, discussed these elements in two successive column pieces. (First part here, second here).

Melinda Quintos de Jesus, executive director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), also discussed the values Kovach and Rosenstiel discussed in the book for the April 2008 issue of the PJR Reports (which I wrote about earlier). In covering the current political crisis in the Philippines, she wrote, a review of basic principles may help clarify the role of the press. Since the CMFR site is currently undergoing some platform and design changes, I suggest you read Ma’am Melinda’s piece in this cached page here.

I am also planning to write more about the elements of journalism in future posts. For now, let me just agree with Roy Peter Clark of The Poynter Institute when he said this about Kovach and Rosenstiel’s book: “The most important book on the relationship of journalism and democracy published in the last fifty years.”

September is National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month in the US. It is sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT).

It is possible to treat addiction, whether it be submitting oneself for alcohol rehab or getting into a drug treatment center. The important thing is to acknowledge that there is a problem and be open to accept help. Recovery is not an easy process but there is a whole lot of support available out there if one is willing to reach out. Such is the aim of this awareness campaign.

What Is Recovery Month?
Recovery Month is an annual observance that takes place during the month of September.

The Recovery Month observance highlights the societal benefits of substance abuse treatment, lauds the contributions of treatment providers and promotes the message that recovery from substance abuse in all its forms is possible. The observance also encourages citizens to take action to help expand and improve the availability of effective substance abuse treatment for those in need. Each year a new theme, or emphasis, is selected for the observance.

Recovery Month provides a platform to celebrate people in recovery and those who serve them. Each September, thousands of treatment programs around the country celebrate their successes and share them with their neighbors, friends, and colleagues in an effort to educate the public about treatment, how it works, for whom, and why. Substance abuse treatment providers have made significant accomplishments, having transformed the lives of untold thousands of Americans. These successes often go unnoticed by the broader population; therefore, Recovery Month provides a vehicle to celebrate these successes.

Recovery Month also serves to educate the public on substance abuse as a national health crisis, that addiction is a treatable disease, and that recovery is possible. Recovery Month highlights the benefits of treatment for not only the affected individual, but for their family, friends, workplace, and society as a whole. Educating the public reduces the stigma associated with addiction and treatment. Accurate knowledge of the disease helps people to understand the importance of supporting treatment programs, those who work within the treatment field, and those in need of treatment.

GLOBAL FORUM FOR INCLUSION 2008: Transforming Rights into Action
Co-Hosted by Inclusion International and the Canadian Association for Community Living

When & Where
17-26 Nov 2008
Ottawa, Canada

This Forum will engage self-advocates, families, activists, professionals and partners from around the world. Focused on the new UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Forum will look at how to transform rights into actions that lead to full inclusion and citizenship for people with intellectual disabilities.

For more information, click here.

Freedom Watch, the institutional blog of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), has a multimedia report updating the public with the Sept. 6, 2008 hearing of the murder case against the alleged killers of broadcaster Rolando Ureta. The multimedia report is the first one CMFR made in its newly-created Youtube account.

Update on the Rolando Ureta case hearing
Source: Freedom Watch

Freedom Watch has also made a quick post on the much-awaited release of Burmese journalist U Win Tin from jail.

National Women’s Health & Fitness Day in the US will be celebrated on the 24th of September, 2008. This unique program, along with other local organizations, focuses on the importance of regular physical activity and health awareness for women.

Why Have a National Women’s Health & Fitness Day?
The goal of this event is to encourage women to take control of their health: to learn the facts they need to make smart health choices, and to make time for regular physical activity.

Because of its grassroots nature, the event provides an excellent opportunity for local organizations to showcase the health-related programs and services they offer to women in their communities.

For more information on this event, click here.

The Wall Street financial crisis continues to hog headlines and airtime (good reads here and here). Even some local major news organizations have appropriately made several banner and front-page reports on the issue.

For those living under a rock in the past weeks or grappling with all those big-sounding business and financial terms related to the crisis, you might want to visit Carlos Conde’s PinoyPress helpful post. You might want to read some of the links there for a quick understanding of the issue, but I recommend reading all the links he posted–just make sure you have enough time to do so. (Heck, I’m not even halfway finished in reading all the links Sir Caloy posted.)

The Attack of the Jargonites
September 19, 2008
PinoyPress
By Carlos H. Conde

As with many business or financial story, the meltdown that just happened on Wall Street is often difficult to digest, what with all the jargon and the complex methodologies used by investment and insurance companies to get to where they are now. Does anyone really know what a “derivative” is or what a “credit default swap” really means? And who the hell are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

Reading the papers and watching the news reports about the Crash of 2008 can often feel like they were written and produced by journalists who exist in a parallel world, a surreal, separate universe populated by Jargonites.

Read more here.

Hat tip to journalist Tonyo Cruz (who is this year’s Best News and Media Blog in Philippine Blog Awards 2008) for linking readers to this commentary from Ian Bell of London-based The Herald: Capitalism has proven Karl Marx right again, Bell writes. In his post, Tonyo discussed the progressive, anti-imperialist view of the U.S. economic meltdown which effects reverberate throughout the rest of the world. He also linked related readings and news in other posts (here and here)

For more information about the effects of the U.S. crisis especially in the Philippines, do visit Money Smarts, the Inquirer.net blog of business editor Salve Duplito. She has blogged the issue several times (including this and this). Duplito’s blog has been a very helpful information resource for Filipinos, especially the ones who are jittery–and quite understandably–on what the repercussions of the crisis.

It seems that financial and economic woes will continue to dominate media space and airtime in the next few days. But for how long? According to the U.S. based Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, a research organization that monitors U.S. media’s coverage of issues, a month before the meltdown started, the economy was not a major news agenda.

The Lull before the Storm
Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism
Sept. 18, 2008

“The credit crisis hit Wall Street hard the week of September 15. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch was bought out Bank of America, and insurance giant AIG was rescued with an $85 billion bailout by the Federal Reserve. On Sept. 15, the Dow fell 504 points, the worst one-day drop since 9/11. Two days later, the market plunged another 450 points.

“While this recent financial turmoil has dominated headlines and become the focus of the presidential race, PEJ’s News Coverage Index reveals that in the month preceding these events, press attention to the U.S. economy was at a low point for the year.”

Read more here. Infographic above from the same article.

I know local research think thank IBON Foundation is having a forum today on the US economic meltdown. “The global crisis will further worsen the Philippines’ own economic crisis as neoliberal reforms have further deepened its links to the US and the global economy,” IBON said in a statement inviting people to attend today’s forum. “However, the economy would have been less vulnerable if the domestic economy were not overly dependent on trade, foreign loans and capital, and if nationalist economic policies were in place.” I was supposed to attend the event, but decided to ask another colleague instead. I hope IBON would post the proceedings online.

The Natasha Goulbourn Foundation in collaboration with Stanford Hospital and Clinics International Medical Services and the Santuario de San Antonio Parish Health Care Ministry & the Makati City barangays of Forbes Park, Dasmarinas, Urdaneta, Bel-Air, Magallanes & San Lorenzo cordially requests the pleasure of your company during the Philippine Lay Community Session (Metro Manila) of The Spiegel Lectures on the topic “MIND BODY MEDICINE - CONCEPTS & PRACTICE.”

When & Where
Thursday, September 25, 2008
8:00 - 11:00 A.M.
Santuario de San Antonio Parish Center in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines

RSVP
The lecture is free and open to the public. However, since the venue has seating limitations, requests for confirmed seats will be responded to only on a first-request-first-served basis. You may register your attendance at the Parish Office c/o Leonor or Joan (843-8835 / 843-8830) who will write down your name in the list of confirmed attendees. You may also register at your respective Barangay Office.

Alternatively, you may email your request for confirmed seats to the Foundation at: . You will get a response, based on seat availability at the time of your request, if your request can be accommodated through an emailed encrypted pass that must be printed and presented at the gate. Emails will be accepted beginning September 1, 2008. Cancellations of confirmed seats should be done as soon as possible to give others the chance to take the cancelled seats. Email your cancellations or call Leonor or Joan.

About the Speaker
DR. DAVID SPIEGEL, M.D.
Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,
Director of the Center on Stress and Health
Stanford University School of Medicine

Dr. David Spiegel is Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine where he has been a member of the academic faculty since 1975 and is Director of the Psychosocial Research Laboratory. He received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy at Yale and his medical and psychiatric training at Harvard prior to coming to Stanford. He is the author of over 300 research papers, chapters in scientific journals, and books.

Dr. Spiegel is a leader in the field of psychosomatic research, treatment and development. He is well-known for his work on support groups for cancer patients and has published numerous studies showing that group therapy (psychotherapeutic interventions) improves the quality of life leading to better coping, improved mood, and reduced pain, depression and anxiety in cancer patients. When Spiegel started his research in the 1970s, virtually no cancer patients were in support groups. Now the therapy is a much more accepted part of cancer care. “Almost every cancer center, including Stanford’s, offers some sort of support group,” he notes, adding that it is “very clear” support should be an important part of treatment.

Dr. Spiegel has developed a long overlooked area - compassionate supportive care for the medically ill which does not make the error of teaching patients that survival is simply mind over matter. His research has shown, however, that mind matters.

His landmark work, Effect Of Psychosocial Treatment On Survival Of Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer (The Lancet; October 14, 1989; 888-891), studied the effects of psychotherapeutic intervention in women with metastatic breast cancer and applied rigorous scientific methodologies to address the relationship between psychosocial and biological variables in breast cancer and possible mechanisms through which they may be related. The study spawned a new line of research on the health effects of psychosocial support and was the subject of a segment on acclaimed TV journalist’s Bill Moyers’ Emmy Award-winning PBS TV special, Healing and the Mind that explored the fascinating, complex and powerful connection between mind and body in human health. The series was later published in book form, one of the earliest to deal in what is now known as `mind-body medicine’.

In his book, Living Beyond Limits: New Hope and Help for Facing Life-Threatening Illness (Ballantine/ Fawcett, 1994), a careful description of his fifteen years of experience in helping patients with advanced cancer cope with their illness, examines consistent themes, including the importance of forming strong bonds of mutual support, facing fears of dying and death directly, reordering life priorities, managing relationships with family, friends, and physicians, and learning to control pain and other symptoms with self-hypnosis.

Dr. Spiegel has long had an interest in the use of hypnosis as treatment for medical symptoms and treatment side effects. In 1978, he and his father, Herbert Spiegel, M.D., co authored what has become a standard textbook on the clinical uses of hypnosis, Trance and Treatment. Dr. Spiegel is currently conducting a large prospective trial of the efficacy of training in self-hypnosis in facilitating smoking cessation that will provide information regarding predictors of smoking abstinence and subsequent risk for cancer and other illnesses. He is the past president of the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, and in 1986, was the recipient of the Schneck Award for significant contributions to the development of medical hypnosis. (Abstracted from Stanford School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences data.)

Speciabilities Development Center would like to invite parents and caregivers to attend a workshop-seminar entitled D.I.Y. Therapy to be held on the 12th of October, 2008 in Quezon City, Philippines.

Topics to be taken up include Sensory Integration, Behavior Management Techniques, Activities of Daily Living, and Language Stimulation Techniques.

Check out the flyer below for more details.

Click to enlarge

Presidential Proclamation No. 558 signed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 25, 2004 declared the period from September 16-22, 2004 and every year thereafter as Cerebral Palsy Awareness and Protection Week. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Ang CP na may Kabuhayan, Makakatulong sa Bayan.”  Quoted below is an excerpt of Mr. Cunanan’s Withnews.org article.

Persons with Disability, Differently-Abled Persons

They used to be known as persons with disability. The politically correct term now is “differently abled persons.” And just because they can’t do things the way other people can doesn’t mean they are of less use to society, to themselves, and to their families.

In many instances, when given the opportunity, to be the best that they can be, they fare better than the rest of us.And so society has an obligation to tap their strengths, skills, and talents to make them productive members of the community.

Read more »

Click here to view featured videos at Theraconcepts.

When and Where
19 October 2008
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Function Hall, 2nd floor, EGI Tower, Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila (near Dela Salle University), Philippines

MORNING ACTIVITY: Seminar for Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy
Registration: 8:30-9:00 AM
Start: 9:00 AM
End: 12:00 NN

Seminar Objectives:

1. Discuss principles of management/handling of the child with cerebral palsy at home.
2. Discuss specific concerns of parents in the care of the child with cerebral palsy.

Schedule of Activities:
8:30-9:00: REGISTRATION and BAG Announcements
9:00-10:00: Introduction to the Bobath Concept (Specific Needs of the Child with Cerebral Palsy)
10:00-11:45: Management at Home (Discussion and Video-showing)
11:45-12:00: Q&A and Seminar Evaluation

NO REGISTRATION FEE FOR PARENTS.

AFTERNOON ACTIVITY: Management of the Child with Cerebral Palsy in School
Registration: 12:30-1:00 PM
Start: 1:00 PM
End: 5:00 PM

Seminar Objectives:

1. Discuss the Bobath clinical classification of cerebral palsy and principles of treatment.
2. Discuss normal development and its applications in the management of children with cerebral palsy.
3. Discuss principles of management of the child with cerebral palsy in the school setting in the following spheres of function:
   - Transfers and mobility; physical education
   - Object manipulation, play, and handwriting
   - Feeding
   - Toileting
   - Speech and communication

Schedule of Activities:
12:30-1:00: REGISTRATION and BAG Announcements
1:00-2:00: Introduction to the Bobath Concept (Specific Needs of the Child with Cerebral Palsy)
2:00-4:30: Management in School (Discussion and Video-showing)
4:30-5:00: Q&A and Seminar Evaluation

Seminar Fee:
Pre-registration (up to October 12, 2008): 500 PhP
On-site registration: 600 PhP

For reservations and inquiries, please text or call BAG-Philippines at 0917 733 6409 or send an e-mail at bobath_philippines@yahoo.com.

I never thought this would be coming. Go to the official website of Cebu Pacific Air for absolutely FREE Seats for all domestic flights. You will pay $0.00 plus $0.00 taxes and fuel surcharge. Hahaha! I am refering to the U.S. dollar because it doesn’t matter whether you want to pay in pesos, $ or euro

No further details. Just go to http://www.cebupacificair.com now!!!! You have until tomorrow (September 19) to avail of this absolutely FREE Seats.

    Oh hai tharr! Yes I am alive! After three months of not blogging I come back with a promising entry! Well, no, its not an update of what I’ve been up to in the past three months. I’m actually casting a vote in this year’s Philippine Blog Awards!

I vote for Mike Villar! And not because I drink with him until 3am every other Wednesday or Friday of every other month. Nor is it because we make fun of the same people. I vote for Mikey (despite the fact that he promises to buy me a beer but never really does) because among the other blogs that i read, his has an air wittiness i dont think anyone can surmount. His blog entries are definitely original and written ingeniously. Each entry is a delight in its own clever way. I don’t think one will ever get bored reading his blog. So go ahead and vote for him!

Other people who voted:

Ade Magnaye’s Vote for Mike
Lauren’s Vote For Mike Villar
Pau’s Vote For Mikey
Baddie’s I Believe In Mike Villar
Fritz’s My Vote Goes To Mike Villar
Euri’s Philippine Web Awards 2008
Helga Votes for Mike
Jepoy Votes for Mike
Madz for Mikey!
Liz’s vote
Ozy’s Why Mike Should Win
Marcus declares that he votes for Mike “Fucking” Villar
Noelle wants Mike to be a REAL Internet Star and get rid of “Rising”
Juice’s vote goes to Mr. Villar!
Steel thinks that Mikey is Badassery Personified
Jayvee Sacramento votes for Mike

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Buddy Gancencia Reality TV
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 Every once in a while we tend to look for something better.  Something we may find just beyond the suffering we went through, something we may find just after facing our battles, something we may find somewhere across the river of our  fears and heartaches. We embrace it so much thinking it is what’s finally gonna save us. We convince ourselves that this is the truth. But in doing so, we are only bending the truth because we do not want to face the unknown.

Reality has a funny way of catching up to us and when it does we have no choice but to accept the truth, however cold and cruel than any lie it may be.

PWD accessibility in full swing

The accessibility for PWD in this latest SM supermall went into full swing.

Facilities like comfort rooms, wider parking lane, wider elevator, elevated pathways, accessible movie houses, priority lanes were all very accessible with facilities designated to be used only by PWD’s so that they can be well attended by SM employees.

The comfort room is designated and reserved only for PWD. It is always closed and if a PWD needs to use it, there’s a doorbell near the door that will signal a janitor to come and open it.

The cubicles and wash basins have railings to make it easier to use and the comfort room is being kept clean all the times.

Inside the movie houses, there are is a special place for wheelchair user with a ramp within it. It is located near the cinema’s entrance so as not to make the wheelchair user go far. The walkway leading to the cinema is also wide and has ramps.

In the ticket booth, there’s a special priority lane for PWD.

The parking area of the mall has reserved area for PWD’s. It has plastic barricades to ensure that the area is reserved only for PWD’s.

Ramps can also be found in the parking and around the mall.

The elevators of the mall are also wide and can hold 2 wheelchair users. And of course, priority will be given to PWD in using the elevators.

Please click here to read the full article from Withnews.org.

Amer de Juan, OTD(C), OTR/L(HTC/PAM) , Neuro-IFRAH Certified®, Neuro-IFRAH Instructor(Cand. ), is sponsoring two Continuing Education Courses for 2009:

1. Introduction to the Neuro-Integrative Functional Rehabilitation and Habilitation® (NEURO-IFRAH®) Approach to Adult Hemiplegia from a Stroke and Brain Injury.

It will be held on February 21-22, 2009 at The Tunnell Rehabilitation and Healthcare, 1359 Pine Street, San Francisco, CA 94109.

If you are a PT, OT SP or Physical and Occupational therapy Assistant or a Nurse looking to improve or update your handling skills, this course is for you. This two day is designed to provide participants with an introduction to the Neuro-IFRAH® principles of management and a practical application of these principles to increase function.

Participants will be able to apply the information learned in a variety of treatment settings including acute care, inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, home care, and skilled nursing facilities. This course will consist of interactive lecture and hands on lab. Lab sessions will emphasize the development of patient handling skills through working with other participants. Information will be shared by lecture, lab and possibly using video or other visual aids. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be Neuro-IFRAH Trained®. (14 contact hours).

Course Fee: $400, early registration $385.

2. NEURO-IFRAH® Certification Course in the Treatment and Management of Adults with Hemiplegia from a Stroke or Brain Injury

A NEURO-IFRAH® Organization Approved Course that includes basic to advanced concepts of the Neuro-Integrative Functional Rehabilitation and Habilitation (NEURO-IFRAH® ) approach by Waleed Al-Oboudi.

This course is specifically designed for physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, physical therapy assistants, and occupational therapy assistants who work with adults with Hemiplegia from a stroke or brain injury.

This course is provided in a two week formats “Format part I (6 days) March 16-21, 2009 and part II (6 days) May 3-8, 2009 for a total of 12 days. The course will provide 98 hours of instruction.

This comprehensive course covers basic to advanced concepts and effective application in a practical, organized manner to enhance learning. The main emphasis is on assessment and management to develop excellence in maximizing functional outcomes throughout the continuum of care. This course utilizes an integrative whole-person approach with emphasis on restoring function and making it functional for a return to independent living and resumption/assumpti on of roles. Challenges encountered by therapists in meeting their patients’ needs throughout the continuum of care are addressed throughout the course. The course consists of lecture, laboratory practice, demonstrations, and patient treatment. Individual attention by the instructors will be provided to enhance participants’ observation, handling, and problem-solving skills.

This course includes the practical application of current basic to advanced concepts sequenced in a creative manner to help all participants meet the course objectives as well as their individual objectives. Waleed Al-Oboudi, who has taught the most multiple-week courses in the past 10 years and the majority of the advanced courses ever taught throughout the United States, specifically
designed this course. Upon successful completion of the course, participants will be Neuro-IFRAH Certified®.

Venue is to be announced (Downtown San Francisco, CA) and course fee $2,000 Early Registration, $2150 Regular Fee).

Credit
The Neuro-IFRAH® Organization is an Approved Provider for Continuing Education by The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. This course is sponsored by the Neuro-IFRAH® Organization in
collaboration Amer de Juan/San Francisco Neurorehabilitation. Participants earn 0.1 AOTA CEU’s for each hour of attendance (contact hours). The assignment of AOTA CEU’s does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products or clinical procedures by the AOTA.

Please register directly with Amer de Juan (650)303-0509, you can also refer to http://sanfrancisco neurorehabilitat ion.com/neuroifr ah.html for more information and updated information. Also see www.neuro-ifrah. org.

A group of former senior government officials has launched an online petition calling for immediate resumption of peace talks on Mindanao, and against any possible term extension for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

—–

For the on-line signing of this petition, please visit: http://www.fsgo.org.ph/.

Your contact details (except the city or province you are in) and your email address will not be posted and will be kept as a confidential information by the FSGO Secretariat.
Please note that organizational signatories are also being solicited. For this, please contact me directly or send email to the FSGO secretariat at info@incitegov.org or mmibanez@incitegov.org.

——————————-

Moves For Term Extension Will Not Die:
Filipino Citizens Should Prepare For Action

We, the organizations and individuals who have signed this statement, are citizens of this Republic alarmed by current political developments. We note that in spite of various protestations by political leaders from the administration and the opposition, the talk of a brazen attempt to extend the term of Mrs. Arroyo simply will not die.

Charter change to be initiated in Congress through a constituent assembly has seemingly been stopped in its tracks by the vocal opposition of many members of the Senate, whose two-thirds approval would logically seem necessary to convene a constituent assembly. Yet the House of Representatives, through the Speaker, and the Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, has announced that it will be holding “public consultations” to elicit public opinion on charter change, whether for federalism, shift to a parliamentary system or such other excuse/justification as may later dawn on the proponents. Some legislators have been vocal in pushing their interpretation that “the Constitution requires only a two thirds vote of its members to propose amendments to the Constitution,” an interpretation that would make the Senators’ votes almost irrelevant in the process.

The current administration has swung violently on the matter of the conflict in Mindanao from rushing to sign the MOA on Ancestral Domain with the MILF to the abrupt cancellation of the peace talks, the dissolution of the peace panel and the attempt of Mrs. Arroyo to disown knowledge of the agreement; and now a relentless armed confrontation that is seemingly designed to goad the MILF and other groups into a combative reaction or a series of violent actions. The inevitable armed confrontations and deaths that will follow could be a ready-made platform to suspend the writ of habeas corpus or, heaven forbid, even the declaration of Martial Law. The Constitution requires only a vote of a majority of the members of Congress, voting jointly, to approve and extend Martial Law.

We declare our commitment to a just and sustainable peace in Mindanao . We will initiate and support all possible actions that will bring about an inclusive process to begin with ceasefire and return to the peace table.

We declare our united opposition (1) to any moves that exploit the Mindanao situation to extend Mrs. Arroyo’s stay in power, (2) to any attempt to amend the Constitution before 2010, (3) to any attempt to change the Constitution through a Constituent Assembly, and (4) to any step towards declaring Martial Law.

We call on all Filipinos to be vigilant, to inform themselves, to organize with like-minded fellow citizens, and to prepare to show our leaders and officials the true power of our democracy.

September 17 is National School Backpack Awareness Day in the US and it focuses to help students to “Pack It Right, Wear It Light.”

Here are ten tips to avoid backpack-related health problems as published by the American Occupational Therapy Association:

1. Never let a child carry more than 15% of his or her body weight. This means a child who weighs 100 pounds shouldn’t wear a backpack heavier than 15 pounds.
2. Load heaviest items closest to the child’s back and arrange books and materials to prevent them from sliding.
3. Always wear both shoulder straps. Wearing only one strap can cause a child to lean to one side, curving the spine and causing pain or discomfort.
4. Select a pack with well-padded shoulder straps. Too much pressure on shoulders and necks can cause pain and tingling.
5. Adjust the shoulder straps so that the pack fits snugly to the child’s back. The bottom of the pack should rest in the curve of the lower back, never more than four inches below the child’s waistline.
6. Use the waist belt, if the backpack has one, to help distribute the pack’s weight more evenly.
7. Check what your child carries to school and brings home to make sure the items are necessary to the day’s activities.
8. If the backpack is too heavy, consider using a book bag on wheels if your child’s school allows it.
   Choose the right size pack for your child’s back as well as one with enough room for necessary school items.
9. If a student is experiencing back pain or neck soreness, consult your physician or occupational therapist.

Source: AOTA

Related Link: Study: Most University Students Self-Report Discomfort Pain Due to Backpack Usage

I know there are so many issues right now, but I hope you would forgive me for posting clips of Filipina singer Charice’s recent guesting (actually, her second) on the Oprah Winfrey show. It’s Saturday anyway. Besides, it’s not everytime we see a Filipina singer on American television.

From Youtube user lifefullofjourney: