I Can't Breathe: The Senseless Killing of George Floyd

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Flames ripped through a Minneapolis police station in Minnesota and seven protesters were shot in Kentucky as unrest spread across the United States over the deaths of black people during police encounters.

Thousands joined the protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which were triggered by the Monday death of 46-year-old George Floyd after being arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit banknote.

There is no difference between black, white, and brown cops as far as power of badge, authority and abuse in uniform are concerned. Look at the brown cops of Ph, violators of quarantine protocols are being arrested, hurt, shot dead, whereas, cops (generals & senator) are let loose from punishment!

The DDS are offended coz we make it seem like they have no right to call out injustices. Ahm, yes… As enablers of an oppressor, wala kayong karapatan. Either you wake up or pretend you’re neutral, then try again.

May it be intentional excessive harrasnent on a colored guy, the cops of Minneapolis are just like our Philippine police - Abusive of their authority.

The white Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s neck was arrested and charged with murder. Let him go to prison, together with the other three police officers.  I am sure that whatever jail they will be sent to, the black community in that jail are all waiting to welcome them.

Butwe all know that just like in the Philippines, these cops will just be reinstated and assigned somewhere else after when everything goes silent.

Minneapolis police officer at the center of George Floyd's death had been with the department since 2001. During his career, he was the subject of a dozen police conduct complaints; he was never disciplined, records show.

Theres always a collateral damage in the middle of a war.. Blame it to the leaders who tolerated drugs during their regime and not the one who fought against it.

There are so many unfortunate examples of police brutality. This one, however, was one of, if not the most, heinous displays to date. It is not just that this officer decided to execute a man on the street by choking the life out of him with a knee crushing his neck, which should be enough on its own. 

What is even more nauseating is the systematic racism that is so evident here. The other officer turns his back on a murder in progress because the murderer is his partner. And this is no spontaneous reaction on the part of the murderer. It is a cold slow-motion execution, with on lookers passionately pleading for the man’s life. 

A person doesn't often just snap and become a violent individual, but rather a steady growing unchecked  violence leads to incidents like this. Check his record and his background personal life, I bet he is and has been a violent person for a long time. And the other officers either also are violent, or so indoctrinated to cover their kind that they participated in this tragedy. They ALL 4 MUST be charged.

What Are The Chances of Success of IVF in The First Attempt?

Wazzup Pilipinas!

When a patient plans to undergo an IVF treatment procedure, he or she should be sure of one thing; that there is nothing fixed for an IVF treatment.

You have to mould yourself as per the
situations, and the response of your body towards the treatment.

You shall end your expectations and improve your patience when you are preparing for an IVF procedure.

It is not that you cannot conceive in the first round of IVF cycle, but it is equally valid that the first cycle may fail.
So, never think about:

● The number of IVF cycles, and
● IVF Procedure Cost.

It is because the cost automatically increases, with the number of cycles. Thinking more about such things can only create stress which is not at all advisable during IVF treatment.

Relation in the First IVF Cycle and Result:
Different researches and data show different conclusions for IVF treatment.

Some reveal that the success of IVF is higher after the five cycles. While some others say, you get the results within the first three cycles.

Some reports connect the data of achieving results within the first IVF cycle with age. It says:

● Over 70% of the couple who undergo the IVF treatment before the age of 35 years
avail the success in the first cycle
● Now, couples who proceed with the treatment between the age of 35 to 40 years have
40% chances to get the results in the first IVF cycle
● For those who delay in the treatment, and plan for it after the age of 40 years, have
only 25% of chances to receive the good news by the end of the first cycle.

Well, there is no denying the fact that there is a significant relation between IVF treatment results and the age of the couple.

At the same time, we cannot say that only age is the factor that determines the success of the treatment. Several other factors need to be considered for the treatment results.

Some of the most common reasons that alter the results of an IVF treatment includes:

● The cause of infertility in the couple
● Who is sterile, the male or the female partner
● Experience of the doctor in dealing with the condition of the patient
● Procedure planned for the treatment
● Proper analysis of the condition of the patient, and deciding on the treatment plan
accordingly

So, we can say there is no guarantee to get the results in the first cycle. The assurance can only be of getting the results.

You might avail the results in the very first attempt or might go for multiple cycles with the heartbreaking outcome every time.

You need to be strong to accept the result, and further proceed with the treatment.

In a Nutshell:
You can get a recommendation of IVF from the doctor, and he can also make an IVF 
Treatment Package for the first cycle, but he can never guarantee the number of cycles.

No doctor or surgeon, irrespective of their experience and expertise can answer the same. So, live with the fact before you decide to undergo an IVF treatment.

We Need Our Domestic Fisheries More Than.Ever

Wazzup Pilipinas!

In the face of international lockdowns, we need our domestic fisheries more than ever before

By WWF-Philippines Sustainable Tuna Partnerships Project Manager Joann Binondo

Our fisheries play a vital role to the physical and economic health of our country. The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources reported that for the year 2018, the sector contributed P214.869 billion to the economy and provided employment and livelihood for 1.8 million Filipinos. The average
Filipino derives 22.5% of their annual food intake from fishery products - a quarter of their yearly diet.

At the same time, however, we’re seeing a drop in local production, with the first quarter of 2020 posting a 3.2% drop in productivity compared to the first quarter of 2019.

Our reliance on our fisheries demands that we take care of them and that we keep them productive – but the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to leave the sector in deep water.

For a long time, our fisheries have been heavily dependent on exports. Markets across the region, in Europe, and in the United States have been major destinations for our exports. Throughout 2018 we
exported a total of 464,248 metric tons of seafood with a total value of approximately 83 billion pesos, according to BFAR data. With the ongoing pandemic, however, high-value, international markets are
starting to turn inwards, realizing that their reliance on traded fish isn’t wise given current events.

We are also a country of imports. Data from BFAR shows that throughout 2018 alone, we imported 515,905 metric tons of seafood worth 373,356,000 pesos in total. As international trade slows, so too
will these imports, depriving our countrymen of resources they have grown accustomed to, even dependent on, over the many years of robust international trade.
With international markets becoming increasingly closed off, this poses a problem for the “New Normal” – dry markets and poorer fishers. As the markets dry up, fishers fish more to make up for
their losses in the cheaper, local scene, putting our marine resources further at risk.

We need to plug the growing holes in our local seafood supply chain. If we do not, then we risk further damage to the economy and to the sector, and many Filipinos risk decreases in what is a major part of their diet. This is why we need to build our domestic markets, and why we need to support sustainable fishing.
The development of our domestic markets is a journey that must be done sustainably.

Our country is already plagued with the effects of destructive, unsustainable industry. Dwindling fishery productivity
is an indicator of this. The various damaged and destroyed fisheries throughout the country are damning evidence. If we don’t handle our fisheries with care, future generations will carry the burden
of the damage we cause today.

There are three stages we must look at in order to build sustainable, productive domestic markets for our fisheries:

Firstly, we must protect our fisheries. Our coastal waters are the source of much of our fish resources, but mismanagement and unsustainable extraction have left many of them damaged. The fisheries
themselves underpin the entire industry, and their loss would spell disaster for millions. Through effective tracing and monitoring of fishing activities, and with just and sufficient enforcement of fishery
law to crack down on illegal activities, we can keep our oceans vibrant.

Secondly, we need to build and support the livelihoods of our local fishermen. Many unsustainable fishery activities find their roots in a lack of livelihood security. A solution to low income, for example, is to harvest more fish, which can be harmful to the ecosystem in the long run. By expanding their incomes and livelihoods, we can keep fishers from causing damage to marine resources. We can do this by extending social protection measures to them and giving them access to technology that helps them reap the most benefit from their catches. We can also streamline the fisheries supply chain and make it preferential to our fishermen, so they are able to earn more off of each catch. We must put our local fishermen first and develop them into competitive providers to the Philippine economy.

And finally, we need to make sure that we, as consumers, are choosing Filipino fish. All the sustainability measures and livelihood development in the world will not mean anything if we don’t put our purchasing money into our fisheries. We must be willing, as well, to pay a premium for quality, sustainable fishery products, to keep our markets rich and to mitigate the risk of overfishing. In choosing local, sustainable fish, we can breathe life anew into this most important pillar of our economy.

What’ll it take to build our domestic markets? Consumers, of course, need to choose locally-sourced fish, and fishers themselves, and those in the industry, need to adhere to fishery law and the principles of sustainable fishing. Most importantly, though, businesses and government agencies must provide the landscape to allow our fisheries to thrive. Only with everyone’s support can we breathe new life into our fisheries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with challenges unlike anything modern-day Philippines has faced before. Our export-dependent fisheries risk losing millions of pesos, leaving an already-poor sector in dire straits. Meanwhile, our import-dependent markets risk large-scale decline, putting a strain on the resources that come into our country. Filipino diets are dependent on fish. Thus we are presented with a problem - but in this problem, there is opportunity.
If we turn towards local fisheries, we can cut back on our reliance on imports without suffering over our reliance of fish. If we choose to pay a premium for locally-sourced and sustainable fish, we can keep the sector vibrant even with less exportation. We can fill the growing gaps in our fisheries with our very own catches, at the benefit of our markets and the fishers themselves. We can learn to be self-reliant. We can bring ourselves back to prosperity.

Besides, why shouldn't we buy local fish? What's happening now is that we're getting low-quality fish, the catch that doesn't meet international food safety standards - the rejects of high quality markets.

Is that what we deserve? Are we even going to accept that local fish be called "rejects," and not the best of the best? Don't we deserve export-quality fish at local prices, the best that our countrymen can offer, bought for the benefit of our very own fishers? We ought to be the ones to enjoy the bounties of our seas.