Maniolas

By Greg Heakes Manny Pacquiao throws a left hand at Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on April 12, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada and wins via a unanimous decision. Will Floyd Mayweather Jr. be next? (MNS photo) LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Floyd Mayweather says Manny Pacquiao has lost a step and that the Filipino’s superstar slide has coincided with his decision to split from former strength trainer Alex Ariza. The 37-year-old undefeated welterweight champ Mayweather weighed in Wednesday on the latest performance by Pacquiao who beat Timothy Bradley on April 12 in Las Vegas in a rematch of their first bout in June 2012. “Actually, I did watch the fight,” said Mayweather who is training to fight Argentina’s Marcos Maidana in a 147-pound title bout on May 3 in Las Vegas. “You know, I haven’t seen Pacquiao fight in years. I’ve seen highlights, but I haven’t seen Pacquiao fight since he fought Miguel Cotto.” Mayweather said he wasn’t impressed and fired a couple of verbal jabs of his own at Pacquiao. He said Pacquiao looked like an “amateur” and that in his opinion the World Boxing Organization welterweight champ has less power and stamina than he did five years ago. “I thought Pacquiao fought like an amateur and I wasn’t pleased with his performance,” Mayweather said. “He got the victory the best way he knew how. I’m seeing something totally different in Pacquiao.” Pacquiao worked with Ariza for five years before splitting with him last year. Ariza Read More …

©Christine Langer-Pueschel/shutterstock.com  (Relaxnews) – In non-verbal contexts, learning occurs primarily through the observation and imitation of a model. In a recent study on this process in monkeys, researchers found that the learner’s ability to identify with the model appears to be an essential condition of learning. To explore the effectiveness of different modes of non-verbal social learning, researchers from the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center in France chose to work with rhesus macaques, a species of monkeys known for their biological proximity to humans and their ability to imitate. Monkeys trained to find a food reward hidden by an object were tested with three different learning models in succession. The first model was another macaque, who immediately ate the reward once it was found. The second was a “stimulus-enhancing” human, who actively drew the monkey’s attention to the object concealing the food. Finally, the third model was a “monkey-like” human who performed the task exactly as the monkey would, including eating the food reward. After each of these exercises, the researchers evaluated the monkeys’ learning by testing whether they were capable of reproducing the same results on their own. “The results show that monkeys learn more effectively if the exercise is demonstrated by a model that acts like they do, in other words, who eats the reward once it has been found,” explain the study’s authors in a press release. “It even seems that this is an essential condition for skill transfer,” indicates co-author Elisabetta Monfardini. Another key finding was that Read More …

A batch of 37 female overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) repatriated from Syria, arrive at 4 p.m. Friday (March 7) via EK 332. OWWA personnel and from Office of the Vice President (center photo) assist the returning OFWs upon their arrival at the Gate 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Philippine foreign officials in the Middle East, Africa and other neighboring countries met on Thursday to discuss the government’s response to the threats posed by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus and other viruses. In a statement on Saturday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the special meeting, which was ordered by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario, was held on the sidelines of the agency’s regional workshop on curbing trafficking in persons helo in Ankara, Turkey. It added that the officials were briefed on the MERS-CoV and other viruses and how these affect the Filipinos there. They have also reviewed individual and regional contingency plans in the event of a pandemic, the statement said. “The DFA’s goal is two-fold: To safeguard the health and safety of our countrymen who are in the affected countries and to ensure that these communicable and fatal viruses do not spread,” Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Jesus I. Yabes said. Among the critical points raised during the meeting are: securing access to health treatment for overseas Filipino nationals; enforcement of adequate protective measures for members of the Philippine Foreign Service and other government personnel at Read More …

U.S. Marines board a KC-130J Hercules aircraft at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, Japan, to depart for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan, Nov. 11, 2013. The Marines are assigned to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. David N. Hersey MANILA (Mabuhay) − The signing Monday of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the Philippines highlights the US government’s “rebalance” policy to Asia. This was stressed by US Ambassador to the Philippines, Philip Goldberg, during Monday’s EDCA signing ceremonies at the Armed Forces’ Commissioned Officers’ Club in Camp Aguinaldo, Monday. “After eight rounds of negotiations in as many months, it’s very fitting that we’re gathered here today to sign this landmark agreement just hours before our two presidents meet to mark a new stage in our relations and celebrate the American administration’s ‘rebalance’ to Asia,” Goldbergsaid. “As most of the people in this room probably know, the US-Philippines alliance is the oldest of our five treaty alliances in Asia and the US-Philippines mutual defense treaty signed in 1951 continues to serve us well, having contributed to the security and stability of the region for the last six decades,” he added. Goldberg said that a good example of this is the annual “Balikatan” exercises, which will kick-off on May 5. “The agreement we signed today would be an important part of the existing Mutual Defense Treaty and Visiting Forces Agreement but it will also serve to update Read More …

(http://after-the-storm.org/) WASHINGTON, D.C. – Grammy Award-winning violinist, Joshua Bell and Glee and Broadway star sensation, Darren Criss join multi-award-winning Broadway artist Lea Salonga, Hollywood actor Lou Diamond Phillips, tenor Rodell Rosel, Christine Rocas of Joffrey Ballet, singer Apl.de.ap of Black Eyed Peas and a host of other celebrities will come together in the nation’s capital for a benefit concert for victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the  Philippines. The Philippine Embassy said the concert, dubbed “After the Storm,” will be staged at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, 15 June 2014. The concert is being held in cooperation with the US-Philippines Society and the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition, directed by Broadway’s Baayork Lee and produced by Emmy-nominated producer, Robert Pullen. “This benefit concert intends to bring attention to the invaluable and necessary efforts of recovery for the people of the Philippines who were affected by Haiyan,” said Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., who conceived the project with his wife, Mrs. Maria Victoria Cuisia. The concert, which will take place in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall, will benefit storm victims through partner organizations committed to the rebuilding of the devastation that has occurred in the Philippines. “As the world’s attention is gradually drawn away from the devastation in the central Philippines, we are reminded that formidable challenges remain for millions of families displaced by the most powerful tropical storm ever to make landfall,” said Ambassador John F. Maisto, President of the US-Philippines Society. “The Kennedy Center benefit evening will help those people reconstruct homes and schools, restart businesses, restore livelihoods, and regain access to health Read More …