Month: September 2006

Retake of the 2006 Nursing Exam

In a bid to redeem the sullied integrity of the country’s nursing profession and the professional licensure examinations, President Arroyo has ordered a retake of the June 2006 nursing tests which were earlier marred by leakage.
Read the news. (Update: Nevermind reading that Manila Bulletin article. It’s broken. I think their server can’t handle old articles. That’s what you call a newspaper of national circulation. After you read the paper, you throw it away. They thought the same is applicable in online publication! How pity!)

In a way, maybe. But the question is why it took the President too long to decide on this matter? The exam was in June, and her order comes in September? Okay, maybe she was awaiting the result of the investigation (by the NBI?). Now another question arises, “What was the result of the investigation?” Why don’t they make it black and white. Did the investigation proved that there was indeed a leakage or otherwise?

Looking deeper into this matter, has this practice been happening before? And since when?

In order to restore public confidence in new nursing graduates as well as the conduct of the licensure exams in the country, there has got to be a clear result, a vantage point at which we (Filipinos and foreigners alike) can share a common perspective on this incident. From then on, we can form our own opinion and judgment.

Fortunately, this did not happen to the accountancy profession…(knock on wood!)

Reunification of the World Chess Crown

After 13 years of schism in the world chess arena, they finally settled for a reunification of the two titles. FIDE champion Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria is staged to face PCA champ Vladimir Kramnik of Russia starting tomorrow, September 23, 2006, in a best-of-twelve series match in Elista, Kalmykia.

My bet goes to the current highest rated player, Topalov (after Kasparov retired from active chess in 2005).
topalov-kramnik

To Val De Guzman, prepare for your starbucks treat next year. LOL

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Faith, Reason and the University

On his lecture last September 12, 2006 regarding “Faith, Reason and the University” in the University of Regensburg, where he was formerly a professor, Pope Benedict XVI quoted the opinion of Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, saying:

Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

pope.jpgThe quotation from this medieval text drew condemnation from a number of individual governmental representatives and various muslim religious leaders urging the Pope to retract his statement and issue an apology about it. Two cases of bomb attacks in churches in the West Bank in Germany were said to be linked to that statement.

On September 17, Pope Benedict publicly expressed that he was “sorrowed” by the reactions in some countries and stressed that the words which ‘were considered offensive’ were not his own, but were quoted from a medieval text.

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The First Day in Doha

doha

We arrived at the Doha International Airport at 11:20 (Doha time) in the morning of August 31, 2006. The temperature was particularly hot, at around 40 degrees centigrade.

We are yet to report to the Ernst & Young Office on Monday, September 4, 2006. There are two things certain, though:

  • That I’m now formally an OFW; and
  • That I now officially transfer from Deloitte to Ernst & Young

deloitte ey

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