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

More pictures.. Continue reading The First Day in Doha

Ready to Go!

Whew!

It has been a very busy week! Almost everything is already set. Ready to go, indeed!

Other than the shopping spree last Sundaythat I have been to, I’ve nothing more to say. I spent around twenty thousand pesos for shopping! Can you believe that?

doha-shopping-center.jpgWell, to my avid readers, I guess we’ll just read from each other when I’ll be in Doha, Qatar.

From wikipedia:

Doha (Arabic: ??????;, Ad-Daw?ah or Ad-D??ah), population 400,051 (2005 census), is the capital of Qatar, and is at 25.3° N 51.5333° E, on the Persian Gulf. The city is home to Doha International Airport and the major oil and fishing industries. Doha is also home to Education City, an area devoted to research and education.

More info about Doha, Qatar.

The Soundtrack

Here’s a song entitled “I Started a Blog Nobody Read” by the band Sprites under their album Modern Gameplay. It can actually qualify to be the bloggers’ theme song, especially for those are yet starting out.

You can play the song from this page: I Started a Blog Nobody Read.

Lyrics of the song follow:

I started a blog which nobody read,
When I went to work
I blogged there instead.

I started a blog which nobody viewed,
It might be in cache;
The topics include:

“George Bush is an evil moron”;
“What’s the story with revolving doors?”;
“I’m in love with a girl who doesn’t know I exist”;
“Nobody hates preppies anymore”.

I started a blog but nobody came,
No issues were raised;
No comments were made;

I started a blog which nobody read;
I’ll admit that it wasn’t that great;
But if you must know here’s what it said:

“100 of my favorite albums”;
“200 people I can’t take”;
“400 movies I would want to recommend”;
“10 celebrities (4 of whom I might assasinate)”;

I started a blog,
I sent you the link;
I wanted the world (and you) to know what I think

I started a blog,
but when I read yours;
It made me forget
what I had started mine for.

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Inventories at Net Realizable Values

The introduction of International Accounting Standards (IAS) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) ushered in more disclosure requirements in an entity’s financial statements. Oftentimes, additional narrative explanation are required for a particular note item in the Notes to Financial Statements. Transparency in financial reporting, you say, huh.

IAS 2, Inventories, in particular, requires a company to disclose among others, the accounting policies adopted in measuring inventories, the carrying amount of inventories carried at cost and the carrying amount of inventories carried at net realizable value.

Complexities, however, arise when a company allocates a provision for inventories specifically identified as obsolete or are impaired, and in such a case are measured at net realizable values. Generalizing in the notes that “Inventories are stated at net realizable value,” (when in fact only a few distinguished items are affected) cast a serious hassle on the part of the reporting entity.

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