DOH: Oil spill killed ‘Toto Pogi’

By Lory Ann B. Bilbao

DEPARTMENT of Health-Center for Health Development (CHD) Western Visayas Regional Director Lydia Depra Ramos confirmed over Aksyon Radyo Thursday that the asthma attack that caused a Guimaras boy’s death was “exacerbated because of the oil spill fumes.”

Two-year-old Alejandro De Castillo Jr. (aka “Toto Pogi”) was proclaimed dead on arrival at the Guimaras Provincial Hospital at 7:30 a.m. of August 28.

De Castillo, who was reportedly an asthmatic, lived with his parents in a hut near the shores of Naoway Island, one of the badly affected coastal areas in Guimaras.

The little boy was found having an asthma attack at 5 p.m. the same day.

After traveling for two hours and 30 minutes by sea and land, the boy reached the hospital but was proclaimed dead on arrival.

De Castillo was one of the persons with oil-spill related illnesses.

There were reportedly 707 cases in Iloilo and Guimaras. There were 677 in the latter and 30 cases in the former.

De Castillo was the first confirmed oil-spill related death.

As this developed, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Thursday ordered Task Force Guimaras to start sealing off portions of the Guimaras shoreline contaminated by the oil spill to prevent residents, particularly children and loiterers, from being exposed to possible health risks.

Arroyo also directed health authorities to step up their medical assistance to affected residents and clean-up workers as Health Secretary Francisco Duque III beefs up its medical personnel deployed to the area.

(For the full story, click Sunstar, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Fake na naman?!?!

Tax appeals court orders Petron to pay P580M to BIR

THE Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has ordered oil giant Petron Corp. to pay P580.24 million to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) for using fraudulent tax credit certificates to settle its obligations from 1995 to 1997.

In a resolution dated August 23, 2006, the second branch of the CTA denied the petition for review filed by Petron for lack of merit and directed the oil refiner to settle its tax obligations.

Petron was ordered by the tax court to pay P284.39 million in basic tax as well as a 20-percent interest amounting to P224.75 million and a 25-percent surcharge amounting to P71.08 million for late payment.

In addition, the oil company was directed to pay the BIR 20 percent delinquency interest per annum on the P580.24 million computed from December 1999 until the amount is fully paid.

The case stemmed from the assessment made by the BIR in 1999 demanding Petron to pay deficiencies in excise tax amounting to P651.33 million inclusive of P142.19 million surcharge and P224.75 million interest for taxable years 1995 to 1997.

Petron had been an assignee of several TCCs from various entities including Diamond Knitting, Filstar Textile Industrial, Alliance Thread Co., Fiber Tech Corp., Jantex Philippines, and Master Colour System.

TCC is an instrument issued by the government to firms that have claims for tax or duty refunds. Since the processing of refunds take time, the government allows holder to sell their TCCs to immediately convert these instruments to cash. The buyers can then use the TCCs to pay for their tax obligations.

The oil company utilized the TCCs in the payment of its excise tax liabilities with the BIR for taxable years 1995 to 1997. The assessment came after the BIR discovered that the TCCs used by Petron in the payment of its excise tax liabilities have been fraudulently issued and transferred.

(For the full story, click Fake TCCs, Sept. 8, 2006.)

—————————————————————————————–

THIS story is not so totally unrelated to the Guimaras oil spill as one may think. What it shows is a pattern of fraud on the part of Petron, 40% of which is owned by the government.

As has been previously reported, Petron used a shipping company which employs a captain without the necessary papers to pilot an oil tanker then after being found out, still goes ahead and contracts a tugboat operator whose officers bought their licenses from Recto. The owner of the tanker isn’t even properly insured. Is Petron trying to tell us that its officials were completely unaware of these fraudulent cases?

The company has also a disturbing habit of lying. Telling the public that the tanker is no longer leaking oil, that certain barangays have been cleared of the oil spill, that it has not been trying to bribe the media (I just got another report of a bribe try this afternoon, c’mon!), that it had nothing to do with the gag order on the Coast Guard, etc.

I guess it isn’t a far stretch for Petron officials to engage in such acts of dishonesty. After all, they are only taking their cue from the biggest cheat of all, the presidentita herself. If she can lie about her election practices, why can’t they lie about an oil spill right?

Solar I captain ‘sleeping’ as vessel sank — crew

By Tetch Torres

A CREWMAN of the M/T Solar I admitted that their captain, Norberto Aguro, was sleeping when the vessel began sinking off Guimaras Island on August 11.

Pump man Jesse Angeling also identified Hiroyasu Yamaguchi as the owner of Sunshine of Maritime Development Corporation (SMDC), contrary to the Japanese national’s denial.

The sinking of the tanker, which had been chartered by Petron Corporation to haul more than two million liters of bunker fuel, triggered one of the worst oil spills in the country’s history.

Angeling told the Department of Justice’ Task Force Guimaras that it is normal for crewmen and ship captains to take a “siesta” while sailing if there is not too much work to be done.

He said Aguro was awakened by his auxiliary captain when the vessel was already listing badly.

Angeling also admitted that the ship took on water twice. The first time, he said, they had to dock in Iloilo to pump the water out.

But when asked if they checked the ship’s hull and repaired any holes after that, he said, “No.”

When Angeling’s turn to be grilled by the panel came, he was immediately asked if he knew Yamaguchi who was preparing to leave the DoJ.

Angeling identified Yamaguchi as “may-ari po (he is the owner)” of SMDC.

(For the full story, click Sleeping, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Calamity funds released

• Bacolod City gives P200k to oil spill-stricken Guimaras

BACOLOD City – The city government extended P200,000 assistance to the oil spill-stricken Province of Guimaras.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia pledged financial assistance to Guimaras Gov. Rahman Nava during the recent League of Provinces of the Philippines Visayas Governors’ Special Meeting at the Governor’s Conference Hall of the Provincial Capitol Building here.

The said financial assistance will be taken from the calamity fund of Bacolod City intended for massive preventive measures in containing the spillage.

Leonardia also committed to send manpower to Guimaras should the need arises for the clean-up operation of the oil spill.

Nava said that although oil slicks neared Negros Occidental, only oil sheens were seen in the Negros waters.

Nava received a total of P6.5 million financial assistance from governors of Negros Occidental, Aklan, Antique, Iloilo and Capiz P200,000 each, P500,000 from the league of Visayas Governors, and P5 million from the governor of Cebu.

Meanwhile, the city government of Bacolod is consistently and closely working in preparation for the threat of the oil spill entering the coastal areas of Bacolod.

Task force Bantay Langis chaired by Mayor Leonardia has held series of meetings, conducted orientations and has enjoined the cooperation of all people concerned, especially those in the fourteen coastal barangays of Bacolod.

The task force has grouped volunteers and briefed them on safety measures and on how to use improvised materials in containing the spill should it reached the city’s shoreline with the help of the Philippine Coast Guard-Bacolod, the Amity Fire Brigade and Members of the Greenpeace defenders.

In Iloilo, Gov. Niel D. Tupas, Sr. recently gave financial assistance amounting to P100,000 each to mayors of 19 coastal municipalities in the province.

This amount will be utilized in setting up oil spill booms, as a preliminary measure before the oil slick coming from Guimaras Strait spread further in other coastal towns of Iloilo.

Based on recent report from the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC), five coastal towns were declared under the state of calamity – Ajuy with 15 coastal barangays affected; Concepcion, 11 barangays; Barotac Viejo, 4 barangays; Banate, 8 barangays; and Oton, 4 barangays.

The oil sludge has damaged the mangrove areas in the said municipalities, affecting the livelihood of the fishermen.

Areas declared under imminent threat were Dumangas and Zarraga while the municipalities of Leganes, Batad, Barotac Nuevo and Miagao were also identified as oil slick threatened areas.

The other coastal areas are Banate, Anilao, Estancia, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Balasan, Carles and San Dionisio.

The assistance, which totaled to P1.9 million, is part of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s P5-million aid for Iloilo Province as one of the areas stricken by oil spill. The remaining amount, Tupas said, will be used during emergency cases.

Last week, the governor also received a cash donation amounting to P200,000 from Metrobank director George Ty, and whose family owns majority control of thev bank, intended for those affected by oil spill.

(From Panay News, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Project Sunrise reports on Guimaras

GUIMARAS Island is a popular tourist destination in the country with a coastal length of 188.58km. The attractions in Guimaras may be attributed to the conscious care and nurturing by its residents on the rich marine environment that engulfs the whole island – with total reef area of 23-square kilometers with live coral cover in good condition.

Care for the marine environment is seen in the 13 marine and mangrove reserves in the island, including the Taklong National Marine Reserve managed by the DENR that serves as a Biological Station for the Biology Division of the College of Arts and Sciences of the University of the Philippines in the Visayas. Mangroves are concentrated in the municipality of Nueva Valencia where eight out of ten mangrove stewardship agreements have been awarded.

By the last week of August, the Guimaras Oil Spill had already affected marine sanctuaries and mangrove reserves in three out of the only five municipalities in Guimaras, with Brgy. La Paz in Nueva Valencia as the hardest hit. According to the National Disaster Coordinating Council, it had reached two municipalities in Iloilo and one in Negros Occidental.

These have destroyed, with very little hope for recovery, 1,128 hectares of mangrove areas, covered 58 hectares of seaweed farms and 200 kilometers of coastline with thick sludgy oil.

By the end of August, there were already 254 reported cases of respiratory diseases, with four persons admitted to the Provincial Hospital of Guimaras, and affected the livelihood of 3,715 families in the island. The oil spill continues to threaten the two remaining municipalities in Guimaras, twenty-nine barangays in Iloilo including Iloilo City, 19 barangays of Negros Occidental. Worse, the rich fishing ground of the Visayan Sea supplies most of the fisheries demand of the entire country.

Other marine reserves and marine parks that may be affected include the Sebaste Marine Reserve, the Nagarao, Nauai and Ususan Marine Parks, and the Toyo Reef Marine Protected Area, all in Guimaras.

(For the rest of the report, click Report, Sept. 7, 2006, or go to the group’s web site Project Sunrise.)

Negros Occ. slams delay in removal of tanker; oil sheen in Silay, Talisay

BY CARLA GOMEZ

NEGROS Occidental Gov. Joseph Marañon yesterday said he is disgusted that no assurance has been given as to when MT Solar 1 with its bunker fuel cargo will be removed from its sink site off the coast of Guimaras.

As long as that bunker fuel remains down there it will pose a danger to Negros Occidental, he said, reiterating demand for it to be removed.

“They should give us a time table so we do not have to constantly wait in suspense, he said, pointing out that the bunker fuel containers on board MT Solar 1 could explode any time and endanger more coastlines in Western Visayas and beyond.”

Marañon was reacting to the statement of Jose Campos, Petron vice president for marketing, at a press conference in Bacolod City Wednesday, that no definitive time frame can be given for the removal of the sunken bunker fuel.

Campos said that of the 2.19 million liters of bunker of fuel on board the MT Solar 1 that sank on Aug. 11 about 1.8 to 1.9 million liters is still at the bottom of the sea.

“We cannot really say how long this is going to take…our assessment is it is going to take some time,” Campos said.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Disaster Management Team yesterday said oil sheen 60 meters wide and 2 kilometers long was sighted within the waters of Silay and Talisay cities approximately 6 to 7 kilometers from the shoreline of Mambag-id Dock.

But Silay Mayor Carlos Gamban said the sheen, which was seen 5 kilometers from the Silay City coast, moved towards Concepcion, Iloilo, yesterday afternoon.

Gamban said the Coast Guard was dispatched to the area where the oil sheen was spotted but when they got there it had already moved away.

The oil was a bit thicker than the usual sheen that had been seen, he said. No other oil sheen sightings were reported in Negros Occidental waters, the PDMT said.

(For the full stories, click Vis. Daily Star, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Will Solar-1 insurers pay for negligence?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
The Philippine Star 09/08/2006

MARITIME experts caution the owner and charterer of the oil spilling M/T Solar-1 against talking too much about insurance. Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. and Petron Corp. could raise false hopes in bragging that their pollution insurance will cover the oil spill’s damage to livelihood and health in Guimaras and Iloilo provinces. For all they know, the insurers may not pay up – not with the findings of investigators.

So far the Special Board of Marine Inquiry has found the captain to be slapdash in sailing a leaking ship over five-meter waves. Too, Sunshine had assigned him as tanker master although unlicensed as such, and Petron did not protest the infraction. Apparently, moreover, the Coast Guard had cleared Solar-1 to sail in extremely bad weather in the first place, and the Maritime Industry Authority did not do a good job of inspecting it on dry dock only last Feb.

No insurance firm would be so generous or gullible as to pay for the obvious negligence of all parties involved.

* * *

Philippine Ports Authority boss Oscar Sevilla contends that other agencies, not his, are in charge of ship departure clearance and seaworthiness. Nonetheless, he adds, “the PPA will prevent any inter-island vessel from sailing if there was any information from government agencies concerned that such vessel failed to comply with requirements.” That is Sevilla’s way of stating that the PPA is not in conflict of interest, like the Coast Guard and MARINA, for sitting in the special board investigating the Solar-1 sinking.

Experts disagree. Capt. Michael B. Cuanzon, for one, says that the Coast Guard and PPA in Limay, Bataan, goofed in clearing the ship to sail into extremely bad southwest monsoon. A maritime researcher and trainer, retired master mariner and former chairman of the Board of Examiners for the Deck, Cuanzon asserts that port state control is the job of both agencies. “There’s a checklist of safety precautions, issued by the International Maritime Organization, for inspection of vessels before departure,” he says. “It covers almost all the safety requirements for a tanker to be declared fit for the voyage.” The Coast Guard and PPA, along with Petron that runs the Limay port, should have consulted the checklist. To begin with, Cuanzon says, they should not have allowed the number of passengers to exceed the life vests and approved capacity.

Cuanzon suggests that investigators look closer at what happened when water started filling up the forward compartments of Solar-1. The crew claimed that they stopped at the Guimaras Strait near Iloilo City without dropping anchor, pumped the water out, and fixed the leak from the forecastle deck ventilator. “They probably plugged it with cement block because port rules require permission for any hot works,” Cuanzon opines. “Cement settles and dries after about 15 days, but Solar-1 sailed only a few hours after stopping. When it headed out to open seas, the still wet cement must have caved in due to strong waves, so it leaked again.”

(For the rest of the piece, click Jarius, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Not just promises

EDITORIAL
Panay News, Sept. 8, 2006

PETRON officials keep on talking about their commitment to rehabilitate the island of Guimaras, and to help the people displaced by the oil slick that has practically devastated the environment and rendered them, particularly the fisherfolk, jobless.

They have been promising the people since day one, August 11, of the incident. And the oil spill is now on its 28th day – or almost one month now since the Solar l, carrier of Petron’s bunker fuel, went down into the seabed and started spurting out poisonous oil. All that Petron has done so far is pay P300 to every laborer who cleans the beaches.

What about the hospital bills and expenses of people who suffer from poisonous fumes emanating from the oil slick? Who will indemnify the families of those who died due to poisonous oil fumes? What about the food and the needs of people rendered jobless and are being relocated? What about the damages in terms of income opportunities that have been lost as a result of the incident? What about the damages incurred by private resort owners, including their future income marred by the unfortunate incident?

So far, the officials of Petron have minutely converted their verbal promises into reality. Please don’t brag the P300 you pay daily to every worker you hire. Everything, as far as the people are concerned, remain a mirage and surreal, so to speak.

Meanwhile, as days go by and life continues, the people’s suffering is exacerbated by the poisonous air. They cannot do anything effectively to protect them from the hazard of dangerous fumes because of lack of financial resources.

Gov. Rhaman Nava is losing his patience; he feels the lack of sincerity and conscience of Petron people. The good governor cannot just allow his people to suffer the indignities and insults of a company that evades its responsibilities over the problems it caused.

Probers run after Petron; solon scores DOJ chief

• Special Board of Marine Inquiry says refiner could be held liable

By DAVID ISRAEL SINAY
and GEROME DALIPE IV

GUIMARAS – Giant oil refiner Petron Corp. could be held liable for the oil spill that damaged the marine resources of Guimaras, the livelihood of its people, fishing grounds and marine sanctuaries, said a top-ranking Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official.

Rear Admiral Danilo Abinoja, chair of the Special Board of Marine Inquiry (SBMI), rapped Petron for M/T Solar 1’s overloading. He said the tanker’s sinking could have been averted.

Abinoja’s position on Petron’s liability contrasts that of a Department of Justice undersecretary who cleared the oil refiner of criminal liability.

Solar 1 was chartered by Petron to transport its 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil to Zamboanga. It sank in the rough seas of the Guimaras Strait and spilled about 250,000 liters of oil.

The spill destroyed mangroves, fishing grounds and marine sanctuaries in Guimaras and nearby Negros Occidental and Iloilo provinces.

The SBMI is investigating the sinking to determine those culpable. Initial findings showed that the tanker was overloaded “not by fuel.”

“There were other cargoes loaded in the vessel… The vessel should not go beyond the 4.86 meters drop mark,” Abinoja told Panay News.

In Iloilo City, Gabriela Women’s Party Rep. Liza Maza denounced Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for issuing “visibly disturbing statements” that tend to tarnish the reputation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) that is investigating the Guimaras oil spill.

“I think the Justice Secretary should not issue any visibly disturbing statements on behalf of the DOJ; the investigation on oil spill is not yet finished,” Maza told a news conference yesterday.

An investigating panel by the DOJ cleared Petron Corp., the country’s largest oil firm, of criminal liability in the sinking of the MT Solar I last September 5.

Justice Undersecretary Ernesto Pineda, chair of the fact-finding team, however, said that Petron may still have civil liability because it commissioned the ill-fated tanker.

“We are still studying the civil liability of Petron but criminally, we don’t have a case against it because it had no direct knowledge of the circumstances that led to the sinking … [We found no] criminal liability on the part of Petron, only civil liability,” Pineda said in a radio interview.

(For the full stories, click Panay News, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Today’s comic relief

Engineer: Solar I appears ‘deliberately’ punctured

THE chief engineer of the ill-fated oil tanker MT Solar I on Friday said the hole on the side of the sunken vessel may have been punctured by unidentified parties.

Gerardo Pahimutang, chief engineer for MT Solar I owner Sunshine Maritime Development Corp. (SMDC), described the hole as “parang sinadya.” (apparently deliberate)

Pahimutang groped for answers as to how the sunken vessel’s hull sustained damage, sometimes to the amusement of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI).

When Pahimutang made the remark about the hole, the BMI members broke out in laughter.

Sunshine Maritime has denied allegations that the MT Solar I illegally siphoned oil onto another vessel, which may have bumped into the tanker and caused it to sink.

(Click A hole, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Gag order a mistake

EDITORIAL
Manila Standard Today
Sept. 8, 2006

THE government’s decision to bar regional disaster coordinating councils from disseminating news about the Guimaras oil spill is ill advised and gives the public the impression that the authorities have something to hide.

In announcing that only the National Disaster Coordinating Council may speak on the ecological disaster, the presidential adviser for Western Visayas, Rafael Coscolluela, was quoted as saying that “different variations of news being reported…do not give a positive picture of Guimaras.”

This statement is as silly as it is absurd. The “variations of news” is a feature of an unfettered press. Nobody—save perhaps an aspiring dictator—wishes a return to the days when the same stories appeared on the front pages of all the dailies. If there are differences in the way the news is reported, we believe that eventually, the reading public will be able to discern which newspapers are credible, and which others play fast with the facts.

Moreover, nobody has “a positive picture” of Guimaras because a tanker has been sitting on the ocean floor for almost a month now, spewing its toxic cargo of bunker fuel into the Panay Gulf. To date, we have been powerless to do anything but contain the oil slick that has polluted shorelines, fishing grounds, mangroves, corals and marine preserves. This is certainly not a “positive picture.” How could it be?

Worse, the Palace’s gag order comes just as questions are being raised about the Coast Guard’s plan to hire a Norwegian ship to siphon off the oil buried in the tanker. The story was first leaked, then denied, then confirmed again. Why? Is the government trying to hide something? These are the questions that will invariably be asked if the authorities are not forthcoming about their plans.

The best way to deal with a disaster of this magnitude is to be completely transparent. Only then will everyone—including the public—pull in the same direction to get Guimaras back on its feet.

(From the Mla Standard Today, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Helping hands

Aklan province donates P200k and 6 tons of abaca to Guimaras

KALIBO, Aklan–The provincial government of Aklan turned over Thursday to Guimaras province six tons of abaca and a check worth P200,000 for the victims of the M/T Solar 1 oil spill.

Abaca can be used to contain the spread of the oil slick in the neighboring coasts of Guimaras.

Aklan’s abaca donation was made by the Qui family, one of the known abaca manufacturers in the province.

Paquito Saratiosa, the provincial disaster and coordinating council officer, led the contingent from Aklan that visited Guimaras to formally turn over the goods and the check to Gov. JC Rahman Nava of Guimaras.

The financial aid was recently approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan. The money will come from its own calamity fund.

Saratiosa said that six trucks of coconut husks would soon be donated by a coconut-manufacturing plant in Ibajay, Aklan, anytime this month.PNA

(From the Manila Times, Sept. 8, 2006.)

Petron staff ‘complacent’; gov’t officials deny gag order

By AMITA LEGASPI, GMANews.TV

THE ill-fated tanker Solar I had exceeded its authorized maximum draft, or the length of the ship submerged in the water, when it departed the Petron refinery in Limay, Bataan last month, government investigators found on Thursday.

It was disclosed during a hearing of the Board of Marine Inquiry (BMI) that the 998-ton tanker, instead of keeping a draft of 4.85 meters, its draft was at 5.1 meters when it left port last August 9. A ship’s draft increases with a greater load.

“They (Petron staff in Bataan) were so complacent because it has become routinary for them to unload and load cargo. They no longer check normal procedures prior to leaving the port,” said BMI member Commodore Benjamin Mata.

When Coast Guard Rear Admiral Danilo Abinoja told Capt. Norberto Aguro, skipper of the MT Solar I, that the vessel was “beyond the authorized draft”, the skipper replied that the cargo had come from Petron.

Mata told Aguro that it was his responsibility as captain to ensure to ensure that his ship was operating within its authorized capacity.

As this developed, government officials yesterday denied a gag order on reports about the Guimaras oil spill, but the Coast Guard commandant said that from now on, only the National Disaster Coordinating Council would issue statements on the country’s worst ecological disaster and efforts to clean it up.

“We’re just consolidating our information to avoid confusion,” said Coast Guard Commandant Arthur Gosingan.

His statement came after a Palace official announced Wednesday that the council’s regional offices had been ordered to stop making statements on the clean-up operations to avoid spreading wrong or inaccurate information.

Only Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz may make statements on the cleanup within the council, Gosingan said.

He said the Coast Guard would let the council decide what to do about the Solar I tanker and its toxic cargo of bunker fuel, which sank off Guimaras Island on Aug. 11. Joel E. Zurbano and Arlie Calalo, MST

(For the full stories, click Complacent and Posted in Dead air, News, Philippines oil spill | Leave a Comment »

DENR seeks proper way of cleaning up oil mess

September 8, 2006

By Hazel P. Villa

ILOILO CITY – The regional Department of Environment and Natural Resources sounded the alarm for the proper treatment of oil-smeared mangroves after “an unidentified clean-up force” was seen cutting the roots and branches of the trees in two villages of Nueva Valencia,
Guimaras.

Cutting their roots and branches “is harmful to the mangrove trees because it will open (these) to further infection and will affect salt balance that will ultimately cause the death of mangroves,” said Julian D. Amador, environment regional executive director.

Amador, in a statement, quoted the DENR mangrove survey team that reported an unidentified clean-up force cutting the prop roots of several mangrove species in the villages of Lucmayan and Cabalagnan this week in worst-hit Nueva Valencia.

Petron Corp., which contracted the MT Solar I that was carrying 2.1 million liters of bunker fuel oil when it sank off Guimaras on August 11, has hired more than 1,000 residents who are paid 300 pesos a day for clean-up operations.

The prop roots contain lenticels, which are the breathing organs of the Bakauan (Rhizophora) species.

(For the full story, click Cleaning up, Sept. 7, 2006. Illustration courtesy anjuli.)