PAS MODERATES TRY TO STEER PARTY AWAY FROM UMNO AFTER HADI’S ‘HUDUD BILL’ HUMILIATION: ‘DON’T DISTRIBUTE OUR SEATS.’ – TUAN IBRAHIM TELLS OPPOSITION CONSENSUS MORE IMPORTANT THAN FORMAL AGREEMENT

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I like this Guy and he is in the mold of TGNA and a very honest person. I will vote for him

LABUAN – PAS leaders will go down to the ground to explain to the people including non-Muslims the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) (Amendment 2016) 1965 (RUU 355) Private Member’s Bill, in the next two or three months.
PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the tabling of RUU355 had clarified the confusion over the bill said to be a back door method to implement hudud laws.
“The tabling (of the bill) clearly is not to implement hudud as alleged but only to upgrade the Syariah Court. The tabling has, to some extent, eased the people’s confusion,” he told Bernama after a programme organised by PAS here today.

RUU355 was tabled by Marang Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, who is also PAS president, on the final day of the latest Dewan Rakyat sitting on Thursday.
Tuan Ibrahim said: “PAS is relieved the RUU355 has been tabled after being postponed for so long.”

On cooperation with other opposition parties such as DAP, he said despite not having an agreement, consensus still existed specifically on distrubution of seats for the next general election.

“We hope seats PAS contest in will not be disturbed by other opposition parties. Actually, in the context of the opposition, a registered co-operation does not exist, such as having a logo, a symbol like Barisan Nasional, what is important is consensus,” he said.

From an artificial gravity chamber and a fuel free engine to a Martian airship: NASA funds 22 sci-fi proposals that could ‘expand how we explore the universe’

From an artificial gravity chamber and a fuel free engine to a Martian airship: NASA funds 22 sci-fi proposals that could ‘expand how we explore the universe’

Read more here

NASA has revealed a host of new proposals that could push human and robotic exploration of space even further. The space agency is investing in 22 early-stage projects for further development, many of which tap into ideas that once existed only in science fiction. This includes a radical sci-fi-inspired Mach Effect Thruster propulsion system (main image and bottom left, a plan for a vacuum Martian airship (bottom center) and a ‘Turbolift’ artificial gravity chamber (right). While the radical projects could take years before they can be used in a NASA mission, if at all, the agency says they could soon ‘expand how we explore the universe.’

 

WHAT’S GOING ON, NAJIB? ANOTHER POLITICAL/RELIGIOUS MURDER – SUBANG MP’S AIDE PETER CHONG GOES MISSING, THE 5TH AFTER RAYMOND KOH

Shocking and count 5 and who is next you , me or who. Heard that IP address is monitored and could only be the people who have access to the Internet Network in Malysia

WHAT’S GOING ON, NAJIB? ANOTHER POLITICAL/RELIGIOUS MURDER – SUBANG MP’S AIDE PETER CHONG GOES MISSING, THE 5TH AFTER RAYMOND KOH

Electoral reform group Bersih said it is shocked that yet another social activist has gone missing.
The latest case involved Peter Chong, an aide to Subang MP R Sivarasa.


He is the fifth person involved in political or religious activities to have gone missing since November.
“Peter has been missing for more than two days. His son has reported to the police but to date there has been no news on his whereabouts.
“Indeed this is a very sad day for all Malaysians that disapperances are happening here in our country and yet there has been little assurances or news from the police on their efforts to locate the whereabouts of these missing persons,” the Bersih steering committee said in a statement tonight.
The other four who have disappeared since November include pastor Joshua Hilmy and wife Ruth, Perlis Hope activist Amri Che Mat and pastor Raymond Koh.
“We fear for the safety and security of the five missing persons and demand that the police take greater efforts to be transparent and accountable by informing and updating on the progress of their search and rescue work.
“They must make this their priority as this helps mitigate some of the pains and anxiety suffered by the families of the disappeared,” said Bersih.
The movement also called for a meeting with inspector-general of police on the matter.
Prior to Chong’s disappearance, he had complained on Facebook about a stranger approaching him and warning him about people vanishing.
Chong recollected the “strange experience” with a young motorcyclist on March 31.

“He said he recognised me, that I like to go for protests and candlelight vigil.
I asked where is he from? I was a little worried and looked around but there were no one else around.
He said he supported what I do. He said ‘but be careful… now there are many people suddenly disappearing. They know where everyone lives,” said Chong.
Chong said when he queried who the man was, the man only told him to be savvy (pandai-pandai) before riding off.
MKINI

Thousands of Indian villagers hurl cow DUNG cakes at each other in bizarre street fight for 'good health'

• A set of incredible images has captured the bizarre annual custom of cow dung slinging in an Indian village
• The 'Pidakala War' takes place in the village of Kairuppala, Andhra Pradesh a day after the local spring festival 
• It marks the mythological Hindu marriage dispute between Lord Veerabhadraswamy and Goddess Bhadrakali

A set of incredible images has captured the bizarre annual custom of cow dung slinging in an Indian village between two rivaling groups, that is meant to bring 'good health.' 

A day after the local spring festival  Kairuppala, Andhra Pradesh in southern India resounds with the thwack and tang of flying cow dung cakes.

Hordes of people gather and participate in the 'Pidakala War' or cow-dung cake- a symbolic war over a mythological marriage dispute between Lord Veerabhadraswamy, a fearsome form of the Hindu god Shiva, and Goddess Bhadrakali.   

Shield: The custom started hundreds of years ago when Lord Veerabhadraswamy, a fearsome form of the Hindu god Shiva, wanted to marry Goddess Bhadrakali but there was opposition to the wedding and it led to a dispute

Sling: The choice of weapon of the people from Goddess Badhrakali's side was cow dung cakes and the tradition continues in earnest after the local spring festival or Ugadi festivities

Stock: The dried cow dung used in the slinging ready to be picked up and lobbed in the playful battle. There are two sides to the fight, one group (consisting of castes such as Golla and Kammara) throw cow dung in the name of Goddess Bhadrakali and the others (the rest) do so in the name of Lord Veerabhadraswamy

Crowded: To mark the wedding of the two Gods, the devotees till this day celebrate by throwing mountains of cow dung cakes at each other and the fight ends after the cakes break into small pieces or powder

Anticipation: The custom, which is held every year at Veerabhadra Swamy temple, attracts thousands of people from various parts of the state, who passionately watch the event for hours while sitting on top of the buildings

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Battle:It is believed any injuries or aches and pains suffered during the fight would be gone in three days by applying 'Tilak' ( a mark worn usually on the forehead) of Lord Veerabhadraswamy on their forehead

Scatter:  At the end of the play fight both sides celebrate the wedding of Goddess Bhadrakali with Lord Veerabhadraswamy in the square 

Fun: Some passionate participants enter the temple dancing on the drum beats to mark the beginning of the long-running ritual 

Cover: The popular belief of the people participating in the fight is that the practice brings health, prosperity and rains to the villages

Waste: The symbolic event is made possible after a number of lorries delivered the cow dung cakes to the village prior to the special day. A donkey race is also organized as part of the 'war'.

World leaders pick their side on Syria

World leaders pick their side on Syria: Israel and Britain lead praise for strike which 'will be heard from Iran to North Korea' but Russia remains firm in support for Assad

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US strike on the Bashar al-Assad controlled airbase near Homs, saying it sent a 'strong and clear' message in the wake of a deadly poison gas attack in Syria that the use of chemical weapons will not be tolerated. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, said Syrian president Assad bore 'sole responsibility' for the US strike on a regime airbase. President Netanyahu added: 'Israel fully supports President Trump's decision and hopes that this message of resolve in the face of the Assad regime's horrific actions will resonate not only in Damascus, but in Tehran, Pyongyang and elsewhere.' This map, created by MailOnline, shows who supports who in the battle for Syria.

Texting or too much texting on your smart phone is bad for your body and especially your neck and also how not to get sick again

Texting or too much texting on your smart phone is bad for your body and especially your neck

Watch video below

Watch video below how not to get sick again

Watch Video of President of Indonesia official escort briefing and Watch Video of Mexican Ambassador to India’s official car

Watch Video of President of Indonesia official escort briefing. Very interesting and down to earth with no fanfare.

Watch Video of Mexican Ambassador to India’s official car 

Reminder to Malaysian Indians to vote wisely in GE14 / PRU14

Malaysian Indians please remember the past in with the complicity of MIC. Remember the past injustice inflicted on the Malaysian Indians by the Ruling government party BN with the complicity of MIC.

Vote wisely and do not sell your vote for a food hamper of RM 50 with a bottle of cheap liquor. Vote the right party and you will have food and job every day and no longer need to be beggars in your own country.

Vote PH-DAP-PKR-AMANAH-PRIBUMI come Malaysian General Election GE14 / PRU 14

Know who your enemies are and who your friends are. See below

Watch this Video

[SCAM ALERT]: Malaysian Woman Shares How She Was Scammed By An Instagram Boutique

We’ve all seen it.
A picture of a beautiful celebrity or Instagram model rocking the perfect dress slides down your Instagram feed and you are thinking “I have got to have that dress!”
So you click the link in the bio to place an order ( for that perfect dress and a few other). You are excited and you cannot wait to get your order in the mail.
A few days later, you realize that you never got a tracking number. So you don’t even know if your order has been shipped yet. So you text/call the seller. But no one ever answers.
You contact them asking about your order. Days later, no one has replied you. A few weeks have gone by and your order should have arrived by now. You gave up begging the seller and you demand a refund. In return, the store owner blocks you and deletes your comments. Months go by and you never get your order OR your money back……WTF!?
Almost every time or sometimes in our every day lives we often hear about scam stories, fraudsters duping people and making them victims of their scams; but we pay no attention or less attention to them until we are affected by it.
Facebook user, SyaSya Simon shared her story of how she was scammed by an Instagram boutique named (@girleethaigoboutique)

The victim, SyaSya Simon

(@girleethaigoboutique) is an Instagram page that sells clothes, shoes and bags online. The Instagram page (@girleethaigoboutique) claims to deliver goods to buyers from Malaysia and has advised them to send a DM or Direct Message via WeChat to place orders.
This is what Sya posted on her Facebook:

Dear almighty friends on my Facebook,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE …
PLEASE READ EVERYTHING I’VE WRITTEN IN HERE AND PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME SHARE AND SPREAD IT OUT.

On 06/03/2017 (MONDAY) I contacted one online store Via wechat (ID:QueeninBoutique) to place my orders after I go through their Instagram account (@girleethaigoboutique) for several times and I finally make a move as me and my friend already decided on items that we wanted to purchase.

Read more here

Geopolitical Risk Premium Is Back In Oil

WTI and Brent jumped to one month highs on the news of U.S. airstrikes in Syria, and while direct risks to oil supply are limited, oil traders are on edge.

The U.S. launched airstrikes on a Syrian airbase late Thursday in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government. The attacks come despite comments as recently as last week from the Trump administration that removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was not a priority. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is scheduled to meet with his Russian counterpart in Moscow next week amid deteriorating U.S.-Russian relations. Syria produces only marginal volumes of oil, some of which has been under ISIS control. Nevertheless, due to its proximity to Iraq, a widening of the military conflict could induce a higher risk premium on oil prices. If action from the U.S. is limited to these airstrikes, oil prices won’t be affected much, but the upside risk is there if the U.S. gets more involved. WTI and Brent jumped to one-month highs on the news.

Iran oil production and exports stagnate. Iran will struggle to grow its exports from current levels without large levels of new investment and technology from international companies, according to Reuters. Iran succeeded in ramping up exports last year, but much of those gains came from emptying out storage that had built up after years of sanctions. Iran resorted to stashing oil on tankers in the Persian Gulf when sanctions were tightened in 2012, and had amassed 40 million barrels of oil on the eve of the removal of sanctions. That provided an injection of cash in 2016. Iran was able to boost output from 2.9 mb/d to 3.6 mb/d by last summer but then output flattened out. "Iran needs billions of dollars of investment to boost crude oil production and natural gas capacity," Mehdi Varzi, a former official at state-run National Iranian Oil Company, told Reuters. "Most of the fields were discovered many decades ago and are way beyond their production capacity," he said.

Venezuelan protests fill streets. The political crisis in Venezuela took another turn this week. The government, desperate to cut an oil deal with Russia’s Rosneft, had the Supreme Court attempt to take powers away from the National Assembly, which would pave the way for a sale of some oil fields. But the Supreme Court backtracked last weekend. That didn’t mollify protestors, who called the court’s move a “coup” by President Maduro, intent on establishing a dictatorship. Large protests rocked the capital on Thursday. The events are fluid and complex, but Venezuela has $3 billion in debt payments that fall due in April, and a shrinking pile of cash with which to pay. Analysts seem to think they will meet this payment, but other debt obligations later this year could prove more difficult.Related: OPEC Can’t Stop The Beat: U.S. Adds 10 Oil Rigs

Saudi Arabia burning through $6.5 billion per month. Saudi Arabia has long maintained a fixed currency peg, but low oil prices have forced the government to burn through foreign exchange in order to keep up government spending and keep the currency stable. Cash is down to about $500 billion from a peak of $737 billion in 2014. The rate of decline is worrying although not yet a crisis.

Goldman Sachs’ top picks for oil and gas companies. Goldman Sachs’ favorite stock picks include Marathon Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: MPC), Valero Energy (NYSE: VLO), Husky Energy (NYSE: HSE), Chevron (NYSE: CVX), and Suncor Energy (NYSE: SU). Goldman also upgraded PBF Energy (NYSE: PBF) to a ‘neutral’ rating. On the other hand, the investment bank downgraded Imperial Oil (NYSE: IMO) and HollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC). Goldman Sachs expects WTI prices to rise to about $57.50 by the middle of the year.

Deepwater costs fall by one fifth. According to a new Wood Mackenzie report, the cost of expensive deepwater drilling has fallen by one fifth since 2014. “We are at last beginning to see the first signs of recovery in deep-water,” because of the decline in costs, said Angus Rodger, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie. “We are now seeing scaled-down projects emerge with less wells, more subsea tie-backs, and reduced facilities and capabilities,” he added. “All this translates into lower break-evens.”

Banks to increase credit lines for drillers. The credit redetermination period is underway and a survey from law firm Haynes & Boone finds that most analysts expect banks to not only keep credit lines intact, but could even increase them in some cases. That stands in sharp contrast to prior redetermination periods – which happen twice a year – in which drillers suffered credit reductions because of low oil prices. The survey finds a projected increase in the borrowing base for shale drillers by 10 percent from last year’s levels.Related: Saudi Arabia Vs. Russia: The Next Oil Price War

BP cuts CEO pay. BP (NYSE: BP), in a bow to shareholder pressure, slashed CEO Bob Dudley’s maximum pay by as much as $3.7 million over the next three years. The move came after a majority of shareholders voted against Dudley’s pay package last year, a 20 percent increase from the year before.

Ford to introduce EVs in China. Ford Motors (NYSE: F) said that it would start building EVs in China, where many in the auto industry see a much faster adoption than in the West. Ford will build a plug-in hybrid next year and an all-electric SUV within five years.

Global renewables investment falls. Investment in renewable energy fell last year to $241.6 billion from $312.2 billion a year earlier, according to the UN. But one factor for the decline is a positive one: investment fell because renewables are becoming cheaper, allowing for more capacity to be installed per dollar invested. Despite the decline in spending, installations grew from 127.5 gigawatts to 138.5 GW.

By Tom Kool for Oilprice.com 

Syria Airstrikes Remind Oil Markets Of Geopolitical Risk

- In a 1999 episode of the iconic TV series The West Wing (yes, iconic) President Jed Bartlet was dealing with a crisis. The Syrian government had shot down a US military plane and his advisors were busy working to devise a ‘proportional response’ for the President’s consideration. Bartlet listened to the proposals for limited military action and became furious, exclaiming ‘what is the virtue of a proportional response?! He then argues that only disproportional responses are effective in pursuing wholesale change abroad, but ultimately decides to pursue a proportional response plan to avoid sowing chaos in the Middle East.

- Late Thursday night the US military countered Assad’s use of chemical weapons against civilians with what Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis and SoS Tillerson described as a ‘proportional’ response. The strikes’ focus on Syrian military assets marked an important shift in US policy following years of ISIS-focused bombing from the Obama administration and was (according to Gen. McMaster) effective in damaging, but not eliminating, Assad’s ability to deploy chemical weapons. Early assessments suggest the air strikes were at least moderately successful in eliminating military targets and clearly were not an effort to drive regime change in Syria.

- Given the proportional nature of the US response we’re viewing the situation in Syria as unlikely to inject substantial geopolitical risk into the oil market in the near term. From the US’s viewpoint the strikes were obviously focused on preventing the use of chemical weapons- not an effort to catalyze a second Arab Spring. On the other side of the table Syria, Russia and Iran are seriously limited in terms of response options and Iran and Russia are strongly incentivized economically to allow the situation to cool.

- The oil market’s reaction to the air strikes also suggested a lack of concern for geopolitical and supply risk. In flat price, Brent M17 gained just 35 cents on the day while the prompt 1-month brent spread traded unchanged at -29 cents. Option markets were also curiously cheap with implied and realized volatility for WIT M17 near 5-week lows of 25% and 21%, respectively. Upside risk insurance in the form of 10 delta calls also continued to trade at a discount to ATM options.

The Tale of Two Cities for North American Crude

Prompt WTI spreads moved sharply higher this week despite a more bearish than expected EIA report that included a +1.4m bbl build in Cushing. Overall inventories in the US are +7.5% y/y and roughly 35% above their 5yr seasonal average but that didn’t stop WTI K17/M17 from rallying to -0.40 on the back of continued strength in light oil on production issues north of the border and DAPL fill. Both trends pushed Syncrude-WTI over +5.00 while Bakken-WTI traded up to 1.35 this week for a +2.90 rally on the month. WTI did enjoy a small relief rally v. Brent, however, with the M17 arb running from -2.80 to -2.55.

Further south, Midland continued to trend into a steep discount to WTI as gains in production overwhelmed takeaway capacity. On Friday morning Midland-WTI traded near -1.15 for a $2.75 loss over the last four months as US production jumped to 9.199m bpd to its highest mark since January 2016. US production has recovered by an incredible 771k bpd over that last eight months and continues to drive bearish sentiment among Houston trade groups and funds who have been aggressive buyers of -25, -50 and -100 puts in 2h’17 WTI CSOs over the last two weeks. As of Thursday’s close open interest in 2H’17 CSO puts between WA and 7A contracts totaled 710k contracts while 2H’17 WTI CSO calls stood at just 272k contracts.

EIA’s fail to match API draw

• US crude stocks added +1.6m bbls w/w which is a modest inventory addition for late March but failed to match the bullish sentiment created by Tuesday’s API crude draw.

• If you really want to get bearish look no further than the relentless increase in US crude production which of course increased w/w by 52k bpd to 9.199m bpd

• US refiner demand had a strong jump of 200k bpd and his higher by about 600k bpd over the last two weeks. We still need to see growth in US refiner inputs and domestic gasoline demand to create a truly bullish environment for oil

US crude stocks added 1.6m bbls w/w to reach a new record high of 536m bbls. Overall inventories are higher by 7.5% y/y and roughly 35% above their 5yr seasonal average. By region, PADD II inventories added 312k bbls and are +3% y/y, PADD III inventories added 2.7m bbls and are +9% y/y. Cushing stocks also added 1.4m bbls and now stand at 69.1m bbls. As for trade flows, overall imports fell 374k bbls w/w to 7.85m bpd and are +2% y/y over the last month. Exports fell sharply from 1m bpd last week to 575k bpd which helped contribute to the USGC build.Related: Tanker Traffic Points At Much Tighter Oil Markets

US refiner inputs jumped by 200k bpd w/w to a modest y/y gain after increasing by 1.1m bpd over the last six weeks. Overall inputs currently stand at 16.4m bpd and are lead by PADD II runs which are +8% y/y while PADD III runs are -2.6% y/y. Refinery utilization printed 91% and is lower y/y by 1.6% over the last month. Refining margins were mostly flat this week with RBOB/WTI near $21/bbl and HO/WTI near $16/bbl leaving the WTI 321 crack at $19.25/bbl. On the east coast RBOB/Brent traded $17.50 and overseas the gasoil/brent crack traded $10.50/bbl.

US gasoline data showed a w/w draw of 618k bbls bringing overall stocks to a y/y deficit of 2%. PADD II stocks lead the draw with a decline of 1m bbls and are +1.4% y/y while PADD III inventories were flat w/w and are -6% y/y with help from steady export activity over the last month. In the mid-Atlantic PADD IB stocks fell by about 500k bbls and are lower y/y by about 2%. As for demand, gasoline exports fell slightly w/w to 590k bpd and are higher by 50% y/y over the last four weeks. Domestic consumption fell to 9.25m bpd and is flat y/y over the last four weeks.

Distillate data showed a smaller than expected overall draw of 536k bbls bringing overall stocks to a y/y deficit of 6.5% over the last four weeks. PADD I lead the draw efforts with a 3.4m bbl decline and east coast stocks are now lower y/y by 2%. In the mid-Atlantic PADD IB inventories are flat y/y. Domestic distillate demand continues to be one of the more bullish inputs in the US crude market and after a slight w/w decline to 4.1m bpd is +13.5% y/y over the last month. Distillate exports printed 1.1m bpd and are +4% y/y.  

COT data shows more selling as crude found support

Crude oil’s recent bearish move found its bottom on March 27th so it was not surprsing that COT data for the week ended March 28th revealed a fifth straight week of net selling from speculators. For NYMEX WTI speculators were net sellers of about 16k contracts w/w shedding a total of 40% of their net length over the six week period. In ICE Brent funds were net sellers of about 29k contracts and removed about 27% of their long position over the same six week period.

Refined product flows showed a similarly bearish trend as gasoline and heating oil sold off and net length was virtually whiped out in both contracts. As of March 28th managed money net length in RBOB stood at 18k contracts (down from 49k in mid February) while heating oil net length had dropped to 19k from 34k in mid February. USO flows broke a streak of four straight weeks of buying as investors were net sellers of the ETF to the tune of $28 million for the week ended March 31st.

By SCS Commodities Corp.

“Grassoline” The Jet Fuel Of The Future?

Belgium’s Ghent University researchers have developed a process that turns grass into biofuel. The press release is a little cute with the question, will we soon drive on ‘grassoline’?

Scientist Way Cern Khor tells us that during his PhD research he investigated methods that can disintegrate and treat grass until it can be used as a fuel. “Until now, grass has mainly served as feed for animals. But apart from that, grass can also be used as biofuel. Due to its vast abundance, grass is the perfect source of energy,” he said.

To improve its biodegradability, the grass is first pretreated. Then bacteria are added. They convert the sugars in the grass into lactic acid and its derivatives.

The lactic acid can serve as an intermediate chemical to produce other compounds such as biodegradable plastics or fuels. The lactic acid then was converted into caproic acid, which was further converted into decane. That’s where the process ends because decane can be used in aviation fuel, type SP1. That could very important. Automobiles can be shifted to electric, planes are not likely to, and they are highly unlikely to do so in the coming two decades, as a forecast minimum.

Although it might sound revolutionary, there’s still a lot to do before this becomes reality. Right now, the amount of biofuel that can be made from grass is still limited to a few drops in the lab. The current process is very expensive, and engines should be adapted to this new kind of fuel.

Khor concluded saying, “If we can keep working on optimizing this process in cooperation with the business world, we can come down on the price. And maybe in a few years we can all fly on grass!”

Yup, it’s a slow week for news, but this research has a different take by going through steps skipping alcohols, driving into acids and ending up with decane, a 10-carbon atom molecule with 22 hydrogen atoms. It could be very useful stuff, heavier than gasoline and lighter than kerosene. Decane is a very useful precursor. This is research not to be overlooked.

By New Energy and Fuel

POW story of "Angels of Bataan" army nurses is one of the greatest WWII stories never told.

Known as the “Angels of Bataan and Corregidor,” the group of army nurse continues to hold the distinction of not losing a single member during their three years in internment.

One of World War II’s greatest untold stories began on April 8, 1942 when Lt. Gen. Jonathan Wainwright, the commander of the U.S. Army in the Philippines, ordered the evacuation of military and civilian nurses to the island of Corregidor. A month later, Corregidor fell and 77 American nurses were captured by the Japanese, becoming the largest group of female prisoners of war.  

Known as the “Angels of Bataan and Corregidor,” the group continues to hold the distinction of not losing a single member during their three years in the Santo Tomas Internment camp.

“It is not that they were some of the first women POWs that made them special, but that they were average American from average towns and they survived in a horrific environment while never losing their commitment to serving their patients,” says Bernice Fischer, granddaughter of U.S. Army nurse Mary Bernice Brown-Menzie.

Fischer tells Fox News her grandmother entered the prison camp in 1942 weighing 130 pounds but had dropped to 75 pounds when she was liberated in February 1945.

Many of the women sought assignment in the Philippines prior to December 1941 when the Pacific was relatively peaceful and where they enjoyed dances and other luxuries.

But that changed after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and then launched an invasion of the Philippines. For months the nurses faced constant attack by Japanese planes, deteriorating conditions and dwindling rations.

Expand / Contract

Mary Bernice Brown

“There were 77 American women who became POWs and there were 77 who walked out in 1945. This is unprecedented, particularly for women who had no formal survival training,” says Elizabeth M. Norman, who chronicled the nurses in the book, “We Band of Angels: The Untold Story of American Nurses Trapped on Bataan.”

According to Norman, under the informal leadership of World War I veteran nurse Capt. Maude Davison, the women always kept to strict schedules waking every day and dressing in uniforms they fashioned themselves.

The discipline combined with a singular dedication to care for their patients, some of whom had been among the 75,000 American and Filipino soldiers captured on April 9, 1942 and forced on a 68-mile “death march” in 100-degree temperatures without food or water.

The nurses cared for the men, known as “The Battling Bastards of Bataan,” despite suffering from starvation and other diseases themselves.

Fischer tells Fox News her grandmother and the other nurses never thought of themselves as heroic because they saw their patients as the real heroes.

Many of the nurses kept diaries, which document the emotional trauma they endured as they witnessed the torture by their Japanese captors.

In one entry, Bernice’s grandmother writes about a soldier who was bound and tied up outside in the heat for three days before being shot in the back.

“Whether he died instantly or wounded and bleeding lived on until he finally died, we will never know. But this cruel, heartless and brutal treatment filled us all with deep grief and sorrow,” she wrote.

Expand / Contract

Adelaida Garcia

A gritty refusal to give in and a commitment to care was life-sustaining for nurses, says  Lt. Col. Nancy Cantrell, an historian with the Army Nurse Corps,

“They were a tough bunch,” Cantrell added. “They had a mission. They were surviving for the boys … and each other. That does give you a bit of added strength,” Cantrell told Soldiers Magazine.

Despite the experience, some of the women carried on after the war without any bitterness.

“I have never been bitter, and I have always known that if I could survive that, I could survive anything,” Mildred Dalton Manning, who died in March 2013 at the age of 98, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Norman believes those Angels she interviewed for the book recognized that there was little time to get their stories out.

“The women told me that not a day went by that they did not think about it, but didn’t speak about it,” Norman tells Fox News.

“Some of the women remained in the military,but even the military never asked these women. It was like they did not exist. By the time I spoke with them, they were in their 80s and realized that if they did not tell their story, no one would. They were not seeking recognition, but they wanted their experiences preserved,” adds Norman, who is a professor at New York University.

Another reason they spoke was to clear up myths, such as suggestions they had been raped.They also wanted to clear up facts that had been romanticized in such movies as "So Proudly We Hail" (1942), and "They Were Expendable" (1945).

“These women never sought recognition. They never took to the spotlight. It was the men they served with who actually sough to gain recognition of these women after the war,” says Fischer.