Wednesday, June 24, 2009

http://www.gmanews.tv

Nation

Cory Aquino going home after successful surgery

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Corazon Aquino was set to be discharged from Makati Medical Center on Thursday after undergoing a surgery three days ago, her son, Senator Benigno Simeon “Noynoy" Aquino III, said.

“She is recuperating well after the surgery and today she will be discharged from the hospital," Senator Aquino said in a text message to reporters.

Mrs. Aquino underwent operation Monday to remove a part of her colon which was affected with cancer.

Senator Aquino said his mother had been advised by her doctors to take adequate rest for full recovery after the procedure.

“Thank you for all the support and prayers for our mother. May we ask for your continuous prayers as she has likewise been praying for you," the senator said.

He said her mother was very appreciative for the excellent care she has received from her doctors as well as the nurses and employees of Makati Medical Center. - Amita Legaspi, GMANews.TV

Monday, June 22, 2009

http://new.music.yahoo.com


D.J. JAZZY JEFF & THE FRESH PRINCE
THEN: Jeff Townes was a local Philadelphia hero when he met a kid named Will Smith at a 1985 house party. They had instant chemistry and soon a hit single with 1986's "Girls Ain't Nothing But Trouble." It was released a month before Smith's high school graduation. Three years later they won the first ever rap Grammy for "Parents Just Don't Understand."

NOW:
Officially, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince have never disbanded, but they have taken very different career paths. DJ Jeff went on to contribute scratching for Eminem, Talib Kweli, The Roots, and others. Unfortunately, things didn't turn our so well for Will Smith's career: a forgettable sitcom and some box-office bombs. Maybe Flavor Flav will put him in his next reality show.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

http://www.yahoo.com/

The End Is Coming in '2012'?

by Jonathan Crow    June 17, 2009

2012 Few people have destroyed the world more than Roland Emmerich. In his mega-hit "Independence Day," aliens laid waste to pretty much every metropolitan center on the planet, and in his eco-thriller "The Day After Tomorrow," much of the northern hemisphere finds itself buried under ice. In his third crack at presenting the apocalypse, this fall's "2012," Emmerich taps into the angst of thousands of astrologers, doomsday enthusiasts, and conspiracy theorists who fear that a massive cataclysm will strike the earth on December 21 of that year. Yet unlike previous dates tied to the Earth's expiration, this one has its roots in various sources throughout history including interpretations of the Mayan calendar, astrology, and the ancient Chinese fortune-telling text the "I-Ching."

Friday, June 19, 2009

http://www.philippinestoday.net

Pinay killed in Pakistan hotel blast

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE -- THE Philippine government strongly condemned the bombing of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan Tuesday that left 11 people dead, including a Filipino worker of the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund.

The Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that UNICEF staffer Perseveranda So was among the casualties of the bomb attack.

“This senseless terrorist attack on innocent civilians is an unspeakable crime and can never be justified,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

Romulo ordered the Philippine Embassy in Islamabad to facilitate the repatriation of So’s remains.

“I send my prayers to the family and loved ones of Ms. So, who has worked with UNICEF since 1994 and who was serving as a respected chief of education in Pakistan at the time of her untimely demise,” he said.

He added that the Filipino people joined the UNICEF in mourning the loss of an exemplary international civil servant who had dedicated and risked her life to helping Pakistani girls gain access to education.

The UNICEF is greatly saddened by the death of So.

“Persy, as she was known to her colleagues, was a dedicated and highly committed staff member, who worked with grace and determination as chief of education in Pakistan, earning the respect and admiration of all those with whom she came into contact,” said UNICEF executive director Ann M. Veneman.

Vanessa Tobin, country representative in the Philippines, added: “Persy made a huge contribution to improving education for millions of children in the Philippines. As UNICEF’s chief of education, she was instrumental in introducing the Child Friendly School System to the country, and she successfully advocated for the passage of a law on early child education. She was driven by a belief that education was the key to reducing poverty in-the Philippines.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

http://finance.yahoo.com

Passengers wait to be rescued on the wings of a US Airways Airbus 320 jetliner that safely ditched in the Hudson River in New York, after a flock of birds knocked out both its engines (AP Photo/Steven Day)

AIG refuses crash claims

The insurer for US Airways hasn't compensated passengers for their near-tragic ordeal.


A.I.G. Balks at Claims From Jet Ditching in Hudson

by Mary Williams Walsh
Friday, June 12, 2009

provided by
The New York Times

For the first couple of days after his flight ditched into the Hudson River, Paul Jorgenson was just glad to be alive. But then he started to need his laptop, his wallet, his car keys -- all the essentials he had stowed under his seat and left behind in the sinking plane.

A pleasant woman at US Airways told him not to worry; he would be made whole for his losses. But then the matter shifted to US Airways' insurer, the American International Group, operating under government stewardship since its bailout last fall.

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"Everything went downhill," said Mr. Jorgenson, a software executive in Charlotte, N.C., whose laptop and keys have not been recovered.

When a homeowner has a burglary or a driver has a crash, all it normally takes is a call to the insurance company and a description of the loss to activate the policy. But aviation liability insurance is different. It is activated by a finding of negligence on the part of an airline. If there is no negligence, then arguably there is no liability, and no obligation to pay claims.

Friday, June 12, 2009

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com

Monsod: SC, Arroyo will uphold democracy

MANILA - Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chair Christian Monsod predicted on Friday that the Supreme Court, and even President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, will uphold democracy in the face of a renewed attempt to approve charter change.

In an interview over dzMM Friday, Monsod, also one of the authors of the 1987 Constitution, said he believes that justices of the Supreme Court will not act on two petitions asking the High Court to rule on the constituent assembly resolution passed June 2 by the House of Representatives.

He said it would be wrong for the Supreme Court to rule on House Resolution 1109 convening a constituent assembly for the purpose of amending the charter even without the Senate.

"There is still no justiciable controversy," he said in an interview with Ted Failon on dzMM's Failon at Sanchez. "I doubt very much that the Supreme Court will take cognizance of this issue since it's not yet justiciable."

If the SC decides to rule on the anti-Con-ass petitions, Monsod said this would open the door for all sorts of petitions asking the High Court to settle constitutional controversies.

"It will open the door to anybody who thinks there's a potential controversy on any [constitutional] provison will go to the SC. The SC will be flooded with all kinds of petition for interpretation when there is no case," Monsod.

He said the only time the SC should accept and rule on the issue is when the constituent assembly has already convened, proposed and approved charter amendments, and when it has asked the Comelec to schedule the plebiscite.

No 3/4ths vote

Monsod said he does not believe the House of Representatives will be able to muster the three-fourths vote needed by the constituent assembly voting jointly.

"If they had three-fourths of both Houses combined, why didn't they do it? It's because they could not get the votes," he said.

He said House Resolution 1109 was signed by 174 congressmen, which is short of the 216 needed to approve charter amendments if the constituent assembly is to vote jointly.

Since the lower House couldn't muster the three-fourths, Monsod said it would appear that the goal was to "provoke extreme actions by those who oppose [cha-cha] so they can do even more extreme counter measures, or for the Supreme Court to take cognizance of the issue even when there is no justiciable controversy

Thursday, June 11, 2009

http://www.buzztracker.com



First Ever Filipino Google Doodle Unveiled on Independence Day

June 11, 2009

Alleba Blog / Andrew

To commemorate the country’s 111th anniversary of its declaration of independence, Google announced that it has created the first-ever Google doodle for the Philippines.


Google Philippines: Happy Independence Day

June 11, 2009

The Blog Herald / Jayvee Fernandez

These don’t come often in the archilepago in South East Asia. June 12 2009 (GMT +8 so they’re advanced) is Independence Day in the Philippines. And Google is first to greet.


Happy Independence Day Philippines

Google Philippines: Happy Independence Day

Filed as News on June 11, 2009 10:34 pm

independence-day

These don’t come often in the archilepago in South East Asia. June 12 2009 (GMT +8 so they’re advanced) is Independence Day in the Philippines. And Google is first to greet. The logo today represents the colors of the Philippine flag, three stars and the sun. The sun’s design is quite reminiscent as well of the tees made for WordCamp Philippines ‘08 (video).

Monday, June 8, 2009

http://edition.cnn.com


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(CNN) -- It's been little more than a week since an Air France jet crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, bringing a horrific end to the lives of the 228 people aboard.

Recovery efforts have found several items confirmed to have come from Air France Flight 447.

Recovery efforts have found several items confirmed to have come from Air France Flight 447.

But the mystery surrounding Flight 447 may drag on for a great while.

The Airbus A330-200 is considered an exceptionally safe plane, so why was there no signal from the pilots of a crisis? Planes, particularly sophisticated craft like the Airbus, are built to withstand severe storms like the one Flight 447 is believed to have confronted.

The plane has numerous electrical backup systems, so when one thing goes wrong, another switches on to compensate. Did all those systems fail?

The plane's data recorder, which might help answer that, is presumably at the bottom of the ocean.

These unknowns create a stomach-turning question: If no one knows how this happened, can and will it happen again?

For the past week, experts have offered theories, including weighing in on whether it's possible foul play was at work.

"As an investigator, until you know exactly what caused it, you need to leave everything on the table. I wouldn't rule it [foul play] out," said Capt. John Cox, a veteran major-airline pilot who has extensive expertise in global air safety. "But there's been nothing that shows me that it would be a prime suspect." Video Watch Cox describe in detail what might have downed Flight 447 »

Autopsies performed on bodies recovered from the Atlantic could provide clues, said Mary Schiavo, a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Schiavo, who has been an outspoken critic of the Federal Aviation Administration, told CNN last week that investigators would be able to discern if there was an explosion from possible residue on the bodies or other items. If water is found in the lungs of victims, investigators would know the plane went down intact.

Cox, an expert in flight safety auditing who has flown the Airbus A320 and has flown the A330 simulator, said he suspects, as do other flying experts, that weather was not the single cause of the disaster. It was most likely a series of events, he said in an interview on CNN's "American Morning" on Monday.


updated 10:32 p.m. EDT, Mon June 8, 2009
Two girls, 13 gunshots and zero answers

Two girls, 13 gunshots and zero answers

William Whitaker says he's certain somebody in the Oklahoma town where he lives knows who killed his daughter. The dirt road where 11-year-old Skyla Jade Whitaker and Taylor Paschal-Placker, 13, were found dead is too remote for the killings to be the work of a stranger passing through, he says. It has been a year since the friends were shot less than a half-mile from Taylor's home in rural Weleetka. full story

Sunday, June 7, 2009

http://sports.yahoo.com

Lakers hang on for 101-96 win in Game 2

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LOS ANGELES (AP)—Lucky to have a second chance, the Los Angeles Lakers grabbed it.

Kobe Bryant(notes) and Co. held on and are in control of the NBA finals—just barely.

Orlando rookie Courtney Lee(notes) missed a potential winning layup as regulation ended, giving Los Angeles another shot. Pau Gasol(notes) scored seven points in overtime as the Lakers, so dominant in the series opener, survived with a 101-96 win over the Magic in Game 2 on Sunday night.

If Orlando doesn’t come back and win a game in the series, Lee’s miss may go down as one of the biggest gaffes in finals history.

He had a chance to give the Magic its first finals win, but misfired.

“We blew a lot of assignments tonight—a lot of assignments—and we still managed to get a win,” Bryant said.

Orlando may not get another one better.