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Christian Bale "Batman" Bad Attitude

2009-02-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Remember those reports of Christian Bale losing it on the set of "Terminator Salvation"? There's an audio tape ... and it ain't pretty.

The "Dark Knight" star launched into a lengthy, expletive-laced tirade against Shane Hurlbut, "Terminator's" director of cinematography, after he allegedly walked into the actor's shot.

"I want you off the f---ing set, you p---k!" Bale screamed as Hurlbut can be heard quietly apologizing. "Don't just be sorry - think for one f---ing second. What the f--- are you doing?!"

Bale unleashed the multi-minute tirade against Hurlbut in July while the film was shooting in New Mexico. According to TMZ.com, who obtained the tape, producers sent the audio to their insurance company in case Bale walked off the film.
And they had good reason to think he might: Bale spewed forth a bevy of curse words that would make even a sailor blush.
"I'm gonna f---ing kick your f---ing a-- if you don't shut up for a second," he shouted at one point, just before threatening to have Hurlbut fired.
"Am I going to walk around and rip your f---ing lights down in the middle of a scene? Then why the f--- are you walking right through? What the f--- is it with you?"
Bale wrapped up his rant with a simple, "f---ing a--."

This is not new to Christian Bale's behavior he was arrested last July after he tussle with his mother and his sister

Listen to the full audio here.

source: http://www.nydailynews.com

Rapper DMX in JAIL

2009-02-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

Rapper DMX, was sentenced last Friday to Ninety days in jail and at least 18 months of supervision probation after his conviction on charges of drug possession, theft, online casinos and animal cruelty.

Michael Phelps caught with cannabis pipe

2009-02-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

The glass pipes are generally used to smoke cannabis.

And after sporting chiefs announced laws which mean four-year bans for drug-taking, Phelps’ dreams of adding to his overall 14 gold medal tally at the 2012 games in London could already be OVER.

Those dreams seemed the last thing on his mind when he puffed from the bong during two days of partying with students last November, a quiet time in the swimming calendar when athletes would not expect to get tested for drugs and casinos.

One party-goer who witnessed the star’s behaviour told the News of the World: “He was out of control from the moment he got there.

“If he continues to party like that I’d be amazed if he ever won any more medals again.”

Phelps’ aides went into a panic over our story and offered us a raft of extraordinary incentives not to run the bong picture.

It was on November 6, weeks after his Beijing triumph, that 23-year-old Phelps surprised students at the University Of South Carolina in Columbia by showing up unannounced at a house party.

He was visiting Jordan Matthews, a girl he was secretly seeing who was a student there.

Our source revealed: “Michael came to visit Jordan but ended up just getting wasted every night.

Friendster Service Unavailable?

2008-11-13T18:00:00.000-08:00

Friendster is leading social networking now a day - there are over 70 million registered members visiting their sites from over 75 countries worldwide and is now at top 8th largest web site on the world in terms of traffic, serving over 18 billion viewed pages per month and 80 thousand people have joined Friendster daily.

You think that's the reason why Friendster probably went down?

Google Mobile 'Android' Bring Out Early 2009

2008-02-15T14:39:00.000-08:00

LG Electronics plans to start selling a phone model running on Android, the highly anticipated mobile phone operating system, at the start of next year at the latest, a senior official said.

"We will bring it out late in 2008 or early 2009," Chang Ma, LG's vice president for marketing strategy told Reuters in an interview at the Mobile World Congress trade show.

LG is part of a group of about 30 companies that said they would support Google's operating system, which is based on Linux, an open-source software platform.

Service provider Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and Taiwanese phone maker High Tech Computer have both said they plan to sell phones based on Android this year.

Source: Reuters

Latest Gadgets and Gizmos Coming on the Market

2008-01-09T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Consumer Electronics show their newest digital gizmos and toys in Las Vegas.

From robots to massage chairs, security cameras to solar powered handbags - this year's show has all the latest technology. Expected on the market early this year. John Russell said from Las Vegas.

Source: Reuters

Mac Pro 8-Core Xeon The fastest Mac Pro ever!

2008-01-08T16:36:00.000-08:00

Apple on Tuesday introduced a more powerful Xserve aimed at organizations with limited IT support, such as small businesses or departments in larger companies.

In addition, the company launched a Mac Pro with twice the performance of the previous version of the workstation for creative professionals and research organizations. Apple unveiled the new products a week before the Macworld conference opens in San Francisco.

Both new products are under $3,000 and come standard with two Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Xeon quad-core chips, codenamed Harpertown, which were released only last month. Last year, the same custom design would have cost $4,000.

"One of the advantages in using Harpertown is that it packs a lot more performance per watt in the same thermal envelope," Tom Boger, senior director of desktop, servers and storage product marketing at Apple, told InformationWeek. "Just by itself, the Harpertown processor raw is a 60% improvement over the previous configuration [Cloverton]."

Apple designed the hardware and software in the new products to take advantage of Harpertown's low-power capabilities, Boger said. The new machines can show as much as a 2x performance boost with some third-party applications. In addition, Apple is offering in both machines terabyte hard-drive capabilities for the first time.

With the new Xserve, Apple is also drawing attention to the Mac OS X Leopard Server operating system as a strong competitor to other products aimed at organizations without large IT staffs. The 1U rack server can operate in a mixed environment of Macs and Windows clients, and is powered by two Xeon 5400 series processors running up to 3.0GHz. The chips are Intel's latest 45 nanometer manufactured processors, which top previous products in power and energy consumption.

The new Xserve includes up to 3 Tbytes of internal storage and two PCI Express 2.0 expansion slots that provide up to four times the input/output bandwidth of the previous model to support 4 Gbit Fibre channel and 10 Gbit Ethernet cards.

Apple has added accelerated graphics to the new Xserve to support several Apple Cinema Displays at once. The new product also includes two FireWire 800 and three USB 2.0 ports, and comes with a license for unlimited client seats. The starting price is $2,999.

The latest server draws attention to Leopard's capabilities as an OS for small businesses and other organizations that can't afford large IT staffs, industry analysts with Technology Business Research said in an e-mailed commentary.

"TBR believes this package is a strong offering wherever IT services are limited," the market research firm said. "Apple will use the value proposition of easy-to-use comprehensive services to broaden its market to small businesses and departments, where Xserve is an ideal first server."

Included with Leopard Server are mail hosting, Web hosting, file sharing, client management, network management and security, VPN, chat, search, and directory services, TBR said.

With the new Mac Pro workstation, Apple is offering its fastest Mac through the use of two Xeon 5400 series processors running up to 3.2GHz. The machine comes standard with an ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT graphics card with 256 Mbytes of video memory.

The machine includes a PCI Express 2.0 graphics slot that delivers twice the bandwidth as previous generations, and can be upgraded with Nvidia graphics cards, such as the GeForce 8800 GT with 512MB of video memory, and the Quadro FX 5600 with 1.5GB of memory.

The system can carry up to four 1Tbyte Serial ATA hard drives, and includes nine ports for external devices, including five USB 2.0s, two FireWire 400s and two FireWire 800s. The Mac Pro also supports SAS drives, which run at a higher rate than SATA drives and provide RAID 0, 1 and 5 storage protection.

Pricing for the new desktop machine starts at $2,799.

The Armed Forces Prince

2008-01-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's Prince William began his attachment with the Royal Air Force on Monday.

The 25-year-old, second in line to the throne, will train as a helicopter and fighter pilot, his office and the Ministry of Defense said.

William, who is also an officer in the British Army, will be known as Flying Officer Wales during the four-month attachment, a spokeswoman at his office said.

The service is designed to help William, who will one day become head of the British armed forces, learn the structures and capabilities of the RAF. The prince plans to begin an attachment with the Royal Navy later in the year.

A defense ministry spokesman said William will first learn about modern air power and the traditions of the RAF. Then he is to begin flying lessons with several units, including support helicopter, search-and-rescue, air transport, and fighter aircraft.

William will start his lessons in a training aircraft for fighter jet pilots, the defense ministry spokesman said.

The prince will then learn to fly the four-passenger Squirrel helicopter.

"Once he's done all that, if he meets the required standards, then he'll be awarded his RAF wings," the spokesman said.

The tours of duty for William follow a year of service in the Blues and Royals, one of the two regiments that form the Household Cavalry of the British Army.

Jessica Alba and Cash Warren Engaged

2007-12-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES - Pregnancy has been an engaging experience for Jessica Alba.

The 26-year-old actress, who announced earlier this month that she's expecting, is now engaged to her boyfriend and the baby's father, producer Cash Warren.

"I can confirm that they are engaged," Alba's publicist, Brad Cafarelli, said in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday.

The couple is expecting their first child in late spring or early summer, Cafarelli said.

Alba stars in the thriller "Awake," and recently appeared in "Good Luck Chuck" and "The Ten." The sex symbol first gained fame as an action star on TV's "Dark Angel," then in films including "Fantastic Four" and "Sin City."

Lacson offers ‘wild speculation’ on ‘Garci’ mastermind

2007-08-30T07:07:00.000-07:00

By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net

The alleged mastermind in the wiretapping controversy linking President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to cheating in the May 2004 elections could be someone close to her, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.

Lacson said his “wild speculation,” which he told reporters at the Kapihan sa Senado not to “take seriously” stemmed from his theory that the mastermind would logically be someone from the President’s circle. see more story.

Basilan operations a ploy to prevent US aid cuts

2007-08-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

By TJ Burgonio
Inquirer

The escalating hostilities in southern Philippines could be a ruse by the government to preempt a proposed cut in the US military aid for its No. 1 ally in Asia, a leftwing group said Friday. see more story...

Strong Quake Hits Southern Philippines

2007-08-20T14:23:00.000-07:00

MANILA, Philippines - A magnitude 6.6 earthquake rattled an undersea area off the southern Philippines on Monday, scientists said. No injuries or damage were immediately reported, and no tsunami warning was issued.

Renato Solidum of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology said the quake hit at around 9:36 p.m. and was centered 130 miles southeast of Mati township in Davao Oriental province, in the Philippine Trench at a depth of six miles.

It was felt in several provinces, but the intensity of the shaking was described as not strong, Solidum said. No tsunami warning was issued. Several aftershocks were reported.

Minda Morante, who heads the government's Office of Civil Defense in southern Davao city, said she felt the quake on her second-floor office.

"It was just a faint nudge. I'm not expecting any damage," she said.

The Philippine archipelago lies along the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," where earthquakes and volcanic activities are common.

No legal hurdle on destruction of allegedly hot cars -- DoJ

2007-08-17T09:56:00.000-07:00

By Leila Salaverria
Inquirer

The Department of Justice (DoJ) is supporting the government's destruction of allegedly smuggled luxury vehicles, with Secretary Raul Gonzalez saying on Friday it is within the police power of the state to do so and public auction is not necessary. see more stories..,

"I can do better job than Arroyo" Sen. Mar Roxas Says

2007-08-17T09:41:00.000-07:00

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.
Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines -- While he continued to play coy about his presidential ambitions, Senator Mar Roxas declared Friday he could do “a better job” and bring the country to a ``better place’’ than the current occupant of Malacañang. see more story

Latest Top Ranking On Senatorial Candidates

2007-05-17T17:11:00.001-07:00

As of May 18 2007 05:15 am (NAMFREL)

Legarda, Loren (GO)......................2,792,353
Escudero, Francis Joseph (GO).......2,735,202
Lacson, Panfilo (GO).....................2,486,625
Pangilinan, Francis (IND)..............2,335,062
Villar, Manuel Jr (GO)...................2,317,438
Aquino, Benigno Simeon III (GO)...2,232,994
Angara, Edgardo (TU)...................2,024,755
Arroyo, Joker (TU)......................1,821,143
Honasan, Gregorio (IND).............1,792,977
Cayetano, Alan Peter (GO)...........1,771,800
Trillanes, Antonio IV (GO)..........1,724,703
Pimentel, Aquilino III (GO).........1,705,976

Chairman Edward Go of NAMFREL with his ambush interview said that they are still hopeful they will finish counting 10 million votes or one-third of the total votes by Sunday, May 20.

However, as of 5:15 a.m. of May 18, Namfrel only finished counting 18.95 percent of the total number of votes from 42,585 precincts.
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Senatoriables Line-up

2007-02-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

This is a live Link Search for Your candidates, If you want to know more about them just press the link and it will direct you to all news and information for that candidate with in the site of "Philippine Eleksyon 2007".

Genuine Opposition

John Osmena

Sonia Roco

Aquilino "Koko" Pimintel III

Anna Dominique Coseteng

Francis "Chiz" Escudero

Kiko Pangilinan

Antonio Trillanes

Manny Villar

Cayetano, Allan Peter Schramm

Noynoy Aquino

Panfilo Lacson

Loren Legarda

Team Unity

Edgardo Angara

Joker Arroyo

Ralph Recto

Teresa Aquino-Oreta

Vicente Sotto III

Vicente Magsaysay

Cesar Montano

Luis "Chavit" Singson

Sultan Jamalul Kiram III

Miguel Zubiri

Prospero Pichay

Michael Defensor

Independent Candidate

Richard Gomez

Gringo Honasan

If there is other candidate not on the list please let me know so I could add it.
Philippine Election.

Trilogy - The Grand Finale

2006-11-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

The Grand Finale – The Fight of the Century

It was El Terrible who drew first blood from their encounter then it was pay time for Morales when Manny “Pacman” Paquiao gave Morales its first ever technical knockout (TKO)! It was a sweet revenge for the Filipinos in the person of Pacman! The venue literally fell down along with Morales! It was never done before by any opponent of El Terrible and it was a scene to remember for the rest of his boxing career!

Many critics pointed many reasons for Morales defeat, some say because his father was nowhere to be found, that Morales allegedly gave the crowd what their expecting a trilogy between Manny Paquiao and him, also some attributed it to his drastic weight lost! There are many reasons team Morales could invent and pointed at for his defeat, that’s why many waited for the grand finale – the fight of the century! So as to know the truth once and for all – who is the best fighter between them!

El Terrible took an early conditioning from main land Mexico up to the mountains, many was surprised to see Morales in tip-top condition! Never did they saw their hero trained this hard for a fight. It was a sign what to be expected come that fateful day – a war between two great boxers supported by their respective countries, in short a battle between Mexico and the Philippines!

For three months we saw Eric and Manny exchanging friendly barb to each other, making the waiting more exciting, many started asking themselves “WHO?” who will end this bout? Who will knockout who? Who is the real warrior? Who will be vindicated? Who am I going to place my bet of my hard earned money? Who will emerge victorious? Two months passed, three months, and the fight we’ve been waiting for so long has now come to time!

Its now “The Grand Finale – the Fight of the Century”, all woke up early doing their every day routines but in an earlier timetable to give them ample time to watch the Filipino hero’s fight at Thomas and Mac Center at Nevada, Las Vegas. The crowd religiously waited for this fight, saving their hard earned money just to be able to watch their Boxing Icon, to see how Manny will dispose El Terrible, and what round would it be?

When the crowd saw Manny and Eric at the big screen, many boxing aficionado shouted out their heart for their idols a scene comparable to the world trade center bombing – 9/11! Everybody is screaming, shouting, pointing at each other but it was not that dreaded scene of the 9/11 bombing no definitely not! And when the curtain fell and the film started rolling, there’s no stopping them only a knockout would halt the fight we’ve been waiting!

Round 1 – both fighters were trying the water, measuring each other but they did not fail their supporters before the bell rang to end the first round they exchanges a fury of jabs.

Round 2 – with the mounting heat from the their round they opened up the second round with lots of fireworks, they literally killed each other but before the bell rang again, Manny “Pacman” Paquiao gave Eric “El Terrible” Morales its first taste of the canvas! But Eric managed to save his self from the early TKO!

Round 3 – when round three came many did not expect that it will be over! Again they exchanges punches like their no tomorrow! Left Hook, Left Jab, Right Hook, Right jab, upper-cut, and straight from nowhere but Eric “El Terrible” Morales could not hold on anymore he was sent to the canvas two times and the second time he met the canvas it was over! Just over 2 minutes into the third round Eric “El Terrible” Morales gave up and raise the flag signaling his acceptance of his worst defeat ever in his entire boxing career! Manny “Pacman” Paquiao literally ended Morales career, it was like giving your employee his separation and retirement benefit and Pacman is the signatory!

It was a sweet victory for team Paquiao; never did they foresee the possibility of an early knockout, if I may rephrase the tag line of a known telecommunication company here in the Philippines – “sa pinoy posible!” or should I say “basta si Manny posible!”

BIR - Gov't employees involves on sex scandal

2006-11-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

YET another sex scandal is rocking Cagayan de Oro City and this time it involves two government employees who are working at the regional office of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Sun.Star tried Thursday to contact BIR Regional Director Mustapha Gandarosa and Assistant Regional Director Alberto Olasiman but both were said to be in a marathon meeting.

YET another sex scandal is rocking Cagayan de Oro City and this time it involves two government employees who are working at the regional office of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).

Sun.Star tried Thursday to contact BIR Regional Director Mustapha Gandarosa and Assistant Regional Director Alberto Olasiman but both were said to be in a marathon meeting.

However, a source who requested anonymity voiced deep regrets that indeed this sex scandal controversy is "tarnishing the BIR's image."

"They (public) have always suspected us of being among the most corrupt offices when they don't know the efforts we are exerting and now, there is that sex scandal," the source said.

Meanwhile, a high-profile lawyer, a DVD/VCD vendor, and even dxIF Bombo Radyo operations manager Michael Bustamante reported that there is now the "BIR Sex Scandal" in Cagayan de Oro City.

"I have heard about this for a while now but it was just recently that I got a copy," Bustamante said during his lunch hour radio program.

More than 50 positions

The lawyer and the DVD/VCD vendor who both requested anonymity said the BIR Sex Scandal involves two BIR-Northern Mindanao employees in this city.

They said both the man and the woman are married but due to some unknown reason, the two "exhibitionists" decided to check-in at some shady motel and have sex.

The man then used his cellular phone to take photos of the different sexual positions that he and the woman initiated.

"They did a lot of sexual positions...I estimate there were more than 50 positions as there were many photos taken," the lawyer said.

There were then several versions on how the BIR Sex Scandal VCD got circulated in some circles.

The lawyer said the man downloaded the photos he took in his computer at the BIR office and saved it in some secret file folder.

He said the photos were, however, found by some other BIR workers when the man left his post.

"Actually these photos were taken for sometime now but were just recently made public," he said.

Not as good

The DVD/VCD vendor said the BIR Sex Scandal tapes are now being discreetly sold to a very few patrons and that only a few trusted vendors are allowed to sell it.

He said they have learned their lessons when some of their fellow vendors were arrested for selling the Bulua Sex Scandal and the Cagayan de Oro Xavier Sex Scandal videotapes.

"The selling of the BIR Sex Scandal is being regulated," he said.

However, Bustamante and the lawyer contend that there is a possibility that the photos in the videotape that can be seen through "sequence play" may not actually be the real thing.

Bustamante said the technology these days can easily alter the photos and make them appear to be some other person.

Senate orders PRC to explain snub of nursing probe - By Veronica Uy

2006-09-05T02:10:00.000-07:00

THE Senate will order officials of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to explain their continued snub of the Senate investigation into the leakage of questions for the June 2006 nursing licensure examinations and threatened to cite them with contempt.

Senator Rodolfo Biazon, chair of the committee on civil service, which is investigating the nursing leak, was preparing to issue the order Wednesday after the PRC officials failed to attend the hearing earlier in the day, their third time to do so.

Senator Franklin Drilon said Biazon would be issuing “a show cause order similar to the procedure adopted in the regular courts, where those who are subpoenaed are given an opportunity to explain why they have refused to heed the subpoena.”

But he explained that showing up or submitting an explanation did not automatically absolve the PRC officials either.

“The committee would have to decide once the explanation is submitted whether or not the explanation is acceptable. If it is not acceptable, then the committee is free to decide how to proceed,” Drilon said.

“They should be cited for contempt, especially one that must be extracted like a bad tooth,” Senator Richard Gordon said, referring to PRC chairperson Leonor Tripon-Rosero, who also happens to be the dentist of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The PRC officials invoked Memorandum Circular and told the Senate committee on civil service chaired by Senator Rodolfo Biazon that they would need advance copies of the questions they would be asked before they could attend.

The Palace memorandum essentially reiterates the provisions of Executive Order (EO) 464, which prevents government officials and employees from appearing before congressional inquiries without Presidential clearance, but which the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional.

Although Senate President Manuel Villar said they “do not agree with (the national government’s) interpretation” of the Supreme Court decision on EO 464, “we are giving them the chance to explain.”

He said the Senate caucus agreed to allow the PRC officials due process. “We don't want them to say that the Senate is gearing for a fight,” Villar said.

However, he added: “This is a warning signal that if they don't come, we assure them that we will exercise our constitutional duties.”

Japanese ship joins Guimaras oil spill clean-up

2006-09-05T02:09:00.000-07:00

ILOILO -- A Japanese survey ship on Thursday joined efforts in to clean up the Philippines' worst ever oil spill that the coastguard warned could take months to finish.

The Shinsei Maru sailed into port here Wednesday night and at first light deployed off the nearby island of Guimaras, where the sunken Solar I tanker lies in the deep seabed with nearly half a million gallons of oil on board.

The ship's mission is to deploy its remote controlled submersible for a sonar sweep of the ill-fated tanker, coastguard chief Vice Admiral Arthur Gosingan said.

"It will conduct a survey underwater to find out how the Solar I is lying on the seabed and whether remaining oil in its hull was leaking. It will check its position to determine what action to take," Gosingan told Agence France-Presse.

He said based on the ship's findings, the coast guard will decide whether to relfoat the tanker or siphon off its contents to prevent a further leak. A third, more costly option is to bury the entire ship in sand.

"We expect the clean-up to take more than six months," Gosingan said, adding that apart from the Japanese ship, marine experts and biologists from the US, France and Australia as well as environmental groups were in the area.

Solar I, owned by the Filipino-registered Sunshine Maritime Development Corp., sank in rough seas on August 11 carrying some 500,000 gallons of industrial oil.

About 50,000 gallons leaked has leaked so far, damaging fertile fishing grounds, white sand beaches and hundreds of kilometers (miles) of shoreline. Two of the ship's crew remain missing.

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2006-07-20T03:21:00.000-07:00

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Filipino's Over-react to "The Da Vinci Code"

2006-06-01T03:39:00.000-07:00

Filipinos wear their religion on their sleeve, or so it seems. And with the supposedly blasphemous subject matter of the movie, The Da Vinci Code, the fringe groups are fuming with righteous indignation. Last week, the Manila city council passed a resolution banning the showing of the film anywhere in that city. That proved to be a bonanza for adjoining cities where no ban was in effect. And late this week over a hundred members of a Catholic group set up a book burning demonstration at the Bonifacio monument in Manila. Due to the high cost of paperbacks in the Philippines, not to mention the high demand for the book due to the film and the controversy surrounding it, not very many books were torched. A few videos were tossed in the pyre--bootleg copies of course since the DVD isn't out yet.

Like many things Filipino, these acts had a lot of drama but little substance. More than a few of those demonstrating never even read the book or saw the movie. In this country of "accidental" Christians (if Magellan's ship had veered a few degrees left or right, we'd all be reading the Koran and praying facing Mecca several times a day) the need to outdo one another in piety and devotion to the faith causes some to go to extremes that would make even members of Opus Dei cringe.

As a people, we must leave all the shallow dramatics behind and begin to mature in our Faith. And we need to understand that there are many other beliefs out there that deserve our understanding and respect.

But back to the novel. According to Helen LaKelly Hunt, author of the book, Faith and Feminism: A Holy Alliance, "the centuries of brutal suppression of women's voice and potential" by the Church "is the reason for the astonishing popularity of The Da Vinci Code." Such a perspective seems lost on those demonstrating against the book and movie.

FVR: GMA term cut no longer realistic

2006-06-01T03:38:00.000-07:00

Former President Fidel Ramos said yesterday his call for President Arroyo to cut short her term to pave the way for a shift to a parliamentary form of government was "no longer realistic" because the deadline for her to make such a decision has lapsed.

"It is no longer realistic. The timeline that I gave is past. Can you bring back the time? Of course not," Ramos told reporters during a visit to Malacañang.

Instead, he welcomed Mrs. Arroyo’s constitutional amendment timetable that is slated to begin this month but has been derailed by Senate opposition to her initiative.

At a press conference last January, Ramos had urged Mrs. Arroyo to end her six-year term next year and run for parliament under a new constitution that would replace the country’s US-style presidential government.

Ramos, one of Mrs. Arroyo’s few remaining supporters in the midst of calls for her to resign over vote-rigging charges last year, had given her until June to make a decision. He did not say if he would withdraw political support if Mrs. Arroyo rejected his proposal.

Ramos — a strong advocate of Charter change — had warned earlier this year that clinging to power would hamper the country’s fragile economy because of the credibility crisis hounding Mrs. Arroyo since July.

But Mrs. Arroyo rejected Ramos’ call, saying she planned to complete her six-year term — which expires in mid-2010 — unless amendments made to the Constitution require her to do otherwise.

Ramos’ proposal initially threatened to split the ruling party Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats.

Ramos, who founded the party in 1992 when he ran for the presidency, is its chairman emeritus, while Mrs. Arroyo co-chairs the party along with Speaker Jose de Venecia.

Ramos did not pursue the issue after party leaders rejected his proposal in a caucus.

In a separate interview over ANC television yesterday, Ramos said there was no point in asking Mrs. Arroyo to step down now.

He said it was now up to the people to decide whether Mrs. Arroyo should stay in office until her six-year term expires in 2010 if her allies succeed in amending the Constitution via a people’s initiative.

Ramos also called on Filipinos for unity following months of division as debates heated up over amending the Constitution and the vote-rigging accusations against Mrs. Arroyo.

He urged the nation’s leaders to draw inspiration from mountaineers Heracleo Oracion, Erwin Emata and Romeo Garduce, who recently became the first Filipinos to climb Mount Everest.

"Whatever crisis, challenges, needs and difficulties, the people can overcome them as long as we are together and helping one another," Ramos said. "Teamwork is the most important. This must be a lesson to all of us."

Ramos accompanied the three mountaineers yesterday at a meeting with Mrs. Arroyo at Malacañang.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita welcomed Ramos’ statement. "I can imagine President Ramos is also following the developments," he said. "We can see that the objective of moving forward with Charter change could be achieved over time."

Ramos said a people’s initiative — in which the electorate may propose amendments to the Constitution through a petition — is now the best method of amending the country’s Charter and that the Supreme Court must soon decide on its legality.

Critics argue there is no law enabling a people’s initiative, citing a 1997 Supreme Court ruling on a previous people’s initiative that had sought to extend Ramos’ term. The Constitution limits the president to a single six-year term.

Constitutional amendment proponents are hoping for a reversal by the High Tribunal.

Proponents of the people’s initiative said they have more than the required number of signatures and are set to file their petition before the Commission on Elections.

They are also bracing for legal challenges that might be filed before the Supreme Court seeking to stop them.

The people’s initiative could surmount the impasse between the Senate and the House of Representatives, which are oceans apart on how to amend the Constitution.

Last year, the House sent to the Senate a joint concurrent resolution urging Congress to convene itself into a constituent assembly to propose amendments.

Impatient over the senators’ decision on the constituent assembly measure, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Constantino Jaraula, chairman of the House constitutional amendments committee, introduced another resolution that seeks to bypass the Senate on Charter change.

The Senate contends that any effort to amend the Constitution without its participation and without the two chambers voting separately on amendments would be unconstitutional.

Most senators also prefer a constitutional convention in making amendments, arguing that the constituent assembly method preferred by the House might be seen as self-serving because the amendments would be written by lawmakers.

In 1973, the Philippines shifted to a parliamentary system shortly after dictator Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law the previous year and put in place a new constitution to cement his iron-fisted rule.

Marcos initially ruled by decree as president and prime minister until Cesar Virata was appointed prime minister in the 1980s. Marcos lifted martial law in 1981 but retained his power to rule by decree.

'Idol' Taylor Hicks signs record deal

2006-05-31T22:10:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK - Taylor Hicks has taken step two on his "American Idol"-fueled career, signing the record contract that comes with winning the hit show.

The gray-haired crooner inked a pact with music mogul Clive Davis in conjunction with 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by "AI" creator Simon Fuller, it was announced Wednesday.

The 29-year-old Alabama native's recording of two songs — "Do I Make You Proud," which he performed in the show's finale, and a soulful cover of the Doobie Brothers classic "Takin' It to the Streets" — will be released in stores and through digital outlets on June 13.

With Davis' guidance, Hicks is expected to release a full-length album later this year.

In a recent interview with The Associated Press, Davis, who has molded the careers of previous "Idol" winners, said he thinks Hicks has charisma and a unique singing style that will help him establish his pop audience.

"He definitely has his own sound," Davis told the AP. "He does have that gift, you know who it is when you hear him."

SEMCares.com Adds Indonesia Earthquake Relief Site Links And Asks Search Engine Marketing Providers To Volunteer Services To Relief Organizations

2006-05-31T16:49:00.000-07:00

When disasters occur, SEMcares.com calls out to it’s SEM provider colleagues to volunteer or discount services to deserving relief organizations to exponentially increase visibility, visitors, and donations.

Los Angeles, CA May 26, 2006 -- SEMCares.com, a not-for-profit organization created by search engine marketing (SEM) and optimization (SEO) professionals, today announced it has added Indonesia Earthquake relief site links to aid volunteer SEM providers in finding appropriate and credible relief organizations to assist through the power of search engine marketing.

SEMcares.com asks it’s fellow SEM providers to consider volunteering or discounting SEM PPC costs and SEO services either on their own, or, directly to deserving relief organizations. These efforts will exponentially help generate greater relief funds through increased search engine visibility and visitor donations to these relief organizations to help them, help those in need.

SEMCares.com’s mission is twofold;

One, to act as a focal point in rallying the search engine marketing community to help non-profit organizations and those in need generate greater web site donations through volunteer or discount SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and SEM services.

Two, to act as a contact point for non-profit and relief organizations wishing to connect with volunteer SEM providers, and visa versa.

Most recently, as an example, SEMcares.com is issuing a search engine marketing community clarion call to find volunteer or discount SEM providers to provide services to joinred.com. (RED) was created by Bono (U2), and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world's most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT) RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT) RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children with HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Note: If you would like to volunteer or discount your SEM services to joinred.com, please contact SEMcares.com here: http://www.semcares.com/contact.php.

SEMCares.com believes that SEM can dramatically and exponentially increase relief site donations and hence help, food, and supplies to those in need.

One success example illustrates just how volunteered SEM services can EXPONENTIALLY increase relief organizations’ visitors with only a small investment of time or money.

This real world example of this was provided by a contributor to SEMCares.com: ?- The donor spent 2 hours setting up Google Adwords for "Tsunami" related keywords for a designated relief site?- The donor then spent $86.14 in Adwords ?- The Adwords campaign delivered 1,496 visitors + 114,446 ad impressions to the designated relief site that they would not have normally received.

Now, if just 1% or 15 of those 1,496 visitors donated just $10 dollars, then that relief organization received $150.00 they would have normally not received plus in excess of 100,000 ad or "brand" impressions.??

”Many other industries have focused their efforts to help with awareness and relief efforts to aid disaster victims, and I felt the search engine marketing industry could do the same,” said Gregory Markel, founder of SEMCares.com.

“I'm very happy to report that SEMcares.com seems to have had measurable impact on multiple disasters using SEM to increase relief donations.”

Added Markel: “Speaking personally, this experience coupled with knowing how powerful SEM can be, has inspired my company and I to offer 100% of our services directly to multiple non-profits at no charge. I ask my fellow SEM providers to consider volunteering even the smallest amount of your time either in a consulting or full blow services capacity, to helping a deserving relief organization increase it's donations through your SEM expertise.”??

See How We’re Doing

Through its “Contributors Hall,” SEMCares.com keeps track of both the volunteered man hours and dollar value of paid search donated by SEM provider contributors., so that the world can see how the search engine marketing industry cares….search for good.

To date, SEMCares.com has generated:?

325 Man Hours and $4,777 dollars in PPC/paid search benefiting deserving relief organization listed on the site including:?

Indonesia Earthquake Relief Organizations
• International Red Cross & Red Crescent
• Unicef.org
• American Red Cross
• Islamic Aid
• World Vision
• Direct Relief
• Save The Children
• Islamic Relief
• GeoHazards International

Katrina/Rita/Wilma Relief Organizations
• American Red Cross
• Baton Rouge Area Foundation
• Operation Blessing
• Second Harvest
• Network For Good
• Catholic Charities USA
• Episcopal Relief and Development
• United Way New Orleans
• Feed The Children
• Habitat For Humanity
• Hearts With Hands
• The Humane Society
• Mennonite Disaster Service
• Mercy Corps
• Operation Blessing
• Oxfam.org
• Salvation Army
• World Vision

Pakistan Earthquake Relief Organizations
• CareUSA.org
• Islamicaid.org.uk
• Directrelief.org
• Oxfam.org
• WorldVision.org
• UnicefUSA.org
• Muslimhands.org
• RedCross.org

SEMCares.com Continues to Grow??

To further aid worthy causes, SEMCares.com is currently creating a high tech and database driven functionality that will make it easier for SEM volunteers and deserving non-profits and relief organizations to find each other. Functionality launch is slated for June 20th, 2006, and will be accompanied by a press release.??

Note: SEMCares.com is looking for a volunteer webmaster to assist in this effort as well as site maintenance.

To learn more about the mission of SEMCares.com, please visit www.SEMCares.com.??

P125-pay hike out, 'win-win' formula in

2006-05-30T19:05:00.000-07:00

Lawmakers on Tuesday night said the House of Representatives might not be able to grant the proposed P125-salary increase to workers, ABS-CBN News learned.

Congressmen, however, promised to come up with a "win-win" formula for workers and employers.

Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Roseller Barinaga, chairman of the House Committee on Labor and Employment, told ABS-CBN News that congressmen are working on a wage increase package plan for workers.

"Congress might not be able to give the full amount as proposed but to compensate, workers will be given bigger tax benefits," Barinaga told ABS-CBN News.

Barinaga made the disclosure after the House passed on third reading Tuesday night the proposed tax exemption for minimum wage earners.

Lawmakers rushed the passage of the bill after President Arroyo called on Congress to pass laws that would help workers, especially the minimum wage earners, survive the series of oil price increases.

House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles also said the majority has organized meetings to push for the passage of the wage hike bill.

However, Nograles said they might only approve an increase of between P80 and P100.

Barinaga, meanwhile, said an P80-wage increase is more amenable for employers. He said the increase would be enough since workers will be given tax exemptions.

"Yung P80 hindi na mahirap na maibigay ng mga employers. Tapos dagdagan pa yan ng tax exemption that's more or less around P30 savings; in essence parang naabot na rin ang P125. (That P80 increase won't be a burden to employers. A tax exemption will also be given to workers [so] that's more or less around P30 savings. In essence, its like a P125 increase)," Barinaga said.

The House proposal came after the Employers Confederation of the Philppines (ECOP) warned lawmakers on Monday not to pass a legislated wage increase, which the group said would hurt industries.

"It will be harmful to the economy, especially if the industry to be burdened by a wage increase has the potential capacity of generating revenues for the government, creating jobs and providing income for the labor force," ECOP president Rene Soriano said.

Soriano also said foreign investors would likely shy away from the country if Congress passed the wage increase proposal.

Superman Returns 2006

2006-05-30T17:41:00.000-07:00

Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel, Superman, comes back to Earth--but things have changed. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life. Or has she? Superman's bittersweet return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.

Picking up the Pieces in Haditha

2006-05-29T23:27:00.000-07:00

* Residents of the neighborhood where 24 Iraqi civilians were allegedly massacred by Marines say the military investigation has been surprisingly thorough. But that doesn't mean they can ever forgive, or forget, what happened
* Magazine: The Shame of Haditha
* Flashback: TIME Uncovers Haditha

Amazing Race 9 :Finale

2006-05-29T16:54:00.001-07:00

BJ & Tyler Winner of Amazing Race 9The Amazing race 9’s final episode concluded and the first teams to arrive at the final pit stop are the Hippies BJ and Tyler, next are Eric and Jeremy, and the third are Ray and Yolanda.

When the Amazing Race started and I saw this two (The Hippies), I already sense that they’re going to make it at the final race because they’re just happy of what they are doing, and “funlovingcrazy and occasionally mean and competitive persons”. So many people don’t like them because of that attitude (Being mean sometimes) but I don’t think they are mean; they’re just happy and expressive to what they feel. Anyway, if people don’t buy their way of playing this game then leave them alone, what matter is that they won the 1 million dollar and their hard works paid them. They just can’t please everybody, but for me they are true people. I am not a fan of them and these are just an observations and opinions.

Congrats to BJ and Tyler!!! For me they deserve to win…