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noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:53:00 +0000

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Posted June 12, 2010

Sea of criticism for adrift young sailor's parents

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FIFA World Cup 2010 Games Live Streaming Here

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Posted June 9, 2010

Car reportedly owned by Kanye West stolen, wrecked

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Posted June 12, 2010

Researchers Develop Prototype for Ultra-HD Display

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Posted June 9, 2010

Microsoft Bing ends cashback feature

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Posted June 7, 2010
Radiation boosts prostate cancer survival: study

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Sports | Events Schedules

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:51:00 +0000

Sports | Events Schedules

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May 19, 2010

Megan Fox: I’m Obsessive-Compulsive

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May 19, 2010

Celtics top Magic, take 2-0 lead in East finals

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:42:00 +0000

May 19, 2010, 1:02pm

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) – The Boston Celtics might just roll back to the NBA finals if they keep this up.

Paul Pierce scored 28 points, Rajon Rondo had 25 and the Boston Celtics again avoided a late collapse to take a commanding lead in the Eastern Conference finals with a 95-92 victory over the Orlando Magic in Game 2 on Tuesday night.
- read full story -

Boston bullied and bruised its way to a 2-0 series lead on the road against a Magic team that had won 14 straight until this series. The Celtics held the Magic to 39 percent shooting.

After being hampered by injuries for much of the season, often showing their age, the Celtics are now just two wins away from their second finals appearance in three seasons.

"I think we are becoming the team that started the season," Rivers said. "The team that started the season was pretty good."

Dwight Howard had 30 points, and Vince Carter and J.J. Redick scored 16 apiece for the Magic, who overcame an 11-point deficit to take a brief lead in the fourth quarter. But they couldn't hold it.

Jameer Nelson's desperation 3-point attempt airballed at the buzzer.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Boston.

"Our fans won't let us relax," Pierce said. "We're going to try and close it out in four games."

The Celtics buckled down just enough to hold on late in this one.

Ahead 11 points to start the fourth quarter, that almost wasn't enough. The Magic, just as they did in Game 1, found their rhythm late.

They went on a 13-4 run to trim Boston's lead to 85-83 with about six minutes left. Carter's jumper with 4:05 remaining gave Orlando a 90-89 lead with 3:35 remaining, and then the Celtics summoned their championship form again.

Kevin Garnett and Rondo made consecutive jumpers, and after Nelson made a layup, Pierce answered with two free throws that put Boston ahead by three.

Carter missed two free throws with 31.9 seconds left that cost Orlando dearly. It must have felt all too familiar to Magic fans who watched Howard's damaging misses at the stripe in Game 4 of the NBA finals last year and Nick Anderson's four bricks in Game 1 of the 1995 finals.

Only another footnote for Boston's remarkable history.

Two years removed from their 17th NBA championship, the Celtics, once thought too old to contend for another title, have found their footing again. After ousting LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team with the league's best record, Boston is showing no signs of stopping.

"Just think our mindset was to be ready for the type of intensity they would bring after losing at home," Pierce said. "We know the Magic are a talented team and we won't take these two wins for granted."

Before the final heave, Redick also made a crucial mistake by dribbling to half court before calling timeout. That wasted crucial seconds and forced the Magic to take the ball out from beyond half court.

The result was a shot that didn't reach the rim.

"It would have made a big difference," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "We said in the thing to call a timeout. We didn't make the right play there at the end."

Boston again started fast.

The Celtics, who took a 20-point lead in Game 1, went ahead by 11 in the first quarter. It wasn't until backup center Marcin Gortat and Howard — a rare combination this season — teamed together that Orlando showed any fight.

With the Magic big-time feeling postseason pressure for the first time this year, Orlando went on a 16-2 run behind the two centers.

The powerful rebounding combo helped Orlando grab three straight on one possession, and Redick then hit a 3-pointer to put the Magic ahead 28-25.

All the pushing and pulling would finally spill over.

Pierce was knocked in the head hard by Howard on a layup attempt in the second quarter, a punishing display of anger that the Magic center rarely shows. Pierce got up after a minute, clearly upset, his headband twisted to the side. Howard was called for a flagrant foul.

The Celtics would go ahead by five after Howard picked up his third foul moments later. Before they could deliver another big blow,

Matt Barnes hit a 3-pointer as the shot-clock buzzer sounded in the final seconds for Orlando to trim Boston's lead to 53-51 at the half.

House hearing on alleged poll fraud today

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:47:00 +0000

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives is set to begin an inquiry today on allegations that the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines used in the May 10 elections were tampered with to favor some candidates.

Speaker Prospero Nograles, Makati Representative Teodoro Locsin Jr., chairman of the committee on electoral reforms and suffrage, and several congressmen will meet with officials of the Commission on Elections and its automation partner, Smartmatic Inc., at 1 p.m. to seek their explanation on mounting allegations of fraud in the last election.
- read full story -

“Smartmatic people have guaranteed the public that they (PCOS) are hack-free. . . . Suppose there are now evidence gathered that they were in fact not tamper-proof, what is the remedy?” Nograles said.

Nograles earlier proposed to put on hold the full payment to Smartmatic until all allegations about the credibility of the PCOS machines have been dispelled.

“I will not agree to giving Smartmatic full payment because the guarantees were not fulfilled based on the initial report that we have,” he said.

Citing an HBO documentary film, Hacking Democracy, the House leader said it was possible to manipulate the PCOS machines. The documentary was filmed over three years documenting the investigation of irregularities with e-voting systems that occurred during the US 2002 and 2004 elections, especially in Florida.

On Tuesday, reports came out about a masked man claiming that electronic vote-shaving took place in the last presidential election.

Posted 08:03:00 05/19/2010
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net

Sports Headline

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Tue, 18 May 2010 07:53:00 +0000

Sports Headlines

Lakers outscored Suns to win semi final game 1

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Tue, 18 May 2010 05:00:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Kobe Bryant, showing no rust after a week without practice, scored 40 points and the Los Angeles Lakers ripped Phoenix 128-107 in the opener of the NBA Western Conference playoff finals.

Bryant scored 21 points in the third quarter, his highest-scoring period in any game this season, despite not having worked out in the past week with the reigning NBA champion Lakers due to nagging knee injuries.
- read full story -

"I just wanted to come out and be aggressive, make their defense have to make an adjustment," Bryant said.

Bryant's 11th career 40-point playoff effort, and career-high sixth playoff game in a row with at least 30 points, came after he conducted only shooting drills during an idle week following a second-round playoff sweep of Utah.

"I feel a lot better. (Resting helped) tremendously. I was able to get stronger," Bryant said.

The Lakers, who host game two in the best-of-seven series on Wednesday, hope to advance to a third consecutive NBA Finals, where they would face the winner of the Eastern Conference championship series between Orlando and Boston.

"It's not like we're going to hang our heads and not try to win game two," said Suns guard Steve Nash. "We just didn't plkay well. Kobe was outstanding. We just have to try to play better. I expect better things in game two."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson had been concerned that Bryant's absence from workouts might make it tougher for him to blend with the team or shoot well, but such fears were unfounded.

"It felt like he got exactly what he had to have, the amount of rest and shooting practice he had to have," Jackson said.

"He was able to get involved. We were concerned his shooting might not be as keen or his reaction might be off, but it wasn't."

Spanish star Pau Gasol added 21 points for the Lakers while teammate Lamar Odom came off the bench to score 19 points and grab 19 rebounds, a reserve role Bryant said is critcal to the Lakers' success.

"We become a much tougher matchup," Bryant said. "He is such a great player. He sacrifices a lot coming off the bench for our team. When he does that, it means a lot."

Los Angeles ended the first quarter with an 18-4 run to grab a 33-26 lead, the Suns missing nine of their last 11 shots in a period that ended with a baseline basket by Bryant at the buzzer.

The Lakers pushed the lead to 62-55 at half-time, with Odom having 15 points and eight rebounds in the first two quarters.

"I just wanted to stay focused and I was able to do that," Odom said.

Jackson credited Odom's play with lifting the Lakers at the beginning of the game.

"It jump-started us in the first quarter, got us off to a good start, and his rebounding in the second half was important for us," Jackson said.

Bryant, who hit 13-of-23 from the field in the game, took command in the third quarter as the Lakers stretched the lead to as many as 19 points before settling for a 93-79 edge entering the fourth quarter.

A 12-2 Lakers run boosted the Los Angeles lead to 115-89 and from there it was simply a matter of running out the final six minutes to claim victory.

Suns coach Alvin Gentry was confident his club could make some adjustments to make scoring more difficult for the Lakers.

"They got into the teeth of our defense much too often and much too easy," Gentry said. "It was them breaking down our perimeter defense and driving into the paint. That's a standpoint I think we can get better in."

Amare Stoudemire, who led the Suns with 23 points, could only shake his head and look to game two.

"We didn't play well. We didn't quite use the strategy we talked about before the game," Stoudemire said. "Kobe is going to get his numbers. We have to contain the other guys. We have to do a better job Wednesday."

Odom is the major "other guy" on Phoenix's mind.

"He did a great job in the first half," Stoudemire said. "We have to do a better job of keeping those guys off the boards."

Watch NBA Western Finals: Suns vs Lakers Game 1 Live Streaming

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Mon, 17 May 2010 23:43:00 +0000

Watch the NBA western conference finals between the Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers game 1 of their best of 7 finals live streaming here.

Link 1 | Link 2 | Link 3

35 die as Maoists blow up bus in India

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Mon, 17 May 2010 18:41:00 +0000

RAIPUR—At least 35 people were killed after Maoist rebels blew up a bus carrying police and civilians in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh on Monday, an official said.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh told reporters in the state capital Raipur that the dead included 11 police personnel.

"Twenty-four civilians and 11 policemen have died and 15 persons including 14 police personnel were injured in the blast," the chief minister said.

He said an unspecified number of bodies were still trapped in the mangled bus following the blast in Dantewada district -- a Maoist stronghold where rebels ambushed and killed 75 policemen last month in the bloodiest massacre of security forces by the extremists.

Television footage showed bodies laid out on the road next to the wreckage of the bus. The front portion of the vehicle had been almost completely destroyed by the force of the blast.

"The killing and targeting of innocent civilians travelling on a bus is to be strongly condemned by all right-thinking people," Indian Home Secretary G.K. Pillai told reporters in New Delhi.

The security men among the dead and injured were special police officers, who were recruited from the civilian population to help security forces in anti-Maoist operations, said S.R. Kalluri, deputy inspector general of police.

The left-wing guerrillas have stepped up attacks in response to a government offensive against them that began late last year in the forests of the so-called "Red Corridor" that stretches across north and eastern India.

The insurgency began in the state of West Bengal in 1967 in the name of defending the rights of tribal groups, but attacks have since spread to 20 of India's 28 states.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has labeled the insurgency the biggest internal security threat to India.

Tribal groups and many rural areas have been left behind by the country's economic development, and the poverty and discontent with local government corruption is seen as a major source of Maoist support.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram has previously said the government needs to tackle the root causes of the insurgency and he has offered talks with the rebels -- on condition they renounce violence beforehand.

Senior Maoist figures have said they will talk only if the government puts an end to the national offensive, codenamed Operation Green Hunt, that involves 56,000 paramilitary forces in six states in addition to local police.

So far, New Delhi has resisted using the military against the insurgents, though the recent deaths have prompted calls for a larger assault.

On Sunday the rebels killed eight villagers in an apparent revenge attack on suspected police informers in Chhattisgarh.

More than 50 Maoists surrounded two villages and killed the victims after abducting them.

Posted 07:56:00 05/18/2010
By Prakash Hota
Agence France-Presse

Google Wi-Fi Data Collection Angers European Officials

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Mon, 17 May 2010 15:06:00 +0000

Artwork: Chip TaylorEuropean officials are still miffed over Google's "accidental" Wi-Fi data collection and seek an in-depth investigation that may lead to harsh penalties for the search engine giant.

It was revealed that Google's Street View cars were collecting more than images and coordinates for its sophisticated GPS site. As much as 600GB of data from Wi-Fi networks -- in more than 30 countries -- has been snagged in Google's fishnet.

On Friday, Google apologized for the snafu in a blog post. Google at first thought it wasn't nabbing "payload data" (personal information sent over a network), but a closer look -- requested by Germany's Data Protection Authority -- revealed they were, in fact, collecting samples off non-password-protected Wi-Fi networks. This may have included lists of sites, passwords and other sensitive information. To band-aid the wounds, Google promised to stop its Street View cars from collecting Wi-Fi network data entirely.

But this was not enough. Criticism ensued, with the most ruthless coming from German officials. "Based on the information we have before us, it appears that Google has illegally tapped into private networks in violation of German law. This is alarming and further evidence that privacy law is a foreign concept to Google," Ilse Aigner, the German minister for food, agriculture and consumer protection, told the New York Times. Another official stated that the scandal would be investigated by a panel of European national data protection chiefs that advises the European Commission.

This isn't the first time Germany has railed against Google Street View. Last year, German officials demanded that Google delete tons of retained snapshots, citing that people's privacy was being violated under German law. German Street View was never unveiled, but Google is optimistic that it'll be released this year -- but after this? Seems doubtful.

May 17, 2010 10:08 pm
Brennon Slattery,
PC World

Aquino, Binay still top PPCRV vote

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:54:00 +0000

MANILA, Philippines—As of 8:43 a.m. Monday, or a full week after the May 10 general elections, Senator Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay maintained their lead in the presidential and vice presidential race in the partial and unofficial tally of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV).

PRESIDENT:
Aquino, Benigno III, 13,840,237
Estrada Ejercito Joseph, 8,758,415
Villar, Manuel, 5,012,425
Teodoro, Gilberto Jr. 3,674,263
Villanueva, Eduardo, 1,026,142
Gordon, Richard, 467,606
Acosta, Vetellano, 163,732
Perlas, Jesus Nicanor, 48,939
Madrigal, Jamby, 42,188
De Los Reyes, John Carlos, 40,063

VICE PRESIDENT:
Binay, Jejomar, 13,490,004
Roxas, Manuel, 12,679,356
Legarda, Loren, 3,807,865
Fernando, Bayani, 937,406
Manzano, Eduardo, 706,841
Yasay, Perfecto, 330,754
Sonza, Jose, 57,695
Chipeco, Dominador, 47,373

SENATORS:
Bong Revilla, Ramon, Jr., 17,832,835
Estrada, Jinggoy, 17,425,103
Defensor Santiago, Miriam, 15,934,017
Drilon, Franklin, 14,598,639
Enrile, Juan Ponce, 14,411,072
Cayetano, Pilar Juliana, 12,615,704
Marcos, Ferdinand Jr., 12,162,061
Recto, Ralph, 11,400,671
Sotto, Vicente III, 10,957,739
Osmena, Sergio, 10,699,314
Lapid, Manuel, 10,070,090
Guingona, Teofisto III, 9,475,014
Hontiveros-Baraquel, Ana Theresia, 8,417,654
Biazon, Rozzano Rufino, 7,955,063
De Venecia Jose III, 7,713,762
Remulla, Gilbert, 6,899,316
Lim, Danilo, 6,750,395
Roco, Sonia, 6,235,307
Querubin, Ariel, 6,039,468
Pimentel, Gwendolyn, 5,851,650
Acosta, Jr. Nereus, 5,455,649
Ocampo, Saturnino, 3,271,332
Tatad, Francisco, 3,068,818

Posted 11:25:00 05/17/2010
By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net
First

Celtics hold on to take 1-0 series lead over Magic

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Mon, 17 May 2010 03:21:00 +0000

ORLANDO—Ray Allen scored 25 points, Paul Pierce finished with 22 as the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Orlando Magic 92-88 in game one of their NBA semi-final series on Sunday.
- read full story -

Rasheed Wallace scored 13 points as Boston built a 20-point lead, then blunted a late Orlando rally to snap the Magic's 14-game winning streak.

Vince Carter finished with 23 points and Jameer Nelson scored 20 for Orlando, which slashed the Celtics lead to just two in the final seconds.

But the Magic, who had a six-day break between series, eventually ran out of time.

Giant center Dwight Howard was held to 13 points and 12 rebounds.

The next game in the best-of-seven series is Tuesday back in Orlando.

First Posted 08:17:00 05/17/2010
Agence France-Presse

Watch NBA Eastern Finals: Celtics vs Magic Game 1 Live Streaming

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 23:00:00 +0000

Watch NBA Eastern Conference Finals: Celtics vs Magic Game 1 Live Streaming

Link 1 | Link 2

RP has good chance of credit rating upgrade

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:45:00 +0000

MANILA, Philippines - The unexpected smooth results of the country’s first automated elections held last week may increase the country’s chances of getting a credit rating upgrade, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said.

However, he stressed that credit rating agencies would be looking at how the new administration would address the country’s fiscal sustainability.

“They are expected to be meeting with the new economic team,” said Teves.

Teves said improving the country’s fiscal position by raising new revenues would “increase the opportunity for an improved rating.”

At the same time, he stressed that any adjustment on the country’s ratings depends solely on the debt watchers themselves.

Moody’s Investors Service has said that the unambiguous victory of Aquino sets a favorable tone for the country’s credit fundamentals.

“A clear-cut triumph would remove the undercurrents of political illegitimacy that had accompanied the incumbent administration of Gloria Arroyo and had hamstrung its policy agenda…Indeed, the success of the first fully automated polls in Asia on Monday is at this time of greater relevance than the result itself, implying a strong mandate to govern for the victor,” Christian de Guzman, Moody’s assistant vice president and analyst said.

Moody’s stressed that the government still has a relatively large amount of debt and that challenges on the fiscal front remain.

“Looking ahead, our concerns continue to center on whether the new administration can arrest the trend slippage evident in revenue performance, and which has been exacerbated by the downturn in macroeconomic conditions during the global crisis, the stalled state of reform, and the passage of revenue-eroding measures,” De Guzman said.

The last rating action on the Philippines by Moody’s was taken on July 23, 2009, when Moody’s raised the country’s ratings to Ba3 from B1 with a stable outlook.

“Last year’s upgrade of the sovereign rating was prompted by the country’s strong external payments position and stability in the banking sector. These factors are expected to continue to provide support to the Philippines’ rating this year and next year,” Moody’s said.

Last March 29, the debt watcher said that prospects for the economy remain “good” but that there were a number of crucial challenges such as a “dearth of investment spending relative to its rating and regional peers.”

Updated May 17, 2010 12:00 AM
By Iris C. Gonzales
(The Philippine Star)

Formula One: Webber wins Monaco Grand Prix

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:33:00 +0000

MONTE CARLO—Mark Webber leapt into serious contention for this year's drivers' world championship on Sunday when he drove to an imperious victory ahead of his precocious young team-mate Sebastian Vettel in the Monaco Grand Prix.

The 33-year-old Australian led from start to finish and made light of four interruptions for the introduction of the Safety Car on his way to a second comprehensive win in succession, having won equally impressively in Spain last weekend.

It was the fourth win of his career, his second this year and he became the first Australian victor on the famous Mediterranean street circuit, bathed in more glamour than sunshine this time, since Jack Brabham won in 1959, on his way to the world title.

It was also the Red Bull team's third one-two triumph in succession and their fourth in six races this year, sufficient evidence to confirm with reasonable certainty that they have overcome their reliability problems - at least on slower circuits.

An ecstatic Webber praised his team after taking the checkered flag. Over the team radio, he said: "Unbelievable. Thank you. You deserve every bit of this. The car is fantastic."

Vettel, the 22-year-old wunderkind whose sheer talent had seemed to rattle Webber earlier and last year, was unable to mount a challenge to his partner's supremacy this time and came home a comfortable second, ahead of Pole Robert Kubica in a Renault. All the top three drivers were powered by Renault engines.

Webber's win lifted him to the top of the drivers’ standings on 78 points, level with Vettel as the season continued to unfold as a Red Bull in-house contest.

World champion Jenson Button lost any chance of retaining his lead in this year's championship when he was forced out of the Monaco Grand Prix on the third lap.

The 30-year-old Briton - who led Spaniard Fernando Alonso by three points going into the race - came to a halt with what looked like engine trouble as smoke billowed out of his McLaren.

Brazilian Felipe Massa came home fourth for Ferrari ahead of the 2008 champion Briton Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren with seven-times champion German Michael Schumacher, 41, taking sixth for Mercedes after a controversial move behind the Safety Car to pass Fernando Alonso on the final lap.

Two-times champion Spaniard Alonso appeared to slide wide and Schumacher took his opportunity to push him down to seventh, after starting from the pit lane, in the second Ferrari.

Schumacher's Mercedes team-mate and compatriot Nico Rosberg was eighth ahead of another German, Adrian Sutil of Force India. Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi was 10th in the second Force India.

Posted 01:31:00 05/17/2010
By Tim Collings
Agence France-Presse

Corona sworn in today - SC

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:15:00 +0000

Updated May 17, 2010 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo is set to swear into office today Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Renato Corona as the new chief justice despite continued opposition to his appointment by presidential frontrunner Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, officials said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Ricardo Saludo reiterated yesterday Malacañang’s call for Aquino to respect the SC decision allowing Mrs. Arroyo to appoint a new chief justice while the constitutional ban on midnight appointments is in effect.

Saludo said Aquino should take his cue from the appeal of Corona’s predecessor, Chief Justice Reynato Puno, who warned the nation could be divided if the incoming president insists on not recognizing the appointment.

Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raoul Victorino said Corona would be sworn in today as Puno had vacated his office last Friday and left for the United States to receive an award from his alma mater, the University of California in Berkeley.

Corona would be sworn in today “because Chief Justice Puno already had his retirement ceremony last Friday,” Victorino told The STAR in a telephone interview, adding that such ceremonies are normally held on the eve of retirement.

Victorino had said last week that the oath taking could be held at midnight tonight to ensure “continuity” in the SC.

“Nobody can question that (appointment), not even the president-elect (Aquino),” Victorino earlier told reporters.

Aquino earlier said he might ask a barangay chairman instead of the chief justice to swear him into office at noon on June 30.

Puno had expressed concern that Aquino’s refusal to honor the appointment of Corona would lead to a constitutional crisis.

Former President Fidel Ramos and other critics, on the other hand, urged Corona to reject the appointment to avoid any such crisis. Critics have said the SC ruling effectively rewrote the Constitution and overturned the high court’s own jurisprudence.

Puno told reporters last Friday that Aquino should respect the rule of law if he becomes the country’s 15th president.

He added that the SC has already come up with its ruling, which declared that the constitutional ban on midnight appointments does not cover vacancies in the SC, thus upholding the authority of Mrs. Arroyo to appoint his successor.

It would be up to the President to exercise such power, he said.

“The rule of law is the glue that unites our society, without the rule of law our society will disintegrate. All of us should observe this rule of law, there’s nobody who can excuse himself and say that he is not covered by the rule of law. The higher you are in the government the more you should respect the rule of law,” Puno said.

Puno believes that the executive, legislative and the judiciary, representing the three branches of government, should be united in promoting the good of the people.

Aside from Aquino, several groups and individuals expressed their opposition to Corona’s appointment.

Puno also asked Corona to keep the SC credibility intact and to show that the 15-member High Court would remain independent and not allow itself to succumb to pressure.

“The biggest challenge I would like to think for the Court is to immediately prove to the people that it is indeed an independent Court,” Puno said.

“My advice is simple, he (Corona) has to keep the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court, completely independent, with integrity intact because as we all know the only enduring capital of the High Court is its credibility,” he added.

Those against Corona’s appointment believed that there was a violation of the constitutional ban on midnight appointments.

Corona is also known to be close to Mrs. Arroyo, thus putting his independence in question.

Corona served under the Arroyo administration as presidential chief of staff and spokesman before he was appointed as SC associate justice.

He also served as Mrs. Arroyo’s chief of staff and spokesman when she was still the vice president.

Puno will officially leave the SC tomorrow after Corona takes his oath as the 23rd chief justice.

By Paolo Romero
(The Philippine Star)

Pacquiao set for other ring

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:33:00 +0000

GENERAL SANTOS CITY: World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao believes that he can continue his phenomenal career in the ring while also fulfilling his dream of helping his poor countrymen as a politician.

Still on a high after winning a congressional seat representing the impoverished southern Philippine province of Sarangani, Pacquiao, 31, said that he would continue fighting—both as an athlete and legislator for the people.

“There are many problems in my province, many people who need help and one by one, we will decide what to do to help them,” noted during a grand celebration in his native General Santos on Saturday night.

“I am happy that I won and that people voted for me but it is also a great responsibility and so I must help my countrymen,” said Pacquiao, who grew up dirt poor in the South until boxing brought him world fame.

“My agenda is livelihood programs, education, healthcare and medical assistance. I am thinking of all kinds of bills to pass in Congress.” The party, held at a convention center attended by more than 1,000 people, marked the 61st birthday of his mother, Dionisia, and his landslide victory in last week’s national elections.

Pacquiao said that he was confident of balancing the demands of being a champion boxer and a legislator.”It just needs discipline. You just need time management.”

He added that he would continue making commercial endorsements, a practice that helped make him the world’s sixth highest paid athlete last year with earnings of $40 million, according to Forbes magazine.

Focus on service
But when asked what his priority would be among his many occupations, Pacquiao said, “For now, I will focus on service.”

He has long dreamed of a political career, saying that he is driven by a fierce desire to help the poor and that public office would be his way of paying society back for the support Filipinos have given him.

Pacquiao is regarded as a national treasure in the Philippines, where even Muslim extremists and soldiers silence their guns during his fights.

Immediately after his victory in the elections was confirmed last week, he said that he would give in to his mother’s wishes and fight just one more time—in a long-awaited bout with 33-year-old American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But Pacquiao hinted on Saturday that he may still have some more fights left in him after a potential Mayweather bout.

“My mother gave me one more fight. I respect my mama but it is up to me whether to continue boxing,” he said as Dionisia Pacquiao was serenaded on a stage at the party.

“I still respect her as a parent. This issue can be settled through polite negotiations,” Pacquiao added.

“We can’t really say [my next fight] would be the last. Maybe I might still be able to fight. It depends. I have not reached a decision. I could retire after one more fight.”

His mother has been imploring Pacquiao to stop fighting for years but many fans are still hoping to see him face off against Mayweather to settle once and for all who is the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter of their generation.

When questioned if his deal to fight Mayweather had been finalized, Pacquiao only said “not yet.”
“It is Bob Arum who is negotiating,” he said, referring to the American boxing promoter.

Arum visited Pacquiao during the elections and later said that he was trying to have the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight scheduled in November. This match is expected to have one of the biggest purses in history.

Negotiations for a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight fell through earlier this year when the American insisted on Olympic-style random drug testing, which the Filipino rejected as too intrusive before a bout.

In his speeches at the party, Pacquiao thanked his supporters for giving him a victory in the elections. He also gave his mother a diamond bracelet, which his family said was worth more than a million pesos ($22,470).
AFP

Facebook Privacy: Secrets Unveiled

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 05:02:00 +0000

Let me fill you in on a little secret: I don't know any of these people. Thanks to Facebook, though, I know plenty of personal things about them. And I'm willing to wager that they might not realize anyone else -- their parents, their teachers, their bosses -- could just as easily know this stuff, too.

Welcome to the weird new world of Facebook's privacy jungle.

Facebook's Privacy Problem
Much has been made over Facebook and privacy over the years, but the social network's most recent privacy changes seem to be generating a particularly loud uproar. It's no surprise, really: Facebook's recent adjustments make it incredible difficult to control your information in any reasonable way.

To wit: Achieving maximum privacy on Facebook now requires you to click through 50 settings and more than 170 options. And even that won't completely safeguard your info.

To fully understand Facebook's updated stance on privacy and your personal data, you'd have to wade through the company's 5,830-word privacy policy. That, as the astute crew from The New York Times noticed, is 1,287 words longer than the United States Constitution.

Those figures are attention-grabbing enough. But seeing what Facebook's privacy changes actually mean in practice is even more eye-opening.

Facebook Privacy: What the World Now Knows
Thanks to a couple of handy new tools, you can now check out exactly what Facebook is telling the world about you -- and about everyone else. First up is Openbook, a project created by three computer geeks from San Francisco.

Openbook lets you search through Facebook's publicly available user data to find out what everyone is saying. You enter a search term -- Openbook suggests loaded phrases like "cheated test," "don't tell anyone," and "lost virginity," but you can enter anything you want -- and the site displays pages of relevant Facebook status updates from recent hours.

Now, some of the things you'll find are perfectly innocuous. And others are clearly written by people who, for better or for worse, don't mind sharing their most intimate moments with the world. (We all know a few of those sorts, right?)

Others, though, make you wonder. Does Rachel from San Jose really want everyone knowing what happened at the gynecologist's office on Thursday? Does Martin of New Jersey want his teachers to learn he cheated on his language test on Friday? And does Michael of Pensacola want his boss to hear he called in sick the other day in order to take an impromptu vacation?

Probably not; after all, most people don't think of Facebook in the same way they think of a more public social network such as Twitter. But all of that info's now out there, along with far worse things that I couldn't possibly print in this story.

Facebook Privacy: A Wake-Up Call
A service like Openbook is amusing, sure, but it's also a real wake-up call. If your info is public and you're fine with it, more power to you. But if you aren't fully aware of what you're now sharing on Facebook, you'd better launch your own personal privacy setting investigation before someone finds something you'll later regret.

Here's the tough truth: Even if you have certain pieces of information set to be private, it isn't hard for an outsider to connect the dots and fill in the blanks. Take our pal Brandon, for example -- remember him? He's the lucky fella who lost his virginity this weekend.

I clicked over to Brandon's Facebook profile after seeing his status update on Openbook. Because of Facebook's privacy setup -- which now forces you to have things like your interests and "likes" linked to publicly accessible groups or community pages -- it took only a few seconds for me to ascertain exactly where Brandon goes to high school and what year he'll graduate.

Martin, our test-cheating youngster from earlier, left some of those details out of his profile. But Facebook still lets anyone see his friends, his siblings, and all of the things he and his social circle "like" -- and it doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to create a fairly detailed docket from those combined tidbits of info. It's enough to give anyone a mild shudder.

Protecting Your Facebook Privacy
So what to do? You can always say so long to Facebook, of course. Or you can choose to stay with the site and simply be vigilant about protecting your privacy. It isn't easy, but it can be done.

You can see what Facebook shares with the world about you by using this free tool at zesty.ca; just input your Facebook user ID or account number (found by looking at the URL for your Facebook profile page), then click through the fields to see what's actually public. The tool won't take into account info that could be shared by applications or Facebook's "instant personalization" feature, but it's a start.

After that, get ready to dig. This daunting chart breaks down all of the categories of settings you'll need to review (hint: be sure to clear out a couple hours of your afternoon). This story provides a slightly less overwhelming summary of the main settings you should revisit. And this one goes through some additional steps you'll want to take to address the aforementioned new "instant personalization" options.

Do all of that, and you oughta be covered -- at least, that is, until Facebook unveils its next "user-friendly" privacy feature.*
* Just kidding about that last part.**
** Maybe.

May 17, 2010 6:11 am
JR Raphael, PC World

Khan overpowers Malignaggi in US Boxing debut

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 04:59:00 +0000

NEW YORK – Former British Olympian Amir Khan fashioned a stunning American debut, easily stopping Paulie Malignaggi in the 11th round of a one-sided fight on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Khan retained his World Boxing Association super lightweight title with a technical knockout of Brooklyn native Malignaggi.

Khan (23-1, 17 KOs) was clearly the better fighter, landing jabs and head shots. Referee Steve Smoger finally stopped the bout at 1:25 of the 11th round after the 29-year-old Malignaggi failed to put up a defense.
- read full story -

Malignaggi's face was swollen and he had to plead with the ringside doctor before the 11th round just to let him continue.

Malignaggi (27-4) didn't argue with the decision, tapping his chest and congratulating Khan on the win.

Up next in the 140 pound class for Khan could be fighters such as Marcos Maidana and fellow titleholders Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander.

This was the second title defense for Khan, who landed 132 more punches than the American.

Khan won the title over Andriy Kotelnik on July 18 last year and then defended the belt with a first-round TKO of Dmitriy Salita. He remains unbeaten (14-0) above 135 pounds.

This was the sixth title fight for Malignaggi, who held the International Boxing Federation title at 140 pounds in 2008.

Khan signed up with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year in a bid to improve his standing among US fight fans.

He won a silver medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics at age 17.

First Posted 12:24:00 05/16/2010
Agence France-Presse

Thai troops seal off part of Bangkok tourist zone

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 04:46:00 +0000

BANGKOK, Thailand—Thai soldiers on Monday sealed off part of the Bangkok tourist district of Sukhumvit Road, but there was no sign of clashes in the area as troops battled anti-government protesters elsewhere in the capital.

Razor wire and trucks blocked the road near the Nana nightlife zone popular with foreign travelers. About 100 soldiers carrying riot shields stood in formation, blocking the road in one direction.

Authorities late last week launched an operation to squeeze thousands of Red Shirt anti-government protesters encamped for weeks in an upscale retail and hotel district.

Troops were deployed to seal access to several kilometers of roads around the camp. Authorities also said they had cut utilities to the area.

Three days of clashes on the fringes of the encampment have killed 34 civilians and one soldier, and wounded 244, according to official figures.

Posted 12:17:00 05/17/2010
Agence France-Presse

TV Series: Heroes Cancelled

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 04:35:00 +0000

NBC cancelled the one time ratings hit Heroes after four seasons. The cited reasons for the cancellation are the high cost and the low ratings.

The show had a large set of followers during the first season averaging 14 million viewers in the United States.

A new superhero drama, The Cape, is reported to be the replacement for the series.

At the end of season four, cheerleader Claire Bennet revealed to the world the existence of ordinary people with superhuman abilities. It is possible that the network will end the story with either a mini-series or a movie.

The network will be filling in new drama shows to its primetime line-up especially since the ruckus it found itself in after the failed primetime experiment of The Jay Leno Show.

These new shows include The Event, a show that is similar to the series 24, Undercovers by JJ Abrams, Outsourced, Love Bites, Outlaw and Chase by Jerry Bruckheimer.

Posted by Nel
Dailycontributor.com

Ex-Black Sabbath Singer, Dies

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 04:18:00 +0000

Ronnie James Dio, the rock & roll and heavy metal genre icon in the late 70s to the 80s, has succumbed to stomach cancer at age 67. Dio, who became a heavy metal icon when he replaced Ozzy Osbourne as vocalist of Black Sabbath in 1979, was diagnosed with cancer five months ago.

My husband died peacefully. “Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away.” Wendy said she will reveal more information about Dio’s death in the next few days. “Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss,” she said.

Ronnie James Dio started his music career in 1957, but he achieved a semblance of success only in 1969, when he formed Elf, which became a regular opening act for Deep Purple. Dio’s powerful vocals caught the ears of Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who recruited the vocalist to form Rainbow.

Ronnie James Dio left Rainbow in 1979 and replaced Osbourne as front man of Black Sabbath, with whom he recorded three albums before leaving to form his own band Dio.

Brawl erupts in Khan-Malignaggi weigh-in - Watch Video Inside

noreply@blogger.com (headlines) — Sun, 16 May 2010 03:18:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A shoving match broke out on Friday at the weigh-in for this weekend's title fight between WBA super lightweight champion Amir Khan of Britain and challenger Paulie Malignaggi of New York.

The boxers nearly came to blows when tension between the fighters and their entourages sparked an hysterical outbreak of pushing and shoving that security officers had to break up.

Neither fighter was hurt, but Malignaggi's manager blamed the incident on the large Khan contingent in attendance and said the challenger would gain his revenge in the ring.

"There was some trash talking going on and they were in each other's face, and up to there I have no problem with it," Malignaggi manager Anthony Catanzaro, told Reuters.
- read full story - | - watch video -

"Then what happened was the Golden Boy (Promotions) matchmaker tried to get in between and push Khan away and divide the two fighters, and Khan pushed away."

The incident occurred during the traditional nose-to-nose glare between the boxers that was staged for photographers ahead of the scheduled 12-round bout at New York's Madison Square Garden Saturday.

With partisans from both camps chanting from opposing ends, the fighters pushed their heads hard against each other before Khan's handler grabbed him by the head to wrench him away.

Khan appeared to push away Malignaggi, who reacted angrily before the boxers were hauled away while the crowded room at the midtown New York hotel erupted in a chaotic scene.

"The tensions were flying high and all the trash talking over the past two months came head to head and toe to toe," said

Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Khan. "The result was some pushing and shoving but in the end no one got hurt or injured."

Khan (22-1) tipped the scale at 139.5 pounds (63.3 kg), while former champion Malignaggi (27-3) came in at 139 pounds.

"We were told that the weigh-in was not open to the public, but obviously we were misinformed because there was a whole group of people there for Amir being loud and boisterous," said Catanzaro.

"Those are the people who bum-rushed the stage and pushed us all the way over to the other side," added Catanzaro, who credited Khan's father and uncle with acting as peacemakers.

May 15, 2010, 7:30pm
Reuters