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So you're training for a Marathon and find the runs getting longer and longer. You might be experiencing a greater fatigue both during and after the runs.
> learn at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Marathon-Training-and-Nutrition--How-to-Recover-Faster-with-AntiOxidants/138844

Watching Greg Norman today was truly like stepping back in time - His trademark hat and flowing blond hair blowing in the wind. > more at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Just-Like-Cream-They-are-Rising-to-the-Top/139019

To use a flight tracker you will enter information such as the name of the airlines, a date and a flight number. When a plane is in the air the tracker will allow you to monitor its geographic position in real time as it makes its way to its destination. > learn at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Flight-Tracker--A-Great-Travel-Tool/139050

If you're an experienced canoeist and looking for a Used Canoe then odds are you already know exactly what you're looking for.
> more at: http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Used-Canoes/140102

Collectors want premium dolls.These are all original,in excellent condition and in the original box or package.
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The popularity of soccer as a competitive sport prompts business-minded people to create different sports merchandise like the soccer shirts.
> more at: http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/The-Popularity-of-Soccer-Shirt/138773

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As it is mainly bought by the elite classes, the price of this car is quite high as compared to other traditional cars.
> learn more at > http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Tips-For-Buying-An-Antique-Car/139196

Where have all the ducks in Bohol gone?

Let's take a look at some high profile athlete financial sob stories over the years...
find out more at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Why-Athletes-Go-Broke/139431

This game is considered to represent a true sportsman who loves to stay outdoors and respects others welfare and also considers all living things and growing things.
find out more: http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Fishing-sport--the-nature-s-playground/140130

There are a number of different add-ons you can have to the ordinary Disney ticket that will make picking your ticket more complicated than it really could be.
http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Disney-World-Tickets/140449

By Olivia Lang  BBC News 

They have been denounced as "a criminal act" and hailed as the future of investigative journalism in equal measure.

But the question is: how did the Wikileaks disclosure of US military documents come about?

More than 90,000 documents, dated between 2004 and 2009, on the war in Afghanistan, have been released, but the whistle-blowing website will not disclose the identity of any of its sources.
Related stories

In the aftermath of one of the biggest leaks in US military history, the US government will surely not be the only one wondering how this happened.

BBC News
The benefits of 24-hour drinking have failed to materialise and there needs to be tougher action to tackle alcohol-related problems, the Home Office says.

UK Home Secretary Theresa May has unveiled plans to overhaul licensing laws and tackle violent disorder ahead of a key speech on anti-social behaviour later.

Measures include making it easier for communities to influence licensing decisions in England and Wales.

Retailers selling alcohol to children would also receive tougher penalties.

Other plans being considered are allowing local authorities to impose a late-night levy on bars and clubs to pay the costs of policing, taxi marshalling and street cleaning, and a ban on the sale of alcohol below cost price.

By Jane Hughes  Health correspondent, BBC News 

Obesity levels among pregnant women have reached epidemic levels, putting the health of their babies at risk, experts say.

The health watchdog NICE has issued new guidelines encouraging women in England to attain a healthy weight before they get pregnant.

It also advises them against eating for two once they conceive.

It says almost half of women of childbearing age are overweight or obese, which could harm their child.

Many women feel they are offered confusing and conflicting advice about their health during pregnancy.

The guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence are aimed at cutting through that. They discuss weight and exercise before, during and after pregnancy.

Bitdefender has just announced of its new antivirus for Mac.

By Health Day News

New research indicates that major American fast food chains have substantially cut down on the use of unhealthful trans fats in their cooking oils.

The finding comes from the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, and is being reported this week at the National Nutrient Database conference being held in Grand Forks, N. D.

"While it took time for major fast food chains to decrease trans fats in their foods, I'm pleased to see that they have done it," Lisa Harnack, director of the university's Nutrition Coordinating Center, said in a news release.

"I'm also pleased to see that they haven't raised levels of saturated fats to replace trans fats," she added. "This is good news, as the average American gets about 10 percent of calories from fast food. But moderation is still key when considering fast food. Calories and sodium are high and portion sizes are often too large."

The finding follows increasing pressure by global health authorities to reduce consumption of trans fats to trace amounts, along with a Congressional law passed in 2006 that mandates disclosure of trans fat content on American food labels.

Trans fats can upset the healthy balance of human cholesterol levels, boosting artery-clogging "bad" LDL cholesterol and reducing the levels of "good" HDL cholesterol. In fact, in terms of consumption, there is no safe level of trans fats, according to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

Relying on the school's proprietary database on the nutritional value of more than 18,000 foods, Harnack and her research team examined trans fat and saturated fat levels in the french fries sold at five popular nationwide fast food outlets: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, Jack in the Box, and Dairy Queen.

The authors found that between 1997 and 2008, three major chains -- McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's -- significantly decreased the amount of trans fats in their french fries, with saturated fat levels either going down or staying the same.

By Jenifer Goodwin

High heels may turn heads, but new research shows the long-term cost of wearing them is even steeper than the sky-high price tag of some coveted brands.

Along with aching feet and a variety of foot deformities, years of high-heel wearing can actually alter the anatomy of the calf muscles and tendons, according to a study by researchers in England, published online July 16 in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

The incline of high heels causes the calf muscles to contract. Over time, this causes the muscle fibers to shorten and the Achilles tendon to thicken, so much so that some women feel pain when they try to walk in flats or sneakers.

"You put on heels, you are going to deform your body. End of story," said New York City podiatrist Dr. Johanna Youner, a spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association who was not involved with the research. "High heels look beautiful, but the body isn't meant to wear them. There is no way around it."

For the study, Marco Narici of Manchester Metropolitan University and colleagues recruited 80 women aged 20 to 50 who had been wearing heels of at least 2 inches almost daily for two years or more. Of those, 11 said they experienced discomfort when walking in flatter shoes.

When compared with women who did not wear heels, ultrasounds revealed the women who wore heels had calf muscle fibers that were 13 percent shorter, while MRIs showed the Achilles tendon, which attaches the heel bone to the calf muscle, was stiffer and thicker.

"This is a great study that looks at the mechanism of how high heels may cause grief and aggravation to the woman wearing them," said Marian Hannan, a senior scientist at the Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston, who was not involved in the research. "This may have an impact on how future shoes are designed and help the industry understand how women can be slaves to fashion but not suffer so much physical discomfort."

It's not a big leap to know that shoes that hurt can't be good for you, Youner said. For example:
High heels put stress on the back and knees. Squeezing into high heels with narrow toe boxes can cause a condition called Morton's neuroma, a painful thickening of tissue between the third and fourth toes.

Haglund's deformity, sometimes called the "pump bump," occurs when back straps of heels dig into the tissue around the Achilles tendon. Too-tight shoes can bring on bunions, an enlargement of bone or tissue at the base of the big toe that pushes the big toe toward the second toe.

Pointy shoes can worsen hammertoe by forcing the toes to bend at the middle joints, eventually causing them to stay bent and rigid even when barefoot.

And then there are those uneven-sidewalk wipeouts that lead to ankle sprains and breaks.

The fix for many of these conditions, podiatrists said, may come as bad news for those emulating "Sex and the City" fashionista Carrie Bradshaw: Box up your stilettos, take over-the-counter anti-inflammatories if necessary, and wear more sensible footwear.

"I tell a lot of women to put on sneakers and take Aleve," Youner said. "A heel will make a woman's butt stick out and makes the body look taller, thinner. Society pushes us to look a certain way, and all women want to look attractive. In reality, it can be crippling, and it is literally changing the shape of the body."

And don't think those now ubiquitous flip-flops are your solution. Flip-flops offer no arch support or shock absorption, and the toes have to scrunch with every step to keep the foot from slipping, experts said.

"I have recently seen some lovely flip-flops injuries," Youner said. "Flip flops are meant for the beach, not for walking on cement or on vacation or at an amusement park. If you wear them, you are treating your feet poorly and you will eventually pay for it."

If you must wear heels, minimize the time you spend on your feet, wear wider heels that distribute the weight better and shop for shoes at the end of the day when your foot is larger, Hannan said.

Are you superstitious?

What is your best physical feature?

What is your dream profession?

What is your phobia?

Are you Republican or Democratic?

What was the most frightening moment of your life?

Do you have any allergies?

What was the most exciting moment of your life?

Do you like MTV?

Are you an early riser?

Do you believe in the devil?

Do you believe in Hell?

Do you believe in Heaven?

Bohol Chronicle: Central Visayas aims to have a stronger team as the 15th Milo Little Olympics is set to unfurl this Aug. 6 at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Ricky Ballesteros hopes to have a competitive team in taekwondo, athletics and swimming to retain its dominance in the national finals.

"Though we were the national champions last year, we need to improve our team who had a poor performance last year. We need to protect out turf especially in swimming because the NCR squad is training hard for this year's 2nd national finals," Ballesteros said.

The organizer said it was the first time the NCR tankers lost the championship in a national competition.
      
SCREENING

With the 2nd Milo National Olympics set this October in Cagayan de Oro City, they made the screening of athletes stricter so that they won't have any problems with athletes' credentials for the second screening in the national level.

"We set the deadline last July 16, but because of our stricter way of screening athletes, we are giving the schools an extension until July 28 to complete their students' credentials, especially the NSO," Ballesteros said.

As of now, 120 schools from the elementary and secondary level have submitted their athletes' credentials, but Ballesteros said they will still meet the same number of schools that has participated last year, which reached 200 schools.

SOLIDARITY

Aside from the schools from Cebu, there are also out-of-town participants from Maasin, Leyte, Bohol, Roxas, Capiz City, Bacolod, Dumaguete and Iloilo City.

A solidarity meeting is scheduled on July 31, 1 p.m. at the Cebu City Sports Center.

Coaches are required to attend, but prior to that, a final meeting among school representatives is scheduled on July 28 at 2 p.m., the same day of the deadline of submission of entries.

Americans Andy Roddick and John Isner were a pair of quarterfinal winners in Friday's action at the Atlanta Tennis Championships.

Roddick, the top seed, recovered after dropping the first set to beat Xavier Malisse 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. This match was a replay of the 2001 final, the last time this tournament was held; Roddick, 18 at the time, also beat Malisse in that matchup to win the title.
         
Isner, meanwhile, breezed past fellow American Michael Russell 6-1, 6-2, in under an hour. Isner, who played his collegiate tennis at the nearby University of Georgia, is in search of his second career title and will next face South African Kevin Anderson, who topped Slovakia's Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Roddick's semifinal opponent will be another U.S. native, Mardy Fish. Fish had no problems beating Taylor Dent 6-3, 6-0 in 52 minutes.

The tournament winner will receive $95,845.

The offer from the Nets is reportedly for three years and $12 million, but the money probably isn't the reason Farmar hasn't eagerly signed the deal just yet. He often lamented his lack of playing time in Los Angeles, even though he struggled to fit in with the Lakers' triangle offense, and was said to be looking for a place where he could compete for the starting job at the point guard position.

Matt Barnes is going back to Los Angeles, this time to join the two-time defending NBA champion Lakers. The Lakers announced Thursday they had signed the free-agent forward. Barnes, a UCLA product who started 58 games last season for Orlando, said earlier this week on his Twitter page that he was headed to Toronto.

But the deal fell through, and the Lakers moved in to grab the seven-year veteran.

The well-traveled swingman will be joining his eighth NBA team.         

He has averaged 7.3 points, with a career high of 10.2 for Phoenix during the 2008-09 season.

The much awaited 16th edition of the Bohol Schools Amateur Athletic Association (BSAAA) which is dubbed as the 1st city councilor John Geesnell Baba Yap Inter School Basketball Cup will reel off on Saturday, Aug. 7 at the new Cogon gym.

This year the BSAAA will honor the illustrious contributions of the youthful city legislator in the physical fitness and the youth and sports development in the city as a private citizen. As to this date, Baba, as he is fondly called is the president of the Bohol Professionals Basketball League (BPBL).

And as such he has paved the way for the young professionals to make the BPBL as the avenue for physical fitness.

The BSAAA since the beginning have been participated in by the elementary and high school students of both the private and public schools in the city.

In a recently held meeting of the Board of Governors of the BSAAA, led by its president Engr. Robert T. Rio of Grace Christian School has changed the birth year for the participants. This is in order to coincide with the age requirements of any other future tournaments. The cut off year is 1994 for the secondary and 1998 for the elementary. Furthermore, the board took measure to avoid the fielding of disqualified players.
         
Commissioner Bobong Bas Madanguit stressed that the new season will never accept gallery without the proper required size of the picture and others. "We are here to train the players to become not only as good as masterful players but likewise to become good leaders of the society in the future."

Ten teams are vying for this season's championship plum. They are the defending champions BIT IC Junior Cruisers; BISU Warriors; GCS Eagles; TACS Accelerators; BILC Phoenix; UB Baby Lemurs; BWS Golden Dragons; DCPNHS Cyclones; TCSHS Virus; MHS Blue Marlins; and newcomer Victoriano D. Tirol Advance Learning Center.

Bai Cristobal basketball team will have its entry as the tournament.

The tournament has lived through the years through the support of the kind-hearted individuals and organizations. Among them are Mayor Dan Lim; First Consolidated Bank; Efren Jungao; Dr. Aurora Bas Madanguit; Leo Bas Madanguit; Gerardo Bas Madanguit; Atty. Gamalaiel Bonje; Governor Edgar M. Chatto; Luis Castañares; Dr. Estela Malanog; Engr. & Mrs. Alice Bucia Singson; Douglas Hontanosas and family; Grandma's Purified Drinking Water; Bohol Tropics Resort Club; and Petron Philippines.

The Bohol Schools Amateur Athletic Association is a stakeholder of the Basketball Association of the Philippines. - Bohol Chronicle

Derby Ace, the reigning Philippine Cup champion who has stood out in this conference despite import woes, rose to 9-5 in the standings, moving within two games of its victim for second place after San Miguel dropped to 11-3.

The Llamados actually hammered out the win even with Cliff Brown fouling out with still 5:34 left and them trailing the Beermen, 71-76, as Yap anchored a strong finishing kick that was capped by a leaning jumper with 6.7 seconds left for the final count.
         
Game 3 will start at 4pm at the Araneta Coliseum this afternoon. In the main game the Talk n' Text Tropang Texters will look to take a one game series lead over the Alaska aces at 6:30pm.

Talk n' Texts' Jimmy Alapag finished with a team-high 25 points in game 2 shooting 5-of-10 from downtown after being held to just six in the Tropang Texters' 104-88 Game 1 loss. He scored 12 in the third as the Texters went on a 22-10 assault to take a 66-62 lead after trailing by as many as 12 in the first half.

The 2003 Rookie of the Year also added 10 rebounds and overall, shot 8-of-12 from the f

"In Game 1, LA (Tenorio) manhandled our guards. So I challenged Jimmy and Jason (Castro) that it should not happen again," said TNT coach Chot Reyes. - bohol chronicle

Joseph Marata hit back-to-back triples in a span of 30 seconds to lift De La Salle University to a pulsating come-from-behind victory over archrival Ateneo De Manila, 66-63, in UAAP action Saturday at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum.

Marata's triples highlighted a searing 13-1 run by the Archers to close the game and seal La Salle's first win over the Blue Eagles since 2007.

Marata scored all his team-high 12 points from beyond the arc, and after the game he revealed he was dedicating this season to his late uncle, former pro Ric-ric Marata, who passed away earlier this year in New York.

Ateneo appeared to have the game in hand after Eric Salamat's basket gave the Eagles a 62-53 cushion with just under four minutes to go. That capped a 15-5 Ateneo run sparked by a double-pump, shot clock-beating three by Kirk Long. But rookie Jarelan Tampus hit back-to-back baskets and Joel Tolentino added two free throws off Long's fifth foul to cut the deficit to three, 62-59, time down to 2:12.
         
A split by Nico Salva with 2:04 left pushed the lead back up to four, 63-59, for what would turn out to be the Eagles' last point of the game. On the ensuing play, Marata buried a gutsy three practically on the run to bring the Archers to within one.

After an Ateneo miss, Marata sank his second three to give the Archers the lead for good at 65-63 with 1:28 left. The momentum having swung hard to La Salle, and with Long fouled out and Emman Monfort leaving the game with a thigh injury, Ateneo's offense stalled. The Archers forced Bacon Austria to try and beat them, and he missed on a triple and a runner.

With Ateneo needing a triple to tie, the Archers zeroed in on the Eagles' shooters, forcing Justin Chua to attempt two threes that missed badly.

After the final buzzer sounded, the Archers whooped it up on the court, celebrating the big win that not only ended a six-game losing streak to the Eagles, but also pushed them to solo second with a 3-1 record. The Eagles dropped to 2-2 and fell into a tie for third with the NU Bulldogs.

La Salle coach Dindo Pumaren was at a loss for words afterwards, except to say that he was very happy with the result. "That was all about heart. The boys didn't give up. I don't know what else to say," said the jubilant coach.

DLSU (66) - Webb 12, Marata 12, Atkins 9, Tampus 6, Andrada 6, Dela Paz 5, Tolentino 5, Mendoza 5, Vosotros 3, Villanueva 2, Ferdinand 1, Paredes 0.
ADMU (63) - Chua 16, Monfort 11, Long 9, Buenafe 7, Salamat 6, Salva 5, Golla 3, Escueta 2, Dela Cruz 2, Austria 2, Tiongson 0, Gonzaga 0.

WBO Interim light flyweight titlist Johnriel Casimero continues his light training in Los Angeles for his July 24 (July 25 A.M. Phil. Time) defense against Mexican southpaw Ramon Garcia in Mexico.

The 20-year-old Casimero (14W-0L, 8 KOs) doesn't do any sparring anymore and his present weight is 110lbs., just 2 lbs. over the limit.
         
Team Casimero is staying near the Wild Card Gym together with Federico Catubay, who will figure in a junior bantamweight voluntary elimination fight against another Mexican, Rodrigo Guerrero. Catubay is on target with his weight at 117 lbs.

Both will still do light training until Tuesday and on Wednesday July 21 the team, composed of trainers Christopher "Pingping" Tepora and Danny Bactol, will depart from LAX to Hermosillo then to Los Mochis , Mexico .

The 27-year-old Garcia (12W-1L, 8 KOs) holds the WBC international lt. flyweight belt. He is listed in boxrec.com as Ramon Garcia Hirales and is the brother of former IBF minimumweight champion Raul Garcia, who dethroned Florante Condes of the Philippines .

Promoter Sammy Gello-ani informed that GMA 7 will broadcast the fight in the Philippines . Casimero vs Garcia will be held at the Polideportivo Centenario, Los Mochis , Sinaloa , Mexico. - Bohol Chronicle

By Bohol Chronicle

Rey "Boom-Boom" Bautista will headline a card, which the ALA Promotions call "the biggest" they have staged, next month at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City on Aug. 28.

Bautista will be fighting alongside some of the best Filipino talents - world-rated Milan Melindo, former world champion Florante Condes and Jimrex Jaca.

After being sidelined for a wrist injury, the 24-year-old Bautista is in for a tough fight against Mexican Alejandro Barrera.
         
Bautista, who is from Candijay, Bohol, had reconstructive surgery done on his damaged left wrist. He knocked out his last two opponents, Indonesian Maragin Marbun and Thai Saichon Sotornpitak. This fight is his toughest test to date after his hiatus for close to a year.

Barrera sports an impressive 20-3 record with 13 knockouts and is a former World Boxing Council Continental Americas featherweight and North American Boxing Association super bantamweight champion.

The 30-year-old Mexican has fought the likes of ex-world titlist Cesar Soto and former world title contender Benoit Gaudet.

BIGGEST

ALA Promotions president Michael Aldeguer said this is one of the biggest promotions that the Cebu City-based promotional outfit has ever organized.

"This is the first time we have brought in four foreigners since the "Moment of Truth" in 2007. Usually we bring in only two," Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu in an interview.

Melindo will be up against Japanese Masayuki (17-3, 12 KOs); Condes is taking on Indonesian Sofyan Effendi (10-8-2, 8 KOs); while Jaca faces Pipino Cuevas Jr. (14-5, 12 KOs), the son of the former World Boxing Association welterweight champion in the 70's.

Bohol Chronicle: San Sebastian relied on its airtight defense in the final period to crush Mapua, 68-49, yesterday and extend its unbeaten slate to four games in the 86th NCAA basketball tournament at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

The Stags held the Cardinals to just four points in the last 10 minutes and went on to gain a piece of the lead with idle San Beda.

Calvin Abueva finished with 18 points that went with 12 rebounds and three assists, while Ronald Pascual contributed 17 points for the Stags, who prevailed despite shooting just 38 percent on the floor.         

"We played really tough defense in the fourth quarter," said San Sebastian coach Ato Agustin, whose team held the Cardinals to just 14 field goals in the entire game.

Earlier, Jose Rizal University hacked out a 74-65 victory over St. Benilde to register its fourth straight win in five games.

Raycon Kabigting, thrust into the starting lineup this season following the departure of former MVP John Wilson, scored 14 points, half of them in the final period.

JRU coach Vergel Meneses, however, was unimpressed with his crew's form.

"Our offense was in disarray," he said. "We need to improve. We can't play like this against the bigger teams like San Sebastian."

The Bombers failed to make a single field goal in the last eight minutes.

First Game
JRU 74-Kabigting 14, Bulangis 13, Etame 12, Almario 8, Njei 7, Lopez 5, Montemayor 5, Matute 4, Hayes 4, Apinan 2.

ST. BENILDE 65-Lastimosa 19, de Guzman 14, dela Paz 11, Abolucion 7, McCoy 6, Wong 3, Tan 3, Argamino 2, Sinco 0, Nayve 0, Amin 0, Manalac 0.
Quarters: 18-16, 36-33, 56-49, 74-65

Second Game
SAN SEBASTIAN 68-Abueva 18, Pascual 17, Bulawan 12, Raymundo 8, Semira 4, del Rio 4, Gatchalian 3, Sangalang 2, Gorospe 0, dela Cruz 0, Maconocido 0.
MAPUA 49-Cornejo 10, Sarangay 8, Stevens 7, Parala 6, Pascual 5, Maniego 3, Ranises 1, Cabrera 0, Acosta 0.

By Bohol Chronicle

The fourth year high school class of Saint Augustine Academy (SAGA), Panglao particularly Holy Child section elected officers of the Parent-Teacher and Guardian Association for the SY: 2010-2011.        

The following are the new set of officers:

Dennison Bongcaron, president; Mario Fuderanan, vice president; Galicano T. Alqueza, secretary; Sergia Guibone, treasurer; Marcela Baldo, auditor; Maria Felicitas Araoarao, Francisco Tiro, PRO's; Donato Yahon, Ricardo Cardiente, Mylene Milana, Peace Officers; Feliciana A. Dominisac, class adviser.

The meeting followed after the election, presided by the newly elected PTGA president.

The Our Lady of Lourdes Parish (OLLP) Education Commission headed by the chairman, Mario Villarojo together with the Holy Spirit School volunteer-teachers represented by Dominita E. Gucor formally announced the opening of OLLP Sunday School set on August 8, 2010 at the former St. Therese Kindergarten School, Gallares St. Tagbilaran City.         

Fr. Desiderio Magdoza, OLLP parish priest together with the two parish vicars, Fr. Stephen Supremo and Fr. John Legitimas welcome once again these young children ages 5-12 years old who desire to be spiritually nourished through catechism classes every Sunday from 9:45-11:00 in the morning.

Children who are interested to join may go to the Parish office for enrolment or approach any member of the OLLP Education Commission in the neighborhood. Come and join us! (bebbigucor)

Ang galing ni Gloria noh?

Published by the Bohol Chronicle

Dengue cases, including already six deaths since January, have risen to a terrible level in the past six months that they have already more than doubled the total for the entire year of 2009.

Gov. Edgar Chatto immediately ordered the implementation of the four "S" against dengue to prevent a likely over 200% increase in the incidents by the end of December this year and save most number of lives, particularly of the tender children who are most vulnerable to the dreaded disease.

These four "S" mean - search and destroy mosquito breeding places; self-protection measures; seek early consultation; and say "No to indiscriminate fogging."

In the meeting of the capitol management Executive Board (MEB), Chatto called the attention of all concerned, taking into serious consideration the onset of the rainy season during which the dengue-causing mosquitoes can rapidly breed.

Provincial Health Office (PHO) head Dr. Reymoses Cabagnot reported to the MEB that six already died of dengue within the January 1 - July 16, 2010 period, which also registered 793 "suspected" cases of dengue. In the whole of 2009, only 769 cases were reported, eight resulting in death.

The governor called for preventive and control measures against the outbreak of the disease and also for volunteerism in donating blood for dengue victims. Severe cases of dengue often require blood transfusion.

Cabagnot clarified in the MEB meeting that because the province does not have the technical capability to confirm these cases as dengue hemorrhagic fever, these can only be classified as suspected dengue cases until they are confirmed by laboratory testing.

The dengue deaths this year involved victims from Baclayon, Calape, Garcia-Hernandez, Loay, San Miguel, and Ubay.

The fight against dengue is "sentimental" to the governor himself because dengue had claimed the precious life of his own younger pretty sister, Esther Therese. Hers was reported to be the first case of dengue death in Bohol. Chatto was then a high school student.

That case was crucial to the Boholanos in the late 70s. The case was an issue critical to the Boholanos in the early 70s as it brought about the realization that dengue can kill---fast and sure.

Dengue fever is caused by the dengue virus, which is carried by the aedes aegypti mosquito.
   
This mosquito has white markings on its legs and usually feeds early in the morning or late in the afternoon. It breeds in clean, stagnant water such as those found in flower vases, roof gutters,uncovered water vessels, used cans, and discarded tires.

The principal symptoms of dengue are high fever, severe headache, backache, joint pains, nausea and vomiting, eye pain, and rashes.

Chatto stressed in his memorandum on Wednesday to the mayors that preventive action is the best defense. The PHO urged the conduct of community clean-ups.

He urged the conduct of the four "S's" against dengue---search and destroy operations of possible breeding places of dengue mosquitoes, information education campaigns and advocacy by LGUs down to the barangay level, and for advocacy and lectures in communities and schools.

Among the other measures recommended are entomological surveys, surveillance and monitoring, and rapid reporting from rural health units to the provincial and regional health authorities.

The self-protection measures one may take against dengue are the use of mosquito nets, installation of window and door screens, use of insect repellant lotion, and wearing of pants and long-sleeved clothing.

The PHO discouraged indiscriminate fogging as it may do more harm than good. Mosquitoes only move away from areas being fogged but may still return and because the eggs of dengue mosquitoes are underwater, they are not affected by fogging.

During the MEB meeting, while urging voluntary blood donation for severe dengue victims, the governor noted the health benefits of donating blood since it helps produce new blood cells.

According to the PHO, the most number of suspected dengue cases reported since 2000 was in 2007 with 1,678 cases and 16 deaths. The most number of deaths was reported in 2005 with 21 fatalities and 1,113 suspected cases.

Year 2000 had the least number of dengue cases with only 70 and without a single fatality, followed by the 145, which included five deaths, in 2008.

BOHOL HOSPITALS NOT READY

Before the province-run hospitals and the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital could even meet the standards, the surge of dengue cases add up to the challenge.

At present, the statistics has already reached a little over 200, and the Provincial Health Office had even estimated the cases to reach up to 700 in the coming days.

At the rate of two to five cases of dengue mounting every week recently has put the efficiency of province-run hospitals to test.

In the meantime, complaints already started mounting, following the lack of laboratory equipment and personnel to handle the tests.

The problems include the scarce ready blood donors for transfusion to patients and the hospital policy to subject donated blood to retesting.

The PHO also seems to be lagging behind in campaign on the prevention aspect.

Lack of hospital beds also add up to the problem, which even prompted some district hospitals to refer patients to Tagbilaran-based Gallares hospital which is already crowded.

On the prevention side, the proliferation of substandard boarding houses in the city also proved to be contributing factors to the rise in dengue cases recently.

Parents started complaining about the poor facilities of most boarding houses where their children stay during schooldays.

Most of these boarding houses that are subjected to complaints are dim-lit and untidy, encouraging dengue-carrying mosquitoes to breed, especially with the swampy areas nearby.

Parents and school administrators expressed concern as the aggravating factors seem to grow in faster rate than the actions taken by health authorities.

The PHO has recently been tapped to employ measures to improve the delivery of health services by district hospitals and to facilitate the compliance of the referral system, but budgetary constraints held back its implementation. (With reports from Paul Vistal/EDCom)

Nakaabot pa mo ani nga time? Petromax ang suga?

adding more insults to injury. may gloria have a peaceful vacation in hong kong while the whole country wants to puke over her administration's countless sins.

By Jun Malig
Central Luzon Desk

Expatriates here want authorities to immediately arrest the suspect in the robbery and murder of three foreigners and six Filipinos over the last two weeks.

They want the immediate arrest of Mark Dizon, 28, a computer technician and a reflexologist, to give justice to his victims and prevent him from killing more expatriates and foreign retirees in the city.

Chief Inspector Luisito Tan, commander of the Angeles police’s Station 4 here, said a foreigner living in the city, who asked not to be identified, has offered P100,000 to people who could provide information that would lead to Dizon’s arrest.

“Foreigners in Angeles are very worried. They fear that more foreigners living here and in other places in the country will be victimized by the suspect unless he is caught,” Tan told the Philippine Daily Inquirer by telephone on Monday.

On Sunday, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan echoed the city police’s statement that the three robbery-slay cases had been solved with the identification of the suspect.

Results of ballistic tests, police said, showed that the bullets that killed the nine victims came from the same 9-millimeter pistol.

Pamintuan also said Dizon’s relatives had informed the police and local officials that they were working for the suspect’s surrender.

Dizon is being hunted for allegedly robbing and killing American Albert Mitchell, 70, former commander of the Veterans of Foreign War Post 2485 here; his wife Janet, 53; and helpers Isabel Fajardo, 29; Marissa Prado, 29; and Yulberto Catli in Hensonville Court Subdivision in Barangay Malabanias here on July 22.

Dizon is also the suspect in the robbery and killing of Briton James Bolton Porter, 51, and his live-in partner Melissa Madarang, 22, in Sta. Maria Subdivision here on July 16, and the robbery and murder of Canadian Geoffrey Allan Bennun, 60, and live-in partner Abegail Helina, 20, at the Oasis Hotel and Villas in Clarkville Compound on July 12.

Guards stopped Dizon at the Hensonville Court gate as he was leaving the subdivision while carrying a backpack, a laptop bag and a laundry bag several minutes after the murder of the Mitchells and their helpers.

The suspect, however, was able to escape.

Police said a niece of Janet Mitchell could have been among the victims if she did not leave the house to go to a shopping mall in the Clark Freeport.

She helped the police and security guard Angelito Prado, brother of one of the victims, in identifying Dizon through the latter’s account in the social networking site Facebook.

Police said Dizon’s Facebook account had been erased on Sunday.

But Tan said he was able to photocopy Dizon’s Facebook profile photograph before the account was deactivated.

By LEE C. CHIPONGIAN
Manila Bulletin

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) wound down its swap positions by $1.6 billion on maturity to provide foreign exchange (FX) into the system and bought $2.43 billion from the spot market to smooth exchange rate volatility.

BSP's derivatives in the form of forwards and swaps decreased by 9.6 percent in May to $15 billion from April's short positions.

To further polish FX fluctuations, the BSP treasury department purchased $2.43 billion of FX from the spot market in the same period, based on a report to the Monetary Board. The same report said BSP's FX sales totaled $2.24 billion in May.

BSP noted that the peso-dollar rate will likely continue to appreciate, same as other currencies in the region as "risk aversion stemming from the euro zone sovereign debt crisis abated after the US reported upbeat economic data on home and auto sales."

By central bank definition, FX swaps are foreign currency assets in both short and long positions in forwards and futures. BSP conducts FX swaps to fund FX balances. It is a financial transaction between two parties which have agreed to exchange two currencies at a certain exchange rate in an agreed future date.

Of the swaps, $6.15 billion is maturing in one month, $5.55 billion in three months and $2.95 billion  in three months up to a year.

By JAMES A. LOYOLA
Manila Bulletin

While waiting for a better time to launch its initial public offering, Cebu Air Inc., popularly known as Cebu Pacific, continues to expand its operations within Asia and even hopes to be able to fly to Guam.

“At this point, our business model is focused on routes that are four to five hours away and that is mostly in Asia,” said Cebu Air president Lance Gokongwei.

However, he said Cebu Pacific would want to fly to Guam if local civil aviation authorities can find a way to remove the Category 2 rating given by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The US FAA had earlier downgraded Philippine airline operations and put them under heightened scrutiny because of their inadequate safety standards. A Category 2 rating means Philippine carriers can continue flying to the US but only under heightened FAA surveillance.

US FAA rules also prevent airlines from the Philippines from expanding services to the United States under a Category 2 rating. Thus, Cebu Pacific cannot fly to Guam or any other part of the US unless the rating is upgraded.

Gokongwei said Cebu Air will continue to see major revenue growth due to the expansion of its domestic and international routes as well as an increase in passenger traffic.

He said the airline will continue tapping export credit facilities to fund its acquisition of more aircraft and that there is no need to rush its initial public offering this year.

Newly-inducted President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III declared on Wednesday that he would allow reconciliation with former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo only after clearing the allegations of anomalies and corruptions that marred the administration of his predecessor.

”To those who are talking about reconciliation, if they mean that they would like us to simply forget about the wrongs that they have committed in the past, we have this to say: there can be no reconciliation without justice,” Aquino said in his inaugural address at the Quirino Grandstand.

The statement of Aquino was greeted by loud cheers and chanting from an estimated 700,000 crowd who trooped at the sprawling grandstand to watch the historic event.

”Forgetting the wrongdoings, I’m sure it will be repeated,” Aquino said.

To prove his threat to go after the crooked officials of the government, Aquino has given new Department of Justice (DOJ) secretary Laila de Lima a marching order to prosecute those who spent people’s money for their own interest.

”Begin the process of providing true and complete justice for all,” Aquino told De Lima.

Aquino also announced that former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. has accepted the challenge to lead the Truth Commission that would clarify the controversial issues like the botched ZTE-NBN deal and "Hello Garci" tapes.

”Those who committed wrongdoings to the people should face justice. We should not move on without punishing the culprits,” Aquino said.

Aquino promised to be an example of more than 90 million Filipino people in doing what is right in achieving the true progress that the people are longing for in the last administration.

”My goal in life is just simple: be honest to my parents and country as son with dignity, a good brother and good citizen,” he said.

”Our main objective is to do our best to uplift the nation from poverty through implementation of honest and good leadership in the government,” Aquino added.

Aquino dared those who remain honest in the government to continue their good service and excel in their respective field of works while stopping the corruption within the bureaucracy.

The new President also promised to look into the "midnight appointments" made by President Arroyo towards the end of her term.

”I hope it would serve as warning to those who are thinking to continue their crooked transactions that have become the part of life in the past,” Aquino said.

He also urged the contractors of the infrastructures he wanted to implement to be responsible enough to honestly implement the projects as stated in the contracts.

”We shall defeat the enemy by wielding the tools of justice, social reform and equitable governance leading to a better life,” Aquino said.

Aquino admitted that he cannot implement what he has promised all by himself, urging all the people to help him in bringing back the good governance towards a better nation.

”If you are behind me, we can push forward our country wherein there is equality because each of will perform our responsibility,” he said.

Wowowee Makes Filipinos Lazy - overheard from an old man at a restaurant.

Suicide is not a crime. What if the government would classify it as one?

By ROWENA JOY A. SANCHEZ
Manila Bulletin

Ruffa Gutierrez admitted that her ex-beau John Lloyd Cruz’s relationship with current girlfriend Shaina Magdayao “overlapped” with their short-lived romance.

“I know my agreement with JL (how Ruffa calls Lloydy). I don’t know what his agreement is with other people. But this year medyo… yes [nag-overlap], pero… hindi ko alam [kung ilang buwan],” the former beauty queen confessed during her birthday special on “Paparazzi,” June 27.

Without directly specifying how long their relationship lasted, Ruffa said they were together “the whole of last year” and had their “final closure” just two months ago.

The actress-host revealed that even before John Lloyd finally confirmed the real score between him and Shaina, she already knew about it. “Inamin naman sa’kin ni JL ‘yon, and we tried our best to say our goodbyes finally,” she said.

However, she intimated that she didn’t take the situation lightly.

“Trust me, alam ni JL kung anong ginawa ko nung nalaman ko. I’m the sweetest person on earth. But remember, anak ako ni Annabelle Rama and also ex ko si Yilmaz [Bektas], so sanay na ko makipaglaban,” Ruffa maintained.

Albeit she refused to divulge what she exactly did, she said “Matapang akong tao. I know exactly what I want, so I’m not the type who will just sit there and accept everything.”

By NEIL RAMOS
Manila Bulletin

After a long wait, actor Patrick Garcia finally got his wish.

The young dad met his son, Alex Jazz or AJ for the first time during the birthday celebration of his niece Kendra, daughter of his sister actress-model, Cheska Garcia-Kramer.

The meeting happened June 26, according to the Philippine Entertainment Portal.

To mark the moment, pictures were taken, one of which was proudly posted by the doting aunt on her Twitter account.

“Father and son! Yipee!” she wrote.

Only a few weeks ago, the boy’s mom, actress Jennylyn Mercado, announced her willingness to let father and son meet â€"a softening on her earlier stance to never let Garcia see his son.

"Puwede siyang dumalaw sa bahay. Oo, puwede siya. Mapag-uusapan naman namin, e [visitations]. Ayoko na nang gumagamit ng media or kahit na ano. Basta, sa amin na lang yun [how to go about it],” she stated in an interview with entertainment show “Startalk.”

"Basta ang gusto ko ngayon, kung tungkol sa amin, kung tungkol sa anak ko, ayoko na ng lumalabas sa kung saan-saan."

The 23-year old made it clear that she is now willing to let bygones be bygones.

By WAYLON GALVEZ
Manila Bulletin

B-Meg Derby Ace superstar guard James Yap was caught by surprise upon the announcement of his controversial wife, actress/TV host Kris Aquino that their marriage is over â€" again â€" on the latter’s television program last Sunday.

“Hindi ko alam na may ganun (I don’t have an idea about it),” the 28-year-old Yap said after the Llamados’ game that evening at the Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-3 Yap actually participated in the PBA’s “Read to Lead” program alongside league commissioner Sonny Barrios during the first half of the first game and was smiling and waving to his supporters when he entered the hardcourt.

A Bulletin source said it was prior to Derby Ace’s game versus Barako Energy Coffee that Yap was informed about the announcement, and it was obvious he was affected by it when he struggled in the first half.

By PNA

Majority or 91 percent of Filipinos admit that looks are indeed important to them, although a smaller proportion or 38 percent would consider themselves sexy, an AsiaBus market survey by a leading global market intelligence company Synovate said.

The AsiaBus Synovate survey was conducted by October 2008, but was released only recently. The survey was conducted to get insights on the Filipino’s perceptions on male vanity. Interviews were conducted via house-to-house personal interviews among a representative sample of 1,000 consumers aged 15-64 years and residing in Metro Manila.

With data like these, it comes as no surprise that men are now less likely to gauge their masculinity based on their use or non-use of beauty products.

Majority (70%) disagreed with the contention men who use beauty products are not as masculine as men who do not. Also, 66% disagreed with the statement that men are made fun of if they spend too much time on their appearance.

Based on the results of the survey, the absolute requirement before any man can be described as good looking or handsome is good hygiene and fresh breath. This criterion was selected by both men (52%) and women (67%). Conversely, body odor and bad breath are the hygiene conditions which men and women find least acceptable in men.

In addition, virtually all men and women interviewed said that they preferred the look of a clean shaven face on a man.

Meanwhile, asked if a man’s appearance improved with age, only 35% of both the male and female population agreed.

Still, while the majority has come to accept that the use of beauty products does not make one any less of a man, Filipino males’ use of these products is still limited to a select few. Not surprisingly, the products which have more widespread usage are those which enhance the “look good-smell good” proposition.

The commonly used products are perfumes and colognes (81%), deodorants (79%), mouthwash (57%), hair conditioners (53%), hair spray and hair gels (47%).

While a relatively smaller number have admitted to the use of products such as facial moisturizers (12%), lip balms (11%), oil control films (9%), facial masks (7%), and pore packs (3%), it cannot be denied that these have found their way into the repertoire of men’s grooming aids.

Still, not very many men are willing to be caught with these products when they go out. Only 26% admitted to bringing their grooming products outside the home; the majority prefer to keep the battle for vanity limited to the home front.

For whom are the Filipino men of today making an effort to look good? 72% of Filipinos say that they try to look good for themselves, while 24% say that they try to please their partners. Women seem to agree. For them, men should look good to please themselves (62%) more than their partners/potential partners (34%.)

If multinational purchasing occupies the center stage of global sourcing and B2B market is promoting more and more multinational purchasing, it is evidence that B2B market for import and export is here to stay... >learn more at > http://www.getthebestinfo.com/Article/B2B-Market-Role-of-Global-Sourcing-Firm/81953

cool

Beautiful Thai Girl

teeth

Sweet Pretty Korean Woman

It's Just A Smile

Philippine Girl or Indian Girl?

Chinese Beauty

beautiful woman with a penetrating smile

Even if you pay your dues on time, they will always treat you as a piece of s***.

By AARON RECUENCO
Manila Bulletin

The National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) leadership has ordered all its station and unit commanders to conserve not only electricity but also water after its unpaid power bills reached more than P200 million.

From now on, turning offices with air-conditioning units in the police station as sleeping quarters will no longer be allowed, along with the bringing in of microwave ovens, iron, and refrigerators.

Along with the order is an instruction that any excess in the amount of the estimated consumption for every police station or office of a police unit will be shouldered by the commander and his men, said Police Director Roberto Rosales, NCRPO director.

“We issued several directives to all of our operating units particularly those with offices that they have to observe the conservation of energy and water. We even resorted that we will just give you this amount and in excess of that based on your consumption, it will be the concern of the officer and the men under him,” Rosales said in a press briefing in Camp Crame.

“We have been doing that even before and it was no less than the National Headquarters that initiated this so that other units down the line will follow through. And we are emphasizing this to our people,” said Rosales.

Rosales admitted that the unpaid power bills with the Manila Electric Company (Meralco) have already reached P222 million, causing the disconnection of power supply in one of its police stations in Metro Manila â€" the Kamuning Police Station in Quezon City.

By JECELYN MACAHINDOG

Despite being named the latest “victim” of the social networking group Ampalaya Anonymous (group of young actresses composed of Maxene Magalona, Bianca King, Cristine Reyes, Angel Locsin, Rich Asuncion, Bubbles Paraiso), Kapuso star Heart Evangelista maintained she doesn’t want to speak ill of anyone.

She even affirmed her friendship with Maxene.

“There’s no bad blood between Maxene and I… we’re friends,” she said in an interview with “24 Oras.”

Heart, who currently stars in GMA-7’s newest series “Langit sa Piling Mo,” said that she is so happy that she doesn’t want to be affected by all the intrigues â€" even her supposed rift with another alleged Ampalaya Anonymous member, Bianca King.

“I don’t want to make this big because there’s really nothing…” Heart said adding, “my life is perfect. Hindi siya ’yung pumi-peak pero everything is balanced.”

Meanwhile, Maxene also denied the gap between her and Heart: “Hindi ko po alam kung saan nanggaling ang tsismis na ‘yon. Kaya nga ilang beses kong nililinaw na wala po kaming kaaway, wala po akong kaaway.”

By WALDEN SADIRI
Manila Bulletin

Change is the only thing constant in life and for matinee idol Dennis Trillo, a change for the better took place anew when he fell in love with actress and single mom Jennylyn Mercado.

Although the actor has been known to deny affairs with some women he had dated, including beauty queen turned actress Carlene Aguilar with whom Dennis has a lovechild, Jennylyn was a different story.

“I realized that nothing good would come from keeping my relationship with her a secret. I know that being open about who I’m with would make that person feel better about herself, about us. It’s also better that I’m vocal about my feelings about her because she’ll appreciate me more,” Dennis shared.

Dennis and Jennylyn grew closer after working on the now defunct afternoon drama, “Gumapang Ka Sa Lusak.” Rumors about their off-camera relationship spread back then until photos of them together in Hong Kong surfaced on the Net. Since then the actor has become more relaxed talking about their relationship.

Why did he fall for Jennylyn?

“We have a deep friendship… she has shown me her real self and never hid anything. That alone would make anyone love a person more. Honesty and the truth are very important for me. In a relationship, there shouldn’t be any lies â€" just love and honesty,” he replied.

AMD believes that the IT industry is nearing a stage where HPCs (high-performance computers) will need to adopt a new type of configuration if they hope to keep getting stronger and more efficient. At present, many supercomputers are exclusively powered by x86 processors. Nevertheless, GPU computing modules have already started to show up as part of the more recent installments. This idea seems to be in tune with even Intel's belief that Larrabee and MIC architectures should become integral parts of such conglomerates, as well as servers and data centers.

Predictably, Advanced Micro Devices doesn't see graphics processors completely replacing the x86 solutions, since operating systems and other software, as well as certain codes, cannot run on just the GPU. Basically, a so-called age of heterogeneous supercomputing, and not all-GPU computing, is on the horizon.

“I think what CPUs and GPUs can do is change the mix [of their existence inside servers]. The x86 CPU architecture is on the curve towards the end of Moore’s law due to power limitations… It is hard to build an exascale server using purely x86 technology because that server is going to be too big and will consume too much power. There are already scalability limitations and some of them are pretty thoroughly explored. So, the mix between CPUs and GPUs will, I think, potentially, change,” said Patricia Harrell, director of Stream computing at AMD, in a conversation with X-bit labs.

Gateway released a significant number of laptops over the past few weeks and it became quite obvious that Acer, of whom it is a subsidiary, had special plans for the company. Sure enough, time passed and rumors arose, with one of them even suggesting that the latter aims to modify its branding scheme. Basically, Acer will have Gateway make almost all future ultrathin laptops as soon as its existing inventories of 13-inch to 15-inch products get digested.

Acer is already planning on adopting the Core i7-660UM, Core i5-430UM, Core i5-540UM and Core i3-330M that Intel released not long ago. In fact, it hopes to launch ultrathins based on them in the near future, though it will push them in the niche markets. Only the 11.6-inch Aspire Timeline series will retain the Acer branding.

This move comes soon after the same PC maker decided upon having Wistron make its 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch models. Prior to this, these machines were being manufactured by Quanta Computer and Inventec, respectively. They only account for roughly 10% of the notebook market, however, so the impact of the shift should be minor. - source: softpedia.com

After a strong first half of 2010 and, especially, a promising first quarter, manufacturers of hard disk drives hoped that shipments would continue to rise during the second half of the year. This hope came as a result of the fact that this time is usually the peak season when it comes to hardware sales. Unfortunately, for the companies at least, certain conditions have arisen that hint at a rather weak remainder of the year. This caused HDD makers to reportedly reduce their shipment forecasts by 5% to 10%.

According to iSupply, about 164 million platter-based storage units shipped during the first three months of 2010. This led to estimates that suggested third and fourth quarter figures of 185 million and 192 million, respectively. Unfortunately, the global market, and the European segment in particular, appears to have entered a time of financial troubles. This drove HDD demands down by a great margin, causing suppliers of such solutions to expect less than what they hoped for.

The 5%-10% decrease comes after even the second quarter performance was revealed to have been less formidable. At first, the expectation revolved around 165 million. Now, manufacturers don't expect to finish June with more than 152-155 million sales. Fortunately, even despite this on-quarter drop, the April-June quarter should still show growth compared to the same period of 2009. - source: Softpedia.com

With all the financial troubles going on in Europe, and how even hard drive makers end up reducing their shipment forecasts, one would think that the short-term future of the IT industry wasn't looking so bright. Apparently, this isn't the case, at least not on all segment, because, as opposed to how Q2 HDD shipments are expected  to drop on-quarter, large-area TFT LCDs are selling by the millions. Basically, May sales surpassed the previous monthly high records.

Compared to April, large-area TFT LCD panel shipments increased by 9%, reaching 58.8 million units. This corresponds to revenues of 7.5 billion, the equivalent of a 7% month-on-month rise. Not only that, but year-on-year revenues and shipments also jumped, by 60% and 36%, respectively. Notebook and slate/mini-note panels lead with a 16% on-month improvement, leading to 4.8 million in May.

“The May results indicate that although the TFT LCD industry is going through a panel price and inventory correction period this quarter, panel shipment momentum is not slowing down and has bounced back to reach record monthly highs after a monthly decline in April,” said David Hsieh, Vice President of DisplaySearch.

source: Softpedia.com

The planet HD209458b, orbiting a sun in the constellation Pegasus, seems to be blasted with winds that top 7,000km per hour, astronauts recently discovered. The planet, situated some 150 light-years away, is a Jupiter-like world that orbits its star at one eighth the distance Mercury orbits the Sun. The storms that blast on its surface are caused by the small distance and the rotationally synched orbit around the star.

Being so close to its star, the exoplanet experiences temperatures of around 1000°C on its sun-facing side. Since the HD209458b has the same side to its star, the night side is much cooler, thus keeping the gases in the planet's atmosphere in a perpetual move. The planet has been discovered in 1999, and has become of great interest to researchers since, taking into account that it is transiting its parent star, causing a dip in the amount of detectable starlight.

The team of researchers presented their findings in Nature, reporting that the longitudinal winds on the planets surface reach about 2km/s. Ignas Snellen, based at Leiden University in the Netherlands, who led the team of astronomers, said that the study of poisonous carbon monoxide gas resulted in evidence of a 'super wind' blowing on the surface of HD209458b at speeds of 5,000 to 10,000km per hour, a recent article on ABC Science reports. - source: Softpedia.com

A group of investigators recently announced the discovery of the coolest known group of brown dwarfs. This is a very special class of stellar objects, experts say, given that they are produced just like stars, but fail to ignite completely. For many years, the international astronomical community has been struggling to come to an agreement regarding how to best classify these objects. Some say they are very large gas giants, whereas others argue they are stars. The new finding is bound to reignite the controversy, Space  reports.

According to existing theories, stars form inside nebulae. These are colloquially known as stellar nurseries, and are basically large accumulations of hydrogen gas and cosmic dust clouds. Due to gravitational interactions inside these materials, smaller clouds separate themselves within the large one. The little ones grow in time, accumulating more and more hydrogen, until finally a threshold is reached. Once this happens, the entire structure begins to collapse in on itself, igniting in the process, and giving birth to a young star.

When brown dwarfs form, astronomers say, this process fails. The experts believe that the collapsing clouds of gas and dust fail to ignite properly. This means that the resulting object is incapable of supporting nuclear fusion on its own â€" and this is widely considered to be a hallmark of all stars. In a study detailed in the latest issue of the esteemed Astronomical Journal, experts from the American space agency say that a group of 14 dwarfs were recently found using the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope. The objects all have temperatures ranging between 350 and 620 degrees Fahrenheit (177 and 327 degrees Celsius), which makes them incredibly cold. The Sun, for example, has an average surface temperature of about 5,500 degrees Celsius.
source: Softpedia.com

Boxing champ Manny Pacquiao will distribute 100,000 health cards and start building a RoRo port and Pacman Center shortly after his oath-taking as Sarangani representative on June 28.

Pacquiao revealed so on news program “24 Oras” that covered the last day of the certificate course on public administration and governance that he completed on June 25 at The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP).

“Focus ako sa livelihood program, education at medical assistance,” said Pacquiao.

In the crash course, Pacquiao and his staff learned about the national budget and local development, how to use the pork barrel, and the usual goings-on in Congress.

DAP Dean Gloria Mercado said that Manny tends to make decisions “from the heart.”

“Ang sabi nga niya pusong mamon siya. Ang job ngayon ng kanyang working team is to calibrate those decisions. Pag sinabi niyang oo, ang role ng chief of staff is to check if his ‘oo’ is possible or not,” said Mercado. - source: Manila Bulletin

The “Hero” singer â€" who is married to rapper-and-presenter Nick Cannon â€" reportedly owes just under $30,000 in unpaid bills for Dr. Cindy Bressler’s services for her pets.

The veterinarian filed claims in a New York court yesterday (23.06.10), alleging the pop star has paid just $8,200 towards the $37,800 worth of charges for “extraordinary services” given to her three dogs, JJ, Cha Cha and Dolomite in one month.

The filing states Cindy tended to the pets “at the special instance and request” of Mariah between October 31 and December 2 2009.

It added: “She rendered veterinary services including extraordinary services to the defendant’s canines. Dr. Bressler performed work, labour and services on the defendant’s canines... at the agreed price and reasonable value of $37,790.32, which sum Mariah agreed to pay.”

If Cindy’s claim is successful Mariah will also have to pay her legal costs making the final total sum higher.

By ALEX VALENTIN BROSAS, Manila Bulletin

On her last night as host of “Showbiz News Ngayon” June 25, the Queen of Talk Kris Aquino expressed her feelings about a myriad of things including her latest marital woes albeit sparingly.

“Siguro...lahat ng mga kailangang iluha, naubos na nu’ng nakaraang ilang linggo sa akin. So ngayon, kalmado na ho ako,” Kris said in the latter part of her thank-you speech.

“I only wish for a quieter life in the next six years. I’ll try.”

Kris, it seems, is no longer allowed to talk about her private life in public.

“Bawal na daw, e,” Kris told Boy Abunda when he asked if her fans could still see her in future interviews.

Kris profusely thanked ABS-CBN and the SNN production staff for having worked with them for about a year and a half.

“[And] I would like to say thank you to everybody na nagpuyat, na inabangan ang show no matter what time slot we were on. For giving me the opportunity to be part of a new type of program that was a breakthrough in terms of entertainment television. This is a new way of tackling a new showbiz-oriented talk show kaya maraming-maraming salamat po sa lahat ng bumububuo ng ABS-CBN for believing in this vision and for letting me have a year and a half to be here. For understanding all those times that I was not able to be here because sa mga nangyari sa pamilya ko, sa pamilya namin, tapos sa nangyari sa kampanya, sa nangyari sa taping. Gusto ko lang po ipaabot sa inyo na I feel so blessed that I was given this opportunity.”

By Israeltoday.co.il

A flurry of news reports over the past week indicate that Israel and the US are readying for an imminent military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

On Wednesday, Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency reported that about a week ago a squad of Israeli military aircraft landed at a military airstrip in Saudi Arabia, of all places. It was reported earlier this month that Saudi Arabia had agreed to let Israel pass through its airspace in order to strike Iran.

The Israeli aircraft reportedly landed at the airport in Tabuk in northwest Saudi Arabia, which according to the report will act as the central base of operations for the Israeli air campaign against Iran.

Fars cited a local Saudi resident who said the Israeli presence and cooperation between the ruling local Saudi prince and the Jewish state was the talk of the town.

Saudi Arabia does not have formal relations with Israel, and publicly refers to the Jewish state as an enemy. But Riyadh is just as fearful of an Iranian nuclear bomb as Israel, and would likely resort to any means to avoid having its regional economic influence disturbed.

At the same time, Iran's Press TV reported that a very large contingent of US ground forces had massed in neighboring Azerbaijan. The independent Azerbaijani news website Trend confirmed the report.

Those reports came just days after the Pentagon confirmed that an unusually large fleet of US warships had indeed passed through Egypt's Suez Canal en route to the Persian Gulf. At least one Israeli warship reportedly joined the American armada.

By PIA and Sunday Post

Your preschool and school-aged children underweight and undernourished?
Fret no more.

They may well be on the road to the pink of health with the latest innovation of the
Bohol Provincial Nutrition Council (PNC) chaired by graduating Gov. and Congressman-
elect Erico Aumentado.

This after the governor has launched the “Gatas Para sa Kahimsug Ko (Milk for My
Health)” project at the Ramon Magsaysay Gymnasium in Ubay town.

Aumentado said the project is the latest approach that the Provincial Health Office
(PHO) is pushing to address under-nutrition among preschoolers and schoolchildren
to be piloted in six towns in the 2nd District of Bohol. These towns are chosen for their
proximity to the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) and therefore access to carabao’s
milk now gaining acceptance and popularity as main ingredient for ice cream.
He said this means a delicious way of nursing children back to health.

He welcomes the move, saying that more often than not, these children became
underweight in the first place because of poverty.

Coming from a poor family and orphaned by his father when he was only eight years
old, the governor said he was once also malnourished because of poverty.
“I know poverty at face value,” he recalled.

Seeing a rising industry in carabao milk production on top of nourishing children as
a benefit, Aumentado said he has marketed a new project for Official Development
Assistance (ODA) funding to high-ranking officials of the Korean government. In his
recent trip to Korea, these officials assured him of support for the development of
Bohol’s agri-business and dairy production as add-ons to the multi-industry cluster
(MIC) projects to be implemented in the province as agreed by the governments of
Korea and the Philippines.

Ubay hosts the PCC, the choice anchor to the dairy production project, especially
when it would become the first science city in the Visayas. Aumentado will push for the
conversion as soon as he assumes as congressman next month.

The records at the PHO show that “malnutrition affects the most vulnerable sector
of the population particularly pre-school children, and that the 2010 Operation Timbang
showed that 10 percent of the preschool children have weights below normal”.
The major and immediate determinants of child under-nutrition are inadequacy of
necessary nutrients needed by the body, according to PHO.

Dr. Reymoses Cabagnot, PHO and provincial nutrition action officer, said the “Gatas
Para sa Kahimsug Ko” project will be implemented in six pilot municipalities from July to
October this year.

He said his office facilitated the provincial government’s assistance of P150,000 per
partner-municipality for the purchase of carabao milk.

Cabagnot explained that although carabao milk cannot substitute for breast-feeding,
it can be a good alternative because of its availability.

“I hope this project will be sustained by the incoming administration and that more
municipalities will express interest in joining the project,” he said.
The PNC has been cited thrice in the regional level for excellent programs in
malnutrition reduction, making it a "Consistent Regional Outstanding Winner in Nutrition
(Crown).”

Cabagnot said the PNC aims for a third national citation to qualify as hall of famer.
“So I call on the people in these towns to cooperate to further reduce the malnutrition
rate,” he added.

Ubay Municipal Nutrition Action Officer Basilides Pepino and Municipal Councilor
Constancio Atuel also assured Aumentado and Cabagnot of their support for the
sustainability of the project.

Aside from the ceremonial milk-drinking led by Guillerma Abayabay of the PCC in
barangay Lomangog, Ubay, the signing of the memorandum of agreement among
the provincial government through the PNC, the PCC and the six participating towns
highlighted the launching activity.

These are Ubay, President Carlos P. Garcia, Anda, Dagohoy, Cortes and Sagbayan
although only Ubay Mayor Eutiquio Bernales made it to the launching as the others had
been preparing for their oath-taking.

In the MOA, the PNC will provide funding for the purchase of fresh milk, and conduct
orientation, monitoring and evaluation of the project
The partner-LGUs will take charge of identifying beneficiaries, implementation of the
project, provide ice box as storage for the fresh milk and the transportation from delivery
site to the barangays. They will also have to submit monthly accomplishment reports.
The PCC, the local producer of fresh milk, will to supply the Municipal Nutrition Office of the
six partner-LGUs with the carabao’s milk for the purpose.

Guitars can be divided into two broad categories namely acoustic and electric. But you can make an acoustic tone in an electric acoustic with the help of a processor. > learn more at: http://www.inform.websiteuniversity.org/Article/Acoustic-And-Electric-Guitars/140937

Open question: What's your most favorite FM station in Tagbilaran City

Here's the big difference:

Ninoy Aquino: Hero

Cory Aquino: Heroine

Noynoy Aquino: Free Rider 

Samsung
Toshiba
Panasonic
Devant
TCL
LG
Sony Bravia
Pioneer

Our existing buses are nineteen-forgotten model. If you take the van, labihang guota kay pansak tanan.

In Bohol, where do you buy your appliances?
Abenson, ICM
Du ek sam
or where?

What is the effect if you drink tea and red wine both at the same time?

Rima Taher, an expert in the design of low-rise buildings for extreme winds and hurricane, hopes her phone won't ring much this hurricane season. It's already been busy with requests for information about best building design and construction practices to reduce wind pressures on building surfaces.

In the aftermath of the January earthquake in Haiti, Taher, a civil and structural engineer at the NJIT College of Architecture and Design, prepared a document for Architecture for Humanity about best building practices for hurricane and earthquake-prone areas. It's posted on the organization's Haiti Reconstruction website and still circulates in Haiti. More recently, she cooperated with wind researchers at Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan, to develop and translate from French a brochure for UNESCO to help Haitians prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. UNESCO will distribute the brochure in Haiti.

In 2007 Taher's article about the design of low-rise buildings for extreme wind events appeared in the Journal of Architectural Engineering of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Another article on improved building practices for hurricanes appeared in Caribbean Construction Magazine in July of 2009. - New Jersey Institute of Technology

Manila Bulletin

Vice President-elect Jejomar Binay has called for the abolition of barangay elections to avoid unnecessary expenses and save government money and generate it to other projects.

“We should no longer continue with the barangay elections. The government spends millions every three years for the holding of their elections and if we abolish it, unnecessary expenses would be avoided,” Binay shared during the recent local chief executives at 53rd General Assembly of the League Cities of the Philippines (LCP) at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati city.

Rather than holding elections, Binay said he will urge Congress later to have barangay officials be appointed to their post by the mayors so that their performance may even be enhanced.

By LEONARD D. POSTRADO
Manila Bulletin

Former Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Reynato Puno said on Saturday that the incoming Aquino leadership should show selflessness, patriotism, and love of country which, he said, were well exemplified by national hero Dr. Jose Rizal for the nation to progress.

At the wreath-laying ceremony before the monument of the hero and induction of members of the Order of the Knights of Rizal (OKR) at the Rizal Park on the occasion of Rizal’s 1 49th birth anniversary, Puno said that Aquino and his administration should emulate Rizal for the sake of political renewal and moral reform.

“Selflessness, patriotism, love of country, those were well exemplified by Rizal. The political renewal and the moral reform we have long to have will be realized only if our elected officials, as well as the whole nation, have those traits,” he stressed.

But the lessons shown by Rizal's life story, according to Puno, should be emulated not only by those people in politics, but by every Filipino.

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Written By EDMER F. PANESA - Manila Bulletin

"Behind every man’s success is a father’s dream."

When he took his oath as the country’s 23rd Chief Justice last May 17, Renato Coronado Corona could only recall how his late father, Atty. Juan M. Corona, inspired him to become a lawyer and eventually reach the zenith of his profession.

After all, it was his strict disciplinarian father who pushed an initially reluctant Corona to go to law school and pursue a career in the legal industry.

“Wherever you are, this one’s for you,” Corona said, as if raising a goblet in a toast to his father after he assumed the top Supreme Court post. The statement may sound like a cliché to everyone, but it surely gets the attention of many who have a soft spot for their father.

Sitting down for an interview with the Manila Bulletin, the controversial jurist gave a sneak peek at how he is as a person, most especially as a son.

Who would ever think that someone who looked the part of a cold and detached magistrate and perceived to be fearless is actually sensitive? Corona himself admitted he has always been a very emotional person and would cry too easily every time he talks about his family.

When asked if he could do an interview with us regarding his relationship with his father, Corona immediately agreed and did not think twice. It surely was a respite from his previous interviews that delved mainly on his controversial appointment.

The SC chief said he does not only want the public to know him better as a person but also to inspire and remind them, especially the youth of today, about the values or traits Filipino children are known for â€" respectful and loving to their parents.

He hopes his story will serve as an inspiration to all fathers and sons whose relationships may not be that easy, but share a deep bond and love for one another.

Truly, Corona became so generous in sharing some of his treasured moments with his father, who, at one point, was apprehensive about his son’s earnest interest in pursuing law considering that he married ahead before finishing his degree.

He also revealed how his father’s strict discipline played a large part in his success that no wonder, he never missed sharing with him every single milestone in his career.

As a sign of gratitude, he would always offer to his father all his achievements from finishing his Bachelor of Laws degree to passing the Bar exams, which the older Corona personally witnessed as he was still alive then, as well as posthumously dedicating to him his Harvard diploma, his appointment to the High Court, and more recently his becoming the Chief Justice.

During the interview, the country’s chief magistrate did not only shed some tears but even asked for short breaks to get a grip on himself, overwhelmed by emotion as he is.

Born to a family of lawyers, Corona said it had always been his father’s dream that he and his two brothers, Arturo and Ruben, become lawyers like him.

“My older brother, Arturo, wanted to pursue another vocation. My father would not hear of it. I wanted to initially pursue a military career, (but) my father wouldn’t hear of it. Then I wanted to become an engineer; he also would not hear of it. My younger brother, Ruben, wanted to do something else. Again, my father would not hear of it. He said all three of us will become lawyers.

“We grew up at the time when children obey their parents 100 percent without question. It’s like father knows best. Since my father said all three of us will become lawyers, then so be it. We got resigned to that idea,” the Chief Justice narrated.

But the dream of his father was threatened of becoming a disillusion when Corona and his girlfriend of three years, now his wife, Cristina Roco, decided to settle down after college. He remembered how angry his authoritarian father was when he sought his blessing on their marriage.

“When I asked permission, I said I wanted to settle down because (Cristina) and I had already been going steady for three years. My father was very angry,” Corona reminisced.

“Not that he did not like my fiancé â€" because both my parents took a liking of her immediately when they met her â€" but my father was afraid that I might not go on to law school, that I might not even finish law and of course not become a lawyer. That was the reason he was very angry.”

The disappointed father uttered harsh words that no one would like to hear. But Corona just kept silent and took them all in stride.

Corona talked to his father several times to appeal to him even to the point of saying he was not after his financial support, only his blessing.

But still, the father remained unbendable and insisted he should finish his law degree first.

When he finally realized his father would never ever say yes, Corona told him he would push through with the wedding even without his consent. “He suddenly fell silent; his tone changed and told me, ‘if you want to ruin your life, go ahead.’”

And so Corona and his wife got married. To show his father that he meant business â€" meaning he was going to stand on his own feet without asking for any help from his father â€" they rented a small apartment in Sta. Ana, Manila where they lived together as husband and wife, while he went on with his law studies. A promise is a promise, after all, he said.

From 1970 to 1974, Corona was working at daytime as an employee in Malacañang in the office of then Executive Secretary Alejandro Melchor and in the evening, he would go to Ateneo Law School , which at the time was on Padre Faura Street . Since he did not have his own car then, he took the jeepney going to office and school.

Corona narrated that from work, he would go straight to his class, which was from 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm. “As soon as I got home I would eat dinner, rest for a while and take a nap. Then I get up at 11 o’clock in the evening up to 2 am to review my lessons.

That’s my study hours. I wanted to prove something to my father so it was that way.”

After four years of sacrifice, discipline and hard work, Corona finally completed his law degree â€" with flying colors. He was one of the top graduates of his class, but his father didn’t know this until his graduation rites came on April 6, 1974.

“My father got surprised when he found out I was graduating with honors,” Corona evoked. “It has been a tradition at the Ateneo College of Law that during graduation you give your hood, if you are married, to your spouse. You let your wife put it on you and if you are single it’s your mother, and if your mother is not around, your father.”

But when his name was called, he asked his father to join him on stage and gave him his hood, although his wife and mother were also around at that time. At first, the astonished father was hesitant. He even asked his son why it has to be him instead of his wife and mother, to which, Corona replied: “Because four years ago you were so mad at me and you told me I won’t be able to finish law and become a lawyer. That’s why now I want you to place this hood (on me).”

It was at this point that his father, drenched in tears, finally agreed to put the hood on him. This incident touched Corona very much as he realized that it was one of the few times he ever saw his father cry. Then he hugged his father and told him, “Papa, I fulfilled my promise to you.”

“Being a tough Batangueño, my father doesn’t show any emotion. But in that one instance in my whole life â€" I’d never seen that before nor did I ever see that since â€" he showed a lot of emotion. I saw my father while he was putting on my hood, he was crying. I find it very rare. Not rare, in fact that was the only time I ever saw him cry.”

After graduation, Corona went on to practice law and eventually decided to study some more. He enrolled for a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) program in Ateneo. But just when everything was going smoothly on the family front, the family was struck with a tragedy so shocking and heartbreaking that it left deep scars in his heart even to this time.

In the morning of July 16, 1979, his then 69-year-old father was hit by a speeding passenger jeepney and was dragged several meters away, causing his instantaneous death. The older Corona had just finished jogging in Luneta and was lagging behind some buddies when the vehicle, seemingly coming out of nowhere, slammed into him with such force there was no other outcome to it. It turned out that the driver was drunk.

“That was really hard for all of us,” Corona said. “Principally you know my father had always been a strict father and just a few months before he died I was beginning to be close to him.”

He recalled the times before the accident befell his father, when he used to frequent his son’s house to see his first grandchild with him, Carla. Corona said his father was apparently so taken with his first “apo,” always carrying the baby and playing with it, a side of his father â€" his stern, authoritarian father â€" which he never expected to see or imagine. The older Corona turned out to be a doting grandfather much as he was a severe father with his own children.

Then there were those light moments that they shared months before his father passed away, bonding with him the way that they have not done before Corona got married. At first, Corona said, he felt unused to the idea. To him, his father had always been a force to reckon with, one whose words he had been taught to respect as law. How could you breach a gap like that? Yet, it came so naturally it amazed even him, how capable his father was of showing his affection to his son, something he has not done in the past when they were still growing up and still wet between the ears.

“I had always been afraid of my father even until I got married,” Corona explained. “I tried to be close to him but I was afraid because we grew up under a system where children would always keep a reverential distance from their father… I had always wanted to be close to him but for some reason or another, it’s either I was afraid of him or I maintained a reverential distance from him.”

That explained why his father’s death really struck a deep wound in all of them, and him in particular. It came to a point that Corona blamed himself for not making an attempt to be close with his father early on, that he should have gone out of his way to make an effort to be close to him sooner, and not just during the last few months of his father’s life.

Corona ’s feelings of regret became more heartfelt when he discovered that his father kept his first pay check as a lawyer all along. He remembered that in 1975, he gave his first salary as a gift to his father. “I gav  the pay slip to him and told him that was really for him. I made that offering. At first he refused to accept it but I told him his accepting it would make me happy,” he said between sobs.

Corona saw that same pay envelop in his father’s drawer right after his funeral. “The money was intact and I noticed my father’s handwritten note on the envelope. It says ‘My son Rene gave this to me. This is his first salary. I am not going to spend it and I want this to be given back to him when something happens to me.’” Since then, he kept custody of the envelope.

A year after his father’s death, Corona decided to apply for a Master of Law program in three famous universities in the United States â€" Yale, Columbia and Harvard. Eventually, he got accepted in all three but he ended up choosing Harvard. In 1981, he left for the US together with his wife and three children. They rented a small apartment in Cambridge , Massachusetts near Harvard.

In order to support his studies and his family, Corona studied very diligently and became eligible for a scholarship. He also did some odd jobs in Harvard and worked as assistant in the library. Soon after he finished his master’s degree in 1983, Corona and his family returned to Manila.

From the Manila International Airport , Corona did not go straight to their house where relatives were waiting for them and excited to see them as they had been away for more than a year. Instead, he told the driver that they drop by the South Cemetery, his father’s final resting place.

He was carrying with him then his Harvard diploma. “I placed the diploma on his grave and I talked to him,” he recalled. “I told him, ‘This is now your son whom you said won’t finish his law and won’t become a lawyer. I did not only finish my Bachelor of Laws with honors in Ateneo and became a lawyer, now I’m the first member of the family who went to Harvard.’ I told him that wherever he was, my Harvard diploma was for him.”

As a young lawyer, Corona served as special counsel at the Development Bank of the Philippines. He later became senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary of the Commercial Bank of Manila. After a few years, he joined the Tax Division of Sycip Gorres and Velayo where he occupied a senior position.

In 1992, he joined the administration of President Fidel V. Ramos as Assistant Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs, concurrently head of the Malacañang Legal Office. He was later promoted to Deputy Executive Secretary and subsequently Chief Presidential Legal Counsel and member of the Cabinet. After Ramos’ term, Corona became Chief of Staff of then Vice President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and joined her in Malacañang when she assumed the presidency in 2001. He served as her Presidential Chief of Staff, Spokesman, and later, as Acting Executive Secretary. On April 9, 2002, President Arroyo appointed him as the 150th member of the Supreme Court.

When he took his oath as the country’s 23rd chief magistrate last May 17, Corona was not able to immediately drop by his father’s grave to offer him his appointment. “Nevertheless in the car ride from Malacañang to the Supreme Court I was completely quiet. I think my wife noticed it but actually I was praying to my father. I told him, ‘Papa, I did not just graduate from Ateneo, became a lawyer and studied in Harvard Law School. Now I’m already the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,’” Corona said while crying.

If you belong to the Galon Clan in Bohol, this is your thread. Please introduce yourself and list all persons with Galon family name that you know of...

If you are one of the students or Alumni of Marinduque State College, this is your thread. Feel free to post here.

By REY BANCOD
Manila Bulletin

Marilyn Young and her daughter Jinky live in a three-bedroom, twostorey house located in an upscale neighborhood in Davao City which they claim was bought by the late chess legend Bobby Fischer.

Fischer made a down payment in 2002 and wired money to complete the monthly amortization in 2005, according to Marilyn who is originally from Cotabato City.

The revelation came as a surprise even to his lawyer Sammy Estimo who is handling Young’s bid to secure Fischer’s huge estate estimated over P140 million.

“I was not aware of that,” Estimo admitted. “The new information will strengthen our case and will be presented as part of secondary evidence.”

The apparent oversight could be attributed to Young’s reluctance to share information.

In fact, when the question was first asked, her first reaction was: “Kailangan pa ba ‘yun?”

Not used to the limelight, Young pleaded not to be interviewed in person or their photograph taken, for which, Estimo begged for understanding.

“Marilyn is a simple and extremely shy person. She’s not used to talking to strangers and doesn’t offer anything unless asked,” Estimo said.

On Wednesday, the Icelandic Supreme Court allowed the exhumation of Fischer’s body for paternity test to determine if Jinky is indeed his biological daughter.

Months before Fischer died, Young said, there were plans for Fischer to visit them in Davao City.

“Pero nagbago isip ni Bobby kasi natatakot siya na baka i-cancel na naman passport niya at ikulong siya,” she said. (“Bobby changed his mind for fear his passport would be canceled and be jailed.”)

Fischer was detained by Japanese authorities for nine months in 2004 and 2005 after his United States passport was revoked.

Instead, Fischer asked mother and daughter to visit him during the summer of 2008. His untimely death in January of that same year aborted plans.

Young is still bitter over how they were ignored by those responsible for Fischer’s funeral.

“Nalaman ko na lang sa news namatay na pala si Bobby. Tawag ako ng tawag pero di ako sinasagot,” she recalled. (“I only learned about Bobby’s death in the news. I kept on calling [those responsible for his funeral] but they did not answer my call.”)

Young said it was uncharacteristic for Fischer not to call her.

“Araw-araw tumatawag si Bobby to check on us. Pag di siya makatawag, gumagawa siya ng paraan. Noong na-bartolina siya sa Japan, may tumawag sa akin na Pilipino, pinakiusapan ni Bobby na tawagan ako para sabihing OK siya,” she narrated. (Everyday, Bobby calls up to check on us. If he can’t call, he would find ways to communicate. When he was jailed in Japan, he asked a Filipino to call us just to say he was OK.”)

Young said she expected someone from Iceland to contact her, knowing that Fischer communicated with them everyday.

“Pero walang tumawag,” she rued. (“No one called up.”)

It took nearly a year before the Youngs were able to visit Fischer’s tomb during a visit last December in the company of Estimo and chess grandmaster Eugene Torre, Fischer’s close friend.

Reykjavic had been Fischer’s home since his release from Japanese detention and was the site of his greatest triumph.

Fischer defeated then world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, capping his phenomenal rise as one of the world’s greatest chess players.

He showed his potential at the age of 13 when he defeated chess master Donald Byrne in what was later hailed as the game of the century.

Starting at the age of 14, Fischer won eight US championships and became a grandmaster at 15.

His 11-0 record in the 1963-64 US championship remains the only perfect score in the history of the event.

By MAR T. SUPNAD
Manila Bulletin

DINALUPIHAN, Bataan- The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), the local police and the municipal mayor are blaming each other for the sprouting illegal settlers occupying the government-owned 700-hectares Bataan National Park in barangay Roosevelt here.

PENRO chief Atty. Ricardo Lazaro accused the police and the local government unit headed by Mayor Joel Payumo, of neglecting their duties and allegedly tolerating the 400 families who illegally set up their houses, most of which are even concrete, in the Roosevelt area. According to Lazaro, this is the reason for the alarming increase of squatters in the area.

“May police detachment doon, alam din ng munisipyo yong nangyayari, pero di sila kumilos noon pa sanang bago election,” Lazaro lamented.

But police chief Supt. Enrico Vargas said that their main duty is to oversee peace and order and not on environment and squatting problems. “Di naman namin alam kung alin dito ang mga protected areas at illegal settlers na nananakop sa mga public lands; pero anytime naman basta humingi sila ng police assistance ay nagbibigay naman kami. Pero hindi naman sila (PENRO) nagsasabi kung ano ang pwedeng itulong ng mga pulis sa mga ganitong problema na alam naman natin ay tungkol sa environment at squatting sa mga public lands; Di naman pwedeng pagbubunutin na lang namin ang mga bahay na walang court order; di naman kumilos noon ang DENR, pero kami ngayon ay sisisihin nila,” Col. Vargas pointed out.

Local media men also learned that these squatters have been in the area before, but for political reasons they were not “touched” by the local leadership for fear of losing votes from these squatters who number to around a thousand voters. “Kung titingnan mo, kulang ng political will dito,” said a newsman.

By JENNY F. MANONGDO
Manila Bulletin

The family planning strategy of the Department of Health (DoH) has undergone a rebirth and will take advantage of the prevailing technology to reach their targets that include girls as young as 15-year-old who need information on pregnancy, birth spacing and achieving the desired family size.

A popular foreign song on ‘waiting’ before giving in to sex is one of the tools that are now being studied by a private organization helping the DoH to formulate the new materials for the revised program.

In an interview during the program’s launch in Sta. Cruz, Manila yesterday, Nilo Yacat, media and communication adviser of Healthpro, said they will make a video similar to the ones that we see in videoke bars but they will use family planning messages as background in the selected songs.

He said the videos will tackle issues on sex and family planning that will effectively capture the interest of the DoH targets that also include the “spacers” or the couples who want to achieve birth spacing, and the “limiters” or the couples who want to limit the number of their children.

Apart from the music videos, Yacat mentioned other ‘non-traditional materials’ that will be included in a health event caravan called “Lakbay, Buhay, Kalusugan.”

By MARVYN N. BENANING
Manila Bulletin

The pledge of incoming President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III to stop rice importations has buoyed the enthusiasm of officials in spending more funds for hybrid rice seeds.

In a recent report, the Department of Agriculture (DA) credited the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) Rice Program for bridging the rice deficit and improving the country's food security.

It added that from 2001 to 2009, DA provided only 1.68 million bags of hybrid rice seeds and 12.5 million bags of certified seeds nationwide.

On a per year basis, it meant that the 186,666 bags of hybrid rice seeds were distributed while an average of 1.38 million bags of certified seeds were disseminated nationwide.

Clearly, the volume of rice seeds could not provide any incremental production growth that would shatter the annual deficit placed at 10 percent.

Data culled by the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS) for yields of hybrid rice showed the annual average yield for hybrid rice is only 5.58 metric tons (MT) per hectare.

By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA
Manila Bulletin

President-elect Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s controversial sister Kris Aquino-Yap is promising committee chairmanships and other perks to senators who will support Sen. Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s bid for the Senate presidency.

This was bared on Monday by sources who declined to be identified. Efforts, however, to get the side of Kris proved futile. Her phone could not be reached while she did not respond to text queries.

Pangilinan, a Liberal Party stalwart, is up against LP colleague Senator-elect and former Senate President Franklin Drilon and Nacionalista Party president Sen. Manuel Villar Jr.

The celebrity actress is said to have firmed up the commitment of three senators â€" Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Senators Manuel “Lito” Lapid, and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

According to the source, Kris promised Lapid and Revilla that their committee chairmanships will be retained under Pangilinan’s watch.

Lapid is currently handling the Committee on Sports, Games, and Amusement, while Revilla is chairman of the Committees on Public Services and Public Works.

P.S. I told you so... before Noynoy was elected president.