Nag Shabu sulod sa Capitol?

Capitol employee found 'sniffing' shabu

By Oscar C. Pineda

Friday, June 29, 2012

AS PRIVATE and public organizations celebrate the first anniversary of an anti-illegal drugs campaign initiated by the police, a regular employee of the Cebu Provincial Government and an unidentified woman were seen sniffing shabu inside one of the offices at the Capitol past midnight yesterday.

The traffic around Fuente Osmeña was heavier than usual yesterday afternoon because of the Movement Against Drugs (MAD) parade and anniversary celebration, which the police said drew about 22,000 participants from 20 schools and universities, and seven fraternities, government agencies and nongovernment organizations.

But several hours before the MAD activity, Capitol security guards discovered a Provincial Government employee and an unknown woman having a drug session inside the Provincial Planning and Development office (PPDO) on the third floor of the building.

A laborer assigned to the governor’s office may be involved as he was the one who brought the woman inside the Capitol.

Investigation

Sun.Star Cebu is withholding the name of the Capitol personnel pending their comments to the allegation. The two personnel did not report for work yesterday.

Provincial Administrator Eduardo Habin submitted his report on the incident to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia yesterday. He will report it to the police today.

Habin said he will ask the Committee on Discipline and Investigation to investigate the regular employee and the involvement of the laborer.

According to a report filed by Tactical Security Agency (TSA) head Servillano Ancay, the Capitol employee entered the Capitol at 11:40 p.m. last Wednesday. Three minutes later, the casual laborer arrived with a woman, who reportedly wanted to use the restroom.

After 20 minutes, the guards saw the laborer went out without the woman. When they asked him, he told them that woman will be out shortly.

Blue guards Rosalio Tigle and Rowen Ilustrisimo became suspicious and went to inspect. They saw light coming from the PPDO office.

When they entered the PPDO office, they saw the regular employee and the woman sniffing what they believed to be shabu.

The TSA report did not explain how and why the guards failed to catch the two.

Paraphernalia

Recovered from the desk where the two were allegedly having a drug session were drug paraphernalia, two SIM packs, a cell phone, a cutter, padlock and a bunch of keys. One of the suspects also left a shoe.

On the same day this happened, Capitol launched with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. an anti-illegal drugs campaign called, “Just Say No: Building a Safe and Drug-free Community.”

Under the program, towns will get a score card that will indicate how effective their anti-drug campaigns are. The local government unit with the highest score will receive an award.

During the MAD anniversary, organizers held a slogan-making contest, concerts and chant competition.

“This activity is designed to make people aware and to create interesting activities to divert the attention of the people from drugs,” said Cebu City Police Office Director Ramon Buenafe.

Fraternities

Among those that participated in the celebration were Alpha Kappa Rho and Tau Gamma fraternities, whose members used to fight, resulting in several deaths.

Alpha Kappa Rho won in the slogan-making contest. The group’s Visayas chief, Eric Agcaoili, said the fraternity supports the anti-drugs campaign and will not tolerate drug abuse among its members.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency 7 Director Jigger Montallana said they welcomed reports of drug-related cases during the activity.

Jesus Alon, a high school student of Ramon Duterte Memorial High School, said he will urge his peers to stay away from illegal drugs. (USJR Intern Raycyril Estillore)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on June 29, 2012.

source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2012/06/29/capitol-employee-found-sniffing-shabu-229310?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SunStarCebu+%28Sun.Star+-+Cebu%29

$1,500 Google Glass?

Heck yeah I'd buy a Google Glass prototype

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

Summary: Yes, a prototype of Google Glass will run you $1,500, so? How often do you get to be on the ground-floor of a technology revolution?

Some people wonder whether developers should pre-order the Google Glass for $1,500. My response? Shut up and take my money!

What!? I can only order one if I’m attending Google I/O. ARGH!!!

It’s not that I think Google can do no wrong. Oh boy can they ever. What were they thinking when they came up with the Nexus Q, Google’s answer to the Apple TV??

You see I think that Google Glass may just be the Next Big Thing in computing. And, not just because Google had guys sky-drive to the Moscone Center with a pair. Well, OK, that did help some. It was, after all, the Best Tech Demo ever.

But, let’s set aside all the “Jeez that’s cool,” and look at the facts. There’s actually nothing new about the idea of computer displays embedded in glasses either in science-fiction or reality. I was test-driving a wearable computer with a glasses display in the mid-90s that ran Windows 95.

What’s different though about the Android Linux-powered Google Glass and those earlier systems is that Glass promises so much more than simply a heads-up display (HUD) in your glasses. Google Glass takes HUD and merges it with pervasive computing.

Pervasive computing combines wireless networking, on person computers, and voice recognition and other input/output methods to create a personal computing environment where you are always transparently connected to the online world. We’ve seen this before in science-fiction.

Take a peek through Google glasses (photos)

What we don’t see that often though are things like Google Now. While it didn’t get that many headlines, Google Now is also a fascinating move forward for Google. With Google Now you get the information you need just when you need it… without needing to do anything.

For example, you step outside, you get a weather report. You start your drive to work, you get the traffic news. Your favorite team scores, you get the news. But, and here’s the really interesting part, you get all that without asking for it. Without even setting it up. Google Now looks at your environment, your search history, your location, and uses artificial intelligence algorithms to predict what information you need at any given moment.

Now, put Google Now on Google Glass and watch the world change.

It’s not just techies like myself who think that Google is on to something special here. Sarah Rotman Epps, a Forrester analyst, recently wrote, “wearables will move mainstream once they get serious investment from the “big five” platforms — Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook — and their developer communities. That day is here. And Epps, even before Google I/O opined, ”Wearables will heighten the platform wars — and Google may actually win”

Sure, there have been things that have done some of this, but just like Apple’s iPod transformed the music player and the iPad turned tablets into a market monster, Google Glass is going to change how we see personal computing.

$1,500 to be there at the start? It’s cheap at the price.

source: http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/heck-yeah-id-buy-a-google-glass-prototype/11401

China move to IPv6?

China has a massive internet user base but too few IP addresses – so no wonder its internet players are racing towards IPv6

The move to IPv6 has not been confined to the western world. China’s telecommunication service providers have been racing to update to the new Internet Protocol IPv6, and around 8 June, many of China’s technology players said they were speeding up efforts with a sense of urgency as the number of IPv4 addresses runs dry.

Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Akamai and Limelight networks joined Internet service providers around the world on 8 June 2011 for a global scale 24-hour trial of IPv6. Major ISPs, home networking equipment manufacturers and web companies then worked to ensure they had products and services enabled for IPv6 by 6 June

IPv6 was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force to succeed IPv4, the communications protocol for internet traffic that has now almost reached the number addresses it can allocate for devices.

China’s netizens reached 513m at the end of 2011 - which accounts for 38.3% of its total population, according to a report by China Internet Network Information Center. China, however, only has 330m IPv4 addresses.

It is estimated that a total of 34.5bn IP addresses will be needed in China in the next five years to cater for China’s hunger for the Internet. The Chinese Government treats IPv6 network evolution as one of the priorities for next-generation internet development, as evidenced by the announcement of Instructions for Next Generation Internet Development during the 12th Five-Year Period this March. (Five-Year Periods factor in a number of social and economic development initiatives for the People’s Republic,a nd are used for mapping strategy and growth targets.)

China said it will launch commercial IPv6 network pilot projects before the end of 2013; and by 2014 to 2015, it says more than 45% of its total population will have access to internet, and more than 25m users will be connected to IPv6 broadband. Part of this is also allowing for the mutual exchange of business operations between IPv4 and IPv6 protocols.

Chinese Telcos racing to IPv6

Telecommunication players, including China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom are also pushing the evolution from IPv4 system to IPv6.

Li Zhengmao, VP of China Mobile, says his company is rolling out IPv6 in three phases over the next five years. Between 2012 and 2013 it is carrying out scale testing. During this phase it is kicking off its network restructuring efforts in 10 provinces and developing multiple LTEIPv6 terminals. It hopes to generate three million IPv6 users during this phase.

Between 2014 and 2015 it will upgrade more of its network with the aim of having all developed areas in the East and 50% of its networks in the Middle and West China to support IPv6 system. And in 2016, China Mobile see IPv6 rolled out to the rest of its network.

China Unicom’s work with IPv6 has led it to set the China Unicom Next Generation Network Working Group. It also plans to invest 800m CNY for commercial IPv6 pilot projects in ten of China’s cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. It says it should have no less than 3m IPv6 broadband users by the end of 2013.

And China Telecom has launched IPv6 pilot projects over IPv4 commercial network in Hunan and Jiangsu Province, and plans to restructure its internet infrastructure in more provinces and cities soon. Like the other players, it is also aiming for 3m IPv6 users.

According to the evolution schedule of China Telecom, all of its backbone networks and about 10% of its metropolitan area networks will support IPv6 by 2012 to 2013; and by 2014 to 2015, all its metropolitan area networks in developed regions in the East and 50% of metropolitan area networks in the Middle and West China will support IPv6.

How equipment manufacturers and others are keeping up

Global information and communication solution provider Huawei used this year’s World Internet Day to announce it would provide permanent IPv6 access services to global users. It has cooperated with both domestic and foreign telecommunication players including Vodafone, France Telecom and Singapore Telecommunications to find solutions for transitional technical design verification, next generation internet migration roadmaps and overall solutions to help communications companies overcome the IPv4 address shortage.

In China it has also worked with the big telcos, and as part of this effort has deployed IPv6 networks successfully in many Chinese cities including Changsha, Wuxi, Shenzhen and Shanghai.

Huawei has a lot to benefit from the move to IPv6. It also provides more than 70% of the network equipment for China’s Next Generation Internet (CNGI), one of the largest IPv6 networks in the world.

On the other end of the scale, Internet service provider Tecent - one of the largest in China - has formulated a four-step IPv6 evolution strategy. It has built an IPv6 pilot operation platform and its QQ homepage has become a large comprehensive portal website which provides IPv6 services by using main domain name. Baidu has also put much thought behind IPv6 – China’s largest search engine has formulated an IPv6 migration strategy and applied for more than ten related patents.

source: http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/focus/archive/2012/06/china-racing-ahead-ipv6

How to delete a blog?

Delete a blog

Make absolutely sure that you are on the right blog and that you want to permanently remove it from your account. Then, click on the drop-down menu next to the gray Post List icon and go to Settings | Other for the option to delete your blog. Before you confirm deletion, you'll have the option to export your blog, in case you'd like to save a copy.
If you've accidentally deleted your blog and want it back, you can restore your blog within a certain period of time after deletion. Let's say you have 5 blogs, and you've deleted one of them. Just go to your Dashboard, where your blogs are listed, and click the option on the left that says "Deleted blogs" (if you haven't deleted any blogs recently, you won't see this option). Your deleted blogs will then appear on your Dashboard, with the option "Undelete this blog." Click to undelete, and everything will be back to normal.

source: http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41387

Cebu School Guide

Don Gervacio Quijada St. Guadalupe, Cebu City 6000 Philippines 032 2542905 032 5057308

Website: http://www.stpaullearningcebu.com

Main Campus Canjulao, Lapu-lapu City, Mactan, Cebu (+63-32) 340-3009 North Campus Budlaan Budlaan, Talamban, Cebu City (+63-32) 346-5717

Website: http://marieernestinesch.com

Soong 1 Mactan, Lapu-lapu City, Mactan, Cebu (+63-32) 316-1377 0917-6299778

Website: http://montessori888.multiply.com

Gov. Cuenco St., Banilad, Cebu City 6000 (032) 416 – 1500 (+63) 917 – 3254503

Website: http://brightacademy.edu.ph

Knowledge Garden Learning Center Kasambagan, Cebu City, Cebu 233-3091/231-6681

Website: NONE

St. Anthony’s Montessori Learning Center, Inc. 5 Hiway 77, St. Anthony’s Village, Cebu City, Cebu (032)416-0161

Website: http://www.wix.com/hctesch/samlci

ST. CLAIRE SCHOOL OF MUSIC  AND  PERFORMANCE ARTS

Gee Ann Je Arcade, Pungtod Calajo-an Minglanilla, Cebu (032)490-4995

Email: saintclairemusic@yahoo.com

St. Michael's Play Garden Coast Pacific St., St. Michael Rd., Banilad, Cebu City, PH Tel. 415-0382 | 5839772

Email: stmichaelsplaygarden@gmail.com Website: http://stmichaelsplaygarden.tumblr.com/

24-B Tres Borces St., Mabolo, Cebu City Tel. 232-9608 | 2310208

Email: info@hcsinternational.org Website: http://hcsinternational.org

Gaisano Grand Mall : Shoes Fair!

Gaisano Grand Mall
Basak, Lapu-lapu City

Shoes Fair!

From June 1 to 30

up to 50% off on great selections!

"Everyday is a savings day"

Date Posted: June 24, 2012

Facebook to allow subscriptions

Until now people have been only able to purchase virtual items through Facebook apps. However, as of next month, Facebook has made it possible for people to pay to subscribe to an app – whether it be a game or a magazine.

Facebook will still pocket 30 per cent of all subscription revenues, as it does with any in-app purchases which happen on the site at the moment. The lowest price a subscription can be priced at is $1.

The company made the announcement on its developer blog last night: “Many developers successfully monetize their apps with one-time purchases of virtual items. Beginning in July, we are launching subscriptions as another way for you to build your businesses on Facebook. With subscriptions, you can establish a recurring revenue stream and offer updated content or premium experiences for a monthly fee.

“This new feature will be available to all Facebook.com and mobile web apps in July.”

Facebook has also announced that items for sale on the site via apps will now be priced in the local currency. It is the company’s first major step away from Facebook Credits, the site’s currency.

The move brings monetary exchange more in line with how Apple and Google trade in their respective app stores.

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/9343497/Facebook-to-allow-subscriptions.html 

Jordanian journalist safe, shooting Sayyaf docu

The "missing" Jordanian journalist and his two companions are in constant communication with local government officials, said the chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government on Wednesday.

In a television report, Jesse Robredo, DILG Secretary, said Baker Abdulla Atyani and his two crewmen were able to call Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan and inform Tan that they are shooting a documentary about the bandit group Abu Sayyaf in Patikul, Sulu.

Robredo was quoted as saying that "as far as the government is concerned", Atyani and his companions are "safe".

Even Atyani's Filipino crew - Ramelito Vela and Rolando Letrero - did not seek help when they talked with Tan.

Atyani, who interviewed Osama Bin Laden a few months before Osama's death last year, is the Southeast Asia bureau chief of Dubai-based news channel Al Arabiya.

Robredo added that he will also ask the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration to bar Atyani from returning to the Philippines once the journalist is out of the country.

He said Atyani was dishonest and deceived the government officials when the journalist failed to declare that he would be shooting a documentary about the Abu Sayyaf.

Atyani and his companions were last seen leaving their hostel in Sulu and riding a van to an unknown destination on June 12. Since then the trio have yet to return to their hotel.

NBA Finals Live Streaming, HEAT VS THUNDER

Live video by Ustream

Boat sinks in Indonesia, 58 missing

Search and rescue staff say 58 people remain missing after their wooden boat sank off the coast of eastern Indonesia on the weekend.

"The latest update we have so far is that the boat was carrying 70 passengers when it sank. With 12 people rescued we still have 58 missing," rescue official Rebekka Gultom told AFP.

"The manifest showed that it carried 27 people but it turned out that the boat carried more - 70 people. We got the figure after families of the missing people reported to us," Gultom said.

The Jakarta Globe reports that eight rescue boats have been deployed to help with the search.

No bodies have been recovered today.


source: http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/boat-sinks-in-indonesia-58-missing-1.1322291#.T-Bjsxdo0go

GOOGLE YANKS HUNDREDS OF TERROR VIDEOS

By Suzanne Kelly and Pam Benson

From the new head of al Qaeda core, Ayman al-Zawahiri, to terror propagandist Ayman al-Awlaki, using the Internet to spread the jihadist message is a tool of the trade for terrorists.

In the last six months of 2011, Google agreed to remove some 640 terrorist videos from YouTube at the request of law enforcement officials in the United Kingdom, because the videos violated the company's guidelines. The disclosure was contained in Google's biannual Transparency Report, which provides data on government requests from throughout the world to remove content from Google's YouTube and search websites.

Aaron Zelin, who started monitoring jihadist websites in 2002 in Washington, has seen a myriad of propaganda and do-it-yourself terror tricks posted in the form of videos. 

The problem with trying to take some of the more egregious material off the Internet, said Zelin, is that it has a way of popping right back up again. 

"In a sense, [it's] a whack-a-mole type of thing where especially activists in the West create 20 or 30 YouTube accounts, and they primarily use one and then if somebody flags, it they just take it down and go to the next one. So it's sort of this cat-and-mouse game that you're playing," said Zelin, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. 

Brian Fishman, a counterterrorism expert at the New America Foundation, agreed. "The Internet is fundamentally an open platform. If videos are taken down, they will get re-uploaded."

Google, a parent company to YouTube, has a policy for dealing with terrorist content online. 

According to a Google spokesperson, "Community Guidelines prohibit dangerous or illegal activities such as bomb making, hate speech and incitement to commit violent acts."  The spokesperson talked with CNN on the condition that no name was used because the person is not authorized to speak on the record about how such material is handled.

With hundreds of videos being posted by some jihadi groups, getting a handle on all of the terrorist information that's out there can be a challenge. Google has its own defense: a built-in flagging mechanism that alerts Google moderators to take a closer look.  Any YouTube subscriber, whether an individual or a government official, can select the flag button located below every video on the site. 

The Google spokesperson said the flags are taken seriously and that they are constantly monitored.

"Our review teams respond to flagged videos around the clock, routinely removing material under those guidelines when content is flagged by users or other external groups," the Google spokesperson said.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Connecticut, credited Google for being responsive to concerns about what he called violent Islamist extremism online.

"These videos have played a role in the indoctrination, training, and radicalization of violent Islamist extremists, whose warped ideology advocates the killing of innocent people," Lieberman said in a statement.

But some experts say there can be hidden benefits to keeping some of this material online.

Fishman said the videos are a source of information that is important to intelligence agencies worldwide.

"One of the values of these videos being out there, we can sort of understand what our enemies are thinking about or what these kinds of folks are thinking about,"  Fishman said.

According to Google, the U.S. government made 1,759 requests for content to be removed from YouTube from July to December of last year.  Of those requests, only one removal was in the name of national security but no details were provided on the nature of the request.

source: http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/19/the-whack-a-mole-strategy-of-pulling-terrorist-videos-offline/

Pacman May Fight Marquez Instead

By NICK GIONGCO

June 18, 2012, 4:57pm

MANILA, Philippines --- Manny Pacquiao and Bob Arum are on the same page as to what to do next.

A week after three judges rendered a shocking split decision that made Tim Bradley a household name, the Filipino fighter and the Hall of Fame promoter don’t look and sound thrilled when told about tapping Bradley as an opponent for Nov. 10.

Pacquiao has the right to mandate Bradley to face him in a rematch, but because the decision of CJ Ross, Duane Ford and Jerry Roth left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, staging a rematch doesn’t appear to be high on their list.

Instead of Bradley, the name of Juan Manuel Marquez is being mentioned frequently nowadays and Arum is not ruling the Mexican counter-puncher out as the wise alternative.

 “It (Pacquiao-Bradley) was a one sided-fight,” said Arum, sounding off that he doesn’t feel any rush whenever he overhears anyone talking about a rematch.

Marquez, who has a long history with Pacquiao, is the prime candidate and exploratory talks have already started between the Top Rank chief and Fernando Beltran, who has a promotional pact with Marquez.

Pacquiao has a storied rivalry spanning eight years and three fights.

The first time they met, Pacquiao and Marquez battled to a 12-round split draw in May 2004 and in the rematch in March 2008, Pacquiao escaped with a 12-round split decision.

In their rubber match last year, Pacquiao was awarded a 12-round majority decision, leaving Marquez bitter and still holding a grudge until this day.

Marquez, who turns 39 in August, maintains that he won all three fights and the judges screwed him up.

Pacquiao, 33, is not inclined to make a choice for his comeback fight until the next month, saying he will first go on a vacation with his family before making a decision.

A sneak-peek into Pacquiao’s future will be discussed by the time he and Arum meet again late this week.

Pacquiao is in Sarangani attending to the needs of flood victims but is set to head back to the US to reunite with his family and meet Arum.

source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/362576/pacman-may-fight-marquez-instead

JINKEE PACQUIAO TO HOST TALK SHOW

Jinkee Pacquiao, wife of boxer Manny Pacqiuao, is moving from ringside to the small screen. Jinkee is set to host her first talk show in the Kapuso Network. Without revealing an exact start date, the GMA Network said the talk show will be entitled Love Life. Jinkee has appeared on magazine covers, as well as in commercials as an endorser of the Belo Medical Group.

Google removed 640 YouTube ‘terror videos’

London: Google has revealed that it took down 640 videos from YouTube that allegedly promoted terrorism, in the second half of 2011 after complaints from the UK police. 

The Internet search giant said it terminated five accounts linked to the suspect videos following complaints from the UK's Association of Police Officers. 

The firm, however, said it had rejected many other state's requests for action. 

According to The BBC, Google also refused to delete six YouTube videos that satirised Pakistan's Army and senior politicians. 

The order had come from the government of Pakistan's Ministry of Information Technology. 

Overall, Google said it had received 461 court orders covering a total of 6,989 items between July and December 2011. 

It added that it had received a further 546 informal requests covering 4,925 items, of which it had agreed to 43 percent of the cases. 

The report quoted Google's senior policy analyst, Dorothy Chou, as saying that the firm was concerned by the amount of requests that had been linked to political speech. 

“It's alarming not only because free expression is at risk, but because some of these requests come from countries you might not suspect - Western democracies not typically associated with censorship,” Chou said. 

According to the report, the revelations come in its latest Transparency Report, which discloses requests by international authorities to remove or hand over material. 

source: http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/google-removed-640-youtube-terror-videos_782512.html

Jordanian secretly entered Sulu - military

MANILA, Philippines - The Armed Forces of the Philippines is not convinced Jordanian journalist Baker Atyani was abducted in Patikul, Sulu.

A Palace spokesman, however, said Atyani was indeed help captive and is now in the hands of the Abu Sayyaf.

Atyani and his Filipino crew, Rolando Retrero and Ramilito Vera, were reported missing since going out to film a documentary last Tuesday.

Speaking to ANC, Western Mindanao Command spokesman Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang said they have received conflicting reports on the real purpose of Atyani's trip to Sulu.

Cabangbang said Atyani secretly entered Sulu and used a different name upon checking-in at a hotel.

The spokesman said Atyani's employer Al Arabiya has not contacted Philippine authorities as of this time. A crisis committee is now taking charge of search and rescue operations.

ANC On The Scene, June 18, 2012

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/regions/06/18/12/jordanian-secretly-entered-sulu-military

3rd storm to enter Philippines Wednesday

3rd storm to enter Philippines Wednesday The Philippine Star Updated June 18, 2012 11:47 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The third tropical storm may enter the Philippines by Wednesday afternoon, a government weather forecaster said Monday morning. Manny Mendoza, weather forecaster at the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said that the incoming storm was spotted at 880 kilometers west of extreme Northern Luzon. Mendoza said that the storm, which is already packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour, may enter the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) by Wednesday afternoon. The storm will be named "Carina" if it enters the PAR. Mendoza said that if the storm changes direction from west to east, it may directly affect parts of extreme Northern Luzon. He also said that the storm may intensify into a typhoon. Meanwhile, PAGASA said that typhoon "Butchoy" has slightly weakened as it continued to move away from the Philippines. It said that as of 10 a.m., the typhoon's center was estimated at 580 kilometers east northeast of Basco town in Batanes province. The typhoon slightly weakened with maximum winds of 160 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 195 kph. It was moving north northeast at 24 kph. PAGASA said that the storm will exit the Philippine area of responsibility and move towards Okinawa, Japan by Tuesday morning. The weather bureau said that Butchoy will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon and will bring rains over Luzon and Western Visayas, which may trigger landslides and flashfloods. "Fishing boats and other small seacrafts are advised not to venture out into the seaboards of Luzon and Visayas due to the big waves generated by the combined effects of Typhoon "Butchoy" and the Southwest Monsoon.," PAGASA said. source: http://www.philstar.com/nation/article.aspx?publicationsubcategoryid=63&articleid=818520 Date Posted: Monday, June 18, 2012

Back to School Sale on Laptops and Cameras

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No landfall for Typhoon Butchoy but creating big waves

Tropical Cyclone Butchoy (Guchol) intensified into a typhoon before noon Saturday and continued to move north-northwest, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said.

But PAGASA said no storm signals have been raised so far, even as its projections indicate Butchoy is still not likely to make landfall in the Philippines.

Its projection of the path of Butchoy indicated it will not make landfall.

PAGASA defines a typhoon as an intense tropical cyclone with maximum wind speed exceeding 118 kph.

In its 11 a.m. advisory, it said that as of 10 a.m., Butchoy was estimated at 470 km east-northeast of Borongan, Eastern Samar, with maximum winds of 120 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 150 kph.

PAGASA said Butchoy is expected to be 590 km east-southeast of Casiguran, Aurora by Sunday morning and 500 km east-southeast of Basco, Batanes Monday morning.

By Tuesday morning it is expected to be 690 km northeast of Basco, Batanes.

 Flash floods, landslides

While PAGASA said no storm signals have been raised, it warned Butchoy will still enhance the southwest monsoon that will bring rain over Luzon and Visayas, especially over the western section which may trigger flash floods and landslides.

It estimated Butchoy to bring rainfall of 15 to 25 mm per hour (heavy) within its 500-km diameter.

"Fishing boats and other small sea crafts are advised not to venture out into the seaboards of Luzon, Visayas and Eastern Mindanao due to the big waves generated by the combined effects of Typhoon 'Butchoy' and the southwest monsoon," it said.

In Malacañang, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte appealed to the public to cooperate with authorities in taking precautions.

Valte said the Department of Public Works and Highways had prepositioned heavy equipment in roads likely to be affected by floods or slides, while the Department of Social Welfare and Development had pre-positioned relief items.

The Department of Health has also pre-positioned quick response teams and medicines, she added.

“(Let’s cooperate with authorities) para maiwasan natin ang makaharap ang isang sakuna dahil nagkaroon na tayo ng warning (Let’s cooperate with authorities to prevent something untoward; we already have a warning from authorities),” she said on government-run dzRB radio. — LBG/HS, GMA News


source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/262140/news/nation/no-landfall-for-typhoon-butchoy-but-creating-big-waves

Dolphy 'stronger' after hospitalization

MANILA, Philippines -- Following his reported hospitalization, King of Comedy Dolphy is now in better condition at home, his son actor Epi Quizon said.

King of Comedy Dolphy. File photo

Dolphy, who has been struggling with a faltering immune system, has even developed a stronger appetite upon returning home from the hospital, Quizon said.

"Okay na siya, he's home. Wala na siya sa hospital, nasa bahay na siya. So that's a good sign 'di ba?" he said.

"My dad's okay. Actually I was just with him the other day. Actually ang lakas nga kumain, at saka witty pa rin. Nagpapatawa pa rin, same as ever," Quizon said during a celebrity golf tournament on Monday.

"Medyo lumakas siya ngayon eh," he added.

In February, Dolphy was confirmed to be suffering from an unstable medical condition by his long-time partner singer Zsa Zsa Padilla.

In a taped message, Dolphy in April thanked the public, especially his fans, for continuing to pray for his recovery.

source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/entertainment/05/15/12/dolphy-stronger-after-hospitalization

China prepares for launch, names female astronaut

People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force fighter pilot Liu Yang, as seen in March 2010, will be China's first woman in space
(CNN) -- China will launch its historic space docking mission Saturday along with its first female astronaut in space.

Liu Yang has been selected to join two male astronauts, Jing Haipeng and Liu Wang, as part of a three-person crew aboard the Shenzhou-9, according to China's manned space docking program, which says the mission will last 10 days.

A launch time is set for 6:37 p.m. local time (6:37 a.m. ET) at a satellite center in northwestern Gansu province.

The carrier rocket, the Long March-2F, was scheduled to start fueling Friday afternoon, and the launch ground and control systems are ready, state media reported.

Echoing a famous Chinese proverb, Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program said, "Women hold up half the sky. Human space missions without women are incomplete."

Chinese women push for a place in space

The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft and its carrier rocket as seen Saturday in northwest China's Gansu province.

According to Xinhua, Liu, 33, was the deputy head of a flight unit of the PLA's Air Force and an air force major. She is also a veteran pilot with 1,680 hours of flying experience and, after two years of training, excelled in testing before being selected with another female, Wang Yaping, as a candidate for the crew.

On the eve of the mission, however, it was Liu who won the coveted spot.

Wu said that the participation of women in space will aid training, improve flight crew equipment and expand knowledge on the physical and psychological effects of space on women. "It will also further expand the social impact of human space missions and showcase the positive image of Chinese women," Wu said. "As a woman, I am eagerly looking forward to this flight with a female astronaut."

As a woman, I am eagerly looking forward to this flight with a female astronaut
Wu Ping, a spokeswoman for China's manned space program

In another milestone, Jing will be China's first astronaut to travel twice into space, Xinhua reported. Like his other two crewmembers, Jing is a former pilot of the People's Liberation Army and a member of the Communist Party of China, according to Xinhua.

If all goes well, the Shenzhou-9 will dock with China's orbiting space laboratory, making the nation the third after the United States and Russia to complete a manned space docking.

As a precaution in case of an emergency, one of the crewmembers will not board the lab, the space program said in February.

China to launch major space mission

China has big aspirations for its program and hopes to build a space station and conduct a manned mission to the moon.

Read about China's space plans

The orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module was launched into space in September, and two months later it successfully completed China's first space docking with an unmanned spacecraft, Shenzhou-8, according to Xinhua news agency.

The efforts demonstrate "China's continued commitment to becoming a first-class space power with an independent space capability," Taylor Fravel, associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said this year. "This is a very exclusive club."

China's efforts come as the United States refocuses its space program toward deep space exploration, and private companies such as SpaceX make strides toward the commercialization of spaceflight.

Last month, SpaceX's unmanned Dragon capsule completed the first commercial mission to the International Space Station.

CNN's Steven Jiang and Jaime FlorCruz contributed to this report.

                                                              By the CNN Wire Staff

                                              June 15, 2012 -- Updated 1212 GMT (2012 HKT)

source:http://edition.cnn.com/2012/06/15/world/asia/china-space-launch/index.html?hpt=hp_t3