Blah-ging: Work you printer work!
My printer's sick and it won't spit out anything! Maybe I should replaced HP with Epson or Canon. Grrr! Good thing it's almost the end of the school season.

Big Apple on Guard
With what happened at Madrid's train station, NY security was beefed up at transportation terminals around the city

Terror can strike anywhere so nothing like being preprared for any eventualities.

A terrorist no matter what group is still terrorist
There's train bomb blast in Madrid Spain..looks like ETA's done it..according to Spanish Interior Minister

Update:Spanish officials initially blamed Basque separatists, but they also were studying a claim of responsibility by a shadowy group in the name of al-Qaida.

Uhm.. wondering, would that be Bin Laden's Al Qaeda?

Oops, a moving porno. Tsk tsk

This news says it all.Here In the Philippines, you don't even have to have dvd inside a car, to spot an x-rated thingie..ugh!. Where's the law!

There's a bilboard advertisement of a brandy in a bind because of the double entendre it presents to the public- "Nakatikim ka na ba ng 15 años?" (Have you tasted a 15 year-old) 15 being "kinse" which is refering to Napoleon brandy, became the subject of the controversy. And though not porn, innuendo raises howls from women's groups. Rightly so. Yeah!

A Russian knight in shining armor so it seems

Heh, but of course I'm referring to Vladimir Putin- the most popular Russian politician in decades.

BBC news says Whatever problems people face, they do not seem to blame Mr Putin. And, despite the problems and the poverty - none of which have gone away - life in many parts of this vast land has grown just a little easier under President Putin....Unlike the chaos of the Yeltsin years.

Yeah yeah, okay..he will be re elected and so will President Bush..uhmm..most likeky. But I wonder if it's thesame for President Arroyo.

TV NEWS
HBO says The Sopranos back for a season --Well,the show doesn't really air here. Meanwhile I hope they show new episodes of Six Feet Under..even just the re runs..would be fine. I like that show a lot!

Hmm, I used the word 'show' 3x..geez.

This is (probably) why more Filipino teachers go to the states

Texas begs for teachers - with or without credentials Via CSMonitor and according to the article

While teacher shortages are easing in some areas, they remain a problem elsewhere, especially in the Sun Belt. Texas, for instance, needs 45,000 new teachers annually

Uh huh hence the influx of Filipinos academecians(sp) going abroad to impart more of their profession(al) skills rather than stay here in the Philippines. Not only that, the benefits(salary, housing car, bonuses) the teacher gets is much more than what they can earn here. Further more..

Many states are looking overseas to fill positions.But critics say the program would put untrained teachers into classrooms at a critical time

And I say the Filipino Teachers(sometime, most times)are better than their American counter part. And more highly qualified to do the job. The government should implement more attractive incentives for our teachers so students here can have the best education from teachers instead of the others benfiting from them.

So, you wanna be in the news business or be a good journalist?

A word of advice, caution and guidelines from WPOST

Tech Reviews

Lots of Gadget reviews from Gizmodo.

One particular review is that of the Sony Vaio GRT260G. Hmm, reading the pros and cons ...looks like it is a good oneto have...

Which btw, I added in my wish list... so yeah buy me one! Yayness me! Hehehe.

Not Citizen Kane!

Supreme court decided(finally) that Fernando Poe Jr. is qualified to run for President because he is "natural- born Filipino citizen" according to the SC ruling.

There goes the peso plunging!

A Kerry for all states
And it's final.. John Kerry sealed of and locks Democratic nomination with vicitories at last night super Tuesday primaries.

Bye bye Mr. Edwards. Hello Mr. Kerry. You think you're gonna win over Bush?(Blog to the tune of Bye bye love..hehehe )

Update: Something about the John Kerry traits. Link via Tim blair

Not all dogs go to heaven...they go online!

Watch out world here comes a social networking site for dogs. Apparently a bunch of canine lovers formed a "friendster for the dogs" and named if it Dogster.com.. Arf arf! amazinly there are dogs from far-flung countries including Malaysia, Afghanistan, New Zealand and Croatia.

Dogs are socialing creatures eh? If you're dog lover ir just wannasee different breeds of man;s best friend then go to the site!

News and stuff. Nuisance stuff

What to blog? Hmm..I have a headache and my brain's whacked so for news items and others just go to Drudge Report or anywhere there's news.. I guess

Blah ging: Music in my ears

Listening to Walk away by Epidemic. Hehe a title apt for ousted Haitian President who is no more. Haha.

Oh no! What if it happens here?
Anarchy and chaos descends in Haiti and the rebels calling it the last gasps of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's regime. Part of the Miami Herald report says that

At least a dozen bodies were strewn on the capital's streets, some shot in the head. Armed Aristide loyalists hijacked cars and stripped motorists of valuables. Looters descended on the port, fighting with each other, carrying away food and appliances.

Once again, the international community deplored the disorder in Haiti but took no concrete steps to stop it.

Something similar might arise if and it's a big if Presidential Contender FPJ is disqualified. The many fans of "da king" would protest and there would be anarchy and chaos too. Or there might be coup...again! . Oh no for sure!

Don't wanna see Philippines(come election time or even before that) become Haiti the second

Show me some Passion!

On ash Wednesday(in the US) the most awaited and anticpated film of the year opens and amidst the debate and controversy a lot of people flocked the movie theaters to see what the fuzz is all about.

Yeppers.. blogged about the movie about 2 or 3 times(since last year, search the archives if you must) already and now it's showing. AndI wonder if the board censors here would allow the movie to be shown(owing to the fact that it's violent some say). Being the only Catholic country in Asia, I bet the religious sect here would have something to say about the film!

The truth shall set them (Americans) free

Ralph Nader For President? This comment from BJ in his Pixelforge post: We emphatically do not need a snarky old fart in a bad suit! yeeeouch!..yeah go and read more of the post..hehee

I remember the last time about him running Green Party Movement(or something like that..shrugs) and aiming for the White House too but wasn't successful. Teehee.

Blahgging: Tough one

I answered a 50 points essay question in my exam earlier..yayness! Read more?

Wake up Dude!

Hmm this might be useful. Haha

The Plot to Hunt Al- QAEDA

Oooh of course they're dong something about Bin Laden's Al Qaeda! The article from the Washington Post clearly reports that

In the years before the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the CIA carried out a secret but ultimately unsuccessful manhunt for bin Laden. It was based at first on the band of Afghan tribal agents, and later expanded to include other agents and allies, especially the legendary guerrilla leader Ahmed Shah Massoud. But the search became mired in mutual frustrations, near misses and increasingly bitter policy disputes in Washington between the Clinton White House and the CIA. Read More

Well it's been years now, Saddam has been captured already but still no Bin Laden. The plan to
"seize, kidnap " Bin Laden was a failed one I guess cos he still out there in the mountains somewhere along the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Probably being sheltered by tribes. I saw CNN's report of high ranking U.S officials meeting with their Pakistanis counter part. Wonder if it will bear fruits. Gotta capture those terrorists!

Bloggy Murder!
Proof of blogging popularity, You don't need to be a journalist to cover a trial anymore. According to Cyberjournalist.net: Bloggers cover murder trial Uhm right..pretty soon blogs will take over the papers we read..hehe

Dean is done
Former frontrunner for the Demoratic Presidential candidate, Howard Dean decided enough of losing primaries so nothing to do but exit the race. Part of the NYTimes report:

Dr. Dean, whose outspokenness was part of his allure, never learned to watch his words, nor grow into a skilled statesman who could reach beyond his base.

He thought he was gonna win cos of his popularity in the early goings of the campaign. Attacking President's Bush's policy on Iraq and other stuff(like capture of Saddam) made him laughing stock or punch tirades by the other Democratic candidates. I guess though with his ground breaking web campaign style of and lots of supporters and charisma(though it didn't carry him over to the primaries), he'll stay and be a force in American politics

But he's quitting the race..Ehehehe.

Somethings wrong with blogger and my site. Maybe it's just my 'puter argh!

Eat chocolates and be healthy?
Oh yeah did you know that chocolates helps improve circulation, cut blood pressure and might produce other health benefits, according toresearchers.

Life is like box of chocolates eh? Eat some and improve your health. Eat alot you get fat! Yeeesh!

Yikes, I see freaky candidates!
Jeepers creepers, Presidentiables and their campaign materials littered the walls of the metropolis. Since yesterday started the official campaign season for the national elections, it's was like ready get so or ready aim fire sort of a rush to the nearest bare walls and posts and lamps by "paid volunteers" and who can stick and post the most numbers of ads and yucky large faces of the candidates! Ugh. Can't wait for the May 16 elections already so the mad rush to inundate us with who the hell cares jingle and paid ads and big scary looking billboards of the candidates will end.

Asia's Sickness

And this from AP:Bird Flu May Have Passed Between Humans
Now thats a scary thought. The report says:

Limited human-to-human transmission of the virus is not considered a serious danger. What experts fear is that the virus might mutate into a form that passes easily between people

Gee "not a serious danger!"?. People are dead as a result of a possible human to human contact instead of just with the birds! WHO needs to look deeply into the matter. And I think they are.

First the SARS now this Bird Flu. Ack! Vaccinate the whole Continent!

Blah ging

Yey,I made a new theme for my journal. Out of boredom I guess. It's a black and white layout with a light Goth Girl image. It's not tableless though like the other ones in my other themes but still pretty cool.

Teacher on T.V
Gee, somebody's interviewing one of the teacher's in school I didn't realize he's the famous now. Haha.

Uh oh! How scary is this...

An 11 yr old gives birth!

Pity the child! Shucks, I can't imagine a grade school girl being a mom! Why had it reached to the point that the girl whose only 11 years old, got pregnant!? I mean, there maybe circumstances beyond girl's control but damn, can you imagine being a mother at 11 yrs old? Like I said it's scary, sad too, to allow such thing like that to happen? Probably abortion is out of the question but still..tsk tsk..what the hell's happening to society and how children are being raised!?

Poe in pressure

I guess FPJ cannot really be a good guy forever as he lost his temper somewhat when reporters persistenly asked him a lot of questions regarding number of issues. He was attending dinner party and maybe the guy just wants to eat without being pestered with questions. But well, the price one pays for entering the world of politics!

The SIM sequel is here

If you're a SIMS fan. I don't play much but I didn't enjoy the SIMS that I have. Description of new one: The game is goal-oriented as you try to get on a career track and socialize your way to popularity.

Uh huh. Okay then. *Clueless*

Do Weblogs/Journals really help a candidates campaign?

Yes. in some ways it does. It has become an indispensible tool for journalist and candidates. There are increasing number of voters who are net savvy and always online and tend to stay and linger much more when they go to a certain blogsite. Either they read the post and make a comment or just look around. Consider this:

"A blog's not going to have the same reach as a Washington Post or USA Today or an AP article," said Cameron Barrett, a longtime blogger now with Wesley Clark's campaign. "But it does have reach, and people consistently go to online blogs to find information that traditional media ignore."

Case in point is Howard Dean's weblogs. Though the man has skidded in polls (and lost in Iowa caucus) he still remains one of the popular Democratic candidate for President. Thanks in part to his weblogs and internet campaign which gets a lot of hits a day.

Media's web journal and constant blog post have become a viable tool for political junkies who mostly turn to their blogs for news and articles and post we don't normally see with the traditional media.

There's a lot of journalist with web journals! Some news outfit and media company forbids their reporters to have blogsite though.

Journalist and their political contributions

It's not only the business sectors but oh yes even the media outlets and their journalists contribute funds for their own respective choice of candidates. I think that it's wrongs because it casts doubts about their reporting. Washington Post reports that...

Such donations raise difficult questions: Do employees of news organizations give up certain civic rights? Or, in an age when polls show growing public perceptions of media bias, should the appearance of siding with a candidate or party be avoided at all costs?

"A good rule of thumb," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, "is, if this were known publicly, would it cause the audience to have doubt about the credibility of this person's coverage?" That, he said, is often "a judgment call."

Here in the Philippines, it's probably happening too. I mean, with the Lopezes most likely will contribute to either Noli de Castro or Loren Legarda. Mostly though it's the other way around. The politicians are the ones giving money away as sort of encouraging or enticing certain media people to write more favorable news about them. Ethics in journalism should be practiced and getting money or contributing funds to certain politicians should be forbidden.

Books worth blogging

Amazon.com search inside the book is pretty cool, it's like reading some of the pages and quite engrossing too. I have a wishlist and part of the list is the book Disgrace . It's an engaging read. Sorta like Out of Africa..esque, type but probably less focused about romance but more on the post-apartheid South Africa.

Alliances and Partnerships and consumer benifits..
I think. HP and Apple computers have formed an alliance and to deliver an HP-branded music player based on Apple's iPod also HP PCs and notebooks will come preinstalled with iTunes. Link via Gizmodo (see HPod pic) full story from Macminute

So does it mean HPod will be less expensive than iPOD but will have same quality? Oooh nice bargain!?

Another partnership is that of RealNetworks and IBM teaming up and will focus mainly in helping businesses deliver their own music, television programs and video over the Internet.

It's good isn't it? For companies who would more want exposure and have their programms on the net. Maybe we'd see a lot of company commercials..yay! ^_^

Ouch!
Sometimes truth hurts as President Arroyo found out. But some surveys shouldn't really be barometer on how well a candidate does. It is there just to assess and see how well a candidate is with voters and demographics and different sectors of society.

Something's missing in Capitol Hill

It's gone silent.The editorial from Washington Post explains it clearly and why.

Many Republican members profess to be fully content with the Bush administration's handling of the war on terrorism here at home. Many Democrats, meanwhile, are happy to snipe from the sidelines but offer little in the way of constructive alternatives.

Yet in absenting itself from the policymaking process, Congress does not merely fail to protect American liberty. It also fails to aid the executive branch in fighting terrorism.

It's been observed that since the war(in Iraq) started and ended, Capitol Hill has been silent on many legislative issues to tackle --Congress has had nothing to say about how captured enemy combatants ought to be treated, either domestically or abroad.

I think that 2004 being election year, the more there should be a move to pass legislation acts regarding important matters and not just stood by and be content with whatever the administration presents.

Earth to Mars, I've landed!

Saw the news earlier and NASA's scientists at CIT's Jet Propulsion Laboratory were very estatic as the Spirit Rover Exploration landed in Mars! For those guys mission accomplished it would seem.That was cool, seeing the piece of robotic machine finally inside the red planet. It looks like the rover is there to look for geologic evidence that liquid water — a necessary ingredient for life — once persisted on the surface. A direct search for life on Mars is at least a decade away, NASA scientists said.

It's a good tthat there's such an exploration and research for who knows, if it was inhabited eons ago, whos to say that a human can't live there too. We can send those lousy politicians, and freaks and terrorist there. Yep, far from the many goodies from earth!

Finally!
And after many delays due supposed terror threat, the BA flight takes off. Hurrah! I think the plane's one of the safest right now to be on board.

Blah ging!
Yey, I finished making a layout designed for my journal. It renders as xhtml(I hope) and is tableless. Nice. I mean it's much easier to modify and maneouver using css tableless design. I tried doing tables and with frames too but wasn't really satisfied. Most of the layouts I make are just amateur..ish in nature but I try and make it as good and clean as possible.

And they're the go...on the left on the right in the middle.....

Geez, political scene here is nothing short of becoming box office hit as different candidates readies themselves for the coming elections this May. FPJ and Loren Legarda filed their certificates of candidacy amidst their many "FANS". Come Monday, will bePresident Arroyo and her choice of VP, Noli de Castro's turn to File their COC. Meantine Ping Lacson, whose another presidentiable wants Bayani "BF" Fernado as VP. And then there's Raul Roco too with an Aquino(Hermie is the name..shrugs)as his choice for VP.

These politicians are excited. Yeah, much too damn excited about the upcoming elections as the merry go round of whose gonna be where in whose line up(for senators, governors, mayor, etc) is really becoming hilarious albeit in very much "showbiz" way. Looks like politics and showbiz are just one and thesame.

China and the Virus problem

As what happened last year in China, it seems there's a possible SARS victim again The patient, a 32-year-old television worker. Everyone knows what kind of panic the severe acute respiratory syndrome brought to many Asian countries and Canada, which happens to be the only non Asian nation to have been infected with the disease. But there seems to be good news to this cos World Health Organization says "Even if a few cases, or clusters of cases, of SARS were to occur it would be possible to prevent massive spread"

I think doctors and scientist/researchers should look for vaccines for this kind of disease cos it's really dangerous and could kill if severely affected by it. It already left several people dead last year. Recurrence of the disease is happening again and it must be stop.

Not good way to start the New Year
Terrorism is bringing worries to everyone and the homeland security on heightened alert. The BA flight that was cancelled due to "fears of a possible attack appear to be based on suspicious names on passenger lists, and information that specific flights may have been targeted" according to BBC

It's now 2004 and terrorism still the promiment news maker. We're just beginning the year and already this news doesn't really give a very good indication of a calm peaceful year ahead.

2003: The year that was. 2004: That year that will be...
Let me blog it this way: 2003: Bombs going off, airstrikes everywhere. War was the event. SARS was the scare. There were deaths everywhere. From battlefields of the desert, through the utmost corner of faraway China. Russia, Turkey, Israel. Saddam was toppled and Iraq crumpled,their leader...captured inside a spider hole!.The "Terminator" became Governor.Blogs was in thing. Embedded word of the year. The iPOD and Tivo were the gadgets to have. The onslaught of virus one after the other kept geeks awake all day..finding ways to eliminate teen hacker freaks. And as the year ends, More Tragedy occured. Iran Earthquake, Gas leak In China. Mudslides in the Philippines and California. Resurgence of SARS and a mad cow disease not helping end the year in good note!.

2004: New Leader for the Philippines. Still will be thesame leader for the U.S. Hopefully the Roadmap to Peace begins anew. Less war, less killings. more peace talks and action. More good things to come for every nation! More good news to blog about!

Uhm okay, thats it! Enjoy New Years Eve. Have a Happy New year. I'm blogging off!

Something similar of a news

The mudslides were set off on Christmas Day after a downpour fell on hillsides that had been stripped of vegetation by wildfires in October and November. With nothing to hold the soil in place, trees and rocks went roaring down the hillsides, along with the dark-brown mud. .

The California mudslide triggered by heavy downpour of rain reminds me of similar kind of news here with the Leyte mudslide tragedy about a week ago

Yeah, news feels like dejavu all over..only the one that happened here in the country is more severe, I guess.

Freak on the loose

My stats counter has been bogged down by some lame ass dude who tried to do something with their server. I hope it gets fix soon.
Update: Grrr! stats counter hasn't been fixed yet so I have a new one. I guess I'll bring back the old one when it's fixed. Hopefully soon!

You spam, You pay!

What a good idea! For every spam those hoax and fools sends ,they'd have to pay. According to BBC..a group of mircosoft researchers may have come up a solution that could, at least, slow down and deter the spammers.

"The basic idea is that we are trying to shift the equation to make it possible and necessary for a sender to 'pay' for e-mail," explained Ted Wobber of the Microsoft Research group (MSR).

The payment is not made in the currency of money, but in the memory and the computer power required to work out cryptographic puzzles.

Good! Who wants to get emails full of junk nonsense crap! Let those spammers pay somehow. Uhm..hmm, for every unwanted spam I get, they'd have to pay me $10 or 20 bucks. Hahaha..I'd be fcking rich! Well, if it were monetary punishment. Yeah! ^_^

It had to be that one
Word of the year!--"Embedded". Yeah, and "blogs" too I think. Most used words WMD--weapons of mass destruction and SARS-severe acute respiratory syndrome

I remember few years back..most replayed and talked about phrase ..." I did not have (any) sexual contact with that woman" or something like that.

Christmas gift for sniper killer?

Lee Boyd Malvo gets life sentence instead of death penalty

Malvo, 18, exhaled heavily and hung his head as the clerk read the jury's finding that he met both qualifications for the death penalty.

But then again the jurors decided to spare him the death penalty. I'm not a fan of that punishment but I do agree sometimes. Him getting life sentence is as good as getting the penalty of lethal injection. Knowing that your gonna be spending the rest of your life in jail!

Merry Christmas To All

'Tis the season to remember today is his day!
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." ---- Isaiah 9:6

Wow, SMS from the Pope!

Oh yeah, people can now receive a thought of the day from the Pope via mobile SMS. Guidance and prayers are included as well.

Teeeheehee, The Pope's TxTing!:) I wonder if Vatican uses txting jargon lingo.Hahah. Just goes to show even religious entity and figures do know how to be a mobile techie. Nice!

Bush getting good marks and ratings

I'm sure he's griinning again! And Howard Dean's frowning? Haha.

Meanwhile President Arroyo here is hoping to be grinning too and be up in the polls. Maybe Noli Boy "Kabayan" de Castro can help her surge in the ratings. Uhmm, yeah ok. Yayness

What online blogging and internet know how can do for Presidential bid

Frank Rich's NYTimes(reg req'd) article: Napster runs for President in 04 puts it clearly..

Should Dr. Dean actually end up running against President Bush next year, For all sorts of real-world reasons, stretching from Baghdad to Wall Street, Mr. Bush could squish Dr. Dean like a bug next November. But just as anything can happen in politics, anything can happen on the Internet. As more Americans use file-sharing software than voted for Mr. Bush in the last The luckiest thing that could happen to the Dean campaign is that its opponents remain oblivious to recent digital history and keep focusing on analog analogies to McGovern and Goldwater instead.

Techie Dean does it. Looks like if he wins Democratic run off for President, his voters would be those of hip young file sharing techie geeks. Hehe

Tragedy of deforestation

The video feeds from news channels show how much of mudslide slammed into villages of Leyte leaving a hundred people missing or dead. I was watching the news and people were covered with mud, lifting the dead and the villages were just wiped out by the landslide. It's a pity to see this kind of tragedy knowing that if there were trees..lots of them instead of bare mountains, it might've prevented a total landslide of mud.

Maybe this tragedy would bring attention to the illegal logging and deforestation of our natural resources.

Just as I suspected, sniper killer gets convicted
Via Washington Post

Lee Boyd Malvo was found guilty and now jury will choose what kind of sentence he would have. The always used brainwash/insanity defense didn't work. My blogging mind though thinks he should be given the life sentence and not the death penalty. Sure what he did was horrible and vicious and tragic but putting him in death penalty will not bring back the innocent victims. Whatever the jury decides, the killer should face the consequence of his actions.

Update: Penalty phase underway
The stories that victims families are telling the jury is compelling and moving you'd have to be a stone not to get affected.

Expensive way to be a Jetson on vacation

Oh yes, it can be called too as the space vacation adventure of the rich and the (would be famous), as two Americans have agreed to shell out$20 million each for separate eight- to 10-day trips into orbit.

Gee, the money can feed poor children of Africa! But hey, you work hard for your own money you get to do whatever you want. Lucky dudes!

What the President doesn't wanna hear..
A Travel advisory! And so the Philippines is protesting the Canadian embassy warning. Sheesh, we can't blame other countries for putting up advisories like that. It's their right to see to see to it that their nationals have been warned. But hey, our country is safe mountie dude! Hehe.

Gee, I can still win?
According to to Village Voice article Howard Dean is still electable.

Hmm..I guess notwithstanding the pounding of words he's getting from his rival democratic candidates. Can he beat Bush though? Possible, if economy is not good.

Here in the Philippines where election campaign seems to have began already, The question for President Arroyo.. Is she still electable? If she's got no other presidentiables breathing down her neck, maybe!

The most common and used argument in trials

It's not surprising to say the least. In almost all cases murder trial, homicide attempts. It just is amazing that laywers and the defendants always uses same kind of defense: INSANITY!. Especially if they think that the case has nowhere to go and it's obvious that a conviction will be the outcome. Take the case of the sniper killer.
U.S. News: Lee Malvo's brainwashing defense. Part of the report says -- The plain facts are now blurred by the defense argument that Malvo should be considered not guilty by reason of insanity. In the end, even if proved, mental illness may not save Malvo from a guilty verdict.

Remember latter part of 90's when school killings were occuring frequently and the people(teenagers) charged would always used the defense of having mental illness, abusive parents, denied love and attention hencethe need to do what they did. Or how about the Menendez trial. They used reason of insanity as their defensefor them not to be convicted. It didn't work out.

Same thing will probably happen to sniper killer.

If it matters to you...
10 Ways To Increase Your Search Engine Ranking

Uhm, haha to some it does.. I guess. Meanwhile my referrers..gosh, lot comes from .net .gov and .edu more than dot com.

Could another "rat in a hole" be found too?

Different hole, same rat and so they found Saddam what about Bin Laden? From NYTimes -- Mr. bin Laden is believed to be hiding. He has chosen far better terrain in which to hide. He also appears to have more loyalty from his close circle of aides than Mr. Hussein did, and therefore has confounded efforts to track him.

"It seems to me they are back at square one," said Peter Bergen, a terrorism expert and author of "Holy War, Inc.," on the rise of Al Qaeda. "My impression is that they are not devoting a lot of resources to it. It seems to be forgotten. Maybe the capture of Saddam will lead them to become interested in it again."

Ooooh..quite true! Better get a move on to it faster!

Dawn Mass commences today

What we call here a simbang gabi, church service will begin shortly a little after four or depending where one's locality or parish is. For 9 nines days Filipinos here do that tradition of waking up early going to church to hear mass and afterwards having a drink of hot cocoa an a bite of rice cakes, cassava cakes and other native sweets. They say if you completed the whole nine mornings your wish will come true or be granted. Heh, we're a catholic country and we believe in whatever divine miracle happens.

A happy "Dubya"
Iraqis are jubilant with the capture of Saddam. but no one feels like the victor more than Bush himself. Gleeming with grin soo up to his ears deep inisde..when he annouced "good riddance" to Saddam. The Washington Posts says.. His dramatic arrest provides a major political boost for President Bush and considerably complicates the task for the Democrats who have argued that Bush's foreign policy needs a significant overhaul.

Hmm, I wonder if Democrats eating dust! Maybe it should just be Howard Dean. Yaynes. Peace.

Exam week
Got exams later so blogging off. Somebody's mad at me..I'm sorry

Blog reactions to Saddams capture

Ah huh they're still talking and blogging and blabbing about it

Pixelforge -About damn time
Instapundit - Somebody do a bed check on Charles Manson
Amish - Just another typical big-mouthed Arab wimp-in-a-suit.
Tim Blair - has lots different reaction form different bloggers and news
The corner - lotsa links and news reactions

Funny Glenn reaction but dunno who Charles Manson is. Okay, go to the blogrolls for more

GOOD NEWS!

SADDAM CAPTURED!

"We got him" said US administrator Paul Bremer. Iraqi journalists in the audience stood, pointed and shouted "Death to Saddam!" and "Down with Saddam!" Saddam was captured Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in a cellar in the town of Adwar, 10 miles from Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history.

From t.v pictures he looks tired run out and resigned. But is it him? Of course or they wouldn't show it at all. Okay jubilation for everyone! no more tyrant! Perhaps Iraqis can build a new nation without the fear of the evil man!

It is a victory for the US and Bush administration too (and coalition forces) for today it paid off- the war in Iraq, freeing Iraq and it's people from tyranny and oppression, paving the way for democracy and staying for long even when attacks on US soldiers happened on a daily basis. And now to this..Saddam Hussein's capture! Well, Bin Laden should be next!

Sad news! Philippine foreign minister dead
Secretary Blas Ople died after having trouble breathing aboard a flight to Dubai.

How sad...*shrugs*. He was good politician whatever one might say.

Is FPJ running or not?
Everyones waiting for his confirmation it seems. " Da king", Fernadoe Poe Jr, has given no answer and has kept both his supporters and opponents guessing.

Tsk tsk.. what can I say but, lets hope the country and whoever wll lead the nation(FPJ? uhmm...gee...) will not become just puppets of their masters(erm, Danding Cojuanco and company?)

YEOOUCH! EWW! YIKES!

MANILA (Reuters) - An irate Filipino housewife sliced off her husband's penis while he slept after she discovered text messages from another woman on his mobile phone

LOL ^_^ *giggles* Lorena Bobbit(remember her!? became infamous for doing same exact thing) the second! How sad for the "dismembered" guy" that must have been a painful one! Heh, that'll teach guys to be more careful next time they tinker with their cellphones!

No school today
Yipeee. So obviously I go to a catholic school. It's feast of the Immaculate Conception and traditonally it's when all the second graders take their first Holy Communion :) which I've done ages ago :)

Everything you need to know
And much more. Because Bay area it's soo damn diversified and if one's clueless...You Know You're In San Francisco When . .
♥ Your contractor is gay, but your hairdresser is straight.
♥ You get on the bus and you're surprised to actually hear a conversation in English. (Hahaha..true eh?!)
♥ Every time there's an earthquake, you're under a table praying that the metropolis will finally get to break away from the mainland.

Teehee just some of my favs. But it actually makes me think weirdness and wackinesss do exists even in such a lovely city! ^_^

What terrorism and warning advisory can do to performers....
Limp Bizkit shows canceled due to security alert . See, thats what it does. Bands who're supposed to do concerts here decided not to since the State Department warning of increased security threats in the Southeast Asian region I remember last year Red Hot Chili Peppers were supposed to do a concert here too, but same thing happened.

Sad. Not because the band cancelled but it sends a worrying sign cos the other countries will think that Philippines is really not safe for visitors..when I think it is safe. Compared to others!

Blah blah blogs
Wheeeehehehe! I made a new holiday layout theme for my journal. I mean, who gives a shit (I do I do!)but anyhow, it's a tableless-similar to the ALA and the Three column Holy Grail layout I have. It's green and red and very christmas in effect even without images..Got a DHMTL(picture)frame effect though. And I'm Blogging off now!

And the ambush and terror continues
US soliders, Japanese diplomats and Spanish convoy have been the brunt of Iraqi ambushed attacks by terrorist and Saddam Fedayeen. Somebody should do something about those loyalist of Hussein!

He keeps going and going and going...
And not yet about to retire, I may add. NYTimes has this featured article about CBS anchor man and hey doggone it! Good ol' Dan Rather still keeps on going and not ready to yield so far.

Sheesh, no need for him to worry. Hello? Those news anchors at CNN looks about his age too! some of them..or most of them infact! Hahahaa ^_^.

Happy Thanksgiving!
One good article from Boston Globe and James Caroll Of Thanks and Mercy... More dead GIs over the weekend, more mutilated. More global terror as the blowback spreads. More opposition in the streets abroad. But at Thanksgiving, can't the columnist let up? War, war, war. What about all the things for which we Americans can be grateful?

Thanksgiving time! All you Americans out there, may you have good size Turkey to chow down. Hehehe. It's the time when Americans should be thankful for; Soldiers serving abroad and feeling lucky that despite the many hardships and bombings they endure they're still able to celebrate the day. And for those who have perished and has given a lot to good causes, a Happy thanks giving as well.

FPJ announces candidacy for President

“Ako po, si Fernando Poe Jr., ay lalahok sa pagkapangulo [I, Fernando Poe Jr., will compete for the presidency],”

Ending the speculations of many, Fernando Poe Jr aka "Da King" said he will run for Philippine President come may 2004.

Shades of Erap Estrada in the making maybe. Intention to run and help people is sincere but too bad for him he's got a very clean name and it'll be tarnished, pried upon and besmirched by opponents. Politcs a dirty game!

A Manila Bay story of rediscovering

Earlier, we thought we would not make it on time, but looking at the sky as we turned toward Roxas Boulevard, he said, "I think we still have one hour." It was the first time for both of us to see the sunset on Manila Bay. He is from Seattle, and I am from Quezon City, but I had never bothered before to wait for the sun to set on Manila Bay, knowing that it would always be there, available for me when I finally have the time. Now that he insisted, I went along although I had a lot of papers to file at the office. After all, he was my visitor. Read full story

Heh. Romantic capers promoting beauty that is Manila Bay sunset. Teeeheehe :)

End of Ramadan
No school today. It's a holiday. We're a Catholic Nation but we have Muslims in Mindanao so yeah, we also celebrate and remember period of Ramadan.

It's the "IN" thing in campaign tools: a BLOG!

Presidential canidates Howard Dean has one so does Gen. Wesley Clark. And both generate a lot of webvisits. Link via OJR full story from Washington Post.

Of course that applies in US but what about here in the Philippines. Hmm. I doubt if our Presidentiables even know what a blog is! Hahaha. Besides it won't be an effective tool here(Somewhere I hear a duh! haha) for we have voters in far flung barrios and other remote places which most likely hasn't even seen a computer or know what an internet is..let alone a blog.

Ugh! How could she!?!
A woman turned down a 3 hour shopping spree! Geez, what a waste! I wish I was the winner. Three hours probably isn't enough and OMG to think it's even free! Tsk tsk!

That Fateful Day
The New York Times (Reg Req'd) has a special features and articles of Kennedy Assassination 40 years later

It's his death assassination Anniversary and theories still abound of what really happened that day and what it would have been like had he lived.

Jacko the Wacko and his problems
And Michael Jackson was released after posting bail.

Hmm, I kinda felt sorry for the guy. Yayness...haha

Update: Hehe, I don't feel sorry for the wacko..I'm fully awake! Hahaha. Truth is, the wacko is "sleeping with young boys! (He admitted it). He should be put jail. In same way that priests who molests young boys should be incarcerated too. Oh and I freaking agree what Crazy Pundit said of Jacko's mug shot; Creepy! Soo damn disgustingly scary! *shudders* Hahahaha..Eww Gawd!

They're at it again!
Istanbul, Turkey is rocked by bomb attacks and explosions (more than 450 gotinjured and 27 dead)once more. Who else but Al-Qaeda is believed to be responsible for the blast.

"The nature of the terrorist enemy is evident once again," Bush said. "They hope to intimidate. They hope to demoralize. . . . They're not going to succeed."

Yeah, so better capture those terrorist, Dubya!

Biggest show in Hollywood
A mix and match of politics and entertainment it seems during the swearing in of the Terminator..Ahhhnnuld, of course..hehe. From Sacramento Bee:
It was a you-never-know kind of day, as legislators and celebrities who don't typically wait for much of anything passed time in long lines leading up to metal detectors; a demonstrator walked with a sign containing messages about "12 galaxies" and "tugretonial coverage" and "phugratinetel" somethingorother; Richard Riordan, the state's new secretary of education, nearly stage-dived off the media tower when he tripped over a wayward wire on his way to yet another interview; and the hot item on the streets was a $20 T-shirt bearing the slogan "Arnold's the One." read the whole story(w/pics too). The San Jose Mercury also has a good funny sidehsows of the glitz and glamour innaguration:

Like the wild campaign that preceded his victory, Schwarzenegger's big day contained a bit of circus, a smattering of show biz and a ton of history.

It's soo soo..yay, I wonder how it would be like like FPJ runs and wins in 2004. Fernando Poe Jr, of course is a famous actor here and is highly expected to run for the country's number job. That of being the President. Funny! Haha

Word for the day: Seamless Computing
And Bill Gates defined it as the ability to access and share information among many kinds of devices, from software-enabled wrist watches to new designs in cell phones and virtually any type of PC. He's thinking "S" these day as he unveils new stuff and overview of his products from his super smart savvy sense of geekness.

Yeyness! new products eh!? Need those anti spam thingies!

Al-Qaeda warns the Japanese..
If it sends troops to join the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, they will attack Tokyo! Saw the news via Drudgereport Read details here

Oh my! With all the Japanese technology and inventions they should discover or make one that can really track down the whereabouts of Bin laden, Saddam and those terror network groups and theiir cells!

ACK! what's happening to blogrolling. My blogger spot is full of blogrolling links to rocker girl..oh *!@%^&&..grrrrr!!! suuucksss!!!! It's gone psycho!!!

edited..updated: It seems whatever's ailing it's fixed now!

Rainy day blues
Uh oh, Been raining here a lot and still is..typhoon is still around somewhere in the Philippine area I guess.....but the floods, no doubt it'll be the source of inconvenience once again. Hello! MMDA!

Ultimate malling experience

This report from St Louis Post- Dispatch explains it. At St. Louis Mills, the line between retail and entertainment is blurry. Besides the more than 200 outlet stores and specialty shops, the shopping center features an 18-screen Regal cineplex; the Ice Zone, a new practice facility for the St. Louis Blues; a NASCAR SpeedPark; and an ESPN X Games Skatepark. It will also offer facilities for skateboarding, BMX bike-stunt riding and in-line skating. The Mall with aNASCAR SpeedPark features racing tracks for electric and gas-powered cars, bumper boats, an arcade, a climbing wall and a miniature golf course. .

Wow! The kind of mall people here would enjoy I bet. All in one mall. Calling all Taipans! Hehe :) Most of the Malls here(the newer upperclass ones) are patterned after shops in Hongkong and Singapore..Classy and building type with large glass window panes. The closest I can compare to St Louis Mills is SM Megamall

Pardon, but I'll take my (cell)number with me

It looks like there's a pre thanksgiving gifts for the Millions of American mobile users. Beginning 24th of November, customers can move their wired home or business numbers to cell phones.

In other wordstheir home numbers can be their mobile numbers. Uhm, I guess no more call diverts for them or something like that.

No impeachement for Davide!
The report from Manila times website says that, Supreme court voted that the second impeachment case against Hilario Davide is unconstitional. Ack!, those "brat packs" of congress must be seething with anger..hehe. Yey!

There goes the warning and the explosion!

Explosions blasted an affluent residential compund in Riyadh earlier. It's disheartening cos a lot of children were wounded it seems and as I watched the news can't help but say yeah the U.S. was anticipating a terror attack hence the advisory and closure of it's Embassy. I think they had targeted that, instead of the dimpomatic residence nearby that houses westerners cos they knew the U.S. discovered the planned attack.

The American government needs to capture Al Qaeda, Saddam and other terrorist leaders!

Oh the language that be!
Manilatimes.net
According to these readers 'Our officials should speak better English!
One emailed letter even says that "We are supposed to be the third largest English-speaking nation on the planet, so we owe it to the world to prove ourselves right! I really think we should demand a higher mastery of spoken English from our public officials."

Yeah that maybe the case but Filipinos are Filipinos and the English language--American or otherwise is not our national language. Not our Mother tongue but the best that our officials(Or us Filipinos) can do is to practice good English grammar. Heck, I think we do speak the language better than most Americans do. People just can't understand our own (Officials)brand of English because most hail from the provinces and they have different dialects and the style in which they pronounce words and such.

Ack! and I think I mentioned that word ENGLISH six times already! Hahaha, yayness me!

This phone's for you?

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia unveiled the 7700 model(Pcture and story here) last week, a space-age looking device with a large touch-screen display that gives users the possibility to watch TV. The 500 euro ($572) device is due to hit the shops in the second quarter of next year. But there could be a catch. Most European nations charge their citizens a license fee to cover the costs of public service television.

Yayness me! I bet Filipinos will want to have that kind of phone too! It'll be very expensive probably that one's likely to buy are the rich ones and the other well, they're probably going to buy something more useful and of basic necessities rather than a pocket size phone t.v..but knowing Filpinos, haha they would like to have the latest model.

And he rightly deserves it!

The accolades, the good words, the admiration. I like this piece of good new from AP via San Diego Union-Tribune. One of my favorite authors, Gabriel Garcia Marquez was given a tribute by colleagues. The heaps of praises is a proof of how good the author he is.

Sooo nice to blog about good positive news :)

What she has to say

The famous POW from the War n Iraq Jessica Lynch, has a book coming out on Tuesday, Veterans day. There's a revelations of her being" raped by Iraqi captors" and other facts during her ordeal and rescue.

Well..uhmm, she wants to tell her story and what really transpired during her captivity up to the daring rescue the military planned. After the book, a made for t.v movie, I suppose. It is nice and informative and to really get to know the truth that only she can possibly tell. After all she's a hero for most Americans , a symbol of courage under fire, soo young, a girl in military operations, captured and rescued. One hope no gossips or lies would arise about her.

What happened that day
It started out as fun...we were just read to go" ... wounded soldiers recount the events on the day the Chinook 'copter was attacked and brought down by missile and 15 americans were killed. One's thing for sure, they're glad and blessed to have survived, but most ready to "go back." and serve again if it needs be even as United States deploy a slightly smaller but still sizable force in Iraq

It's very noble and expected of a soldier..to serve their country even when faced with danges but how can they do that if they're always getting wounded and worse, getting killed by rampant attacks

Blah blah blogs
While there's so much turmoil happening around the globe, I've got music in mind and so here I am blogging about how I'm just downloading midis(It ain't illegal ya know!). Anyhow, I have Coldplay midis. POM Blurry midi and some others. The sequencing of sounds really depends how much good a midi will turn out. The one's that I have here are pretty cool sounding ones. Blah blogs. Enough midi. I'm listening to my mp3 downloads(ones on my list aren't illegal! yey!) now.

Finding no love for "Dr. Strangelove" Teller
Via SFChronicle

Long dead and still controversial..geesh! Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine (San Diego County), proposed renaming the Livermore nuclear weapons lab east of San Francisco after Teller. Of course, Edward Teller is known as the (co) inventor of H- BOMB and famous for advocating nuclear weapons. Renaming a lab after him is creating the controvery. It seems there are quite a number of poeple who are opposed to the idea. Part of the report says:
Clearly, the renaming proposal upset some scientists who monitor U.S. weapons policy, especially those who respect the memory of the man for whom the lab is presently named: Berkeley physicist Ernest O. Lawrence. "Teller's contributions come nowhere close to Lawrence's. And Teller is closely associated with some of the most painful, and personal, controversies in postwar science policy."

Hmm. if one's going to name a building, a lab in this case, I feel the the officials should weigh in more who made the best contribution. Good ones for the benefit of the people and not for one's self.