Miss Earth 2007 Media Presentation

Median Presentation

Miss Earth 2007 candidates hold placards and pose for pictures during a media presentation at the poolside of Traders hotel in Manila.

At least 90 beauty queens from around the globe participate in an event to advocate measures to protect the environment.

Ms. Earth Candidates pose during the media presentation.

Ms. Earth Ukraine - Galyna Andreeva

Ms. Earth Peru - Odilia Pamela García

Miss Earth candidate Jessica Scheel Noyola of Guatemala (front) and other pageant contestants carry placards during a press presentation.
Miss Earth candidate Jiraporn Sing-ieam (front) of Thailand and other pageant contestants pose for the press at the Traders hotel in Manila, October 23, 2007.

source: http://www.missearth.tv/ & http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/

2007 World Pool Championship teaser video

Teaser Video

Teaser video of the 2007 World Pool Championship that will be held at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines from Nov. 3-11, 2007.

source: http://inquirer.promos.yahoo.com/

TIME Magazine honors Filipino environmentalist

Heroes of the Environment

It’s no surprise then that Hernandez has been named by Time magazine as among this year’s “Heroes of the Environment,” along with Al Gore, Mikhail Gorbachev and Prince

Von Hernandez former literature professor, activist, environmentalist, and Greenpeace campaign director for Southeast Asia.

As “Heroes of the Environment”, he is in the same list as Al Gore, Prince Charles and Mikhail Gorbachev.

Hernandez is one of Asia’s leading activists against waste incineration. Instead he advocates the effective, polluatant-free technology that is recyling and recomposting of the mountains of trash across the Philippines.

“The garbage problem in the Philippines can’t be burned away through waste incineration. Incineration spews dangerous toxic fumes and poison ash into the environment. Through community waste reduction and recycling programs, the Philippines can safely manage our garbage while protecting human health and the environment.”

Hernandez’ work and passion caught the eye of TIME Magazine and awarded him as one of 45 people who are “Heroes of the Environment”. In 2003, Hernandez was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize, the Nobel Prize equivalent for grass-roots environmentalists.

image source: http://www.time.com/ & http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Miss Earth 2007 Schedule of Events

Chronological Schedule of Activities


October 19 - November 11, 2007
Philippines and Vietnam

Oct. 19 to 21 - Arrival and Registration of Candidates; National Costume and Swimsuit Pictorials
Oct. 21 - Mall Show, Pageant briefings
Oct. 22 - Environmental Seminar, Mall Show, Charity Visit, VTR Shoot
Oct. 23 - Press Conference, Welcome Dinner with the Department of Tourism (DOT)
Oct. 24 - Sponsor Visits, City Tours & Events (Manila)
Oct. 25 to Nov. 02 - Tours and shows outside Manila
Oct. 30 to Nov. 01 - Visit to Vietnam (Awards to be given: Miss Fashion, Best in Traditional Costume - Ao Di, Miss Charm and Beauty for a Cause)
Nov. 3 - Swimsuit Competition (Fontana Leisure Park, Pampanga)
Nov. 4 - Talent Competition (Traders Hotel in Manila)
Nov. 5 - Long Gown Competition
Nov. 6 - Preliminary Screening / Judging
Nov. 7 - National Costume Competition
Nov. 8 - The Search for Little Earth Angels 2007 Finals; Candidates' Rehearsals
Nov. 9 to 10 - Rehearsals
Nov. 11 - Miss Earth 2007 Pageant Night at the UP Theater

source: http://www.missearth.tv/

The Philippines 40 Richest

Top 40 Richest Filipinos

The Philippines is making a comeback. Second-quarter growth of 7.5% was the highest in two decades; unemployment was 8%, the lowest since 1997. After a slip on subprime financial worries in August the stock market has made a full recovery and recently posted record highs. It is up 28% for the year.

Forbes has released its list of the 40 richest Filipinos. The full list is below.

1. Jaime Zobel de Ayala & family
2. Henry Sy & family
3. Lucio Tan & family
4. Andrew Tan
5. Manuel Villar
6. George Ty
7. Andrew Gotianun
8. Enrique Razon Jr.
9. Tony Tan Caktiong & family
10. Oscar Lopez & family
11. Vivian Que Azcona & family
12. Inigo & Mercedes Zobel
13. Eduardo Cojuangco Jr.
14. Emilio Yap & family
15. John Gokongwei Jr. & family
16. Enrique Aboitiz & family
17. Alfonso Yuchengco & family
18. Beatrice Campos
19. David Consunji & family
20. Luis Virata
21. Gilberto Duavit Jr. & family
22. Menardo Jimenez & family
23. Felipe Gozon & family
24. Mariano Tan & family
25. Ramon del Rosario Jr.
26. Ronaldo & Rosalinda Hortaleza
27. Manuel Zamora
28. Betty Ang
29. Tomas Alcantara & family
30. Frederick Dy
31. Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Sr.
32. Salvador Zamora
33. Oscar Hilado & family
34. Philip T. Ang
35. Magdaleno Albarracin Jr.
36. Jesus Tambunting
37. Antonio Roxas
38. Manuel Pangilina
39. Marixi Rufino-Prieto & family
40. Lourdes Montinola

For details about the Philippine’s wealthiest, visit the special report on Forbes.

source: http://www.forbes.com/

Miss Earth 2007 in Manila

Beauties for a cause!
After establishing a track record in mounting world-class beauty pageants over the last decade, Carousel Productions Inc. decided to reinvent and improve the concept of beauty competitions for the new millennium.

This November 11, fifty glamorous, beautiful and ‘environmentally-friendly’ ladies will compete for the title MISS EARTH 2007.

The beauty pageant will not just be about wanting ‘peace on earth’. Rather, the candidates and winners will be actively promoting and getting involved in the preservation of the environment and protection of Mother Earth.

Miss Earth 2007 will culminate with the Coronation Night on the 11th of November at the University of the Philippines Theater and will be aired over ABS CBN Channel 2, with more than 80 delegates from across the globe participating and with Star World and TFC to cover the Pageant in all its footprints on a delayed telecast. The Traders Hotel Manila will be the Official Residence of the Miss Earth 2007.

Miss Earth 2006 Swimsuit Parade & Special Awards

Want more info?

source: http://www.filipinasoul.com/ & http://www.missearth.tv/

Pinoy martial artist honored

Pinoy martial artist honored in US

Doce Pares Grandmaster Dionisio Cañete was honored in the United States recently as the first and only Supreme Grandmaster of Filipino martials arts—eskrima kali arnis.

Supreme Grandmaster Cañete, who turned his back on his profession as a court lawyer to promote Filipino martial arts around the world, has earned by the far the highest honor given to a Filipino martial artist.

SGM Cañete, who just completed his three-month European and American Eskrima tour since July, had a fitting end of the tour as he reunited with his former students at the Doce Pares Word Headquarters at Sto. Niño Village in Banilad, Cebu City.

His students and now Doce Pares masters befitted their mentor and thanked him for unselfishly sharing the Filipino martial arts, which was the key to the success of Doce Pares masters in the United States.

SGM Cañete has conducted Eskrima seminars on tour in Scotland, Hungary, Norway, Holland, Ireland and England in Europe and various states in the United States including New York, New Jersey and California.

Cañete also drew support for the upcoming Doce Pares International 75th Anniversary on Dec. 30 and the 10th World Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation World Meet in July next year.

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/

Pinoy Businessman offers P5M

US-based Pinoy Businessman offers P5M to root out Glorietta bombers

Lucky Group of Companies founder and philanthropist Rene Medina, announced Sunday, October 21 that the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has accepted his personal offer of PhP 5 million (about $114,000) as reward to anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the blast of Glorietta 2 mall in Makati last Friday, October 19.

The afternoon blast killed 11 people and injured more than 100 others, mostly office employees on lunch break. It left an eight meter-wide (26-foot) wide crater on the ground floor and blew a hole through the ceiling on the second floor.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has offered Php 2 million ($45.5 million) in reward money as well, aside from another PhP 1 million each from a group of Makati businessmen and the Makati city government. The Philippine National Police has reportedly also put up a PhP 2-million bounty.

The Lucky Group, which is based in the Bay Area, consists of six companies including Lucky Chances Casino in the town of Colma near Daly City. Nine years after he first opened Lucky Chances in 1998, Medina has sold the entire business to his two sons this year.

Touted as one of America’s most successful Filipino entrepreneurs, Medina is also a known philanthropist – helping fund worthwhile causes and projects in the Bay Area, especially where Filipinos are involved.

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/

Jackie Chan song for Beijing Olympics

Jackie Chan records song for Beijing Olympics

Jackie Chan has flexed his vocal muscles for the Olympics. The 53-year-old actor, best known for his daredevil stunts, has recorded "We Are Ready," the official countdown song to the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics.

He spent three hours recording the song during a recent trip to Beijing, Chan said in a blog entry on his Web site Wednesday.

Chan, star of the "Rush Hour" movies, dabbles in music and has released several albums.

He praised the lyrics of the Mandarin Chinese song composed by Peter Kam, who won a Silver Bear award for best film music at the Berlin Film Festival last year.

"Waiting year after year/ We can see into the future/ Together with hard work and sweat, we've created the five different (Olympic) colors," says one refrain.

Olympic organizers have also recorded a second Chinese version sung by more than 100 pop stars.

He told The Associated Press in a phone interview that an English version of the song may be recorded.

Chan said in an earlier blog entry that he got goose bumps when he attended the official one-year countdown event in Beijing on Aug. 8.

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/
image source: http://movies.yahoo.com/

US War Cost $2.4Trillion

War May Cost $2.4 Trillion Over Decade

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could cost as much as $2.4 trillion through the next decade, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said. The White House brushed off the analysis as "speculation."

The estimate was the most comprehensive and far-reaching one to date. It factored in costs previously not counted and assumed that large number of forces would remain in the regions.

According to analysis, the U.S. has spent about $604 billion on the wars, including $39 billion in diplomatic operations and foreign aid.

If the U.S. were to reduce the number of troops deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to 75,000 six years from now, it would cost the U.S. $1 trillion more for military and diplomatic operations and $705 billion in interest payments to pay for the wars through 2017.

source: http://www.npr.org/

Discovery Lifts Off!

Discovery leaps from its launch

Space shuttle Discovery leaps from its launch pad on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2007, to begin the STS-120 mission to the International Space Station.

The STS-120 crew will perform five spacewalks at the space station and install the station's newest component, the Node 2 module, also known as Harmony.

Image credit: NASA
source: http://www.nasa.gov/

Rubik's world championships

Japan teen in historic Rubik win

Yu Nakajima, 16, took home the top prize 5,000 euros (£3,400, $7,000) after winning the main event of the three-day tournament at the Rubik's Cube world championship.

Nearly 300 contenders from 33 countries tried their hands - and feet - at the puzzle, some completing it blindfolded.

Hungarian architect Erno Rubik invented the cube in Hungary in 1974. More than 300 million cubes have been sold since.

Yu Nakajima of Japan won the main event for twisting the classic 3x3 cube — which has nine colored tiles on each on its six sides — into the winning position, where all like-colored tiles are on the same face.

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
image source: http://www.yahoo.com/

More call centers in Metro Manila

ICT Group opens two more call centers in Metro Manila

Outsourcing firm ICT Group has announced the opening of two more call centers in Metro Manila.

The US-based operator said it has added another facility in Marikina City and has opened another one in Mandaluyong

During formal inauguration ceremonies, Karen Batungbacal, ICT Group president for Asia Pacific, said the two facilities will have a combined capacity of more than 2,000 seats "potentially employing 3,000 people."

In addition to its two new call centers, the company operates three other centers in Makati, Pasig and Marikina, which employ more than 6,000 workers.

The company's first facility in Marikina, located at Riverbanks Center, operates more than 1,100 seats. The second center will likewise have a capacity of more than a thousand seats.

ICT Group, headquartered in Pennsylvania, US, has been doing business in the Philippines for four years.

source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Project Blackbox

The world's first virtualized datacenter.

You'll never look at an ordinary shipping container quite the same way again. Project Blackbox is a prototype of the world's first virtualized datacenter--built into a shipping container and optimized to deliver extreme energy, space, and performance efficiencies. Project Blackbox applies Sun's trademark innovation, network computing infrastructure and HPC expertise to engineer out complexity and provide a better datacenter. Project Blackbox, the world's first fully contained, virtualized datacenter, delivers several unique advantages:

Rapid, Easy Deployment: "Build once, deploy anywhere"

Very High-density Computing: Capacity for over 700 CPUs, 2000 cores, or 8000 compute threads!

Versatility an Flexibility: "What you want, where you want it, when you want it".

Breakthrough Economics and Eco Responsibility: scalability, use of standard components, cooling innovation, low cost to build, efficiency, and Sun's recycling initiatives.

Want more info?

source: www.yahoo.com

P1.2B Old Iloilo Airport

Megaworld seals buy of Iloilo airport for P1.2B

Property developer Megaworld Corp. has purchased the 54.5-hectare old airport in Mandurriao, Iloilo from the government for P1.2 billion.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange dated Oct. 1. Megaworld said it has signed a sale and purchase agreement with the government for the property, which it pans to transform into a business district.

“Megaworld envisions its project to become a magnet for major business process outsourcing companies interested to set up shop in the Visayas region," the company said.

Megaworld said it has already applied with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority for a special economic zone license for the area.

Aside from building a BPO complex, Megaworld said it also plans to construct educational facilities in the area geared at equipping prospective employees of call centers and other BPO firms.

source: http://www.gmanews.tv/

World’s Emerging Outsourcing Favorites

Cebu, Pasig, Baguio cited among world's emerging outsourcing favorites.

A study by industry publication Global Services and investment advisory firm Tholons put Cebu City as fourth, behind the Indian cities of Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune, among the top 10 emerging outsourcing destinations for global companies.

The entire list, numbering 50 sites, also cited Pasig City as 23^rd, and Baguio as 36^th.

To be sure, India remains the favored technology outsourcing destination, the industry report said Sunday, even amid concerns a rising rupee and soaring wages would blunt that country’s competitive edge.

The rest of the top 10 were: Kolkata, India, fifth; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, sixth; Colombo, Sri Lanka, seventh; Shanghai, China, eighth; Chandigarh, India, ninth; and Beijing, China, 10^th.

The list is based on criteria such as scale and quality of work force, financial infrastructure, risk environment and quality of life.

But it does not include established outsourcing locations such as Bangalore, the New Delhi capital region, Metro Manila, Mumbai and Dublin that have had a decade’s head start.

More info...?

scource: http://www.itmatters.com.ph/