Friday, July 31, 2009

Watch 2009 Miss Teen USA Live Webcast Video



   

Watch 27th Miss Teen USA 2009 live webcast, at Imperial Ballroom, Atlantis Paradise Island, in Nassau, Bahamas on July 31, 2009 at 8 PM est. For the first time since 1986 the Miss Teen USA pageant will held earlier than Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe 2009 pageant will be held at the same venue on August 23, 2009. Miss Teen USA 2008, Stevi Perry of Arkansas, will crown her successor in the event. This year for the very first time, the event will be broadcasted live over the Internet on www.missteenusa.com. Ed Fields and Stevi Perry will host the presentation show, when Seth Goldman and Miss USA 2008, Crystle Stewart will host the final show. During the final night, The Jonas Brothers will perform at the opening number, when Canadian singer, songwriter, actress and model, Leah Renee will performance during the swimsuit competition and evening gown competition.


Watch the show streamed live and see rising star Leah Renee along with hit band Honor Society!
Watch 2009 Miss Teen USA Live Webcast Video
Streamed LIVE at www.missteenusa.com!







Tuesday, July 28, 2009

2009 State of the Nation Address of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo



   

Last State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo July 27, 2009 at Batasang Pambansa, Quezon City.

Text:

Thank you, Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Before I begin my report to the nation, please join me first in a moment of prayer for President Cory Aquino.

Senate President Enrile, Speaker Nograles, Senators, Representatives, Vice President de Castro, former President Ramos, Chief Justice Puno, Ambassadors friends:

The past twelve months have been a year for the history books. Financial meltdown in the West spread throughout the world.

Tens of millions lost their jobs; billions across the globe have been hurt – the poor always harder than the rich. No one was spared.
It has affected us already.

But the story of the Philippines in 2008 is that the country weathered a succession of global crises in fuel, in food, then in finance and finally, economy in a global recession, never losing focus and with economic fundamentals intact.

A few days ago, Moody’s upgraded our credit rating, citing the resilience of our economy. The state of our nation is a strong economy. Good news for our people, bad news for our critics.

I did not become President to be popular. To work, to lead, to protect and preserve our country, our people, that is why I became President.

When my father left the Presidency, we were second to Japan. I want our Republic to be ready for the first world in 20 years.

Towards that vision, we made key reforms. Our economic plan centers on putting people first. Higit sa lahat, ang layunin ng ating patakaran ay tulungan ang masisipag na karaniwang Pilipino.

New tax revenues were put in place to help pay for better healthcare, more roads, and a strong education system. Housing policies were designed to lift up our poorer citizens so they can live and raise a family with dignity. Ang ating mga puhunan sa agrikultura ay naglalayong kilalanin ang ating mga magsasaka bilang backbone ng ating bansa, at bigyan sila ng mga modernong kagamitan to feed our nation and feed their own family.

Had we listened to the critics of those policies, had we not braced ourselves for the crisis that came, had we taken the easy road much preferred by politicians eyeing elections, this country would be flat on its back.

It would take twice the effort just to get it back again on its feet – to where we are now because we took the responsibility and paid the political price of doing the right thing. For standing with me and doing the right thing, thank you, Congress.

The strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have spared our country the worst of the global financial shocks. They gave us the resources to stimulate the economy.

Nabigyan nila ang pinakamalaking pagtaas ng IRA ng mga LGU na P40 billion itong taon, imparting strength throughout the country at every level of government.

Compared to the past we have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is a prime example of building better roads. It creates wealth as the flagship of the Subic-Clark corridor.

We have built airports of international standard, upgraded domestic airports, built seaports and the roll on/roll off transport system. I ask Congress for a Philippine Transport Security Authority Law.

Some say that after this SONA, it will be all politics. Sorry, but there’s more work.

Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.

Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.

In the last four years tourism almost doubled. It is now a $5 billion industry.

Our reforms gave us the resources to protect our people, our financial system and our economy from the worst of shocks that the best in the west failed to anticipate.

They gave us the resources to extend welfare support and enhance spending power.

For helping me raise government salaries through Joint Resolution 4, thank you, Congress.

Cash handouts give the most immediate relief and produce the widest stimulating effect. Nakikinabang ang 700,000 na pinakamahihirap na pamilya sa programang Pantawid Pamilya.

We prioritize projects with the same stimulus effects plus long-term contributions to progress.

Sa pagpapamahagi ng milyun-milyong ektaryang lupa, 700,000 na katutubo at mahigit isang milyong benepisyaryo ng CARP ay taas-noong may-ari na ng sariling lupa. Hinihiling ko sa Kongreso na ipasa agad ang pagpapalawig ng CARP, at dapat ma-condone ang P42 billion na land reform liabilities dahil 18% lamang ang nabayaran mula 1972.

Napapanahon, it’s timely because it will unfreeze the rural property market. Ang mahal kong ama ang nag-emancipate ng mga magsasaka. Ii-mancipate naman natin ngayon ang titulo.

Nakinabang ang pitong milyong entrepreneurs sa P165 billion na microfinance loans.
Nakinabang ang sandaan libo sa emergency employment ng ating economic resiliency plan. Kasama natin ngayon ang isa sa kanila, si Gigi Gabiola. Dating household service worker sa Dubai, ngayon siya ay nagtatrabaho sa DOLE. Good luck, Gigi.

Nakinabang ang isang milyong pamilya sa programang pabahay at palupa, mula Pag-Ibig, NHA, community mortgage program, certificates of lot award, at saka iyong loan condonation.
Our average inflation is the lowest since 1966. Last June, it dropped to 1.5%. Paano?

Proper policies lowered interest rates, which lowered costs to business and consumers.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating ibenta ang bigas NFA sa P18.25 per kilo kahit tumaas ang presyo sa labas mula P17.50 hanggang P30 dahil sa kakulangan ng supply sa mundo. Habang, sa unang pagkakataon, nagawa nating itaas ang pamimili ng palay sa mga magsasaka, P17 mula sa P11.

Dahil sa ating mga reporma, nakaya nating mamuhunan sa pagkain – anticipating an unexpected global food crisis. Nakagawa tayo ng libu-libong kilometro ng farm-to-market roads at, kasama ng pribadong sector, natubigan ang dalawang milyong ektarya. Mga Badjao gaya ni Tarnati Dannawi ay tinuruan ng modernong mariculture. Umabot na sa P 180,000 ang kinita niya mula noong nakaraang taon. Congratulations, Tarnati. We will help more fisherfolk shift to fish farming with a budget of P1 billion.

Dahil dumarami na naman daw ang pamilyang nagugutom, mamumuhunan tayo ng panibago sa ating hunger mitigation program na sa nakaraan ay napatunayang mabisa. Tulungan ninyo ako dito, Kongreso.

Mula pa noong 2001, nanawagan na tayo ng mas murang gamot. Nagbebenta tayo ng gamot na kalahating presyo sa libu-libong Botika ng Bayan at Botika ng Barangay sa maraming dako ng bansa.

Our efforts prodded the pharmaceutical companies to come up with low-cost generics and brands like RiteMed. I supported the tough version of the House of the Cheaper Medicine law. I supported it over the weak version of my critics. The result: the drug companies volunteered to bring down drug prices, slashing by half the prices of 16 drugs. Thank you, Congressmen Cua, Alvarez, Biron, Locsin.

Pursuant to law, we are placing other drugs under a maximum retail price. To those who want to be President, this advice: If you really want something done, just do it. Do it hard, do it well. Don’t pussyfoot. Don’t pander. And don’t say bad words in public.

Sa health insurance, sakop na ang 86% ang ating populasyon.
Sa Rent Control Law ng 2005 hanggang 2008, di pwedeng lumampas ng 10% ang pagtaas ng upa taun-taon. Ayon sa kakapirma nating batas may isang taong moratorium, tapos hanggang 7% lamang ang maaaring pagtaas. Salamat, Kongreso.

Noong isang taon, nabiyayaan ng tig-P500 ang mahigit pitong milyong tahanan bilang Pantawid Koryente sa mga small electricity users.

Yung presyo ng koryente, ang EPIRA natin ang pangmatagalang sagot. EPIRA dismantled monopoly. Ngunit minana natin ang power purchase agreements, kaya hindi pa natin makamtan yung buong intended effect. Pero happy na rin tayo, dahil isang taon na lamang iyan. The next generation will benefit from low prices from our EPIRA.

Samantala, umabot na sa halos lahat ng barangay ang elektrisidad. We increased indigenous energy from 48% to 58%. Nakatipid tayo sa dollars tapos na-reduce pa iyong oil consumption. The huge reduction in fossil fuel is the biggest proof of energy independence and environmental responsibility. Further reduction will come with the implementation of the Renewable Energy Act, and the Biofuels Act.

The next generation will also benefit from our lower public debt to GDP ratio. It declined from 78% in 2000 to 55% in 2008. We cut in half the debt of government corporations from 15% to 7%. Likewise foreign debt from 73% to 32%. Kung meron man tayong malaking kaaway na tinalo, walang iba kundi ang utang, iyong foreign debt.

Those in the past administrations conjured the demon of foreign debt. We exorcised it.

The market grows economies. A free market, not a free-for-all.
To that end, we improved our banking system to complement its inherent conservatism. The Bangko Sentral has been prudent. Thank you, Governor Tetangco, for being so effective. The BSP will be even more effective if Congress will amend its Charter.

We worked on the Special Purpose Vehicle Act, reducing non-performing loans from 18% to 4% and improving loan-deposit ratios.

Our new Securitization Law did not encourage the recklessness that brought down giant banks and insurance companies elsewhere and laid their economies to waste. In fact, it monitors and regulates the new-fangled financial schemes. Thank you, Congress.

We will work to increase tax effort through improved collections and new sin taxes to further our capacity to reduce poverty and pursue growth. Revenue enhancement must come from the Department of Finance plugging leaks and catching tax and customs cheats. I call on tax paying citizens and tax paying businesses, help the BIR and stop those tax cheats.

Taxes should come from alcohol and tobacco and not from books. Tax hazards to lungs and livers, do not tax minds. Ang kita mula sa buwis sa alak at sigarilyo ay dapat gamitin sa kalusugan at edukasyon. Pondohan ang Philhealth premiums ng pinakamahihirap. Pondohan ang mas maraming classroom at computers.

Pardon my partiality for the teaching profession. I was a teacher.
Kaya namuhunan tayo ng malaki sa edukasyon at skills training.
Ang magandang edukasyon ay susi sa mas magandang buhay, the great equalizer that allows every young Filipino a chance to realize their dreams.

Nagtayo tayo ng 95,000 na silid-aralan, nagdagdag ng 60,000 na guro, naglaan ng P1.5 billion para sa teacher training, especially for 100,000 English teachers.

Isa sa pinakamahirap sa Millennium Development Goals ay iyong Edukasyon para sa Lahat pagdating ng 2015. Ibig sabihin, lahat ng nasa tamang edad ay dapat nasa primary school. Halos walang bansang makakatupad nito. Ngunit nagsisikap pa rin tayo. Nagtayo tayo ng mga paaralan sa higit sanlibong barangay na dati walang eskwelahan upang makatipid ng gastos sa pasahe ang mga bata. Tinanggal natin ang miscellaneous fees para sa primary school. Hindi na kailangan mag-uniporme ang mga estudyante sa public school.

In private high schools, we finance half of the students.
We have provided college and post-graduate education for over 600,000 scholars. One of them, Mylene Amerol-Macumbal, finished Accounting at MSU-IIT, then she went to law school, and placed second in the last bar exams – the first Muslim woman bar topnotcher. Congratulations!

In technical education and skills training, we have invested three times that of three previous administrations combined. Narito si Jennifer Silbor, isa sa sampung milyong trainee. Natuto siya ng medical transcription. Now, as an independent contractor and lecturer for transcriptions in Davao, kumikita siya ng P18,000 bawat buwan. Good job, Jennifer.

The Presidential Task Force on Education headed by Jesuit educator Father Bienvenido Nebres has come out with the Main Education Highway towards a Knowledge-Based Economy. It envisions seamless education from basic to vocational school or college.

It seeks to mainstream early childhood development in basic education. Our children are our most cherished possession. In their early years we must make sure they get a healthy start in life. They must receive the right food for a healthy body, the right education for a bright and inquiring mind – and the equal opportunity for a meaningful job.

For college admission, the Task Force recommends mandatory Scholastic Aptitude Tests. It also recommends that higher private education institutions should be harmonized with state universities and colleges, and that CHED should oversee local universities and colleges. For professions seeking international recognition –
engineering, architecture, accountancy, pharmacy and physical therapy – it recommends radical reform: 10 years of basic education, two years of pre-university, before three years of university.

Our educational system should make the Filipino fit not just for whatever jobs happen to be on offer today, but also for whatever economic challenge life will throw in their way.

Sa hirap at ginhawa, pinapatatag ang ating bansa ng ating overseas Filipinos. Iyong padala nilang $16 billion noong isang taon ay record. Itong taon, mas mataas pa.

I know that this is not a sacrifice joyfully borne. This is work where it can be found – in faraway places, among strangers with different cultures. It is lonely work, it is hard work.

Kaya nagsisikap tayong lumikha dito sa atin ng mga trabahong maganda ang sahod, so that overseas work will just be a career choice, not the only option for a hard-working Filipino.

Meanwhile, we should make their sacrifices worthwhile. Dapat gumawa tayo ng mas epektibong proteksyon at pagpapalawak ng halaga ng kanilang pinagsikapang suweldo. That means stronger consumer protection for Overseas Filipino Workers investing in property and products back home. Para sa kanila, pinapakilos natin ang Investors Protection Task Force.

Hindi ako nag-aatubiling bisitahin ang ating taong bayan at kanilang mga host sa buong mundo – mula Hapon…hanggang Brazil, mula Europa at Middle East hanggang sa American Midwest, nakikinig sa kanilang mga problema at pangangailangan, inaalam kung paano sila matutulungan ng ating pamahalaan – by working out better policies on migrant labor, or by saving lives and restoring liberty.

Pagpunta ko sa Saudi, pinatawad ni Haring Abdullah ang pitong daang OFW na nasa preso. Pinuno nila ang isang buong eroplano at umuwi kasama ko.

Mula sa ating State Visit sa Espanya, it has become our biggest European donor. At si Haring Juan Carlos ay nakikipag-usap sa ibang mga bansa para sa ating mga namomoblemang OFW. Ganoon din si Sheikh Khalifa, ang Prime Minister ng Bahrain.

Pagpunta ko sa Kuwait, Emir Al-Sabah commuted death sentences. We thank all our leaders, our world leaders, for showing compassion to our overseas foreign workers. Salamat.

Our vigorous international engagement has helped bring in foreign investment. Net foreign direct investments multiplied 15 times during our administration. Kasama ng ating mga Together with our OFWs, they more than doubled our foreign exchange reserves.
Pinalakas ang ating piso at naiwasan ang lubhang pagtaas ng presyo.

They upgraded our credit because while the reserves of our peers have shrunk this past year, ours reserves grew by $3 billion.
Our international engagement has also corrected historical injustice.

The day we visited Washington, Senator Daniel Inouye successfully sponsored benefits for our veterans as part of America’s stimulus package.

I have accepted the invitation of President Obama to be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet him at the White House, later this week.

That he sought us out testifies to our strong and deep ties.
High on our agenda will be peace and security issues. Terrorism: how to meet it, how to end it, how to address its roots in injustice or prejudice – and first and always how to protect lives.

We will discuss nuclear non-proliferation. The Philippines will chair the review of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation Treaty in New York in May 2010. The success of the talks will be a major diplomatic achievement for us.

There is a range of other issues we will discuss, including the global challenge of climate change, especially the threat to countries with long coastlines. And there is the global recession, its worse impact on poor people, and the options that can spare them from the worst.

In 2008 up to the first quarter of 2009 we stood among only a few economies in Asia-Pacific that did not shrink. Compare this to 2001, when some of my current critics were driven out by people power.

Asia was surging but our country was on the brink of bankruptcy.
Since then, our economy posted uninterrupted growth for 33 quarters; more than doubled its size from $76 billion to $186 billion. The average GDP growth from 2001 to the first quarter of 2009 is the highest in 43 years.

Bumaba ang bilang ng mga nagsasabing mahirap sila sa 47% mula 59%. Maski lumaki ang ating populasyon, nabawasan ng dalawang milyon ang bilang ng mahihirap. GNP per capita rose from a Third World $967 to $2,000. Lumikha tayo ng walong milyong trabaho, an average of a million a year, much, much more than at any other time.

In sum:
1. We have a strong economy and a strong fiscal position to withstand global shocks.
2. We built new modern infrastructure and completed unfinished ones.
3. The economy is more fair to the poor than ever before.
4. We are building a sound base for the next generation.
5. International authorities have taken notice that we are safer from environmental degradation and man-made disasters.

As a country in the path of typhoons and in the Pacific Rim of Fire, we must be prepared as the latest technology permits to anticipate natural calamities when that is possible; to extend immediate and effective relief when it is not. The mapping of flood- and landslide-prone areas is almost complete. Early warning, forecasting and monitoring systems have been improved, with weather tracking facilities in Subic, Tagaytay, Mactan, Mindanao, Pampanga.

We have worked on flood control infrastructure like those for Pinatubo, Agno, Laoag, and Abucay, which will pump the run off waters from Quezon City and Tondo flooding Sampaloc. This will help relieve hundreds of hectares in this old city of its age old woe.
Patuloy naman iyong sa Camanava, dagdag sa Pinatubo, Iloilo, Pasig-Marikina, Bicol River Basin, at mga river basin ng Mindanao.

The victims of typhoon Frank in Panay should receive their long-overdue assistance package. I ask Congress to pass the SNITS Law.

Namana natin ang pinakamatagal na rebelyon ng Komunista sa buong mundo. Si Leah de la Cruz isa sa labindalawang libong rebel returnee. Sixteen pa lang siya nang sumali sa NPA. Naging kasapi sa regional White Area Committee, napromote sa Leyte Party Committee Secretary. Nahuli noong 2006. She is now involved in an LGU-supported handicraft livelihood training of former rebels. We love you, Leah!

There is now a good prospect for peace talks with both the Communist Party of the Philippines and the MILF, with whom we are now on ceasefire. We inherited an age-old conflict in Mindanao, exacerbated by a politically popular but near-sighted policy of massive retaliation. This only provoked the other side to continue the war.

In these two internal conflicts, ang tanong ay hindi, “Sino ang mananalo?” kundi, bakit pa ba kailangang mag-laban ang kapwa Pilipino tungkol sa mga isyu na alam naman nating lahat na di malulutas sa dahas, at mareresolba lang sa paraang demokratiko?

There is nothing more that I would wish for than peace in Mindanao. It will be a blessing for all its people, Muslim, Christian and lumads. It will show other religiously divided communities that there can be common ground on which to live together in peace, harmony and cooperation that respects each other’s religious beliefs.

At sa lahat ng dako ng bansa, kailangan nating protektahan ang ating mga mamamayan kontra sa krimen’ – in their homes, in their neighborhoods, in their communities. How shall crime be fought? With the five pillars of justice, including crime fighters. We call on Congress to fund more policemen on the streets.

Real government is about looking beyond the vested to the national interest, setting up the necessary conditions to enable the next, more enabled and more empowered generation to achieve a country as prosperous, a people as content, as ours deserve to be.

The noisiest critics of constitutional reform tirelessly and shamelessly attempted Cha-Cha when they thought they could take advantage of a shift in the form of government. Now that they feel they cannot benefit from it, they oppose it.

As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting!

In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.

At the end of this speech I shall step down from this stage, but not from the Presidency. My term does not end until next year. Until then, I will fight for the ordinary Filipino. The nation comes first. There is much to do as head of state – to the very last day.

A year is a long time. Patuloy ang pamumuhunan sa tinatawag na three E’s ng ekonomiya, environment at edukasyon. There are many perils that we must still guard against.

A man-made calamity is already upon us, global in scale. As I said earlier, so far we have been spared its worst effects but we cannot be complacent. We only know that we have generated more resources on which to draw, and thereby created options we could take. Thank God we did not let our critics stop us.

As the campaign unfolds and the candidates take to the airwaves, I ask them to talk more about how they will build up the nation rather than tear down their opponents. Give the electorate real choices and not just sweet talk.

Meanwhile, I will keep a steady hand on the tiller, keeping the ship of state away from the shallows some prefer, and steering it straight on the course we set in 2001.

Ang ating taong bayan ay masipag at maka-Diyos. These qualities are epitomized in someone like Manny Pacquiao….Manny trained tirelessly, by the book, with iron discipline, with the certain knowledge that he had to fight himself, his weaknesses first, before he could beat his opponent. That was the way to clinch his victories and his ultimate title: ang pinakadakilang boksingero sa kasaysayan. Mabuhay ka, Manny!

However much a President wishes it, a national problem cannot be knocked out with a single punch. She must work with the problem as much as against it, turn it into a solution if she can.

There isn’t a day I do not work at my job or a waking moment when I do not think through a work-related problem. Even my critics cannot begrudge the long hours I put in. Our people deserve-a-government that works just as hard as they do.

A President must be on the job 24/7, ready for any contingency, any crisis, anywhere, anytime.

Everything right can be undone by even a single wrong. Every step forward must be taken in the teeth of political pressures and economic constraints that could push you two steps back-if-you flinch and falter. I have not flinched, I have not faltered. Hindi ako umaatras sa hamon.

And I have never done any of the things that have scared my worst critics so much. They are frightened by their own shadows.

In the face of attempted coups, I issued emergency proclamations just in case. But I was able to resolve these military crises with the ordinary powers of my office. My critics call it dictatorship. I call it determination. We know it as strong government.

But I never declared martial law, though they are running scared as if I did. In truth, what they are really afraid of is their weakness in the face of this self-imagined threat.

I say to them: do not tell us what we all know, that democracy can be threatened. Tell us what you will do when it is attacked.
I know what to do:

As I have shown, I will defend democracy with arms when it is threatened by violence; with firmness when it is weakened by division; with law and order when it is subverted by anarchy; and always, I will try to sustain it by wise policies of economic progress, so that a democracy means not just an empty liberty but a full life for all.

I never expressed the desire to extend myself beyond my term. Many of those who accuse me of it tried to cling like nails to their posts.
I am accused of misgovernance. Many of those who accuse me of it left me the problem of their misgovernance to solve. And we did it.
I am falsely accused, without proof, of using my position for personal profit. Many who accuse me have lifestyles and spending habits that make them walking proofs of that crime.

We can read their frustrations. They had the chance to serve this good country and they blew it by serving themselves.
Those who live in glass houses should cast no stones. Those who should be in jail should not threaten it, especially if they have been there.

Our administration, with the highest average rate of growth, recording multiple increases in investments, with the largest job creation in history, and which gets a credit upgrade at the height of a world recession, must be doing something right, even if some of those cocooned in corporate privilege refuse to recognize it.

Governance, however, is not about looking back and getting even. It is about looking forward and giving more – to the people who gave us the greatest, hardest gift of all: the care of a country.

From Bonifacio at Balintawak to Cory Aquino at EDSA and up to today, we have struggled to bring power to the people, and this country to the eminence it deserves.

Today the Philippines is weathering well the storm that is raging around the world. It is growing stronger with the challenge. When the weather clears, as it will, there is no telling how much farther forward it can go. Believe in it. I believe.

We can and we must march forward with hope, optimism and determination. We must come together, work together and walk together toward the future.

Bagamat malaking hamon ang nasa ating harapan, nasa kamay natin ang malaking kakayahan. Halina’t pagtulungan nating tiyakin ang karapat-dapat na kinabukasan ng ating Inang Bayan.

And to the people of our good country, for allowing me to serve as your President, maraming salamat.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.


Source: Office of the Press Secretary






Monday, July 27, 2009

Watch Aliens in the Attic Online Movie Video



   

Watch Aliens in the Attic Online Movie Video. A group of kids defend their Maine vacation home from knee-high alien invaders in this adventure comedy for the entire family. When Michigan native Bethany Pearson (Ashley Tisdale) arrives home after a secret outing with her boyfriend Ricky (Robert Hoffman), her father Stuart (Kevin Nealon) decides that it's high time for a family vacation. Packing up the car with wife Hannah (Ashley Boettcher) teenage son Tom (Carter Jenkins) and big sister Bethany in tow, Stuart invites the extended family to join vacation.


Directed by:
John Schultz

Starring:
Robert Hoffman
Ashley Tisdale
Carter Jenkins
Austin Butler
Malese Jow
Jamie Lynn Spears

Watch Aliens in the Attic Online Preview:


Genres: Family,Action,Sci-Fi
Releases: July 31, 2009
Distributor: 20th Century Fox





Sunday, July 26, 2009

June 2009 Nurse Licensure Examination Results



   

A total of 32,617 out of 77,901 passed the Nurse Licensure Examination of June 2009.


Golda Manto Yap, a graduate of the Felipe R. Verallo Memorial Foundation, topped the exams, getting an average score of 86.80 percent.

The Board of Nursing conducted the test last June in the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao, Sulu, Pagadian and Zamboanga.

Complete list of passers follow this link here.





Monday, July 20, 2009

Watch TNA Victory Road 2009 Live Video



   

Watch the TNA Victory Road 2009 will happen live on Sunday, July 19, 2009 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. This is the fifth installment of the TNA Victory Road series.

The epic event will be available on InDemand, DirecTV, Dish Network, TVN, Viewer's Choice and more! Check your programming guide for availability.


TNA's PPV Victory Road will be streamed live on Rove1 Wrestling.

It will be streamed live on July 19, 2009 starting at 7:30 EST. The final card, as well as live stream links will be available on the Live Streams page several days before.

Victory Road will be available to download 12 - 24 hours after it ends on the TNA PPVs page, and watch online on the On Tune into "IMPACT!" every Thursday night on SpikeTV for news and match announcements for the "Victory Road" Pay-Per-View!

Watch TNA Victory Road 2009(video):


Watch TNA Victory Road 2009 Online Preview





Apollo 11 40th Anniversary



   

Celebrating the first ever space moon walk on Apollo 11 40th Anniversary.

Apollo 11 40th Anniversary Ever since their first journey into space on October 3,1962, as part of the U.S. Space Program, Hasselblad cameras have captured thousands of breathtaking images that have given us a clearer perspective of our world and its surroundings.

Forty years ago this week, on July 16, 1969, Hasselblad cameras joined NASA’s Apollo 11 crew for the first manned moon landing, capturing images that remain among the most recognizable ever recorded.

To paraphrase astronaut Neil Armstrong, who took the first lunar photos: “This ‘small step for man’ proved to be a giant leap for photography.”

Apollo 11 40th Anniversary The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) emerged in some measure because of the pressures of national defense during the cold war with the Soviet Union, a broad contest over the ideologies and allegiances of the nonaligned nations of the world in which space exploration emerged as a major area of contest. From the latter 1940s, the Department of Defense pursued research and rocketry and upper atmospheric sciences as a means of assuring American leadership in technology. A major step forward came when President Dwight D. Eisenhower approved a plan to orbit a scientific satellite as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY) for the period, 1 July 1957 to 31 December 1958, a cooperative effort to gather scientific data about the Earth. The Soviet Union quickly followed suit, announcing plans to orbit its own satellite.

A full-scale political crisis broke out on 4 October 1957 when the Soviets launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite as its IGY entry. This had a "Pearl Harbor" effect on American public opinion, creating an illusion of a technological gap.

As a direct result of this crisis, NASA began operations on 1 October 1958, absorbing into it the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of $100 million, three major research laboratories—Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory—and two smaller test facilities. It quickly incorporated other organizations into the new agency, notably the space science group of the Naval Research Laboratory in Maryland, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory managed by the California Institute of Technology for the Army, and the Army Ballistic Missile Agency in Huntsville, Alabama, where Wernher von Braun’s team of engineers were engaged in the development of large rockets. Eventually NASA created other Centers and today it has ten located around the country.

NASA began to conduct space missions within months of its creation, and in its 40 years has made historic achievements in many areas of aeronautics and space research. Most well-known of its efforts are the human space flight initiatives. These began with Projects Mercury and Gemini in the 1960s, hit a major highlight with the lunar landings of Project Apollo, continued on in the 1970s with Skylab and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and then carried on to the Space Shuttle program in the 1980s and 1990s. Space science programs have included missions to our Moon and all the planets in our solar system except Pluto. In Earth science, remote-sensing satellites such as Landsat and meteorological spacecraft have helped scientists understand the complex interactions between ecological systems on Earth. NASA’s aeronautics research has helped to enhance air transport safety, reliability, efficiency, and speed through such programs as the X-15, lifting bodies, and general aviation.

Since its inception in 1958, NASA has accomplished many great scientific and technological feats. NASA technology has been adapted for many non-aerospace uses by the private sector. At its 40th anniversary, NASA remains a leading force in scientific research and in stimulating public interest in aerospace exploration, as well as science and technology in general. Perhaps more importantly, our exploration of space has taught us to view the Earth, ourselves, and the universe in a new way. While the tremendous technical and scientific accomplishments of NASA demonstrate vividly that humans can achieve previously inconceivable feats, we also are humbled by the realization that Earth is just a tiny "blue marble" in the cosmos.






Watch 17th ESPY 2009 Awards Online Video



   

Watch 17th ESPY 2009 Awards Online Video streaming. Begun by cable sports channel ESPN in 1993, the annual ESPY Awards allows sports fans worldwide to join in an online vote for their favorites in such categories as Best Male Athlete, Best Female Athlete, Best Coach/Manager, and Team of the Year. ESPY or Excellence in sports performance and achievements will be hosted by actor Samuel L. Jackson, the awards ceremony actually took place on Wednesday evening, July 15, at LA's Nokia Theatre and taped for official airing on Sunday, July 19 at 9 pm.

Watch 2009 ESPY Awards Ceremony video:

Watch 17th ESPY 2009 Awards Online Video
As the similarly-styled Grammy (for music), Emmy (for television), and Academy Awards (for film), the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity; the style, though, is more relaxed, light, and self-referential than that of many other awards shows, with comedic sketches usually


List of 17th ESPY 2009 Awards Nominees and Winners.






Friday, July 17, 2009

NASA moon footage of Apollo 11 restored



   

NASA could put a man on the moon but didn't have the sense to keep the original video of the live TV transmission.

In an embarrassing acknowledgment, the space agency said Thursday that it must have erased the Apollo 11 moon footage years ago so that it could reuse the videotape.

But now Hollywood is coming to the rescue.

The studio wizards who restored "Casablanca" are digitally sharpening and cleaning up the ghostly, grainy footage of the moon landing, making it even better than what TV viewers saw on July 20, 1969. They are doing it by working from four copies that NASA scrounged from around the world.

"There's nothing being created; there's nothing being manufactured," said NASA senior engineer Dick Nafzger, who is in charge of the project. "You can now see the detail that's coming out."

The first batch of restored footage was released just in time for the 40th anniversary of the "one giant leap for mankind," and some of the details seem new because of their sharpness. Originally, astronaut Neil Armstrong's face visor was too fuzzy to be seen clearly. The upgraded video of Earth's first moonwalker shows the visor and a reflection in it.

The $230,000 refurbishing effort is only three weeks into a monthslong project, and only 40 percent of the work has been done. But it does show improvements in four snippets: Armstrong walking down the ladder; Buzz Aldrin following him; the two astronauts reading a plaque they left on the moon; and the planting of the flag on the lunar surface.

Nafzger said a huge search that began three years ago for the old moon tapes led to the "inescapable conclusion" that 45 tapes of Apollo 11 video were erased and reused. His report on that will come out in a few weeks.

The original videos beamed to Earth were stored on giant reels of tape that each contained 15 minutes of video, along with other data from the moon. In the 1970s and '80s, NASA had a shortage of the tapes, so it erased about 200,000 of them and reused them.

How did NASA end up looking like a bumbling husband taping over his wedding video with the Super Bowl?

Nafzger, who was in charge of the live TV recordings back in the Apollo years, said they were mostly thought of as data tapes. It wasn't his job to preserve history, he said, just to make sure the footage worked. In retrospect, he said he wished NASA hadn't reused the tapes.

Outside historians were aghast.

"It's surprising to me that NASA didn't have the common sense to save perhaps the most important historical footage of the 20th century," said Rice University historian and author Douglas Brinkley. He noted that NASA saved all sorts of data and artifacts from Apollo 11, and it is "mind-boggling that the tapes just disappeared."

The remastered copies may look good, but "when dealing with historical film footage, you always want the original to study," Brinkley said.

Smithsonian Institution space curator Roger Launius, a former NASA chief historian, said the loss of the original video "doesn't surprise me that much."

"It was a mistake, no doubt about that," Launius said. "This is a problem inside the entire federal government. ... They don't think that preservation is all that important."

Launius said federal warehouses where historical artifacts are saved are "kind of like the last scene of `Raiders of the Lost Ark.' It just goes away in this place with other big boxes."

The company that restored all the Indiana Jones movies, including "Raiders," is the one bailing out NASA.

Lowry Digital of Burbank, Calif., noted that "Casablanca" had a pixel count 10 times higher than the moon video, meaning the Apollo 11 footage was fuzzier than that vintage movie and more of a challenge in one sense.

Of all the video the company has dealt with, "this is by far and away the lowest quality," said Lowry president Mike Inchalik.

Nafzger praised Lowry for restoring "crispness" to the Apollo video. Historian Launius wasn't as blown away.

"It's certainly a little better than the original," Launius said. "It's not a lot better."

The Apollo 11 video remains in black and white. Inchalik said he would never consider colorizing it, as has been done to black-and-white classic films. And the moon is mostly gray anyway.

The restoration used four video sources: CBS News originals; kinescopes from the National Archives; a video from Australia that received the transmission of the original moon video; and camera shots of a TV monitor.

Both Nafzger and Inchalik acknowledged that digitally remastering the video could further encourage conspiracy theorists who believe NASA faked the entire moon landing on a Hollywood set. But they said they enhanced the video as conservatively as possible.

Besides, Inchalik said that if there had been a conspiracy to fake a moon landing, NASA surely would have created higher-quality film.

Back in 1969, nearly 40 percent of the picture quality was lost converting from one video format used on the moon — called slow scan — to something that could be played on TVs on Earth, Nafzger said.

NASA did not lose other Apollo missions' videos because they weren't stored on the type of tape that needed to be reused, Nafzger said.

As part of the moon landing's 40th anniversary, the space agency has been trotting out archival material. NASA has a Web site with audio from private conversations in the lunar module and command capsule. The agency is also webcasting radio from Apollo 11 as if the mission were taking place today.

The video restoration project did not involve improving the sound. Inchalik said he listened to Armstrong's famous first words from the surface of the moon, trying to hear if he said "one small step for man" or "one small step for A man," but couldn't tell.

Through a letter read at a news conference Thursday, Armstrong had the last word about the video from the moon: "I was just amazed that there was any picture at all."

source: news.yahoo.com





Thursday, July 16, 2009

Watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Free Online Video



   

Watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Free Online Video trailer streaming. The "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" a fantasy-adventure film directed by David Yates is the sixth film in the Harry Potter film series, based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling.

Watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Free(video stream):



Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
film was released in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Sweden, Canada, United States, Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand and Brazil on July 15, 2009. It was originally set to be released on November 21, 2008. The film will instead be released in IMAX 3D on 29 July, two weeks after its original release.






Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Harry Potter finale to the best



   

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince film opens on Wednesday, July 15, 2009 and will be the sixth series of Harry Potter novel to be another hit for the boy wizard series.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceThe "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," in which romance, magic and comedy collide as teenage hormones rage at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, has received rave reviews and already sold out hundreds of theaters for its opening day.

Based on author British author J.K. Rowling's seven novels, which have sold more than 400 million copies, the film franchise has so far raked $4.5 billion worldwide for Warner Bros. studio, which is owned by Time Warner Inc.

The series finale is being split into two movies for which filming began five months ago and is due to finish in about a year. Part one of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is due out in late 2010 and part two is planned for release in 2011.

"People are being very kind about what they're seeing in 'Half-Blood Prince' and I just think you haven't seen anything yet," Yates, who directed "Harry Potter" five and six and is helming the final two, said in a recent interview." is like a road movie, refugees being chased by all these people who want to kill them. It's quite intense," he said. "Then the final film is like this big opera, big epic, it's got more set pieces than any of the others."

"It's fights and dragons and battles," he said. "It's a real rollercoaster, but with a really oddly uplifting end."

Website Rottentomatoes.com, which collates movies reviews, said 96 percent of critics liked "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." Variety magazine said the movie is set to become "one of the year's two or three top-earning films."

The three key cast members who have played their characters throughout the series, Daniel Radcliffe said they were excited about the final films.

Radcliffe said he didn't want to start contemplating the end of the film yet, which he likened to his "dream coming to an end," while Tom Felton, who plays Potter enemy Draco Malfoy, said he would "cry my eyes out" when it's finished.

Author Rowling has said she was devastated after finishing the final "Harry Potter" book, which was published in July 2007 by Scholastic Corp in the United States and Bloomsbury Publishing elsewhere in the world.

The books, which she spent 17 years working on, have made the mother-of-three one of the world's wealthiest writers.

Rowling has also remained involved throughout the making of the films, reading scripts before shooting begins and offering suggestions, Yates said.

"She's really gracious, she's not territorial," he said. "She kind of recognizes the challenges of adapting and she's really sympathetic to that."

"She said now that the shooting part is coming to an end she might just pop in more often, which we would love," Yates said. "She was so busy with all the other books she couldn't ."

Chris Columbus directed the first two "Harry Potter" films, Alfonso Cuaron took on the third and Mike Newell directed the fourth before Yates took control of the final four movies.

"I wake up in the morning I think Potter, I got to bed I think Potter. By the time I finish I probably will have spent seven years doing Potter," Yates said.

"It's a challenge to bring this huge thing to a conclusion and I couldn't bear letting that go and seeing someone else doing it," he said. "I couldn't let it go, it was too addictive, too compulsive, too much fun."


source: ph.news.yahoo.com


Watch Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince video online free
.





Pinoy kids won 27 medals from 27 medals in the 10th Invitational World Youth Mathematics Inter-cities Competition



   

Pinoy high school students won 27 medals in the 10th Invitational World Youth Mathematics Inter-cities Competition (IWYMIC) held in Durban, South Africa last July 5 - 10, 2009.

The students who bagged individual bronze medals are Geraldine Baniqued (St. Paul College-Pasig), John Russell Virata (Gideon Academy), Zheng Rong Wu (Zamboanga Chong Hua High School), Matthew Chris Chan (St. Stephen's High School), Vance Eldric Go (St. Jude Catholic School-Manila), and Elvis Jeremy Ayroso (Philippine Science High School-Main Campus). The success of the Filipino students were reported by Mathematics Trainers Guild (MTG) - Philippines


Four students who got individual merit awards are Adrian Raphael Co (Xavier School), Ostin John Ong (Bacolod Trinity Christian School), Arielle Elise Chua (St. Jude Catholic School), and Paolo Manuel Iyulores (Ateneo de Manila High School). In the group contest, the three Philippine teams were awarded bronze medals each. In the team contest, the Philippine Team A composed of Banigued, Chua, Virata and Wu was awarded first runner-up while Philippine Team B whose members were Chan, Co, Go, and Ong got second runner-up. Philippine Team C composed of Ayroso, Iyulores, Janssen Kotah (Philippine Cultural College) and Hanz Vladimir Cabanes (Zamboanga Chong Hua High School) meanwhile received Merit Award. Also, Sarah Jane Cua of the Pangasinan Universal Institute won a bronze medal in the individual contest and second runner-up in the team contest as a borrowed member of the International Girls’ Team. The students and their coaches arrived in Manila Saturday. This is reportedly the first time in the country's participation in the contest that all Filipino contestants won a medal each.

“The training of these students paid off. Accomplishment is easy when we work the hardest,” said Dr. Simon Chua, head of the Philippine delegation and president of the Mathematics Trainers’ Guild (MTG), which trained the contestants for the competition. Besides Dr. Chua, the other leaders of the group were Dr. Eduardo Dela Cruz, dean of the School of Education and Normal of Arellano University; Dr. Isidro Aguilar, supervisor of the Division of City Schools of Taguig and Pateros; and Sheryl Lejos from the Science Education Institute (SEI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). About 228 high school students from 19 countries joined the contest including Canada, China, Australia, Bulgaria, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Netherlands, Nigeria, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the Philippines. Another batch of Filipino students will compete in several math contests in China and Singapore in August.

source: ph.news.yahoo.com





Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Pinay beauty won Miss U.S. International 2009



   

Aileen Jan Valdehuesa Yap is the winner of Miss USA International 2009 after representing the state of Texas in a pageant held last from July 7-10, 2009 at the Stafford Conference Centre in Houston, Texas, USA.

Pinay  beauty won Miss U.S. International 2009
20 years old Yap will represent the US for the upcoming 49th Miss International pageant to be held at the Venetian Macao Resort in Macau, China on November 7, 2009.

Aileen Jan or A.J. as she is called by close relatives, is the daughter of Filipino immigrants from Mindanao in the Philippines. A junior at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas majoring in biology. Her father Boy is a psychiatrist and Mom Geget is a nurse by profession and Director and Owner of Virginia's Lakeview Personal Care Home in Texas, USA.

A.J. was selected by National Pageant Director Britt Harrison and other pageant directors from other states of MISS US INTERNATIONAL as Miss Texas US International 2009.

She graduated as the Most Outstanding Student at the Sacred Heart School in Conroe, Texas and went on to graduate Summa cum Laude at Willis High School.

Pinay  beauty won Miss U.S. International 2009
A.J. also won the “Best in Swimsuit” and “Best in Evening Gown” awards.


source: showbizandstyle.inquirer.net
image courtesy of: beautyinpageants.blogspot.com






Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Watch Michael Jackson memorial service live video coverage



   

If you weren't one of the lucky 8,750 fans to score a pair of tickets to Jackson's memorial service at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, have no fear. Watch it here live through live streaming coverage provided by ABC News Now. For more Michael Jackson video coverage, go to ABCNews.com.

Watch live coverage of Michael Jackson's memorial service today, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.

Watch Michael Jackson memorial service live video coverage
The stage is set for Michael Jackson's final act in what could be the biggest celebrity send-off of all time.

Some of the biggest names in pop music are taking part in the memorial service, including Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson, Mariah Carey, Usher, Lionel Richie, Jennifer Hudson and John Mayer. Civil rights leader Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, and basketball stars Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant are also expected to attend.





140 examiner pass Forester Board Exam



   

One hundred forty (130) out of 383 have passed the July 2009 Forester Licensure Examination given by the Board for Foresters, the Professional Regulation Commission announced Tuesday.

For the complete list of successful examinee follow this link.





Micheal Jackson body borne in golden coffin



   

The body of Michael Jackson, borne in a golden coffin, was placed into a black hearse Tuesday to carry the late pop icon from a Los Angeles cemetery to a public memorial service.

The coffin, covered by a huge spray of red flowers, was placed into the waiting hearse after a private farewell at the Forest Lawn cemetery, attended by scores of Jackson's family and friends.

According to the TMZ.com celebrity website, the casket is a $25,000 14-karat gold plated custom model, made of solid bronze.

Micheal Jackson body borne in golden coffin
It was made by the Batesville Casket Company, and has a flame blue velvet interior and a hand-polished, mirror finish.

The hearse was due to head to the Staples Center in Los Angeles where Jackson's body was to be displayed at a public memorial attended by thousands of fans, and televised around the world.

source: showbizandstyle.inquirer.net





Video game that cost $17,500 video game



   

The game in question is an ultra-rare, gold-colored version of Nintendo World Championships, a cartridge specially produced for use in a Nintendo-sponsored gaming contest. According to Wikipedia only 26 were created, and Hendricks calls it the "Holy Grail" of video game collectors.


Holy Grail: Video game that cost $17,500 video gameJJ Hendricks, a collector who just paid a clinically insane $17,500 for an obscure NES game from 1990.

The game itself has a time limit of just 6 minutes and 21 seconds and consists of three short segments from other NES games: Super Mario Bros., Tetris, and Rad Racer. Players are scored according to their performance in each game, and their scores are totaled once the time limit expires. Doesn't sound too riveting to us, but then somehow we doubt Hendricks is in it for the gameplay.

And while $17,500 might seem a bit much for a collection of ones and zeroes, Hendricks actually got a bargain: the game was originally listed on eBay for a cool $25,000.

source: videogames.yahoo.com





Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Katherine Jackson had unbreakable bond with Michael Jackson



   

The pop superstar Michael Jackson adored Katherine Jackson, who ended up being portrayed by Angela Bassett in the miniseries. Jackson's will designates her as the guardian of his three children, and she, along with his kids and children's charities, inherit his family trust, according to a source who requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.

A Jehovah's Witness, Katherine Jackson, 79, is universally described as a gentle, loving matriarch who has doted on her family and fought to keep them united through tough times.

Born Katherine Scruse, she was reared in Chicago and overcame polio as a child (she still walks with a slight limp). She married Joe Jackson at age 19, and they had 10 children (Marlon Jackson had a twin who died shortly after birth) in nearby Gary, Ind.

Katherine Jackson had sought to retain control of Jackson's assets, but a judge ruled Monday that attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain had been designated in Jackson's 2002 will as the people he wanted to administer his estate.

Jackson died June 25, deeply in debt. But a court filing estimates his estate will be worth more than $500 million.

He had a fractious relationship at times with various family members and other confidants, but friends say Jackson saw his mother as the one flawless, angelic constant in his life.

Katherine and Joe Jackson are still married and recently marked their 60th anniversary. But their relationship has long been difficult and they have not lived together for years, according to a close friend of the singer who did not want to be identified because the person was not authorized to discuss the family.

Though it was Joe Jackson who managed Michael Jackson and his brothers to early stardom, Michael credited his mother with giving him his vocal gifts. He described her as a pianist and singer in her own right who was the first to identify and encourage her children's musical talents.

"Every child thinks their mother is the greatest mother in the world, but we Jacksons never lost that feeling," Jackson wrote in "Moonwalk," his 1988 autobiography. "Because of Katherine's gentleness, warmth and attention, I can't imagine what it's like to grow up without a mother's love."

Michael Jackson's three children have not had their biological mothers in their lives. But people close to the Jacksons say Katherine Jackson has an incredibly close relationship with her grandchildren, perhaps more than anyone else in her late son's life.

"She was never out of favor (with Michael), so she was able to spend a lot more time with the kids than anybody else," said J. Randy Taraborrelli, a friend of Jackson and author of the biography "The Magic and the Madness."

Katherine Jackson was by her son's side through some of his greatest triumphs and tragedies, from his stunning "Thriller" success to his 2005 acquittal of child molestation charges.

"They just loved each other unconditionally," said Taraborrelli. "Even when he was illogical in some of his decisions ... she didn't care, she just defended him and supported him without reservation his entire life."

Michael Jackson lived with his mother, along with siblings Joe, Janet and LaToya, at the family's Encino, Calif., compound until he was almost 30. After he moved to his vast Neverland estate, his mother remained part of his inner circle.

L. Londell McMillan, who is part of the legal team representing Katherine Jackson in her bid to control Jackson's estate, said Jackson trusted his mother completely and wanted to make sure she was always well provided.

"Michael would often say to those of us in his life, 'Please make sure you help me to protect and take care of my children and my mother Katherine,'" McMillan said.

Rob Goldstone, a former Jackson publicist who spent time on the road with him during his 1989 "Bad" tour, described him as "a momma's boy. He loved his mom."

"The one thing that was very apparent that everywhere we went, he would want to go shopping and buy something, and his mom was the one he wanted to buy something special for," he recalled.

Jackson's relationship with his mother was the opposite of what he had with his father, who managed Michael and his children's careers until they reached adulthood and business ties were severed.

Michael Jackson had a complicated relationship with Joe Jackson. He had described his father as physically and emotionally abusive. Even the sight of Joe Jackson would sometimes make Michael so nervous he would vomit, the son had said.

Joe Jackson was the parental figure who spent the most time with Jackson during his formative years. Katherine Jackson didn't go out on the road with the Jackson 5, staying at home to raise LaToya, Janet and Randy.

But the mild-mannered mother would stand up to her husband and defend their children when she thought things were getting out of control, Taraborrelli said.

"She's very strong, and a very powerful woman who would stand up to Joe," he said. "That's the only reason why it worked. ... She had the tenacity to defy him when it really mattered."

Though the pair do not live together, their lives are still intertwined. Ten years ago, they filed for bankruptcy, listing nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. Court records show the only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000.

Now that Katherine Jackson has been granted temporary guardianship of her grandchildren, some wonder what influence Joe Jackson might play in the grandchildren's lives. A person with knowledge of the situation, who asked not to be identified because the person was not authorized to talk about the relationship, said the children have a loving relationship with their grandfather, but said that Katherine Jackson would be their primary caregiver.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson said she has already assumed that role, shopping for clothes for her grandchildren over the weekend.

"She's doing very well," he said Sunday. "She is the matriarch of this family. She is so deep in her religion. She has a real insulation, not an isolation, kind of a spiritual, so she sees her family in the broader sense and all of them kind of gravitating a certain way to mom as they were."

source:new.music.yahoo.com