Ex-ConCom spokesman seeks Senate seat
MANILA, Philippines — The spokesman of the Consultative Committee for President Rodrigo Duterte's bid to shift to federalism said on Tuesday that he would be seeking a seat at the Senate. Ding Generoso filed his certificate of candidacy under the Katipunan Ng Kamalayang Kayumanggi. He added that he and his political party will focus on the shift to federalism in their campaign. The shift to federalism is central to the Duterte administration’s agenda. FOLLOW: LIVE updates: 2019 candidacy filingThe Commission on Elections set the last day of filing of COCs on Wednesday, October 17.
Source:Philippine Star
October 16, 2018 02:15 UTC
K-Pop among most-streamed genres on Spotify
MANILA, Philippines — On its way to global domination, K-Pop has fast become one of the most-streamed genres globally on music streaming service Spotify. Many K-pop artists have been forming subunits to target different audiences. NCT has three subunits — NCT U, NCT 127 and NCT Dream — each unit targeting different age groups and demographics. International collaborationsSeveral K-pop artists have also been collaborating with English-speaking artists as their popularity rises all over the world. Today, it is the world's most popular music streaming service with 180 million users, including 83 million subscribers across 65 markets.
Source:Philippine Star
October 16, 2018 01:52 UTC
Microsoft co-founder, investor, philanthropist Allen dead at 65
SAN FRANCISCO, United States — Paul Allen, who founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in the 1970s and later went on to become an investor, philanthropist and sports team owner, died Monday after his latest battle with cancer at age 65. While most knew Paul Allen as a technologist and philanthropist, for us he was a much loved brother and uncle, and an exceptional friend," Allen's sister Jody said in a statement announcing his death. "Paul Allen was the ultimate trail blazer -- in business, philanthropy and in sports," said NBA commissioner Adam Silver. "Paul Allen was the driving force behind keeping the NFL in the Pacific Northwest," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement. In his 2011 memoir "Idea Man," Allen described a somewhat stormy relationship with Gates in the early days of Microsoft.
Source:Philippine Star
October 16, 2018 01:41 UTC
Roxas back in political arena, files candidacy for senator
FORMER senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas 2nd was the first individual to file his certificate of candidacy (CoC) for senator on Tuesday, more than two years after he lost in the presidential elections to then Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte. “This campaign is not about 2016 but now,” Roxas said, adding that he has moved on as a private citizen but the call to public service has made him decide to run after consulting his family. As “private citizen Mar,” he said he met a lot of simple and working people who all wished for better lives for their families. “Their concerns has moved me to run and give them a fair chance in their lives,” he said. Roxas was also a former secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG).
Source:Manila Times
October 16, 2018 00:22 UTC
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen dies at 65
SEATTLE — Paul G. Allen, who co-founded Microsoft with his childhood friend Bill Gates before becoming a billionaire philanthropist who invested in conservation, space travel and professional sports, died Monday. Microsoft’s big break came in 1980, when IBM Corp. decided to move into personal computers and asked Microsoft to provide the operating system. The first versions of two classic Microsoft products, Microsoft Word and the Windows operating system, were released in 1983. The Windows operating system is now used on most of the world’s desktop computers, and Word is the cornerstone of the company’s prevalent Office products. With his sister Jody Allen in 1986, Paul Allen founded Vulcan, the investment firm that oversees his business and philanthropic efforts.
Source:Manila Times
October 15, 2018 23:03 UTC
Duterte: ‘Nobody but nobody’ can use govt resources in 2019 polls
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday urged the military and police to stay “strictly neutral,” as he vowed that there would be clean and honest midterm elections next year. Kumandidato siya e [He chose to be a candidate],” Duterte said, referring to Go, who filed his candidacy for senator on Monday afternoon. Duterte then told the military to stay out of politics and ensure that their loyalty was only to the state and the Filipino people. This election, strictly neutral tayong lahat [all of us]. Up for grabs for next year’s polls are 12 seats in the Senate, other positions from district and party-list representatives, governors, mayors to municipal councilors.
Source:Manila Times
October 15, 2018 22:41 UTC
White House dismisses UN climate warning and $38.4T ‘ransom note’
The global warming warning could pass into symbolism — to be recalled from time to time to squelch opinion and scare the living daylights out of certain people. the left pounds the table for environmental reform, more policy, more money to combat climate change. Their message is simple: Get on the man-made global warming bandwagon . Weakening the global warming argument is data showing that the North Polar ice cap is increasing in size. However, despite this clear evidence that the temperatures are not increasing, the global warming hysteria only seems to be increasing.
Source:Manila Times
October 15, 2018 22:41 UTC
Trump sends Pompeo to Riyadh over Khashoggi; Saudis may blame official
Trump sends Pompeo to Riyadh over Khashoggi; Saudis may blame official 0 SHARES Share it! “I heard that report, but nobody knows if it’s an official report,” Trump told reporters, without elaborating. “The king firmly denied any knowledge of it,” Trump told reporters after speaking with King Salman. “It has been 13 days since the event, so surely proving some of the evidence might be difficult” the Turkish official said. The Saudi consulate referred Reuters to authorities in Riyadh, who did not respond to questions about the 15 Saudis.
Source:Manila Bulletin
October 15, 2018 22:18 UTC
Now Roque says Duterte kissing Filipino woman inappropriate
ADVERTISEMENT‘I thought I’d die’“First of all, there’s the kissing. I’d thought I’d die there … The kissing in Korea, if you’d remember,” he said. Roque was referring to the President’s controversial kiss with the Seoul-based woman during his meeting with the Filipino community there in June. Back then, the President drew flak over the kiss, which Roque defended as nothing immoral but a light gesture accepted in Filipino culture. But that was a lips to lips in slow motion,” Roque said.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 15, 2018 21:33 UTC
Deputy Speaker denounces CIDG attempt to arrest him
House Deputy Speaker Munir Arbison on Tuesday lambasted officials of the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) for allegedly insisting on arresting him over an arson case despite securing a reprieve from the Court of Appeals. They (CIDG officials) know I have nothing to do with it,” Arbison said at a news briefing. Arbison accused Sulu Vice Gov. Abdusakur Tan of orchestrating an attempt to block him from filing his certificate of candidacy for reelection at the local office of the Commission on Elections in Jolo, Sulu. —Marlon RamosClick here for more elections stories.
Source:Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 15, 2018 21:22 UTC
Rising influence: China’s image affected by nationals who lead intl bodies, such as Interpol
LAST month, the president of Interpol, Meng Hongwei, made a trip back to China — and promptly vanished. It certainly added to the country’s luster that a vice minister of China’s Ministry of Public Security was considered fit to lead Interpol. China’s global influence has been expanding as the country continues to rise in economic, political, diplomatic and military terms. Otherwise, such nominees will negatively affect China’s image and undermine confidence in other Chinese who lead global institutions. I’m not serving China’s interests.
Source:Manila Times
October 15, 2018 20:08 UTC
Syria, Iraq say joint border crossing to re-open soon
Damascus - A border crossing between Syria and Iraq is to re-open soon, Damascus and Baghdad's top diplomats said yesterday, hours after other Syrian frontier posts reopened with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan. The two other border crossings between Syria and Iraq escape regime control. "For us, the border posts are not just geographical crossings, but also cultural, economic, political and even demographic," Jaafari said. "This is why efforts have been made and will continue to be made to open these border posts," he said. Iraq recently redeployed its forces on the border with Syria in a bid to stem the flow of weapons and IS fighters.
Source:Philippine Star
October 15, 2018 18:33 UTC
Mattis trip to Vietnam aimed at countering China’s influence
The visit beginning Tuesday also shows how far US-Vietnamese relations have advanced since the tumultuous years of the Vietnam War. Mattis, a retired general who entered the Marine Corps during Vietnam but did not serve there, visited Hanoi in January. Three months after the Mattis visit, a US Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, made a port call at Da Nang. The most vivid expression of Chinese assertiveness is its transformation of contested islets and other features in the South China Sea into strategic military outposts. Vietnam’s proximity to the South China Sea makes it an important player in disputes with China over territorial claims to islets, shoals and other small land formations in the sea.
Source:Manila Times
October 15, 2018 17:15 UTC
Deception, corruption of pre-election surveys
Based on our research, we have discovered how enterprising and farsighted the pollsters are in conducting these pre-election polls. Amazingly, each of them came up with a ready list of “magic 12s” to tout possible candidates whom the electorate would support in the election. The survey came up with its own list of favorite possible candidates, which included again the usual suspects in preferential polls. In his book The Opinion Makers (Bacon Press, Boston, 2009), David Moore, a political science professor and formerr senior editor of the Gallup poll, rightly warns that public opinion research tends to manufacture public opinion, instead of merely reports what is on the public mind. We are troubled that here in the Philippines, opinion research is driven too much by commercialism and manipulation.
Source:Manila Times
October 15, 2018 16:52 UTC
Silver lining for Tio
YOG mourns Baumann’s passingBUENOS AIRES – Kiteboarder Christian Tio delivered the silver medal for Team Philippines on a bright, sunny day that was marred by news on the sudden death of a key member of the International Olympic Committee. Tio, in fourth after six completed races, came out strong Sunday to finish second among eight finalists. Another cancellation due to lack of winds would have denied Tio the chance to win a medal. We really had light winds and I’m really happy to get the silver. I thought it was bronze or something, but when I checked we were both silver,” said Tio, who considers the island of Boracay as home.
Source:Philippine Star
October 15, 2018 16:50 UTC