Sarah Palin didn’t have the best batting average with her endorsements on Tuesday. But that didn’t stop her from announcing her support for a new crop of candidates on Wednesday.
In a post on her Facebook page, the former Alaska governor endorsed seven women who are seeking office this year — all the while citing the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote.
“Words cannot express the depth of gratitude we owe to those brave feminist foremothers who struggled and sacrificed, endured imprisonment and ridicule, and fought fearlessly to grant future generations of American women a voice,” Ms. Palin wrote.
The endorsements came a day after two of Ms. Palin’s picks –- Rita Meyer, a Wyoming gubernatorial candidate, and Clint Didier, a Senate candidate in Washington –- failed to make it out of primaries. (As expected, two congressional candidates she backed in Washington were more successful.)
Ms. Palin also took to her Facebook page not long after Emily’s List, the group that aims to elect Democratic women who back abortion rights, announced Sarah Doesn’t Speak For Me, an initiative taking on Ms. Palin and her long list of endorsees.
Four of Ms. Palin’s new choices are challenging incumbent Democratic congressmen, including Martha Roby, who is trying to unseat Representative Bobby Bright in a conservative Alabama district. The three other candidates Ms. Palin endorsed are running for statewide office.
Most of the candidates Ms. Palin endorsed on Wednesday are already in general election mode, but she indicated that she had few regrets about injecting herself into so many primaries this midterm cycle.
“Regardless of whether the many candidates I’ve had the honor of endorsing win or lose this time around, I support them because they boldly shake things up in their primary races,” she declared. “They don’t just sit on the sidelines whining; instead, they are in the arena fighting for commonsense constitutional conservative solutions.”
Ms. Palin also took a rather cutting look at the Emily’s List campaign, which includes a rundown of candidates Ms. Palin has endorsed and their views, as well as this response to Ms. Palin’s video from earlier this summer that touched on the “Mama Grizzlies.”
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Ryan Naumenko, One of Australia's Most Wanted Talent Managers, is About to Clean Up the Streets
Ryan Naumenko, once involved with the wrong side of the law for various reasons, has now turned a new page in his book. He has plans to work with disadvantaged youth, and is quickly moving up the ranks within the Australian Music Industry.
June 17, 2010 -- Headed by father and son team, Victor and Ryan Naumenko, Infamous Entertainment Group (IEG est. 2008) is fast becoming one of Australia's most popular talent management agency's. IEG have managed people such as Christian Alexander, and currently have a full roster for 2010! This can only mean one thing; this company is built on solid foundries and is already a success.
Ryan Naumenko
Past media releases have explained what IEG do. Recently, it has been said Ryan Naumenko, co-director of the company, is planning on opening up a youth outreach centre in Melbourne, Australia; to help troubled teens and young people. In a hope to "clean up the streets", Ryan Naumenko is putting together an army of professionals to get this project happening. "There is no way I could do this by myself, but it's something I feel I have to do, so I have gotten in touch with contacts all around the globe to get the project rolling." Some of these contacts are top 20 RnB performers, and international television personalities. The tentacles of IEG spread far and wide, there is definitely no underestimating this powerhouse Australian company.
Ryan Naumenko, has seen and also been on the wrong side of the tracks many times in his life. Because of this, he realises the need for something to be done to fix Melbourne's troubled streets. "I look around and see teenagers doing the wrong thing everywhere I go, I've always wanted to help young people and get them off the streets (and whatever they are on). With the experience and position I now have, coupled with my experience on both sides of the law, my plan is to set up somewhat of a youth centre." This as Ryan explained to me, is something he is currently working on funding independently, and has already approached relevant agencies. "It's just a matter of permits and funding, when it's approved I plan to make a big dent in the types of crime these young people are committing in Melbourne". By bringing music and hope to the lives of young people, Ryan Naumenko says "Really, we can't go wrong. I have the passion to do help Melbourne youth, and if it meant changing the life of one young person, it would be a case of mission complete".
Finally, as Ryan Naumenko explains "I have been inside, and I know what it's like. People like to judge because of this, but myself and my father are the ones investing into our artists careers, and all are so far doing extremely well! In addition, because I know first hand what prison is like, with this youth centre (in planning) I believe I can make a change in the lives of so many."
For interviews with either Ryan or Victor Naumenko, or to find out more about the planned youth centre in Melbourne, please email themusicinsider (at) hotmail (dot) com or contact Ryan Naumenko direct on mistahinfamous (at) live (dot) com.au.
Joe Barton's BP 'shakedown' comments are nothing new
By Matt DeLong
At a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the "shakedown" the oil company received from President Obama.
The White House immediately shot back with a statement from press secretary Robert Gibbs calling for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to condemn Barton's comments.
Barton's apology may have come as a surprise to anyone unfamiliar with Barton's positions on energy and climate change. But Barton has a long history of making colorful (not to mention energy industry-friendly) comments on these issues. Here's a sample.
Wind energy could alter wind patterns and aggravate global warming.
Humans will simply "adapt" to climate change.
Global warming is a "net benefit" to mankind.
Tags: Joe Barton, shakedown Tony Hayward, BP Joe Barton apology, Joe Barton shakedown, BP shakedown, Tony Hayward shakedown, Barton apologizes BP, Barton apologizes Tony Hayward, Barton ashamed, White House, Gulf of Mexico, oilspill, oil spill, gulf, Louisiana, Deepwater Horizon
At a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex.) apologized to BP CEO Tony Hayward for the "shakedown" the oil company received from President Obama.
"I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday," Barton said. "I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or corporation does anything wrong," they are subjected to such political pressure.
The White House immediately shot back with a statement from press secretary Robert Gibbs calling for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to condemn Barton's comments.
"What is shameful is that Joe Barton seems to have more concern for big corporations that caused this disaster than the fishermen, small business owners and communities whose lives have been devastated by the destruction. Congressman Barton may think that a fund to compensate these Americans is a 'tragedy', but most Americans know that the real tragedy is what the men and women of the Gulf Coast are going through right now. Members from both parties should repudiate his comments."
Barton's apology may have come as a surprise to anyone unfamiliar with Barton's positions on energy and climate change. But Barton has a long history of making colorful (not to mention energy industry-friendly) comments on these issues. Here's a sample.
Wind energy could alter wind patterns and aggravate global warming.
"Wind is God's way of balancing heat. Wind is the way you shift heat from areas where it's hotter to areas where it's cooler. That's what wind is. Wouldn't it be ironic if in the interest of global warming we mandated massive switches to energy, which is a finite resource, which slows the winds down, which causes the temperature to go up? Now, I'm not saying that's going to happen, Mr. Chairman, but that is definitely something on the massive scale. I mean, it does make some sense. You stop something, you can't transfer that heat, and the heat goes up. It's just something to think about."
Humans will simply "adapt" to climate change.
"I think that it's inevitable that humanity will adapt to global warming. I also believe the longer we postpone finding ways to do it successfully, the more expensive and unpalatable the adjustment will become. Adaptation to shifts in temperature is not that difficult. What will be difficult is the adaptation to rampant unemployment -- enormous, spontaneous and avoidable changes to our economy -- if we adopt such a reckless policy as cap-and-tax or cap-and-trade."
Global warming is a "net benefit" to mankind.
"CO2 is odorless, colorless, tasteless - it's not a threat to human health in terms of being exposed to it. We create it as we talk back and forth. So, and if you go beyond that, on a net basis, there's ample evidence that warming generically -- however it is caused -- is a net benefit to mankind."
Barton claimed via Twitter to have stumped Energy Secretary Steven Chu with a "simple question": "How did all the oil and gas get to Alaska and under the Arctic Ocean?" Watch the video for yourself to see if Chu, a Nobel Prize winner, was truly stumped.
Sometimes, however, Barton prefers to let his actions do the talking. During a hearing on the Waxman-Markey climate bill last year, Barton read the paper while his former upper-chamber colleague, John Warner (R-Va.), testified.Tags: Joe Barton, shakedown Tony Hayward, BP Joe Barton apology, Joe Barton shakedown, BP shakedown, Tony Hayward shakedown, Barton apologizes BP, Barton apologizes Tony Hayward, Barton ashamed, White House, Gulf of Mexico, oilspill, oil spill, gulf, Louisiana, Deepwater Horizon
US Open Golf 2010: Tiger Woods is Back With a Vengeance
This will be the 110 th edition of the US Open Golf, and most analyst expect a great event considering the fact that Tiger Woods is so determined to be back in shape and winning.
The man who made Pebble Beach California one of his greatest successes in 2000 focused on his shape and condition and tried to push back any rumors about his private life. When asked about some intimate facts and his marriage, he quickly replied to the journalist that that isn’t anybody’s business.
However, Woods commented on his health, saying that he is still not in the best shape of his career but his neck is much better now.
Some of the important contenders for the US Open Golf 2010 title are Lee Westwood, Ernie Els, Phil Mickelson and Lucas Glover.
Tags: us open golf, us open, pga, pebble beach, world golf rankings
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Army Wives Season 4 Spoilers
Until now, you had heard about Army Wives Season 4 plenty of times, but really didn't understand what all the fuss was about.
Hearsay updates about army wives: Terry Serpico has one of those faces you may have seen him in Michael Clayton, Donnie Brasco, all of the Law & Order sequence, and Rescue Me but it's his performance as blunt Sherwood on host Wives that has full his career to the next quantity.
Al Norton: It must have been great to get the scripts at the shock of the season and see how greatly more of a storyline blunt was receiving.
Terry Serpico: I was just tickled to ruin First of all, we were receiving our scripts on time this year (laughing). That was a puzzle last year. And that there was such moist equipment for blunt and Denise to agreement with Over the last two days as a chronic guest on the show I was actually rather occupied but to be a habitual on the show this season was a frank affirmation for me that they respected my work and the part that I played on the show.
The second half of this article will help you to extend upon what you have learned in the first half.
The opportunity to agreement with a wedding that is an example of how intricate relationships are in the armed was a frank stimulate for me. To be able to give that to life It's an extraordinarily intricate lifestyle on the families and it's very hard to keep viable relationships in that kind of environment so to get the opportunity to play that was a frank stimulate.
Al Norton: blunt is clearly a very emotional person but one who theater his emotions very close to his chest; are there challenges to singing a person like that? read more
view a sneak glance of military WIVES "Fire In The hovel" spell 3 Episode 17 exposure this Sunday October 4 at 10pm on life.
Episode abstract: military WIVES "Fire In The hovel" spell 3 Episode 17 - Viola (guest-star Tonya Pinkins) surprises everybody with her singing ability when she fills in for the direct songster at the lump Bar. Michael learns that universal Ludwig (guest-star Michael Nouri), a 4-star universal will be making a outing to castle Marshall, exit him anxious about the reason of the outing. Denise's competitive quality comes out during the yearly FRG golf tournament. Starring Kim Delaney, Catherine signal, Brian McNamara, Wendy Davis, sortie Pressman, Jeremy Davidson, Drew Fuller, excellent K. tanned and Brigid Brannagh. read more: army wives season 4 spoilers, army wives season climax, army wives, army wives season 3 climax, army wives season 3 spoilers
The next time someone asks you about this topic, you can give a little smile and provide them an informative answer.
Hearsay updates about army wives: Terry Serpico has one of those faces you may have seen him in Michael Clayton, Donnie Brasco, all of the Law & Order sequence, and Rescue Me but it's his performance as blunt Sherwood on host Wives that has full his career to the next quantity.
Al Norton: It must have been great to get the scripts at the shock of the season and see how greatly more of a storyline blunt was receiving.
Terry Serpico: I was just tickled to ruin First of all, we were receiving our scripts on time this year (laughing). That was a puzzle last year. And that there was such moist equipment for blunt and Denise to agreement with Over the last two days as a chronic guest on the show I was actually rather occupied but to be a habitual on the show this season was a frank affirmation for me that they respected my work and the part that I played on the show.
The second half of this article will help you to extend upon what you have learned in the first half.
The opportunity to agreement with a wedding that is an example of how intricate relationships are in the armed was a frank stimulate for me. To be able to give that to life It's an extraordinarily intricate lifestyle on the families and it's very hard to keep viable relationships in that kind of environment so to get the opportunity to play that was a frank stimulate.
Al Norton: blunt is clearly a very emotional person but one who theater his emotions very close to his chest; are there challenges to singing a person like that? read more
view a sneak glance of military WIVES "Fire In The hovel" spell 3 Episode 17 exposure this Sunday October 4 at 10pm on life.
Episode abstract: military WIVES "Fire In The hovel" spell 3 Episode 17 - Viola (guest-star Tonya Pinkins) surprises everybody with her singing ability when she fills in for the direct songster at the lump Bar. Michael learns that universal Ludwig (guest-star Michael Nouri), a 4-star universal will be making a outing to castle Marshall, exit him anxious about the reason of the outing. Denise's competitive quality comes out during the yearly FRG golf tournament. Starring Kim Delaney, Catherine signal, Brian McNamara, Wendy Davis, sortie Pressman, Jeremy Davidson, Drew Fuller, excellent K. tanned and Brigid Brannagh. read more: army wives season 4 spoilers, army wives season climax, army wives, army wives season 3 climax, army wives season 3 spoilers
The next time someone asks you about this topic, you can give a little smile and provide them an informative answer.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Candace Cameron Bure and Family Pose at Premiere
A group of blondes! Candace Cameron Bure, her husband, former hockey star Valeri Bure, and her children Natasha, 11, Leon, 9, and Maksim, 7 at the premiere of the shorts: Adventures of the Wishing Rock, held Saturday night at the Theater Grauman's Chinese in Hollywood, California,
The former Full House star Candace, 33, issued today by ABC Family to do this or the quantity, which recently got another 10 episodes.
The former Full House star Candace, 33, issued today by ABC Family to do this or the quantity, which recently got another 10 episodes.
Herta Muller – Literature Nobel Prize Winner 2009
Herta Muller – Literature Nobel Prize Winner 2009
The Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009 will be announced that Herta Muller. Herta Muller is a poet and writer of 56 years Romania.He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2009 due to a few minutes. Herta Muller began his career as a translator in 1976 and 1979. In 1982 he published his first book in Romania.
In 1995, Herta Muller was supported by the German Academy for writing and poetry. More information here Herta Muller.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Philippines: ondoy deaths rise to 300, second storm threatens the country
Philippines :
Victims of floods in the Philippines trudged through ankle-deep sludge to crowded relief centres in search of scarce food and clean water today, as the government strained to distribute supplies, dig out the sprawling capital and prevent looting. The... Monday, September 28, 2009
Girl tied to a fence and hit with a skipping rope by several boys
United Kingdom :
The father of a seven-year-old girl who discovered from a school dinner lady that his daughter had been bullied has said he wants her dismissal retracted. Scott David’s daughter Chloe was tied to a fence at Great Tey Primary School near...
Obama: Iran Has Secret Nuclear Facility
United States :
Backed by other world powers, President Barack Obama declared Friday that Iran is speeding down a path to confrontation and demanded that Tehran quickly “come clean” on all nuclear efforts and open a newly revealed secret site for close...
Japan is home of the annual bottlenose dolphin slaughter
Japan :
Taiji reveals its Janus face as soon as you emerge from the road tunnel on the town’s periphery. Bottlenoses leap out of the water in unison at the aqua park, where visitors are invited to board rowing boats and “play with the dolphins.” Giant...
Prisoners Use Hand Gel To Get Drunk
United Kingdom :
A British prison says a bunch of inmates have been caught with their hands clean — using hand sanitizing gel to get drunk. Peter McParlin of the Prison Officers Association says inmates were using it to make illicit alcohol.
Friday, August 7, 2009
John Hughes Dies
Hughes suffered the heart attack while taking a morning walk during a trip to NYC to visit family.
He directed such '80s hit films as "The Breakfast Club," Weird Science," "Sixteen Candles" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
He was 59.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Corazon Aquino, Philippines president, dead at 76
Corazon Aquino, Philippines president, dead at 76
MANILA, Philippines – Former President Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died on Saturday, her son said. She was 76.
The uprising she led in 1986 ended the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and inspired nonviolent protests across the globe, including those that ended Communist rule in eastern Europe.
But she struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite, including her own family. Her leadership, especially in social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term.
Still, the bespectacled, smiling woman in her trademark yellow dress remained beloved in the Philippines, where she was affectionately referred to as "Tita (Auntie) Cory."
"She was headstrong and single-minded in one goal, and that was to remove all vestiges of an entrenched dictatorship," Raul C. Pangalangan, former dean of the Law School at the University of the Philippines, said earlier this month. "We all owe her in a big way."
Her son, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, said his mother died at 3:18 a.m. Saturday (1918 GMT Friday).
Aquino was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer last year and confined to a Manila hospital for more than a month. Her son said the cancer had spread to other organs and she was too weak to continue her chemotherapy.
Supporters have been holding daily prayers for Aquino in churches in Manila and throughout the country for a month. Masses were scheduled for later Saturday, and yellow ribbons were tied on trees around her neighborhood in Quezon city.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on an official visit to the United States, said in a statement that "the entire nation is mourning" Aquino's demise. Arroyo declared a period of national mourning and announced a state funeral would be held for the late president.
TV stations on Saturday were running footage of Aquino's years together with prayers while her former aides and supporters offered condolences.
"Today our country has lost a mother," said former President Joseph Estrada, calling Aquino "a woman of both strength and graciousness."
Even the exiled Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, whom Aquino freed from jail in 1986, paid tribute from the Netherlands.
Aquino's unlikely rise began in 1983 when her husband, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila's international airport as he returned from exile in the United States to challenge Marcos, his longtime adversary.
The killing enraged many Filipinos and unleashed a broad-based opposition movement that thrust Aquino into the role of national leader.
"I don't know anything about the presidency," she declared in 1985, a year before she agreed to run against Marcos, uniting the fractious opposition, the business community, and later the armed forces to drive the dictator out.
Maria Corazon Cojuangco was born on Jan. 25, 1933, into a wealthy, politically powerful family in Paniqui, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Manila.
She attended private school in Manila and earned a degree in French from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York. In 1954 she married Ninoy Aquino, the fiercely ambitious scion of another political family. He rose from provincial governor to senator and finally opposition leader.
Marcos, elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 to avoid term limits. He abolished the Congress and jailed Aquino's husband and thousands of opponents, journalists and activists without charges. Aquino became her husband's political stand-in, confidant, message carrier and spokeswoman.
A military tribunal sentenced her husband to death for alleged links to communist rebels but, under pressure from U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed him to leave in May 1980 for heart surgery in the U.S.
It was the start of a three-year exile. With her husband at Harvard University holding court with fellow exiles, academics, journalists and visitors from Manila, Aquino was the quiet homemaker, raising their five children and serving tea. Away from the hurly-burly of Philippine politics, she described the period as the best of their marriage.
The halcyon days ended when her husband decided to return to regroup the opposition. While she and the children remained in Boston, he flew to Manila, where he was shot as he descended the stairs from the plane.
The government blamed a suspected communist rebel, but subsequent investigations pointed to a soldier who was escorting him from the plane on Aug. 21, 1983.
Aquino heard of the assassination in a phone call from a Japanese journalist. She recalled gathering the children and, as a deeply religious woman, praying for strength.
"During Ninoy's incarceration and before my presidency, I used to ask why it had always to be us to make the sacrifice," she said in a 2007 interview with The Philippine Star newspaper. "And then, when Ninoy died, I would say, 'Why does it have to be me now?' It seemed like we were always the sacrificial lamb."
She returned to the Philippines three days later. One week after that, she led the largest funeral procession Manila had seen. Crowd estimates ranged as high as 2 million.
With public opposition mounting against Marcos, he stunned the nation in November 1985 by calling a snap election in a bid to shore up his mandate. The opposition, including then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, urged Aquino to run.
After a fierce campaign, the vote was held on Feb. 7, 1986. The National Assembly declared Marcos the winner, but journalists, foreign observers and church leaders alleged massive fraud.
With the result in dispute, a group of military officers mutinied against Marcos on Feb. 22 and holed up with a small force in a military camp in Manila.
Over the following three days, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos responded to a call by the Roman Catholic Church to jam the broad highway in front of the camp to prevent an attack by Marcos forces.
On the third day, against the advice of her security detail, Aquino appeared at the rally alongside the mutineers, led by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, the military vice chief of staff and Marcos' cousin.
From a makeshift platform, she declared: "For the first time in the history of the world, a civilian population has been called to defend the military."
The military chiefs pledged their loyalty to Aquino and charged that Marcos had won the election by fraud.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a longtime supporter of Marcos, called on him to resign. "Attempts to prolong the life of the present regime by violence are futile," the White House said. American officials offered to fly Marcos out of the Philippines.
On Feb. 25, Marcos and his family went to the U.S.-run Clark Air Base outside Manila and flew to Hawaii, where he died three years later.
The same day, Aquino was sworn in as the Philippines' first female leader.
Over time, the euphoria fizzled as the public became impatient and Aquino more defensive as she struggled to navigate treacherous political waters and build alliances to push her agenda.
"People used to compare me to the ideal president, but he doesn't exist and never existed. He has never lived," she said in the 2007 Philippine Star interview.
The right attacked her for making overtures to communist rebels and the left, for protecting the interests of wealthy landowners.
Aquino signed an agrarian reform bill that virtually exempted large plantations like her family's sugar plantation from being distributed to landless farmers.
When farmers protested outside the Malacanang Presidential Palace on Jan. 22, 1987, troops opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 100.
The bloodshed scuttled talks with communist rebels, who had galvanized opposition to Marcos but weren't satisfied with Aquino either.
As recently as 2004, at least seven workers were killed in clashes with police and soldiers at the family's plantation, Hacienda Luisita, over its refusal to distribute its land.
Aquino also attempted to negotiate with Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines, but made little progress.
Behind the public image of the frail, vulnerable widow, Aquino was an iron-willed woman who dismissed criticism as the carping of jealous rivals. She knew she had to act tough to earn respect in the Philippines' macho culture.
"When I am just with a few close friends, I tell them, 'OK, you don't like me? Look at the alternatives,' and that shuts them up," she told America's NBC television in a 1987 interview.
Her term was punctuated by repeated coup attempts — most staged by the same clique of officers who had risen up against Marcos and felt they had been denied their fair share of power. The most serious attempt came in December 1989 when only a flyover by U.S. jets prevented mutinous troops from toppling her.
Leery of damaging relations with the United States, Aquino tried in vain to block a historic Senate vote to force the U.S. out of its two major bases in the Philippines.
In the end, the U.S. Air Force pulled out of Clark Air Base in 1991 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced its evacuation and left it heavily damaged. The last American vessel left Subic Bay Naval Base in November 1992.
After stepping down in 1992, Aquino remained active in social and political causes.
Until diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2008, she joined rallies calling for the resignation of President Arroyo over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption.
She kept her distance from another famous widow, flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos, who was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991.
Marcos has called Aquino a usurper and dictator, though she later led prayers for Aquino in July 2009 when the latter was hospitalized. The two never made peace.
___
Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Oliver Teves contributed to this report.
MANILA, Philippines – Former President Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died on Saturday, her son said. She was 76.
The uprising she led in 1986 ended the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and inspired nonviolent protests across the globe, including those that ended Communist rule in eastern Europe.
But she struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite, including her own family. Her leadership, especially in social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term.
Still, the bespectacled, smiling woman in her trademark yellow dress remained beloved in the Philippines, where she was affectionately referred to as "Tita (Auntie) Cory."
"She was headstrong and single-minded in one goal, and that was to remove all vestiges of an entrenched dictatorship," Raul C. Pangalangan, former dean of the Law School at the University of the Philippines, said earlier this month. "We all owe her in a big way."
Her son, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, said his mother died at 3:18 a.m. Saturday (1918 GMT Friday).
Aquino was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer last year and confined to a Manila hospital for more than a month. Her son said the cancer had spread to other organs and she was too weak to continue her chemotherapy.
Supporters have been holding daily prayers for Aquino in churches in Manila and throughout the country for a month. Masses were scheduled for later Saturday, and yellow ribbons were tied on trees around her neighborhood in Quezon city.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on an official visit to the United States, said in a statement that "the entire nation is mourning" Aquino's demise. Arroyo declared a period of national mourning and announced a state funeral would be held for the late president.
TV stations on Saturday were running footage of Aquino's years together with prayers while her former aides and supporters offered condolences.
"Today our country has lost a mother," said former President Joseph Estrada, calling Aquino "a woman of both strength and graciousness."
Even the exiled Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, whom Aquino freed from jail in 1986, paid tribute from the Netherlands.
Aquino's unlikely rise began in 1983 when her husband, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila's international airport as he returned from exile in the United States to challenge Marcos, his longtime adversary.
The killing enraged many Filipinos and unleashed a broad-based opposition movement that thrust Aquino into the role of national leader.
"I don't know anything about the presidency," she declared in 1985, a year before she agreed to run against Marcos, uniting the fractious opposition, the business community, and later the armed forces to drive the dictator out.
Maria Corazon Cojuangco was born on Jan. 25, 1933, into a wealthy, politically powerful family in Paniqui, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Manila.
She attended private school in Manila and earned a degree in French from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York. In 1954 she married Ninoy Aquino, the fiercely ambitious scion of another political family. He rose from provincial governor to senator and finally opposition leader.
Marcos, elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 to avoid term limits. He abolished the Congress and jailed Aquino's husband and thousands of opponents, journalists and activists without charges. Aquino became her husband's political stand-in, confidant, message carrier and spokeswoman.
A military tribunal sentenced her husband to death for alleged links to communist rebels but, under pressure from U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed him to leave in May 1980 for heart surgery in the U.S.
It was the start of a three-year exile. With her husband at Harvard University holding court with fellow exiles, academics, journalists and visitors from Manila, Aquino was the quiet homemaker, raising their five children and serving tea. Away from the hurly-burly of Philippine politics, she described the period as the best of their marriage.
The halcyon days ended when her husband decided to return to regroup the opposition. While she and the children remained in Boston, he flew to Manila, where he was shot as he descended the stairs from the plane.
The government blamed a suspected communist rebel, but subsequent investigations pointed to a soldier who was escorting him from the plane on Aug. 21, 1983.
Aquino heard of the assassination in a phone call from a Japanese journalist. She recalled gathering the children and, as a deeply religious woman, praying for strength.
"During Ninoy's incarceration and before my presidency, I used to ask why it had always to be us to make the sacrifice," she said in a 2007 interview with The Philippine Star newspaper. "And then, when Ninoy died, I would say, 'Why does it have to be me now?' It seemed like we were always the sacrificial lamb."
She returned to the Philippines three days later. One week after that, she led the largest funeral procession Manila had seen. Crowd estimates ranged as high as 2 million.
With public opposition mounting against Marcos, he stunned the nation in November 1985 by calling a snap election in a bid to shore up his mandate. The opposition, including then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, urged Aquino to run.
After a fierce campaign, the vote was held on Feb. 7, 1986. The National Assembly declared Marcos the winner, but journalists, foreign observers and church leaders alleged massive fraud.
With the result in dispute, a group of military officers mutinied against Marcos on Feb. 22 and holed up with a small force in a military camp in Manila.
Over the following three days, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos responded to a call by the Roman Catholic Church to jam the broad highway in front of the camp to prevent an attack by Marcos forces.
On the third day, against the advice of her security detail, Aquino appeared at the rally alongside the mutineers, led by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, the military vice chief of staff and Marcos' cousin.
From a makeshift platform, she declared: "For the first time in the history of the world, a civilian population has been called to defend the military."
The military chiefs pledged their loyalty to Aquino and charged that Marcos had won the election by fraud.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a longtime supporter of Marcos, called on him to resign. "Attempts to prolong the life of the present regime by violence are futile," the White House said. American officials offered to fly Marcos out of the Philippines.
On Feb. 25, Marcos and his family went to the U.S.-run Clark Air Base outside Manila and flew to Hawaii, where he died three years later.
The same day, Aquino was sworn in as the Philippines' first female leader.
Over time, the euphoria fizzled as the public became impatient and Aquino more defensive as she struggled to navigate treacherous political waters and build alliances to push her agenda.
"People used to compare me to the ideal president, but he doesn't exist and never existed. He has never lived," she said in the 2007 Philippine Star interview.
The right attacked her for making overtures to communist rebels and the left, for protecting the interests of wealthy landowners.
Aquino signed an agrarian reform bill that virtually exempted large plantations like her family's sugar plantation from being distributed to landless farmers.
When farmers protested outside the Malacanang Presidential Palace on Jan. 22, 1987, troops opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 100.
The bloodshed scuttled talks with communist rebels, who had galvanized opposition to Marcos but weren't satisfied with Aquino either.
As recently as 2004, at least seven workers were killed in clashes with police and soldiers at the family's plantation, Hacienda Luisita, over its refusal to distribute its land.
Aquino also attempted to negotiate with Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines, but made little progress.
Behind the public image of the frail, vulnerable widow, Aquino was an iron-willed woman who dismissed criticism as the carping of jealous rivals. She knew she had to act tough to earn respect in the Philippines' macho culture.
"When I am just with a few close friends, I tell them, 'OK, you don't like me? Look at the alternatives,' and that shuts them up," she told America's NBC television in a 1987 interview.
Her term was punctuated by repeated coup attempts — most staged by the same clique of officers who had risen up against Marcos and felt they had been denied their fair share of power. The most serious attempt came in December 1989 when only a flyover by U.S. jets prevented mutinous troops from toppling her.
Leery of damaging relations with the United States, Aquino tried in vain to block a historic Senate vote to force the U.S. out of its two major bases in the Philippines.
In the end, the U.S. Air Force pulled out of Clark Air Base in 1991 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced its evacuation and left it heavily damaged. The last American vessel left Subic Bay Naval Base in November 1992.
After stepping down in 1992, Aquino remained active in social and political causes.
Until diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2008, she joined rallies calling for the resignation of President Arroyo over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption.
She kept her distance from another famous widow, flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos, who was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991.
Marcos has called Aquino a usurper and dictator, though she later led prayers for Aquino in July 2009 when the latter was hospitalized. The two never made peace.
___
Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Oliver Teves contributed to this report.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
McCain Lawyers Investigated Obama Citizenship
As we asked earlier this week, if questions over President Obama's citizenship were valid, wouldn't they have come out during the presidential campaign?
David Weigel talked with Trevor Potter and other lawyers for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign who said that they did look into the Obama citizenship rumors and found them without merit.
Said Potter: "To the extent that we could, we looked into the substantive side of these allegations. We never saw any evidence that then-Senator Obama had been born outside of the United States. We saw rumors, but nothing that could be sourced to evidence. There were no statements and no documents that suggested he was born somewhere else. On the other side, there was proof that he was born in Hawaii. There was a certificate issued by the state's Department of Health, and the responsible official in the state saying that he had personally seen the original certificate. There was a birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser, which would be very difficult to invent or plant 47 years in advance."
David Weigel talked with Trevor Potter and other lawyers for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign who said that they did look into the Obama citizenship rumors and found them without merit.
Said Potter: "To the extent that we could, we looked into the substantive side of these allegations. We never saw any evidence that then-Senator Obama had been born outside of the United States. We saw rumors, but nothing that could be sourced to evidence. There were no statements and no documents that suggested he was born somewhere else. On the other side, there was proof that he was born in Hawaii. There was a certificate issued by the state's Department of Health, and the responsible official in the state saying that he had personally seen the original certificate. There was a birth announcement in the Honolulu Advertiser, which would be very difficult to invent or plant 47 years in advance."
Eric Winter in The Ugly Truth
If you're missing Eric Winter (ex-Rex Brady) on DAYS, you can catch the gorgeous star in the new upcoming movie entitled The Ugly Truth, which premieres in theaters on Friday, July 24. The highly anticipated comedy stars Katherine Heigl as Abby Richter, a morning show producer whose search for Mr. Perfect has left her hopelessly single. Gerard Butler portrays Mike Chadway, a hardcore TV personality who promises to spill the ugly truth on what makes men and women tick. Eric portrays a smart and successful orthopedic surgeon named Colin, whom the lead character, Abby, is trying to score a date with.
Although the writers conveniently forgot to mention Rex Brady's name during Kate's cancer storyline and at Grandpa Shawn's funeral, many fans haven't forgotten the character of Rex, or his previous portrayer Eric Winter. As fans may recall, Eric portrayed Rex Brady on DAYS from 2002 until 2005. His character was intially known as one of the Gemini Twins upon his arrival in Salem, became romantically involved with Mimi, and left town in July of 2005 after Rex discovered that Mimi had an abortion and kept this torrid secret from him.
Congratulations to Eric on all his success since leaving DAYS. Be sure to see him as Colin in The Ugly Truth, premiering Friday, July 24.
Although the writers conveniently forgot to mention Rex Brady's name during Kate's cancer storyline and at Grandpa Shawn's funeral, many fans haven't forgotten the character of Rex, or his previous portrayer Eric Winter. As fans may recall, Eric portrayed Rex Brady on DAYS from 2002 until 2005. His character was intially known as one of the Gemini Twins upon his arrival in Salem, became romantically involved with Mimi, and left town in July of 2005 after Rex discovered that Mimi had an abortion and kept this torrid secret from him.
Congratulations to Eric on all his success since leaving DAYS. Be sure to see him as Colin in The Ugly Truth, premiering Friday, July 24.
Bill Gates Dumps Facebook: “Too Many Friends”
Bill Gates confessed at an event in New Delhi today that he gave up on Facebook because he couldn’t keep up with the friend requests. Gates remarked that there were “10,000 people wanting to be my friends” after he tried out the service, and it was time consuming to decide if he “knew this person, did I not know this person”.
Gates was speaking at a gathering to accept the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. In addition to saying that Facebook “was just way too much trouble so I gave it up”, the AFP story on the event quotes Gates as saying he’s “not that big at text messaging”. The Microsoft co-founder also mentioned that he doesn’t spend all day using technology and that “All these tools of tech waste our time if we’re not careful.”
And while Gates insists that he’s “not a 24-hour-a-day tech person”, it’s clear that a growing number of Facebook users are – it’s the very reason why Microsoft has a stake in the networking giant, as users’ time and attention are increasingly consumed by these somewhat addictive services.
We have no idea what Bill Gates’ Facebook (
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Wow! A Quadrillion-Dollar Credit Card Bill
A North Texas man has a 17-figure credit card statement after a bank glitch resulted in an eye-popping charge.
This is what it looks like: $23,148,855,308,184,500.00.
Here’s how to say it: 23 quadrillion,148 trillion, 855 billion, 308 million, 184,000, 500 dollars.
It's more than 2,000 times the national debt -- and, according to Jon Seale's online credit card statement, it’s what he spent July 13 at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck.
“For that amount of money, I could actually own Wolfgang Puck himself," Seale said.
Seale, a husband and father of five from Trophy Club, spent much of Tuesday making calls to Wachovia and Visa in hopes of getting the exorbitant charge removed from his Wachovia Visa Buxx credit card. Both companies told him they were working to resolve the issue.
“It's an inconvenience, but it's not like I was truly worried my money was gone," he said. "It’s an obvious, glaring error.”
Seale even tried tracking down the celebrity chef himself.
“I tried to find Wolfgang Puck on Facebook and add him as a friend to see if he’d make a comment, but I didn’t have any luck finding him," Seale said.
Visa said the technical glitch that resulted in the giant charge only affected some customers with prepaid Visa cards.
"A temporary programming error at Visa Debit Processing Services caused some transactions to be inaccurately posted to a small number of Visa prepaid accounts," said Visa spokeswoman Elvira Swanson said in a written statement. "The technical glitch has been corrected, and all erroneous postings have been removed.”
Steale was not the only Visa Buxx cardholder to see the huge charge on his statement. A New Hampshire man found the $23 quadrillion charge after buying a pack of cigarettes at a gas station. A Visa representative said affected customers will also have the $20 overdraft fees removed.
This is what it looks like: $23,148,855,308,184,500.00.
Here’s how to say it: 23 quadrillion,148 trillion, 855 billion, 308 million, 184,000, 500 dollars.
It's more than 2,000 times the national debt -- and, according to Jon Seale's online credit card statement, it’s what he spent July 13 at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck.
“For that amount of money, I could actually own Wolfgang Puck himself," Seale said.
Seale, a husband and father of five from Trophy Club, spent much of Tuesday making calls to Wachovia and Visa in hopes of getting the exorbitant charge removed from his Wachovia Visa Buxx credit card. Both companies told him they were working to resolve the issue.
“It's an inconvenience, but it's not like I was truly worried my money was gone," he said. "It’s an obvious, glaring error.”
Seale even tried tracking down the celebrity chef himself.
“I tried to find Wolfgang Puck on Facebook and add him as a friend to see if he’d make a comment, but I didn’t have any luck finding him," Seale said.
Visa said the technical glitch that resulted in the giant charge only affected some customers with prepaid Visa cards.
"A temporary programming error at Visa Debit Processing Services caused some transactions to be inaccurately posted to a small number of Visa prepaid accounts," said Visa spokeswoman Elvira Swanson said in a written statement. "The technical glitch has been corrected, and all erroneous postings have been removed.”
Steale was not the only Visa Buxx cardholder to see the huge charge on his statement. A New Hampshire man found the $23 quadrillion charge after buying a pack of cigarettes at a gas station. A Visa representative said affected customers will also have the $20 overdraft fees removed.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Insomniac Jackson begged for drug
Michael Jackson was so distraught over persistent insomnia in recent months that he pleaded for a powerful sedative despite warnings it could be harmful, says a nutritionist who was working with the singer as he prepared his comeback bid.
Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously.
But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said.
While in Florida on June 21, Lee was contacted by a member of Jackson's staff.
"He called and was very frantic and said, `Michael needs to see you right away.' I said, 'What's wrong?' And I could hear Michael in the background ..., 'One side of my body is hot, it's hot, and one side of my body is cold. It's very cold,'" Lee said.
"I said, `Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but he needs to go to the hospital ... right away."
"At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system," she said, adding, "He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out."
Jackson did not go to the hospital. He died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest, his family said. Autopsies have been conducted, but an official cause of death is not expected for several weeks.
Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse whose specialty includes nutritional counseling, said Tuesday that she repeatedly rejected his demands for the drug, Diprivan, which is given intravenously.
But a frantic phone call she received from Jackson four days before his death made her fear that he somehow obtained Diprivan or another drug to induce sleep, Lee said.
While in Florida on June 21, Lee was contacted by a member of Jackson's staff.
"He called and was very frantic and said, `Michael needs to see you right away.' I said, 'What's wrong?' And I could hear Michael in the background ..., 'One side of my body is hot, it's hot, and one side of my body is cold. It's very cold,'" Lee said.
"I said, `Tell him he needs to go the hospital. I don't know what's going on, but he needs to go to the hospital ... right away."
"At that point, I knew that somebody had given him something that hit the central nervous system," she said, adding, "He was in trouble Sunday and he was crying out."
Jackson did not go to the hospital. He died June 25 after suffering cardiac arrest, his family said. Autopsies have been conducted, but an official cause of death is not expected for several weeks.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Arab world mourns Michael Jackson
CAIRO – A Bahraini royal mourned him publicly, young Lebanese held a candlelight tribute, Egyptian musicians hailed him as an inspiration.
Beyond his global reach, Michael Jackson held a special place in the Muslim world, as one of the first major Western entertainers to break through cultural barriers in the 1980s.
Some made a connection with the pop icon because of rumors, never substantiated, that he had converted to Islam. Others embraced him as one of their own after he sought refuge in the Gulf emirate of Bahrain in 2005, following a bruising trial on child molestation charges in the U.S.
"God have mercy on him. He was a Bahraini. He lived with us," said Jassim Ali, 35, shopping for Jackson CDs on Saturday in a music store in the capital, Manama.
Jackson only spent a year in the emirate, as a guest of Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, a son of Bahrain's king and an aspiring songwriter who had befriended the entertainer. Jackson kept a low profile there, largely staying close to his host.
After Jackson's departure, the sheik sued Jackson for $7 million, saying he had failed to fulfill a joint music venture, but the two settled in November, with terms not disclosed.
Beyond his global reach, Michael Jackson held a special place in the Muslim world, as one of the first major Western entertainers to break through cultural barriers in the 1980s.
Some made a connection with the pop icon because of rumors, never substantiated, that he had converted to Islam. Others embraced him as one of their own after he sought refuge in the Gulf emirate of Bahrain in 2005, following a bruising trial on child molestation charges in the U.S.
"God have mercy on him. He was a Bahraini. He lived with us," said Jassim Ali, 35, shopping for Jackson CDs on Saturday in a music store in the capital, Manama.
Jackson only spent a year in the emirate, as a guest of Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Isa Al Khalifa, a son of Bahrain's king and an aspiring songwriter who had befriended the entertainer. Jackson kept a low profile there, largely staying close to his host.
After Jackson's departure, the sheik sued Jackson for $7 million, saying he had failed to fulfill a joint music venture, but the two settled in November, with terms not disclosed.
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