Tuesday, August 18, 2009

TAGAYTAY CITY

 
  
 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
 we've been in Tagaytay in 2001 and its still cool.
Now 2009 its already hot there, the only cool in Tagaytay is the Palace in the Sky.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

NICOLE Vs. DANIEL SMITH

NICOLE SWORN STATEMENT

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
Annex A
CITY OF MAKATI

I, SUZETTE S. NICOLAS, OF LEGAL AGE, FILIPINO, a resident of Zamboanga City, after bein duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state:

1. I am a Bachelor of Science graduate, major in Management Accounting, of the Teneo de Davao University. Soon after my graduation, I took up nursing in 2004 at the Ateneo de Zamboanga City and at the same time assisted in managing our family owned canteen located inside the military base of the Southern Command. My mother was a civilian supervisor of the Philippine Navy for 25 years while my deceased father was a Philippine Navy Officer.

2. Since our canteen also catered to American servicemen who stayed at the military base every time their vessels docked in Zamboanga City, my family came to know many American servicemen who would go to our canteen to eat and buy souvenir items. We treated them as a family and we would go out of our way to talk to them, play cards and on many occasions, my mother would even cook special meals for them. They would even entrust their ATM cards to us to withdraw money for them from the bank. My former boyfriend, Brian Goodrich, is also an American servicemen.

3. After working in Swift Foods Inc. Since January 22,2007, I decided to quit my job as a credit Accounting to pursue my studies in the United States through the help of my family, relatives and closed friends. I know that they supported me so that i could finally move on after my tragic experience in 2005 in Subic, Zambales which led to the trial and convection for rape of Daniel J. Smith.

4. Deep inside, however, I know that I may never be able to move on for as long as I continue to search for answer to so many questions that have lingered in my mind regarding the incident in Subic more than Three years ago. Daniel Smith was convicted of rape because the court accepted my version that he took advantage of my intoxication in raping me inside a van that took us to the seawall located at the SBMA Alaba Pier at around 11:30 in the evening of November 1, 2005.

5. Daniel Smith's witnesses said that while we were at the Neptune Club, I sat on Daniel Smith's lap and that we kissed each other passionately. I remember the before I met Daniel Smith at the Neptune Club, all I ate was a slice of pizza at the Grand Leisure Hotel. After the pizza, everything else was alcoholic drinks from vodka sprite, B52, Singaporean sling, B53, long island ice tea to bullfrog all of which I drank bottoms up. I do not recall Daniel Smith having ordered any alcoholic drinks for me. My drinks were all paid for by Chris Mills who invited me to go the Neptune Club.

6. I had no opportunity to deny in court that I kissed Daniel Smith with the amount of alcoholic mixed drinks I took, my low tolerance level of alcohol and with only a slice of pizza all night, it dawned upon me that I may have possibly lost my inhibitions, became so intimate with Daniel Smith and did more than just dancing and talking with him like everyone else on the dance floor. Looking back, I would not have agreed to talk with Daniel Smith and dance with him no less than three times if I did not enjoy his company or was at least attracted to him since I met him for the very first time on the dance floor of Neptune Club.

7. When I dance with Daniel Smith for the third time, my companion, Chris mills has already left Neptune Club since he had to catch their curfew time at the military base. The lighting was sufficient for people to recognize each other and other marines were with their Filipino partners drinking, dancing and enjoying each other's company and kissing and hugging among partners was a common scene.

8. With the event at the Neptune Club in mind, I keep on asking myself, if Daniel Smith wanted to rape me, why would he carry me out of the Neptune Club using the main entrance in full view of the security guard and the other sources? Why would the van park right in front of Neptune Club? Why would Daniel Smith and his companions bring me to the seawall of Alaba Pier and casually leave this area well lighted and with many people roaming around? If they believed that I was rape, would they have not dumped me instead in a dimly lit area along the highway going to Alaba Pier to avoid detection?

9. I told the court that Daniel Smith kissed my lips and neck and held my breast inside the van. Recalling my testimony, I ask myself now how could I have remembered this if witnesses told the court that I passed out and looked unconscious when I was brought to the van by Daniel Smith. How could I have resisted his advancement given this condition? Daniel Smith and I were alone on the third row of the van which had limited space and I do not recall anyone inside the van who held my hand or any part of my body . What I can recall is that there was very loud music and shouting inside the van.

10. If the travel from Neptune Club took only several minutes and with the driver of the van trying to beat the curfew time of his passenger, how could I have instantly regained my consciousness and talked to the people upon reaching the seawall of Alaba Pier? When people gathered around me at the seawall, everyone seemed to have drawn the conclusion that I was raped except for one who called me bitch.

11. Based on the account of SBMA police, I was very hesitant to board the mobile police car that brought me to the headquarters for investigation. I was so confused and the first thing that entered my mind was how would my mother and boyfriend react if they learn that I was last seen with Daniel Smith and that a condom was seen on my pants after Daniel Smith left the van? I was scared of losing not only my American boyfriend but the chance of living in the United States. In fact, I did not immediately tell my boyfriend that I was raped by Daniel Smith. All I said was that something bad happened to me.

12. I expect many sectors to question my motives in executing this statement more than three years after the incident. However, as I practically grew up interacting with American servicemen in Zamboanga City who treated me and my family very well, and thinking over and over again how I may have conducted myself but entertain doubts on whether the sequence of events in Subic last November of 2005 really occured the way the court found them to have happened.

13. My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith at the Neptune Club that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away. I would rather risk public outrage than do nothing to help the court in ensuring that justice is served.
AFFIANT SAYETH NAUGHT.

SUZETTE S. NICOLAS
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME this 12 day of march 2009, affiant exhibiting to me her Philippine Passport No. PP0845449 bearing her photograph and signature, issued on 18 Feb. 2010.
Doc. No. 37
Page No. 9
Book No. 1
Series of 2009 M. ACOSTA
ABRAHAM REY Notary Public for Makati City

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Pinoy Billionaires

Mall mogul Henry Sy and Tobacco king Lucio Tan move up in their rankings in Forbes Magazine's 2009 billionaires list.

Last year world's billionaires was 1,125 now down to 793, from their net worth of $4.4 trillion to $2.4 trillion.

Sy leapt from 843rd spot last year to 234th in this years list while Tan from 785th jumped to 522nd.
The Family Sy net worth increased from last year's $1.4 billion to $2.7 billion this year while Tan's net worth decreased from last year's $1.5 billion to $1.4 billion.

Sy and Tan were the only pinoy who made it to the Forbes Magazine 2009 list of billionaires. Sy the founder and chairman of the SM group of companies. The 84 year old mall magnate and his family control SM investments, While the 74 year old Tan and his family have holdings that include the hation's biggest cigarette maker, Fortune Tobacco, Philippine Airlines, Asia brewery, mining operations and Hong Kong properties, both were also ranked in Forbes Billionaires list in 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Bill Gates of Microsoft is the richest man again, overtaking Warren Buffet, as the global financial meltdown wiped out $2 trillion from the net worth of the world's billionaires.

The number of billionaires in the world fell by nearly a third to 793 in the last year , with the large numbers dropping off the list in Russia, India and Turkey. Gate regained his title as the richest man in the world with $40 billion, after slippin to third last year when he was worth $58 billion. Buffet last year richest man fell to second when he $37 billion, down from $62 billion. Mexican Carlos Slim a telecommunications tycoon in the third place with $35 billion, down from $60 billion.

New York City replaced Moscow as home to the most billionaires, with 55. Russia, which saw the number of super rich soar in recent years, suffered among the biggest shocks, with the number of billionaires down to 32 from 87.

The only person in the top 20 who did not lose money was New York Mayor Bloomberg, whose net worth was revised up to $16 billion from $11.5 billion last year because os a revaluation of his media company, Bloomberg LP, He is now the New York richest man, jumping from 65 in the world to 17.

Others who manage to get richer were investors George Soros and Ronald Perelman, as well as short-seller John Paulson, who has profited from the fall in financial stocks, and entertainer Oprah Winfrey who jumped to 234 from 462.

Another discount retailer riding out the storm was Japan's Tadashi Yanai. His firm Fast Retailing, known for its uniqlo stores, helped pushed him from 296th to 76th and raise his wealth to $6 billion from $3.6 billion last year.

Among those conspicuous by their absence from the list was Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, one of last year's stars when he became the youngest self-made billionaire to make the list.

Also dropping were big name casualties, former American International Group chief executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg and former Citigroup chief executive Sanford Weill.

Allen Stanford, the Texan accused of an $8 billion fraud by US regulators, was also booted off the list.

Crime, however did not disqualify one notable new entry to the list - mexican drug lord Joaquin :Shortly" Guzman, who is among the world's most wanted men and now worth $1 billion.

Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao steps up training

Manny always step up more rounds when Freddie Roach is not around to assist His training. At the Wild Cards Gym Manny mitts Buboy Fernandez turned out an almost 10-rounds non-stop session instead of four rounds.

With Roach out, Pacquiao called the shots.
That is the problem with the Pinoy Icon. The supposed to be only four rounds, Manny wanted more rounds, that's Manny's reputation of always asking for more during His training, He just won't stop.

China Dialogue on Spratlys

China is pushing Dialogue on the South China Sea as well as greater cooperation in its disputed areas.

Ambassador Liu Jianchao made a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, His country filing a protest on against Presedent Arroyo's signing into law of Republic Act 9522 or the Philippine Baseline Act.

RA 9522 excludes Scarborough Shoal and the Kalayaan group of islands from the country's teritory but classified as a "regime of Islands" under the Republic of the Philippines.

Under the UN convention on the Law of the Seas, archipelago nations like the Philippines must have definitive baseline laws by May 13.

Liu said His country is always ready to enhance trade relations with the Philippines, particularly in mining and infastructure. Liu added that China also wants more cultural and educational exchanges.

In 2010, China and Philippines will celebrate 35 years of bilateral relations.

Liu thanked the Philippines for hosting the visit of 100 school children from the earthquake ravage Sichuan province. The children and their families deeply appreciated the warmth display by their Filipino hosts.

In protest of the Baseline Act, Chinese Embassy said the inclusion of the disputed Kalayaan Islands and the Scarboruogh Shoal in the Philppine territory is "illegal" and "invalid."

Under the baseline Act the Philippine territory become smaller than the original Philippine territory.

The Philippine government lawmakers continue to defend the Baseline Bill amid China's protest.

Friday, March 13, 2009

Friday the 13th

5 Facts About Friday the 13th

If Friday the 13th is unlucky, then 2009 is an unusually unlucky year. This week's Friday the 13th is one of three to endure this year.

The first came last month. The next is in November. Such a rare triple-threat occurs only once every 11 years.

The origin of the link between bad luck and Friday the 13th is murky. The whole thing might date to Biblical times (the 13th guest at the Last Supper betrayed Jesus). By the Middle Ages, both Friday and 13 were considered bearers of bad fortune. In modern times, the superstition permeates society.

1. Fear of Friday the 13th - one of the most popular myths in science - is called paraskavedekatriaphobia as well as friggatriskaidekaphobia. Triskaidekaphobia is fear of the number 13.

2. Many hospitals have no room 13, while some tall buildings skip the 13th floor and some airline terminals omit Gate 13.

3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt would not travel on the 13th day of any month and would never host 13 guests at a meal. Napoleon and President Herbert Hoover were also triskaidekaphobic, with an abnormal fear of the number 13.

4. Mark Twain once was the 13th guest at a dinner party. A friend warned him not to go. "It was bad luck," Twain later told the friend. "They only had food for 12." Superstitious diners in Paris can hire a quatorzieme, or professional 14th guest.

5. The number 13 suffers from its position after 12, according to numerologists who consider the latter to be a complete number - 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 gods of Olympus, 12 labors of Hercules, 12 tribes of Israel, 12 apostles of Jesus, 12 days of Christmas and 12 eggs in a dozen.

Pythagorean legacy

Meanwhile the belief that numbers are connected to life and physical things - called numerology - has a long history.

"You can trace it all the way from the followers of Pythagoras, whose maxim to describe the universe was 'all is number,'" says Mario Livio, an astrophysicist and author of "The Equation That Couldn't Be Solved" (Simon & Schuster, 2005). Thinkers who studied under the famous Greek mathematician combined numbers in different ways to explain everything around them, Livio said.

In modern times, numerology has become a type of para-science, much like the meaningless predictions of astrology, scientists say.

However, mathematicians dismiss numerology, saying it lacks any scientific merit.

"I don't endorse this at all," Livio said, when asked to comment on the popularity of commercial numerology. Seemingly coincidental connections between numbers will always appear if you look hard enough, he said.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

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