My little brother, Jeffrey, who works in Manila, was among the thousands of people affected by the tropical storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana) that hit the Philippines this weekend. After my sister (in Illinois) and I heard about the worsening situation in Manila due to flooding caused by the torrential rains, we immediately contacted our brother, but to no avail. His phone, and all his friends’ phones, were unreachable. We posted messages on Facebook hoping other friends and relatives could somehow trace our brother’s whereabouts.
Last night, we finally got a note that my brother and some others were trapped in the second floor of a two-story house. Water on the first floor was about chest-high.
Manila Flooding worst in history
September 27th, 2009
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Oklahoma City Bombing Tapes, Released
September 27th, 2009
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Jesse Trentadue, a Salt Lake City attorney, has obtained a copy of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing video tapes through the federal Freedom of Information Act. The video is now posted online.
If you watch the video, something is actually lacking. The video shows events minutes long before the blast and then goes blank before 9:02 a.m., when a truck bomb carrying a 4,000 pound fertilizer-and-fuel-oil bomb detonated in front of the Oklahoma City federal building. Where are the rest of the video? Why are they missing? There were four cameras monitoring the place at different locations and all of them coincidentally went blank at the same time! Coincidence. Really? Maybe not.
Family Bath-time Photos, not allowed in WalMart
September 26th, 2009
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Warning to all those planning to get their family pictures developed in Walmart — Walmart employees are very strict on bath-time photos! Even if the photos are clearly innocent family photos, Walmart employees will look at it as very sexual.
This is what happened to a poor couple who took a memory stick to a Walmart store in Arizona for processing. There were 144 photographs taken mostly during the family’s vacation in San Diego. There were seven to eight bath photos of their three girls partially nude and playing in the bath tub. The ignorant Walmart employee found the family photos offensive, lewd or pornographic and so Walmart turned over the photos to the police.
Bank of America gets a ridiculous lawsuit
September 25th, 2009
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How could a man sue Bank Of America for an amount that is even bigger than the world’s $60 trillion GDP? Dalton Chiscolm is suing the bank for 1,784 billion trillion dollars. Ask what NYU math Professor Sylvain Cappell have to say about this: “These are the kind of numbers you deal with only on a cosmic scale.”
I think the amount is hilarious and Dalton Chiscolm is a joke! That is why lawsuits are clogging up the legal system because of jokes like this.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu UN speech
September 24th, 2009
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech at the UN today. Netanyahu’s address was seen as his response to Pres. Obama speech. The speech brought some good “signs of peace”. He called on his Palestinian neighbors to begin peace negotiations immediately, without preconditions. He address the wider Arab world to work with him, saying “Let’s make peace. I am willing to meet with you any time any place — in Damascus, Riyadh, Beirut and in Jerusalem.”
Watch the videos below (in 4 parts). It’s worth the time.
Full Netanyahu UN Speech Part 1 of 4
More videos after the jump.
Gamecock fights “Sabong” shock and celebrate tradition
September 24th, 2009
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My Collegian column this week.
Roosters here are known as gamecocks in the Philippines. Sundays can be celebrated in so many ways by so many common Filipinos living in faraway towns. It is the day off for most house helpers and they usually enjoy their free time at town plazas. It is the day for the faithful to go and hear mass. It is also the best day for a “sabungero” to exercise his gamecocks. For the locals, the smell of fighting cocks, the sight of tricycles parked in already crowded streets, the sound of people shouting for bets … all tells the same thing: There’s got to be a derby going on.
Obama UN Speech – video and text
September 23rd, 2009
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Pres. Barack Obama gave a historic speech today — his first address to the UN General Assembly as a President. Obama did not mention plans about Afghanistan and his efforts to contain the Al-Qaeda terrorist network. Instead, he challenges world leaders to do their part in keeping world peace and security rather than rely solely on America. Is this a sign of Obama’s government wavering on its counterinsurgency campaign in the war-torn Afghanistan?
Here is Obama’s speech (full text), as prepared for delivery. Below is the video via MSNBC.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, fellow delegates, ladies and gentleman: it is my honor to address you for the first time as the forty-fourth President of the United States. I come before you humbled by the responsibility that the American people have placed upon me; mindful of the enormous challenges of our moment in history; and determined to act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and prosperity at home and abroad.
I have been in office for just nine months, though some days it seems a lot longer. I am well aware of the expectations that accompany my presidency around the world. These expectations are not about me. Rather, they are rooted – I believe – in a discontent with a status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly defined by our differences, and outpaced by our problems. But they are also rooted in hope – the hope that real change is possible, and the hope that America will be a leader in bringing about such change.
Brookings Cinema 5 – Showcase (Brookings, South Dakota)
September 20th, 2009
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There is only one cinema in Brookings, South Dakota, the Showcase Cinema 5 or popularly called Brookings Cinema 5. The number five on its name probably came from the number of cinema screens the establishment contains. There are 5 small screening rooms with each having less than 100 seating capacity (I think).
Since I am a frequent movie goer, I visit Brookings Cinema 5 almost every week, regardless of the day. Tuesday night is usually a discount night — you pay like $2 less. For regular nights, adults pay $8 and children is charged $6. This is probably cheaper compared to other cinemas in big cities outside SD.
