AP - Baron Davis banked in a 3-pointer from midcourt at the halftime buzzer Sunday night. While his Golden State fans nearly deafened their team, absolutely nobody in either uniform seemed terribly surprised.
Monday, April 30, 2007
I am thin!
(Reuters) - A baby, held by an amateur sumo wrestler, takes part in a baby-crying contest at Sensoji temple in Tokyo April 28, 2007. Eighty-four babies born in 2006 took part in the event, which is held to pray for the babies' health and growth. The winner of the contest is the baby who cries the loudest. REUTERS/Toru Hanai (JAPAN)
Gore: Canada climate plan, a fraud
AP - Al Gore condemned Canada's new plan to reduce greenhouse gases, saying it was "a complete and total fraud" because it lacks specifics and gives industry a way to actually increase emissions.
Now it is Bad luck Jack
(AP) - Actor Jack Nicholson gestures as he watches the Los Angeles Lakers play the Phoenix Suns in their first round Western Conference NBA playoff game, Sunday, April 29, 2007, in Los Angeles. The Suns won, 113-100. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Girl power care of Natalie and Microloans
Natalie Portman says that for many of the world's poorest women, a small loan can change their lives.
***I wish they also help them to budget and use their loaned money for something worthwhile. Else, the more they will wallow in the quagmire of poverty and debts
1 million rally for democracy
AFP - More than one million people took part in a mass rally here Sunday in support of secularism and democracy amid a tense stand-off between the Islamist-rooted government and the army over presidential elections.
Interchange collapses after fire
AP - An interchange connecting highways to the busy Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge collapsed early Sunday after a tractor trailer hauling 8,600 gallons of gasoline caught fire, authorities said.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Jazz levels
Mehmet Okur scored like he used to and played defense like he never has before. Okur scored 16 and helped limit Houston's Yao Ming to 20 points in Utah's 98-85 win over the Rockets on Saturday night, tying the series at 2-2.
Cleveland def Washington again
The Cleveland Cavaliers are mastering the art of doing just enough to win. This time, they managed to blow a 17-point second-half lead against the short-handed Washington Wizards.
13 to go for Bonds
Barry Bonds hit his 742nd home run Saturday night, moving within 13 of Hank Aaron's career record.
Hey, no one is perfect.
Reuters - The Chilean government wants Google to fix its Earth geographical search program that places a villagenamed after Chilean independence hero Bernardo O'Higgins in Argentina.
***Oops. No one is perfect
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Lightning starts fire at Oklahoma refinery
AP - Flames and smoke poured into the sky Saturday over an oil refinery where lightning set off a fire and an explosion that was felt miles away, authorities said.
1,100 arrested in disco raid
HANOI--More than 1,100 youngsters in Vietnam were arrested early Saturday morning following a raid on the biggest disco in Hanoi, state media said.
Warriors stun Mavs
Stephen Jackson swore he felt the arena shake at times, the sellout crowd swelling to its yellow seams with every basket, blocked shot and improbable turn in the Golden State Warriors' victory.
Chicago 3, Miami 0
When it was over, the Chicago Bulls said all the right things. "We are not as superior as it appears," forward Andres Nocioni said. "It's only one win," added coach Scott Skiles. They were just being polite.
Estonia riot
AP - Police fired rubber bullets and a water cannon at hundreds of protesters in Estonia's capital Friday in a second night of rioting by ethnic Russians angry over the removal of a Soviet war memorial — an act that also aggravated tensions with the Kremlin.
Joyriders kill teener
Four motorcycle-riding men shot dead an 18-year-old resident and wounded his companion for no apparent reason shortly before midnight in Laguna province, dzRH radio reported Saturday.
Al-Qaeda man arrested
AFP - A top Al-Qaeda commander who led operations in Afghanistan and plotted the assassination of Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has been taken into US custody, the Pentagon said Friday.
Slugger arrested
AP - WNBA player Deanna Jackson was arrested on an assault charge after slugging an opposing player in a parking lot following a game, and will not be allowed to leave Israel until after the Chicago Sky's preseason opener.
***Now, they are considering her for boxing.
30 best international players in the NBA - Yao Ming not included
John Hollinger ranks the best players in the NBA from around the globe.
***Just kidding. Lolz. Of course, he is included. I didn't realize how many international players NBA has. Wow. Professional Basketball has really become an international sport - not just a sport exclusively for the US.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Russian chopper downed in Chechnya
MOSCOW -- Seventeen servicemen died Friday when a Russian Mi-8 helicopter carrying paratroopers was shot down in Chechnya, Russian news agencies quoted military officials as saying.
Pistons now 3-0 over Magic
Visit ESPN.com for the complete story.
At last: Lakers squeezed past Suns
AP - Kobe Bryant said it was simply a matter of effort. The Phoenix Suns agreed. Bryant scored 15 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter, Kwame Brown added a career playoff-high 19 points, and the Lakers rallied to beat the Suns 95-89 Thursday night, cutting Phoenix's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.
Utah def Rockets 81-67
AP - Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 12 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz held Houston without a field goal for 10 minutes in the second half and beat the Rockets 81-67 on Thursday night in Game 3 of their playoff series.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Olympic torch passing through Taiwan
AP - Organizers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics said Thursday the torch relay will pass through Taiwan in a compromise over a highly symbolic event that the political rivals had bickered over.
NBA wars rage on
AP - The Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs evened their NBA first-round series at a game apiece last night while the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead on Washington.
Reunited by calcium
Nuns reunite to mark 1967 calcium study - Yahoo! News
By TIMBERLY ROSS, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 25, 11:03 PM ET
OMAHA, Neb. - Sister Suzanne Vandenheede likes tomato soup. The 76-year-old nun from Omaha's Servants of Mary likes it so much she's been known to eat it for lunch every day for a week or more. And when she has, she's practically licked the bowl clean.
Off to Taiwan!
MANILA, Philippines -- Taiwan is set to raise its minimum wage for overseas workers, including Filipinos, by 75 percent from the present $400 to $700 within the year, Administrator Rosalinda Baldoz of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said Thursday.
Mavs win Game 2
AP - Tired of hearing about everything they did wrong in the playoff opener, the Dallas Mavericks sure did a lot right in Game 2. Jason Terry scored 28 points, Dirk Nowitzki had 23 and Josh Howard led a 15-2 run in the third quarter that sent the Mavericks to a 112-99 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night, evening their first-round series.
Body found in burned home
AP - The smoldering ashes of a quiet farmhouse and the body found inside left investigators with many questions but no certainties — even whether the dead person was the suspect authorities had been pursuing in three shootings of state troopers, one fatally.
Incandescent out by 2012
Reuters - Canada will ban the sale of inefficient incandescent light bulbs by 2012 as part of a plan to cut down on emissions of greenhouse gases, Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn said on Wednesday.
GIs too
AP - Japan's abhorrent practice of enslaving women to provide sex for its troops in World War II has a little-known sequel: After its surrender with tacit approval from the U.S. occupation authorities Japan set up a similar "comfort women" system for American GIs.
***Lesson: If you will do comfort women, you have to be white not yellow. For Filipinas, choosing between an American abuser and a Japanese abuser is like choosing between heaven (with coffee breaks) and hell. I don't know why they complain a lot against Japanese. When the greatest abusers in our country happened to be those GIs. Okay, they pay more. End of story. Bitches.
Drop Shrek
AP - A children's advocacy group wants the Department of Health and Human Services to oust Shrek, the animated ogre, from his role as spokesman for an anti-obesity drive.
***Some people are so stiff. Sorry, ogre.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tornado killer
SAN ANTONIO (Reuters) - A tornado killed six people and injured more than 80 when it slammed into a small border community in Texas overnight, officials said on Wednesday.
No more reward.
(UPDATE 2) MANILA, Philippines -- Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Calderon has recanted his earlier statement that the US embassy was offering $10,000 for information that would lead to the arrest of the prime suspect in the killing of US Peace Corps volunteer Julia Campbell.
Bulls 2, Heat 0
AP - The Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns took 2-0 leads in their opening round NBA playoff series and the Toronto Raptors evened their series with the New Jersey Nets 1-1.
Chicago trounces Miami
AP - This time, Shaquille O'Neal had nothing but praise for the opponent and the officiating.
16 inches of snow
AP - A spring storm brought a strange brew of tornadoes, heavy snow, rain and hail to Colorado on Tuesday, damaging buildings and forcing schools and highways to close and stranding buses carrying dozens of schoolchildren.
Orangutan in a Riyadh zoo
(AFP) - Riyadh zoo : An orangutan rests at the zoo in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (AFP/Hassan Ammar)
Suns bury Lakers in the desert
AP - The Phoenix Suns put the pedal to the floor and left that Game 2 jinx, and the Los Angeles Lakers, buried in the dust.
Cooler winds, heavier rains
MANILA, Philippines -- After suffering the hot, dry weather spell called El Niño, get ready for its opposite La Niña, bearer of colder winds and heavy rains.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Don't mess with a pregnant girl
Reuters - A pregnant cow being chased by policeand fire fighters caused 25,000 euros (17,000 pounds) of damageon a three-hour rampage through the German city of Hanover.
Lethal Injection Method Flawed
The drugs used to execute prisoners in the United States sometimes fail to work as planned, causing slow and painful deaths that probably violate constitutional bans on cruel and unusual punishment, a new medical review of dozens of executions concludes.
***Gas them real fast. Or better, cut off their heads.
Landis tests positive
AP - Follow-up tests on backup urine samples by Tour de France champion Floyd Landis found traces of synthetic testosterone, the French sports newspaper L'Equipe reported Monday.
***Positive tests! Wow! (...lol..)
Monday, April 23, 2007
Yeltsin dies
Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin has died, Russian media report, citing a Kremlin statement.
World water capital?
AFP - With water scarcity becoming a key environmental challenge, the northeastern Spanish city of Zaragoza is looking to use the 2008 World's Fair which it will host to become an international leader on the issue.
Habitat for waterbirds in LasPinas
MANILA, Philippines -- Saying that no nation is modern without thinking of the environment, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has signed a measure that would show her government’s efforts to carry out a comprehensive plan for a Green Philippines.
Girl stops van
AP - An 11-year-old girl stopped a van that went out of control when her diabetic mother became ill, police said.
Rabbits wrecking Australian isle
AFP - An explosion in the rabbit population has "trashed" the World Heritage listed Macquarie Island, which is home to endangered penguins and albatrosses, the World Wide Fund for Nature said.
Warriors defeat Mavericks
AP - Don Nelson figures the Dallas Mavericks will eventually figure out how to stop his Golden State Warriors. Until they do, he's going to savor every moment.
Countdown in India
AFP - Indian space scientists were counting down the final hours Monday before a home-built rocket launches an Italian satellite into space in the country's first commercial space mission.
Half-ton shark caught
A 1,063-pound mako shark hooked close to shore in the Gulf of Mexico is being investigated as a possible world fishing record.
Academy of Sex and Relationships
LONDON -- The hottest new attraction in the throbbing heart of London opened its doors this week: Amora -- The Academy of Sex and Relationships, dedicated to looking at love in a new light.
Filipino translates Koran to Maguindanaoan dialect
COTABATO CITY -- (UPDATE) Drenched in rainy days when the water leaked through his nipa hut, his family stuck it out with him as he spent years translating the Koran into his own dialect.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
East QF Chicago 1, Miami 0
Reuters - The Chicago Bulls scraped past the Miami Heat on Saturday in a rematch of last year's Eastern Conference quarter-final matchup, holding off a late charge from the defending champions to win 96-91.
Lee Van finishes 2nd
Filipino cue master Lee Van Corteza's campaign in the Jakarta leg of the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour ended in a disaster Sunday night.
Martin Lel wins London Marathon
Martin Lel out-sprints his rivals to win the London Marathon for the second time.
Chinese wins London Marathon
China's Zhou Chunxiu takes victory in the women's race in the 2007 London Marathon.
Lee Van in finals
Newly crowned Philippine national champion Lee Van Corteza gained a spot in the finals Sunday of the 2007 Guinness 9-Ball Tour's Jakarta leg with a heart-stopping 13-11 victory over compatriot Dennis Orcollo.
NYC: 1 million new trees in 10 years
AP - One million new trees will join the urban landscape of New York City by the year 2017 to reduce air pollution, cool temperatures and help improve the city's long term sustainability, officials said Saturday.
French polls start
PARIS - France began choosing a new president Sunday after a frenzied campaign among a dozen contenders in a race with unpredictable results.
Blue Angels air exhibition
(AP) - The remaining pilots prepare to land after a Navy F-18 Blue Angel plane crashed during an air show at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in Beaufort, S.C., Saturday, April 21, 2007. The Beaufort Gazette reported the plane hit a pine tree and then crashed near a subdivision, setting at least one home on fire and peppering homes with shrapnel. The county coroner's office said one person was killed. (AP Photo/Birmingham News, Mark Almond)
Neo-Nazis Outnumbered
A neo-Nazi group rallied at the Statehouse on Saturday to protest illegal immigration but was outnumbered by opponents and law enforcement officers in full SWAT gear.
Nebraska ripped by tornado
AP - A possible tornado ripped up farmsteads in western Nebraska and injured several people as thunderstorms rippled across the Plains.
1000-Day Ocean Voyage
HOBOKEN, N.J -- Two sailors cast off on the first of 1,000 planned days at sea Saturday in a bid to set a new world record.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
What a lucky guy
A 54-year-old Filipino carpentry foreman miraculously survived after falling five stories down a laundry chute of a hotel construction site in Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago shortly before noon Saturday.
13 indicted
AP - The diners didn't know it, but their credit cards were going to pay for more than their meals, prosecutors said. Waiters in about 40 restaurants, in New York and elsewhere, quietly recorded customers' credit card information and passed it on to people who used the information to make more than $3 million worth of worth of illegal purchases, according to prosecutors.
LA Times to axe 150 jobs
LOS ANGELES - About 150 jobs at the Los Angeles Times are expected to be cut next week amid a recent earnings report from parent Tribune Co. that show slumping revenue, the newspaper reported.
5.9 Earthquake hits Japan
TOKYO - A strong 5.9-magnitude earthquake hit Japan's southern islands on Saturday but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, meteorology officials said.
Muted celebrations as Queen turns 81
LONDON -- Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was marking her 81st birthday in private on Saturday -- a far cry from last year's public celebrations in front of cheering, flag-waving crowds.
Taliban seeks French pullout in exchange for hostages
Reuters - Taliban guerrillas on Friday gave France one week to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan and demanded the release of fighters held by the government to save two kidnapped French aid workers, according to a Web statement.
Baby sitter accused of killing 3 children, pregnant friend
A baby sitter already accused of killing a pregnant friend was charged Friday with drowning the woman's three children in a bath tub and then hiding the bodies in the family's washing machine and dryer.
Robotic flacons versus Liverpool pigeons
AP - Liverpool's pigeon population has it easy. Feasting on fast food and leaving droppings wherever they please, the fat birds are an embarrassment to a city chosen to be next year's European Capital of Culture.
Tour de France officials: Exclude doping suspects
The director of the Tour de France is asking cycling teams to exclude riders who were implicated in the Spanish doping investigation.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Heads delivered to Army
JOLO, Sulu, Philippines -- Two heads, believed to be those of two of the seven persons abducted by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Parang town on Tuesday morning, were delivered to an Army detachment on Thursday.
Which is first - Rice or Reactor?
Reuters - Talks between the Koreas stalled before they started on Thursday, with the two sides arguing whether rice aid topped closure of a nuclear reactor.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Chiang's Grandson sues over Statue of Grandpa
Reuters - The demolition of a giant ChiangKai-shek statue in southern Taiwan has infuriated the latedictator's grandson, who is suing a local mayor over what heconsiders an insulting act.
Browser Wars Over?
Besides the gaming console and DVD format wars we’ve seemed to have forgotten the browser wars, but it seems as though that has come to an end, or at very least an amicable ceasefire. At the Web 2.0 Expo this week Microsoft, Mozilla, Opera and Google took center stage to discuss what’s really going on. The main topic of discussion was security and I’d like to think that’s a very good start. I could care less about market share, but I will say I loathe IE.
(more…)
Colombia volcano erupts
AP - Thousands of people were evacuated after a long-dormant volcano erupted late Tuesday and again early Wednesday, provoking avalanches and floods that swept away houses and bridges.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Abortion issues divide court
Reuters - A closely divided U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the first nationwide ban on a specific abortion procedure, restricting abortion rights in a ruling on one of the nation's most divisive and politically charged issues.
AMARA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraq plans to take security control of the whole country from foreign forces by the end of the year, Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Wednesday after British forces handed over control of a southern province.
Indian herb, cancer hope
A study finds triphala, an Indian herbal remedy, slows pancreatic tumour growth in mice.
Asian tycoon lived a frugal life
HONG KONG -- Hong Kong tycoon Nina Wang may have been given a funeral send-off Wednesday as lavish as her dress sense was outrageous, but Asia's richest woman lived life frugally, saving every penny she could.
Missing Peace Corps volunteer found dead
MANILA, Philippines -- A United States Peace Corps volunteer who had been missing since last week was found dead in the mountains of Banaue in Ifugao province in the northern Philippines, military officials have said.
Historians find proof anew
AP - Evidence submitted to the post-World War II trials of Japanese war criminals shows Japan's military forced Asian women into sexual slavery during the war, historians said Tuesday, citing newly unearthed documents.
Mayor killed by the mob
AP - The mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki was shot to death in a brazen attack Tuesday by an organized crime chief apparently enraged that the city refused to compensate him after his car was damaged at a public works construction site, police said.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Free movie
SM Cinema—together with the Department for Natural Resources, Earth Day Network Philippines, and Magnavision—invites moviegoers to watch free screenings of An Inconvenient Truth
Hard for 'em
Citywide campaigns are trying to improve the public awareness of manners ahead of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
German Soldier sacked over training video
BERLIN (Reuters) - The German Defence Ministry said on Tuesday it had dismissed a German army instructor who was filmed ordering a recruit to imagine he was firing a machine gun at "African Americans" who were insulting his mother.
***What if he said he was firing at Filipino indios or Filipino monkeys? Would this have happened? Doubt it.
WSJ wins
NEW YORK -- The Wall Street Journal picked up two top Pulitzer prizes Monday for its coverage of fast-paced economic development in China and a share-dealing scandal that led to changes in corporate America.
Drug wars
AP - Police found 17 bodies stuffed in cars or dumped on streets in garbage bags across Mexico on Monday in the latest wave of violence apparently triggered by warring drug gangs.
Energy Summit
Reuters - South America's political heavyweights clashed over ethanol, exposing a rift on Monday at the start of an energy summit that host Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez hoped would cement anti-U.S. unity.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The 2007 Philippine Open chess championship is turning to be an all-Chinese show, based on Sunday's fifth round officials results sent to media organizations Monday.
Russia asks the UK to extradite tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who called for President Putin to be ousted.
Russia asks the UK to extradite tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who called for President Putin to be ousted.
(Reuters) - Pedestrians walk in front of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, April 16, 2007. A large storm brought heavy rain to the East Coast early Monday, flooding rivers, stranding airline passengers and prompting evacuations along parts of the U.S. East Coast. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES)
Bid to halt bumblebee decline
A national drive to help boost the number of bumblebees in Britain is launched by conservationists.
America's Cup
AFP - The America's Cup has had more drama, intrigue and scandal in its 156-year history than Pirates of the Caribbean.
Worst Coastal Flooding in 14 years
(AP) - Traffic heads down the FDR Drive on Sunday, April 15, 2007 as roads became flooded from the effects of a heavy storm moving through the region. A powerful nor'easter pounded the East with wind and pouring rain, grounding airlines and threatening the worst coastal flooding on Long Island in 14 years. The storm also flooded people out of their homes in West Virginia. (AP Photo/Rick Maiman)
Worst in 15 years
(AP) - A car abandoned by the driver sits in water up to its bumpers that overflowed the banks of the Cooper River along South Park Drive, Sunday, April 15, 2007, in Collingswood, N.J. In the background is the new boathouse. A major nor'easter predicted to be the region's worst storm in 15 years pounded New Jersey on Sunday with heavy rain and high winds, causing hundreds of flight cancellations and flooding roadways. (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)