A Repost From Thea Alberto of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Comelec chairman Jose Melo resigns

By Thea Alberto – November 24th, 2010

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By Thea Alberto
Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Commission on Elections Chairman Jose Melo has filed his resignation effective early next year, a spokesman confirmed.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said Melo sent President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III a letter signifying his intent to leave his post by January 31, 2011.

“He [Melo] said he has fulfilled his mission already,” Jimenez told Yahoo! Southeast Asia in an interview.

Jimenez said Melo’s “mission” was to ensure that the 2010 elections will go “without a hitch.”

“We’re not really surprised with his decision. He’s been very vocal of his intention of leaving,” said Jimenez.

He noted several Commissioners are also set to retire on February 2011.

Reposted From Thea Alberto of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

A Repost From Sopheng Cheang of AP (Associated Press)

Over 330 die in stampede at Cambodian festival

AP/Heng Sinith

A crowd of Cambodians are pushed onto a bridge during a water festival in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. More photos »

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AFP/Graphic – A stampede in the Cambodian capital has left more than 330 people dead after panic erupted at a water …

• Slideshow:Cambodia stampede leaves hundreds dead
• Play Video Video:Morgues scoured for Cambodia stampede victims AFP
• Play Video Video:Hundreds die in stampede at Cambodian festival AP

By SOPHENG CHEANG, Associated Press Sopheng Cheang, Associated Press – Mon Nov 22, 6:13 pm ET

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Thousands of people stampeded during a festival in the Cambodian capital Monday night, leaving more than 330 dead and hundreds injured in what the prime minister called the country's biggest tragedy since the 1970s reign of terror by the Khmer Rouge.

Some in the panicky crowd — who were celebrating the end of the rainy season on a sliver of land in a river — tried to flee over a bridge and were crushed underfoot or fell over its sides into the water. A witness who arrived shortly after the stampede described "bodies stacked on bodies" on the bridge as rescuers swarmed the area.

Ambulances raced back and forth between the river and the hospitals for several hours after the stampede. Calmette Hospital, the capital's main medical facility, was filled to capacity with bodies as well as patients, some of whom had to be treated in hallways. Many of the injured appeared to be badly hurt, raising the prospect that the death toll could rise as local hospitals became overwhelmed.

Hours after the chaos, the dead and injured were still being taken away from the scene, while searchers looked for bodies of anyone who might have drowned. An Associated Press reporter saw one body floating in the river, and hundreds of shoes left behind on and around the bridge.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, in his third post-midnight live television broadcast, said that 339 people had been killed and 329 injured. He described the chaos as the biggest tragedy to strike his country since the communist rule of the Khmer Rouge, whose radical policies are blamed for the deaths of 1.7 million people during the 1970s.

He ordered an investigation into the cause of the stampede and declared Thursday would be a national day of mourning. Government ministries were ordered to fly the flag at half-staff.

Authorities had estimated that upward of 2 million people would descend on Phnom Penh for the three-day water festival, which marks the end of the rainy season and whose main attraction is traditional boat races along the river.

The last race ended early Monday evening, the last night of the holiday, and the panic started later on Koh Pich — Diamond Island — a long spit of land wedged in a fork in the river where a concert was being held. It was unclear how many people were on the island to celebrate the holiday, though the area appeared to be packed with people, as were the banks.

Soft drink vendor So Cheata said the trouble began when about 10 people fell unconscious in the press of the crowd. She said that set off a panic, which then turned into a stampede, with many people caught underfoot.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith gave a similar account of the cause.

Seeking to escape the island, part of the crowd pushed onto a bridge, which also jammed up, with people falling under others and into the water. So Cheata said hundreds of hurt people lay on the ground afterward. Many appeared to be unconscious.

Philip Heijmans, a 27-year-old photographer from Brooklyn, N.Y., who arrived at the scene half-an-hour after the stampede, walked up the bridge to see hundreds of shoes and pieces of clothing, then a body, then more "bodies stacked on bodies."

He counted about 40 in all, with about 200 rescuers in the area. Some Australian firefighters were on the scene_ it wasn't clear why they were in town — who were checking pulses before loading bodies into vans.

Cambodia is one of the region's poorer countries, and has an underdeveloped health system, with hospitals barely able to cope with daily medical demands.

Koh Pich used to host a slum community, but in recent years the poor have been evicted to make way for high-rise and commercial development, most yet to be realized.

Reposted From Sopheng Cheang of AP (Asocciated Press)

A Repost From David B. Armstrong of US News & World Report

7 Money Tips for Twentysomethings

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David B. Armstrong, On Saturday 20 November 2010, 1:55 SGT

It's easy to look back, ask,"What if?" and second guess all the decisions I've made in the past 43 years. I have been fortunate to have no major regrets and a whole lot to be thankful for. However, there are some things I would have paid more attention to and done differently if I could go back and relive my early 20s.

Here's a list for all of you in your 20s, as well as for some parents to consider if you have children graduating from college soon:

1. Don't rack up credit card debt, and pay any debts off quickly. Seems simple and downright obvious, but taking on debt is easy to do. The transition from college to the working world can be expensive--new clothes, shoes, apartment, furniture, and other business-world expenses can make it easy to quickly pile on debt. Budget for these expenses, and if credit must be used to get going, have a plan in advance for paying it down.

2. Contribute to your 401(k). Just do it. Retirement contributions build up fast, often have an employer matching contribution, and are saved before taxes. Look at it as savings with an instant profit.

[See 6 Strategies for Funding Your 401(k)]

3. Start a savings plan early. The best time to start a savings plan is before you are used to having extra money in the first place. A good rule of thumb: Use 50 percent of your after-tax paycheck (excluding 401(k) contributions, of course) to pay for the non-negotiable "needs-based" expenses in your life, like rent and food. Use 35 percent for negotiable "wants-based" expenses--entertainment and other costs can scale back quickly if needed. Save 15 percent. Your goal here should be to save about six months of your pay.

4. Don't try to keep up with the Jones's. There is no need to buy the best brand of everything right out of college. People in their 20s who are driving expensive cars, living in luxury apartments, and buying the most expensive clothes either already have money from something other than their first job or they are piling on debt--which isn't smart.

5. Pay off your highest interest-rate debt first. Hint: It's not always the debt with the highest balance. The debt with the highest interest rate is probably the credit card you ran up on bar tabs and that Spring Break trip in the final year of school. Pay that off first. Your student loans, while they carry a big balance and are possibly the scariest in terms of size, probably have a reasonable interest rate relative to any credit card debt.

6. Save four months of your salary in cash before you start investing after-tax money in an investment plan. This may take a while, but the journey of a thousand miles always begins with one step. This is important because if you lose your job, you'll need to make sure you are not forced to sell your few assets at fire-sale prices or default on debt payments at a young age. It will keep you from a panic and keep you from moving back into mom and dad's place.

[See How to Teach Your Child Money Habits for Life.]

This also gets easier,because once you have the first four months saved, you can apply that savings discipline toward an after-tax investment strategy, and as salary raises come along, you can tune up your savings plan to raise your cash balance over the course of six months to a year.

7. Be patient. It's easy to "want." Be patient; with hard work and good fiscal discipline, you will amass a nice portfolio that allows you to realize all the hopes and dreams you may have for later in life. There are probably a lot more major financial events in your future, and you'll want the flexibility to make proper decisions when the time comes.

Having cash, savings, and an investment portfolio that allow you the flexibility to take advantage of opportunities down the road will really help.

If you remember nothing else, remember this: While it seems like your life is full right now, there is probably a lot coming up--such as a first home, graduate school, and maybe even, gasp, kids!

David B. Armstrong CFA, is a Managing Director and co-founder of Monument Wealth Management in Alexandria VA, a full service Private Wealth Planning and wealth management firm. Monument Wealth Management is backed by LPL Financial, the independent broker-dealer and Registered Investment Advisor. He has been named one of America's Top 100 Financial Advisors for two straight years by Registered Rep magazine (2009 & 2010) based on asset under management. David and Monument Wealth Management can be followed on their blog at "Off The Wall", their Twitter account @MonumentWealth, and on their Facebook page. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Reposted From David B. Armstrong of US News & World Report

A Repost From Vanni Sequera of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Critical Mass: Making the case for Pacquiao as 'the greatest ever'

By Vanni de Sequera, for Yahoo! Southeast Asia Friday November 19, 2010 12:12 pm PHT

A new book about Manny Pacquiao sheds light on how a once one-dimensional slugger has somehow evolved into the Muhammad Ali, Bruce Lee, and Robin Hood of boxing.

Acclaimed sports biographer Gary Andrew Poole traveled the world observing the Pambansang Kamao at the gym, in the ring and behind the scenes of his chaotic personal life. His new book on Pacquiao has been called by critics as an unprecedented "journey to Planet Pacquiao." Vanni de Sequera spoke to the book's author.

"Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao-the Greatest Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World", a 248-page book by Gary Andrew Poole, helps us understand how this complex Filipino has managed to subdue the best boxers of his generation.

Poole details how Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao grew up in Sarangani Province in Mindanao, poorer than even the poorest in this desperate "City of Dust." When Pacquiao was barely a teenager, he formed an alliance with fellow young boxer-dreamers in General Santos City. To the author, it was a show of solidarity that would forever define the 90-lb. man-boy.

Those who obsessively follow the exploits of Pacquiao are troubled by questions that hang in the air like yesterday's cigarette smoke. How does a fighter – who began his professional boxing career at 106 lbs. (by loading his underwear during weigh-ins) when only 15 years old (by lying about his age to the Games and Amusements Board) – conquer the kings of boxing, moving up in weight with chin, punch, and speed intact more successfully than any fighter in history. "Pacman: Behind the Scenes…" offers intriguing glimpses into the possible answers.

Trainer Freddie Roach and conditioning expert Alex Ariza, for one, belatedly came into his life. (Or did Pacquiao, with his ferocious sense of destiny, enter theirs?) Also, maybe poverty never gave Pacquiao's insufficiently nourished frame a chance until science-based nutrition triggered his adult growth spurts.

One way or another, Poole has managed to puncture the bubble of the Pacquiao mystique – quite a feat given the boxer's lunatic-fringe entourage. Poole even gingerly devotes a chapter to Pacquiao's alleged romantic relationships.

CRITICAL MASS: Who initially approached you with the idea to write this book?

GARY ANDREW POOLE: About four or five years ago, I was in the Wild Card Boxing Club with Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach. I was covering a different fight, but he kept going on and on about Pacquiao. Roach told me the PacMan might become one of the greatest fighters ever. My ears pricked up. I was in the midst of writing another book, but I started researching Pacquiao, who was not much of a story yet in the United States. I thought he had a compelling story – one that went beyond his athletic feats. It also interested me on another level, something I came to call the "globalization of celebrity."

Boxing, they say, is the sport of the underclass: there have been many success stories about champion fighters whose fighting qualities were honed by abject poverty. What exactly is it about Manny, do you think, that empowered him to transcend merely being a respected titleholder into becoming included in the Greatest-Ever debate?

I think his boxing accomplishments, not his dramatic personal story, put him into the Greatest-Ever debate. He has fought excellent boxers – some of the best of his era. He has fought brilliantly. I just sat ringside as he pummeled Antoino Margarito. It was another virtuoso performance that earned Pacquiao his eighth belt. At fight time, Margarito was 17 pounds heavier than Pacquiao – that's David-and-Goliath-type stuff, and only adds to the Greatest-Ever talk and the mythology around the PacMan. Of course, a win over Floyd Mayweather would leave little doubt about his supremacy.

A few times, you write that Manny is the greatest boxer since Ali. Why do you believe he is superior to Marvin Hagler, Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson, Julio Cesar Chavez, Pernell Whitaker, and Roy Jones Jr., among others?

Every boxer you named is a legend. Pacquiao? He has the fastest hands ever. He has some of the quickest feet. He has two powerful hands. He has an incredible boxing mind. I think what separates him from those great boxers is his ability to fight and dominate much, much bigger world-class opponents. He is essentially defining this era of boxing. He has become a star of sorts in the United States, but he is a victim of boxing's decline in America. I think that is the reason people are sometimes skeptical of his accomplishments – many Americans, including the US media, haven't followed him as closely as the stars of the past, and so they don't fully appreciate his ring brilliance.

"Pacman: Behind the Scenes with Manny Pacquiao-the Greatest Pound-for-Pound Fighter in the World" is now available at all Fully Booked branches in the Philippines.

Reposted From Vanni Sequera of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

A Repost From ANN (Asian News Network)

Millionaire Pacquiao earns another $25M

ANN - Friday, November 19

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Hollywood (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Already a multi-millionaire, Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has at least another US$25 million coming for battering Mexican Antonio Margarito into submission in Texas last weekend.

That is before the taxman lops off a big chunk of it. But for all intents and purposes, boxing's pound-for-pound king no longer needs to work for the rest of his life, unless he overindulges and blows it all away.

For his 12-round, 36-minute work in the ring with Margarito, Pacquiao earned an estimated $25 million, equivalent to 1.1 billion pesos. This translates to $694,000 or 30.5 million pesos per minute.

All in all, Margarito landed 135 power punches during the bout - which meant that for every one of those punches Pacquiao took, the Filipino idol earned $135,000 - or 8 million pesos.

What the Pacquiao-Margarito fight failed to generate at the gates it drew from pay-per-view (PPV).

Figures show the Pacquiao fight stands to be one of the most watched ever in boxing history: as many as 1.5 million PPV hits.

"Numbers say we're going to hit 1.4 to 1.5 million," Pacquiao's Canadian adviser Mike Koncz told Manila-based sportswriters on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila). "From all indications and the early tracking, we can even get 1.5 million."

If the bruising fight indeed hit 1.5 million PPV buys, it would eclipse the 1.4 million PPV buys posted by the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley bout in May and confirm Pacquiao's status as PPV's most bankable boxer at present.

Pay-per-view share

With each buy costing $54.95, Pacquiao-Margarito PPV hits of 1.5-million translate to $82 million.

From total PPV sales, Pacquiao stands to get about 12.5 percent of the projected $82-million revenue, or $10 million. This is on top of his guaranteed purse of $15 million for the fight that earned him an unprecedented eighth world title in as many weight classes.

According to Mike Taffet, HBO senior vice president for sports, Pacquiao's last four fights in the United States averaged one million PPV hits, with his bout against Oscar De La Hoya in 2008 netting 1.25 million PPV sales and his showdown with Miguel Cotto posting 1.2 million hits.

Pacquiao's second-round knockout of Briton Ricky Hatton chalked up 900,000 buys while Pacquiao's 12-round domination of Ghanaian Joshua Clottey posted 750,000 hits.

$67M in four fights

A check of previous Inquirer reports showed Pacquiao earned $20 million from his clash with De La Hoya in December 2008, and $15 million from his May 2009 fight with Ricky Hatton of the United Kingdom.

Pacquiao got $17 million from his bout with Miguel Cotto in November 2009 and earned another $15 million when he tangled with Clottey in March 2010.

Those four fights brought him $67 million altogether. That does not include the estimated $25 million he earned from his fight with Margarito.

Ranged against those amounts, Pacquiao's gross pay as a congressman about 75,000 pesos ($1,715) a month, according to lawmakers - would seem like only loose coins for him. While he is also entitled to an annual country wide development fund of 70 million ($1.6 million), that money is intended for projects in his congressional district.

Fortune in PPV

Though a big crowd of 41,734 fans trooped to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, it did not surpass the 50,994 attendance when Pacquiao fought Clottey in the same venue in March.

Koncz, however, explained that gate sales is the least source of revenue in a fight promotion, with the PPV buys still the main source of revenue.

Pacquiao, he confirmed, could earn $10 million from his PPV shares.

There were many factors that boosted PPV sales for Pacquiao-Margarito, Koncz said.

"The people wanted to see how Manny was going to handle boxing and, being a congressman at the same time, his training in the Philippines raised a lot of suspicion on his readiness, and the style of both fighters," he said.

PPV king

Koncz said that economics, with the United States still in a slump, also was a major factor as most people preferred to watch the fight in groups at home rather than see it live and pay for tickets that went as high as $700.

De La Hoya, whom Pacquiao sent into retirement with an eighth round TKO in their showdown, is regarded as the PPV king with his bout against Mayweather Jr. chalking a record 2.5 million buys.

Veteran promoter Bob Arum has seen it all in a career spanning almost half a century and he unwaveringly believes Pacquiao has become the best fighter of all time.

Arum has worked with giants of the ring such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran but none of them, in his opinion, ever dominated with both fists in the manner of the diminutive Filipino southpaw.

Reposted From ANN (Asian News Network)

A Repost From ABS-CBN News

'Harry Potter' star a big Pacman fan

ABS-CBN - Tuesday, November 16

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'Harry Potter' star a big Pacman fan

LONDON, United Kingdom - "Harry Potter" star Daniel Radcliffe joins A-list international celebrities who idolize Filipino boxing icon Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

The 21-year old British actor is busy promoting the 7th "Harry Potter" movie, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1."

British actor and 'Harry Potter' lead Daniel Radcliffe during an exclusive one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN's Danny Buenafe, during the promo run of the 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1' in London, November 14, 2010. (ABS-CBN News)

Radcliffe could not hide his excitement when Pacquiao was mentioned during the brief one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau.

Like many Filipino fans, Radcliffe believes the Pacman can easily destroy Floyd Mayweather Jr. should this dream match ever happen.

"I'm a huge fan of Manny Pacquiao, and I can't wait for the day when he destroys Floyd Mayweather (Jr.) on the ring," Radcliffe said.

Radcliffe loves boxing and he's hoping that someday he would meet his boxing hero.

"Hello, Manny Pacquiao! I think you're fantastic and you seem to be an absolute gentleman as well as being an absolute warrior. And I'm pleased to be able to speak to you even if through a camera," he said.

He joins former US President George W. Bush, former California governor Arnold Schwarzenneger, and action stars Mark Wahlberg, Steven Seagal and Jean Claude Van Damme in supporting Pacquiao.

Given a good storyline, Radcliffe would be happy to do a movie in the Philippines. The same would be echoed by his co-star Emma Watson.

British actor and 'Harry Potter' star Emma Watson during an exclusive one-on-one interview with ABS-CBN's Danny Buenafe, during the promo run of the 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1' in London, November 14, 2010. (ABS-CBN News)

Both Radcliffe and Watson have heard so much beautiful things about the Philippines.

"The Philippines is an amazing, amazing country, and [after the films] I hope to come someday. And yeah, maybe... My family's been, actually, but I've never been, so maybe one day," Watson said.

"Absolutely. If a film took me to the Philippines, and if the script was one that I would like to do, and I knew that I was going to work in the Philippines, and if the script was good enough, that would certainly be an added attraction," Radcliffe said.

The blockbuster "Harry Potter" movies, released by Warner Brothers Pictures, enjoy a massive following all over the world including the Philippines.

Writer J.K. Rowling is the author of the best-selling "Harry Potter" books, which have sold more than 400 million copies worldwide, and distributed in over 200 territories and translated into 69 languages. Danny Buenafe, ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau

Reposted From ABS-CBN News

A Repost From ANN (Asian News Network)

Philippine President's ratings dip but still high

ANN - Wednesday, November 17

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Manila (Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) - Philippine President Benigno Aquino III's approval and trust ratings slid but remained at high levels, according to results of a nationwide survey conducted late last month.

Pulse Asia Inc. reported that eight in every 10 Filipino adults approved of Mr. Aquino's performance and had faith in him.

His approval rating last month declined 9 percentage points to 79 percent from that in July, while his trust rating slid 5 percentage points to 80 percent.

Fresh from his trip to Japan, the President said the drop was expected because his administration faced many challenges, including the Aug. 23 hostage fiasco in Manila, since he took over on June 30 from the Arroyo administration.

"Of course, that might have something to do with the Quirino Grandstand issue," Mr. Aquino later told reporters, referring to the hostage crisis that left the hostage-taker and eight Hong Kong tourists dead. "Of course that can't be said when we had the typhoon."

The noncommissioned Pulse Asia survey was conducted from Oct. 20 to 29 using face-to-face interviews. It covered 1,200 respondents across the country and had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

To maintain the relatively high rating, his administration must show that it has a direction in governance, Mr. Aquino said.

Penchant for bad news

On the eve of the release of the survey results, Mr. Aquino, while still in Yokohama, Japan, slammed the media for what he said was its emphasis on reporting bad news over good ones in the country.

"It's possible that you don't get all the news about what's happening in the country," he told some 1,000 Filipinos who gathered at the Futuba high school auditorium on Sunday night to hear him speak.

Twisted

Mr. Aquino, who visited Japan to attend the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, said most of the time news items on television, newspapers and online websites were negative and carried twisted opinions.

"What is happening is that in order to get more attention, they tend to scrape tiny scratches," he said.

But he said these tiny scratches that the media were scraping were being felt by Filipinos at home and abroad.

Issues magnified

Because of this penchant for magnifying issues, the good news is not being reported and thus, is not known by the people, especially those based abroad, Mr. Aquino said.

"It's natural for anyone to lose the drive to work if what one gets is all bad news," he said.

He said he was in Japan to tell Filipinos "that your families in the Philippines are in good hands."

Mr. Aquino said he was traveling abroad not to brag, otherwise his late parents - martyred Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. and former President Corazon Aquino - would surely make him feel their disapproval.

"What we want to achieve is simple: Many goods things are happening in our country. We will not fail Filipinos. We are taking care of our countrymen. You're still my boss. This is the kind of news that you should get," Mr. Aquino said.

Reposted From ANN (Asian News Network)