Raymond and Roger Dominguez Carnapping Group

Brother Raymond and Roger Dominguez were tagged the Philippine police authorities as the leaders of the notorious of the Dominguez Carnapping group. The carnapping syndicate allegedly operates particularly in Luzon but also extends its trading activities in Visayas and Mindanao.

With the death of Venzon Evangelista, a car dealer, the Dominguez brothers are tagged as the culprits.

Raymond Dominguez has already been arrested by the Philippine National Police in Bulacan and has been brought to Camp Crame in Quezon City.

The PNP has said that they have already solved the case of the Venzon murder but Senate President Enrile cautions the police force as some evidence may just been planted to solve the crime quickly.

Enrile contends that if the suspects want to really put no trace to their crime, why have they left a partially-burned driver’s license of the victims on their safe house. To this, the senator urged the chief of PNP to have a solid evidence when everything boils down to court battle in order to really pin down the right suspect.

Chinese New Year 2011 - Predictions

The Malacañang Palace announced that the Chinese New Year to be celebrated on February 3 is a regular working day this 2011 and will not be a holiday.

This announcement is in line with efforts at the Lower House of Congress to legislate a bill that will declare the Chinese New Year as an official non-working holiday for the country.

President Aquino said,

"This proposal, though we want to adopt it, unfortunately came after the issuance of the executive order on holidays. The consensus is all businesses have already adjusted to it plus the daily wage earners under no work no pay scheme will be adversely affected. We hope to include this next year.”

Well, we all just have to great one another “Kung Hei Fat Choi” while doing our respective chores.

Indonesian Soldiers Tortures Separatists

Three Indonesian soldiers were caught on video torturing suspected separatists. The torture video was immediately condemned and the three soldiers went through a military trial.

However, the result of the military trial was also slammed by human rights activist. The three Indonesian soldiers were sentenced to ten months in prison. Human rights advocated in Indonesia and abroad are asking for the government to have a harsher penalty for the human rights violation committed by the three soldiers.

CCTV Video of Man Stealing Laptop at the Oyster Boy Metro Walk Restaurant

The modus operandi of a robber doing his illegal activity on a restaurant has been documented by a camera.

Several Philippine news agencies reported that a man who stole a laptop was caught by a CCTV camera. The incident happened at Oyster Boy Metro Walk, a restaurant in Metro Manila.

The video was also uploaded on YouTube by Teddypork warning people about the modus operandi and at the same time appealing for help in order for the suspect to be put behind bars.

“Please inform me if the suspect is spotted, or if you know of any leads to his whereabouts. Please forward and share this video. Any form of help will be greatly appreciated.”

Super Bowl 2011 Flyover Costs $450,000!

You certainly have watched the Super Bowl match between the Green Bay Packers and the Steelers. Green Bay won the game.

Aside from the funny and amazing commercials during the Super Bowl 2011 like that of …. And…. And….well, one spectacular part of the game was when we saw F-18s flying over the stadium.

Great sight, yeah. But a report said that the Super Bowl 2011 Flyover costs around $450,00.

A report by the WFAA said that the Super Bowl flyover cost around $450,000 based on the Department of Defense tables. The amount could be attributed to the operational cost of the F-18 aircraft and the hours the pilot had flew.

Online reports also said that part of the coast was the transport of the planes from Virginia Beach, VA to North Texas.

Mike Maus, the public affairs officer of the Navy said of the scrutiny on the Super Bowl flyover.

"These missions are included in the annual operating budget of all branches of the military and they are used as training. There was no additional money provided to us, Congress did not cut us a special check to do this flyover. This is considered a training mission whether they were to fly over the Super Bowl or not."

What do you think of this issue? Was the alleged $450,000 flyover cost

Borders Bookstore Bankruptcy

US reports indicate that one of the biggest bookstore chains in the United States is set to file for bankruptcy.

Borders Group Inc. is seen to file for bankruptcy next week. According to Bloomberg News, three unnamed sources will have to course through this action to save the bookstore chain. Part of the move is also to close about 150 store locations.

Borders has also received $550 million in financing from General Electric Capital. It has vowed to also save the company by paying off all credit debtors in a move seen to averse the filing of bankruptcy.

In the last three years, the company has registered a steady downtrend of in profits.

University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Celebrates its 400th Anniversary

The oldest university in the Philippines and in Asia has already kicked off its celebration of its 400th founding anniversary. Students, faculty members, staff, alumni and friends of the University Of Sto. Tomas gathered in fanfare to celebrate four centuries of educating the Filipino youth.

The year-long celebration will include academic gatherings, sports, concerts, film festivals, contests, fund-raising, charity works, social action and religious activities.

Father Rolando de la Rosa, the university rector expressed,

"Other schools say they have produced presidents but we have produced national heroes and saints.”

UST which is older than the famous Harvard University has been the seedbed of Philippine heroes like our very own Jose Rizal and intellectual giants who shaped the nation.

It also boasts of the oldest of the oldest medical school in the country, oldest theology school, oldest journalism school in the country to name a few.

Just this morning as I was preparing for work, I heard in the news that UST is also planning to expand its network of Dominican schools. In particular, they are planning to put up UST campuses in Santa Rosa in Laguna and in General Santos City.

Happy 400th Anniversary USTE!

China’s First Stealth Fighter Jet J-20

China is slowly but steadily building its military arsenal as it tries to become a world superpower ahead of the United States. Several news sites reported that if China can sustain its growth, it will overtake the United States as the world’s biggest economy.

Going back, well, China as a little bit revealed some of its military build-up programs. One of its latest developments is its latest prototype of their stealth fighter jet.

China has already developed its first stealth fighter jet called J-20. It has already been tested too and had successfully made a 15-minute flight. However, the J-20 fighter jet will still have years before it is totally completed. It will be seen to match that of the United States’ F22 fighter jet.

Mammoth will be Clonned by Japanese Scientists

Japanese scientists will try resurrecting the ancient relative of the modern-day elephant in four to six years, according to several news reports on Tuesday.

Mammoths believed to be extinct for over 5,000 years, is the center of the scientific project by a team of scientists led by Professor Akira Iritani of the Kyoto University. The team also includes two American elephant experts and a Russian mammoth researcher.

The study reportedly started in 1997. During that time, it has not really made any significant progress due to concerns of how safely to extract DNA samples from species frozen for many years. However, in 2008, Dr. Teruhiko Wakayama succeeded on cloning a mouse that has been frozen for 16 years.

Last summer, the team obtained a tissue from a preserved carcass of a mammoth in Russia. With the significant development that the study has made in the last couple of years, the team will start this year the cloning process of the mammoth.

Scientists said that they will take nuclei from the mammoth cells and insert it on the egg cell of an elephant. The mammoth’s nuclei will replace that of the elephant to create an embryo that will contain the extinct specie’s genes. After which, scientists will insert the embryo to an elephant’s womb until it gives birth.

Professor Iratani is optimistic of the scientific project. He said,

"The success rate in the cloning of cattle was poor until recently, but now stands at about 30 percent. I think we have a reasonable chance of success and a healthy mammoth could be born in four or five years."

Mammoths are gigantic wooly animals that are close relatives of today’s elephants. They were believed to have suffered extinction due to climate change, over hunting and disease.