pma 2009 class masiglahi graduation

FORT DEL Pilar, Baguio City: Majority of this year’s top 10 graduating members of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Masiglahi Class 2009 were raised by middle-income parents but they have proven their worth in the premier military institution in Asia.
A check on the profile of the top 10 class members revealed that their fathers were plain farmer in their respective provinces while their mothers were plain housewives.
Another distinction they shared with one another was having graduated valedictorians or with honors in their secondary education.

Topping this year’s PMA graduation is 23-year-old Air Force cadet Karl Winston Cacanindin of Aurora province whose father is a draftsman while his mother is a high school teacher.
Cacanindin, who will graduate magna cum laude, will receive the Presidential Saber and PGMA Achievement Award for academic excellence from President Gloria Arroyo, who will be the guest of honor and speaker during the graduation rites at the Borromeo Fields on March 16.
The valedictorian will also receive the Philippine Air Force Saber, Athletic Saber, Mathematics and Natural Sciences plaques besides the Joint United States Military Assistance Group or Jusmag award.
This year’s salutatorian is Army Cadet Leemuel Manicdo, 22, from Moncada, Tarlac, whose father is a mechanic and mother, another simple housewife.
Manicdo, who graduated as high school salutatorian, will receive the Vice Presidential Saber, Philippine Army Saber, Academics Group award, Humanities, Management, Social Sciences and Army Professional courses plaques, Jusmag award, Association of Generals and Flag Officers award and for the Australian Defense best over all performance award.
Navy Cadet Roger Flores, 25, of Iloilo City, who was raised by an accountant father and housewife mother, ranked number three in the class. He will receive the Secretary of National Defense Saber, Philippine Navy Saber and Jusmag award.
Fourth is Navy Cadet Nelson Liwanag, 24, of Tanauan, Batangas, whose father is a farmer while his mother is a vendor. He will receive the Navy Professional Courses plaque, Australian Defense Best Over all performance in the Navy and Jusmag award.
Army Cadet Larry Longe Mayao, 25, of Mainit, Bontoc, Mountain Province is ranked fifth and the only Cordillerans to be in the elite rank of topnotch cadets this year.
Mayao, who graduated from Pines City National High School and Pinsao Elementary School, was 10 years old when his mother passed on. His father was once a laborer who had to raise him along with nine other siblings.
Assistant PMA Supt. Brig. Gen. Rommel Martin of Bontoc, Mountain Province and member of PMA Class 1978 congratulated Mayao for proving that a cadet from the minority group was in equal footing with the other cadets.
Another Army cadet, Erick Ryan Mabborang at age 23 is among the younger graduating cadets is the son of farmers from Enrile, Cagayan, ranked sixth over all.
Army Cadet Carlito Santiago, 24, of Isabela, whose parents are farmers and traders, ranked 7th and he will receive the PGMA Achievement Award for Excellence, Chief of Staff Saber and Tactics Group award.
Army Cadet Glenn de Ramos, 22, of Pasay City whose parents are farmer and housewife ranked 8th and one of the brigade commanders of the class.
Just as Filipino women are celebrating the Women’s Month, Air Force Cadet Cynthia Forteza, 22, of Urbiztondo, Pangasinan landed ninth place in the overall roll of merits.
Forteza is also the recipient of the Computing and Info Sciences plaque, Leadership plaque, Air Force Professional Courses plaque and Australian Defense Best Overall Performance award.
Completing the topnotch list is Air Force Cadet Christopher Ian Dupalco, 22, of Bohol, whose father had died and raised by his mother, a teacher.
PMA Supt. Vice Admiral Leo-nardo Calderon Jr. told reporters that the topnotch graduating cadets have good academic records during their elementary and high school days, even with parents from low and middle-income earners.
There are 161 male and 23 female members of the Masiglahi Class 2009. One hundred of them will join the Army, 37 in the Air Force and 47 in the Navy.-- Harley F. Palangchao

alabama shooting incident

SAMSON, Ala. — A gunman on a terrifying rampage across two southern Alabama counties Tuesday killed at least nine people, including members of his own family and apparent strangers, and burned down his mother's home before fatally shooting himself, authorities said.

Police were investigating shootings in at least four different locations in several communities, all of which were believed to be the work of a single gunman who had not yet been identified by investigators.

The afternoon of bloodshed began in Kinston, near the Alabama-Florida border, where the shooter burned down his mother's house, according to Coffee County Coroner Robert Preachers. Officials located the woman's body inside the house, but they had not been able to get inside the still-burning house to determine a cause of death or whether she was the 10th victim.

The gunman then headed east, into Geneva County, where he shot and killed five people _ four adults and a child _ at a home in the nearby town of Samson. Then he killed one person each in two other homes. The identities of all the victims were unknown, but Preachers said they included other members of the shooter's family.

"He started in his mother's house," Preachers said. "Then he went to Samson and he killed his granny and granddaddy and aunt and uncle. He cleaned his family out."

"We don't know what triggered it," Preachers added.

The gunman also shot at a state trooper's car, striking the vehicle seven times and wounding the trooper with broken glass.

He then killed someone at a Samson supply store, and another person at a service station.

american idol updates: best to worst singers

Late in Thursday's "American Idol" wild-card show, Simon Cowell uttered the most honest paragraph in the franchise's history:
Explaining what the judges were looking for when picking the four wild-card contestants, Simon said, "We've gotta cast this next stage. We're not just going to put the boring singers through. We're going to put some personality through, as well."

"Idol" is not a singing competition and never has been. It's a reality show -- sometimes maddening, sometimes silly, usually compelling -- wedded to a popularity contest. Singing's a part of it, but it's not always the most crucial part. It's good for the franchise if the occasional winner turns out to be a popular commercial artist (Kelly, then Carrie, maybe now David Cook), but it hasn't hurt that Ruben and Taylor struggled post- "Idol," because their seasons were so memorable.

By returning to the semifinal format of the first few seasons, complete with three separate groups and a wild-card round, the producers and judges regained greater control over how their show is cast. Under the fourth- to seventh-season formats (where all the contestants performed every week, only a handful going home each time), it might not have been as easy for the producers to set the field the way they wanted. (Nick Mitchell, who performed in character as the campy "Normund Gentle," might have been just memorable enough to squeak through each week under that format, and then the show would have had a self-aware Sanjaya on its hands.) But based on air time in the audition and Hollywood rounds, placement in the semi-final episodes, and the judges' reactions, the top 13 is mainly made up of people that Team Idol wanted to see in the finals.

But it's hard to tell yet how good of a casting job they did. Thanks to the revamped format, we've only seen one full performance from most of the finalists. Who knows how they're going to handle the big stage, the weird theme nights and the overscheduled life of having to rehearse a song, do product-placed commercials, pretend to be impressed by the mentors, choreograph a group number for the results show, etc.?

It's telling that I feel more invested in the futures of the judges' four wildcard picks -- particularly grad student Anoop Desai, whose cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was one of the few memorable performances of the season so far -- than I do in most of the people who got voted through, simply because I've seen more of them in front of an audience.

It's difficult to handicap how good the season can be, or who the favorites are, but I'll try. Last year at this time looked like it would be an "Idol" classic, with one of the deeper groups of finalists ever, but Cook was the only one who avoided cracking under the pressure and gave consistently great performances. And a year ago, I assumed David Archuleta was a lock to win, and he finished a distant second to Cook.

So keeping in mind that I'm a bad handicapper -- and that it's tough to factor in the theme nights, onscreen meltdowns, scandals, etc. -- here's a look at the field of 13, and how I'd rank their chances of winning, from best to worst:

1. Danny Gokey: The show has been pushing Gokey's backstory -- his wife died suddenly a month before he auditioned -- so much that it's starting to feel distasteful. (That's the show's fault, not Gokey's.) But the combination of sympathy, screentime, a nice-guy personality and a memorably bluesy voice makes him the early favorite. He seems like Archuleta with an added dozen years of maturity, but will he be as predictable?

2. Lil Rounds: One of three young moms in the finals, she got what seemed like excessive praise from the judges for a very shouty performance in Hollywood. Then she came back with a killer makeover and a subtle, professional take on Mary J. Blige's "Be Without You" and made that night's other singers seem like they were at a karaoke night.
3. Adam Lambert: Lambert, who was in the touring company of "Wicked," is probably this season's most polarizing finalist after his theatrical take on The Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction." But on "Idol," polarizing is a good thing because the people who hate you can't vote against you (until the top two), while the people who love you may become obsessed with you.

4. Alexis Grace: Sounded almost Kelly Clarkson-esque when she tackled Aretha's "I Never Loved a Man," a song that shouldn't sound as convincing as it did from a petite blonde. Like Lil, one of the few women the public actually voted through, and she seems well-equipped for different themes.

5. Anoop Desai: Enormously likable, and not just because it's fun to shout his first name. One of the few contestants who knows how to work the stage, he has a good enough voice and seems to have learned from his semis near-miss not to sing drippy ballads. "Idol" has never had a contestant quite like him. Could be a sleeper.

6. Megan Joy Corkrey: The judges are totally smitten with the pretty, quirky, tattooed woman with the distinctive, but not especially powerful voice. Anoop's polar opposite when it comes to moving on stage -- her spastic arm movements are like a cross between a Molly Shannon character, Elaine Benes dancing and a toddler -- but that's almost part of her charm. A classic case of personality probably being more important than talent.

7. Scott MacIntyre: The level of judge fawning over the blind pianist's semi-finals performance of "Mandolin Rain" -- Kara told him, "You move mountains on that stage." -- came across as patronizing praise of a middling performance, as if Scott needed to be graded on a curve for his disability. At the same time, Scott wouldn't be the first finalist to have a long run fueled by sentimental reasons (see also singing Marine Josh Gracin in season two), and he also may get a boost once he's able to perform behind his trusty piano when instruments are allowed again.
8. Matt Giraud: Like fellow wildcarder Anoop, he's probably learned his lesson after his heinous Coldplay cover a few weeks ago and will stay in his blues box from now on. Another pianist who should benefit from the return of instruments.

9. & 10. Jasmine Murray & Allison Iraheta: Someone needs to draw the "she's just like me!" votes from the teen and 'tween girls who are the show's biggest voting bloc, and if it's not youthful-looking, 21-year-old mom Alexis, it'll be one of the two actual teens. Allison got voted through, while Jasmine was a wildcard, but Allison did it by singing "Alone" by Heart, whose catalog has been historically so kind to "Idol" contestants that anyone who advances with one of their songs has to be looked at like a ballplayer who just had his corked bat taken away.

11. Michael Sarver: Another guy making it through largely on backstory -- he's an oil-rig roughneck trying to provide for his family -- Sarver doesn't seem like he'd adapt well to the themes, and I can envision a few weeks of "You're a nice guy, but ..." from Simon, then the boot.

12. Jorge Nunez: Made it through singing another money-in-the-bank "Idol" song, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me," and seems unremarkable.

13. Kris Allen: On the one hand, it's commendable -- and maybe a testament to his non-threatening good looks -- that he was voted through a few weeks ago with virtually no previous airtime, and after a bland take on Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror," at that. On the other, Kris who? He still has a substantial personality deficit to overcome compared to the other 12 and could be forgotten quickly.

nba 2009 updates

PORTLAND, Ore. – Brandon Roy scored 27 points and the Trail Blazers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 111-94 on Monday night in a game marred by Portland's Rudy Fernandez being carried off the court on a stretcher after a hard foul.
Fernandez, a rookie from Spain, was hurt late in the third quarter when he was fouled by Trevor Ariza while going up for a shot. He was carried from the court on a stretcher with his neck in a brace.
Fernandez was conscious and alert when he left the court, and he had full movement of his extremities, the team said. But he was experiencing chest pain and was taken to a hospital.
Travis Outlaw added 22 points for the Blazers, who have won 12 straight at the Rose Garden. Joel Przybilla also had 12 points and 18 rebounds, while LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Kobe Bryant had 26 points, while Pau Gasol had 18 for the Lakers, who haven't won at the Rose Garden in their last seven tries, with their last victory on Feb. 23, 2005.
It was the Lakers' third straight road loss, although they have one of the league's best overall road records at 21-9.
The Blazers are among the NBA's best home teams with a 27-5 record, and their latest winning streak at home dates to a 104-98 loss to Cleveland on Jan. 21.
The rivalry between the Lakers and the Blazers had cooled in recent years, in part because Portland has not been a playoff contender. But it seems to be heating back up with the demise of the so-called "Jail Blazers" and the potential of the NBA's second-youngest team.
Fans at the Rose Garden chanted "Beat L.A!" and booed nearly every time Bryant took a shot.
Portland jumped out to a 19-12 lead on rookie Nicolas Batum's third dunk, as the Blazers found early success in the paint. The Blazers took off on a 10-2 run midway through the first half that put them up 31-16 after Outlaw's 3-pointer.
Portland extended the lead to 51-32 on Aldridge's dunk on a hand-off from Roy. Outlaw's 17-foot jumper made it 60-36 and the Blazers wrapped up the half with a 61-38 lead.
Outlaw finished the half with 17 points, while Bryant had 12 for the Lakers on 6-of-15 shooting.
Fernandez hit a 3-pointer that gave Portland a 81-51 lead in the final minutes of the third quarter. Shortly thereafter, he was driving to the basket on a fast-break when he was fouled by Ariza.
Fernandez fell hard under the basket, on both his elbow and his hip. He remained prone on the court for more than 10 tense minutes before being taken from the court on a stretcher.
A skirmish broke out among the two teams and Ariza was ejected. The Blazers were assessed a pair of technical fouls.
The Blazers went flat after Fernandez went out, and the Lakers closed the gap to 89-73 midway through the fourth quarter.
But the Blazers wouldn't let Los Angeles get any closer. Roy sealed it with a statement dunk with 2:58 left that made it 106-79. Afterward, he chest bumped his teammates.
The Blazers remained without Greg Oden, who hasn't played since the All-Star break because of a bone chip in his knee. The 7-foot center is expected to be reevaluated this week.
Notes:@ The Lakers also beat the Blazers in the season opener for both teams, 96-76. ... The Lakers' 38 points in the first half were a season low. ... The Blazers normally play a snippet of "I Love L.A." whenever LaMarcus Aldridge scores, but replaced it Monday night for obvious reasons. ... The Lakers play nine of their next 12 away from home. ... Roy did not play because of a sore hamstring when the two teams last met — a 100-86 Lakers' victory in Los Angeles on Jan. 4.