March 13, 2012 Edition

Rappler.com

This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.

  1. Defense Did Not Defend

    On Monday, March 12, the lawyers of Chief Justice Renato Corona did not present any evidence defending their client against any of the articles of impeachment.

    Instead, they pursued their strategy of asking the impeachment court to nullify the complaint since the anti-Corona lawmakers in the House did not follow prescribed impeachment process.

    However, even if the senator-judges thumbed down this argument, they still allowed Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco to take the witness stand.

    Tiangco talked about how lawmakers in the House were allegedly pressured to vote against Corona and how he allegedly received a “threat” of not receiving his pork barrel should he not cooperate. Day 27 ended without clear answers to pending questions.

    Read and Watch Rappler stories on Day 27:  

    Tiangco: Abad text message proof of Palace pressure

    ‘Too late for defense to question complaint’

    Tiangco a whistleblower? Sour-graping, say peers. 

    Null and void: defense attacks complaint

    Tiangco got P70M in pork last year

  2. Rosy Picture of Philippine Economy?
    Foreign direct investments to the Philippines soared to 15 year high in 2011 even as CNBC named the Philippines as the top country in the world for long-term growth.  The catch?  It used 2010 numbers.  Is the Philippines doing that well?  Despite its disappointing performance in 2011, there could be good times ahead if authorities take the right strategies. 
     
     
    Watch Rappler Animate and see why the Philippine economy grew at a much slower pace in 2011.
     
  3. Azkals Face Tajikistan Tuesday
    The Philippines men’s football team, the Azkals, face a knock-out match with Tajikistan Tuesday.  Both teams are in second place in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Challenge Cup after the Azkals beat India and Tajikistan lost to North Korea, the defending champions.  Whoever wins the Tuesday match will join North Korea in the semis.  The Azkals rank 11 places lower than Tajikistan in world rankings promising a tough battle ahead. 
     
     
  4. US and UN Urge United Call for End to Violence on Syria
    Syria’s opposition is accusing security forces of killing 47 women and children in Homs, which has been under assault for weeks by government fighters trying to flush out rebel fighters.
     
    US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is urging the international community to “say with one voice – without hesitation or caveat – that the killing of innocent Syrians must stop and a political transition must begin.”  It was an apparent reference to China and Russia, which have blocked resolutions condemning Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
     
    UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon joined Sec. Clinton’s appeal for international solidarity and action against Syria’s “horrific campaign of violence” that had “shocked the conscience of the world.”

    Read more at the BBC.


  5. CNN to Buy Mashable?

    CNN is set to buy Mashable, a social media blog, for around $200 million, says Reuters blogger Felix Salmon, who’s attending the SWSX in Austin Texas. He says CNN could announce the deal as early as Tuesday.  Separately, the New York Times confirmed talks are ongoing but that the deal is far from over.  Peter Cashmore, who started the blog in 2005, reportedly denied the deal to his senior editors Tuesday evening Manila time.  If it does happen, it would be a major coup for Cashmore and would strengthen CNN’s reach and presence in the blogging space.

     

  6. Internet in the Philippines: Speed bumps Ahead

    The Philippines is #101 among all countries surveyed for average connection speed. In the 3rd quarter, it had a 1.1 Mbps average connection speed and is ranked 12th among 13 countries classified under the Asia Pacific table. A 1.1 Mbps speed is below the 2Mbps “broadband” threshold.  It was ahead only of India, which reported a 0.9 Mbps.  The Philippines was also only one of four countries in the region that recorded a quarter to quarter drop in connection speeds.

     Read more on Rappler.

  7. New Video Answers Kony2012 Critics

    Can social media do more than foreign policy?  Invisible Children, a nonprofit group, produced video about a notorious African warlord Joseph Kony.  Last week, it went viral and by early Tuesday, it had been viewed more than 100 million times on YouTube in 6 days.  Critics say it’s overly simplistic and inaccurate and question the way the nonprofit uses its funding, but supporters say you can’t argue with the numbers and the speed at which this video spread.  Still others compare the reactions to the way PhDs and researchers reacted to the idea of a crowd-sourced encylopedia now known as Wikipedia.

    Read more about the debate it triggered at the Guardian and why a message criticized as “shallow” may wield more power and influence than policy debates.  At least one group now calls it “the most viral video in history.”  Read more on Time. The group that produced the video releases another one, a response to its critics, Monday.  

    Read more on CNN.

  8. Pinterest: the Social Media Upstart

    If you like scrapbooks, you’ll like Pinterest, the new social media sharing site that has investors buzzing.  With engagement numbers that remind venture capital firms of Facebook, it’s catching people’s interests.  Its numbers are growing exponentially, say analysts.  About six months ago, it became one of the top 60 websites.  On Monday, Experian Hitwise says it’s now a top 30 website with more than 103 million total US visits in February, a 36% increase over January. 

    It’s also the newest sharing button on Rappler.

    Read more at the New York Times.

    See Monday’s Experian Hitwise announcement at marketingland.com.

  9. The Boardroom Fight that Dragged in Corruption in the Philippines

    The courtroom battle between Las Vegas magnate Steve Wynn and Japan’s Pachinko king, Kazuo Okada, was years in the making say insiders.  The Philippines may just have been the last straw that hastened the unravelling of their relationship.  Okada wanted to build a casino in the Philippines; Wynn did not.  Wynn Resorts commissioned a study that said corruption was “deeply ingrained” in the Philippines gambling industry and raised questions about Okada’s activities there.  A former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louis Freeh, confronted Okada about paying around $110,000 in expenses for government officials from the Philippines to stay at Wynn resorts casinos, violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  Wynn’s filing last month raised questions about whether Filipino officials were involved in corruption, with Malacanang defending the Pagcor head, whom it said was only using “industry practices.”

    On Monday, Okada sued Wynn in a counter-claim in a federal court in Las Vegas. 

    Read more about the feud between the former business partners at the Wall Street Journal and about Monday’s filing on Bloomberg.

  10. Ten Places You Can’t Miss in the Philippines

    Over the weekend, 3 of the Philippines top travel bloggers gave ten tips to travel the country on a shoestring budget.  Anton Diaz, Nina Fuentes and Ivan Henares have travelled extensively and named their top ten must-see places.

    How many of these must-see sights, sounds and tastes have you experienced in the Philippines?

    Check them out on Rappler. 

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