Spieth chasing Grand Slam and hardly anyone notices
By DOUG FERGUSON AP Golf Writer SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The spotlight on Jordan Spieth should be bright enough to cut through the marine layer blanketing Harding Park this week at the PGA Championship. Win this major and he joins the most exclusive club in golf with the final leg of the career Grand Slam. Only five other players — Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen — have won all four majors since the Masters began in 1934. This is his fourth chance, and each year becomes more difficult. The longest anyone went from winning the third leg to completing the Grand Slam was three years by Player and Nicklaus. And hardly anyone is talking about it. It's not because Brooks Koepka is trying to become the first player to win the PGA Championship three straight times in stroke play, or because Tiger Woods is going for his record-tying fifth PGA. It's not even because golf has returned amid a coronavirus pandemic that has kept spectators away from a major championship for the first time. Spieth has become an afterthought because he hasn't won since he captured the British Open three years ago. Who would have guessed that? Certainly not the 27-year-old Texan. “If you told me that, I'd probably say that guy is kind of a jerk and I'd walk the other way,” Spieth said with a smile. “But here we are. And I hope to end that as soon as possible.” So much has changed since his last visit to the TPC Harding Park. That was in 2015 for the Cadillac Match Play. Spieth was the newly minted “Golden Child” in golf as the Masters champion. He would win the U.S. Open the following month, miss a British Open playoff by one shot at St. Andrews and be runner-up at the PGA Championship. No one ever made such a spirited bid for the calendar Grand Slam. Now, the world ranking tells the story. Spieth was No. 2 after winning at Royal Birkdale and getting his first shot at the career Grand Slam in the 2017 PGA Championship (he tied for 28th). He was No. 8 in the world going to Bellerive for the PGA Championship the following year (he tied for 12th). He was No. 39 going to Bethpage Black last year. He played in the final group with Brooks Koepka on Saturday, albeit eight shots behind, and fell back quickly. He tied for third. Now he has plunged all the way to No. 62, out of the top 50 for the first time since he was a 20-year-old rookie. More troublesome than not winning is that Spieth has rarely contended. He has not finished within three shots of the lead since his remarkable rally in the final round of the Masters two years ago left him two shots behind Patrick Reed. Is there hope? He has no doubt. Is there a chance at Harding Park? He has experience. “Majors aren’t necessarily totally about form,” Spieth said. “They’re about experience and being able to grind it out, picking apart golf courses. So I feel like I probably have more confidence going into a major no matter where my game is at than any other golf tournament.” Exactly what went wrong is a topic of debate and discussion. He was ill all of December before going into the 2018 season. His alignment got off. His putting, the hallmark of his game, went sideways. And he's been trying to put back the pieces ever since. The last two years he hasn't made it to the Tour Championship. His only real success of late has been a more positive attitude. Spieth used the word “grace” at Colonial, his way of saying he will learn to shrug off mistakes and keep going. “I almost feel at times like the game is testing me a little bit right now,” he said. Last week, he spoke of a shot that hit a tree. Whereas it used to bounce in the fairway, this one went off a cart path and out-of-bounds. The same thing happened at Hilton Head. “I feel like you can look at it a couple ways,” Spieth said. “You can get really upset and complain about it — which I’ve done and that’s not helpful — or you can look at it like, ‘Hey, this is part of the game testing you, and the better you handle these situations, the faster you progress forward.’” Spieth says he is in no hurry. At 27, he has plenty of golf ahead of him in his career. As brilliant as his 2015 season was, he'd like to think his best years are ahead of him. But there's only one PGA Championship this year. One shot at the career Grand Slam. “It's something that I really want,” Spieth said. “It's probably the No. 1 goal in the game of golf for me right now is to try and capture that. I’d love to be able to hold all four trophies.” The way the last three years have gone, any trophy would do......»»
The Advantage of Adopting the Right Digital Tools for your Business
Amid the uncertainty in customer behaviors and trends from the crisis, this much is clear: updating the business for a digital-first world, led by purpose, is now a must for almost every company. To do so, they must determine where new business value exists in the new normal, what digital business models will capture it, and which tools and behaviors will support the adaptability and resilience that these models require. On this section, we talked to the creators behind the award-winning platform made for businesses like yours. The Digital Advantage Companies need an understanding of 3rd Platform technologies to capitalize on improved decision-making and to deliver enhanced, customized experiences to stakeholders. The rapid acceleration of 3rd Platform technology adoption means that corporates need to actively be looking for ways to improve their operational efficiency and customer service, otherwise, they will be in danger of falling too far behind digitally-native competitors to ever catch up. Efficiency Past recessions show that controlling costs by improving operational efficiency—a task for which digital solutions are perfectly suited for—is more effective in sustaining businesses through financial turbulence than traditional cost-cutting measures alone. The biggest efficiency play is automation. Streamlining operations and automating manual processes result in greater speed, less waste and more focus on revenue-generating activities. The economics of automation is simple: the same work is performed faster and with fewer mistakes, while human capital resources can be redeployed to higher-value tasks or to fill critical gaps. Convenience Company bank accounts are available in any device, the only things you need are internet connection and a few taps on the screen. This brings about an increase in customer satisfaction as they are able to constantly keep track of their account balances and manage the information on their personal profile (i.e. add new mailing address, e-mails, telephone numbers, etc.). In addition to this, there is no need to go to the bank to get checks as they can be instantly sent via email. 24/7 Reliability Online banking services are available 24/7 all year round, even on weekends. There is no need to line up and wait for the bank to open in order to conduct certain operations. This is a huge advantage that comes with digital solutions Security With all the recent news about data breaches, you might be wondering about the security of mobile and online banking. Security is top priority for banks when choosing whether or not to offer online banking. All banks use “Pentagon-grade” encryption technology and sophisticated firewalls. Mandatory security upgrades are required by bank regulators, so you can be confident that keeping your information secure is one of your bank’s utmost priorities. As digital transactions increase and productivity grow, companies must take proactive steps to protect their data privacy and security and adopt models that give them governance over their data. Today’s Platform Driven Solutions Self-service account management, bills payment and electronic fund transfers are considered the basic banking functions that each business should have. Account management allows viewing of account balances and transaction history without going to the bank. All these were made easy and accessible, by just logging into UnionBank’s The Portal app. Bills Payment, on the other hand, gives businesses access to a large list of billers. They can pay their water, electricity, telco, and other utilities online. BIR ePayment is also available, allowing users to pay taxes online. If the company is an accounting firm, they can also pay for their client’s taxes on The Portal app. Electronic fund transfers save companies time and reduce their risk exposure. Just upload the batch crediting file on the platform and it automatically disburses it to their recipients. Clients can also set up their recipients in UnionBank Business Banking so they receive email and SMS notifications every time they are credited. All these are made possible without stepping inside a branch. Batch Electronic Funds Transfer is also now made available for UnionBank Transfers and PESONet. This enables the streamlining of bulk account to account transfers to another UnionBank account or to other bank accounts. This has highlighted the ease and convenience of going digital to corporate clients versus processing transactions through the traditional way of banking over-the-counter or paying via cheques. Going beyond the basic functions of a normal digital banking tool, The Portal’s self-enrollment feature allows businesses to conveniently self-enroll their nominated accounts and users through the simple enrollment steps. Once completed, access to The Portal is granted and clients may enjoy the convenience of processing their funds transfer instructions online. In addition, there is an option to initiate the enrollment of the beneficiary accounts individually or in bulk. This can be essential for clients that need a payee maintenance feature to ensure that the initiated transactions are only credited to enrolled account. With the convenient, hassle-free and straight-through processing in The Portal, businesses can easily push fund transfers in the comfort of their own homes or offices. This pandemic serves as a widespread test case for the effectiveness of these digital solutions, many of which will be permanent fixtures and lead to long-term changes for many businesses. Organizations that embrace digital solutions have greater resiliency in the face of adversity and are way ahead of the competition, which will enable them to recover faster and pivot from playing defense to chasing growth. While many believe it is too idealistic to have a good workplace culture and excellent compensation, many jobseekers significantly consider these two factors when applying for a job, according to two studies. The 2021 Employee Experience Survey by Willis Towers Watson reported that 89 percent of respondents believe a positive employee experience is a crucial driver of engagement, while a 2023 survey from the online recruitment platform JobStreet found that 53 percent of Filipino job seekers would like to know the salary range offered while still in the recruitment process. Aside from great benefits and compensation, employees in the IT industry pointed out that a good work culture and environment, as well as training programs, are the top priorities of job seekers. Vanessa Liwanag, business development director at Yondu, acknowledged the company’s role in her growth, “Yondu has helped me develop my leadership, decision-making, and communication skills through its effective leadership training programs. The company also helped me grow personally because of its hybrid setup. This allows me to have a work-life balance. I can still care for my family and health while contributing to the organization.” Leather, who specializes in securing networks from vulnerabilities, noted that training programs are essential as trends continuously evolve. IT professionals need to keep up in order to be efficient. Steph, a software solutions engineer, echoed this, adding that since the industry is highly competitive and fast-paced, getting equipped with the right skills and knowledge is essential. Grace, a malware researcher, said that one advantage in the IT field is that since it’s a broad industry, there is always much to learn and room for improvement. Yondu, an IT solutions company wholly owned by Globe, offers all these benefits and compensation, a good working environment, and training programs to Yondudes, a nickname for its employees. Competitive pay and benefits are OK for Yondu as the company ensures this through regularly benchmarking market data and best practices. There are also tailor-fitted rewards programs according to talent segments. Yondu also ensures its employees remain competitive and well-equipped by industry standards through various training, reskilling, and upskilling programs to hone their skills in the constantly changing tech industry. Despite the fast-paced sector continuously evolving, Yondu still values work-life balance and provides programs to support Yondudes’ well-being further. “What sets Yondu apart from other organizations is its genuine focus on understanding and supporting its employees,” said Javen Babac, lead application support specialist at Yondu. “The company recognizes that employees perform their best when they feel valued and supported, and this philosophy sets Yondu apart by fostering a positive and inclusive work environment. The organization’s commitment to understanding its employees and providing the necessary resources demonstrates its dedication to employee well-being and sets a strong foundation for professional growth and job satisfaction.” The post The Advantage of Adopting the Right Digital Tools for your Business appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gov’t, businesses told to adopt AI boom
The government and private sector need to collaboratively launch a nationwide effort to push for the adoption of science-backed artificial intelligence or AI to help communities and businesses keep up with the rapid technological advancement. In an interview with reporters last Friday, Dr. Sanjay Sarma, CEO, president, and dean of the Asia School of Business or ASB, reiterated that AI is developing at an unprecedented pace and will be everywhere soon. “AI can potentially replace jobs so let’s accept that. The Philippines should become the country that leads the world in how to use AI, in call centers, for instance,” Sarma told reporters. “Here in the Philippines, it has to be a national effort. The government needs to be cognizant that this is an epic moment. It's like, you know, climate change is going to damage the environment, it will hurt a lot of people. This is technology change is just like climate change,” he said. Unlike other technologies such as automated teller machines or ATMs, which took about 15 years to be widely accepted, AI is a development that needs urgent adoption. Like ATMs, which previously raised concerns about replacing the job of bank tellers, AI will help industries develop further. “Bank tellers did not lose their jobs. Bank tellers did something more advanced, which is selling mortgages and things like that. The job changed because of technology,” he explained. Thus, in blending in with the changes brought about by AI, Sarma proposed that local industries like the business process outsourcing sector should upgrade more into becoming a technology space. “At this level, you have to go up because the attack comes from below. It's like a tiger, you know, it's chasing you, You climb a tree, and the tiger learns to climb the first 10 feet, well, you have to climb higher. So you have to go higher up in the cognitive stock to go higher,” he said. To complement the benefits of AI, Sarma noted that the local service industry workers, for instance, have to do the things that technology cannot. “For example, this Chat GPT cannot negotiate with you, can't do any planning, can't do dispute resolution. It can't calm an angry customer. So you have to figure out what the technology can do and what humans can do, that the technology can't. And you're to develop human capital in those directions.” Sarma is a professor of mechanical engineering and the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a leading authority in AI, the Internet of Things, and Education. ASB, established in 2015 by Bank Negara Malaysia in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management, aims to be a premier business school that develops transformative and principled leaders who will contribute to the advancement of the emerging world, particularly in Asia. Last July, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers asked the Congress and Palace to consider creating an agency that will oversee responsible AI use in the country. Barbers cited that at least 520,000 employees across different industries may be affected by the integration of AI. In March, he filed a bill eyeing to create the Artificial Intelligence Development Authority, which will serve as an AI monitoring body tasked to supervise the “development and deployment of AI technologies.” Primarily, it will ensure compliance with AI ethics principles and guidelines and protect the “rights and welfare of individuals and communities affected by AI technologies.” The post Gov’t, businesses told to adopt AI boom appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PNP open to batons, whistles for cops
Philippine National Police chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. is open to equipping police officers with whistles and batons to avoid the indiscriminate use of firearms when chasing suspected criminals......»»
Novak Djokovic cruises in US Open return, back at No. 1
Novak Djokovic thrashed Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 on his long-awaited US Open return on Monday, guaranteeing he will take back the world number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz. The 36-year-old Serbian star, who missed last year’s tournament over his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19, is chasing a 24th Grand Slam title and The post Novak Djokovic cruises in US Open return, back at No. 1 appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
Absent Trump expected to steal show at Republican debate
Eight Republican presidential candidates face off for the first primary debate of the 2024 cycle on Wednesday -- with frontrunner Donald Trump bidding to steal the spotlight despite spurning the showdown. The former president announced at the weekend that he would not be in Milwaukee for the two-hour event, depriving a chasing pack of rivals -- whom he leads by a historic margin -- of the opportunity to take shots at him. "President Trump has already won this evening's debate because everything is going to be about him," said Chris LaCivita, a senior aide on the 77-year-old billionaire's campaign. "Only President Trump has the policy ideas, the fortitude, and the polling to go head-to-head with Crooked Joe Biden in the general election." With the largest polling lead in more than 40 years of Republican presidential nominating contests, Trump has made clear he sees no benefit to standing on a debate stage and opening himself up to hits from the rest of the field. He announced Wednesday that he is planning counterprogramming that will consist of a pre-recorded interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, to be posted online just as the debate gets underway. "'SPARKS WILL FLY.' ENJOY!" he teased on his social network, Truth Social. Despite his no-show, Trump is expected to loom over the debate stage in Wisconsin's largest city, with his multiple prosecutions set to be the subject of questions from the Fox News hosts moderating the event. I can take it The former reality TV star is even planning to deprive his rivals of post-debate headlines as he surrenders to authorities in Atlanta Thursday afternoon over his fourth indictment of the year, for an alleged criminal conspiracy to steal the 2020 election. His former attorney Rudy Giuliani, who is charged with racketeering in the case alongside Trump and 17 other co-defendants, headed to Georgia's capital hours before the debate to turn himself in. "I'm a big boy. I can take it. I have fought battles much worse than this," Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor, told reporters outside his New York residence. For Trump's closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the name of the game will be to reverse his flagging poll numbers and demonstrate that he is a viable alternative to the frontrunner. Candidates will likely be asked about competition with China and America's foreign policy in Ukraine and Russia -- an issue that caused DeSantis to stumble early in the campaign. With a seismic shift needed to dethrone Trump, many commentators were viewing the debate as primarily a showcase for candidates angling to be Trump's running mate. Lower profile candidates like businessman Vivek Ramaswamy will see the debate as a chance to introduce themselves to the wider public -- and perhaps make their case for jobs in a future Trump administration. "Tonight's Republican undercard event really shouldn’t even be called a debate, but rather an audition to be a part of President Trump's team in his second term," LaCivita said. Not a coronation However, analysts have argued that with more than four months until the first nomination votes in Iowa and New Hampshire, it is way too early to call the race. "If the same person finishes first or second in Iowa and New Hampshire, this becomes a two-person race no matter how many other people (are) in it... Nobody's caught the wave yet but somebody's going to and when they do, Trump's going to have a race on his hands," former US senator Judd Gregg told political outlet The Hill. Trump dodged a debate in Iowa in 2016, ensuring that his closest rival Ted Cruz took all the heat, although the Texas senator went on to win the Iowa vote days later. The DeSantis team is expecting a similar dynamic on Wednesday, although US media reported that political newcomer Ramaswamy is also likely to be attacked over inconsistencies in his policy statements. Trump won't have it all his way, though, with distant underdogs Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson both hoping for a breakout moment skewering the former president and his former vice president Mike Pence unlikely to pull his punches. Christie is also expected to go after DeSantis over his awkwardness on the campaign trail and a memo posted online by the leading political organization supporting his campaign, urging him to defend Trump. "I think it's fair when these other candidates say it's not a coronation, it's an election," debate co-moderator Bret Baier said in an interview this week with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. The post Absent Trump expected to steal show at Republican debate appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Chasing glory in US waves: Esquivel enters HB longboard classic semis
Filipino Rogelio "JayR" Esquivel kept his glorious rides in California waves, besting highly touted American bet Richie Cravey to claim a spot in the semifinals of the Huntington Beach Longboard Classic of the Wallex US Open in Huntington Beach Pier yesterday......»»
Clock ticking on Gilas
There’s only almost a month left before the FIBA Basketball World Cup but Gilas Pilipinas has yet to train with a complete roster. Various problems have hounded the national squad. In fact, barely a few days after the announcement of the 21-man pool, rising star Carl Tamayo pulled out, saying that he needed to rest following a grueling campaign in the Japan B League. Injuries further marred the formation of the squad with Roger Pogoy, Calvin Oftana, Ray Parks, and naturalized player Justin Brownlee begging off from the training camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Laguna, while AJ Edu showed up hobbling with an ankle sprain that he sustained in a workout in Brisbane. Still, Gilas, with a depleted roster, left for Estonia and Lithuania. Their training went well where they faced top collegiate, national, and club teams from Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Lithuania. But shortly before flying back to Manila, Scottie Thompson, one the team’s most versatile players, crashed with yet another injury as he hurt his finger in the final stretch of the camp. The injury was so severe that it could take six to eight weeks for him to recover, practically reducing him to a mere spectator when the World Cup unwraps on 25 August. Then, shortly after their return from Europe, gunner Jordan Heading also withdrew due to a nagging back injury that needs therapy in the United States. But coach Chot Reyes never lost hope. After all, Kai Sotto had returned to the country following a two-game stint in the National Basketball Association Summer League, while Jordan Clarkson was scheduled to arrive based on his earlier commitment that he will join Gilas training six weeks before the World Cup fires off. But as of last Friday, both Sotto and Clarkson had yet to play a single minute with Gilas Pilipinas as it heads for a crucial four-nation pocket tournament in China next week. Their continuous absence is not only a major concern for Reyes, but also for their teammates, who are obviously getting impatient and demoralized for training with a crippled roster for over a month now. There is no doubt that Sotto and Clarkson are the best Filipino players in the world right now. But Sotto seems too busy chasing his dream of becoming the first Filipino to play in the NBA, while Clarkson just signed a new contract with the Utah Jazz that would make him richer by more than $50 million in the next four years. When Sotto showed up to Gilas training on Thursday, he just talked to Reyes and asked for a few more days of rest as he sustained a back injury in his final game in the Summer League. Meanwhile, Clarkson’s initial agreement with the federation appears to have fizzled out as Gilas Pilipinas team manager Butch Antonio admitted that they were still in the “middle of negotiations,” something that should have been done three or four months ago. Reyes has to make a decision quickly. The World Cup is coming up and time is no longer on his side. He has to devise a backup plan — a Plan B — before the support of this basketball-crazy country for this massive and very expensive mission completely erodes. If he has to drop Sotto and Clarkson from his plan, so be it. The important thing is that he comes up with a solid preparation and a game plan that is built around those who have been training regularly. At this point, what Reyes and Gilas Pilipinas need are not the best dribblers, the best passers, or the best defenders. They don’t even need the tallest or the quickest players. What they need are players who are committed. Players who are willing to play for the flag and put the country ahead of their personal goals and ambitions. Players who are armed with big fighting hearts. The clock is ticking on this Gilas squad. Reyes should grab the ball and deliver the dagger before the time expires. The post Clock ticking on Gilas appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Funny old world: The week’s offbeat news
From a lion on the loose around Berlin to Indonesia's most controversial newlyweds... Your weekly roundup of offbeat stories from around the world. Bye, bye Bella It has been a dog of a week for man's best friend. Take Bella, the Mexican mongrel who survived two months adrift in the Pacific with her owner Australian sailor Timothy Shaddock. He said the pair survived "many, many, many bad days" on their storm-struck boat with only rainwater to drink and raw fish he caught to eat. But Bella, who shared his unrelenting sushi diet, kept his spirits up. "That dog is something else," he told reporters. "She is a lot braver than I am. She's amazing." So amazing in fact that Shaddock left the stray behind to return to Oz. Cue a growling kennel of consternation at the captain "abandoning" his shipmate. Walkies will never be the same The days of carefree pooping on the pavement could be over for French poodles after a hardline mayor introduced mandatory DNA testing to track dirty dogs. Robert Menard said he was forced to act after street cleaners counted 1,000 turds in the center of the southern town of Beziers. Police can now analyze doggy dejections to tail owners who fail to pick up after their pets. They will be made to pay 120 euros ($135) to clean up the mess. Just barking Two Indonesian dog owners who married their mutts in a lavish "wedding" in a Jakarta mall faced howls of disapproval. The pair shelled out 200 million rupiah ($13,350) -- more than 40 times the minimum monthly wage -- on the bash, in which they dressed their Alaskan Malamutes in traditional Javanese costumes. It didn't help that one of the women worked for President Joko Widodo, who has been lecturing the rich about not flaunting their cash as the country's wealth gap widens. "It's wasting money and defying God," one angry Twitter user wrote as the backlash grew. "Common sense has gone, trampled by the desire to show off." Bedroom Olympics With Paris being the "City of Love", you can see why some might worry how the cardboard beds the athletes will sleep on at next year's Olympics will stand up to the rigors of the planet's most high-performance physiques. But the beds' Japanese maker Motokuni Takaoka tried to prove that they can take "several people" at the same time by jumping up and down on one to calm claims that the singles were "anti-sex". "They can support several people on top", which is what can happen "when someone wins a medal", Airweave founder Takaoka said. Motivation Kyrgyz style It's summer holiday time in Kyrgyzstan, but heaven help any government minister who tries to kick back. "There shouldn't be a single minister lying on the beach in shorts and sunbathing. Don't let me see this," warned Kamchybek Tashiyev, the head of the Central Asian nation's feared GKNB security service. The spymaster, the iron fist of President Sadyr Japarov, has also outlawed lie-ins. He said he wanted to see ministers at their desks by 6:00 am. "We must work hard. We must not rest... If you become ministers, then work," he growled. How this has gone down around the cabinet table is not known. But the former Soviet republic has seen three revolutions and numerous political crises in less than two decades. Ich bin Lion Berliner To Berlin, where police feared a lioness was on the loose after a man filmed what appeared to be a big cat chasing a wild boar down a suburban street. Worried locals were urged to stay indoors, with one dog owner telling German media: "I have two little dachshunds. They are probably ideal lion food." Wild pigs are a menace around the German capital, with one famously filmed stealing a computer from a man sitting in a city park, with the chase going viral. Wags inevitably wondered if the boar had taken the lion's laptop. But police called off the hunt for the lion after 24 hours, saying the mystery beast was probably a boar. Berlin's dachshunds can finally breathe easy. The post Funny old world: The week’s offbeat news appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PPS netfest visits Lanao Del Norte
The PPS-PEPP national junior tennis circuit returned to Lanao del Norte with Thomas Gabuat and Sanschena Francisco leading close to 200 youngsters chasing top honors in nine age-group categories and ranking points at the Lala and MCL courts......»»
Off duties
There are as many ways to lose a job as to get one. Supermarket employee Santino Burrola encountered shoplifters at the King Soopers in Colorado, USA, on 18 June. When three thieves carted away $500 worth of detergents and ran to the parking lot for their getaway, Burrola went after the men and with his mobile phone recorded them loading their loot in the back of a car. Burrola captured the heist on his gadget, including the thieves driving off and the plate number of their car. He posted the video on TikTok and it went viral which helped the police quickly find and arrest one of the thieves. The management of King Soopers, however, suspended Burrola the following day and fired him a week later for violating the company’s policy of not chasing after thieves or intervening in theft to avoid risking employees’ lives and lawsuits from wrongful accusations, Fox Business reported. Canadian teacher Kristin MacDonald was fired on 16 June for refusing to deactivate her social media accounts under an alias. Her termination followed a student’s reporting of MacDonald’s TikTok videos showing her in a bikini, which the school deemed an egregious conduct. The teacher defended her TikTok, Instagram and OnlyFans accounts, saying they were not illegal and she needed to augment her income with content creation, to no avail. A British nurse was dismissed by a hospital in Wrexham, Wales, UK, in May after she admitted having a relationship with a kidney patient undergoing dialysis. The affair of Penelope Williams, 42, with the man ended earlier, in January 2022, when she met him for the last time in the hospital parking lot. The tryst inside his car went awry as the patient suffered a heart attack. A colleague she called for help at the time urged her to call medics but a distraught Williams did not immediately heed the advice. When emergency personnel eventually arrived, they found the patient partially naked and unresponsive, according to New York Post. The post Off duties appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Gabuat, Francisco seek title in in PPS Lanao netfest
The PPS-PEPP national junior tennis circuit returns to Lanao del Norte with Thomas Gabuat and Sanschena Francisco leading close to 200 youngsters chasing top honors......»»
Love story
Dishonest love is the darkness deeply rooted in the outrage over the promotional video of Tourism’s troubled new slogan. Dishonest love fuels everyone’s raving anger spasms over the two-minute-long tepid — as in like a senior Tourism student’s thesis project — though still dreamy love video featuring the country’s popular travel sights completely ruined by footage of four tourist sites found in other countries. Lies then shape the promo video in a clear case of, “Darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream,” as one of the most-Taylor-Swift-sounding lyrics goes. By the way, there’s nothing frivolous about referencing Ms. Swift and the tourism fiasco. “Love” is the cheeky theme of the latest slogan and there’s no other 21st-century personality other than pop superstar Ms. Swift and her hugely influential songs of doomed love and heartaches (or at least that’s what my daughters tell me since I’m not a “Swiftie”) to access notions of nervy postmodernist love. Anyway, information is scanty about who in the ad agency DDB Philippines or its contractor sneaked into the lies. What we only know is that the video, exposed by a blogger and subsequently fact-checked by an international news agency, brought Tourism bureaucrats frequent migraine flashes. Still, as things stand, the besotted affair insinuates its makers’ cynical feelings about their task of commanding foreigners and Filipinos alike to love the country. In the case of their cynical feelings, it’s starkly summed up whenever one hears Ms. Swift singing: “And the saddest fear/Comes creepin’ in/That you never loved me/Or her/Or anyone/Or anything.” Despite that, we can still be charitably human enough to say the video makers were probably at their wit’s end chasing a tight deadline, prompting the commission of unforgivable fakery and lies. This, even as they insinuated their low opinion of their Tourism overseers’ critical faculties. For their risk, they lost all, profuse apologies failing to assuage. Meanwhile, the reviled video excited something else entirely — a wave of confessionals about loving the Philippines. As the fiasco unfolded, many well-meaning Filipinos, both here and abroad, confessed, “It’s difficult to love the Philippines.” The prophylactic sentiments, if anything, showed Filipinos aren’t zombies when they junked en masse the conformist injunction that to profess love for country, as one media analyst observed, is “to stand by it and close one’s eyes to whatever is wrong.” Still, despite the confessionals many somehow still heard Ms. Swift’s singing, “This love is difficult, but it’s real/Don’t be afraid, we’ll make it out of this mess.” Though some were thoroughly distressed that the Swiftian lyrics, “I screamed for whatever it’s worth/‘I love you,’ ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?” became an anthem. Locals are markedly depressed and distressed. But we can only speculate what the internationally publicized humiliation does to the foreign tourist in perpetual search of a painless second adolescence. But I wouldn’t place too much stock on their feelings. The foreign tourist can just as well sing — not a Taylor Swift song this time — but the late sultry Tina Turner’s iconic rock ballad, “What’s Love Got to Do With It?” Turner’s ballad jettisoned other love songs fixating on enduring relationships and instead diabolically proscribes that purely sexual chemistry is pretty too. Carnality also informs love. Now doesn’t that hidden dimension color also many a foreign tourist’s pleasure-seeking short jaunt here? Still, another tributary flows from the love slogan. The cheeky slogan also marks and entices the modern Filipino migrant. Modern Filipino migration is germane to the love campaign because a good part of the flow of tourists coming here is made up of Filipino migrants — our tourist who is not a tourist — returning home for a vacation. In milking and profiting from the Filipino migrants’ or OFWs’ homesickness, the love campaign’s advisable jingle might as well be Ms. Swift’s lyric, “Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere.” The post Love story appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Kim climbs US Open leaderboard with sizzling third-round start
Tom Kim turned in a record-equalling front nine at Los Angeles Country Club then found himself holding on for dear life as he tried to play his way into contention at the US Open. The 20-year-old from South Korea had seven birdies in the first 10 holes -- his 29 on the front nine matching the championship nine-hole scoring mark. Kim joined Vijay Singh in 2003 at Olympia Fields, Louis Oosthuizen in 2015 at Chambers Bay and Neal Lancaster, who did it back to back in 1995 and 1996 at Shinnecock and Oakland Hills. Coming in, however, there were bogeys at 13, 15 and 16 by Kim as the sun-baked course, hosting a US Open for the first time, showed its teeth. "Those three bogeys really don't feel like bogeys because I barely missed it by a yard or two," said Kim, whose four-under par 66 put him at three-under 207 for the tournament. "But major championship golf, US Open, really brings it out of you. "Would have been nice to kind of par in and see that bogey-free or see one or two more birdies, but if you told me at the start of the day, I'd take that score." One of Kim's bogeys came at the par-three 15th, playing Saturday at just 81 yards. Birdies were proving even harder to come by there than they had in the first two rounds, when it played at 124 and 115 yards and saw three holes in one. Kim said it still offered one of the few "realistic" birdie chances on the back nine because players are hitting a wedge off the tee. "If you have a wedge, you have a chance to get it close and have a chance," he said. - No room for error - But at 81 yards, there's certainly no room for error. "I mean, it was 76 yards, 80 something to the hole. You have four yards of green to work with," Kim said. "You're long, you're dead; you're short, you're dead. It's a really simple wedge shot, but with the wind kind of going down to left, you've got to really hit it at the right time. "It's a wedge. You don't want to bail out left. Then you have like a 40-footer down the hill. "I just kind of got cute and kind of got plugged in the bunker. A bogey from 80 yards stats-wise isn't great, but definitely double is in play there." Kim, who earned his second US PGA Tour title at TPC Summerlin last October and owns two titles on both the Asian Tour and Koran Tour, is chasing a first major title. He's trying to follow the trail blazed by Asia's two male major winners: South Korean Yang Yong-eun -- who out-dueled Tiger Woods to win the 2009 PGA Championship -- and Japan's Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion. Although he'd told himself not to watch the scoreboard, Kim admitted he couldn't help himself as the birdies were falling. "It did catch my mind once I was seven-under, after 10 where, man, if I can keep this going, have a good finish -- and if the leaders kind of stumble -- I might have a chance to be really close up there on Sunday," Kim said. "But it was a really short thought because I still had the hardest part of the golf course right in front of me." bb/js © Agence France-Presse The post Kim climbs US Open leaderboard with sizzling third-round start appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
‘Dad movies’ to watch with the family
Planning to just stick to your couch and stream movies on Father’s Day? No problem. Here are my top seven picks of ‘dad movies’ to stream right now. Have your dad join you, or the entire family, for a Father’s Day marathon and bond with laughter and tears! ‘FIELD OF DREAMS’ (1989) Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is a dad to Karin. He’s also a famer suddenly swept into a controversy when he decides to build a baseball diamond on his land — just because a mysterious voice whispered it into his ear. This popular and absorbing fantasy-drama has already become a cult classic for its themes of chasing one’s dreams and, of course, family. Rent on iTunes ‘LIAR LIAR’ (1997) One of the best comedy fantasies in the ‘90s, Liar Liar is surely going to be a big hit to your home-viewing with your dad. Sure, you may have seen this already, but so what? Carrey plays an attorney who is not only dishonest, he often breaks his promises to his poor son, Max (Justin Cooper). When Max wishes his dad would stop lying for 24 hours, it’s a riot! Rent on iTunes [caption id="attachment_146055" align="aligncenter" width="525"] PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF universal pictures | JIM Carrey as Fletcher Reede in ‘Liar Liar.’[/caption] ‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’ (1993) This is one of the late Robin Williams’ most memorable classics. Divorced dad Daniel (Williams) is extremely bothered that he has limited access to his kids. So he dresses as an elderly British woman and applies as a nanny to his ex-wife Miranda (Sally Field) just to be with his kids every day. Both hilarious and touching, it never fails to engage you no matter how many times you’ve seen it. Stream on Disney+ ‘CINDERELLA MAN’ (2005) Inspired by the life story of world heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock, Ron Howard’s weeper Cinderella Man is set during the Great Depression. Braddock (Russell Crowe), a washed-up actor, struggles as a manual laborer to feed his family. With his morals and integrity intact, he is a father whose love for his family knows no bounds and gives them wisdom in the midst of adversity. Unforgettable. Stream on Disney+ ‘KING RICHARD’ (2021) This is the fact-based movie that earned Will Smith his Oscar Best Actor award after slapping Chris Rock on national TV. Whether you hate Smith or not, you’re gonna be stunned by his superior performance as the super-inspiring father and coach to celebrated tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. Stream on HBO Go ‘THREE MEN AND A BABY’ (1987 Directed by Leonard Nimoy, and based on a 1985 French script, it follows three New York City roommates Peter (Tom Selleck), Michael (Steve Guttenberg) and Jack (Ted Danson). All men are successful and satisfied with being single. But when a baby is abandoned in front of their apartment, they became instant dads. Funny and heartfelt. Stream on Disney+ ‘DADS’ (2020) This AppleTV+ original documentary explores modern fatherhood. The great thing about this docu is that it features all types of dads. We get testimonies from ordinary dads around the world and even famous comedians. Sweet, positive, oftentimes funny — and, yes, prepare to wipe a tear or two. Stream on AppleTV+ The post ‘Dad movies’ to watch with the family appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PLDT looking to raise $150-M to strengthen Maya
The money-chasing GCash and Maya is basically the same, too......»»
Manning agents seek dialogue with Tulfo
The Association of Licensed Manning Agencies Maritime Group is seeking a dialogue with Senator Raffy Tulfo to explain to him that the escrow provision in the Senate version of the Magna Carta for Filipino Seafarers not only benefits agents and shipowners but also seamen. “It is not true that the escrow provision is anti-seafarers,” Cristina Garcia, president of ALMA, said in an interview with the Daily Tribune’s digital show “Usapang OFW.” Garcia said that “once we protect our shipowners, at the end of the day, our seafarers will benefit from it because they are the ones that are providing jobs to our seafarers.” The proposed escrow account provision, present in the passed House version of the MCFS bill, holds a seafarer’s compensation for work-related injury or death until all litigation processes and appeals by employers have been completed. Its intention is to prevent so-called ambulance chasers from abusing manning agencies by demanding unreasonable amount of compensation, as well as from charging seafarers very high legal fees and abandoning them when a court orders claimants to return overpayments. The exploitation of the seafarer compensation system has been identified as a major obstacle to the employment of Filipino seafarers. In his “Wanted sa Radyo” program, Tulfo, chair of the Senate Committee on Migrant Workers and author of Senate Bill No. 2221 or MCFS, threatened to hit in a privilege speech agencies and personalities that have been lobbying to include the escrow provision in the said bill. Atty. Carmela Magpantay, legal counsel of ALMA member CF Sharp Crew Management Inc., said lawmakers should protect the whole industry and not just the seafarers. Most of the seamen that filed disability claims cases against their foreign principals in connivance with ambulance chasers were abandoned by their lawyers when the restitution of the fee was ordered by the Court of Appeals, according to Magpantay. “Most cases were reversed by the Supreme Court and seafarers face the problem of returning the money already awarded to them by the NCMB (National Conciliation and Mediation Board) or NLRC (National Labor Relations Commission),” Magpantay said. She added that only 25 percent of disability claims were enjoyed by seafarers, while 75 percent went to their lawyers, as told by their crew victimized by ambulance chasers. Magpantay said the whole manning industry supports the MCFS and the Seafarers Protection Act being pushed by Tulfo because they want full protection for their crew. “We have no problem if there are no lawyers overcharging seafarers. Even shipowners won’t oppose claims if the money awarded goes to seafarers. However, that doesn’t happen and instead more than half of it goes to the lawyers or ambulance chasers. And when it’s restitution time, the seafarers are pitiable,” she added. Last week, the Joint Maritime Committee of the Dutch, German, Nordic and Norwegian Chambers of Commerce said the removal of the escrow provision in SB 2221 would only make ambulance chasing victimizing foreign shipowners unresolved. “The exploitation of the seafarer compensation system has been identified as a major obstacle to the employment of Filipino seafarers. This is primarily attributed to the flawed system requiring shipowners to pay in full before cases are finally settled in the judicial system,” Tore Henriksen, chairperson of the European Joint Maritime Committee, said. An estimated P2.5-billion judgment awards by the NLRC and NCMB have been reversed or modified on appeal but were not returned to shipowners, the chamber said. The post Manning agents seek dialogue with Tulfo appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Chasing rainbows, case of GOCCs
Government-owned or controlled corporations are classified as public enterprises but have not built an image of passing the test of economic viability — the underlying reason for their creation. Not few have closed shops, gone bankrupt, were abolished or merged, bailed out, privatized. If the government has to be run like a business, why parcel out state-owned enterprises that are already into investment for value maximization or other profit-oriented undertakings? Theoretically, the mandatory transfer or farming out of capital assets from Large Bank A, Large Bank B, State-Run Casinos/Lotteries, Government Financial Institutions, or GFIs to put their wealth together sans airtight guarantee that the awesome sums of money will generate a profit of unsurpassed proportion — sounds like skating on thin ice. Even worse, the use of the money as bait to lure foreign investments as if the government has a deep reservoir of capital accumulation and on a sustained basis is a mere bubble somewhat mimicking the Chinese style of “shadow banking.” At ground level, the promise of a grand payoff is too good to be true. It should be recalled with caution that then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. introduced this “SOE economy” and even rose to prominence when he declared martial law in 1972. In 1970, we only have 65 SOEs but the same grew to 303 in 1985 (source: understated report) and breached 604 as of August 2010. Is this not a repeat of history when this time around, the young Marcos will do an old Marcos as if to follow a trick in the playbook? Martial law opened the door for the then-president to “commandeer” with the semblance of lawful authority even private enterprises in the guise of national interest and run these utilities or industries to rake revenues. Note further that in 2009, SOEs’ assets totaled $125 billion which exceeded the national government’s assets of 65 billion US dollars. Is it the same case today that the total assets of SOEs or GOCCs are about double that of the national government’s assets? As available factual data stand, it should be noted that in 2020 or during the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, the total national budget is pegged at P4.1 trillion while the total assets of all GOCCS amounted to P10.3 trillion although only 31 or less than a third of the Philippines’ 108 government-owned or controlled corporations accounted for P9. 37 trillion. To quickly draw the positive implication of these figures, it simply means that if from the GOCCs’ total assets, it will have to finance the national budget, it will still have 60 percent in remaining assets sustainable enough to generate another quantum of annual revenues. The matter of a Maharlika Investment Fund is a linguistic game in that they define it as a sovereign wealth fund even when there is no surplus value to really speak of. In fact, the increase in the number of agencies not to mention administrative expenditure and the extension of their autonomy has significantly changed the organizational architecture of governments; in this case, another created corporation manages and operationalizes its financial affairs. The fact that they plan to lure private investments, domestic or foreign, has it not become privatized in principle and therefore its affairs should be left to market forces? No wonder then that a former Treasurer has argued, viz: “In particular, the issue of privatization of GOCCs brings to the fore the intermeshing interests of public and private sector groups, transnational corporations and the World Bank-International Monetary Fund group. The challenge, therefore, is to make GOCCs a truly public sector.” We can begin to ask what kind of creature the MIF has become and for whose interests? What is the bottom line where motives that push the creation of GOCCs are either overt or covert? Doesn’t the latter subvert the “development” objectives of GOCCs, convert them into instruments for the transfer of public resources to private hands?” Crony capitalism? The post Chasing rainbows, case of GOCCs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
You blocked me : Jason Hernandez reacts to forda clout chasing comment by Moira dela Torre s sis
Singer Jason Hernandez responded to Moira dela Torre's sister J'mee's reaction to his new song "Ikaw Pa Rin.".....»»
Cambodian killed by 40 crocodiles after falling in enclosure
About 40 crocodiles killed a Cambodian man on Friday after he fell into their enclosure on his family's reptile farm, police said. Luan Nam, 72, was trying to move a crocodile out of a cage where it had laid eggs when it grabbed the stick he was using as a goad and pulled him in. The main group of reptiles then set about him, tearing his body to pieces and leaving the concrete enclosure at the farm in Siem Reap awash with blood. "While he was chasing a crocodile out of an egg-laying cage, the crocodile attacked the stick, causing him to fall into the enclosure," Mey Savry, police chief of Siem Reap commune, told AFP. "Then other crocodiles pounced, attacking him until he was dead," he said, adding that the remains of Luan Nam's body were covered with bite marks. One of the man's arms was bitten off and swallowed by the crocodiles, he said. Luan Nam was the president of the local crocodile farmers' association but his family may now sell his stock, after urging him for years to stop raising the reptiles, commune chief May Sameth told AFP. A two-year-old girl was killed and eaten by crocodiles in 2019 when she wandered into her family's reptile farm in the same village, the police chief said. There are a number of crocodile farms around Siem Reap, the gateway city to the famed ruins of Angkor Wat. The reptiles are kept for their eggs, skins and meat as well as the trade in their young. The post Cambodian killed by 40 crocodiles after falling in enclosure appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Moira Dela Torre’s sister calls out Jason Hernandez for being a ‘user’
Sister of singer Moira Dela Torre slammed Jason Hernandez for the lyrics of his new song and for using the estranged couple's wedding footage in his song's music video. "Nakakatawa 'yung buong song, especially 'yung part na 'naghihintay pa rin hanggang ngayon sa ikaw at ako.' Kasi parang sa buong year never ka naman nag-effort sa ate ko???" J'mee Dela Torre said on Twitter. "Naiirita lang ako kasi ang layo talaga ng mga pinagsasabi mo sa lyrics ng kanta mo. Why do you need to manipulate people into thinking that you still love and miss her? Like WTF?" She continued. J'mee also claimed that Jason even used the video clips from the wedding, concerts, and "Tagpuan" music video without her sister Moira's permission. "LMAO forda clout chasing. Amp!" She ended her tweet. J'mee's Twitter account, however, has now been deactivated. A search into her @jmeedelatorre_9 Twitter handle would yield a result that states, "This account doesn’t exist." The post Moira Dela Torre’s sister calls out Jason Hernandez for being a ‘user’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»