New Zealand was rattled by a strong earthquake at 4:35 am (epicenter),  Saturday, September 4, 2010. The USGS posted a magnitude of 7.0 hits Christchurch, New Zealand.

The quake epicenter was four miles south-southeast from Christchurch, NZ, on the nation’s south island. Strong aftershocks were reported, including one magnitude 5.7.  Local media reports there have been strong aftershocks and it caused widespread damage and several power outages.

U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration didn’t issue a tsunami warning for the Pacific Ocean, although they warned about the possibility of local tsunamis

During the US Open match between Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Philipp Petzschner (Germany), a fight between two spectators was caught on video and it was posted on YouTube this morning.

According to online reports, a woman at the game complained to a loud man in his early 20s about his repeated use of the f-word during the first set. The man apparently didn’t want to change his vocabulary so they started arguing. At one point, she slapped the young man across the face during the verbal confrontation.

After about a minute, an older man, got her out of the way and threw a punch. The younger man fought back and landed on top of him, at which point the brawl is on. It takes 30 seconds before security personnel respond.

Djokovic and Petzschner were distracted by the altercation, looking up toward the seats. Due to the incident, the match had to be stopped. Later a U.S. Tennis Association spokesman said: “It’s a hot night in New York. Things happen.”

None of those involved in the fight have been identified by name.

Source: New York Post

This coming Monday, September 6 is Labor Day in the United States. It is customarily viewed as the end of the summer, especially of the vacation season; many schools open for the year in the week after Labor Day. Some mark this day with family gatherings,  parades or events while others like nothing better than to get some good sales bargains with some Labor Day deals.

USNews.com posted a guide to the best Labor Day deals which includes JC Penney, Home Depot, Macy’s, Target, REI, CVS, Best Buy, Mac, Walmart, Dell, Sears and more.

Here are some of the Labor Day shopping deals:

JC Penney is offering free shipping on online orders over $49, and taking 50 percent off furniture and mattresses.

Macy‘s Labor Day sale covers clothes, luggage, jewelry, furniture, kitchen gear, and more. Automatic free shipping on orders over $99, today through Labor Day.

Best Buy‘s end-of-summer sale focuses on enhancing at-home entertainment centers. Shoppers can snag a Samsung 46-inch HDTV and Blu-ray player for just under $1,000 and get as much as 15 percent off television stands. Movies and video games are also on sale.

Mac is offering rebates of up to $200 off and giving free iPod Touches to college students–as well as teachers–when they buy a new Mac through September 7.

J.Crew has a great selection of both kid and adult items (clearance and new styles) up to 50% off, plus free shipping on orders over $100 with the code LABORDAY. (Now through Labor Day, Sept. 6.)

Source: USNews.com

The Philippine Tour Operators Association (PHILTOA), the largest association of registered inbound and domestic tour operators together with the Department of Tourism, in cooperation with the Philippine Department of Tourism invites everyone to attend the 21st Philippine Travel Mart (PTM) at the Mega Trade Halls of SM Megamall, Mandaluyong City on September 3-5, 2010.

Day 1 of the 21st Philippine Travel Mart

The Philippine Travel Mart is an annual event featuring all destinations. The highlight on the said event are the discounts, promos and extra freebies that you get, when you purchase airline tickets, hotels and tours. They have from low-budget to high-end destinations that cost from a mere P500 to P25,000.

Cheap domestic travel packages around the Philippines are up for grabs. Different tour operators from the different regions in the Philippines will participate in this event.

Here are some of the exhibitors.
Airphil Express
Alta Vista De Boracay Resort
Ascott Makati
Astoria Boracay
Bohol Divers Resort
Caliraya Resort Club
Caylabne Bay resort
Cebu Pacific Air
Club Balai Isabel
Crown Regency Hotels & Resorts
Dos Palmas Island Resort & Spa
Duty Free
El Nido Resorts
Enchanted Kingdom
Fort Ilocandia Hotel
Herald Suites Solana
Imperial Palace Suites
Island Cove Resorts
LGU – Puerto Galera
Misibis Bay Resort
Negros Navigation
Oxford Suites Makati
Prestige Cruises
Quantum Hotel & Resorts
Resorts World Manila
Sea Air
Sun Cruises Corregidor
Tagaytay Country Hotel
The Legend Hotel Palawan
Thunderbirds Resort
United Tourists Promotions
Waterfront Hotels and Casinos
Zest Airways, Inc.

AirPhil Express offers domestic seat sale promo fare for P88

Zest Air offers 50% on all domestic flights

The 21st Philippine Travel Mart is supported by Philippine Tourism Promotion Board, Philippine Airlines, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), Primer Group of Companies, Resorts World Manila, Smart Communications, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, Citibank, Jeepney Tours, San Miguel Brewery, Patio Pacific Boracay, Marco Polo Davao, Two Seasons Resort Boracay, Shangri-La Mactan, The Legend Palawan, Maribago Bluewater Beach Resort, Boracay Tropics Resort Hotel and Hilton Cebu Resort & Spa.

For more details please visit www.philtravelmart.com.

Skype 5 Beta for Windows has just released its new version, is now available for download.

About four months ago, Skype 5 for Windows was introduced in the market; which is a 5-way video calling and apparently satisfied its customers.

Now, Skype 5 is proud to inform customers that the second beta version now allows 10-way video calling.

According to Mashable, the Skype 5 Beta 2 for Windows offers a fresh new look, more stable; and with a better quality when making group video calls.

Skype Home was also added, where users can follow their contacts’ mood messages, set profile picture and mood message, receive account notifications and learn more about using Skype.

But of course, the star of the show is the 10-way video calling; which also includes automatic call recovery.

This feature will help automatic reconnection, if calls will be interrupted due to network problems.

However, Skype is cautioning users that this new version is still in Beta and bugs may still be present.

In addition, this 10-way video calling requires all users to upgrade their older version for them to be included in the group video calls.

This means they have to download the Skype 5.0 Beta 2 for Windows.

Toshiba has introduced its latest multi-media computer, Android tablet F100, at the IFA show in Germany on Thursday.

As published in InformationWeek, F100 aims to compete against the Apple iPad and similar devices from other major vendors.

The android tablet F100 has a 10.1-inch multi-touch display and an embedded webcam, having a diagonal screen with a resolution of 1024 x 600 pixels, and runs on version 2.2 of Google’s Android operating system.

This is very essential since Folio 100 will be able to run Adobe Flash, a ubiquitous Web technology for playing video.

It said to be a key advantage over the iPad, which along with the iPhone cannot play Flash video.

The Folio 100 is also equipped with an SD card slot, and HDMI and USB 2.0 connectors. The device supports Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless, with a 3G model scheduled for the near future, according to Toshiba.

Its thickness is about a half inch thick, and weighs 1.7 pounds. A Nvidia Tegra 2 processor powers the graphics and the Folio has 16 GB of on-board storage.

Toshiba expects that F100 can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi networks to sell for 399 euros. The company has yet to decide when it will launch another model with 3G connectivity.

Toshiba Corporation said F100 is scheduled to be sold in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the fourth quarter, but its price has not been disclosed.

But it has yet to be decided whether to launch it in other regions such as the United States.

The F100 model is not Toshiba‘s first tablet computer. The Japanese company introduced a touch-screen tablet called the JournE Touch last September and started selling it in Europe in March.

World-famous physicist Stephen Hawking argues in his new book The Grand Design that ‘God did not create the universe’; as published in CNN website.

According to an excerpt published Thursday in The Times of London, Hawking mentioned in his book that “given the existence of gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing,”

“Spontaneous creation is the reason why there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist,” he writes in the excerpt.

“It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper [fuse] and set the universe going,” he writes.

The Grand Design, as the title suggests, is an attempt of Hawking to answer “the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything,” he writes, quoting Douglas Adams‘ cult science fiction romp, “The Hitch-hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”

His answer is “M-theory,” which, Hawking says, speculates 11 space-time dimensions, “vibrating strings, … point particles, two-dimensional membranes, three-dimensional blobs and other objects that are more difficult to picture and occupy even more dimensions of space.” This is an excerpt from the introduction to the book.

However, Hawking said he understands the feeling of the great English scientist Sir Isaac Newton that God did “create” and “conserve” order in the universe.

Citing the 1992 discovery of a planet orbiting a star other than our Sun, he said.

“That makes the coincidences of our planetary conditions – the single Sun, the lucky combination of Earth-Sun distance and solar mass – far less remarkable, and far less compelling as evidence that the Earth was carefully designed just to please us human beings.”

But the British most famous physicist argues that if there are untold numbers of planets in the galaxy, it’s less remarkable that there is one with conditions for human life.

And, indeed, he argues, any form of intelligent life that evolves anywhere will automatically find that it lives somewhere suitable for it.

From there, he introduces the idea of multiple universes, which states that if there are many universes, one will have laws of physics like ours. And in such a universe, something not only can, but must, arise from nothing.

Stephen Hawking concludes that the Big Bang was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics; and that ‘there’s no need for God to explain it.

The Grand Design was co-written by US physicist Leonard Mlodinow and will be published early this month in US and UK.

Are you still finding it hard to look for a job? How far have you been as a walk-in applicant?

Is your Inbox filled with job vacancy list, but not compatible with your credentials? Are you tired waiting for a call from your previous job applications?

How many hours have you been spending online looking for a job? Are you an OFW balikbayan whose contract ended and still willing to work abroad?

Below is the list of Job Fairs all over the Philippines for September 2010, for local employment and abroad.

We hope one of the job openings has the job you are looking for.

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: DOLE-PFO Camarines Norte and LGU-Labo
Sept.3-4, 2010
Covered Court, Municipal Hall, Labo, Camarines Norte

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: LGU-Surigao City
Sept.3-4, 2010
City Gym

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By:DOLE-PFO Albay and LGU-Daraga
September 5, 2010
Covered Court, Municipal Hall, Daraga, Albay

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: LGU & PESO Rosario
September 10, 2010
Luansing Gym, Rosario

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: UM Panabo College / PESO Panabo
September 10, 2010
UM Panabo College Campus

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: LGU-Liloan, Cebu
September 11, 2010
Panphil B. Frasco Sports Complex, Liloan, Cebu

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: LGU-Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, DOLE-SKFO, LGU-PESO
September 12, 2010
Municipal Gymnasium, Isulan, Sultan Kudarat

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: DOLE, City and PGO
September 15, 2010
Amusement and Event Center, Pagadian City

Job Fest and Career Fair 2010
By: Primetrade Asia Inc.
September 16-17, 2010
Function Room 4, 3rd Floor, SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City

7th Philippine Nursing Opportunities Conference, Expo and Job Fair (PNOCE)
By: PNOCE / Elite Consultancy Services / Gateway Suites
September 18-19, 2010
Sapphire Ballroom, Gateway Suites, Gateway Mall, Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City

The 2nd Jobs Search at the Starmall
by Island Exhibit
September 17-18, 2010
2F Trade Hall, Starmall
EDSA-Shaw

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: Office of the Congressman, Provincial Government of North Cotobato, DFA, DOLE XII
September 18-19, 2010
Office of the Congressman (2nd District) Kidapawan City

“GALING NG PINOY TUNGO SA KAUNLARAN” – A Job Fair and Entrepreneur Expo 2010
By: Unisource Advertising and Promotions / Mediacore Advertising Services
September 23-26, 2010
Riverbanks Center (Activity Center), Marikina City

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: PESO Carmona
September 24, 2010
Mapanoo Covered Court

Job Quest Employment Fair
September 24, 2010 – September 26, 2010
Megatrade Hall 3, Megamall

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: PESO Bacoor
September 25, 2010
SM Molino, Bacoor, Cavite

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: PESO Bacoor
September 28, 2010
Bacoor Municipal Court

Local and Overseas Job Fair
By: PESO Maragondon
September 30, 2010
Municipal Covered Court, Maragondon

News source: Trabaho Philippines

If you know other upcoming job fairs in the Philippines for September 2010 that are not included in the list above, please free to leave a comment and we will be most happy to insert them.

Good luck, job hunters!

Highly acclaimed movie director Michael Bay is reportedly willing to give a $50,000 (£32,500) reward that will reveal the identity of the girl throwing six live puppies into a fast flowing river on an online video.

As published at Mail Online, Bay said on his website that ‘he has offered the reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the teenage girl in the red sweatshirt and the person who shot this act of cruelty’.

The very disturbing video of animal cruelty became a very hot issue all over the world this week, and led to angry reactions not only to animal lovers but also to anyone who watched it.

As shown in the 44-second video, the girl with a long blond hair wearing a red-hooded top picks up six live puppies from a basket and throws them one by one in a fast-running river.

The poor puppies, that seem to cry for help, as they may be sensing the danger ahead of them, while the sick girl is throwing them one by one into the river believed to be Vrbas, in the central town of Bugojno, in Bosnia.

The said video was first uploaded in You Tube with the title “Twisted Girl Throws Puppies in River”, but was immediately removed.

Michael Ray, the director of the Transformers movie now joins the worldwide condemnation against this girl who was believed to be a Bosnian.

Earlier in CNN, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) offered a €1,500 (£1,300) reward to help for the arrest of the girl on video.

Animals rights group ‘Flekice’ (Spots) already filed a complaint to police against the girl.

Meanwhile, another animal rights group named SOS, which is based in Sarajevo claimed to have information confirming the location of the girl, who was reportedly filmed by her brother.

Velimir Ivanisevic from the group said he received an email that allegedly identifies her as a teenager from the central Bosnian town of Bugojno.

‘We cannot say with 100 percent certainty that this is true, but we received some other information which leads us to believe that it is,’ Ivanisevic said.

Police spokesman Sefir Barucija confirmed an investigation is now going on.

Bosnian law states that anyone who kills or injures an animal will have to pay a fine ranging from €15 to €5,000 (£12 to £4,150).

Meanwhile, this alarming news had really reached the Philippines and the video was shown in a giant TV network.

If you have not yet watched it, you can view it at this link at LiveLeak.

To give way for the celebration for the end of the Muslims’ holy month of fasting, the Ramadan, Malacañang has declared September 10 a non-working holiday.

Reports said President Aquino (PNoy) has signed Proclamation 26, which declares September 10 as a non-working holiday.

Muslims all around the world started to celebrate Ramadan in August 11, 2010. This month-long religious observance will culminate with a festivity (Eid) for purification (Fitr) after fasting for a month.

On September 10, 2010, Muslims will celebrate the “Eid ul-Fitr,” or the festivities for the end of Ramadan.

Source: gmanews.tv

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