As part of its 100-year celebration, Coca-Cola is giving away free Coke in the Philippines on Saturday, February 4, 2012 from 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM on a promo they call as “Blowout Para Sa Bayan.” (Blowout For The Nation)

According to its official Facebook page, consumers can claim one (1) 8oz. regular Coca-Cola each time they line up in any of the participating establishments during the said date and time. No purchase is required to avail of the free softdrinks. The promo is available while supplies last.

Below is the list of the participating establishments as posted on their official Facebook page:

NATIONWIDE:
Mang Inasal, Red Ribbon, 7-Eleven, Goldilocks, Hen Lin, Shopwise Soda Fountain, Green Mango, Floyd’s, at Andoks

GMA:
Avenetto Pizzeria Ristorante, Scottland, Inc., The Spa, Pollo Loco (ground floor Mega Mall), Moshi-Moshi, KVGKCC Inc. Real Thing Diner, Festival Mall Food Court, Star Mall Food Court, Tongyang, Mexicali, Agave, Ma Mon Luk, Q.C. Sports Club

SOUTH LUZON:
Biggs – Gen. Luna, Buddy Pizza, Graceland III, Graceland-Pacific Mall Food Court, Graceland 7, Benzon Burger, Sta. Teresa College, Pacific Mall Food Court, Biggs – Legaspi, Graceland – Benjos-Tabaco Legaspi, Kisonis Enterprise, Sienalos Bakeshop Restaurant, Romeros Bakery Foodhouse, Enchanted Kingdom

VISAYAS:
CEBU – Harbour City Group, Orange Brutus, Flame It, Manila Foodshoppe, Moon Café, Sunburst
TAGBILARAN – Alturas Foodmix/ICM Foodwalk, BQ Fastfood
BACOLOD – Chinkys, Chicken Deli, Café Bobs, LSEA
ILOILO – JD Bakeshop, Ocean City

MINDANAO:
DAVAO – Gaisano Grand Tagum Food Court, Victoria Plaza Fastfood, Pritong Manok Outlets, Astro Shoppers Outlets
GEN. SAN. – Gaisano Grand Food Court Koronodal, Ace Centerpoint Fastfood, KMCC Food Court, Isulan Central Plaza Food Court
CDO – Gaisano City Food Court, Limketkai Food Court, Gaisano Malaybalay Food Court
ZAMBOANGA – Mindpro Citimall Foodcourt, Gaisano Ozamis Foodcourt, Gaisano Mall Iligan FoodCourt, Gaisano Capital Pagadian Food Court

NORTH LUZON:
Double Happiness, Classic Baker (Cindy’s), Midtown Resto, Joey’s Snack Haus, Metrotown Foodcourt, N.E. Quality Bakeshop, Pedritos Bakeshop, Sam’s Pizza, Tarlac Montessori, Wimpys Food Plaza 1, Mr. Frosty, KB Hotplates Hamburger, Ne Minimart, Ne Crossing, Wimpys Subic, Ne Pacific Shopping Ctr Corp., Sanyo Multipurpose Coop, Wimpys-Triangle, Highland Camp, Perfect Loaf, Cross Street Conv, DWAD, Candice Megamart, Crowne Bakeshop, Talavera Hypermart, Mr. Pritos

Fukushima pets being abandoned after last year’s nuclear crisis are facing a cold winter condition leaving them helpless unless they are rescued off to a shelter, international news reported on Friday, February 3, 2012.

Reports said that the dogs and cats that were abandoned in the Fukushima exclusion zone are now struggling with the region’s freezing winter weather. Rescue efforts are underway to save the animals but rescuers are running out of time.

The animal welfare groups were allowed to temporarily enter the evacuation zone in December to rescue surviving pets before the severe winter weather sets in, however, Yasunori Hoso of the United Kennel Club of Japan told BBC that there were still more dogs and cats left in the area.

“The government keeps saying there are few pets left, but we see their footprints in the snow. They are fighting to stay alive,” Hoso was quoted saying in an article.

“They have little fat left, so there’s nothing to keep them warm. Many animals have died of hypothermia, but we believe there are more than 100 still living.” Hoso added.

Pet owners had been pleading for help to rescue their pets since March of last year, but the central government took nine months to authorize the search.

Rescue volunteers led by Hoso were able to rescue more than 300 dogs and cats which now sit in a temporary shelter, according to reports.

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and
team owner Mark Cuban (right) in 2008
Image Credit: Vernon Bryant/DallasNews.com

As noted at NBA.com on Friday, February 3, 2012, NBA Basketball Operations Executive Vice President Stu Jackson announced the fine to Cuban and Carlisle, of $75,000 and $35,000, respectively.

According to the report, Mark Cuban was fined for criticizing some NBA officials after the Mavericks-Thunder match, while Rick Carlisle was fined for intentionally kicking a ball during the final quarter of the game.

Apparently, Carlisle kicked the ball as it rolled toward the Mavericks bench, hitting a young boy seated a few rows back in the floor, with 9:34 remaining in the fourth quarter; and was ejected from the game. Before he left the floor, he went to the boy and apologized to him.

“The incident where the ball got kicked into the stands, that can’t happen.” Carlisle was quoted in a press conference after the game, apologizing to Mr. Cuban and the fans for his negative behavior, after he was frustrated over a non-call on an earlier play that led to a fast break by the Thunder.

On the other hand, Mark Cuban reportedly criticized the the referees for allegedly missing the calls not only during that game at American Airlines Center but throughout the entire first month of the season.

“Look, I haven’t said a whole lot about the officiating in a long, long time, but I haven’t seen it this bad in a long, long time. Guys miss calls; that’s part of the game.” Cuban was quoted telling to ESPNDallas.com after the game.

“But these were officials that have been part of the league for years, and it was just off-the-charts bad. And if no one ever says anything, nothing ever happens.” Cuban added, who did not receive suspension from the NBA.

Beyonce and Simon Cowell
Image Credit: FilmMagic and Getty Images

According to MediaTakeOut.com on Thursday, February 2, 2012, an extremely reliable insider told them that Simon Cowell is offering Beyonce the said amount to be a judge on The X Factor USA Season 2, which has no official date yet.

“He wants a big name female star on the panel. Mariah [Carey] is good, but she’s not that hot today.” The insider was quoted on the report, with the $500 million offer will be $100 million a year for 5 seasons.

“He wants Beyonce because that would immediately give him the bounce needed to beat American Idol.” The insider added, noting that Cowell believes that the 30-year old singer has the ability to do it.

Beyonce, who gave birth last January 7 to a baby girl named Ivy Blue Carter, is being noted to be the richest entertainer in the world if the offer will push through, whose joint wealth with husband Jay Z landed second on Forbes‘ highest-paid celebrity couples for 2011.

Earlier, Steve Jones tweeted that he will not be host for next season of “The X Factor USA“, which Simon Cowell confirmed later, while Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul will be not its judges anymore.

Madonna in ‘Give Me All Your Luvin’” music video
Image Credit: Madonna/YouTube

As noted at entertainment news sites that day, Madonna‘s “Give Me All Your Luvin’” music video featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. had a short preview shown on American Idol on Thursday.

The song “Give Me All Your Luvin’” is the first single of Madonnas new album MDNA, her 12th studio album; which will be released on March 26, 2012 and distributed by Interscope Records.

Meanwhile, the full-length Madonna new music video is a football and cheerleader themed video, directed by Megaforce, apparently inspired by her upcoming 2012 Super Bowl halftime performance, which will be on Sunday, February 5.

On the first part of the music video, Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. can be seen dressed as cheerleaders and spelling out “L-U-V Madonna! Y-O-U, you wanna?” along with others, and seemed to be waiting for Madonna to come out.

Apparently, the 53-year old music icon appeared by kicking a door, wearing a long rain coat, sunglasses and fingerless gloves, and pushing a baby stroller, with the cheerleaders following her as she walked the street.

Later, a team of football players seemed to be clearing her path while others are holding umbrellas protecting her from snow fall. Then, she removed the raincoat revealing a black suit, while another video showing her also wearing black and a necklace with a big cross as pendant.

On another scene, Madonna, Nicki Minaj & M.I.A. were shown wearing white outfit although the “Material Girl” singer was more a “Marilyn Monroe” look alike, along with the iconic hair style and famous mole near the lips.

According to a press release by Clear Channel, Madonna‘s latest full music video was also shown simultaneously in billboards; and more than 1,600 digital displays in the US, France, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Singapore, Belgium, Finland, and in the UK.

$3B WWII Wreck Ship Photo
Image Credit: wjactv.com

The $3B WWII wreck was identified as the S.S. Port Nicholson which was sunk in June 1942 by a German U-Boat U87 off the coast of Cape Cod. It was found sitting in 700 feet of water 50 miles offshore. Accordingly, it took two torpedoes and about 7 hours to sink it.

Treasure hunter Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research LLC claimed to have discovered the WWII ship carrying $3B worth of Platinum as early as 2008. In 2009, his company obtained legal recognition from the US Courts as the legal owner and salvager of the ship.

Brooks said that Port Nicholson was headed for New York carrying 71 tons of platinum which was a payment from the Soviet Union to the U.S. for war supplies during WWII. The vessel was also discovered to be carrying carrying gold bullion and diamonds.

“I’m going to get it, one way or another, even if I have to lift the ship out of the water,” Brooks said claiming that he and his group identified the $3B WWII wreck via the hull number using an underwater camera.

However, Robert F. Marx, an underwater archaeologist, maritime historian and owner of Seven Seas Search and Salvage LLC in Florida, said that Brook’s claim would be subject of skepticism and Maritime Law. “Every wreck that is lost is the richest wreck lost. Every wreck ever found is the biggest ever found. Every recovery is the biggest ever recovery,” Marx said.

Timothy Shusta, an attorney who represents the British government, said that he will wait until salvage operations begin before deciding whether to file a claim on the cargo of the WWII ship.

The $3B WWII wreck Port Nicholson is a steel-hulled, 481 ft. merchant ship, coal fired freighter built in 1918 at the Tynes & Wear shipyard.

Honda Hybrid car owned by Peters
Image Credit: automotive.com

Accordingly, Peters was promised that her Honda Hybrid Civic could deliver the 50 miles per gallon mileage when she bought it. However, the car didn’t live up to her expected mileage which got no more than 30 miles per gallon when the battery began deteriorating. This caused her to won an amount of $9,867 against automaker Honda Motor Company.

“At a bare minimum Honda was aware … that by the time Peters bought her car there were problems with its living up to its advertised mileage,” Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Douglas Carnahan wrote in his judgment.

Peters, a former lawyer, was very happy because she didn’t expect to win the Honda Hybrid case. “I am absolutely thrilled. Sometimes big justice comes in small packages. This is a victory for Honda Civic owners everywhere,” she exclaimed.

Honda said in the trial that it indicated mileage would vary depending upon a number of factors including options, driving conditions, driving habits and vehicle condition in the required window label that was on the vehicle when Peters bought her Honda Hybrid car.

“Those factors affect gas mileage for every car on the road today, hybrid or not. American Honda’s advertising regarding fuel economy of Civic hybrids was accurate when the vehicles were sold and remains accurate today,” Honda said claiming that it did not deceived Peters.

Peters started a site DontSettleWithHonda.org inspiring a flood of lawsuits against Honda Motor Company by the other 200,000 owners of the Hybrid Honda Civic model sold in 2006. She said that Honda’s proposed class-action settlement would give affected Honda Hybrid owners $100 to $200 each and a $1,000 credit toward the purchase of a new car.

The Honda Civic Hybrid is a hybrid powertrain version of the Honda Civic. It is estimated to be 40 percent more fuel efficient than its non-hybrid counterpart. A class action suit over Honda‘s mileage claims is currently in the approval process in a San Diego County court.

NBA All Star Game 2012 Starters
Image Credit: NBA.com

Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic is the leading vote-getter among all the players in the 2012 NBA All-Star Balloting program presented by Sprint. Howard received a total of 1,600,390 votes. He was followed by Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers with 1,555,479 votes. It will be Bryant‘s 14th straight NBA All Star appearance. He is now tied with Jerry West, Karl Malone, and Shaquille O’Neal for the most number of consecutive All-Star appearances in NBA history.

Below is the complete list of players that will be starting for the Eastern and Western Conference during the 2012 NBA All Star Game.

Eastern Conference

• Carmelo Anthony, New York – Forward (1,041,290)
• LeBron James, Miami – Forward (1,360,680)
• Dwight Howard, Orlando – Center
• Derrick Rose, Chicago – Guard (1,514,723)
• Dwyane Wade, Miami – Guard (1,334,223)

Western Conference

• Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers – Forward (876,451)
• Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City – Forward (1,345,566)
• Andrew Bynum, L.A. Lakers – Center (1,051,945)
• Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers – Guard
• Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers – Guard (1,138,743)

The seven player reserves will be selected by the 30 NBA head coaches. Each coach will nominate two guards, two forwards, a center and two players regardless of position within his conference excluding players from his own team.

The coaches of the East and West All Star will be determined by the best record in the conference through games played until February 15.

As noted at US news sites on Thursday, February 2, 2012, Mrs. Obama was on Ellen‘s show that night to promote her “Let’s Move” campaign against childhood obesity, with the TV host later asking her about her daily exercise.

Moments later, the 54-year-old TV host asked the the 48-year old First Lady on how many push-ups she can and proposed a push-up contest with her, which made the audience cheered.

“I was just wondering if you can do more push-ups than I can?” Ellen DeGeneres asked Mrs. Obama, who replied jokingly, “It depends on how your back is — I know you have these back issues.”

Later, the two stood up and agreed to do it together at the same time, dropped on the floor and started doing some push-ups, with the crowd counting aloud and cheering for both of them.

Apparently, Ellen stopped for a moment after she reached the 15 mark but continued until 20 push-ups and eventually gave up, with Michelle Obama doing it continuously and stopped after hitting the 25 count.

“That was amazing,” DeGeneres said, as the two hugged each other and the crowd applauded Mrs. Obama, who said that she just stopped and notably looking more relax than Ellen after the push-up.

“I thought it wouldn’t be good to show up the First Lady, so I stopped. Because I thought, this looks bad that I’m going to beat her. I’m 54, and you’re 48.” Ellen said jokingly, but noted that the First Lady was truly amazing.

Jean Dujardin’s French film “Les Infideles”
movie poster ad
Image Credit: Mars Distribution

According to The Local, a news site in France, on Thursday, February 2, 2012, the poster ads for the French film “Les Infideles” starring Jean Dujardin and Gilles Lellouche seemed to be offensive, particularly to women.

As noted in the report, the “Les Infideles” posters were released in Paris and in nearby areas earlier this week but ARPP, the country’s advertising professional regulation board, asked them to be replaced.

Dujardin, 39, who won the “Best Actor” award in the recent 2012 SAG Awards for his role in the silent movie “The Artist“, is being noted to have a big chance to also bring home the 2012 Oscars.

However, in his latest movie poster ad, Jean Dujardin is shown holding a pair of woman’s legs while saying “I’m just going into a meeting”, with “Les Infideles” to be released in France on February 23, 2012.

On the second ad, Gilles Lellouche is seen talking on the phone saying “it’s going to cut out, I’m just entering a tunnel,” while a woman is shown apparently kneeling in front of him and holding his suit.

Apparently, these movie ads have been the target of various criticisms recently, with ARPP Head Stephane Martin telling reports that they have no pre-control of them but have advised JC Decaux, who manage the poster sites, to replace them.

Meanwhile, Studio Cine Live magazine editor-in-chief Fabrice Leclerc, reported on Wednesday that JC Decaux will take them down.