Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Benigno Ninoy Aquino, Jr.

The death of Benigno Ninoy Aquino, Jr. transformed the Philippine opposition from a small isolated movement to a massive unified crusade, incorporating people from all walks of life. The middle class got involved, the impoverished majority participated, and business leaders whom Marcos had irked during martial law endorsed the campaign—all with the crucial support of the military and the Catholic Church hierarchy. The assassination showed the increasing incapacity of the Marcos regime—Ferdinand was mortally ill when the crime occurred while his cronies mismanaged the country in his absence. It outraged Aquino's supporters that he, if not masterminding it, allowed the assassination to happen and engineered its cover-up. The mass revolt caused by Benigno Ninoy Aquino Aquino's demise attracted worldwide media attention and Marcos' American contacts, as well as the Reagan Administration, began distancing themselves. There was global media spotlight to the Philippine crisis, and exposés on Imelda's extravagant lifestyle (most infamously, her thousands of pairs of shoes) and "mining operations", as well as Ferdinand's dictatorial excesses, came into focus.

In Senator Benigno Aquino's honor, the Manila International Airport (MIA) where he was assassinated was renamed Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and his image is printed on the 500-peso bill. The Philippine Congress enacted Republic Act (R.A.) 9256, declaring August 21, the anniversary of his death, as "Ninoy Aquino Day", an annual public holiday in the Philippines. Several monuments were built in his honor. Most renowned is the bronze memorial in Makati City near the Philippine Stock Exchange, which today is a venue of endless anti-government rallies and large demonstrations, with another one bronze statue in front of the Municipal Building of Concepcion, Tarlac.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Cory Aquino

The following are the awards of Mrs. Cory Aquino or the former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino:

1986 Time Magazine Woman of the Year
1986 Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award
1986 United Nations Silver Medal
1986 Canadian International Prize for Freedom
1986 Nobel Peace Prize nominee
1986 International Democracy Award from the International Association of Political Consultants
1987 Prize For Freedom Award from Liberal International
1993 Special Peace Award from the Aurora Aragon Quezon Peace Awards Foundation and Concerned Women of the Philippines
1994 One of 100 Women Who Shaped World History (by G.M. Rolka, Bluewood Books, San Francisco, CA)
1995 Path to Peace Award
1996 J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding from the U.S. Department of State
1998 Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding
1998 Pearl S. Buck Award
1999 One of Time Magazine's 20 Most Influential Asians of the 20th Century
2001 World Citizenship Award
2005 David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Awards
2005 One of the World's Elite Women Who Make a Difference by the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame
2006 One of Time Magazine's 65 Asian Heroes
2008 One of A Different View's 15 Champions of World Democracy
EWC Asia Pacific Community Building Award
Women's International Center International Leadership Living Legacy Award
Martin Luther King Jr. Nonviolent Peace Prize
United Nations Development Fund for Women Noel Award for Political Leadership

Cory Aquino is one of the World's Famous people.

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Michael Jackson

World's Famous Artist (Music Pop Artist) Michael Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career, and the sale of 750 million records worldwide. At the time of his death, he was preparing for This Is It, a series of 50 concerts that would have been held in London beginning July 13, 2009.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana (an industrial suburb of Chicago) to a working-class family. The son of African-American parents Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson and Katherine Esther (née Scruse), he was the seventh of nine children. His siblings are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Randy and Janet.

Steve Huey of Allmusic observed how Michael Jackson transformed the music video into an art form and a promotional tool through complex story lines, dance routines, special effects and famous cameo appearances; simultaneously breaking down racial barriers. According to director Vincent Paterson, who collaborated with the singer on several music videos, Jackson conceptualized many of the darker, bleak themes in his filmography.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Manny Pacquiao

Famous Filipino Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao (pronounced /ˈpækjaʊ/) was born December 17, 1978, known as Manny "Pac-Man" Pacquiao is a Famous Filipino professional boxer, part-time actor and recording artist. Manny Pacquiao is the former WBC Lightweight world champion, WBC Super Featherweight world champion, IBF Super Bantamweight world champion, and WBC Flyweight world champion. He has also held the Ring Magazine titles for Featherweight, Super Featherweight, and Light Welterweight divisions. Manny Pacquiao became the first Filipino and Asian boxer to win five world titles in five different weight divisions. Manny Pacquiao is currently the IBO and Ring Magazine Light Welterweight champion and is rated by the Ring Magazine as the #1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world. He is also the first boxer to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.

Recently, Manny Pacquiao has been included by Time Magazine as one of the world's most influential people for the year 2009, for his exploits in boxing and his influence among the Filipino people. Manny Pacquiao was also included by Forbes Magazine in its annual Celebrity 100 list for the year 2009 (ranked 57th), joining Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie and fellow athletes Tiger Woods and Kobe Bryant.[75] Forbes also listed Manny Pacquiao as world's 6th highest-paid athlete, with a total of $40 million from second half of 2008 to first half of 2009. The athletes who ranked ahead of Manny Pacquiao were Woods at number 1 spot ($110 million), Kobe Bryant, basketball legend Michael Jordan, and Formula One star Kimi Raikkonen sharing the number 2 rank ($45 million each), and football superstar David Beckham at number 5 ($42 million).

Manny Pacquiao was also mentioned by World Wrestling Entertainment's ECW on Sci-Fi color commentator Matt Striker in reference to Christian's (William Reso) tag team match with Tommy Dreamer (Thomas Laughlin) vs. Jack Swagger (Jake Hager) and Mark Henry. Striker compares Christian's left and right punches like the speed of Manny Pacquiao's fists.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Kris Allen

Kristopher Neil Allen (born June 21, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter from Conway, Arkansas and the winner of the eighth season of the reality television series American Idol. Prior to Idol, he self-released a 2007 album entitled Brand New Shoes.

In 2007, he wrote and self-produced an album entitled Brand New Shoes with college friends and bandmates Michael Holmes (drums) and Chase Erwin (bass). Songs from the album began being widely distributed during his time on Idol.

Allen auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in Louisville, Kentucky with his brother Daniel, who did not make it to Hollywood. In the early stages of the season, he was among the finalists (along with Allison Iraheta) that received the least screen time as only several seconds of his first audition, and neither of his Hollywood Week solo performances, were shown, although his group performance with White Chocolate (including fellow finalist Matt Giraud) was aired in its entirety.

After being voted into the Top 3, Allen returned home to Arkansas and his hometown to film the material for the next two American Idol episodes. Allen was greeted by a crowd estimated to be greater than 20,000. Allen performed concerts in Little Rock and Conway, playing many of his popular songs during the competition, including "Man in the Mirror", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Falling Slowly" and "She Works Hard for the Money" at the venues, as well as "Come Together" at the local Fox News studio. He accompanied all of these songs with his guitar. During the final show, he performed with Keith Urban, singing Urban's single "Kiss a Girl".

On May 20, 2009, Allen was declared the winner of the eighth season of American Idol, becoming the first married contestant to claim the title. Commentators labeled the win as an "upset" since runner-up Adam Lambert had received a significant amount of media attention throughout the season and was widely perceived to be the show's front-runner.