Nine days after Japan was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami, Miyagi Police Rescue team had a “miracle rescue” on an 80-year old woman and 16-year old youth (not yet sure if boy or girl) last Sunday under the rubble in the city of Ishimaki in northeast Japan.

The reports were according to the NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Public TV. They were found alive: weak yet conscious.

The two survivors were immediately rescued after they responded to a call from the rescue team which followed their treatment at Ishinomaki’s Red Cross Hospital.

Meanwhile, there are still operations on finding the victims of the 8.9 magnitude earthquake which resulted to a tsunami.

Dear President Aquino,

The Hong Kong Journalists Association expresses its deepest condolences to the families of those who died in Manila’s hostage tragedy. We also want to express our appreciation and respect to those who acted bravely and astutely during the long standoff, thus allowing some of the hostages to survive. We are, however, filled with anger and concern over the blame being heaped on the media for allegedly contributing to the tragedy.

The HKJA notes with concern that President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines made the media the scapegoat when he said: “Media coverage of his brother being taken into custody further agitated the hostage-taker…” Using this flimsy excuse, Mr. Aquino said he would consider imposing new restrictions on media coverage should a similar crisis occur.

We have no idea what further restrictions are under consideration but what we are sure of is that President Benigno Aquino’s words were uttered hastily and without careful consideration. Without a thorough investigation such conclusions cannot be taken seriously and the HKJA views the president’s hasty conclusions with grave misgivings.

The role of the media is to tell the world what is happening and what has happened. This is the essence of what the democratic world has come to know and to accept as freedom of the press and freedom of expression. The media’s presence is vital to the preservation of human rights of minorities in any conflict. As in the case of Manila’s killings, nobody can tell if the same tragedy would not have taken place without the presence of the media. What we can be sure of is that without the presence of the media no knowledge of this horrific tragedy would have been known to the outside world.

Moreover, the police force of the Philippines should have known that negotiations were going on between the gunman and his brother, and that this was being telecast. The act of arresting the brother would, clearly, irritate the gunman. Yet the police forcibly wrestled the brother down and handcuffed him, all directly in front of the media.

The police, clearly, had neither strategy nor the necessary know-how to deal with such a situation. With the development of the new media, it is unrealistic to ask the media not to broadcast live in a matter of huge public interest not only to the Filipinos themselves, but also to people in Hong Kong and elsewhere. Proper media arrangements, including a safe area for the media at the scene, in accordance with internationally accepted standards, are of paramount importance. None were forthcoming.

The Hong Kong Journalists Association calls on the Philippines government to refrain from using this incident to introduce harsh measures against the media in order to cover up their incompetence. We will closely monitor the incident and any further deterioration of press freedom in Philippines arising from this tragedy.

With Kind Regards,
Hong Kong Journalists Association

26th August 2010

Today marks the 8th year anniversary of one of the tragic event that happened in the world history. It was September 11, 2001, A day filled with nightmare and lost dreams as 2,993 people died when 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners and intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City with no survivors left. New York’s Central Business Center was now called the ” Ground Zero ” with bodies entombed at the World Trade Center ruins. It was the worst thing that happened in the entire U.S history that it took years for them to recover. As we commemorate this tragic event, let us all offer a minute of prayer for all the lives lost and for all the terrorist who made this unhumane act of terrorism that they may realize how is it unlawful to God. Let’s all hope that this things won’t happen again as wee seek guidance from Him.

A video showing Michael Jackson dancing down stairs for the 1984 commercial that lead to a fire accident was released by a US Magazine, weeks after his death. MJ was shooting his Pepsi Commercial that time at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles when the fireworks intended to be his props during the shoot exploded early .The King of Pop suffered injuries from his head and scalp, that became painful that he used to be medicated with painkillers that allegedly leads to addiction. On the other side, US Weekly chose not to reveal the video source as part of their company’s policy.

PhiVolcs is now monitoring the movement of the Mayon Volcano as it show abnormalities again. 18 volcanic earthquakes in the past 24 hours was recorded by PHIVOLCS thats why they were considering raising the alert level. Renato Solidum will send a team to study the volcano’s activities as the volcano’s crater became more bigger with every eruption. Seven kilometers southeast from the restive volcano danger zone was extended while trekking at the 6-kilometer radius permanent danger zone is still prohibited as a precautionary measure.

Public Attorney’s Office headed by Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta wants to help the families of the M/V Princess of the Stars to recover the bodies of their loveones who were still unidentified as of now. This also marks the 1st year anniversary of that sea tragedy. They are now coordinating with the with forensic experts to identify still unidentified bodies through anthropological and dental forensic examination. Forensic anthropology is the examination of human skeletal remains for law enforcement agencies to determine the identity of unidentified bones. It was done in major world tragedies such as the 2004 Tsunami Tragedy in Thailand and the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Team that will conduct the said procedure consist of Professor Jerome Baylen, Dr. Erwin Erfe, Dr. Benito Molino, and forensic odontologist Dr. Anastacio Rosele. Meanwhile, Acosta will be filing a motion to exhume the bodies before Judge Antonio Rosa-les, Branch 51 of the Manila RTC.