AT LEAST 36 Immigration employees were dismissed from service for various administrative offenses, an official said.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said the agency under his watch has been very decisive in investigating administrative complaints filed against BI officials and employees.
He said that since March 2011, 36 employees were removed from the service and 41 others suspended due to various offenses.
Six employees were also dropped from the rolls and six others were reprimanded, he added.
“We have consistently demonstrated a resolve to reform our practices and professionalize our ranks,” David said.
The BI chief encouraged all those who have complaints against immigration employees not to hesitate in filing their complaints.
He said he had formed a complaint redress section (CRS) in his office where grievances against erring employees can be lodged through letters or phone calls and even by walk-in visitors.
David vowed to continue his efforts to professionalize the bureau’s ranks, adding that the Civil Service Commission (CSC) had cited the BI for being the first agency to submit an enhanced performance management system.
“Soon we shall be introducing a Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS) to institutionalize the process of measuring and evaluating the performance of our employees on a regular basis,” he said.
David also cited the BI’s success in cutting red tape, saying the CSC had also cited the bureau for the fast and efficient manner it delivers its frontline services to the transacting public.
“We also came up with a revised Citizen’s Charter and Help Desks and saw to it that the ‘No Noon Break’ policy is strictly observed by our offices,” he said. (SDR/Sunnex)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2012/08/25/36-immigration-employees-fired-239304

Some of the good resorts in Pampanga offer beautiful outdoor picnic grounds that can be used for prenuptial pictorial and wedding photography. Wedding pictures can be taken in one of the beautiful resorts near Manila for a wedding album. Special packages and discount offerings for wedding photography, prenuptial pictorial and other photo-shoot are available at this popular wedding venue in Pampanga. In fact, Clearwater Resort is one of the best resorts in Pampanga that is lauded for its good outdoor garden wedding reception venues. Visitors to Clark and Angeles City Pampanga seldom pass up the opportunity to relax and unwind by the lake of this popular resort in Pampanga.

Wine Tasting in Manila Ortigas on Wednesday 12th September, 2012

Attend public wine tasting in Ortigas Manila on Wednesday 12th September held by Yats Wine Cellars; drink fine vintage wines from Europe, meet new friends and learn more about wine.

Leading supplier of fine vintage wines in the Philippines, Yats Wine Cellars is pleased to announce an upcoming public wine tasting event to be held in the Yats Wine Shop at the lobby of Oakwood Premier Hotel, across the road from ADB in Ortigas.

This event will be held on Wednesday, 12th September, 2012 from 5 to 8pm, dress code is smart casual and business attire. The theme of this event is “a comparative of Europe’s Classic (Red) Wines”.

Ticket price is php750+VAT.

Snacks prepared by the kitchen of Oakwood Premier Hotel will be served.

For tickets and more information about this upcoming public wine tasting in Ortigas, Metro Manila organized by Philippines leading wine supplier, Yats Wine Cellars, please click on:

http://www.yatswinecellars.com/home.php/wine-tasting-in-manila-ortigas-on-wednesday-12th-september-2012/

This is one of those wine-tasting events that novices and seasoned wine drinkers can enjoy equally. Even for those who don’t drink wine regularly, attending this event might result in their expanding their preferences for alcoholic beverages

About this wine-tasting event

For this upcoming event, Yats Wine Cellars turns your attention to the classic wines of Europe. Participants will taste five kinds of wines side by side, each kind representing either a region or a style of wine. Wine lovers of all level of sophistication will have no trouble appreciating the differences in styles.

The five kinds of wines selected for this wine-tasting session are:

Italian Red Wine – represented by the classic red wines from Tuscany made primarily from the Sangiovese grape variety.

Spain Red Wine – represented by the famous Rioja red wines made from the charming Tempranillo grape variety.

Bordeaux Red Wine – arguably the most popular and certainly one of the most well known wine regions in the world, its wines renowned for its ability to improve with age many years after bottling.

Burgundy Red Wine – hallowed as the Mecca for fans of Pinot Noir, sophisticated wine drinkers seem to always end up besotted by these elegantly but deceivingly powerful red wines made entirely from Pinot Noir, a grape variety most hated by growers because they are notoriously difficult to handle both in the fields and in the winery after harvesting.

Portugal Port Wine – these fortified wines which usually comprise of 12% wine and 8% brandy deliver arguably the deepest impressions of all forms of wine.

For tickets and inquiries for the upcoming wine tasting event from Yats Wine Cellars,

Please click here http://www.yatswinecellars.com/home.php/?p=68 to contact Yats Wine Cellars directly.

YATS WINE CELLARS
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-540-3626 0926-686-5955
Ask for Rea, Ana Fe or Rein

http://www.YatsWineCellar.com

Thank you very much for your attention. We look forward to enjoying your company at this upcoming wine tasting event in Ortigas.

Email: Wine@Yats-International.com
Paypal: yats22@yats-international.com

The growing array of hotel resort accommodation, recreation and entertainment facilities, places to unwind and relax, fine dining and family restaurants, bars and pubs makes it increasing easy for tourists and visitors from Manila to spend quality time in a place of leisure in Clark, Pampanga. Clearwater Resort is generally regarded by travel agencies and frequent travelers as one of the best resorts in Pampanga.

To many visitors from Manila, a place of leisure or a good hotel or resort in Pampanga must be located in a city that is safe, clean and not so noisy. Convenience and accessibility are important considerations in choosing a holiday destination in Philippines. Clark Freeport is probably the easiest tourist destination to reach from Manila. Clark also has its own international airport with dozens of daily flights connecting Clark directly with Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Bangkok, Malaysia and South Korea. Clark is home to some of the best golf courses in Pampanga. Although golf continues to be one of the reasons why visitors from Manila travel to Pampanga, residents of Angeles City, Subic and Bulacan travel to Clark not just to play golf in one of the best golf courses in Pampanga but also to relax and unwind in the best resort in Philippines.

Hotels, resorts, vacation rentals, fine dining and family restaurants, bars and pubs, entertainment, nightlife, place of leisure, sports and recreation facilities in Clark and Angeles Pampanga are showcased for the convenience of visitors planning a getaway from Manila or a weekend out of town to relax and unwind in a clean and safe city.

Many residents of Manila, Angele City and Pampanga travel to Clark this summer for family bonding in a good resort in Pampanga. Trips and packages are offered by travel agencies for Manila residents to enjoy an out of town excursion with the whole family this summer. Family bonding in this resort in Pampanga is a memorable experience. This is also one of the best resorts in Pampanga that offers good picnic spots near Manila.

During holy week, Easter holidays, Christmas, New Year, Halloween and especially the Clark Hot Air Balloon Festival, Manila residents travel out of town to the north to relax and unwind at this famous resort in Pampanga. Clearwater Resort is the hotel in Clark that visitors prefer for family bonding and team building outside of Manila.

Clearwater Resort & Country Club offers several styles of accommodation from US$65 up inclusive of breakfast for two at the beautiful Breakfast Garden Restaurant overlooking the large Clearwater lake and beach. This is a good rendition of the lifestyle that the Americans left behind after they left the Clark Airbase. A good short description of this lifestyle is suburban laid-back slow-paced clean living, very suitable for tourists and guests looking for a way to unwind from the stress of living in Manila.

In a city like Manila, most residents rely on visits to spa and beauty parlor to unwind and relax. But with a short getaway to Angeles City Clark Pampanga one can de-stress by enjoying beautiful outdoor amenities of this beach resort, savoring what nature can offer.

For inquiries and bookings, Please click here to contact Clearwater Resort for inquiries and reservations now

Clearwater Resort and Country Club, Clark Pampanga
Creekside Road near Centennial Expo,
Clark Freeport, Pampanga Philippines 2023
(045) 889-5151 0917-520-4403 0922-870-5177
Joanne or Jeremy or Loydha

Getting to this lake and beach resort in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Philippines

After entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway MA Roxas, passing the stand-along wine shop called Clark Wine Center on the right, continue to bear right making no turns at all, go past Mimosa Leisure Estate on the opposite side of the road, one will hit a major intersection. Go straight and the road becomes Creekside Road. YATS Clearwater Resort and Country Club is on the right just 200m down.

http://www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay

Email: Inquiry@ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Please click here to contact Clearwater Resort to reserve a venue for your upcoming event now

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

While in Clark, one might as well add to the itinerary a visit to the famous Clark Wine Center, the largest wine shop in Philippines which offers over 2000 selections of fine vintage wine from all wine regions, vintages spanning over 50 years covering all price ranges.
http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com

http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

For jobs and business investment opportunities in the Philippines please visit http://www.yilp.com

Hot Line for what’s happening in Clark: 045 889-5151 or 0927-940-2669 ask for Loydha

0915-542-6250 (Jeramie)

Apple’s $1B patent verdict could corner market
SAN JOSE, California — It was the $1 billion question: What does Apple Inc.’s victory in an epic patent dispute over its fiercest rival mean for the US smartphone industry?
Analysts from Wall Street to Hong Kong debated Saturday whether a jury’s decision that Samsung Electronics Co. ripped off Apple technology would help Apple corner the US smartphone market over Android rivals, or amount to one more step in a protracted legal battle over CINCINNATI — Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described “nerdy” engineer who became a global hero when as a steely nerved US pilot he made “one giant leap for mankind” with the first step on the moon. The modest man who entranced and awed people on Earth has died. He was 82.
Armstrong died Saturday following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, a statement from his family said. It didn’t say where he died.
Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century’s scientific expeditions. His first words after setting foot on the surface are etched in history books and in the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said.
In those first few moments on the moon, during the climax of a heated space race with the then-Soviet Union, Armstrong stopped in what he called “a tender moment” and left a patch to commemorate NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.
“It was special and memorable, but it was only instantaneous because there was work to do,” Armstrong told an Australian television interviewer this year.
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent nearly three hours walking on the lunar surface, collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs.
“The sights were simply magnificent, beyond any visual experience that I had ever been exposed to,” Armstrong once said.
The moonwalk marked America’s victory in the Cold War space race that began October 4, 1957, with the launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1, a satellite that sent shock waves around the world.
An estimated 600 million people — a fifth of the world’s population — watched and listened to the moon landing, the largest audience for any single event in history.
Parents huddled with their children in front of the family television, mesmerized. Farmers abandoned their nightly milking duties, and motorists pulled off the highway and checked into motels just to watch on TV.
Although he had been a Navy fighter pilot, a test pilot for NASA’s forerunner and an astronaut, Armstrong never allowed himself to be caught up in the celebrity and glamour of the space program.
“I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer,” he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. “And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession.”
Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley, who interviewed Armstrong for oral histories for NASA, said Armstrong fit every requirement the space agency needed for the first man to walk on the moon, especially because of his engineering skills and the way he handled celebrity by shunning it.
“I think his genius was in his reclusiveness,” said Brinkley. “He was the ultimate hero in an era of corruptible men.”
A man who kept away from cameras, Armstrong went public in 2010 with his concerns about President Barack Obama’s space policy that shifted attention away from a return to the moon and emphasized private companies developing spaceships.
NASA chief Charles Bolden recalled Armstrong’s grace and humility in a statement Saturday.
“As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own,” Bolden said.
In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said Armstrong was one of the greatest of American heroes, “not just of his time, but of all time.”
Armstrong’s modesty and self-effacing manner never faded.
When he appeared in Dayton, Ohio, in 2003 to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight, he bounded onto a stage before 10,000 people. But he spoke for only a few seconds, did not mention the moon and quickly ducked out of the spotlight.
He later joined former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn to lay wreaths on the graves of airplane inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright. Glenn introduced Armstrong and noted it was 34 years to the day that Armstrong had walked on the moon.
“Thank you, John. Thirty-four years?” Armstrong quipped, as if he hadn’t given it a thought.
At another joint appearance, the two embraced and Glenn commented: “To this day, he’s the one person on Earth, I’m truly, truly envious of.”
Armstrong’s moonwalk capped a series of accomplishments that included piloting the X-15 rocket plane and making the first space docking during the Gemini 8 mission, which included a successful emergency splashdown.
In the years afterward, Armstrong retreated to the quiet of the classroom and his Ohio farm. Aldrin said in his book “Men from Earth” that Armstrong was one of the quietest, most private men he had ever met.
In the Australian interview, Armstrong acknowledged that “now and then I miss the excitement about being in the cockpit of an airplane and doing new things.”
At the time of the flight’s 40th anniversary, Armstrong again was low-key, telling a gathering that the space race was “the ultimate peaceful competition: USA versus U.S.S.R. It did allow both sides to take the high road, with the objectives of science and learning and exploration.”
Glenn, who went through jungle training in Panama with Armstrong as part of the astronaut program, described him as “exceptionally brilliant” with technical matters but “rather retiring, doesn’t like to be thrust into the limelight much.”
Glenn said Saturday that Armstrong had had a number of close calls in his career. He recalled how Armstrong had just 15 seconds to 35 seconds of fuel remaining when he landed on the moon. He called Armstrong’s skill and dedication “just exemplary.”
Derek Elliott, curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s U.S. Air and Space Museum from 1982 to 1992, said the moonwalk probably marked the high point of space exploration.
“The fact that we were able to see it and be a part of it means that we are in our own way witnesses to history,” he said.
The 1969 landing met an audacious deadline that President John F. Kennedy had set in May 1961, shortly after Alan Shepard became the first American in space with a 15-minute suborbital flight. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin had orbited the Earth and beaten the US into space the previous month.
“I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth,” Kennedy had said. “No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important to the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”
The end-of-decade goal was met with more than five months to spare. “Houston: Tranquility Base here,” Armstrong radioed after the spacecraft settled onto the moon. “The Eagle has landed.”
“Roger, Tranquility,” the Houston staffer radioed back. “We copy you on the ground. You’ve got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.”
The third astronaut on the mission, Michael Collins, circled the moon in the mother ship Columbia while Armstrong and Aldrin went to the moon’s surface.
Collins told NASA on Saturday that he will miss Armstrong terribly, spokesman Bob Jacobs tweeted.
In all, 12 American astronauts walked on the moon between 1969 and the last moon mission in 1972.
For Americans, reaching the moon provided uplift and respite from the Vietnam War. The landing occurred as organizers were preparing for Woodstock, the legendary rock festival on a farm in New York.
Armstrong was born August 5, 1930, on a farm in Ohio. He took his first airplane ride at age 6 and developed a fascination with aviation that prompted him to build model airplanes and conduct experiments in a homemade wind tunnel. He was licensed to fly at 16, before he got his driver’s license.
Armstrong enrolled in Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering but was called to duty with the US Navy in 1949 and flew 78 combat missions in Korea. After the war, Armstrong finished his degree and later earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. He became a test pilot with what evolved into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, flying more than 200 kinds of aircraft from gliders to jets.
Armstrong was accepted into NASA’s second astronaut class in 1962 — the first, including Glenn, was chosen in 1959 — and commanded the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. After the first space docking, he brought the capsule back in an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean when a wildly firing thruster kicked it out of orbit.
Armstrong was backup commander for the historic Apollo 8 mission at Christmastime in 1968. In that flight, Commander Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell and Bill Anders circled the moon 10 times, and paving the way for the lunar landing seven months later.
Aldrin said he and Armstrong were not prone to free exchanges of sentiment.
“But there was that moment on the moon, a brief moment, in which we sort of looked at each other and slapped each other on the shoulder … and said, ‘We made it. Good show,’ or something like that,” Aldrin said.
In Wapakoneta, media and souvenir frenzy was swirling around the home of Armstrong’s parents.
“You couldn’t see the house for the news media,” recalled John Zwez, former manager of the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. “People were pulling grass out of their front yard.”
Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were given ticker tape parades in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and later made a 22-nation world tour. A homecoming in Wapakoneta drew 50,000 people to the city of 9,000.
In 1970, Armstrong was appointed deputy associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA but left the following year to teach aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
He remained there until 1979 and during that time bought a farm, where he raised cattle and corn. He stayed out of public view, accepting few requests for interviews or speeches.
“He didn’t give interviews, but he wasn’t a strange person or hard to talk to,” said Ron Huston, a colleague at the University of Cincinnati. “He just didn’t like being a novelty.”
In February 2000, when he agreed to announce the top 20 engineering achievements of the 20th century as voted by the National Academy of Engineering, Armstrong said there was one disappointment relating to his moonwalk.
“I can honestly say — and it’s a big surprise to me — that I have never had a dream about being on the moon,” he said.
Armstrong married Carol Knight in 1999. He had two adult sons from a previous marriage.
His family’s statement Saturday made a simple request for anyone who wanted to remember him:
“Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.” (AP)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/08/26/neil-armstrong-1st-man-moon-dies-82-239402
Wine Tasting in Manila Ortigas on Wednesday 12th September, 2012

Attend public wine tasting in Ortigas Manila on Wednesday 12th September held by Yats Wine Cellars; drink fine vintage wines from Europe, meet new friends and learn more about wine.

Leading supplier of fine vintage wines in the Philippines, Yats Wine Cellars is pleased to announce an upcoming public wine tasting event to be held in the Yats Wine Shop at the lobby of Oakwood Premier Hotel, across the road from ADB in Ortigas.

This event will be held on Wednesday, 12th September, 2012 from 5 to 8pm, dress code is smart casual and business attire. The theme of this event is “a comparative of Europe’s Classic (Red) Wines”.

Ticket price is php750+VAT.

Snacks prepared by the kitchen of Oakwood Premier Hotel will be served.

For tickets and more information about this upcoming public wine tasting in Ortigas, Metro Manila organized by Philippines leading wine supplier, Yats Wine Cellars, please click on:

http://www.yatswinecellars.com/home.php/wine-tasting-in-manila-ortigas-on-wednesday-12th-september-2012/

Some of the good resorts in Pampanga offer good alternatives to hotel function rooms for seminars, corporate planning and meetings. More and more, Manila event planners prefer to hold planning sessions and meeting out of town in the north where participants can relax and unwind in outdoor facilities of some of the good resorts outside Manila. This way, the meetings can be much more productive as participants get a chance to enjoy the lake, beach and good picnic spots in a good resort in Clark Pampanga between seminars, planning sessions and meetings. Clearwater Resort is generally recognized by event planners as the best event venue in Clark Pampanga. Clearwater appears frequently on the top of a list of the best hotels in Pampanga. Visitors to Clark and Angeles City Pampanga seldom pass up the opportunity to relax and unwind by the lake of this popular resort in Pampanga.

This is one of those wine-tasting events that novices and seasoned wine drinkers can enjoy equally. Even for those who don’t drink wine regularly, attending this event might result in their expanding their preferences for alcoholic beverages

About this wine-tasting event

For this upcoming event, Yats Wine Cellars turns your attention to the classic wines of Europe. Participants will taste five kinds of wines side by side, each kind representing either a region or a style of wine. Wine lovers of all level of sophistication will have no trouble appreciating the differences in styles.

The five kinds of wines selected for this wine-tasting session are:

Italian Red Wine – represented by the classic red wines from Tuscany made primarily from the Sangiovese grape variety.

Spain Red Wine – represented by the famous Rioja red wines made from the charming Tempranillo grape variety.

Bordeaux Red Wine – arguably the most popular and certainly one of the most well known wine regions in the world, its wines renowned for its ability to improve with age many years after bottling.

Burgundy Red Wine – hallowed as the Mecca for fans of Pinot Noir, sophisticated wine drinkers seem to always end up besotted by these elegantly but deceivingly powerful red wines made entirely from Pinot Noir, a grape variety most hated by growers because they are notoriously difficult to handle both in the fields and in the winery after harvesting.

Portugal Port Wine – these fortified wines which usually comprise of 12% wine and 8% brandy deliver arguably the deepest impressions of all forms of wine.

For tickets and inquiries for the upcoming wine tasting event from Yats Wine Cellars,

Please click here http://www.yatswinecellars.com/home.php/?p=68 to contact Yats Wine Cellars directly.

YATS WINE CELLARS
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro M
Apple’s $1B patent verdict could corner market
SAN JOSE, California — It was the $1 billion question: What does Apple Inc.’s victory in an epic patent dispute over its fiercest rival mean for the US smartphone industry?
Analysts from Wall Street to Hong Kong debated Saturday whether a jury’s decision that Samsung Electronics Co. ripped off Apple technology would help Apple corner the US smartphone market over Android rivals, or amount to one more step in a protracted legal battle over CINCINNATI — Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described “nerdy” engineer who became a global hero when as a steely nerved US pilot he made “one giant leap for mankind” with the first step on the moon. The modest man who entranced and awed people on Earth has died. He was 82.
Armstrong died Saturday following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, a statement from his family said. It didn’t say where he died.
Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century’s scientific expeditions. His first words after setting foot on the surface are etched in history books and in the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said.
In those first few moments on the moon, during the climax of a heated space race with the then-Soviet Union, Armstrong stopped in what he called “a tender moment” and left a patch to commemorate NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.
“It was special and memorable, but it was only instantaneous because there was work to do,” Armstrong told an Australian television interviewer this year.
Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin spent nearly three hours walking on the lunar surface, collecting samples, conducting experiments and taking photographs.
“The sights were simply magnificent, beyond any visual experience that I had ever been exposed to,” Armstrong once said.
The moonwalk marked America’s victory in the Cold War space race that began October 4, 1957, with the launch of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik 1, a satellite that sent shock waves around the world.
An estimated 600 million people — a fifth of the world’s population — watched and listened to the moon landing, the largest audience for any single event in history.
Parents huddled with their children in front of the family television, mesmerized. Farmers abandoned their nightly milking duties, and motorists pulled off the highway and checked into motels just to watch on TV.
Although he had been a Navy fighter pilot, a test pilot for NASA’s forerunner and an astronaut, Armstrong never allowed himself to be caught up in the celebrity and glamour of the space program.
“I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer,” he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. “And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession.”
Rice University historian Douglas Brinkley, who interviewed Armstrong for oral histories for NASA, said Armstrong fit every requirement the space agency needed for the first man to walk on the moon, especially because of his engineering skills and the way he handled celebrity by shunning it.
“I think his genius was in his reclusiveness,” said Brinkley. “He was the ultimate hero in an era of corruptible men.”
A man who kept away from cameras, Armstrong went public in 2010 with his concerns about President Barack Obama’s space policy that shifted attention away from a return to the moon and emphasized private companies developing spaceships.
NASA chief Charles Bolden recalled Armstrong’s grace and humility in a statement Saturday.
“As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind’s first small step on a world beyond our own,” Bolden said.
In a statement issued by the White House, Obama said Armstrong was one of the greatest of American heroes, “not just of his time, but of all time.”
Armstrong’s modesty and self-effacing manner never faded.
When he appeared in Dayton, Ohio, in 2003 to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight, he bounded onto a stage before 10,000 people. But he spoke for only a few seconds, did not mention the moon and quickly ducked out of the spotlight.
He later joined former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn to lay wreaths on the graves of airplane inventors Wilbur and Orville Wright. Glenn introduced Armstrong and noted it was 34 years to the day that Armstrong had walked on the moon.
“Thank you, John. Thirty-four years?” Armstrong quipped, as if he hadn’t given it a thought.
At another joint appearance, the two embraced and Glenn commented: “To this day, he’s the one person on Earth, I’m truly, truly envious of.”
Armstrong’s moonwalk capped a series of accomplishments that included piloting the X-15 rocket plane and making the first space docking during the Gemini 8 mission, which included a successful emergency splashdown.
In the years afterward, Armstrong retreated to the quiet of the classroom and his Ohio farm. Aldrin said in his book “Men from Earth” that Armstrong was one of the quietest, most private men he had ever met.
In the Australian interview, Armstrong acknowledged that “now and then I miss the excitement about being in the cockpit of an airplane and doing new things.”
At the time of the flight’s 40th anniversary, Armstrong again was low-key, telling a gathering that the space race was “the ultimate peaceful competition: USA versus U.S.S.R. It did allow both sides to take the high road, with the objectives of science and learning and exploration.”
Glenn, who went through jungle training in Panama with Armstrong as part of the astronaut program, described him as “exceptionally brilliant” with technical matters but “rather retiring, doesn’t like to be thrust into the limelight much.”
Glenn said Saturday that Armstrong had had a number of close calls in his career. He recalled how Armstrong had just 15 seconds to 35 seconds of fuel remaining when he landed on the moon. He called Armstrong’s skill and dedication “just exemplary.”
Derek Elliott, curator of the Smithsonian Institution’s U.S. Air and Space Museum from 1982 to 1992, said the moonwalk probably marked the high point of space exploration.
“The fact that we were able to see it and be a part of it means that we are in our own way witnesses to history,” he said.
The 1969 landing met an audacious deadline that President John F. Kennedy had set in May 1961, shortly after Alan Shepard became the first American in space with a 15-minute suborbital flight. Soviet cosmonaut Yuri A. Gagarin had orbited the Earth and beaten the US into space the previous month.
“I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before the decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth,” Kennedy had said. “No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important to the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish.”
The end-of-decade goal was met with more than five months to spare. “Houston: Tranquility Base here,” Armstrong radioed after the spacecraft settled onto the moon. “The Eagle has landed.”
“Roger, Tranquility,” the Houston staffer radioed back. “We copy you on the ground. You’ve got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot.”
The third astronaut on the mission, Michael Collins, circled the moon in the mother ship Columbia while Armstrong and Aldrin went to the moon’s surface.
Collins told NASA on Saturday that he will miss Armstrong terribly, spokesman Bob Jacobs tweeted.
In all, 12 American astronauts walked on the moon between 1969 and the last moon mission in 1972.
For Americans, reaching the moon provided uplift and respite from the Vietnam War. The landing occurred as organizers were preparing for Woodstock, the legendary rock festival on a farm in New York.
Armstrong was born August 5, 1930, on a farm in Ohio. He took his first airplane ride at age 6 and developed a fascination with aviation that prompted him to build model airplanes and conduct experiments in a homemade wind tunnel. He was licensed to fly at 16, before he got his driver’s license.
Armstrong enrolled in Purdue University to study aeronautical engineering but was called to duty with the US Navy in 1949 and flew 78 combat missions in Korea. After the war, Armstrong finished his degree and later earned a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Southern California. He became a test pilot with what evolved into the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, flying more than 200 kinds of aircraft from gliders to jets.
Armstrong was accepted into NASA’s second astronaut class in 1962 — the first, including Glenn, was chosen in 1959 — and commanded the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. After the first space docking, he brought the capsule back in an emergency landing in the Pacific Ocean when a wildly firing thruster kicked it out of orbit.
Armstrong was backup commander for the historic Apollo 8 mission at Christmastime in 1968. In that flight, Commander Frank Borman, and Jim Lovell and Bill Anders circled the moon 10 times, and paving the way for the lunar landing seven months later.
Aldrin said he and Armstrong were not prone to free exchanges of sentiment.
“But there was that moment on the moon, a brief moment, in which we sort of looked at each other and slapped each other on the shoulder … and said, ‘We made it. Good show,’ or something like that,” Aldrin said.
In Wapakoneta, media and souvenir frenzy was swirling around the home of Armstrong’s parents.
“You couldn’t see the house for the news media,” recalled John Zwez, former manager of the Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum. “People were pulling grass out of their front yard.”
Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins were given ticker tape parades in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles and later made a 22-nation world tour. A homecoming in Wapakoneta drew 50,000 people to the city of 9,000.
In 1970, Armstrong was appointed deputy associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA but left the following year to teach aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
He remained there until 1979 and during that time bought a farm, where he raised cattle and corn. He stayed out of public view, accepting few requests for interviews or speeches.
“He didn’t give interviews, but he wasn’t a strange person or hard to talk to,” said Ron Huston, a colleague at the University of Cincinnati. “He just didn’t like being a novelty.”
In February 2000, when he agreed to announce the top 20 engineering achievements of the 20th century as voted by the National Academy of Engineering, Armstrong said there was one disappointment relating to his moonwalk.
“I can honestly say — and it’s a big surprise to me — that I have never had a dream about being on the moon,” he said.
Armstrong married Carol Knight in 1999. He had two adult sons from a previous marriage.
His family’s statement Saturday made a simple request for anyone who wanted to remember him:
“Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink.” (AP)
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2012/08/26/neil-armstrong-1st-man-moon-dies-82-239402
Wine Tasting in Manila Ortigas on Wednesday 12th September, 2012

Attend public wine tasting in Ortigas Manila on Wednesday 12th September held by Yats Wine Cellars; drink fine vintage wines from Europe, meet new friends and learn more about wine.

Leading supplier of fine vintage wines in the Philippines, Yats Wine Cellars is pleased to announce an upcoming public wine tasting event to be held in the Yats Wine Shop at the lobby of Oakwood Premier Hotel, across the road from ADB in Ortigas.

This event will be held on Wednesday, 12th September, 2012 from 5 to 8pm, dress code is smart casual and business attire. The theme of this event is “a comparative of Europe’s Classic (Red) Wines”.

Ticket price is php750+VAT.

Snacks prepared by the kitchen of Oakwood Premier Hotel will be served.

For tickets and more information about this upcoming public wine tasting in Ortigas, Metro Manila organized by Philippines leading wine supplier, Yats Wine Cellars, please click on:

http://www.yatswinecellars.com/home.php/wine-tasting-in-manila-ortigas-on-wednesday-12th-september-2012/

This is one of those wine-tasting events that novices and seasoned wine drinkers can enjoy equally. Even for those who don’t drink wine regularly, attending this event might result in their expanding their preferences for alcoholic beverages

About this wine-tasting event

For this upcoming event, Yats Wine Cellars turns your attention to the classic wines of Europe. Participants will taste five kinds of wines side by side, each kind representing either a region or a style of wine. Wine lovers of all level of sophistication will have no trouble appreciating the differences in styles.

The five kinds of wines selected for this wine-tasting session are:

Italian Red Wine – represented by the classic red wines from Tuscany made primarily from the Sangiovese grape variety.

Spain Red Wine – represented by the famous Rioja red wines made from the charming Tempranillo grape variety.

Bordeaux Red Wine – arguably the most popular and certainly one of the most well known wine regions in the world, its wines renowned for its ability to improve with age many years after bottling.

Burgundy Red Wine – hallowed as the Mecca for fans of Pinot Noir, sophisticated wine drinkers seem to always end up besotted by these elegantly but deceivingly powerful red wines made entirely from Pinot Noir, a grape variety most hated by growers because they are notoriously difficult to handle both in the fields and in the winery after harvesting.

Portugal Port Wine – these fortified wines which usually comprise of 12% wine and 8% brandy deliver arguably the deepest impressions of all forms of wine.

For tickets and inquiries for the upcoming wine tasting event from Yats Wine Cellars,

Please click here http://www.yatswinecellars.com/home.php/?p=68 to contact Yats Wine Cellars directly.

YATS WINE CELLARS
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro M
This Pampanga resort hotel is different from other hotels in Clark Philippines or hotel in Angeles City. This Clark Hotel has large outdoor space for children to play and adults to enjoy some peace and quiet in the picnic grounds near the lake. Guests like the Hotel’s café breakfast garden which serves the best breakfast in Pampanga. Clearwater Resort has nice ambience and wide space, much better than the other hotels in Angeles City and Manila Philippines.

Many guests like staying at Clearwater Family Inn Hotel Room in the picnic grounds of this resort in Clark Pampanga. Some like the trees in the resort camping grounds of this place of leisure. One can stay in other hotels in Angeles City but it is not often one finds amenities and ambience like Clark, not like Clearwater Resort in Angeles City Philippines. This is also one of the best resorts in Pampanga that offers good picnic spots near Manila.

Clearwater can best be characterized as a spacious outdoor resort centered around a large fresh-water lake, several large picnic grounds, a campsite, a white-sand beach, some swim spots and some 20-30 cabins and cottages scattered throughout the property. This resort in Pampanga is the kind of hotel that appeals to those who need to get away from the stress of living the city, to relax and unwind in a peaceful and clean environment. Clearwater Resort is generally regarded as one of the best holiday spots near Manila.

One thing going for Clearwater is its location – Clark, Pampanga – which is not only very conveniently accessible from Manila (just 70 minutes of easy highway driving) but probably the safest destination in all of the Philippines. Yes, Clark has the lowest crime rate of any city in the Philippines. Experienced travelers who frequent the Philippines for business, holidays or vacations know exactly how important safety and security is when selecting a vacation destination in Philippines. The last thing that anyone on a vacation needs to do is to worry about safety.

Those who are lucky enough to get a room at this lake resort in Clark Philippines will be able to enjoy the magical sunrise across the lake of Clearwater Resort at dawn. This is the only hotel in Clark Pampanga that guests can really enjoy viewing sunrise.

Clearwater Resort in Clark Philippines is well regarded by event organizers and travel agencies as a beautiful place to visit in Pampanga. Family travelers laud the swim spots in this exclusive resort in Clark Pampanga as a good place to swim outside of Manila. No wonder this hotel in Clark is such a popular holiday destinations during the summer months in Philippines.

For inquiries and bookings, Please click here to contact Clearwater Resort for inquiries and reservations now

Clearwater Resort and Country Club, Clark Pampanga
Creekside Road near Centennial Expo,
Clark Freeport, Pampanga Philippines 2023
(045) 889-5151 0917-520-4403 0922-870-5177
Joanne or Jeremy or Loydha

Getting to this lake and beach resort in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Philippines

After entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway MA Roxas, passing the stand-along wine shop called Clark Wine Center on the right, continue to bear right making no turns at all, go past Mimosa Leisure Estate on the opposite side of the road, one will hit a major intersection. Go straight and the road becomes Creekside Road. YATS Clearwater Resort and Country Club is on the right just 200m down.

http://www.ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay

Email: Inquiry@ClearwaterPhilippines.com

Please click here to contact Clearwater Resort to reserve a venue for your upcoming event now

Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:

http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com

While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com

YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.YatsLeisure.com

While in Clark, one might as well add to the itinerary a visit to the famous Clark Wine Center, the largest wine shop in Philippines which offers over 2000 selections of fine vintage wine from all wine regions, vintages spanning over 50 years covering all price ranges.
http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com

Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:

http://www.LondonPubClark.com

http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com

http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com

http://www.YatsWineCellars.com

For jobs and business investment opportunities in the Philippines please visit http://www.yilp.com

Hot Line for what’s happening in Clark: 045 889-5151 or 0927-940-2669 ask for Loydha

0915-542-6250 (Jeramie)