THE 3 A.M. CALL FROM HILLARY CLINTON TO PHILIPPINES’ SENATOR GRACE POE

April 17, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

Poe, left, and Clinton (Photo credits: inquirer.net | nj.com

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – In 2008, when Hillary Clinton was running against Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination for president, she launched a campaign TV attack questioning whether he would be ready to answer an emergency 3 a.m. call to the White House.

Well, it turned out that Clinton herself would never make that call since she didn’t win the nomination. Since then, her critics have used that campaign message against her.

Fast forward to 2015. Clinton just answered a 3 a.m. call from Senator Grace Poe of the Philippines who is rumored to be eyeing the presidency of her country in 2016.

Inside sources within the Clinton campaign said that Poe called to seek Hillary’s advice about running a campaign. Clinton convinced her to run for president, adding that it would be so cool if there were more women heads of state when Clinton attends international summits as president of the United States.

(In the latest national poll in the Philippines, Poe surged and closed in on front runner Vice President Jejomar Binay. In previous months, Binay had consistently maintained a significant lead in the polls, but recent allegations of corruption lodged against him and his son, Mayor Jojo Binay of Makati City have caused his ratings to plummet).

There is, however, one problem with Clinton’s 3 a.m. call with Poe:

3 a.m. in Manila is actually 3 p.m. on the U.S. East Coast from where Clinton answered the call. Not to mention a difference of one day. So, it doesn’t count, really.

International, Same-sex Marriage, Travel

TURKISH AIRLINES CEO SAYS MARRIAGE EQUALITY WILL HELP PREVENT INTENTIONAL PLANE CRASHES

April 17, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The marriage equality movement has found an unusual ally — the CEO of Turkish Airlines — who recently said that pilots may not be as prone to destructive behavior like that of the Germanwings pilot believed to have intentionally crashed a flight last month — if only they get married.

At an event Thursday, Temel Kotil told new Turkish Airlines pilots that the March 24 crash in the French Alps showed that pilots’ lifestyles are important.

Prosecutors believe that the co-pilot of Flight 9525 intentionally crashed the Barcelona-Duesseldorf flight and are trying to determine why. Kotil noted that the accident happened after the pilot Andreas Lubitz had broken up with his girlfriend.

He added: “Therefore, I am guiding those who are single toward marriage from this podium.”

Acknowledging that there are pilots (and flight attendants) who may be gay or lesbian, Kotil called upon all nations , including Turkey, to legalize same-sex marriage so that their LGBT pilot citizens can get married, thus avoiding incidents like that of the Germanwings tragedy.

Same-gender sexual activity has been legal in Turkey since 1858, but to this day, the Turkish government still does not recognize LGBT marriages.

Business, Politics, Travel

MANNY PACQUIAO BUYS MALAYSIAN BUDGET AIRLINE AIR ASIA

April 16, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – He may be the only billionaire among his colleagues in the Philippines’ congress, and one of the highest paid world athletes, but Filipino champion boxer Manny Pacquiao is not on the Forbes list of richest Filipinos. His estimated net worth of 1.3 Billion pesos is not good enough.

But his assets are enough to buy an airline company — or at least one of its aircraft.

Today, the Malaysian budget airlines Air Asia unveiled the prototype logo that will be painted on the fuselage of its entire fleet. While still bearing the old Air Asia symbol, most of the aircraft is emblazoned with Manny Pacquiao’s name and photo. Flights will be coded ‘Pacman 101,’ Pacman 577,’ and so on.

Reliable sources said that Pacquiao has recently signed a deal buying the majority stocks of Air Asia. The sources declined to mention any purchase price, although they have indicated that Pacquiao’s expected earnings from his May 2 championship fight with Floyd Mayweather has already been committed towards the purchase.

Upon hearing the news, Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares ordered an investigation of the sale to determine if the boxer had assets that have not been declared and that needed to be taxed. The Philippines’ tax woman has been after Pacquiao for alleged non-payment of taxes for several years now.

Just recently, Pacquiao purchased a $12 Million Beverly Hills mansion formerly owned by rapper Sean Combs, also known as Diddy.