Congratulations to Miss Angola : The Miss Universe of 2011

Miss Universe of 2011 "Leila Lopes"

Shamcey Supsup of thePhilippines finished as 3rd runner-up in the Miss Universe 2011 pageant held at the Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo, Brazilearlier today, September 13.

Angola’s Leila Lopes bested 88 other competitors to win the the title of Miss Universe.

Lopes, 25, was also the crowd favorite, getting the loudest cheers from the audience. She is the first candidate from Angola to win the crown.

Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine was the 1st runner-up, while Brazil‘s Priscila Machado was 2nd runner-up, and China‘s Luo Zilin was 4th runner-up.

This is the second year in a row that a candidate from the Philippines made it to the Top 5 of Miss Universe. Venus Raj finished 4th runner-up last year.

The Philippines has two Miss Universe winners: Gloria Diaz won the crown in 1969 and Margie Moran repeated the feat in 1973.

In the question-and-answer portion, Shamcey was asked by judge Vivica A. Fox: Would you change your religious beliefs to marry the person you love?

Shamcey, who was the only candidate among the Top 5 who did not use an interpreter, answered: “I would not change my religion because… I love my God who created me and if that person truly loves me, should love my God too.”

Interestingly, Angola’s question came from Filipino judge Lea Salonga.

The candidates who made it to the Top 10 are:Australia, Costa Rica, France, Panama, andPortugal, who won the online poll which automatically put her in the semifinals.

Top 16 semifinalists are: Kosovo, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Netherlands, USA, and Venezuela.

Special awards were given to Panama (Best National Costume), Montenegro (Miss Congeniality), and Sweden (Miss Photogenic)

Last year’s winner was Ximena Navarrete of Mexico.

A 21 Ft. Long Crocodile Captured in Philippines

21 Ft. Long Crocodile

Villagers and veteran hunters have captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park in a southern Philippine town, an official said Monday.

Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile along a creek in Bunawan township in Agusan del Sur province after a three-week hunt. It could be one of the largest crocodiles to be captured alive in recent years, he said, quoting local crocodile experts.

Elorde said thecrocodile killed a water buffalo in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and was also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.

He said he sought the help of experts at a crocodile farm in western Palawan province.

“We were nervous but it’s our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers,” Elorde told The Associated Press by telephone. “When I finally stood before it, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

After initial sightings at a creek, the hunters set four traps, which the crocodile destroyed. They then used sturdier traps using steel cables, one of which finally caught the enormous reptile late Saturday, he said.

About 100 people had to pull the crocodile, which weighs about 2,370 pounds (1,075 kilograms), from the creek to a clearing where a crane lifted it into a truck, he said.

The crocodile was placed in a fenced cage in an area where the town plans to build an ecotourism park for species found in a vast marshland in Agusan, an impoverished region about 515 miles (830 kilometers) southeast of Manila, Elorde said.

“It will be the biggest star of the park,” Elorde said, adding that villagers were happy that they would be able to turn the dangerous crocodile “from a threat into an asset.”

Despite the catch, villagers remain wary because several crocodiles still roam the outskirts of the farming town of about 37,000 people.
They have been told to avoid venturing into marshy areas alone at night, Elorde said.

Watch the video below:

Al Qaeda's No. 2 has been killed

Atiya Abdul Rahman

Al Qaeda's second-in-command, Atiya Abdul Rahman, has been killed in Pakistan, a U.S. official said Saturday.

The official would not discuss the circumstances behind his death, but did say Rahman is a key loss for al Qaeda.

"There's no question this is a major blow to al Qaeda. Atiya was at the top of al Qaeda's trusted core," the official said. "He ran daily operations for the group since Shaykh Sa'id al-Masri was killed last year, and has been (Osama bin Laden successor Ayman al-Zawahiri's) second-in-command since bin Laden's death in May."

Rahman's death will affect al Qaeda's ties to its affiliates, as well as Zawahiri's ability to gain complete control over the terrorist group, the official said.

"Atiya was the one affiliates knew and trusted, and he spoke on behalf of both (bin Laden and Zawahiri). He planned the details of al Qaeda operations and its propaganda.

"His combination of background, experience and abilities are unique in al Qaeda -- without question, they will not be easily replaced," the official said.

"Zawahiri needed Atiya's experience and connections to help manage al Qaeda. Now it will be even harder for him to consolidate control," he added.

Zawahiri took control of al Qaeda after bin Laden was killed in a clandestine U.S. raid in Pakistan in May. Rahman used to be bin Laden's operations chief.

iPhone hacker Comex says he's landed an internship ... at Apple

A 19-year-old who is probably the world's most noted iPhone hacker said Thursday he's been hired by Apple, the very company whose products he's been hacking into.

"It's been really, really fun, but it's also been a while and I've been getting bored," Nicholas Allegra, who's better known by his pseudonym Comex, posted on Twitter. "So, the week after next I will be starting an internship with Apple."

Apple did not immediately respond to a CNN request for comment on Comex's internship at the company.
Forbes writer Andy Greenberg revealed Comex's identity this month, calling him the "iPhone uber-hacker who keeps outsmarting Apple."

In the story, he noted that Comex was looking for an internship, and he suggested that Apple give him one.
"Now it has," he wrote Friday.

Comex started the website jailbreakme, which lets iPhone users jailbreak their phones simply by visiting that site. A jailbroken iPhone can run apps that are not approved by Apple for sale in its App Store.

The phones also can then be "unlocked," which makes it possible to use them on wireless networks that Apple hasn't approved. International travelers like that feature.

Other Apple hackers have praised the site as being incredibly sophisticated. Dino Dai Zovi told Forbes that Comex's work is as impressive as Stuxnet, a computer worm that apparently targeted Iran's nuclear facilities last year.

It's fairly common -- more so than you might expect, at least -- for big tech companies to hire once-nefarious hackers. These coding gurus are sometimes better versed in the security vulnerabilities of a company's products than anyone else in the industry.

And, these companies hope, the former hackers could use these skills to make their products safer.

The blog MacRumors says Apple has made similar hires in the past:

"Earlier this year MobileNotifier developer Peter Hajas was picked up as an Apple summer intern."

VentureBeat, however, says that's a new phenomenon for the world's largest tech company:

"Hiring hackers isn't new in the tech world, but it's a fairly recent development for Apple, which has usually tried to squash hackers by more traditional means."

Greenberg, at Forbes, says these hires don't always go well:

"George Hotz, one of the first iPhone hackers, was sued by Sony after reverse engineering the PlayStation 3, a move that set off a wave of user anger at the company, resulting in more than 20 retaliatory hacking attacks by the hacker collective Anonymous and others."

But he argues the Comex hire may be good for Apple:

"Apple, by taking the carrot instead of stick approach, has saved itself that massive PR headache. And by hiring someone who actually understands its products' security weaknesses, it may just be making its users safer, too."

Hurricane Irene saved its last blasts of fury for New York

Hurricane Irene saved its last blasts of fury for New York, paralyzing the city with hours of relentless rains and fears of flooding before its downgrade to a tropical storm Sunday morning.

It also left more than 110,000 people without power, including 32,378 in storm-ravaged Queens.

The weakening storm sent a scare from Wall Street in Lower Manhattan to Stillwell Ave. in Coney Island as the downpour that began Saturday raged all night, with rising water shutting down an outbound tube of the Holland Tunnel and a section of the Van Wyck Expressway.

New Yorkers were in agreement that after three days of warnings, they were expecting a bigger hit.

"I thought it was going to be much worse than this," said Anthony Ougelletta, 44, who was without power in Sheepshead Bay."This is like a rain and wind storm."

Joe Bruno, head of the city Office of Emergency Management, said the city was lucky to escape the full wrath of Irene. Nine people died as the hurricane cut its killer swath along the Eastern Seaboard, but there was just a light rain falling in Manhattan by 11:30 a.m.

"Mother Nature can be very cruel," he said.

GET LIVE UPDATES & PHOTOS OF IRENE

The Atlantic Ocean spilled over the beaches and onto the streets of the Rockaways, while Brooklyn's Red Hook section was also inundated as Con Edison reported more than 70,000 customers without power in New York City and another 40,000 in Westchester County -- many due to downed trees from gusting winds of up to 60 mph.

In a dramatic scene on Staten Island, the FDNY rescued dozens of adults and children from homes where they were trapped around 8 a.m. Sunday.

FDNY spokesman Paul Iannizzotto said 61 adults and 3 babies were trapped in homes on Saybrook St. near Croft Place. About 50 firefighters used swift water rescue boats to help carry the people to dry land nearby. Officials on scene reported no serious injuries.

Margaret Goffe, 71, woke up in Springfield Gardens to find an uprooted tree slammed into her two-family home -- and the electricity soon disappeared.

"I'm from the (Caribbean), so I'm used to hurricanes, but I couldn't believe it," she said."These things happen."

One block away, Khalid Burgos stood near his Nissan Pathfinder -- spared by random chance when a falling tree crushed a Porsche Carrera in the next parking spot.

"Inches! It missed my car by inches!" said Burgos, 40."There's power lines draped all over the place. I can't even move it."

Before Irene heads north into New England, the city could be soaked with up to a foot of rainfall. The city's mass transit remained idled by the former hurricane, with no word yet on when trains and buses would begin rolling.

The Most Important Watches in the World

William Anthony's "The Pearl Star"

Mechanical wristwatches (as opposed to battery-powered ones) offer us what sci-fi writer William Gibson called the "tamogotchi experience": the sense that we are wearing and tending to a living thing that whirrs and ticks on our wrist.

Throughout the years, these machines have kept the trains running on time and helped the Man in the Grey Flannel Suit make his two-martini lunch. Sadly, however, these gems are now frequently absent from our wrists thanks to those ubiquitous portable time-telling devices—laptops and cellphones. Watch expert John Biggs, who runs crunchgear.com and is the author of a forthcoming book about watches for Dial Press, offers an in-depth look at some of the most amazing watches from this century and beyond—including a hockey-puck-size watch that is one of the most complex mechanical devices ever made.

1. 1794 | William Anthony's "The Pearl Star"
Why it Matters: The Pearl Star is one of the first watches with expanding hands.

The Story: Attributed to William Anthony of London, this pocket watch has an oblong case with automatically extending hands. When the hands are at noon, for example, they are fully extended up to the top of the case. When they are at 9:15, they automatically shorten to fit without touching the sides of the case.

Perrin Freres "Wandering Hours"

2. 1800 | Perrin Freres "Wandering Hours"
Why it Matters: One of the first "digital" watches that used a unique system of hands to display the time.

The Story: The vision of a "digital" watch—meaning one that showed the hours in minutes using rotating numerals instead of hands—has always been an important pursuit in watchmaking. Perrin Freres of Switzerland created an amazing variation on this with the Wandering Hours in 1800. Three hands circled a central pivot and on the tip of each, four small hour numerals spin into place at the end of each hour. With the case closed, the watch looks like a fuel gauge showing minutes and hours but inside you find a riot of gears and hands.

The Rolex Oyster Perpetual

3. 1910 | The Rolex Oyster Perpetual
Why it Matters: The Rolex Oyster redefined where you could take a watch by making it waterproof.

The Story: Like most great innovations, the Rolex merges two simple technologies to create something that no one thought they needed but then became indispensible. The technology, the perpetual movement, was first conceived by Louis Perrelet in the 1750s and was perfected by Rolex. A small weight wound the watch when the wearer moved his or her arm, resulting in a watch that ran "perpetually" with no need for daily winding.

The next innovation was a crown that screwed down to protect the inside of the watch from water. They advertised the first model in 1910 by dunking the watches in aquariums in watch shops around the world. Rolex thus became synonymous with diving watches.

More here...

Miss Universe 2011 Semifinalist to be chosen through Voting

We are happy to announce that for the first time in the history of the MISS UNIVERSE Competition, the pageant is incorporating a global fan vote that may automatically advance a contestant to the semifinals. Fans residing in represented countries will be able to vote online at

www.missuniverse.com or www.NBC.com

starting on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 4pm ET through Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6pm ET.

The winner of the voting will get a place among this year’s 15 semi finalists.

MISS UNIVERSE 2011 “FAN VOTE” FAQs

Who can vote?

Anyone located in, and a legal resident of, the home countries of the 2011 Miss Universe contestants can cast their vote(s) for the Miss Universe contestant of their choice. To vote online, you must be 16 years of age or older.

When can I vote?

Online voting via www.missuniverse.com and www.nbc.com will be open at the following times:

Friday, August 19, 2011 at 4pm ET through Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6pm ET.

How do I vote?

Internet voting will be open Friday, August 19, 2011 at 4pm ET through Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6pm ET. To vote, log on to www.nbc.com or www.missuniverse.com and follow the instructions to vote and enter registration details. To register you will need to provide your email address, confirm you are 16 years of age or older, and confirm your acceptance of the voting terms and conditions. After you register, rank the contestants 1-10 where prompted, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. If done correctly, you will get a message on your screen. The producers reserve the right to disqualify, block or remove any votes for any reason including, but not limited to, any votes from an individual who votes using any electronic, mechanical or automated means, or otherwise tampers with the vote process. Rules and procedures are subject to change at the sole discretion of the Miss Universe Organization and/or NBC without notice.

How many times can I vote?

You may vote online up to 10 times per e-mail address per day. Any additional votes you attempt to cast above these limits – or votes cast outside of the voting window — will NOT be counted as valid. The producers reserve the right to disqualify, block or remove any votes for any reason, including those votes from any individual who votes by any electronic, mechanical or automated means, or otherwise tampers with the vote process. Rules and procedures regarding the voting promotion are subject to change at the sole discretion of the Miss Universe Organization and/or NBC without notice. No changes will be made to the rules regarding how information collected in the voting promotion — your email address and computer IP address — will be retained, secured, used, or deleted.

How are the votes tabulated?

Producer will take the average of the total votes from the IP addresses originating from each country. Each country vote will then count as 1 vote, and be averaged with all of the other country votes to give the contestant a final score.

Example: 200 people from Canada vote for Miss Universe Norway and the average of those votes equals a 6, and 800 people from Norway vote for Miss Universe Norway and the average of those votes equals an 8. Canada’s country vote (6) and Norway’s country vote (8) are each counted as 1 vote and are averaged to give Miss Universe Norway a final score of 7.

How much does it cost to vote?

Voting online is free. Standard internet access charges may apply.

Why is my information collected?

Email addresses are collected to ensure compliance with the 10 votes per email address per day limit. Your computer’s IP address is collected to verify the country of a vote’s origin.

Is my information stored?

No, nothing is permanently stored. Email addresses are temporarily stored on a secure server based in the United States and will not be transferred to any other location. Email addresses will be deleted within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant. IP addresses are temporarily stored on a secure server based in the United States, and are not transferred to any other location. All IP addresses are deleted 30 days after the conclusion of the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant.

How do I find out the results?

The results may be revealed to the home viewing audience during the Miss Universe live telecast on September 12, 2011 and may be posted on www.missuniverse.com after the show.

MISS UNIVERSE 2011 VOTING RULES

The following rules and procedures are subject to change at the sole discretion of NBCUniversal Media, LLC and Miss Universe L.P., LLLP.

1. Producer:

Miss Universe L.P., LLLP (the “Producer”) is a United States limited partnership, limited liability limited partnership, with its headquarters located at 1370 Avenue of the Americas, 16th Floor, New York, New York 10019, United States of America.

2. Voting Availability:

“Miss Universe” voting is open to people located in the home countries of the 2011 “Miss Universe” contestants. A list of countries is available here http://www.missuniverse.com/members/contestants Internet voting will be open to people sixteen [16] years of age or older. Void where prohibited.

Internet voting will be available on the following dates and times:

August 19, 2011 at 4 p.m. ET through Sunday, September 11, 2011 at 6 p.m. ET.

Participants will be limited to ten (10) votes per email address per day. The sole means of voting is via the internet. The Producer reserves the right to change the limit on the number of votes that may be made from each originating email address, in the Producer’s sole discretion.

3. How to Vote:

You must be sixteen [16] years of age or older to participate. Navigate to NBC.com or missuniverse.com, follow the links to vote, and enter the registration details. To register, you will need to provide your email address, confirm you are 16 years of age or older, and confirm that you accept these Rules. After you click the “vote” button, rank the contestants 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. Producer will then take the average of the total votes from the IP addresses originating from each country, and each country vote will count as 1.

For full information on how to vote, please refer to the FAQs section on NBC.com and missuniverse.com.

4. Cost of Voting:

There is no charge to vote. Standard internet access charges may apply.

5. Your Email Address & Computer IP Address

As part of the voting process, you will be asked to input your email address. Email addresses voluntarily submitted by you and other participants will be stored on a secure server based in the United States.. Your email address will not be transferred to any other location. No record of the email addresses submitted as part of the voting process will be retained more than thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the 2011 Miss Universe pageant. Your email address will not be linked on the server to any other identifying information about you. Your email address will be used for no purpose other than to enforce the rules regarding the number of votes that may be cast per email address in a 24 hour period.

The Producer will also collect the IP address of each computer used to cast a vote. The Producer’s purpose in collecting a computer’s IP address is to make certain the computer is located in one of the countries participating in the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant. IP addresses will be stored on a secure server based in the United States separate and apart from the voter’s email address. Your computer’s IP address will not be transferred to any other location. An individual IP address will be used for no purpose other than to verify the country of a vote’s origin. All IP addresses will be deleted entirely 30 days after the conclusion of the 2011 Miss Universe Pageant.

In accordance with these Rules, you agree to provide this limited data as part of the voting process if you choose to participate. Voting, of course, is entirely voluntary. If you choose not to provide your email address and your computer’s IP address, you unfortunately cannot vote.

The Producer will maintain the security of your email address and your computer’s IP address. The only natural person who will have access to your data is the Producer’s tech supervisor who will have administrative rights.

If you have any questions or concerns about the collection, use, retention, security or deletion of your email address or computer IP address, you may contact CommerceTel at the address listed above or via email at support@txtstation.com.

If you wish to revoke your consent to having your data stored under these very limited purposes, you may contact:

Thi VanAusdal

Technical Lead

8929 Aero Drive, Suite E

San Diego, CA 92123

support@txtstation.com

In that communication, please specify your email address, your IP address, and the date and time you cast your vote, and request that your email address and computer IP address be deleted from the server.

6. Disclaimers:

Miss Universe L.P., LLLP and NBCUniversal Media, LLC and their respective parent, subsidiary and affiliated entities and persons (collectively, the “Administrators”) are not responsible for and shall not be liable for interrupted or unavailable networks or servers; miscommunications, failed computer hardware or software or other technical failures; garbled, lost, misrouted or scrambled transmissions; any error, omission, interruption, defect or delay in any transmission or communication; traffic congestion or for any technical problem which may cause the voting to be disrupted or corrupted.

If for any reason the voting is not capable of being executed as planned, or if there is an infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud or technical failures, or if any other causes beyond the control of Administrators corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this voting, the Administrators reserve the right, in their sole discretion, to withdraw the transmission of any vote. Furthermore, the Administrators may permanently disqualify from any promotion any person they believe has intentionally violated these rules, and to terminate or suspend voting at any point and declare the vote results based on the votes up to that point, if it appears that the voting process has been so distorted by hacking or other interference that the results would not reflect actual valid votes should the voting continue. In the event of technical difficulties with the voting, Administrators reserve the right to review the votes for accuracy and to take any appropriate action, including, without limitation, voiding the votes cast during the time period in which such technical difficulties occurred. Administrators and their respective agents, officers, directors, employees, subsidiaries and affiliates assume no responsibility for any injury or damage to participants or to any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from entering or downloading materials or software in connection with this vote. Administrators are not responsible for telecommunications, network, electronic, technical or computer failures of any kind, for inaccurate transcription of voting information, errors in any promotional or marketing materials, for any human or electronic error, or for votes that are stolen, misdirected, garbled, delayed by computer transmissions, lost, or late.

These rules are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of the Administrators. Notification regarding any such change will be posted at missuniverse.com.

Caution: Any attempt by an entrant or any other individual to deliberately damage any online service or website, tamper with the voting process, or otherwise undermine the legitimate operation of the voting is a violation of criminal and civil laws and should such an attempt be made, Administrators reserve the right to seek damages and/or other remedies from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law.

7. Conditions for Voting:

By voting, you are agreeing to all of the terms and conditions described hereinand to abide by these Rules. You agree not to use any unofficial, third party services to cast votes on your behalf. Administrators reserve the right to disqualify, block or remove any votes from any individual who votes by any electronic, mechanical or automated means, or otherwise tampers with the vote process, or for any other reason, as determined by Administrators in their sole discretion.

Administrators are not responsible for any damages to voters’ device(s) that may occur from use of service. Administrators reserve the right, for any reason and in their sole discretion, to modify, suspend or discontinue the voting service without prior notice.

Administrators reserve the right to modify the show’s rules, and the terms and conditions of this voting process at any time in their sole discretion.

8. Governing Law:

This promotion, including the collection of any email addresses or computer IP addresses, is governed by laws of the State of New York and of the United States of America without regard to any conflict of laws provisions. If you think that you have been harmed by unlawful use or processing of your data, you may have rights under the laws of the State of New York or the United States of America. In that case, you should consult an attorney.

I certify that (1) I have read and understand the Rules for voting; (2) I am over the age of 16 years of age; and (3) I expressly and unequivocally consent to the use of my data as outlined in these Rules. I understand that I am currently on a webpage hosted and maintained exclusively in the United States of America and I expressly consent to the collection and retention of my email address and my computer’s IP address on a server in the United States of America, as set forth in these Rules.

Miss Universe 2011 In Sao Paulo, Brazil