Maniolas

The 2016 Nissan MaximaThe new car was almost a full second faster than a BMW 328i around the track.©Nissan (Relaxnews) – The latest-generation Maxima sedan bests BMW, Acura and Audi to set the fastest lap time around California’s Buttonwillow Raceway racetrack in tests overseen by AMCI Testin. Nissan is going to extraordinary lengths to underline its new car’s performance credentials. Described by company chairman, Carlos Ghosn as the “four-door sportscar” when it was officially revealed at the New York Autoshow in April, Nissan has now decided to pit its new car against a BMW 3 series and an Audi A4 Quattro to prove that the slogan was more than simply marketing talk. In controlled tests at the Buttonwillow Raceway in southern California the 2016 Maxima SR set the fastest lap — 1:18.50 — around the 1.8-mile West Loop, beating the BMW 328i by almost a full (0.98) second. The car also outperformed the Acura TLX 3.5L V6 Tech by 2.08 seconds and the Audi A4 2.0T Quattro by 2.71 seconds. “We expected the all-new 2016 Maxima, with its re-engineered engine, transmission and chassis to do well, but frankly even we were surprised by the head-to-head test results against some very well-established luxury sports sedans,” said Pierre Loing, vice president, Product Planning, Nissan North America. To ensure that there were no cries of foul play, each of the cars that featured in the challenge was sourced from an authorized dealership and were broken in and prepared, pre-race, in accordance with manufacturers’ guidelines. Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his speech during the Conferment Ceremony at the Reception Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Thursday (May 14, 2015). President Aquino received his Doctor of Humanities degree, Honoris Causa, from Tarlac State University (TSU) president Dr. Myrna Mallari. (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Government employees will soon get their Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) bonuses, after President Benigno Aquino III signed an executive order to the effect, Malacañang said Saturday. Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino signed Executive Order 181, where the payment will be released starting June 1. He said “the one-time grant of the PEI (is) equivalent to either P5,000 or one month basic salary as of 31 May 2015.” It covers government employees from: – national government agencies – Congress – Judiciary – Civil Service Commission – Commission on Elections – Office of the Ombudsman – Government-owned or controlled corporations – local water districts – government financial institutions – local government units Conditions Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio the one-time grant of the PEI equivalent to one month’s salary is for agencies that have complied with requirements on performance. “(K)ailanganng ma-meet ng mga agencies ‘yung mga sumusunod na requirement para makapagbigay sila ng one-time PEI equivalent to one-month basic salary,” she said, adding these include: – achievement of at least 90 percent of their fiscal year 2014 target under at least two performance indicators for at least one major final output under operations Read More …

I Juander hosts Susan Enriquez and Cesar Apolinario say they are disciplined to hold their temper when provoked in public.

It’s been awhile since this author last joined the studio tours at the famous Univeral Studios Hollywood. But as luck would have it, my son and his family asked me to join them at the theme park, along with a season pass on Mother’s Day. I wasn’t too surprised to see a lot of families doing the same thing on this special day. What amazed me were the awesome attractions added since we were last there sometime back. My grandson opted to stay behind with my son and not go through the Backlot Studio Tour as he knew he might get “devoured by the Raptors” during the tour. The tram ride offered something new, with TV talk show host, Jimmy Fallon welcoming all of us on an HD monitor and impressing us with his friendly narration, though there are still live tour guides who could be seen throughout the trams through video screens. We went through the theme park’s backlot where numerous films were made including Skull Island, used in the film “Jaws” and the “Collapsing Bridge” now used for the new King Kong 3-D attraction, to the “Parting of the Sea” scene used during filming of “The Ten Commnadments”, to the “Spanish” area where there’s sudden flash floods, to the ‘New York” facade street where gangster movies were filmed on Courthouse Square and to the European area where films such as “Casablanca” were shot. Further, we passed by various muscle cars used in the “Fast & Furious” movies and next, we were awed by the Read More …

MAKATI PARKING BUILDING PROBE: Senator Koko Pimentel(right), chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee investigating the alleged overpricing of the Makati Parking Building II, and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (left) discuss the alleged irregular transactions reportedly entered into by the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly known as Pag-IBIG Fund under the leadership of Vice President Jejomar Binay. During the hearing, Trillanes said Pag-IBIG granted “developmental loans” to four developers who were allegedly close to Binay. The Binay camp has denied the allegation. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Now the cat is out of the bag, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is almost certain that Vice President Jejomar Binay will back out from the presidential race in 2016. “Tapos na ang boksing. Kahit magaling sila magsinungaling, hindi na nila kayang lusutan ito (Game is over. Even if they’re good in lying, they can’t get out of this),” Trillanes said in a text message to reporters on Thursday. “Ngayon, kung umatras sya sa kanyang kandidatura, mas makakapamili ang mga Pilipino kung sino ang karapatdapat mamuno sa ating bansa na walang pangamba na maaring may mahalal muli na isang mandarambong (Now if he’s going to withdraw his candidacy, the Filipino people can choose who is the right leader for the country, without worries that the one who will be elected is a thief),” he said. The senator issued the statement after the media reported the purported report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which supposedly indicated that a a total of P11 Read More …