Cold feet or bold feet?

Spybiz Eye-spies who were with GMA in Cuba for the 14th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) reported that GMA must have developed a sudden case of "cold feet" when she made a last-minute decision not to speak. The NAM summit, attended by 118 leaders mostly from developing countries, became a stage for US bashing starting with Cuba’s Raul Castro – who represented his brother Fidel – dishing out strong anti-American rhetoric and lambasting the United States’ "irrational pretensions for world dominance." Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez followed suit, predicting that "American imperialism is in a decline," with Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad predictably carping about the nuclear threat from America. All that Bush bashing must have jolted GMA into asking, "What am I doing here?" But instead of getting cold feet, GMA could have used the occasion to show she has "bold feet" and stand up for Bush and America – which would have enabled her to write her own ticket to all the things she wanted from the United States. Maybe George Bush would have even probably asked her to drop by Washington, DC on her way to Hawaii, if she had been bold enough to speak in his defense. After all, the whole world knows anyway GMA is a Bush groupie.

Wealthiest Zobel heir

The sale of 6.9 percent shares from Mermac has made the two heirs of Enrique Zobel, Mercedes and Iñigo, richer by some $23 million each. The latest windfall would certainly make the dashing Iñigo the wealthiest Zobel heir with the reported $50 million given him in the past by his grandaunt, the late Ayala matriarch Mercedes Zobel Mcmicking. While the polo-playing Iñigo serves as director of the Ayala Group, he doesn’t have to work as hard as his cousins and often travels to Sotogrande, Spain and all over Europe for extended R&Rs. With that kind of money, even the grandchildren of the wealthiest Zobel heir would not have to work. But then again, Iñigo might get tempted to squander it all away just like his close friend Prince Jeffrey Bolkiah of Brunei, who was said to have practically thrown away $16 billion of the Sultan’s money in all sorts of bad investments all over the world.

RJ to sing ASEAN Summit theme song

Pinoy rock and roll icon Ramon "RJ" Jacinto is composing the theme song for the 12th ASEAN Summit in Cebu in December, and will be singing his opus in the finale program at the Shangri-La Mactan. RJ, who used to be a brother-in-law of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, was a ’60s matinee idol who led ‘RJ and the Riots’ and electrified crowds with his guitar playing. President GMA used to be an RJ groupie, following him in his gigs during the old days. It’s not surprising if she still admires RJ to this day. After all, baby boomers certainly appreciate the music of Jacinto, who still continues to rock with his ‘RJ and the New Riots.’

Spybiz feedback: No to text tax

Several readers reacted to the column item "Solon pushes for approval of SMS tax bill" (Sept. 21 issue) saying they take exception to House Bill 4863 proposed by Congressman Mark Cojuangco of the 5th district of Pangasinan. "Fifty centavos may seem to be a trifle amount but remember, fifty centavos is part of the hard earned money of Filipinos," pointed out one. The proposal had reportedly raised the blood pressure of several mobile cellphone owners, while others resented the insinuation that those who can afford cellphones are not really poor – arguing that there are now many cheap models and owning one has become a necessary tool, not another devise to indulge in frivolous activities.

Spy tidbiz: The dead Osama virus

Prior to reports that Osama bin Laden had died in Pakistan after eating E. coli-tainted spinach, frantic warnings from well-meaning friends about a virus from emails whose subject goes along the lines of "Osama bin Laden captured and hanged" have been circulating again for the past two months.  Those familiar with so-called urban legends know this news about the virus is already old hat. As early as 2004, pranksters victimized unsuspecting Windows users into downloading attachments, supposedly the photos of a captured Osama bin laden, but which actually contained a file that installed a Trojan horse virus. Contrary to claims that CNN has called it the worst virus ever, the Trojan viruses could now easily be detected and removed with updated virus protection programs and don’t pose such a major threat to PC users anymore. Except, of course, that getting any kind of pesky virus in your computer is terribly inconvenient and potentially dangerous to business because it could corrupt corporate files and folders.

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