Five months after assaulting his then girlfriend Rihanna in February and four weeks after admitting his guilt in court, singer Chris Brown has posted a video to issue a public apology.

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Sure, CNN and Facebook have teamed up before for the historic inauguration of US President Barack Obama, but as I previously blogged, the online coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial is expected to become the biggest Web event in history.

If you want to take part in this online event, head on over to CNN.com/Live. If you’re on Facebook, you can already RSVP for the event. The Facebook/CNN event will start at midnight ET in the US.

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Here’s an excerpt.

Thousands of Michael Jackson fans will converge at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the public memorial service on Tuesday morning, July 7 in the US, even as millions around the world are expected to watch the live video stream from different media outlets. News of Jackson’s death slowed down the Web, but the public memorial will be the real acid test as it’s expected to be the biggest Web event in history.

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Here’s an excerpt.

The dancing inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center maximum security prison are back with a tribute to Michael Jackson, who died of cardiac arrest on Friday at the age of 50.

As I previously blogged, the Cebu dancing inmates became an instant Internet sensation in 2007 with their Thriller viral video. Here’s their tribute to the King of Pop.

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Here’s an excerpt from my Hub, “Michael Jackson: Mourning his death, celebrating his music.”

It was early in the morning here in Manila when I checked my Gmail, and saw, to my shock, first a breaking news e-mail alert that Farrah Fawcett had passed away, and then another alert saying that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital.

I went to the microblogging sites Twitter and Plurk, and was quickly updated on the latest news by the tweets and plurks.

Michael Jackson was dead.

Just like that.

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Here’s an excerpt:

Almost two weeks after the Philippine Senate hearing, the latest chapter in the sordid tale of the Katrina Halili-Hayden Kho sex scandal is now being written.

Halili filed charges on Monday against four individuals suspected of being involved in spreading the sex video–including Dr Kho’s  former girlfriend, Dr Vicki Belo, the most well-known cosmetic surgeon in the Philippines. The National Bureau of Investigation has also reportedly identified the website on which the sex video was first uploaded, after seeking the help of a US-based web host.

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All I can say is: what took you so long, Twitter?

In news that’s sure to be welcomed by celebrities who’ve discovered to their chagrin that someone else is already using their name on Twitter–for instance, the real Lea Salonga is @bigsis222, not the one using the Lea Salonga account–Twitter has said it will introduce a verification system.

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Unfortunately, the Katrina Halili-Hayden Kho sex video scandal, which has launched thousands of pirated DVDs and generated even more online views, is still the talk of the town in the Philippines.

And with the twists and turns this sordid tale has taken, you might find yourself wondering if you’re watching a B-movie–not to make light, though, of the real-life pain that Halili is enduring. Oh yeah, and Kho apparently thinks he’s also a victim in all this.

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OK, first off, I’m not a fan of Alec Baldwin who has just apologized to the Filipino nation via his blog on The Huffington Post for his “Filipino mail-order bride” comment when he guested on the Late Show with David Letterman.

Still, while I think Baldwin’s remark was stupid (then again, it was a joke), I also find it stupid for some Philippine government officials to blow this all out of proportion. I mean, we actually have action star-turned-senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. (yup, the same senator I blogged about in my post on the Katrina Halili-Hayden Kho sex video scandal) issuing a formal reaction that warns Baldwin of mayhem if he ever visits the Philippines. Not that Baldwin could, since our Bureau of Immigration has banned him from entering the country as an undesirable alien.

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Blogged about this issue for CNET Asia. Here’s an excerpt:

As you might expect, the Katrina Halili-Hayden Kho sex video scandal is one of the hottest topics on the Philippine blogosphere. After all, this latest video that has been leaked online involves one of the most popular Filipina sexy actresses and the beauty doctor/model Kho, who has seen his own share of the limelight as the former beau of the country’s most well-known cosmetic and dermatologic surgeon, Vicki Belo, whose clients include showbiz personalities, politicians and members of high society.

Not surprisingly, this sex scandal has also attracted the attention of Philippine legislators and government officials, with the Palace itself declaring it wants to “go hard” on Kho, according to Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, who said the videos “affect the morals of society”. Earlier, Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. (a former actor, by the way) demanded the revocation of Kho’s medical license in a privilege speech. The National Bureau of Investigation is now conducting a probe on Kho, who has been placed on the Bureau of Immigration watch list to prevent him from leaving the country. Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has said Kho could be jailed for six years if found guilty. Amazing, isn’t it, how a “sexy issue” like this causes the Philippine Government to immediately spring into action? Unlike, say, issues such as the Philippine Book Blockade of 2009.

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