Grand Theft Auto - BANNED!!!

In response to the murder of a Bangkok taxi driver by a 19 year-old student, Thai authorities officially banned sales of Rockstar's controversial Grand Theft Auto franchise on Tuesday.
"GTA is banned mainly because of its obscene content -- under the criminal law article 287 that prohibits reproduction, distribution or possession of such material," police spokesman Ruangsak Jaritake told Agence France-Presse. "The police are empowered to immediately arrest shopkeepers if they find any GTA games on sale."
Any storekeepers caught stocking or selling a copy of any GTA game face a fine of up to 6000 baht ($135 U.S.) and up to three years in prison. Online retailers face even stricter penalties of up to 100,000 baht ($3000 U.S.) and five years behind bars.
According to police reports, 19 year-old Polwat Chino admitted that GTA inspired him to steal the cab and kill the driver. He was arrested after he was caught trying to drive a cab backwards down a Bangkok street with the wounded cab driver slumped in the back seat.
"He wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game," Bangkok police Captain Veerarit Pipatanasak told Reuters.

Exactly which version of GTA Chino was playing is unknown, though in a statement, game distributor New Era Interactive Media seemingly exempted the most recent entry, Grand Theft Auto IV, as apparently it has yet to be imported.
"We have stopped selling Grand Theft Auto and inform all legal vendors to withdraw the game from their shelves," they said. "The company will not import GTA 4 to distribute in Thailand."
The ban comes as Thailand's Culture Ministry has been pushing for stronger regulation of violent video games.
"This time-bomb has already exploded and the situation could get worse," Ladda Thangsupachai, director of the Cultural Surveillance Centre, said in the Reuters report. "Today it is a cab driver, but tomorrow it could be a video game shop owner."
Thailand joins a growing list of countries struggling with the controversial nature of the GTA franchise. Earlier this year, Australia and New Zealand released an edited version of GTA IV to meet regional classification standards. New Zealand has since rescinded that stance and has released the unedited version game under the strict R18 rating.
As of May 31, Grand Theft Auto IV is the best-selling game of the year, pushing over 8.5 million units worldwide.

More Sex for Today’s Seniors

The sex lives of senior citizens have improved markedly in the past three decades, according to a new study.
The data, published in The British Medical Journal, have been collected since the 1970s from 1,500 Swedish adults, all of whom were 70 years old at the time of the interview. Although the report is from Sweden, it mirrors recent research in the United States that shows many people continue to have active sex lives well into old age.
But the Swedish data are notable in that they illuminate how people’s sex lives and attitudes have changed over time. Today’s seniors report that they are having sex far more often and have more positive feelings associated with sex than their counterparts just 30 years ago.
From 1971 to 2000 the proportion of 70-year-olds reporting sexual intercourse increased, although interestingly, more married men say they are having sex than married women. Among married men, 68 percent were having sex, compared to 52 percent in 1971. Among married women, 56 percent were having sex, compared to 38 percent in the 1970s.
Sexual activity also has increased for unmarried seniors. Among the single, 54 percent of the men and 12 percent of the women reported having sex, up from 30 percent of men and less than 1 percent of women in the 1970s.
Among those who were sexually active, more than one in four seniors in 2000 reported having sex once or more a week, compared to only about 10 percent in the 1970s.
More than half of men and women reported very happy relationships, compared to just more than one-third in the 1970s. Overall, modern 70-year-olds reported higher satisfaction with sexuality, fewer sexual dysfunctions and more positive attitudes to sexuality in later life than those who were interviewed in the 1970s.
The researchers noted that the study wasn’t designed to determine why seniors appear to be having more sex. However, the people interviewed in the 1970s were born at the turn of the century, at a time when sexuality and sexual pleasure were not discussed. The last generation of 70-year-olds interviewed for the study were in their 30s during the 1960s sexual revolution and may have had more liberal values about sex.
Modern 70-year-olds likely are more healthy as well. During the course of the study, life expectancy for Swedes jumped five years for men, to age 77, and four years for women, to age 82. Modern seniors also have access to medications like Viagra that earlier generations did not.

My Opinion - State Of The Nation Address

July 28,2008 sets the date for the 8th annual state of the nation address conducted by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She delivered her speech pretty well, with very promising statements again from the president herself. but...just a thought! did those promises she made ever came to a close or accomplished? Year after year, the president keep on pulling the crap out of us all. Making Filipinos believe that economy is quite good but reality check tells us that we're still part of the 3rd world and people here are still starving. It's true that it's the cooperation of the citizens which can help raise up the country. My point is how in the world can we cooperate when officials she put into the office were unproffesional and thinks of nothing but to fill up their little piggy banks! Can somebody please explain to me how come other countries, though corrupt..can bring their country up to it's best and fills up the craving annacondas in their stomachs?

Accomplishments were announced and even people whom the president helped were presented as to which again...made our less fortunate countrymen's mind twirl.. helping them pity themselves..thinking how come the president can help them and not help us?! Thus.. pulling down her ratings again. Stupid move right? sometimes i even wonder how the hell did she ever passed college degree in the land of the free.

Well, like they say..we can curse her all we want, but bottomline...she's already taken the position is 2010 is quickly up it's pace. All we hope for is to reach 2010 a bit faster than usual.. to end her term and pray that the next person to lead the country will be someone who has the heart to uplift it's country's economy and pride.

The Dark Knight

LOS ANGELES (AP) "The Dark Knight" continues to obliterate box office records, crossing the $300 million mark in just 10 days.
The epic Batman saga grossed $75.6 million in its second weekend in theaters, pushing its domestic total to $314,245,000, Warner Bros. head of distribution Dan Fellman said Sunday.
That surpasses the record set in 2006 by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chests," which took 16 days to make $300 million.

The latest Batman installment already had broken records for best opening weekend at $158.4 million and best single-day with $66.4 million. It's also busted records in its showings on IMAX screens, making $16.3 million in its first 10 days.
Fellman expects that "Dark Knight" could reach $400 million in about 18 days, which would beat the record "Shrek 2" set in 2004 when it made that much money in 43 days.
"What can you say? We've been getting a lot of repeat business coming in," Fellman said. "Our audience is expanding, like you would expect with terrific word-of-mouth and strong reviews. Our audience is getting a little bit older, that's the good news. We're finding the younger demographic, male and female, coming back."
He called it "a big surprise," adding: "To do $300 (million) plus in 10 days, we just couldn't have predicted it."
"The Dark Knight" could pass "Titanic" as the highest-grossing film in U.S. history, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. James Cameron's 1997 extravaganza made $600,788,188 domestically, a record no other movie has come close to touching.
"The `Titanic' record has sat in a lock box for 10 years. It's a tall order but if any film has a chance to surpass that number, it's got to be `Dark Knight,'" Dergarabedian said.
Director Christopher Nolan's follow-up to his 2005 origin story "Batman Begins," which again stars Christian Bale as the tormented comic-book crime fighter, initially benefited from the mystique of the late Heath Ledger giving his masterful, last performance as the Joker, Dergarabedian said.
"Now, it's all about word-of-mouth," he said. "The first weekend, there was this huge, pent-up demand and eagerness by audiences to see this movie. Now, it's like a freight train it seems to be unstoppable."
Part of the film's visual allure comes from the fact that 30 minutes of it were shot with IMAX cameras, including an elaborate bank-heist scene at the start.
"Chris (Nolan) has clearly hit upon something," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of IMAX Filmed Entertainment. "There are many important filmmakers who we've spoken with in the last couple of weeks about shooting with IMAX cameras."
Coming in second place was "Step Brothers," which had a strong opening of its own with $30 million. The comedy reunites Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, co-stars of "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby," as 40-year-olds who've never left home and are forced to share a bedroom when their parents get married.
Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony, said this was at the high end of the studio's expectations.
"We'd hoped to be in the mid-to-high $20 (millions), so to hit $30 (million) is a great start," Bruer said. "Having the chemistry of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly together again, reuniting with (director) Adam McKay who did `Talladega Nights,' it's great. They both immerse themselves and the humor comes from their connection."
Sony also has the Will Smith superhero flick "Hancock," which made $8.2 million this past weekend to cross the $200 million mark.
The weekend's other big release was "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" which made an estimated $10.2 million. Ten years after the first "X-Files" movie and six years since the pioneering sci-fi show went off the air, this latest installment finds Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) re-teaming to solve a missing-persons case.
"The hardcore `X-Files' fans, they're happy. And frankly, that's who the movie was made for," said Chris Aronson, distribution executive for 20th Century Fox.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Dark Knight," $75.63 million.
2. "Step Brothers," $30 million.
3. "Mamma Mia!!" $17.9 million.
4. "The X-Files: I Want to Believe," $10.2 million.
5. "Journey to the Center of the Earth," $9.4 million.
6. "Hancock," $8.2 million.
7. "WALL-E," $6.3 million.
8. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army," $4.9 million.
9. "Space Chimps," $4.4 million.
10. "Wanted," $2.7 million.

FIRE

MANILA, Philippines - A fire that hit a mall in Pasay City before dawn Thursday was finally declared "out" after more than 16 hours, but firemen kept watch over the site lest the fire restart. Firefighters declared the fire out past 7 p.m., more than 16 hours after the fire started - shortly before 3 a.m. At least five persons, including a volunteer, were hurt battling the blaze.
While arson investigators declined to estimate how much damage to property the fire caused, they are verifying information that the fire was deliberate.
Traffic finally "eased" in the area as Libertad was finally opened to vehicular traffic.

Meanwhile, Several houses near the Puregold Plaza in Pasay City caught fire early Friday morning, hours after firefighters put out the main blaze in the mall, apparently because of the intense heat. Though hampered by narrow alleys in the neighborhood, firefighters managed to put out the second fire. Some 20 houses made of light materials and concrete were reported damaged as a result of the blaze. Senior Supt. The fire was likely caused by a “transfer of heat” from the walls of the charred Puregold Plaza, located at the corner of Taft Avenue and Libertad Street, to the houses beside it, as the structures were made of light materials. Residents claimed burning debris and embers fell on their roofs when the mall was burning, she said. The second blaze started some three hours after firefighters declared a fire out at the Puregold Plaza. Some 25 firefighters also suffered from smoke inhalation.

"Splendor Hotel"

Rated as a five star hotel,Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung features an excellent blend of the comfort and utility. The Location of Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung at Tzu Chiang 3road, offers easy and rapid access to different places of sight seeing. Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung is situated at Sky Tower at the city's downtown area,and is at 15 and 20 minutes driving distance from the city's train station and airport respectively.
The Room Facilities at Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung are excellent. Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung has 592 spacious rooms with elegant decor and has all the updated amenities for the comfort of the guests. All the rooms of Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung offer a magnificent view of the city and the harbor located nearby. The rooms are all air conditioned with cable and satellite connections. There are direct dial telephones enabling the guests to get access to the outer world fast and easily.
The Amenities and Services at Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung are numerous. The on site restaurant serves delicious Cantonese and Szechuan dishes. The wine bar offers a pleasant atmosphere to dine and drink. The Diamond banquet hall in the hotel can accommodate a massive strength of 1500 people. Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung also has gymnasium,swimming pool,sauna and aerobics center. Above all, what makes the guests most comfortable is the warm and friendly dealings of the hotel staffs. All these services make Splendor Hotel in Kaohsiung, one of the best five star Hotels in Kaohsiung in Taiwan.

"World's Tallest Building"

Taipei 101 is often called world’s tallest tower. These days all this might change and it'll be the world's tallest artificial Christmas tree, at least for now.
Every observer probably has noticed it by now, The Taipei 101 building is changing its glamorous lightshowall the time and has become a major factor for illuminating Taipei's nightlife. During christmas. it has changed to resemble a giant artificial christmas tree. And every new year's eve, there will be parties held on the top floor and everyone with tickets and witness the first sunrise of the new year! How much earlier can they see the sun, seconds or minutes? Just go to Taipei 101 and if you haven't got a ticket celebrate with all the others on the street and listen for the big hurray coming from above there should be a delay between the hurray on the tower and the one on the street.

Taipei 101 is the only travel destination in Taipei where it is unnecessary to provide you with the exact address. Next to Warner village it’s just a little taller than Taipei's world trade center. The tallest building and Taipei financial center is developing since Taipei 101 construction is completed and the tower is open for business and commerce. How nice it would be to have a flat on the top floor