Pinoy 'Superman'

Yahoo News:
A combination photo shows Herbert Chavez before and after his cosmetic transformation to look more like the comic book character Superman in Calamba Laguna, south of Manila October 12, 2011. In his idolization of the superhero, Chavez, a self-professed "pageant trainer" who owns two costume stores, has undergone a series of cosmetic surgeries for his nose, cheeks, lips and chin down to his thighs and even his skin color to look more like the "Man of Steel". The final result bears little resemblance to his old self. The photo on the left was taken when Chavez was 16. REUTERS/Handout (L) and Cheryl Ravelo

Thoughts:
Is it wrong to admire someone? No. But to admire someone or something to the extent that you want to become that person is plain pure scary. I can understand if you want to be like the person you admire, but to do so to the extent where you want to look like the person you admire means that something is not quite right. It might be due to some kind of complex or thought/belief that you can do more or life will be better if you look like the person you admire.

It is like in the race to look like, rather than be like, you lose your own self identity while on the way trying to find it. It is not how you look that would make any difference, but rather how you behave and the things you do that really matters in life.

Yes, you may be happy that you have achieved a level of similarity or status by looking like the person you admire. But happiness will only be temporary. The reality is you can never be that person, at most if all is well you look like that person, if something gets blotched you won't even look like yourself or the person your admire. You are unique and special in your own, so why change the impossible when you can change yourself from the inside out, where it really matters?

Looks after all will fade with time, that is what people call aging. So you either age gracefully, or otherwise.... Even with all the makeup or all the surgeries, as time goes by, there is no guarantee what will still hold up post surgery. The most important thing? Being happy with who you are, and even if you want to change outwardly or inwardly it should be the betterment of yourself not because of a fantasy. After all, no matter how much your outer appearance changes, if you are not happy, you will never be no matter what you do. Happiness not something that just happens, you make yourself happy because that way, life will go by easier. Don't you think?

China bans songs in culture crackdown

China has banned 100 songs from being featured on websites, barring artists ranging from Lady Gaga to the Backstreet Boys apparently for being out of tune with the country's cultural authorities.
The ministry of culture said it aimed to regulate the "order" of the Internet music market, adding songs that "harm the security of state culture must be cleaned up and regulated under the law". The notice, issued on August 19 and posted on the ministry's website, included American singer Lady Gaga's "The Edge of Glory", "Hair", "Marry the Night" and "Bloody Mary".

It did not explain why the songs were banned but China routinely censors anything it considers politically sensitive or offensive. Lady Gaga's "Bloody Mary" ends with the line "Oh, libertad, mi amor (Oh, freedom, my love)", while "Hair" includes the lyrics "This is my prayer/ That I'll die living just as free as my hair".

Teng Jimeng, a professor of American studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said that sex, politics or religion could put a song on the black list but even songs about "youthful independence" may run afoul of censors. "Sexuality should be avoided, and politics," he said. But he saw the move as part of a broader tightening of controls over culture given the revolts in the Arab world, which have worried Beijing. "It's part of a cyclical chill in terms of cultural control," he said.

Boy band The Backstreet Boys, American R&B singer Beyonce, Canada's Simple Plan and British pop group Take That all had songs on the list -- the third to be issued by China's government. Asian artists with songs banned included Taiwan's Chang Hui-mei, who previously drew Beijing's ire after singing the Taiwan anthem at the inauguration of former Taiwanese president Chen Shui-bian in 2000. China, which regards Taiwan as part of its territory, temporarily banned her from mainland performances and pulled her product advertisements.

Songs placed on previous blacklists include Avril Lavigne's "What the Hell" and the Rolling Stones' version of "It's All Over Now" which dates to the 1960s. Since 2010, China has required all songs posted on music websites to receive prior approval, in a move the government said was aimed at controlling content and rampant piracy.

Pirated music in China is said to account for as much as 99 percent of all downloads, according to industry estimates. Authorities have blocked some foreign bands from giving live performances in China, or at least scrutinised set lists in advance to nix songs considered offensive. The culture ministry reportedly axed the Rolling Stones' sex-and-drugs anthem "Brown Sugar" from the set list when they played Shanghai in 2006. The official squeamishness over headline foreign performances was heightened when Iceland's Bjork closed a 2008 Shanghai show by shouting "Tibet!" at the end of her song, "Declare Independence".

 
By Bill Savadove 

10 Products that defined Steve Jobs' career

NEW YORK (AP) — Steve Jobs had no formal schooling in engineering, yet he's listed as the inventor or co-inventor on more than 200 U.S. patents. These are some of the significant products that were created under his direction:

1. Apple I (1976) — Apple's first product was a computer for hobbyists and engineers, made in small numbers. Steve Wozniak designed it, while Jobs orchestrated the funding and handled the marketing.

2. Apple II (1977) — One of the first successful personal computers, the Apple II was designed as a
mass-market product rather than something for engineers or enthusiasts. It was still largely Wozniak's design. Several upgrades for the model followed, and the product line continued until 1993.

3. Lisa (1983) — Jobs' visit to Xerox Corp.'s research center in Palo Alto inspired him to start work on the first commercial computer with a graphical user interface, with icons, windows and a cursor controlled by a mouse. It was the foundation for today's computer interfaces, but the Lisa was too expensive to be a commercial success.

4. Macintosh (1984) — Like the Lisa, the Macintosh had a graphical user interface. It was also cheaper and faster and had the backing of a large advertising campaign behind it. People soon realized how useful the graphical interface was for design. That led "desktop publishing," accomplished with a Mac coupled to a laser printer, to soon become a sales driver.

5. NeXT computer (1989) — After being forced out of Apple, Jobs started a company that built a powerful workstation computer. The company was never able to sell large numbers, but the computer was influential: The world's first Web browser was created on one. Its software also lives on as the basis for today's Macintosh and iPhone operating system.

6. iMac (1998) — When Jobs returned to Apple in 1996, the company was foundering, with an ever shrinking share of the PC market. The radical iMac was the first step in reversing the slide. It was strikingly designed as a bubble of blue plastic that enclosed both the monitor and the computer. Easy to set up, it captured the imagination just as people across the world were having their eyes opened to the benefits of the Internet and considering getting their first home computer.

7. iPod (2001) — It wasn't the first digital music player with a hard drive, but it was the first successful one. Apple's expansion into portable electronics has had vast ramifications. The iPod's success prepared the way for the iTunes music store and the iPhone.

8. iTunes store (2003) — Before the iTunes store, buying digital music was a hassle, making piracy the more popular option. The store simplified the process and brought together tracks from all the major labels. The store became the largest music retailer in the U.S. in 2008.

9. iPhone (2007) — The iPhone did for the phone experience what the Macintosh did for personal computing — it made the power of a smartphone easy to harness. Apple is now the world's most profitable maker of phones, and the influence of the iPhone is evident in all smartphones.

10. iPad (2010) — Dozens of companies, including Apple, had created tablet computers before the iPad, but none caught on. The iPad finally cracked the code, creating a whole new category of computer practically by itself.

 
By PETER SVENSSON

Fake Contact Lenses

Counterfeit products are no longer limited to health products, IT gadgets and branded goods, now even contact lenses are not spared. What is scary is that it is legitimate shops knowingly selling such products.

In recent years, in an attempt to cut costs and earn more profit, people have devised ingenious yet harmful products. From highly sought after IT gadgets (i.e. Apple iPhone), branded goods, all the way down to daily necessities (i.e. milk, eggs) and children’s toys. There’s just about a counterfeit for almost everything available in the (black) market.

Now there are even counterfeit contact lenses, which are harmful to the eyes. For the first time in Singapore, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has confiscated over 100 boxes of counterfeit colored contact lenses from legitimate suppliers, such as licensed optical shops. The confiscated boxes of counterfeit lenses were obtained after raiding five optical shops across the island. Currently, more than 10 people are also being questioned in connection to the case.

It was reported that the counterfeit contact lenses were fraudulently labeled as “FreshLook ColorBlends” Contact Lenses from CIBA VISION. These counterfeits were found to be unsafe and of poor quality: the solution in which the lenses are packed were tested and determined to have been contaminated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a harmful bacteria known to cause serious eye infections. The packaging for the counterfeits looks almost authentic, apart from typographical errors on the packaging. A closer look on how to spot the counterfeits here

To date, the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has reported that one anonymous consumer, who is in her 30s, removed the lenses immediately when she could not close her eyes after wearing them.

According to CIBA VISION, this is...Read more >>

Dog bashed to death

By Kimberly Spykerman

The dog was found in the void deck of an HDB block on Wednesday. Blood covered its muzzle and the inside of its ears.

-- PHOTO: SPCA

THE bloodied body of a dog was found in the void deck of an HDB block in Sengkang on Wednesday evening.

The dog, which appeared to be a Pomeranian, is believed to have been bashed to death.

A preliminary examination by a vet called in by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) noted that the animal had head injuries consistent with trauma. Blood covered its muzzle and the inside of its ears.

Police said they had been alerted to the dog's body by a member of the public, who had spotted the dog lying motionless with its leash still attached. The floor around it was blood-spattered.

A spokesman for the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) told The Straits Times that a post-mortem is in progress, and that investigations into the identity of the owner are ongoing.

Although the dog had been microchipped, the owner had not followed up the microchipping by registering the animal with the AVA.

Read the full story in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.

It's things like this that leave me speechless and lesser faith in the human race. Why must we be so cruel? I hope the person gets caught and punished severely. Acts like that shouldn't be condoned, I wonder why no one called for help. Imagine if it were a human life.

This case just happens to be one that was discovered, I can't even begin to imagine for those that go unnoticed. It's just so... sad...

Humans are funny beings. We contradict ourselves most of the time, being selfish and sometimes actually thinking we're being caring and considerate. It seems that everything that we do has an motive behind it. When will we truly understand that it really isn't just all about us... Frustration is never an excuse to bully those that are smaller and have no defenses against you.

Woman gets third tattoo at 101

SPRING HILL, Fla., Aug. 22 (UPI) -- It took a while to get going, but 101-year-old Mimi Rosenthal now has her third tattoo, courtesy of a Florida tattoo artist.

This one went on her left arm, and next time she might get one on her butt, she said in an interview in the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.

The first tattoo came at 99; it was a dime-sized butterfly; at 100 she had a small flower tattooed on her other leg. This time she picked a sunflower, perhaps in recognition of Kansas, where she was born.

"Her skin is so fragile, it's like uncharted territory," said Spring Hill, Fla., tattoo artist Michelle Gallo-Kohlas, who is responsible for all of Rosenthal's inkings.

The work took longer than expected, but Rosenthal liked the results.

"It's pretty," she said in the interview. So, will there be a next time?

"Next time I'm getting it on my butt," Rosenthal joked.

UPI

Giant Baby Is Weight Of A Six-Year-Old

When he was born in China's southern Hunan province, Xiao Lei weighed in at around 3.5kg (7.7lbs), only just above the average weight of a newborn baby, according to Hunan television.

But a fierce appetite has seen him expand to 20kg (44lbs) - double the size of most babies of his age.

His mother, Cheng Qingyu, has said he is fed only with her breast milk.

"I've never had him take any milk powder or anything that contains hormones. Why would I need to worry?"

However, doctors at Hunan Children's Hospital have said unless Xiao Lei loses weight, it will cause future problems for his heart and blood pressure.

source:yahoo

Woman ordered to pay damages to neighbor over noise from hitting futons

OSAKA -- The Osaka District Court on Aug. 24 ordered a 63-year-old woman to pay 1 million yen in damages to her 72-year-old male next-door neighbor after years of bothering him with noise by hitting futons.

The woman exceeded a court-ordered limit that had been agreed to in an earlier settlement, and the neighbor brought the woman to court, seeking 1.86 million yen in damages for infringing on his right to live peacefully.

In handing down his decision, Judge Akihiro Takemura said, "The futon hitting exceeded the limit that social norms dictate could reasonably be withstood, and infringed on the victim's rights. Additionally, the defendant did not take sincere efforts to respond (to the victim's complaints)."

According to the court ruling, the woman had been bothering her neighbor by frequently hitting futons ever since he moved next to the woman in Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, in 2000. The two residences' outer walls are only a meter apart at their closest, and the problem could not be resolved even after the man brought the issue up with the neighborhood association.

In April of 2005, the man filed with the Osaka District Court for an injunction to stop the futon hitting. A settlement was reached on conditions including that the woman would not hit futons more than twice a day, would not hit for 10 minutes or longer at a time, and would not hit between 6 p.m. and 9 a.m.

However, even after the settlement, the woman continued to hit futons more than the agreed upon number of times. When the man complained, she is said to have responded, "If you don't like it, go away," and hit the futons even more loudly.

The Mainichi Daily News

Mother and son charged in theft of video games

CONCORD, N.H. – Police in Salem, N.H., have charged a mother-and-son team with the theft of more than $1,600 worth of video games from a Best Buy store. Police said 64-year-old Luise LaQuerre and her 20-year-old son, Christopher Andrukaitis, both of Amesbury, Mass., were charged with felony theft after store security officers on Monday spotted the son stuffing video games into a cloth bag carried by his mother.

They were stopped when they left the store. Officers found in their car an additional trove of video games believed to have been stolen earlier in the day from the same store. Police put the value of the video games at $1,670.

Both suspects were released on bail. They could not immediately be reached for comment.

AP

Japanese torches home after mum dumps toys

A Japanese man has admitted to burning down his family home after his mother threw away some of his favourite robot toys from the "Gundam" animation series.

Yoshifumi Takabe, aged 30 and living with his mother, said he had become suicidal after she dumped some of the robots, of which he had enough to fill 300 boxes stacked to the ceiling, the Sports Nippon said Wednesday.

The blaze on August 9 last year completely destroyed their two-storey wooden house in Kasai, Hyogo prefecture, but no one was injured.

"The Gundam figures are like the partners I spend my life with," he reportedly said after pleading guilty at western Kobe's District Court. "I wanted to die with them in a fire if they were to be thrown out."

The Mobile Suit Gundam series, based on an animation TV series which started in the late 1970s, is about space wars fought by gigantic robots.

source:yahoo

Japan blind-school teacher in drag arrested for panty theft

A teacher at a school for the blind in Japan has been arrested for allegedly stealing a woman's underpants from a laundromat while dressed in a miniskirt and wearing a blonde wig, police said Wednesday.

Police later confiscated some 150 female garments, including more underwear and knee-high boots, from the home of Tsuyoshi Hirano, 43, a teacher at a prefectural school for the visually impaired, the Nikkan Sports daily reported.

The victim, a 22-year-old woman, realised her underpants were missing from a drying tumbler in a coin laundromat in Fukuoka, western Japan.

When she saw Hirano get into a car parked outside, she reported the licence plate number to police, Kyodo News reported.

"At first glance, I knew 'she' was a 'he,'" she reportedly told police. The man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of theft, Fukuoka police said.

source:yahoo

Most US students think Beethoven is a dog

Most young Americans entering university this year can't write in cursive, think email is too slow, that Beethoven's a dog and Michelangelo a computer virus, according to an annual list compiled by two academics at a US college.

To students who will get their bachelor's degrees in 2014, Czechoslovakia has never existed, Fergie is a pop singer, not a duchess; Clint Eastwood is a sensitive movie director, not Dirty Harry; and John McEnroe stars in TV ads, not on the tennis court, Beloit College's "Mindset" list says.

The Mindset list was first compiled in 1998, for the class of 2002, by Beloit humanities professor Tom McBride and former public affairs director Ron Nief.

It was intended as a reminder to faculty at the university that references quickly become dated, but quickly evolved to become a hugely popular annual list that gives a snapshot of how things have changed, and chronicles key cultural and political events that have shaped a generation.

In the first Mindset list, McBride and Nief found that youngsters born in 1980 had ever known only one pope - Polish-born John Paul II, who was elected to the papacy in 1978 and died in 2008.

For the class of 2003 -- born in 1981 and featured on the 1999 Mindset list -- Yugoslavia never existed and they were puzzled why Solidarity was sometimes spelled with a capital S.

Solidarity with a capital S was the first and only independent trade union in the Soviet bloc. It was created in 1980 and went on to negotiate in 1989 a peaceful end to communism in Poland, making the country the first to escape Moscow's grip.

Nief and McBride take a year to put the list together, gathering outside contributions and poring over journals, literary works, and the popular media from the year of the incoming university students' birth.

"Then we present the ideas to every 18-year-old whose attention we can get and we wait for the 'mindset moment' -- the blank stare that comes back at you that makes you realize they have no idea what you're talking about," Nief told AFP.

Those moments make it onto the list, alongside interesting historical snippets like the fact that since the class of 2004 was born in 1982, all but one national election in the United States has had a candidate in it named George Bush.

The list also chronicles geopolitical changes, and sometimes depressingly highlights how little progress has been made on key issues, such as the fight against AIDS.

The class of 2004, for instance, "never referred to Russia and China as 'the Reds'", and in the year they were born, 1982, "AIDS was found to have killed 164 people and finding a cure for the new disease was designated a 'top priority' for government-sponsored research."

The class of 2005 -- born in 1983 -- thought of Sarajevo as a war zone, not an Olympic host, and had no idea what carbon paper was.

Apartheid never existed in South Africa for the class of 2006, and for the class of 2007, "Banana Republic has always been a store, not a puppet government in Latin America."

The list is a mirror of how rapidly perceptions can change: to the class of 2013, boxer Mike Tyson was "always a felon" but to students who graduated five years earlier, Tyson was "always a contender."

The list makes some people feel old, like those who remember what Michael Jackson looked like when he was singing in the Jackson Five or recall the days when there were only a handful of channels on television.

But they're not the only ones who get the blues over the list.

"There are 25- and 26-year-olds that tell us they feel old when they read the list," Nief said.

"Just two years ago, there were some students who learned to type on a typewriter," but others in the graduating class of 2012 didn't know that IBM had ever made typewriters, said Nief.

Few students in the class of 2009 knew how to tie a tie and most thought Iran and Iraq had never been at war with each other.

And for US students who got their bachelor's degrees this year, Germany was never divided, professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics, there have always been reality shows on television and smoking has never been allowed on US airlines.

source:yahoo

Boy, 13, struck by lightning -- on Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th proved suitably unlucky for one 13 year-old boy who was struck by lightning before being taken to hospital -- at 13:13 on the dreaded date.

The boy, who has not been named, was treated for a minor burn after being hit along with two others at an air show in Suffolk, a spokeswoman said.

Staff at the St Johns Ambulance service said there had been heavy rain all day before they witnessed a big flash of lightning and a loud clap of thunder over the sea off the Suffolk coast.

"We got a call that someone had been struck by lightning so we immediately sent our paramedics to the scene, followed by an ambulance," said Rex Clarke, head of the team of St John Ambulance volunteers at the event.

"Lightning strikes can cause cardiac arrest, but when our volunteers arrived the boy was conscious and breathing."

Clarke added that two other people were treated for injuries from lightning burns in the space of twenty minutes, and that all three people were holding umbrellas at the time which "acts as a conductor for electricity."

Jason Gillingham, a County Ambulance Officer and on scene at the show, said: "This was a minor burn to the boy's shoulder, but he was taken to hospital and is recovering well."

source:yahoo

Anglers mourn death of "marriage wrecking" giant fish

Anglers were mourning on Tuesday the death of a carp believed to be Britain's largest freshwater fish, who tipped the scales at almost five stone (32 kgs) and was nicknamed "the marriage wrecker."

Two Tone, a mirror carp who weighed 67lb 14oz, was found floating on the surface of Conningbrook Lake in Kent where it lived. It was believed to be about 45 years old and to have died from old age.

The fish, named from its skin colour, was only caught once or twice a year and no more than 50 times in its lifetime which made him a prize catch amongst anglers across the country.

"It's a unique creature. It's genetically unusual. There's no other fish ever grown to that size in this country," Conningbrook fisheries manager Chris Logsdon told Reuters Television.

"Obviously it was the pinnacle of carp angling. It was the fish that everybody wanted to catch."

It was the hours that some anglers spent trying to catch Two Tone that won the fish the nickname "the marriage wrecker."

Angler Lee Jackson wrote a book called "Just For The Record: My Quest For Two Tone" about his battle trying to snare Two Tone which he won in the end.

"It really became an obsession to catch that fish. It took me fishing it in the spring, summer and autumn most weeks, fishing it for about 50 hours per week, and it took me six years. It was a pretty difficult one to track down," said Lee Jackson.

Two Tone will be buried next to the lake next Sunday with anglers sending online tributes to the fish that got away.

source:yahoo

Woman suffers from Bananaphobia

A 21-year-old woman with a fear of bananas has been diagnosed as suffering from Bananaphobia. Fran Dando is so scared of the fruit that even seeing one causes her to shake, sweat and sometimes vomit.

"It began when I was 7 and my brother put a banana in my bed as a joke," Metro quotes her as saying. "I felt his horrible, slimy thing underneath my body. I was frozen in panic and hyperventilating. Ever since then, if I see one the same feeling comes back."

The children's worker admitted that she is embarrassed by the fear. "I generally do not explain my fear unless a situation comes up," she said. "Then I will say, 'Sorry I am going to have to leave the room'. It is embarrassing - it is such a nonsensical fear."

However, Dando's 2-year-old son has not developed the phobia and loves bananas, which means she has to come into contact with them. "I have to use a blanket to pick them up and put them in the trolley and then when I am at home I have to wear rubber gloves and use a tea towel to open one and give it to him," she said.

DS

China demands answers after 8 Hong Kong tourists killed in Philippine bus hijacking

MANILA, Philippines – MANILA, Philippines (AP) — China demanded answers Tuesday from the Philippines after a 12-hour hostage drama in the heart of Manila ended with eight Hong Kong tourists dead along with their Filipino hostage-taker after a day of botched negotiations.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said his government was "appalled" and telephoned his Philippine counterpart Alberto Romulo to voice concern, while Hong Kong residents expressed outrage and media outlets in the Chinese territory denounced Philippine police as incompetent.

Dismissed policeman Rolando Mendoza, 55, was armed with a M16 rifle and a pistol when he seized the busload of 21 Hong Kong tourists and four locals to demand his reinstatement on the force. The ordeal ended in bloodshed on live TV with police storming the bus and killing the gunman after he fired at the tourists, killing eight of them.

"The Chinese government demands the Philippine government launch a thorough investigation into the incident and inform the Chinese side of related details as soon as possible," Yang said, according to a statement posted on his ministry's website.

At the Philippine Consulate in Hong Kong, a wealthy former British colony unaccustomed to violence, several dozen protesters chanted: "Strongly condemn the Philippine government for being careless about human life!"

Philippine police defended their action but promised to review all events leading to the deaths. "There will be an internal audit. We will look at whether what we did was right," national police spokesman Agrimero Cruz told The Associated Press.

"Of course what happened was far from ideal. Nevertheless, we are congratulating our personnel because despite the lack of equipment ... they risked life and limb," he said.

President Benigno Aquino III, faced with his first major crisis since taking office in June, said the incident showed the need for more police training and better equipment. "How can I be satisfied when there were people who died?" Aquino told reporters late Monday.

Some police commandos lacked helmets and appropriate communication equipment, and the team had no ladder vehicle to help climb aboard the seized bus while storming it — shortcomings that hampered a speedy response.

According to newspaper reports, Mendoza was among five officers who had been charged with robbery, extortion and grave threats after a Manila hotel chef filed a complaint alleging they falsely accused him of using drugs to extort money. Mendoza was fired last year but claimed he was innocent.

As negotiations got under way in Manila's downtown where the bus was parked, the outcome at first looked promising with Mendoza freeing nine hostages — six tourists, a Filipino photographer and his Filipino assistant. Fifteen tourists and the Filipino driver were left on board.

Then the situation unraveled. Mendoza demanded a signed promise from the city ombudsman that his case would be reviewed, but its delivery was delayed for hours, in part by Manila's notorious traffic, and when it finally arrived he rejected it as insufficient.

Mayor Alfredo Lim, a former Manila police chief, said the regional police commander Leocadio Santiago issued an order reinstating Mendoza "just to accommodate his request, just to peacefully resolve this hostage situation."

"But the problem was it wasn't delivered before the shooting started," he told DZMM radio on Tuesday.

Police made an initial attempt to board the bus after Mendoza grew agitated while talking to his brother and shot at a police sharpshooter, said Nelson Yabut, head of the assault team.

The Filipino bus driver later managed to escape and reported that Mendoza had fired at the tourists. Mendoza was then shot in the head, police lobbed tear gas into the bus and commandos stormed the vehicle by smashing windows and the back door with sledgehammers.

Police managed to rescue eight passengers during the ordeal, many of them wounded and one of whom later died in hospital. Mendoza and seven passengers were lying dead, one of them slumped on the bus steps.

"I hid under a seat (when the gunman started to fire)," Wang Zhuoyao, 15, told reporters from a hospital bed. "Then the police dispersed gas. People in the bus were struggling. I could hear that many people couldn't breathe."

A freed hostage who gave only her surname, Ng, told Hong Kong reporters that she saw her husband killed by Mendoza after he tried to subdue the gunman.

"He was very brave. He rushed forward from the back of the bus. He wanted to prevent the gunman from killing people. He sacrificed himself," she said.

She said that Mendoza at first "did not want to kill us, but since the negotiation failed, he shot to kill people."

Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said the hostage crisis would likely damage the country's tourism industry. "We will have cancellations," he told The AP early Tuesday in a Manila hospital, where some of the former hostages were confined. "I'm hoping it will be forgotten soon enough."

Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang said he was "disappointed" at how the incident was handled. His government canceled planned tour groups to Philippines and asked Hong Kong tourists in the country to leave.

Tsang told reporters that one of the survivors was in serious condition with a head wound.

Chinese Embassy spokesman Ethan Sun Yi said a chartered plane was available to fly survivors home.

Many Hong Kong newspapers printed mastheads in black out of respect for the victims, and flags in the territory flew at half-staff.

"Filipino police incompetent," Hong Kong's Ming Pao Daily News said in a front-page headline.

"Clearly, if local police used more decisive and professional rescue methods, maybe the bloody tragedy could have been avoided," the Hong Kong Economic Journal said in an editorial on Tuesday.

The South China Morning Post called the killings "a wake-up call" for the Philippines to boost security and take gun-control measures.

Fox News

The Future of Digital Manga Publishing

The sudden closure of One Manga, had manga fans questioning the future of manga aggregator websites. Stricter rules imposed by publishers may push websites to close or trim down the number to unlicensed manga titles. Fortunately, two teams are racing toward an obvious solution - the digitalization of manga publishing - Open Manga and Crunchyroll.

Open Manga

"OpenManga is a Online Manga, Digital Publishing and Social Platform where comic artists can release directly to fans, receive revenue for their content, and become part of a global art and comics community."

Mission

"Our goal is to create a platform that allows manga authors and artists to publish and earn money from their work, while still reaching a multi-lingual global audience. A platform that promotes and allows artists (and eventually interested publishers) to work directly with translators and scanlators to publish their work while still remaining in control of their creations. A platform that supports an artist’s need for an income, with the possibility of free availability to the fan."

Open Manga's blog provides a detailed, and long, posts about their project. Here's a summary

• OpenManga was inspired by a business draft circulating the internet last year, which provided a model where publishers and artists can work together like in a symbiotic relationship. (Opps. They failed to specify what type of Symbiotic Relationship. I hope it's "Mutualism" not "Parasitism.")
• OP is connected yet completely independent with Manga Helpers. The same people who worked hard to bring us MH are responsible for the inception of OP.
• OP aims to create a platform (and a complete solution) where artists and publishers can publish their work and earn.
• OP aims to bridge artists/publishers, translators and scanlators for multi-lingual releases (localization).
• Artists/Publishers will earn through 3 subscription models (by artist, sitewide mobile plan and access to every content in any device), revenue shares and donations.
• OP will have its own currency available for purchase through credit card, PayPal, WebMoney.
• OP will have its own marketplace for digital and physical products.
• The manga may be available for free viewing, premium membership or subscription at the artists/publishers discretion...Read more>>

iTunes expands movie service

SAN FRANCISCO - APPLE on Friday expanded its iTunes online film service to France and Ireland.

Films from major studios including Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Walt Disney, Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox are now available for purchase or rental at the iPad, iPhone and iPod maker's Internet shop.

European studios with works in the line-up include Pathe, SND and StudioCanal in France and E1 Entertainment, Lionsgate UK and Optimum Releasing in Ireland, according to Cupertino, California-based Apple.

Films are available at iTunes on the same day they are released in DVD format and can be watched on iPods, iPhones, Macintosh or personal computers, or using Apple TV devices that link to television sets.

Available films touted by Apple include 3-D blockbuster Avatar, animated hit Up, and teen-oriented The Twilight Saga: New Moon. Films rented at iTunes must be watched within 30 days of download. Once someone begins watching a film rented at iTunes they have two days to finish viewing it or 'watch it multiple times,' according to Apple.

Movies in the iTunes library may be rented for 2.99 euros (S$5.41) while rentals of new releases cost 3.99 euros per film. Films can be purchased for 7.99 euros for older titles, 9.99 euros for recent releases and 13.99 euros for new releases. -- AFP

Source : The Straits Times

Sony unveils new 'God Of War' PSP game

Sony Computer Entertainment America has unveiled a second God Of War game for the PSP, which will carry the suffix Ghost Of Sparta.

The new game is being developed by Ready At Dawn and SCEA's Santa Monica studio, who previously worked together on 2008's God Of War: Chains Of Olympus.

Writing on the US PlayStation Blog, SCEA PR Eric Levine said that God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta will be a "prequel of sorts, picking up where God Of War left off".

The story will focus on lead character Kratos's ascent to power as he must confront his nightmares and dark past to "prove his worthiness to the gods".

Over the journey, players will learn about the "origins of lost worlds" and understand more about Kratos's tattoo, scar and family history.

"I can tell you from first-hand experience that we are pushing the limits of what PSP can do with state-of-the-art visual technologies, higher resolution environments, and greater depths of scale," said Levine.

"We're also providing over 25% more gameplay, an improved weapon system, and new magical powers - all enjoyed anytime, anywhere."

God Of War: Ghost Of Sparta will be released on PSP and PSP Go later in the year.

DS

Flash creator wades into Apple debate

The co-creator of Flash media software has said it has a future, despite Apple's attempts to kill it off.

The video and animation software owned by Adobe has been heavily criticised by Apple boss Steve Jobs.

Jonathan Gay told BBC News that Flash "will continue to be the dominant tool" for media on the internet.

He also said he thinks iPhone users will see "support for Flash...sometime in the next few years".

Mr Gay, who is no longer involved with developing the video and animation software, helped to create the FutureSplash software that later became Flash, and describes himself as its "architect".

Apple's iPods and iPhones have proved hugely popular, and few doubt the technologies have helped to promote innovation in smartphones and portable music players.

But Apple founder Steve Jobs's decision to challenge Flash, which is used to help distribute a vast array of media across the internet, has come under close scrutiny.

In a letter posted on the Apple website, he argued that Flash had "one of the worst security records in 2009", "has not performed well on mobile devices", and "is the number one reason that Macs crash".

Yet iPhone users browsing the web find it frustrating that video and other animated content distributed with Flash cannot be viewed.

Instead, they see an empty square where the content would be. This is because there is no so-called "plug-in" for Flash on the iPhone's web browser, Safari.

Earlier this year, Adobe was busy creating software that would have helped iPhone App creators translate Flash website content for use on the iPhone.

But a recent change by Apple to the iPhone and iPad developer's agreement effectively prevented developers from using the technology.

Profitable business

Jonathan Gay said: "Apple is building their tightly controlled application platform to push the mobile internet world to a model like traditional mobile phone and cable TV businesses, where there is a gatekeeper who controls the platform and gets a fee from all the transactions on the platform."

"This would drive a very profitable business for Apple," he said.

"Flash grew from the PC and Web era where players are free, run on lots of devices, and there are no gatekeepers controlling what developers could do with the platform.

"As a consumer, I'd much rather see the PC and web model move to mobile phones than the closed mobile phone world taking over rich applications on the mobile internet," he added.

Mr Gay said that the current dispute has its roots in the early days of the iPhone, when Apple struck an important deal with Google, the parent company of YouTube.

The deal saw YouTube convert all of its content so it was compatible with a specialised iPhone YouTube application.

"[Steve Jobs'] ability to convince YouTube to do this for the original iPhone launch was a key driver for the iPhone's initial success, and now he wants the rest of the web to follow", he said.

Previously, YouTube had used Flash for distributing its own video.

Ironically, Mr Gay said that YouTube's adoption of Flash had been the key to it becoming a widely used standard for video on the web.

"Much larger companies like Microsoft, Apple and Real Networks ... were focused on ... building businesses around their players and content delivery.

"The YouTube guys then used Flash to decisively demonstrate that there was an opportunity for short video integrated well into a web page. Flash video took off from there.

"It is surprising to me that it's taken so long for a big company like Apple to mount a visible challenge to Flash's leadership role for video on the internet," he said.

The future

Much emphasis as an alternative to Flash has been placed by Mr Jobs on the latest web standard, HTML5, which is currently undergoing development.

In an open letter on Apple's website, Jobs said that HTML5 "lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash).

"HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member."

He added that whilst Adobe says that "75% of video on the web is in Flash", what they don't say is that "almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads."

However, Mr Gay said that "HTML5 may be a good solution for building video websites like YouTube but it won't be as rich a media platform as Flash is today.

"H.264 is not an open standard from my perspective."

He explained that the Flash developers wanted to use H.264 when they first added video support to their software, "but the patent licensing fees would have cost around $5m (£3.5m) per year."

He also said that "it would be a waste to orphan the enormous investment that has already been made in Flash content."

He added: "I think that the more open approach of Google with Android will put competitive pressure on Apple to support the full web and we'll see ... support for Flash in Safari on the iPhone sometime in the next few years."

Mr Gay is an iPhone user himself, and thinks "it's a great device", but is ready for a change.

"I would guess that my next phone will be an Android phone because I think the more open Google model will meet my needs and the needs of the carriers providing the phones better."

In response to a request for further comment, Apple directed the BBC to the Steve Jobs letter referred to above, and restated its commitment to HTML5 as an "open web standard".

Source: BBC