Thursday, March 22, 2018

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Gov't constitutional revision proposal calls for maximum of two presidential terms



South Korean President Moon Jae-in's constitutional revision proposal calls for changing the current single five-year presidential term to a maximum of two successive four-year terms pending reelection.

Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for legal affairs, made clear on Thursday that, even if the Constitution is revised according to government proposal, President Moon cannot seek reelection after his single term ends in May 2022.

Changing the power structure is the central part of the constitutional revision amid calls for revising the current presidential system, which has long been blamed for concentrating too much power in the president in a way prone to corruption.

The government plans to submit the proposal to the National Assembly on Monday.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (March 22, 2018)



- The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board questioned whether the Dimple Star Bus involved in an accident in Occidental Mindoro had two drivers during the trip. According to LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra, upon checking the route taken by the Dimple Star Bus unit from Cubao, they estimated that it has been on the road for more than 10 hours when it fell off Patrick Bridge.

- The Integrated Bar of the Philippines will block the ouster move via a quo warrant plea against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno by filing an intervention with the Supreme Court, the group, headed by its national president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, announced through a statement issued Thursday.

- President Rodrigo Duterte told during the 39th commencement exercises of the PNP Academy in Camp Castaneda in Silang, Cavite, that cops are getting killed in the Visayas because the former mayors in the said region gave orders to eliminate them so that they won’t be a hindrance in their illegal operations.

- Senator Antonio Trillanes remains confident that the International Criminal Court's investigation to the Duterte administration's bloody war on drugs will lead to his arrest despite the efforts to nullify the Philippines' accession to the Rome Statute and its refusal to recognize the ICC's jurisdiction. According to the opposition lawmaker, the President’s allegedly “self-serving” move to have the Philippines withdraw from the international accord can’t make him get off the hook as it will have no effect on the ICC’s jurisdiction and its preliminary investigation into the complaint against Duterte.

- China will prudently advance cooperation with the Philippines on joint oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea.

- Opel/Vauxhall revived the Corsa GSi, which is based on the three-door, current-generation model.

2019 Opel Corsa GSi

- Ford introduces the first ever Co-Pilot360 driver-assist technology in the Fusion 2019MY minor change.

2019 Ford Fusion

- Alongside the saloon and wagon equivalent, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe and Cabriolet gained a minor change for the 2019MY.



- The Cadillac CT6 V-Sport has been unveiled and it's powered by a 4.2L V8 Twin Turbo engine producing 550HP of power and 850Nm of torque, mated to a 10-speed AT.

2019 Cadillac CT6 V-Sport

- OMEGA unveiled the new Seamaster Diver 300 M Collection at this year's Baselworld. Celebrating its 25th anniversary since its 1993 launch, the new watch revives the iconic waves of the original Seamaster watch thanks to laser-engraving while it was modernized with details such as ceramic dials and bezels, innovative helium escape valves, and Master Chronometer movements.




TTFN!!!

Pripara All Idol Perfect Stage!

With the hilarious cast of characters, unforgettable songs for all kids, and an endless array of outfits, the world would be a boring place without Pripara, but after four years of turning rookie idols into Goddesses, the Pripara saga is coming to an end and the ambitious but hilarious adventures of Laala Manaka and the gang will be no more. While they gave little girls a lump on their throats, they got themselves a final chance to say farewell. Permission to say MAKING DRAMA, SWITCH ON!

Pripara All Idol Perfect Stage!

This is Pripara All Idol Perfect Stage and for the first time in all of the Takara Tomy Pretty series history, all the fun stuff as experienced from the Pripara arcade games has arrived on the Nintendo Switch, making it the shining shimmering last hurrah to the Pripara saga but don't shed too many tears, little kids, because even though Pripara has ended, you can spend time with your favorite Pripara characters forever in your Nintendo Switch.

Like the now-defunct Pripara arcade games, All Idol Perfect Stage pits players to the world of Prism Stone and perform their way to get recognized by a Kami Idol and score powerful tickets for your next performance. You can experience most of the arcade elements right here on the Switch from the classic six-person live show, the Dream Theater Live, Dream Parade, Kami Idol Grand Prix Final, and Pair Live, mastering the greatest hits selection from the Pripara anime and games with over thirty songs to play with from the easiest to the most hardest.

Players can play as over thirty of their favorite Pripara characters from Laala Manaka, Mirei Minami, Sophy Hojo, Sion Todo, Dorothy West, Reona West, even the stars of Idol Time Pripara as well such as Yui Yumekawa, Nino Nijiiro, Michiru Koda, and Shuka Hanazono, among many others. You can relive classic Pripara anime moments in Story Mode as well.

Or if you want to become part of the Pripara fun, you can create a character with 150 parts to tailor your character from skin color, hairstyle, hair color, eye color, eyewear, and more. You can make up to six characters per save file and after that, you can carve your own Pripara story in an all-original storyline where there is a special guest making her first appearance. Who is this special guest, you're wondering? Look at the cover. If you don't know who that special guest is, yes, that's Mirai Momoyama from the upcoming series Kiratto PriChan. The question is, what's Mirai doing in Prism Stone? You'll find out as you progress through the story.

True to Pripara tradition, players can collect over a thousand outfits to match and collect tickets in-game. Sadly, you can't trade one like how it's done in the old days and that seems to be a downside to this game because once gained, forever kept and because there is no micro-transaction needed, getting rare co-des is not going to be a walk in the park so you'd need to keep playing to score more stuff if you want to unlock some of your favorite co-des for your next performance.

Well, I think that's enough talk about that and it's now time for some thoughts about this game because someone's itching to have one for 5,980 Japanese Yen (around $60 or Php3000) plus tax. Anyway, although it lacks some of the classic Pripara arcade stuff and the fact that it's offered only in single-player gameplay, fans who will surely miss the Pripara saga will have lots of time reminiscing their favorite Pripara moments in this Nintendo Switch game and despite faults, it's been an honor that they are big fans of Pripara to the very end and All Idol Perfect Stage is like a parting gift from the friends of Prism Stone before the advent of the newest installment of the Pretty series, Kiratto PriChan. It really is fantastic so are you ready to say the Making Drama line? SWITCH ON!

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Kirby Star Allies

Our favorite pink puff, Kirby, has been sucking with us with energy for two and a half decades now and with the arrival of the Nintendo Switch, it's the perfect time for our enemy-sucking hero to debut in Nintendo's newest console and this time, he's NOT alone.

Kirby Star Allies

Yes, our favorite pink puff is back in a brand new adventure available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. It's called Kirby Star Allies (日本名:星のカービィスターアライズ)and there is no other way of saying this because this is by no means the best Kirby game in ages. Well, obviously it's outrageous to say that this is the best because there's so much to talk about the newest installment everyone can enjoy and let's start with the basics.

First off, let's talk about Kirby's new adventure in this game and in this game, Dream Land faces a much powerful and sinister threat and it's up to Kirby to explore the galaxy to fend off this new kind of threat, whatever lays ahead for him. In Star Allies, this adventure's too big for the pink puff to suck it because while you can enjoy signature Kirby actions, especially his sucking powers that can turn himself into different kinds possessing different abilities to master, Star Allies allows players to charm enemies into allies with the use of Friend Hearts.

What's more, Star Allies can be the perfect family game night because if you got enough controllers at your disposal, it becomes a co-op multiplayer fit enough for your friends and families to enjoy because sometimes, it's to hard to go on an adventure alone. What's more, you can master different friends to level up skills or unleash powerful abilities to make adventures more fun to finish. Oh, and there's a little secret on the whole "friends" thing because if you meet certain conditions, you can team up with classic Kirby characters, thus making Star Allies the most enjoyable Kirby game you'll ever want to play in the same way as Super Mario Odyssey did.

If you had enough fun with the adventures, you can try special contents such as playing remixed stages as the allies, battle against bosses in ultra-hard levels, and mini-games for all. Also, you can scan amiibos to gain illustration pieces to complete apart from collecting them on various stages. There's more to do with this game so have fun.

So, what can I say about the newest Kirby game? Because with Kirby's powers as well as the new friends feature, you'd knew there's no adventure to back out and it's going to be like clockwork to you without feeling your feet tingle and with different ways to play, Star Allies is going to be your time-wasting Switch game for the moment and there's no stopping someone from getting addicted to it, even your parents.

THREATS FROM NORTH KOREA: Gov't proposal for constitutional revision puts emphasis on decentralization



The Presidential Office of Cheong Wa Dae has been disclosing the second part of its summary of the government-proposed bill on revising South Korea's Constitution.

Cho Guk, Senior Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs said the provinces are the future of South Korea, reinforcing decentralization is not a matter of Seoul versus local governments, nor is it a matter of efficiency versus fairness.

The Blue House will announce the final part of its proposal tomorrow. The government is pushing to hold a referendum on a constitutional revision bill on the same day as local elections in mid-June.

Source: Arirang News

Let's Do The News! (March 21, 2018)



- National Capital Region Police Office Director Oscar Albayalde has advised the public against spreading false information in relation to the decision of the office of President Rodrigo Duterte to suspend classes in all levels in Metro Manila on Tuesday, March 20, despite the absence of a transport strike.

- Meanwhile, transport group PISTON is accusing the Malacanang of spreading fake news against drivers of public utility vehicles. PISTON made this statement in response to the declaration of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on March 20, that classes at all levels in Metro Manila are suspended due to actual/imminent threats from ‘some groups’.

- The Department of Education announced that Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, is prepared for this year's Palarong Pambansa that will start on the 15th to the 21st of April. According to DepEd Usec. Tonisitio Umali, Vigan City has already shown its readiness for a big multi-sports event when it hosted the regional qualifier of the 2017 Batang Pinoy.

- The suspended CEO of Cambridge Analytica said in a hidden video broadcast that his UK-based political consultancy's online campaign played a decisive role in US President Donald Trump's 2016 election win. CEO Alexander Nix’s comments, which could not be verified, are potentially a further problem for Facebook Inc as it faces lawmakers’ scrutiny in the United States and Europe over Cambridge Analytica’s improper use of 50 million Facebook users’ personal data to target voters.

- The G20 leaders condemned protectionism and urged “further dialogue” on trade, but failed to diffuse the threat of a trade war days before U.S. metals tariffs take effect and Washington is to announce measures against China. Meanwhile, two officials briefed on the matter said U.S. President Donald Trump would also unveil tariffs on up to $60 billion in Chinese technology and telecoms products by Friday, a move stemming from Beijing’s intellectual property practices.

- US President Donald Trump welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and credited US defense sales to the Saudis with boosting American jobs, even as Riyadh's involvement in the Yemeni Civil War faced criticism. In the Oval Office, Trump and the crown prince praised the strength of U.S.-Saudi ties, which had grown strained under the Obama administration in part over differing views toward Riyadh’s regional rival, Iran.

- Another school shooting in United States has occurred, this time at Maryland where a 17-year-old man shot two other students at Great Mills High School before a school resource officer engaged him and stopped the threat, according to authorities. The incident began in a school hallway at 7:55 a.m., just before classes started. Authorities say Austin Wyatt Rollins, armed with a handgun, shot a female and a male student. The shooter had a prior relationship with the female student, St. Mary's County Sheriff Tim Cameron said. Rollins is pronounced dead while the female student is in critical conditions and the 14-year-old male is in stable condition.

- Toyota Australia made a 500,000 Lego brick replica of the latest-generation Camry.



- Carlex Design offers two ways to customize the Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup truck; one for off-road duty and one for sporty urban cruising.



- Gran Turismo series creator Kazunori Yamauchi presented the future of motoring at this year's Open Garage Talk at Stanford University.

- A Chinese live-action movie adaptation of Koei Tecmo's Shin Sangoku Musou (Dynasty Warriors) game will be hitting cinemas next year.

- The Walking Dead lead actor Andrew Lincoln is now part of the Potterverse as he will be narrating an audiobook titled Quidditch Through the Ages.

TTFN!!!

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Facebook got embroiled by the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Facebook

Social networking site Facebook is definitely in hot water right now when the Cambridge Analytica scandal has done immense damage, according to reports. Some say that regulation has suddenly become more likely and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears to be AWOL.

The scandal highlights the biggest problem of Facebook's business model which involves data exploitation as they make money by harvesting user data and selling it to app developers and advertisers.

Alexander Kogan, a University of Cambridge professor, accessed the data of over 50 million Facebook users by generating a survey filled out by 270,000 people. Then, he provided Facebook the data of anyone who took the survey. In a statement, Facebook said, "Kogan gained access to this information in a legitimate way and through the proper channels that governed all developers on Facebook at that time.

Kogan violated, according to Facebook, the rule of passing the user data to third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, the political data firm founded by former Trump aide Steve Bannon and Republican donor Robert Mercer.

As of right now, the number of active Facebook users in the United States dropped for the first time last quarter and lost 2.8 million users under the age of 25 last year and according to sources, they may lose another two million following the scandal. The social networking site has been the high-profile target to manipulation by political groups, foreign governments, or any possible worst case scenarios.