ROUNCHY

Boeing Co. says the first of the delay-plagued new version

EVERETT, Wash. – Boeing Co. says the first of the delay-plagued new version of its 747 freighter jet has emerged from the factory to be set up for test flights.

The aerospace company based in Chicago said the plane was towed from its Everett factory Thursday.

Boeing last month said it would record a $1 billion charge because of a delays in producing the 747-8 Freighter, blaming slow sales and late design changes.

It has said it expects the first flight of the plane by early next year and first delivery is expected in the fourth quarter of 2010. It has secured 105 orders for the 747-8.

Unioil, Chevron also announce pump price hikes

Chevron Philippines and Unioil on Friday followed Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp's announcement of another hike in their pump prices.
In a text message sent to ABS-CBN News, Chevron said it will increase the price of its Caltex Gold, Silver, regular gasoline, Power diesel, Kerosene, and fuel oil by P1.50 per liter inclusive of value-added tax effective 6 a.m. Saturday.
Unioil also said it will increase the pump prices of all its petroleum products by P1.50 at the same time on Saturday.
Both Chevron and Unioil cited the increasing prices of petroleum products in the world market. Unioil added that it needs to partially recover its losses.
Shell was the first major oil player to announce that it will again increase prices of its oil products on Saturday.
Pilipinas Shell spokesman Bobby Kanapi said the oil company will increase by P1.50 per liter the prices of its gasoline, diesel and kerosene products. Kanapi added that Shell's liquefied petroleum gas will also increase by P1 per kilogram.
The price increases will take effect 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
The increase is the 15th this year.
Kanapi said the increase is "due to the significant increase in world oil prices".
Promos to help consumers
Seaoil Philippines, meanwhile, has already sold some P10 million worth of pre-paid cards due to robust consumer demand in the face of rising oil prices.
Seaoil sold 10,000 cards at P1,070 each in a scheme to help consumers bear the continuing increase in the pump prices of fuel products..
The prepaid card pegs a customer's gasoline purchase at the rate of P53.50 per liter.
Since the price has been fixed, cardholders will have an easier time budgeting their fuel expenses as they will be insulated from further spikes in gasoline costs during the promo period.
The prepaid card would be valid for eleven weeks.
In case of a price rollback during the period Seaoil will refund unused prepaid cards. With a report from ANC Business Nightly

Scam e-mails on Myanmar, China tragedies on the rise

Donation e-mail scams capitalizing on recent tragedies in Myanmar and China are on the rise, a report by software firm Symantec Corporation said Wednesday.
According to Symantec June 2008 State of Spam report, spammers are taking advantage of the recent tragedies as well as the uptick in oil prices to exploit human vulnerability to their benefit.
The report said one spam e-mail requested donations for the China earthquake victims. The e-mail directed the reader to a legitimate Web site, which had a fraudulent page under the root domain. When the user clicked on the URL in the spam message, they were directed to the fraudulent site and asked to make a donation.
Another scam e-mail is a request for small donations allegedly for Myanmar cyclone victims to fictitious charities.

Symantec said Internet users who want to donate to charitable causes should first verify if the Web sites they donate to are legitimate. It said secure Web sites are usually indicated by the use of a padlock icon displayed in a corner of the browser.
Fuel spam, abuse of Google brand
The report also observed an increase in gas and fuel-related spam. Among the spam e-mails observed are offers of free gas, or gas cards and products that will help users stretch their mileage per tank, thereby reducing overall gas bills.
Another spam e-mail touted a device that allegedly allows a car engine to use water instead of gasoline to fuel their vehicle.
"Spammers are aiming to capitalize on the harsh economic situation and prey on those in our society facing financial pressures," said Suzie Tan, director for strategic market development, Asia South Region, Symantec Corporation. "By adapting their tactics to fit current trends, spammers have been able to maximize the effectiveness of their attacks."
Google has also become a favorite target for spammers. From November 2007 to April 2008, Symantec reported the emergence of spammers manipulating Googles advanced search query, the "Im feeling lucky" and AdSense Google URL parameters to redirect users to spam Web sites.
In May 2008, abuse of the Google brand continued with the Google documents service as the latest target. Google documents are designed to allow users to create and share work online, but in this particular example, a Google documents link is inserted into a spam e-mail directing users to a porn site. - David Dizon,

Kung Fu Panda prompts soul-searching in China

Reuters

BEIJING - More than just a box-office hit in China, animated Hollywood comedy "Kung Fu Panda" has led Chinese artists to find fault with their own film industry and call for fewer government controls on culture.

The movie, which tells the story of a fat panda who dreams of martial arts glory, was faithful to Chinese culture and laced with good humor, but China itself may have been incapable of producing such a film, a Chinese filmmaker and opera director lamented.

"The film's protagonist is China's national treasure and all the elements are Chinese, but why didn't we make such a film?" Wu Jiang, president of the China National Peking Opera Company, was cited as saying by Xinhua news agency on Saturday.

Lu Chuan, a young film director, applauded "Kung Fu Panda" as a fresh and rich take on Chinese culture, mixing references to martial arts films with classic legends.

"I cannot help wondering when China will be able to produce a movie of this caliber," he wrote in the China Daily on Saturday.

Lu said the government was stifling the creativity of China's filmmakers, explaining how he had been asked to make an animated film for the Olympic Games, which will be hosted by Beijing in August, but decided to walk away from the project.

"I kept receiving directions and orders on how the movie should be like," he said. "The fun and joy from doing something interesting left us, together with our imagination and creativity."

An advisory body to the country's rubber-stamp parliament debated this week why a film like "Kung Fu Panda", produced by DreamWorks Animation, had not been made in China, Xinhua reported.

A standing committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Congress said that, though there was no secret ingredient to filmmaking success, the government ought to relax its oversight. Opening more space for Chinese artists would allow more innovation, ultimately giving China greater cultural influence abroad, they concluded.

Some Chinese critics had called for a boycott of "Kung Fu Panda" because Steven Spielberg, an executive at DreamWorks, quit his role as artistic adviser to the Beijing Olympics to protest China's links to the Sudanese government.

Zhao Bandi, a Chinese artist who features pandas in his work, also called for people to shun the film, saying that foreigners were profiteering from China's national symbol.

But Zhao has since come under fire from Chinese critics for misguided nationalism, while theatre operators have reported packed houses for "Kung Fu Panda".

The comedy had earned $16 million at the Chinese box office as of Wednesday, according to its distributors. Any film that grosses $15 million is considered a big hit in China.

GenSan prepares for Pacmans homecoming

The family and townmates of Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao in General Santos City are already preparing for his arrival on Wednesday, ABS-CBN Regional Network Group reported Monday.

Even if Nanay Dionesia Pacquiao wasn't able to join in welcoming her son Manny upon his arrival in Manila Monday, she said she is happy to see many people who support her son.

She also said she prefers waiting at their home in General Santos City rather than having gone to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to greet Manny, correspondent Dexter Ganibe reported.

Dionesia said she is excited to see her son, whom she has not seen since he started training for his fight with Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez.

She said she is not asking for anything from Pacman anymore, and that the good life that her son has brought to them is already enough.

She only wishes that Manny would stay grounded and humble even if he is very successful in his boxing career.

Dionesia said that they reached their current status in life due to the hard work and diligence of Manny in his boxing career.

Meanwhile, General Santos Mayor Pedro Acharon Jr. said he will welcome Pacquiao upon his arrival in the city on Wednesday.

This would be the first time since before the 2007 elections that Acharon and Pacquiao would be meeting each other.

During the said elections, Pacquiao ran for congress under the administration ticket, while Acharon ran for city mayor under the opposition.

Pacquiao's motorcade is also scheduled to go around General Santos upon his arrival, and will be followed by a press conference at the Carlos Garcia Park covered courts.

After the press conference, Pacquiao is set to proceed to Malugon, Sarangani for another hero's welcome there.

The boxer has been appointed as municipal tourism officer of the said town.