--Hong Kong issues 'black alert' after deadly Manila hostage crisis--

Hong Kong

Eight Chinese tourists were killed Monday after a hostage crisis in the Philippines came to a violent end. The incident is likely to heap pressure on new president Benigno Aquino, who must confront the diplomatic fallout with his giant neighbor while seeking to reassure tourists that his impoverished nation of 92 million is safe to visit.

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Philippine security forces stormed a tourist bus in the capital, Manila, at around 8.30 p.m. local time after an 11-hour standoff with a man armed with a M-16 rifle who had boarded the bus, taking hostage 22 tourists from Hong Kong and three Filipinos.

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The gunman – a police officer protesting his firing in 2008 – became agitated as night fell and specialist SWAT units encircled the bus. He began shooting hostages, and millions of TV viewers worldwide, including many in China and Hong Kong, watched in horror in bars and restaurants as security forces stormed the bus.

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~http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2010/0823/Hong-Kong-issues-black-alert-after-deadly-Manila-hostage-crisis
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~http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9HQH5Q80&show_article=1

--Hungry Ghost Festival 2010--

The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh lunar month (14th in southern China).
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In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in Spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in Autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living.
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On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mache form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include, buying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Festival
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~http://www.essortment.com/all/hungryghostfes_rjkb.htm
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~http://www.chinavoc.com/festivals/ghost.htm
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~http://www.chinese-culture.net/html/hungry_ghost_festival.html

--Elvis Presley Tribute - Nearer My God To Thee--

Elvis Aaron Presleya (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King".

Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Presley moved to Memphis, Tennessee, with his family at the age of 13. He began his career there in 1954 when Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, eager to bring the sound of African American music to a wider audience, saw in Presley the means to realize his ambition. Accompanied by guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, Presley was one of the originators of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country and rhythm and blues. RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage the singer for over two decades. Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", released in January 1956, was a number one hit. He became the leading figure of the newly popular sound of rock and roll with a series of network television appearances and chart-topping records. His energized interpretations of songs, many from African American sources, and his uninhibited performance style made him enormously popular—and controversial. In November 1956, he made his film debut in Love Me Tender.

Conscripted into military service in 1958, Presley relaunched his recording career two years later with some of his most commercially successful work. He staged few concerts, however, and, guided by Parker, proceeded to devote much of the 1960s to making Hollywood movies and soundtrack albums, most of them critically derided. In 1968, after seven years away from the stage, he returned to live performance in a celebrated comeback television special that led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of profitable tours. In 1973, Presley staged the first concert broadcast globally via satellite, Aloha from Hawaii, seen by approximately 1.5 billion viewers. Prescription drug abuse severely compromised his health, and he died suddenly in 1977 at the age of 42.

Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into four music halls of fame.
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis_Presley
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~http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFZzI3MOVGg

--Friday the 13th 2010...........--

Friday the 13th occurs when the thirteenth day of a month falls on a Friday, which superstition holds to be a day of bad luck. In the Gregorian calendar, this day occurs at least once, but at most three times a year. Any month's 13th day will fall on a Friday if the month starts on a Sunday.
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th
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~http://www.fridaythe13thmovie.com/
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~http://www.fridaythe13thfilms.com/
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friday_the_13th_%28franchise%29

--International Lefthanders Day 2010--

August 13 is designated International Lefthanders Day by Lefthanders International. It was first observed 13 August 1976. As its name suggests, it is meant to promote awareness of the inconveniences facing left-handers in a predominantly right-handed world. It celebrates their uniqueness and difference, who are from seven to ten percent of the world's population.
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Lefthanders_Day
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~http://www.holidayinsights.com/other/lefthand.htm
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~http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5678822/international_lefthanders_day_2010.html

--Happy Birthday......to You........--

--Nelson Mandela Day 2010--

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Xhosa pronunciation: [xoˈliɬaɬa manˈdeːla];), born 18 July 1918, served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC). In 1962 he was arrested and convicted of sabotage and other charges, and sentenced to life in prison. Mandela served 27 years in prison, spending many of these years on Robben Island. Following his release from prison on 11 February 1990, Mandela led his party in the negotiations that led to multi-racial democracy in 1994. As president from 1994 to 1999, he frequently gave priority to reconciliation.

In South Africa, Mandela is often known as Madiba, an honorary title adopted by elders of Mandela's clan.

Mandela has received more than 250 awards over four decades, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela
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~http://mandeladay.com/
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~http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandela_Day