Georgia 'pulls out of S Ossetia'
 Russia has expanded the conflict with air strikes against targets in Georgia |
Georgia says its forces have withdrawn from the separatist enclave of South Ossetia, and that Russian troops are now in control of the regional capital.
An interior ministry spokesman told the BBC it was not a military defeat but a necessary step to protect civilians from a "humanitarian catastrophe".
Georgia says Russia has brought an additional 10,000 soldiers across its frontiers, readying for a raid.
Earlier, Russian jets bombed a military airfield close to the Georgian capital.
There was no independent confirmation of the attack, although the BBC's Gabriel Gatehouse, who is in Tbilisi, said he had heard a loud explosion about the same time.Crude oil fell sharply on Thursday following two days of declines, dragged down further by a massive sell-off of natural gas.
The slide accelerated amid growing concerns about the weakening U.S. economy.
Light,sweet crude for August delivery was down $4.08 at $130.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices have fallen about $14 in just the past three days.
"This market is acting much different than it has during this entire bull run," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Florida-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com. "I think it's because the fundamentals are finally turning from extremely bullish to slightly bearish. But slightly bearish is enough to tip the market."
Natural gas futures for August delivery fell as much as 8.2 percent in the day, the biggest one-day drop in nearly a year. Natural gas fell 13.8 percent on Aug. 20, 2007, according to Nathan Golz, researcher at Wachovia Securities in St. Louis.
Prices for the key heating, cooking and power generation fuel have tumbled more than 20 percent since their peak before the Fourth of July, and are now trading at their lowest point since April.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 104 billion cubic feet to more 2.31 trillion cubic feet for the week ending July 11. That is despite the fact that supplies are 2.1 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Oil prices fell more than $10 over the previous two days on growing concerns that inflation and other economic concerns could reduce demand for crude. A surprisingly large gain in oil and refined fuel inventories in the U.S. prolonged the sell-off, because it suggested more supplies were heading into storage rather than consumers' fuel tanks.
The price for a barrel of oil briefly dipped below $130.
Reports of a pre-dawn explosion that damaged an oil pipeline in Nigeria's restive south — the sort of threat to supply that has helped fuel crude's recent rally — did little to prop up prices on Thursday.
A Nigerian military official said the blast on a pipeline owned by Agip, a subsidiary of the Italian energy giant Eni SpA, "affected output," although he did not say by how much.
Col. Chris Musa, head of the Bayelsa State military, also did not say how severe the damage was, and declined to comment on what might have caused the explosion or whether it had resulted in any casualties.
The company said a sudden drop in pressure led it to halt production on pipelines carrying 47,000 gallons of oil a day.
Attacks on oil industry infrastructure in the past two years have slashed oil output by almost a quarter in Nigeria, Africa's top crude producer.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 6.62 cents to $3.7748 a gallon, while gasoline futures slipped fell 9.92 cents to $3.1802.
''I believe countries could, under the presentation of fulfilling international obligations, carry out peaceful cooperation in peaceful (use of) nuclear energy and I hope the relevant issues can be resolved through negotiations between relevant parties,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters in Beijing.
Liu's remarks came close on the heels of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G-8 summit in Japan early this month.
After the talks, India had voiced confidence that there would be no ''difficulty'' from the Chinese side when the matter comes up before the NSG.
China, one of the five recognised nuclear powers, is a key member the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), whose approval is needed for India to secure international cooperation for nuclear commerce.
''We have taken note that the US and India are making further contact on this (nuclear) issue,'' Liu said.
The spokesman was responding to a query if China is planning to raise any objections when India's case comes up before the IAEA.
With the G-8 countries on board over the deal after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meetings with leaders of the rich nations in Japan recently, India had stated that it does not expect any problem in the IAEA and NSG over securing their approvals and exemptions required to take the deal forward.
Recorded crime figures show fall
 There were 5m recorded crimes last year |
Police-recorded crime in England and Wales fell 9% in the 12 months to March, latest figures suggest.
The first reliable figures for knife crime showed there were 22,000 offences last year.
The statistics also show that while the risk of being a victim is at its lowest ever level, people still think that the rate is going up.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she was "extremely pleased" with the overall reduction.
The annual crime report for 2007-2008 reveals the longest recorded period of falling crime - down 48% from 1995.
It shows there were five million recorded crimes. All the main categories were down, including violent crime and sex offences, but drug offences were up 18%, gun crime was up 2% and murder was up 3%.
Scotland compiles its statistics separately and its annual crime report is due to be published in September.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland published its 2007-2008 crime report in May.
It showed a 10.5% drop from the previous year, making it the lowest level of crime recorded since 1998.
Home Office experts say the latest figures show that offences are concentrated in hotspots - some of which have experienced localised increases in crime - and are not evenly spread around England and Wales.
They also say the figures mirror trends in falling crime seen throughout the developed world.
The annual report combines police-recorded crime and statistics from the British Crime Survey (BCS), a victimisation survey which asked 47,000 adults about their experience of crimes.
For the types it covers, the BCS can provide a better reflection of the true extent of crime because it includes ones that are not reported to the police and crimes which are not recorded by them.
The BCS showed the risk of being a victim of crime has fallen from 24 to 22%, the lowest level recorded since the survey began in 1981.
However, 65% of people said they thought rates had gone up nationally. But the same proportion again thought crime had fallen locally.
The overall picture from the survey was that crime was down 10% to 10.1 million crimes. It also showed that 947,000 violent offences were caused by alcohol.
Home Office Minister Tony McNulty said local communities and police should be "very encouraged" that their efforts to cut crime were paying off.
The home secretary, meanwhile, said the government had exceeded its reduction target, but was committed to doing more "so that everyone feels improvement".
She acknowledged that "knives are still being used in the most serious violent incidents" and said the Youth Crime Action plan published this week was part of a wider package of measures aimed at tackling the problem.
Serious violent crimes involving a blade have previously been bundled with other attacks, but since April last year officers have recorded them separately in light of growing public concern.
Police recorded 22,151 offences involving knives last year in England and Wales, including grievous bodily harm, attempted murder, woundings and robbery but not murder.
It amounts to an average of 60 knife offences every day.
The statistics include a force-by-force breakdown of knife crime, with the highest number of offences - 7,409 - recorded in London.
Gordon Brown said he wanted to make carrying a blade as "unacceptable" as having a gun on the streets.
"It is because we have identified the problem of knife crime, and particularly in some hotspots of the country, that we have stepped up our action dramatically," he said.
"We will do everything in our power to prevent people having knives."
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 | | Republican US presidential hopeful John McCain calls for improvements to the schools in black districts. |
Sparkling delight: Fireworks explode over the National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, during a rehearsal for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
NHA TRANG, Vietnam — Miss Venezuela was crowned Miss Universe 2008 on Monday in a contest marked by the spectacle of Miss USA falling during the evening gown competition for the second year in a row.
An elated Dayana Mendoza received the crown from her predecessor, Riyo Mori of Japan, then prepared to meet a gaggle of reporters. Miss Venezuela, 22, was once kidnapped in her homeland and says the experience taught her to remain poised under pressure.
Tension got under the skin of Crystle Steward of Texas, the second Miss USA in a row to fall during the Miss Universe pageant. She tripped on the train of her bejeweled evening gown as she made her entrance.
During the 2007 Miss Universe contest in Mexico City, Miss USA Rachel Smith also tumbled during the evening gown competition and became an unintended star on You Tube, where the video was shown over and over again.
Like Smith, Stewart quickly stood up after her fall and continued as if nothing had happened.
Stewart, 26, is a motivational speaker and former track and filed star who is working on a book called "Waiting to Win." The Houston native plans to open a character-development school for young children and has worked with children with autism in the Texas schools.
The final five contestants included four from Latin America: Miss Mexico, Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Colombia and Miss Venezuela. Rounding out the final five was Miss Russia.
Miss Colombia finished second.
Miss Thailand won the prize for best national costume and Miss El Salvador was chosen by her peers as Miss Congeniality.
During her interview with the judges, Mendoza was asked who she thought has it easier in life, women or men.
"God made us to share and have differences," she replied, then highlighted what she regards as the different thought processes of men and women.
"Men think that the faster way to go to a point is to go straight," she said. "Women know that the faster way to go to a point is to go to the curves."
The NBC show was hosted by talk show star Jerry Springer and Spice Girl Melanie Brown and broadcast live to hundreds of millions of viewers in 170 countries.
Eighty contestants gathered in the seaside city of Nha Trang, Vietnam, vying to succeed reigning Miss Universe Riyo Mori of Japan.
Sporting yellow, green and orange bikinis, the 15 semifinalists strutted across the stage during the swimsuit competition to the sounds of Lady Gaga, who belted out the pulsating "Just Dance" in a platinum blond wig. Miss Vietnam, Lam Thuy Nguyen, was greeted with a roar from the Vietnamese audience.
The final 10 then competed in the evening gown event.
They performed in front of a panel of judges that included international fashion experts and Donald Trump Jr., whose father, the real estate magnate and TV star, co-owns the pageant with NBC.
This year's contestants spanned a wide range of experiences and aspirations.
Miss Albania was a professional basketball player. Miss Argentina says she has paranormal experiences. Miss Antigua & Barbuda is fascinated by snakes. Miss Angola was in a plane crash while trying to escape a conflict during her country's civil war.
The show has been a publicity bonanza for Vietnam, where beauty contests are popular. The contest featured segments on many of the nation's most popular tourist destinations, such as Hue, Hoi An, Sapa and Ha Long Bay.
The program set has been dominated by iconic Vietnamese images, such as bamboo trees, conical hats and lotus flowers.
The tuxedoed Springer made a grand entrance on a motorbike -- the vehicle of choice in Vietnam, where the streets are teeming with millions of the speeding two-wheelers.
Where'd Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie get those baby names?
Unusual celebrity baby names are in the news again with this weekend's birth of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins.
Not Isla Marcheline and Amelie Jane, as had been initially and erroneously reported a few weeks ago.
Instead, Angelina and Brad named their new son and daughter Knox Leon and Vivienne Marcheline.
Some readers have been wondering where they got those names. According to "The Baby Name Bible" author Linda Rosenkrantz, interviewed at People.com:
1. Shaking the Family Tree: Knox is a Scottish-English-Irish surname and the middle name of Brad's grandfather, Hal Knox Hillhouse. Léon is the name of Angelina's great-great grandfather.
2. The X-Factor: The Jolie-Pitts' two other sons, Maddox and Pax, have an x in their first names.
3. Mother Complex: Vivienne is the French form of Vivian, which may reflect her birthplace or heritage. Or it could be a name in Pitt's family, because their baby boy is named for people from both parents' families. Marcheline is the French name of Angelina Jolie's late mother, who was of French-Canadian and Native American ancestry.
According to a report in Discovery News, these findings have been made by three researchers who have spent decades studying Antarctica's denizens.
These researchers have observed interconnected changes at the bottom of the Earth that are changing the ecology of Antarctica over just decades after some 30 million years of relative isolation.
"The changes are profound," said Hugh Ducklow of the Marine Biological Research Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
He and colleagues James McClintock of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and William Fraser of Polar Oceans Research Group in Sheridan, Montana, compiled their findings from studying different aspects of the Antarctic ecosystem.
Nowhere on Earth is climate change happening faster than on the neck of land stretching north from the Antarctic continent more than 900 miles toward South America.
The average midwinter temperature on the Antarctic Peninsula has increased more than 10 degrees Fahrenheit since 1950, five times the global average.
The changes the researchers see begin at the base of the food web, with phytoplankton - tiny photosynthetic organisms that, in Antarctica, are evolved to live in the sea ice.
As the extent of sea ice has decreased, so has the amount of phytoplankton.
"Sea ice is not just ice, it's a habitat for organisms," said Ducklow.
Juvenile krill, tiny shrimplike organisms that serve as the main food source for Adelie penguins and baleen whales, graze on the phytoplankton under the sea ice.
"Juvenile forms of krill are not as strong swimmers as adults," said Ducklow. "By congregating on the underside of the ice, they get a shelter from predators, and it's where the food is," he added.
Krill have been declining for decades, although sea ice decline may not be the only reason.
With less krill to feed on, organisms at the top of the food chain like Adelie penguins suffer. Their populations have been decreasing in the central and northern Antarctic peninsula.
In winter, they use the sea ice to get out to hotspots of food. As this shrinks, their food will be too far away to swim to.
It is clear that the ecosystem that emerges will be different from the one that has existed in isolation for millions of years.
According to Ducklow, "We're seeing things happen rapidly there. It's a good wakeup call for us that there is climate change, and ecosystems really are responding to it.
LONDON: Welcome to Surya -- self-styled "world's first ecological nightclub" where cyclists and walkers get free admission to a club with dance floor so high-tech that it generates its own electricity when people move on it. The brainchild of 35-year-old property developer Andrew Charalambous, aka Dr. Earth, Surya has its own wind turbine and solar energy system, with the plan to donate any surplus electricity to local residents. When clubbers need a rest from strutting their stuff on the dance floor they can relieve themselves at the latest air flush, waterless urinals and low flush toilets as well as taking the opportunity to freshen up with the club's automatic taps. If Princes Harry and William and their aristocratic friends, who are frequently spotted at Boujis or Mahiki, want to attend Surya they will have to sign a pledge to work towards curbing climate change like all patrons attending the club in north London. "Unless we stop preaching to people and use an inclusive philosophy we're never going to create the revolution to combat climate change," Charalambous said, explaining why he has invested one million pounds in the club. "It's also about creating avenues of thought. Imagine what you could achieve if big corporations adopted this kind of initiative." At the age of 23, Charalambous stood as a Conservative parliamentary candidate against the late Labour MP Bernie Grant and backed Boris Johnson's successful campaign to become London mayor. A qualified barrister, now worth in excess of 100 million pounds, his latest business venture will recycle glass, metal, plastic and paper products used in its bar, with Charalambous promising to donate part of the club's profits to charity. The dance floor uses the concept of piezoelectricity, where crystals and ceramics create a charge to generate electricity. "We estimate that if you had loads of clubbers dancing vigorously it would provide 60 per cent of the club's energy needs," said Charalambous. "With the wind turbines and solar power we aim to provide the energy needs of 14 to 20 local residents. We are the first free energy-donating business in the world." However, Charalambous' claim that his club is the "world's first ecological nightclub" has raised the hackles of the Sustainable Dance Club (SDC) in the Netherlands. "They are not sustainable in our rules," SDC spokesman Vera Verkooijenat said, ahead of the September launch of Wvatt, which has been dubbed the "world's first sustainable dance club". "It's not only the nightclub, it's the whole organisation that should be sustainable." But Charalambous dismissed the criticisms, arguing the SDC's complaints were typical of the attitude of some holier-than-thou environmental activists, as he defended the idea behind Surya, the Sanskrit term for the Sun God. "They've been talking about it for a while, but they haven't done it," said Charalambous. "They want to preach to people and that's the wrong way go about it." The club, in Pentonville Road, Islington, opens later on Thursday. |
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WASHINGTON: Barack Obama's campaign says a satirical New Yorker magazine cover showing the Democratic presidential candidate dressed as a Muslim and his wife as a terrorist is "tasteless and offensive". The illustration on the issue that hits newsstands on Monday, titled "The Politics of Fear" and drawn by Barry Blitt, depicts Barack Obama wearing what is commonly construed by Western media as traditional Muslim garb - sandals, robe and turban - and his wife, Michelle - dressed in camouflage, combat boots and an assault rifle strapped over her shoulder - standing in the Oval Office. The couple is doing a fist tap in front of a fireplace in which an American flag is burning. Over the mantel hangs a portrait of Osama bin Laden. "The New Yorker may think, as one of their staff explained to us, that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create," said Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton. "But most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive. And we agree." In a statement on Monday, the magazine said the cover "combines a number of fantastical images about the Obama and shows them for the obvious distortions they are." "The burning flag, the nationalist-radical and Islamic outfits, the fist-bump, the portrait on the wall? All of them echo one attack or another. Satire is part of what we do, and it is meant to bring things out into the open, to hold up a mirror to prejudice, the hateful, and the absurd. The statement also pointed to the two articles on Obama contained inside the magazine, calling them "very serious." Republican John McCain's campaign spokesman, Tucker Bonds, agreed that the cover was "tasteless and offensive." Already the cover was generating controversy on the Internet. The Huffington Post , a left-leaning blog, said: "Anyone who's tried to paint Obama as a Muslim, anyone who's tried to portray Michelle as angry or a secret revolutionary out to get Whitey, anyone who has questioned their patriotism - well, here's your image." |
China fake tickets case: India steps in
| Indian officials approached the Public Security Bureau of the Chinese government with regard to the case of 150-odd Indian students, who have been sold air tickets that did not work at the check-in counters at Beijing and Shanghai airports. |
86 indicted for coup bid in Turkey
B'desh incorporating 'no' vote option
Russian laser show blinds revellers
Australia: 'World's oldest blogger' dies
Indian students stranded in China
'No Mideast peace without Syria'
Reform talk: Obama woos Hispanics
Scores of US kids in Pak madrassas
| Public email documents disappear Laws in all but a handful of states give the public acces government email. But what if that email was intentionally deleted or routinely purged? |
| Malaria cure in its sticky secret Malaria kills up to three million people every year, mostly in tropical parts of the world. The disease is spread by mosquitoes that inject victims with microscopic parasites that infect healthy red blood cells. |
| 'Fear' cells in brain identified Scientists in the United States have identified brain cells linked to fear, paving the way for a more effective treatment of post-traumatic stress and other anxiety disorders. |
| Nicotine has long been known to have a stimulating effect on the brain.Scientists have suggested that smoking can help boost memory and concentration. |
| Asthma linked to thunderstorms Researchers have explored the link between thunderstorms and asthma attacks in the first-ever exhaustive study that has significant bearing on public health. |
| Humming tunes is known as a good stress buster. Now, a new research suggests that people who sing regularly are happier than their non-singing counterparts. |
| The 'green carbon' technology takes this normally exhaustive process and simplifies it, thus producing a useful, benign material while transforming carbon emissions instead of simply sequestering it. |
| Half the world will be obese by 2030 With waistlines increasing rapidly around the world, a group of researchers predict that by 2030, almost 58% of the world's population will be overweight or obese. |
| If you are fat, the weather must be bad A team of scientists at Aberdeen University has found that Scotland's dismal weather makes it more difficult for people to shed those extra pounds. |
Financials Lead Tumultuous Selloff on Wall Street
Despite a late-day comeback effort, Wall Street ended the week deeply in the red as the cloud of uncertainty hovering over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loomed larger and oil prices jumped over $147 a barrel.
The Energy Wars
At a town hall meeting in Dayton, Ohio, Barack Obama focused his remarks on energy - something the two candidates have been sparring over for weeks. Obama has called McCain’s gas tax holiday a gimmick and says off shore drilling won’t have an impact for years. Neither fix, Obama has said, addresses the larger need.
McCain the lady’s man?
HUDSON, WI — Sen. McCain cast himself as the best choice for American women today during a town hall at J&L Steel Erectors, a female-owned business based in the Badger State. “Women in America not only take care of the children, manage the household budgets and balance the pressures of work and family.
Multi-tasking during a McCain town hall
OAKDALE, MN — While he was hammering away at the ill-effects of sugar subsidies on the American economy during a conference call with moderate and “independent-minded” Virginia voters this evening, Sen. McCain stopped for a moment when he heard what sounded like a faucet running on the other end of the phone.
McCain throws Gramm under the bus
BELLEVILLE, MI — Former Texas Senator Phil Gramm was once talked about as a potential McCain Treasury Secretary but today may be unqualified for Ambassador to Belarus. The presumptive GOP nominee had stern words for one of his senior economic advisers and close friends Thursday after Gramm told the Washington Times that America is going through tough situation
Tony Snow, the former White House press secretary and conservative pundit who bedeviled the press corps and charmed millions ,died Saturday after a long bout with cancer. He was 53.
A syndicated columnist, editor, TV anchor, radio show host and musician, Snow worked in nearly every medium in a career that spanned more than 30 years.
"Laura and I are deeply saddened by the death of our dear friend Tony Snow," President Bush said in a written statement. "The Snow family has lost a beloved husband and father. And America has lost a devoted public servant and a man of character."
Snow died at 2 a.m. Saturday at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Snow joined FOX in 1996 as the original anchor of "FOX News Sunday" and hosted "Weekend Live" and a radio program, "The Tony Snow Show," before departing in 2006.
WILLMAR, Minn. — A tornado touched down near Willmar on Friday, destroying homes and damaging a turkey farm, a mobile home dealership, and a farm equipment dealer, said Kandiyohi County Emergency Management Director Don Ericson.
Two people were reported injured, Ericson said. He did not have details but said both injuries were minor. The tornado touched down at Arnold's of Willmar, a farm equipment dealer along Highway 71, at about 6:30 p.m. and caused damage there, the West Central Tribune said. Ericson added that the twister stayed on the ground for nine miles — destroying three houses and damaging another eight homes, three turkey barns and a mobile home dealership.
"I know that there are turkeys that were impacted," he said. "But the numbers, I don't know."
He also said some trailer homes had been tossed from the dealership, and their whereabouts were still unknown Friday night.
Power companies were busy Friday restoring power to residents, and officials were securing the area, Ericson said. Damage assessment was expected to begin in full force on Saturday.Elsewhere, hail, heavy rains and strong winds downed trees and cut power to some areas. The storms suspended music at the Basilica Block Party in downtown Minneapolis, sending concertgoers scurrying under a highway overpass for shelter. The music resumed later in the night.
Ivan and Della Underland, of Willmar, were about to hide under their pool table in the basement when they realized the tornado was passing them.
"We watched the funnel cloud go to the east of us," Della Underland told the West Central Tribune. "We were pretty shook up for a while, but I guess we are OK."
They said their son's residence in rural Willmar was damaged — an empty grain bin was blown down, many trees were down or uprooted and there was serious damage to surrounding crops.
Trained spotters also saw tornadoes three miles southeast of Spicer and two miles south of Kandiyohi. There were a handful of funnel clouds spotted as the storm swept through central Minnesota.
The St. Cloud Times lost power to its newsroom for about an hour on Friday. The newspaper said there were trees down in Little Falls and some street flooding as storm sewers backed up. The National Weather Service reported winds at 84 mph in Waite Park.
The storms happened as a cold front pushed east against hot, humid air across Minnesota. The storms weakened as they moved eastward through the Twin Cities — Xcel Energy reported over 24,000 people were without power in the metro area as of 9:45 p.m. Friday.
THE UPSIDE OF ANGER TONIGHT AT 8 ON MY21 TV
Starring Kevin Costner And Joan Allen
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Terry Wolfmeyer (Joan Allen) is a suburban wife and mother whose life takes an unusual turn when her husband unexpectedly disappears. Struggling to deal with his sudden absence, Terry finds herself increasingly at odds with her four headstrong daughters and regularly drowning her anger in alcohol, until she develops an offbeat relationship with her next-door neighbor, Denny (Kevin Costner). A once-great baseball star turned radio DJ, Denny becomes a drinking buddy for Terry and slowly evolves into her source of strength, as well as an ad-hoc father to her daughters. However, things get complicated as Terry's daughters grow accustomed to having Denny around while attempting to juggle not only their mothers romantic dilemmas, but their own. (Presented in HD)
Two Canadian Press writers revisit 'Grand Theft Auto IV' after months of play
When Rockstar Games released "Grand Theft Auto IV" on April 29, it was met with near-universal critical acclaim. Reviewers praised the story and the game's stunning level of detail. But once you get past the initial wow factor, is the game really good enough to justify the hype?
Canadian Press reporters Nick Patch and Curtis Withers talk about their experiences with "GTA IV," and whether the game is still worth playing more than two months after release.
CURTIS: I have to admit, I haven't finished "Grand Theft Auto IV" yet, even though I waited outside my local game retailer at midnight to get a copy the day it was released. It's not because I'm a horrible player (I don't care if my friends on Xbox Live say otherwise), but because "GTA IV" offers so many different ways to procrastinate.
Sure, Niko Bellic is on a personal quest for bloody revenge, but I like to make sure he has ample time to drink and play pool with friends, surf the Internet, enter street races, watch TV or even just explore Liberty City, a believable representation of New York City in so many ways.
While the narrative of the single-player campaign is compelling, the amount of available diversions helps greatly when the story gets bogged down with a boring or difficult mission.
There were a few instances where I would fail a certain mission several times in a row and get frustrated with having to continually start over from scratch. But instead of shutting down my Xbox in a huff, I would do some deliveries for my friend Little Jacob, or start an assassin mission or just cause general mayhem. The result was often satisfying and kept my interest in the game high.
In one particular instance, I was about to call it a day after failing a mission for the fifth time. Instead, I saw an unsuspecting bus coming down the road, and I decided to steal it and park it across a busy industrial street. Sitting on the roof of the bus enjoying the traffic jam I created, I saw three guys emerge from their cars and fight with baseball bats while another tried to solicit a passing prostitute from the comfort of his car. The random scene made me appreciate all the little things that went into the making of this game.
I'm sure my desire to putter around Liberty City for kicks will be somewhat diminished once I finish the game. That's where I hope the multiplayer game kicks in. I've done a few of the races and deathmatch scenarios with some friends and they've been a blast. But I think the most fun I had in multiplayer is in the free-roaming mode, when a friend and I casually drove around Liberty City causing trouble while he told me about his plans to take his Gran out for high tea on her 80th birthday.
Ultimately, the reason I'm still playing "GTA IV" this long after release is that the game combines a strong single-player game with many opportunities to have some mindless fun for a few minutes at a time. There have been other open-ended sandbox-style games that allowed the player to goof off for 15 minutes or so and then put the controller down, but they have often been plagued with a weak overall campaign. "GTA IV" is enjoyable whether you want to power through the story missions or take time to enjoy all that Liberty City has to offer.
NICK: Perhaps the way you play "Grand Theft Auto IV" says as much about you as it does about the game.
Unlike Curtis, I took the "goal-oriented" approach.
To put it less kindly, I was like a bingeing addict. I clumsily sped through the missions like a Banshee careening through mailboxes in Algonquin. I took cabs everywhere to save time, usually skipping the ride itself to save even more time, and kept replaying trickier missions until I had them licked.
All told, I beat the game in under 30 hours and looked forward to being able to really explore the nooks and crannies of Liberty City - the off-brand New York I found so mesmerizing.
And yet, in the three weeks since I beat the game, I haven't picked it up again.
One reason is that the optional missions that are dotted throughout the city aren't particularly challenging or engaging. They feel like errands, and aside from the snippets of entertaining dialogue shared between the characters, tend to be a bit tedious.
And, unlike Curtis, I didn't feel like spending any more time with my needy in-game friends, whose persistent phone calls I dreaded. I felt bad enough ignoring my real-life friends buzzing my actual cellphone while I played - I didn't need to deal with passive-aggressive answering machine messages from the infinitely clingy Brucie and my other pixilated buddies.
But the main reason I haven't been back to Liberty City may be the disappointing ending. Without spoiling anything, I was left cold by the way Rockstar put a period on the game - I was still free to muck around in the city, but it felt like Niko's story had effectively ended, and with little fanfare.
Maybe Curtis had the right idea in staggering to the finish line, taking in all the sights of the game's sparkling metropolis.
Because ultimately, Niko Bellic's journey of guns, money and the American dream goes out without much of a bang.
