www.kansas.com Posted on Tue, Mar. 18, 2003 Associated Press

DALLAS - A new source of income - or debt - could soon be a mouse click away for PC gamers.

Players 18 years and older can win cash or prizes while playing against each other in the online World War II action game Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

It's part of a deal between YouPlayGames and two Texas companies - Even Balance, Inc. of Houston and Id Software, Inc. of Mesquite.

After registering with YouPlayGames, gamers can place their wager.

The cost of entry generally will range from a few cents to a few dollars for each kill or injury players incur on their opponents, YouPlayGames creator Chris Grove said Tuesday.

No money limits have been set, but that could change, Grove said.

Another feature will let gamers cap how much money they can lose in 24 hours.

"If two players want to play a game for $100 a life, then we'll open up a server for that," he said.

Grove said prizes eventually will include games, vacations and money.

YouPlayGames' system remains in beta-testing but should be released later this month.

Subscribers will have to connect to online matches hosted on YouPlayGame's servers, and for security reasons use Even Balance's Punkbuster anti-cheat software.

Negotiations are under way to bring the cash-for-kiling scheme to other games, and eventually, online consoles like Xbox and PlayStation2, Grove said.

YouPlayGames is headquartered on the Caribbean island of Curacoa in the Netherlands Antilles, just off the coast of Venezuela.

U.S. players in 11 states won't be able to wager any money due to laws against fee-based online gaming. The states are Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, Tennessee and Vermont.

On the Net www.evenbalance.com www.youplaygames.com www.idsoftware.com

www.etaiwannews.com 2003-03-19 / Taiwan News, Staff Reporter / By Darcy Pan

Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday stressed that the government has made full preparations to cope with the possible impact on Taiwan should a war on Iraq break out.

Also at yesterday's routine press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Richard Shih, echoing U.S. President George W. Bush's call, urged Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq as soon as possible so as to avoid any conflict. Shih added that the foreign ministry will issue an official statement once a war breaks out.

Fielding questions at a Legislative Yuan plenary session, Yu stressed that the Cabinet has prepared measures to ensure stable supplies of oil, key materials and stability of domestic stock markets.

After U.S. President George W. Bush gave Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein an ultimatum Monday night to leave Iraq or face a war, many opposition legislators voiced concerns about Taiwan's measures to cope with the situation.

The premier indicated that the task force on economic and financial measures headed by Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i has convened six meetings since February 6 this year in preparation for the continuously changing situation in Iraq.

The task force will conduct meetings as soon as the war on Iraq breaks out so as to cope with the possible impact on Taiwan's economy, said Executive Yuan Spokesman Lin Chia-lung yesterday.

Yu further added that other responsible ministries have also prepared measures to deal with the supplies of oil and food while plans on evacuating overseas Taiwanese people have been drafted as well.

According to Yu, the current domestic storage of oil can last for 113 days while a seven-month supply of rice and a two-to-three month supply of soybeans, corn and wheat are also secured. The Cabinet has also made preparations for evacuating overseas Taiwan nationals to ensure their safety, Yu said.

The premier predicted that the war would generate more positive impact on Taiwan's economy if it should end in a short period of time. But if the war lasts longer than six weeks, negative influence in the domestic economy may be expected, he noted.

Meanwhile, the state-run Chinese Petroleum Corporation also indicated yesterday that if the war lasts for too long, the corporation would import crude oil from Venezuela and Ecuador if necessary.

Speculations have been made that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein may bomb the oil fields in the northern part of Iraq once the war breaks out.

According to the CPC, about 60 percent or 70 percent of Taiwan's crude oil is imported from the Middle East.

Also, in response to the impending conflict in Iraq, some domestic airline companies have prepared contingency route plans to avoid the war zone.

China Airlines Spokesman Roger Han said that it remains unknown as to how big the battlefield would be, but as soon as the war starts, the CAL will accept the suggestion by the International Civil Aviation Organization and change the flight routes to avoid the war zone.

The routes will be moved either south or north, Han added.

Eva Air also indicated that all flight routes from Taiwan to Europe would be affected if the war starts, so the company has planned 20 alternative routes to cope with the impending conflict, adding that the prepared routes are subject to change.

As for the impending war's impact on marine transportation, Evergreen Marine Corporation indicated that if the war zone is restricted to Iraq, transportation would not be too greatly influenced. But if the war zone extends to Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, Evergreen would change its port of call to Dubai.

Another marine transportation company, Yangming Marine Transport Corporation, said it does not have ports of call in the Middle East but if the war lasts for any substantial period, the corporation would not rule out the possibility of raising premiums.

www.bangkokpost.com Post reporters

Oil prices in the international market will not decline as quickly as they did during the 1991 Gulf war, according to energy expert Piyasvasti Amranand.

The government has also confirmed that its current legal oil reserve requirement was adequate to cope with the current situation.

Crude prices in London and New York fell by 10% yesterday after President George W. Bush's ultimatum to Saddam Hussein appeared to end uncertainty about a strike on Iraq.

Dr Piyasvasti said world oil prices were likely to decline no matter how long the war lasted, as long as the battle was confined only to Iraq. Still, prices would not drop considerably and swiftly as in 1991, he added.

The recent increase in oil prices was due partly to a falloff in production in Venezuela due to political strife and constraints on the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) in increasing production to offset the two million barrels per day previously supplied by Iraq, said Dr Piyasvasti, chairman of the Energy for Environment Foundation.

In 1991, Opec raised its production to substitute for oil supplied by Iraq and Kuwait. At the time, fuel consumption had also fallen just before the start of the war. Oil prices fall sharply once hostilities broke out.

Dr Piyasvasti cautioned that if the current conflict escalated, oil prices would rocket.

``Crude oil prices could soar to as high as $60 per barrel, if the war dragged on and spilled over to Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,'' he said.

Such a case would put local retail petrol prices to as high as 30 baht per litre, or nearly double current prices.

Dr Piyasvasti said oil prices could drop to $25 per barrel if the situation in Venezuela returned to normal and other Opec members were able to raise production to substitute for the shortage of oil supplied by Iraq.

Crude oil prices currently range from $30-35 a barrel, premium petrol is $40-43 a barrel, diesel is $40 and fuel oil $30.

While petrol market prices is 19-20 baht a litre, the government has capped prices at 16.99 baht for premium petrol.

Dr Piyasvasti said current oil prices would be reflected in power bills in the next eight months.

``If the fuel oil price increases 100% to $35 a barrel, natural gas prices at power plants will raise by 33% to 200 baht per million BTU (British thermal units) from 150 baht, resulting in a 12% increase in power bills,'' he said.

However, Energy Minister Prommin Lertsuridej said world oil prices were now under control on expectations that a US-Iraq war would not last long.

He said the country's oil reserve was confirmed as adequate at 60 days. ``We have not found it necessary yet to raise the legal requirement of oil reserves.''

A source at PTT Plc said the company had oil supply agreements with producers outside of the Middle East. In addition, the company had ordered 65 million litres of diesel to add to its commercial reserve, and was reviewing its procurement plans twice a week.

According to the Bank of Thailand, each increase of $1 a barrel in Dubai oil prices would raise the country's import bill by $62.5 million per quarter.

But analysts expect the overall impact to be short-lived, noting oil prices yesterday dropped after the 48-hour deadline was announced.

Robert Alonso robertalonso2003@cantv.net

Así como no se puede batir concreto sin agua, es imposible instalar un comunismo sin contar con “El Terror”.

Decía que en Cuba el terror es genético. Ha pasado una generación bíblica en la isla del caribe desde que los cubanos comenzaron a conocer al “Sr. Terror”, un “individuo” sin alma que se presta a todo sin esperar nada a cambio.

Sentirse preso en una isla produce un impresionante terror, como terror siente el prisionero de conciencia cuando los guardias calan sus oxidadas bayonetas soviéticas. El sonar de unos disparos al salir el sol produce mucho terror porque los cubanos saben – o se imaginan – que provienen del paredón de fusilamiento y el terror se incrementa en las tinieblas del alba al sonar el tiro de gracia que destroza la sien del condenado a muerte.

Terror siente el padre cuando le dice adiós a un hijo que se marcha a una guerra absurda en un continente que está tan lejos como la esperanza de un futuro en Cuba. Terror siente una madre cuando su hijo regresa muerto o mutilado de esas misiones internacionalistas.

Terror lo produce un vecino que mira detrás de una ventana cuando cae la tarde cargada de calor y terror siente el cubano cuando supone que lo están observando día y noche.

Cuando el cubano se queda sin trabajo en la isla del terror siente un profundo terror pues sabe que fue despedido por el único patrón que tiene su patria: el estado.

Más fuerte que el terror de morir en altamar al intentar alcanzar la libertad en tierras extrañas, está el terror de seguir viviendo esclavo de los designios de un tirano, pero nada es comparable al terror que produce despedir al hermano quien se monta en una frágil balsa para alejarse de las costas y no regresar jamás a Cuba.

Terror siento yo cuando pienso que esta patria, Venezuela, pudiera cambiar su alegría de siglos por el terror eterno teñido de un rojo viejo y absurdo.

El Hatillo 18 de marzo de 2003

Robert Alonso robertalonso2003@cantv.net

Robert Alonso robertalonso2003@cantv.net

Solo hay una cosa más seria que “El Hambre”: “El Terror”. Sobre mi amigo “El Terror” hablaré próximamente, tal vez mañana.

En Cuba, “El Terror” es mayor que “El Hambre”; hambre hay mucha… pero el terror ya es genético. Digamos que el primero es un General de División, mientras el segundo es un Militar de Brigada intentando siempre insubordinarse sin éxito.

El venezolano “de adentro” ha convivido con “El Hambre” toda la vida. Nuestro presidente lo sabe porque a él le tocó muchas veces decidir entre irse a la cama con una longaniza, una “araña de coco” o un pedazo de dulce de lechoza que le hacía su abuela Rosinés… allá, en Sabaneta de Barinas, un lugar tan lejano y oscuro que si el mundo tuviera nalgas, sería el ojo del culo.

El propio Hugo sabe – sin embargo -- hasta dónde está dispuesto a aguantar hambre el venezolano del cerro. Ese que está acostumbrado a “matar tigres” con tal de conseguir unas patas de res con las cuales hacer un hervido para bajar el dominó.

La regla indica que antes de que los del cerro se arrechen, hay que apretar las tuercas al máximo. Recomendables serían las “Brigadas de Acción Rápidas” que se inventó Castro para aplacar cualquier movimiento extraño en Cuba, pero éstas no serían de mucha utilidad si no se declara oficialmente un estado totalitario en pro de la revolución bonita.

El tiempo se le acaba al Sr. Chávez; el tiempo en “democracia”, quiero decir… porque dentro del comunismo el tiempo se congela y las horas pasan mientras las tripas suenan en desesperanza.

El Hatillo 17 de marzo de 2003

Robert Alonso robertalonso2003@cantv.net