#google-search — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/people/148353/ Here’s Why July 22 Could Be a Big Day for Warren Buffett’s Successor, Greg Abel #AlphabetStock #BerkshireHathaway #BerkshireHathawayStock #Google #GoogleSearch #GregAbel #WarrenBuffett

Philippines Supreme Court Upholds Law Granting VAT Refund To Foreign Tourists

Remember the law granting value-added tax refund (VAT refund) to foreign tourists signed a few years ago? That law was challenged and recently the Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act 12079 (the act creating a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists), according to a news report by GMA News.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of GMA News. Some parts in boldface…

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of a law that grants value-added tax (VAT) refunds on select local purchases by non-resident foreign tourists.

In a 30-page decision, the SC En Banc dismissed a petition challenging the validity of Republic Act 12079, or an act creating a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists, adding Section 112-A to the National Internal Revenue Code.

“Granting VAT refund to foreign tourists was not arbitrarily done. It is a policy decision based on legitimate state interests, i.e. the need to remain competitive as a global tourist destination,” the SC said.

“In fine, foreign tourists may be granted privileges and benefits that are not extended to Filipino citizens, so as long as these distinctions are based on reasonable and justifiable classifications, as in here,” it added.

According to the SC, the VAT refund applies to goods brought from duly accredited stores and taken out of the country within 60 days from purchase. The goods must be priced at least P3,000 per transaction.

Meanwhile, the SC said Section 5 of the law’s implementing rules and regulations limit the refund to retail and tangible goods, including clothing, apparel, electronics, gadgets, jewelry, accessories, souvenirs, food or non-food consumables, and other items intended for personal use.

The petitioner, however, argued that the law violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection as it excludes Filipino citizens.

For its part, the SC said equal protection does not require identical treatment for all persons.

It said the act also distinguishes foreign tourists from Filipino citizens.

According to the SC, the VAT refund system follows the basic rule of VAT that goods are taxed where they are consumed. If the goods are consumed in the Philippines, they remain subject to Philippine VAT.

Meanwhile, the SC added that VAT refund for foreign tourists is a well-established international practice.

“The Philippines is among the last few countries in Asia to adopt such a system. Our Asian neighbors, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Japan have long implemented this VAT refund mechanism for foreign tourists,” it said.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s decision on the law about VAT refund for foreign tourists? Apart from the VAT refund for foreign tourists, what problems that plagued the Philippine tourism industry should the government solve this year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

America Goes After Financiers And Shadow Business Networks Of Terrorist State Iran

As the military conflict between the United States and the Islamic terrorist state of Iran intensifies, the State Department announced that action has been taken to cut off the financial lifelines of the evil regime.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the entire announcement by the State Department. Some parts in boldface…

The United States is taking decisive action to cut off the financial lifelines sustaining Iran’s ruling elite. Today’s action targets Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national who has built a sprawling global network of real estate and commercial holdings — spanning Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Cyprus, the UAE, and beyond — on behalf of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other regime insiders.

The United States also sanctioned three Iran-based currency exchange houses — Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners — along with their managing partners and associated front companies. By targeting these networks, the United States is directly disrupting the regime’s ability to access foreign currency and conduct international financial activity.

These actions reflect the Trump Administration’s commitment to holding accountable all those who enable the regime’s corruption and regional aggression. The United States will continue to pursue sanctions against individuals, companies, and financial institutions — including foreign entities — that facilitate illicit Iranian commerce, and will not relent until the Iranian regime ends its destabilizing behavior and its exploitation of the Iranian people.

Today’s action is being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors, E.O. 13876, which focuses on the Supreme Leader of Iran and his affiliates, and the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224, as amended by E.O. 13886. These designations build on a series of OFAC actions targeting Iranian shadow banking and currency exchange house networks

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the US will be able to cut off Iran’s links to all financial sources around the world? Could it be possible that the sinister financiers behind LGBTQ and transgender mobs and human traffickers (involved with mass migration targeting Europe) could secretly be funding the Islamic terrorist regime of Iran?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

America Goes After Financiers And Shadow Business Networks Of Terrorist State Iran

As the military conflict between the United States and the Islamic terrorist state of Iran intensifies, the State Department announced that action has been taken to cut off the financial lifelines of the evil regime.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the entire announcement by the State Department. Some parts in boldface…

The United States is taking decisive action to cut off the financial lifelines sustaining Iran’s ruling elite. Today’s action targets Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national who has built a sprawling global network of real estate and commercial holdings — spanning Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Cyprus, the UAE, and beyond — on behalf of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other regime insiders.

The United States also sanctioned three Iran-based currency exchange houses — Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners — along with their managing partners and associated front companies. By targeting these networks, the United States is directly disrupting the regime’s ability to access foreign currency and conduct international financial activity.

These actions reflect the Trump Administration’s commitment to holding accountable all those who enable the regime’s corruption and regional aggression. The United States will continue to pursue sanctions against individuals, companies, and financial institutions — including foreign entities — that facilitate illicit Iranian commerce, and will not relent until the Iranian regime ends its destabilizing behavior and its exploitation of the Iranian people.

Today’s action is being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors, E.O. 13876, which focuses on the Supreme Leader of Iran and his affiliates, and the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224, as amended by E.O. 13886. These designations build on a series of OFAC actions targeting Iranian shadow banking and currency exchange house networks

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the US will be able to cut off Iran’s links to all financial sources around the world? Could it be possible that the sinister financiers behind LGBTQ and transgender mobs and human traffickers (involved with mass migration targeting Europe) could secretly be funding the Islamic terrorist regime of Iran?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Philippines Supreme Court Upholds Law Granting VAT Refund To Foreign Tourists

Remember the law granting value-added tax refund (VAT refund) to foreign tourists signed a few years ago? That law was challenged and recently the Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act 12079 (the act creating a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists), according to a news report by GMA News.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of GMA News. Some parts in boldface…

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of a law that grants value-added tax (VAT) refunds on select local purchases by non-resident foreign tourists.

In a 30-page decision, the SC En Banc dismissed a petition challenging the validity of Republic Act 12079, or an act creating a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists, adding Section 112-A to the National Internal Revenue Code.

“Granting VAT refund to foreign tourists was not arbitrarily done. It is a policy decision based on legitimate state interests, i.e. the need to remain competitive as a global tourist destination,” the SC said.

“In fine, foreign tourists may be granted privileges and benefits that are not extended to Filipino citizens, so as long as these distinctions are based on reasonable and justifiable classifications, as in here,” it added.

According to the SC, the VAT refund applies to goods brought from duly accredited stores and taken out of the country within 60 days from purchase. The goods must be priced at least P3,000 per transaction.

Meanwhile, the SC said Section 5 of the law’s implementing rules and regulations limit the refund to retail and tangible goods, including clothing, apparel, electronics, gadgets, jewelry, accessories, souvenirs, food or non-food consumables, and other items intended for personal use.

The petitioner, however, argued that the law violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection as it excludes Filipino citizens.

For its part, the SC said equal protection does not require identical treatment for all persons.

It said the act also distinguishes foreign tourists from Filipino citizens.

According to the SC, the VAT refund system follows the basic rule of VAT that goods are taxed where they are consumed. If the goods are consumed in the Philippines, they remain subject to Philippine VAT.

Meanwhile, the SC added that VAT refund for foreign tourists is a well-established international practice.

“The Philippines is among the last few countries in Asia to adopt such a system. Our Asian neighbors, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Japan have long implemented this VAT refund mechanism for foreign tourists,” it said.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s decision on the law about VAT refund for foreign tourists? Apart from the VAT refund for foreign tourists, what problems that plagued the Philippine tourism industry should the government solve this year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

America Goes After Financiers And Shadow Business Networks Of Terrorist State Iran

As the military conflict between the United States and the Islamic terrorist state of Iran intensifies, the State Department announced that action has been taken to cut off the financial lifelines of the evil regime.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the entire announcement by the State Department. Some parts in boldface…

The United States is taking decisive action to cut off the financial lifelines sustaining Iran’s ruling elite. Today’s action targets Ali Ansari, a Dubai-based Iranian national who has built a sprawling global network of real estate and commercial holdings — spanning Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Cyprus, the UAE, and beyond — on behalf of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other regime insiders.

The United States also sanctioned three Iran-based currency exchange houses — Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners — along with their managing partners and associated front companies. By targeting these networks, the United States is directly disrupting the regime’s ability to access foreign currency and conduct international financial activity.

These actions reflect the Trump Administration’s commitment to holding accountable all those who enable the regime’s corruption and regional aggression. The United States will continue to pursue sanctions against individuals, companies, and financial institutions — including foreign entities — that facilitate illicit Iranian commerce, and will not relent until the Iranian regime ends its destabilizing behavior and its exploitation of the Iranian people.

Today’s action is being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s financial and petroleum sectors, E.O. 13876, which focuses on the Supreme Leader of Iran and his affiliates, and the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224, as amended by E.O. 13886. These designations build on a series of OFAC actions targeting Iranian shadow banking and currency exchange house networks

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the US will be able to cut off Iran’s links to all financial sources around the world? Could it be possible that the sinister financiers behind LGBTQ and transgender mobs and human traffickers (involved with mass migration targeting Europe) could secretly be funding the Islamic terrorist regime of Iran?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Philippines Supreme Court Upholds Law Granting VAT Refund To Foreign Tourists

Remember the law granting value-added tax refund (VAT refund) to foreign tourists signed a few years ago? That law was challenged and recently the Supreme Court of the Philippines upheld the constitutionality of Republic Act 12079 (the act creating a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists), according to a news report by GMA News.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of GMA News. Some parts in boldface…

The Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the constitutionality of a law that grants value-added tax (VAT) refunds on select local purchases by non-resident foreign tourists.

In a 30-page decision, the SC En Banc dismissed a petition challenging the validity of Republic Act 12079, or an act creating a VAT refund mechanism for non-resident tourists, adding Section 112-A to the National Internal Revenue Code.

“Granting VAT refund to foreign tourists was not arbitrarily done. It is a policy decision based on legitimate state interests, i.e. the need to remain competitive as a global tourist destination,” the SC said.

“In fine, foreign tourists may be granted privileges and benefits that are not extended to Filipino citizens, so as long as these distinctions are based on reasonable and justifiable classifications, as in here,” it added.

According to the SC, the VAT refund applies to goods brought from duly accredited stores and taken out of the country within 60 days from purchase. The goods must be priced at least P3,000 per transaction.

Meanwhile, the SC said Section 5 of the law’s implementing rules and regulations limit the refund to retail and tangible goods, including clothing, apparel, electronics, gadgets, jewelry, accessories, souvenirs, food or non-food consumables, and other items intended for personal use.

The petitioner, however, argued that the law violates the constitutional guarantee of equal protection as it excludes Filipino citizens.

For its part, the SC said equal protection does not require identical treatment for all persons.

It said the act also distinguishes foreign tourists from Filipino citizens.

According to the SC, the VAT refund system follows the basic rule of VAT that goods are taxed where they are consumed. If the goods are consumed in the Philippines, they remain subject to Philippine VAT.

Meanwhile, the SC added that VAT refund for foreign tourists is a well-established international practice.

“The Philippines is among the last few countries in Asia to adopt such a system. Our Asian neighbors, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, and Japan have long implemented this VAT refund mechanism for foreign tourists,” it said.

Let me end this post by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you agree with the Supreme Court’s decision on the law about VAT refund for foreign tourists? Apart from the VAT refund for foreign tourists, what problems that plagued the Philippine tourism industry should the government solve this year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

FYI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SearchConsole

FYI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SearchConsole

FYI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SearchConsole

FYI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SearchConsole

FYI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SearchConsole

Google Search lets creators know more about their reach

https://www.theverge.com/tech/961955/google-search-console-reach-platform-properties

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48825612

#HackerNews #GoogleSearch #CreatorTools #Reach #Analytics #SEO

Google Search lets creators know more about their reach

https://www.theverge.com/tech/961955/google-search-console-reach-platform-properties

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48825612

#HackerNews #GoogleSearch #CreatorTools #Reach #Analytics #SEO

Google Search lets creators know more about their reach

https://www.theverge.com/tech/961955/google-search-console-reach-platform-properties

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48825612

#HackerNews #GoogleSearch #CreatorTools #Reach #Analytics #SEO

Google Search lets creators know more about their reach

https://www.theverge.com/tech/961955/google-search-console-reach-platform-properties

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48825612

#HackerNews #GoogleSearch #CreatorTools #Reach #Analytics #SEO

Google Search lets creators know more about their reach

https://www.theverge.com/tech/961955/google-search-console-reach-platform-properties

Comments: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48825612

#HackerNews #GoogleSearch #CreatorTools #Reach #Analytics #SEO

RT @glenngabe: It's a network of sites, and not just http://usatoday.com, but checking the visibility of that site over the past two years makes me think they have bigger problems with Google than just AI -> USA Today CEO Mike Reed says the company is prepared to opt out of Google Search in the next 6 to 12 months because it has no licensing agreement with Google https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

mehr auf Arint.info

#Google #google #GoogleSearch #USA #arint_info

https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2075564270767456569#m

RT @glenngabe: It's a network of sites, and not just http://usatoday.com, but checking the visibility of that site over the past two years makes me think they have bigger problems with Google than just AI -> USA Today CEO Mike Reed says the company is prepared to opt out of Google Search in the next 6 to 12 months because it has no licensing agreement with Google https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

mehr auf Arint.info

#Google #google #GoogleSearch #USA #arint_info

https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2075564270767456569#m

RT @glenngabe: It's a network of sites, and not just http://usatoday.com, but checking the visibility of that site over the past two years makes me think they have bigger problems with Google than just AI -> USA Today CEO Mike Reed says the company is prepared to opt out of Google Search in the next 6 to 12 months because it has no licensing agreement with Google https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

mehr auf Arint.info

#Google #google #GoogleSearch #USA #arint_info

https://x.com/glenngabe/status/2075564270767456569#m

NLCOM Assists Over One Thousand Families In General Santos City

New Life Community Care Foundation International, Inc. (NLCOM) – the compassion arm of New Life Philippines located inside Alabang Hills Village in Muntinlupa City – provided assistance and much-needed relief to more than one thousand families in General Santos City who were impacted by the power Mindanao earthquake.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the July 5 social media announcement by NLCOM. Some parts in boldface…

From June 22–25, we had the privilege of serving earthquake-affected communities across General Santos City, Sarangani, T’Boli (South Cotabato), and nearby areas. During those few days, we distributed relief assistance to 1,100 families, installed 17 community water filtration systems, and conducted Psychological First Aid (PFA) to help children, families, and communities.

Every disaster reminds us that the need is always greater than our capacity. While we thank God for every relief bag distributed, every family reached, every community given access to clean water, and every conversation that brought comfort, we also recognize that there are still many who need help, hope, and healing.

Our prayer is not simply to do more, but to be more prepared—to continue equipping ourselves, strengthening partnerships, and responding with excellence whenever communities are faced with crisis. We pray that God will continue to expand our capacity so that more lives can be served, more families can receive practical care, and more hearts can experience His love through the Church.

As we look ahead, we invite you to continue standing with us. Pray for the communities that are still rebuilding, pray for our local church partners, and if God is stirring your heart to be part of future disaster response efforts, we’d love to connect with you.

To watch the Facebook video post of NLCOM, click https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18fBh4XHGH/

For the newcomers reading this, I previously blogged about NLCOM back in 2020 which you can read by clicking here and my recent blog posts can viewed by clicking here, here, here, here, here and here. NLCOM has an established record of providing relief to disaster victims and helping them rebuild their lives and communities as they recover.

NLCOM is committed to organizing activities from disaster preparedness trainings, relief goods distribution, mobile kitchen feeding operations, Psychological First Aid to kids and adults traumatized by a disaster, and rebuilding of damaged houses. To get to know NLCOM better, I recommend you watch their official YouTube video below…

https://youtu.be/U__6rtnxivE?si=6hwooQh-Can00vaa

If you have decided to help people through NLCOM, be aware that New Life’s compassion arm is accepting donations. You may send your monetary donations to:

NEW LIFE COMMUNITY CARE FOUNDATION INT’L. INC.

PESO CHECKING ACCOUNT:

Unionbank (Richville Branch)

00-133000543-3

US DOLLAR ACCOUNT:

Unionbank (Richville Branch)

13-133000530-7

Swift Code: ubpphphmm

Via PAYPAL: https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/nlcomPH

For more information about NLCOM, visit https://nlcom.org.ph/ or visit their office at 2 Don Manolo Boulevard, Alabang Hills Village, Barangay Cupang, Muntinlupa City, Metro Manila, Philippines. Contact them at landline 88091542 extension 426.

In ending post, let me share with you a few holy scriptures that should remind you that God is our source, our provider and the blessedness of giving is absolutely true. Be remind that Lord Jesus is the hope of all nations.

Mercy to the needy is a loan to God, and God pays back those loans in full.

Proverbs 19:17 (MSG)

Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4 (NKJV)

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of #GoogleSearch

https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of #GoogleSearch

https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of #GoogleSearch

https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of #GoogleSearch

https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

Publishers Are Preparing to Opt Out of #GoogleSearch

https://www.adweek.com/media/publishers-opt-out-google-search/

Xbox Reset Is Very Painful But Absolutely Necessary

Welcome back Xbox fans and fellow geeks!

As a long-time Xbox fan and owner of three Xbox game consoles, I can say that this current console generation has been disappointing and the current state of Xbox gaming is a huge letdown.

With the approval of Microsoft’s leadership, Team Xbox acquired a lot of game companies that include the giants Activision-Blizzard-King (ABK) and Bethesda, going right down to the smaller game studios. Those were acquired with the promise of new and exciting games that would make Xbox gaming really great in the form of exclusive games, new content for Game Pass subscribers and more.

Sadly, things turned out really disappointing and now the new Xbox head Asha Sharma has the tremendous challenge of making drastic reforms, downsizing and correcting the cases of mismanagement by the previous leadership. That said, she declared a hard reset of the Xbox business and the changes are being implemented already.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Xbox announcement focused on Asha Sharma’s message to the entire team. Some parts in boldface…

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.

I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.

Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.

First, we will reset our content portfolio.

Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.

Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.

We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.

In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.

Second, we will reset our platform.

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

Third, we are resetting how we operate.

As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.

For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX’s history. We wish him all the best.

These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect.

To see the full message, click https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/07/06/resetting-xbox/

Indeed, the Xbox business model deteriorated financially and became much harder to manage. The billions of Dollars spent on Xbox gaming over the past several years did not result in the great gaming experiences for fans and gamers, nor did it compel the Xbox game studios to become productive and disciplined.

First-party games of Xbox in the generation of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have been lackluster in quality and enjoyment overall. I played Starfield a lot on my Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass and my enjoyment of it has been limited compared with other games of Bethesda. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was fun at first but it ended up being hollow. As the said Ninja Theory-developed game lacked depth with its gameplay and game design, I never bothered to replay it after finishing it. Obsidian Entertainment, a company that specialized in making role-playing games (RPGs), produced new RPGs under the Xbox umbrella but none of them were great. In fact, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 ended up as commercial failures.

Going back to Asha Sharma’s message, I can say that letting go of Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions was the right move as the huge amount of money Team Xbox spent of them did not result in great games. Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight was a $100,000,000 production that ended up with sales of way below one million copies. More notably, Compulsion Games has a discriminating woke and hateful community manager who goes by the handle @PikaChulita. Look at the captured evidence below.

Speaking of wokeness and discrimination, the controversial Matt Hansen has been laid off from Obsidian Entertainment. Hansen was heavily involved in the huge disappointment called Avowed. That being said, Team Xbox should really REMOVE all the untalented woke activists among its many game developers. Those activists – the feminists, the LGBTQ mob, the Islamists, the Black Lives Matter zealots and others – do not care about making great games at all and they have been misusing Microsoft’s money to turn new Xbox games into vehicles of Leftist/woke/socialist propaganda. Xbox should also cut off any ties with the super woke Sweet Baby Inc.

When it comes to the larger entities like Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King and Mojang, the layoffs are painful but it makes sense to shift investment to focus on higher priority projects. Activision should regain focus on ensuring quality and great fun with its continued productions of Call of Duty (COD) games. Bethesda has to deliver new Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games faster and with the highest quality possible.

With the way things are right now, I am not certain if I will pursue the next-generation Xbox console called “Project Helix”. Memory has gotten much more expensive in recent times due to extremely high demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the memory manufacturers’ deals with AI companies. How much memory could the next-generation Xbox have and could its retail price exceed $1,000 at launch?

Indeed, the future of Xbox gaming is really clouded and I can only hope that the hard reset of the Xbox business under Asha Sharma will create positive changes and results. To say the least, the reforms have started and only time will tell what will happen next.

In ending this blog post, posted below are selected YouTube videos about the state of Xbox for your enlightenment.  

https://youtu.be/2BZBoBAZGsc?si=aL2iNzIiW6It6zvF

https://youtu.be/G7gFcdPmUeM?si=RjfV62K2TEgK4W4c

https://youtu.be/B8jITSU6IfM?si=npeGI3VDmYPRoX4n

https://youtu.be/qWFSICcym9c?si=OVgz7K77aGsISa2N

https://youtu.be/DeUV3IqEZRU?si=U4mZnmOQGY2V6CKO

https://youtu.be/O_1YpnEKkxA?si=yKa24vue7V60KilE

https://youtu.be/FGFD1W415FE?si=NI380YIxmaw2CNBg

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Xbox Reset Is Very Painful But Absolutely Necessary

Welcome back Xbox fans and fellow geeks!

As a long-time Xbox fan and owner of three Xbox game consoles, I can say that this current console generation has been disappointing and the current state of Xbox gaming is a huge letdown.

With the approval of Microsoft’s leadership, Team Xbox acquired a lot of game companies that include the giants Activision-Blizzard-King (ABK) and Bethesda, going right down to the smaller game studios. Those were acquired with the promise of new and exciting games that would make Xbox gaming really great in the form of exclusive games, new content for Game Pass subscribers and more.

Sadly, things turned out really disappointing and now the new Xbox head Asha Sharma has the tremendous challenge of making drastic reforms, downsizing and correcting the cases of mismanagement by the previous leadership. That said, she declared a hard reset of the Xbox business and the changes are being implemented already.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Xbox announcement focused on Asha Sharma’s message to the entire team. Some parts in boldface…

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.

I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.

Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.

First, we will reset our content portfolio.

Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.

Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.

We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.

In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.

Second, we will reset our platform.

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

Third, we are resetting how we operate.

As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.

For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX’s history. We wish him all the best.

These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect.

To see the full message, click https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/07/06/resetting-xbox/

Indeed, the Xbox business model deteriorated financially and became much harder to manage. The billions of Dollars spent on Xbox gaming over the past several years did not result in the great gaming experiences for fans and gamers, nor did it compel the Xbox game studios to become productive and disciplined.

First-party games of Xbox in the generation of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have been lackluster in quality and enjoyment overall. I played Starfield a lot on my Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass and my enjoyment of it has been limited compared with other games of Bethesda. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was fun at first but it ended up being hollow. As the said Ninja Theory-developed game lacked depth with its gameplay and game design, I never bothered to replay it after finishing it. Obsidian Entertainment, a company that specialized in making role-playing games (RPGs), produced new RPGs under the Xbox umbrella but none of them were great. In fact, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 ended up as commercial failures.

Going back to Asha Sharma’s message, I can say that letting go of Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions was the right move as the huge amount of money Team Xbox spent of them did not result in great games. Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight was a $100,000,000 production that ended up with sales of way below one million copies. More notably, Compulsion Games has a discriminating woke and hateful community manager who goes by the handle @PikaChulita. Look at the captured evidence below.

Speaking of wokeness and discrimination, the controversial Matt Hansen has been laid off from Obsidian Entertainment. Hansen was heavily involved in the huge disappointment called Avowed. That being said, Team Xbox should really REMOVE all the untalented woke activists among its many game developers. Those activists – the feminists, the LGBTQ mob, the Islamists, the Black Lives Matter zealots and others – do not care about making great games at all and they have been misusing Microsoft’s money to turn new Xbox games into vehicles of Leftist/woke/socialist propaganda. Xbox should also cut off any ties with the super woke Sweet Baby Inc.

When it comes to the larger entities like Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King and Mojang, the layoffs are painful but it makes sense to shift investment to focus on higher priority projects. Activision should regain focus on ensuring quality and great fun with its continued productions of Call of Duty (COD) games. Bethesda has to deliver new Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games faster and with the highest quality possible.

With the way things are right now, I am not certain if I will pursue the next-generation Xbox console called “Project Helix”. Memory has gotten much more expensive in recent times due to extremely high demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the memory manufacturers’ deals with AI companies. How much memory could the next-generation Xbox have and could its retail price exceed $1,000 at launch?

Indeed, the future of Xbox gaming is really clouded and I can only hope that the hard reset of the Xbox business under Asha Sharma will create positive changes and results. To say the least, the reforms have started and only time will tell what will happen next.

In ending this blog post, posted below are selected YouTube videos about the state of Xbox for your enlightenment.  

https://youtu.be/2BZBoBAZGsc?si=aL2iNzIiW6It6zvF

https://youtu.be/G7gFcdPmUeM?si=RjfV62K2TEgK4W4c

https://youtu.be/B8jITSU6IfM?si=npeGI3VDmYPRoX4n

https://youtu.be/qWFSICcym9c?si=OVgz7K77aGsISa2N

https://youtu.be/DeUV3IqEZRU?si=U4mZnmOQGY2V6CKO

https://youtu.be/O_1YpnEKkxA?si=yKa24vue7V60KilE

https://youtu.be/FGFD1W415FE?si=NI380YIxmaw2CNBg

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Xbox Reset Is Very Painful But Absolutely Necessary

Welcome back Xbox fans and fellow geeks!

As a long-time Xbox fan and owner of three Xbox game consoles, I can say that this current console generation has been disappointing and the current state of Xbox gaming is a huge letdown.

With the approval of Microsoft’s leadership, Team Xbox acquired a lot of game companies that include the giants Activision-Blizzard-King (ABK) and Bethesda, going right down to the smaller game studios. Those were acquired with the promise of new and exciting games that would make Xbox gaming really great in the form of exclusive games, new content for Game Pass subscribers and more.

Sadly, things turned out really disappointing and now the new Xbox head Asha Sharma has the tremendous challenge of making drastic reforms, downsizing and correcting the cases of mismanagement by the previous leadership. That said, she declared a hard reset of the Xbox business and the changes are being implemented already.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Xbox announcement focused on Asha Sharma’s message to the entire team. Some parts in boldface…

We are beginning the most significant restructure in XBOX history. After careful consideration, I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce our team by approximately 3,200 throughout FY27. This will include approximately 1,600 role eliminations today, and in addition, four studios will leave XBOX to new management. I recognize that a year-long restructuring creates additional challenges. Unfortunately, it is not possible to make all the necessary changes in a single day, and I wanted to be direct about the scale.

I know this is painful. These changes will directly affect people who have poured their creativity into building XBOX. Many joined us through acquisitions, while others were recruited here, or sought us out because they loved this industry and loved XBOX. Today’s decisions do not reflect their talent or dedication.

Our business today is not healthy. We are operating at margins that are 3-10x lower than comparable platform and publishing businesses. We entered Gen 9 with a smaller install base and a higher cost structure. To grow, we bet on Game Pass, multi-platform, and a broader portfolio of content. While those businesses have created meaningful value, they did not grow at the pace we expected. As that happened, our core business weakened, and we added more teams, more investment, and more time, hoping for a better outcome. And now the industry is facing the most severe hardware crisis in its history. We must reset XBOX.

First, we will reset our content portfolio.

Since 2018, we have aggressively expanded our studio portfolio while the number of games created each month across the industry now outpaces the last ten years combined. We now find ourselves competing not only with the largest publishers, but also with smaller independent studios. It is neither possible nor desirable to own every great independent studio. We have also learned that we are not the best home for every type of studio; in a typical year, we lost 64 cents for every dollar we invested. As we reset XBOX, we will help independent creators succeed by providing open development tools and audiences to realize their vision.

Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions will return to management and transition to independent studios with their IP, catalog, and runway for their next games. Ninja Theory and Undead Labs have entered terms to join new ownership with funding to complete and grow Senua and State of Decay 3. In France, Arkane’s management is beginning required consultation with its Works Council to review potential strategic options.

We are also making reductions across other units, and in some cases, shifting investment to focus on higher priority projects. These changes vary in size across Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King, Mojang, and XBOX Game Studios. None of our first party publicly announced games or projects are being cancelled as part of these reductions.

In addition, Mojang and King will now report directly to me. These two studios have increasingly become platforms and are our largest by monthly active players. They bring critical geographic, demographic, and differentiation to XBOX.

Second, we will reset our platform.

We know that great technology gets better when it gets simpler, not bigger. Today, in some parts of the company, work passes through as many as 14 layers of management. Our platform teams are 40% larger than they were at the start of this generation, even as our player base and playtime have declined. That complexity has slowed decisions, blurred accountability, and made it harder to deliver for players. As we reset XBOX, we will simplify.

We will reduce management layers to no more than 5, and where possible, 3. We will deliver success through a flatter organization that is built around makers (individual contributors focused on building), player-coaches (leaders who remain deeply involved in the work while developing their teams), and directly responsible individuals (DRIs) who own key decisions and outcomes. And we will streamline how we work across our tools, with a cleaner code base, shared services, and 50% reduced vendor spend.

Third, we are resetting how we operate.

As XBOX grew our headcount, we became more fragmented. Teams, studios, and functions often operate independently, and it became harder to work towards a shared goal, make the right tradeoffs, and get things done.

For the first time, we are establishing a Chief Operating Officer with end-to-end P&L responsibility across content, hardware, platform, and services. Helen Chiang has been promoted to this role and will report directly to me. Over nearly two decades at XBOX, Helen has helped build some of our most important businesses, from XBOX Live to leading Mojang and the Minecraft franchise. She will bring our businesses together under one operating model, making sure we make clear investment decisions, learn from our successes and failures, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Thank you, Dave McCarthy, who is retiring after 17 years with XBOX. Dave has played a defining role in building the platform that millions of players rely on every day and has been a trusted partner through many of the biggest moments in XBOX’s history. We wish him all the best.

These changes are about a bigger future for XBOX, not a smaller one. The next decade of gaming will be larger, more global, and more creative than anything we’ve seen before. This year, we’ll invest as much in XBOX as we ever have, but we’ll invest with greater focus, greater discipline, and greater clarity, all in service of making XBOX where the world plays and creates.

I want XBOX to be one of the few companies that entertains more than a billion people each day and gives everyone the opportunity to create and connect.

To see the full message, click https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/07/06/resetting-xbox/

Indeed, the Xbox business model deteriorated financially and became much harder to manage. The billions of Dollars spent on Xbox gaming over the past several years did not result in the great gaming experiences for fans and gamers, nor did it compel the Xbox game studios to become productive and disciplined.

First-party games of Xbox in the generation of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have been lackluster in quality and enjoyment overall. I played Starfield a lot on my Xbox Series X via Xbox Game Pass and my enjoyment of it has been limited compared with other games of Bethesda. Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II was fun at first but it ended up being hollow. As the said Ninja Theory-developed game lacked depth with its gameplay and game design, I never bothered to replay it after finishing it. Obsidian Entertainment, a company that specialized in making role-playing games (RPGs), produced new RPGs under the Xbox umbrella but none of them were great. In fact, Avowed and The Outer Worlds 2 ended up as commercial failures.

Going back to Asha Sharma’s message, I can say that letting go of Compulsion Games and Double Fine Productions was the right move as the huge amount of money Team Xbox spent of them did not result in great games. Compulsion Games’ South of Midnight was a $100,000,000 production that ended up with sales of way below one million copies. More notably, Compulsion Games has a discriminating woke and hateful community manager who goes by the handle @PikaChulita. Look at the captured evidence below.

Speaking of wokeness and discrimination, the controversial Matt Hansen has been laid off from Obsidian Entertainment. Hansen was heavily involved in the huge disappointment called Avowed. That being said, Team Xbox should really REMOVE all the untalented woke activists among its many game developers. Those activists – the feminists, the LGBTQ mob, the Islamists, the Black Lives Matter zealots and others – do not care about making great games at all and they have been misusing Microsoft’s money to turn new Xbox games into vehicles of Leftist/woke/socialist propaganda. Xbox should also cut off any ties with the super woke Sweet Baby Inc.

When it comes to the larger entities like Activision, Bethesda/ZeniMax, Blizzard, King and Mojang, the layoffs are painful but it makes sense to shift investment to focus on higher priority projects. Activision should regain focus on ensuring quality and great fun with its continued productions of Call of Duty (COD) games. Bethesda has to deliver new Fallout and The Elder Scrolls games faster and with the highest quality possible.

With the way things are right now, I am not certain if I will pursue the next-generation Xbox console called “Project Helix”. Memory has gotten much more expensive in recent times due to extremely high demand from artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and the memory manufacturers’ deals with AI companies. How much memory could the next-generation Xbox have and could its retail price exceed $1,000 at launch?

Indeed, the future of Xbox gaming is really clouded and I can only hope that the hard reset of the Xbox business under Asha Sharma will create positive changes and results. To say the least, the reforms have started and only time will tell what will happen next.

In ending this blog post, posted below are selected YouTube videos about the state of Xbox for your enlightenment.  

https://youtu.be/2BZBoBAZGsc?si=aL2iNzIiW6It6zvF

https://youtu.be/G7gFcdPmUeM?si=RjfV62K2TEgK4W4c

https://youtu.be/B8jITSU6IfM?si=npeGI3VDmYPRoX4n

https://youtu.be/qWFSICcym9c?si=OVgz7K77aGsISa2N

https://youtu.be/DeUV3IqEZRU?si=U4mZnmOQGY2V6CKO

https://youtu.be/O_1YpnEKkxA?si=yKa24vue7V60KilE

https://youtu.be/FGFD1W415FE?si=NI380YIxmaw2CNBg

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Israel To Extend Earthquake Aid In Venezuela

In response to the official request of Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez, Israel has agreed to extend earthquake aid in the South American nation by an additional two weeks, according to a news report by The Jerusalem Post.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the report of The Jerusalem Post. Some parts in boldface.

The Israeli aid delegation’s earthquake relief work in Venezuela will continue for an additional two weeks after interim president Delcy Rodriguez met with Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to request the extension, the Foreign Ministry and the IDF announced on Wednesday.

The decision was approved by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

With a small delegation of only 30 people, Israeli presence in Venezuela has been focused on designing a national reconstruction plan, which Rodriguez hopes to begin implementing.

As part of the plan, the IDF began mapping and categorizing approximately 1,300 buildings on Monday, classifying them as either to be demolished or potentially salvageable despite damage.

Additionally, IDF Brig.-Gen. Elad Edri said that the IDF engineers have provided guidance to Venezuela on handling debris from damaged buildings.

‘Out of the box thinking’ as earthquake death toll rises – The multi-year plan is a major accomplishment of the Israeli delegation, and Venezuela approved it within days, rather than the weeks or months it would normally take to develop.

Edri said the severity of the disaster warranted rapid, out-of-the-box thinking.

Following the June 24 earthquake, the IDF delegation flew out of Israel on June 30 and landed in Venezuela on July 1 after multiple complex stopovers, Edri said.

He explained that, given the current chaos, other delegations who wanted to assist with the disaster have needed four to five days of travel and waiting to reach disaster-stricken sites.

Even the IDF could not fly directly into Caracas; they flew into Valencia instead and then traveled domestically to Caracas.

On Sunday, the Venezuelan Information Ministry announced that the death toll had risen to 3,342. The new tally also puts the number of injured at 16,470, while the number of homeless has risen to 17,345.

To all my readers, I encourage you to thank the Lord for this breakthrough of cooperation between Israel and Venezuela. Not so long ago during the rule of the dictator Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela was hostile towards Israel and took sides with the Palestinians. With Maduro gone (thanks to the United States under President Donald Trump’s leadership), Venezuela now has a new leader and there has been a series of changes that happened since.

As such, I encourage you all to pray to the Lord for Israel and Venezuela to become allies and willing diplomatic partners in this chaotic world we live in. Pray also to Him for the continued recovery of Venezuela whose people suffered so much not only from the recent earthquake but also from the decades-long economic deterioration under their dictators.

Always be the fearless and aggressive church of Lord Jesus!

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Vietnam Attracts 12.3 Million Foreign Tourists In 1st Half Of 2026

Tourism in Vietnam continues to boom as the nation attracted more than twelve million foreign tourists in the first half of this year, according to a news report by VnExpress.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news report of VnExpress. Some parts in boldface…

Vietnam received 12.3 million international visitors in the first six months of the year, a 14.9% increase from the same period last year, fueled by the country’s reputation as a safe destination amid global geopolitical uncertainty.

In the second quarter alone, the number of foreign visitors to Vietnam reached 5.49 million, up 18.2% year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.

Mainland China remained the largest source of visitors so far this year with 2.69 million, followed by South Korea with 2.1 million. The rest of the top 10 were Russia, Taiwan, the U.S., Cambodia, India, Japan, the Phillippines and Australia.

The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism attributed the strong growth to the country’s reputation as a safe and stable destination amid global political uncertainty.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? What do you think makes Vietnam very attractive to visitors from around the world? Have you thought about visiting Vietnam soon?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

ICYMI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SocialMediaMarketing

ICYMI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SocialMediaMarketing

ICYMI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SocialMediaMarketing

ICYMI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SocialMediaMarketing

ICYMI: Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #Instagram #TikTok #YouTube #SocialMediaMarketing

En un moment de màxima necessitat d'alternatives, Google Search trenca un nou rècord d'ús.

https://9to5google.com/2026/07/08/google-search-hit-an-all-time-usage-record-yesterday/

#Google #GoogleSearch

En un moment de màxima necessitat d'alternatives, Google Search trenca un nou rècord d'ús.

https://9to5google.com/2026/07/08/google-search-hit-an-all-time-usage-record-yesterday/

#Google #GoogleSearch

En un moment de màxima necessitat d'alternatives, Google Search trenca un nou rècord d'ús.

https://9to5google.com/2026/07/08/google-search-hit-an-all-time-usage-record-yesterday/

#Google #GoogleSearch

En un moment de màxima necessitat d'alternatives, Google Search trenca un nou rècord d'ús.

https://9to5google.com/2026/07/08/google-search-hit-an-all-time-usage-record-yesterday/

#Google #GoogleSearch

En un moment de màxima necessitat d'alternatives, Google Search trenca un nou rècord d'ús.

https://9to5google.com/2026/07/08/google-search-hit-an-all-time-usage-record-yesterday/

#Google #GoogleSearch

Foreigner Arrested In Las Piñas City For Assaulting Filipina Partner

Recently in the City of Las Piñas, a male Korean national was apprehended after assaulting his Filipina partner, according to a news report by the Manila Bulletin.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Manila Bulletin news report. Some parts in boldface…

A Korean man was arrested in Las Piñas City on Wednesday, July 2, after allegedly assaulting his Filipina partner during an argument sparked by a video discovered on his mobile phone.

Las Piñas Police chief Col. Fermin Armendarez identified the suspect only as “Sowi,” 39, residing in BF Resort, Barangay Talon Dos.

Armendarez said the 24-year-old victim confronted the suspect after discovering a video on his mobile phone showing him with another woman inside a hotel.

The confrontation escalated into a heated argument, during which the enraged suspect repeatedly slapped the victim.

Police said the victim attempted to flee, but the suspect allegedly chased her and repeatedly struck her on the head with his mobile phone.

Concerned residents who witnessed the incident immediately sought assistance from barangay watchmen who arrested the suspect. He was turned over to the Las Piñas Police Substation 4.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: If you are a resident of Las Piñas City, what is your reaction to this development? When was the last time a foreigner assaulted a woman in your local community?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagement, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Japan To Raise Foreigners’ Residency Fees Significantly

In a clear attempt to cover the administrative costs resulting from the sharp increase of foreign residents in their country, Japan intends to raise foreigners’ residency fees significantly this year, according to a news article by Jiji Press.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the news article of Jiji Press. Some parts in boldface…

Japan announced a draft cabinet order Friday to raise the fees for permission to change temporary residence status and extend the period of stay to up to 75,000 yen from the current 6,000 yen.

The new fees will range from 10,000 to 75,000 yen, varying depending on the length of the period, according to the draft, released by the Immigration Services Agency. The fee to obtain permanent resident status will jump to 200,000 yen from 10,000 yen.

The agency hopes to put the fee hikes into effect in October after a public comment period from Friday.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Do you think the planned hike of foreigners’ residency fees are justified and timely? Do you think the plan will deter Third World countries from sending their citizens to Japan as immigrants or as migrant workers? Do you think the hike of foreigners’ residency fees will take effect this October?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #SearchConsole #DigitalMarketing #Creators #TikTok

Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #SearchConsole #DigitalMarketing #Creators #TikTok

Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #SearchConsole #DigitalMarketing #Creators #TikTok

Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #SearchConsole #DigitalMarketing #Creators #TikTok

Google adds Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube data to Search Console: Creators with no website can now track which search terms drive clicks to their Instagram, TikTok or YouTube posts. Full access rolls out over the coming weeks. https://ppc.land/google-adds-instagram-tiktok-x-and-youtube-data-to-search-console/ #GoogleSearch #SearchConsole #DigitalMarketing #Creators #TikTok

The future of search is here. Customers are asking AI for answers instead of browsing multiple websites. Find out what this shift means for your business and how to stay visible in the AI search era.

Learn more:
https://go-techsolution.com/chatgpt-vs-google-search-customer-behaviour-2026

#ArtificialIntelligence #GoogleSearch #AIOverviews #DigitalStrategy #SEO #Marketing

The future of search is here. Customers are asking AI for answers instead of browsing multiple websites. Find out what this shift means for your business and how to stay visible in the AI search era.

Learn more:
https://go-techsolution.com/chatgpt-vs-google-search-customer-behaviour-2026

#ArtificialIntelligence #GoogleSearch #AIOverviews #DigitalStrategy #SEO #Marketing

The future of search is here. Customers are asking AI for answers instead of browsing multiple websites. Find out what this shift means for your business and how to stay visible in the AI search era.

Learn more:
https://go-techsolution.com/chatgpt-vs-google-search-customer-behaviour-2026

#ArtificialIntelligence #GoogleSearch #AIOverviews #DigitalStrategy #SEO #Marketing

What To Watch On YouTube Right Now – Part 145

Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching.

Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following videos I found.

#1 Street Fighter III: New Generation Revisited – Way back in 1994, I had a blast of fun playing Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) plus other Street Fighter II games in the arcades. Naturally, I had a personal anticipation for Street Fighter III. However, Capcom released Street Fighter Alpha (Street Fighter Zero) and follow-up games over the next few years. In the 1st quarter of 1997, I saw Street Fighter III: New Generation in the local arcade and quickly inserted tokens to play it. I was very impressed with its super-smooth animation and enjoyed it. Still, something about the game felt hollow and weird as well which is related to the fact that Ryu and Ken were the only established Street Fighter characters who returned. Indeed, there was something odd that happened behind the scenes at Capcom when Street Fighter III: New Generation was made. Watch and learn from the videos below.

https://youtu.be/L-SzM8xqzZw?si=cCVk5NShDVxX5J_E

https://youtu.be/tvFUkk-3sCI?si=7lrhELujY7SXh_J4

#2 EOM Reacts’ Saving Private Ryan Video – Twenty-eight years ago, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan was released in cinemas and eventually achieved both critical and commercial success. While its story was not true to life nor a solid record of World War II history, its presentation of the extreme violence of the era and American brotherhood captivated a lot of moviegoers. To find out how much impact the movie has on anyone who views it, watch EOM React’s reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/l5qvVrC9nhA?si=P3egjL2Ic2TK6sYd

#3 Farm-Raised Eels Launched In Japan – In Japanese cuisine, eels are a popular delicacy and they make a great choice of meat to consume with rice. Due to the sharp decline of eels at sea, farms that spent a lot of time and resources of breeding eels provided the alternative for Japanese demand. That said, farm-raised eels were commercially launched recently for public consumption and you can learn so much more about them in the Nippon TV video below.

https://youtu.be/-_KokIB9pYw?si=2flFfbep9yQJRmpW

#4 Shenmue Retrospective – Shenmue, the most defining game ever released on the short-lived Sega Dreamcast, has long been featured in countless articles and retrospective videos over the past twenty-six years. Under the leadership and design of the legendary Yu Suzuki, Shenmue turned out to be a very groundbreaking video game when it comes to exploration, adventuring and interactions with characters (including non-playable characters or NPCs) and items. Now is a good time to look back at Shenmue with the in-depth retrospective video below. Viewing it felt like an adventure.

https://youtu.be/vgP4h-iFlUw?si=JppH2tQ13uh9yGZ1

#5 You, Me And The Movies React To The Philadelphia Story – When was the last time you saw a romantic comedy film released in the 1940s? The 1940 movie The Philadelphia Story is notable not only because it was nominated for several Academy Awards (it won two) but also because it was the successful comeback of actress Katharine Hepburn who had several failures. To find out if The Philadelphia Story is truly impactful and worthy of preservation in the United States National Film Registry, go watch You, Me and the Movies’ reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/WHzYcZAkiUQ?si=GdXfYWNA5M8hQFKe

#6 Ashleigh Burton Reacts To Lethal Weapon 4 – What is there to say about 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4? It is the one film that has Asian superstar Jet Li as the action-packed villain. In addition, it marked significant changes in the respective lives of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) when it comes to family matters and getting old as law enforcers. I can hardly believe it has been twenty-eight years since I first saw this movie in the local cinema and it was indeed a thrilling viewing experience. To see if it still has any entertainment value and impact, watch and learn from Ashleigh Burton’s reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/aruSpkxOeMQ?si=ObpagaUU0UijyRlH

#7 The 2003 California Recall Election Revisited – Decades after former actor Ronald Reagan led the state of California as its governor, another actor got elected to the same position via a recall election…Arnold Schwarzenegger! Back in 2003, the incumbent governor Gray Davis was very unpopular and a lot of Californians got fed up with the many problems that affected them. When the move to recall Davis grew tremendously, several people filed their candidacies for Governor of California but it was Schwarzenegger who outmaneuvered them. Given the fact that he starred in three Terminator movies – all of which were filmed in California – he would later be called as “the Governator” after taking office. To find out what really happened and what the factors were behind his recall election victory, watch the in-depth video below.

https://youtu.be/slZSl5ufmXk?si=aUkZMJaozvMaRAGm

#8 The Remake Trend Of Video Games – Like Hollywood, the video game industry has an obsession with remaking video games. The difference is this…the obsession on remaking video games is pretty strong as video game publishers need something “new” to sell to gamers while their other game projects could not be completed fast enough. Still, there is something twisted or intriguing behind the game companies’ focus on remaking games and you can find out more by watching the video below.

https://youtu.be/AO90OiaPNBk?si=xMHQTGLd73_fZwX4

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

What To Watch On YouTube Right Now – Part 145

Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching.

Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following videos I found.

#1 Street Fighter III: New Generation Revisited – Way back in 1994, I had a blast of fun playing Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) plus other Street Fighter II games in the arcades. Naturally, I had a personal anticipation for Street Fighter III. However, Capcom released Street Fighter Alpha (Street Fighter Zero) and follow-up games over the next few years. In the 1st quarter of 1997, I saw Street Fighter III: New Generation in the local arcade and quickly inserted tokens to play it. I was very impressed with its super-smooth animation and enjoyed it. Still, something about the game felt hollow and weird as well which is related to the fact that Ryu and Ken were the only established Street Fighter characters who returned. Indeed, there was something odd that happened behind the scenes at Capcom when Street Fighter III: New Generation was made. Watch and learn from the videos below.

https://youtu.be/L-SzM8xqzZw?si=cCVk5NShDVxX5J_E

https://youtu.be/tvFUkk-3sCI?si=7lrhELujY7SXh_J4

#2 EOM Reacts’ Saving Private Ryan Video – Twenty-eight years ago, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan was released in cinemas and eventually achieved both critical and commercial success. While its story was not true to life nor a solid record of World War II history, its presentation of the extreme violence of the era and American brotherhood captivated a lot of moviegoers. To find out how much impact the movie has on anyone who views it, watch EOM React’s reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/l5qvVrC9nhA?si=P3egjL2Ic2TK6sYd

#3 Farm-Raised Eels Launched In Japan – In Japanese cuisine, eels are a popular delicacy and they make a great choice of meat to consume with rice. Due to the sharp decline of eels at sea, farms that spent a lot of time and resources of breeding eels provided the alternative for Japanese demand. That said, farm-raised eels were commercially launched recently for public consumption and you can learn so much more about them in the Nippon TV video below.

https://youtu.be/-_KokIB9pYw?si=2flFfbep9yQJRmpW

#4 Shenmue Retrospective – Shenmue, the most defining game ever released on the short-lived Sega Dreamcast, has long been featured in countless articles and retrospective videos over the past twenty-six years. Under the leadership and design of the legendary Yu Suzuki, Shenmue turned out to be a very groundbreaking video game when it comes to exploration, adventuring and interactions with characters (including non-playable characters or NPCs) and items. Now is a good time to look back at Shenmue with the in-depth retrospective video below. Viewing it felt like an adventure.

https://youtu.be/vgP4h-iFlUw?si=JppH2tQ13uh9yGZ1

#5 You, Me And The Movies React To The Philadelphia Story – When was the last time you saw a romantic comedy film released in the 1940s? The 1940 movie The Philadelphia Story is notable not only because it was nominated for several Academy Awards (it won two) but also because it was the successful comeback of actress Katharine Hepburn who had several failures. To find out if The Philadelphia Story is truly impactful and worthy of preservation in the United States National Film Registry, go watch You, Me and the Movies’ reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/WHzYcZAkiUQ?si=GdXfYWNA5M8hQFKe

#6 Ashleigh Burton Reacts To Lethal Weapon 4 – What is there to say about 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4? It is the one film that has Asian superstar Jet Li as the action-packed villain. In addition, it marked significant changes in the respective lives of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) when it comes to family matters and getting old as law enforcers. I can hardly believe it has been twenty-eight years since I first saw this movie in the local cinema and it was indeed a thrilling viewing experience. To see if it still has any entertainment value and impact, watch and learn from Ashleigh Burton’s reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/aruSpkxOeMQ?si=ObpagaUU0UijyRlH

#7 The 2003 California Recall Election Revisited – Decades after former actor Ronald Reagan led the state of California as its governor, another actor got elected to the same position via a recall election…Arnold Schwarzenegger! Back in 2003, the incumbent governor Gray Davis was very unpopular and a lot of Californians got fed up with the many problems that affected them. When the move to recall Davis grew tremendously, several people filed their candidacies for Governor of California but it was Schwarzenegger who outmaneuvered them. Given the fact that he starred in three Terminator movies – all of which were filmed in California – he would later be called as “the Governator” after taking office. To find out what really happened and what the factors were behind his recall election victory, watch the in-depth video below.

https://youtu.be/slZSl5ufmXk?si=aUkZMJaozvMaRAGm

#8 The Remake Trend Of Video Games – Like Hollywood, the video game industry has an obsession with remaking video games. The difference is this…the obsession on remaking video games is pretty strong as video game publishers need something “new” to sell to gamers while their other game projects could not be completed fast enough. Still, there is something twisted or intriguing behind the game companies’ focus on remaking games and you can find out more by watching the video below.

https://youtu.be/AO90OiaPNBk?si=xMHQTGLd73_fZwX4

+++++

Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

What To Watch On YouTube Right Now – Part 145

Welcome back my readers, YouTube viewers and all others who followed this series of articles focused on YouTube videos worth watching.

Have you been searching for something fun or interesting to watch on YouTube? Do you feel bored right now and you crave for something to see on the world’s most popular online video destination?

I recommend you check out the following videos I found.

#1 Street Fighter III: New Generation Revisited – Way back in 1994, I had a blast of fun playing Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) plus other Street Fighter II games in the arcades. Naturally, I had a personal anticipation for Street Fighter III. However, Capcom released Street Fighter Alpha (Street Fighter Zero) and follow-up games over the next few years. In the 1st quarter of 1997, I saw Street Fighter III: New Generation in the local arcade and quickly inserted tokens to play it. I was very impressed with its super-smooth animation and enjoyed it. Still, something about the game felt hollow and weird as well which is related to the fact that Ryu and Ken were the only established Street Fighter characters who returned. Indeed, there was something odd that happened behind the scenes at Capcom when Street Fighter III: New Generation was made. Watch and learn from the videos below.

https://youtu.be/L-SzM8xqzZw?si=cCVk5NShDVxX5J_E

https://youtu.be/tvFUkk-3sCI?si=7lrhELujY7SXh_J4

#2 EOM Reacts’ Saving Private Ryan Video – Twenty-eight years ago, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan was released in cinemas and eventually achieved both critical and commercial success. While its story was not true to life nor a solid record of World War II history, its presentation of the extreme violence of the era and American brotherhood captivated a lot of moviegoers. To find out how much impact the movie has on anyone who views it, watch EOM React’s reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/l5qvVrC9nhA?si=P3egjL2Ic2TK6sYd

#3 Farm-Raised Eels Launched In Japan – In Japanese cuisine, eels are a popular delicacy and they make a great choice of meat to consume with rice. Due to the sharp decline of eels at sea, farms that spent a lot of time and resources of breeding eels provided the alternative for Japanese demand. That said, farm-raised eels were commercially launched recently for public consumption and you can learn so much more about them in the Nippon TV video below.

https://youtu.be/-_KokIB9pYw?si=2flFfbep9yQJRmpW

#4 Shenmue Retrospective – Shenmue, the most defining game ever released on the short-lived Sega Dreamcast, has long been featured in countless articles and retrospective videos over the past twenty-six years. Under the leadership and design of the legendary Yu Suzuki, Shenmue turned out to be a very groundbreaking video game when it comes to exploration, adventuring and interactions with characters (including non-playable characters or NPCs) and items. Now is a good time to look back at Shenmue with the in-depth retrospective video below. Viewing it felt like an adventure.

https://youtu.be/vgP4h-iFlUw?si=JppH2tQ13uh9yGZ1

#5 You, Me And The Movies React To The Philadelphia Story – When was the last time you saw a romantic comedy film released in the 1940s? The 1940 movie The Philadelphia Story is notable not only because it was nominated for several Academy Awards (it won two) but also because it was the successful comeback of actress Katharine Hepburn who had several failures. To find out if The Philadelphia Story is truly impactful and worthy of preservation in the United States National Film Registry, go watch You, Me and the Movies’ reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/WHzYcZAkiUQ?si=GdXfYWNA5M8hQFKe

#6 Ashleigh Burton Reacts To Lethal Weapon 4 – What is there to say about 1998’s Lethal Weapon 4? It is the one film that has Asian superstar Jet Li as the action-packed villain. In addition, it marked significant changes in the respective lives of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) when it comes to family matters and getting old as law enforcers. I can hardly believe it has been twenty-eight years since I first saw this movie in the local cinema and it was indeed a thrilling viewing experience. To see if it still has any entertainment value and impact, watch and learn from Ashleigh Burton’s reaction video below.

https://youtu.be/aruSpkxOeMQ?si=ObpagaUU0UijyRlH

#7 The 2003 California Recall Election Revisited – Decades after former actor Ronald Reagan led the state of California as its governor, another actor got elected to the same position via a recall election…Arnold Schwarzenegger! Back in 2003, the incumbent governor Gray Davis was very unpopular and a lot of Californians got fed up with the many problems that affected them. When the move to recall Davis grew tremendously, several people filed their candidacies for Governor of California but it was Schwarzenegger who outmaneuvered them. Given the fact that he starred in three Terminator movies – all of which were filmed in California – he would later be called as “the Governator” after taking office. To find out what really happened and what the factors were behind his recall election victory, watch the in-depth video below.

https://youtu.be/slZSl5ufmXk?si=aUkZMJaozvMaRAGm

#8 The Remake Trend Of Video Games – Like Hollywood, the video game industry has an obsession with remaking video games. The difference is this…the obsession on remaking video games is pretty strong as video game publishers need something “new” to sell to gamers while their other game projects could not be completed fast enough. Still, there is something twisted or intriguing behind the game companies’ focus on remaking games and you can find out more by watching the video below.

https://youtu.be/AO90OiaPNBk?si=xMHQTGLd73_fZwX4

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Great Majority Of Las Piñas City Residents Support Dismantling Of C-5 Quirino Flyover To Make Way For LRT-1 Cavite Extension

A survey conducted by the office Las Piñas City Representative Mark Santos revealed more than eighty percent of local residents favor the dismantling of the C-5 Quirino Flyover to make way for the delayed LRT-1 Cavite Extension project, according to a news report by the Manila Standard.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Manila Standard report. Some parts in boldface…

Nearly 82 percent of Las Piñas residents support dismantling the C-5 Quirino Flyover to allow immediate continuation of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project, a survey conducted by the office of Las Piñas Lone District Rep. Mark Anthony Santos showed.

Santos said the survey, which gathered comments from various social media platforms, found that many residents favor immediate construction of Phase 2 of the 3.2-kilometer LRT-1 Cavite Extension, including the Las Piñas and Zapote stations, over retaining the P300.39-million C-5 Quirino Flyover.

Respondents said the LRT-1 Cavite Extension would provide greater public benefit by reducing travel time, easing traffic congestion and delivering more efficient public transportation for commuters from Las Piñas, Parañaque and Cavite.

Many residents said the temporary inconvenience caused by dismantling part of the flyover would be a small sacrifice if it allowed the railway project to move forward and deliver long-term benefits to the public.

They said completing the LRT-1 Cavite Extension matters more than preserving an infrastructure project they consider a major obstacle to the railway’s completion.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: If you are a resident of Las Piñas City, what is your reaction to this development? Do you favor dismantling the C-5 Quirino Flyover to make way for the completion of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension project?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagement, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

USA Reaffirms Support For The Philippines Following China’s Ballistic Missile Launch

Following the disturbing ballistic missile launch of Communist China into the Pacific Ocean, the United States reaffirmed its support for the Philippines, according to a news report by the Manila Bulletin. Symbolically, the new US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton issued an official statement.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the report of the Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…

The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to the Philippines after China test-launched an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile from a submarine into the southern Pacific Ocean.

In a statement on Tuesday, July 7, US Ambassador to the Philippines Lee Lipton said the launch underscored concerns over Beijing’s nuclear weapons buildup and its implications for regional peace and stability.

“The ironclad US-Philippine Alliance has been a tremendous and transparent source of regional peace and stability for over seven decades,” Lipton said.

“Beijing’s provocative missile launch yesterday is further evidence of its rapid and secretive nuclear weapons development program, which runs counter to regional stability and is inconsistent with the pursuit of meaningful arms control discussions,” he added.

Lipton said the United States shares the Philippines’ concerns over the missile launch and remains committed to its “oldest security ally in the region.”

The statement followed a July 6 statement by US State Department spokesperson Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, who said the United States had monitored China’s test launch of an unarmed intercontinental-range ballistic missile from a submarine.

According to Pigott, the missile landed in the southern Pacific Ocean.

“At a time when the United States is working harder than ever to prevent nuclear proliferation, China is doing the opposite,” Pigott said.

He said China’s “rapid and opaque nuclear weapons buildup” remains a major concern for countries in the region and the international community.

The United States also urged China to participate in meaningful arms control talks and establish a regular notification arrangement for all intercontinental-range ballistic missile and space launches.

Such an arrangement, Pigott said, would be consistent with commitments made by the other members of the P5, or the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

“The United States remains steadfast in our defense commitments to our allies and partners,” Pigott said.

The latest US statements come amid continuing concerns over China’s expanding military capabilities and increasingly assertive activities in the Indo-Pacific, including in the West Philippine Sea.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this development? Are you concerned that China could someday attack the Philippines with ballistic missiles? Do you think this destabilizing move by China could spark the US to send more naval vessels into the Asian region? How do you think US President Donald Trump will react if ever China launches even more ballistic missiles?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at @CarloCarrascoPH as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

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