GTA IV Provokes Politicians Already

Grand Theft Auto has always been a franchise that likes to bathe itself in controversy, shower itself off in heated debate and deodorize in wild accusations. Whether it is the intentionally amoral gameplay or the amazingly unsexy "hot coffee" debacle, GTA has proved time and time again that there's no such thing as bad publicity.

Gamers on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are eagerly awaiting the latest instalment in the GTA series later this year, and when the real sequel to GTA III, the amazingly-named GTA IV launches (there have been several spin-offs since GTA III, such as Liberty city Stories, etc). The web was alive with downloaders recently when RockStar finally allowed gamers their first peak at the game in the shape of a teaser trailer.

Within hours though, while gamers dissected the footage, politicians leapt in to criticize. What were they criticizing? The fictional setting, Liberty city, which resembles New York. A lot. city politicians were aghast at the idea of a piece of fiction portraying violence on the streets on New York, apparently being ignorant of pretty much the entire work of Martin Scorsese.

"Setting Grand Theft Auto in the safest big city in America would be like setting Halo in Disneyland," said city Councilman Peter Vallone, chairman of the Council's Public Safety Committee to The New York Daily News. He's not the only one to have a go, either. Spotting an opportunity to look good, a spokesman for the mayor had a go too: "The mayor does not support any video game where you earn points for injuring or killing police officers."

Oddly though, New York City hasn't seemed to have had a problem with movie companies setting their violent and action thrillers in the city, with roads closed for the Die Hard 3 film, for example. Had RockStar turned up with millions of dollars in order to shoot the city for textures for the games, would there have been praise galore for the realism the game offered?

All of this criticism, of course, ignore the whole "it's fiction" nature of the game which leads to the question of whether future novelists, film makers, animators, artists and games companies will be asked not to show the city with any violence in it. Because fiction has to reflect reality apparently, somewhat destroying the point of fiction.

As to the trailer itself, there's not a hint of violence. It's undeniable that the game features a fictionalised version of NYC. As the GTA IV preview in P3Zine, the free PlayStation 3 magazine shows, but already game commentators are theorizing that GTA IV will feature more realism and less violence without repercussions, as RockStar has supposedly been talking to ex-cops about how much harder organised crime is to get away with these days.

RockStar has repeatedly pushed GTA IV with the tagline "Things will be different" a phrase echoed by the main character in the trailer, but it appears that criticism of the franchise is not going to any different this time around, starting before the game has even appeared. It's unlikely to damage sales. Even in NYC.

Yoga Meditation

How 40,000 People Reversed Heart Disease

It is well known that about two-thirds of the U.S. population is either overweight or obese. The U.S. Surgeon General has stated that approximately 75% of Western diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, gout, arthritis, excess weight gain, hypertension, diabetes, some cancers, impotence, biventricular disease, constipation, heartburn, and gallbladder disease, are lifestyle-related. They are directly correlated with our high fat diet, inadequate amounts of exercise, smoking, high intake of caffeine, and high amounts of stress coupled with insufficient support.

Hoping to address this alarming situation, more than 20 years ago, cardiovascular epidemiologist Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, created the Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP). Since then, this 40-hour community-based lifestyle intervention program has helped more than 40,000 people rediscover their health by preventing, arresting and reversing their diseases. It has been conducted in more than 150 North American cities as well as in Bangalore, India, Australia and Switzerland. Depending upon the needs of the group, the meetings are held either live with Dr. Diehl delivering the program personally (usually meeting four times per week for four weeks) or as a video-based program with certified CHIP facilitators (normally two times per week for eight weeks). In addition, Dr. Diehl is a best-selling author To Your Health, Dynamic Living, and Health Power (co-authored with Aileen Ludington, M.D.) -- as well as the executive editor of a 24-page quarterly Lifeline Health Letter; he has produced scores of health videos. CHIP empowers people through its scientifically-documented, educational and inspirational program that addresses common western diseases -- those that used to be seen primarily later in life.

Today, these diseases increasingly appear at far younger ages. CHIP may make all the difference in ones life -- even the difference between life and death.

In 1999, CHIP launched a community health transformation template in Rockford, Illinois, a city with a population of 130,000. The intention was to transform Rockford into the healthiest city in American, thereby enabling it to serve as a model and template for cultural transformation on a community-wide level. Recently, CHIP was recognized as just such a model by HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and was approved under the national Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a STEPS to a HealthierUS applicant. In addition to live CHIP, a series of CHIP videos are offered through schools, churches, corporations, and hospitals. In Rockford, CHIP is sponsored by the Swedish American Health Systems center for Complementary Medicine.

Who is the typical CHIP participant? Generally, CHIP participants are over the age of 40. Most are between the ages of 50 and 59. There are twice as many women as men, and almost 90% are married. Clinical research, published in peer review journals, has found that they have the following lifestyle diseases:

• 10% report having heart disease

• 27% have elevated blood sugar

• 42% are overweight

• 49% show evidence of hypertension

• 60% are obese

• 89% are cholesterol above 160mg%

Over the course of the program, strict adherents are likely to experience significant clinical improvements such as the following:

• Serum cholesterol reduction average 15 20%

• Average weight loss of six pounds

• In about half of the participants with type 11 diabetes, a dramatic reduction in need for insulin and hypoglycemic agents

• Lowering of high blood pressure levels

• Diminishing of angina

• Reduced levels of depression and increase in self-esteem

Class & Video Lecture Schedule

Week 1

Modern Medicine: Miracles, Medicines, & Mirages

The limitations of high-tech medical approaches in dealing with lifestyle related diseases

Portrait of a Killer: Onslaught from Within

Atherosclerosis, the culprit in many lifestyle diseases

Stalking the Killer

Reviewing the risk factors for coronary heart disease

Eat More and Weigh Less

Basic guidelines for healthy, sustained weight loss

Week 2

Going Up in Smoke

Smoking the most controllable risk factor for coronary heart disease

The Magic of Fiber

The role of fiber in preventing and reversing lifestyle diseases

Reversing Hypertension

Changing the major risk factors for high blood pressure

Disarming Diabetes

Lifestyle factors that can arrest or reverse diabetes

Effective Cholesterol Control

Dietary factors that prominently affect blood levels of cholesterol

Fats in the Fire

The role of excessive fat intake in lifestyle diseases

Week 3

Fit at Any Age

Benefits of regular exercise in preventing and arresting disease

Boning Up on Osteoporosis

Cause and prevention of this so-called disease of aging

Lifestyle and Health

Clinical studies that demonstrate how lifestyle choices are related to health

The Optimal Diet

Positive dietary guidelines for the prevention and reversal of Western diseases

Week 4

Diet and Cancer

Dietary factors in the development and prevention of common cancers

Atherosclerosis of the Mind

The importance of adaptability in achieving and maintaining optimal health

The Gift of Forgiveness

How a spirit of forgiveness enhances emotional and overall health

Building Self-Worth

The development, preservation and role of self worth in a healthy person

Sidebar

Connie Thebarges Story

At the age of 59, Connie Thebarge, a patient at the Ottawa Heart Institute in British Columbia, Canada, was told that her doctors could no longer help her. After all, in addition to suffering from hypertension, she had diabetes and painful diabetic neuropathy. She had two heart attacks followed by a triple coronary bypass surgery and an unsuccessful angioplasty. Every day, she had to take 27 pills. Not surprisingly, she was also depressed.

Yet, today, more than a decade later, Thebarge walks three miles a day, swims twice a week, dances, and travels to Florida and Europe. No longer depressed, she also requires far fewer pills. How was this accomplished? Thebarge participated in CHIP and transformed her life.

Written by the Editors at Weight Loss Buddy Press in collaboration with Hans A. Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, FACN, CNS

about The Author

Copyright 2004, by Weight Loss Buddy Press

May be reproduced and distributed as is.

Joey Dweck - your Weight Loss Buddy

http://weightlossbuddy.com

PO Box 488 Tenafly NJ 07670

Tel. 877-BuddyUp

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