OMG PARENT GROUPS STFU: R18+ Game Rant

Herr Atkinson in South Australia got the hard word about negative press and was re-slotted out of the Attorney General's job. The new bloke getting his job comprehends the logic behind R18+ ratings of games. It seems STILL parent groups don't. It seems STILL parents groups have a up close view of their colons.

This Atkinson dude makes you carry your porn out of a shop in a brown paper bag. It's an offence not too.

Parents (and probably fucking retarded agenda driven religious groups - there, I said it - they SHIT me too) groups believe that placing a rating system that includes R18+ will begin an influx of deviant games and content in games for their precious little children to be corrupted by.

The thing they seem to ignore is that the guidelines for censorship HAVEN'T changed. All that the R18+ rating will do is appropriately restrict games that are already out there. Instead of all games being mashed up to fit the current maximum rating of M15+ where EVERYWHERE else in the modern world have the same games rated at least 17+.

The 'cause celebre' for the anti-R18+ is some game in Japan made it out of someone's head where gameplay included rape. You REALLY think this "game" would be approved by our censors?. REALLY???. Not a fucking chance. It's a CRIME here to have "Simpsons porn".

...and really, "Rapelay" is more indicative of Japan, not gaming.

But the biggest point EVERYONE seems to be missing is that PARENTS are responsible for what their children get up to in regards having access to inappropriate content. Would you let your 7 year old watch porn?. IF not, then why are you allowing them access to restricted games?. You wouldn't BELIEVE the amount CHILDREN on Xbox Live. It's retarded.

Take responsibility for yourselves, fucktards, stop blaming everyone else for you inadequacies.

/rant.

The consequence of fame

Being famous - IMHO - is a bit like being a copper. The vast majority of coppers join the force for their reasons of self. A challenge, an opportunity, job security, family, whatever, but initially the reasons are about them and what they get from it. The SIDE EFFECT of being a copper is the responsibility that comes with it. You don't sign up for that, but there it is. You HAVE to live by example or find yourself out of a job and in the media receiving negative attention.

Seems to me it's much the same for sports people. Playing sport isn't just about running a ball up and down a paddock. Whether they like it or not they are a role model. It's just whether they are a positive one or one that you threaten your kid about turning out like.

You can shove Earth Hour up your arse

General consensus regarding "Earth Hour" from the organisers is disappointment.

So let's send a list about our disappointment about all the GOVERNMENT'S and INDUSTRY'S efforts regarding 'greening up'.

Water Conservation

The funny thing about being in hospital is the time you get to spend up close with strangers and observe their personal interaction with the world. Funnily enough it was their use of water that stood out for me.

I've been in the country on water tanks for about 5 years now and the one thing collecting your own water creates is a value on it. To me, water is more valuable than it might be to most others that are on "town water". The fear created from lack of rain is 100x what it might be for others in town areas. We could be on water restrictions, but still, if you turn on the tap there's water. If I turn on the tap in a drought I am stepping closer to having to BUY it ... literally ... by the truck.

Now, I just can't waste water. It's become part of my genetic make up to get my shit done and turn it off. One chick in hospital - who was able bodied - had no issue with 30 minutes in the shower. It blew my mind.

Maybe we ALL need to collect our own water and leave the catchments for industry...

Historical moments in music: Metallica, 1989 Grammy's

Just cause I can't think of anything else to post.

In 1989 the Grammy's opened a new category in their awards called "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrument". Metallica were invited to perform at the awards and did so with their song 'One' from the then recently released '...And Justice for All'.

I'll let 'Wikipedia' take it from here...

"Metallica was the favorite to win; however, the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album Crest of a Knave. The result generated controversy among fans and the press, as Metallica was standing off-stage waiting to receive the award after performing the song "One". Jethro Tull had been advised by its manager not to attend the ceremony as he was expecting Metallica to win. The award was named in Entertainment Weekly's "Grammy's 10 Biggest Upsets".

Following the release of …And Justice for All, Metallica released its debut music video for the song "One". The band performed the song in an abandoned warehouse, and footage was remixed with the film, Johnny Got His Gun. Rather than organize an ongoing licensing deal, Metallica purchased the rights to the film. The remixed video was submitted to MTV, with the alternate performance-only version held back in the event that MTV banned the remix version. MTV accepted the remix version, and the video was viewers' first exposure to Metallica. It was voted number 38 in 1999 when MTV aired its "Top 100 Videos of All Time" countdown, and was featured in the network's 25th Anniversary edition of ADD Video, which showcased the most popular videos on MTV in the last 25 years.^"

Metallica, One, performed live at the 1989 Grammy Awards:

The Seppo health reforms.

What's the problem with it?.

Is the "issue" regarding "socialist healthcare" and the vibe that conjures actually legit?.

The dole versus the breeding pension

An interesting side issue came up at the gaming website regarding people on the dole.

Long story short. Why is it considered acceptable for chicks to be on the single mothers pension spitting out spawn, but dudes on the dole are generally considered bludgers?.

...and can someone explain to me how an under 16 chick with a kid is able to receive the same funding as someone NOT receiving funds from a crime?.

Online Personal Politics

The internet's a funny thing. On YouTube I have a guy who I watch regularly. Inevitably you come across others that follow them as well and your convo's cross over then you become familiar with each other.

One bloke from the UK is one of those to me. I eventually went and checked out his channel and the video I saw was kinda funny so I subscribed just to see what else was coming, as you do. I eventually found him a fraction random and he also sends you messages every time he uploads a vid. Which I see as spamming. Personal thing. So in the end I thought, "Fuck it", and unsubed from his channel. He must have kept a copy of my name somewhere coz I STILL got private messages every time he uploaded a vid. That left me with one last option. Blocking him. Definitely wasn't out of spite, it was: "I am not interested in your videos".

FINALLY, some peace.....until today.

"Hi, my name's *********** and I have a another user name that you will know as *******. I've noticed that I am unable to communicate with you which means you have blocked me. What have I done TO YOU???"

Me: Block. Delete. I just don't give a shit, BUT, I can see how others who have issues with telling people to go fuck themselves get pressured in to situations online that in the end ruin the experience for them.

I guess this is how bullying occurs online. Which totally blows my mind in how that can happen, but online politics is a funny thing.

Bee Keeping

Anyone do it?. Hard to do?.

Generation Kill

I picked up a copy of Generation Kill the other day for 20 bucks. Fairly stoked with that. I'd heard bits and pieces about it seeing as there's FUCK ALL on the box I figured I'd track it down.

GK is a series about a company of Marine Recon in the current war in Iraq. It's set with the initial invasion. More specifically the show focuses on a platoon made up of your cliched misfits. It's supposedly based on the writings of the embed reporter with the squad who's a fraction anxious about the whole experience.

My initial impression was that the show was more of a statement than for entertainment, but as it progresses they start to wear the roles more comfy. For sure, that statement vibe doesn't really ever go away but moments break it up that are FKN hilarious.

You can tell the dialogue was done by an author because it runs like a book, as you probably understand being FROM a book but it sometimes comes across with creative licence. It covers baby killing, civilian killing, and the general ineptitude of the war machine in general. There's no real heroics, just moments of heart failure for the characters. I've got one episode to go and I must say I've REALLY enjoyed it. The characters grow on you and probably part of it for me is that it's something out of Iraq which we're REAL light on in the entertainment industry.

If you're interested in that sort of thing, get it. It's only 20 bucks ... Au.

Tom Hanks: The Pacific depicts a war of “racism and terror”

It's interesting how people don't like being called racist. Tom Hanks justifiably referred to World War Two as a war of racism and terror but now he's being labelled a left wing crazy man and "HOW WAS OUR RESPONSE TO PEARL HARBOUR RACIST???". Even the American media have got on board having a go at him.

"After the actor is done defaming the war against Imperial Japan as a war of “racism and terror,” he doubles with his anti-American slander and says the same of today’s War on Terror."

The 'terror' comment is easy. 'Dresden', and the Kamakazi pilots of the Pacific. The bombing of London by the Germans and how we nuked Japan. If that's not terror, I have no fucken idea what is.

What these fucken clowns are failing to grasp about the 'racism' comments is that he was talking about how we, and THEY, dehumanise the enemy and how that feeling follows through intergenerationally. How did we feel about the Japanese during WW2?. How did they feel about us?.

The other thing he said was how is it any different to our current enemies and how do they feel about us?. He's not wrong. The other thing is that Stephen E Ambrose said exactly the same thing about WW2, and he knows more about that war than anyone.

Israel changing tact with Iran?

There has really only been one train of thought when considering the future of the relationship between Israel and Iran. At some stage you pretty much take it for granted there's going to be some sort of conflict. It just seems inevitable, until now.

83-year-old Ministry of Defense adviser Uri Lubrani who was ambassador to Iran from 1973 to 1978.

"Mr. Lubrani has for four decades been on the front lines of Israel's evolving relationship with Iran—from close ally to bitter foe. For much of that time, he warned that Iran's theocratic regime posed the Mideast's biggest threat, a view overlooked for years.

Heading Israeli government activities in Lebanon since 1983, he was one of the first to warn of Iran's growing influence among the country's Shiites. His recommendations were largely neglected and Hezbollah soon emerged as one of Israel's most potent foes.

"Lubrani was one of the few, the very few, to identify that Israel should find a way to the Shiites before Iran did," recalls retired Brig. Gen. Shimon Shapira, who was an intelligence officer in Lebanon at the time."

More recently, as Iran's nuclear program grew and Washington and Israel hardened their views, Mr. Lubrani's calls to support what appeared to be a beaten-down opposition seemed out of touch."

But clearly now they are starting to listen as the recent elections highlighted a genuine will in the opposition, and support.

"Today, Israel's political and military establishment appears to be tilting toward one of his long-ignored views: Israeli support for Iran's opposition movement—and not a miltary [sic] strike—is the best way to combat the regime in Tehran."

Article.

Video Games to Violence > Tobacco to Cancer?

I need your help. I can't get my head around this one. Sprout, over at thataussiegamesite.com posted an article where a group - that receives funding from Michael Atkinson - states:

“It’s much greater than the effect of smoking on lung cancer"

Link to the article here.

Just a quick Google. Smoking-related diseases killed 14900 Australians in 2004–05 - just a first glance stat that came up. You'd assume that number would be larger now. So video game violence affect on society - is their basic argument past the mental image of the word CANCER - is greater than 15, 000 to 20,000 deaths per year from smoking related diseases. Let alone the impact that has on the health system and families.

So using their suggestive logic you'd reasonably assume there's THOUSANDS, if not more going by the smoking stats, of incidents of violence related DIRECTLY to video games...yes?

I'd be curious to know if this "Psychologist" Dr Wayne Warburton - whose quote that is - eats weeties and if they were giving away doctorates at some stage in the packet.

From the World Health Organisation.

"Tobacco is no doubt the single most cause of death in the world. Tobacco kills more then 5 million people which is much much more then HIV/Aids, tuberculosis, malaria combined. By 2030 tobacco is going to kill 8 million people a year."

But WAIT, that can't be right World Health Organisation, "Dr" Warburton said video games to violence is greater than smoking to cancer so your stats must be wrong, or you must be confusing YOUR stats of 5 million deaths a year from smoking related diseases to that of affects of video game related violence to society. Coz surely, we would have heard of this violence A LOT more than smoking stats and SURELY there's actual studies to be found on the topic?......surely?.

Smoking Stats.

FKN Hospitals

Shit needs fixing, but that ain't gonna happen till the business people at the top get replaced by medical practitioners.

We went to the "eye casualty" yesterday coz the missus has some ulcers on her eye. She's immune suppressed coz of the double lung transplant. The ulcers haven't been healing and is causing MAJOR discomfort. This started 4 weeks ago. She tried every avenue outside of the hospital before ending up there in an attempt to get it finally sorted.

So here we are in eye casualty expecting others with various degrees of eye injuries, but no, there was one chick who had HAD conjunctivitis. It was gone, she had swabs taken of her eye only to be told all foreign bugs were gone. Uh, couldn't your Doc have done that via pathology?. There were just eye tests. EYE. TESTS. WTF is an Optometrist for??.

THEN there's a staff, and the triage. Triage was non-existent. You'd expect to hear, "You can get your eyes tested at any Optometrist at any shopping center"....but no, you heard, "Your Medicare card thanks...". That's when the penny dropped. It is all about making money, not patient care.

So anyway, this is the card we've all been handed, so let's get on with the job. The problem with that is they do ONE patient at a time. We got there at about 9am. She was seen ONCE by the Doc in 3 hours. there was maybe 5 people in front of us. FIVE PEOPLE in 3 hours. WTF???.

What ever happened to nurses doing the ground work, thinking for themselves on the basics, and then the Doc coming round making the decisions on the pre-prepared scans and shit?. Fuck me, if anyone else functioned at that level of efficiency FKN NOTHING would get done ... EVAAAAR.

You'd need to ring ahead at Maccas one week in advance.

So we saw the initial Doc by midday and he referred her on to a cornea specialist that just happened to have his clinic starting at 1:30pm. WOOT. We went and got lunch and came back to be greeted by at least 40 others. We waited till about 3:30 because she needed a space to appear. By 3:30 there were still 30 odd people waiting and they closed at 4pm.

Regarding her health, we didn't get ONE STEP forward in six and a half hours. The first Doc was merely a prelim consultation to see what was wrong.

End rant.