Manchurian Child Saves Woman, Gets Shot

Adam Mapleson was critically injured after heroically coming to the aid of a security officer loading a cash machine. The officer was attacked by two armed thugs and Adam rushed to her aid. He was shot at close range, taken to a local hospital and it is hoped that he will make a full recovery.

Naturally little fuss will be made that Adam was an avid gamer. Jack Thompson will not be called to comment on how his computer might have hardwired his brain for reflexes and good moral behavior. His parents will not be asked about how hours of gaming might have altered his judgement (for the better). The security officer will not be featured in an interview wondering if only he had not played so much Counter-Strike - she could be dead.

Of course this is probably how it should be - Adam's hobby as a gamer probably had little bearing on him being a brave and moral human being. No more than if the gunmen themselves had played GTA.

It is, however, a symbol of the double standard which is how the knee jerk, hysterical, fear machine of the media really works.

Thanks to Winkyboy for sending this along.

Illinois Loses Another Million To Video Game Fight

Thanks to Winkyboy for sending this wonderful tidbit along:

Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has spent $1,000,000 in taxpayer money attempting to "appeal a 2005 federal court ruling that a state law banning the sale of violent or sexual-explicit video games to minors was unconstitutional." Money was diverted from "the public health department, the state's welfare agency and even the economic development department," because health and welfare aren't important when our children's welfare is at stake.

-- Q: How Much for That Family-friendly Game in the Window? A: One Million Dollars.

Oh brilliant. This is after he lost half a million to the ESA trying to fight for the bill in the first place. Illinois, for the record, is not exactly running high on the hog when it comes to cash these days either. Diverting funds from public health runs contrary to his public goal of providing health care for Illinois children as well.

So maybe instead of talking about opening more casinos or selling off the state lottery - we should stop spending millions in a fight against bogeymen and windmills.

Scientology Doesnt Like Being PWNED

The infamous Derek Yu tells tale of the Scientology PWNED game:

Zi-Xiao Liang, creator of Scientology PWNED, has informed me that his game (in which you blow away the faithful followers of Xenu), was the target of local police, who are making him change the name of the game.

I don’t really have an opinion either way, but I suggest that the name of the game be changed to “American McGee’s Scientology PWNED,” therefore putting all the blame squarely on American McGee. And because we also need more games that have American McGee’s name in the title!

-- Scientology PWNED... PWNED

More at the IGDA thread.

Apple Pays Bloggers Legal Fees

"The court's ruling is a victory for journalists of all mediums and a tremendous blow to those firms that believe their stature affords them the right to silence the media," said Kasper Jade, the publisher of AppleInsider.com. "Hopefully, Apple will think twice the next time it considers a campaign to bully the little guy into submission."

In total, Apple was ordered to pay nearly $700,000 -- a small amount for a company that reported nearly $1 billion in profit in the December quarter, but a large moral victory for bloggers, journalists and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) which helped defend against Apple's subpoenas.

"We are very pleased, as this will go a long way towards keeping EFF on the forefront of impact litigation defending the rights of online journalists and others," EFF Staff Attorney Kurt Opsahl wrote in an email. "Bloggers break the news, just like journalists do. They must be able to promise confidentiality in order to maintain the free flow of information. Without legal protection, informants will refuse to talk to reporters, diminishing the power of the open press that is the cornerstone of a free society."

Apple last week declined the opportunity to appeal the award ruling and paid in full. In addition, Apple dismissed the underlying case, but did so "without prejudice" (i.e., allowing them the to retain the right to re-file it at a later date).

-- MacNN | Apple pays $700,000 for bloggers' legal fees

I've become something of an Apple fan, but there's plenty of stuff Mother Company does that I don't agree with. Hopefully this will be enough of a legal slap to set them in the right direction.


tagged: apple