At least not untill we come and annex whatever shitty country you live in, then you can bitch. It won't do you any good, but you will have carte blanch resons to do so.

It's interesting how you so accurately reflect the exact nature of you current government: "We are the biggest nation in te world and we have every right to take over you country if we want to. We will lie to our people about how many nasty weapons they have so they think we are right. And noone can STOP US! Your bases all belong us! MWHAHAHAHA!!"

Sad.

On a side note:
The US military prison at Guantanamo, Cuba, violates the human rights of the nearly 600 prisoners detained there who have no access to lawyers, leading Spanish judge Baltazar Garzon said on Friday.

"None of the fundamental human rights that the prisoners should have is respected," said the judge whose extradition request kept Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet under house arrest in London for 503 days.

"These persons must be placed at the disposal of civilian judges immediately," he said during a lecture given at the invitation of Costa Rica's Supreme Court.

The United States calls the Guantanamo detainees "illegal combatants" suspected of fighting for Al Qaeda or the Taliban.

Mr Garzon also criticised the US reaction after September 11, 2001, which was to pass repressive anti-terror legislation.

"It restricts fundamental freedoms in the broadest sense, contrary to the US tradition."

The United States "has gone overboard, become intolerant and deprived people of their fundamental liberties," he said.

The police and judicial systems are critical to the battle against terrorism, he said, but they cannot use the same weapons as terrorists."

This comment was edited on Apr 2, 18:55.

glambaz just owned you motherfuckers

Flo, do you happen to know the code / standards that FC is violating? What is the essense of the German USK in terms of restricted content?

As far as I know, ratings are handled this way: If in a game, strong violence (e.g. first person violence) is used against "human" enemies (jeez what game doesn't..) the game automatically gets a 16+ rating (example: Jedi Academy). Now if there's also lots of blood and gore it most likely gets an 18+ rating which means it still can be sold openly in stores but it must not be sold to minors. Now if the BPJS (german media rating agency) decides that a game glorifies violence against human opponents it's being put on the index, although they can only act after someone initiated a law suit concerning the respective game. So the USK is not the agency banning the game, they just give a rating, although a 18+ rating will most likely rouse the attention of the BPJS. Obviously the ragdoll physics in Farcry were too cruel. But think about this: If there weren't any human mercenaries in Farcry - just those mutants - the game might have come away with a 16+ rating.... idiocy...


This comment was edited on Apr 2, 05:02.

explain why sexuality is censored in north america yet violence isn't

I dont think sexuality is censored in Mexico, and its not ceensored here in Canada. Are you saying North America consists of just the US? Common american POV it seems.

If you're not living in america you have no right to bitch about it you forigener faggots.

At least not untill we come and annex whatever shitty country you live in, then you can bitch. It won't do you any good, but you will have carte blanch resons to do so. And I don't give a fuck how you really spell carte blanch, bitches.

Detroit is not an accurate index for the state of American societal health. It is one of the worst cities in the nation.

The local Detroit TV news??? Well, I stand corrected.

You know whats really sad? That this turned into a "who's country is the worst?" arguement. You people are the reason there's so much wrong in the world today, you cant see past your own hate and prejudices, and you continue to fuel the fires.

Yes this does not apply to every post. I dont think your any closer to comming to an answer by analyzing statistical information on any country. In fact I think thats a step in the wrong direction.


This comment was edited on Apr 2, 00:27.

#30, say whatever you want, the States is far more violent than Canada. I get the Detroit evening TV news up here, and when I compare that to Ottawa (where I live) or even Toronto's, it's obvious that the States is just a more violent society.

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http://users.ign.com/collection/Cyberfury
Currently playing: Day of Defeat, Far Cry, Operation Flashpoint: Resistance

#24 I responded to the statement that the US had the highest violent crime rate "in the world," a claim which is preposterous on its face. How charmingly ethnocentric for you to interpret the phrase as "1st world country in the world," a term which is increasingly dubious. You then go from "violent crime rate" to "gun related deaths." These are not the same. The U.S. does indeed have the highest murder rate among "1st world" countries, but its overall violent crime rate is fairly average. Here are some statistics from the UN Int'l Crime Victim Survey http://www.unicri.it/icvs/publications/pdf_files/key2000i/app4.pdf
In the category, assault with force, the percentage of individuals victimized once or more for the US in 2000 is 3.4. That's lower than Australia (5.4), Canada (5.3), Denmark (3.6), England & Wales (6.1), Finland (4.2), Scotland (6.1), and Sweden (3.8). All countries combined is slightly higher than the US at 3.5.
In the category Assaults & Threats, the percentage of incidents per 100 inhabitants for the US is 6.5, same as Sweden, but lower than Australia (11.2), Canada (8.5), England & Wales (12.4), and Scotland (10.3). All nations combined is 5.9.
The rate for robbery in the US per 100 inhabitants is .6 whereas all countries combined is twice as high at 1.2.
The US is overall a very safe and secure place but with a handful of urban pockets where violent crime including murder is unfortunately very high. To issue sweeping statements like the "US is the most violent screwed up society in the world" is fatuous.

#25 Sexuality is censored but violence isn't??? Huh??? Of course there are standards governing violence in broadcast television, as vague as they may be. The networks edit a great deal of violent imagery. With cable and satellite, however, you can get just about anything from hardcore porn to faces of death.

Cause you can't get diseases that last for the rest of your life and are transmitable to anyone else you fuck, right? Cause plenty of fuck tards get pregnant and need abortions because they are too pathetic to take responsablity for thier actions. Yea, there's no problems with excessive sex.

I worries me in general that sex can be anyway considered as even only remotely problematic as violence. I mean.. HELLO?? Wake up, its 2004 years of humanity growing only by the wonderful act of sex.
Apart from abusive sex ( and anything can be abused)it is obviously something very positive since it keeps us from total extinction and above that its pure pleasure for all participants ( if done right).

you can't really say the same about violence.

This comment was edited on Apr 1, 19:31.

Fuck's sake. Thank you Sho, Caveman, and the others knowledgable of actual German policy in this area. All of you "My Country vs. Your Country" please just can it; let's not pretend actual citizens (like anyone on this board) have anything to do with policy directions that focus undue attention on either sex or violence.

It's all a moot point in the end; any American who wants to see titties can find them easily enough, and any German who wants to play undiluted versions of popular games has about as little trouble.

Let the politicians cater to their rabid religious sects. At the end of the day it doesn't much matter to real people.

Let's make one thing clear: These games aren't being "forbidden". They're being put on an index, after which it is not allowed to a) advertise for them in publications available to kids, b) display them on store shelves, since kids could walk by. In theory, any adult could walk right into a video game store, ask for an indexed game and acquire it, however. So how does a guy know he wants one of these indexed games? Because games get only indexed post-release, so the mags can cover 'em up to that point just fine.

In practice, however, game publishers usually chose (!) to alter their content so they don't get indexed and can sell more easily to non-adults. Others, like id Software, don't - and you can still buy the indexed version, provided you're old enough (18 years).

Just wanting to make sure that everybody knows there is absolutely *no* "censoring" going on here. The system is mostly designed to give the decision of whether or not kids should be exposed to these games strictly into the hands of their parents, by making it impossible for the kids to go out and buy the stuff themselves.

So who decides what gets indexed? A jury at a government institution, consisting of media experts, representatives from youth centres, etc. Take note: This jury only acts after having received a formal request from a youth office or a similar institution. And those listen to actual parents. So this is not a government gone crazy.

And it's not totally conservative, either: "Counter-Strike", for example, was not indexed - despite a lot of criticism from parents and the media - because the jury decided that it's a game about tactics, not violence.

Now, is it just, is it perfect? That's open to discussion. But let's get the facts straight first, alright?


This comment was edited on Apr 1, 19:09.

"groups upset about what they see as excessive sexuality in the media complain just as much about violence"

If this were true, explain why sexuality is censored in north america yet violence isn't. His claims were perfectly accurate, it is yours that has more holes than the walls at Columbine.

"Cynicism is no replacement for knowledge. "

Denial is no replacement for knowledge either.

The USA currently has the highest violent crime rate out of EVERY 1st world country in the world. Per Capita, not just in numbers alone. Gun related deaths in one year in the late 90's was near 11,000 while the nearest competition was Germany with just under 500, I believe.

Good lord, Sir! You are an idiot. The most violent, screwed up society in the world? Not even close. Happy to watch dismembered bodies on TV? I may not be among them, but groups upset about what they see as excessive sexuality in the media complain just as much about violence. Cynicism is no replacement for knowledge.

HAHA! Who's talking about sex in games? I'm talking TV, movies, print media .. everything. What a bunch of prudes! You're happy to watch dismembered bodies on the TV, but anything remotely to do with sex, the conservative right jumps in a squashes it. You've got your priorities all wrong!

Even your reply shows how defensive and violent you people can be.

Oh ... BTW. I'm not in Germany ... so I do get all the good games
This comment was edited on Apr 1, 17:20.

Shut up bitch, you're just jellous we get all the good games and don't have to pay extra to get them in thier intended form. Granted Sexy Beach 2 will never be seen in American gaming stores, however, who cares. I have a girlfriend, I don't need imaginary video game porn.

(granted I would have trouble getting her in a bikini made from band-aids and then let me take pictures of her in some public place, but you can't have everything.)

Only ignorant people complain about mass media censorship, if you want to find something out all you have to do is some research. You're only an ignorant social puppet if you choose to be one, I refuse to patronise anyone making that choice.


This comment was edited on Apr 1, 17:01.

Talisorn,

Both Germany and America are products of their respective histories. In America, like most places, what you see in the media is not an accurate representation of the average person's daily existence. We may not be able to watch titties on our commercials (shame really), but I'd take that over the kind of censorship that happens elsewhere any day.