Ridiculous

http://www.gamepolitics.com/2009/03/20/animal-lovers-bite-back-dog-killing-call-duty-world-war

Sometimes I read a news story that just really annoys me. This is one of them. Not only are people getting upset about human on human violence in videogames, it is now too much to have violence against animals in a game. Fake violence, with fake animals.

Also, let it be known that I will gladly commit acts of violence against any dog named Winnie the Pooh. Honestly, are these people sane? Do they really think that people cannot tell the difference between shooting a dog in a game and acting violently towards animals in real life?

Resist! Released

Resist! has been released. It can be downloaded here.

Why is this news?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090110/ap_on_go_pr_wh/obama_chili

Our country is falling apart and all people care about is the president-elect eating fucking chili. Do people honestly care about this shit?

An End to the Cuban Conflict

With the Obama administration about a month away, there are many things that are going to be changing. Most of these changes will be intrinsic, as our economy is in shambles, and our global clout is lessening. In the public’s eye, Affairs abroad will always take a backseat to the situation at home. It is at times like this, though, that it is truly important to make sure that the US is still representing itself on an international scale. Changes in foreign policy are also necessary to keeping our country viable.

In my opinion, the best thing that the Obama administration can do, as far as matters of foreign policy go, is to encourage much warmer relations with Cuba. Nothing would show the rest of the world that the US truly has changed than kind gestures towards an old enemy. The Cold War is history now, and the Cuban Conflict, I call it that because I still consider it a conflct, is a stark reminder of that era only about 90 miles from our shores.

Fidel Castro has stated that he would be willing to talk with the new administration. Barack Obama has declared his willingness to talk to Cuba, as well, and also noted that he intends to decrease restrictions on Cuban Americans traveling and sending money to Cuba.

The fact that both countries are willing to put decades of bad blood behind them and make a real attempt at sorting things out is just what the US needs to show other countries right now. We need to show the rest of the world that the we can still use diplomatic means to settle conflicts, and that America is not made up entirely of trigger happy Texans.

Why do Republicans oppose an automaker bailout?

Republicans oppose the bailout for the auto industry because it helps poor people. That’s it. Wasn’t the Right asking for $700 billion for banks not even two months ago? And now, Democrats want to spend $25 billion of that to keep our auto industry running, and the Republicans really have the balls to try and oppose it. We are talking about money that has already been allocated towards getting the economy back in shape, and a relatively small part of it, too. Why is it acceptable to give money to banks and not automakers?

Because rich people don’t build cars. This is a blatant issue of class warfare, plain and simple. Republicans had no problem in bailing out the financial sector, but now that the option of giving money to the working class arises, they are jumping to attack it. A large portion of the automakers’ costs are in legacy labor costs. They are paying a significant amount of money to retirees, and this is crushing them financially. Keeping the auto industry alive benefits the employees of the auto industry and their communities. This bailout is a handout to the working class, and Republicans oppose giving money to poor people. Not only do they refuse to give them money, but they also go as far as to blame them for the auto industry problems.

The Right’s main argument is that instead of a bailout, the automakers should give less benefits to retirees and lower wages. Cutting labor, though, is not the answer. Instead, the auto industry needs to get its shit together and start working towards a sustainable business model. We have known since the 1970s that Japan was making better cars than us, and this is not the first automaker bailout we have come across.

We are at a time now when I think that the government needs to step in and keep people in their jobs. Our economy isn’t going to get any better without people working, and if $25 billion of money that’s already going to be spent is what it takes, I think that sounds pretty reasonable. We’ve had the bailout for Wall Sreet, and now we are facing a total denial of any form of bailout for Main Street.

Yes, the American auto industry has made mistakes, and part of its current problem is of its own doing, but this is not just an American problem. People aren’t buying cars everywhere. If the auto industry goes under, the cities and communities that depend on them, many of which have been struggling for years, will suffer. This is an avoidable situation, and I don’t think $25 billion of money already appropriated to help stabilize the economy is unreasonable. Hundreds of thousands of jobs are at stake here, but the Right will turn a blind eye, because rich people don’t make cars.

Game Review: Oiligarchy

Freeware Flash Game
Play Oiligarchy

Oiligarchy is probably the best persuasive game I have played to date. You essentially take control of Big Oil right after orld War II, and turn the oil business into a global scale pillagefest. The game mimics real life in the fact that you can give the government money to allow oil drilling in Alaska, or to wage war in Iraq so that you can drill there, too. In this sense, Oiligarchy does a great job of turning real aspects of the oil industry into game aspects. For example, I understand that real oil economics isn’t just basic supply & demand, but, for the purpose of the game, it gets the job done while keeping it simple.

The best thing about Oiligarchy is its message, and how the game almost plays itself. The oil industry is a horribly flawed one, and is definitely not sustainable. The better you exploit resources and make money, the sooner you will become unable to meet demand. Oiligarchy really nails this point, because even if oil is used at a sustainable level, it is still not a renewable resource. One of the largest industries in the world is becoming obsolete, and all the people in charge can do is delay the inevitable collapse.

The odd thing is that when making a game like this is that the ultimate goal is for the game to become irrelevant. The creators made this game to expose the oil industry for the horrible scam that it is, and if we ever reach a point where we are independent from oil, this game will serve as only a reminder of what once was. While the game will still contain the same message, any contemporary relevance will be gone.

Universal health care, here we come.

Well, 95% is close enough to universal for me. Obama’s health plan is being speculated to cover 95% of Americans and cost about $75 billion.

Now, I’m not going to go into numbers, because this isn’t that type of blog (and numbers don’t mean shit anymore when any asshole can Google a term and get “facts” from some crackpot website, left or right), but $75 billion for health care for almost everyone is a fair deal. $75 billion is a very large amount of money, but I don’t feel like it is too frugal. Of course, cheap is not exactly something I want my health care to be.

The bottom line is, that under the new health care system, a lot of injustices in our current system would be fixed. There are many people out there who get sick and end up not being able to keep up with medical expenses, and eventually end up becoming just sort of abandoned by the health system. There are seniors out there living on fixed incomes that have to choose to buy food or medicine, because they can’t get insurance to cover the costs. I am by no means a bleeding heart liberal, but that is not something I want to happen in my country, especially not if we have the power to stop it.

I usually take my Michael Moore with more than a few grains of salt, but I really agree with him on the health care issue. His proposal is pretty straightforward, and pretty much follows the model set my European universal systems. I think we, as Americans, really got the whole idea wrong, and it definitely needs revising. This new plan seems like the first step in the right direction.

God will show Sarah Palin her next political move

“You know, I have — faith is a very big part of my life. And putting my life in my creator’s hands — this is what I always do.”

“I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is.”

“Even if it’s cracked up a little bit, maybe I’ll plow right on through that and maybe prematurely plow through it, but don’t let me miss an open door.”

I really hope Sarah Palin does not run for president in 2012. My guess, though, is that she will. All she would have to do is run for Senate (Ted Stevens’ seat may be up for grabs earlier because he is a greedy asshole) to answer any concerns of her experience on a national level.

With George W. Bush, I think we have seen enough of what a conservative Christian president would do. Hell, the man put in charge of the hunt for Osama bin Laden has openly stated “George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States, he was appointed by God.”

Is it just me, or is this type of attitude, especially when held by senior military and governmental figures fucking crazy?

The conservative right is a very powerful group. They got Bush elected twice, against tremendous odds. My main fear is that Sarah Palin will run for president and play the same card. Many Americans would rather be called a socialist than have their belief challenged, so if Sarah Palin does run for president, and does play the whole “God told me to” thing, we will be in for a tough election. Luckily, that’s four years from now.

“God’s will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that,”
-Sarah Palin

Barack Obama on Video Games

“We need to give parents the tools and information they need to make choices about what programs their children are watching or what video games they are playing. As we move towards a digital environment, there is a golden opportunity for the industry to do this on their own—to use the latest in technology to give parents more information and more choice. For example, this technology could make it possible for parents to create their own family tier just by programming their television to block certain channels, block certain genres of programming like dramas, or block television at certain times of the day. The same can be said of video games, especially as we’re moving into an era when they can be downloaded as easily as today’s movies and television shows.”

“I would call upon the video game industry to give parents better information about programs and video games by improving the voluntary rating system we currently have. Broadcasters and video game producers should take it upon themselves to improve this system to include easier to find and easier to understand descriptions of exactly what kind of content is included. But if the industry fails to act, then my administration would.”

“And even if the industry does do some responsible self-policing, there’s still a role for the federal government to play. We need to understand the impact of these new media better. That’s why I supported federal funding to study the impact of video games on children’s cognitive development.”

Wow, finally some common sense in government regarding video games. This sounds pretty reasonable. I think that it is the industry’s responsibility to make attempts to provide a reasonable amount of information, and parents’ responsibilities to decide how to interpret that. Thanks Obama.

http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/11/05/what-barack-obamas-win-means-for-gamers/

I’m kind of a big deal now…

Apparently I am quite the celebrity now. My blog was recently linked to by a London reporter for Fox News, and due to my activities on election night, there are pictures of me on a couple of blogs.

I am pretty relieved now that the election is over. I got tired of talking/thinking about it so much…it’s pretty stressful. Grant Park was an amazing place to be on election night, though. Me and my partner in crime made signs and wore masks for the occasion.

We also were interviewed for a couple of radio stations, a television show, and a film. The police eventually took my sign, citing a city ordinance prohibiting profanity in public signs, but it was after Obama had already won, and I was in too good of a mood to let them bother me. Anyways, now with all the election stuff over, I can get back to making more games.