Anyone know anything about this?

[Puck]

I ran into this while I was rebuilding a server.  Has anyone heard anything about it?

===

Senators Vow Legislation To Curb Violent Online Games

Washington (AP)

A pair of influential Senators today promised to introduce legislation that
would give the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) the power to penalize companies
that market and promote violent video games across the internet.

The announcement came at a press conference this morning where the National
Institute on Media and the Family released its annual violence in video and
computer games report card, which grades game makers and stores on efforts to
raise awareness on the issue.

Sens. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Herb Kohl, D-Wis., promised the measures
after receiving this year's report card, which found that while there has been
some improvement within the industry, there is an increasing demand for combat-
oriented online games by American youth.

"We're going to work on some meaningful legislation," Kohl said. "After the
events of September 11 it seems obvious we need to address the issues created by
games that glamorize violent and destructive behavior."

After reports were released detailing how the September 11 hijackers may have
used computer flight simulators to prepare for the attacks on the World Trade
Center and Pentagon there has been more attention given to games that advocate
online violence.

The former Democratic Vice Presidential nominee said he and Kohl planned to
introduce the measures sometime in April.

The legislation would give the FTC authority to charge companies selling and
targeting violent games on the internat. Last October, the FTC issued a scathing
report that accused online video game producers of failing to adhere to any sort
of effective self regulatory practices.

The FTC report was made at the request of President Bush and members of Congress
soon after the September 11 attacks, which raised questions about how youths are
affected by violent on line electronic games. Some critics charged that the
worst terrorist attack in American history was practically a real-world
enactment of these war oriented video games, a suspicion later fortified by
statements the suspects had used electronic flight simulators as part of their
training.

Game industry executives present at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing at
which FTC officials presented their report last year complained that in
collaborating on an industry-wide self-regulation effort would likely land them
in front of antitrust regulators. Lawmakers assured industry leaders that
Congress would propose legislation exempting them from such concerns if they
moved forward on promises to self-regulate.

[AKSWulfe]

Haven't heard anything about it.

But in response to this:
"We're going to work on some meaningful legislation," Kohl said. "After the
events of September 11 it seems obvious we need to address the issues created by
games that glamorize violent and destructive behavior."

Kohl and Lieberman are two of the biggest tards to ever walk this planet. Video games and September 11th are related?

Sorry, try our government and September 11th are related. They set the precedent for the terrorists to want to kill/maim Americans... not the video games.

The ignorance in our government and this country simply shocks me.
-SW

[Skuzzy]

Ignorance runs rampant on the hill.

Two sides to every coin I have ever seen.

1)  If a person is inherently violent, then the lack of violent computer games is not going to deter this person from violent behavior.
2)  If a person is not inherently violent, then violent computer games are not going to make this person violent.

I play violent games, and have done so for over 20 years.  And yet, I would probably be the last person to even consider committing a violent act.

This is yet another shining example of not looking at the true source of the problem, but rather the outcome of the real problem and finding a scapegoat for it.
And who is to say what is violent?  You can construe that chess is a violent game.  Is MS Flight Simulator a violent game?  

Why we keep putting idiots in positions of power is beyond me.

And by the way.  The same experts that claim violent games make people violent, also claimed violent TV shows, and/or RAP music makes you violent as well.  None of these so called reports say a word about the overall environment the person was raised in.
If you want to prove a point, you can.  You just have to look hard enough for the ammo to provide a basis for the point.  So these guys got funding to do a study to answer the question, "Do video games induce violence?"  Well, guess what, hand me a million dollars and I could prove it too.
So now those same video games are the reason terrorists from another part of the world attacked the U.S.  Oh my,...Microsoft should be ashamed of selling such a program that would induce a couple of guys to hijack some airplanes and run them into some buildings.

Sometimes I am ashamed to be associated with our government.

[Fester']

hmmmm...  After the events of Sept 11th I HAVE been ramming my Yak into other planes when I run out of ammo...  This is obviously related.

Can I sue someone?

I feel so violated...

[FLS]

Clearly we have been misled by claims that misguided militant Muslim extremists attacked us because of our support for Israel and our presence in Saudi Arabia. Even though Senator Lieberman is Jewish he was able to identify the actual core problem. Young Arabs playing online video games are turning into murderous terrorists.  The tens of thousands of dollars paid to professional flight training and cockpit simulation schools per terrorist was foolishly wasted when all they needed was MSFS2000.  I hope everybody who failed to vote for this genius in the last election has learned their lesson and those who tried to vote but were unable to figure out a simple ballot will make a better guess next time.

--)-FLS----
Musketeers

[WhiteHawk]

Enron corp.  bribed its accounting firm to lie about the condition
of its company.  Not just a little white lie.  While investors were
duped into dumping money into this stock based on the
numbers provided by Anderson accounting, the execs of
Enron were cashing in thier stock options, to the tune
of 100's of millions of dollars.  Meanwhile, at the white house,
Enron execs were convincing the energy secretary to bend the
regulatory rules that governed the energy Co's, in an attempt
to bail out the co, and to cover up the horrible crime.
  (anybody remember the 2x or 3x gas bills?)
The attempt failed.  the company collapsed.  But wait,
with a little paper shredder these frickin commies are gonna
get away with it.
  Why dont they link paper shredding of critical documents
vital to an ongoing criminal investigation--> to white collar
crime and actually punish those who do it?
   So maybe they are stoopit.

I was just gettin ready to suggest bloody cockpits for pilot
kills, and maybe a long helpless plummet to earth.