So there is a violent video game coming out for the Wii in the not too distant future. We had Biohazard 4 / Resident Evil 4 already (which was pretty damn violent) but apparently this game (which no one has really played yet) is so violent that some dude in the UK wants to exploit the rating system and deny it a classification. Doing so would, well… Here is what he said: “Without that it cannot be marketed in Britain. What the rest of world does is up to them. We need to ensure that modern and civilized values take priority rather than killing and maiming people.”

He is concerned that the release of this game being solely on the Wii would tarnish its family friendly appeal - which I guess blowing off people’s heads or being ripped in twain with a chainsaw in RE4 didn’t do. This means, of course, it is “for the children”. Well, dill-hole, that is why there are game ratings. If it says “M” or “18+” or whatever the hell your country uses, then it’s up to the parents to not let their kids purchase or play those games if they think they aren’t ready for it. But apparently we have moved beyond personal responsibility and need to just dive head first into the realm of straight up banning and censorship. Nice.

Nevermind that real studies (ie studies performed by independent groups with nothing to gain, not those carried out by parental groups with an agenda) have shown that playing violent games actually acts as an outlet for aggression and helps decrease the amount of violence carried out by gamers. Those shouldn’t count because of the rare occurrence when someone who isn’t attached to reality uses games as a reason for their crimes. Blaming the illness instead of the criminal’s said motivation is a sound logic only reserved for the times when Jehovah is used as the reason. 

Anyway, given his reasons for not wanting a game such as that to be released, maybe someone should introduce him to the worlds of film, television and literature. Oh, and maybe the real world.

Here’s a nice little bit of information I was linked to today. Turns out that McCain wants to allow for ISPs to regulate the internet in terms of content and free speech. I won’t go on about how that sucks major ass, because that should be pretty obvious. But what I will do is pose a question:

If McCain can be high and mighty about his view that Obama would be ill-equipped to handle war because of lack of experience, then wouldn’t the same hold true for internet policy from a man who until less than a month ago was only “aware of the internet”?

As far as I am concerned now, a vote for McCain is a vote for evil. After all, wasn’t “not having open internet” one of the things everyone has been lamenting over in regards to China? How would this be any different?

Here’s a question: If China is willing to go to the highest levels of government to endorse a lie about the singing of their national anthem (to give China a good image), then how far do you think they will go to ensure they win gold (arguably a better way to give their nation a good image)?

Apparently they may go so far as to warp space and time, because it seems as though when they reported that one of the Olympic hopefuls was only 13 earlier this year she managed to be 16 (the youngest age possible to compete in the games). After all, there is no way that China could possibly produce fake documents to show that they are of the correct age, right? No one has that technology available to them.

My main curiosity now is whether or not the Olympic Committee will actually investigate this and take away the medals these girls won if it turns out they are underage. If there is no serious investigation into this you can pretty much count on me not ever giving a shit about the Olympics again. Of course, China is not accustomed to journalists asking its government “troubling” questions and has already responded to further investigation from the media as follows: “We already explained this very clearly. There’s no need to discuss this thing again.” Classy. So does this mean, then, that the Chinese media actually screwed up in the past? Impossible!

I am not saying that these girls are not amazing. Nor am I saying that the rules should not be subsequently changes to allow for younger participants. If you’re good, you should be able to show your skills. But the fact remains that the rules in regards to age may have been broken - and that would be unacceptable.

I had heard and believed before that the hosting of the games in China would be a gesture to the rest of the world to show that China wants to be a part of something global. Now I think it is becoming more evident that they are doing this for themselves so they can keep their people own people happy. “When we host the games, we win. We are so awesome!” After all, I am pretty damn sure that their media isn’t really going to investigate the controversial issues regarding China’s activities at The Olympics.

I didn’t have much respect for China before, and I am losing more and more of it as each day passes.

My dad went into some detail on his blog about the little girl switcheroo for the Opening Ceremony last weekend. The reason proffered by the officials behind this singing scandal boiled down to the following (from The Guardian):

“It seems that Yang’s uneven teeth, while unremarkable in a seven-year-old, were considered potentially damaging to China’s international image.”

Not that I agree with them on this but were I to concede this to them, what is their excuse for the ridiculous amounts of smog? What’s that going to do for their “international image”? And if dental hygiene was the biggest concern, did anyone neglect to tell them that “Ms. Pretty” is full on missing a tooth?

China sucks on so many levels.

So Momoko and I watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics. There is zero question that it was absolutely spectacular, but I have a few issues - some of which might be slightly controversial.

First and foremost… What the hell, China? This is the Olympics, not “Glorious People’s Demonstration of The Power of China”. I have managed to watch a few opening ceremonies in my lifetime, and I seem to remember them focusing on global brotherhood, and community and unification. Not this time. The entire first hour - which was the awesome part - seemed less about coming-togetherness and more about “look what China did for the world, with paper, moveable type, the compass and some other thing which I have already forgotten.” 

Of course before they even got into the song and dance, we got to see a Chinese girl sing a Chinese song while goose-steppers raised the Chinese flag. Just swap the country flag for North Korea’s and you may as well have been watching the Mass Games. And given China’s ratings for the opening ceremonies were 98% of all televisions, it pretty much was the same thing within China. (The other 2% of televisions were probably watching surveillance cameras.) 

I don’t have a problem with China having the Olympics, per se. And the ceremony was breath-taking. But just because something is beautiful to look at doesn’t mean the message itself should be excused. The fact remains that it took China nearly a full hour before anything about the ceremony really pertained to the Olympics or the spirit that the Olympics embody was displayed, and that is what irritates me.

On top of that they seemed to have abandoned other traditions of the opening ceremonies, like the flag raising and the order in which countries are brought into the stadium. Chinese stroke order? I am not saying the Roman alphabet is the be all and end all, but even though other countries who have hosted the games use different words for countries from around the world, China is the first to depart from the order.

And to top it all off, the announcers have typically been assholes to the Nth degree. I realise many commentators don’t know exactly what to say during live events, but to say “And here comes Japan - a big competitor in the games. It must be really awkward for them to be here in China, after they invaded it in World War II” or other equally inane and insensitive remarks which have zero bearing on the event is entirely inexcusable.

So aside from that and daytime images of post-apocalyptic looking smog, I wonder what else we’ll be taking away from the games this year.

Ohmygodohmygodohmygod! You can play as Kratos from God of War in Little Big Planet if you pre-order? Already know which friend in the US I will be hitting up for this one…