It seems that Germany is not the only country struggling with laws on censorship. Even in the US where gory, realistic violence seems to be staple diet for kindergarten kids lawmakers are worried, as this article shows. If you read further down in the comments a lot of them are quite interesting (aside from being sarcastic, cynical or otherwise hillarious).
What I thought interesting was that some points are actually the very ones that I made in my previous posting. As vivin very aptly put it:
Causative Link? Bullshit!
People want to find a damn scapegoat for everything. First it was "Violence on TV", then there's "Heavy Metal Music"! Oh my god! Will someone please think of the children! Seriously... you can get more violence in some religious texts than on TV, or Music. Computer Games, TV, or Music don't make people want to commit violence. This was used as an excuse for Columbine.
The fact is that we can owe it to either bad parenting, or maybe a more obvious fact. Homo sapiens is a territorial, aggressive, war-like species. For all our intelligence, we still like to beat the crap out of each other. This is obvious perhaps in more individuals than others.
So stop trying to find things to blame. Making laws are not going to make us less violent.
I couldn't agree more - nothing to add to that.
Admiral Frosty, however, brings up a point that I completely overlooked (shame on me). So here it is in all its brevity:
Its the parents responsibility, first and foremost. The idea of using the government as a crutch will only encourage people not to think on their own.
Again, I couldn't agree more. I may seem easier to have a government decree that simply outlaws something but that can't be used to excuse laziness. Parents must get involved - otherwise you end up with a nanny state where everything has be regulated to the greatest possible extent so as to cover all eventualities. Parents have to know their children (as much work as that may be) and bring them up accordingly. The government can provide a framework for that but there is no replacement for parents' common sense. Otherwise, you end up treating everybody like ten-year-olds.
Welcome to this outlet for one of many facets of myself. This may include anything from views on current events, general ramblings and rant to short stories by yours truly.
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
The Mad World of Computers
The land of computing systems is a bit like the land of Old Testament gods: Lots of rules and no mercy - and no common sense.
The words of my former lecturer still ring in my ears. And during the last few days they have been proven accurate more often than usual. Let me explain:
A bit more than a week ago my office PC started acting up. Whenever I was playing a CD using Windows Media Player the computer not only crashed, it powered down - as if somebody had pulled the plug - and rebooted. Talk about strange.
Over the course of a few days this became a consistent phenomenon. I notified our Technical Services team and we went through a few simple things like checking cables and upgrading Media Player to version 10. That didn't do it. So then, last Saturday, they formatted the hard-disk, re-installed the operating system and all the software.
That did not actually make it better but worse! Now it would also crash even if Media Player was not running at all. So, I spent all of yesterday struggling with a PC that would spontaneously power down and various pieces of software that would close or malfunction for no apparent reason. What a day!
The guys from Tech Services then decided to put together a replacement PC for me since the original one obviously needed maintenance. I received the replacement this morning. It promptly started exhibiting almost identical behaviour to the original one. Only this one would crash to a blue screen when starting up and reboot immediately. Now both me and the technician were stupefied (and still are).
He acted quickly, though, rounding up another PC for me (a brand new one this time). I also got a new mouse (yaay!).
Let's see how this one does. It is after all only lunchtime. It would be so ironic if we found out it was a faulty power cable or something of that sort. I am almost prepared to resort to supestition now believing that me or my desk or the place where I sit are jinxed. It all started so abruptly. There you are thinking you understand computers, expecting they will behave in a logical or consistent way. Think again.
... no common sense.
The words of my former lecturer still ring in my ears. And during the last few days they have been proven accurate more often than usual. Let me explain:
A bit more than a week ago my office PC started acting up. Whenever I was playing a CD using Windows Media Player the computer not only crashed, it powered down - as if somebody had pulled the plug - and rebooted. Talk about strange.
Over the course of a few days this became a consistent phenomenon. I notified our Technical Services team and we went through a few simple things like checking cables and upgrading Media Player to version 10. That didn't do it. So then, last Saturday, they formatted the hard-disk, re-installed the operating system and all the software.
That did not actually make it better but worse! Now it would also crash even if Media Player was not running at all. So, I spent all of yesterday struggling with a PC that would spontaneously power down and various pieces of software that would close or malfunction for no apparent reason. What a day!
The guys from Tech Services then decided to put together a replacement PC for me since the original one obviously needed maintenance. I received the replacement this morning. It promptly started exhibiting almost identical behaviour to the original one. Only this one would crash to a blue screen when starting up and reboot immediately. Now both me and the technician were stupefied (and still are).
He acted quickly, though, rounding up another PC for me (a brand new one this time). I also got a new mouse (yaay!).
Let's see how this one does. It is after all only lunchtime. It would be so ironic if we found out it was a faulty power cable or something of that sort. I am almost prepared to resort to supestition now believing that me or my desk or the place where I sit are jinxed. It all started so abruptly. There you are thinking you understand computers, expecting they will behave in a logical or consistent way. Think again.
... no common sense.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Halo - Scape Goat Evolved
Spotlight Germany, Emsdetten. A young man of 18 years walks into his former school during recess, equipped with several rifles, smoke grenades and explosives. He starts shooting at people. Police arrive very quickly. They find him hidden on the second floor of the school. He has killed himself. Fortunately, nobody else is killed. A teacher, a janitor and several students are shot and injured, several more suffer from smoke poisoning. Read the full story.
Now authorities and investigators try to answer the usual questions: Why? What made him do it? And how did he get hold of all these weapons? From fellow students they gather information. He was a loner, a weirdo, a weapons enthusiast. He passionately hated people, especially from his school. Made him feel like a loser, he says on his webpage. He swore revenge, that they would all die. He also announced that he would kill himself. Posted pictures and videos of himself with various weapons online. He was often seen wearing an ankle-length black leather coat. Spent his time playing "computer games that glorify violence". As soon as that comes out local (and soon federal) politicians act very quickly. Newly labelled "killer games" must be banned.
That was what made me perk up. Again they're blaming a new medium. And, of course, the medium must be banned. This reaction strikes me as almost as senseless as the bloody deed itself. Especially, because we have been there before. Let's go through this systematically.
There has always been a medium that was demonised and blamed for whatever bad things happened at the time. It all started out with writing. The German cencorship and youth protection body is still called Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Schriften which roughly translates to Federal Authority for youth-endangering Writing (a bad translation but it's literal). So, in those days it was written material that was considered dangerous. Then Rock 'n' Roll came out. Many parents saw in it the utter corruption of their children. It promoted promiscuity, or so they claimed. In the 80s and 90s (that I know from my own experience now) it was the TV or videos. Videos and films were (and still are) banned, black-listed or cencored. Never had anything been as bad for young people as what was shown on TV or at the cinema. From the late 90s onwards, video games had become realistic enough to scare the older generation. It can only be the computer games the kids play that make them so readily violent. And I can already see the new target emerging: the Internet. What that shows us is that the media have always been an easy target and over time the scape goat has merely evolved. It is interesting to see that as soon as it takes a new form the older one is forgotten. To me that is another clear sign that politicians involved are merely riding a band wagon.
But, okay, let us for a moment assume that banning "killer games" was the way to go. Now define "killer games". Which games are "killer games"? First-person shooters fit the bill all right - all of them are centered around combat in some form. How about third-person adventures like Tomb Raider? In many of them fighting and killing also plays a big part, so off they go on the black list. Flight simulators with few exceptions are set in a war scenario - be it in space or on earth - and are about shooting down your enemies. In real-time strategy games the player assumes the role of the commander, sending his troops to fight, watching them die. Some are not for the faint-hearted. Roleplaying games, including the hugely popular online games like World of Warcraft, are about slaying monsters and other characters with big swords or axes or other medieval weaponry. There are similar games set in the far future, as well (e.g. Star Wars Galaxies, Guild Wars). Even some racing games are about destroying your opponents/competitors (Carmageddon, Destruction Derby). What I'm trying to say is that banning all games with violent content leaves us with very few remaining. With the exception of some educational material, certain cute Japanese games (where you bounce on a mushroom and the enemy turtle blinks out of existence) and popular football simulators the shelves will be pretty empty. From an economic point of view, I believe, that this would cripple a business in Germany that still makes a lot of money. From an ideological standpoint I also think it's a clumsy move. Culling away all these popular big named games like Counterstrike, Battlefield, Doom, etc. will effectively give them martyr status. The demand for them will grow even more because they are banned - we know how it works from the cases of films like Evil Dead (banned for some time but never gone entirely). Plus, everybody will be curious as to why they are banned and therefore want to try them.
The other new target for regulators is the Internet. It should be "policed", a politician demanded. The idea is not new. And, of course, it can only come from somebody who doesn't have to worry about how to do it. Now, I agree that there's a lot of smut and garbage out there on the Web. Most of it is not even hosted in Germany and therefore completely outside German jurisdiction. So, unless Germany adopts a solution similar to China's, say completely blocking categories of foreign content it'll be hard.
Lastly, we then have to ask ourselves: where does it end? Violence and conflict are a common theme in all media, fiction and non-fiction. We may not like it but it's part of us. Often it's the action, the peril and the conflict that make a story interesting or thrilling. So what, the madman of Emsdetten played violent computer games! Hundreds of thousands of gamers play such games around the world. Hell, I do. Enjoy it, too. Still, I've never tried to kill anybody and I don't intend to. And how many of these hundreds of thousands of gamers commit violent crimes (in the real world)? There are and will always be a few black sheep. Nonetheless, the proportion will be minimal. And what's next? Videos are already on the the list, anyway. Judging by the guy's description he probably also listened to heavy metal music. A lot of it can be very aggressive or violent, e.g. "Feuer Frei" by Rammstein, "Shoot me Again" by Metallica or pratically anything ever done by Manowar. Should therefore heavy metal be banned, too? Wouldn't be a big step since fans of this music genre are often regarded as weirdos or satanists, anyway. Then, however, they should please go on and ban hip-hop, as well. Surely, songs about raping and killing and "motherfuckers" can't be good for kids either. And written material? Don't get me started on that. Forget for a moment Tom Clancy-style military thrillers. Or Stephen King's twisted imagination. Let's go back a while. Let's go back a long while. Homer's famous account of the Trojan War. Does it not glorify violence? After Achilles defeated Hektor he cut off the Trojan champion's ears, tied him to his chariot and dragged him around the walls of Troy. And let's not even mention Norse or Germanic myth. We shouldn't assume that insane killers don't read. Interestingly enough, Germanic myth is quite popular among right-wing extremists and fascists. Is that a reason to ban our own mythology?
What is my point with all this? The point is that when politicians get involved they don't seem to look for the root cause but for a scape goat. I understand that there's a lot of pressure on public figures after an atrocity like this. Nobody wants to be caught with their hands in their pockets, everybody wants to make the impression that they already have a solution so that scared citizens can go home and feel safe. So, even while investigators are still unearthing more details about the possible background of the deed they take the easy way out. How about the statements made by the perpetrator that he hated school because it made him feel like a loser? Of course, that would point to a much more complicated problem. An issue with schooling perhaps? I don't know. Nobody does as yet. What gets to me is that politicians make rash decisions before they even know the facts just for the sake of publicity. The end result is that the consumer suffers. As an adult I should be able to decide myself what I want to watch or play. Not so. Of course, I wouldn't want anything like this to happen to my children (or anybody's for that matter). However, banning and cencoring films and videos didn't do the trick and I would swear that banning computer games won't either. Some people have it in them to do terrible things. Jack the Ripper or Fritz Haarmann did not need video games for inspiration.
Now authorities and investigators try to answer the usual questions: Why? What made him do it? And how did he get hold of all these weapons? From fellow students they gather information. He was a loner, a weirdo, a weapons enthusiast. He passionately hated people, especially from his school. Made him feel like a loser, he says on his webpage. He swore revenge, that they would all die. He also announced that he would kill himself. Posted pictures and videos of himself with various weapons online. He was often seen wearing an ankle-length black leather coat. Spent his time playing "computer games that glorify violence". As soon as that comes out local (and soon federal) politicians act very quickly. Newly labelled "killer games" must be banned.
That was what made me perk up. Again they're blaming a new medium. And, of course, the medium must be banned. This reaction strikes me as almost as senseless as the bloody deed itself. Especially, because we have been there before. Let's go through this systematically.
There has always been a medium that was demonised and blamed for whatever bad things happened at the time. It all started out with writing. The German cencorship and youth protection body is still called Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Schriften which roughly translates to Federal Authority for youth-endangering Writing (a bad translation but it's literal). So, in those days it was written material that was considered dangerous. Then Rock 'n' Roll came out. Many parents saw in it the utter corruption of their children. It promoted promiscuity, or so they claimed. In the 80s and 90s (that I know from my own experience now) it was the TV or videos. Videos and films were (and still are) banned, black-listed or cencored. Never had anything been as bad for young people as what was shown on TV or at the cinema. From the late 90s onwards, video games had become realistic enough to scare the older generation. It can only be the computer games the kids play that make them so readily violent. And I can already see the new target emerging: the Internet. What that shows us is that the media have always been an easy target and over time the scape goat has merely evolved. It is interesting to see that as soon as it takes a new form the older one is forgotten. To me that is another clear sign that politicians involved are merely riding a band wagon.
But, okay, let us for a moment assume that banning "killer games" was the way to go. Now define "killer games". Which games are "killer games"? First-person shooters fit the bill all right - all of them are centered around combat in some form. How about third-person adventures like Tomb Raider? In many of them fighting and killing also plays a big part, so off they go on the black list. Flight simulators with few exceptions are set in a war scenario - be it in space or on earth - and are about shooting down your enemies. In real-time strategy games the player assumes the role of the commander, sending his troops to fight, watching them die. Some are not for the faint-hearted. Roleplaying games, including the hugely popular online games like World of Warcraft, are about slaying monsters and other characters with big swords or axes or other medieval weaponry. There are similar games set in the far future, as well (e.g. Star Wars Galaxies, Guild Wars). Even some racing games are about destroying your opponents/competitors (Carmageddon, Destruction Derby). What I'm trying to say is that banning all games with violent content leaves us with very few remaining. With the exception of some educational material, certain cute Japanese games (where you bounce on a mushroom and the enemy turtle blinks out of existence) and popular football simulators the shelves will be pretty empty. From an economic point of view, I believe, that this would cripple a business in Germany that still makes a lot of money. From an ideological standpoint I also think it's a clumsy move. Culling away all these popular big named games like Counterstrike, Battlefield, Doom, etc. will effectively give them martyr status. The demand for them will grow even more because they are banned - we know how it works from the cases of films like Evil Dead (banned for some time but never gone entirely). Plus, everybody will be curious as to why they are banned and therefore want to try them.
The other new target for regulators is the Internet. It should be "policed", a politician demanded. The idea is not new. And, of course, it can only come from somebody who doesn't have to worry about how to do it. Now, I agree that there's a lot of smut and garbage out there on the Web. Most of it is not even hosted in Germany and therefore completely outside German jurisdiction. So, unless Germany adopts a solution similar to China's, say completely blocking categories of foreign content it'll be hard.
Lastly, we then have to ask ourselves: where does it end? Violence and conflict are a common theme in all media, fiction and non-fiction. We may not like it but it's part of us. Often it's the action, the peril and the conflict that make a story interesting or thrilling. So what, the madman of Emsdetten played violent computer games! Hundreds of thousands of gamers play such games around the world. Hell, I do. Enjoy it, too. Still, I've never tried to kill anybody and I don't intend to. And how many of these hundreds of thousands of gamers commit violent crimes (in the real world)? There are and will always be a few black sheep. Nonetheless, the proportion will be minimal. And what's next? Videos are already on the the list, anyway. Judging by the guy's description he probably also listened to heavy metal music. A lot of it can be very aggressive or violent, e.g. "Feuer Frei" by Rammstein, "Shoot me Again" by Metallica or pratically anything ever done by Manowar. Should therefore heavy metal be banned, too? Wouldn't be a big step since fans of this music genre are often regarded as weirdos or satanists, anyway. Then, however, they should please go on and ban hip-hop, as well. Surely, songs about raping and killing and "motherfuckers" can't be good for kids either. And written material? Don't get me started on that. Forget for a moment Tom Clancy-style military thrillers. Or Stephen King's twisted imagination. Let's go back a while. Let's go back a long while. Homer's famous account of the Trojan War. Does it not glorify violence? After Achilles defeated Hektor he cut off the Trojan champion's ears, tied him to his chariot and dragged him around the walls of Troy. And let's not even mention Norse or Germanic myth. We shouldn't assume that insane killers don't read. Interestingly enough, Germanic myth is quite popular among right-wing extremists and fascists. Is that a reason to ban our own mythology?
What is my point with all this? The point is that when politicians get involved they don't seem to look for the root cause but for a scape goat. I understand that there's a lot of pressure on public figures after an atrocity like this. Nobody wants to be caught with their hands in their pockets, everybody wants to make the impression that they already have a solution so that scared citizens can go home and feel safe. So, even while investigators are still unearthing more details about the possible background of the deed they take the easy way out. How about the statements made by the perpetrator that he hated school because it made him feel like a loser? Of course, that would point to a much more complicated problem. An issue with schooling perhaps? I don't know. Nobody does as yet. What gets to me is that politicians make rash decisions before they even know the facts just for the sake of publicity. The end result is that the consumer suffers. As an adult I should be able to decide myself what I want to watch or play. Not so. Of course, I wouldn't want anything like this to happen to my children (or anybody's for that matter). However, banning and cencoring films and videos didn't do the trick and I would swear that banning computer games won't either. Some people have it in them to do terrible things. Jack the Ripper or Fritz Haarmann did not need video games for inspiration.
Friday, November 17, 2006
Back with thoughts on Frankfurt
I'm back. After long absence. I spent my last weekend in the exciting city of Frankfurt, Hessia, Germany. I was actually there for a college reunion which was cancelled because of lack of attendance: me and another girl were the only people who had signed up for the event. Shame on you guys!
Well, like that I had a lot of free time on my hands and as it turns out two days a good time for seeing Frankfurt, leisurely even. Here are some thoughts on my experience.
After a glass of the local specialty, apple wine, Äppelwoi as the locals call it, I decided to sample one of the world's strongest beers: Eisbock, 23% (rotations as some call it). I never meant to get drunk but after that it seemed like a good idea to go on to a bar and continue with a cocktail. The following was written at that bar. It has not been edited only that this version is actually legible. :)
The next one was written at a pub the next day after the very scary experience of being on a 200 meter-high highrise on an open platform. Not easy for someone scared of heights. I'm proud of myself that I made it - to the railing! I was rewarded with some blue sky despite the grey and rainy rest of the day.
Well, like that I had a lot of free time on my hands and as it turns out two days a good time for seeing Frankfurt, leisurely even. Here are some thoughts on my experience.
After a glass of the local specialty, apple wine, Äppelwoi as the locals call it, I decided to sample one of the world's strongest beers: Eisbock, 23% (rotations as some call it). I never meant to get drunk but after that it seemed like a good idea to go on to a bar and continue with a cocktail. The following was written at that bar. It has not been edited only that this version is actually legible. :)
Sitting in a bar in Frankfurt, the Moloko+. Remembering Singapore with a Singapore Sling - boy, it's strong! The one in S'pore is better. This one strong one, lah!
Wish you were here.
Pissed... :)
Really full [=packed] - must be a popular watering hole... Spotted it on my first walk here. Cars pass, each has a purpose. Life through the mirror.
People talk - it all becomes a drone. Can't understand what people say. Alle haben Spass.
Everybody's happy.
Everybody's consuming.
Right now I'd believe anything.
Lounge/Bar still means something here.
Can't focus. This is weird. Eyes won't focus on mirror reflection. Getting close to that cherry.
Still more cars pass
The next one was written at a pub the next day after the very scary experience of being on a 200 meter-high highrise on an open platform. Not easy for someone scared of heights. I'm proud of myself that I made it - to the railing! I was rewarded with some blue sky despite the grey and rainy rest of the day.
200 Meter über dem Boden auf einer offenen Plattform. Selten ist etwas so furchteinflößend. Dabei noch böhiger Wind! Man hat das Gefühl, von der Plattform geweht zu werden, wenn der Wind auffrischt. Aber die Aussicht ist fantastisch. Der Bankbezirk aus der Vogelperspektive. Auf gleicher Höhe mit den anderen Hochhäusern yu sein. Und vor einem breitet sich das Land aus so weit das Auge reicht. Manchmal beneide ich die anderen, die es genießen können, ohne an die 200 Meter zu denken, die unter uns liegen. So unbesorgt möchte ich auch mal sein. Aber ich bin trotzdem stolz auf mich. Ich habe es bis oben geschafft und bin auf der Plattform und bin sogar ans Geländer getreten! Unter mir die Stadt Frankfurt, über mir der (jetzt) blaue Himmel und der Radiomast.
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