Probably the most shocking revelation about Australia for your average international Media Studies student is the deep reach censorship has in this country. I had heard news of an overregulated Australia before travelling to Melbourne, but those reports seemed like exaggeration. Having lived for a few months down under, overwhelming evidence defeats disbelief and sheer astonishment settles in. Why does a society that praises itself so highly for its openness, progressive achievements and multiculturalism allow crippling censorship legislation to evolve into such a pervasive and ubiquitous fog?
The latest case of ridiculous censorship in Australia is the banning and later un-banning of “Left 4 Dead 2”, a video game published by Electronic Arts. My concern about the banning of a game characterised as ‘violent’ is more about the value of freedom than a matter of personal interest. For the record, I don’t own a video game console, and, for the record, I would probably prefer spending my time and money in one of Melbourne’s many fine dining venues than playing video games. But the issue lies precisely in the importance of that choice. Should censors consider that sophisticated cuisine is wasteful, they couldn’t prevent me from enjoying it. Why can they then limit someone’s choice when it comes to videogames? It is the role of adult citizens, not the government, to decide whether they spend an evening beheading zombies or having seafood and wine. This choice has to be reclaimed as a citizen right beyond the reach of moral entrepreneurs.
Chronicles of this issue include episodes that are simultaneously sad and funny, like the classic movie “Salo” by Pier Paolo Passolini which was banned in Australia twice, or the video game “Marc Ecko” which was never sold here because of its depictions of the criminal horrors of graffiti art.
In September 15 2009, the Classification Board issued a report explaining that in this game “attacks cause copious amounts of blood spray and splatter, decapitations and limb dismemberment as well as locational damage where contact is made to the enemy which may reveal skeletal bits and gore”. According to current legislation if the Board determines that a video game is unsuitable for persons under fifteen years old, it can not be sold in Australian territory.
In contrast to legislation regarding film, video games lack an R18+ classification. Why? Unbelievable as it may sound, this policy affecting all of Australian adult population is the decision of one individual. I am talking, of course, of Mr. Michael Atkinson, South Australian Attorney-General. Australian censorship parameters can only be modified by unanimous decisions taken by all Attorneys General, and Mr Atkinson alone has for years been blocking the creation of an R18+ category for video games.
Mr Atkinson argues that “an R18+ rating for electronic games will greatly increase the risk of children and vulnerable adults being exposed to damaging images and messages”.
What Mr Atkinson means by this so called ‘risk’ is that video game discs with violent content, belonging to the adults in the family, might be found in their houses by children who could then play these games. This is the argument used to support the need to ban all games with content considered unsuitable for children. The implication is that adults are not to be trusted, and the contradiction is that when it comes to pornographic DVDs the same consideration somehow does not apply. According to Atkinson’s logic kids are able to find games around the house, but not movies.
There is also an underlying problem with his argument: the way he presents the problem, in function of the ‘risk’, cleverly plants the assumption that video games are ‘damaging’ in a way that makes it seem beyond debate. A proper dissection of the idea that videogames are somehow negative to kids would fill the whole newspaper for yea
Ok. I've just read your post with great interest. I'm now living in Australia, arrived very recently, and just don't understand what's the deal with the crippled Internet. Why is it that every other country internet has had unlimited internet service for years, while in Australia any plan will come with data limitations (and very expensive plans, by the way). My theory is that providers are profiting hugely by charging everyone for something that is essentialy free elsewhere, but your whole point about how Australian democracy undermines so effectively corporate power undermines my theory in a just as effective way.
I was thinking yesterday "only in the land of Rupert Murdoch would downloading be a luxury by now", am I completely wrong? What's the real reason then? Can something be done?
JEFFREY
Here's my theory on that. While I was
institutionalized, my brain was studied
exhaustively in the guise of mental health.
I was interrogated, x-rayed, studied
thoroughly. Then, everything about me
was entered into a computer where they
created a model of my mind.
They all stare, mesmerized, at the strutting JEFFREY. Is he
serious? Is he crazy? Doesn't matter -- he's charismatic.
JEFFREY (cont.)
Then, using the computer model, they
generated every thought I could possibly
have in the next, say ten years, which
they then filtered through a probability
matrix to determine everything I was
going to do in that period. So you
see, she knew I was going to lead the
Army of the Twelve Monkeys into the
pages of history before it ever even
occurred to me. She knows everything
I'm ever going to do before I know it
myself. How about that?
This is a quote from one of the comments to the article:
"So in the WOW case, if I sell one item in the real world I need to claim that as income. Can I then claim all the money I have spent on the WOW game, subscription costs, and other offline purchases as items as business expenses? Can I now claim home office expenses? Cable modem fees?"
where there is an imaginary country called "columbia". (In the real world its called Colombia with no us and with a capital letter just as in any propper name)
In the parents post, somehow its wheat that is Colombias traditional crop, not coffee.
Hmmm... ok I get it, its in columbia that wheat is the main crop, not Colombia.
In this parallel universe its is also true that what causes illegal crops to be grown is some imaginary wheat shipments sent as aid, instead of the heavy coke sniffing done around the world by people will not understand that their money is being used overseas to bomb, kill, kidnap, plant landmines and comit all sorts of unbelievably bloody crimes.
This goes on because several thousand-men gangs fight each other for the drug money. I agree with the opinion that everyone should be free to put whatever they want inside their body, I agree that drugs should be legal, but until then people sniffing coke at a party should be aware that THEIR MONEY IS BEING SPENT ON ACTUAL LANDMINES, BULLETS AND GUNS THAT ARE USED EVERY DAY TO KILL AND KIDNAP KIDS AS WELL AS ADULTS IN A NEVERENDING WAR.
The war will never end as long as drugs are illegall, because the money will keep coming in and there will be an illegall struggle to get it. Not only wil the war never end, it will only get worse. Legallization is a matter of a humanitarian emergency for mankind, too many people are getting killed.
But, for that same reason, next time you are at a party refrain from that tempting dose of whatever you fancy. Think of the bill you paid for it. Where do you think it went? I am pretty sure it hops five hands tops, before arriving in the hands of some of the bloodiest criminals your imagination can create. Real people are getting kill with YOUR money. Think about it.
but this
" Among its efforts, the government has worked to shield private U.S. companies from demands by the United Nations and other countries for multilateral control of the Net."
seems to be written as if it were a good thing. I think the idea of the U.S. or any particular government controlling the intenet is scary, and defies the very spirit of the web.
I just did the register thing, and the ads are gone. It turns out the ads are really helpful in quite a few circumstances. I just get the feeling of having another layer of information out of them. Several of my reaserches have taken interesting turns because of opera's context-sensitive ads.
Now that they are gone, I miss them. Does anyone know where's the option of turning them on even now that my browser has been regsitered?
I think you are wrong there. One of the key aspects of Marcel Duchamps relevance is precisely the introduction of the concepts of chance and randomness into his work. Chance and randomness have since then been used by hordes of atists worldwide.
Anyway, I do agree in that typoGenerator graphics are clearly not art; they are at the most graphic design which is a VERY different discipline.
Slashdot Mirror
Probably the most shocking revelation about Australia for your average international Media Studies student is the deep reach censorship has in this country. I had heard news of an overregulated Australia before travelling to Melbourne, but those reports seemed like exaggeration. Having lived for a few months down under, overwhelming evidence defeats disbelief and sheer astonishment settles in. Why does a society that praises itself so highly for its openness, progressive achievements and multiculturalism allow crippling censorship legislation to evolve into such a pervasive and ubiquitous fog?
The latest case of ridiculous censorship in Australia is the banning and later un-banning of “Left 4 Dead 2”, a video game published by Electronic Arts. My concern about the banning of a game characterised as ‘violent’ is more about the value of freedom than a matter of personal interest. For the record, I don’t own a video game console, and, for the record, I would probably prefer spending my time and money in one of Melbourne’s many fine dining venues than playing video games. But the issue lies precisely in the importance of that choice. Should censors consider that sophisticated cuisine is wasteful, they couldn’t prevent me from enjoying it. Why can they then limit someone’s choice when it comes to videogames? It is the role of adult citizens, not the government, to decide whether they spend an evening beheading zombies or having seafood and wine. This choice has to be reclaimed as a citizen right beyond the reach of moral entrepreneurs.
Chronicles of this issue include episodes that are simultaneously sad and funny, like the classic movie “Salo” by Pier Paolo Passolini which was banned in Australia twice, or the video game “Marc Ecko” which was never sold here because of its depictions of the criminal horrors of graffiti art.
In September 15 2009, the Classification Board issued a report explaining that in this game “attacks cause copious amounts of blood spray and splatter, decapitations and limb dismemberment as well as locational damage where contact is made to the enemy which may reveal skeletal bits and gore”. According to current legislation if the Board determines that a video game is unsuitable for persons under fifteen years old, it can not be sold in Australian territory.
In contrast to legislation regarding film, video games lack an R18+ classification. Why? Unbelievable as it may sound, this policy affecting all of Australian adult population is the decision of one individual. I am talking, of course, of Mr. Michael Atkinson, South Australian Attorney-General. Australian censorship parameters can only be modified by unanimous decisions taken by all Attorneys General, and Mr Atkinson alone has for years been blocking the creation of an R18+ category for video games.
Mr Atkinson argues that “an R18+ rating for electronic games will greatly increase the risk of children and vulnerable adults being exposed to damaging images and messages”.
What Mr Atkinson means by this so called ‘risk’ is that video game discs with violent content, belonging to the adults in the family, might be found in their houses by children who could then play these games. This is the argument used to support the need to ban all games with content considered unsuitable for children. The implication is that adults are not to be trusted, and the contradiction is that when it comes to pornographic DVDs the same consideration somehow does not apply. According to Atkinson’s logic kids are able to find games around the house, but not movies.
There is also an underlying problem with his argument: the way he presents the problem, in function of the ‘risk’, cleverly plants the assumption that video games are ‘damaging’ in a way that makes it seem beyond debate. A proper dissection of the idea that videogames are somehow negative to kids would fill the whole newspaper for yea
http://futureoftheinternet.org/
Her name was Dilemma?
That's nothing, the girl from TFA is called Semenya!
Ok. I've just read your post with great interest. I'm now living in Australia, arrived very recently, and just don't understand what's the deal with the crippled Internet. Why is it that every other country internet has had unlimited internet service for years, while in Australia any plan will come with data limitations (and very expensive plans, by the way). My theory is that providers are profiting hugely by charging everyone for something that is essentialy free elsewhere, but your whole point about how Australian democracy undermines so effectively corporate power undermines my theory in a just as effective way.
I was thinking yesterday "only in the land of Rupert Murdoch would downloading be a luxury by now", am I completely wrong? What's the real reason then? Can something be done?
Maybe the movie will be called Cataclysm?
...and i have mod points but am feeling lazy so i donÂt think i will be using them!
Not only from the Brits. Ugly Betty, for instance is actually a rip off from a colombian show from the 90Âs
Yes, and all vadeuville acts come from one mythical act called "The Aristocrats"
I use Opera, and after trying Chrome I can say that in general I like it a lot, but I really really miss
mouse gestures
bit torrent integration
I would make the switch if chrome had those
JEFFREY
Here's my theory on that. While I was
institutionalized, my brain was studied
exhaustively in the guise of mental health.
I was interrogated, x-rayed, studied
thoroughly. Then, everything about me
was entered into a computer where they
created a model of my mind.
They all stare, mesmerized, at the strutting JEFFREY. Is he
serious? Is he crazy? Doesn't matter -- he's charismatic.
JEFFREY (cont.)
Then, using the computer model, they
generated every thought I could possibly
have in the next, say ten years, which
they then filtered through a probability
matrix to determine everything I was
going to do in that period. So you
see, she knew I was going to lead the
Army of the Twelve Monkeys into the
pages of history before it ever even
occurred to me. She knows everything
I'm ever going to do before I know it
myself. How about that?
Why on earth is the parent modded:
(Score:5, Funny)
??
Is this being modded by some sort of killer robot?
It would also be very interesting to know if said service is available outside the US, does anyone know about that?
This is a quote from one of the comments to the article:
"So in the WOW case, if I sell one item in the real world I need to claim that as income. Can I then claim all the money I have spent on the WOW game, subscription costs, and other offline purchases as items as business expenses? Can I now claim home office expenses? Cable modem fees?"
Hits the spot, in my opinion.
They use a program called "endorphin", by a company called NaturalMotion
the sweet thing is there is a free trial learning edition here:
http://www.naturalmotion.com/ele.htm
and i have nothing to do with them in case anyone is wondering
where there is an imaginary country called "columbia". (In the real world its called Colombia with no us and with a capital letter just as in any propper name)
In the parents post, somehow its wheat that is Colombias traditional crop, not coffee.
Hmmm... ok I get it, its in columbia that wheat is the main crop, not Colombia.
In this parallel universe its is also true that what causes illegal crops to be grown is some imaginary wheat shipments sent as aid, instead of the heavy coke sniffing done around the world by people will not understand that their money is being used overseas to bomb, kill, kidnap, plant landmines and comit all sorts of unbelievably bloody crimes.
This goes on because several thousand-men gangs fight each other for the drug money. I agree with the opinion that everyone should be free to put whatever they want inside their body, I agree that drugs should be legal, but until then people sniffing coke at a party should be aware that THEIR MONEY IS BEING SPENT ON ACTUAL LANDMINES, BULLETS AND GUNS THAT ARE USED EVERY DAY TO KILL AND KIDNAP KIDS AS WELL AS ADULTS IN A NEVERENDING WAR.
The war will never end as long as drugs are illegall, because the money will keep coming in and there will be an illegall struggle to get it. Not only wil the war never end, it will only get worse. Legallization is a matter of a humanitarian emergency for mankind, too many people are getting killed.
But, for that same reason, next time you are at a party refrain from that tempting dose of whatever you fancy. Think of the bill you paid for it. Where do you think it went? I am pretty sure it hops five hands tops, before arriving in the hands of some of the bloodiest criminals your imagination can create. Real people are getting kill with YOUR money. Think about it.
http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/pornoff.html
Worst. Idea. Ever.
Just go to www.gamerankings.com
but this " Among its efforts, the government has worked to shield private U.S. companies from demands by the United Nations and other countries for multilateral control of the Net." seems to be written as if it were a good thing. I think the idea of the U.S. or any particular government controlling the intenet is scary, and defies the very spirit of the web.
I just did the register thing, and the ads are gone. It turns out the ads are really helpful in quite a few circumstances. I just get the feeling of having another layer of information out of them. Several of my reaserches have taken interesting turns because of opera's context-sensitive ads. Now that they are gone, I miss them. Does anyone know where's the option of turning them on even now that my browser has been regsitered?
All I ask is that you base your irrational hate on things that are at least true. or All I ask your base are belong at least true.
I think you are wrong there. One of the key aspects of Marcel Duchamps relevance is precisely the introduction of the concepts of chance and randomness into his work. Chance and randomness have since then been used by hordes of atists worldwide. Anyway, I do agree in that typoGenerator graphics are clearly not art; they are at the most graphic design which is a VERY different discipline.
hi
which is good for the american economy... everything the us pruduces will be easyier to sell.