Quote:Court Justice Worried About Criticism By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer
Tue Aug 9, 6:52 PM ET
Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer said Tuesday that rulings on difficult subjects like gay rights and the death penalty have left courts vulnerable to political attacks that are threatening judicial independence.
Breyer urged lawyers to help educate people about court responsibility to be an independent decision-maker.
"If you say seven or eight or nine members of the Supreme Court feel there's a problem ... you're right," he told the American Bar Association. "It's this edge on a lot of issues."
Sen. Lindsey Graham (news, bio, voting record), R-S.C., who was speaking with Breyer, said: "The politics of judges is getting to be red hot." He said Supreme Court rulings on the Pledge of Allegiance and Ten Commandments have captured the public's interest and polarized Democrats and Republicans.
"There's nothing that's not on the table," former Solicitor General Theodore Olson said of the court's work, which this fall includes issues like abortion, capital punishment and assisted suicide.
Breyer said the nine-member court is focused on constitutional limits on major fights of the day. "We're sort of at the outer bounds. And we can't control politics of it, and I don't think you want us to try to control politics of it," he said.
Congressional leaders including House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, have criticized justices in recent months. DeLay was particularly critical of the court's refusal to stop Terri Schiavo's death and at a death penalty decision that cited international cases.
Breyer defended using overseas legal opinions as a guide only, adding, "It has hit a political nerve."
Breyer, Olson and Graham were discussing the future of courts on the final day of the ABA's annual meeting in Chicago.
Also Tuesday, the group was debating whether to endorse federal protection for journalists who refuse to reveal their sources to prosecutors. Passage of such a measure would authorize the organization to lobby Congress, where "shield law" proposals are pending.
Judicial independence has been a major theme at the meeting of the ABA, a 400,000-member group.
The group's policymaking board passed a resolution urging elected officials and others to support and defend judges. New group President Michael Greco of Boston said judges have faced physical threats, and threats of impeachment from Washington political leaders unhappy with court decisions.
"If we do not protect our courts, our courts cannot protect us," Greco said.
On another subject, Greco defended the ABA's role in checking the background of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts and other federal judicial nominees. The committee has spent the past two weeks reviewing Roberts' work on an appeals court and interviewing people who have worked with him.
"The ABA does not, and we will not, protect the interests of any political party or faction, nor the interests of any ideological or interest group," said Greco, who previously oversaw the judge review committee.
Breyer told the group that the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor is a personal loss and loss for the nation.
Most of this is really peripheral but one part stands out, that being the second paragraph.
Quote:Breyer urged lawyers to help educate people about court responsibility to be an independent decision-maker.
This really is the element of what's wrong with the Supreme Court. The Court is NOT an independent decision-maker. It was not intended to be. When the Founders wrote the constitution, they set up the political triumvirate and the system of checks and balances to prevent exactly this. If you have one branch that can act independent of the other two, you open the door for total control and abuse of power, and that's what we're beginning to see from the Court at times.
I think it's laughable that any member of the Court would complain about interference, when a position on the court is by great leaps and bounds the most secure political position in the entire Federal Government. Justices are appointed for life. They never once have to worry about the opinions of the people whose decisions they directly affect.
This is why I think it's time to think about bringing some aspects of the Court into modern times, to retool it. It's time for direct elections of Justices. It's time to remind said Justices that they are part of the system, not above it.
ESRB Adversary and Lawyer Targets Killer 7
Jack Thompson says Capcom's psycho-thriller deserves an Adults Only rating and that if the ESRB won't do it, it should be dismantled.
by Matt Casamassina
August 5, 2005 - Outspoken Florida attorney Jack Thompson, whose legal crusades against violent and sexually explicit videogames and the organization that regulates them has garnered more and more media attention, is back in the public eye. This time Thompson is petitioning the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) to change its M (Mature) rating to an AO (Adults Only) rating for Capcom's Killer 7, a stylized psycho-thriller for Nintendo GameCube and Sony PlayStation 2.
The ESRB evaluates and assigns videogames ratings based on their content. A game suitable for all ages will likely receive an E for Everyone while titles with stronger themes and violence will probably fall under the M umbrella, which caters to the 17 years-old and up crowd. The AO rating was created to recognize games developed specifically for gamers 18 years-old and up. Games not rated by the ESRB go ignored by major retail chains across the United States, which is why most publishers work with the organization.
Thompson recently sent an e-mail to Patricia Vance, president of the ESRB, explaining his position. He also forwarded the e-mail to media and various government officials, including Senator Hilary Clinton and Senator Joseph Lieberman, both of whom have been outspoken critics of sex and violence in videogames.
Killer 7, released by Capcom on July 7, challenges players to become seven deadly assassins. The game, which was developed in Japan, features stylized cel-shaded graphics and a story drowned in adult themes, spoken profanity, violence, and sexual situations. The game was rated M by the ESRB for "blood and gore, intense violence, sexual themes and strong language."
In the e-mail, Thompson cites IGN.com's review of Killer 7 and its description of "full-blown sex sequences" as a primary reason why the game should receive an AO rating. Major retailers including Wal-Mart do not sell AO-rated games, which would mean that such a rating might have an adverse impact on sales of Killer 7.
"There is no question in my mind that a videogame containing 'full-blown sex sequences' cannot be rated anything other than 'AO' rather than 'M,'" Thompson writes in the e-mail. "The [IGN.com review] says that this game's 'M' actually means something, and [it] says it twice for emphasis."
Thompson has for years campaigned against the ESRB's rating system, which he believes is ineffective. In fact, he has publicly called for the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), which governs over the ESRB, to upend its president Doug Lowenstein, describing the executive as a "thug" who "...never met a pixelated prostitute he didn't like." These comments came in response to the ESRB's initial M-rating for the notoriously violent and profane action series, Grand Theft Auto. Thompson's side has gained high-up supporters ever since the ESRB failed to catch the "Hot Coffee" hack in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which unlocks inappropriate sexual content.
Elaborating in his e-mail to Ms. Vance, Thompson writes: "There are those who would say that people such as I are 'prudes' who have no problem with violence but get uptight about sexual content in games. That is a disingenuous charge, and you know why. I have been on national television programs, as early as the week before Columbine, complaining about 13-year-olds being enabled by the ESRB to violent 'M' games. But it is your sister organization, the Entertainment Software Association, that is in court right this second in Illinois trying to prevent the extension of the 'sex' argument to the 'violence' argument. It is your industry, then, that thinks violence is okay for kids but that sex, given state laws already on the books, is not okay.
"Well, the Killer 7 game underscores the fact that your organization and the industry it fronts for appear to try to get away with anything that is harmful to kids, whether already illegal or not. What it also means is that if jurors in a criminal prosecution were asked whether Killer 7 contains 'sexual material harmful to minors' in violation of statutory standards, then, based upon the above enthusiastic review at IGN.com, the answer to that question would probably be 'yes.'
"That answer would put the Entertainment Software Rating Board, in my opinion, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy to distribute sexual material harmful to minors in violation of criminal statutes. This is not a situation in which the ESRB has been blind-sided by hidden or embedded content, Ms. Vance. You all have known that the 'full-blown sex sequences' are patently present in the game, yet you chose to put an 'M' rather than an 'AO' rating on it. Big mistake.
"If I were you, Ms. Vance, I would immediately ask the makers of this game, and all retailers, to pull it from store shelves. If you don't, expect for others to use this latest scandal, which I am hereby officially kicking off, to call for a dismantling of the ESRB. The fox has guarded the chickens long enough. Killer 7 seems to prove it."
Thompson's campaign seems based solely on the description of Killer 7 in the IGN.com review -- a description that is open to interpretation. In fact, Killer 7's so-called "full-blown sex sequences" could appear tame when compared to those in some of today's movies. The sexual scenes in question showcase a fully clothed wheelchair-bound man pleasuring a straddling woman, who is also fully clothed. Although she moans, indicating a sexual orgasm, neither nudity nor intercourse is illustrated in the cut-scene. The same scene in a movie today might warrant only a PG-13 or, worst, R-rating.
Which raises another issue: are videogames and movies being judged by the same standards or is explicit content in software being scrutinized simply for being so drastically different from the days when Pac-Man reigned supreme?
The ESRB argues that its rating system has established laws and guidelines to regulate the sale of suitable software to consumers, and Senator Joseph Lieberman agrees. He has called the ESRB the most comprehensive of any entertainment ratings system.
IGN contacted Capcom Entertainment for further comment, but the company had none.
E-mails to the ESRB were not answered before publish time.
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There's no actual sex in the game but that's besides the point. As far as 17+ I think that's fine but I see alot of people buying M games in alot of age ranges. If it said "AO" it would make sure that only adults would get the game since most stores want your ID when purchasing anything that says adults only.
But here's the thing, GTA has been pulled from shelves, you cant find it at Blockbuster because they dont carry it anymore and it probably wont be re-released until it gets the AO rating. I fear the same fate for Killer 7 so, who here has the game? I dont have it yet but it's been on my list. I've been debating between Killer 7 or Geistbut I definitely want to nab 'Ver. 1' before it's butchered.
I think we're about to see the ESRB go kaplooey or reform their structure. Film ratings would work great for video games but unfortunately there are strict copyrights that someone would have to pay for in order to use the ratings.
At any rate, Killer7 just got the distinguished collectible-ism so lets make sure we have the 'real' versions!
This a islamic fundies site, Not only do they cheer 9/11 and praise the killing of americans and jews, but also have made death threats on a former muslim.Many of which constemplate weither they should go through with that threat or not.
They View Osama as a hero! How superior their culture is to all of us BS.
I hope they can be tracked down and arrested imediately , If some of the fucks live in the U.S you have done a service to your country and humanity by reporting them,This isnt a hoax, They could be a cell.
I dont have the proper contacts, I imagine you americans are probaily better abled to handel these frak heads.
[bq]Silent Hill 3 is a direct continuation of the story we first saw in the first Silent Hill. Seventeen years have passed since Harry Mason traveled the hellish nightmares of the town and stopped the cult religion native to the region from calling forth its God.
Heather Morris is just your average seventeen-year old girl. Out one day at the mall to do a little shopping, she stops for a meal. Afterwards, she falls asleep, and begins to dream... a dream of a hellish place that resembles an amusement park. She finds herself packing several weapons, and looks at them incredulously, wondering why she has them in the first place. Seconds later, she finds she is not alone, and she finds why she has weapons... the place is crawling with terrible monsters that defy description and are all after her.
Awakening from her nightmare, she leaves the restaurant and calls her father. As she leaves, she is accosted by a shady man in a cheap hat and a trenchcoat, a man who calls himself Douglas Cartlandt, a detective with some information she might find useful. Wanting no part of it, she escapes the detective and begins to wander through the mall, but something's wrong. The place is deserted, so she thinks at first, until a gory mess leads her to a fashion boutique, and a face-to-face meeting with the monster from her dreams. Heather's nightmare is coming to life. [/bq]
Graphics: 10/10
[bq]The Silent Hill series has always been impressive graphically, but Silent Hill 3 may very well be tops among them, and most other games on the console to boot. For the first time, the entire game is displayed with realtime rendering, and the results are arguably as impressive as the FMV found in Silent Hill 2. The characters are exquisitely detailed, and the movements, especially in the face, are astounding in their realism. You could play the game without reading any text or hearing any dialogue, and just through the facial expressions alone, you can easily discern the emotions that a character is feeling onscreen. Monster design has taken a definite turn to the scary this time. Silent Hill 3's monsters are arguably the most freakish, imposing, and intimidating monsters in the series. Even the longtime veteran will jump when suddenly boxed in by a trio of Closers, seven-foot tall nasties with a long reach and a dangerous attack.
The environments are more detailed than SH2, and much more polished. You have the option of using the noise filter, but its use is no longer necessary to fully appreciate the graphics. Silent Hill 3 is definitely the bloodiest and goriest of the series, and the alternate Otherside versions of the locations you see are beautiful in their hideousness. In some places you will see neat effects like bleeding walls, and on higher difficulties, the environment will suddenly change into a gory, scabrous pulsating mess that does you some serious damage if you stop to admire it. One part in particular takes this to the extreme, where the decay is so malignant that you can barely tell you're in a human-built structure at all. Even the more normal enviroments are something to gawk at, full of detail despite always being cloaked in darkness.[/bq]
Sound: 9/10
[bq]The radio is a longtime holdover, and it makes an appearance in Heather's adventure as well, though it's not quite as useful as before. Most of the monsters make very distinct sounds, and unlike in past games, it's almost more frightening to just leave it off and rely on their noise. Most of the monsters are quite noticable, and some of them are just outright loud (pendulums). There are some audio moments though that are just fantastic, for instance, near the beginning of the game in the Mall, you run from a trio of Closers down a long, dark, bloody hall, and all around you hear the terrifying howl of the double-headed dogs and it freezes you solid, until you remember you have three vicious Closers at your back.
A new copy of Silent Hill 3 will include a free copy of the Official Sound Track, featuring twenty-five songs from througout the game. SH3's soundtrack is considerably more vocal than 1 and 2, but while there is a fair share of the creepy ambience the series is so well-known for, it's not quite as good as that of Silent Hill 2. The vocal tracks themselves are quite good, though admittedly, it took me awhile to grow to accept the idea.
The voice acting, though not surperb, is quite good, and the trend is improvement in the series. There are times when the writing slips and the dialogue just sounds unnatural, and times when the voice talent themselves just overdo it, but overall, it's a very passable effort, and very fitting. Heather's voice actress in particular, (Heather Morris, after whom the character was named) being forced to convey quite a bit of emotion, does a spectacular job. Three of the characters are part of the Order, and at times they really over-do the pious act. It's as much the writing, and it's integral to their characters', but near the end, Heather tells Claudia to "Shut [your] stinking mouth", and I couldn't help but echo the sentiment.[/bq]
Gameplay: 10/10
[bq]Silent Hill 3 is definitely the most action-oriented game of the series, with a far heavier emphasis on combat. Whereas Silent Hill 2 was basically a story about a man looking for his wife, full of interwoven complexities, Silent Hill 3 is quite a bit more straightforward in most aspects. There are many more monsters to get in your way, and they are considerably faster and more dangerous. Controls handle much the same as ever, with the Resident Evil tank-style movement in place, augmented by a poorly-implemented 2-D, Metal Gear Solid style control scheme. Heather wields many weapons familiar to Silent Hill veterans, such as the shotgun and steel pipe, with several that are anything but, many of them being unlockable. SH3 is also arguably the most difficult game in the series, especially when you consider that the difficulty levels go far beyond just Hard Mode. Defeating the game once opens Extreme difficulty, and each successive completion opens new levels of Extreme difficulty, all the way up to the nigh-impossible Extreme 10.
A long staple of Silent Hill gameplay is the puzzles, and like Silent Hill 2 before it, SH3 has selectable difficulty options regarding them. However, there is a far greater distinction in this game between easy and hard. Some of the puzzles and riddles on Hard Riddle Mode are fantastically difficult, requiring an almost insane amount of abstract thinking and stone cold logic. One puzzle in particular requires the player to have at least understanding of several William Shakespeare plays... and after you figure out which plays you need to know, the game throws in a numbers game in the same puzzle to further frustrate you. Another requires you to discern a four-number passcode by reading the macabre description of a person mutilating his lover's face. These, and more, are truly the riddler's joy, and if you can complete them without cheating, you ought to check in with your local MENSA chapter.
In addition to having to worry about your health, Silent Hill 3 adds additional stress in the form of a stamina rating. Almost any action you take depletes your stamina, be it running or using weaponry. Running out of stamina is hardly a good thing, for it decreases both the effectiveness of your combat and it slows your movement. It can be restored by standing still for awhile or by using health items. Speaking of items, the menu screen in this game is similar to the past two, but more streamlined. Instead of one enormous selection area for all items, they are now divided by event items, weapons, and supplies, making the task of finding a particular item much less of a hassle. [/bq]
Overall: 10/10
[bq]Silent Hill 3 is a very worthy addition to an incredible series, though this one is much better enjoyed after playing the first Silent Hill. It's quite a change after Silent Hill 2, but is a great game nonetheless, and in both gameplay and aesthetics, is one of the true gems of this console generation. An absolute must for fans of the genre. [/bq]
It's been eight months, that means it's right about time for a new style.
As always, it's selectable in the menu at the bottom. To the Classic style users, which I have been for awhile now, this one's definitely designed with Classic in mind.
It's also something different in that this is the ninth major forum design I've done for Tendo City, yet TC IX is the first that actually has a Nintendo theme to it.
Quote:Clandestine website to the Metroid series Luminoth Temple has conducted an interview with a member of Retro Studios who has the first details of the upcoming threequel to the sublime First-Person Adventurey Shooter Metroid Prime.
The title will be the final game in the Metroid Prime trilogy, which means the plot will thicken as the "pulse-pounding conclusion of Samus' prime adventures come to an exhilerating close ... The plot of Prime 3 is about closure, told against the backdrop of an epic struggle."
As in Metroid Prime and it's sequel Echoes, Prime 3 will use the first-person view. This new title will however also use "the innovative Nintendo Revolution controls." What exactly this means, we're not sure, but the Retro Studios spokesman went on to say that they planned on taking advantage of "new features in the Revolution, including the controller." Mysterious.
The visuals in the game will apparently surpass anything in the series before it. It's worthwhile to point out the short clip of Samus supposedly from a Revolution Metroid game shown at E3 was running on Cube hardware, and was not part of this game.
Music and audio have yet to begin production, though famed composer Kenji Yamamoto who worked on the previous two titles in the series will be returning.
The game will be available in 2006, with the word on the street saying it will be a Revolution launch title... and online compatible.
We'll have more on this upcoming blockbuster title when we get it!
Either nobody's bought this game or they're too busy with it to come and talk about it, because Meteos is certainly a great title that the DS sorely needs right now. It's a puzzler, and it's extremely fun and addictive.
...
Oh, wait. Since OB1 left, am I the only one here with a DS? Damn.
Am I the only one who fully appreciates how retarded that is!
