Drowsy Emperor

The whole story is bizarre but if its true I wonder what the actual reasons are.

WikiLeaks emails suggest Bin Laden corpse

A conspiracy theory: the rich 1% want the the republicans to lose this election to keep social peace. As unpopular as Obama is now he's still a black president thus (in practice) representing the large non white American population - advocating (although not really going through with) a more lenient social policy. With the economy being what it is the traditional republican policies of favouring the rich and the rhetoric that goes with it might create more problems than necessary. So, the republicans drag out some of the worst loonies they've got and hand Obama another term. At the same time the 1% rub their palms as they have the perfect plebs representing president (who's growing a bit stale now) dangling policies in front of the masses he's never going to implement, while they get rich, rich, rich!

Silent Hill 2. So far so good. I certainly prefer psychological horror to Resident Evil's "boo!" scares.

I wish mine were a book reading generation. This really says more about the decline of sci-fi as a genre than it does about mass effect. Films are made and books are published but its all weak and dependent on old glory (just like ME, although it is a homage of sorts so that gets it a free pass). When the space race optimism in Odyssey 2001 and anti-utopian pessimism of Blade Runner had run their course, sci fi was basically finished. With the end of the cold war ideologies lost their draw and serious projections of a future society died with them. The dominant, unspoken illusion now is that we live in the best possible society so we don't need imaginary futures any more. Sci-fi kicked the bucket and fantasy stepped in its shoes (the success of LotR, Harry P, Twilight). Sadly fantasy is in every possible way, a step backwards, mostly a collection of fairy tales for grownups (isn't it obvious how many fantasy novels are instant bestsellers now, but how sci-fi is nowhere to be found?). But that's exactly what people like the one that wrote the article need, a toy to be dangled in front of their noses, to fill their empty minds and imaginations. Because thinking and any sort of cerebral experience is so out of fashion. Transhumanists are trying to pick up sci-fi but they have little new to offer and its mostly packaged in the obsolete idea of unconditional faith in the power of science to set everything right. PS: The article is ridiculous on so many levels its not even worth exploring. In happier times people would be fired after writing this sort of garbage.

I think the reason the US has such high stats of mental illness is because every other thing is classified as an illness. I mean, a kid that can't pay attention or sit still is mentally ill? That would put half my primary school on meds. Shrinks invent illnesses, the industry supplies the meds and everyone is happily doped up, social peace 100% guaranteed.

The entire conception of the game goes far beyond "some cool flavor text". Basically every idea that sci fi put forth is there in some way or another and it works as a cohesive whole. The factions are more or less accurate portrayals of major 20th century ideologies and have wildly different strategies. The ability to cutomize your own units is beyond cool - no more of that my zulu against your tank crap. The secret projects are great and the actual story has a nice satisfying conclusion. The best of all is social engineering, where you get to really flesh out your society.

Judging by this topic, the mass effect stories must really be captivating. When is the third massive defect coming out?

Alpha Centauri leaves all Civ games in the dust. Everything that came after it is inadequate, just a paint job on a rusty, rickety truck. Morgan industries demands innovation!

Nice to see people are enthusiastic about this Civ 4 pack for Civ 5. There's nothing like paying for what you once got for free. Which would be the history of gaming in a nutshell.

I don't know about the mentally ill. Those sort of things tend to be a constant in most societies, The US is not compared to third world hell holes because it has the economic predisposition to be heaven on earth, on par or even superior than most EU countries. Yet the wealth is so unfairly distributed and the social and economic system so ruthless, crime so rampant that it makes you wonder what type of society most Americans really want. Not that its anybody's business to suggest to the US what they should do in their own back yard. (If only they embraced the idea too)

Spending almost 10 seconds Googling reveals that ANY criminal history requires a waiver from the military. No, there is no waiver for murder. Another 10 second investment reveals: That capital punishment in China resulted in 5000 execution in 2009 (latest numbers) while capital punishment in the US only resulted in 46 executions in 2010. Read more carefully. The first comment was obviously a sarcastic response to the preceding discussion on the merits of having gang members in the military, and them even considering such an option. I have seen it claimed in some western documentary or other that there are people serving in the US army for a reduction in their jail time although for smaller crimes. Although "we can't let you on the street, but we can give you a gun and ship you to Afghanistan" doesn't sound like an endorsement for the US military. Okay so that was wrong. The huge discrepancy in the number of incarcerated individuals still stands. I'm not gonna claim its a bastion of democracy, I'm just pointing out that the whole: them authoritarian, us democratic, them bad, us good shtick is garbage. In comparison to average Scandinavian state both countries could be equated with fascism, in regards to most of their internal policies.

I was bored, and my new Wacom tablet had to suffer for it

They stopped to do that after KotOR... Now they focus just on voiceacting... Sarcasm. You missed it.

I think the US has more executions per year than China. You can think whatever you want but the US prison system is uniquely horrible as compared to the rest of the world, not just China. As the article illustrates. The reason I think are privately owned/maintained jails. Its just another business that has to keep on running, so bring all your friends with you, cos we need customers.

It's true, for all our patriotism, the USA tends to treat soldiers as a disposable resource. We have a large enough underclass that we

This brings to mind the fate of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first legally elected prime minister. The belgian soldier that killed him proudly displayed the front teeth (or tooth) he keeps in a box at his home in Belgium. On History channel. And they actually aired that part. In the supposedly progressive 21st century. Weeks later, when questions surfaced over the official version of Lumumba

They focus on the story and characters...

Then Obsidian + Kickstarter = Win Sorry I couldn't resist.

So that's why you like Bioware games so much.

I'd do her.

Whatever happened to the good old: "If you will not serve me, you'll serve on the firing line!"

So were 10 pages of pissing on the game pre-release worth a damn or did it turn out that this isn't such a bad game?

The demands placed on a soldier are tough even for exemplary people. Maybe especially for them. To fight, kill and be willing to give your life - and remain in all other respects just like everybody else - and rise above the horrible temptations and psychological challenges that come with the job. I'd never judge anyone who failed to meet these expectations harshly, it takes the kind of inner resources few people have. My grandfather who was a partisan (during WWII obviously) decorated with the Hero of Yugoslavia medal (the highest decoration that existed) and a general in the Yugoslav army after the war, was such a man. Yet even he, in the later years of his life had trouble wrestling with his demons. When the country started falling apart he practically died of grief. Regardless, the military, any military, must train its people and instill in them a sense of ethics and duty. Criminals, clueless suburban kids and psychopaths should have no place in the army. Or in war.

The yahoo's are in power buddy and they're looking to stay. Its no longer about listening, now its about enduring.