The Venezuelan parliament will be banning the production, import, and sale of “violent” games. According to Ria Novosti:
The Venezuelan parliament has adopted a law outlawing the production, import and sale of toy weapons and violent video games, the Globovision TV station said on Friday.
The law, violation of which is punishable by jail terms of between three and five years, will come into force in three months’ time.
Personally, I think this is crap. Parents should be responsible for the content their kids enjoy. It’s up to them to decide what’s suitable or unsuitable for their children. I find it ridiculous that the Venezuelan government felt the need to intervene. Drafting and passing this law was a waste of time and money. What do they really hope to accomplish here?
I sincerely doubt the new law will change any behavior, but I want to hear your take on the matter. Shout it out!
Source via Game Politics
Actually, I've always been wondering what would happen if one of these anti-gaming bills ever passed. I want to see how the legislators end up explaining themselves when it ultimately fails to reduce the amount of violent crime among teenagers.
Reducing freedom has never solved anything in the past. Why do people think it will be any difference in this case?
@Empyu Someone was saying that the penalties are so stiff that it would be worse to give a Venezuelan kid a violent videogame than an actual gun. That's completely ridiculous.
Chavez is an idiot. Just had to add that.
@N8R
Chavez is an idiot because he silences media that disagrees with his agenda. Anyone who stifles the free flow of information and expropriates private business because he thinks he can run it better or elected officials can run it better is an idiot.
Chavez gets a bad rap because he blames everything on someone else. Proven fact that the man hates the US. What book did he give Obama?
Furthermore, socialism is garbage. He embraces it. He says we should embrace it. That to me is advice from an idiot.
@N8R
Continued:
In no way should my comments vindicate the crap that goes on here. I think the FDA is a sham. The AMA however is a group for doctors. I don't know enough to really speak on them. I can speak on the AICPA though. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. They are established to keep the accounting profession apprised of tax law changes and financial standards from FASB, GAAP, and IGAAP. Nothing treacherous there. They also happen to be in charge of administering the CPA exam. Really sorry if you didn't mean the American Medical Association.
@rpad
I read an article recently that 750 million people in the world wished they lived in a different country. To my surprise, the majority of those people wanted to move to the United States.
Maybe living here has made me take this country for granted. Sure, we aren't perfect, but at least I don't have to worry about going to prison for buying a video game.
@ Smartguy
"Anyone who stifles the free flow of information and expropriates private business because he thinks he can run it better or elected officials can run it better is an idiot."
Do I need to point out the times W. did exactly that? I'm telling you, we are no better. Don't believe the hype.
We embrace Democracy when most of the world does not. Furthermore, we tell other countries that they should embrace it, sometimes through military force. Is America just smarter than everyone else? Because statistics prove otherwise. Technically, communists are smarter than us according to the numbers.
I personally can't allow myself to go along with a particular agenda just because "this person said so". Both sides included.
The socialist argument about Obama is mooted by Republicans when they complain that he hasn't done anything. How can you do nothing, AND change the country to socialist?
Proven fact, the French hate the U.S. too. So does most of the world. Our foreign policy gets screwed up every 4 to 8 years and makes it hard for other countries to follow. So, why even deal with us?
If we weren't the "world police" when Clinton went to Somalia, why are we now or when Bush "liberated" Iraq? Dude… it's all about oil and money. You can't be so blind to miss that. If it wasn't, we'd be in North Korea or Africa right now.
@Empyu I wonder when that survey was taken. It used to be that a lot of people from other countries dreamed of going to American universities and staying here. Now it's just the former.
@N8R, @Smartguy You guys are awesome for having this debate.
@ Empyu
750 million out of 7 billion is less than 10%.
@ R Pad
Thanks, I actually enjoy talking to Smartguy about these things because he actually is on the ball and pretty damn smart and resourceful.
Usually, the right-wingers resort to name calling and stubborn attitudes. He doesn't.
The left-wingers usually just stick to sarcastic jokes. But they listen.
@ Empyu
Excuse the typo.
*just over* 10%
@N8R
Please don't call me a right winger. I don't see myself as that. I see myself as a libertarian or a constitutionalist.
We can actually leave the arena of politics for a moment about the stifling of free flowing information. Companies, not governments are just as much at fault. Apple and ATT are two big examples at the moment. Also, I do not see why you are bringing W into this discussion. I never once touted him as the purveyor of civil liberties. The guy had good intentions, but I don't think he had the backbone to say NO to anyone once he got there.
Obama socialism remark: If Bush can be called a war monger, then Obama can most definitely be called a socialist. It goes both ways. Congress voted to send troops to war. Congress is voting to be in control of your healthcare. It takes more than one person to make either thing happen. In the case of Bush, sensationalism and crisis pushed what he wanted. In the case of Obama, sensationalism and crisis are pushing what he wants. They are all one and the same. Also, isn't there a very thin if not invisible line between the Patriot Act and Universal Health Coverage? Opponents of the Patriot Act (me) cry foul at the invasion of privacy. Health Coverage for all is no different. Gov't can now mandate what you pay, when you will pay, what you can do, and what you can't do (more so than now). That's a huge invasion to my rights as an ADULT much less an American lol.
Proven fact, the French are not liked by anyone else either. In the early 20th century, the French in their all knowing ways, called people from where I live "cunasse" which translated phoenetically reads COON-ASS. It was an insult. It meant garbage, offal, etc. Why? Because the Cajuns spoke bastard french? Give me a break. The French are no better than anyone else on this globe. My opinion, they are lower. Maybe it's personal.
World Police: Something we shouldn't be. What bothers me more is the amount of debt we accrue for social programs AND to give to foreign countries. Personally, I think we should never have went to Iraq. That is just one voter's opinion though.
At africa: Nobody is in Africa. Don't just fault the US for that. The super useless UN even dont care. That is one organization that could stand to just disappear.
As bad as it is here, there is no other place I'd rather be. I don't mind visiting other countries, but I don't care to have an address there. At least here I do have a constitution that grants me certain inalienable rights. I do think that my gov't here is becoming to large. In closing, I think our gov't does too much.
i'm going to dinner. I'll check back later. Sorry for the long post.
@Ray
Show me the study that says the opposite.
@ Smartguy
Sorry about the right winger thing. I hate the labels as much as the next guy. It just seems in past discussions you were a little bit more on that side of the dial. I truly apologize.
The companies: The lobbyists run the damn country. Technically, that's fascism. It seems that socialism is the extreme of the left wing agenda and fascism is the extreme of the right wing agenda. Both of them trying to use one against the other to muddle in the middle. I think that both sides have fallen completely out of touch with the ideals America was found on and I blame lobbyists. But then again… that's capitalism for you. There's a down side to everything. I just noted 1 down side of capitalism and with democracy… we could elect a Prince of Saudi Arabia (if born here) as President and now we're part of that country. I'm not sying it will happen, but it could.
Obama Healthcare: I don't see it as a control on us as much as I do a control on the insurance companies (which kinda need it). The public option is to save money from taxpayers to eliminate funds given to hospitals for people who don't pay their ER bills. If the hospitals weren't taken care of, they'd all go bankrupt. After all, it has BEEN a law that hospitals must treat anyone that walks in to the ER. Maybe that's the law you have trouble with, but think of the consequences in public health if that was repealed. The way I see it, there's no better option. I don't want universal heathcare because I don't trust the government with no competition with something like that. The public option is the best I've seen to eliminate the problem as a whole. What's a better option to save money and keep public health standards?
The French… I got nothing but crass jokes. Except for the fact that the Revolution may not have been won without the French's help. But that was then, this is now.
World Police: I completely agree.
Africa: I don't place that on the U.S. nor did I really imply that. I said if we got problems with Venezuela that AREN'T monetarily related… we should also have problems with the west bank. Even though I firmly believe that once we control all the oil, the diamonds are soon to follow.
I haven't been to enough other countries to fairly say this is the only place I'd like to be. I'm incredibly biased toward American ideals, but I had a great time in Canada. There's no other culture I appreciate as much as American… but I haven't been everywhere to be fair. I know that moving across the country has made me miss my family tremendously and I CERTAINLY wouldn't want to cross an ocean to see them. So, I don't know.
All of our rights in the Bill of Rights have been altered since their inception. Even Thomas Jefferson said that we would need a revolution every 200 years to preserve those liberties. The Republicans are a dying breed because America witnessed the fallacies and soon they'll see the fallacies in the Democrats. Therefore I think the 2 party system is a dying breed…. that CAN go very badly as well.
I don't mind the long post, you are truly insightful. I don't think Ray minds either, but I could be wrong.
@N8R
yep capitalism has its ugly sides. I still prefer the system over any other in existence.
Healthcare: Neither you or I are smart enough to solve that issue. It is so much larger than insurance companies. I do think that insurance companies are a big problem. They should be regulated like banks pre 1983. Gov't option is bad though. You can't possibly have competition with the gov't since it doesn't need to make a profit to be a going concern. Make the companies compete with one another, not with one another and Uncle Sam.
Two party system is killing us. I really hate the primary system as well. After two states, your candidate isn't even on the ballot! Electoral college is a must though. Makes each state significant.
All on my iPhone.
@N8R
thanks for the compliment btw.
You too.
@ Smartguy
I see the competition in the fact that the government won't have NEARLY as good of a plan as the private companies. As someone on Medi-Cal myself, I have a fairly good idea of what I'm saying. I'm saying the public option is the best option I've seen yet, not that it's the end all be all answer. The only end all be all answers I've seen are fictional and literally straight out of comic books. Meaning, if we were all Kryptonians, things may be different. Until then, the public option is best that I've seen presented. It's neither universal nor private.
If the public option is the base, private companies will have no choice but to exceed that.
Like I said earlier, the 2 party system looks like it's on the way out to me. I hope so too. I hate the fact that most people don't think for themselves over just picking a candidate with their preferred letter (usually assigned by their parents) next to the name.
Banks: What's wrong with the gold standard again? Why do we NEED a central bank? I understand why America needs one form of currency, but the Federal Reserve? It's designed to put us in debt.
Electoral College: I see the down side of that as well (cough* 2000) but I agree that it's the best way to go. A popular vote could be rigged way too easily (*cough Volusia County).
Bankers control the companies, companies control the lobbyists, lobbyists control the politicians, and it's a cycle that needs to be broken.
@rpad & N8R
Just to be clear, the 750 million figure was the total amount of people who wanted to move. There were other countries on the list including Britain and France. It was just that a larger fraction of those that wanted to move to the U.S. – so it's much less than the 10% figure. It's still a significant number considering the percentage of the world population that lives in the States.
The only reason I found it interesting was that I tend to hear a lot of complaints about living here, and have a lot of complaints myself. But hearing that there's a significant amount of people who'd rather be here than where they are now puts it into perspective. Still, most people wouldn't move, and that says a lot too.
Public option: currently most insurance premiums are subsidized by an employer. If you present a public option the chances that employers still offer the benefit diminishes. You must remember, employer subsidized health benefits were a way for employers to be competitive after WW 2. If they don't need the competitive advantage then it is no longer economically viable for them to offer. This called crowding out.
You mentioned a gov't minimum or floor. In economics there is such a thing called a price floor. More commonly known as minimum wage. I don't think minimum wage is a bad thing, but it does create unemployment. I'd prefer to not find out what the floor in a US wide public option is.
I have a solution for the public option though. If you participate in it, you don't claim standard deduction, EIC or claim spousal exemptions on your taxes. Meanwhile, I won't have to fund a system that I am fiscally opposed to. Notice I didn't say fundamentally. Bottom line: let those who want it pay in via tax code changes while those who don't aren't hit twice on taxes and premiums.
That’s socialism for you.
I was referencing the fact that employers will drop health benefits thus forcing you to pay full premium or settle for public option. Not insurance companies denying coverage.
Mandate: that will make costs skyrocket. For example, when everyone has to purchase insurance or service the cost goes up yearly; car insurance. It is mandatory for you to have it. Yet group policy rates rise every year. I think a mandate for me to insure my health is too far reaching.
I pay $40 a month for mandated car insurance.
Why can't the employers still write off the expense while competeing for employment with other companies?
MS is stealing managers from Apple stores based on better pay and benefits… why doesn't the same principal work anymore?
@N8R
I still don't think you get what I'm saying. I'm really picky about numbers and how they can be used to deceive people, so I don't want any numbers that I present to be misinterpreted. I agree with your point, but even though I brought up the 750 million, it isn't the right amount.
The article I read stated that 750 million people wanted to move. A larger fraction of that number is the group that wanted to move to the U.S. – and that was still less than 30% of the total. I'm not saying 750 mil want to move here. I'm saying of the 750 mil that want to move, more of them want to come here. So, although the numbers are much smaller, they still resonate with me.
The article explained it best, and if I could find it again, I'd link it. I just didn't want you to think I lied to you and said 750,000,000 people wanted to move here. It's more like 200,000,000. That's still a pretty big number considering the current population of the U.S. being a little over 300 million.
@N8R
You don't just write off expenses. Expenses incurred in the current period are not deductible if personal or for gain. The expenses would have to be for hardships, obsolescence, or because of a change in the law. Expenses can't be used to eliminate income.
I pay 138 per month for mandated car insurance. Went up 60 dollars this year because of group policy. I am a homeowner, over 25, have been with the same company for 7 years, and have good credit. Carrying full coverage on my vehicle though since I live in a subdivision now and am in grad school. (damn kids can't drive). That is alot of money per month. Every six months I get a reduction in my rate….then 6 months later the group policy goes up. If I were to switch companies, I'd pay nearly 200 per month. That works for two reasons though 1) It's expensive in La. and 2)It's against the law for me not to have it, they can charge what they want as long as the industry moves together in its rate hikes.
If it is necessary for me to carry health insurance, I don't trust that it will stay a low price or that I will be rewarded for being a good customer. Just like my car insurance.
I have no love for the insurance industry, thanks Katrina, don't think that!
I guess what the bottom line is when it comes to medical expenses is that why should it be cheap or free or expensive? Why should my tax dollars go towards a public option even if I choose not to take part in it? I'm already paying health insurance and enough taxes as it is.
I like my idea about if you want gov't insurance that you forfeit standard deduction and EIC. That makes it fair.
to answer you from earlier, I have no problem with the law that states that a hospital must treat you. No problem with it at all. What I do have a problem with are the people who think the service should be dirt cheap or free. That's a whole other can of worms though.
@ Smartguy
I kind of like your idea as well.
I'm not saying the public option is perfect. I'm saying rather than shoot it down completely or praising it as perfect, the parties in question should discuss it BETTER (accent on the better). To Obama's credit, that's exactly what he asked too, just certain people refuse to take him up on that offer because…. well, they're stubborn… or paid… I can't tell the difference anymore.
I too have no love for the insurance companies. Although Katrina didn't effect me directly (I actually met some great horn players because of it) but I see the massive effect as well as the MASSIVE screw up by the people who were supposed to be/paid to be on the spot when something like that happens.
Hopefully I won't find out when the Big One hits. I live like 30 miles from the San Andreas fault (but on the good side) but either way, what could potentially happen to my area is scary.
@ Smartguy
So is 75% of America (and that may be generous). If you don’t believe me, go back to the Feed and read some comments.
Also, the FDA, AMA, all public buses, etc. and so forth are all American socialist ventures. Just because the Nazis were monsters doesn’t mean socialism was the culprit. That’s like saying Christianity is bad because of Jimmy Baker or super hero video games are bad because of Superman 64.
Yes, I just compared Superman 64 to the Nazis.
Chavez gets a bad rap mainly because he has his own oil and doesn’t want or need to play with NATO. We don’t screw with North Korea because we KNOW he has WMD’s for sure. If you got problems with Venezuela, you should also have problems with China… let’s go pick that fight. Why not?
Don’t be disillusioned by partisan politics (on either side). I know for a fact you truly are smarter than that.
I agree that both sides are balking. Pelosi reminds me of my mom. I try to explain why there are parts of the country that need guns and she just won't recognize that most of America is not a big city with a police force that can get there in a minute or less. She's far left and won't budge. A quote from her is "I see what you're saying and I can't logically disagree… but you won't get me to budge".
That completely sucks. Those dudes are such scammers. That's like saying "We're sorry Princess Leia, but the Death Star was not responsible for Alderaan's destruction. In fact, It was the gravitational pull of the planet that guided it toward the devastating laser. We are not responsible for the pre-existing condition of the Empire's demonstrations of power."
@ Empyu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population
And yeah, chances are if I lived in (#2) India, (#6) Pakistan, or (#8) Nigeria (holy christ)… I’d wanna live in the U.S. too.
My point is, 750,000,000 isn’t that big in the scope of 7,000,000,000. Plus, not to mention all the people who came from European immigrants that are so adamant about building walls to keep out more immigrants. “We’re here now, so get your own damn country!”… makes no sense to me.
We complain because the Constitution literally tells us to. It’s all about the checks and balances.
The floor I assume would be similar to what Medi-Cal offers. Yeah, it’s crap. Better than nothing, but crap none the less. Thus allowing private companies to provide better.
Can’t the employer still write off the cost of the medical benefits? Why would they have to stop doing that? My answer to why they would still offer somewhat reasonable benefits is because 1) The same reason the Whopper has more meat than the cheaper Big Mac… competition. And 2) the same bill outlines that insurance companies won’t be allowed to diminish coverage, stop coverage, or deny people based on pre-existing conditions. Sure, loopholes (yeah Jericho) will be found. Until then, we can only hypothesize on what those will be.
Don’t be surprised if something like your tax theory doesn’t take place as well. I too think that would help the situation on top of the floor being crap.
The only people comparing it to England and Canada are people out to snub Democrats no matter what and people hell bent on universal health care. Being that it covers both sides, it gets alot of steam. The truth is, it’s nowhere near that. It’s like the public options most states already implement only on a federal level and also mandating that everyone be insured. Why? Because unfortunately, it seems to be the only way to save money.
The important thing is that we’re not blind to what’s going on and following a particular party for the hell of it.
And for the record, I think the carbon credit thing is BS as well. All I see happening from that is a global economy.
@ Empyu
I get what your saying, I do. I wasn’t even so worried about the numbers so to say. I was pointing out the even LARGER portion of the Earth’s population that’s apparently happy wherever they are according to the study you referenced. That’s like 90% of the human race content on staying put… which makes alot of sense.
Think of all the people you know, about 90% are content with not moving anywhere, right?
Then you have R Pad who obviously would rather live in Japan.
Then there’s me. I want to live on Venus because that’s where John Gray says all the women are from. (joke)
You also have rbee, a resident of RPad.tv who immigrated here from the Philippines. I don’t think he realized that not in every country do the women outnumber the men 30 to 1. (another joke, you know you get love rbee)
It’s like a swinger version of the Beach Boys’ “Surf City”:
“30 girls for every booooooy.”
@empyu
I get what you are saying bud. Think of it this way to counter act their arguments though…how many of the billion(s) of people in China wouldn’t like to get the hell out of there? Russia? Mexico? African nations in squalor or civil unrest?
Also keep these two things in mind:
1) Numbers don’t lie….people do.
Quote: There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics
Mark Twain
@N8R
Both sides are balking at it though. It’s not just Republicans or Conservatives. Pelosi wants it her way and her way only. She’s uncompromising and from I can tell, unstable. Just my opinion from what I read and see though.
here’s a line I was told by my insurance company: “your house wasn’t destroyed by wind. In fact when the roof blew off, the rain water FLOODED your house and that is what caused 98% of your damage. You will need to file your claim with the flood insurance underwriter. ”
A vein in my head almost exploded when I was told that.
Lol pre-existing
@N8R & Smartguy:
Going all the way back to post #5, It should be noted that the Nazi were fascists, not socialists. It's the complete opposite end of the political spectrum. Far right, not far left.
Ultimately extremes of either ilk are generally not good. I tend to lean left, but I don't really want the government running everything either. There's a happy medium between Capitalism and government oversight that needs to be found. And neither the Republicans or Democrats seem to want to find that middle ground, they'd both rather push it to the edge of reason one way or the other.
When it comes to the health care debate specifically, I don't care if I send my money to an insurance company or the government, so long as it works. And right now the system is broken. I've got a 2 1/2 year old son who has asthma and gets febrile seizures. Dealing with the insurance company is a complete nightmare every time he gets sick, which is a lot. I'm paying a lot of money for a service, I shouldn't have to constantly argue with the insurance company to uphold it's end of the bargain. All I want is them to all shut up and fix it. Is that too much to ask of Congress? Shut up and fix the problem.
@N8R & Smartguy
Well, in any case I’m glad the numbers weren’t misunderstood and that everyone knows the real numbers can be misleading in the first place.
Anyone in the world who wants to leave their home country has a great number of other countries to choose from where they don’t imprison people who encourage political discourse, where religion is kept separate from government, where passage of laws are voted on, and where the average citizen doesn’t live in poverty. So the chances are, their reasons for choosing America are probably on a personal level. Maybe they have family here, or they like American entertainment, or they find the prospect of starting a business here much easier than anywhere else in the world.
But whatever the reason, if everyone who wanted to move to America actually did, the country’s population would almost double. That has to count for something.
@ Nightshade
The Italians at the time were definitely fascists and allied with the Nazis, but the Nazis were indeed more of a socialist structure. You are right in saying that any extreme can be bad… even capitalism in my opinion. I think the lesson is that all economies suck.
I’m really sorry to hear about your son. I have 2 kids myself and I feel for you, I truly do. I hate to say this, but Congress is kind of doing their job… arguing and being stubborn. Nobody is going to say that doctors and nurses deserve a pay cut, we just argue on who should pay them. 98% of us don’t have the money to just pay the bill and we are looking at how other countries do it but people yell about the downsides there. Ultimately, it’s a scary scenario because it’s unknown really. Nobody knows the result and are battling theories.
The insurance companies definitely need more regulation though in my opinion.
@Empyu
It does say something, there would be alot less jobs… and money. See, there’s a finite number of how much money and food here. The more it gets divided or horded, the less there is for someone else.
Also, if I had to guess why, I’d think it’s our food and laissez-faire attitude toward sex. I have a friend who moved to China. He married a girl from India and brought her here to visit his parents. We took her to the corner convenience store and she was astonished to say the least. She had never even HAD chocolate before! She was all about donuts after we left the store. Here was a 27 year old woman eating those Hostess chocolate donuts with the grin of a 3 year old. It was awesome.