Gaming Banned in Greece

[XTRMNTR]

Forever proving politicians regardless of whatever nation are stupid.



I mean, jeez, gotta feel for the kids in Greece...

[Brutus]

rizzuh wrote..

I would like to make it clear that there is a reason for this, and it's ignorance which makes you point out the 21/18 difference.



Since the federal government made 21 the legal age, the amount of alcohol related deaths has decreased dramatically. The number one cause of teenage death is still automotive accidents (most of which are caused by alcohol), but this number has decreased sharply too. In other words, the saved lives far outweigh your silly argument of, "but we can vote!!!!" Doesn't prove much, when you're 16 you are old enough to drive something that can kill someone else, but you can't vote. How's that fair!



Or when you're 12, the movies charges you the adult price. And you can't vote. Damn government!



BTW, up until the 70's only people 21+ could vote, too.

The age limit for buying alcohol is set by the state, not the Fed. Gov. The last states to go to 21 did so, because Reagan told them that he would withhold federal road money if they did not.



The movie "Kids" would not banned in the U.S. or in video stores.

emilk wrote..

You all forgot my favoruite: Life Of Brian, banned in a lot of catholic countries, including Ireland.



Ooh, and btw: what is the greece goverment thinking? Or maybe they're not.

We were talking about movies being banned in America on a national level, not other countries banning movies. If that was the case just look at Iran. The wrong movie there will get you a life and sometimes death sentance.

Added @ [time="1030807120"]

cisco wrote..

Are you mentally challenged or something? Are you only partially literate? It seems you are unable to read the news post these comments are about, and that you are only capable of reading part of my post. You have my pity.

Nice reply. I corrected you and you had a hissy fit. If this is how you go through life then I pity you.



Please grow up and try an discuss issues like an adult.

[GreekSalad]

Edited by [user="52916"] @ [time="1030816016"]

Just a little update on the situation.



It is true that the whole thing started as a countermeasure against illegal gambling.



The thing is that the technologically illiterate greek government took no special concern about computer games as they think that it's just a waste of time.



So, they thought, with the same law we prevent illegal gambling and at the same time we save our children from spending too much time in front of a computer screen playing those stupid games. Great!!



Finally, the law states clearly that all gaming activities supported by electrical or mechanical means are banned in public and private places alike. This of course includes just about everything - everywhere.



Of course the police cannot search houses - at least without a warrant -, but gaming even at home is still illegal. The easy and obvious target for the moment are internet cafes, public services that use computers with Windows, etc. On September 10th is the first trial of two internet cafe owners accused of allowing CounterStrike in their stores.



For more info visit http://www.netcafe.gr/protest/protest.php?lang=english



You can also read the first three (important) paragraphs of the law here http://www.netcafe.gr/files/law.txt

[cisco]

Brutus wrote..

Nice reply. I corrected you and you had a hissy fit. If this is how you go through life then I pity you.



Please grow up and try an discuss issues like an adult.

No, it was I that corrected you. You still haven't read the news post or my comment yet? This is getting kind of weird... What's even scarier is if you've read them but your brain is incapable of ever beginning to understand that they are both about GREECE, not the USA. Again, you and your family have my pity.

[Vrokolos]

JdeFalconr wrote..

Well if that's the case, what percentage of the population gambles? Is this regulating the majority for the sake of a minority?

You don't understand.. it's not about majority or minority.. it's about how the current government will get votes next election. Because they cannot distinguish gaming from illegal gambling they ban both. But they are totally stupid and they didn't understand that they made themselves illegal in the process.

[{$T}JoEbOb]

Lethal wrote..

Snip.



To some extent, you are right.



As much as these prepubescent ignorant US kiddies like to think, if the likes of people such as AL GORE ever got the presidency, he would do everything to stop violent games, violent TV programs, violent movies, and then, he'd move on to your favorite gay rapper, Eminem. (The latter, I could stand to get rid of.)

-

All to often when the shit hits the fan people want to point a finger at a single source. That of course, is not the problem. What about those 2 boys in Jonesborough, Ak. They never played CS, Doom, Quake, or any other "violent" FPS, yet they still seemed to enjoy killing. They blame it on Tom and Jerry.



Columbine. Those fucktard fuckups were Doom fans... Doom 1... come on... you cant tell me you actually believe 16 pixels (give or take..) represent a human. Eithey way, they blame it on the game companies, and very very little on the parents.



In all honesty, I believe most of the anger comes from their peers. People of their own age group.... But NO! God forbid your precious son or daughter is responsible for fucking up someone ELSES life by YEARS of torment, mental and/or physical abuse, etc. It would NEVER be your kids fault. Your family is perfect in every way shape and form!



That of course would be another easy way out.



In all situations where teen violence occurs there is one thing in common: Nothing.



You cannot compare these crimes and blame them all on one thing. These days, the crimes are being commited, not by Joe Nerd, but by Joe Jock as well. And now it seems to gain national [US] and internation attention because it is happening in your middle class neighberhoods.



In review; youth violence is a caused by millions of variables, and in some cases, the same variables seem to be present. It is because of this, TV / Movies, Games, Music, and the Parents are blamed, as they seem to be the common variables.



Of course, closed minded and otherwise moronic congressmen, clergymen, kings, queens, and everyone else with some sort of power, want to take the easy way out by pointing the finger.



Most of you people here seem to have a common belief; Government censorship is bullshit.



However 90% of you lack the capacity to put that into any other words but; "FUCK YOU MOTHER FUCKERS I'LL HAKC YOUR GOVERMET WEBSITE WIHT MY SUB SEVEN GOLD 2.02.526.772.666betaA!"



If you're going to try to argue a national law... do it in a serious manner, grow a brain. If you flame them for banning your precious addiction to video games and animal porn, they will simply use YOUR ignorance to fuel their fire.



Example for you people who still dont understand;



John Flamer: "OMFG ASSHOLES YOU BANNED MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME IM GONNA COME DOWN THERE AND BURN DOWN YOUR FUCKING HOMES AND RAPE YOUR GOD DAMN KITTENS WHILE YOU WATCH SO EAT SHIT AND DIE HAHAHAHAHA I HATE YOU ASSHOLES DIE!"



Your Govt: "Point proven! This agressive outrage is OBVIOUSLY caused by VIOLENT VIDEO GAMES."



Dont fight ignorance with ignorance. If you cant control yourself, keep your mouth shut and leave it to those with a brain.

This post says it all, rock on man...

Added @ [time="1030823482"]

sir_laggs_alot wrote..

Im just glad the bills to ban games and rock music didn't pass.

2 days ago hackers hacked RIAA's site.... It was pretty funny, they changed the links to like "Where can I find information on Giant Monkeys" and "File-sharing can be beneficial to the music industry" lol

[Brutus]

cisco wrote..

No, it was I that corrected you. You still haven't read the news post or my comment yet? This is getting kind of weird... What's even scarier is if you've read them but your brain is incapable of ever beginning to understand that they are both about GREECE, not the USA. Again, you and your family have my pity.

Greece is a parliamentary republic, so your statement about democracy is even less meaningful now.



I read what you wrote, but it was not on topic and did not provide anything logical or worthwhile to the discussion.



You not being able to usderstand how useless the statement you made was does not mean that the rest of are idiots, it means that you are below the level of intelligence to comprehend it.



Or are you so simple that you think that if a word has it's origins in a country then that country has to live by it?

[log1c]

Here's some more info(a lot more actually): http://www.sogamed.com/forums.php?id=13...15d2d4dcc4bdf



also, how dare you compare a government taking away someons right to play a GAME to Hitler's killing of millions of innocent jews.

Added @ [time="1030826173"]

And by the way Lethal, I don't think Al Gore is as conservative as George Bush

When did the smart wagon roll into town?



No shit Al Gore isn't as liberal as George W. Bush. I reckon that's why George W. is a CONSERVATIVE and Al Gore is a LIBERAL.

[evil_sheep]

Why do these discussions always fall apart into off-topic banter (partly my fault :P ) and useless name-calling?



The point is, we should all denounce the Greek government for being so ignorant and infringing on a basic principle of democracy - the freedom of choice. For the guy who said that abstinence and self-control can be a good thing, you are right, but imposing it on others is not right. It's not self-control if it's not you doing the control. Also, whether or not gaming is illegal only in public places or everywhere is pretty irrelevant because it's still wrong either way.



Yes, I am sure movies have been banned in the US - the reason they don't get much media coverage is because they are usually by small filmmakers, and usually the ones that do get banned in the States are banned because they are too "sexually explicit." It's not very sensational and thus doesn't get in the news or anything.



As for underage drinking laws, Rizzuh said that fatalities due to drunk driving have gone down since the drinking age limit was put up to 21. Maybe so, but that is due much more to increased education and awareness in schools about how dumb it is to drink and drive. I have a hard time walking when I'm drunk...I don't know how the fuck I could ever drive. Believe me, the laws don't even mean much because every weekend teenagers are out drinking and partying anyways. And if they outright banned alcohol completely, wouldn't that decrease the amount of alcohol-related fatalities as well? Yes, but it takes away your...freedom of choice I mean seriously, the government says you can't drink until you're in third-year university/college. By that time you're already tired of drinking! The age limit is just ridiculous in my opinion, and instead of enforcing a stupid meaningless law, they should make one that is more realistic, instead of just politically motivated. Sixteen would be a fair and realistic age.

[Sapphire]

gaming is my life.......and living there i'd have none

[Brutus]

evil_sheep wrote..

Why do these discussions always fall apart into off-topic banter (partly my fault :P ) and useless name-calling?



The point is, we should all denounce the Greek government for being so ignorant and infringing on a basic principle of democracy - the freedom of choice.



The Greek Gov. is not a democracy. I for one will not denounce another countries whole Gov because they want to take away video games. When they start killing their own people, and burying people in mass graves let me know, then I will denounce them.



No movie in recent times has been banned in the U.S. It is silly to think that a movie would be banned when you can go to a porno movie and see full penetration.

[evil_sheep]

Aragorn - Out of all the first-world nations, I believe it is the US who gives the least foreign aid out of all the first-world nations as compared to GDP; I believe it is 0.1%. That includes much of Europe, which is generally much more generous than the US. China and Russia don't give much foreign aid because often they are the ones who are receiving it (Russia at least.) Nobody expects the US to spend "10% on foreign aid." But I believe at a human-rights conference a few years ago, the US pledged to give 0.5% GDP as foreign aid, which they of course haven't. Even that would be a large boon to a lot of people as the US has a very large GDP.

You say there a lot of things the US supports with its budget. You're right. How about gigantic military expenditures, including elaborate missile defense programs, billion dollar aircraft, biological and chemical weapons research, research into the militarization of space, maintaining a nuclear arsenal of thousands of nukes etc etc. That just happens to be very expensive. How could the US possibly cut back on that...........and increase foreign aid, or really, anything else?

For those who think the US is such a benevolent nation...I'm afraid the rest of the world doesn't seem to think so. The US isn't even very popular in the countries of their first-world allies because the US is often a self-centred bully always looking out for its interests first.

Obviously changing people's views of the US isn't going to happen overnight by doing one thing. But neither is giving up and saying we can't do anything an answer. For example, the US wants to go invade Iraq again, even though not one other country supports this. That is alienation, in other words, alienating other nations.

[angry_ferret]

did any of you know that Adolf's father was a Jew? and that he beat him constantly? i think thats where it all started

Aragorn wrote - Out of all the first-world nations, I believe it is the US who gives the least foreign aid out of all the first-world nations as compared to GDP; I believe it is 0.1%. That includes much of Europe, which is generally much more generous than the US. China and Russia don't give much foreign aid because often they are the ones who are receiving it (Russia at least.) Nobody expects the US to spend "10% on foreign aid." But I believe at a human-rights conference a few years ago, the US pledged to give 0.5% GDP as foreign aid, which they of course haven't. Even that would be a large boon to a lot of people as the US has a very large GDP.

You say there a lot of things the US supports with its budget. You're right. How about gigantic military expenditures, including elaborate missile defense programs, billion dollar aircraft, biological and chemical weapons research, research into the militarization of space, maintaining a nuclear arsenal of thousands of nukes etc etc. That just happens to be very expensive. How could the US possibly cut back on that...........and increase foreign aid, or really, anything else?

For those who think the US is such a benevolent nation...I'm afraid the rest of the world doesn't seem to think so. The US isn't even very popular in the countries of their first-world allies because the US is often a self-centred bully always looking out for its interests first.

Obviously changing people's views of the US isn't going to happen overnight by doing one thing. But neither is giving up and saying we can't do anything an answer. For example, the US wants to go invade Iraq again, even though not one other country supports this. That is alienation, in other words, alienating other nations



no we do not give a whole lot of foriegn aid, because the governments we USUALLY send it to use it on other things OTHER than helping thier people. Why should the us play police force to the world? would any other government other than maybe, MAYBE the brits help us if we were in trouble? FUCK NO. I think it would almost be better if we didnt buy anything from the chinese for example, becuase if they had the chance, they would cut off our sacks and show them to us.

[LuftWaffle]

Uhh about Hitler killing the mentally challenged... is there really a reason not to, in the big scheme of things? They contribute nothing to society, they leech off of it.



I guess it depends on the degree of retardation actually, as some of them could be quite useful for handling menial tasks that would be considered mind-numbing for the rest of us. Perhaps we could trap them in hamster-wheel-style devices and harness the energy they'd generate, and burn them for fuel when they're no longer capable of producing energy.



Godwin's law, btw, but I had to try to offend people while I had the chance.



ferret - Wrong. But it's hilarious to think that, isn't it! Haha, silly Hitler, he was part Jewish! Shut up moron.

[evil_sheep]

I think Hitler's mom's side of the family was part-Jewish

Added @ [time="1030831929"]

angry_ferret: would any other government other than maybe, MAYBE the brits help us if we were in trouble? FUCK NO

angry_ferret - You are an idiot. After 9/11 when the US wanted to go invade Afghanistan, European countries and Canada were practically begging to sign on to help, trying to outdo each other in showing who would send more troops and condolences. And the US wasn't even in trouble.