I received a chain letter this morning that, unlike most chain letters, was actually interesting and informative. Rather than reposting the contents here, I will link to the original source, Rep. Murtha’s (D-PA) website. The gist of the article is that we (Americans) are spending a truly staggering amount of money in Iraq. It works out to about $11 million EVERY HOUR. The article then lists dozens of things that our government could spend tiny fractions of that money on, which would actually yield something for the taxpayers.

Example: For the price of five days in Iraq the US Government could install radiation detectors at all US ports–a proposal rejected as too expensive.

I recommend reading the whole list. It really puts some perspective on how much this war costs.

This is pretty meaningless for obvious reasons, but see if you can tell the difference between Ann Coulter and Hitler.

Stephen Colbert made Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA) look like the stupid ass he undoubtedly is. How do people like this get elected?

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I’m sure I probably disagree with Adam Thierer on almost every political issue. After all, he is published in the National Review and he works for a conservative think tank, The Progress & Freedom Foundation. But there’s at least one issue we do agree on. Videogame legislation.

I have always had pretty liberal political views, which is why I hate to see Democrats who should know better, like Hillary Clinton, flirting with censorship. It’s like they’re shooting themselves in the foot. Do these so-called liberals (Lieberman, I’m looking at you.) really think this is an issue that’s going to win them voters? The Democrats’ platform is so good and so in the mainstream on so many issues. Why pick this one?

On a related note: Senate Hearings: “What’s in a Game? Regulation of Violent Video Games and the First Amendment”

Interesting article in Wired about how the misunderstanding and mistreatment of games as a medium is not new or unique to games, but rather is a phase that all media must go through. There are some really choice quotes about corruption of our youth. The Culture War.

Movies
“This new form of entertainment has gone far to blast maidenhood … Depraved adults with candies and pennies beguile children with the inevitable result. The Society has prosecuted many for leading girls astray through these picture shows, but GOD alone knows how many are leading dissolute lives begun at the ‘moving pictures.’”
- The Annual Report of the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 1909

Comic Books
“Many adults think that the crimes described in comic books are so far removed from the child’s life that for children they are merely something imaginative or fantastic. But we have found this to be a great error. Comic books and life are connected. A bank robbery is easily translated into the rifling of a candy store. Delinquencies formerly restricted to adults are increasingly committed by young people and children … All child drug addicts, and all children drawn into the narcotics traffic as messengers, with whom we have had contact, were inveterate comic-book readers This kind of thing is not good mental nourishment for children!”
- Fredric Wertham, Seduction of the Innocent, 1954

Videogames
“The disturbing material in Grand Theft Auto and other games like it is stealing the innocence of our children and it’s making the difficult job of being a parent even harder … I believe that the ability of our children to access pornographic and outrageously violent material on video games rated for adults is spiraling out of control.”
- US senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, 2005

This one is a bit different. It is an educational game, designed to teach the players about foreign policy and international relations. It takes place in meatspace as much as it does in cyberspace. It is run over the course of one or more days and requires a large number of students (70+).

Students are placed into groups that range in size from 1 to 6. Each group represents a different player in international politics. For example, the United States may be represented by a team of six students, while the Red Cross may be a single student. Possible groups include nations, NGOs, the UN, NATO, International Corporations, News Organizations, etc.

Within each team, individual students have their own role to play. (Queen, Homeland Security Director, Foreign Minister, CEO, etc.) Gameplay also happens within teams, as there may be members of a team who have contrary goals to the team as a whole. For example, the Iraqi team may contain a player representing the Kurdish minority, who has a personal goal of establishing an independent Kurdish state.

The game is coordinated through a central website where teams can submit actions and communicate with each other either publicly or secretly. In addition, the website allows countries to issue press releases and is where the news organizations publish their scoops.

Before the game begins teams meet to discuss strategy and set goals for themselves to accomplish during the game. Gamemasters assign point values to each of the goals students want to accomplish, and the students’ performance in the game is based on how many of their goals they accomplished and how difficult the goals were to accomplish. Meeting with each member of the EU would not be worth many points, but establishing a Palestinian state would. In addition, each teams loses or gains points based on the strength of their economy at the end of the game, which is determined by in-game factors like trade agreements.

In addition to the players, the game requires a number of GMs to coordinate actions. Gameplay is very free-form, with almost any action being possible. To take an action teams must complete a simple web form detailing what the action will entail. Examples include moving troops, signing an international agreement, launching nuclear weapons, holding peace talks, conducting a terrorist attack, or anything else the players can dream up. Once a GM has approved the action it is posted to a page that is constantly updated with everything that is happening. Actions may succeed or fail based on random chance or based on the whim of the GM. Actions happen on a FIFO basis.

Some organizations may want to conduct secret actions, such as terrorist activities or espionage. Many countries have a spy masquerading as a member of another country. Indeed there may be entire organizations in the game that are a secret to everyone but their members and the GMs.

The game represents the culmination of a series of lectures or perhaps even a whole class about international politics. Players also conduct independent research on the role they play in the game. The game gives the students a chance to apply the theories learned in class and in their own research in a fun interactive setting.