I think the law has a short shelf life.  It will be in front of the European Court of Human Rights (which the Swiss are signatories of) before long and overturned. 

IP's and MMO's don't mix. Dev's try to please tons of fans who each have their own idea of how the IP world should look and feel.  You end up with a watered down version of the IP that pisses off everyone, IP fans and MMO players alike. SWG, Matrix, LOTRO, AOC all should be mega hits with its fan bases but each one has turned into a disater shortly after launch. Too much placating in trying to please everyone and the game ends in a flop.

Originally posted by kiddyno071

It would appear to me as an attack on a legitmate religious group from constructing places of worship - i.e. an attack on religious freedom.  I will be interested to see if this will be overturned by the Swiss supreme court.

 

The push back has already started...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/01/world/europe/01iht-swiss.html

"Critics of the ban within Switzerland, meanwhile, started exploring the possibilities for challenging its legality. Ms. Widmer-Schlumpf [The country’s justice minister] reportedly said the ban was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Switzerland is a signatory."

Lobbyists Furiously Lobby White House to Preserve Lobbyist Power

Lobbyists have been furiously lobbying the Obama White House to oppose restrictions on their ability to lobby.

The kafuffle began on September 23 when special counsel to the president for ethics and government reform Norm Eisen wrote that "the White House has informed executive agencies and departments that it is our aspiration that federally-registered lobbyists not be appointed to agency advisory boards and commissions."

How many Industry Trade Advisory Committees -- ITACs -- are there?

The Washington Post says the system of these committees is "so vast that federal officials don't have exact numbers for its size; the most recent estimates tally nearly 1,000 panels with total membership exceeding 60,000 people."
 

Originally posted by Precusor

Originally posted by BaronJuJu

Folks thought the Mohammed cartoon reaction was big? This was the potential to get as bad, maybe even worse.

 

Would be hugely hypocritical of them to whine about that.. after all they treat their religious minorities as second class citizens.

Meh, true but for a country that touts tolerance and based on neutrality, they are certainly making their religious intolerance show. But, as others have said here it was a decision by the people and the government respected that.

Originally posted by Gameloading

Originally posted by outfctrl

I firmly believe that Israel will take action.  You can not reason with Iran.  They do what they want.

 

I know of another country that just does what it wants.

Touche'

Though to be fair, Israel has done whatever the hell it wants on numerous occasions.

USAF Orders 2,200 Sony PlayStation 3 Consoles

The Air Force hopes to use the power of 2,200 Sony PlayStation 3 consoles in future research projects

The United States Air Force plans to utilize the power of 2,200 Sony PlayStation 3 game consoles – the branch is expected to network the consoles into a powerful cluster that can be used for research purposes.

Researchers at the Air Force Research Laboratory hope to have the improved cluster available sometime in May or June. The USAF already has used its current group of PS3s to help investigate Neuromorphic Computing, High Definition Video image processing, and a "Back Projection Synthetic Aperture Radar Imager."

"With respect to cell processors, a single 1U server configured with two 3.2GHz cell processors can cost up to $8K while two Sony PS3s cost approximately $600," according to the USAF requisition form. "Though a single 3.2 GHz cell processor can deliver over 200 gigaflops, whereas the Sony PS3 configuration delivers approximately 150 gigaflops, the approximately tenfold cost difference per gigaflops makes the Sony PS3 the only viable technology for [high performance computing] applications."

The AFRL has a $2M research grant through the Department of Defense's High Performance Computing Modernization Program, though it's unknown if any significant breakthroughs have been found.

Specifically, the USAF is expected to use customized software designed for use on the Cell Broadband Engine architecture. Sony uses the Cell processor in its PS3, a powerful computing technology that has been favored among researchers -- the PS3 is already used by the Los Alamos National Laboratory and U.S. Customs Enforcement.

The USAF continues to expand its use of computer networks and cloud computing as it develops new software technology that can be used both in the United States and on the battlefields overseas. "
 

I have to admit, its an inventive way of saving money.

Originally posted by Torak

Wow, you are a contender for asshat!

Gratz

I see you found one of the "civilised discussions".

Folks thought the Mohammed cartoon reaction was big? This was the potential to get as bad, maybe even worse.

Originally posted by Troneas

go ahead. look. we dont moderate stuff.

we are always opened to civilised and logical discussions.

Civilised discussions? LOL, hardly. Everyone that doesn't agree with you are shills, asshats, trolls, etc.Hell, you all stalk this site to keep tallies on what was said. Your mouths and site speaks for itself. 

I do agree with you though that everyone should go out to your site and see these "Civilised discussions" appearing all over. Read the posts, read the chat and let them decide for themselves how civilised you really are.

Originally posted by kobie173

And not surprised to see the usual suspects jump on the coattails to flame the current players more. I can't tell what the Fringers hate more -- SOE, or the players themselves.

Fringers hate them both equally.  The temper tantrum has gone on for so long that I don't believe they really make a distinction between either group anymore. 

I bet if this passes there will be some that put a higher priority on one or some of the 10 than others. Then you will opposition in the form of "Well he supports #1,3,4,5,6,7 and 8 but he is against #2, my personal favorite, so I won't support him". Maybe this ridiculous stunt will finally get the "third party" movement rolling on a real course.

Originally posted by Interesting

Its not a problem about "content" as it is a problem about "balance".

Except that balance is an ilusion, 

So you are saying your major problem with MMO's is an illusion huh?

Glad we could clear that up.

Originally posted by cyandk

Previews is as helpful as a wet sock.

Pretty much my stance. Previews have become too biased, I haven't read a blogger or reviewer on this or a variety of other sites in years that doesn't fall into this category. It seems to be total love or total hate, no objective neutral stances. To the gaming companies: Forget the reviews, offer up a 7-14 day trial on their MMO and left folks decide for themselves if it's what they want to play.

I was actually surprised by the last two class announcements. While on the one hand the news was a bit disappointing (I, like a few others was hoping for something like a droid class) on the other hand we can finally stop the "class speculation" and hopefully see more of the actual gameplay/worlds and other features being discussed and shown.

Added the information on the last two classes, Jedi Consular and Sith Inquisitor. thanks to Greed for finding the info.

Enjoy!

Great find Greed. The last two classes were definitely a total surprise to me, I'm still looking forward to getting involved with this game.

BTW, I added this to the Information sticky up top.

Originally posted by Sabiancym

This just in, Sasha and Malia give their dad a tie for his Birthday. 

Conservatives outraged.

Claim Obama has done nothing to deserve a birthday present from his daughters.

 

More at 11.

........and?

It's called an honorary gift. Don't really see an issue with this, but I'm sure some will.

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

Originally posted by Dekron

Originally posted by Ihmotepp

A woman's right to choose?

How about a baby's right to live? Nope? Just toss them in a pile with the other babies ripped apart or brains sucked.

How about the father's right to his child? Nope? The male has no right to a child he helped create? 

Why not allow "honor killings"? Slavery? Et cetera? After all, you want freedom for everything.

Freedom is not doing whatever the hell you wish.

 

Baby =/= fetus.

Fail.

Father =/= Pregnant.

Fail.

If you can't figure out why honor killings and slavery are wrong, you are a sociopath, IMO.

I would have to agree on Dekron on the Father issue. This has become a real sore spot with me over the last few years of this popping up on the news, especially when it involves child care payments. All of the choices for the father are completely null and voided over the right of the mother.

Father wants to keep the child but the mother doesn't = Dead baby

Father doesn't want to keep the child but the mother does = Live baby, plus the father is paying child care payments for a kid he didn't want.

Where is the Fathers right to choose?

I realize there are some shit head parents out there and they would take advantage of the system, but no system is perfect and you have to take the good with the bad. If people are so adamant about equal rights, then boths sides have to be looked at as well.