Bwwahahaha!

I skipped it and I'm glad. I'm also glad that my work blocks those clips because I don't think I'd want to see them. This kind of mastabatory circle jerk disguised as news is one of the reasons I don't watch "news" anymore. News stations and interviewers are more about spreading their own personal truth then finding what the actual, or at least higher, truth really is.

This "interviewer" already had his own feelings on the subject, his own opinions, and so he sought out two people who share those opinions and pretends to interview them.

What were you expecting? Were you expecting them to be called out on any falsehoods, and wrong assumptions? Did you expect them to actually look at the game? Were you expecting them to say "the flying in the game is actually quite relaxing"?

No, they would feed on their own ignorance, like three snakes eating eachothers tails.

Two things:

1. I love how JT stated that he was suing Target, Walmart, Best Buy and GameStop for training Seung-Hui Cho and Steven Kazmierczak how to kill (never mind that the perpetrators were 23 and 27 respectively, well over the 17 year old minimum to purchase M rated games, but hey, who needs FACTS anyway...)

2. Not going to defend the show, or the idiot behind the desk, but Glen Beck is hardly what you would call "Journalism." His show is an opinion show and, unfortunate as it is, he is allowed to be as stupid as he wants on it.

"Oh Jeeze he is another conservative on t.v. screaming about the dangers of video games!" What a douch. To think, at one time I held a little respect for this guy. Well, I guess things change when someone sleeps with the enemy.

Oh....kay...

I just lost a massive amount of respect for Glenn Beck.

Wow...not only is Glenn a incopitent moron...but he is sexist! Notice when he said "When your son or boyfriend or husband plays GTA..." o_O so now all gamers are men? Im surprized no one has called him out on this. Im not so much of a fan of the GTA franchize, RPGs are more my thing, but I have played III, and my girlfriend absolutely loves the GTA games. We are both non-violent adults who grew up with games.

"Killing is not in human nature..."

...do wha? did someone actually say that!? This proves that he is JT's Beyotch robot. Basic human...no basic instinct of all living creatures are: Eat, Sleep, Procreate, and Survive. The last one dominates all other traits. In humans its even more stronger and violent being as we are some effed up creatures who can do amazing things with knowledge. For as long as there has been man there has been the instinct to kill, even the first offspring of man-kind commited murder (Cane and Able...take that JT). So to say that Humans dont have it in our instincts is BS, just look at all the wars and butchery we have seen in the history of man (Correct me if Im wrong...but Hitler, Dracula (The actual lord that the whole vampire thing is based from Count Dracule or something), Bloody Mary, Gangus Khan and all the other war leaders and people who commited huge killings in the name of conquest, religion, or just plain fun did not have Media to corrupt them.

Its this blind witch hunting that people fuel, all these rightious crusades, and all of the half-truths that the media and people who claim they have expertise in that really piss me off.

and anooother thing...where was the debate? all I saw were three people gang banging. they should be banned for showing children a gang rape of a game! o_O And the whole "Kill prositute and cops" is all user choice...its not in the game as a requirement, its in there to give you a true sence of freedom in a crime rpg, and they fail to point out that for doing twisted stuff there are repercussions, your not rewarded...but punished...noobs.

@JT: get some new material, your like a broken record. Actually get a new brain, yours is defective...actually, just diaf, kthxbye ^_^

"I know that when i say this about 80% of the people in america they hear me and go oh geeze heres a crazy conservative on tv screaming about the dangers of video games..."

lol anyone else think its funny how he followed that bit up there^ with this

"we are training our kids to be killers, and we are teaching our sons to treat women like whores"

really doesnt help convince me that hes not a 'crazy conservative'

What I never understand about these arguments about the military using video games to desensitize soldiers is you'll have the same talk-show host turn around and in another segment talk about how great the military is and how it's a good career and how we should support our troops. Which is it? Are they desensitizing people into killing machines, or creating good citizens? You can't have your pie and eat it too, Glenn Beck. I won't let you.

Is he actually arguing the majority of people had trouble killing each other prior to the invention of targets and dummies? People didn't seem to have much trouble killing each other prior to WWI. And that was more often than not up close with blades.

Thompson being Thompson.... No comment

This is journalism? THIS IS STUPIDITY!!!

Thanks for the link, Dan. I just sent my email.

Yes, the amount of soldiers who will shoot to kill in wars has gone up since WW2. In vietnam it was 90%!

Now.. if only I could remember when videogames were invented.. must have been just after WW2, right?

i'm 15, i bought gta4 on the first day it came out, i've played Rated M games since i was 10, yet i'm a pacifist....did the video game industry fail to turn me into a killer or something.

@ GenericName

How/where did you manage to get the game?

I love how the general consensus seems to be that just because you "can" do it, means that you will, and that you will therefore become a killer because of it. I mean, the game is being praised as a sandbox kind of game, where you can do whatever you want ... literally, whatever you want. These people seem to only be highlighting the negative aspects of what you can do.

Like most things in life, it's a decision to act in the game in a certain way. Granted, because it's a game, and I think the Greater Internet F*ckwad theory applies here, people will do it. But the fact remains that when playing the game, no one is forcing you to kill the prostitute, sleep with the prostitute, or even kill anyone. I find it disgusting that the fact that we give a choice in the game is what is being attacked.

The logic of "Just because you can, means that you will in every case," doesn't really fly with me. I know personally, I killed a couple prostitutes (whoops) but not every time. The fact of the matter is that more often than not, I made the *choice* to do something different in the game.


Apparently, people can't be trusted to make their own decisions in a video game, let alone real life ....

Whoops, can't edit, meant "but I'm not letting that get in the way of a great game"

"Territory is highly contested between members of the same species and nearly always results in violent displays and often death of one of the two. "

Actually, no that's not quite true. VIolent displays are just that, displays. Serious wounds between members of the same species are uncommon, mortal ones even more so.

Someone needs to tell him that what he said is a bold face lie. The military is not desensitizing soldiers to violence. With both my brothers in the army I take deep offense to this.
I did write to Glen Beck telling him the man he is championing is facing disbarment and has been banned the Florida Supreme Court for his past filings. His coverage of the game was completely one sided, biased and unfair to the gaming community. I believe he was taking the findings he was "quoting" from his ass.

A doubling of the homicide rate in the 1950's from TV? Right. Obviuosly it had nothing to do with a boom in the local population of the united states or ""baby boom" if you will. Try reading a book called Freakonomics which cites the rise and fall of crime rates to that of population control measures such as birth control which was the real reason for the rapid decline in violent crime rates in the mid to late 1980's, not stiffer laws on crime. The insinuation, and I'm sure many people would understand this, is that there is a direct correlation between crime rates and population levels not popular media as he and others would have us believe.

Does anyone know where I can obtain a list of Fox and Headline News advertisers. I have had enough of the lies and fear-mongering that get spewed by these organizations. I'm only one person, but I refuse to support any company that does business with these organizations.

From my email to Mr. Quack -- I mean, Beck.

"I was very disappointed to see your piece on Grand Theft Auto IV. I've always considered you a reliable source for a rational conservative viewpoint, but you totally screwed the pooch on this one. First, claiming that videogames are solely responsible for the increased effectiveness of the American soldier over the last sixty years is laughable. You've completely dismissed the advances made in psychology and the advanced brainwashing techniques that soldiers are subjected to in basic training. Soldiers pull the trigger because the whole of their training is aimed at that goal, not just because the targets are shaped like people. I'm also having some trouble finding the analogue between holding a large, heavy firearm, aiming it at a target shaped like a human, and learning to control it bucking and rocking in your arms as it fires lead projectiles sometimes a hundred meters away, versus lining an icon on a television set up with a target shaped like a human and pressing a button. Firing a real gun is a far more intense experience than any videogame I've played.

Your discussion of the ESRB ratings was just as flawed as the ratings themselves. A/O, if you read it from the ESRB website, differs from M by only one year, A/O is 18+, M is 17+. These age limits were never mentioned. The primary criteria for making a game A/O has always been graphic sex, of which there is little to none in the console gaming industry. The assertion that GTAIV contains graphic depictions of sex is laughable. No penis appears in GTA. No nipples, either. I've seen hotter sex scenes on prime time TV.

I think, though, the most disappointing part of this segment is that it's basically a politco circle-jerk. How could you even expect to have a discussion with a shred of journalistic integrity with no one to represent the pro-free-speech stance? "

Just one question.

If our own soldiers would not shoot at people during World War I, then how did they manage to shoot people during, oh, say, the Revolutionary War? Or how about the Civil War, where they were shooting THEIR OWN FAMILY in some cases?

Yeah, that's what I thought. Shut up Glenn Beck. You moron.

Once again Glen Beck proves to us why he is considered a "retard" among conservatives. This guy is the one who talks so much garbage that that makes Bill O' Reilly from Fox News look like an abjective journalist. Thompson's days as a lawyer are numbered and most if not all law enforcement agencies are not even paying attention to him. Headline news was such a great network but lastely it has gone to hell in a hand basket.

I appreciate how he was brave enough to invite a defendent of video games on the show to counter Thompson's stories with proven facts.

Oh wait! Both those interviews were anti-video game weren't they? How embarrasing!

http://www.amazon.com/Inconvenient-Book-Solutions-Biggest-Problems/dp/14...

Beck's book on Amazon.
have fun!

90 million copies?! Seriously? O.k., I don't really play GTA but I know it's sold less than that
And, if Glenn really believes in that "military using games to train to kill" poop, then he and JT can kiss my wrist for all I care R.I.P CNNHN

When did CNN become Fox news?

Does someone want to inform Glen Beck that his guest is ACTUALLY a shareholder in Taketwo?

Why does anyone figure CNN was more credible than any other media outlet? They are the liberal Fox News.

Dear lord... can't any of these idiots cite their sources? It's bad enough that this is a one-sided trifecta of social retardation but none of them cited any actual facts. Yes, get an ill-informed TV personality, an attorney who has been shown time and again to use false information, and a member of a watchdog group which has accomplished nothing.

There's something that is fundamentally different between Military training, which is meant to train you to use a firearm proficiently and properly and a videogame where-in the purpose is to be entertained, waste some time, and blow off some steam.

He cited a lot of numbers about soldiers having trouble shooting and how that changed over time because of training method changes, but he forgot to mention that in each of these wars, the training and the scenario those soldiers were put in drastically changes whether or not they could actually pull the trigger. Yes, target practice will make you a better shooter, but playing "America's Army" (which is a terrible game, by any standards) with not teach you proper gun maintenance, handling recoil, aiming, and everything you need to know to proper use a gun or any kind.

Devin Moore trained on GTA? Not this crap again. It takes a particularly crazy individual to obsess over a game like GTA, which, in it's earlier versions, was not really that great. Hell, obsession is a characteristic of psychosis, how is that not a sign? The kid wanted to kill, if it wasn't GTA, he'd have found some movie to watch over and over and over, or some web forum full of psychotics telling him to do it. If that were the case,t hough, JT wouldn't be a famous moron, and we wouldn't be in this situation right now.

I've gotta go email Glenn Beck, now, this is just too dumb.

To be completely honest, I can't help but laugh when they show Niko running over the hooker and saying, "Come on, get out of the way!"

GLEN BECK IS A TOOL I HAVE SAID IT SINCE HIS SHOW CAME ON THE AIR!

Only one way to settle this. The most violent way possible. Jack Thompson, I challenge you... to MMMOOOOORRRTAAAAAALLLLLLLL KOOOOMMMMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Three morons talking about something they has no clue about. I love how there was nobody there to present a counter arguement. Oh and Jack infringed on that little agreement he had with R*/T2 when he mentioned Devon Moore.

So you have the PTC who just goes off of clips and screen shots of the worst parts of a game, Jack Thompson who we all know is bat loco going off once again on the same thing the PTC is. And Glenn Beck, the biggest moron on the CNN payroll. Sadly the clips are just repeats of what have always heard and since the "It is just one person" argument does fly and one killer represents every gamer out there I will present this as a counter argument.

I have been playing video games since I was two. By what Glenn Beck stated I should be one of the deadliest people in the world. I should have no qualms about killing cops, raping women, stealing cars, killing whores and so forth. But I have never done anything like that, unless it is on a video game I cannot shoot a gun for the life of me. I hate using violence to solve problems and believe you should only fight to defend yourself if no other option is available. I would never do anything Glenn Beck claims I have been trained for. Simply for the reason that it is only a game and it does not teach you how to kill. Now since his logic is that one represents all that means since I am a gamer who has never committed a crime in my life, then none of us do.

From what is sounds like Glenn Beck is one of those morons who wants every form of entertainment banned, just because a kid might see it. Before you trash on something guys, do your homework first. Flying off the handle only makes you look like idiots.

@Waffles

Even more one-sided than the FOX news Mass Effect "report" therew is no one there defending the game just a bunch of old senile farts agreeing with each other. It's nowhere near as stupid though, GTA was made for critisism

NoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNoNO!

I can't help but facepalm, but we all knew it was just a matter of time.

I guess Glen Beck got tired of bitching about his hospital stay a couple of months back.

Im just not gonna say anything. Whats the point. Ya curse if you want but whats it gonna do? Its not gonna stop them. I need a moment.

Odd how everyone on CNN talks about the whole FLDS compound/cult in Texas that was raided but Glenn Beck hasn't from the times I've watched, not one mention of it. He's also a Mormon, go figure. You would think this is something he'd take on since it potentially paints all Mormons in a bad light, not just the fringe groups. Maybe he just doesn't care about children getting raped and beaten when it's done in the sake of his religion's version of Christianity and the old, warped versions of it that hasn't been "mainstream" for it in over 100 years.

The person in the first video said "your son, your husband even your boyfriend can play..." he is discriminatig female players my girlfriend plays GTA4 too. Actually only she plays it i prefer to play on my PC.

What is there to say that hasn't already been said? Different day, different people, same old shit, same old people. It surprises me that they haven't found anything new to complain about, still with the prostitute-killing.

I noticed the fact that he never once implied a girl would play GTA IV, always husband, son, boyfriend. It was like the whole thing was for women-folk who don't know how to operate them fancy Electrical device.

I just finished the video.

I think I'm legally insane now. It all started off with WTF's and OMFG's due to the immense bullshit emitting from the videos. But by the second video, I slammed my head on my computer desk and started laughing at all the moronic things said. (I had headphones on, listening to it).

Shit, my mother thinks I'm going crazy now from laughing so much.

I mean, I just think it's amazing that people like this practically gets paid to spew lies and bullshit on television like this. I mean, after watching things like this, I feel as if though I'm very competent to have a job like this as it seems like just about anyone can do it. Even better considering how one sided this all is. Needs moar Adam Sessler.

There was so many false, one sided things said, I couldn't even get angry, I just laugh.

I emailed Glen, I hope everyone else does the same, not to tell him hes an idiot. But sense he has such high values, its a wonder why he had someone on like Jack Thompson, who filed a case with gay porn in it. I emailed him with the links to this site regarding all the stupid things Jack Thompson has done. I advice everyone to do the same.

I like Glen a lot, I always watch him, but on this...he has fallen into the pit withe everyone else. But he does have a point. They fail to say how old the kids are that are playing the game, but I'm sure if there was a 12 year old who played games like this, he would grow up sort of screwed up.

I knew someone who had a little brother, he let him play gta, was not a good thing, kid was to young. like 9 or 12 or something like that. You got to admit, kids going to be a little whacked when he grows up if he continues to play games like that. He already was.

I live in Canada so I dont have to worry about people like jack.t because in Canada we have more importint things to do because hundreds of people die because of smoking every day and only like 20 people die in school shootings.

ps. if you want to stop school shootings outlaw guns not video games with guns

Somebody else put up the whole thing as one video seen here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRfpzjlZCVY

You know a lot of stuff Jack has said about Rockstar products has toed the line of libel. But the "Oral and Anal sex" is an outright, full and complete lie that IS libel no two ways about it.

That and he is bearing false witness. Something that is a pretty large no no of the religion he supposedly yet very poorly follows.

@DAM_THEM

Outlawing guns wont solve the problem, its the same as thinking putting a ban on Hand guns would cause violent crime on streets to disappear.

Grand Theft Auto IV is a amazing game with some of the best voice acting, and directing I've ever seen. For sheer engrossing gameplay I rank it above every game I have ever played hands down.

What I would love to know is where there accusations of the game being marketed towards children is coming from? If they're talking about billboards and other "poster" type ads where any one can see them well thats the point of advertising, to get your product out to as many people as possible. Nothing within the ad's say they are advertising to minors. I also haven't seen a TV advert although to be fair I havent been watching tv although I'm fairly confident the ad's dont show up at 12 pm on Cartoon network.

I would also love to see where this graphic sex is? I have not seen it and I think you're lying to us Jacko. Lying on national television is actually a really classless and low thing to do. I'm sorry but the majority out there dont understand these things and instead of filling there heads with lies about the games why not better educate parents with the ESRB ratings and subject matter of the game? That seems much more effective in my eyes.

This has been said by a few of the other people commenting and like you I am a lifelong gamer, while I am only 20 I've been playing games since the 16 bit era and I've come out a high school grad making his way through university. I wonder when the video game brain sickness will kick in and I'll become a deranged lunatic?

These people need to give the game a try first, learn what it is they're trying to destroy. Urge parents to participate actively in what there kids enjoy, parents should parent there kids nothing short of any form of abuse (Emotional/Physical) should take that away.

Love Maniac

Feel free to contact me and discuss at dr_evil555@hotmail.com XBL:DainzeJD and PSN ManiacA4

First of all I want to know where this strip club is where you have oral and anal sex mr thompson, second of all,I had hell trying to buy this at wal'mart, They wanted my id. If I did not work there I would had to go home and grab my id and go back to my walmart to buy the damn game.

BHTW ths game is rated mature whichj is = to a rated R movie so if this game gets rated AO forits content then I want all movies with a hint of boobies and drinking rated NC-17.

You sir are a moron and had not played the game like I have, I have yet to see these so called sex scenes, the worse I seen so far is strippers danceing. The so called sex with your girlfirend on the game is notyhing more then a moaning sound clip and a nice view of the outside of an apartment. nothing worth noting, good luck trying to create a hot coffee II the worse you will find is warm coffee which is ironically an achievement for being invited inside the girls apartment.

one more thing to the parents, children should not be playing this, the m on the box stands for mature not math or mom please buy this for me, mature= 17 and up not 3-16. for little timmy might I suggest blue dragon instead?

Everything he says about WW1 is just complete and utter BS. He is right that casualties caused by rifle fire were relativly low in WW1, but it's not because soldiers refused to fire, the majority of deaths were caused by artillery fire. It also came from the fact that entering no mans land for much of the war was a very fast way to die.

At this point I'm used to the "journalists" in the mainstream mangling the fact about games, but do they really need to abuse history too?

You're welcome.

Well, the liberals hate us too, so what did you expect? There's no such thing as unbiased news anymore. Everyone in the news is pretty damn misinformed when it comes too videogames.

Also lets point out the Americans were late to the bloody war too, it was a toss of the coin as to if they would back the Triple Entente or the triple Alliance, it wasn't until the sinking of the Lusitania that they actually pulled their thumb out of their ass and sent men to war.

@Gen Man

Scariest Joker ever!

I thought this game was called "Grand theft auto 4", not "Killing Hookers in the wonderland 4".

that is ridiculous if they want to talk about army simulators they should go after Americas Army witch was made by the Army as a recruitment tool it is also rated teen not mature like grand theft auto or some of the other games i think people release anger threw games witch would prevent them from killing ppl and if they are so worried about ppl buying it they should stop giving it publicity its like free advertising for rockstar lol anyway that my thoughts on this, GO TEAM!1!1

can you say "biased and misinformed"?

first off, GTA IV can be beaten in 30 hours or less "if you're good at it", second, you'd think these people would've figured out that Jack Thompson has indeed lost his marbles

third, I'm sick and tired of people in the media, politicians, and the majority of adults jumping on these topics with little to no backround research and claiming that video games are "murder simulators", cause people to more easily pull the trigger against another human being, and imply that games are only played by teenage boys. the only real negative effect on your average gamer is desensitization to violence, language, etc., but that's bound to happen no matter what form of media is in use.

and the least this guy could've done is have someone representing the other side give some input and enlighten the watching parents. It took me a long time to teach my parents that violent games are not going to make me go out and murder people thanks to the bull that the media has pumped into theirs and other families' heads. the only time I'd ever even point a gun at another human being is when I am in mortal danger. I'm not saying that the game is appropriate for children (older teens at the youngest as long as they are mature enough to handle it), but these idiots need to get their facts straightened out. the people who actually know what they're talking about should speak out and take a stand.

I don't think you can blame the PRODUCTS of a culture for a culture's ills. The products materialize as a result of something - in the context of something. There's a reason pop culture is "violent" and "pornographic". I'm not claiming to know what that reason is, I just think it's naive for anyone to claim that they know.

And TV "caused" a doubling in the homocide rate? Correlation does not prove causation. Jesus Christ when will they every figure that out...
I can't believe he's describing all this gameplay like the player doesn't have a choice in the matter. You don't have to kill the prostitute, you don't even have to pick one up. You don't have to kill the police officer, you don't have to mow down pedestrians. I hate this whole "it's a murder simulator" mentality. What conservative oversensitive bullshit.
And of course Jack Thompson is here to save the day again by showing us all who we should be pointing our fingers at. It's a wonder to me why, when he learns that a kid plays video games so obsessively (sometimes 12 to 16 hours a day), he doesn't care to delve any deeper than that as to what caused the kid to become a murderer. Obviously there's already something wrong with the kid if he gets so attached to a game.
O ya, and this is the second time I've heard him say "Counter-Strike Half-Life". Those are two completely different games you moron...the entire gaming community is laughing at your blatant ignorance and stupidity right now.
Oral and anal sex in GTAIV? Someone please tell me where I can find that?

One thing i would like to point out is, At least fox new DID appologize about the Mass Effect incedent, It wasint thrown around much, but they did get thier facts straight.

Second, Holy crap, The first time jack thompson started this crap, i was 15 and my parents took my GTA:Sanan away because of the lies he said! Thankfully the idiot decided to file gay porn to the state attornys office. My parents FINNALLY beleaved me that he was insane and let me play it again. Ive been playing GTA since it came out (GTA one anyone?) ive never killed anyone, ive never been convicted of a crime, and I make above average grades. Just because one idiot does something doesint meen EVERYONE WILL.

As for parenting, My parnets TOOK GTA away when they thought stuff was in it that wasint, but still, it was GOOD parenting. Do i blame them? no they dont play videogames so i dont expect them to play the game in order to find every little thing you can do. Honistly I think the game is fairly rated, but stupid parents still buy the game. (You could not even walk INTO my gamestop without being carded that night) I watched as they told a set of parents they would not sell a game to them for their 11 year old son! I think that was very good work and i commend the Employers for doing that. The other night on live i got stuck playing free mode with guess what, a TEN YEAR OLD. yea, Momma bought the game for him, and ill bet she will be on the Sue wagon soon.

sry for the lack of organization, that video pissed me off so much!

im 21, the first game i played was doom 2... ive yet to find the urge to kill someone... hurt maybe in extreme cases (i beleive some of the finer points of chivalry still exist).

this pissed me off eight different ways at once

All I can say is, grrr!
I expected better from you CNN
CNN=just as bad as FOX now
isn't it sad that I have to get my real news from the Colbert Report and the Daily Show

One other thing, I used to think when JT got disbarred that he could go to work for the PTC; an unholy alliance if there ever was one. I used to think that unlikely though as he's never had any prior contact w/ them before and his ego probably precludes him from working w/ them. But I'm sure him and Gavin McKiernan got to talking after the broadcast. What do you think the likelihood would be?

...News from the states always makes my head hurt, seriously it's so twisted and full of half-truths that sometimes I'm not sure if it's a comedy show or for real.

[...] Glenn Beck - GTAIV - Jack ‘expert’ Thompson [...]

@Alex
I was going to say something about the its not natural to kill other humans.

I will wait for the day when Jack Thompson dies, and then I will celebrate!

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/9452/

This is off of Glenn's Radio Show...

@Joe

My god he is just stupidity and historical inaccuracy codified into a living creature. How can anyone be that utterly oblivious to basic historical fact and current trends because it doesn't suit your world view?

@Shadow
Honestly I hope he lives a long, long life so he can see people like us here at GP taking over politics, business and society in the U.S. and all over the world and still playing video games, and all he will be is a sad footnote of no relavance whatsoever. Then again I'm spiteful.

Correct me if I'm wrong. But I'm rather sure that kids have been beating up other kids before Youtube or GTA4 existed. The fact that they film it for "posterity" is a moot point.

does jacko even know whats he's talking about?

counterstrike and have life are different games after all.

Sorry for double post.

I finally got an e-mail of my own and under my username here re-sent the e-mail I sent JT several weeks ago. Once again I bumped into that lady whose evil matches Babylon The Harlot. Her name was Failure. She came in the form of my e-mail host's "MAILER-DAEMON" and told me the e-mail to JT did not reach him.

[...] Politics and Banning of GTA IV There’s been a lot of talk and controversy over GTA IV. Obama gave some words about it saying “This video game … isn’t intended for kids, I understand… [but] those video games are raising our kids”. Jack Thompson has been bashing the title on the Glen Beck Show, stating “we’re training our kids to be killers”. In The United Arab Emirates (UAE) it’s already official. The game is banned from their country, but some have found a loophole and have purchased the title from a duty-free airport in Dubai.  [...]

Here's my email to CNN:

"My comment is in regard to the discussion of Grand Theft Auto IV with Jack Thompson and Gavin McKiernan.

This is one of the most appalling and deplorable displays of "journalism" I've ever seen. The report is ripe with falsehoods about the game - this is libel, and I think you should be held legally accountable for it. I'm sure you're aware that Jack Thompson is not a reliable source of information, as his obsessive campaign against Take Two and other misdemeanors have him on the verge of being thrown off the Florida Bar. I suspect the majority of your viewers are unaware of this, and you know it. Consequently, what we're seeing here is more of a theatrical presentation under the guise of being legitimate coverage of an issue. Legitimate coverage would entail things like a credible guest to provide a counter-point to the discussion. As one of the most trusted news agencies in the world, you have a responsibility to deliver well-researched information - not personal opinions misconstrued as facts.

The public would appreciate some sort of response from you on this. Perhaps on a future episode you should amend the false and misleading statements made on your show."

[...] 15. Jack Thompson condena GTA IV en la cadena CNN. [...]

[...] With the release of GTA IV the nutcases are coming out of the woodwork. If for some reason you’d like to raise your blood pressure, you can see JT’s appearance on the Glenn Beck show where he tosses around his favorite term (”murder simulator”) a few times. While he rails about how we must protect the chillun he of course manages to ignore the fact that the game is rated M and it really should be the responsibility of the parents to ensure their kids aren’t playing it in the first place. [...]

Rofl Rofl my guess is they are just bad at computer games :P...but on a more serious note these guys have no idea what they are talking about...no offence to america but nothing of this sort has happened in europe...only in america do peopel take games too seriously. Just a bunch of kids that want to be something they are not, but what right do these *pardon my french* assholes have to slight games when they are obviously just entertainment and the only people that use them as excuses are just ill i nthe head....LEAVE GAMES ALONE!

Yea, GTA was the ONLY influence to the increase in gun firing statistics during a war. It had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that those soldiers were doing their damndest to preserve the American way and defend the innocent. Because as we all know, patriotism has nothing to do with our military, only GTA can train you to kill.

In case you didn't catch that Beck, that was sarcasm. Only a retard with no sense of morals would think that because they do it in a video game, it is ok to do it in real life. And the ones that do things like that obviously had much bigger problems than playing violent video games.

Parents, please don't listen to this moron, if your kids are having problems, don't blame the media, video games, or washed up celebrities, try being a good parent and talk with them to figure out what's wrong instead of playing the blame game.

I've been playing M rated games since I was 6. Does that mean I should go and kill someone now?

There's a gazillion things to do in any GTA game... why is killing prostitutes the only one that Jack Thompson seems to think exists?

Aside from that, I'm beyond caring. I'm all for a trigger-happy society. I keep a gun in my nightstand and I'll be more than happy to blow the hell out of anyone who breaks into my apartment.

A country that doesn't know how to kick ass is a country asking to get its ass kicked.

Niko is not a low level thug, is is a soldier who tries to escape from the horrors of war.
There are no chainsaws in GTA 4, and to kill a prostitute or police officer is voluntery, are you saying that we should not have freedom of choice? If it were up to the media there would be no open worlds, the entire gaming world would by, like he said, Pong.

Jack Thompson does not know how influencial games are, the case on Devin Moore was never proved by anyone, even scientists, the Counter Strike case was never proven either, in fact his case was thrown out each time without a trial.

The military has NEVER used video games for training, it has used paper targets but there has been no evidence of an increase, in fact in WW2 the military said that soldiers would shoot WITHOUT training as long as they were under threat.

You CANNOT have S&M or Oral sex, so no wonder he 'won't' show that.

The violence in GTA 4 is not that bad, its nothing compared to Soldier of Fortune.
M for Mature IS the worst raiting, the only one higher is AO which is not the same, it means it can only be sold in licenced stores, its not a video game rating.
M should be mature, anyone who is mature should play it, hell I know 9 year olds who are mature enough to play it.

One final thing, interesting to see that BOTH people they interviewed are agaisnt the game, they did not take ONE person who was for the game.

I don't have time to read all the comments, so sorry if this was already posted, but is there a link to a transcript of the session? I can't really bear to watch it, but I think I can get through reading it.

Why is it that when the criminal is in jail and they ask him what caused him to do the crime and mention video games suddenly the criminal is being honest?

I am always amazed suddenly criminals who think nothing of life, let alone the truth are suddenly given credibility when the recite the "secret words" to a lawyer.
I have played violent games since the 80's and I have no desire to hurt another person though 1000s of NPC's have fallen to my weapons.

[...] “Whatever happened to Pong?” Mr. Beck asked last week, as he was discussing the newly-released Grand Theft Auto IV. He expressed concern over the game’s violent nature. He talked about the possibility of your 12-year-old picking up a hooker, having sex with her, and then beating her to death with a baseball bat; yes, he commented on the hooker thing, because no one else ever has. Then he had the president of the Parent’s Television Council show up to discuss the moral implications. [...]