violence

New U.K. site maps muggings, street violence

When you've been the victim of a mugging--or merely a witness to one--one instinct might be to warn others.

But how can you do that? It's not as if a Facebook posting saying: "Hey, I've been mugged on Main Street" will necessarily help.

So a nonprofit organization in the U.K. has created a site that brings all mugging information to one place: StreetViolence.org.

Launched yesterday, the site attempts to collate all mugging information into one single Google map (the site is initially London-only), so that those with any interest can warn others, report … Read more

Meet Mrs. Violence, your not-so-average gamer

"I have two 360s and a PS3. I need to be able to walk into a room and just... go."

That's Mrs. Violence, the 23-year-old who just scored $25,000 in The Controller, a taxing Battlefield 3-inspired competition put on by CNET sister site GameSpot.

There's just one catch: for much of the contest, she couldn't actually play the game.

Throughout the eight-episode contest, which began on October 21, Mrs. Violence and five other prominent gamers were paired with video game noobs playing Battlefield 3 for the first time.

While the pros coached their apprentices in preparation for tournaments, Mrs. Violence and her fellow gamers endured grueling physical challenges inspired by the game, such as crawling through mud, participating in mock firefights, and taking a crash course in bomb disposal. It wasn't until the last episode that Kelley got her hands on a controller, destroyed her final opponent, and split $50,000 with her noob counterpart, Severn.

Not surprising for the San Diego native, who averages 10 hours of gameplay per day and has competed in many gaming competitions, including MLG (Major League Gaming) and WCG (World Cyber Games). She's also the top female Gears of War player and mingles at the top of the MLG charts.

Growing up in a house full of male gamers, Kelley was naturally turned on to the world of hard-core gaming--hence her name, Mrs. Violence. She can't get enough, and she'll admit: she's pretty damn good.… Read more

Man allegedly hit wife because she didn't 'like' Facebook update

Being liked is very important to people. Especially, it seems, if it means being liked publicly.

A Texas man is alleged to have become rather agitated when his wife, from whom he had recently separated, didn't exert herself to click the "Like" button beneath his status update on Facebook.

The way the Carlsbad Current-Argus has it, Benito Apolinar was arrested and charged with one count of battery against a household member when he allegedly confronted his wife about his latest Facebook news.

Apparently, Apolinar had updated his precious Facebook page with a reminder about the anniversary of … Read more

The 404 867: Where we may not have time (podcast)

Today we're talking about a study from address book site Plaxo that claims 19 percent of people have accidentally let their phones slip into the toilet. We also chat about Captain America: The First Avenger, Super 8, Amy Winehouse, and the role of Modern Warfare 2 and World of Warcraft in this weekend's violence in Oslo.

The 404 Digest for Episode 867

Oslo terrorist used Modern Warfare 2 for training, WoW as cover. Study: 19 percent of people drop phones in toilet. Facebook's iPad app is hidden inside of their iPhone app.

Episode 867 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

White House taps developers to fight date violence

The White House hopes the application-developer community will answer its call for help in preventing sexual assault and dating violence.

Vice President Joe Biden and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced such a technology challenge to the development community today. Both have been advocates for the prevention of sexual assault and dating violence among young adults.

The challenge is part of the broader use of technology by the White House to get the public involved with larger government issues. White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra said there are 80 such challenges on the Web site Challenge.gov, … Read more

Video games given full First Amendment protection

The U.S. Supreme Court today reaffirmed the principle that the First Amendment protects free speech in the digital age, rejecting a 2005 California law that severely restricted the sale of "violent" video games to minors.

The statute had been blocked from taking effect by lower court rulings in suits brought by industry representatives. Following today's decision by a 7-2 majority of the court (PDF), the law is now a dead letter.

The decision was highly anticipated, and the result entirely expected.

The decision in Brown v. EMA is the second in as many weeks from the … Read more

Study: Relaxing video games make people 'kinder'

Brad Bushman, a communication and psychology professor at Ohio State University, has conducted many studies demonstrating the negative effects violent video games can have on teens and young people.

He wasn't investigating the possible effects of "relaxing" games because, he says, "Until recently...such games didn't exist. Most video games try to rev people up rather than calm them down."

But the researcher says a growing genre of relaxing games has enabled him to investigate whether, just as violent games can lead to aggressive behavior, nonviolent games can promote positive behaviors.

Bushman and doctoral … Read more

The 404 754: Where we're laughing our butts off (podcast)

Valentine's Day is around the corner, so we're sure a lot of you are scrambling to schedule dates so you won't be alone with your toy pet Lulu on February 14. The problem is that first dates are almost always awkward, especially if you met on a dating Web site.

To help, OkCupid analyzed user survey data to glean the best questions to ask on a first date that actually correlate to sexier issues you won't get to until the fifth or sixth outing.

According to the site, if you want to get a clue into whether the first date will end in the bedroom, you should ask if your date likes the taste of beer! Or if you want to determine the long-term potential of your future relationship, you inquire about the person's taste in horror movies. And lastly, if you're curious about your partner's political affiliation, the best question to ask is his or her preference for simplicity or complexity.

The Catholic Church just approved an iPhone app that invites followers to run down a sinful check list prior to ease the process of confession.

The Church hopes that wayward souls will be inspired by the app to seek out the church for redemption for the bargain price of $1.99. To our Catholic listeners: don't worry, our resident skeptic Jeff Mubakalar deliberately says very little in this segment.

Finally, we wait until the second half to unleash Jeff on John Brandon, a Fox News reporter who penned an article titled "Is Bulletstorm the worst video game in the world?"

That's unquestionably, absolutely, and without a doubt the most bombastic link bait headline IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, and Brandon starts off the conversation with a quote from a psychologist that claims "the increase in rapes can be attributed in large part to the playing out of (sexual) scenes in video games." Let the twilight's last reaming begin.

The author also stumbles on the issue of ESRB warnings on the back of games not containing the full reason for the rating; instead, parents only see a truncated version of the objectionable content and are encouraged to go online to get the full justification.

I'll let the hosts speak for themselves, because I know it won't be the last time we get into a fiery debate about who is responsible for video games and the adverse effects they may or may not have on kids. Tune in for the full discussion!

Episode 754 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Police: Traveler won't shut off iPhone, gets socked

Violence solves nothing.

And yet so many are moved to it in search of vital prizes, such as peace, oil, or a safe landing in a plane.

Perhaps there is one man reconsidering his philosophy of violence more than others this morning after he allegedly thumped a 15-year-old boy sitting next to him yesterday on a Southwest flight from Las Vegas to Boise, Idaho.

There are many reasons why some might be moved to pummel someone in the next seat on a plane. The thought has crossed my mind when my fellow passenger won't stick to his side of … Read more