Video game puts players in shoes of Syrian rebels

BEIRUT (AP) — A new video game based on Syria‘s civil war challenges players to make the hard choices facing the country’s rebels. Is it better to negotiate peace with the regime of President Bashar Assad, for example, or dispatch jihadist fighters to kill pro-government thugs?

The British designer of “Endgame: Syria” says he hopes the game will inform people who might otherwise remain ignorant about the conflict.

Views differ, however, on the appropriateness of using a video game to discuss a complex crisis that has killed more than 60,000 people since March 2011. Computer giant Apple has refused to distribute the game and some consider the mere idea insulting. Others love it, and one fan from inside Syria has suggested changes to make the game better mirror the actual war.

The dispute comes amid wider arguments about violent video games since last month’s shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that left 20 children and six adults dead. This week, the National Rifle Association revised the recommended age for a new shooting game after criticisms by liberal groups.

Tomas Rawlings, who designed the Syria game, said he got the idea while watching TV pundits debate the possible consequences of directly arming Syria’s rebels, which Western nations have declined to do. He said he thought a game could explore such questions by allowing players to make choices and see their consequences.

“For those who don’t want to read a newspaper but still care about the world, this is a way for them to find out about things,” said Rawlings, the design and production director of U.K.-based Auroch Digital.

In the simple game, which took about two weeks to build, the player assumes the role of the rebels seeking to topple Assad’s regime. The play alternates between political and military stages. In each stage, the player sees cards representing regime actions and must choose the rebel response.

The choices seek to mirror the real conflict. The regime may get declarations of support from Russia, China or Iran to boost its popularity while the rebels receive support from the United States, Turkey or Saudi Arabia – reflecting the foreign powers backing the two sides.

In battle, the regime may deploy conventional military forces like infantry, tanks and artillery as well as pro-government thugs known as shabiha. The rebels’ choices include sympathetic Palestinian or Kurdish militias, assassins or jihadist fighters known as muhajideen.

Some of the rebels’ strongest attacks also kill civilians, reducing rebel popularity and seeking to reflect the war’s complexity.

All along, the player is given basic information about the conflict, learning that Islamists once persecuted by the regime now consider the fight a holy war and that the shabiha are accused of massacring civilians.

The game ends when one side loses its support or the sides agree to a peace deal. The player is then told what follows. The longer the fighting lasts, the worse the aftermath, as chaos, sectarian conflict and Islamic militancy spread.

The lasting impression is that no matter which side wins, Syria loses.

Rawlings said that’s the game’s point.

“You can win the battle militarily but still lose the peace because the cost of winning militarily has fractured the country so much that the war keeps going,” he said. “You can also end the war so that there is less of that.”

The game was released on the company’s website and as a free download from Google for Android devices on December 12. Rawlings submitted the game to Apple to distribute via its App Store but the company rejected it.

Apple declined to comment, but Rawlings’s rejection referred to a company guideline for mobile apps: ” ‘Enemies’ within the context of a game cannot solely target a specific race, culture, a real government or corporation, or any other real entity.”

Rawlings is modifying the game, though he worries it will weaken it.

“It will still be the same overall experience, but it will reduce the value of the game to inform people,” he said.

News of the game was greeted with a mix of interest and outrage online. Some complained that players can’t take the regime side, while others found it wrong to make a game about a brutal war.

“Rawlings has mistakenly understood the Syrian war as a nonchalant ‘experience’ that people can play while waiting for the train to work,” said Samar Aburahma, a university student of Palestinian descent in San Francisco who refused to try the game. “It is beyond insulting to Syrians, especially given the fact that war is ongoing.”

Others find it a valuable, if limited, approach to the conflict.

Andrea Stanton, a religious studies professor at the University of Denver who studies Syria, said she responded emotionally to the game.

“It isn’t really a fun game to play,” she said, noting that she was angry when she lost and felt dread when the frequency of deadly regime airstrikes went up as the game progressed – as it has in the real conflict.

“This a very sobering game in that you sense how quickly the military stakes escalate and how little the political phase has to do with actual Syrians,” she said.

She is organizing a campus activity for students to play and discuss the game.

“I think it is very valuable for teaching and getting people to experience a sense of the limited options the rebels face,” she said.

It is unclear how many people have played the game. Google says it has been downloaded as many as 5,000 times from its site, and Rawlings says more have played online. He guesses more than 10,000 people have tried it.

Few in Syria are likely to have played it, since fighting has made the Internet and even electricity rare in some parts of the country.

One 18-year-old Syrian gamer liked the game so much, however, that he sent Rawlings a list of suggestions for improvement.

Reached via Skype, he said the jihadist fighters should be called Jabhat al-Nusra, after an extremist rebel group that the U.S. has designated as a terrorist organization.

He also pointed out that few rebel groups have tanks, as they do in the game, and suggested new rebel tactics.

“Car bombs are used lots in Syria, so that would make the game more realistic,” he said.

He said he hoped the game would help people understand the situation.

“I wish there were a 3D strategy game about Syria so you could feel the destruction on the ground,” he said.

The player, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, said his feelings playing the game often mirror his feelings about the war. He wants peace but can’t imagine the rebels accepting a negotiated solution given how many people have died.

“Right this second, I want the war in Syria to stop, but when you see what is happening on the ground there is no way to make peace,” he said. “When I play the game like a rebel, I have to reject the peace.”

___

Associated Press writer Michael Liedtke contributed reporting.

Online: http://gamethenews.net/index.php/endgame-syria/

Gaming News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Video game puts players in shoes of Syrian rebels
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/video-game-puts-players-in-shoes-of-syrian-rebels/
Link To Post : Video game puts players in shoes of Syrian rebels
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Robert Wagner not interviewed in new Wood inquiry

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Robert Wagner has declined to be interviewed by detectives in a renewed inquiry into the drowning death of his wife Natalie Wood three decades ago, an investigator said Thursday.

Wagner was interviewed by authorities soon after Wood's drowning in 1981, but the actor is the only person who was on the yacht the night Wood died who has not spoken to detectives as part of the latest inquiry, despite repeated requests and attempts, sheriff's Lt. John Corina said.

Blair Berk, an attorney for Wagner and his family, said the actor had cooperated with authorities since his wife died.

Detectives began re-investigating the case in November 2011. Since then investigators have interviewed more than 100 people, but Wagner has refused and Corina said the actor's representatives have not given any reason for his silence.

The detective's remarks provided new insight into the case that has remained one of Hollywood's enduring mysteries. Earlier this week, coroner's officials released an updated autopsy report that had been under a security hold. It detailed why Wood's death had been reclassified from an accidental drowning to a drowning caused by "undetermined factors."

"Mr. Wagner has fully cooperated over the last 30 years in the investigation of the accidental drowning of his wife in 1981," Berk said in a prepared statement. "Mr. Wagner has been interviewed on multiple occasions by the Los Angeles sheriff's department and answered every single question asked of him by detectives during those interviews."

After 30 years, Berk said, neither Wagner nor his daughters have any new information to add. She said the latest investigation was prompted by people seeking to exploit and sensationalize the 30th anniversary of the death.

The renewed inquiry came after the yacht's captain Dennis Davern told "48 Hours" and the "Today" show that he heard Wagner and Wood arguing the night of her disappearance and believed Wagner was to blame for her death.

Authorities have not identified any suspects in the case.

Wood, 43, was on a yacht with Wagner, Christopher Walken and the boat captain on Thanksgiving weekend of 1981 before she somehow ended up in the water.

Corina said Walken gave a prepared statement and spoke to detectives for an hour.

Detectives have also interviewed other actors who knew both Wagner and Wood to learn more about their relationship.

Corina said detectives have tried at least 10 times to interview Wagner but have been refused. He said some of the refusals have come from the actor's attorney, and that detectives at one point traveled to Colorado to try to speak with Wagner but were unsuccessful.

Corina said the latest inquiry had turned up new evidence.

"Most of the people we've talked to were never talked to 30 years ago," he said. "We've got a lot of new information."

Asked if the information might lead to criminal charges, Corina said that would be up to prosecutors if they are presented a case.

"All we can do is collect the facts," he said. "We're still trying to collect all the facts."

Corina said new people have emerged with information each time the case is in the news. Detectives would like to interview other people who haven't agreed to talk, he said.

Coroner's officials released an update autopsy report on Monday that detailed the reasons Wood's death certificate was changed last year from a drowning death to "drowning and other undetermined factors."

The updated report states the change was made in part because investigators couldn't rule out that some of the bruises and marks on Wood's body happened before she went into the water.

"Since there are unanswered questions and limited additional evidence available for evaluation, it is opined by this medical examiner that the manner of death should be left as undetermined," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran wrote in the report completed in June.

Officials also considered that Wood wasn't wearing a life jacket, had no history of suicide attempts and didn't leave a note as reasons to amend the death certificate.

Wood was famous for roles in films such as "West Side Story" and "Rebel Without a Cause" and was nominated for three Academy Awards.

Conflicting versions of what happened on the yacht have contributed to the mystery of her death. Wood, Wagner and Walken had all been drinking heavily in the hours before the actress disappeared.

Wagner wrote in a 2008 memoir that he and Walken argued that night. He wrote that Walken went to bed and he stayed up for a while, but when he went to bed, he noticed that his wife and a dinghy that had been attached to the yacht were missing.

"Nobody knows," he wrote. "There are only two possibilities; either she was trying to get away from the argument, or she was trying to tie the dinghy. But the bottom line is that nobody knows exactly what happened."

___

Anthony McCartney can be reached at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Read More..

Personal Health: That Loving Feeling Takes a Lot of Work

When people fall in love and decide to marry, the expectation is nearly always that love and marriage and the happiness they bring will last; as the vows say, till death do us part. Only the most cynical among us would think, walking down the aisle, that if things don’t work out, “We can always split.”

But the divorce rate in the United States is half the marriage rate, and that does not bode well for this cherished institution.

While some divorces are clearly justified by physical or emotional abuse, intolerable infidelity, addictive behavior or irreconcilable incompatibility, experts say many severed marriages seem to have just withered and died from a lack of effort to keep the embers of love alive.

---

Jane Brody speaks about love and marriage.

---

I say “embers” because the flame of love — the feelings that prompt people to forget all their troubles and fly down the street with wings on their feet — does not last very long, and cannot if lovers are ever to get anything done. The passion ignited by a new love inevitably cools and must mature into the caring, compassion and companionship that can sustain a long-lasting relationship.

Studies by Richard E. Lucas and colleagues at Michigan State University have shown that the happiness boost that occurs with marriage lasts only about two years, after which people revert to their former levels of happiness — or unhappiness.

Infatuation and passion have even shorter life spans, and must evolve into “companionate love, composed more of deep affection, connection and liking,” according to Sonja Lyubomirsky, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside.

In her new book, “The Myths of Happiness,” Dr. Lyubomirsky describes a slew of research-tested actions and words that can do wonders to keep love alive.

She points out that the natural human tendency to become “habituated” to positive circumstances — to get so used to things that make us feel good that they no longer do — can be the death knell of marital happiness. Psychologists call it “hedonic adaptation”: things that thrill us tend to be short-lived.

So Dr. Lyubomirsky’s first suggestion is to adopt measures to avert, or at least slow down, the habituation that can lead to boredom and marital dissatisfaction. While her methods may seem obvious, many married couples forget to put them into practice.

Building Companionship

Steps to slow, prevent or counteract hedonic adaptation and rescue a so-so marriage should be taken long before the union is in trouble, Dr. Lyubomirsky urges. Her recommended strategies include making time to be together and talk, truly listening to each other, and expressing admiration and affection.

Dr. Lyubomirsky emphasizes “the importance of appreciation”: count your blessings and resist taking a spouse for granted. Routinely remind yourself and your partner of what you appreciate about the person and the marriage.

Also important is variety, which is innately stimulating and rewarding and “critical if we want to stave off adaptation,” the psychologist writes. Mix things up, be spontaneous, change how you do things with your partner to keep your relationship “fresh, meaningful and positive.”

Novelty is a powerful aphrodisiac that can also enhance the pleasures of marital sex. But Dr. Lyubomirsky admits that “science has uncovered precious little about how to sustain passionate love.” She likens its decline to growing up or growing old, “simply part of being human.”

Variety goes hand in hand with another tip: surprise. With time, partners tend to get to know each other all too well, and they can fall into routines that become stultifying. Shake it up. Try new activities, new places, new friends. Learn new skills together.

Although I’ve been a “water bug” my whole life, my husband could swim only as far as he could hold his breath. We were able to enjoy the water together when we both learned to kayak.

“A pat on the back, a squeeze of the hand, a hug, an arm around the shoulder — the science of touch suggests that it can save a so-so marriage,” Dr. Lyubomirsky writes. “Introducing more (nonsexual) touching and affection on a daily basis will go a long way in rekindling the warmth and tenderness.”

She suggests “increasing the amount of physical contact in your relationship by a set amount each week” within the comfort level of the spouses’ personalities, backgrounds and openness to nonsexual touch.

Positive Energy

A long-married friend recently told me that her husband said he missed being touched and hugged. And she wondered what the two of them would talk about when they became empty-nesters. Now is the time, dear friend, to work on a more mutually rewarding relationship if you want your marriage to last.

Support your partner’s values, goals and dreams, and greet his or her good news with interest and delight. My husband’s passion lay in writing for the musical theater. When his day job moved to a different city, I suggested that rather than looking for a new one, he pursue his dream. It never became monetarily rewarding, but his vocation fulfilled him and thrilled me. He left a legacy of marvelous lyrics for more than a dozen shows.

Even a marriage that has been marred by negative, angry or hurtful remarks can often be rescued by filling the home with words and actions that elicit positive emotions, psychology research has shown.

According to studies by Barbara L. Fredrickson, a social psychologist and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a flourishing relationship needs three times as many positive emotions as negative ones. In her forthcoming book, “Love 2.0,” Dr. Fredrickson says that cultivating positive energy everyday “motivates us to reach out for a hug more often or share and inspiring or silly idea or image.”

Dr. Lyubomirsky reports that happily married couples average five positive verbal and emotional expressions toward one another for every negative expression, but “very unhappy couples display ratios of less than one to one.”

To help get your relationship on a happier track, the psychologist suggests keeping a diary of positive and negative events that occur between you and your partner, and striving to increase the ratio of positive to negative.

She suggests asking yourself each morning, “What can I do for five minutes today to make my partner’s life better?” The simplest acts, like sharing an amusing event, smiling, or being playful, can enhance marital happiness.

---

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: January 18, 2013

The Personal Health column on Tuesday, about making marriages last, misspelled the given name of a professor of psychology at the University of California, Riverside, who studies happiness. She is Sonja Lyubomirsky, not Sonya.

Read More..

Boeing faces battles: fixing Dreamliner and winning back fliers

Marian Burkhart was looking forward to traveling on Boeing's 787 Dreamliner. She and her husband settled into their seats, picked a movie and waited for what she called the "Taj Mahal plane" to take them from Houston to Los Angeles.

Then the pilot came on the intercom with surprising news: All passengers had to get off the plane because federal regulators had grounded the so-called aircraft of the future, concerned by fires caused by its electronics system.

Burkhart, 48, now isn't sure whether she'll fly on a 787.

"It's a beautiful plane…but I would wait awhile," she said, moments after arriving in Los Angeles on an older airplane. "I want to make sure there aren't any additional incidents."

Boeing Co. is now battling on two fronts: fixing the source of the problem and regaining the trust of the flying public. This is not what the aerospace giant had planned for the 787, which the company promoted as "defining 21st century flight."

FULL COVERAGE: Boeing's troubled Dreamliner

The last time the Federal Aviation Administration grounded a large commercial jet was 36 years ago when a DC-10 crashed at Chicago O'Hare International Airport, killing all 271 aboard.

The FAA's move to ground the Dreamliner has shaken confidence among travelers and the aviation community at large as regulators around the world took similar action against the 787.

In the latest 787 incident, smoke was seen coming from the right side of a plane belonging to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways shortly after an emergency landing. All 137 passengers and crew were evacuated from the aircraft and slid down the Dreamliner's emergency slides. Video of the event was captured by an onboard passenger and has been broadcast worldwide.

"Welcome to the era of social media, Boeing," said Michel Merluzeau, managing partner of aerospace consultant G2 Solutions in Kirkland, Wash. "That sort of thing is going to be seen by millions of people. As much as Boeing says it's 'teething issues' with a new plane, they're running out of time."

New planes, in general, have growing pains. But the FAA's examination into the 787's power system is incredibly rare for a plane in service more than a year.

At issue is the Dreamliner's electrical system and power-distribution panels, which involve pervasive use of lithium-ion batteries. The technology, also found in cellphones and electric automobiles, has a history of being involved in fires. The Dreamliner is the first large commercial aircraft to use the technology on such a large scale.

Oliver McGee, a former deputy assistant secretary at the Department of Transportation, said he believes the FAA acted appropriately in grounding the Dreamliner fleet.

"The worst thing we could have is a massive fire 30,000 feet in the air," McGee said. "I think the grounding and improvements are essential. That said, the Boeing 787 is a safe airplane.... Any time you're doing mass engineering you have to be patient as you take out the glitches."

Boeing said in a statement that it believes the 787 is safe and is working with its airline customers and regulators to resolve the issue.

"The safety of passengers and crew members who fly aboard all Boeing airplanes is our highest priority," Boeing said in the statement. "We are confident the 787 is safe, and we stand behind its overall integrity. Our customers are also standing behind the 787 and understand the value it brings to them and their passengers."

Correcting the problem is only part of Boeing's battle. It must repair the Dreamliner's image with airlines as well as passengers.

"The longer it drags on, it obviously isn't great for Boeing's reputation or credibility," said J.B. Groh, an aerospace analyst who covers Boeing for D.A. Davidson & Co. "Boeing unfortunately lives in a fish bowl, so every issue with the 787 is analyzed ad nauseam. I don't think there's a lot you can do to fix that."

Boeing should be open with the public as it finds a solution, said Prashant Malaviya, a marketing professor at Georgetown University.

"In the mind of the customer, the brand has eroded already," Malaviya said. "Fixing the real problem is not enough. The biggest thing they can do is have some transparency in the process of fixing it and then publicize that."

Read More..

L.A. pension boards asked to end investments in assault gun firms

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said Wednesday that he has asked the city's three pension funds to review all investments and work to end those in companies that manufacture assault weapons.

Invoking the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that left 27 dead in Newtown, Conn., last month, Villaraigosa said it was inappropriate for the city to make money off weapons manufacturers.

"It's a moral and financial imperative to end our relationship with these companies," said the mayor, who added that it was unclear how much pension money was invested in weapons makers.

"I don't want to make a quarter, not a penny, not a dime off of companies that make those weapons of war," he later added.

His City Hall news conference came just hours after President Obama announced a new package of gun control proposals in response to the school shooting.

In letters to the city's pension boards — for employees of the Department of Water and Power, the city of Los Angeles, and the police and fire departments — the mayor requested a report on the feasibility of removing all investments in weapons makers.

"We should not invest in or support companies that put military-grade weapons on our streets," Villaraigosa wrote to the pension boards.

The letters and announcement mirror a similar call from Councilwoman and mayoral candidate Jan Perry, who called for an end to such investments in a Jan. 11 City Council motion.

Villaraigosa's directive to review city pension investments was not a result of Perry's motion, according to the mayor's spokesman.

Two days ago, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel requested a similar review of that city's pension investments. Villaraigosa stressed that the push for gun safety must come from the local level, and said he would be holding a news conference Friday with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns group.

The mayor also said he would support a citywide ban on the possession of high-capacity magazines, which was proposed by Councilman Paul Krekorian on Tuesday. He also said that he would want to see the California ban on selling and manufacturing high-capacity magazines broadened to include possession and that he would favor a federal ban.

"Getting this done at the state, getting this done nationally, has to be the priority," Villaraigosa said.

wesley.lowery@latimes.com

Read More..

BlackBerry maker plans local skate, publicity in Waterloo to celebrate new phone

WATERLOO, Ont. – Call it BlackBerry Town, even if the name isn’t official.

In the lead up to the BlackBerry smartphone unveiling later this month, creator Research In Motion is turning its Waterloo, Ont., home base into a celebration of the device.

The company plans to decorate light poles in areas of Waterloo and neighbouring Kitchener with banners that promote its latest smartphone and thank the community for its support.

City councillors in Kitchener voted earlier this week to make an exception to rules that prevent corporations from using public property to advertise.

RIM says it is making plans for other events as well.

The company will hold skating rink parties at Kitchener City Hall and in Waterloo Town Square on Jan. 30 to coincide with the unveiling of its new BlackBerry devices.

Gadgets News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Obama calls for research on media in gun violence

NEW YORK (AP) — Hollywood and the video game industry received scant attention Wednesday when President Barack Obama unveiled sweeping proposals for curbing gun violence in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting.

The White House pressed most forcefully for a reluctant Congress to pass universal background checks and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines like the ones used in the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre.

No connection was suggested between bloody entertainment fictions and real-life violence. Instead, the White House is calling on research on the effect of media and video games on gun violence.

Among the 23 executive measures signed Wednesday by Obama is a directive to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and scientific agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence. The order specifically cited "investigating the relationship between video games, media images and violence."

The measure meant that media would not be exempt from conversations about violence, but it also suggested the White House would not make Hollywood, television networks and video game makers a central part of the discussion. It's a relative footnote in the White House's broad, multi-point plan, and Obama did not mention violence in entertainment in his remarks Wednesday.

The White House plan did mention media, but suggested that any effort would be related to ratings systems or technology: "The entertainment and video game industries have a responsibility to give parents tools and choices about the movies and programs their children watch and the games their children play."

The administration is calling on Congress to provide $10 million for the CDC research.

The CDC has been barred by Congress to use funds to "advocate or promote gun control," but the White House order claims that "research on gun violence is not advocacy" and that providing information to Americans on the issue is "critical public health research."

Since 26 were killed by a gunman at Sandy Hook in December, some have called for changes in the entertainment industry, which regularly churns out first-person shooter video games, grisly primetime dramas and casually violent blockbusters.

The Motion Picture Association of America, the National Association of Broadcasters, National Cable & Telecommunications Association and the Independent Film & Television Alliance responded to Wednesday's proposal in a joint statement:

"We support the president's goal of reducing gun violence in this country. It is a complex problem, and as we have said, we stand ready to be a part of the conversation and welcome further academic examination and consideration on these issues as the president has proposed."

After the Newtown massacre, Wayne Pierre, vice-president of the National Rifle Association, attacked the entertainment industry, calling it "a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people." He cited a number of video games and films, most of them many years old, like the movies "American Psycho" and "Natural Born Killers," and the video games "Mortal Kombat" and "Grand Theft Auto."

President Obama's adviser, David Axelrod, had tweeted that he's in favor of gun control, "but shouldn't we also question marketing murder as a game?"

Others have countered that the same video games and movies are played and watched around the world, but that the tragedies of gun violence are for other reasons endemic to the U.S.

The Entertainment Software Association, which represents video game publishers, referenced that argument Wednesday in a statement that embraced Obama's proposal.

"The same entertainment is enjoyed across all cultures and nations, but tragic levels of gun violence remain unique to our country," said the ESA. "Scientific research an international and domestic crime data point toward the same conclusion: Entertainment does not cause violent behavior in the real world."

Several R-rated films released after Newton have been swept into the debate. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former California governor and action film star, recently told USA Today in discussing his new shoot-em-up film "The Last Stand": "It's entertainment. People know the difference."

Quentin Tarantino, whose new film "Django Unchained" is a cartoonish, bloody spaghetti western set in the slavery-era South, has often grown testy when questioned about movie violence and real-life violence. Speaking to NPR, Tarantino said it was disrespectful to the memory of the victims to talk about movies: "I don't think one has to do with the other."

In 2011, the Supreme Court rejected a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children. The decision claimed that video games, like other media, are protected by the First Amendment. In dissent, Justice Stephen G. Breyer claimed previous studies showed the link between violence and video games, concluding "the video games in question are particularly likely to harm children."

In the majority, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that the government can't regulate depictions of violence, which he said were age-old, anyway: "Grimm's Fairy Tales, for example, are grim indeed."

___

AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang contributed to this report from Los Angeles

Read More..

F.D.A. to Tighten Regulation of All-Metal Hip Implants

After an estimated 500,000 patients in the United States have received a type of artificial hip that is failing early in many cases, the Food and Drug Administration is proposing rules that could stop manufacturers from selling such implants.

Under the proposal, which the agency is expected to announce on Thursday, makers of artificial hips with all-metal components would have to prove the devices were safe and effective before they could continue selling existing ones or obtain approval for new all-metal designs.

Currently, companies have to show only that their devices resemble ones already on the market, and they are not required to conduct clinical studies before selling them.

The F.D.A. action is intended to close a loophole in the 1976 federal law under which medical devices were first regulated. It is the agency’s first use of powers that Congress granted to it last year to deal with medical devices, like all-metal hips, that have been in regulatory limbo for decades.

The move comes amid one of the biggest device-related failures in decades. Just a few years ago, all-metal hips — implants in which the ball and cup component is made from a metallic alloy — were used in one of every three joint replacement procedures performed annually in the United States.

Traditional hip replacements, which are made of materials like plastic and metal, typically last 15 years before wearing out. But the all-metal hips, which companies rarely tested in patients before aggressively marketing them, are failing at high rates not long after implantation.

As a result, thousands of patients have been forced to undergo painful and costly operations to replace the devices. In addition, tiny particles of metallic debris released as the artificial joints move have caused severe tissue and bone damage in hundreds of patients, leaving some of them disabled.

Dr. William H. Maisel, deputy director for science at the F.D.A., said the agency’s proposal would require makers of all-metal hips to produce clinical data to justify their use because of the “large number of patients who received these products and the numbers of adverse events associated with them.”

The use of all-metal implants has plummeted, with the devices now accounting for about 5 percent of hip implants. For some of those devices, which are used in a procedure called resurfacing that is an alternative to total hip replacement, the F.D.A. already requires clinical trials before granting approval.

The impact of the proposal on manufacturers of traditional all-metal hips will not be immediate, and industry lobbyists may oppose its adoption or seek to modify it. Agency officials said it would most likely take a year for the rules to be finalized; after that, producers will have 90 days to submit clinical data to support a device’s safety and effectiveness.

In 2011, the F.D.A. ordered manufacturers of all-metal hips to conduct post-marketing studies to determine, among other things, whether the implants were shedding high levels of metallic debris. Dr. Maisel said he expected that device makers might try to use data from those studies to satisfy the proposed requirements.

If a company decided not to submit clinical data or if the information failed to meet agency standards, it would have to stop selling the implant.

The regulatory limbo involving all-metal hips resulted from the Medical Device Amendments of 1976. The law set differing test requirements for various devices, depending on the perceived risk of using them or the role they played in sustaining a patient’s life and health.

Producers of devices considered high risk, like implanted heart defibrillators, had to perform clinical trials to obtain F.D.A. approval for new products. But makers of devices considered less risky, like hospital pumps, had to show only that a new product resembled one already on the market.

However, at the time the legislation was passed, several types of medical devices, including all-metal hips, were already on the market. So lawmakers crafted what was supposed to be a temporary solution: regulators would treat potentially high-risk products like the hips as moderate-risk products until officially determining how to classify them.

But in the case of all-metal hips, the final classification never happened. Over the years, the F.D.A. started procedures to classify the implants but never completed them. Implant companies also lobbied the agency to classify all-metal hips as moderate-risk products rather than high-risk ones.

The result was that device makers like Johnson & Johnson and Zimmer Holdings were able to start selling a new generation of all-metal hips a decade ago without running clinical tests.

Under the Food and Drug Administration Safety and Innovation Act of 2012, the agency now has a more streamlined way of classifying older devices. It no longer has to seek an economic review of a decision’s impact, a process that can take years, said Nancy K. Stade, the F.D.A.’s deputy director for policy.

About 20 types of older medical devices still await reclassification.

In recent weeks, the first of thousands of patient lawsuits involving the most troubled all-metal device, an implant once sold by the DePuy division of Johnson & Johnson, have started to come to trial. Some plaintiffs’ lawyers say it may cost Johnson & Johnson billions of dollars to resolve the litigation, which involves an implant called the Articular Surface Replacement.

On Thursday, the F.D.A. also expects to issue new guidance to doctors monitoring patients who have received all-metal hips.

For the first time, the agency will recommend that patients who are experiencing pain or other symptoms that indicate possible device failure undergo routine testing to detect levels of metallic ions in their blood.

Dr. Maisel said the agency was not recommending a specific ion level at which doctors should consider replacing an implant. Instead, he said physicians should monitor such tests over time and use that data, along with other information, to make such decisions.

Read More..

Sundance darlings eye alternative distribution platforms

Not that long ago, premiering a star-driven Sundance Film Festival movie on a video-on-demand channel was an admission of failure.

But last year's festival produced two huge on-demand hits, Richard Gere's crime drama "Arbitrage" and Kirsten Dunst's wedding comedy "Bachelorette," which collectively generated nearly $30 million in revenue, mostly from VOD.

With the nation's most prominent film festival kicking off Thursday in Park City, Utah, can history repeat itself?

"The last year has educated people that they can have a hit using alternative distribution platforms," said Tom Quinn, the president of the Weinstein Co.'s Radius label, which released "Bachelorette." "This Sundance we'll see how much everyone has learned."

After years of hype in the independent film business, digital platforms have finally begun to bear fruit. Last year's Sundance didn't yield the mega-deals that over the last decade have seen studios pay as much as $10 million to release low-budget productions such as "Hamlet 2" in theaters.

But thanks to VOD, movies that were bought at Sundance last year for only about $2 million, including "Arbitrage" and "Bachelorette," were breakouts. "Arbitrage," purchased by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions, has grossed $8 million at the box office but nearly $12 million on VOD; "Bachelorette" has tallied less than $1 million at the box office but $7.3 million on VOD, according to their distributors.

Several movies from Sundance 2012 did perfectly well following more traditional release plans centered on opening in movie theaters, bolstered by strong reviews: the Oscar-nominated "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Searching for Sugar Man."

Each year, scores of independent filmmakers come to the snowy Utah town looking for deals that will bring their movies to audiences. Over the course of the festival's 10-day run, sales agents will huddle in condos and movie theater lobbies, haggling not only over how much the films will sell for but also where they will be shown. Finding the next "Arbitrage" will be on the minds of many buyers this year.

Among the contenders are Richard Linklater's "Before Midnight," the director's final installment in a romantic trilogy starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy; the porn-addiction comedy "Don Jon's Addiction," directed by and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt; the Shia LaBeouf-starring romantic thriller "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman"; "Kill Your Darlings," which offers the prospect of watching Daniel Radcliffe as a young Allen Ginsberg; and "Lovelace," the story of the '70s porn legend as played by Amanda Seyfried.

Experts say celebrity is a key factor in an on-demand hit; it's nearly impossible to attract channel-surfers without a known name.

"The VOD model doesn't work without a good cast — home entertainment is just different that way," said Howard Cohen of Roadside Attractions. "'Beasts of the Southern Wild' would never do 'Arbitrage' numbers on VOD — no way. And you have to have talent that are willing to support a VOD release and do publicity."

But filmmakers also say they believe their star-driven offerings will resonate with buyers because they tackle universal issues.

"Linda [Lovelace] embodied the evolution of the culture because she was very much about the loosening of sexual mores," said Jeffrey Friedman, who co-directed the film. "She's also a great character study — she's the girl next door who ended up in a very dramatic situation."

Challenges remain with VOD. Many filmmakers want a commitment that their movies will play in theaters before VOD, as well as a large upfront cash payment, known as a minimum guarantee. And actors aren't always on board for a release that will play out largely on television sets, though some are coming around.

"I think the discussion with talent is a lot easier now," said Jessica Lacy, head of the independent film division at International Creative Management, which is selling titles such as the relationship drama "A Teacher" from the young director Hanna Fidell. "But it's still a discussion."

Although there are often willing buyers for sexy films with a big star, filmmakers also hope they can sell difficult but highly original work.

Last year saw the debut of "Searching for Sugar Man," the story of a mysterious Detroit musician by unknown Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul. The film, bought by Sony Pictures Classics, has joined "Exit Through the Gift Shop" and "Capturing the Friedmans" on a list of all-time Sundance documentary breakouts and has been nominated for an Oscar.

Sundance 2012 also famously yielded "Beasts of the Southern Wild," a magical-realist drama from first-time feature filmmaker Benh Zeitlin that Fox Searchlight purchased; it has taken in $11 million at the box office and landed Oscar nominations in the best picture, director, actress and screenplay categories. Searchlight executives have signed up to make Zeitlin's next film.

"After all these years, Sundance is still a place for discovering a new or unexpected filmmaker," said Rena Ronson, co-head of United Talent Agency's independent sales arm. She is hoping that filmmakers such as Jill Soloway, a writer on the TV show "Six Feet Under" who directed the stripper-turned-nanny tale "Afternoon Delight," and Lake Bell, an actress making her directorial debut with "In a World," a story about a second-string voice-over artist, will be among this year's discoveries.

It's yet to be seen what will be this year's "Beasts," but high on buyers' list is Jordan Vogt-Roberts' story of three teenage boys in the wilderness, "Toy's House," as is David Lowery's ex-con tale, "Ain't Them Bodies Saints."

Other titles certain to attract a large contingent of buyers are Jerusha Hess' Jane Austen fantasy-camp dramedy "Austenland," starring Keri Russell; Logan and Noah Miller's period western "Sweetwater," starring Ed Harris and January Jones; and Anne Fontaine's intergenerational romantic drama "Two Mothers," with Naomi Watts and Robin Wright. Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, screenwriters on "The Descendants," have directed "The Way, Way Back," starring Steve Carell.

Some documentary filmmakers are hoping their timely — and controversial — subjects will drive sales. "Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer," about the provocative Russian band, is high on buyers' to-see list. So are "Linsanity," about the galvanizing NBA point guard Jeremy Lin, and "Manhunt," a nonfiction take on the search for Osama bin Laden that covers similar ground to this season's drama "Zero Dark Thirty."

The company 72 Productions, run by Jennifer Chaiken and Sebastian Dungan, is taking one such doc to the festival, "Inequality for All," about income inequality. Paraphrasing the director John Cassavetes, Dungan said, "If you're not arguing about the films after you leave the theater, the films haven't been successful."

Some nonfiction titles are well suited to new distribution models. On Tuesday, the on-demand company Gravitas Ventures announced it would debut "Sound City," the Dave Grohl-directed music documentary premiering at Sundance, on VOD in 100 countries simultaneously with its Feb. 1 theatrical release. And at last year's Sundance, sales agent Andrew Herwitz passed on several small minimum guarantee offers for the skateboarding documentary "Bones Brigade: An Autobiography" and decided to let director Stacy Peralta release the film himself, largely through sites such as iTunes and Amazon Instant Video. Backed by a huge social media and merchandising push, "Bones Brigade" has grossed $700,000 in just a few months without traditional theatrical exhibition.

"Any film with a built-in audience can reach that audience more effectively" through sites like iTunes and Amazon, said Herwitz, who is traveling to Sundance with two narrative films — "Computer Chess" and "Interior. Leather Bar" — and three documentaries — "The Crash Reel," "The Moo Man" and "Pandora's Promise." "And unlike a movie theater, you're always there. You can always launch new initiatives to drive people to your film."

steve.zeitchik@latimes.com

john.horn@latimes.com

Read More..

Supreme Court upholds state laws on floating homes

WASHINGTON — A house that floats on the water and has no power to move on its own is a home, not a vessel, the Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The 7-2 decision upholds laws in California, Washington and other states that say floating homes that are attached to the shore and do not travel are governed by local laws applying to homes, not by federal admiralty law regulating ships and boats.

The ruling will also affect operators of dockside casinos and restaurants, who will now be able to rely on the same state and local laws that protect property owners. State laws, for example, give some protection to store owners for accidents and injuries suffered by their customers or employees. But federal admiralty law gives more generous protections to sailors and harbor workers who are injured working on vessels.

In Tuesday's opinion, the high court narrowed somewhat the definition of a vessel.

It is not "anything that floats," said Justice Stephen G. Breyer, but something "actually used for transportation."

The court ruled for Fane Lozman, who had parked his two-story floating home at a marina in Riviera Beach, Fla. City officials tried to evict him from the marina and later sued him under federal admiralty law over unpaid docking fees. They eventually seized the structure as an abandoned vessel and had it destroyed. In upholding this decision, a federal judge and the U.S. Court of Appeals in Atlanta said the floating home was a vessel because it was capable of moving on the water and, indeed, had been towed several times, including one trip of 200 miles.

Lozman appealed, arguing his home should have been protected under ordinary real estate laws, not classified as a ship subject to seizure.

The Supreme Court, in Lozman vs. City of Riviera Beach, agreed and said a "reasonable observer" looking at the plywood box home would conclude it was a home, not a vessel. It was not "designed to any practical degree for carrying people or things on water," Breyer said. He noted the home had no rudder, steering mechanism or source of propulsion.

The justices sent the case back to Florida, where Lozman can seek to recover a $25,000 bond taken out before his home was seized and destroyed.

"Our clients are thrilled. This 'reasonable observer' test may seem like an obscure technicality, but it's big news for hundreds of floating homeowners we represented in Sausalito and Seattle, and for hundreds of others throughout the nation," said Michelle Friedland, a lawyer in San Francisco. "They live in homes that are designed to remain stationary and are affixed to the land through electrical and other utility connections."

Judy Patterson, executive director of the American Gaming Assn., said the ruling "will have a positive impact on our industry, framing the right of riverboat casino operators and ensuring they do not face overly broad liability, as would have been the case if the Supreme Court had ruled the other way."

Breyer also said that a vessel, once moored, can lose its legal status as a vessel. "For example, an owner might take a structure that is otherwise a vessel (even the Queen Mary) and connect it permanently to the land for use, say, as a hotel," he wrote.

In dissent were Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Anthony M. Kennedy. They said Breyer's "reasonable observer" standard would probably cause confusion in the lower courts.

david.savage@latimes.com

Read More..