Tag: CONTROVERSY

A new video game that invites players to virtually participate in Mexico's ongoing cartel war has drawn criticism for glorifying the country's devastating gang violence. According to game developer Ubisoft, 'Call of Juarez: The Cartel' asks players to "take the law into (their) own hands" on a "bloody road trip from Los Angeles to Juarez" -- the Mexican city that has been ravaged by ...

In Japan, sumo wrestlers aren't just athletes -- they're caretakers of an ancient tradition, rooted in noble behavior and moral dignity. Now, however, that perception may be changing, thanks to widespread accusations of match-rigging, and incriminating text messages. On May 10th, wrestler Kiyoseumi sent a text to his opponent, Kasuganishiki, asking him to "hit hard at the face-off, then go ...

Figuring out where to draw the line between free speech and harassment is hard enough for the government; it's even more difficult for Facebook. In recent months, the social network has found itself on the fulcrum of many high-profile free speech debates, ranging in topics from controversial cartoons to cyberbullying to Wikileaks. Through it all, Facebook's 'hate and harassment' team has tried to ...

When a book offering guidance on how to be a pedophile inexplicably landed in the Kindle's list of Top 100 Paid Bestsellers, Amazon suddenly found itself at the center of a brewing national controversy. Thousands of users posted comments of anger and disgust, and many even threatened to boycott the retailer. Through it all, Amazon held firm, and steadfastly refused to remove the title -- until ...

Bruce Slutsky, a 61-year-old from Flushing, NY was recently called to jury duty to hear a civil case, which involved a plaintiff filing assault charges against his neighbors. Unlike most jurors, however, Slutsky decided to document his courtroom experience on his blog. And, although the Queens, NY court ultimately determined that Slutsky's online actions didn't pose a threat to the trial's ...

When the newest version of 'Medal of Honor' hits living rooms on October 12th, users will still be able to spend hours of their lives shooting at each other in a hostile, virtual rendering of Afghanistan. One thing they won't be able to do, though, is play for the Taliban, as producer Electronic Arts, has now decided to pull the highly controversial option from the game's multi-player feature. ...

This Sunday marks the 20th anniversary of German reunification. Not coincidentally, it also marks the release of a new shoot 'em up game called '1378 (km),' set along the Berlin Wall during the Cold War. Although the game's creator insists that '1378 (km)' has a very real educational value, that hasn't done much to quell the controversy in Germany, where the memories of East-West violence are ...

In Italy, high-level political scandals involve tantalizing things like underage girls and Mediterranean sex parties. In France, they involve boring things like campaign finance and L'Oreal. Still, in a country starved for any opportunity to pounce on its diminutive president, Nicolas Sarkozy, rumors involving dirty money and the heiress of a corporate empire are enough to make headlines across ...

Share Today in Palo Alto, Mark Zuckerberg and crew unveiled a drastically reworked set of privacy controls for Facebook, prompted by weeks of backlash (including a push for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate). The changes, as discussed with Senator Chuck Schumer and other consumer advocacy and privacy groups, are designed to give users much tighter and simpler control over what they ...

The legal haranguing over the Lower Merion School District's use of computer tracking software may be winding down. And, while the school administrators don't escape unscathed, a report has found no evidence of a concerted effort to "spy" on students. The report, commissioned by attorneys for the district, does find serious flaws with the school district's privacy policies, and even hammers ...

In South Korea, marathon late-night gaming sessions may soon become a thing of the past. According to The Korean Herald, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has enforced a video game curfew for teenagers. It's an effort to curb game addiction in a country where, according to Huffington Post, a recent survey of over 1,500 public school students found that about 29-percent showed signs of ...

Under a barrage of accusations that it gives better reviews to companies that advertise on its site, Yelp has spoken out in staunch defense of its policies. As the Wall Street Journal reports, the review site has published a series of blog posts in which it denies any wrongdoing, and argues that many of the false allegations stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of how the site filters reviews ...

Dog owners in Britain might soon have extra incentive to keep their canines on a short leash. According to an Associated Press report posted on Huffington Post, government officials want a microchip installed in every dog in the U.K. In addition, the owners of the dogs would be required to purchase insurance on the animals. The argument being that cheap microchips, costing between $15 and $52 ...

The ability to create memorial pages on Facebook allows friends, family members, and well-wishers to remember and celebrate lost loved ones. Since it is the Internet, though, heartless and conscienceless people frequently utilize those pages to display their repulsiveness. Such dregs of humanity reportedly plagued the memorial pages for two recently deceased Australians. Tragically, the ...

We're sure that all of you by now have at least heard of 'The Jersey Shore,' and that a few of the more masochistic among you have probably even watched the show. The latest piece of trashy reality TV from the now misleadingly named Music Television (MTV), has offended everyone from Italian Americans, to year-round residents of Seaside Heights, to the non-orange-skinned natives of Staten ...