Altruism or self preservation? Either way somebody could die, but the outcome is different isn't it?

Not any more. Altruism, never very a strong motive, now no longer exists.

And the lesson of technology is that everybody dies.

I can't help but see this short thread as ironic, given the events of yesterday.

 Yesterday's news goes down with the sun. Besides, people don't like discussing things that lead to unpleasant conclusions.

If the Arab world is having Spring (which I doubt), then the western world is in late Autumn.

Hi graeme

My grandson is/was  also heavily into violent video games. He's 14 and has just begun to ease off a bit. I really worry about what the kids are feeding their minds on an almost daily basis. We've had this topic before and I believe most people posted that these games aren't  harmful just because a few kids or people go nuts. Don't quote me but I think I recall someone posting info. about a church that was providing video games to the youth at church as a means of getting them to attend services.

We've the story Motheroffive alludes to I think about Norway:

OnlineSocialMedia.net reports that on Breivik's Facebook page he listed his interests as body building, hunting, freemasonry, stock analysis and the Modern Warfare 2 video game. Breivik said he had completed “3,000 hours of study in micro and macro finance, religion,” and describes himself as being both Christian and conservative.

Neighbors have reported that they often saw him in “military style clothing”, and some have commented on his love for violent video games.

He reportedly played the World of Warcraft computer game and previously served in the Norwegian army.

He has a lust for violent films and computer games and holds a licence for three guns. His Facebook page says he loves bodybuilding and Call Of Duty – where players can shoot people on an island. And he says his top TV show is US-drama Dexter – in which a police officer turns into a serial killer.

He lists his favourite films as Gladiator and 300, where a small band of soldiers fight to the last man against an army of one million. Police believe this love of violence inspired Breivik’s massacre on Friday.

But behind the boyish good looks was a Nazi ­sympathiser who admired extremist groups – including the English Defence League and the British National Party.

Breivik was a straight-A student at school and went to Oslo Commerce School – an institution devoted to ­business and management. He launched his own firm, Breivik Geofarm, 10 years ago and claimed to have become a millionaire within two years.

P.S. There are so many links...

http://www.christianpost.com/news/profile-of-norwegian-bombing-shooting-suspect-anders-behring-breivik-52735/

Anything to spread out the cause and make it indeterminable.  If it were a Muslim, it would have been because of his Islam, nothing else.  Just saying.

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

P.S.  watch out, I've been playing violent video games for a long time, I might just have to snap and go kill people...NOT.

well, you also have to invent a threat, something to fear and hate. That justifies anything you do.

Apparently, the main killer in Norway is an avid war gamer.

I suppose that could be a factor, but there has to be other things in his life to cause him to act on some kind of murderous instinct.  I know because of my war gaming exactly why war is bad.  And the only war I support is to defend your nation on your own soil.  None of this pre-emptive shit.

As-salaamu alaikum

-Omni

The invention of a threat, preferably one accompanied by a cartoon image of the opponen tis essential. I think of a British soldier machine-gunning a squad of Japanes soldiers, all with glasses and Buck teeth, and saying, "Eat that, you Jpa yellow-bellies." That's in a kid's comic. We use overtones of racism and of our racist superiority (whilte pretending to be anti-racist. We have even seen the invention of an American race and a Canadian race. Those date back a century and more.

So we invent a Moslem race which is, by its nature, murderous and secretive. And that justifies torture, bormbing civilians, body searching 90 year old women at airports, domestic spying, arresting people on suspicion and deporting them without trial....

I note that some readers here are annoyed that Canada, is not taking China to task for human rights violations. Why would we? We have never taken the US to task for rights violations. Indeed, we have cooperated with them.