by Damon Martin

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

The Supreme Court of the United States of America will soon be taking on a precedent-making case, set to be heard in November of this year, about the reach of the First Amendment when it comes to the realm of video games. Given Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s involvement, I’m going to try to present facts and opinion, and leave out any clichéd quotes such as “Get to da choppa!” or “I’ll be back” as best I can.

In 2005 the State of California passed two statutes, California Assembly Bills 1792 & 1793, which effectively banned the sale of ultra-violent video games to minors. However, the Video Software Dealers Association successfully appealed on the grounds of freedom of expression at the district court level, and the laws were judged to be unconstitutional. The State of California subsequently appealed the decision, and Schwarzenegger vs. Entertainment Merchants Association will bring the issue to the highest court in the land for a final judgment call

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by AJ Focht

The military uses virtual simulations to help train their soldiers but are you getting similar training when you ‘pwn noobz’ from home? Well maybe not the exact same training but there are many benefits you might not know about (especially since the mainstream media has such a low opinion of gamers and gaming they’re unlikely to highlight them). How can playing an hour of video games each day help your development? Gaming friends, please read on:

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by Eric “Butter” Levy

I am both cursed and blessed at the same time, living in a third world country. Sometimes I feel that the term ‘Banana Republic’ was coined to refer to my little stretch of land and not to the fancy (at least to me) store you can find in most malls all across the good old U. S. of A. A little bit over a hundred years of being a Republic, and you would think things would be a tad different, no? Then again this is the one, the only… The Republic of Panama: Bridge of the World, Heart of the Universe (as some Tourism slogans advertise).

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