Sunday October 18, 2009, 3:21 pm
The person reporting on this youthful enthusiasm was Pat Elder, who serves on the Steering Committee of the National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth. Elder also described young teenagers congratulating each other for “killing ragheads” and “wiping out hajis.”

All of this fun went on at the Army Experience Center (AEC), a 14,500-square-foot “virtual educational facility” in the Franklin Mills Mall in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The U.S. Army opened the center in August 2008 and planned to run it for two years as a pilot program. If the center proved able to recruit as many new soldiers as five ordinary recruiting stations, the Army planned to build them nationally. The AEC cost more than $12 million to design and construct, but of course the Army spends several billion dollars a year on recruitment.

Peace activists and concerned citizens from the surrounding area and up and down the East Coast quickly formed a campaign dubbed “Shut Down the AEC” (shutdowntheaec.net). Through a series of nonviolent protests and demonstrations, some of them involving arrests, protesters raised concerns and generated a flood of negative media attention for the Army's latest recruitment tool. As a result, the Pentagon called on Donna Miles, a writer for the American Services Press Service, the Pentagon's propaganda arm. Miles had already published soothing articles following scandals at Abu Ghraib, Walter Reed, and various incidents involving civilian casualties. As Elder points out, “Either Miles is incredibly prolific, with 229 articles attributed to her this year, or she's a pseudonym for several under the employ of the Pentagon.”


Miles reported on the AEC thusly: “Thirteen-year-old Sean Yaffee, for example, doesn't see himself joining the military. But he's becoming another regular at the center, where he can play the same computer games he has at home, but in the company of his buddies. Yaffee said he's learned a lot about the Army at the center. ‘It just tells you about the Army experience, but it doesn't pressure you,' he said. ‘I'm really just here to have a good time.'”

Sweet, but the public wasn't buying it and the protests continued. On September 12, 2009, a crowd of 250 activists marched to the AEC in opposition to the use of public dollars to teach children—in a quasi-public-space—that killing can be fun, while also recruiting eighteen-year-olds to engage in the real thing. This time, police arrested six protesters and one journalist. The journalist, Cheryl Biren, wasn't with the protesters but was picked out of the crowd, apparently because of her professional camera.

Days prior to this long-planned and publicly announced protest, the Army preemptively announced that it would likely close the AEC and not open any others in shopping malls, as had been planned. The reason? Are you ready to hear this?

By their own admission, the Army doesn't need any more recruits because the bad economy has driven up recruitment significantly.

Now, the truth is that the economy is lousy, unemployment is rising, and the military has cut back on other recruitment expenses, the stated reason being the rise in recruitment that comes with a lousy economy.

The whopper of a lie is that the Army could ever be satisfied with its recruitment numbers. And the glaring omission was the protests. While the Army is cutting back in recruitment on some areas, it's still spending billions of dollars per year, and it is spending those billions where they'll be most effective, which means, in part, where they will generate the least opposition and negative attention. Early reports, prior to the protests, were that the AEC was succeeding in its recruitment goals. Following the protests, the AEC mysteriously became ineffective.

Read more?...Visit site.

Sunday October 18, 2009, 5:16 pm
As a lifelong pacifist I am astounded by the whole market of 'shoot-em-up' video nasties from Grand Theft Auto onwards that teach our young folk that killing is 'fun'. The media also pumps out hours of death and destruction in ever more realistic detail each year. On the other hand the sale of toy guns in the UK is at an all time low???? Youngsters are getting very mixed messages from their elders...many of whom grow misty eyed when recalling the 'good times' during the war...when we had to rely on each other and pull together and all the other catch phrases and spin that got the population through those rough dangerous times.

My youngest son has joined the Army and will be serving in Afghanistan in the New Year. He is very confident and self assured like all of his age...'nothing will happen to me dad' he says. I guess that the occupants of many body bags said the same thing. But I love him to bits and will give him my 100% love and support as he faces an uncertain future.

I am left with a great sadness that killing of any living being is considered either sport or fun. This seems just wrong morally and contrary to all the rules of any religion on chooses to follow. (Except fundamentalist religion of any kind that arrogantly believes they have a divine right to kill anyone not sharing their tilted view of the world). Let us try to be clear. Some killing happens by accident and is almost unavoidable...road kill, stepping on insects and what the cats bring in...fall roughly into this category) But deliberate cold hearted premeditated killing is theft of the right to life be it an animal of a fellow human being. OK I am human there have been people that I might have wished to throttle on occasions...hell I wouldn't be human if I had not had a few moments of anger here and there...but I never would have acted upon these things.

Killing is wrong and to make a game of it and try to pretend it is fun...especially while denigrating other races would appear totally immoral. Just my view of course.

Sunday October 18, 2009, 5:38 pm
"Just my view of course."...The understement of the year David?...If only more people thought like you, I and many others, might sleep well at night and no longer feel the need to post stories like this...

I wish your son well, I have one too, but have the sense that to tell him "not to venture into war" will inspire him to do so...A chip off the old block, or just another time warped video game? :)

Sunday October 18, 2009, 5:44 pm
Oooops...UNDERSTATEMENT of the year :)

Sunday October 18, 2009, 7:18 pm
Stupid imperialist militaries and their paid killers!!!

Sunday October 18, 2009, 7:45 pm
I shall add a small comment (other than thanking both Davids).

In America, no matter whether it's a book (doubtful), a video game (oh yes!), or the television, movies, recording artists....all of which catch our childrens' attention....there is VIOLENCE. It is glamorized (maybe not by the word "war"), but you see it as soon as they are born. They bite, they hit, they push/shove. They bully in school. Their parents teach them to "hunt", and before you know it...there's a gun chest (supposedly with a key to keep them out of it), and if they can't fight with a gun....they'll use knives, chains....drugs to kill.

I feel sorry *almost* for the less fortunate countries who only LET their children grow up for the military, or protecting a country who taught you their very best.

This article gives me the creeps! :(

(Kat)

Sunday October 18, 2009, 9:37 pm
I have a very important comment to make.

Please have a look at this link (news article about a new video game developed where the "player" gets to rape and abuse a mother and her two daughters....

http://www.care2.com/news/member/167272931/1279878

Video games are like TV. All about choices. Do you prefer to watch an educational program or American Idol?
Same with video games. There are educational games, but most of the development is in violent, sick games.
I am really not surprised...

Sunday October 18, 2009, 10:08 pm
I think kids should play military video games. I do and I am good at them. They promote cognitive learning and eye hand coordination, but as my son and I play these games and feed the aggressive drive from our lizard brains, we know and frequently discuss how stupid people are to do this in real life.

The world is not a video game and you do NOT re-spawn or get a new life when wounded or you die in real life, as you do in the games. PARENTS NEED TO TALK TO THEIR KIDS AND REMIND THEM OF THIS FACT ! !

Video games teach even good players that you all die and how easy our guns, planes, tanks, and technology is at killing us-everyone dies!

It is a horrible thing that we are mass murdering animals and we do this in military regimented structures just like we are playing football and people root for our troops just like they root for a team. It is mind boggling!

Why do people blame games for our aggressive nature, instead of recognizing how violent and aggressive we are? DENIAL ! DENIAL ! DENIAL ! We are NOT animals, because we are godz gift to the world is their cartoon logic.

This denial has to find something to blame instead of our aggressive violent animal natures, so video games get the mud. I wish there were other games like the new Beatles Rock Band series, that I just got and we have put in at least 20 hours in two days playing these really great songs.

The military games are a drag compared to Rock Band, but when playing in a squad and moving through a map reviving each other and taking territory you can feel your animal nature drive and give thanks you have the good sense to know
IT IS HIGH TIME WE STOP ALL WARS NOW ! ! ! They are crazy to deny their mass murdering and destruction of humanity.

Video games are not making U.S. go to war and they do help naive kids think it is ok to kill because they don't have parents telling them it is wrong or stupid. But sex on the internet or magazines makes parent less kids think rape and sex without love or responsibility is OK too. Bank robbing movies make kids think, "Gee I can get rich quick." WIthout parents guidance is the phrase that we should look at, not what kids do that takes them into bad directions!

If you want to blame video games then movies, magazines, books, and music are next. Blame everything else but our nature for violence, sex, and aggression from our hypothalamus=lizard brain, yes we all have a lizard brain, just like a rooster! Deny that these drives are there and deny holding the PARENTS RESPONSIBLE To guide their kids and be there to educate, talk about how wrong war, rape, and violence is. Deny it all but remember all you do when you blame some book, movie, or video game is show how easy it is to ignore the kid's and your nature and avoid the responsibility of being a parent and guidance.

Monday October 19, 2009, 4:19 am
Absolutely disgusting... how can parents allow their kids to participate in this sort of game... It is atrocious, causes rebellion and hardens the heart to the real thing... where they do not live in the real world and far from reality... the governemnt needs to crack down on these wacko's who make up this stuff

Monday October 19, 2009, 7:57 am
If we stopped all the Wars it would not sto the video games from being made. I feel it would increase them. I live with a Solider who not only fuoght in Iraq for 8 months but fights when he goes on Duty every day in Law Enforcement...He enjoys playing these type of video games and to be honest if the parents are with their son/daughter and can explain to them the difference between reality and fake - great. But dont send them to the mall and except others to do it for you. I grew up in a house with guns and I knew what they could do and I also knew that was went on in video games and tv was fake YET what we had in our house was real so they were to be respected.

I dont like all these shoot em up video games anymore then anyone else but there here and the only way to make sure YOUR child doenst get a hold of them - dont give them the money to play them. When they go to friends house ask the parents NOT to allow your child to play those games. When my cousins were teenagers and went to their friends home - they were allowed to watch MTV and when they went to friends house - that information was shared and respected. There isnt enough respect between families and friends - I have some that allow thier kids to do anything and any kids that comes over its a free for all - respecting the other kids parents wishes goes out the door w/ I wont tell if you wont tell....Have respect for how others raise their kids.

I dont see any issue with the Army having this at their recruiting sites. I do have issues that they are allowing kids at age 8 to play. That 8 year old has 10 years before he can enlist or even think about enlisting. Use that "game" as a tool to show what you will be doing and that it is for real.

Monday October 19, 2009, 8:03 am
That is the point Chaz, HOW CAN PARENTS allow their kids to buy this game or play it.

In fact, shouldn't games like Grand Theft Auto IV where kids can run over people on the streets or beat people up or shoot them for no reason, be red flagged? Rape games can be changed (Skins change characters in games) so that pedophiles could be raping kids or boys ! ! These kinds of games should raise red flags to the entire culture or social services should be alerted and maybe the police.

Imagine a rape game, like the one David has highlighted, is bought by a sex offender or a kid, who has no parents at home or they don't care what he does, shouldn't we take some action to monitor or red flag these people as needing intervention, therapy, or just call the police ???

I mean if we think of society as an extension of the family, then we should all care when people of any age engage in anti-social behavior and crimes like rape or murder in a game or planning it. Shouldn't we all be alarmed about kids down the street laughing at a rape game or killing people in the streets with guns or cars ?

If we are not vigilant and offer to help these people then we can expect the crimes to be next. The other side of the coin is we have a chance to improve the criminal mind before they act out their crimes from movies or video games. When people buy these rape or murder games, they are not activated until you register them online. This process puts the user on a list of contacts for social services to contact and follow. These services should look up any record of previous offenses and crimes and go to the home if there are any and start a relationship, sort of we care, but if you don't we are watching what you do kind of thing... Seems like we have a chance to be community parents, but we don't want to live in a police state.

I am thinking of the drug model in Switzerland and Holland. They allow use of Heroin and Cocaine, but you sign an x-roster at the pharmacy to get pure non poisonous doses of the drugs, and they offer social services to follow up on the people using these drugs to see if they are OK. They help them not incarcerate them. Crimes related to drugs and deaths are down, dramatically down from the prohibition days, so why couldn't we do this with the crazy rape and murder video games?

We need to see the benefits of computers and software, but assume the responsibility for our human nature to be sexual perverts, aggressive killers, and help people who are fantasizing about doing these horrible things, like parents helping their kids realizing these things are wrong, and stop them from happening. We all need love and support it what it boils down to and if there were more social services that could replace parents who can't or for adults who don't have anybody, then the sick rooster brain rape and murder tendencies could be addressed and the consequential crimes eliminated or reduced.

Anybody here ever play Rock Band, or COD4 or COD5, the new patch for BF2 1.5 is great...? Video games can be fun and like everything in life they are reflections of the quality of our lives when we use them in perspective to humanitarian goals.

Monday October 19, 2009, 7:17 pm
Any one going into an army recruitment area should expect to see tools of the trade there for those interested to see if they have an aptitude for firing guns. And have you checked the video game centers lately? They are loaded with these things.

Monday October 19, 2009, 7:23 pm
We are at war in several countries - what are you doing about it? We are dependent on petroleum.

Eat too much meat? It takes forty times the fossil fuel to produce a pound of feedlot beef as does soybeans. I know 'everybody' knows this, and every restaurant menu I see reads 'meat, meat, meat', every dish, three meals a day.

People are beginning to take matters into our own hands - hybrid vehidles, electric cars, electric bicycles. We were supposed to get massive spending on mass transit with the Stimulus Bills (Republicans claim the bills are nothing more than glorified earmark spending).

Keep up the good work. Do everything you can to help us kick the petroleum habit.

Tuesday October 20, 2009, 10:52 am
I am not yet convinced about the green credentials of electric bikes and cars...they are still made of metals that need energy to smelt, roll and press them....plus all their plastic bits and wires...and the electricity that powers them comes mostly from burning coal or oil. Renewables is still in its infancy and so far in the UK that seems to be limited to cluttering up every hill with wind farms...we need to think of Solar, tidal (Moon) and the electricity produced by plant growth...and I am not sold on the idea of eating beans...other folk have to live in this house too!

Saturday October 24, 2009, 9:40 pm
I agree Daniel, that pro military nutz are not going to see the death and violence as a warning or insight into human nature being like roosters or animals with technology that make them the most dangerous animals on the planet. No they see these video games as an extension of their team, country, or patriotism's defense and power. This is the problem. There is NO critical thinking from an under educated population that follows and does not question why.

Sheeple are bahhhkwards because going forward or thinking progressively is too difficult. Everything is taken literally and the value of what we do as people as a reflection of our nature and drives is lost. We can't understand or see ourselves that way and if we can't understand who we are; how can we change?