This is why

The Halo universe is clearly the stuff of pulpy space opera, and the Master Chief is as hard-boiled as they come. Much of the action consists of the Master Chief shooting alien antagonists while swapping Eastwoodian one-liners with his sidekick, a computer program named Cortana who appears as a sexy hologram. But the Halo games also have a curiously lyrical quality about them. They're full of literary touches and evocative phrases--the Master Chief travels in a spaceship called the Pillar of Autumn. The Halo universe is rich in lore--gamers love to be there the way some people love to pretend they're in Jane Austen novels. The action isn't nonstop; instead it includes dramatic beats and even moments of melancholy solitude, with Romantic weather effects and sublime vistas and soaring Gregorian chants. The game has a moody, Wagnerian quality--the Master Chief is dwarfed by towering alien architecture that recalls Piranesi. Halo takes itself seriously as, if not art, certainly a spectacle. But art seems more apt....

[Bungie's] devotion is fueled by a belief, not shared by the world at large, that video games are an art form with genuine emotional meaning and that Halo 3 will be the premier example of that art.

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Good thing she's pretty

Arrr!

Guns don't kill people, helicopters kill people

Okay, I know guns kill a lot more people than helicopters do, but after reading about this latest disaster I can't help feeling that helicopters are unacceptably dangerous, even for a war zone.

We can't easily stop insurgents from shooting at our troops (well, we could pull out of Iraq, or at least stop arming them, but I digress). What we can control is the use of a vehicle which appears to be a flying death trap.

Lets look at some data. I got these numbers from icasualties.org. Are they a reliable source of information? Supposably.

The first thing I noticed when querying the database is that there are no fewer than five categories for helicopter-related deaths (well, six if you count one poor guy who fell out). The second thing I noticed is that there are nearly as many deaths due to non-hostile helicopter crashes as there are for hostile encounters.

Cause	Deaths
Total fatalities to date	4020
Hostile - helicopter crash	108
Hostile - helicopter crash (missile attack)	29
Hostile - helicopter down	2
Hostile - helicopter shot down	9
Non-hostile - helicopter crash	111
Total fatalities involving a helicopter	230

It looks like "missile attack" is a subset of crashes, but the others seem to be distinct categories, so I calculate a total of 230 helicopter-related deaths, or about 5.7% of the total fatalities to date. That might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind there are a lot of ways to die in a war zone. Three people died while disarming an IED. Would you rather go for a ride in a helicopter or disarm a bomb?

The next time someone offers me a ride on a military chopper, I think I'll pass. Whether A) it's being piloted by a kid who probably shouldn't even be allowed to drive a car, B) it's hovering noisily within range of enemy RPGs, or C) it just has sand in its rotors, I don't want to be on it.

It doesn't feel pity or remorse

Armed Robots Pushed to Police

Armed robots -- similar to the ones now on patrol in Iraq -- are being marketed to domestic police forces, according to the machines' manufacturer and law enforcement officers. None of the gun-toting 'bots appear to have been deployed domestically, yet. Both cops and company officials say it's only a matter of time, however.

"Other than some R&D with the shotgun mount, we haven't used it operationally," Massachusetts State Police Trooper Mike Rogowski tells DANGER ROOM. "But they're on the way. They're coming."

Heh - "R&D with the shotgun mount," sounds like someone's been having some fun.

Foster-Miller, maker of the armed SWORDS robot for military use, is also actively promoting a similar model to domestic, civilian police forces. The Talon SWAT/MP is a "robot specifically equipped for scenarios frequently encountered by police SWAT [special weapon and tactics] units and MPs [military police]," a company fact sheet announces. It "can be configured with the following equipment:

• Multi-shot TASER electronic control device with laser-dot aiming.
• Loudspeaker and audio receiver for negotiations. ("You have 15 seconds to comply.")
• Night vision and thermal cameras.
• Choice of weapons for lethal or less-than-lethal responses
- 40 mm grenade launcher - 2 rounds
- 12-gage shotgun - 5 rounds
- FN303 less-lethal launcher - 15 rounds.

I'm familiar with the term "non-lethal" rounds, but what exactly does "less-lethal" mean? If I get shot with one of these will I only be sort-of dead?

Can't argue with that logic

Seriously? The Daily Show doesn't even need writers anymore.

Damn You, YouTube!

Dog doesn't taste like chicken

If it did, I guarantee you no one would be calling for a lifetime ban of Michael Vick from the NFL. I'm just saying.