No Fallout 3 for Aus

The Australian Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) has refused to classify Fallout 3 because of drug use. Obviously a video game is clearly more dangerous than a Quentin Tarantino film. The highest rating available for games in Australia is “MA 15+”, so once again the the lack of a “R 18+” rating for video games once again raises its head.

“In the Board’s view these realistic visual representations of drugs and their delivery method bring the ’science-fiction’ drugs in line with ‘real-world’ drugs” – OFLC

Classification RC
Consumer Advice
Category Computer Games
Version ORIGINAL
Duration variable
Date of Classification 4 July 2008
Author BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS
Publisher ZENIMAX EUROPE LTD
Production Company NOT SHOWN
Country of Origin USA
Applicant ZENIMAX EUROPE LTD.
File Number T08/2707
Classification Number 5371155D

What is amazing to me, is that the reasons they have refused this game classification are comparable to soooooooo many other video games out there. How many levels in GTA IV rewarded you for a drug related mission? Is alcohol not considered a drug? What are the syringes in BioShock filled with – magic fairy dust? Hit ‘view full’ to read the full report. – Australian Gamer [3]

Inconsistent, hypocritical – we’re from the Government, we’re here to help.

Games are only going to become more like Hollywood films — and reality, for that matter — in the future, and if they refuse to rate any game that depicts something as commonplace as drug usage or sex, the number of games being banned will increase to unacceptable levels very shortly. – Wired [4]

The decision for an “R 18+” rating for video games unfortunately must be via a unanimous vote by all the state Attorney Generals. Currently the Attorney General of South Australia, Michael Atkinson, will ensure there is never an “R 18+” so long as he’s still in the job.

I guess on-line purchasing will become very popular …

[1] Gamers baffled by Fallout 3 drug use ban (2008-Jul-16) [ABC]
[2] Fallout 3 – OFLC documents (2008-Jul-10) [Australian Gamer]
[3] Fallout 3 game ban to reignite ratings debate (2008-Jul-16) [news.com.au]
[4] Fallout 3 Banned in Australia (2008-Jul-09) [Wired]

Tour de France 2008 – Stage XII

Tonight is Stage 12 (Lavelanet to Narbonne) 168.5 km

Stage Details:

• stage 12 – Lavelanet > Narbonne 168.5 km [www.letour.fr]
• Stage 12: Lavelanet > Narbonne [SBS]
• Stage 12 – Thursday, July 17: Lavelanet – Narbonne, 168.5km [CyclingNews]
• Stage 12 • LAVELANET > NARBONNE • 168,5 km [EuroSport]
• Stage 12 preview: Lavelanet → Narbonne, 168k (rolling) [SteepHill]
• Route Tour de France 08, Étape 12, Lavelanet – Narbonne [bikemap.net]

Climbs:
Cat 4 – at:57.5 km – Col du Camperié – h:514m

Le parcours 2008 : découvrez l’étape 12
(Tour de France YouTube Channel)

Live:
Live Race Data [Polar]
Live Telemetry [SRM]
Current local time in Paris (World Clock)
Live Audio|AudioPlayer [EuroSport]
Tour de France – Live Tracker [UBI Labs]
stage 12 – Lavelanet > Narbonne 168.5 km live [www.letour.fr]
Stage 12 – Thursday, July 17: Lavelanet – Narbonne, 168.5km Complete live report [CyclingNews]
Lavelanet – Narbonne “live match” [Eurosport Yahoo!]
TdFblog (Frank Steele’s) [Twitter]
Boulder Report Live Blog [bicycling.com]
SBS: Tour de France 2008 Forum [SBS]

Newsflash:
Another one bites the dust … Riccardo Ricco appears to be more of a snake in the grass than a cobra.

Welcome to our LIVE coverage of this 12th stage of the Tour de France on another dark day for cycling. If you have not heard, double stage winner Riccardo Ricco has tested positive for EPO and his Saunier Duval team have withdrawn from the race. We will keep you updated on events as they unfold throughout the day as well as what happens in this 12th stage of the Grande Boucle.
– Eurosport

And we lose an Aussie

13:53 – Baden Cooke Abandons
Baden Cooke has abandoned the Tour de France. He crashed at the 16km mark, remounted but has just stepped off his bike and had his race numbers removed. There are now 158 riders in the race. — www.letour.fr

Results:

17:04 – Cavendish: King Of The Sprint
Mark Cavendish made winning the stage look oh-so easy. He now has three in his collection.
– www.letour.fr

01. Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia)
02. Sebastian Chavanel (Francaise des Jeux)
03. Gert Steegmans (Quickstep)
04. Erik Zabel (GER) (Milram)
05. Oscar Freire (Rabobank)
06. Francesco Chicchi (Liquigas)
07. Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole)
08. Leonardo Duque (Cofidis)
09. Julian Dean (Slipstream)
10. Heinrich Hassler (Gerolsteiner)

Tour de Web:
(What others have to say about this stage)
[1] Stage 12 – Thursday, July 17: Lavelanet – Narbonne, 168.5km [Cycling News]
[2] RESULTS:Stage 12 – Thursday, July 17: Lavelanet – Narbonne, 168.5km [Cycling News]
[3] SBS Tour de France 2008: Stage 12 – Lavelanet > Narbonne [SBS]
[4] Stage 12 Photos [Graham Watson]
[5] Mother of Mercy, is this the end of Ricco? [TDF Blog]
[6] Stage 12 results: Mark Cavendish wins the sprint finish in Narbonne for his third stage win this year [Steephill.tv]
[7] — [The Tour de France for the Rest of Us]
[8] Stage 12 as it happened [BBC]
[9] Cavendish win makes Tour history [BBC]
[10] Stage 12: Cavendish x 3, Ricco idiot [Spare Cycles]
[11] Tour de France ‘08 Stage 12 Link Roundup [Spare Cycles]
[12] Stage Twelve: Lavelanet to Narbonne [Tour de France Lanterne Rouge]
[13] Cavendish blazes to 3rd stage win [VeloNews]
[14] Stage 12 • LAVELANET > NARBONNE • 168,5 km [EuroSport]
[15] Daily Video – Stage 11 [Versus]

FireFox 3.0.1

Mozilla released Firefox 3.0.1 on July 16, 2008

Fixed in Firefox 3.0.1 [1]
MFSA 2008-36 Crash with malformed GIF file on Mac OS X
MFSA 2008-35 Command-line URLs launch multiple tabs when Firefox not running
MFSA 2008-34 Remote code execution by overflowing CSS reference counter

Vulnerability ratings: 3 Critical
Evaluation: Update now

We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 3.0, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu. [3]

[1] Fixed in Firefox 3.0.1 [Mozilla]
[2] Mozilla Firefox 3.0.1 Release Notes [Mozilla]
[3] Firefox 3.0.1 security and stability update now available for download (2008-Jul-16) [Mozilla]

FireFox 2.0.0.16

Mozilla released Firefox 2.0.0.16. on July 15, 2008

Fixed in Firefox 2.0.0.16 [1]
MFSA 2008-35 Command-line URLs launch multiple tabs when Firefox not running
MFSA 2008-34 Remote code execution by overflowing CSS reference counter

Vulnerability ratings: 2 Critical
Evaluation: Update now

We strongly recommend that all Firefox users upgrade to this latest release. If you already have Firefox 2.x, you will receive an automated update notification within 24 to 48 hours. This update can also be applied manually by selecting “Check for Updates…” from the Help menu.
…
Note: Firefox 2.0.0.x will be maintained with security and stability updates until mid-December, 2008. All users are encouraged to upgrade to Firefox 3. [3]

Flock 1.2.4
Flock has also updated to v1.2.4 incorporated Mozilla’s 2.0.0.16 patch for Firefox.

Flock 1.2.4 Release Notes and Known Issues

New Flock Updates in 1.2.4
* Incorporated Mozilla’s 2.0.0.16 patch for Firefox.
* Better apostrophe encoding in status messages.
* A fix for YouTube logout detection.
* Turned on adult filtering for Truveo.

– Flock release notes

[1] Fixed in Firefox 2.0.0.16 [Mozilla]
[2] Mozilla Firefox 2.0.0.16 Release Notes [Mozilla]
[3] Firefox 2.0.0.16 security and stability update now available for download (2008-Jul-15) [Mozilla]
[5] Firefox 2.0.0.16 fixes two security vulnerabilities (2008-Jul-16) [SANS]