>> ^ShakyJake:
You're right, Bcglorf, it was a bit of a snide drive-by comment. But the point I was trying to make is that as bad as conditions there and elsewhere in the world are, they'll never get the same kind of mainstream attention as places where we have a vested interest. Call it despicable all you want, but it seems more like an unfortunate reality to me.


I agree, though even in a place like Iraq where we have a personal interest the media still is giving little to no attention to the Saddam era genocide through chemical weapons on villages and gathering civilians in concentration camps before marching them to mass graves and a bulldozer burial. Our main stream media gives the impression that dictators like Saddam and Kim Jong Il aren't really all that bad. In reality though, they have committed the exact same crimes we condemn the Nazi's for. But, we'd rather have weekly 1 hour TV specials with celebrities visiting starving children in Africa. It's great to raise awareness of Africa, but most people don't realize that the conditions for the every day North Korean are not only much worse, but the North Korean don't even realize that a better life exists anywhere else.

Oh, an an up vote to go with your snide comment might help get some attention to the cause.

I love this movie. Here's the trivia section from IMDB:

* Charlotte Rampling had a role as a hitchhiker whom Kowalski met while en route, but her scenes were deleted before the US release. The scenes were re-inserted for the UK release. The DVD release includes both the US and UK versions.

* The car featured in the film is a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T, with a 440 cubic-inch V-8, and not a 426 Hemi V-8 (as is often believed). Five white Challengers loaned from the Chrysler Corporation were used during the filming.

* The Challenger had Colorado plates: OA-5599

* There were actually four 440 Challenger R/Ts and one 383 Challenger R/T, which was an automatic with green interior. This one was used for some exterior shots and it pulled the 1967 Camaro up to speed so the Camaro could hit the bulldozers. As confirmed by property master Dennis J. Parrish, all of the cars were NOT originally white. They were just painted white for the film. During the scene where Kowalski has a flat tire, you can see green paint in the dents.

* Cameo: [David Gates] The singer/songwriter (of Bread fame) played the piano during the rousing revival in the desert with the J. Hovah singers.

* The city names on the California Highway Patrol tracking board (where Kowalski never made it) were Stockton, Oakland, Berkeley and San Francisco.

* Director Richard C. Sarafian's original choice for the role of Kowalski was Gene Hackman, but the studio, 20th Century Fox, insisted on using Barry Newman if the movie was going to be made.

* The color white was chosen for the car simply so the car would stand out against the background scenery in the movie. White was not symbolic in any way. The director says this in the DVD commentary.

* A 1967 Camaro shell (no engine) loaded with explosives was used for the final crash. You can see the "Camaro" fender nameplate upside-down in the lower left corner of the screen after the crash.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'killdozer, bulldozer, tribute, granby, colorado, insanity, funny' to 'killdozer, bulldozer, tribute, granby, colorado, insanity, funny, tubthumping' - edited by calvados

does this "the Army unit may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control" translate to disaster assistance?

Also, why is it acceptable to you that active duty are being used for domestic duty? Isn't that what the reserves are for? Isn't 1st BCT active duty? Why are all of the reserves overseas and have no equipment to respond to disasters?

You tell me if there is training with rescue vehicles and bulldozers and bridge repair, or if you training is with UAVs, urban theater, and with usage of tasers. WTF are they doing all the taser stuff for if it is to deliver supplies to disaster areas??

Let me guess, you skipped over the part about "new modular package of nonlethal capabilities" and tasers and all the fun toys that came from Iraq.

Tell me where in the chain of command "locals" fit in for active policing or assistance. You do know about National Guard and their role? How about their command structure. Tell me again how an active duty brigade isn't receiving orders under the revised Insurrection Act and how the Governor and/ot ANY LOCALS fit into this?!

You might want to read up on the Constitution about how active duty soldiers are not allow to "help out locals". There was once explicit barring of active duty soldiers running around this country with tasers. Even in a disaster. That's what the National Guard is for.

Someone like MG please tell me how you are taking orders from Mayor Bubblebutt. Tell me how you are allowed to march around downtown Detroit with tasers. To answer the question about soldiers going along willingly with this, here is your proof.

I have been appalled by Palin's selection since the beginning, due to her inexperience. I have read just about everything I can get my hands on about her.

The Republicans go on about how she has more executive experience than McCain, Obama, Biden, since she actually ran two entities -- Wasilla and the state of Alaska.

What they don't say is what KIND of administrator she was. She fires without following any basic standards of human resource techniques. Yes, she can fire at will. The question is -- SHOULD she fire at will or should she document the shortcomings of her employees and if they don't improve, then fire? She just fires. She is the world's worst employer in terms of treating the people who report to her with any modicum of respect.

What climate of fear now exists in Alaska in terms of anyone criticizing her? They may lose their jobs. That isn't an irrational fear, it is based on her track record. She did it in Wasilla, she did at the state level.

She also has hired close friends into high paying jobs, making much more than they ever did in the private sector. Aren't government jobs supposed to pay less than the private sector? Doesn't this imply they don't have the skills to do the job they were hired for?

What does all this say about how she would run her administration should she become president? What does this say about her ability to deal with heads of states in countries smaller than ours -- which is about all of them, really.

I think she probably has been a good governor for Alaska, with her Wild West ways. It is a small state population-wise. It is oil rich. It is isolated from the rest of the country -- she doesn't even have to get along with other states in the union, the state is so isolated. The government itself is small up there. Her rootin' tootin' bulldozer, bully style can work to ram things through.

These characteristics are horrible in the Leader of the Free World.

She will be more of Bush II -- waving the flag and incapable of working with our traditional allies.

The isolationists may be happy with her -- but in this increasingly "flat" world, it is no longer possible to be isolated on this planet.

What horrifies me the most is that these very characteristics that make her unfit for the job are the very things that the Republican base loves. "Bring it on" says President Bush, and they cheer.

We're in trouble, folks.

I did something similar to this with a buddy of mine a few years back, only on a crane probably 1/4th the hight of this one. It was late at night too, and no, I don't have a death wish. I jump at any opportunity to do something like this, that's just how I was built, y'know?

The climb was topped off with the toss of a cigarette butt from the very top, and it's sparky explosion on the windshield of a bulldozer at the bottom.

This is an Arab nation with an extremist government, and they believe that they will eventually be strong enough to reclaim all of Palestine. This is no reason for the continued occupation of their land. Hamas has over 90% support from the Palestinian people whether Israel or anybody else likes it or not.

Oppression leads to extremist governments, look at the ANC in South Africa, and the IRA in Ireland. All extremists, all engaged with politics, all led to peace.

The school attack was on occupied territory and was called 'God's vengeance' and a 'natural reaction to Israeli attacks' by Hamas.

It is their view that Israel belongs to them because that is the view of the Palestinian people. Why does this excuse Israel from occupying their land? Millions of their people are refugees because of the occupation. Do you think that Israel are right to invade Palestine, bulldoze down homes, leaving 1.5 million refugees? Do you think that the Hamas charter somehow gives Israel permission to do this? Do you think that the people of Palestine should do nothing in retaliation to continued Israeli attacks?

Why is Israel withdrawing and a 10 year ceasefire not an acceptable solution to you? Because Hamas won't relinquish their claim to Isreal? How do you know that is not a legitimate and stable political position enabling a ceasefire? Do you know that the Irish republicans still lay claim to the North of Ireland and this was acceptable to the British government, and enabled a ceasefire and a peace process? Why is this somehow different?

I can send you the dates of some pro-Palestinian rallies if you are interested. I don't think you'll find a pro-Israel one anywhere in the world.

"that's a good step but a lot more went into each effort falling apart."
Bollocks. Absolute total categorical bollocks. Now I know you don't know what you're talking about.


In reply to this comment by bcglorf:

Hamas' charter calls for a withdrawal from all land occupied by Isreal since 1967, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.


No, it doesn't:
Article Thirteen: Peaceful Solutions, [Peace] Initiatives and International Conferences:
[Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion; the nationalism of the Islamic Resistance Movement is part of its faith, the movement educates its members to adhere to its principles and to raise the banner of Allah over their homeland as they fight their Jihad...

Plainly Hamas Charter defines Palestine as all of modern Israel in addition to the occupied territories.


That is their legitimate goal and attacks sanctioned by Hamas are against military targets on occupied Palestinian territory. Attacks inside Isreal are not sanctioned by Hamas and are condemned by Hamas.


And yet the most recent school shooting inside Israel was praised by Hamas. That is of course consistent with their Charter since all of Israel is rightfully part of Palestine in their view.

I'll walk through the various truce offers made when I've got time make sure I have the correct sources. I clearly recall Hamas' stance on the 10 year truce to be that it was only acceptable as an interim step to re-claiming all of Palestine. None the less, that's a good step but a lot more went into each effort falling apart.

>> ^Irishman:
Here we go with the 'racist' or 'liberal' or 'conspiracy theorist' labelling again.
Millions of Palestinian refugees, illegal landgrabbing, terrorism, bulldozing down houses and Isreali tanks on Palestinian streets isn't complicated.
I've heard the historical and religious argument about Isreal and Palestine, maybe it's about time people started calling it for what it is. It's a land grab.


I agree, land grab is most certainly what it amounts to. The land Israel has beyond it's 1948 borders has all been taken by it in wars to gain strategic protection to survive against hostile neighbors.

As for millions of Palestinian lives, your forgetting to blame the better part of the dead refugees on lack of aid from Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Here we go with the 'racist' or 'liberal' or 'conspiracy theorist' labelling again.

Millions of Palestinian refugees, illegal landgrabbing, terrorism, bulldozing down houses and Isreali tanks on Palestinian streets isn't complicated.

I've heard the historical and religious argument about Isreal and Palestine, maybe it's about time people started calling it for what it is. It's a land grab.

Oh, Kojima! You so crazy! I completed MGS4 yesterday, and the man's willingness to not only break, but completely bulldoze and grind down the fourth wall to a fine powder is astounding.

Joining the rest of the world when it seems to be in it's fullest swing of madness is tough. I usually think that television, rap music and pro wrestling are just easy scapegoats, but in this case I really wonder. They seem like bulldozers in this delicate cultural woodland.

I wish them luck.

My approval means nothing, but no, I don't. Of course it can be done. You could probably keep a head alive with a machine. It was done with dogs in the Soviet union by a doctor named Demikhov, who grafted the head of a small dog onto the shoulders of a big dog. There's video of this poor animal{s} walking around.

But like Snoozedoctor says, they're not color coded. It'd be like cutting through a T1 internet line x 10²⁰ and trying to reconnect it with bulldozer. Or something.

LOTS of nitpicking, and although I almost always agree with Yahtzee, I'd have to disagree with quite a few of his points.

He's right about the turning, but only because it's a rough transition after so many years of GTA car-turning being so loose and arcadey. This is more realistic, but also a bit stiff. Which leads me to my next point.

I think Yahtzee should rethink his point about games trying to become too realistic over arcade-style. All of the GTA3 games had very arcade-like reactions and physics to it. Take for example, the headshot, making the head disappear, and in it's place a stream of blood shooting straight upwards for several feet from the neck, before the body just falls over. Now, that's funny at first, but after so much of that, it got a bit too cartoony, and I was hoping for a more 'realistic' reaction. Now look at GTA4's physics. They're jaw-dropping. When you hit somebody with a car, they act so accordingly, thanks to the Euphoria physics engine (basically a much smarter, and more natural ragdoll type of physics). I mean, hell, the cars had Euphoria as well. When you hit another car hard enough, the driver dies from the impact, and his face plants into the steering wheel, leaving the car horn blaring continuously. Little details like that also make it really cool. Is Yahtzee honestly saying he'd rather a cartoon reaction over something so impressive as the Euphoria physics?

And the coloring of the city was not brown and grey. Only during cloudy/rainy/foggy days were they greyish/blue, and some point of the day was the city brown. Other than that, I was absolutely AMAZED with how pretty the daytime was. Noon-time actually looked like noon, with a natural looking sun beating down on the sidewalk and cars, etc. Dawn looks like dawn, and so forth.

All in all, he seemed to have liked it. I was a skeptic of GTA4 before I got it, and I honestly was THAT impressed with it, that I'll argue in it's defense against one of my all-time favorite reviewers. Different strokes for different folks, but I think sometimes people should take a step back from their nit-picking, and appreciate what I'd like to consider real quality. I mean, people love ripping on bad games, and rightly so. But I think we as gamers have become somewhat spoiled in the sense that we feel we should rip apart absolutely everything. I'm not directing this towards Yahtzee specifically, but sometimes it just seems that people will have a problem with something just for the sake of having something to complain about to the point of missing the entire point of healthy criticism. This game wasn't perfect, but it's obvious that instead of putting out much of the same, they came together and made something if good quality, and I think people should at least acknowledge that. Whew, sorry about that.

But he's absolutely r ight about one thing. What the hell was Rockstar thinking when they made trees the only thing in the whole game completely indestructible? You can run through newspaper stands. You can bulldoze straight through trash-cans, leaving trash littered in it's path, etc etc etc....and then smash straight into a tree without it budging an inch. The effect of flying through your windshield is really awesome though .

I lived in central Florida for a number of years and spent a lot of time in the Clearwater area (Scientology central). It is scary what they are doing there. If you drive down the beach you will see many 10+ story beach front hotels with no cars in the parking lots because Scientologists have bought all the land for "religious purposes". I guess their followers demand the best and not paying taxes on the most expensive land in all of Central Florida can piss anyone off (hopefully they got their tax exemption revoked). Further more im not a religious man but i talked to many of the ministers around there (mainly methodists with some catholics and baptists) and they told me stories of how many of their churches are being closed down due to Scientologist buying them and then bulldozing them. If they dont sell then they will buy all the land around them and try to complicate their utilities by doing construction near the power lines and water pipes. Even reports of intimidation and threats geared towards certain churches and their followers. Its quite depressing that a priest near there said in 5-10 years not a single church will exist within the city limits of Clearwater unless it is owned by Scientologists

Way upvote for the bulldozer. I did not see this coming.