I dunno. I think she (Angelina) is totally in the right, but it's not like Julie & Rob are outside of their rights to exercise some control over the games their kids play. Isn't that what parents should be doing?

Out of curiosity, do we know how old the kids are? Because if they're 13+, my opinions on this start changing.

wow, I know there is a degree of parental control that should be exercised over what children get access to... but ghost squad??!

Are they Romneyites or what?

Also, Maddox?

As in "I'M RIGHT AND YOU'RE WRONG!" Maddox?

The Maddox who runs "The Best page in the Universe"?

Probably not the same guy but Maddox isn't a common name.

i think we're looking at two sides of the parenting spectrum, whilst both are trying to be good parents, they have differing views on certain elements.

I don't know "Ghost Squad", but the most important thing is that Brad Pitt's sister did her job as a parent.

I think Channing summed it up pretty well.

Very nice to see something in the media about parents actually doing their jobs.

Somehow I think this would be more acceptable as something you see on TMZ.com.

She walks the thin line between "fun crazy" and "dangerous crazy".

Yeah, this isn't really news. Just parents doing there thing. But I've got to agree with Bungle. It does seem like there could of been a better way to handle things than sending it back with a note. Hm.

That said, the knife set thing is the best part of this story. I'm suddenly under the impression that Ms. Angelina is quite the bad ass XD .

Sounds like they're a bunch of hippy wussies.

I am glad to see that parents are doing their job. Not only parents, but celebrity parents. It is a great counter to the whole Britney Spears crap.

I do think that the return with a note, was out of place. A personal discussion on the subject would have been more appropriate.

I wish I got knife throwing sets when I was a kid. All I got was a machete.

D'oh! I accidentally clicked that... But I too wish I got a knife throwing set.

Well, it's nice to hear that at least SOME parents take note of what games their kids are playing. Now if only the ones who are sue happy would do the same...

@ Twin-Skies

I got BB guns and pocket knifes when I was a kid as well as the machete. I would have loved a nice throwing nife set. I still drool over them when I see them at knife shops.

Knives hold a special place in my violent heart. Guns not so much.

While I'll certain question her judgement, as it seems a tad bit reactionary, and I don't think either Jolie or her sister were very tactful in their responses, I'll commend her 100% for doing what parents are supposed to do, pay attention.

She made a decision on what she allows in her house. Kudos to her.

Now if only more parents would learn from her example instead of standing there watching the kid, contemplating what kind of letter campaign they'll start to deal with the "filth of the week"...

I have many (something on the order of 30; variety is the spice of life!) throwing knives - if you are teaching yourself, as I did, it can take a while, but I can now teach a person the basics in 10 minutes. After that it is practice, practice, practice. The two biggest hurdles are proper throwing (ie. not "throwing like a girl") and consistency. The objective isn't to throw it as hard as you can, nor to spin the knife as fast as you can, but to get just the right amount of spin so as to land it point first. If you figure that your arm is 2-3 feet in length, and the knife does a half-turn in the air every 6 feet or so (give or take, individuals can vary greatly in this) then try standing somewhere around 7-10 feet from your target and do a simple throw by holding the blade (a "blade-throw"). Carefully watch how it lands, and adjust how far you are standing from the target to compensate - if the blade is pointing up, stand further away a few inches, if it is pointing down, get closer, if it is pointing towards you, try again. You might try holding the blade in a complete 4-finger grip, as opposed to pinching between just a few fingers as many tend to do - as you get a feel for the knife in flight, you can adjust how you are holding it to fit your style.
Also, don't be afraid of your knife! You are trying to penetrate a target with it, and you won't manage that by throwing it weakly, as though scared it might come back and hurt you.
Keep trying to put the same amount of spin on each throw - that's the hardest part for many, but some semblance of consistency can be achieved in a few minutes by most I have taught. Once you get this down, try moving 6 feet back and throw it the same way, but hold the knife by the handle. Adjust accordingly. Once you get a feel for the thing, you will be able to adjust how you throw so as to hit targets in the middle (between 9 and 15 feet), though individual styles can vary greatly in this area.
Beyond that, don't use a knife with a sharp blade - only the tip should be pointy, but there should be no "cutting edge" so to speak, at least nothing that you could inadvertently slice your fingers open with when throwing by the blade. Most cheap throwing knives you can find on eBay will suffice for this, and I recommend them for practicing as they will likely get pretty beat-up as you learn.
For a target, I recommend at least 4 layers of corrugated cardboard, duct-taped at the edges and further taped to a larger cardboard box. This is cheap, and won't damage your knives, though after you get a feel for it you can perforate a target to uselessness in the course of 30-45 min of throwing. If you are going to use a wooden target, don't use plywood as the grains on it go in many random directions, and it can make the knife bounce back at you.

"i think we’re looking at two sides of the parenting spectrum, whilst both are trying to be good parents, they have differing views on certain elements."

C'tri has it right here, I think.

Just a little note, this was reported in a tabloid. >.>;;; and we all know how true those are.

Angie's a little strange. Apparently she bought her kid a knife-throwing set, but I've read somewhere she doesn't allow him to play with toy guns.

[...] Family fueds? Check. Celebrity family fueds? Check. A Wii? Check. CHILDREN THROWING KNIVES? Check. That’s a lot of ticked boxes. So far, this is THE story of 2008. Angelina Jolie insults sister in law with gift of violent game [I Love Gossip, via Game Politics] [...]

Rejecting the game is absolutely fine.

Sending a note with that written on it is not. Thats not how you treat family, even if you think what they are doing is wrong. What a blunt and aggressive way to put it.

Now, Ghost Squad (my brother has a Wii) in my opinion deserved a M rating instead a T rating. My brother had rented it from Blockbuster Video and I tried it. It seemed pretty graphic to me. Now I do think that Julie was right for returning the game but was in the wrong for including the note with the game when she gave it back. Mrs. Jolie was in the wrong for giving Maddox weapons for Christmas, though. I would hate for Jon Voight (Angie's Dad) to find out that Angie gave his grandson weapons for Christmas.
Ben

@Ben

I think it depends on the parent. I mean I've been around guns and knives since I was around 8, and I was always taught to be extremly careful and safe with everything. I don't think that's for everyone mind you, but I certainly don't see anything wrong with it. Also it should be noted that throwing knives arn't really any that more vastly dangerous than some of the toys that have come out over the years, I mean lawndarts anyone?

It sounds to me like Julie and Rob just don't like Angelina.

Angelina sounds like an awesome mom. Too bad I'm too old to get adopted.

Brad Pitt grew up in Springfield, MO. Here in Springfield, we have the Assembly of God International Headquarters, and 2 or 3 preacher colloges. This is a very Evangelical city. It's not surprising that the Pitt family would reject something that doesn't jibe with their values. That's what parents are supposed to do. I hope Angelina gets over it. Though Brad's sister could have been a little bit more tactful...

It's really not any of our business. But just for the record, I think a lot of these evangelicals are wachos, anyway :) (though, most are well intentioned wackos).

For a target, I recommend at least 4 layers of corrugated cardboard, duct-taped at the edges and further taped to a larger cardboard box. This is cheap, and won’t damage your knives, though after you get a feel for it you can perforate a target to uselessness in the course of 30-45 min of throwing. If you are going to use a wooden target, don’t use plywood as the grains on it go in many random directions, and it can make the knife bounce back at you.
oyun