This video, from Canada's "The Globe and Mail" newspaper, discusses the rise of video games as a method to promote jihadist propaganda.A It is at http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/Page/document/video/vs?id=RTGAM.2....
Please note that since this video shows quite a few scenes from the propaganda video game, anybody who is addicted to FPS (First Person Shooter) type video games or feels that seeing this may cause them problems should likely not view that video.
Considering how some people can play video games excessively, I find the type of video game mentioned in this article quite scary since anybody who plays that sort of game a lot may become quite indoctrinated into their message of hate.A However, fortunately at least for now, this video appears to be fairly short and crude, plus being a FPS game instead of a MMORPG or anything else like that, I don't think that compulsive and/or excessive playing of it will be problem for very many people.A Also, I question to what extent it will change anybody's opinion, i.e., most people will either not play it at all, will play it but not be affected by it negatively, or will already have their own negative views of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq with this video just possibly reinforcing that view.
* EDIT: I changed the subject of this thead from the title of the actual video to something that better reflects the nature of what I have to say. *
- John O.
[em]Carpe Diem![/em] (Seize the Day!)
In a bit of an ironic reversal, the U.S. spies are trying to use video games to find "terrorists" which I guess will include jihadists. The article, with a title of "U.S. Spies Want to Find Terrorists in World of Warcraft", is at http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/02/nations-spies-w.html. My guess is that whatever techniques they use will most likely work best (if they work at all) on the people who are the most addicted to video games since they will be spending the most time playing the game giving the techniques the most opportunity to work, plus by being so immersed in the virtual world and losing the distinctions from the real world, they may let their guard down more. On the other hand, I wonder how much time the most dangerous terrorists would actually spend playing MMORPGs like WoW?
- John O.
[em]Carpe Diem![/em] (Seize the Day!)
There is another closely related article to the one in the previous post.A This article, at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7274377.stm, provides some additional details (warning: there is a small WoW graphic in the upper right corner).A For example, it says that:
Also, it says that:
Finally, it says that:
As such, although their data might include some some information regarding gaming addiction, it is very unlikely that they be trying to extract those details, much less use them for any particular purpose.A Also, I rather doubt that they would make any of their gathered information public either due to the general secrecy involved with spy agencies.
- John O.
[em]Carpe Diem![/em] (Seize the Day!)
There is another related article called "World of Warcraft Shines Light on Terror Tactics" at http://www.wired.com/... (WARNING: It shows a graphic from WoW).A It says that
but that
- John O.
[em]Carpe Diem![/em] (Seize the Day!)
Another related article, Virtual Jihad Game Sparks New York Civil Liberties Union Lawsuit (WARNING: This is a pro-gaming site and it has a large graphic of what appears to be a medieval individual, likely from the video game), says the following regarding shutting down the controversial Virtual Jihadi video game exhibition:
It is quite possible that the mod that they are referring to of the video game is the same one that I mentioned in the original post in this thread. Regardless, my continuing concern is with the possible dangerous effects of combining video game addiction, or at least excessive playing video games, with games that are expressly designed for political purposes.
- John O.
[em]Carpe Diem![/em] (Seize the Day!)
On a point that may or may not be of interest, the Arabic word jihad does mean "my struggle" as is commonly understood, but not in the sense of terrorism. This topic came up in one of my classes and some international Arabic students explained the jihad/terrorism issue to us. In the true sense of the word, jihad is a personal struggle of any kind...this could be problems with a coworker, bad traffic, or even addiction recovery. It has nothing to do with terrorism. The religious terrorists we hear so much about abuse both the meaning of this word and the generally accepted interpretations of their religion.
"Pick battles big enough to matter, small enough to win." -Jonothan Kozol
Nice and thanks for given information to us.
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