From Sun Tzu to Xbox: War and Video Games

Fair Ewes and Open Sores

Uber-video-artist Ben Coonley just made this wacky video about Fair Use and Open Source that features a FSTTX cameo! Warning: some parts NSFW (kind of) and also includes lots of video geek jokes.

Link: appropriation_piece_web.mov (video/quicktime Object).

Games for Troops

Worth spreading the word on Veterans Day!

Gamepolitics highlights a new nonprofit called Fun For Our Troops, created by military wives, that passes video games on to US troops. The group was recently profiled in the Bucks County Courier Times. They're looking for money, gift cards, and donations of game devices from 2005 or newer.

From the group's website:

Our founder, Stefanie Shea, recently married SGT Michael Shea who became stop-lossed and is now serving his second tour in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. Despite his contract expiring mere weeks after he was scheduled to deploy, SGT Shea was sent overseas to serve the entire fifteen-month deployment. He, like many others, will miss two Halloweens, two Thanksgivings, and two Christmases, and two New Years. Stefanie wanted to do something special for her husband and the other service men and women serving overseas. After speaking with her husband, Stefanie learned that what the service men and women truly need is fun, relaxation, and an overall way to decompress. Luckily, the high-tech game systems of the 21st century can do just that! Stefanie embarked on a grassroots campaign to send these systems overseas to deserving troops. Stefanie asked Dana Brady, to lend her expertise to the cause. Dana partnered with Stefanie to establish "Fun for Our Troops," a non-profit organization (501c3 status pending). Dana has a special connection to our troops, as her husband, Jason M. Brady served in the First Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment and still has many friends in the military.

 

Link: GamePolitics.com » Blog Archive » Military Wives Form Non-Profit to Equip Troops with Video Games.

Bush plays video games with recovering war veterans - Yahoo! News

WACO, United States (AFP) - US President George W. Bush had a shoot-out with the "bad guys" in Iraq on Thursday, playing a computer game with war veterans that simulates a firefight in Baghdad, the White House said.   

Bush tried his hand at the game with two soldiers during a visit to a rehabilitation center in Texas that treats veterans wounded in Iraq.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Bush helped "shoot the bad guys" in a Baghdad neighborhood, albeit virtually.

She said the president saw several "cutting edge virtual reality games" that allow recovering soldiers at the center in San Antonio to simulate riding in a car or boat.

Apart from the computer game session, Bush's visit with badly wounded soldiers was often emotional as he spoke with patients who had lost limbs or suffered severe burns in the Iraq war.

Link: Bush plays video games with recovering war veterans - Yahoo! News. (Via Huffpo)

Nother link: I CAN HAS BOMBZ?