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I don't normally do threads like this but I did want to provide some deeper thoughts on the below and why having a video game based on a real world war crime from the same people that received CIA funding isn't the best idea.

This will go pretty in depth FYI.


The core reason why I'm doing this thread is because:

1. It's clear the developers are marketing the game a certain way.

2. This is based on something that actually happened, a war crime no less. I don't have issues with shooter games in general ofc.

Firstly, It's important to acknowledge that the Iraq war was an illegal war, based on lies, a desire for regime change and control of resources in the region.

These were lies that people believed and still believe to this day.

It's also important to mention that the action taken by these aggressors is the reason there was a battle in Fallujah in the first place. People became resistance fighters because they were left with nothing but death and destruction all around them after the illegal invasion.

This is where one of the first red flags comes up.

The game is very much from an American point of view, as shown in the description.

When it mentions Iraqi civilians, it doesn't talk about them as victims, but mentions them as being pro US, fighting alongside them.
When the university starts sending out teaching evaluation reminders, I tell all my classes about bias in teaching evals, with links to the evidence. Here's a version of the email I send, in case anyone else wants to poach from it.

1/16


When I say "anyone": needless to say, the people who are benefitting from the bias (like me) are the ones who should helping to correct it. Men in math, this is your job! Of course, it should also be dealt with at the institutional level, not just ad hoc.
OK, on to my email:
2/16

"You may have received automated reminders about course evals this fall. I encourage you to fill the evals out. I'd be particularly grateful for written feedback about what worked for you in the class, what was difficult, & how you ultimately spent your time for this class.

3/16

However, I don't feel comfortable just sending you an email saying: "please take the time to evaluate me". I do think student evaluations of teachers can be valuable: I have made changes to my teaching style as a direct result of comments from student teaching evaluations.
4/16

But teaching evaluations have a weakness: they are not an unbiased estimator of teaching quality. There is strong evidence that teaching evals tend to favour men over women, and that teaching evals tend to favour white instructors over non-white instructors.
5/16
At the root of my work is safeguarding human life. I support a massive buildout of public transit because it makes life fundamentally better, reduces greenhouse emissions, and saves lives. 1/

In the United States, car accidents are one of the leading causes of death and injury for children under the age of 18.
https://t.co/RrYVtaoFRd 2/

A few years ago my family and I were driving from visiting relatives in Texas when we were stuck in traffic on the I-10. We were at a complete dead stop when a woman (texting) in a Suburban hit us at 70 mph. She crushed the back of our car like a soda can. 3/


Thankfully, our two-year-old was in a good carseat and I absorbed the brunt of the injuries with a few shards of glass in my scalp. I won't show those pictures! While a high speed rail network along the Gulf Coast may have not prevented that accident, it could prevent most. 4/

Electrifying household appliances will reduce our 'dependence' on natural gas and transmission methane leaks, but the switch will also cut the number of carbon monoxide poisonings and natural gas related explosions that kill Americans everyday. 5/