Yep, we’re doing this once again. Here are some thoughts that have hit me recently that I just cannot help but to share with the world. However, these thoughts are concise enough to not warrant free-standing articles. Whether that makes me a hack writer for not being able to expand further or a pro writer for such brevity is up to you. As always, I expect razor-sharp pitchforks…
How Israel Can Become Our Biggest Ally
It’s often said by our right-wing friends that Israel is our greatest ally. Often, this line is thrown around without much thought. In fact, rather than inviting scrutiny, the line is so often used to shut down a conversation, using the implied accusation of anti-Semitism as a shield against genuine curiosity. Fortunately, my pattern recognition and curiosity are far more powerful than my fear of a clearly nonsensical label. Thus, I’ll offer some suggestions to our Zionist friends as to how they can live up to the label of America’s Number One Ally.
If Israel, our allegedly biggest ally, wants to score some major Brownie points then they can consider the Pacific. It’s hardly a secret that the Chinese navy loves to conduct shows of force war games in international waters that are quite close to the Philippines and Taiwan. Australia has shown time-after-time that they’re willing to organize against Chinese aggression, just as they stood against the Japanese 80 years ago. If Israel really wereour mutually-beneficial allies, then checking Chinese aggression would go a long way in assisting Washington’s interests. Israel winning a decisive naval battle in the South China Sea would essentially be planting a massive Don’t Fuck With Me flag shaped in the Star of David as a cross-global flex. Netanyahu could easily divert some of their Palestine-blockading naval vessels and send them to the Pacific. Gee wilikers, it’s almost like this so-called ally doesn’t pull their own weight…
If the Pacific is too far for Israel to realistically project power, then there are other options. One such arena that Israel can actually be America’s biggest ally is in Haiti. In case one hasn’t noticed, the Caribbean nation is essentially a failed state ran by some guy who calls himself Barbecue. What have some nations friendly to America done? Well Kenya sent 1000 police officers to help stabilize the eastern half of Hispaniola. Jamaica, who is hardly what one thinks of when the term military superpower is uttered, sent troops to stabilize the high-crime situation there as well. So, what exactly is stopping Israel from assisting their American allies? Surely, if Kenya can spare some peace-keepers, then the Jewish juggernaut surely can. Gee wilikers, it’s almost like this so-called ally doesn’t pull their own weight…
Or how about something closer to home for Lil BiBi? Fine. Ukraine is currently in a major existential defensive war against a nation with vast oil reserves. Surely Israel would have some sympathy for the plight of the Ukrainians, given the number of similarities they have. Israel’s might would be a welcomed relief to the shell-shocked Ukrainians, and their technological superiority and love of asymmetric warfare could absolutely tip the war into Ukraine’s favor. If successful in doing so, then Israel both endears itself to the United States and scores some serious bragging rights. Since Israel is not a member of NATO, their involvement also has zero chance of triggering Article 5. Numerous NATO members have indirectly assisted Ukraine via weapon and equipment shipments. But Israel hasn’t done any of these things. Gee wilikers, it’s almost like this so-called ally doesn’t pull their own weight…
Alright, let’s assume that Israel has had it’s fill of active warfare for a while. There are still other theatres for Israel to militarily assist the United States. Kosovo, another NATO-adjacent nation is in frequent border disputes and skirmishes against the regional Goliath known as Serbia. Given its relatively close proximity to the Balkans, Israel could easily send some troops as peacekeepers to deter Serbian aggression. Doing so would also score Israel a major PR win if they can win the hearts and minds of the local Kosovars; it would show that Israel can indeed get along with a majority-Muslim population. Israel could do this quite easily, but has consciously chosen not to. Gee wilikers, it’s almost like this so-called ally doesn’t pull their own weight….
What part of mutually beneficial do they not understand?
How FPS Games Can Get More Realistic
Realism; it’s that one word that First Person Shooter (FPS) players live for, and developers crumple under the weight of. Typically, this is discussed in the context of graphics or frame rates, and that’s an understandable argument. Monitors are getting sharper and pixel count is getting higher, thus the race to win the photorealism contest is won only by dancing on the razor’s edge.
But there’s another way for developers to immerse players into the realism. And the best part? It uses technology that already exists, and is just lying around, practically begging to be put back to work. These methods are also criminally underrated in the FPS landscape. Thus, developers who incorporate these can truly stand out amongst their competitors!
One way for FPS games to get more realistic is by using the pressure-sensitivity of the controller itself. Violently slapping the R1/Right trigger will cause a decrease in accuracy. Why? Because this sudden jerk would cause movement in the gun, thus throwing off the trajectory of the shot, This can be modeled in game with either a shot circle growing larger or the hit boxes (not visible to the player) getting smaller. Let’s be honest, many ardent gamers would have a difficult time getting up to speed with this new mechanic. Best part of this idea, it can absolutely be rolled out; the technology has existed since the PS2 dominated the early 2000’s market.
Keeping with the movement theme, the controller itself can still become part of the game. The SIXAXIS sensors inside of the controller can be used to alter the in-game trajectory of the shot. Players in real life are not motionless, even if they sit on their asses for several hours per day. Jerking the controller around in emotional swings will absolutely decrease accuracy. Much like the previous paragraph, this wrinkle can absolutely be added because it already existed in the PS3. Thus, there’s no excuse as to why developers cannot add this feature in.
But let’s focus not on the player and into the game itself; after all, players try to escape reality when indulging in these games. The first change is that the environment should absolutely influence the reliability of the guns. Highly humid environments such as a jungle should cause more frequent failures that require ejecting a round at random intervals. A player lying prone or crawling while prone increases his chance for his rifle to get gunked up by a foreign blockage. This would apply in the dessert as well as the jungle. For arctic environments, the guns will become less and less reliable the longer one stays outside of warm shelter. Prolonged exposure to rainfall can also be used to debuff reliability.
Although, this reliability debuff won’t exactly be evenly distributed. Certain models of guns will be far less susceptible to foreign blockages and extreme climate conditions. For example, AK’s, pump action shotguns, and Glocks will be far more resilient in these environments while 1911/2011’s and more gimmicky submachine guns will have higher failure rates. This’ll force the player to choose their loadout more carefully.
Reloading is a dynamic that needs to be revamped for realism. Currently, most FPS games treat reloading as just an after-thought; simply press a button to insert a fresh mag. However, instituting a three-button sequence for reloads would force the player to mor carefully consider where and when to reload. Not only that, but it will pressure the player into paying attention to the fundamentals.
Players want realism…until they suddenly don’t.
The Harsh Truth That Taliban Recruiting Tactics Reveal
As I’ve discussed before, I have a weird fascination with the Taliban despite not agreeing with them. The Taliban suffered heavy casualties early on in the conflict, yet managed to keep their forces high. How? I’m not naïve enough to believe that it was a single cause, nor would I be suckered into thinking that it was 100% voluntary. With that said, after watching some documentaries and reading some primary accounts, there are interesting anecdotes that kept coming up.
Were newer members motivated by anti-US hatred? No question. Ditto for an adherence to their interpretation of Allah; only a fool denies that. But the benefits moved out of the intangibles such as faith, community, and ideology and into the material realm.
One of the main trinkets that the Taliban offers its recruits is that of a truck. Given that interest is haram in the Islamic faith, it’s safe to say the truck would be a fully paid-for set of wheels. Surely, a pickup truck would be useful in the harsh terrain of the arid and desert-riddled hellscape, particularly if one has aspirations of building a larger home. But here’s the thing, it’s hard to look down on this as a carrot; a rural man musing about his pickup truck is what the country music genre was built on. And given that trucks now are expensive AF, one must ask; would this offer find fertile ground here in the United States? I bet that it would, given the economic plight of many Zoomers.
But that wasn’t the only souvenir that the Taliban would offer young prospects. The association of Afghans would offer newcomers a rifle. Now, whether it’s a new rifle that was conditional on retaking Kabul or simply letting them keep their service rifle is unclear. What is clear though is that the pitch seemed to be effective. Let me be the first to assure you that there is certainly a non-zero pocket of the American population that would welcome guaranteed ownership of a full-auto rifle. I mean, Trump repealed the $200 tax stamp on NFA items and demand skyrocketed shortly after the calendar flipped.
Another offer that the Taliban are rumored to have promised their recruits is that of a wife. That isn’t too far out of the ordinary considering that ISIS was known for the same tactic back in the Obama administration. If a cult leader or religious extremist were to set up shop here in the States, there’s a real chance that the offer of guaranteed sexual access would find a warm welcome. Why do I say that? Because relationship forming among male Zoomers is at an all time low , despite many of them stating that starting a family is a top priority of theirs.
Thus, we have to ask ourselves, have the Taliban figured out something about human nature that we haven’t? Clearly, they were able to convince young men to sign up to become bullet sponges against a vastly superior military force. But what did they do this for, besides their preferred Abrahamic religion?
It’s almost as if “you’ll own nothing and be happy” doesn’t actually work…
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