ComradeYellow

In several cases, yes. Patreons get access to exclusive features of content that aren't freely available. I can imagine people getting outraged if the trend continues down that line, even though it would result in better quality mods.

Get with the times, yo. It's called Common Prosperity now. Everyone should socialize themselves and get a Patreon account and produce content, and a good chunk of the money you earn circulates back into the community by supporting other creators. These backwards types I tells ya.

I think it's normal for Americans to distrust the federal government. I mean they started a revolution over centralized authority and taxation and won so that kind of sentiment won't disappear in many circles unless another revolution occurs. Americans seem far more receptive to local initiatives than centralized ones.

I'm noticing Patreon accounts seem to offer the best content as far as modding material goes, for any particular niche. But it's private and you gotta pay, which means every gamer outside of Twitter and Youtube will have a ****fit if it becomes the new norm.

False. Terrorist groups are funded by all extremist Sunni followers with any amount of wealth, all across the ME. Some have high influence in various governments such as Saudi Arabi, some are just lay-lows with money to spare. Nationality is not really a factor. *Ahem* The Taliban now control one of the largest lithium deposits on the planet (tekdeeps.com)

Not sure if sarcasm, but Afghanistan is certainly of geopolitical significance, it's not only sandwiched between China and its allies but it also contains trillions of dollars of natural resources such as copper, petroleum, and lithium, the latter which is used to power car batteries and cell phones aka a crucial resource for the 21st century. Why else would the U.S. spend 2 decades in there? Not just for ideological reasons, but economic ones as well. Same as Iraq. If China's approach to foreign policy is successful where the U.S. has failed, it would be both a financial and moral catastrophe for the West.

Brits Fear Collapse of Containment of Russia and China in Aftermath of Biden’s Afghanistan Decision (larouchepub.com) Whilst I don't believe the Afghanistan debacle is in and of itself a catalyst for "Failing to contain" the East, apparently the bad psychological stigma of it was more damning than I realized, in the U.K. especially. Nope, what will be decisive on the prospects of China's rise as an economic superpower will be how China handles the situation in Afghanistan. If they can somehow manage BRI and peaceful relations through the country, and help its reconstruction and stability, China wins. If they botch it...whelp then they're just another wannabe up and comer like the USSR.

Finally figured out how to port Biohazard (Resident Evil) 1, 2, and 3 to PC! Better textures and no "Door" loading screens to boot. Me = Happy. I'm not a Japan STAN, but Biohazard is by far the best thing that has come out of the mischievous little Asian Islet, and Silent Hill isn't half bad either.

I still hope this guy runs in 2024 as an Independent, though I was gravely disappointed he backed out in 2020. He's like a more left wing egalitarian version of Trump. What I mean by that is they both have really aggressive populist rhetoric that can resonate very well with certain sections of society, I'd just prefer someone who isn't racist or sexist and actually has experience in government AND military. Who better to carry the transitional Peace/Love/Dope torch?

For now. They're pretty much willing to work with literally anyone who agrees to their exclusivity deal. However, plans are are in the works and Epic is securing several studios who are strictly under Epic so sometime hopefully in the near future, exclusivity will mean exclusivity, not this timed release crap from the cot tossers of yore.

I still have always had a hard time conflating the U.S. with "Rome" because the U.S. has only been a "Rome" since like 1945 or so and is not a protracted empire that has spanned millennia. It seems in the modern era great powers only last a century or so until the next one comes along. However, one notable difference between now and the past few centuries is that it looks like Western civilization as a projected entity across the globe appears to be in decline and the East appears to be an up and comer this time around so it'll definitely get more interesting as time goes on.

Xe JenZing! Hohohoho

Of course not, they're only focused on "The Image". Americans have always been obsessed more with how they're perceived rather than let the numbers do the talking.

Explosion at Kabul airport, casualties confirmed. It's unknown who the assailants were at this point, but I've heard various sources say different things that it was British military, American Marines, and the Taliban who were the victims so I'm guessing it was an independent terror group. Edit: Yup I was right, those cool-headed Russians are quite good at pinpointing culprits real quick. Looks like ISIS-K was responsible for this, an ISIS detachment that's planning future attacks in south and central Asia.

Nirvana sued by the baby from Nevermind's album cover - BBC News

Yeah, and maybe Australia making China a rival won't end very well either.

Game design is a b--ch, especially for beginners. Not only does it need to be highly successful to generate a profit, but when you think you've created something great and it turns out to be bland upon playing it. I read that somewhere, some small team was mesmerized that they actually got something functional completed but then realized that the gameplay was very boring and would get bad reception. I'll pass on a career in game development, but mad respect for all the studios and modders out there who give us content.

Whoops, I meant the "Iwo Jima" picture, not the whole situation. Both Beijing and Moscow showed signs of anxiety for the U.S. withdrawal, which is why they quickly sent in their diplomats in an effort to curtail the situation as best as possible. Neither government has recognized the new government yet but early signs show that the Taliban and China-Russia have initially come to some level of successful dialogue, as the Taliban has so far been pretty lenient and even promised some quite surprising reforms (by Islamist standards of course!). You won't hear that in Western media though, they're still stuck in "worst case scenario doom/gloom" mode. If you know Eastern methods, the way the Taliban are now talking seems clearly inspired by it. Signs suggest this isn’t the Taliban of old - Asia Times Even the U.K. seems to agree that China-Russia can probably "moderate" the situation and is probably the best we can hope for at this point. UK says Russia, China needed for 'moderating influence' over Taliban (msn.com) Nobody knows how it'll play out yet but so far it's off to a good start, for a bad situation, that is

I had lots of fun with them back in the day before the internet and all that jazz. I really enjoyed the art and the puzzle solving. Unfortunately though, with all the latest technological advances, they've kind of lost their magic to me, they seem sort of like relics now gameplay wise and not really interesting anymore. I don't feel much nostalgia for them.

Taliban mocks WW2 American G.I.s in Iwo Jima by raising the Taliban flag in Afghanistan clad in stolen American uniforms. Not entirely sure pissing off the U.S. is wise right now considering that their long term goal should be to gain international recognition and formulating a more moderate Taliban and regional stability, not that the the U.S. centric media would cut them slack anyway anytime in the near future but still, working towards proving them somewhat wrong should be a priority methinks. And just to get it out of the way, China appears amused by this whilst Russia appears more perplexed/skeptical. _________________ Estimated amount of U.S. military equipment lost to the Taliban: 2,000 Humvees As many as 40 aircraft, including Black Hawks, scout attack helicopters, and drones 600,000 M16 Assault rifles 162,000 pieces of communication equipment 16,000 night vision goggles. ^Some pretty good loot, if those numbers are even reasonably accurate.

Edited in comment by Gorth: Just a heads up, video contains occasional nudify. I.e. NSFW

Black Myth: Wukong - Official Unreal Engine 5 Gameplay Trailer - IGN

Would require a brand new outlook on global affairs, and Americans don't seem quite ready for that yet. Case in point: Asian Americans reported being targeted at least 4,500 times this year (msn.com) Asiatic commie filth are still painted targets in the eyes of Americans. Nevermind the fact that the U.S. has the best universities and medical facilities in the world and people would rather move here than China, the idea that a Communist government could have the worlds largest economy and the West could be the primary benefactor from their produced goods and services, the U.S. appears obsessed with being #1 at everything, always.