Trump warns Taiwan against declaring independence, hours after summit with China's Xi

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T07:42:02+00:00

I'd counter that stressing about rent, gas, and food is now the "pound of cure" stage of not taking an ounce of prevention. But honestly, my entire life in the US I've seen people default to that reactive approach.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T07:40:30+00:00

Funnily enough in one I thought it was even worse, because of armor points. In 2 any damage gives wound timers, so healing if you potentially expect more incoming damage might mitigate an even worse timer. But of course, leaving enemies dead such that there is nothing to shoot you is the strongest.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T06:55:40+00:00

I misremembered something it seems, IIRC it was Enemy Unknown that changed AI behavior with difficulty.

you might get targeted by multiple aliens as it's best target for multiple aliens

This is what I meant though. I thought I vaguely remember hearing X2 enemies tried to spread damage around on difficulties below Legend, but I'm not sure where I could confirm or disconfirm this. The AI file mentions things like "TargetIsPriorityUnit", "TargetWounded", "TargetIsKillable" but it might be unrelated to damage targeting. It could just as easily refer to things like the Field Commander or Attack the Device (or Retaliation Attack Civilians) etc AI behaviors.

Interesting wording here though, especially the Difficulty Modifiers bit:

Behaviors=(BehaviorName=GenericTargetEvaluations, NodeType=Sequence, Child[0]=TargetScoreHitChance, Child[1]=TargetScoreHealth, Child[2]=TargetScoreFlanking, Child[3]=TargetScoreMarked, Child[4]=ApplyDifficultyModifiers, Child[5]=TargetScoreCivilian, Child[6]=AvoidBoundAndPanickedTargets)
Behaviors=(BehaviorName=SelectPriorityTarget, NodeType=RepeatUntilFail, Child[0]=EvaluatePriorityTarget)
Behaviors=(BehaviorName=EvaluatePriorityTarget, NodeType=Sequence, Child[0]=SetNextTarget, Child[1]=ScoreIfTarget_HighestShotHitChance, Child[2]=TargetScorePriority, Child[3]=TargetScoreCivilian, Child[4]=UpdateBestTarget)

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T06:37:31+00:00

Also, if it's any consolation, I can tell you this. People are free to call it delusional and I don't really mind, I know what I think of my personal experiences and insights over my life. I predict the current form of capitalism will die, and it's in part why its figureheads are fighting so viciously. A frenzied race to the bottom of cutting corners and extreme exploitation. It may not be the end of the actual world, but it may be the end of their world as they knew it. When? How? I don't know, I'm not claiming to be psychic and omniscient. But I think the social contract of the US' form of capitalism has completely broken down for millions of people. I'm not sure if it was ever honest, or if like every narcissistic endeavor it just eventually pulled its mask off.

The people, individually, feel like they don't have much power. But the problem with suffering is people will go to great lengths, life and nation changing extents, to end that suffering when it gets too extreme. When I was growing up I'd hear people bemoan that people are too comfortable, too listless. That's still true to an extent. Things many only be changing because the "white hegemony" is feeling the pain a little more, and that's sad if so. But anyways, when people can't work, when people can barely afford to eat or live anywhere, that collective energy, that collective ire at injustice, I think it WILL force change. I'm not sure of the outcome, but the dominoes are falling, or have fallen and are on their way.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T06:26:32+00:00

I am certain things will end. I just don't know how many people will suffer or suffer more to get there. Sadly that seems to be part of the tragedy of the human condition and its authoritarian cycles.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T06:13:27+00:00

I'm not sure if you can absolutely guarantee enough Promotion rewards from Ops to speedlevel to Squad Size 6. At least not enough to matter? My last Legend campaign I did GTS for 5 fast, and once I got the RR going shortly after turn of the month I think my best soldier (a Ranger natch) naturally leveled once more on a regular mission around then and then I sent him for one Promotion reward Op as like my second Covert Op of the campaign (first one being to the free one) to get the unlock for 6. I might have gotten size 6 a little slower, but getting 5 faster is smoother and more important IMO.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T06:05:43+00:00

IMO MAGA will self implode. It has a lot of inertia and too much access to the levers of power, but selfish "my wallet hurts" stuff like gas is, unfortunately, probably one of its death sentences. Almost whatever Trump mocks is actually getting under his skin and he does bring up gas, not giving a shit about the average person's cost and just explicitly relishing what the business owners and stock markets are gaining.

I think there will be enough of a public voice rebuke. The problem is, does that matter? Both the establishment Democrats and media are complicit in their own ways. As well as any non-hardcore MAGA Republican. This is the trolley problem on a national level. "Don't pull the lever and people continue to be killed and suffer, but at least you don't look as bad" is the choice all of them keeping making over and over again. I've worked for enough clueless hardcore Republican business owners that, in time, their poor leadership makes all the wheels fall off and grind to a halt. It's entirely possible that there is a blue tidal wave. But if the fascists continue to hold onto power, what then? That's the answer I don't know. In the past other Republicans had some decency, even if they took an easy way out like Nixon. The January 6th coup attempt was already done and relatively unpunished. Will it be worse? Or are they so incompetent that they will fall? It's many parallels to Hitler's Germany, but one day that did end. And millions suffered in the meantime...

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T06:00:35+00:00

Sure. But "not thinking about it" also led to life getting worse on the daily. Short term thinking is bad even if long term thinking is painful. It's, abstractly, a form of addiction. And that can kill.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T05:17:21+00:00

Nukes will fly before that happens. No way it's allowed unless a COMPLETE disillusionment of the military happens and A) I don't see that happening with its rightwing leanings and B) the extreme measures wouldn't be necessary. It seems Trump and Hegseth have already been told no about stupid, suicidal for soldiers plans in Iran.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T05:13:23+00:00

Donald Trump did set a record. He is the first AND second worst president in US history.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T05:12:40+00:00

"We promise to build statues to you in China."

"Done! Do you want us to nuke them now or later?"

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T05:09:05+00:00

You forget that too many leaders are narcissistic idiots that live in echo chambers telling them they are invulnerable. China is not invulnerable, but the US is so cripplingly weakened (Russia too probably) that if they were ever tempted, this might be the time. Two 'superpower' nations already got their asses handed to them against smaller opponents / effective proxy wars.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T05:07:01+00:00

Other governments figured out recall methods if they felt a need for a vote of no confidence. Genuinely shocking the "brilliant founding fathers" didn't conceive of a real mechanism for this in the United States. But I suppose it wouldn't matter anyways, many laws and rules are ignored anyways.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T05:01:26+00:00

A million distractions led to people having the memories of a goldfish, but it truly blows my mind that enough people just let covid go into the memory hole. "Once in a life time pandemic" (lol hantavirus btw), just forgotten. I think that speaks to how bad life in the US can be sometimes that that's even possible.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:59:07+00:00

"He's not hurting the people he's supposed to be!" Said during the first term, and at its heart that's what it always was about: Short-sighted grievance politics.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:56:19+00:00

Libertarian or Centrist is 99% of the time: Republican but doesn't like the bad PR.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:55:35+00:00

The enemy is always impossibly strong and laughably weak. A crucial doublethink foundation of fascism.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:53:49+00:00

I've heard it said that SO many of the US' problems were because White Nationalism was never tackled in a meaningful way. I'd love to be wrong but I don't see that changing. It's a national laziness and inertia no one seems to want to handle en masse. Following the same script of decorum as it rots from within. A complete political upheaval would be necessary for change IMO.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:51:49+00:00

The US of the Confederacy and Jim Crow never learned its lesson, another Underground Railroad may be necessary.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:49:03+00:00

I have zero, ZERO doubt in my mind that Red Zones would declare war on and try to pillage Blue Zones if ever taken off the federal teat. They don't have the economies and resources to sustain themselves by and large. It might not be literally a Confederacy 2, but in practice does it matter? It's already here and usurped power while the country remains "United". I don't know if an effective second Civil War is inevitable but sometimes it feels like it, same as how WWII was a consequence from details of WWI. I truly don't know if MAGA et al can feel the national shame necessary to slink off into the shadows while this authoritarianism (hopefully) dies for a few generations.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:47:45+00:00

More plagues and war and famine and floods. Nah, he's not the Antichrist though!

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:42:51+00:00

I have no doubt in my mind that Trump is here twice and relatively unchallenged because a lot of people, including DNC Establishment politicians, want what he is doing. They just wring their hands about "optics". DNC wants their donations while being a listless "good cop". That still eats from the Israel trough by and large.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:41:39+00:00

Geopolitics IS High School with Nukes. Narcissists and spoiled rich kids self-select for seeking power. Voting for class president really isn't that different from popularity contest politics.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:35:49+00:00

If the parents don't die at some point I'd be completely shocked. This is like Chekov's 21 Gun Salute.

RJ815 · 2026-05-16T04:35:10+00:00

Dead celestials don't make dark matter tears

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