Sam

You called it a week ago congrats : https://hexbear.net/comment/6106194

This was easy to see coming. I think alot of Kneecap's international audience don't understand that their personas, songs and whole aesthetic are making fun of the post-troubles west Belfast hoods. People who were (like Kneecap) born in or after the 90s and are aping an exaggerated form of surface level republicanism that lingered beyond the ceasefire especially in Nationalist strongholds like West Belfast. When talking about the influence of the Troubles on the post-GFA generations I am often reminded of a quote from Marx; "The tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living". These hard lads who run around pretending they're in the IRA because they sell drugs and spray slogans on walls are really just using the aesthetics of resistance to mask the fact that they are actively harming their own communities.

I believe Kneecap's popularity abroad stems from this mask of resistance that they initially put on to mock destructive elements in their own community but that people missing the local context see as genuine and are using to LARP as revolutionaries. I don't personally know them so I wont make judgements but sometimes it seems like the lads in Kneecap have also fallen for this trap themselves.

At the end of the day they are really just like any other successful band, and they will prioritise their income above their empty slogans any day.

Kneecap are Northern Irish, so they could definitely be prosecuted under those laws. This is also why there was all that stuff about them getting art grants from the UK and the south.

Its pretty vital, alot of information about quests and locations won't be divulged unless the NPC has a high opinion of you. But its also completely trivialised by being able to bribe everyone to achieve the same effect.

I recently played a game where a guy set a Fougasse on the command bunker on E on Hill, we were about to win on 0 tickets both sides when a friendly threw a grenade and wiped the entire team. Then a few matches later on Mekong the same guy threw a grenade into a bunker on the first two points when we were both at 0 tickets again and won us the game. A true redemption arc.

Key Rising Storm 2 gameplay - Everyone on the VC can dig a punji trap which is hilarious, the snipers get tripwire grenades which are deadly in the jungle and the sappers get about a billion MD-82 "Toe poppers" to hide in tunnels.

But the real "prank" tool is the lovely Fougasse, a barrel full of explosives buried in the ground. Its funny when it kills enemies, its funny when it kills teammates, it will often do both as its extremely sensitive to bullets and grenades and has a massive radius.

At least this will get all those "Ireland and America has a special relationship" people to shut up. Fun Fact: Viagra is produced in Ireland.

Whilst countries like Poland and the Baltic States cautioned against getting too close to Moscow – and increased their own defence spending – Berlin under former Chancellor Angela Merkel believed in doing business.

Germany imagined it was delivering democratisation by osmosis. But Russia took the cash and invaded Ukraine anyway.

Yeah I guess all that cash they ran off with must be why the company that managed Nordstream is going bankrupt and is going to be bought by Americans, who blew the damn thing up in the first place. But I guess those damn Russians just hate peace, remind me who ruined the peace talks trying to prevent the war? oh yeah it was the germans.

Thats crazy, obviously people dont send recreational letters much anymore, but its still a key aspect in a lot of business stuff. Getting a new passport, setting up bank accounts. As someone who doesn't regularly check their email or phone I kind of rely on the post to tell me important shit, in my mind if the company wont send you a letter it isnt important enough.