The original Helldivers is best played with friends‚ and Helldivers 2 isn’t about to break that trend. Teammates are a big part of smashing bugs in the name of democracy‚ so here’s how to join public games in Helldivers 2. How to join a public match in Helldivers 2 Before you try to join a public game‚ you need to check a couple of settings. Bring up the options menu and open the Gameplay tab. In here‚ ensure Matchmaking Privacy is set to Public. I also recommend turning Crossplay on. I appreciate Crossplay is a sticking point for some players‚ but a larger player pool should yield faster matchmaking. Screenshot: PC Invasion Now‚ head to the Galactic War table‚ where you have a few options. If you want to join a quick match in your chosen difficulty‚ press the Quickplay button (pictured above). Quickplay searches for active SoS beacons across the system and should find you a squad to play with. How to start a public game in Helldivers 2 If you want to pi...

In 2021‚ President Joe Biden opened wide an inherited‚ secure southern border that had finally stopped mass illegal immigration. When he overturned former President Donald Trump’s efforts‚ a planned flood of over 8 million illegal immigrants entered the U.S. Almost all arrived without background checks‚ health screening‚ or vaccination certificates—but with massive needs for free housing‚ education‚ health care‚ and food entitlements and subsidies. For four years‚ Trump battled the courts‚ his Democratic opposition‚ and the open-border establishments within his own party to ensure legal-only immigration. Somehow‚ he rebuilt some of the old porous border fence. He had begun to build his long-promised new wall to the Gulf of Mexico. He had ended Obama-era catch-and-release. Would-be refugees had to apply for asylum in their home country. Trump leveraged Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to police his own border and stop cynically transiting millions of illegal aliens into the U.S. There was general Democratic Party opposition to all of Trump’s measures‚ both through Congress and via the courts. For the last three years of Biden’s mass influx‚ the Left has applauded open borders. That is‚ until late last year‚ when overwhelmed southern border state governors began busing and flying illegal immigrants en masse to northern sanctuary-city jurisdictions. For years‚ these sanctuary zones had preened their liberality about open borders. They smeared as “racists” and “xenophobes” any who insisted on legal-only immigration. But now they were subject to the real-life ramifications of their own destructive ideologies. Major blue-state cities like Chicago‚ Los Angeles‚ San Francisco‚ and Washington‚ D.C.‚ became outraged that they were inundated with tens of thousands of immigrants‚ all without legality‚ veritable identification‚ or background checks. Some proved violent. Others crowded out scarce resources essential to millions of inner-city poor. The liberal architects of illegal immigration are usually rich and powerful enough to be insulated from the consequences of their utopian policies. But not so their poor or minority constituents. They deal firsthand with spiking crime‚ appropriation of their parks and civic centers‚ and restricted access to now overwhelmed social services. So the once open-border Democrat Party and Biden are in a quandary. They now fear mass defections of core Latino and black voters in an election year. But how can they square the circle of insisting on open borders with the need to appear to their own voters as determined to close them? We saw the absurd answer this week. Shameless Democrats tried to enlist naive and foolish Republicans to bail them out with a “comprehensive immigration bill.” It was really designed to keep the border open while spending billions of dollars to facilitate more rapid and orderly transits—and more substantial welfare support for millions of illegal immigrants here and still to come. Now Democrats‚ in lunatic fashion‚ claim that anyone who did not sign on to codify and regulate illegal immigration was responsible for their own deliberate open-border policies in the first place. To add insult to injury‚ they next sought to piggyback their toxic immigration bill onto massive aid for Israel and Ukraine. It was a transparent effort to blame any Republicans for harming Israel and aiding Russian President Vladimir Putin‚ should they not sign on to a more efficient open border. The real agenda of the bill’s supporters is absolutely no return to Trump’s legal-only immigration and a secure border. That simple solution requires no new legislation and almost no new spending. But it does imply acknowledgment that the hated Trump had solved the problem executively—and that admission is apparently taboo. Finally‚ public outrage from the Left and conservative anger at foolish and naive Republican enablers stopped the bill. Still‚ it remains somewhat unclear why Biden and his homeland security chief‚ Alejandro Mayorkas‚ destroyed what Trump had achieved. Why would they ensure such misery for both American hosts and millions of illegal immigrants? Did they want new long-term constituents‚ given that their neo-socialist agendas cannot win over a majority of current Americans? Is importing millions of the poorest and most in need on the planet a way to ensure a still larger Great Society of entitlements and‚ with it‚ higher taxes on the “filthy rich”? Do they assume that America’s increasingly non-Election-Day balloting ensures far less authentication and rejection of mail-in ballots‚ and thus it will be relatively easy for noncitizens to vote? Many‚ Left and Right‚ make no effort to hide their desire for cheap imported labor—even though the current labor participation rate is only 62% of the potential American workforce. Finally‚ one might expect this artifice from the Left that is wedded to open borders. But why some establishment Republicans aided and abetted these disingenuous efforts is yet another reminder why the doctrinaire Republican Party had to be reinvented by Trump. (C)2024 Tribune Content Agency‚ LLC. The Daily Signal publishes a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Heritage Foundation. Have an opinion about this article? To sound off‚ please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the URL or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state. The post The Absurd Democrat Border Con appeared first on The Daily Signal.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. Meta‚ the parent company of Facebook‚ and Chinese viral app TikTok‚ have taken legal action against the European Union for its regulation efforts to police online speech. According to them‚ these measures jeopardize the unobstructed continuity of online global discussions. While Meta and TikTok have been heavy fans of censorship over the years‚ it appears that their issue with the EU’s legislation is not that it threatens free speech but because they believe censorship of narratives is their job‚ not the EU’s. These tech firms are making waves in the high court and are two of the first major platforms to challenge the Digital Services Act. Related: The EU’s Strict Online Speech Laws Are Set To Impact US Citizens in 2024 As reported by Politico‚ the Silicon Valley powerhouses labeled the EU’s legislative effort as an arcane rulebook‚ paralyzing freedom and innovation. They also argue that such rules impair their ability to champion creativity and connection among online users‚ which is the lifeblood of the online landscape. Furthermore‚ such regulation‚ they claim‚ comes with undue complications associated with moderating online communications. The post Meta and TikTok Sue EU Over Online Speech Laws appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties‚ subscribe to Reclaim The Net. A wave of backlash for the Biden administration has been triggered following a probe into a surveillance mission by the Treasury Department targeting Americans. Republicans have been seeking answers about the initiative‚ which involved surveilling bank records of Americans for “extremist” activities post-January 6. Recent reports revealed a controversial directive from the Treasury Department regarding the monitoring of financial transactions. Under this directive‚ the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) asked financial institutions to investigate their clients’ transaction data for terms such as “MAGA” and “Trump.” This sparked an outcry from Republicans who questioned the government’s monitoring strategies. This comes following a revelation of the specific sectors and demographic being targeted — Trump supporters‚ patrons of outdoor stores like Cabela’s‚ Dick’s Sporting Goods and Bass Pro Shops‚ and individuals who bought religious texts. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen encountered numerous questions about these retrieval requests during her appearances on Capitol Hill this week. However‚ these intense inquiries were deflected by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen‚ who responded that the matter was under investigation and that she didn’t have extensive knowledge about the situation. Yellen pledged to look further into the department’s instructions to the banks concerning the transaction inspections. These surveillance actions were questioned by Rep. Ann Wagner in this week’s hearing. The Missouri Republican asked Yellen if the Treasury had instructed the banks to monitor citizens’ lawful shopping to keep track of their acquisition activities. Yellen responded with the commitment to a complete investigation. https://video.reclaimthenet.org/articles/yellen-hearing-surveillance-response.mp4 A similar pledge was offered to Senator Tim Scott during the Senate Banking Committee hearing on Thursday. Scott criticized the surveillance initiative‚ saying‚ “FinCEN was created to stop money laundering and not to spy on Americans…It was not created for political motivations.” Yellen merely stated that the affair had transpired before her tenure and she promised to further examine the matter. Keywords like ‘MAGA’ and ‘Trump’ from Zelle payments‚ along with purchases from Bass Pro Shop and religious texts like the Bible‚ were singled out by the FBI as potential red flags‚ according to documents referenced by the Judiciary Chairman‚ Jim Jordan. Furthermore‚ certain subscriptions to news sources and travel-related purchases were labeled officially as potential extremist indicators. The post Treasury Department’s Janet Yellen Dodges Questions on Financial Surveillance of “MAGA‚” “Trump” appeared first on Reclaim The Net.

On 30 May‚ 1381 the villagers of Fobbing in Essex armed themselves with old bows and sticks to face the oncoming arrival of John Bampton‚ a Justice of the Peace looking to collect their unpaid taxes. Bampton’s aggressive conduct enraged the villagers and violent clashes ensued in which he barely escaped with his life. News quickly spread of this insurrection‚ and by 2 June both Essex and Kent were in full revolt. Today known as the Peasants’ Revolt‚ the ensuing conflict spread as far as York and Somerset and culminated in the bloody storming of London. Led by Wat Tyler‚ this saw the killing of a number royal government officials and eventually Tyler himself‚ before Richard II was forced to address the rebels’ demands. But what exactly forced the 14th century peasantry of England to breaking point? 1. The Black Death (1346-53) The Black Death of 1346-53 ravaged the population of England by 40-60%‚ and those who survived found themselves in a radically different landscape. Due to the significantly lower population‚ food prices decreased and the demand for labour skyrocketed. Workers could now afford to charge higher wages for their time and travel outside of their hometown for the best paid opportunities. Many inherited land and property from their deceased family members and were now able to dress in finer clothes and eat better food usually reserved for the higher classes. The lines between the social hierarchies began to blur. Miniature by Pierart dou Tielt depicting the people of Tournai bury victims of the Black Death‚ c.1353 (Image credit: Public domain) Many were unable to comprehend that this was a socio-economic factor of the pandemic however‚ and viewed it as subordination by the peasant classes. Augustinian clergyman Henry Knighton wrote that: ‘If anyone wanted to hire them he had to submit to their demands‚ for either his fruit and standing corn would be lost or he had to pander to the arrogance and greed of the workers.’ Strife grew between the peasantry and the upper classes – a strife that would only heighten in the following decades as authorities attempted to batter them back down into subservience. 2. The Statute of Labourers (1351) In 1349‚ Edward III laid out the Ordinance of Labourers that‚ after wide dissent‚ had to be  reinforced by Parliament 1351 with the Statute of Labourers. The statute attempted to set a maximum wage for labourers in order to halt the peasant classes’ demands for better pay and realign them with their accepted station.  Rates were set at pre-plague levels‚ when an economic depression had forced wages lower that they would have ordinarily been‚ and it became a crime to refuse work or travel to other towns for higher pay. Though the statute is thought to have been widely ignored by the workers‚ its instillation did little to help the unstable class divisions that continued to emerge‚ and caused much distaste amongst the peasantry.  During this time‚ William Langland wrote in his famous poem Piers Ploughman:  ‘Working men curse the king and all his parliament…that makes such laws to keep the labourer down.’  3. The Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453) The Hundred Years’ War broke out in 1337 when Edward III began to press his claim on the French throne. Peasants in the south became increasingly involved in the war as the closest settlements to the French coast‚ with their towns attacked and their boats repossessed for use in the English navy. From 1338-9‚ the English Channel naval campaign saw a series of raids on English towns‚ ships‚ and islands by the French navy‚ private raiders and even pirates. Villages were burnt to the ground‚ with Portsmouth and Southhampton seeing significant damage‚ and areas of Essex and Kent also attacked. Many were killed or captured as slaves‚ often being left to the mercy of their attackers by the inefficient response of the government.  Jean Froissart described one such raid in his Chronicles: ‘The French landed in Sussex near the borders of Kent‚ in a fairly large town of fisherman and sailors called Rye. They pillaged and plundered it and burnt it completely. Then they returned to their ships and went down the Channel to the coast of Hampshire’ Further‚ as the paid professional armies heavily featured the peasantry‚ the working class became increasingly politicised during the war. Many were trained to use longbows or had relatives who left to fight‚ and the constant taxation to fund the war effort left many resentful. Further dissatisfaction with their government ensued‚ particularly in the south-east whose shores had seen much destruction. 4. The poll tax Despite initial successes‚ by the 1370s England was suffering huge losses in the Hundred Years’ War‚ with the country’s financial situation in dire straits. Garrisons stationed in France costed an exorbitant amount to maintain each year‚ while disruptions in the wool trade only exacerbated this. In 1377‚ a new poll tax was introduced at the request of John of Gaunt. The tax demanded payment from 60% of the country’s population‚ a far higher amount than previous taxes‚ and stipulated that every lay person over the age of 14 years had to pay a groat (4d) to the Crown. A second poll tax was raised in 1379‚ by the new king Richard II who was just 12 years old‚ followed by a third in 1381 as the war worsened. This final poll tax was triple the first at 12d per person over the age of 15‚ and many evaded it by refusing to register. Parliament duly established a team of interrogators to patrol the villages in the south east where dissent was highest‚ with the aim of uncovering those who refused to pay. 5. Growing dissent in both rural and urban communities In the years leading up to the rising‚ widespread protest against the government was already occurring in both rural and urban centres. Particularly in the southern counties of Kent‚ Essex and Sussex‚ general dissent was surfacing surrounding the practice of serfdom. Medieval illustration of serfs harvesting wheat with reaping-hooks in Queen Mary’s Psalter (Image credit: Public domain) Influenced by the preaching of John Ball‚ the ‘crack-brained priest of Kent’ as Froissart described him‚ much of the peasantry in the area began to acknowledge the unjust nature of their servitude and the unnaturalness of nobility. Ball would reportedly wait in the churchyards after Mass to preach to the villagers‚ famously asking: ‘When Adam delved and Eve span‚ who then was the gentleman?’ He encouraged people to take their qualms directly to the king‚ with word of the dissent soon reaching London. Conditions in the city were no better‚ with the expansion of the royal legal system enraging residents and John of Gaunt a particularly hated figure. London soon sent word back to the neighbouring counties expressing their support in the insurrection. The catalyst at last came in Essex on 30 May 1381‚ when John Hampden went to collect Fobbing’s unpaid poll tax‚ and was met with violence. Beaten down by years of servitude and government incompetency‚ the final poll tax and the harassment of their communities that followed was enough to push the peasantry of England into revolt. With the south already poised for London‚ a mob of 60‚000 headed for the capital‚ where just south of Greenwich John Ball reportedly addressed them: ‘I exhort you to consider that now the time is come‚ appointed to us by God‚ in which ye may (if ye will) cast off the yoke of bondage‚ and recover liberty.’ Though the revolt did not achieve its immediate aims‚ it is widely considered the first of a long line of protests by the English working class to demand equality and fair payment.

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A grade eight student from Ontario‚ Canada has helped to settle a long-standing historical debate by proving that a so-called “death ray” designed by the Ancient Greek polymath Archimedes could really have worked. The weapon - which supposedly harnessed the sun’s rays in order to incinerate enemy ships - is reported to have been deployed against the Roman Navy with deadly consequences‚ yet researchers have yet to discern whether the ancient contraption really existed.To help resolve the dispute‚ 12-year-old Brenden Sener built a scaled-down version of it‚ and ultimately concluded that the concept works and could plausibly have been used in battle. The original death ray is said to have been used against the invading Romans during the Siege of Syracuse‚ which lasted from 213 to 212 BCE. As warships advanced on the Hellenistic city - which is located on the island of Sicily - local defenders turned to Archimedes’ inventions to help keep the enemy at bay.Among the wonderful machines rumored to have been used is the famous Claw of Archimedes‚ which supposedly lifted Roman ships out of the water before dropping them from a great height. According to sources from the Greek historian Lucian‚ Archimedes also placed mirrors along the bay of Syracuse in order to focus the sun’s rays onto the enemy’s ships‚ causing them to burst into flames.While some scholars - including the famous French philosopher René Descartes - have dismissed the whole idea as fiction‚ others have attempted to recreate the weapon with reasonable success. In 2005‚ for instance‚ a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that Archimedes’ design could set a ship alight in just 11 minutes.With no enemies to vaporize‚ Sener settled for a tabletop version of the ancient death ray‚ using a series of concave mirrors and LED desk lamps. He found that when using the reflectors to focus a 50-watt heat source onto a piece of cardboard‚ the temperature of the target could be raised by 2°C (3.6°F) with each additional mirror‚ up to a total of three mirrors.Adding a fourth mirror then caused a massive temperature jump of 8°C (14.4°F).When he repeated the experiment using a 100-watt lamp‚ he found that “the change in temperature with each mirror was 4°C [7.2°F] up to 3 mirrors and an additional 10°C [18°F] with the 4th mirror.”“Based on my experimental findings‚ I agree with the MIT group and believe that with a strong enough heat source and larger‚ multiple mirrors all focused at a perfect angle‚ combustion could be possible‚” writes the young study author.Ultimately‚ he concludes that “the historical descriptions of the use of the Death Ray in ancient Syracuse is plausible‚ however no archeological evidence of the Archimedes Death Ray has been found besides what is recorded in the books of Ancient Philosophers.”For his efforts‚ Sener has been awarded the Matthews Hall Annual Science Fair Gold Medal‚ the Physical Sciences Thames Valley Science and Engineering Fair Gold Medal‚ and the London Public Library Award for Inspiring Children’s Interests in Science and Technology.