Always loved Bennett Foddy's games. I played this so much back when I was a kid like 15 years ago that I actually figured out how to do it. My strat still isn't exactly easy, but with a little practice you'll be able to actually beat the game as I've done before, even getting past that nasty surprise at 50m. I just broke it out for the first time in years and it was almost like riding a bike, no joke. Within a few minutes, I was almost hitting 15m. The key is to more or less always control two keys together; you'll probably only pull off finer single-key adjustments when you actually get a feel for the controls. Getting a feel for the timing and how much to push the buttons is also important. Some other tips are not to allow your knees to get too high, try gradually completing strides in short stuttery presses to prevent flipping backwards, and momentum is key.
To start, briefly tap W and O simultaneously. This is to get the character to put a foot out and lean over it, setting up the next stride.
Then, a slightly longer press of Q and P simultaneously. The runner will extend his other foot much like real runner.
After that, you'll go back to W/O and begin cycling between that and Q/P. That's pretty much all there is to it as far as the control scheme goes. That will at least have your runner looking a lot more coordinated than attempting to scoot across the ground or whatever.
Trump did make that cryptic statement "... the lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have." General Dan Caine said that US Cyber Command and Space Command "began layering different effects" to "create a pathway" for US forces. Not surprisingly, they did not elaborate on what those were, but we can be certain cyber warfare played a role.
The CIA first dropped a team into Venezuela in August, got an informant close to Maduro, and spec ops forces created a replica of the building Maduro would be in, which they drilled in repeatedly. So yes, months of preparation.
Since you asked and I haven't seen anyone else answer, the most recent parallel to the Maduro situation is the 1990 capture of Manuel Noriega, the military leader of Panama. All around, it was a pretty similar situation. Just like Maduro, Noriega was accused of using Panama as a drug shipping hub and of being a dictator by the US. Relations deteriorated until in late 1989, Panama declared they were "at a state of war" with the US, prompting George H W Bush to launch a ground invasion into Panama with one of the goals being the capture of Noriega, which was achieved within a few weeks in early 1990. He was then flown to the US to face a trial over his drug charges and was held in prison until 2010, though he was then extradited to France and later Panama, where he spent his final 6 years in prison.
Like Maduro, while the capture was ostensibly over drug trafficking concerns, it was largely to further US interests in Panama and Central America as a whole. Namely, it was to gain outsized control over the running of the Panama Canal for the US and grant them special perks such as reduced costs to send goods through, something that saved US companies billions every year. Additionally, it allowed as many as 14 military bases to be established in the area.
I could possibly develop a working glider with the help of the best craftsmen and engineers available at the time within a year or two. Only problem is gliders are only useful to go from high places to low places, and it's a one-way trip if you don't have powered flight to tow them back into the air. I suppose maybe you could launch from a cliff and try to use thermals to bring you back up, but then you can't really leave the cliff if you want to return to where you left. Of course, you better hope you can even be understood and that people actually take you seriously in the first place.
I could explain the mechanics of a basic steam engine, but I doubt they'd have the capability of building it unless I was also able to offer insights into a bunch of different prerequisite technologies such as machining and metallurgy, which I can't. Then again, the first useable steam engines didn't have perfectly honed cylinders or sophisticated metallurgy. I was thinking maybe I could set up some industrial-era machines to be powered by water and gears/belts, but without a lathe, I'm not sure all the necessary parts could be made. Maybe those parts could all be cast and then brought to a finished state, though.
I'd probably just have to settle with advancing medicine and various scientific fields by a few centuries. Not that I'm a genius or anything, just by giving basic tips like explaining germ theory and instructing everyone to frequently wash their hands with soap. Or telling farmers to rotate their crops on a 4-year cycle. Or teaching other scientists how proper science is done. Or saving countless lives from small pox by teaching doctors to inoculate people with cow pox first. Those advancements alone would land you in the annals of history and much acclaim during your lifetime, but you could do way more, too.
Anyone interested in this idea (and/or in expanding their general knowledge of the world around us) can check out The Knowledge by Lewis Dartnell and How to Invent Everything by Ryan North
While the Old West goes back a few centuries, I'd say the "gunslingers era" isn't until the first Colt revolver becomes available in the mid 1830s. It took a bit of digging to find pirates that would have definitely been around late enough into the 1800s that they'd be contemporary with gunslingers and samurai (class abolished in 1870), but old school river piracy lasted, even in just the US, into at least the late 1870s, so I guess that all checks out, as long as you weren't expecting Blackbeard or anything.
Coke was originally among many other "tonics" pushed back in the day, but it also wasn't marketed under the name Coca-Cola while it was sold as a patent medicine tonic. It also was only was sold in that form for a few months before being made nonalcoholic and marketed as a beverage later that same year. Sales were initially poor and only picked up with aggressive advertising campaigns, which I suppose is a strategy that Coke never left behind and leads us to the world where we are today.
One common tenant of direct action is decentralization. It's a lot harder to squash direct action when the people doing this stuff are just groups of 2-5+ friends (it's called an affinity group) who believe in the same stuff and have no common leader. Sometimes direct action is as simple as smashing up some windows in the dead of night and running away.
I might add that masking up is a good idea even if you plan on doing nothing but observing. Sometimes rightwing media personalities will photograph unmasked people at protests in an attempt to send online harassment their way regardless of whether they've done anything wrong. Additionally, there have been instances where innocent individuals have been charged with actions that other people in the crowd did, so even if you plan on being good, you could still get in trouble for the actions of others. A mask would add another layer of protection from identification and hopefully prevent you from getting wrongfully charged. I expect this administration to be particularly vindictive against protesters.
Salem, Oregon, during the massive 2020 wildfires. No filters on this photo, the light really was that blood red in some places due to the light filtering through super thick clouds of smoke above.
I'd recommend you don't sign anything at a protest, ever. No petitions, no signing up for orgs, not even if a goth baddie asks you to sign their tits. Do that stuff offsite before or after a protest on your own time where's it's a lot less likely to be an informational gathering tactic. You don't want a record of which protests you've been to, especially if they're the spicier kind where direct action might be happening.
Always loved Bennett Foddy's games. I played this so much back when I was a kid like 15 years ago that I actually figured out how to do it. My strat still isn't exactly easy, but with a little practice you'll be able to actually beat the game as I've done before, even getting past that nasty surprise at 50m. I just broke it out for the first time in years and it was almost like riding a bike, no joke. Within a few minutes, I was almost hitting 15m. The key is to more or less always control two keys together; you'll probably only pull off finer single-key adjustments when you actually get a feel for the controls. Getting a feel for the timing and how much to push the buttons is also important. Some other tips are not to allow your knees to get too high, try gradually completing strides in short stuttery presses to prevent flipping backwards, and momentum is key.
To start, briefly tap W and O simultaneously. This is to get the character to put a foot out and lean over it, setting up the next stride.
Then, a slightly longer press of Q and P simultaneously. The runner will extend his other foot much like real runner.
After that, you'll go back to W/O and begin cycling between that and Q/P. That's pretty much all there is to it as far as the control scheme goes. That will at least have your runner looking a lot more coordinated than attempting to scoot across the ground or whatever.