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Showing content with the highest reputation on 03/13/22 in all areas

  1. Ideally you'd use a Wii Fit board to sense which direction you intend to roll in.
    5 points
  2. ...than oligarchs, was the question. I am not sure whether this is intended as satire, irony or something, or whether it's simply foolish. These are simply extraordinarily rich people -- but the means by which they have acquired their wealth is totally different from that of the Russian oligarchs, and their relations with the leaders of their respective countries are also totally different. It takes a lot more than just an awful lot of money for one to be an oligarch, but I suppose that obfuscation was the aim here anyway. Please note that in saying this, I am in no way expressing any kind of support to these people, Murdoch least of all.
    4 points
  3. I am wondering, who invited Putin to Russia in his last speech? Hmm, Looks like Syrian militants to me. And I am also wondering who is the leader of Wagner Group, which got decorated by Putin himself in 2016 in Kremlin? Hmm, looks like Dmitry Utkin, who openly admires nazism
    3 points
  4. Use the alcohol for Mirke when you rest instead of food. You'll get the alcohol bonuses (and penalties) as well as Pukestabber's bonuses.
    2 points
  5. Some foreign cannon fodder ran afoul of Russian rockets in Lwów. What did they expect, really?
    2 points
  6. The new subclasses are fun, maybe a little stronger than the old. Do try them! People will advice you to multiclass. This is heretical advice - some will even claim that canon Eder is rogue -, but will probably be a fun thing. So maybe consider multiclassing your chars. "Multiclassing will spice up your party", they will say. Which is just another way to say: Do drugs! Oh don't listen to me. I'm also a big fan of Elex (the game, not the drug) so I'm likely a masochist! Edit: Signature: Nerf Gorecci Street!
    2 points
  7. It's not as if the current events in Ukraine make sense, either. I am unsure as to what the next target countries might be, but I also think that if the Ukraine war ends in a way that Russia considers to be a military victory, the probability of Russia continuing its attacks will be 100%.
    2 points
  8. This seems to be the crux of the matter. The only thing keeping "the West" from launching a full-scale counter-attack and demolishing the Russian troops is the threat of nuclear war. When you look at the possible permutations of how that might go, it doesn't really matter which way it does, because they are all quite rotten. So, the question is: can a nuclear power do anything it wants to its weaker neighbours? The answer, unfortunately, would seem to be yes.
    2 points
  9. It is just realism what is current state of affairs, not some ideological pipe dream that people forget as soon as it goes against their own opinions how things should be. And it is not really EU, but it member states together deciding sanctions as EU does not have such powers even though people/countries always want to credit it for decisions that they made but don't want darken their name with them. Meaning it is not Ursula von der Leyen people should be mad about the RT/Sputnik bans even though she told about them to public. Shooting messenger usually don't lead better policies. And people now waking up reality that human rights are very conditional when they have voted for anti-human rights politicians in past decade because they don't want refugees in Europe. And politician that oppose sanctions against Russia and Turkey when they censor media and prevent ECHR giving them any sanctions. And politician that who make laws that prevent forbid religious apparel. Politician who for 'economic' reasons oppose building alternates for oil and gas in energy production. And politicians that oppose billionaires hiding their assets, founding shell companies that are owned by fictional people and are part of larger shell company that is also owned by fictional people which is owned even larger shell company and thousands of these shell companies somehow have their addresses in same building. And politician that prevent all regulations for buying and owning estate leading housing prices go sky high so that investors can make money and people be dammed and can always sleep under bridge at least until even that is too expensive for them. And now people are so surprised that politicians aren't hold back by watered down human rights and principals that they themselves wanted to water down because they protected people they didn't like. People seem to have naive thinking that politicians are guided by higher principalities and morality, and there is no need for people's rights until it is too late. Bold part is just fact, there is no need to hide your feelings about EU.
    2 points
  10. I haven't head anything like that, but then I don't get news from twitter.
    2 points
  11. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/kremlin-arrests-fsb-chiefs-in-fallout-from-ukraine-invasion-chaos-92w0829c5
    2 points
  12. Those strange and often overlooked collateral damages of war in Ukraine... Chelsea FC and Bitcoin https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/60714952 Chelsea's credit card facilities have been temporarily suspended while banks assess the implications of sanctions imposed on Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. The club has been given a special licence to operate despite Abramovich having his assets frozen by the UK government. Banks want to assess the licence criteria to ensure it does not breach the government's sanctions and Chelsea do not know when the suspension will be lifted. As part of the licence terms, Chelsea cannot receive money for match tickets which have not already been sold, future gate receipts for FA Cup games or merchandise from the club shop. That is likely to leave the club with a huge shortfall, with their monthly wage bill amounting to £28m a month. The club *may* be able to play the remaining games this season, although that is currently in doubt. They will for sure not be able to participate in the Premiere League next season if current status quo is maintained. If the club folds (likely), it could leave a gap in London's economy worth billions of pounds. Abramovic? He'll probably just head off to Israel (he has Israeli citizenship, being a Jewish). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/12/russians-liquidating-crypto-in-the-uae-as-they-seek-safe-havens Crypto firms in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are being deluged with requests to liquidate billions of dollars of virtual currency as Russians seek a safe haven for their fortunes, according to company executives and financial sources. Some clients are using cryptocurrency to invest in real estate in the UAE, while others want to use firms there to turn their virtual money into hard currency and stash it elsewhere, the sources said “We have one guy – I don’t know who he is, but he came through a broker – and they’re like, ‘we want to sell 125,000 Bitcoin’. And I’m like, ‘what? That’s $6bn guys’. And they’re like, ‘yeah, we’re going to send it to a company in Australia’,” the executive said. Bitcoin working as intended I suppose. I'm sure Scott Morrison will welcome some reasonable party donations to facilitate such business transactions.... Which leaves the question, is the anonymity going to remain part of the future of cryptocurrency, or will the current war put an end to it. It has for many years been the favourite money laundering tool for organized crime, but popular opinion may help politicians to finally get an iron collar put around the the neck of Crypto brokers.
    2 points
  13. " then we have lost the moral authority to criticize them " I have heard this type of left-wing, SJW, socialist doublespeak before where someone says " but we dont have the moral authority to criticize Russia because of Iraq, Afghanistan ,Yemen, Libya , Colonialism and things like the Palestinian Israeli conflict " What have those conflicts got to do with the unquestionable sequence of events where Russia unilaterally decided to carve up the borders of a soverign country and then invaded that country after Putin lied blatantly to the entire world and said "we dont want to invade Ukraine " If you follow the logic of your spurious corollary then the US and the EU should not have criticized or used sanctions against Apartheid South Africa because slavery use to legal in the US and the EU and thats " much worse than Apartheid " The world and the UN responds to the actions and decisions of countries and how they act in real time. Each case is different and each conflict is different and their will always be different levels of global response and concern But to suggest " then we have lost the moral authority to criticize them "is one of the most unconvincing comments I have ever heard about Putins War. Of course its going to be criticized. Why wouldnt you recognize this type of appalling aggression and blatant contempt of international law and sovereignty ?
    2 points
  14. Bashing shields like Tuotilo's Palm, Magran's Blessing or The Best Defense profit from both abilities: "Two Weapon Style" and "Weapon and Shield Style". This is unlike PoE where only weapon & shield style worked with bashing shields. So what happens is that you get faster recovery and also defensive bonuses which is neat of course. Especially Tuotilo's Palm synergizes very well with this because it can give more ACC or dmg AND higher defenses based on wounds. So it's boosting both offense and defense - just like Two Weapon Style + Weapon & Shield Style do.
    1 point
  15. Monk/Ascendant is a good combo because Monks get +5 DEX and +15% Action speed via Swift Strikes, +10 INT via Duality of Mortal Presence, up to +12 ACC and wounds via Enduring Dance and +2 PEN and +5 MIG via Thunderous Blows - besides two summons. The increased INT and higher speed are the main reasons why they are great for Ascension because you want to squeeze as many spell casts into the ascension phase as possible. More INT means longer ascension and more DEX and action speed means more spells in a given time. Besides that the higher INT means bigger AoEs and longer hostile effects duration (stacks with Lingering Echoes). All Monk subclasses work well with an Ascendant if you have CP installed bc. of the reasons above - and melee isn't such a big problem imo... however I think Nalpasca or Helwalker are the best picks. But Forbidden Fist can do some cool things with Enfeebled + high INT + Lingering Echoes. For the same reasons some players like Barbarian/Ascendant: because of Frenzy, Bloodlust and especially Blood Thirst an Ascendant can squeeze a hell lot of spells into the ascension time. Same is true for a Streetfigher if he's heating up or even on the edge (e.g. Streetfighter/Ascendant with blunderbusses+modal). But as Kaylon said: Ascendant wants to spam spells when asdended. I actually like other Cipher subclasses with Forbidden Fist more than Ascendant. Forbidden Fist/Beguiler for example is a nicer combo in my book. No need to do the "collect focus then spam spam spam spells" cycle but instead focus on manipulating single strong enemies. For example Enfeebled + Lingerung Echoes +10 INT and then casting Puppet Master for cheap is a hell lot of fun. You will turn a lot of tough enemies into long-lasting allies, you will have enough focus most of times (cast some Phantom Foes and Secret Horrors at the start of the battle, then go in an generate focus with FF attacks which usually is enough to pay for Puppet Master or Whisper of Treason). I played a Shattered Pillar/Soul Blade (also CP installed) because I liked the idea of filling up both resource pools with the same action - and it worked well. You will just be less effective in fights against single tough foes and very effective in fights with lots of weaker foes. Soulblade/Trickster is a very effective combo if you want to focus on Soul Annihilation and not cast spells so much. Use Sun & Moon in order to be able to spam Soul Annihilation non-stop and use a bashing shield to double down at the defensiveness of Mirrored Images, use Riposte and also get the speed of dual wielding without actually using the shield bash (because Soul Annihilation is a primary attack only that doesn't use the shield bash ever - ans since you can spam it with Sun & Moon you seldomly have to do auto-attacks). Also works with Monks to a certain extend, but they lack the defensive buffs. For a build that uses Soul Annihilation mostly Trickster is better imo.
    1 point
  16. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-europe-nato-poland-c82be23ebd5faea1846c9170c58b8c7b
    1 point
  17. With the Ring "Drunkard's Regret" you can circumvent the penalties of hangovers and this also means Pukestabber will have no downside. First of all you onle get a hangover if you stop resting with alkohol. If you keep using any alcoholic drink as "resting food" there will be no hangover. If you use something else when resting - that's when you will wakre up with a hangover effect and this triggers Pukestabber's vomiting etc. So if you plan to use something else than alcolhol you can put on Drunkard's Regret right before resting. You can remove it after the rest, you don't have to wear it all the time - only when resting.
    1 point
  18. I guess it's Pukestabber https://pillarsofeternity.fandom.com/wiki/Pukestabber You get drunk by resting and using alcohol as food. You get a hangover on the following rest if you do nothing after being drunk.
    1 point
  19. There is nothing about DS games that should make them hard to implement on M&K, in fact it should be easier and not harder. God of War being a great example of a port.
    1 point
  20. Yeah, if you are unable or unwilling to get a gamepad, that, more or less, disqualifies you from playing certain games. A gamepad is the best input device for a rather sizeable chunk of games. Most of these are still perfectly playable with m&kb, but there are games that just not designed for that interface. For example, pretty much any racing game is going to be awesome with a proper wheel & pedal setup, great with a gamepad, and bad at best with m&kb. It goes the other way, of course. RTS is great with m&kb. I can't imagine how horrible RTS would be with a gamepad, or a wheel for that matter.
    1 point
  21. Are you only running Obsidian NPCs and sidekicks, no custom? If so that limits suggestions a bit. Some thoughts: I might recommend a mainchar druid, because the only built-in SC option is Tekehu and like you say his subclass is so altered it's quite a different experience from other druids. Ancient is a great subclass to try, the mushroom summons can really carry you in the early game (and still tank well in the late game). Psion is a fun new cipher subclass - it's wildly different from a normal cipher. Some people underestimate just how different it is, so I always try to argue to give it an actual shot - being able to regen focus automatically means you can sustain casting of lower powers indefinitely. It also is a great, easy basis for a caster/caster multiclass, since you no longer have an action economy issue of needing to attack with weapons - you automatically regen focus just by casting spells from your non-cipher MC. (edit: beguiler can also sustain focus casting with deception powers, but psion can do it with any power. psion also gets a unique interrupt that is cheap and superb for spamming and messing up bosses) Xoti as monk can be very powerful, OP (but most monks are OP anyway). Her subclass is a bit underwhelming early on, but with whispers of the wind and ajumaat's stalking cloak, killing enemies will rapidly refill your wound count and let you spam whispers of the wind a lot. Any kind of non-Tekehu chanter will also be a good experience. Tekehu's chanter subclass is... not super amazing. Losing summons hurts the chanter a lot, very much a core part of being a late-game chanter. It can be nice to get all those free invocations, but as a single-class it's actually real bad because you have way too many ability points and abilities that you're never going to use because you have too many; it works better as a multiclass when you're getting those invocations for free and you can use those freed-up ability points to build up the druid side better. Fortunately, between konstanten, fassina, vatnir, and pallegina you got good availability of chanters so you don't have to roll a mainchar as a chanter to try it out. edit: though tekehu as chanter has a particularly powerful OP strategy - ppl discovered that if you have sasha's singing scimitar and empower avenging storm, every single lightning bolt will trigger sasha's singing scimitar's empower-based abilities. tekehu's the only chanter that has avenging storm innately as an invocation - everyone else would have to rely on scrolls or the special helmet.
    1 point
  22. It's common wisdom that the Souls games (and really Souls-like games in general) are unfortunately pretty much unplayable without a gamepad, so I would say do not bother with any of them.
    1 point
  23. I like the idea of multiclassing but always fear I would miss out on some endgame spells/abilities because of the multiclass limitations. I'd like to have multiclasses but also singleclasses characters. Also i'm wondering what is strong and fun as MC, and what is strong and fun as SC.
    1 point
  24. Wonder if nuclear proliferation will get worse.
    1 point
  25. This may lead to an even fiercer Ukrainian resistance than before. The resistance will ultimately prove to be futile, given Russia's vast superiority in numbers, but until then, the resistance may well be fierce indeed. I've already read reports of Ukrainians saying how the invasion has united the country like nothing else. Of course I understand that this is not the whole truth, but there are historical precedents to this: an invasion can give a country and its citizens tremendous strength of character, which may translate to surprising military success. But still, all this is such a waste, of course. And Ukraine looks doomed unless something surprising happens in Russia.
    1 point
  26. And I, as an academic, have also said this to news reporters interviewing me and in public events at my university. What we are going through now events very similar to events in Europe, Africa, and Asia in the 1930s prior to September 1, 1939. And as far as I am concerned, the single most important and most powerful *lesson* Putin is learning from the Ukrainian war is that the West (both the US and Western Europe) is terrified of the prospect of (stumbling into) WW3, and will go to great lengths to avoid such a prospect even if it means giving the Russians what they want (see all the hand-wringing at both the governmental and public levels in major Western countries). So making threats about "WW3" is now in Russia's interest as a way of cowing the West and getting concessions. And China, and even states like Iran and North Korea, are also learning this lesson. Allowing ourselves to be paralyzed by fear of WW3 is the surest path to WW3. Mark my words: by not being willing to fight the Russians here and now we have not averted WW3. Far from it, we have only strengthened the prospect of a war with Russia down the road, in a much worse situation. And when (not if) the Russians next engage in naked aggression against a weak neighbor (I would put money on a lightning strike on the Baltic states a few years from now), they will be fully joined by the Chinese, and likely even an Iran flush with cash and all the components for a nuke, and a North Korea with nuke-armed missiles that can hold the continental US hostage.
    1 point
  27. Well, the fact is, that the situation in the last few years is about shift of power between USA, China, EU, Russia, India. And everyone wants a piece of the pie. The UA situation will be definitely a big shift in the world order, depending on who wins. IMHO if the west in the coming weeks breaks and politicians start to ask about the end of Russia sanctions, the next war will be in Taiwan and Moldova/Georgia.
    1 point
  28. But surely before we can call something WW3 it has to mean the worlds superpowers are at war. The Cold War wasnt WW3 but it could have led to that but Mutually Assured Destruction prevented that So if the Cold War wasnt WW3 than I dont think its accurate to say this current tension with Russia WW3 Yes Russia has created huge tensions by this invasion of Ukraine but we not at world war level until countries declare war on each other ?
    1 point
  29. By the way, someone (sorry, can't remember how it was but I think it was a historian) has pointed out that WW3 has already begun -- but because it's still in its earliest stages, we the ones living it right now cannot know it yet. This is a possibility. Let us dearly hope that it is not true.
    1 point
  30. Gave Dark Souls a shot finally. It's ugly and the controls are awful, guess Prepare to Die is much inferior. I think I'd like it a lot more if it wasn't so clunky. Guess I'll give Elden Ring a shot when it goes on sale.
    1 point
  31. Season 7. Edit: to be fair, I think the Gothic romance episode could have easily been a TOS episode too...
    1 point
  32. Big mistake on their part. Cyber-llamas would do gangbusters business.
    1 point
  33. Russian troops are trogging through the Finnish wilderness at night. Suddently they hear someone yelling from a nearby hilltop "A Finnish soldier beats any Russian soldier any time!". A Russian soldier volunteers to prove otherwise and runs up the hill, but soon falls to a sniper bullet . The voice yells "Ha! One Finnish soldier is better than any two Russian soldiers!". The Russians take cover and an officer sends two scouts around the hill to flank the sniper. After a moment two shots are heard and the same voice yells "One Finnish soldier is better than 10 Russian soldiers!". The Russians send ten men up the hill. More shooting and a grenade explosion later no one comes back and they hear "One Finnish soldier is better than a whole platoon of Russian soldiers!". So the Russians send a whole platoon. After several minutes of gunfire grenade explosions a wounded Russian crawls back to the rest of the troops, grabs an officer by the shirt and says "It was a TRAP! There are TWO of them!"
    1 point
  34. Brisco County - EP5 Brisco in Jalisco Brisco and Socrates journey down to Mexico seeking a stolen shipment of guns. This episode features the return of Dixie Cousins, as well as my boy Pete. Despite a hint that Bly might be involved, this wound up being a side quest episode. Interestingly, they explain why Pete is alive here (gut shot), which makes me wonder if this was originally intended to air before EP2. They also very much ship Brisco and Dixie, something that could have potentially blossomed in later seasons. Alas, we'll never know. This was the least comedic episode so far and the first without Bowler. Still, it was a thoroughly enjoyable adventure and any episode with my boy Pete is alright in my book.
    1 point
  35. But it is, which is why Russia and Turkey are able to censor their people so effectively even though they are under European court of human rights. EU has avoided using it ability to censor outlets so far, but now they decided to use tactics perfected by Russia in past two decades against Russia. Of course it is slippery slope and easily lead more censorship in future, but as now it is accordance of European human right principalities and EU laws.
    1 point
  36. Again, no. "Speech in support for breaking other people's human rights" isn't grounds for censorship. Otherwise they could have banned any number of outlets and voices over the past 20 years that peddled bull**** (actual bull****) in support of frivolous wars all over the world. Also Chinese-affiliated media, Persian Gulf state-affiliated media, not to mention all the voices claiming for suspension of basic rights during the pandemic. A fundamental principle stops having any use or being meaningful if you just claim "exceptional circumstances!" to ignore it whenever it suits you. Doing that while denying opponents the same is textbook hypocrisy. Either we have a free, open and mature democratic society that can not be seriously confused, contaminated and disrupted by propaganda and fake news, or we do and all the authoritarian garbage pushed by the likes of Xi Jinping and Putin is actually on point. You can't just have both simply because you claim to have the moral high ground.
    1 point
  37. Considering that message which I answered was "All you "Give me liberty give me death!1" people should be outraged. " , American 1st amendment is the we should look for guidance. But my interpretation is based on on European and universal human rights. Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights: Freedom of expression 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises. 2. The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary. Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 19 Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers. About EU's decision to ban RT and Sputnik, it is one of those difficult questions where multitude human rights are in conflict with each other. EU banned RT and Sputnik for pro war propaganda, as it is seen that people's right for free speech can be limited when said speech is in support for breaking other people human rights in fundamental way (in this case Ukraine people rights given in article 3 in UDoHR and article 2 in ECoHR ).
    1 point
  38. Very interesting article on Russia and that festering pustule of lies and delusions that is ruling it: https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/stephen-kotkin-putin-russia-ukraine-stalin
    1 point
  39. That's a main concept in the series
    1 point
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