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Everything posted by SteveThaiBinh
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Quite possibly - you notice I made no claims to any knowledge of WW2 France. We were discussing whether the level of control that the US has over Iraq could be considered 'de facto conquest'. I don't think it can - I agree that this is as much, probably more, to do with the US' reluctance to carry out heavy-handed assaults (except Fallujah, perhaps?) than with the military effectiveness of the insurgency. It may also be a matter of perceptions, and the media over-emphasising the strength of the insurgents, but in terms of effective control, perceptions do matter as well.
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I remember it pretty much as you describe - I was listening to the BBC World Service and Rageh Omar's commentary. No-one really disputes that it was an action taken by one soldier which was quickly reversed - either by his mates on the ground or by a call from his superiors. But it was a spectacular blunder, one that augured ill (and correctly so) for the whole occupation. No surprise that the media focused on it. My recollection of the radio broadcast was that they did repeat the comments of the intelligent and respectful marines, as well as descriptions of the flag incident. If one sticks in the mind more than the other, that only highlights what a blunder it was.
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My knowledge of WW2 history is woefully lacking. Are you saying that the French Resistance caused as much damage and problems for the Germans as the insurgents/terrorists/combatents are doing in Iraq? Once again, a discussion about America turns to thoughts of Iraq. Is Iraq really the cause of the increase in anti-American sentiment, or just the focal point for a trend that was already in evidence beforehand?
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This is the general consensus, yes.
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De-facto conquered, is it? US troops are certainly in Iraq. They are occupying parts of it and have some degree of control over most, more in some areas, less in others. I don't know if there's a phrase in English to describe precisely what the US did, but 'de-facto conquered' doesn't fit the reality, then or now. The flag-draping soldier's indiscretion aside, the US was generally wise enough not to act like a conqueror, in an attempt to gain, if not the support, at least the acquiescence, of the population. They succeeded with some, but not enough. Marks for effort, perhaps.
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If a foreign country invaded my own and raised its flag over my territory, I would take that as a sign of conquest. The fact that my country's flag is flying next to it is neither here nor there. As to people waving flags in their own country (I'm sure I've said this before on these forums) in the UK and some other European countries it's a bizarre and eccentric thing to wave your flag around. Anyone who does so is likely to be seen as a crank or an extremist. In the US it is not bizarre or eccentric, it is normal. You can't apply the standards of your own culture to another, at least not over a tradition or custom like this.
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It's lovely against the night sky. Can you go up to the top? The view of the city would be fantastic! Is it a victory arch? It's nice to have some curves in the skyline, not just skyscrapers.
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It's a model of the same tower. Or did you mean the anti-America thread? I'm not starting it. I have nothing but love and affection for the American people and their marvellous president. Returning from a two-day visit home I was greeted today by the marvel that is Norwich's newly-opened bus station: I'm not sure. Glass can contribute to pretty, but glass does not automatically make pretty. However, the space-ship effect is very modern for Norwich.
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I thought this thread was about the twisting tower, and modern architecture in general. Look, I found another picture: We could always start (yet another) 'Why does the world hate America/Americans?' thread, if we must.
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KotoR 3: Ideas and Suggestions
SteveThaiBinh replied to Fionavar's topic in Star Wars: General Discussion
Are lightsabers hot then? That must be tricky - wouldn't you get sweaty palms when fighting? -
Don't worry. President Bush is cutting short his holiday to oversee the recovery efforts personally.
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I remember reading the Iliad and Odyssey many many years ago, though I don't remember enough about them to contribute much to this debate. I do remember the epithets, though (though I didn't know they were called that at the time), and I remember assuming that they arose out of the process of translation from the original into English - sometimes when you have a word in the original with two meanings, both of which are important, there's no single expression in the target language to convey both and you either pick one or use two words (or even a short phrase) to express both meanings. My assumption was that they conveyed such important information that the translator was reluctant to leave anything out in an attempt to get a more idiomatic translation. I'm surprised that academics have suggested their meanings aren't that significant. I wish I had a copy to hand to look at again.
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The tower is lovely. The gherkin is good, too. It seems that finally architects are rediscovering the art of creating pretty buildings, and about time too. Be grateful for gutsy immigrants - the world economy would collapse without them.
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No, but I saw part of a programme called 'Empire' on Hallmark last night. It looked OK, but I wasn't captivated. What is it with Rome at the moment? There seem to be games, films and TV series all over the place. I blame Russell Crowe.
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I don't see many Star Trek games coming out at the moment. With the movies just finished, a new TV series on the way, and some successful (and less successful) games, I think the Star Wars franchise is in need of a rest as well. I want to see a Stargate RPG. And wholly original settings are always welcome, of course.
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That's good news. Does this mean the feared flooding isn't going to be so serious? I heard they were worried about a surge of water from the lake.
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Oldest PC game you still play today?
SteveThaiBinh replied to Bokishi's topic in Computer and Console
Dosbox supports GK1, and I've run it without any errors. What problems did you have with it? -
Queen Talia and Master Kavar
SteveThaiBinh replied to DAWUSS's topic in Star Wars: General Discussion
I would imagine that if the Jedi no-love policy is strictly enforced, it's also quite well known. Perhaps people don't look at Jedi as sexual beings (eunuch jokes behind their backs, that kind of thing). In any case, there's nothing in the game at all to suggest a romantic relationship between Kavar and Talia, Vrook and admin-woman, or Zez-Kael and (Mira? Vogga? G0-T0?). -
Oldest PC game you still play today?
SteveThaiBinh replied to Bokishi's topic in Computer and Console
One of my favourites, too. But not one of the oldest. I played KQ1 recently - both the updates VGA version and the original. What I love about it is playing the series from start to finish and seeing how the games become more complex and the graphics change over the years. You get a similar effect with QFG. DosBox fixes all runtime problems with QfG1-4, in my experience. I now have greater problems with DragonFire - I can never get past the dragon battle without a sound error. -
Interesting spelling. Since the technology already allows bigger icons (the Obsidian/RPG ones already on the board), it shouldn't be that hard to allow all icons to be that size. It shouldn't be too long until some NWN2 ones are released, I hope.
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I remember that - I mean, I remember reading about the E3 money on kotorfanfic.com, though I haven't been back there in a long time. I thought it looked rather fishy. I try not to associate the moderator when he/she is moderating and the same person when they're posting their ideas. All the moderators are fine and do a good job, and they all sometimes makes mistakes. I have no favourites.
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As Jediphile points out in his post above, it's more than just dialogue options, it's actual sound files of Atris in some kind of Traya role on Malachor. These are not ideas that were discussed and rejected early in the process; they made it as far as voice recording, and should have been in the released version. Not enough has been found on the discs to suggest that we have the full set, and I suspect this is why the Restoration Project isn't trying to restore Atris/Traya, but Obsidian probably have much more than we do.
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I think Karaoke is the most fun it's possible to have with a large group of people. I once went out to Karaoke every night for two weeks.
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There were too many force powers, and generally not enough differences between the classes. You could be a Guardian/Weapons Master and still wipe out the enemy with Force Lightning. I thought the mentor thing iwth Kreia worked well, though, and the Force Powers that you learned through experience - unfortunately they weren't terribly interesting powers, and certainly not the main ones. Awwwwww.
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Well, I think that qualifies for 'prolly won't happen'. :'(