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alanschu

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Everything posted by alanschu

  1. I don't know. I'm not sure why it should or should not be a particular length. From what it sounds like, it simply means an additional layer of flavour for why particular missions are happening. It's still going to be team vs. team. I'm not sure if it simply means the IMC gets the mirror of the campaign in multiplayer (since you can go through the campaign on either side). I could see the campaign missions being structured maybe a bit differently, but from the sounds of it they decided add this mode since it didn't require much deviation from the core game that they were creating. The thing is, these missions will possibly only be played once (if at all), so it poses a risk to invest a lot into creating it, if the core game is to be a multiplayer game. The only way to really justify it is if you can secure additional funding by providing this game mode, which maybe isn't possible.
  2. Standoff ranges from tense to surreal I will say that I am happy that, thus far, the armed forces on both sides seem to have stayed any sort of impetuousness in terms of responses that could be led to more open confrontation.
  3. I think in general we seem to be on opposite sides of the situation on the whole, but I have to say that this cannot really be understated. I mean, sure it could easily be reenacted at a later date, but it sends a pretty clear message. "Hi, we're the new government in power. And one of the first things we're going to do is this thing that can be construed as a move to marginalize someone based on their minority status." Even if it's not, the optics of a move like this send inappropriate messaging and helps muddy the waters a lot, in my opinion. Especially since, from what I have read, it sounds like this was a major catalyst for some of the response in the east and in Crimea. Given how fascist regimes often rally around the perceived injustices incurred at the hands of minorities (and I think it's fair that even most of the Russian speaking people in Ukraine are mostly your fairly standard, non-monster of a human being), this type of step sends a terrifying message IMO. Especially among the plethora of other, "first thing we need to do" types of responses the government could have done. I have a hard time believing that the government would have been oblivious to the fact that it'd only escalate tensions, at best. I mean, did they sit down and say "this would definitely be in the immediate best interests of our country??"
  4. Titanfall's campaign is still a multiplayer campaign though. There's no single player component to the game in the slightest. Just a flavour way of experiencing the multiplayer.
  5. Liz Wahl resigns on the air Note that she is an American in the US branch of Russia Today.
  6. Ah okay. I was following the highlighted cues of the A and D, but yeah, now that you point it out I totally see the arrow. Thanks!
  7. Tweet: Kerry continues to encourage Russia to talk with Ukraine (Shared this mostly in that it's not in alignment with what Tymoshenko feels is necessary.
  8. Tymoshenko feels signatories of 1994 treaty are the ones that have to negotiate with Russia now Mostly because she feels Ukraine's negotiation ability is compromised due to Russian soldiers in their borders. At this point I mostly just consider you a myopic, unreasonable poster. If you can't see it, it's because you are choosing to not see it. I can see it, even though I don't agree with it. To me it's trivial to see how someone can make that conclusion, even if I don't think it's the correct one. Especially in a world of media propaganda (on both sides) and sufficient self-awareness that most (if not all) of us are making the best suppositions we can based on this imperfect information. It's clear you don't consider it a complicated situation. You see it as "one side is wrong." That isn't a tricky nor complicated situation. It's a simple one (with the only complications being what to do about it). In any case, I've said my bit to you regarding this and will leave it at that going forward.
  9. To be fair, any application of the CSA flag outside of the United States implies a degree of "I don't understand what they're using that flag for."
  10. It's still a compromise to his legitimacy as head of state. Fascist elements are certainly going to be present. I'd more be wondering if anyone legitimately feels that all the protestors wanting to remove Yanukovych are all in alignment in why they were storming the government buildings. I mean, even in (the very silly) Vancouver riot, there were anarchists among the crowd looking on starting trouble. They just helped rally the drunken, angry hockey fans by instigating trouble. I emphasised the word fascist because I think seeing this as a putsch (which is basically just a coup) isn't really an unfair way to look at it. Fascist elements exist within those that sought to overthrow for sure. Further, things like repealing the language laws are certainly going to cause concern, especially if there are concerns over how much power/influence fascists have obtained (and I think it'd be convenient to simply state "none at all"). It's obviously been established much longer in Canada, but despite being almost exclusively an anglophone, I'd consider it a bad sign if French was suddenly no longer an official language of Canada.
  11. Cyberattacks on the increase Ranging from DDoS attacks, to defacing/altering news articles.
  12. Anyone who thinks that the Confederate flag is only associated with racism these days is mistaken. Is it one of those "take it back" types of movements, because as an outsider I typically find use of the Confederate Flag to be a contentious and misguided thing, going back to the the "Slavery Issue" that was such a catalyst in provoking the CSA to rebel. I'm of the opinion that anyone who thinks using the Confederate Flag to represent anything other than slavery is going to immediately undermine their position enough that it's almost meaningless. Thanks for all the links numbers. I'll have to read all those later just due to quantity.
  13. I was pretty sure I pointed out the representation issue....
  14. Until you do look more into it, you couldn't say anything for certain. Not if you (dis)agree with referring to it as a fascist putsch or as alien abduction and anal probing. When you do look into it, please feel free to explain your reasons and discuss. Edited. The big issues comes down to whether or not the impeachment that happened on the 22nd is considered valid. There's clearly a non-trivial component that felt that Yanukovych went against the support of the people when he suddenly opted out of EU influence. I don't really have any capability of saying whether or not it's seen as a majority issue. Yanukovych did some things that ended up burying the hatchet against himself, however. Particularly when he tried passing laws that made protest illegal (I'm not sure how he thought that that would work). Granted, I'm sitting at home in my comfy chair and it's easy for me to say things as I'm not dealing with a large scale protest outside, but I do think that once he started doing things like that it becomes clearer that he's becoming a bit more self-serving and certainly seems to be abandoning any precepts of reconciling with the protesters. Hindsight is on my side, but I have a hard time believing that he genuinely thought it wouldn't escalate after that. Based on the dire situation in Ukraine (particularly ecomonically), I don't think I can apply the same rules to them that I would to, say, Canada. That is, if people went and stormed Ottawa because they didn't like Stephen Harper, I'd be inclined to be against any sort of armed protest. Ukraine is nearly about to default on huge loans and is a **** place economically... is it valid to say that their situation is a clearer reflection of "this government is failing us?" I don't think entrance into the EU (or EU support) would've made that much of a difference short term. Russia was certainly willing to offer gobs of money in exchange for keeping Ukraine in their SOI. TL;DR It's a ****ed up and messy situation that I can't entirely relate to. So it comes down to, is the response of the Ukrainian people justified? Was the parliament acting under duress, or was it attempting to fulfill what it perceived to be the will of the people? If so, does it bias Kiev to being "the will of the people" due to general proximity (i.e. people in Crimea are less able to exert their influence?). The thing is, parliament voted to impeach the President, but Yanukovych responds by vowing to remain in power (perhaps not the best move) and considers Parliament illegitimate whlie fleeing East. Now, Putin and Russia obviously have something to gain by maintaining close ties with the Ukraine. It doesn't surprise me that Putin sides with Yanukovych, and I don't think there isn't a fair reason to do so. That it is an "armed mutiny" isn't really an unfair thing to say. That said, are there ever situations when the people must resort to desperate measures like this? It's complicated, but in general I'd likely consider that Yanukovych dug his own grave due to past actions and comments, and am inclined to support Parliament. Mostly because, if your President is most concerned with remaining in power (which I believe Yanukovych is), that alone is a good reason to question his legitimacy. Though Is say this with an understanding that Yanukovych's perspectives are not in alignment with mine. As such, I have a bias. Could it be a bad thing to wait for the next election? That said, based on how things have all fallen down, I don't blame Russia for wanting to be careful, wanting to exert its influence, nor do I even blame it for moving armed forces along the border as instability is an issue. I do not, however, support Russia moving into the borders to protect Russian peoples. This is where media gets very problematic since it starts to become a lot of propaganda. I'm leery at any notion of local, regional governments immediately seeking outside assistance from a sovereign power in the wake of something like this. I think that any separatist or pro-Russian factions in East Ukraine and Crimea would be better served talking with the current government. If there comes a situation where it's clear that the government is not willing to consider any concerns that those peoples have, then appealing to international diplomatic pressure is what I would prefer. Seek potential succession and/or defection diplomatically. I think it'd put them in a better position to clearly outline what the region's population wants. If a huge divide continues, I think Ukraine loses legitimacy in retaining control over those regions. But... I'm sitting at home in my chair. And realistically any attempt at succession would possibly result in a civil war and those wars would see support and influence from various factions. A situation perhaps not too unlike what we have today. It'd be unpleasant regardless. So in that sense, a concession that "I probably don't know what the ideal course of action is, but I hope that there's no unnecessary loss of life and that things can ultimately be reconciled peacefully" must come from me. It's a precarious situation, and I can reasonably understand why someone may support one side over another, and I don't think it's trivial to state that one side is clearly in the wrong. Which is a **** answer, but hey I'm just a bloke on the internet that works for a video game company.
  15. Wouldn't they be held liable financially (through fines) had they released it?
  16. So I heard, but wouldn't the smart thing be to refrain from doing the test while still in a crisis that risks spinning even more out of control? Yeah maybe, but at the same time I don't know what all goes into doing a test like this. If it's a time consuming (and expensive) ordeal, well then it's just a matter of crappy coincidence IMO
  17. I'm at the ranged magic tutorial, but despite Cartman showing me what to do, I'm actually not sure what to do. I alternate hitting A & D when they are highlighted, but it doesn't seem to make any difference. Any thoughts? I'll try loading a saved game.
  18. I won't dispute that the situation is a lot murkier with the way the current interim government came to be and the fact that some won't agree with how it came to power and whether or not it is legitimate. To be honest I hadn't really been following this too closely until troops got involved, so I'd have to look more into the removal of the government before I could say I (dis)agree with referring to it as a fascist putsch.
  19. The ICBM test launch was apparently known and planned well beforehand. US and Russian stories corroborate each other on this regard and I'm inclined to think it wasn't just Russia going trollface on everyone. US will not attend G8 summit in Sochi unless Russia withdraws
  20. Crimean Tatars feeling pressure on both sides Related tweet: Crimean Tatars deliver food to Ukraine troops
  21. For whatever reason (I honestly have no idea), games in North America are often released on Tuesday. In Europe, they are often released on Friday. /shrug
  22. Russian History professor loses his job for comparing Putin's acts with Hitler's actions regarding Anschluss and beyond
  23. A concern I have is the treaty that was basically "Give us all your nukes and we'll help protect you" which if no one does, turns into "haha I bet you still wish you had that nuclear arsenal as some sort of deterrence!
  24. I think it's clear that it's beastly "for Lebron." Pretty much every night is typically Lebron being normal Lebron, which is beastly for other players, but not for Lebron. That's normal for him.
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