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Rostere

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Everything posted by Rostere

  1. Rostere
    Wasn't Fire Warrior that infinitely boring, linear corridor shooter featuring Tau, released a long time ago? I remember trying it for 20 minutes on a console. Then had to stifle a yawn and do something else to wake up again. I guess I'm going to reveal myself to you all as a robot now, but I actually played through that game. It's competing with Lionheart for being the world's most awful game you still want to play. On the other hand, Lionheart starts out OK and devolves into an endless trudge through ****, Fire Warrior starts out as **** and gets more interesting later on.
  2. Rostere
    I want the conversation window to look as similar as possible to a theatre script, failing that, a novel.
  3. Rostere
    If it's faithful to the original without any crap tacked onto it, I'll buy it.
  4. Rostere
    Awful suggestions, I want it to look more like a script for a play. The current look is perfect.
  5. Rostere
    Oh please. I cry TEARS OF JOY when I see this. THIS IS PERFECT!
  6. Rostere
    They certainly did not initially object to democracy. I, on the other hand, believe that the military's absurdly prioritized place in Egyptian society made it impossible for them to actually coexist with a democracy, unless they gave away all their power willingly. I don't know their own perspective on this, though. Maybe the military always intended to topple the winning candidate in the elections. I seem to recall a quote where al-Sisi or maybe Tantawi said they were certain that a Brotherhood-supported candidate would win. It's no secret that the military is at odds with the MB. Maybe they thought he would fail catastrophically to restore the economy and write a constitution (which Morsi indeed did), and that their subsequent counter-coup was planned all along. Or maybe the military only very, very reluctantly accepted democracy (because of pressure from the US and the West) and Morsi's failures were the tipping point where they decided they would be forced to intervene or risk turning Egypt into Iran 2. That seems a rather plausible scenario.
  7. Rostere
    Or maybe everyone realizes that the side which starts to use chemical weapons will be immediately rejected by the international community, and these last months with allegations of chemical warfare has all been both sides trying to frame the other.
  8. Rostere
    My name was originally just me writing random stuff on the keyboard to create a name for my character in some RPG around 2000-2001. Shortly after, I registered on an Internet forum using the same nick. People were asking why I chose it and instead of admitting it was just random gibberish I came up with a more "intelligent" and "sophisticated" explanation. "Rostratus" is Latin for "having a beak/beaked/curved" and as a noun it can mean both the prow of a ship and the speaker's platform in the original Forum in Rome. The last part is rather appropriate and I also definitely like the visual associations I get from the words. The ending "ere" (alternatively spelled "er", or in some cases "yr" or "ir") was more common in Old English names, such as Belvedere, Ellesmere, and so on. "Rostere", "Rosteyr", "Rosteer" or "Rostair" (now I think you know how to pronounce my nick as well) is not an entirely illogical mashup for a strange (really) Old English Latin-inspired name or nickname. It's a pity the actual, already existing, rather uncool word "rooster" has almost the exact etymology.
  9. Rostere
    I don't mean to say the MB were deliberately misleading people. Just that if democracy is a new thing to you, you might not recognize the obvious pitfalls. Besides I can't emphasize enough that there is a large group of people who is very undecided with how to self-identify, and very unsure of what "Islamist" or "Liberal" even means in an Egyptian context. The MB is going to seem appealing for their consistent opposition to military dictatorship and their charity work, even to a liberal. In a nation where the majority are very religious Muslims, "Islamic" does not have the same awful ring to it as it does to us. There are of course also degrees of this. For example in American presidential elections, the candidates are often asked about their religious beliefs by interviewers. If the same things had been emphasized in Sweden people would have switched TV channel or sent angry mails. If someone had tried to "sell" himself by talking about his religious beliefs everyone would be very sceptical. Egypt is even more religious than than the US (and in fact one of the most religious countries in the world), so emphasizing your religion is a natural move in an election. Egyptians are likely to have no scepticism towards parties who fish for voters using religion. This, combined with the fact that they have zero democratic tradition, is of course a catastrophe. Now, when these leaders grab power, and then ignores the economic woes but argues with each other in perpetuity over issues such as whether women should constitutionally be subservient to men, these Egyptians get a rough awakening. Maybe they should not have voted for someone whose best credential is that he is devout, maybe they should have voted for a statesman instead. Maybe they should not have voted for someone who would like to impose HIS interpretation of Islam on everyone.
  10. Rostere
    There were a lot of rather secular Muslims who had voted for the MB (that is, the FJP). They were very disappointed with Mursi, because they did not believe he would go so far. Remember Ennahda in Tunisia and AKP in Turkey who has not enforced similar constitutions. Both are nominally Islamic parties with partly secular voters, who get along rather well with their opposition, or at least I thought so until some months ago, now I don't even know that anymore. We also have got to recognize it's the first election in Egypt. They don't know yet why it's a good idea to separate church and state. "You're a Muslim, why don't you vote for an Islamist leader? That's what all good Muslims do. The other candidates are just not Islamic." How do you think the ordinary Egyptian reacts to that? I think there are more who self-identify as Muslims than who really want "Islamic" policies.
  11. Rostere
    I know the history of Al-Qaeda perfectly well. Of course their initial formation would still have happened, but after the resolution of the war in Afghanistan they would have played out their role. Do you even know why Osama attacked the US in the first place? Because the US supports the Israeli Zionists and also because they have military bases in Saudi Arabia (yes, apparently that was a reason). AQ has EVERYTHING to do with Israel/Palestine, just look at 9/11, which was largely a byproduct of the Israel/Palestine situation. (Nowadays I sincerely think they get more recruits from the PR they must have gained from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan) Let me give you a similar example: the CPUSA. Today I don't think many Americans think of them as a threat. But even as late as the seventies I think many did (they certainly did during the sixties). Why is that? Because they were supported by the Soviet Union, which had an extreme and unwanted ideology... And the SU had the political system it had because of the extreme class differences in Europe during the late 1800s, a problem which would seem distant enough for the US just like Israel/Palestine, eh? Yet in the end we got the Cold War. It's ALWAYS in the interest of EVERYONE EVERYWHERE to prevent atrocities and injustices, because these create room for extremists, which everyone will have to deal with in the end. They don't just pop out of thin air. Almost every kind of "terrorist" fights because of real injustices, but they have been completely swayed by violent ideologies.
  12. Rostere
    Yes, I get the feeling that the MB is not really interested in negotiation. But since we don't know what deals they have been offered by the new interim government, we don't know if that is a reasonable attitude or if they're wasting people's lives on the street out of spite.
  13. Rostere
    Well, it is a more important issue. But you've really put your finger some very interesting points: Why is it so important for all Muslims to show solidarity with Palestinian Muslims (Christian Palestinians certainly don't get much solidarity from other Christians)? Why is it so important for the Zionists to take over Israel/Palestine? Why is it so important to the US to support the Zionists? These are the million-dollar questions. Israel/Palestine is important simply because people believe it is, you can really take an arbitrary conflict, divide the world in two halves and let each half support one of the sides. This will obviously result in tremendous diplomatic clashes and a polarization of the entire world. Remember how WW1 started? Israel/Palestine is what polarizes the US (and by extension, "the West") against the entire Muslim world. Without Israel/Palestine we would likely not have Muslim terrorists (Al-Qaeda, et.c.), we would absolutely not have had the (recent) wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we would see a lot more foreign investment in Muslim countries, a more prosperous ME and significantly less Muslim refugees in Europe. Arab leaders would not have Israel to use as a perpetual "Get out of jail"-card, and Muslims would be increasingly looking to the democratic west for inspiration (since there no longer are any tensions). In short, it's like a diplomatic "butterfly effect" - If all of Israel/Palestine would be nuked from orbit it would have close to zero effect on the world economy, but if the conflict could be resolved it could have HUGE positive diplomatic repercussions.
  14. Rostere
    For starters you could just move-in while Ramadan was celebrated and use tear gas.Or surround the place and deny water. Or use nasty chemicals like you yourself suggested. Or not let them assemble in those numbers in the first place. In the end it doesn't matter because this situation is greatly beneficial to the military. All the international condemnation won't came even close to the benefit of this 'shock and awe'. To be honest, I think clearing out that crowd was a very hard task. There are few, if any, completely non-violent methods which could have succeded. On the other hand, they could perhaps have negotiated better with Muhammad Mursi. I only know that they've "held negotiations", not what they have offered the leadership of the MB. Let's not forget, even if they chose to represent only themselves instead of the entire Egyptian people when in power, Mohammed Mursi is the legitimate president of Egypt.
  15. Rostere
    Apparently ElBaradei and several other ministers have already resigned. There are also 40+ dead policemen. At least 17 churches have been attacked (presumably as a reprisal for the Coptic pope's initial siding with the interim government) and several have been torched.
  16. Rostere
    So apparently there's a massacre going on in Cairo when the government cracks down on pro-Mursi supporters. A moment ago I saw a figure of ~150 dead, now it's 278. Pictures: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2013/08/2013814142336191647.html Reporters at the scene: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/08/20138141715620312.html
  17. Rostere
    I think it's definitely worth the money it costs today. I hate how all the problems with the game are so obvious, the devs could essentially fix the game (not the first campaign) with a patch. That could take the game from "OK" to "Excellent".
  18. Rostere
    Yes, exactly. It's hard to justify your existence as a militant extremist group if you are entirely harmless. Hamas tries to come across as powerful so that their supporters can keep believing there is a point in fighting... I guess if they realized how little Hamas is able to do they would instead join a group who struggles peacefully for their rights.
  19. Rostere
    So. Are there only men in German ceremonial military units or will drilling with nazi-era rifles become the new hot trend among women looking to improve their looks?
  20. Rostere
    In 2008, the year most rockets were fired and most Israelis died from rocket fire, it took an average of 136 rockets to kill one person. Not one single person has died from rocket fire since 2011, when the new "Iron Dome" system was first installed. I guess nowadays it's really a non-issue for the ordinary man on the street in Israel. But Hamas/AJ will probably be trying to display their "power" by sending rockets also in the future, and Israel will continue to use the rockets as a pretext for inflicting arbitrary collective punishment. Make no mistake, these rockets are deadly if they manage to hit you. But you're not going to be hurt if they crash outside your house.
  21. Rostere
    First off I want to say I really do not like the new buggy quoting system. Anyway: This is the most common rocket used by militants in Gaza: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qassam_rocket Israel claims they are made out of water pipes. I figure that is anecdotal evidence of their awful accuracy, or at least reflects on their crude production. I've seen some sites of Qassam strikes where the rocket just left a black mark on the ground and some debris. You'd figure they could at least use HMTD as an explosive, but no. I could create a more dangerous rocket in a couple of days if I only had welding tools. I'm sure Hamas would like them to kill a lot of people, but their current status is "Mostly Harmless". That said, Hamas has also had sporadic access to smuggled old Grad missiles (which must be like a "holy hand grenade" for them). But try to think about it yourself: the only way they can fire anything at Israel under 24/7 surveillance is if they quickly mount small rocket stands and fire single rockets from cover, there's simply no way they could have an entire Grad setup around, that would be blown to smithereens in seconds. Also coming up inside Israel: "I will not allow the city's Aryan character to be changed. I will block the establishment of a school for blacks and will build neighbourhoods for Aryan residents ...Upper Nazareth is an Aryan city!" "Upper Nazareth will be Aryan forever; no more shutting our eyes… this is the time to defend our home" Sounds racist to you? Only local elections as usual in Israel, if you exchange "Aryan" for "Jewish" and "black" for "Arab". This is the official party line on posters for the "Yisrael Beitenu" ("Israel Our Home") party in Upper Nazareth (through the candidate Shimon Gapsu), which since a recent merge is part of prime minister Netanyahu's party and one of the most prominent in the current government. This is the government and political direction to which the US has an "eternal" "unbreakable bond". These are the policies which the US supports to the tune of the astronomical amount of 3 billion dollars in tax money every year. And even stranger, the US guarantees Israel's exploding foreign debt for some reason. Nevertheless, the local elections will be an important sign on whether or not the extreme right continues their recent string of successes.
  22. Rostere
    This is getting silly. It is irrelevant to my argument who won the conflict, I only gave a counterexample to the idea that "victory can only be achieved if one side is exterminated".
  23. Rostere
    Essentially, the important part of the Oslo accords was that the Palestinians would not turn to the international community for help on forming a state, and in exchange for that, Israel would release these prisoners they are releasing now and do their best to help the Palestinians to form their own state. Most stupid diplomatic deal of the century, if you ask me.
  24. Rostere
    I'm sorry, I don't follow your logic, if the Germans had won lots more people would've been exterminated, it's only because the Allies won there's peace and prosperity. Oh, now I see. I originally replied in response to Tsuga C. So now I don't even understand what we are arguing about in the first place. What was your original point really? All the better if they all could live in the same country - suddenly the issue of evacuating settlements becomes not as loaded.
  25. Rostere
    You're leaving out the small detail that it was Germany that lost, else the world would now be one big concentration camp. What? That changes nothing. They fought, no side was "exterminated", and now they are allies. There are no Israelis in Gaza, there are many in the West Bank, so not exactly the same situation. Indeed, not all the same. But my point still stands. The Israeli settler groups are far better armed than any Palestinians. Besides, it's not as if you can just waltz into a settlement as a Palestinian. At most they could infiltrate a few guys, which would all be for nothing if they meet with prepared settlers on the other side. But yes, that would probably Hamas' most powerful initial attack...
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