BruceVC

https://www.economist.com/interactive/trump-approval-tracker Economist has just released its approval ratings for Trump and its not good, its because of the real and perceived failures around the economy and inflation. And as we all know these were the 2 main voting issues for most Americans who voted for Trump I have also personally noticed a general anti-Trump sentiment on places like Codex which use to be mostly supportive of him in the dedicated thread. This forum is one of the few places where people still generally respect Trump and will sometimes give him the benefit of doubt My view on him hasnt really changed, he has had hits and misses but his misses are clearly undermining any good he has done. Of course it also doesnt matter what I think because Americans will decide his future and legacy when they vote. But he really needs to reverse things like tariffs which have negatively impacted the economy and inflation and the strict migration laws are also impacting domestic productivity in several states " Once the honeymoon is over, presidents tend to lose popularity quickly. But no recent president has fallen so low so quickly as Donald Trump. At the start of his second term public opinion was nearly evenly divided between those who approved of the president and those who did not. Things have since changed—his net approval is now lower than at any point in his first term. Rather than rebounding after the end of America’s longest ever government shutdown, Mr Trump’s popularity has continued to sink. Americans are particularly dissatisfied with Mr Trump’s handling of inflation and the economy, two issues which were key to his re-election last November. Young and non-white voters, many of whom abandoned Democrats because of concerns about the cost of living, are now souring on Mr Trump faster than other groups. It was those voters who fuelled Democratic victories in governor elections in Virginia and New Jersey—an ominous sign for Republicans before next year’s midterm elections. "

Im about 80 hours into Skyrim\LoreRim and its time for some feedback as I have learnt loads about the game and the LoreRim mechanics Its still the best experience I have ever had around an open-world and sandbox RPG I have ever played. But a couple of points outside of previous posts LoreRim and Requiem basically address and fix every complaint you have ever had about Vanilla Skyrim. No more level scaling and massive overhauls of classes, skills, magic, factions and dozens of new quests and NPC I installed a mod called Levelling Freedom to increase XP gain for each level which you can change anytime to increase or decrease the amount of XP for each level, I set it on 1400 for each level. I did this so I can explore more of the world without levelling up too fast because exploration for me must be rewarding and worthwhile I have an NPC adult companion mod , Viconia from BG, which joined me from level 5 and she has helped me a lot in combat but she doesn't unbalance the combat because she often gets defeated in hard battles I haven't started the main quest yet, Im going to do that on level 40 because of how hard dragons are and Im on level 31 ATM There are some excellent quest mods added that include 4-8 hours of additional time just on each of these quests. So LoreRim is a massive Mod collection if you want to complete most of the game. Im talking about potentially hundreds of hours of gaming Because there is no level scaling I do have easy battles now that end in seconds which is by design but there are loads of very difficult enemies that can kill me quickly if I dont prepare and plan my strategy and that is normally something you do in isometric, party based games like BG, PoE or Pathfinder For example last night I ended up fighting a Vampire Mage and I only beat him on the 5th try by taking several buff potions, enhancing my weapon and using Summons to distract him. And combat challenge in ES games is important to stop the game becoming boring So its been an overall excellent experience with LoreRim. Further updates to follow

We already know how people are trained and prepared when they engage with Trump but its always weird to see it in action. This leak is from Witkoff to the Russians and what they need to say to him Two key points, its embarrassing how insincere and expected this type of engagement with Trump is but it creates results. Witkoff seems very close to the Russians but you could argue he just wants to get agreement on the latest deal and he knows how mercurial Trump can be and how you need to engage with him

But as I mentioned what surprised me was the reaction to this first " peace plan " as if it was a done deal And we have been through this before so its not unprecedented. I have stopped quoting Trump on Ukraine because of how many times he has said things and then backtracked, I got tired of being interested in something that didn't materialize (like the long range missiles ) The EU and Ukraine will always need to accept the terms and then it goes back to Russia. After those steps then we can objectively commenting on the terms

Educate me, how did Ukraine serve its purpose and who did they serve? I have followed this type of opinion before and it always has holes in logic and historical consistency and of course generally ignores the reason Ukraine is getting support from the West, Russia invaded a sovereign country that is on border of the EU and this country has direct cultural ties to several East European countries with a history of Soviet occupation. So a Russian invasion of Chechnya would not get the same interest or support for understandable reasons But go into details?

No it had stated goals that were basically about reducing Federal expenditure that was considered wasteful and unnecessary And Musk was brought in because he claimed this would be " easy " Musk made a unexpected mistake of assuming public sector restructuring is the same as private sector restructuring which he had successfully done within his own companies But DOGE had an understandable objective. There are lots of Americans who think the Federal government is bloated and ineffective They just went about it a completely heavy handed and unsustainable way Im not sure why you think it was about Musk's enemies?

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/doge-doesnt-exist-with-eight-months-left-its-charter-2025-11-23/ DOGE has officially closed 8 months early What a disaster, it was hyped and sensationalized and now its over Musk should have stayed in his lane in the private sector, his sojourn into public sector was an unmitigated failure

https://edition.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-ukraine-news-11-22-25 "President Donald Trump said the US peace plan presented to Ukraine is not the final offer to end the war with Russia. “No, not my final offer,” Trump told reporters just now. “We’d like to get to peace. It should’ve happened a long time ago.” “The Ukraine war with Russia should have never happened. If I were president, it never would have happened. We’re trying to get it ended. One way or the other we have to get it ended,” he added. " So despite all the drama and media coverage this is not the final or definitive peace plan that Ukraine " has to accept " Im just surprised people still respond to these types of Trump comments or leaked information. We have been through all of this so many times around the war in Ukraine

I watched most of the press conference between Trump and Mamdani and it was nothing like many people expected. I suppose by now we should be use to what people say on the campaign trail is not what they really believe Or rather people become more pragmatic if they want to succeed in US politics But even I was surprised how cordial and complementary both Trump and Mamdani were to each other, Trump really took a liking to him and it was obvious And its because they had this meeting before the press conference where Mamdani explained to Trump his vision and focus for NY and this vision is what Trump also agrees with for NY. Mamdani is very intelligent and articulate and he knew exactly how to engage with Trump so as to not upset him But basically Mamdani and Trump ignored all the sensationalism and SM rhetoric that was part of the NY mayoral race and just focused on what they agree on which was in summary crime needs to addressed in NY more low cost housing needs to be built NY needs to become more affordable for everyone Both of them skillfully side stepped or diplomatically answered certain controversial or divisive questions from some in the media that included To Mamdani : Do you think Trump is a fascist\dictator : Answer : From Trump " i have been called worse things, I dont care " To Mamdani : Are you going to cut the police force and replace them with social workers : Answer : No, the police will not be cut To Mamdani : Are you going to tax white areas more : Answer : We going to build new housing and focus on making NY affordable To Mamdani: Do think the US is guilty of supporting genocide in the Gaza : Answer : Human rights must always be respected To Trump : Would you live in NY under Mamdani : Answer: Yes, after this meeting I think he can do a great job to fix NY To Trump : Are you going to cut Federal funding to NY : Answer : No, we will be supporting NY because I support what Mamdani wants to achieve As I mentioned I have never seen Trump so friendly towards someone who he had been so opposed to But thats because Trump end of the day is pragmatic around what NY needs and Mamdani and him are aligned on what that is It was a good conference and I would encourage everyone to watch it to understand the art of diplomacy and how people with different political views can and do get on when its about a common good

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-announces-us-making-new-effort-end-war/story?id=127683382 Im more interested in how the Saudis have asked the US to get involved in Sudan around a peace solution. And we were just talking about Sudan and the intractable nature of the war Trump has agreed to this, its annoying and frustrating for me when this happens but I accept the most important point is the war in Sudan ending and it doesn't matter who ends it But what is frustrating is the complete failure of the AU to deal with African problems and how the UNSC is limited when someone vetoes a resolution like Russia did last year around Sudan I accept this is by design of the UN but you end up with inertia and paralysis if the UNSC doesn't agree on a resolution and then nothing happens Unless you get this example , the US is only getting involved because Saudi Arabia asked them. And once Trump is gone you wont see other US presidents being so responsive But we shouldnt be relying on the US or Trump to get involved in African conflicts to find a solution Saying all that as I mentioned the most thing consideration is this war ending, so Im " complaining " but I support the effort the US will be making

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/17/thomas-massie-trump-jeffrey-epstein-00654214?nid=0000018f-3124-de07-a98f-3be4d1400000&nname=politico-toplines&nrid=81406e35-5743-4c79-8a1f-03aae6892d3d Here is a really interesting summary of how Massie was able to get the vote around releasing the Epstein files to the House You can see the efforts how Trump tried to block it and how he failed Its been a fascinating and reassuring period for me this public pressure to release the full files and how Trump eventually acquiesced Its a win for Democracy and how citizen activism can get government to change course when initially they clearly didn't want to This would never have happened in autocracies like Russia or China where the states decisions are final and citizens have no way to influence or change that decision

The full Epstein files will be released finally, well done to Massie and other GOP representatives for getting the vote to the House Its good that Trump is fully supporting this full release but he also had no real choice I doubt he is going to be implicated in anything but other prominent and wealthy elites will be named and of course that also wont automatically mean they were involved in underage sex but just getting your name mentioned is bad enough because of how toxic any proximity to Epstein has become Larry Summers for example has publicly apologized and stepped back from public responsibilities and he just had email exchanges with Epstein after the scandal initially broke https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cddr199d3z0o But its good news, we can review the full Epstein files and then bury the conspiracy theories and prosecute those that were involved in any sexual crimes

I dont dislike him on a personal level because I believe he means well. Its his progressive left political views I dont support but I do like him Here is a hilarious Sacha Cohen interview with Sanders where he was playing one of his alts, a guy called Billy Wayne Ruddick Jr who is MAGA conspiracy theorist who always believes in the " truth". Watch from 1:32

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/17/middleeast/us-gaza-israel-un-vote-intl-latam The US resolution around Trumps peace plan passed at the UNSC with 13 yes votes and 2 abstentions from China and Russia But no vetoes because no one has any alternative plan or wants to spend the time trying to create one Now the hard part. Muslim and Arab countries must provide the boots on the ground in Gaza to ensure Hamas isnt active but most important it contains a reference to Palestinian statehood which Israel wanted removed and they failed to achieve " Notably, the resolution also contains a reference to Palestinian statehood, but it provides no timeline for it. “After the (Palestinian Authority) reform program is faithfully carried out and Gaza redevelopment has advanced, the conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood,” the draft said. “The United States will establish a dialogue between Israel and the Palestinians to agree on a political horizon for peaceful and prosperous coexistence,” it said."

And I would expect these types of teething problems and sectarian flareups considering the years of war, sectarian violence and the overall failed state of Syria Like I mentioned no failed state that was an autocracy for decades can suddenly transition to a more Democratic system without real hurdles But the real question around the success of this transition and societal change is " is the new leadership committed to this change and will they get supported by the West " which typically ends up being the main donors of aid and they get involved in sustainable and meaningful investment. But in Syria's case they also getting support from most of the stable and wealthy ME countries now that Assad is gone And so far al-Sharaa is making the right moves and signals. He is reaching out to everyone including Russia and China so he isnt burning any bridges So Im cautiously optimistic and I dont consider him an Islamic extremist anymore

Yes lets say she becomes the next president, this would be temporary until Venezuela can have a election. But Maduro obviously has his supporters and he controls the security forces which are also beneficiaries of his corrupt regime so it wont be a smooth transition but Im talking about a return to the principles of democratic rule and the freedoms that come with that. And support really means ending sanctions, providing loans and then investment cant be forced. It will happen organically when investors believe the new regime can be trusted I also think getting Venezuela stable again will be much easier than Syria for several reasons Do you believe that Maduro should stay on in power at all costs, how would getting missiles and more military resources from China or Russia help the people of Venezuela? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/10/5/everything-you-need-to-know-about-syrias-first-post-assad-elections Have you looked at who sits on the Syria Supreme Council which was appointed by al-Sharaa and this council decided on 2/3 of the Peoples Assembly in the last Syrian election? There are women, Kurds, journalists and SJ activists but mostly moderates. They cant be further away from ISIS if you tried and as I mentioned they were appointed by al-Sharaa We should try to move away from this outdated criticism of al-Sharaa being " an Islamic extremist ", he is clearly not that anymore and understands Syria needs international support to rebuild and he is making the right decisions around Syria's transition to Democracy as much as reasonably possible That criticism is more from people butthurt that Assads regime collapsed and its because he was anti-Western and a Russian and Iranian proxy You too logical and analytical to believe that type of assessment. Lets focus on supporting the new Syrian regime and hope the country can rebuild

This interview is a few weeks old and I watched parts of it when it was live and its still relevant I agree with basically everything she is saying around the illegitimate reality of Maduros government and how he ignored the results of the last election She is the type of candidate that would be ideal for regime change because she has real domestic support within Venezuela And once Maduro is gone the country would need economic support from the likes of the US and the region It would be like Syria now that Assad is gone, small but steady steps to support the new leadership. But it takes time and effort to reverse the damage done from a failed state

Yes but the Epstein scandal is different, its a much greater type of crime and degeneracy. This is not like Trump having affairs Some people in MAGA already believe in conspiracy theories that "pedo and Satanic " circles have influence in government so the whole Epstein story aligns with this Trump would be aware of the damaging optics specifically around this story if it becomes public he knew about the underage sex and didnt say anything about it This is about loss of support from parts of his base, its not because of the people who already dont like him and dont vote for him

I think what Trump really wants to avoid is that he knew that sex with minors was ongoing at some of the parties. Epstein has stated more or less that Trump didnt participate and he said no to " massages " which was code word for sex But he knew they were happening and Trump will get heavily criticized for not doing anything about it So for Trump its about the perception, political fallout and ultimately loss of votes

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/11/13/politics/epstein-files-house-vote-johnson I have mentioned many times I dont waste much time on conspiracy theories and that includes Trump conspiracy theories that either he peddles or are about him But I do wonder why the WH is so opposed to the full Epstein files being released. The House will vote on this and hopefully they get 2/3 veto-proof majority I am now interested in what is so bad about the full release of these files

Trump has officially become anti-MTG because of her view that the full Epstein files must be released I have never liked her but its a good example of the mercurial nature of Trumps support for political allies

Countries that have many different official languages still have one common main and " middle ground " language that is used primarily And its selected based on the fact everyone living there should understand it In South Africa we have 12 official languages but English is the main language that is used for government and business communication Throughout Africa you could find a country that has dozens of different tribal languages so the European language is preferred as the official language because it actually reduces tribal tensions, translation complexity and is consistent. It would create massive tribal tension in South Africa if Zulu was adopted as the main language because the other tribal activists would understandably say " why Zulu, what about our language. Why should Zulu be officially elevated higher than ours" Its perfectly normal for English to be the main language in the US and everyone should at least understand it

Yes, I didnt bother to research who wrote the article but you can tell immediately when its a Russian shill peddling the normal Russian propaganda The obvious giveaway as I mentioned is anytime its suggested " Ukraine being forced to fight by the evil Western puppet masters" type of rhetoric

I prefer first person combat because its easier for me , most of the LoreRim videos I have seen around combat are third person but I am generally comfortable with the whole game being in first person and its more immersive. I would have to consciously learn third person combat if I want to change to that because combat in Requiem is much harder and Im much more competent in first person The alternative starts are amazing, you have all these options like shipwreck, beggar or werewolf\vampire but I selected Inn start because it gives you a safe starting point where I also have crafting tables. But as I mentioned the greatest strength with LoreRim is the absolute and deep RP in this massive world Because I havent initiated the main quest its like nothing I have ever experienced and I can do anything I want

I lose interest in any article that has in the start " Zelensky and its puppet masters forcing Ukraine to fight " Its not like Russia invaded Ukraine which is the reason Ukraine is fighting a war. And the obvious reality is the many examples in history that include Serbia, Poland, Afghanistan and the USSR where people fight back against an invasion. You dont need to be " forced" to fight when you invaded, its common to find that response And of course the author suggests " the only solution is for Ukraine to immediately negotiate a peace deal " Translation : " Give Russia everything it wants " because thats the ONLY solution Let me guess, this is an objective analysis of the war and how to end it