BruceVC

Israel has withdrawn to the yellow line, Hamas now has 72 hours to release all the hostages This peace plan is now mostly going to measured on specific timelines around dependencies like Israel does X and then Hamas does Y in xxx number of hours like this 72 hour hostage release Its obviously been created like that for a reason so its obvious to see who is not doing there part Its a good way to ensure both sides deliver

I read about this, it is a problem for the Serbian economy. They still going to negotiate with the US so you may get sanction relief but foreign banks will also avoid payments to NIS so that will impact how you pay for fuel. Of course you can still use cash and local banking cards. Im surprised Serbia doesn't have alternative sources of oil/gas outside of the Russian owned NIS? Its never good to have all your eggs in one basket @Elerond https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-remarks-bilat-alexander-stubb-finland-october-9-2025/ I watched the Trump WH press interview with the Finnish PM and president. They were much more positive and upbeat around the US relationship and the economic benefits this icebreaker deal will bring Finland. I included all the questions and answers in the link but the main ones for me were Finland the US have an important and mutually beneficial relationship Trump respects the Finnish military and its commitment to NATO Spain is bad, bad Spain !!! The USA will defend Finland and NATO if attacked by Russia Nokia and Erickson are significant Finnish companies with an important US footprint Finland can work with the US around Quantum and Quantum Computing around AI No one will be forced to leave Gaza under this new peace deal

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cx2nzlj2j4kt Trumps peace plan is gaining momentum, Im still cautiously optimistic because both sides could potentially collapse it but its the best effort and consensus we have seen since 7 October "Here is what you need to know about Israel and Hamas agreeing to the first phase of Trump's Gaza peace deal: US President Donald Trump has announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed on the first first phase of a ceasefire peace deal for Gaza If formally approved by the Israeli government, it will pave the way for an end to the war, the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces and the entry of aid into Gaza The Israeli government will meet on Thursday to approve the deal. If the deal is approved, the ceasefire will go into effect immediately. Hamas has also agreed to the deal. While world leaders, families of Israeli hostages and Palestinians displaced the war have welcomed the agreement, its details have not been fully disclosed. Negotiations for the deal were held in Egypt. Aside from the Egyptian government, Qatar, the US and Turkey also helped broker the talks."

That dinosaur looks potentially vicious.....you never can tell, maybe an extremist dinosaur !!!!!

A technical recessions is just 2 quarters of negative GDP growth and one sector underperforming can create it Obviously its never good news but it also gets exaggerated around what it means because you need to look at other overall economic metrics to understand economic health We have had several technical recessions in South Africa and it was almost entirely because of mining and agriculture but all other sectors had growth And then the next quarter one of the underperforming sectors sees growth and suddenly you not in recession anymore But I see the US defines recession slightly differently in the links based on the NBER definition " The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as a significant, broad-based decline in economic activity lasting more than a few months, as per the report. It looks closely at employment, personal income, consumer spending, and industrial production, as per the MarketWatch report."

Tomahawks if provided can be used to continue to target Russian energy infrastructure, it wont be different to what Ukraine is doing now but with greater range and effectiveness They wont target Moscow The Ukrainian strategy of targeting Russian energy sources is becoming very effective and is having a direct impact on Russia domestic ability to produce and export gas and oil https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx020k4056o

Yes mod collections are a good idea because everything has been tested together Use Wabbajack next time, it downloads and installs everything for you in MO2 with the right load order so you normally dont need to change anything unless you add more mods which is only recommended for experienced mods users I can help with any issues you may have around Wabbajack but it works really well But you still need to ensure its the right mod collection for you around gameplay and mechanical changes and thats why YT reviews are useful For example I used this YT video as my reference for the mod collection for Cyb2077, which was Welcome to Night City This type of research just gives you the confidence that this is the mod collection you want and it only takes 1-4 hours depending on how many YT videos you decide to watch. I typically watch 2-3 to make sure Its only 8 minutes long but discusses the changes

Great blog @Fishtick Really interesting and not something I have often considered

You have to do research on any mod collection that interests you so you avoid that type of unexpected change I use YT because if a review of any mod collection is not on YT then its not very popular and then not worth the risk of installing it Almost all these mod collections have readme files and Discord links which I use but I still consider the YT reviews more credible and informative

Yes but active war is not sustainable for either side around its long-term outcomes and resource utilization Thats why every conflict between the 2 sides or the Arab states vs Israel over the last 70 years has ended with some sort of negotiations This Trump peace plan is no different but its not about a permanent solution for peace, thats much harder to achieve I still think the 2 state solution is the best overall idea?

You clearly dont live in a country where violent protests are common Pepper spray, teargas, water cannons and rubber bullets are regularly used in many countries that grapple with these types of social unrest We use them in South Africa and we dont consider these methods examples of Nazi suppression But the US is a long way off from live ammunition becoming the norm for crowd control in protests

I enjoyed Andromeda, I played it years after initial release and I had no bugs or issues

I decided to play Cyb2077 next and Im looking forward to it Im a big fan of CDPR and the Witcher games and W3 is my third favorite RPG of all time As usual I will be modding the game and I have already installed this mod collection called Welcome to Night City which is very popular https://www.nexusmods.com/games/cyberpunk2077/collections/iszwwe I used Wabbajack and all the mods downloaded and installed in MO2 in 40 minutes. Easiest install of mods I have ever had, 248 mods in the collection I am looking for any additional mod suggestions, adult mods included. This game screams for adult mods

As mentioned this deal is supported by most of the ME who matters and the world It has its risks of falling apart but its the most constructive and reasonable plan anyone has presented since this latest conflict started Hamas also risks being politically alienated if they dont accept it so lets wait and see and be hopeful Lots of active steps have to implemented by both sides

I have completed the main quest in Fallout 4 after about 120 hours As I mentioned its an overall fun open-world, sandbox Bethesda game and the mod collection I used addressed almost all of the vanilla issues I wasnt happy with the overall faction alignment choices I had to make because you need to choose who you support at the end I ended up supporting the Railroad and Minutemen but I also liked the order and structure ideas that the Institute and BOS believed in for the Commonwealth so I wasnt sure But I couldnt bring myself to kill the Desdemona and the Railroad people because I knew them so well so I sided with them and nuked the Institute I really didnt like killing BOS and Enclave soldiers but I had no choice I will probably play Far Harbour DLC as my last part of my overall FO4 experience before I move on

I thought the US had always been assisting with that type of information, it was an open secret?

https://iol.co.za/news/crime-and-courts/2025-10-01-guilty-malema-convicted-for-firing-gun-at-eff-rally/ Julius Malema has been found guilty of firing a gun at his parties birthday rally in 2018. Its his party that continues to sing the " Kill the Boer " song and the EFF are our official "socialist " anti-white, racist party " Malema was convicted on all five charges including unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition, discharging a firearm in a public area, reckless endangerment of persons or property, and failing to take reasonable precautions to avoid danger. " Lovely, he will be sentenced in January and he should see jail time

The wording of some of the points is not really the point, that just seems a silly criticism considering the intention of the plan The main countries in the region and the world are behind it and at least its a plan that Israel has agreed to As predicted Israeli far right ministers are not happy https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/9/29/trumps-gaza-peace-plan-welcomed-by-arab-and-islamic-countries-the-west " Smotrich slammed the plan and referred to it as a “resounding diplomatic failure, a closing of eyes and turning our backs on all the lessons of October 7”. “Given the reality that has emerged in the face of international pressure, the destructive hostage campaign, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s initial unwillingness to conquer Gaza and adopt Trump’s original plan, the military foot-dragging and lack of success in bringing the military leadership to where we want, the faltering coalition, and the natural exhaustion after two years of war – given all this, is there no choice, and is this the maximum that can be achieved right now,” Smotrich wrote on X. “These are good questions. We will consult, consider, and decide, with God’s help. But the celebrations since yesterday are simply absurd,” he added. " Hamas needs to agree to it but they are diplomatically isolated around this if they dont agree I want to see both sides start implementing the first steps before I will judge its success or failures

The 20 points are very interesting and most seem achievable and require concessions on both sides Biggest hurdles are Hamas and the Israeli Far right ministers in Netanyahu's coalition accepting it Most of the Arab world are behind it and clearly a lot of meetings have been going on behind the scenes Its the best plan I have heard for ages unless someone can post another one I wouldnt worry about this specific point too much, the relevant ones would be these and some of these are not what Netanyahu has always stated which was the complete destruction of Hamas and then plans to annex Gaza. As I mentioned Israel is going to have to concede a lot as well Gaza will be redeveloped for the benefit of the people of Gaza, who have suffered more than enough. Once all hostages are returned, Hamas members who commit to peaceful co-existence and to decommission their weapons will be given amnesty. Members of Hamas who wish to leave Gaza will be provided safe passage to receiving countries. Upon acceptance of this agreement, full aid will be immediately sent into the Gaza Strip. At a minimum, aid quantities will be consistent with what was included in the January 19, 2025, agreement regarding humanitarian aid, including rehabilitation of infrastructure (water, electricity, sewage), rehabilitation of hospitals and bakeries, and entry of necessary equipment to remove rubble and open roads. Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party. Opening the Rafah crossing in both directions will be subject to the same mechanism implemented under the January 19, 2025 agreement. No one will be forced to leave Gaza, and those who wish to leave will be free to do so and free to return. We will encourage people to stay and offer them the opportunity to build a better Gaza.

Wow that is interesting, a massive development for the gaming industry

I found this SM commentary on this topic and I recommend everyone watches it. The young lady is sharing her opinion and it may resonate with people Besides she is clearly staying.....abreast of this development @majestic @Zoraptor @Malcador @Lexx@uuuhhii@Pidesco

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/ukrainealert/putins-failed-summer-offensive-shatters-the-myth-of-inevitable-russian-victory/ This war doesnt have the same interest it use to but here is an interesting link how the Russian summer offensive has failed The main takeaway is the last few months we have heard lots of Russian commentary and propaganda that " complete Russian victory was any day now\inevitable " Its not evitable and many outcomes are possible

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31289994/ I started on another new series, The Lowdown with Ethan Hawke Its really good and its about an investigative journaling who looks into corruption and murder in his small town Great characters and interesting plot

We can trust Trumps hubris and him wanting to take credit for ending this interminable ME conflict If Israel annexes the West Bank there will never be a peace agreement because what would the Palestinians have?

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/09/25/politics/trump-says-he-wont-allow-israel-to-annex-west-bank Trump has unequivocally stated that Israel wont be allowed to annex the West Bank This is not a surprise as this would destroy any idea of a 2 state solution and a permanent solution around peace in this conflict that the US is involved in “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. Nope, I will not allow it. It’s not going to happen,” Trump said in the Oval Office, acknowledging that he had spoken to Netanyahu earlier in the day on the topic. “It’s been enough. It’s time to stop now,” he added.