BruceVC

So you still believe this invasion is about cleansing Ukraine of Neo-Nazis? And the Nukes and NATO, is that significant or is it just all those Nazis?

Nah, Im not going to change my opinion because Russia vs Saudi Arabia oil production is not on the same scale or importance. The ME is much more significant And my argument as I have mentioned several times is not just about energy but also the reality of how most countries in the ME conduct themselves, so lets be consistent with our outrage and countries "we should be isolating and vilifying " Also you have posted time and time again you think I am a fascist, racist, colonialist etc. Irrespective of what I say so why would this matter? But I appreciate the suggestion, its noted

I always have DSTV on the background when Im working from home and today I have been watching The Queens memorial service almost the whole day. What a monarch, you can see how respected and loved she was for so many people. She carried herself with such dignity and everything was about duty and sacrifice for what the Monarchy represents for the UK and the broader Commonwealth The end of an era for sure 👑

Sure, it could go on for years but I dont think so. I expect an end to current active engagements in the next 1-3 years maximum And my definition of that is where the Ukrainian and Russian forces arent officially fighting on a daily basis

During war collaborators are traitors to there country, I have very little sympathy for them

But Iran has also murdered people and continues to murder people so by the general view on this forum which is " we dont deal with countries that murder people " then we musnt deal with Iran either The main inconsistency with the criticism towards Saudi Arabia is basically every country in the ME, including Israel, over the last 20 years has murdered people so why just target Saudi Arabia if that bothers you so much?

There were some interesting views raised where concerns have been raised that West\US is going to drop Ukraine in the same way it " stopped " supporting other countries and there conflicts and futures like Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq or Afghanistan Firstly as usual lets drop the race card as something significant to the West\US response to geopolitical developments. Each of these wars has different reasons for the ostensible support or lack of support for the specific country. But since the War on Terror has subsided Ukraine is much more significant than any of those conflicts for several reasons and its highly unlikely the West\US will abandon Ukraine for several reasons Putins War and the support for Ukraine is a proxy war to end the continuous Russian hegemony and militancy and anti-Western rhetoric we have experienced in the last 20 years which at some stage had to be addressed Sadly its been fought by the people of Ukraine and they are suffering the real carnage of Putins unprovoked invasion So the very least the West\US will do is continue to fund the Ukrainian war effort, this funding is relatively a small part of the budgets of Western countries and its much better than a direct Western presence fighting the Russians The most important question is how much aid will come to Ukraine once Putins War is over, the jury is still out on that But the most important consideration is the West\US definitely wont abandon Ukraine during Putins War because this invasion directly threatens the stability of the EU even though its not a direct attack on the EU. And the US is involved because Putin has made this about the West and how the US is to blame somehow for the Democratic decisions Ukrainians made and there decisions around sovereignty

This is one of the most interesting war videos I have ever watched explaining simply military technical terms which is not my strong point Its easy to understand this video and especially how HARM are used

I know being pedantic is your thing but you can do better than that, you know very well what I talking about and how important and relevant MbS is

You can be as outraged as you want but if you are a world leader with concerns with energy supply then going out your way to anger and isolate Saudi Arabia is imprudent especially under these current energy concerns caused by Putins War Saudi Arabia directly influences global oil production because apart from its own oil resources it can literally increase or decrease oil production because the majority of Sunni oil producers in the ME will listen to what Saudi Arabia says about production capacity. These countries contribute about 40% of global oil supply and contribute more towards the oil markets most of our countries buy from https://www.statista.com/topics/6508/middle-east-oil-industry/#topicHeader__wrapper Now is not the time to play " gotcha" political questions when the UK is going through an energy crisis and the last thing Liz Truss wants to do is compromise its relationship and historical friendship with Saudi Arabia And its well known the Saudis dont appreciate this type of criticism

Of course it is, its also one of these well known politically controversial and SJW questions because everyone must be "outraged " by the killing and publicly criticize the Saudi king despite how everyone has moved on and its well known how significant Saudi Arabia is in global oil production especially with how Putin is trying to use energy to push Russian militancy and hegemony And its also well known how the Saudi king doesnt like this type of direct and public attention and commentary, so its an obvious attempt at a "gotcha " She gave the most appropriate response, well played

Im about 15 hours in BG2 EE and its going really well, firstly I have forgotten much of the main narrative which is important. I do remember Irenicus is linked to the Elven Queen and he was cast out or something similar but most of it I have forgotten I must say he really is a diabolical and deeply dysfunctional person, when I encountered those creatures trapped in those tubes and completely insane his dark nature really became clear. Viconia has just joined my party and so has Hexxat who had a very interesting quest for her to join me, I never thought I would allow a Vampire to join my righteous quest but she is a worthy combat addition so I will see how it goes Im now in the city and trying to raise money to free Imoen and I want to get my magic license I also loaded the Skie Silvershield mod and I intend to save her from the Soultaker dagger, exciting times

https://www.wsj.com/articles/queen-elizabeth-ii-what-to-know-about-the-british-monarchs-health-and-royal-lines-of-succession-11662650702?siteid=yhoof2&yptr=yahoo The Queen is under medical supervision as her doctors are worried about her health, she is 96 and has lived an incredible life. Lets hope she is okay

Or maybe there wont be corruption or much less, lets be positive Malc

Yes I dont think anyone seriously thinks Putins War could be over by November and @Malcador knows this so Im not sure why he would suggest such a unrealistic timeline ?

He has been unusually quiet? Or maybe it is just because the media lost interest in his endless spin and propaganda because it is pointless listening to Russian spokesmen who just repeat the same hyperbole

Interesting question but what do you define as " when this ends ", do you mean the current Ukrainian offensive? Also are we certain what its objective is ?

His speech is how he has always been with his type of autocracy, he will always perpetuate the propaganda of Russia's superiority and morality and things like the famous three N lies will continue. And they will continue because his leadership is based on numerous false narratives and controlling the flow of information and truth within Russia So nothing about any of his speeches, hyperbole and grandstanding surprises or shocks me. Its exactly what I expect from Putin

Yes, agreed. Any anti-EU political party, irrespective of what comes out of Russia, will also embellish these problems Its normal when it comes to this type of "propaganda politics". There will always be some truth and then people exaggerate some of it because it suits there ideological and political objectives

Its common Russian and ZH propaganda that the energy crisis is going to lead to mass starvation and Europeans freezing to death @pmp10is just repeating what suits a particular Russian narrative but its not what the EU or individual EU governments are saying. So the EU is concerned with prices and obvious economic impact, the Russian propaganda translates that to " People in Germany are going to freeze and starve to death "

My isssue with ZH is how its consistently wrong with its predictions, they predicted oil price would get to $140 and how the US and EU economies would have collapsed by now And all they do is look at known issues, like the energy price and global inflation, and use that to justify there own ideological views and biases So for example when the oil price was rising in the beginning of Putins War this was proof of Western economic incompetence and hegemony and the " West is about to collapse", now thats not a crisis its the gas prices and its overall impact on the EU economy And when thats resolved they will wait for something else and hopefully something serious so they can say " the West is about to collapse due to xxx "

The West\EU allows people to protest peacefully. Its part of the freedoms and human rights that makes living there better than Russia or China

I have some exciting news, I have decided on my next game. Its going to be BG2 EE I typically take breaks from genres or similar games but I had such fun in BG1 Im in the mood. And I played it last 12 years ago so hopefully I have forgotten much of the narrative. I am loading mods and I will begin tomorrow

Its not that, there are several people who have played this game and had a similar experience. In the game there is spell caused RL Fog and when the spell is cast it can cause you to lose 35-40 hours of time in RL...so dont worry it just means you failed the saving throw

Its good to see you getting so much entertainment out of Conan Exiles, I am also happy Funcom has restored its reputation after the massive issues with the Conan MMO I