BruceVC

You raise an important point, " once Putins War is over will the West be as committed to helping rebuild Ukraine" ? I believe the West wont abandon Ukraine in this regard but we will have to wait and see

No Im not saying Sweden should defund the US, I am saying Sweden should declare war on the US !!! But you wrong about the world not changing, it has changed inexorably and forever but this change is a positive one as you will see in the future Putins War has made the EU, and most of the world, realize that security, sovereignty and freedom cannot and should never be taken for granted. This means that organizations like NATO have a purpose and they need to be supported and funded. It also means that many EU countries need to ensure they increase military spending so they not dependent on the US as the current main funder of NATO And we seeing this change already with the likes of Germany increasing their military spending

I mentioned this before to you but I have gained new respect for the SJ and positive role that Sweden and the Nordic countries have played in the world since the Cold War Sweden has been very consistent with funding or defunding countries that dont respect human rights and I would be proud of that if I was Swedish citizen You dont really have experience at modern day diplomacy or mediation but it excels at things like its moral compass and value system and the culture that exists in the Nordic countries that is admired by many people globally

Interesting points. But joining NATO is also about the fact that the US provides the most funding and resources towards it and it has an immediate military that will be deployed and utilized if any NATO country is attacked by Russia. So its not just a promise, it will be acted on. You know I support the EU unequivocally so what I am about to say is not a criticism towards the EU but without the US military support I question the EU military response if Sweden was attacked and how effective it would be As I mentioned earlier since Putins War our world has changed forever and you should try to see joining NATO as insurance. And its insurance I never would have suggested until 2 months ago And then its highly unlikely Putin will ever attack any NATO country so dont see this as the prelude to WW3 or something similar

Interesting read around how artillery will change the nature of this war and it explains this in summary with the quote below Russians forces are using artillery to extricate themselves from Ukrainian ambushes and inflict fatalities as well as to avoid having to go “into the teeth of these very high-end Western weapons,” including Javelin and NLAW anti-armor missiles, that already have destroyed some Russian units, Cranny-Evans said. “They’re just going to sit back and let their long-range assets to do the work because they don’t have the manpower to waste,” he said.

I appreciate your honesty about your reservations around joining NATO but freedom and the quality of life we all enjoy comes with a price and Putins War means that price has be paid in our lifetimes. Some generations dont have to pay this price but many do if you think about our parents and grandparents during WW1&2 or the Cold War Remember none of this would be happening if it wasnt for the arrogance and paranoia of Putin deciding to create the old Soviets borders. But the moment he invaded Ukraine everything changed forever in all our lives and it can never go back to the old days Putin has demonstrated you can never trust Russia over anything, not energy supply or respecting sovereignty. And the only thing stopping Putin invading another European country is NATO and their doctrine of " an attack on one is an attack on all " and that is the only reason Sweden may be joining NATO. If you had to go back before Putins War I would have said to you " as much as I support NATO their is no reason Sweden needs to join NATO. Its unnecessary because the Cold War is over and its not like Russia would conceivably threaten Sweden " But now NATO literally becomes the bulwark and insurance to a possible Russian invasion. You simply cannot live in a European country or country near Russia and ignore that I read the link you posted and I agree we should still listen to other opinions and free speech still matters, Im just not sure what " the other side " to the invasion of Ukraine is and the fact that Putin is a unashamed liar and cannot be trusted? In the article it mentions the EU view from some before Ukraine where it says " To prove beyond reasonable doubt that Russia is a great power, insulted Russian leaders might act even more as if the country were one "....the days of the world pandering to Russias insecurity and trying not to " insult " Putin\Russia is over And its over because of the direct actions of Putins War...not the US But it was a good read and made me realize some of the " anti-Western " sentiment that exists in the world for decisions made in the Cold War like Vietnam So in closing, its important to have an informed opinion and difference of opinions but Sweden cannot take the position of being neutral anymore. Thats why joining NATO is the best decision for overall security of your country

I have been thinking about the reason for this constant gaslighting and embarrassing lies that come from Putin\Russia Since Putin came to power its become normal for them to lie and basically deny any allegation of human rights abuses, war crimes and other actions. This includes war crimes in Chechnya and Syria Assassinations of Russian dissidents throughout the world the killing and arresting of journalists within Russia poisoning of Navalny the rise of institutionalized bigotry where the Russia media and state ignore it the rise of a nationalistic Russian Orthodox Church that doesnt help things state sponsored cheating\doping in most sports events ensuring that no opposition political parties can campaign freely and fairly This has been going on within Russia for the last 20 years and the Ruskies just deny any of it is true and Russian apologists say things like " you cant trust Western media " yet they happily parrot the likes of RT and other similar Russian houses

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/02/energy/germany-russia-oil-embargo/index.html Another good move by Germany in its opposition to Putins War, to quote from the link "Germany can't be blackmailed, we know there is a dependency on natural gas from Russia, it is a reality. We need time to reduce this dependency," he told CNN. "This is the situation of the contracts and we do not change because Putin needs rubles for his war chest." Germany has reduced its consumption of Russian gas to 35% of imports from 55% before the war in Ukraine, but says it needs to keep buying from Moscow at least until next year to avoid a deep recession" Germany also agreed to send heavier military equipment to Ukraine. Hopefully this will end\reduce the unwarranted criticism towards Germanys response to the invasion of Ukraine

Another meaningless threat from the failed outcomes of Putins War. The Russians never cease to tire with not taking responsibility for what they created I wonder what this latest threat means, maybe an army of bears to attack the US in Alaska ??

I havent played BG3 yet because Im waiting for full release. Why do you think I like BG3?

Talking about believing the Nazi conspiracy theory, where has Comrade been ?

I tend to agree, we have no idea how well maintained the nuclear infrastructure has been. Its worth noting and seeing if we can get any confirmation

Im very much committed to playing Oblivion and Im having an absolute blast I have been using Maskar's Oblivion Overhaul and its makes some excellent changes to the overall game that include no level scaling for enemies and its slows down level advancement so I have been playing for 50 hours and Im only on level 4. Its great and forces you to explore every dungeon, fort and cave to enable you to advance in levels @HoonDing Im following your advice and Im using some worthwhile adult mods which really enhances the game Here is my Viconia companion ( from BG series ), who needs Chainmail bikini armor when you have Dwemer armor

Great point, who do you want to win Zora ?

Do you remember that time period on the old Bioware forums It was only a small group of Promancers who were interested in those types of details. Most of us who like Romance were not interested in that type of quixotic debate but anti-Romance people used those types of discussions to generalize and say things like " look how weird and depraved these Romance people are " ...but it was funny, some people were very committed to Romance topics

I loved all the Metro games, I particularly enjoyed fighting all the factions like the Nazis and Soviets and Exodus had a great narrative. It was interesting seeing all the communities outside of Moscow and how they survive...anyone feel like a " toasted cheese and human flesh "

Its a good idea, one of the problems of using this drug for many Ukrainians is they are fundamentally opposed to abortion because of religious beliefs But I agree, it needs to be part of the aid sent to Ukraine

I was thinking about the family dynamic you in the middle of and it must be tough to navigate emotionally We have family in the UK who were born their and then SA family members who live in the US and Oz. Its complicated the family ties but end of the day the biggest difference of opinion, I am aware of, we have had was more around the US with some people supporting Trump and some being opposed to him and that was a minor rift between some family members. But we have never had to deal with something like Putins War as this has definitely caused tensions between many families in both Russia and Ukraine because of the close ties between the 2 countries But nothing changes the reality. Russia invaded Ukraine unprovoked so when you look at the devastation and atrocities committed by the Russian military for anyone living in Ukraine, who do have access to free media, it must be incredibly frustrating to hear people in Russia say things like " yes but Russia had no choice, we had to invade Ukraine because of Nazis\Nukes " or other spurious reasons So I can sympathize with your Ukrainian family

My advice is just leave it, dont try to change the Russian families view. Sometimes people who live in autocratic countries survive, and sometimes thrive, by believing a certain false narrative. Its unlikely you can expect them to change their views because then the whole Putin government, house of cards, is false and that could be unbearable because of what people have had to accept because " only Putin can save Russia " And as your wifes aunt said you cant change the system anyway within Russia so for some believing the Putin lie is too important to their Russian identity to be untrue

https://gizmodo.com/vr-researches-simulate-kisses-with-ultrasonic-transduce-1848849489 Guys great news, clever scientists have found a way to replicate VR kisses through sound. Thats means our Bioware Romance arcs and Elder Scroll adult mods can become even more compelling and realistic in the future

Calax someone a while ago mentioned that a forum member had won a lottery. Was it you?

No Im still not convinced that the Russians are not responsible for widespread war crimes, rape and mass killings of civilians in Ukraine In fact this post has changed my mind even less than your last post on this topic

Malc you mustn't consider either Reddit or Twitter to be credible sources of information for most topics They tend to become ideological battlegrounds for the radical left, far-right and other extremist groups. Of course their is always some truth in these platforms but its inconsistent and should rather be avoided

Somehow I find that hard to believe

@Mamoulian War and @Chilloutman Mamie and Chill do you guys speak the same language? And then because you use to be one country do you have strong cultural and historical ties?