BruceVC

Malc if you haven't played w3 now is the time to purchase it, I am going to buy it at that price

I played D:OS2 about 8-9 months ago and it was my first Larian game ....I had only heard mostly good things about Larian studio and one of my brothers and his gaming friends recommend D:OS2 And I was desperate to enjoy it because of BG3 and my logic says if I dont like the design and mechanics of D:OS2 then its unlikely I will enjoy Larians creation of BG3 But I can easily say it was one of my top 5 RPG all time. I loved the combat strategies, the companion interaction and their side quests And the narrative was compelling so I now have no unreasonable concerns with the final version of BG3

Sounds great fun, try to do as many things as you can because it will a testament to the reality of the last 2 years Think about what life has been like if you live in a country that has had numerous waves and doesn't have the resources or committment to stop the virus spreading, it impacts business and takes peoples lives but mostly older people say 65 and up Trust me its not what you went through in Oz with your second wave, that wave was real but I dont remember it doing real carnage to your citizens ? So try to do as many things as you can, you all vaccinated and its good you guys can at least appreciate the reality of your vaccination campaigns

Gorthfuscious this is an excellent response with exactly the details I was looking for and it allows me to understand what your concerns are and what you mean. Since 9/11 I have been involved in many debates about the US and the important role it plays in the world and I sometimes come across anti-US sentiment in SA on our talk shows which matter to me because they about our SA journey to address Apartheid legacy and first world country....it is possible but it requires an exorbale set of policies and government integrity but thats way off but it is a future objective You have made several interesting points that I want to respond to and I will later but I wanted to ask you something about your general view on the US right now in the sense what do you like and appreciate about the US Do you have a more positive view or negative based on overall sentiment ?

You raise some interesting points, can you explain further by what you mean by the " deconstruction of nationalism "and the " same for rationalism " .I think I know what you mean but I dont want to guess And does this mean you wont vote for either party and are you more like GD who supports Libertarianism?

@Gorth I was reading a good news link that highlighted how Oz has reached 70-80 % vaccination. This is real progress and is this success a result of state governments or federal work and how do you citizens feel about this because of poor rollouts of vaccines in previous months ? I do assume first world countries to achieve high levels of vaccination but its still good news

Sup All So as we all know this is our second Xmas with the virus running amok in many of our countries and that travel plans can be impacted. Some of you may remember last year I cancelled my Xmas trip to DBN to see my family because I wasnt vaccinated at the time and we were going through a second wave Anyway this year I have my flight booked to DBN from the 21/12-4/01 and despite the new wave I have no intention of cancelling my Xmas flight Its been 2 years since I have seen my cousins and we all planning on our normal Xmas lunches at our beach cottages and I really cant wait, its easy to take things for granted in life and this pandemic has reminded me of how important family and friends are who are healthy and alive. So my Xmas will be at our beach cottage with my whole family on my dads side. What is everyone else planning?

I dont believe it was fear that was the main reason for why most people voted for Trump and still support him. Because your example is valid for the era of the Cold War but what would you consider is the same fear mongering or hyperbolic examples that Trump uses ....in other words Trump dismissing things like the media or BLM is more about SJ movements that tend to be focus points in the US During the Republican race he claimed to believe in issues like the border problem and how the US was no longer respected in the world. He also suddenly really had issues with the " Obama America" and how Obama had been the worst president the US had ever seen and as usual much of his public convention was about theater and literally working the crowd ...you can give Trump that, he was able to connect with many people in ways I could never saw But I would say he exaggerated the state of the US decline and stood for hope ....as in " Make America Great " ...that was one of his quotes? And I can see how this could concern anyone who fears future US presidents who are like Trump. But can I ask you to clarify something so I understand your point, you mention "t's a society that spends a disproportionate part of its existence living in fear. Racism and McCarthyism is alive and well, even if it's 50 years past its best by date" I have heard similar views but I never understand exactly what people mean because I need examples of these things just so I understand the view. So in summary What would do you mean 50 years in fear of what ...Communism or the Soviets? But the Cold War ended ages ago and nowadays many young people in the USA are very confused about what defines the US and some actually think " socialism " will provide a better quality of life for all and consider the proven working economic model of free market principles to actually increase inequality. But some young people who mean well will openly say " we support socialism " yet they live, survive and are intrinsically a part of the great US economic juggernaut which is mostly about normal monetary policies and views that are not normally seen as socialist. So sometimes when we see this resurgence of socialism from some it confuses me What would be your practical example of Racism and McCarthyism because a quick consideration is many Americans are opposed to racism and support SJ movements like many Democrat members and mayors of liberal cities which is what you would expect. Racism does occur in the US but I dont see how it can very prevalent ? And last question, I always appreciate your view on these topics even if we sometimes disagree on certain realities as you have lots of world experience and places you have worked and lived in and I assume you probably remember the " red scare " . But my question is what do you think would be the worst outcome for the US in the worst potential future ..silly example but do you think a US of white nationalism is possible?

Thanks for posting this, I have Gothic 2 on Steam and I loved all Gothic games I will be definitely be downloading this game and playing it

Gromnir you have raised an interesting point that I think gets misunderstood or ignored by those that dont like Trump and yet dont want to understand why he won in 2016 and this matters because Trump might run and win in 2024 and that is something none of us want...the GOP must find a better candidate than Trump. The problem being much of the base support Trump running again so its not about what GOP personally think about Trump as the best candidate as we have seen GOP Republicans raise issues and support things just because Trump is involved and the base expect Republican politicians to support Trump or they dont get reelected in most states So the most important question all of us who have a vested interest in the politically and economic stability of the US is " why did so many Americans vote for Trump in 2016 and 2020 " because clearly he represents policies and views that matter to many Americans. And it took me about 4-6 months after Trumps 2016 election to understand this and certain reasons made sense to me after I realized what they were while other reasons seemed irrational and unnecessary But the main point is we must stop thinking Trumps victory was an aberration or an example of the failure of Democracy or what GB mentioned is why Trump won in 2016 because that isnt the full picture and ignores the things that Trump stands for that matter many Americans. You are well informed about the history of the US and how Congress works and the importance of the Constitution but you have a blind spot around what Trump did that mattered and why he is popular. In 2020 more Republican supporters came out to vote for Trump than in 2016 yet he still lost but its an important point about Trumps support We got lucky with Trump losing in 2020 because I believe if it wasnt for the overall mishandling of the pandemic and how that created the carnage of the various waves Trump would have won in 2020. So an understanding of what Trump represents is important but I dont agree with some of the things you raise as being important to what people liked about him or rather these things are reflected on differently. And end of the day even if you dont agree with the lack of concern for some of the points you raised the significance of these points does matter to peoples voting choices and explains them. So if you dont like Trump and are frustrated with his support you wont gain much insight if you interact in a echo chamber where people dont like Trump anyway and will not provide some context to things you mention. But I can share some views with you from some who support Trump For example The Muslim Ban - We discussed this last time and I understand this has always concerned you because last time you mentioned this was a bill that seemed to blatantly generalize and target people who shared a religion and that is anathema to how human rights is defined in all our countries. But it wasnt a ban of all Muslims and only certain Muslim countries were targeted. And the bill was not logical in some of the cases of countries being banned but some I think are valid Trumps success and failures of being a good and successful business man, he has definitely created some profitable hotels and Trump is effective at transactional business which some countries and people appreciate but I dont support because it can undermine governance and agreed on legal realities Trumps demonstrating a lack of respect for women who question him or touching women inappropriately. His supporters will dismiss this because they say " thats how men sometimes act " and its " just change room rhetoric that men participate in. I dont agree with this because the men I know dont act like that in front of women or talk about women like that 6 January Capitol attacks : The worst misunderstanding and responses from Trump for me was him rejecting the Biden win and then how Trump did believe right wing media conspiracy theories about how the " election was definitely fraudulent " . So its a huge problem when a president who loses any election questions how the election works so yes I would say misinformation can create strange responses from those on the losing side which we saw with all the endless failed " election fraud cases". So what we saw on 6 January was something very similar with several hundred Americans failed to believe or understand how the US election had been won. They ignored common sense and decided to believe their own reality of the election results. The purpose of the violence was not going to somehow make a misperception true and it had no clear outcome . So this type of violence was and is unacceptable and people must be prosecuted who broke the law but I dont see this as anything more than what it was....some US citizens deciding to believe a false narrative of the election facts and deciding to use violence at the Capitol building. Its bad but not about a real insurrection or attempt to overthrow government? But in closing Trump became president because of real sentiment in support of his policies and many Republicans believing he represented their concerns and fears. So it always matters who gets votes but its people who ultimately vote for the candidate and the candidate normally raises polices that people can identify with and this resonance makes people support the candidate Wisconsin Democrats are fine, they dont take extremist liberal views like Democrats in California but not all Democrats in California take extremist views but it seems more common

Elerond did you ever think a day would come when our Constitutions would mean our governments cant implement the necessary policies to reduce deaths and hospitalizations ....a pity and I never would have guessed this would happen. But its only during certain very rare global problems like this pandemic that we see this problem So I am not saying any Constitution is bad, I support all Constitutional Democracies as the best systems of government in the history of mankind. But this is a problem where citizens can legally ignore medical advice that saves lives and reduces the spread of the virus

Okay fair enough, its not as serious as I first thought so then their is no need to prosecute her But Elerond I am more worried that many people in Finland dont seem to understand that during a wave or when their is a variant you dont go to clubs and large social events....everyone should know that by now? Do you guys just have guidance and not actual enforcement of these types of pandemic laws that are only applicable during a wave ....like now ?

You know I mention I always use Mods where applicable and their are only 5-6 Mods on Nexus for Infinite and they all basically address shader related and similar complaints. I used one but I dont know if I would have had an issue I just installed it anyway because it look good So you not alone with that criticism around shaders ...no need to feel guilty you are going to ruin the game for anyone else because of a frivolous complaint. You should be able to sleep fine tonight

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/12/democrats-lose-culture-war/620887/ Here is a good read about why the Democrats are losing the US culture wars. I support policies from both the GOP and Democrats but I have been very concerned with certain ideas and strategies from the left since Trump won in 2016. I agree with much of this article and in summary the things I definitely agree with are points like Like the pugnacious DLC founder Al From during the 1980s, Teixeira believes that Democrats can’t convince swing voters that the party is changing unless they publicly denounce activists advocating for positions such as defunding the police and loosening immigration enforcement at the border that progressives are steering Democrats toward unsustainable and unelectable positions, particularly on cultural and social questions. Its a good article

Your memory is fine, Infinite only allows 2 guns and 2 skills at one time and yes the ammo is standard so you right its simplistic compared to other shooter type games

https://news.yahoo.com/trump-accuses-netanyahu-disloyalty-f-050157027.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall Trump is furious with Netanyahu for being " used because of Iran " and because Netanyahu eventually congratulated Biden on his legitimate win This is just another example of Trumps lack of understanding of geopolitics and his own narcissism. Its classic Trump 101 and just more of his own insecurity and his normal mercurial and irrational view of the world and his own importance I hope he doesnt become president again but if he does then thats on the Democrats and some of the liberal overreach we are seeing in the USA at the moment

I wanted to know what about the combat was boring? Was it too easy

I have just confirmed now and I have Bioshock 1&2 on Steam and they the remastered version so I think I will do exactly what you recommend and start on 1 this weekend

I am watching some excellent series at the moment, they include American Rust : Set in the Rust Belt in Pennsylvania where a chief of police, Jeff Daniels, takes on an investigation when the son of the woman he loves is accused of murder. Much deeper than that synopsis with all the interesting characters Blue Bloods: A realistic cop show on season 11 where the police are not all racist and make a difference in lives of NY citizens. It also incorporates the unfair generalizations and public sentiment that many police face in the US at the moment Time : A UK show about an alcoholic teacher who is involved in a DUI and kills an innocent person and is sent to a UK jail.So its an illuminating view of life in UK jails and a persons journey to find absolution and a semblance of forgiveness ....if possible SWAT : A good action cop show Dexter, New Blood: The new Dexter is excellent and I am enjoying it more than the previous series

I completed Bioshock Infinite, it took me 20 hours so its not a long game but a very entertaining one and the narrative is compelling and unexpected. I was confused at the end but I read up on what it all means and it makes sense I will consider other Bioshock games because this one was fun and it scores a solid 65\100 on the globally acclaimed " BruceVC game rating system " which means its fine for anyone to purchase ....only scores lower than 50\100 are not worth anyone playing or should be more considered before purchasing

New Alan Wake game just officially announced, I enjoyed the previous AW games so I will be following the development of AW2 https://www.alanwake.com/

Oh, I see. That is serious and concerning, has this happened before where someone hasnt been hired and the reason given is "they LGBT" I dont think you need actual examples to be concerned with the impact with this type of legislation but I am interested ?

Okay thanks for explaining and I can see the potential abuse But I still need to understand something, so are you saying that under this new law you as Gorth can do the following On your FB profile you are understandably able to say " Im a Christian and support Christian values" : Nothing wrong with that However on that same profile you say " I dont support LGBT rights due to religious reasons " : This is wrong and contrary to general human rights laws but I am not sure if this can be classified as hate speech or is illegal in Oz? Now you have a company and you decide to not hire someone because they LGBT: This is wrong and is discrimination according to Oz human rights laws ? But how would we know you are not hiring someone because they LGBT because the law says " but only if those statements do not "threaten, intimidate, harass or vilify a person or group" So surely if you publically dont hire someone because they gay that is illegal and not what this law is about ? And if you dont need to give the exact reason for not hiring them how can we say with certainty its because they LGBT ? Im genuinely confused by what this law will enable because I am looking for practical examples of how LGBT will be discriminated against because I see religious freedom as different to laws around human rights

I have been ruminating on your question and after careful consideration I would rather kiss an angry crocodile because if I swallow a scorpion it can easily sting me in the mouth or throat and I would die but I could possibly avoid a crocodile snapping at me if I kissed it. And I assume in the analogous sense the Democrats are the scorpion and the GOP the crocodile....tell me I got it right GD

That kind of promotion is never a good thing because how do you motivate further advancement if you doing less work? You should look for another job because this is not something that I would consider progressive for your career