BruceVC

Yes the Russians made a big difference by bombing Aleppo and other cities to the ground from miles up in the air or using artillery The Russians are very effective at airpower and launching missiles at civilian infrastructure and they very good at cannon-fodder and meatgrinder strategies to gain ground But dont underestimate the ground troops contribution that both Iran and Hezbollah provided in the last Syrian war, they ended up playing a huge part in the land offensive once Aleppo had been bombed back to the stone age And thats whats lacking in this latest offensive from Assad's perspective. The Russians will still bomb but it remains to see how much Iran and Hezbollah can change the tide

Yes this is a good point, DeSantis is clearly motivated to become the next GOP presidential nomination and everything he decides will be influenced by this

Its interesting and complicated whats happening in Syria and its influenced by several different geopolitical realities and history But we also know how the term terrorist group gets defined but its selective around how people accept it. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by the US and I consider them a terrorist group but lots of people opposed to Israel for different reasons consider Hamas freedom fighters who are fighting against an oppressive and "Apartheid" Israel And then the incorrect comparison gets used with the real struggle against Apartheid in South Africa and a legitimate argument gets made similar to " was the ANC and Mandela really terrorists " For me Mandela was a terrorist in the technical definition of terrorism which is using violence to achieve a political change but because the Apartheid state was never a legitimate government, it didnt represent all citizens in the country, I dont consider him a terrorist and the ANC did fight against an oppressive and unsustainable type of government Syria is more complicated but I try to keep it simple Assad had a choice when the early Arab Spring protests started, he could have avoided the war by allowing inclusion and more political and economic representation of all Syrians and allowing something as simple as a free and fair election . As your link mentions " Pedersen added that there had been "a collective failure to bring about a genuine political process" to implement UN Security Council resolution 2254, which was passed in 2015. That laid out a roadmap for peace, with the principle in the text that “the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria”. The objective was a future shaped by free elections and a new constitution. But that meant Assad and his family giving up a country that they treated for years as their personal fief. More than half a million dead attest to their determination not to let that happen." But he refused and decided to stay in power and unleash the full might of his military on his citizens and the civil war started Then Iran, Russia and Hezbollah intervened and kept him power by helping to defeat the rebels\insurgency\militants\extremists But he could have avoided all of this And yet he has failed to change much in Syria both politically or economically since the civil war ended in most parts of country He is truly a reprehensible leader who only cares about one thing, staying in power at the expense of whats best for his country so this latest uprising was almost guaranteed I dont think there is an alliance between Israel and Turkey\rebels around this latest insurrection but I do think the rebels were motivated by what has happened since 7 October where Israel has vastly weakened and eroded Iran and Hezbollah in the region and they taking advantage of that. Russia is also deeply mired militarily in Ukraine so there additional support is questionable Israel's current biggest security concern would be Iran and its proxies and since Assad is considered a staunch ally of Iran they would support him being overthrown And this calculus would be because of 7 October which has obviously had a huge influence around Israel geopolitical views in the ME

Its interesting and complicated whats happening in Syria and its influenced by several different geopolitical realities and history But we also know how the term terrorist group gets defined but its selective around how people accept it. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by the US and I consider them a terrorist group but lots of people opposed to Israel for different reasons consider Hamas freedom fighters who are fighting against an oppressive and "Apartheid" Israel And then the incorrect comparison gets used with the real struggle against Apartheid in South Africa and a legitimate argument gets made similar to " was the ANC and Mandela really terrorists " For me Mandela was a terrorist in the technical definition of terrorism which is using violence to achieve a political change but because the Apartheid state was never a legitimate government, it didnt represent all citizens in the country, I dont consider him a terrorist and the ANC did fight against an oppressive and unsustainable type of government Syria is more complicated but I try to keep it simple Assad had a choice when the early Arab Spring protests started, he could have avoided the war by allowing inclusion and more political and economic representation of all Syrians and allowing something as simple as a free and fair election . As your link mentions " Pedersen added that there had been "a collective failure to bring about a genuine political process" to implement UN Security Council resolution 2254, which was passed in 2015. That laid out a roadmap for peace, with the principle in the text that “the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria”. The objective was a future shaped by free elections and a new constitution. But that meant Assad and his family giving up a country that they treated for years as their personal fief. More than half a million dead attest to their determination not to let that happen." But he refused and decided to stay in power and unleash the full might of his military on his citizens and the civil war started Then Iran, Russia and Hezbollah intervened and kept him power by helping to defeat the rebels\insurgency\militants\extremists But he could have avoided all of this And yet he has failed to change much in Syria both politically or economically since the civil war ended in most parts of country He is truly a reprehensible leader who only cares about one thing, staying in power at the expense of whats best for his country so this latest uprising was almost guaranteed I dont think there is an alliance between Israel and Turkey\rebels around this latest insurrection but I do think the rebels were motivated by what has happened since 7 October where Israel has vastly weakened and eroded Iran and Hezbollah in the region and they taking advantage of that. Russia is also deeply mired militarily in Ukraine so there additional support is questionable Israel's current biggest security concern would be Iran and its proxies and since Assad is considered a staunch ally of Iran they would support him being overthrown And this calculus would be because of 7 October which has obviously had a huge influence around Israel geopolitical views in the ME

Yeah, without the previous degrees of support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah things are not looking good for Assad Hopefully he falls this time but its too early to predict

Or they can reject wokeness and return us to the gaming era where liberated and confidant women werent insulted and discriminated against and they could wear chainmail bikini armour Malc you must never tell a women what she can or cant wear, I learnt that on DAY 1 of my yearly classes around " how to end, identify and change white, male privilege "

You dont like the GTA franchise?

Yes I read this statistic about her not hitting that hard But thats not the legitimate debate, its about fairness in womens sports and the levels of elevated testosterone that intersex athletes can and do have Unfortunately transphobia is one of the reasons for this outrage but thats not the real concern, the Lia Thomas story is more accurate https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/a-look-at-the-numbers-and-times-no-denying-the-advantages-of-lia-thomas/ " Just how much of an advantage did Lia Thomas possesses over biological females? The numbers paint a clear picture. The fact that the University of Pennsylvania swimmer soared from a mid-500s ranking (554th in the 200 freestyle; all divisions) in men’s competition to one of the top-ranked swimmers in women’s competition tells the story of the unfairness which unfolded at the NCAA level." Its really about fairness for female athletes who should be able to only compete against other female athletes who have the same levels of testosterone Most intersex athletes have natural elevated testosterone, its not there fault because they were born that way but it doesnt mean they should be competing in womens sports events where this makes a difference around performance

KC:D 2 is a " day 1 purchase " without any doubt I cant wait, the first one was excellent. I loved the combat and then the mechanics of activities like alchemy, reading and lockpicking And the Romance was cute

Last night in Underrail I had an excellent battle that was the perfect example of what makes this game so engaging and entertaining Underrail combat creates this exciting reality where your different builds and skills have to used in different ways if you going to succeed, you cant just adopt the same approach in every battle Near Rail Crossing there was a side tunnel with 4 Lurker Bandits that included a boss called Flynn the Flayer Initially I tried my normal strategy which is stealth, grenades and Psi abilities but I got killed 3-4 times and there is a sniper with a shield who could one shot me. So I changed my approach I planted 2 x mines in a side tunnel and then used stealth to throw a Molotov to hurt them and draw aggro but I ran away behind my mines Flynn and 2 lurkers chased me and triggered the mines and then I used Psi from a distance to kill Flynn because he is deadly in melee with his special spear Then I was able to kill the sniper who came from the other direction in one on one combat I ended up getting lots of loot and my first shield emitter

Gorthfuscious she is Danish and you are Danish and we all know because of your Viking heritage this obstacle course would be like a walk in the park for you But not the rest of us, we dont have Viking blood

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-considers-replacing-hegseth-with-desantis-run-pentagon-wsj-reports-2024-12-04/ Its looks like DeSantis might replace Hegseth as defence secretary It would be a good decision considering all the controversies coming to light around Hegseth

Yes Africa has several examples of the Russian military and state linked mercenaries meddling and getting involved in civil wars and conflicts and they do it to gain mineral resources and push neo-colonial Russian interests like vetoing the recent UNSC Sudan ceasefire The irony and hypocrisy with this is something I often raise, 10 years ago if this was Western forces this involved in this indirect way you would hear certain activists outraged around the normal " Western imperialism and colonialism " rhetoric But there is a deafening silence from most of these same activists when Russia does the same thing they criticized Western countries for And this will continue while the Africa Union continues to be an ineffective block that lacks real unity and doesnt enforce its own manifesto or rules for the continent

Does anyone think they can do what this women is doing, her name is Ida Mathilde and she is a Danish athlete

It was one of nieces 2nd birthday yesterday She is so cute and at that age where kids learn words and develop real personalities I bought her a Peter Rabbit interactive book and it turns out she loves Peter Rabbit and she had a Peter Rabbit themed cake, what a lucky present choice on my part

Im 20 hours into Underrail and its fantastic, I have just completed the Armadillo Drill quest and SGS has been attacked A couple of points I like the economy, money is always scarce and traders have limited money and dont buy everything. I enjoy that aspect of economic realism because it makes you strategic around what you buy and keep Combat is the best part of the game, there are such a myriad of options and items to use. I have adopted Molotov ****tails as my best method of dealing with groups and I use grenades and my Psi abilities to inflict maximum damage and chaos amongst enemies. I like how the game forces you to be selective around skills advancement, you cant be good at everything and there are always multiple solutions to problems around quest advancements. As I mentioned previously I am training psi, stealth, grenades, melee and crossbow. No guns which is a first for me in these types of games I have learnt a lot about the advantages of EMP grenades and electrical attacks on robotic enemies because they created a huge problem for me initially especially in the GMS compound The Depot A compound was very tough and I literally got to Wyatt with no healing items or Psi potions left , I would have been killed if there were any final enemies on his map I decided to select Classic as my XP gain because I prefer the traditional way of gaining XP but I always explore most things anyway so I gain XP from finding oddity items. Its the best of both worlds

https://www.getty.edu/publications/cultural-heritage-mass-atrocities/part-2/10-bandarin/ " But the worst calamity has been the dispersal of the Syrian population due to the violence. In 2010 Syria had an estimated population of 21.8 million, which shrank to 20.5 million in 20155 and 19.4 million in 2018. It is estimated that at least five hundred thousand people were killed and two million wounded during the war; over 6.5 million people were internally displaced, and over five million, equal to over 20 percent of the country’s population, became international refugees" But because only 32k people were killed in Aleppo and the city was destroyed "nothing to see " The unnecessary tragedy around the Syrian war was clearly just a Western projection and Assad, Russia and Iran did nothing wrong Great argument Zora, very convincing

Yes, that is the justification The solution is what I have mentioned in the Gaza thread. Ground troops only that clear the city block by block and missiles and airpower is used only as last resort. Its costly in lives of soldiers and time consuming but you avoid large amounts of civilian deaths But neither the Syrians\Russians or Israelis are prepared to do that for the reasons you mentioned

Thats the exact same argument the Israelis make around the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza Hamas hides out in civilian structures and the high civilian death is regrettable but it cant be avoided Whats your view on that reasoning, can it be avoided?

You mean the people in Aleppo who werent massacred by Assad the last time? Have you ever seen the photos of what Aleppo looked like after Russia, Iran and Assad were finished, this is a good link because it shows before and after photos so you can see the magnitude of the destruction https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/aleppo-before-and-after-syria-civil-war/4/

The war in Syria has always been a complicated mix of different sectarian and militant groups This latest offensive seems to be a combination of the original groups that fought Assad and they getting support from Turkey

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20241129-syria-jihadists-allies-shell-aleppo-in-shock-offensive Very new unexpected conflict in Syria where militant groups opposed to Assad are making huge gains It remains to be seen how much success Assad will have stopping them with Russia involved in Ukraine and Hezbollah being decimated in Lebanon Iran will continue to help Assad but will that be enough to counter this offensive?

Melkie dont get confused by BruceVC rules, thats number 1 rule around any game once bought but that doesnt apply to every game. For example I have loaded no mods for Underrail But when you deciding to buy a game always remember " "BruceVC number one rule about buying a new game "

@Mamoulian War Mamie, Slovakian GTA game " Vivat Slovakia is an open-world game set in the newly independent Slovakia, a country on the dividing line between East and West. As remnants of communism linger, weakened institutions allow corruption to thrive, and power falls into the hands of the highest bidder. Fueled by money and violence, the “wild '90s” era brings a city steeped in intrigue and danger. " Day I purchase for sure???

Im about 6 hours into Underrail and Im really enjoying it I love the whole strategic nature of combat and the myriad of character customization options the game provides And I particularly enjoy the whole exploration aspect of the game, its very open world around where you can go outside of the initial "fallen rock " barriers but this is the beginning of the game and there are lots of map regions to visit I decided to be a Psi with crossbow and throwing skills and I am spending points on Stealth This game is another example where you dont need expensive AAA features or the best visuals to have a thorough and excellent gaming experience