BruceVC

Yes, that is correct. Certain NATO members have never committed their 2% but Trump raised this vociferously, publicly and as you said undiplomatically. What I observed during Trumps presidency is certain NATO members and US politicians have since the end of the Cold War questioned why you even need NATO. It has some legitimacy that view because NATO was created specifically to counter the USSR But the outcome of a lack of real unity between the US and NATO members have been an increase in Russian "soft " aggression like the numerous and consistent examples of cyber-warfare and the increased aggression of China in its own objectives around hegemony in the east and its own region So NATO is relevant again but not because their will be another war but its a good symbol of the important alliance of the US and its NATO allies. And this is clearly necessary to restrain China and Russia which can and should become normal members of the global community. But its also clear this can only be done from a position of strength and not the Trump approach where he basically admired various strongmen and autocratic rulers throughout the world

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/10/21/10-NATO-countries-now-spending-2-of-GDP-on-defense-report-shows/7731603295420/ Its a legitimate complaint from the USA because all NATO members are suppose to spend 2% of GDP on NATO but not all member states do and not all still do. So this is not just a GOP issue, their was an agreement and countries are suppose to adhere to it so Trump was right when he raised this But the reality is without the USA NATO lacks the ability to hold Russia, and other countries, in check but also NATO is how the US is able to implement certain geopolitical decisions that benefit the objectives around its own foreign policy Trump raised the failure of NATO members to pay the 2% in a way that was belligerent, condescending and all it did was alienate the US traditional allies that the US needs for different objectives Thats why Biden is prudently reestablishing the NATO alliance, its in the best interests of everyone but the US will always be the biggest funder in the same way the US is by far the biggest funder of the UN and all its important institutions that benefit the world and help ensure a better and Democratic world US isolationism doesnt help anyone and only emboldens the likes of China and Russia who start acting with impunity

Yeah it sux when you want to share some good news about a game and someone else posts it first

Okay I see what you saying, its just their are different types of autocratic states and not all of them deny freedom in the same way. For example you could be left alone to live in the wilderness in a country like Turkmenistan but you wouldnt be able to vote without intimidation or criticize the leadership So it depends which autocratic country you live in, China is not the worst ( NK is is much worse for example ) but it limits certain freedoms but you could own property and be wealthy in China as long as you dont go against the state

What about a semi-Autocratic state, would you live their instead of fighting to the death? For example lets say the US was colonized by China and the CCP shipped US citizens to different countries based on the state they lived in. It was decided that the citizens of Tennessee would be sent to Turkmenistan ...would you accept that as its not a true autocratic state ?

Good point about the problem with overusing microtransactions and the philosophy of using them in games...lets hope this isnt a part of DA4 or ME4. But I cant see how they would be implemented successfully in a single player game?

Good question. I wanted to Romance Nasty, because she was hotter and fun, but I found her usage of constant profanity very un-ladylike and off putting. She also annoyed me with her lack of any emotional discussion So I settled with Caja....I enjoyed her personality but I wasnt really attracted to her but Jax isnt exactly a Romeo so I ignored the whole lack of real attraction I hope they create different character models because as Comrade pointed out they did reuse the same characters models which happens sometimes to keep costs down I enjoyed killing Logan at the end because he had an attitude problem

Wormie you make a reasonable argument about the future of Bioware games and you investing in them. So you looking for creativity as what you expect from Bioware ....but what do you define as creativity ? The reason I ask is I have no issue with playing a particular game if it has the same design and mechanics as previous games if I enjoyed them. So I believe in the mantra " if its not broken, no need to fix it " . However I am always prepared to try something new from any recognized gaming company especially if I have played and enjoyed games from that company But what specifically are you expecting from Bioware, I know its a difficult question but we cant expect Bioware to deliver on objectives if we cannot articulate them ourselves ?

Oh my hat, this post wins the " BruceVC best post of the month " award , you very fortunate because fame and fortune always follow those that win this prestigious nomination so well done Coincidently I just finished ELEX 1 last night and its the best game from Piranha Bytes I have ever played and I loved the Gothic and Risen series I was just asking on the ELEX Steam forums if there will be an ELEX 2 and people werent sure ....now we know their will be. Day 1 purchase for sure

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/biowares-new-general-manager-promises-to-rebuild-its-reputation/ Some good news around Bioware, it now has a new permanent GM who has over 20 years in the gaming industry and has said its " all about rebuilding that reputation, and delivering on that promise of quality " Personally I dont think Bioware needs to rebuild its reputation as I like and support their games but I can appreciate his statement. Hopefully that should convince many forum members to give Bioware another chance with upcoming games like DA4 Because " the more the merrier " when it comes to generating revenue for any sales orientated company

Sure I concur, their are tons of people who find authoritarian governments more attractive but yet they dont actually live in these countries and normally live in liberal, Democracies that have advanced economies based on the working and successful free market principles ( Capitalism ) and repeat this false narrative on the Internet But actions speak louder then words so when we see mass immigration to these great authoritarian countries I will agree with you

Hoonding please dont demonstrate unnecessary GOP bashing, their is no guarantee that we will see another Trump candidate Yes I share your concern with another Trumpish type US president but remember we have seen many excellent GOP presidents in the history of the USA and I still believe that we will see another GOP president that espouses the traditional values of the GOP which many of us appreciate

Comrade, its unpatriotic to not support NATO if you a US citizen !!! Its traditional as apple pie and cream for the US and I am sure you like apple pie and cream ?

I started watching Lucifer again, I am on season 1 and previously I only got to episode 3 and then for some reason I stopped watching it ...its fun and entertaining. I wont say excellent but its worthwhile

Also Trump never understood the history of NATO and never supported it properly, this led to both China and Russia becoming emboldened in certain ways during his presidency. Yes its a creation of the Cold War and was designed primarily to counter the USSR so I have to ask is it relevant because its not like you going to see a traditional war between Russia or China or the USA? But NATO makes sense more from an optics point of view and also presenting a unified front to the "aggressions " of China and Russia The thing is NATO is more of a US aligned institution because without the contribution from the US it becomes nothing but a talk shop. And I have no issue with this as I absolutely believe and support the important role the US plays in ensuring a better world based on Democratic principles and encouraging healthy, sustainable globalization which benefits us all But what happens when you get another Trump president? Are we going to see the US pulling away from NATO again which basically renders NATO impotent. So we need consistency from the US if NATO is going to be relevant @Gorth Gorthfuscious this should make you happy as its a good way to address Chinas unreasonable hegemony in your region? You never know, maybe you can cancel your weekly Mandarin classes...I respect the fact you enjoy them and you committed to learning other languages but if you dont need to then you can spend time doing other things

What vaccine will you be taking and how are things with the virus spread in Brazil, are things better now overall ?

Thats makes sense, great explanation The reason I am asking is we are trying to address the virus spread in SA and we have several illogical and counter-productive measures in place that different institutions within both private and public sector implement when their is a case of the virus and some of these measures seem pointless to me based on what we are discussing. So our problems are not just lack of vaccines but how we seem to understand the virus For example last year in the public and private sector schools, but mostly public sector schools, when their is a case of the virus that either children or teachers manifest the following happens They immediately shut down the schools and send everyone home for 2 weeks Then they deep clean the school as if that will somehow eradicate the virus but the virus is spread by people and not desks and floors After 2 weeks if you not feeling sick then everyone goes back to school with NO confirmation testing. So this completely ignores asymptomatic carriers who could get the virus 2 days before going back to school and also the unusual case of a longer 2 week incubation period Last year the pointless strategy of deep cleaning cost us R500 million rand in one province alone https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2021-05-28-schools-deep-cleaning-no-different-from-spring-cleaning/ Anyway my frustration is I want SA to be able to address the virus spread until vaccines arrive and our approach is inconsistent with what the science tells us

" I will see you in another life, when we are both cats” Vanilla Sky, 2001

Its a pity you and I never got married, we have so much in common like an appreciation of good food and an enjoyment of cooking

@Zoraptor If you get exposed to the virus you normally have a 2-7 day incubation period before you may actually get the virus During this incubation period if you take a virus test is it effective because I cant see how it would work unless you have the virus either asymptomatically or symptomatically So what I am trying to understand is what is the point of taking a Corona test during the incubation period? Or do these Corona tests still provide some value

Its a great RPG, I played it for the first time about 30 months ago and I spent 280 hours on it. I used about 200 mods and they really added to the overall experience and modified the game and narrative in an exciting and believable way. But I only used Mods that ensured the theme was still post-apocalyptic. For example I added Vampirism but this was a type of virus so it wasnt any incongruous " supernatural " themes that was inconsistent with the Fallout world

I'll watch those videos and I must say I was initially surprised when you said you dont like rating games on a score system because in life scoring systems and statistics gathered to create those scores are used ubiquitously to create all kinds of useful information that directly and indirectly influence us on many levels .....like so many restaurants we may or may not visit due to reviews But you have a real ability to describe games in an interesting, objective and informative way so you dont need to use a rating system to share information and help others decide if a particular game is worthwhile. This review was great and it reminds me of your GW2 review But I will watch the videos you posted for additional information because I have one criticism I feel about this game but I am not sure if its valid or I will explain it properly. I dont like the graphics, it reminds me of a children's cartoon And I am not a graphics elitist, I play old RPG fairly regularly like Morrowind

I just watched The Equalizer again, its such a brilliant movie. Denzil Washington plays the role of a cynical ex-special force\CIA operator so well. It reminds me of Man on Fire, another one of his movies that is one of favorites

Great news and what an exciting anniversary for such a well respected company that has bought us so much entertainment through the years I wonder what exciting things the Mods have got planned on the forum to celebrate this event, I imagine free games or large amounts of cash prizes...maybe a free gaming machine but a high-end one. Top of the range

Are you enjoying it, what would you give it out of 100 based on your experience so far ?