BruceVC

Dark arent you concerned with this " Vaccine hesitancy " that we see throughout the world ? Its quite big in the USA amongst minorities and the Trump support base. On CNN they were saying more than 40 % of Republican men wont take the vaccine Take a look at this graph in the link below to see who in the USA are worst offenders around this https://www.mediaite.com/politics/almost-half-of-republican-men-say-they-wont-get-the-coronavirus-vaccine/

I have mentioned this before but the Forgotten Realms (FR )is my favorite fantasy world of all time followed by the Elder Scrolls world Its because I use to be a DM for the pen and paper game and we played mostly in that world. I did love the Greyhawk AD&D world but it wasnt as established and not supported like the Forgotten Realms So I basically always buy games set in the Forgotten Realms so you can imagine my excitement about BG3

We still refer to them as that even though they basically redundant in commercial or business usage. I dont think I have seen one practically used in SA in 6-8 years? And we always use to refer to them as Stiffy Disks, not Stiffy because that does lead to jokes around sexual innuendo

Good choice Comrade, its a great game and has some excellent characters and the narrative is compelling. Their are also some nice Romance options, I liked Qara and Torio Claven but I wasnt able to Romance Qara and I didnt use to use Mods when I played it which some Mods apparently allow you to court Qara

Okay, thanks I will do some research and get back to you later. I do see your point and its relevant to the discussion because that 1991 referendum is important to our views on what Russia did and was it illegal or legal

Lets stay on point and focus on the actual debate This particular discussion is not about your view on the relevancy of global legal precedents and decisions , the reality of realpolitik or does the West care about the Crimean people This is about who does Crimea belong to based on historical decisions and outcomes and was the annexation of Crimea legal or illegal. And yes it does matter because its the basis for most of the Western sanctions that Russia is desperate to end. Its also important to me personally as I consider what Putin did as illegal and unacceptable so I support the sanctions. If the annexation of Crimea by Russia was lawful I would be opposed to sanctions and I would change my opinion like in any debate So lets try not to look at this in a personal and emotional way as this may cloud our views. So I will frame 2 simple questions that I would like you to directly respond to so I understand your view Do you agree Khrushchev transferred Crimea to Ukraine in 1954 Despite that and the legal precedent of what that meant their was the Crimean referendum based on the link below that yourself and Zora believe means that in fact Crimea should have been allowed to join Russia legally but its based on this referendum and its outcome https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Crimean_sovereignty_referendum

Okay I am going to research this referendum and how legitimate it was and get back to you because this seems to be your primary reason for believing that Russia had a right to annex Crimea illegally Is that a fair assessment of your point ?

I am still playing Fable Anniversary, its a light hearted game and not a serious RPG but good fun and entertaining I am using a Controller as opposed to my normal choice of M\KB. Its interesting but I find it doesnt take me long to be become proficient with a Controller, normally a few hours. And using a Controller for certain games is just better like Sleeping Dogs and Fable Anyway after about 20 hours I got to the battle with Jack of Blades and I found it unreasonably hard and frustrating to defeat him. I tried for about 2 hours but kept getting killed by problems with movement and accessing potions So I found a good Mod on Nexus that enhances the Slow Time spell to literally freeze time for about 90 seconds in RL I used that Mod and was able to defeat him and then uninstalled that Mod because it would unbalance the game in further battles which I want to win without " cheating " But once again it never ceases to amaze how Mods can enhance and improve your gaming experience

Okay like I said I would I did some research to understand the historical context of who owns Crimea, I did this because you said " I dont care about Democracy " and you used an example of my critical view of Russia's unlawful annexing of Crimea as an example of not caring about what the actual citizens of Crimea want Your comments about me " not caring about Democracy " did something rare when it comes to negative views people have of me, it made me feel guilty because I respect you so when someone who I like has a negative view of me it does cause me to pause and reflect on what they saying about my perceived views....irrespective if its true or not. Anyway so I wanted to understand this Crimea issue based on the historical facts Their some different opinions on " who Crimea belongs to " but basically Zora is right in the point that Khrushchev transferred Crimea to Ukraine in 1954, the quote below summarizes this and I have included the link below "Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire during the reign of Catherine The Great in 1783 and remained part of Russia until 1954, when it was transferred to Ukraine under the then Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev " https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18287223 Another interesting link around the valid reasons for USA and EU sanctions https://www.thebalance.com/ukraine-crisis-summary-and-explanation-3970462 But in closing, the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine is internationally binding and legal. This was not done by the West, so we can argue that decision but internationally I dont see how you can say " Crimea belongs to Russia " since it was transferred As I mentioned in another post it is not just about what the people in a region want around sovereignty, Scotland and Catalonia are examples of people wanting independence but you need to work with the controlling government to achieve true independence and global recognition That is not what Russia did with the illegal annexing of Crimea so I not convinced that legally Crimea belongs to Russia because of what Khrushchev did

Interestingly enough it does appear only in SA they were called Stiffy disks, I assumed that is what everyone use to call them that https://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_a_stiffy_disc

Yeah, they were called that because floppy disks were....floppy I suppose Malc you young people have it easy nowadays with all your 10 minute digital downloads from Steam and GOG . I remember taking literally about an hour to install games like Kings Quest 1 and the other early Sierra games and you had to insert floppy disk after disk after disk .....and then sometimes disk 7 is faulty !!! This was during the 1980's and with Apartheid sanctions we battled to buy PC games so we use to copy games from each other and that required using about 10-14 floppy disks and later on we become advanced and used stiffy disks which reduced the overall number I remember when I finally installed the Colonels Bequest ...what a classic game for the time period , it was amazing because it " employed 4-bit color (16 colors) and a typing interface " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Colonel's_Bequest Gaming has advanced so much, we are so fortunate. I cannot wait for what the future holds for PC gaming

Damn, I hate it when a bug reveals itself to mean you need a new rig

Wow, I am amazed you somehow been able to keep stiffy disks all these years later Did the patch work?

Yes but sometimes the truth is hard to determine, think about how much you dislike Bethesda games? I think their may be some dark beguilement and sorcery involvement in your "Bethesda Bashing " ... you never know my friend

Okay I will look into the accusation that Ukraine annexed it from Russia after the Cold War Because I dont support any illegal annexations unless really justified, and I cant imagine this Crimea example being justified, but I need to research this further. I will get back to you later because I need to work now

I dont lookup Internet colloquialisms like " astrosurfer " so I have no idea what it means Please use normal English words to insult me so I know what they mean? And yes most countries would hand him over because no one likes a sell-out, the Cold War is over so how can you truly trust someone that is prepared to betray their own country and even worse betray their own security institutions ? Think about that one Zora

Fair enough, thanks for clarifying and yes all those points are valid opinions I have but I wouldnt frame them in the way you have For example, you cant expect any country in the world to just give up its sovereign territory, or accept have that territory taken like in the Crimea , because another country demands it or even if the majority of people in that region want to break-away Their are plenty of examples of this. Like the Spanish separatist movement with the objective of a separate Catalonia https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/10/27/which-other-regions-want-to-secede-from-spain/ Spain has several reasons for not allowing this irrespective of the fact the majority in the region want to breakaway from Spain Their is a legal and international way you can achieve independence from a country but it cant be accepted you do what Russia did and unilaterally decide to include Crimea as part of Russia. You can see how countries can breakaway and be independent if you look at the creation of South Sudan https://www.usip.org/programs/independence-south-sudan So my continued issue with the annexation of Crimea by Russia is its illegal by all recognized international courts and will continue to be illegal because their is a roadmap to achieve sovereignty and no government can just decide by itself which other country should be part of it.

I first thought this was a " legitimate " post about why some are saying dont take vaccine but its not and its brilliant and very true I think this should be played globally on all international channels ...I love how he basically covers most of the justifications and false narratives I have heard from vaccine denialists I love the " I dont know anyone who has contracted Polio "

No, thats not accurate all The only reason Snowden is in Russia it because its the only country that would give him sanctuary after he betrayed his own country by directly breaking the terms of his NSA contract that he swore an oath to not break. Even China wouldnt give him a place to live and have also censored his autobiography https://world.time.com/2013/06/25/snowdens-hong-kong-escape-what-role-did-beijing-play/ www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/12/edward-snowden-says-autobiography-permanent-record-censored-in-china I understand things like contracts and NDA's dont mean anything to you when its suits your narrative but they do matter to countries and governments when it comes to things like "national security " and " highly confidential information " Sorry Zora, thats just the way every country in the world operates when in comes to confidential information and what institutions like the NSA do and the reason they expect their employees to not make public the work they involved in

Thanks for the link, this is always what I ask of you so I can do my own research Unfortunately this doesnt do Snowden any favors and its not evidence of him actually criticizing the Kremlin for reasons outside his own survival In other words this article is just about him being worried that Putin would hand him over to face necessary justice in the USA, its clear this is only about him and not about real concern with the illegal arrests and killing of Russian citizens. It even says in the beginning "His comments mean the proposed US-Russia summit in Helsinki on 16 July is potentially risky for him if Donald Trump was to request Vladimir Putin to hand him over. Snowden is wanted in the US on three charges under the Espionage Act, carrying a minimum of 10 years each in jail. Putin could balance the propaganda value of having Snowden in Russia against providing Trump with an easy gift "

It reminds of the visits I sometimes use to make to cemeteries in JHB, you know Azdeus that graveyards in modern cities are normally in the dead center of town and people are always dying to go their

Can you provide links, I would like to read and understand the degree of criticism from Snowden Also Russia is currently wanting to ban Twitter and other forms of SM. Poor Putin cant handle nasty things said about him in the arena of a free media ....shame poor him https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1408225/russia-news-vladimir-putin-twitter-ban-social-media-crackdown-protests-alexei-navalny https://www.opindia.com/2020/12/russia-statement-ban-twitter-facebook-youtube-if-censor-content/#:~:text=Russia releases statement%2C could ban Twitter%2C Facebook and,might also face a ban. 26 December%2C 2020

Thats terrible

Gorthfuscious I have definitely noticed an unusual level of criticism from you towards my posts. I enjoy different views and the principle of debate so I am not suggesting you should agree with me at all. In fact disagreement leads to debate. But for example you keep saying " I dont believe in Democracies" which I have never ever suggested But this new stance from you is specifically since Thursday and our debate around the Drone Strikes, I would like to address any misunderstandings so we can continue to debate in good faith. What are you clearly annoyed about ? I apologize for not reading properly and or understanding the article on new civilian oversight around the usage of drone strikes You did say I must learn to read properly and yes I did misunderstand that specific article But lets move on or at least tell me what the issue is because you do seem different in how you debate? And I like you and enjoy our debates. Other forum members ignore me or have a negative view of me but the difference with them is I dont care what they personally thing of me I respect you and your life journey so when someone like you is annoyed with me I like to know why and see how I can resolve things?

Would they at least serve him scones and cream with that tea?