BruceVC

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/30/nx-s1-5133463/israel-lebanon-hezbollah-invasion Israel has started a land invasion\limited raids into Lebanon with an understandable objective of getting Hezbollah to stop firing rockets into Israel The interesting part of this land invasion is what are the achievable end goals, the last Israeli invasion into Lebanon in 2006 didnt go as planned for Israel and they underestimated Hezbollah's resistance This time I assume they will push back or kill any Hezbollah military presence in southern Lebanon so its harder to fire missiles But then what? I cant imagine Israel occupying southern Lebanon so will it be a more effective and committed UNSC mission or the Lebanese army that ensures Hezbollah doesnt come back in 10 years? The sustainability of the end goal is the biggest question and unknown part of this Israeli campaign

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rdygy5888o I must say your country is very fragmented around different political views No majority by a long way. Its not a bad outcome because it shows the strength of different political opinions, thats one of the benefits of Democracy It will be interesting to see how the coalitions are now formed and FPO will have to abandon its more controversial right-wing policies if it aligns with another more left party to become a majority? What does SPO believe in?

@Pidesco Let me give you an example so its clear what I mean Project 2025 believes in a Federal ban on abortion, Trump has said he doesn't believe in that and he will leave it up to states to decide Do you think Trump is lying about that and if he wins the election he will implement a Federal ban? This is just one example of where he doesnt support what Project 2025 believes should be policy

If you can post the links around how Trump is planning to implement Project 2025 that would be interesting

Project 2025? But thats not the official policy of Trump, this has been clarified many times by the Trump campaign https://www.npr.org/2024/08/22/g-s1-19202/trump-project-2025-border-immigration ""They've been told officially, legally, in every way, that we have nothing to do with Project 25,” Trump said. “They know it, but they bring it up anyway. They bring up every single thing that you can bring up. Every one of them was false.” The Heritage Foundation is just one of over 100 Conservative thinktanks that has people who advise Trump or might advise Trump if he wins Project 2025 is a 930 document and some Conservative ideas in that document are normal Conservative views that Trump claims to support But there is constant fake news suggestions that Trump is going to implement the entirety of Project 2025 if he wins , including the worst policies, and thats not true

Thats one of the reasons Iran has been so muted IMO, they worried if they go to war with Israel there nuclear program facilities will be destroyed But do you really want Iran getting nukes and that type of arms race and escalation in the ME?

No I wouldnt support that, I dont support the building of illegal settlements in Palestinian land either But I do support the right of Israel to exist and not have rockets fired into it

That doesnt change the reality that no country would accept rockets being fired into its territory or that large parts of Israel have been evacuated because of these attacks https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/09/27/displaced-israelis-in-jerusalem-applaud-ongoing-offensive-in-lebanon_6727481_4.html And if Hezbollah was not firing rockers into Israel then Israel would not be involved in this latest military campaign into Lebanon You cant objectively ignore the direct responsibility that Hezbollah has around this escalation

Sure but I dont listen to the Netanyahu and the Israeli right-wing rhetoric to justify these types of military campaigns Hezbollah is not an existential threat to Israel but they are a military threat in the sense they made parts of Israel unlivable and they still firing rockets into Israel I can understand the Israeli military response but I question the strategy and heavy handedness The latest Israeli bombing was about several buildings being destroyed to kill one person. And I dont think killing individuals is going to stop Hezbollah anyway https://apnews.com/article/israel-hezbollah-hamas-latest-mideast-27-september-2024-4dc3676b10be0fe7b41ab6d9cd897014

But thats not why Israel is targeting Hezbollah in such an aggressive way Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel for the last 12 months and the war between Israel and Hamas should have nothing to do with Hezbollah but Hezbollah is involved because they Iranian proxies And the result of Hezbollah constantly firing rockets into Israel is 60k Israeli citizens have been evacuated from northern Israel Obviously no country would just accept another country firing rockers into its territory but its not an existential threat to Israel but what Hezbollah has been doing is definitely provocative and not in the best interests of Lebanon considering the terrible economic and political state of the country The outcome is going to be the usual heavy handed response by Israel and sadly civilians will be killed

It is offensive to call a person of colour a coconut, its a thing in South Africa and many black people genuinely get offended by it even though there is a comedy act about it I just find it condescending and used in an inconsistent way like Uncle Tom. What does it even mean to be " black on the outside but white on the inside " And its used when a black person doesnt say or act in a way that is "expected " according to other black people and particularly activists But its not hate speech, its like referring to a white person as a cracker. Its offensive but that doesnt make it hate speech

Melkie, you clearly not spending enough quality time with your cat Your cat has spoken

Unusual, Ubisoft normally takes care to create AC games that are woke and inclusive and historically dont offend people outside of things like inaccurate gender or racial representation. They clearly made a mistake here and overlooked certain things " Moreover, Ubisoft has been accused of disrespecting Japanese culture and its history with its Assassin's Creed Shadows merchandise, which depicts a structure that appears to be based on the Sanno Shrine and the One-Legged Torii Gate. For those that don't know, the One-Legged Torri Gate is located just 900 meters from the center of the blast created by the nuclear bomb that struck Nagasaki. Following the blast, the One-Legged Torri Gate was the only thing that remained in the area."

Im 60 hours into Kenshi and its time for my first detailed " newbie Kenshi review " Firslty Im loving the game and its highly recommended. You just need to learn mechanics and what the game is and what it isnt I was considering quitting after 2-3 hours because I didnt really understand the design, mechanics and point. When people say its " open-world and sandbox " I misunderstood what that really means and how effectively that is a part of the game But you can choose a myriad of different roles, professions and activities and this applies to the decisions you make. So you can decide to be a slaver, bounty hunter, trader or get involved in factional wars. You dont have classes and whatever you decide to do there are several things you have to do and always be aware of and the 2 most important considerations are raising your combat skills and finding ways to generate money because everything costs money Combat for me is the best and most rewarding part of the game, especially as you become more skilled and you can defeat powerful enemies I am focusing on exploration and bounty hunting. I have a 12 man party and I have dedicated teams of 2 people to skills like lockpicking, crafting and healing. Everyone in my party can fight but not everyone is an effective healer I have bought a property in Worlds Edge, I like the ethos and views of the Tech Hunters and they control this city. I also use this property for research, training and crafting, I havent really got into crafting in a detailed way but I imagine I will My focus is finding ruins and looting them and then completing bounties. The exploration part of the game often yields random, interesting and rewarding places to discover . I came across the hidden HQ of the Flotsam Ninjas, the creatures and forgotten ruins of the Leviathan Coast and other sites that make exploration worthwhile In one ruin in one building behind a locked door I came across a high level NPC who I could have extorted for money but instead he joined my party and he has become an invaluable combat addition because his melee attack is 60 and my party was around 35-45. This is just another example of how exploring gives you Easter Eggs and outcomes that are very beneficial to your party Im not sure if I will try to build a city, maybe I will. But right now Im really enjoying my current activities

Hilarious as usual, very anti-Trump but hilarious

Maybe wait for the trial and see if the " dirty NYC cop " is actually dirty I really like Adams and I will be very disappointed if he is found guilty of corruption

Thats one way Twitter is used, I question how much influence Twitter really has on peoples views outside of reaffirming confirmation bias and some people basically not bothering to do any real research on subjects and using Twiiter as a reference But Twitter is often used in third world countries as the main tool to galvanize support for protest action, it has a very positive purpose in countries where there are serious human rights infringements or issues around political and basic freedom Im not talking about Western first world countries like the USA and Canada, your freedoms are enshrined and Twitter will never get banned https://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/april-2018-july-2018/hashtag-revolution-gaining-ground

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-09-24-south-africa-is-in-a-new-era-an-era-of-great-promise-ramaphosa-tells-un-general-assembly/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=first_thing Its the 79th session of UNGS and as usual most world leaders demonstrate the annoying habit of inconsistency around outrage and what advice they have for the UN Our president used the opportunity to specifically mention " “International law cannot be applied selectively, no one state is more equal than any other,” he declared. " in regards to the current Israeli vs Palestinian conflict but predictably left out the same vociferous condemnation of Russia and how it has violated International law with its invasion of Ukraine Another unconvincing clarion call is this view that the UNSC (United Nation Security Council ) needs " structural reforms so it becomes more effective " and when you ask activists what they want they suggest its objectives like an African country should become a permanent member of the UNSC or they abandon the veto of the UNSC permanent members Neither of those ideas makes sense or is likely to be implemented. The African continent is rife with wars, conflicts and military coups so why would any African country becoming a permanent member of the UNSC ensure the world will have less wars and less conflict ? If the African Union fails to do anything about conflict in its own area of responsibility how is it going to make any meaningful difference at the UN as a permanent member? And then the 5 permanent members will never agree to abandon the UNSC veto because the veto actually ensures we dont have additional geopolitical tension where the superpowers are expected to act because the UNSC has voted on action through a majority vote on any resolution So the UNSC veto despite being frustrating at times helps prevent greater wars and tension between the superpowers of the world For me the UNSC works fine, it has its limits and shortfalls but it passes more resolutions that it fails to pass And the UN outside of the UNSC does more good work globally than bad especially around humanitarian work during famines and natural disasters . The world would be much worse off without the UN and particularly countries that arent first world But Im interested if you think what changes the UNSC should undergo, maybe you think the entire UN should be abandoned?

I wish I had your DIY skills, it must be so nice to be able to fix certain things yourself or do certain mechanical work I am completely dependant on service providers but I have started paying attention to things they do How did you learn your basic DIY skills, did your Dad teach you or are you self taught because you enjoy it?

I have heard mostly good things about this game, I have it on Steam but Im waiting for final release which should be April-July 2025 https://steamcommunity.com/app/1466060/allnews/?

Sorry but Im not sure what you saying? I sure it was @Zoraptor who clarified in the Ukraine thread that an energy grid is a legitimate target in war. Thats why the Russians target the Ukraine grid And then the second part of my post is Israel's allies wont really comment in a critical way in the same way Russia's allies have said nothing about the deliberate targeting of the Ukrainian energy grid So if Israel and Hezbollah go to war Im sure the Lebanese energy grid will be targeted because thats a typical target in war ?

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-provide-ukraine-with-loan-worth-up-35-bln-euros-von-der-leyen-2024-09-20/ The EU will be providing Ukraine with $40 billion, this money will be used in the war and with other expenses " We will spend the money, these 35 billion, primarily on energy, on defence, as well as on bomb shelters for children in schools, nurseries and universities - this is a big deficit for us," Zelenskiy said in front of the Ukrainian and EU flags. "And on weapons, primarily those produced domestically, drones, missiles. Today, our long-range drones strike the enemy and they are cheaper than those (made by) our partners." Whats also interesting about this money is some of it will be the interest earned from the Russian frozen assets, so you use the Russian money to help Ukraine. And that makes sense on every level. You dont utilize the Russian sanctioned assets because then its gone, just its earned interest. Its a creative way of funding Ukraine " She said on Thursday that the sum of 160 million euros from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets would be allocated to meet Ukraine's urgent humanitarian needs for this winter."

How many BRICS countries or Russian allies have publicly criticized Russia for the years of specifically targeting Ukraine's energy grid? Thats the answer to your question. I doubt any of Israel's allies will really question this strategy outside of a possible broad statement Thats the world we live in, selective and inconsistent outrage is all about who you like and who you allied with But no one is consistent with the level of outrage, nothing really interesting or unusual about it when its expected and normalized

Agreed, I have lots of questions around how they pulled it off And I doubt the US was involved, the WH would never agree to this type of strategy One thing thats guaranteed is how comprised Hezbollah must be around Israeli operatives

The pagers apparently came from Hungary, I doubt Orban would have knowingly allowed Israel to alter them. So Im not sure if the state is involved? https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13864459/Pictured-British-educated-boss-Hungarian-firm-accused-making-pagers-exploded-wounding-hundreds-Hezbollah-fighters-denies-producing-gadgets-insists-just-intermediary.html