BruceVC

Sorry for the belated response, I was busy with RL work pressures Just to comment on the important question you have raised above, often my overall point is misunderstood and people assume I am suggesting a binary choice " economy or immigration ". Not at all, these two are inextricably connected and definitely not mutually exclusive Firstly all countries have moral\ethical , UN and legal responsibilities to accept immigrants under certain circumstances like civil wars on your border or collapsed economies on your border like Zimbabwe and the hugely negative impact it has had on SA. So we must always understand and be part of the humanitarian objective but it still needs to be controlled and immigrants arriving still need papers or facilities must be provided for refugees that keep them safe until they can return home This is common throughout the world and the UN actually pays for it. In Africa refugee camps have been created in many countries except for SA where somehow it is seen as " unAfrican " but thats another story. Also it seems that only in the USA are ICE refugee centers seen as inhuman and cruel when in fact many such centers exist in other countries to process and detain illegal immigrants http://www.africaranking.com/biggest-refugee-camps-in-africa/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees_of_the_Syrian_Civil_War_in_Turkey But going back to the main question, no country can just accept immigrants without managing the number of immigrants. You also have to be a growing and functional economy to accept immigrants because initially they will understandably be a drain on social services until they find there way So its not a choice between " the economy and allowing immigrants ", these 2 are connected but what never changes is the limited resources and how these resources are allocated

LadyC !!!! Im shocked, I have never known you to use such profanity ,,,,,,"buffoonery". Is such language really necessary ?

I have really enjoyed it and there have been several very funny posts " feed Imoen to the bear " and informative ones as well from a technical party selection and " best practice" around classes So just to answer Gromnirs question, its not even remotely stale until we lose interest in making comments which are either interesting, comical or both

Gorthfuscious .....how could you

You have certainly given me something to think about and I appreciate the fact you have put time and effort into making your point, we wont always agree but I always respect the principle of debate which is an exchange of information which is how you are posting around this topic But one more consideration based on your thought provoking beach party analogy, what happens if the party people allow anyone to the party and there is the expected revelry, drinking and hot women in bikinis ( normal beach party vibe )and suddenly the alcohol runs out because there are too many people both invited and uninvited...now any party that runs out of alcohol is a crisis But the only reason the beach party ran out of alcohol was because the original party planners didnt plan or allocate enough resources based on controlling the number of people who are allowed to the party So now think of the outcome......the entire party is ruined because there is no alcohol and the alcohol is a finite resource and you must manage your resources and also have control of who legally can access them But its not the actual beach and access to the beach that is the reason we limit access to the party, as you said the beach is large. Its the limited alcohol and party food we are concerned with

You raise a good point and an interesting difference, ostensibly, between the USA and other immigrant destinations Is it a fair argument to say " the USA was founded by immigrants so this needs to be considered when dealing with legal\illegal immigration" I am not saying you wrong but what does that practically translate to on the ground around how you gain entrance legally to the USA ? What I mean is that their is a huge problem in the US around people arriving on its borders and entering the country illegally through holes in the walls and or using Coyotes where they get smuggled in. You also have the unique reality, we dont see this even in SA with our immigration problems, where unaccompanied children arrive on the border or try to get enter the USA illegally How would you align the argument " the USA was founded by immigrants" to the actual legal process of granting entry. Would you say these immigrants must be given entry because then what is to ever stop any illegal immigrants from just arriving on the US border and automatically gaining entry and access to the limited resources all countries have ?

You make me laugh sometimes " Said a guy living in a fancy Californian neighbourhood with hundreds of thousands $ earnings" But to be fair to Hurlshot I dont consider him someone with huge resources or wealth or is someone who makes comments due to " white guilt " or these other inaccurate and generalized comments around why white people say what we say. He means well and genuinely believes in certain social justice values that he believes will make society better. So he seems to believe that illegal immigration is okay under certain circumstances...many of us disagree But you are right that when you live in any country that has faced illegal or forced immigration and the citizens feel overwhelmed by the level of immigration, like Poland or SA, many people are tired of being told " you must accept all immigrants in the interests of diversity and human rights " at the expense of the actual country, legal immigrants and the future prosperity of citizens who also have concerns about overreach around culture which can be seen as as being eroded by uncontrolled immigration

Legal immigration makes sense as most countries require certain skills that immigrants can hep address , no one should object to that but arriving at any border or immigrating without papers is not sustainable and cannot be just accepted

All countries have limited resources and this is an absolutely valid concern around unrestricted immigration or the expectation we see in many countries who are beset by illegal immigration and that includes places like US, EU, Australia and South Africa What I dont understand about Hurlshots article is how parents can send there kids to any country unaccompanied, who do they expect is going to take care of them when they arrive without proper papers at any border? In South Africa our laws and court rulings have taken the concept of " accepting illegal immigrants " to the point where its egregious and has become a real strain on our weak economy and limited resources where we cant deliver services to citizens and people who immigrate legally For example, in SA this applies You cannot deny public healthcare to any illegal immigrant You cannot deny public schooling to any children of illegal immigrants If you have illegal immigrants living illegally in any property you may own you need to somehow provide them with alternative accommodation if you want to evict them....think about that one? How is it logical and reasonable to be expected to provide accommodation for people who arrive illegally within your country? Our current laws actually encourage illegal immigration Now there are vast differences between SA and the USA when it comes to resources and general wealth but the risk remains the same and the idea or view that any country " must accept illegal " immigrants is a slippery slope and can lead to real social or economic challengers that citizens and legal immigrants now have to contend with and its not acceptable

You right, I must be confusing Imoens unappreciated Romance comments with someone from DA who use to annoy me I never use to Mod games when I first played BG2 so it cannot be Imoen

HoonDing Im shocked and disappointed by your callous and cruel attitude.... I had Imoen in my party the whole way on BG2, I dont remember much about her that was significant and after reading this thread there definitely seems to be better thief options than her....what I do remember about her was that she use to make annoying comments that were sycophantic and how she alluded to a Romance arc with me but I quickly ended any possible Romance with her because I could never cheat on Viconia

This post made me laugh " disgusting little squeaky pest" ...... Im sure thats animal cruelty !!! We going to charge you for suggesting " Boo genocide " ....you a very bad person

Thanks for sharing this information, I consider you a very knowledgeable and authentic reference for understanding the history of Native Americans and its not just your lived experience but what you have studied and have been involved in And that brings me to a question, I have watched several TV series where the reality of life on the Native Americans reservations is portrayed and in some tribes there seems to be a debate around "what is the most effective way reservations should be utilized to ensure culture is preserved but there is also economic transformation " Some tribes have built casinos as a source of legitimate revenue generation and I always thought this is genius and makes sense. I use to be a gambler and casinos offer restaurants, movie theaters, shows and become conference centers ...apart from the gambling which is great fun but there are rules about not abusing gambling which must be adhered to Yet I have seen there is some push back from some tribal spokesmen because they see casinos as undermining culture and basically corrupting the tribe And this surprises me that a legitimate business could be seen so negatively. A casino creates jobs and income and has much ancillary business benefits. For example this also leads to transformation like people that own or work in casino restaurants Whats your view on the benefits and or negative of casinos on reservations ?

No way this is the dumbest thing you have ever read on this forum, its far from some of the comments people have made. Oby use to tell us about tribes of " pure blood, Aryans living in remote mountain valleys in Mother Russia " who were the true ancestors of all white people

I find this hard to believe, next thing someone is going to tell us that ICE centers are now being used to for " live experimentation " on pregnant women and Trump is implementing a program of genocide against illegal immigrants

Its a small pool, really used just to cool down in and not for real swimming. After my hike on Saturday I used it. The water was freezing but I was extremely hot .....semi-deserts are warm places

Yes thats all I also had access to, but its not 2 line of text but a paragraph on each character

I am really getting excited about this game, I went onto the official website and was reading up on your potential party members and they all look brilliant and very interesting I particularly like Wyll...very interesting story around him so he will definitely be in my party

Where we stayed is very safe. you dont think my family would ever stay anywhere unsafe...they a little paranoid actually On the farm you have permanent people who are like caretakers and security, we have panic buttons and alarms throughout the farm and a private security company that will respond to the alarm or panic button being tripped and thats apart from the police So its safe as it can be ...but nothing in SA is ever 100 % safe

I promise to bath ....but do I have to bath everyday, Im thinking 1-2 a week is probably fair ?

Yeah we drive on the left, thats why I have always been nervous getting a hired car in the US because of how my normal driving will be impacted

KP I am glad you have joined the illustrious and winning team of the Promancers, there is hope for you yet I am not sure how practical MP Romance is, I am not a fan. But here is a updated link around the Romance options in BG3, its still not clear to me the Romance implementation ....its still nebulous with the current information https://www.gamepur.com/guides/will-baldurs-gate-3-have-romance-options

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/sheriff-claims-protesters-blocked-la-hospital-where-two-officers-are-being-treated-after-ambush-shooting/ar-BB18ZhQo Absolutely unacceptable behavior by BLM or other activists celebrating the shooting of 2 LA sheriffs I am disappointed there isnt some law where people who demonstrate this behavior can be arrested ?

We had a fantastic weekend away, we stayed on a farm called De Hoek just outside the small town of Barrydale. I went on a hike on Saturday and the food was self-catering which my sister and stepmom arranged so we ate like kings It was about 2.5 hours drive outside CPT in an area called The Karoo which is basically a semi-desert with vast sweeping mountain ranges and arid, ancient landscapes. I have tried to include photos below which encapsulate the trip and beautiful scenery. One of the highlights of the drive was going through a mountain, underground pass called the Huguenot Pass. It is a about 2.8 miles and a marvel of modern engineering

Minsc was always part of my BG2 journey, I liked him and Boo I always decide what members are part of any party based RPG based on the criteria below and they rated from most important to least important I consider the intrinsic value that the character adds to combat and other tasks like healing and the vast range of pertinent thieving skills I consider the actual RP aspect that the character adds and the things they say or represent , for example what is the persons history and what they stand for? Being a Romance option is definitely part of this so Isabella, Morrigan and Viconia were always part of character choice in games like DA and BG2 I consider there " sub-quests" and what these quests mean to my overall RP objective So in summary I made Minsc and Kagain my tanks in BG2 and they never really disappointed me so Minsc is good in my books