BruceVC

Unfortunately its more complicated than that in SA, I cant comment on the US for underage pregnancy You have single parents working or grandparents raising kids and we have a massive problem with underage pregnancies. And the minor falling pregnant is not always because of bad parenting, sometimes this is a outcome of societal conditions. For example teachers getting kids pregnant and the parents are unaware because its assumed you can trust the teachers But the decision to get an abortion is still a serious decision that requires parents to be involved with whatever emotional trauma may or may not occur afterwards. So its not always about bad parenting

Yes and I have answered that question, its the womens choice because she is having the baby. But when it comes to a minor its critical that parents are involved in whatever decision is made and I am talking about most parents who care about their children, this obviously wouldn't apply to incest But certain countries allow a minor to decide that without parents being involved and I dont agree with that. But thats a separate issue And obviously the partner should be consulted which in most healthy relationships you would assume that would be done but end of the day its the womens choice

But its nice living in Canada and dismissing the historical and current fears of East European countries from Russian invasion and occupation Nothing better than knowing your own Western lifestyle is safe while mocking a country that is defending itself from invasion.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/11/ukraine-democracy-wartime-elections-russia-zelensky/ No there are valid and legitimate reasons to cancel the elections, to quote "Whether objections to the postponement of Ukraine’s elections come from a place of hostility or sympathy, they fail to understand that voting during this war would be legally, practically, and institutionally impossible. Ukraine is under martial law, with constant threat of Russian bombs and many of its people displaced. Postponing elections was not a function of any fear on Zelensky’s part, since his approval ratings have soared during wartime. A country under a full-scale invasion and occupation is simply in no position to vote "

Nope in many countries a teenager doesnt need permission from parents to get an abortion, like SA, so its not a cope-out. Its a reality and so is the possible negative emotional outcome which for some reason you seem to be ignoring? https://www.womens-choice.co.za/permission-abortion-south-africa/ And Im not saying that, I explained its ultimately the women's choice but a " cheap pill " is not the solution because thats basically commoditizing the entire abortion process in a tick-box and thats not what abortion is Do you know anyone who has had an abortion at a young age or even an older age? Have you asked them how they feel about it?

Melkie it upsets me when you so serious, Im not use to it and its depressing Can we rather talk about your ebook, teddy bears always make me happy

Why what in your opinion truly matters? For me it is about sustainable peace and thats a 2 state solution

The decision to get an abortion is generally always a complicated one and how its decided on and how the women gets support during and afterwards matters For example a 14 year will hopefully have her parents involved and for many people they consider abortion to be anathema due to religious reasons so if they want to get an abortion they will need support from family and ways to balance their religious beliefs. I dont think a " cheap pill " at a supermarket should ever be an option unless it comes with the required counseling and understanding of the decision. Because you cant take it back once its done It will be ultimately the womens choice but you also want partners to be involved who understand this difficult decision And its not the same as alcohol abuse at all. Thats about an addiction and abuse of a substance that most people dont abuse. But there many examples of alcoholics who beat the addiction and they live a normal and better life I know personally of 2 women who had abortions when they were 18-19 years old and they suffered emotionally for years in different ways afterwards but only 5-6 years later and it was mostly around guilt and a sense of betraying the maternal instinct that most women have, well thats how they explained it to me

Nah, its definitely more complicated than that There is a reality where people dont take any responsibility for a women falling pregnant and the solution is a simple " thats okay, just get an abortion " and this comes from men as well as women And abortion can create real long-term mental problems like depression. So I dont accept the idea that " a cheap pill at every pharmacy " is the right solution. You need counseling and other similar support before deciding to abort

Yes and each state should vote on that outcome and the Federal government should stay out of it because I believe its such a sensitive issue you will get criticism either way the Federal government influences things But I do believe overturning R vs W was also a massive mistake because this is seen by many US citizens as taking away an established and decades long women's right. So I understand the anger and pushback

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ohio-votes-to-codify-abortion-rights-into-state-constitution_n_65411b43e4b0ae2dc0b56c1a?yptr=yahoo There have been some interesting election outcomes in the US but not surprising with abortion rights being supported in Ohio and the legalization of cannabis Overturning R vs W I maintain was the worst GOP supported and Conservative decision the SC could have ever made around overall public sentiment, I understand this is an emotional and sensitive topic but the SC decision is seen by most women as taking away a fundamental right that women should have The real question now is "will the anger about R vs W be greater than other issues in the US in the 2024 election " ?

What in your opinion is the pro-Palestinian position on peace or a solution to the conflict? And who do you consider to be the political group that represents the Palestinians But Im interested more in what you think is the solution raised by whatever Palestinian group represents the Palestinians officially in finding a sustainable solution to this conflict?

Yes and without repeating myself that was because of compromise and effective leadership on both sides that realized peace is better than interminable war And he was assassinated by a Jewish right-wing extremist , very unusual and tragic for that to happen within Israel. But most people don't follow the stages of the conflict and its hard to believe how close the region came to an end of the conflict even though it was opposed by people on both sides

Except they came very close to peace during the era of Yitzhak Rabin but when he was assassinated in 1995 everything fell apart

Thanks, you recommend I play both? I have already started looking at mods for SW1 and I found the restored content for SW1 https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor/mods/54

I am considering playing SW Knights of the Old Republic, I haven't played any SW games and I have this and SW2 on Steam What are peoples views on SW1&2? @Gorth arent you a fan of these games?

Yes I agree the reality of this decades long conflict has not been handled well from both sides and Netanyahu's right wing government has made things worse over the last 10 years. But groups like Hama must also take blame, for example they dont recognize Israel has a right to exist so how do you negotiate with someone who doesn't even recognize you have a right to exist? I still think the 2 state solution is the best overall solution to sustainable peace for both sides. But that requires compromise and political will from leadership on both sides and thats lacking in different ways. In SA we achieved a peaceful end to Apartheid and reached our first 1994 Democratic election because of compromise but if the ANC had said in the early 1990's "we dont believe white people have a right to exist " there would have been no peaceful end to the brutal and immoral Apartheid system and a civil war would have occurred with those white people and allies who didnt emigrate, we would have emigrated to the UK, staying behind and making a doomed but destructive last stand. Because there logic would be " you see the Communist ANC wants to destroy us anyway so lets fight to the end " or something similar The ANC would have eventually won but at what cost? A war ravaged country with a massive loss of most institutional experience at how to run the economy and country because Apartheid had denied that to most black people for the previous 45 years So what I saying is the reason the Israeli vs Palestinian conflict is still ongoing is because of a failure of leadership on both sides And then I realize its a complicated question which is "what would be a proportional response to destroy Hamas " but its very relevant because that is main Israeli objective. So we need to think about that and what should Israel be doing after the 7 October attack

Yes but the "surprise " hasnt changed the reality of the selective global outrage around war crimes in any conflict. The same countries that have not condemned Russia still dont condemn Russia 20 months later. Im not worried about if Western politicians are baffled by the lack of condemnation from Russia's allies. Its an expected response so thats what I mean by " that ship has sailed a long time ago " if there is another conflict And I dont think its okay that Palestinian civilians are being killed, as I have said from the beginning the Israeli response is going to be heavy handed But what would be a proportional response to destroy Hamas that embeds itself in Gaza civilians and uses hospitals, schools and mosques as military operating bases. What should the Israeli strategy be? I think they should have used limited bombing and then used a massive ground offensive with infantry to clear the tunnels and annihilate Hamas. More Israeli would die but less civilians would also die But most military decisions from countries in this type of conflict won't sacrifice there infantry when they can use bombs and rockets to weaken enemy positions. It doesn't make it fine what Israel is doing but thats the reality of most urban warfare like this. Remember how the Russians bombed Aleppo to the ground, same bad strategy

No I dont know that, Western politicians are not surprised by the lack of concern from certain countries or people not falling behind them because we have seen this with the Ukraine conflict and how certain countries won't condemn Russia Selective outrage around war crimes is here to stay

Oh we not worried about " Can't wait for all the baffled looks from western politicians next time they burble on about someone they don't like committing war crimes and wonder why the rest of the world won't fall into line behind them " We know from the Ukraine conflict that supporters of Russia will deny any obvious war crimes, killing of civilians and targeting of civilian infrastructure. That ship has sailed a looooooong time ago

The Companion AI is frustrating and problematic in FO1, its much better in FO2 because you can trade with them and decide there combat strategy I use to laugh in FO1 when my companions use to go off script in combat and attack illogically, none of them survived by the end Oh and in FO2 raise the Outdoor skill because the random encounters become very annoying and slow down your travels

So do you consider Quest for Glory an RPG , its labelled an adventure game on Steam but you have stats and everything else you mentioned?

No I completed every side quest I could in FO1 and I used companions for battles. There aren't lots of side quests but at least 2-4 in most towns. I also used the Fixed Mod which may have added quests?

I completed Arx Fatalis last night after about 45 hours, it was good fun and an appreciated CRPG experience. Its gets a solid 72/100 on the globally followed " BruceVC game rating system " I particularly enjoyed the random exploring and finding things and I thought the magic system was unique and worthwhile. I did use some game guides like with the crypt wheel puzzle and the creation of the meteor sword. I found some of the accents and Goblin dialogue hilarious And I thought the final battle was unreasonably hard but I defeated Akbaa after about 2-3 hours by running away from him and using fireballs and my trusty bow

Yes but he also specifically mentions the current appeal of D&D and increased interest over the last 10 years, so he already gives that as a reason for BG3 sales success