BruceVC

Happy Easter All (sorry its late ) To all Christians this is a very significant holiday and time to reflect on the spiritual importance of this holiday around the resurrection, in SA we are about 75 % Christian and for many of my friends this weekend matters so it matters to me I am spending this weekend at our beach cottage with my Durban family, we have just had an Easter egg hunt with one of my brothers 2 daughters ... " the Easter bunny managed to come and still plant eggs in the garden even though its raining " (he is quite industrious despite logistical challengers around transport ) I hope everyone has a good and restful weekend irrespective of belief

volo your analogy isn't accurate or a fair comparison, obviously if you born in a country you are already a citizen...thats the normal and perfectly acceptable way of what defines citizenship in any country What we talking about is the reality of countries like the USA ( and SA in our own context) where a country is inundated with people trying to become citizens. You cannot make everyone who just arrives a citizen and compulsory military service demonstrates a commitment to that country. Also you will or can gain important life skills that hopefully will help you in your career going forward after military service It is simply unsustainable to absorb everyone and then they can become a major burden on resources and welfare systems. You need to give something back to become a citizen, surly you can see this? Canada doesnt have this problem because of the horrendously bad weather..very few people want to immigrate to Canada...lets be honest ...lest be honest I'd be against compulsory military service for immigrants because we shouldn't treat them like cannon fodder. It may not be such an issue in a country like South Africa, but for a country like the US with a military that operates all over the place, treating immigrants like cannon fodder isn't an image we should want. Yes, I know armies around the world and in history have been plenty immigrant heavy, but just because we can treat them like cannon fodder doesn't mean we should. I understand your concern but I am not suggesting we treat immigrants like cannon fodder. They would be part of the normal military of a country like the USA and would receive the same rights and protections as any normal soldier. So it would be normal military conditions but yes there is always the risk of war and someone being killed but thats the same risk any soldier faces and understands

So what you're saying is... it's actually a very good idea? I wonder how many countries wouldn't be veritable ****holes today if the US military wasn't so effective. You cant be serious, the USA is the foundation of Western ideology due to its important and positive influence on what Democracy intrinsically stands ....this works and delivers overall sustainable, robust economies and happy citizens. Of course nothing is perfect so we must always improve or address valid societal issues like perceived or real economic inequality and issues like improved public healthcare But in order to preserve the importance of Western ideology ( and remember this is a good thing ) you need a strong military to ensure that dictatorships and flawed alternative ideologies dont undermine what we know works and delivers a better world and quality of life for all of mankind Now I imagine you dont like my usage of " Western ideology " but as Neil Ferguson explains in his book Civilization what I mean by this is the core principles of what defines " Western ideology " , these are in summary Governments elected by the people, accountable to the people Effective governments that maintain institutions Governments that believe in the rule of law and order and are aligned to Constitutions The free market must primarily drive the economy but answerable to the laws of the land What is wrong with any of these 4 points, can you honestly critique them in a fair way? Please read this book if you want to understand my point in greater detail and explanation, it should appeal and resonate with your intellectualism https://www.amazon.com/Civilization-West-Rest-Niall-Ferguson/dp/0143122061 If you really disagree with what the West stands for then you are suggesting the Cold War should have been won by the Soviet Bloc and I would battle to believe the veracity of that view considering the numerous issues around traditional Communism\Socialism ?

volo your analogy isn't accurate or a fair comparison, obviously if you born in a country you are already a citizen...thats the normal and perfectly acceptable way of what defines citizenship in any country What we talking about is the reality of countries like the USA ( and SA in our own context) where a country is inundated with people trying to become citizens. You cannot make everyone who just arrives a citizen and compulsory military service demonstrates a commitment to that country. Also you will or can gain important life skills that hopefully will help you in your career going forward after military service It is simply unsustainable to absorb everyone and then they can become a major burden on resources and welfare systems. You need to give something back to become a citizen, surly you can see this? Canada doesnt have this problem because of the horrendously bad weather..very few people want to immigrate to Canada...lets be honest ...lest be honest

That is interesting, do you remember how long they had to serve for ?

Okay, I see where what mean. It would be a much more complex task to change the Constitution than I have assumed. Would this apply to military service for citizenship as well as you mentioned the Article 1, Section 8 consideration?

We had mandatory service in Germany from end of WWII until a few years ago. Like many other countries on earth that I wouldn't call slavers. The idea (at least in Germany) was that you'll have a sound cross section of your actual society in the military (or an alternative service like fire service, Federal Agency for Technical Relief, community service - if you don't want to fire weapons and stuff). Also lifts the average IQ in the military quite a bit. I think that's a very reasonable point. I didn't go to the military but did community service in a home for wayward children (13 months). And while it was a hard time I also learned a lot. I met people I would not have met if I would have just went from school to university. My best friend did community service in a home for trisomy 21 people. At new years eve we would meet with them and celebrate - and this was honestly one of the nicest party I ever attended. Meanwhile very decent former schoolfellows went to the military and left their footprint there. Then Germany switched to voluntary service. Guess what happened? And guess if it was a good thing for the military, the civil sector (think about hospitals, elder care...) and the society as a whole. gd can be a bit hyperbolic at times, but the 13th Amendment to our Constitution forbids slavery AND involuntary servitude, and such categories has been read pretty broad by Courts. the draft o' young men for military service is specifically considered in Article 1, Section 8 o' the Constitution, so is a bit different than mandatory service. am thinking there is good arguments both for and against mandatory service, is a legal non-starter. No real issue there Gromnir, you just make some minor changes so the Constitution allows it...non-starter problem resolved . You know better than most that there have been several amendments to the current USA Constitution over the last 200 years or so https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/how-us-constitution-has-evolved-over-time/ Yes some people will try to abuse this way of becoming a USA citizen or shirk there responsibility but then citizenship should be denied, there would still be other paths to USA citizenship they could apply for Also they dont have to be a marine, which is intimidating for some, but you could join an engineering core or other non-combative unit which are very important to any military operations but it should be military focused. I think this will demonstrate a real commitment to some of the core values of the USA, a belief and support in your country The interesting question is how long should the person have to serve, 3-4 years?

This is a very good idea but maybe make it military service? Dude, seriously? Exactly like this, good one

This is a very good idea but maybe make it military service?

Excellent points raised, I have also never understood this aversion to optional Romance in RPG, in fact I consider it a lacking design component if you create an immersive RPG but leave out Romance In RPG we can generally create customized characters, use multiple spells, create potions, craft weapons and armor, go on epic quests, interact with people, make moral choices , explore ancients lands ..the list goes on and on with features yet we...dont want Romance, why? Romance is a normal part of human interaction, emotion and defines part of our humanity so to exclude it seems counter productive to role-playing realistic characters who we like to identify with which is the essence of role-playing our own way. No Romance is the antithesis of an immersive and inclusive " RPG World " , but if it is half assed like almost every game that incorporates it, then I rather not have it at all. I rather see a well thought out predefined romance than going through a dialogue tree with cringe worthy options to ultimately see some poorly animated sex scene. You make some good points and I agree with several of them I respected Bioware immensely for there inclusive Romance options that catered for all sexual orientations but lets say going forward that was too complicated for other development companies or ostensibly too divisive to include. Then we should just have straight characters with heterosexual Romance options I would be fine with that because even though this sounds selfish I would rather have some Romance arcs than none in the interests of immersion And also its important to remember that the actual cheesy dialogue lines are just the foundation of the Romance RPG experience, they not suppose to really represent a " real Romance " because any game is going to be limited in its ability to capture the nuances and complexity of RL Romance ( women are complicated you know and courting them and winning real affection takes time..I endeavor to still get this right ) I use to be a DM in the AD&D 2nd edition world, I have a vivid and complex imagination and I am happy to RP my Romance experience outside what the game provides in the context of dialogue. So for example in BG2 I was very happy with the beautiful Viconia Romance option. That is normally how I always play most aspects of any RPG, I literally can see myself and or the party and have a vicarious connection throughout the game and the RP journey

That really sounds delicious, what time should I come for dinner? I will bring alcohol

It doesn't surprise me that the French trade unions and especially the anarchist, violent and myopic " yellow vest movement " ( though still protesting weekly, they have been at it for 20 weeks, they are vastly reduced in number and vigor ) are complaining about the perceived unfair spending on Notre Dame Why should the French government acquiesce to a group that was demanded the president resigns by damaging property and trying to destroy Frances historical sites ? Thats not how you get a Democratically elected president to resign. So to explain it to the yellow vest movement another way " of course France has money and wealthy citizens but we dont like you so there is no money for you " ....there, no more confusion around why the Notre Dame is being funded https://www.france24.com/en/20190317-france-paris-riot-champs-elysees-yellow-vest-fouquet-macron

Im glad the Mueller report is out now, as most of you may be aware I watch lots of CNN and other international coverage of USA politics but Im tired of the constant coverage of everything Trump says or does. Its becomes almost an obsession at times, I obviously am not suggesting the likes of CNN shouldnt cover Trump but there other topics to discuss and analyze. It cant always be about Trump

If you suffer from Insomnia what do you find works best to resolve this, also do you sleep with your windows open because living outdoors this may help with fresh air? I am currently staying at my Dads place in a outer house and I am not suppose to open windows because of the risk of crime. Normally I prefer fresh air but at the moment there is a ceiling fan but I dont think its better than fresh air

At the moment Im also finding I should go to sleep at about 11:30 pm, if I go to sleep earlier I am not tired and just toss and turn. I then wake up at 5-7 am so in fact I am actually getting more sleep than my original post stated, I am getting about 5-7 hours This will change once I start working because I need to wake at 5:30 am so I should be going to sleep at 10 pm

Its a good thing when The creators aren't interested in implementing it The narrative doesn't support it in a way that isn't contrived The development of romance options would take resources away from creating other interesting role playing opportunities The development wouldn't support the creation of romances within the scope of the project in general I'm sure there are more reasons we could come up with. Don't get me wrong, I think there is a place for a well implemented and thought out romance or romances in a RPG, but that doesn't mean it has to be present in the game anymore than, say, swords or relationships with your parents. I understand your points, and perhaps my opening post was a bit sharper than it should have been, but here's my take if you don't mind a bit of a rebuttal. Romance is one of the biggest and most important aspects of the human condition. Some might call the search for love and acceptance THE single most important factor in that human condition. So completely divorcing this aspect of playing a role from a role playing game is essentially removing one of the biggest aspects of playing a character. Love, and the search for it, is one of the biggest motivators out there. Romance done well can add far more to a story than romance done poorly can detract from a story. (IMO of course.) Some of the best video games of all time have featured love as a central component, and I have a hard time listing a bunch of all-time great RPGs that completely ignored this aspect. A short list of my favorite RPGs of all time: Planescape: Torment - Has romances Witcher 3 - Has romances Jade Empire - Has romances Mass Effect Trilogy - Has romances Dragon Age: Origins - Has romances Kotor - Has romances Kotor 2 - Has romances Neverwinter Nights 2 - Has romances Dragon Quest VIII - Has romances...really, really bad ones but they are there. Star Control 2 - Has romance Final Fantasy IV - Has romance Final Fantasy VI - Has romance Final Fantasy IX - Has romance Persona 3 - Has romances Persona 4 - Has romances Fallout 1+2 - No real romances to speak of tbh. The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind - No real romances to speak of. Chrono Trigger - Has romance, but very little. I do get that romance in video games can be a challenge. I get that they can be poorly written. I get that they can be expensive and time consuming to implement. But the list of all-time great RPGs that ignores this side of the human condition is pretty damn short. This is obviously excluding games that fall more into the "action RPG" trope than actual RPGs. I like From Software's games but there's precious little roleplaying even if they are labeled as "Action RPGs" because it has stats and leveling up and stuff. I consider most of them to be all-time great games, but I don't consider them to be RPGs. Excellent points raised, I have also never understood this aversion to optional Romance in RPG, in fact I consider it a lacking design component if you create an immersive RPG but leave out Romance In RPG we can generally create customized characters, use multiple spells, create potions, craft weapons and armor, go on epic quests, interact with people, make moral choices , explore ancients lands ..the list goes on and on with features yet we...dont want Romance, why? Romance is a normal part of human interaction, emotion and defines part of our humanity so to exclude it seems counter productive to role-playing realistic characters who we like to identify with which is the essence of role-playing our own way. No Romance is the antithesis of an immersive and inclusive " RPG World "

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-reasons-why-good-sleep-is-important#section7 Im asking questions from people I know to understand how much sleep they get on an average per night , the link above lists several judicious reasons why 7-8 hours sleep is paramount to overall good health At the moment I am in transit and living in Durban as Im about to move to Cape Town in 2 weeks, I wont be working till I get to CPT. So the last 3 weeks I have been getting about 5/6.5 hours sleep per night but Im also back at gym and doing 45 minutes cardio per session and Im feeling great So how much sleep do you get or feel you need to be productive and or feel healthy?

I would prefer predictable. What we have is actually pretty stable. There is a lot of sound and fury and plenty of light from the burning dumpster to read the Washington Post telling us all how much everything sucks. But his worst impulses are blocked by the House and the Courts or his own hubris and incompetence. I'm sleeping a lot better with the House in the hands of the Democrats and the Senate in the hands of the Republicans. IMO that is the ideal split. We do best when they all neutralize each other. And i'd still rather have his judges over anything Hillary f-----g Clinton would have appointed. Things can always be worse GD, Bernie Sanders could win the Democratic nomination then the Democrats could win the next election due to exasperation at Trump.. Sanders is the " antithesis " of Trump but would be much worse for the USA (goodbye guns and weapons, first order of the day ) and its important role it needs to play in a stable, progressive world Come on, don't perpetuate the gun grab myth, even though I know you're just messing with GD here. Also, the world has gotten a bit less progressive due to the rise of illiberal democracy and the backlash from the right. And it's gotten a bit less stable in part due to that and in part due to Trumps abdication, and also because things are returning to the multi-polar Great Powers system that was the norm during the European colonial period and likely further back. You raise good points, yes I was joking about the guns but he has made unhelpful views around gun control which were more divisive than constructive, here is a good summary of some of the criticisms I have towards him. I believe he means well but just the 2.5$ yearly trillion cost of his "medicare for all " and his constant attacks on the banks are reasons I would never vote or support him. But its not personal, its purely economic and based on realistic implementation of his polices https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/19/us/politics/bernie-sanders-on-the-issues.html

I would prefer predictable. What we have is actually pretty stable. There is a lot of sound and fury and plenty of light from the burning dumpster to read the Washington Post telling us all how much everything sucks. But his worst impulses are blocked by the House and the Courts or his own hubris and incompetence. I'm sleeping a lot better with the House in the hands of the Democrats and the Senate in the hands of the Republicans. IMO that is the ideal split. We do best when they all neutralize each other. And i'd still rather have his judges over anything Hillary f-----g Clinton would have appointed. Things can always be worse GD, Bernie Sanders could win the Democratic nomination then the Democrats could win the next election due to exasperation at Trump.. Sanders is the " antithesis " of Trump but would be much worse for the USA (goodbye guns and weapons, first order of the day ) and its important role it needs to play in a stable, progressive world

Sorry to hear Malc, I know you very close to your dogs

You mean Ali (who's an anti SJW Nazi) dodged lots of punches while Trump doged his draft? Interestingly... nonsensical. Not nonsensical, more like "volosensical " But to be fair to volo he does makes good points at times and makes good calls , this is just not one of them

This made me laugh

But what difference would it make if the veto had gone through, the USA is not responsible for the conflict and all that will happen if the USA decides to not sell weapons to the Saudis is that the Russians ( or France, UK and China)will happily supply them like we have seen in Syria and the Russians aiding Assad. The conflict in Yemen is a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran but is part the interminable Shia\Sunni conflict that the region is grappling with. And if someone is going to sell the Saudis weapons I would much rather have Western democracies doing it than autocratic states like Russia and China. The only people who can end the conflict is Saudi Arabia and Iran, not the USA

I just watched Black Summer and I think its the best " Zombie-Apocalypse " series I have ever seen, I got tired of Walking Dead but this news series is much more darker,brutal and frenetic

http://www.wtol.com/2019/04/16/french-billionaires-pledge-million-euros-help-rebuild-notre-dame/ Excellent news, 2 of Frances richest families have pledged over 300 million Euros to rebuild Notre Dame Its just not true that wealthy people dont give there money away to good causes