BruceVC

Im sorry to seem like Im criticizing you again but this post highlights a studious misunderstanding of how to address the Venezuela crisis and who the Lima Group is , you cannot just " hand wave " there significance and efforts Lets be logical and ask ourselves, " surly the countries in South America are the best arbiters in this debate ", as I mentioned earlier they have a vested interest in seeing Venezuela succeed Have you noticed the countries supporting Maduro? They aren't exactly bastions of " Democracy and human rights " and include " Russia, China, Turkey, Syria and North Korea "....yes South Africa Im embarrassed to admit also supports him but we are a new Democracy and dont understand effective foreign policy, South Africa tries but we constantly make incorrect decisions like joining BRICS thinking " they like us because of the Cold War ideological support from the Soviets during Apartheid and want to help us grow our economy " Anyway going back to the LIMA group, a final reason we should be taking them seriously is many countries around Venezuela have had to absorb million of Venezuelans who simply have no access to healthcare or any kind of economic opportunity. In other words its like a war zone where you have mass immigration. For the neighbors they have limited resources and this is not sustainable It boggles the mind that anyone would support Maduro and think the current illegitimate government is " doing a good job and we should leave it alone " ...no this is illogical and simply doesn't represent the reality on the ground. Change needs to occur in the interests of the majority of the Venezuelan people

Which master is this? Oh wait its the "evil, Imperialist, Capitalist " USA right ? What we should be asking is not what we personally think of Maduro but what do the countries of South America think of him since they have the most to lose or gain by getting him to step down or supporting him. The Lima Group was founded in 2017 to help end the Venezuelan crisis, it members represent 80 % of the South American countries and many Central American countries https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima_Group They should be the authoritative voice in this debate and guess what they think? The 2018 election in Venezuela was a farce https://globalnews.ca/news/4221992/canada-lima-group-venezuela-elections/ And Maduro needs to step down or have another fair election to affirm his legitimacy https://en.mercopress.com/2019/02/04/lima-group-meets-in-canada-to-plan-pressure-campaign-against-venezuela-s-maduro We must try not to let our personal bias towards the USA blind us to the reality on the ground in Venezuela, Maduro is not a legitimate leader and needs to step down immediately

But thats a real and serious indictment of Bernie, he doesn't understand how the economy works or rather he makes these sweeping, populist statements about " breaking up banks " with no consideration around the economic consequences and outcomes.

Oh I have watched all previous seasons, just not this one

This may sound like it has a malicious intent but the reason companies ask these types of questions is because they want to see loyalty in the sense " you not working just for money "...which is actually a primary reason people work, financial remuneration is an important factor. You just shouldnt always position the reason you work in a company in that way Its similar to getting a salary increase, the best way to demonstrate you should be earning more is you need to find a way to calculate your contribution towards the overall target. Typically you should contribute 150-170 % (or more ) than your salary to be seen as a " good employee who the company wouldn't want to lose" , so for example lets say you earn $8000/month then if you can show you earn for the company $12000-13600/month management would be hard pressed to deny you a good increase or bonus

I have not watched any of the new episodes of GOT, its hard because Im very tempted but I will binge watch once its complete What is even harder is avoiding any unintentional spoilers through the media and peoples general comments

Nice updated link to follow this event

https://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-says-attempted-coup-under-way-114752788.html;_ylt=AwrE189jV8hcA7wAhGxXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZzZzdjBhBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjcyMzBfMQRzZWMDc2M- Attempted coup in Venezuela and its supported by elements of the army which is new. Its uncertain what the outcome will be but hopefully it will lead to the end of the appalling and destructive dictatorship of Maduro who has destroyed the Venezuelan economy with his continued myopic and flawed socialist policies of Chavez

I also enjoyed how much they really seemed to agree on generally, I was expecting another " Capitalism is evil and must be destroyed " from Zivek but the debate wasn't like that Peterson prepared around the intellectual argument and analysed the factual points of Capitalism vs Communism, he really knew the flaws with many of the Communist Manifesto's doctrine and what Marx and Engel seem to overlook but Zivek used a more high level view and seemed to focus on the happiness question of the 2 systems. Im not sure how to characterize Ziveks debating style, perhaps more philosophical ? But Zivek makes me laugh with the way he sometimes makes his argument, do you remember his classic " when people say to me to be positive and the light is at the end of the tunnel I respond by saying....yes and that light is another train coming straight towards us "

I dont have any real inconveniences and I think the new forum design is a real improvement on numerous levels but where is the Undo option, can this be added if it has been removed ?

I thought the Germans were the masters of efficiency

Yes Slavoj always sounds like that and you have to also accept his annoying habit of constantly touching his nose I agree that certain socialist ideas do work and are necessary, like social grants. But this can become a nightmare and drain on a countries revenue stream if not properly managed. In SA out of 56 million people only 13 % contribute towards PAYE which contributes the most towards overall tax which is 38 % 13-16 % of the total tax collected goes towards social grants, its not sustainable in the long term considering all our numerous debts and public expenses https://businesstech.co.za/news/finance/207631/this-is-who-is-paying-south-africas-tax/

Guys here is an excellent debate between Jordan Peterson and Slavoj Žižek about the benefits and or flaws of Capitalism vs the Communism Manifesto As usual I find Peterson erudite, reasonable, logical and compelling. I dont expect anyone to watch all 2 + hours but just the first 40 minutes where Peterson intellectually raises numerous flaws and fabrications with the idea of Communism I cant imagine people defending the " Utopian " ideals of Communism after his points raised

https://fareedzakaria.com/columns/2019/4/25/democrats-theres-a-better-strategy-than-impeachment Another good read from Fareed Zakaria around any Democratic plans to impeach Trump is misplaced and how the greater objective should be addressing the ideological rise of " Trumpism " which will exist in one form or another once Trump is gone

You have raised another important " Trump own goal " , due to his condescending and dismissive remarks towards women he has created an understandable enemy of many women in the USA For example irrespective of Kavanaughs guilt or innocence, we cant say for certain either way, Trump was abrasive and demonstrated contempt for the emotional suffering of Ford during her testimony. This was one of the worst times for him to show his usual lack of compassion and empathy. If I was a women that alone would motivate me to not vote for the Republicans under Trump Again we can see the outcome of this vexation by the number of women Democrat candidates who won seats in the House in the midterm elections, supporting my earlier observation that Trump is at times his own worse enemy

Yes I tend to agree with your post but as usual with these questions they nuanced and have a myriad of considerations For example why would Trump not focus on his " wins " like the tax breaks, the strength of the USA economy and the Kavanaugh appointment, I consider all these outcomes positive and or fair ( the Republicans control the Senate, they had a right to appoint Kavanaugh despite the Ford accusation) ...he almost studiously raises issues that appeal only to his base but alienate moderate or undecided voters I did think Hilary Clinton would win but there were numerous factors that contributed towards her defeat, the primary reason she lost IMO was that she just wasnt the right candidate and did not connect with enough voters. In the 2020 election I dont see the numerous factors playing the same part and undermining any Democratic candidate in the same way but I am just not convinced the current candidates have the correct message So I am also unsure how 2020 will play out at the moment

So at the moment which party has the momentum to win the 2020 election based on current developments and public opinion ?

I am concerned that there are no strong Democratic candidates that could beat Trump, there policies and ideological views are too left or they are more concerned with bashing Trump than explaining what they can do for the USA...endlessly bringing up Charlottesville starts being hackneyed Trump is his own worse enemy around not focusing on his political successes. He raises controversial and divisive policies like the border wall and embellishing the impact of immigration, look at the outcome of the 2018 midterm elections, but if the Democrats dont have a message that resonates with most of the voting public than Trump has the advantage If I could vote and this was 2020 then I would rather not vote as I am not convinced by any Democratic candidate there polices and ideas speak to me

Im watching Narcos: Mexico, its very good and particularly interesting considering all the attention on the USA\Mexican border and the drug trade highlighted by the Trump administration

Looks very good so far, I will spend some time around functionality and see if I experience any issues

Yes but remember the whole point of Romance in RPG is to actually succeed in the Romance, this may sound obvious but it has nuance If the Romance could fail, and they can fail, then you cant RP or imagine that aspect of the RPG journey. So for example lets say you wanted to join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim and you go on these quests that possibly allow you to do this but then you are denied actually joining the DB your character is simply not part of the DB so on the rest of the journey in the Skyrim world you cannot RP this development Romance is a small part of the character and party interaction in almost all RPG but it still should exist so we can explore this avenue of immersive party and or follower interaction But you could RP somebody who failed to join the DB and now has a vendetta against them for not recognizing your greatness. Or any of a million other things related to failing to join the DB. In a romance, you could roleplay unrequited love, or that you hate them because of rejection, or a million other things. RP isn't limited by failure to achieve a goal. True and I agree with the logic For example I would prefer to destroy the DB than to join them

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/62397-the-most-definitive-hamburger-website-ever/page-1 http://www.cheeseandburger.com/ Excellent news guys, I thought I would resurrect this old thread around different types of Cheese Burgers I see this website has updated some burger recipes and ideas. What I love about this website is the hamburger components are easy to understand and everything looks utterly delicious as usual When I move to Cpt I intend to reinvest in some of these gastronomic ideas

Yes but remember the whole point of Romance in RPG is to actually succeed in the Romance, this may sound obvious but it has nuance If the Romance could fail, and they can fail, then you cant RP or imagine that aspect of the RPG journey. So for example lets say you wanted to join the Dark Brotherhood in Skyrim and you go on these quests that possibly allow you to do this but then you are denied actually joining the DB your character is simply not part of the DB so on the rest of the journey in the Skyrim world you cannot RP this development Romance is a small part of the character and party interaction in almost all RPG but it still should exist so we can explore this avenue of immersive party and or follower interaction I don't really understand what you're trying to say here. ', Sorry, let me explain another way. You said basically that Romance feels cliched and false in a RPG as its very easy to Romance someone I was saying Romance in a RPG is designed to be easy on purpose, you are suppose to succeed in Romance because like other RPG components they provide a challenge but the end goal should be for the player to succeed So in other words if RPG made Romance dialogue and actions overly complicated it may defeat the point of encouraging Romance ...it was just a thought, Im not sure how relevant it is because I dont see how a game designer could " make Romance arcs overly complicated "

I was thinking about the first paragraph and you right, in fact it would be contrary to immersion if all Romance in an RPG couldn't fail. Like other relationships in a game they must be subjected to the same possible outcomes or it would be truly unbelievable and ruin the excitement of choosing this action or decision when there was no consequence But the debate around " immersive parties " will always be subjective, I still believe Romance is part of normal human interaction and should be included. Of course there are other things that define " immersive interaction " with party members in a RPG and those will always be part of RPG where you interact with followers and party members. Also the Romance arc should be optional, not obligatory, so its not like it is forced on you during the quest

Interesting post, I appreciate you posting the links so I can read them and do my own research if necessary