BruceVC

I like the way you think, now we just need those pesky NATO votes to agree

Sure but compromises will have to be made on both sides and Crimea is quite possibly one of them

Pre-war to me is since the invasion so that includes Donbas but not Crimea . But this whole peace initiative is about security guarantees by the G7 until Ukraine can join NATO So to answer your question, the people of Donbas should be happy because Russian troops will leave Ukraine and the security guarantees will protect Ukraine until they can join NATO. Thats my understanding?

Thats interesting, I wonder if its true? I like the parts "Security guarantees for Ukraine will be concrete, long-term obligations ensuring Ukraine's capacity to defeat and restrain Russian aggression in the future. These will be clearly drafted formats and mechanisms of support." He said the guarantees "will be in effect until Ukraine secures NATO membership." " He said an initial international meeting devoted to the peace plan took place in Copenhagen in June. In addition to calling for a withdrawal of Russian troops, Zelenskiy's peace plan also provides for the restoration of Ukraine's pre-war borders and the return home of all prisoners and deported children" It seems reasonable, the Ruskies will keep Crimea and I imagine get Western sanction relief?

Very interesting, lots of historical things I didnt know about

https://www.africanews.com/2023/07/31/ecowas-leaders-give-niger-one-week-ultimatum-to-restore-president// ECOWAS has given the generals in Niger 1 week to restore Democratic rule or risk military intervention' This may work, it worked in The Gambia and they did nothing in Mali or Burkina Faso, except for suspension from the AU, and the military coups are still in place

Yes, BG3 is my most anticipated game of all time But Wormie remember my policy, I always wait 3-6 months to play new games so that the official patches are released and relevant mods are created Thats how I avoid a Cyb2077 disappointment and anger

I finished Gothic 2 after about 100 hours and as I mentioned in a previous post its a highly recommended, classic PB design game which includes all the things we love about PB games which are no level scaling and no map hand holding an open world and multiple ways to advance skills and lots of side quests I played as a Paladin and I also used scrolls in certain combat strategies. I adopted a good approach to defeat the dragons which included a Summon Demon spell and then I attacked while the dragons were distracted G2 gets a well deserved 70/100 on the globally respected " BruceVC game rating system " Now the next exciting question, what next to play? I have several options which I will post later

This is going to be my last comment on this topic with you because I feel I am repeating myself and after reading this post I am not sure we are even debating the same thing? This is not about " are African leaders polite and flattering to Putin in there speeches " of course they are. Thats normal diplomacy 101 especially when you visiting another country and you at a summit about closer economic and security ties. Its the same as the African peace initiative when various African leaders visited both Ukraine and Russia, they were very polite This is about the majority of African leaders asking Russia to restore the grain deal because by cancelling it you are going to increase food insecurity in Africa. There are literally 9-10 different speeches from different African leaders wanting the same thing including the SA president over the last 7-10 days and its covered extensively in our local media In fact its going to be much harder to find a single African leader supporting the cancelled grain deal and just being happy with the Russians free grain deal. But if you find a link like that post it and I will read it But in closing, the official AU view is Russia needs to restore the grain deal because cancelling it is not in the best interests of Africa. If you disagree with that then post the links? But my point has nothing to do with how polite African leaders are to Putin in speeches

You welcome to find another link quoting different words that the head of the AU said but he said ( which I directly quoted in a previous post} "But Assoumani pushed back against the Russian leader’s claim that Russia would provide enough grain to Africa without the need for Ukrainian supplies. Although Russia was “cooperating” to resolve the crisis, “our continent is currently being severely impacted by food prices. So we are appealing to all participants in the process with a big request to facilitate access to both Ukrainian and Russian food,” he said in comments translated from French into Russian" Its very clear to everyone but you that this means Africa needs both grain from Russia AND Ukraine. Then the head of the UN SG said "UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres responded to Putin's grain pledge, stressing that grain donations cannot compensate for the deal" All you doing is ignoring the obvious impact cancelling the deal will have on Africa ,which is a global impact ,but as its been explained it will hit Africa by far the hardest. Its simple, Russia is doing this to push grain prices up so they make more money and they put pressure to end Western sanctions. But these sanctions were only implemented because of the invasion of Ukraine so its food blackmail due to the consequence of there ill-conceived invasion It reminds me of what SA could have done during Apartheid, we faced severe sanctions and we had created what were called Bantustans which were black states within the borders of SA that were dependant on SA on most things for survival. The Apartheid government could easily have said " we cant afford to support these Bantustans because of the " evil, Western sanctions "...unless the West drops the sanctions we cannot economically ensure the survival of these regions" Bu even the racist, immoral Apartheid state didnt do that and do you know why? Because the system of Apartheid was self-created and the sanctions were self-inflicted so they had a responsibility to continue to support the Bantustans which were part of the Apartheid architecture The obvious solution is not for " Europeans to eat less hamburgers" but for Russia to restore the grain deal in the interests of global and African food security.

https://www.dw.com/en/african-leaders-urge-putin-to-consider-ukraine-peace-plan/a-66379268 Here is a nice summary link of the Africa Russia summit and it includes things we have already discussed but new information as well, I found this particularly interesting "During the summit's opening on Thursday, Moscow pledged 25,000 to 50,000 tons of Russian grain to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic each in the next three to four months. Under the now halted grain deal, the UN World Food Program shipped 725,000 tons of grain to several countries, including Somalia " So the free grain from Russia cant make up for what is lost through the black sea deal being cancelled

The Russia African summit is over and it was the predicted failure with only 17 African heads of state going and the AU dismissing the Russian offer of free grain as a way to address canceling the black sea grain deal. Russia cant supply enough " free grain " and the AU head urged Putin to restore the deal . To quote from the link below "But Assoumani pushed back against the Russian leader’s claim that Russia would provide enough grain to Africa without the need for Ukrainian supplies. Although Russia was “cooperating” to resolve the crisis, “our continent is currently being severely impacted by food prices. So we are appealing to all participants in the process with a big request to facilitate access to both Ukrainian and Russian food,” he said in comments translated from French into Russian " https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/07/27/africa-grain-russia/

No concern for the people of Niger and its future? Military coups in Africa dont lead to anything remotely positive, they will be suspended from the AU, poverty and immigration will increase and its already a poor and impoverished country

No thats not the only option, different leadership or a shift in ideological goals in Russia can produce different results and commitments to the invasion The Soviets pulled out of Afghanistan after years of protracted war and the US also left Afghanistan. So there are lots of variables to the outcome of this war

https://abcnews.go.com/Internationa...-russia-summit-kremlin-seeks-allies-101668928 Only 17 African heads of states, compared to 43 last time, are attending the African Russian conference. Its good to see this rejection of Russia's geopolitical anti-Western stance Compare this to the US African conference where over 40 African leaders attended. I think the Ruskies cancelling the grain deal had an influence on this because its clear Putin has no real concern or interest in Africa https://www.npr.org/2022/12/13/1142...-than-40-african-leaders-at-u-s-africa-summit

Yes, that whats I thought. But it makes no sense. The invasion would still have happened and still be ongoing irrespective if Czech supported Ukraine or not

Yes, Zora's suggestion to the global impact caused by the Russians ending the grain deal is " for Europeans to eat less hamburgers " Maybe the Chinese should eat less burgers?

Im about 80 hours into Gothic 2 and its been the fantastic PB experience I was expecting. Most PB games have the same excellent design which include no level scaling and you get killed easily if you try to face all enemies on lower levels no map hand holding, you need to actually explore to find quest objectives open world, you can go where you want and you can progress your character on multiple paths in different ways I am now level 25 Paladin and I have just started the dragon hunt, I havent faced any dragons yet but Im killing orcs and other monsters in the Valley of Mines and gaining XP. I like the Paladin magic and ease of use of runes I adopted a good strategy to kill certain monsters at lower levels which included the following tried and tested PB mechanics using spells, most scrolls only use 5 mana running away and using long distance attacks finding companions and letting them draw aggro and then I helped in combat. Im using Biff the dragon hunter at the moment for that but Im at the level and skill where I dont really need him as much But its a fantastic game, very entertaining

Im confused by this Tweet, what examples are they talking about when they say " Czech is involved in destructive foreign policy decision" ? What decisions do they mean?

Definititley and Im sure they also don't want anything to impact there numerous African investments Buti its still appreciated, China has the most influence on Russia IMO. I am not suggesting Russia listens to China but Russia needs China on various economic levels

https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/russia-under-pressure-un-security-council-ally-china-revival-ukraine-grain-deal-global-food-crisis-wheat-exports-war-port-attacks-latest-updates-2023-07-22-882364 China putting pressure on Russia to restore the grain deal to avoid a global food crisis that will particularly impact the developing world

That doesnt seem true or likely , no one can predict military success around timelines in this type of war especially when Ukraine is only now on the offensive The military aid has always been explained why it was supplied by the West\NATO , its to defend Ukraine and for the offensive but military aid was supplied long before the offensive

@Gfted1 You will be proud of me, I did my own DIY again but this time plumbing. I thought of you and your daughter My sinks in the kitchen were draining slowing and I did some Internet research and I watched a video about using a plunger. Instead of phoning a plumber I followed the video instructions and I used a plunger and I cleared the blocked sink Im getting good, Im close to advanced DIY skills

What are some examples in the US where you believe freedom of speech doesnt exsit or is being eroded, I want to understand what you mean with specific examples?

Yes, its a beautiful coastal town and famous for surfing . Since I moved to Cpt its actually closer to me and I driven through it several times