BruceVC

But also why would it be a surprise that in every country in the world, including East European countries, there are some people who support Russia in different ways Thats been the case since the beginning of the war and it wont change. Soviet era influence is a reality Thats not a concern, all that matters is how many people support Russia compared to Ukraine and more importantly what is the current governments position. In SA for example about 30 % of people polled support Russia and we live in a Democracy so people are entitled to have there own opinion and this includes the right to protest So I would expect to find pro-Russian protests but all that really matters is a governments position and does it support Ukraine

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/10/ukraine-says-bakhmut-battle-grinding-down-russias-best-units Its been a legitimate question for many, " whats the point of trying to hold onto Bakhmut for Ukraine. Its just one small town in a long border war " . It was something I wondered at least. And unlike the Russians the Ukrainians havent been prone to making military decisions, so far, that have been imprudent or led to unnecessary loss of large amounts of life. They have been very strategic throughout this war Anyway I came across an interview on Al-Jazeera about Bakhmut, in summary Bakhmut is a meatgrinder for Russian forces so that its easier for a planned Ukrainian offensive in April. Interesting strategy if true because the Russian killed\wounded ratio on Bakhmut are 6-1 compared to Ukraine so that part of the plan is working

I guess you mean the US? But its more nuanced than that The Iranian hardliners hate the US. China and the US are inextricably connected in trade but you generally find more anti-China sentiment from the US than anti -US sentiment from China. And much of the anti-China sentiment can be justified but some of it is grandstanding like Trump blaming China for the spread of the virus within US which was unfair because of the nature of the virus But Saudi Arabia doesnt hate the US, they have a long and historical "friendship " going back decades. Mohammed bin Salman didnt like the criticism he received over the killing of the journalist and Im not sure how happy he is over oil price caps on Russian oil but I dont think that translates to a real dislike of the US I really think this new and ostensible friendship with Iran is more about the ME for both countries and the real problems that exist because of the Shia vs Sunni conflict And of course we will see how things change as time goes on?

Its not about a common enemy because if you look at Iran and Saudi Arabia they each have different alliances, enemies and friendships globally but I do think its about the future of the ME and the numerous conflicts created by Shia vs Sunni sectarian tensions. But of course its early days but its a progressive move for the ME Interesting China played a role, never thought I would see that but the Chinese are also looking at there own future economically and what works for them

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-saudi-arabia-agree-resume-ties-re-open-embassies-iranian-state-media-2023-03-10/ This an interesting and potentially significant development for the ME and the various proxy wars in the ME due to the Shia vs Sunni conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia And also now people can stop asking the illogical question " but why doesnt the West care about Yemen like it cares about Ukraine " because now maybe the countries responsible for that war can end it. Its early days with these peace talks but lets see how it progresses

https://cepa.org/article/gloom-envelops-putins-tv-propagandists/ This is a definite " BruceVC must read " link about the doom and gloom that is settling into various Russian propagandists like Solovyov and again they create this false narrative that they fighting NATO when in fact they fighting Ukrainians who are fighting and dying for the right to decide their own destiny

I am watching several series that include Animal Kingdom S6 : Excellent crime drama about a family who are unrepentant criminals and fund their entire lifestyles from one job to another SWAT S5: A police drama about a well trained SWAT team in LA, its not bad. Its got some woke themes but its not overdone Yellowstone S2: All the seasons are now in SA. Its excellent, Kevin Costner is brilliant and I love the whole cowboy Montana lifestyle Power S4: A crime drama about a black gangster in NY, its similar to other crime drama stories with drug dealings and how various criminal gangs interact and work together. Its very entertaining

So good news for the country of Georgia which is looking to join the EU\West. There parliament had proposed a very unpopular " foreign agents bill " which was heavily criticized by groups like Amnesty International and most people in Georgia. It reminded me of the typical Russian style authoritarian control of freedom speech and a free media https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/georgia-foreign-agents-bill-tramples-on-rights-restricting-freedom-of-expression-and-association/ Anyway after several days of protest the Georgian government has reversed its decision to try to implement this bill. A small but important victory for another former Soviet state thats has aspirations to join the EU https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/world/europe/georgia-protests-russia.html

I have seen very credible evidence that Greta Thunberg is responsible, you know how she hates fossil fuels It makes sense and she lives close to the pipe

Poison arrows, not darts, are still used by pygmies in African countries like CAR (Central African Republic ) in hunting https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/hunting-with-pygmies-in-the-central-african-republic @Gfted1 but you dont have to worry about this in SA. All our hunting is with guns or some professional hunters use longbows and crossbows

Its such an inaccurate cliché when people talk about gated communities in SA. Government fails to deal effectively with crime and we have some of the highest murder and rape rates in the world and when you live in gated communities or have to pay for private security you get accused of " hiding away " or " not being part of the real SA experience " As if anyone in this world would willingly live in a crime ridden area if you dont have to. And yes all our politicians who run the country live in gated communities and also have private security

Who ever said SA was perfect? We far from perfect

Come to SA, we have free public healthcare, English is the main language, its warm, lovely nature and beaches and housing can be affordable especially with $ ...but no UBI sadly

Malc I should we should trust that the UK government knows more about immigration laws than you and I and if they pass this bill in there parliament it should be fine

Its absolutely appalling but what do we expect from the authoritarian and dystopian reality that Putin has created And people on Codex argue that Putin is simply trying to " preserve white Christian culture " and doing " Gods work "

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/mar/05/sunak-to-launch-bill-to-bar-asylum-claims-from-people-arriving-on-small-boats The UK is close to passing new laws to deal with the influx of illegal immigration particularly on boats. Hopefully it gets passed. To quote Rishi Sunak "Illegal migration is not fair on British taxpayers, it is not fair on those who come here legally and it is not right that criminal gangs should be allowed to continue their immoral trade. I am determined to deliver on my promise to stop the boats. So make no mistake, if you come here illegally, you will not to be able to stay.” Its interesting how several people on this forum believe the UK is in decline or want it to fail yet that doesnt stop the reality of illegal immigration to the UK

I predict this is going to be a great game. And Wormie you know the " BruceVC game prediction radar" is never wrong, they have done extensive analysis on the Internet and its been unequivocally confirmed its always accurate But remember its best to wait 6-8 months before playing Starfield, just to get the initial updates and fixes out and for the first mods to be released

https://www.techpowerup.com/305609/gsc-game-world-to-show-s-t-a-l-k-e-r-2-at-gdc-2023#comments S.T.A.L.K.E.R 2 is going to be released and its looks excellent, S.T.A.L.K.E.R 1 was overall my best post-apocalyptic game ever. Even better than METRO by a little bit So I will definitely be getting this

Colonialism was a time of history and both good things and bad things happened during that time. For example the first and second industrial revolution occurred during Colonialism. But yes terrible things also happened during Colonialism like the Atlantic Slave trade

You make some valid and accurate observations here. I have often said its inaccurate to say the " US was founded on racism and inequality " but I havent really tried, or been asked, to explain what I mean by that. I found a new word a couple of months ago that summarizes my view on this. Its called presentism and this link describes my view better than I can. Please take 5 minutes to read this and I would encourage others to do the same https://www.voicesandimages.com/presentism-dont-judge-ancestors-actions-by-todays-standards/ But in summary, we shouldnt judge events in the past that were considered normal in the world at that time and how that represents the modern reality. That doesnt mean the same reality exists today and that includes things like slavery and how women were denied the right to vote. But we dont deny injustice that existed in the past To quote the article "Studying Women’s rights is a good example. The rights of women have changed dramatically over the past 100 years. During the nineteenth century women could not vote and by today’s standards were considered second-class citizens. Slowly they received more and more respect — they could vote and own property. What did the founding fathers really intend? It has been debated for decades, but if historians try to apply their current values and beliefs, arguments and disagreements are all that result. Just accept your ancestors with all of their beliefs and value their accomplishments." "Presentism is also a factor in the problematic question of history and moral judgments. Among historians, the orthodox view may be that reading modern notions of morality into the past is to commit the error of presentism. To avoid this, historians restrict themselves to describing what happened and attempt to refrain from using language that passes judgment. For example, when writing history about slavery in an era when the practice was widely accepted, letting that fact influence judgment about a group or individual would be presentistism and thus should be avoided" Here is more humorous take on it by Bill Maher, really funny https://www.tmz.com/2022/09/17/bill-maher-presentism-slavery-r-kelly/ And then outside this article the other issue I have is where people generalize about the modern reality of the US. The US is not a racist or white supremacist country. It has some people who are racist and white supremacist. These are different, important and distinct ways of framing what the US is . Another example of this point is you can say with complete veracity that Germany during WW2 was a Nazi country. But Germany nowadays is not a Nazi country but it does have some politicians and citizens who are Nazis. Thats what I mean by " the US is not a racist country"

Well it depends on how you personally respond to the outcome of policies like defund the police. If a policy is well meaning but the implementation of it means it makes the problem worse or doesnt change anything then that policy is a failure or needs to be reviewed. That doesnt mean you dismissing the reason the policy was created. Its well documented that in most cities or states in the US that have tried to implemented defund the police crime has increased. Irrespective of its intention its not been a success Also the majority of black people in the US never supported defunding the police in the sense they want reforms but they want more police on the streets and continued funding, not less. So you need to look at each example of how its been implemented in the US. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/17/21292046/black-people-abolish-defund-dismantle-police-george-floyd-breonna-taylor-black-lives-matter-protest Another example of this is how many black mayors in the US also dont support defunding the police including Eric Adams from NY https://nypost.com/2023/01/22/eric-adams-joins-other-black-mayors-to-decry-defund-the-police-white-house-handling-of-border/ And as far as your question about who says defund the police is a radical left policy, thats just how people see it because not all the Dems support it and none of the GOP do. But it is considered a progressive left policy. Maybe thats unfair but we have to describe things in some way?

Lexx you have raised this before and there is something you misunderstanding, the radical left or left wing extremism is not necessarily Communism\Socialists The term " radical left " covers several ideological views and not everyone who believes in the left should be considered radical left. In fact most lefties IMO shouldn't be called radical left. So we use it to describe a certain type of left wing thinking and policies But the "radical left " is real and absolutely exists in most countries and manifests there ideological views in different way. In the US the progressive Democrats have several members who espouse radical left policies. That doesnt mean they all extremists. And like the MAGA movement in the GOP it means there are different political views within the Dems. And this is just a normal and organic way that US politics works, not all politicians in a party have the same views https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-the-progressive-left-fits-so-uncomfortably-within-the-democratic-party/ But what should concern all of us around insidious and harmful radical left policies include things like defund the police less managed or controlled borders revisionist and selective history, like the US was founded on racism and inequality all problems in the world like inequality is because of Capitalism and white people are responsible for this or similar things. The truth about the worst examples of poverty exist in countries with failed governments, lack of governance and corruption. Not Capitalism

Have you ever been asked as a lecturer to call someone something different to what they look or appear to look? I have always wondered if this is something that is more a US\Canada reality I dont think I have ever heard of a single case in SA where someone has been challenged or criticized over pronouns? So thankfully we dont have this issue in the mainstream media or universities.. yet For me I will call someone what they want to be called but I am not going to guess or try to remember a long list of pronouns. Its a question of basic politeness and personally I dont have any issue referring to someone as whatever they want. But I have engaged and had LGBT friends, mostly gay men, since university from 1996 and I have never had anyone ever get upset with how I refer to them so I always wonder how widespread this pronouns reality is outside the US\Canada?

@Lexxand @xzar_monty You see another example of left-wing extremism, like I said in a previous post. KP will go on how terrible the far-right is and bemoan the state of the US but he wants to wipe England out, if thats not left-wing extremism I dont know what is

Same as me, very fond memories of Arx. I bought it a few years back on Steam and I will replay it. I see there is also 1-2 good mod overhauls that I will use https://arx-libertatis.org/ https://www.nexusmods.com/arxfatalis/mods/1