BruceVC

That quote is terrible...AND depressing. I have no wish for myself or anyone else to die for some imaginary entity that's supposed to represent a collection of people with supposedly shared values when we could just as well not...especially when, as history has shown time and time again, the vast, vast majority of war is never altruistic or serving much decent purpose at all. And...it's depressing that that idea is somehow still seen as a good value to have even as more relatively pointless and/or fruitless conflicts are still being fought today. Yeah that poem can be depressing....if you don't understand the full context Wilfred Owen was bitterly opposed to the war, he wrote many poems which raised his valid objections in many ways ...here is the full poem ( its an awesome poem, you should read it ) around that quote...go to last paragraph to see what he really meant " Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs, And towards our distant rest began to trudge. Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots, But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind; Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots Of gas-shells dropping softly behind. Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!—An ecstasy of fumbling Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time, But someone still was yelling out and stumbling And flound’ring like a man in fire or lime.— Dim through the misty panes and thick green light, As under a green sea, I saw him drowning. In all my dreams before my helpless sight, He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning. If in some smothering dreams, you too could pace Behind the wagon that we flung him in, And watch the white eyes writhing in his face, His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin; If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs, Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,— My friend, you would not tell with such high zest To children ardent for some desperate glory, The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est Pro patria mori. "

Well, the UK's been pretty butthurt about losing to Russia - their bribery wasn't good enough - but then they are pretty sore about everything. As for the USA, well, there must be some reason they care about this (other than being concerned with Justice, heh). FIFA being investigated is fine, but a WC in Russia would be nice, change from Western EU (the funny thing when reading discussion about this is the idea UEFA should dictate the way things go, so small confeds' votes shouldn't have the same weight, heh). Do you have evidence that the UK attempted to bribe FIFA....because that's a serious allegation and many would say is just scurrilous

Be careful if you walk into the Double R Diner in Twin Peaks, Washington. Great pie and cup of joe, but the owls are not what they seem. You see they remaking Twin Peaks....I can't wait ( I still don't think I have ever recovered from the original series ) http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/david-lynch-says-twin-peaks-showtime-revival-is-happening-1201498131/

What happened with Columbia ? Did they get the WC and then lose it ? Also this is not about the UK or USA getting the WC that were allocated to other countries. This is about FIFA meaningfully addressing systemic corruption that has been going on for decades....I'm not sure why we aren't all VERY supportive of these measures by the USA and Switzerland ? We constantly talk about how corrupt and unethical large corporations are and yet we seem hesitant to investigate FIFA because of the chance that Russia may have the WC revoked ? Lets allow the investigation to follow its course and see where the chips fall

Not going to happen. It's too late both in terms of getting bids redone/ reholding the vote and in terms of having a sound legal basis for it ie getting the robust legal case and convictions for corruption necessary to stop them getting sued to oblivion by Russia, Blatter would have to go anyway (and seemingly nobody seems to think he actually will be voted out, though he is... not great, to say the least) plus Russia was not a very controversial choice in the wider world- and unlike in most things Europe and the US doesn't get much especial privilege in FIFA any more, one of its few governmental bright spots. Qatar on the other hand... its main opponents were the US and members of its own asian confederation, it's annoyed the big euro leagues by having its WC have to be played in the middle of normal league time and some important sponsors (ie beer) won't even be able to sell their product at the tournament. That's the sort of stuff the power brokers really care about, far more than Qatar evil subcontractors working Nepalis to death or Dave Cameron becoming a quivering jelly at the thought of Vladimir Vladimovich's pectorals. Nah, if Russia is implicated and guilty of bribing FIFA officials to win the 2018 world cup then the vote needs to be redone And its not impossible for other countries to host World Cup if the original country cannot host it for whatever reason During the South African preparations for 2010 there were several other countries that were prepared to host it if we couldn't deliver

Yes, Obsidian is now owned by Bioware so all Obsidian games will now have mandatory Romance....its a grand new world

Sorry, GamerGate cannot help against bad taste in design. It was Bioware's own choice. Hot boob plate is always awesome, though. The Obsidian GG committee has studied your request luzarius and decided it has no valid grounds to express outrage and venting. Personally I want to thank the members of the committee for taking time out there busy schedules to address this request I hope this matter is now settled

What a cheery thought. Yeah, I thought a bit of context and levity is in order...this thread was depressing me You don't like Disney songs? No ..I find them depressing...when I was a kid my mother use to lock me in my room and force me to listen to Disney songs for hours until I had admitted I was being naughty So there is an immediate sense of punishment when I hear Disney music ....its the association to my past that resonates subconsciously with me

I wonder if there will be Romance? I don't believe the original games had Romance but there is no reason the Bards Tale genre can't evolve with the times? I am prepared to double my KS pledge if there will be Romance

What a cheery thought. Yeah, I thought a bit of context and levity is in order...this thread was depressing me

I don't mean to sound aggressive, but you are CLEARLY on some sort pf prescription drugs. I only mention this in case you didn't realise you were, and that woman with the twitch who cleans your house isn't making oddly metallic tasting soup by mistake. No I didn't realize I was.,..,.but now I know I am

Yes corruption cannot be condoned Sarex...if bribes were indeed paid by certain people to ensure that the World Cup is held in there countries then the vote needs to be help again in those countries to see if they are the best candidates Mother Russia will survive Sarex, no need to worry. They just may lose the 2018 World Cup

http://www.fourthofficial.com/football/south-africa-slammed-bribery-allegations/ So South Africa has also been implicated in this scandal, we apparently paid a $ 10 million bribe to host the 2010 World Cup This really needs to investigated and I'm am looking forward to the findings

People, especially young people, think intelligence means being an ****. I can't believe somebody went back and actually replied to that. I guess my point was that...speaking for myself, I am fairly cynical and chronically depressed (though I do go through bouts of not so bad periods, such as now). It's not like I desire to be how I am, or think it's smart or something - I just am. I would happily be...uh...happy all the time if I could be. Similarly, I think other people are the same way...and sometimes, they may come up with rationalizations for how they are - such as it being the "intelligent" thing to be, because...maybe they don't want to believe that there is something wrong with them? I would think that sort of thing comes as a result of the depression and cynicism, not as a reason for actually being that way - even if it's sometimes presented the latter way. But that's just my own personal experience. Sometimes - at the worst of times - I feel as though bothering trying to be happy is stupid, or...worse, that I don't deserve it. But...I don't think that's clear and reasonable thinking, and I would definitely not argue such right now. I think the same might be able to be said for the "presenting it as though it's the only reasonable thing" problem. (e): rewriting as I think about it more Barti my darling, don't be cynical Remember what the great WW1 poet Wilfred Owen said " Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" (it is sweet and fitting to die for one's country) He was right, poets are normally right

No I don't think this is on GG radar, but thanks for bringing this important development to the attention of the GG members on this forum I'm sure you will find them raising this issue

Nice photos, I have always wanted to visit these little towns like Golden City. You see them in the movies, they always look so picturesque I have always wanted to walk into a shop like Cooky's and order Apple Pie ( or at least ask the waitress " what pie do you have " )

Heh, yes, that is a huge leg up. I worked my way through college and I'm still paying off one of my loans for tuition (10 years into my career.) I'm extremely thankful that my parents were able to help out with part of it. I would be struggling under even more debt without that. I worked my way through college (part of why it took me a decade to do). What they did though, was allow me to live at home while taking classes until such time as I could afford to move out. Which meant that not having to immediately deal with paying for housing, combined with starting out at a low cost two year college, getting part-time jobs and getting a scholarship, I was able to begin saving money towards being able to support myself when I did move out while also advancing towards my degree all the while not taking any loans out at all. Sounds like you also had a privileged background...you could stay at home much longer than others and hence could save more money which meant you weren't burdened and crippled by these excessive educational loans that the rest of us are inflicted with. Nice privilege there young grasshopper

Oh no...are you saying you have been retrenched? Sorry to hear

It seems to be a combination of charges but the Americans want them on the 2018 and 2022 world cup corruption charges http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/27/football/fifa-corruption-charges-justice-department/?section=money_news_international No Bruce, that's incorrect. The US charges are related to awarding of the 2010 world cup, the 2011 FIFA presidential election and the TV and marketing rights for 2014 (and other specific charges) The 2018 or 2022 world cups are not mentioned in the charges. The CNN article and several others state that the Swiss are conducting a separate investigation into the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 world cups. Here's the summary from the US Justice Department http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/nine-fifa-officials-and-five-corporate-executives-indicted-racketeering-conspiracy-and Looks like the folks below have already submitted guilty pleas (as part of a plea deals) - Charles Blazer, the long-serving former general secretary of CONCACAF and former U.S. representative on the FIFA executive committee waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a 10-count information charging him with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy, income tax evasion and failure to file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Jose Hawilla, the owner and founder of the Traffic Group, a multinational sports marketing conglomerate headquartered in Brazil, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a four-count information charging him with racketeering conspiracy, wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and obstruction of justice Daryll Warner, son of defendant Jack Warner and a former FIFA development officer son of defendant Jack Warner and a former FIFA development officer, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a two-count information charging him with wire fraud and the structuring of financial transactions. Daryn Warner waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a three-count information charging him with wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and the structuring of financial transactions. Traffic Sports USA Inc. and Traffic Sports International Inc. (pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy) Okay I'm wrong, so its the Swiss doing the 2018 and 2022 corruption charges. Thanks for clarifying

It seems to be a combination of charges but the Americans want them on the 2018 and 2022 world cup corruption charges http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/27/football/fifa-corruption-charges-justice-department/?section=money_news_international

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/soccer/2015/05/27/fifa-officials-arrested-corruption-charges-extradition-united-states/27997783/ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/fifa-officials-arrested-o_n_7447838.html So up to 14 FIFA officials have been arrested in Zurich and will face extradition to the USA to face real charges of corruption around the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 world cup games What do you guys think, do you think they see real jail time in the USA? Do you think FIFA is fundamentally corrupt ?

Yeah I have to say some of the complaints do seem rather petulant and unreasonable..its like you guys have become lazy?

You right, I don't see all cases of privilege as a bad thing as long as people are aware of it And yes I get the whole monopoly metaphor. Its valid in some cases, I just want to avoid generalizations about how or why people became successful because in my own country there is this constant vitriol and admonishment , from some people, towards anyone who has a certain perceived level of wealth...and it gets frustrating because those same people just don't understand basic economics and how people can uplift themselves...you cant do it by taking illegally from people who have achieved it through hard work and diligence

Okay my bad Since the cartoon is the making the same point you are making which is basically " people seem to ignore the fact the fact they have had help from parents or other means and this is reason they have succeeded " ..this is the same thing as the monopoly point which is " people ignore the fact they started the game with extra money and claim it is all skill that is the reason they won " Its the same principle so I assumed you were referring to the cartoon And yes I did get "extra money" in my life....if your parents paying for your education is considered " extra money" but everything I did around my career is what I did on my own

Well you read the cartoon I'm sure The basic message is Richard had supportive parents who had some money and Paula didn't. The result being at the end Richard implies that he had no handouts and his success is all his own work...well Paula suffers I'm saying financial success is a combination of things and just because your parents help you it doesn't mean you will necessarily succeed. And conversely just because your parents are unable to support you it doesn't mean you will end up as Paula The method and process of economic success is more nuanced than that