BruceVC

That would be a major issue for me if my work treated me like that, if you are sick then you entitled to sick leave What I would do is go to a doctor and just get a proper sick note to give you time off work officially ?

Look at her and laugh. There you have an imbecille with an opinion of a fool talking about things she cannot comprehend. I read this link and I'm interested in what isn't understood by the journalist Nintendo's idea of confident and diverse female characters are pink bizarre looking " mutants " But what concerns me even more is that clip from Bayonetta, I haven't played the game but please tell me she doesn't open her legs like that when she is generating some kind of ability...please tell that video clip is not accurate So what is the basic issue with that article...I am missing the problem? Bruce, you might not realize this, but the clip is real.....SHE IS NOT. Okay but I would still like clarification on Bayonette before I make my point, during the game that animation you see is that real? Is that how the female character behaves? And if so what is she doing? Is it some kind of absorbing of abilities or does that happen when she defeats an enemy

Ok the hate romance thing was tongue-in-cheek and not to be taken seriously. Chris Avellone just jokes around like that. Don't freak that they are revolted or not showing respect for your game. It was a joke. Secondly wait a bit, hear what people say about it, and don't jump to conclusions. It may indeed have romantic content. But it will not have Bioware-style romantic content. This, Valmy is correct Don't take the " dislike of Romance from Obsidian " too seriously IMO the main reason that Obsidian decided not to implement Romance is this is there first independent RPG and the beginning of a new fantasy franchise. They have many other more pertinent things to consider and design correctly than Romance, things that are actually more relevant to PoE being a successful and stable game But once PoE is launched and the pressure is off about the actual success of the game then Obsidian can look at others things to improve the game, like Romance The best thing you can do as a promancer is support this game financially and wait to see how sequels of PoE decide to hopefully include Romance which for many of us is always a popular component of an RPG

Look at her and laugh. There you have an imbecille with an opinion of a fool talking about things she cannot comprehend. I read this link and I'm interested in what isn't understood by the journalist Nintendo's idea of confident and diverse female characters are pink bizarre looking " mutants " But what concerns me even more is that clip from Bayonetta, I haven't played the game but please tell me she doesn't open her legs like that when she is generating some kind of ability...please tell that video clip is not accurate So what is the basic issue with that article...I am missing the problem?

Source? You know what. I'll have to admit that I made a mistake here by claiming that the "American Communist Party" said this. My bad. It was a mistake I made while researching the abortion issue in the past. I misread my source, a book called, "Issues: Abortion" which is in a line of books from the 90's that cover a range of political issues from the perspective of various ideologies including Nazi's, KKK groups, Feminists, Democrats, Republicans , and yes, Communists regarding various political issues. While looking for that piece online I've read some of the parties' views of abortion which doesn't jive with what I claimed about them. Found the book and re-read it (the Communist part) just to be sure. It seems that I foolishly interpreted certain lines. When taken into proper context some of their lines have a different meaning than how I took them back then. They are pro-reproduction rights, even in the long term. I completely take back the quoted statement. It seems I should re-evaluate my perception of the American Communist Party... Man, a few years ago I must have been tired or something... I got that 100% wrong. I hate it when I misunderstand something I read! Oh well, we all make mistakes, or at least I do. I can't be SURE everyone makes mistakes. Correct we all make mistakes, well done for having the maturity to admit it. The ability to admit we are wrong is severely lacking on this forums from many people so well played

In the short term I can't imagine the relationship between Netanyahu and the Obama admin could get much worse. There has always been more than a little anti-Israel bias in Obamas dealings in the middle east. From what I was reading in The Atlantic & the Washington Post many Israeli voters don't believe the Obama admin is committed to their security. I can't really blame them. I hear you but I think this is an unfair characterization of the efforts that the Obama administration has put into Israel and Palestinians. Firstly the USA has always been committed to the security of Israel, meaning if Israel was attacked they would defend it ( not that this likely) The point of contention is that the USA has never changed its view on what it expected from Israel, the two state solution was always what was deemed the best outcome for peace in the region So its bizarre that some Israelis would think Obama isn't committed to security..because the two state solution is in fact the best way ensure security in the long term

Oh, Drizzt is a very tame and normal name by D&D standards. Have you ever read the Book of Vile Darkness? Here's a few names they've given to the various Demon Princes 1) Obox-ob 2) Churnovog 3) Dwiergus 4) Fraz-Urb'luu (although, stupid name or not, this guy has an amazing story that the world of Greyhawk fleshed out) 5) Graz'zt (name looks just like Drizzt, although Gygax came up with it 2 decades before Ed Greenwood invented Drizzt) 6) Haagenti 7) Juiblex 8.) J'zzalshrak 9) Kostchtchie (no, that's not a misspelling, there really IS 7 consonants in a row here) 10) Lazbral'thull 11) Sch'theraqpasstt (try saying that one 3 times out loud) 12) Zzyczesiya I suspect writers came up with many of these names the same way one determines anything in D&D: with a dice roll. They used a d26....rolled for every letter. Wow, some of those names are extremely difficult to pronounce

Of course some Republicans won't care about Netanyahu's latest antics , but the reality is a failure to find a solution to the Israeli\Palestinian problem has geopolitical consequences that ultimately reverberate around the world..so it can't be just ignored. And the issue of Iran is also something that Republicans, if they win in 2016, will have to address and its highly unlikely there solution, despite the perception that exists, will involve military action So the whole issue of a reasonable political settlement between Israel and the Palestinians is not going away and this will be an issue irrespective if the next US president is Republican..as it always have been But I am still of the view you will start seeing a very different stance from the USA towards the Netanyahu regime

I went to one of my lady friends for dinner last night, she did hamburgers with spicy potato wedges. Very nice..yummy actually

Sure, you may be correct. But the next USA administration may also have issues with Netanyahu's stance on the two state solution. Remember its not just Democrats who have invested time and money into this idea, George W Bush also believed in this and attempted to implemented it So this is something that will frustrate people across the political divide in America

I'm slightly more upbeat about it as it will make it very difficult for anyone to argue to give (the) peace (process) a chance after this, which will greatly increase the probability of unilateral actions like recognising Palestine as a country. Realistically the past 15 years of peace talks have been stalling by Israel in order to get demographic facts on the ground established, neither Sharon nor Bibi had any interest in actual peace and it's now been made crystal clear to everyone. Once that is established it makes it far more difficult to stall, and far more difficult for the US to run interference. Who knows, maybe he's managed to annoy the White House sufficiently that some meaningful resolutions may even make it through the UNSC, certainly I can see them being more flexible towards Iran just to spite Netanyahu. Netanyahu's dismissal and contempt for the USA will have consequences for Israel, I think he has made an egregious mistake by so publicly aligning with the Right Wing for political expediency when he said " there will never be a two state solution under his watch" I was watching an interview last night with one of John Kerry's aides and she said the USA has spent 20 years investing in the concept of the two state solution and the USA position has not changed, what Netanyahu has done could cause the USA to rethink the Israeli\USA relationship ( what this really means is the Obama is administration is extremely irritated and there will be changes going forward)

Okay I avoided answering you because the truth is I don't have a problem with it...you right. And I wasn't sure how I was going to respond without sounding like a hypocrite I don't have a problem with those types of pictures because for me in our society there isn't really a major problem with men being physically or emotionally abused and dominated by women . So the female pictures go straight to a real social problem and dynamic that exits in certain conservative cultures ..the bad treatment of women which makes the pictures of women more personal ( and I'm saying I dont care about the abuse of men and boys..of course I do ) That's the difference for me around the pictures of men and women

Of course I'm not suggesting that, lets try to have this debate in a reasonable way I am saying the objection is to female characters portrayed in a demeaning or " rapey " ( is there such a word ) manner Ask yourself a simple question when there is a possibly controversial picture, substitute the female character with a male and see how you would feel about that picture...so a picture of spider-women on her knees....weeping and submissive ...with the Green Goblin standing over her laughing...this basically being the epitome of male dominance over women and then imagine how you would feel if spiderman was in that role? Not that you would generally see something like that but you get my point

Do think a refutation of the claim that "banning abortion is socialist" is necessary Bruce? I'm not sure of the context, did he say that ? But Baro this is not really my point. I like you, you are very bright and make some very insightful points on topics that I agree with but sometimes its how you speak to people. You come across as condescending and dismissive. And apart from the obvious issue with how this may offend people what happens is people just automatically become belligerent and don't want to engage with you..which is a pity because I think you offer some good perspectives I'm not trying to lecture you, I am just trying to be constructive

Fair enough but as you mentioned it was because of events he had no control over ( I remember that classic and dramatic picture of him holding the dead Supergirl in the Crisis on Infinite Earths saga ) and not the fact he was being manhandled or overpowered

I wasn't going to get involved in this debate but I know how much you guys appreciate and respect my opinion on these types of topics I agree with Zora in this point. I have an issue with female superheroes/characters being portrayed in way that is either demeaning or in way that looks like they need a male to rescue them. Look at some of those older Wonder Women covers that Elerond posted..they not exactly complimentary to her character and you can see they were obviously done in a male-centric way and for a male audience And also I don't see too many covers of male superheroes crying on covers. Am I suggesting a complete overhaul of the comic industry, no of course not. I am just suggesting some sensitivity around how we present our female superheroes

Obviously to him they are. Seeing opinions he doesn't agree with clearly bothers him. No need to push him into doing something he doesn't want to do. No he is being captious and I don't think its right You are not the type of person who makes weird or extreme comments and you always take the time to engage in debate where appropriate so its unfair to say to " you have made the dumbest comment ever " without even asking you to explain or clarify

Sure, but the point is that in pre-Enlightenment times, people did attribute that sort of thing to divine intervention. From their point of view, the gods/God were/was present, active, and manifesting in the world. Thor throwing thunderbolts wasn't just a story, he was actually there behind the thunderclouds, as far as the people getting rained on were concerned. It wasn't a matter of faith any more than your faith in the FDA's ability to keep rats out of tins of tuna. Whether it was actually true in an objective sense—whatever that may mean—is irrelevant to the question. Point being, only very very very VERY few people ever struggled with questions like "does God really exist?" or "is there really an afterlife?" or "does God punish the wicked and reward the righteous?" or "does God speak through people?" These things were accepted as a matter of course. Still are in lots of places; I lived in Nepal for a while, and believe me, the gods were very real, present, and active for the people there. There's a statue of Kali Parvati in Kathmandu which is a popular place to seal contracts because everybody knows you will keel over dead of massive bleeding if you tell a lie standing before her. Faith didn't enter into it at all; people accepted that the same way you and I accept that if you stick a fork into a power socket you're going to get a nasty electric shock. Second, the Enlightenment did shift the meaning of "faith" a great deal. The sense you're stating it -- "trusting something that is not in and of itself proven" -- only became meaningful when somebody pointed out that, say, the Resurrection or the existence of God itself isn't actually proven. Faith in that sense only appears when the tenets are challenged. Until that period, it never was -- not outside some extremely small and rarefied circles anyway. Very interesting post, nice one

Never said that. I considered it socialistic as it suggests collective ownership of people's bodies. Was going to say this is the dumbest thing I've read all day but then I got to the Nazi sympathizing. Only just hopped on and I've already had enough Off-Topic for one day. You need to be strong and resolute Baro....enough to despise the power of the Off-Topic Or failing that have the mental fortitude to just engage in debate, peoples opinions on this section are not that unfathomable or unreasonable

I can't find any links but on CNN the latest news is that Likud is now ahead, nonetheless I look forward to seeing how the various political collations work out I have to say that Netanyahu's decision to now publicly reject the two state solution just to pander to the Israeli right wing and win support is appalling and disingenuous Imagine how annoyed this is going to make countries like the USA who have spent years trying to broker a peace deal based on the two state solution ? The view was a two state solution was always possible but difficult. If the various negotiators had known that Netanyahu had no intention of ever agreeing to this it would have changed the nature of the discussions and people wouldn't have spent as much wasted time around this.

Am I the only one who still gets annoyed by these types of interviews, we knew that there were Russian soldiers actively involved in the annexing of Crimea. But during this time it was the constant denials from Russia that they were militarily involved that exasperates me Its like Putin thinks the global community is just uninformed and stupid and all you have to say " there are no Russians forces on the ground" and the world will believe that

He's #1? Really? Kim Jong Un doesn't trump Netanyahu? Kim? LOL (old school, as in you actually made me laugh out loud (the internet was a better place when LOL meant what it says)) Kim is largely harmless. I'm not saying he's a good guy, but he doesn't have near the blood on his sleeve than many other leaders do. He doesn't even rank top 10, hell, not even top 20, maybe even 50. Unless of course you had your heart set on a mohawk, then maybe he's the worst of the worst. I'm am truly shocked by your definition of what constitutes a "bad guy ", it amazes me how you seem give the NK regime a pass from there historic, current and egregious human rights abuses The only reason we don't know the exact number of people that the Kim family have directly and indirectly killed and murdered is because NK is a brutal dictatorship that uses all force necessary to suppress any political dissension and control the flow of information Tens of thousands of people have died of starvation in NK, thousands of people have ended up in work camps and torture is rife There is much blood on the hands of the Kim family and they are no different to many other dictators that exist and have existed in the world Vals you really need to fix your " bad guy meter" ....because the Kim family are a cruel, barbaric and implacable ruling family that have done really nothing to benefit the majority of NK citizens in there decade age rule

I'm not a hairy person but I do sometimes shave hair around my ears, I have also in the past had hair removed from my private parts, it really works but I can do that shaving myself Here is the thing, most men generally prefer a women that is clean shaven. So why wouldn't you think women would prefer that themselves from a man?

http://www.nytimes.com/live/israel-elections-vote-results/ Guys this is actually very exciting, at the moment the Zionist Union is in the lead and may still unseat Netanyahu and Likud I'll be following this election closely

Yeah, I have to agree. For me there was nothing quite as thrilling as the continuation of aspects of the narrative in the BG series. I also enjoyed the fact I could have the same people in my party, it was cool seeing them again in BG2 and I already knew some of there tempestuous personalities yet I still welcomed them into my party. Like when I freed Viconia from the fire...she was always my true love It makes me a little melancholic that there wasn't a BG3 ....thanks goodness for games like PoE