BruceVC

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/10/pro-palestine-march-will-be-one-of-uks-biggest-ever-protests-organisers-predict I sincerely hope the Palestinian march in London today is peaceful but I doubt it. Rishi Sunak was right when said its provocative and disrespectful because today is Armistice Day. Why not arrange the protest tomorrow, why must it be today?

Sorry to hear, I didnt even know about this disease but I looked it up. What are your symptoms, apparently these can appear months or years after getting the disease? https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lyme-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20374651

There is concern that woke influence is going to erode much of what makes GTA games fun but Im not convinced I will wait and see when I finally get to play GTA6 before commenting on what is different, I cant wait for this game. I love the GTA franchise

Wormie !!! Stop being naughty, you know the rule. You cant expect people to watch a 80 minute video If you could summarize the key points and the overall opinion that would be appreciated

But thats a good observation and accurate, Im only a few years younger than you so we went to school in the same time period more or less. I was at high school from 1988-1992 And we didnt have a single pregnancy, we had almost no sex education and Apartheid was a very parochial and conservative system around sex education. So it raises an important consideration, why do we see such high levels of teenage pregnancy in the USA and SA? It gets raised in SA all the time and the general consensus is there is a breakdown of family values and modern liberal views means you cant discipline your kids anymore. Often on talk-shows when these topics are discussed black callers will phone in and say things like " young people dont have to listen or respect parents anymore and we cant even discipline them anymore " or something similar or they will say " kids dont respect teachers anymore because teachers are powerless to discipline kids like in our day ". In SA many parents actually want more discipline and they think corporal punishment should be returned as a solution to whats happening. But this doesn't happen at every public sector school and some schools have almost no teenage pregnancies and discipline is fine ? But if the problem is modern day liberal values why dont we see this in places like the Nordic countries? I dont think they have a problem with large numbers of teenage pregnancies I am not sure where the problem lies but I do think respect for parents and respect for teachers must be part of it?

No offense Monty but suggesting that the Obama presidency was rhetorical and did nothing tells me you dont know much about the Obama presidency. He was elected just as the 2008 financial crisis started and the decisions he made helped steer the world from a complete economic collapse. He also got the US out of Iraq which was very different to the Cheney " we could be in Iraq forever ". He achieved the Iranian nuclear deal which at the time was the best solution even though the Iranian hardliners didnt honor the spirit of the deal and continued to destabilize parts of the ME Here is a list of some of his achievements, of course some of his policies failed and he could have done certain things better like all presidents. But for me the main metric if he was good president was his approval rating which is what Americans think at the end, that should always be used as the most important factor. And he achieved a 63% in a retrospective poll which is done a few years after a presidency. https://www.tdjakes.com/posts/10-remarkable-achievements-of-barack-obama-s-presidency https://news.gallup.com/poll/226994/obama-first-retrospective-job-approval-rating.aspx

Are you going to go back to FO1&2 or just stick with Wasteland?

No, its not the same as ending hunger or world peace because there are already institutions like Planned Parenting that are established and provide abortion services and counseling. We have similar ones in SA So we have solutions in countries that allow abortions unlike achieving world peace which is unlikely in our lifetimes And I doubt Planned Parenting would suggest a " cheap supermarket pill " without counseling but @Hurlshort can comment

But that's not what we saying, we not saying take away abortion. Im saying a " cheap pill ' sold at a supermarket without counseling is not the best long-term solution So its not simple

Unfortunately its more complicated than that in SA, I cant comment on the US for underage pregnancy You have single parents working or grandparents raising kids and we have a massive problem with underage pregnancies. And the minor falling pregnant is not always because of bad parenting, sometimes this is a outcome of societal conditions. For example teachers getting kids pregnant and the parents are unaware because its assumed you can trust the teachers But the decision to get an abortion is still a serious decision that requires parents to be involved with whatever emotional trauma may or may not occur afterwards. So its not always about bad parenting

Yes and I have answered that question, its the womens choice because she is having the baby. But when it comes to a minor its critical that parents are involved in whatever decision is made and I am talking about most parents who care about their children, this obviously wouldn't apply to incest But certain countries allow a minor to decide that without parents being involved and I dont agree with that. But thats a separate issue And obviously the partner should be consulted which in most healthy relationships you would assume that would be done but end of the day its the womens choice

But its nice living in Canada and dismissing the historical and current fears of East European countries from Russian invasion and occupation Nothing better than knowing your own Western lifestyle is safe while mocking a country that is defending itself from invasion.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/11/ukraine-democracy-wartime-elections-russia-zelensky/ No there are valid and legitimate reasons to cancel the elections, to quote "Whether objections to the postponement of Ukraine’s elections come from a place of hostility or sympathy, they fail to understand that voting during this war would be legally, practically, and institutionally impossible. Ukraine is under martial law, with constant threat of Russian bombs and many of its people displaced. Postponing elections was not a function of any fear on Zelensky’s part, since his approval ratings have soared during wartime. A country under a full-scale invasion and occupation is simply in no position to vote "

Nope in many countries a teenager doesnt need permission from parents to get an abortion, like SA, so its not a cope-out. Its a reality and so is the possible negative emotional outcome which for some reason you seem to be ignoring? https://www.womens-choice.co.za/permission-abortion-south-africa/ And Im not saying that, I explained its ultimately the women's choice but a " cheap pill " is not the solution because thats basically commoditizing the entire abortion process in a tick-box and thats not what abortion is Do you know anyone who has had an abortion at a young age or even an older age? Have you asked them how they feel about it?

Melkie it upsets me when you so serious, Im not use to it and its depressing Can we rather talk about your ebook, teddy bears always make me happy

Why what in your opinion truly matters? For me it is about sustainable peace and thats a 2 state solution

The decision to get an abortion is generally always a complicated one and how its decided on and how the women gets support during and afterwards matters For example a 14 year will hopefully have her parents involved and for many people they consider abortion to be anathema due to religious reasons so if they want to get an abortion they will need support from family and ways to balance their religious beliefs. I dont think a " cheap pill " at a supermarket should ever be an option unless it comes with the required counseling and understanding of the decision. Because you cant take it back once its done It will be ultimately the womens choice but you also want partners to be involved who understand this difficult decision And its not the same as alcohol abuse at all. Thats about an addiction and abuse of a substance that most people dont abuse. But there many examples of alcoholics who beat the addiction and they live a normal and better life I know personally of 2 women who had abortions when they were 18-19 years old and they suffered emotionally for years in different ways afterwards but only 5-6 years later and it was mostly around guilt and a sense of betraying the maternal instinct that most women have, well thats how they explained it to me

Nah, its definitely more complicated than that There is a reality where people dont take any responsibility for a women falling pregnant and the solution is a simple " thats okay, just get an abortion " and this comes from men as well as women And abortion can create real long-term mental problems like depression. So I dont accept the idea that " a cheap pill at every pharmacy " is the right solution. You need counseling and other similar support before deciding to abort

Yes and each state should vote on that outcome and the Federal government should stay out of it because I believe its such a sensitive issue you will get criticism either way the Federal government influences things But I do believe overturning R vs W was also a massive mistake because this is seen by many US citizens as taking away an established and decades long women's right. So I understand the anger and pushback

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ohio-votes-to-codify-abortion-rights-into-state-constitution_n_65411b43e4b0ae2dc0b56c1a?yptr=yahoo There have been some interesting election outcomes in the US but not surprising with abortion rights being supported in Ohio and the legalization of cannabis Overturning R vs W I maintain was the worst GOP supported and Conservative decision the SC could have ever made around overall public sentiment, I understand this is an emotional and sensitive topic but the SC decision is seen by most women as taking away a fundamental right that women should have The real question now is "will the anger about R vs W be greater than other issues in the US in the 2024 election " ?

What in your opinion is the pro-Palestinian position on peace or a solution to the conflict? And who do you consider to be the political group that represents the Palestinians But Im interested more in what you think is the solution raised by whatever Palestinian group represents the Palestinians officially in finding a sustainable solution to this conflict?

Yes and without repeating myself that was because of compromise and effective leadership on both sides that realized peace is better than interminable war And he was assassinated by a Jewish right-wing extremist , very unusual and tragic for that to happen within Israel. But most people don't follow the stages of the conflict and its hard to believe how close the region came to an end of the conflict even though it was opposed by people on both sides

Except they came very close to peace during the era of Yitzhak Rabin but when he was assassinated in 1995 everything fell apart

Thanks, you recommend I play both? I have already started looking at mods for SW1 and I found the restored content for SW1 https://www.nexusmods.com/kotor/mods/54

I am considering playing SW Knights of the Old Republic, I haven't played any SW games and I have this and SW2 on Steam What are peoples views on SW1&2? @Gorth arent you a fan of these games?