BruceVC

Wow, lots of very subjective things you are stating and also several inaccurate things Just one example, the US is not holding Assange. He has never been captive in the US. He is currently imprisoned in the UK fighting extradition to the US and then he will face a criminal trial

The Nando ad is very clever and raises how everyone is SA, except for SAN\Khoi, are " foreigners" . Dont you love the white people buying drugs from the Nigerian And the KFC ad is about that tire burnouts which is an unofficial activity in parts of SA, quite common but technically illegal But I still think the Colonialism ad is the cleverest because its such a funny reversal and parody of the history, Jan Van Riebeeck arrived in SA in 1651. So this has the black guy arriving in Netherlands in 1651 and the Dutch are still working out geography and then he names the place " Europe " based on the rope he sees. So he colonizes Europe But at the time the outrage and claiming to be offended was mostly because some people said it was racist towards black people. But its not racist at all, if anything its mocking towards white people.

South Africa has had several adverts banned\retracted after a backlash and I dont think any of these adverts should have been banned, they really clever and funny. My best one is the last one. Its a reversal of the history of Colonialism, I remember at the time people were saying its racist because its includes Colonialism but if anything its mocks Europeans\white people But all these adverts are really clever

Thats such a classic Hoonding thing to say

Why what do you think the share price drop is attributed to?

Yes but that is still considered a substantial loss in that time period But I know what you mean, it seems inconsequential but any company would be concerned especially if its because of a specific reason

This is probably one of the most cogent and well explained economic summaries of the current state of the Russian economy and the strength of the Ruble and why its been impacted and influenced by Russian sanctions. Its 30 minutes long but well worth it @Gorth @Mamoulian War you will appreciate it

https://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2023/04/13/bud-light-loses-4-billion-as-sales-plummet-70-rumor-debunked/ Well the stock price has lost $5 billion since the backlash happened so its definitely had an impact, to quote from the link "On April 13, however, it was reported the company’s stock value had in fact gone down a whopping $5 billion since March 31 when the backlash began. The New York Post claimed share value for the Bud Light parent company dropped by nearly 4 per cent in that time period, with stock decreasing 1.5 per cent just Wednesday " This is about a customer boycott and it happens to many companies when enough customers are united and feel aggrieved about something

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3367924/biden-administration-announces-additional-security-assistance-for-ukraine/ Latest US military aid for Ukraine, to quote Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds; Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided (TOW) missiles; AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems; Anti-tank mines; Demolition munitions for obstacle clearing; Over 9 million rounds of small arms ammunition; Four logistics support vehicles; Precision aerial munitions; Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair; Port and harbor security equipment; Spare parts and other field equipment.

For those following the Budweiser marketing disaster in the US they have released a new video to address the fallout and plummeting sales figures I am surprised that Budweiser didnt think of the consequence to the original Dylan Mulvaney video, current culture wars in the US means that a transgender activist representing beer culture is obviously not going to go down well

Wormie I have decided to buy the CE of BG3 when its released I have only been following the official updates and avoiding early access feedback but I loved D:OS2 and Im confidant Larian will deliver on BG3

Sure but he is also talking about basic maintenance which should be done?

https://www.technology.org/2023/04/18/americans-surprised-by-what-they-saw-inside-the-t-90a-tank-photo/ @Gfted1 you will appreciate this with your interest in military hardware

@Azdeus and @Pidesco Thats why Sweden needs to join NATO asap or you guys will be the first ones invaded by Russia in its magnanimous objective of ridding the world of Nazism

I dont believe China wants increased tension with the US\West for several reasons and they want to focus on there own geopolitical ambitions. If they supplied military aid to Russia they would only increase Western criticism towards them Also I think they were hoping for a quick Russian victory but the numerous failures of the Russian military strategy has ended this. I believe they want to stay out of any military connection to Russia because it would also undermine there stated comments that they want to help find a peaceful solution and if they provide military aid it will only prolong the war and they will appear as hypocrites

https://apnews.com/article/china-taiwan-weapons-germany-ukraine-2a51d2c64c12fca75683d20fbafba475 This is a few days old but its the " official " view from China that they wont provide lethal aid to Russia Im not sure if it can be trusted but it does give more credibility to China wanting to be involved in finding a peaceful solution

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-koreas-yoon-opens-door-possible-military-aid-ukraine-2023-04-19/ SK is more than likely going to start providing military aid to Ukraine, now Im not a conspiracy theorist but one of the " leaks " was about the mild criticism the US had towards SK not providing military aid And now they going to when the " leaks" went public ...makes you think how the leaks actually could be helping the Ukraine war effort

Sorry I realize my point was lost in translation I dont think Sweden is becoming a Neo-Nazi country and I dont think the US or any Western country is becoming a Neo-Nazi country . But there are people in the media and general commentators who define the success of the SD party in Sweden as " Sweden is becoming Neo-Nazi " when in fact most people in Sweden voted for them because they not happy with current immigration policies and the increased crime and gang violence linked directly to immigration And my post was related to a previous discussion we had where its become normal to say " look its Neo-Nazi " when often thats not the reason for an event or political development Here is another example of media hyperbole with the headline " How Sweden Became a Thriving Base of neo-Nazi Ideology"...yes there are Neo-Nazi in Sweden like every EU country but its not "thriving base " IMO https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/2017-12-30/ty-article-magazine/.premium/how-sweden-became-a-thriving-base-of-neo-nazi-ideology/0000017f-f90d-d47e-a37f-f93ddfb50000

Dont you know about the success of the Neo-Nazi political party in Sweden? https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/16/sweden-election-far-right-democrats/ They dont support illegal immigration, they clearly Neo-Nazi

Talking about iron ore production for the Nazi war engine from the Nordic countries, I watched a movie called Narvik about the same thing happening in Norway. Its a really good movie https://www.whattowatch.com/features/is-narvik-a-true-story-the-real-details-behind-the-netflix-world-war-two-drama @Azdeus @Pidesco Maybe this is why Sweden is becoming a Neo-Nazi country, historical ties to WW2?

The last 4 games I have played are IWD2, KC:D, ELEX 2 and DA:I and I have an important gaming rule where I dont play the same genre more than 3-4 times in a row. This means I dont get bored or unnecessarily cynical or critical about one type genre So I am playing Mafia 3 now, it should be a nice change from my favorite games which are fantasy RPG

I agree, from what I have seen its nothing that we dont already know or has been raised from one source or another. Also what difference does it make if the Ukrainians have lost more people than they are open about, why would that change anything? They the ones fighting against an invasion @Keyrock but as far the public should be aware of confidential military or secretive reports. No country in the world has a policy like that so I dont see why the US should. And the leaks were confidential for a reason

I also cant imagine you doing it, do you own a gun?

So you talking about crack cocaine being free then people wouldnt commit crimes to feed there habit? There is an argument to that logic

Whats UFD, Universal Free Drugs?