BruceVC

I tend to agree, he has accomplished some amazing feats considering the state get got Russia in He used controversial but effective tactics to end the Yeltsin era and did unite the country, but how did he do it? He has moved Russia to a very controlled state where the basic human rights of people are ignored and he effectively disabled many of the organs of Democracy. And he then controlled the economic recovery of Russia through oil and gas exports. But he was fooling himself as his policies have now got Russia into the state its in

I agree with this, get an all night hooker..but someone who you can have a conversation with. It doesn't sound like you have a moral issue with it ?

During the Cold War the Russians were very keen to infiltrate counterculture movements to undermine the West they obviously didn't think it was pointless, specially since they used those methods to subvert Afghanistan. Nowadays you see the result of what the Left has brought, you just have to look at Sweden to see an extreme of what this ideology means when it affects politics. Plus you have them also affecting the media because they want to preach their ideology, therefore they have turned entertainment into a political battlefield. Maybe you don't see this a relevant but sadly your opinion doesn't change the fact that if they are ignored they will end up controlling the medium as they did with Games Journalism and the Indie scene. These are not isolated incidents as other facets of nerd culture have been affected, namely the tabletop and comic book communities. Hi Guys I'm back from my Xmas holiday, I had a great time Do you really see the GG movement as significant as the ideological conflict of the Cold War? I'm not sure if you being serious?

I haven't defended this particular mosque in any way, I know little about it and don't live anywhere near Brooklyn. Would you condemn all churches because one has members of the KKK? You seem pretty quick to do that with Islam. Yeah I agree with Hurlshot on this one, we shouldn't generalize and say certain mosques in the USA are breeding grounds for Islamic extremism even if we know that extremists have frequented some of them. Its doesn't seem reasonable ? But I am appalled by the assassination of those two cops, I know people don't want to see it like this but these deliberate killings are not the same as the Michael Brown or Eric Garner deaths. I just feel any society has a serious problem if people think you can kill cops as a way to express frustration We see this South Africa where policemen are targeted by criminals just because they are policemen

Today I'm flying down to the coast to spend Xmas with my family who live there I'm excited, we always have Xmas lunch at our beach cottage with our cousins who own the beach cottage next to ours. Plus there is the added advantage of the whole beach holiday experience so we can go hiking and snorkeling I still have some Xmas shopping to do but I'll do that tomorrow, the malls will be extremely busy but I'll get there early at 8 am so it should be fine

No doubt, I have no musical education at all. I know that

If you want to give her the benefit of the doubt, that's your prerogative. As I've written, I'm willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt for a one time mistake, after that I will not. Again, as it relates to her right to keep a pet, I don't think it matters. Whether it was willful abuse, ignorance, or stupidity, that doesn't make the mistreatment any less real, and the fact that she's done this multiple times leads me to believe she will continue to do it. The dog is still getting abused regardless of intention. Whether she's too cruel to have a dog or too stupid to have a dog, I feel she shouldn't be allowed to have a dog. Keyrock I'm worried you are going to inadvertently and unnecessarily end relationships in your life if you really only give people one chance...surely you have family members and friends where you given them more than one chance? My personal life is none of your business. If I wanted people to concern themselves with it I would broadcast it on social media like all the other attention whores out there. Your feigned concern is neither appreciated nor welcome. Wow, sorry for asking.....no need to bite my head off

If you want to give her the benefit of the doubt, that's your prerogative. As I've written, I'm willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt for a one time mistake, after that I will not. Again, as it relates to her right to keep a pet, I don't think it matters. Whether it was willful abuse, ignorance, or stupidity, that doesn't make the mistreatment any less real, and the fact that she's done this multiple times leads me to believe she will continue to do it. The dog is still getting abused regardless of intention. Whether she's too cruel to have a dog or too stupid to have a dog, I feel she shouldn't be allowed to have a dog. Keyrock I'm worried you are going to inadvertently and unnecessarily end relationships in your life if you really only give people one chance...surely you have family members and friends where you given them more than one chance?

You'd be posting from Folsom Prison if you did! Thanks Gromnir,I'll have that song stuck in my head all day now because of you! That also worried me initially but then Gromnir says later he didn't really shoot a man

Thats funny

I just watched something quite emotional, Candy Crowley is leaving CNN after 27 years. She is an amazing news commentator, I respect her immensely. She also helped and guided many younger women so they could establish successful careers in the news industry She said something very profound which some of you probably already believe, she spoke about some of the criticism she received being a prominent news presenter She said " I want to thank the public for their support through the years and opinions. Some of it I didn't believe and some of it I disagreed with. But I always respected the right of people to speak there mind "

If the Austrian chancellor truly thinks that the intentions of sanctions are to destroy the Russian economy then yes I do

She's done this multiple times? I didn't know that. That changes things. One time I can pass off as a supremely stupid mistake, lesson learned, never do that again. If she's dyed the dog again and again and again then she clearly does not have empathy for her animal and, in my opinion, this crosses the line from simple stupidity to animal cruelty. The reality is we don't know if anyone ever said to her " this is cruel to do this to an animal" . People might have said how cute her dog was and respected how close she was to it. So its quite possible she was unaware what she was really doing My point is just because she did something multiple times there is no evidence to believe she knew she was abusing her dog It reminds of people who use fireworks during events, like Guy Fawkes. In South Africa this always upsets and terrifies pets yet despite this every single year people use fireworks. If you have to ask these people " are you aware that you are contributing towards abuse of animals " they will deny it or be surprised because there usage of fireworks is often cultural, like the Indian festival of Diwali, so they won't believe its abuse of animals So at times the words " abuse of animals " can be subjective Yeah... This sounds like you're grasping at straws in her defense. While what you suggest isn't completely implausible, sorry, I'm not giving her the benefit of the doubt. If she made that mistake once, I'd give her the benefit of the doubt. If she's done it multiple times, then sorry, she doesn't get the benefit of the doubt from me, I'm making the assumption that she's an animal abuser. In either case, the correct course of action seems the same to me. The dog should be taken away from her and she should not be allowed to own a pet. Whether it's through willful abuse or an astonishing level of ignorance, she's abused this animal, multiple times, which suggests she'll do it again. The animal shouldn't be subjected to further abuse, it's inhumane. Wow keyrock you really seem like you want her to suffer, its Xmas....where is your Xmas spirit, forgiveness and all that

Common sense really. At least someone in the EU has it. It would be common sense if it was true but its not so its moot No one is trying to crash the Russian economy, this suits no one. The sanctions are punitive measures to get Russia to rethink its interference in Ukraine. Thats all Russia needs to do, stop getting involved in Ukraine and supporting the separatists. And then we can discuss Crimea

Thats interesting, I'll keep that in mind You said you were waiting for a patch didn't you? There have been a couple already and it seems reasonably stable now, there are a couple of things like a few collectables not showing up or conversations very occasionally not working properly without revisiting an area but for the most part the game is ready to be played. Yes I was waiting for the first "official " patch, so its good to know the game is relatively stable

So, by your own admission, the main cause of the Russian crisis is the oil prices drop. But six months ago, you were able to secretly predict that the Russian economy would be devastated by sanctions... and an oil price crash which hadn't happened yet. Let me guess: you are a wsj subscriber. No I have no real powers of prognostication but it should have been obvious to everyone that sanctions would hurt any economy, the Russian one included But I didn't think the economic impact to Russia would happen this quick but thats because no one predicted the oil price crash and the impact that would have on certain countries around there questionable internal economic structures I obviously reject conspiracy theories but if I did believe in them I would say the falling oil price has directly hurt countries like Russia, Venezuela and Iran the most and those are countries that have the most tension on various levels with the West So you could almost believe that the West was involved in the falling oil price as it suits their political agenda. But of course this isn't true

Interesting so you feel our positive nostalgic memories about Bioware are possibly biased because of BG2 , you may be right. But I have generally enjoyed all the early Bioware games I have played. So my view is based on a more holistic perspective than just BG2

Yes you guys are right, Romance can really enhance the overall RPG experience and make it more memorable When I think about all the RPG I have played over the last 10 years and all the characters in my party its always the people I have Romanced that I remember first

What truth, your sexist generalization that as women get older they become worthless? You expect people to think that is the truth?

Thats interesting, I'll keep that in mind

I probably didn't explain properly, I don't expect Bioware to start making isometric, 3D RPG again But can they get back to the respect and admiration they use to have. So compare your view of them now compared to your view of them after DA2 ?

Well that statement can easily be seen as dismissive and rude to women I find that comment offensive and I'm glad you were reported, you won't be so rude next time

I was going to ask about that, whats better to play the PC version....Xbox Controller or M\KB. I have both

Yeah I can understand your point that Bioware hasn't captured that special place in your heart, for me I am just looking for immersive and entertaining games. So I guess I'm not expecting more than that so I am very satisfied with the feedback from DA:I