BruceVC

True but I doubt Trump understood why he appointed certain people to the SC, he was advised by well informed Conservatives who he should nominate The real understanding of the political and ideological views of that type of candidate is not Trumps strong point

Seriously, Putin has killed and assassinated political dissenters and Oligarchs for years. There is a long list. If Putin didnt authorize it then he isnt in control of the military or the FSB and I find that hard to believe. The sustainability of any autocracy requires control of the military and particularly around extra-judiciary killings if they practised by the state. If you look at NK or China nothing happens in those countries if the state isnt aware of it I am not saying its a missile or a bomb, Im saying Putin is behind it. Who else would have the ability or resources to do that within Russia?

Im about 30 hours into KA2 and its fun. They changed several of the mechanics from KA1 and I dont necessarily think they all create a better overall gaming experience but they not terrible changes The economic system is dumbed down and simpler and there is now a magic shield that you need to consider in every battle but I am now comfortable with that. And I am enjoying the lore and overall changes to the RPG elements around how your knights go on quests Also they added artifact crafting which is a good idea But its a good sequel, I will comment further once I have completed it

Why who specifically did you use to respect that since the war started you dont respect anymore? Im sorry to hear that, its terrible to be disappointed by people we admire and respect I accept commentators or institutions can make mistakes so Im more forgiving. But I dont support them if they make constant mistakes or push propaganda and I dont take state controlled media houses as seriously as private media houses in certain reporting

Im not surprised at all, if its true his time on this earth was always numbered Not that it bothers me in the slightest, Wagner is responsible for some of the worst cases of brutality in Ukraine

Yes during the Cold War we witnessed surreptitious regime change from all sides, Im not sure since then how much regime the US has secretly been involved in? But I am not talking about that, Im talking about the last 10-15 years in numerous places where there has been rejection of an autocracy or citizens unhappy with certain draconian developments and they protest then you have a group of people who are anti-US\anti-Western and suggest that the reason why people want leadership change is because the US\CIA is telling them or responsible for the protests. And often the governments themselves who face these protests claim the US is behind it as a form of cope and a way to handwave the legitimate grievances . And several examples come to mind that include the Arab Spring : allegations that the US was behind the widespread protests Iran hijab protests Zimbabwe protests Ukraine and the 2013 protests Venezuela with many citizens wanting a new political system And that doesnt mean the US\West doesn't support the idea of leadership change in many cases but they not the main reason citizens want to see a change

Post the link when you can, it sounds interesting? Vatniks on Codex will argue that the US was responsible for the "coup " in 2013 and it wasnt what the people of Ukraine wanted because it was the imperialist US and CIA that was behind the 2013 protests They will conveniently ignore the agency of the Ukrainians as if they cant possibly decide for themselves and how the majority of Ukrainians want to align with the EU and West and not be part of the Russian orbit

I dont know, give me a couple of drinks...some good music...some good laughs...who can say how things will progress

Here is a really good video about what ordinary Russians think about the question " are we winning the war ". No Russian media propaganda or Vatnik grandstanding made by people living in Western, Capitalist countries with no skin in the game I like the guy that makes these videos, Daniil Orain, because he gets feedback from people on the streets in Russia

Not for me, I am very happy with the EE and old versions of BG Larian must focus on refining BG3 and maybe a definitive edition and then future development projects should be BG4 or D:OS3

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1086940/discussions/0/3812913565885064204/ Here is a list of cut content from BG3, this contains spoilers so be cautious. Obviously I am not sure what is a spoiler and what isnt but those who have played the game will know what the points are I imagine most of this content will be included in a definitive edition so I will wait for that version to play BG3

I liked the way they did Romance in DA:I, you can clearly see the Romance options marked with a heart and if you dont pursue it you dont experience it And I really tried to Romance Josephine but I failed

Wormie you need to explain to your companions that " No means NO " !!! But maybe you made your character too hot, how hot are you?

Im not waiting that long, lets say 3-6 months I

Be strong, I am confident you can handle companions hitting on you. Your character is trying to save the world, consider this another challenge in your journey https://www.pcgamer.com/baldurs-gate-3-review/ BG3 got 97/100 from PC Gamer and the gaming journalist says its the best RPG he has ever played. GOTY for sure?

https://brics2023.gov.za/ Anyone following or care about the BRICS summit for 2023, it starts tomorrow in SA. What substantive policies do you think are going to come out of it? I have been following the hype for months but after listening to literally dozens of opinions of the creation of a new BRICS currency and then that being officially abandoned a few weeks ago Im not convinced anything substantial to the global south will change Anyway we will see in the next few days, excellent business for local hotels and tourism industry so thats a positive

I welcome all continued military aid to Ukraine and particularly F-16s but how are they going to help with clearing of minefields which are a reality and a continuous obstacle to the offensive? CNN currently has some excellent frontline reporting going on with Nick Paton Walsh and he is embedded with Ukrainians in parts of the frontline and the minefields are slowing down the offensive even though you see progress

Yes I am on that and I can guess how its going to unfold. I am seeing my well-meaning Romans descend into the dark side and I noticed this when I brought back the 9th legion from the dead and conquered the Sentinel lands Once I have completed the prologue I can confirm what I think is going to happen and if so its an excellent narrative around the prologue and who the " bad guys " are

I completed King Arthur Wargame after 100 hours and it was an excellent RTS\ RPG experience I was pleasantly surprised I did complete it because I read several comments on Steam about it being too hard or the mechanics being unbalanced. Overall I played the game with the following approach I played on beginner I chose Rightful, Old Faith and I aligned with the Seelie I used my knights and there spells effectively and I included Lancelot, Green Knight and Merlin in my group I learnt how the economy mechanics work because that makes a huge difference to stability and revenue generation in your provinces which is critical for having a well resourced army But once you understand the combat mechanics its really makes sense and the game is incredibly fun. It gets a solid 70/100 on the globally respected " BruceVC game rating system " I enjoyed it so much I started playing KA2 yesterday, its different in some ways and I will do an update later once I have completed more of the narrative

The reality is politics shouldn't have to divide us in the same way religion shouldn't have to divide us You can have different views and agree to disagree or respect peoples different views and not try to change them. But the last 5-7 years I have noticed a disappointing trend, particularly in the US, where tribal politics and views has become normal and people immediately have a negative opinion of you if you a liberal or Conservative. I dont think its the majority of people but it exists and it tends to be the most vociferous people and it gets lots of media and Internet attention so its easy to think its the norm I went out a few times with a really nice lady about 8 months ago, she was pro-life and that was fine. I didnt get into an argument with her or try to change her opinion but I told her Im pro-choice and both of us accepted we had different views on the subject of abortion. It wasnt a big deal

Yes I have followed some of the opinions and it does seem incriminating but I also believe nothing is certain and his lawyers will present a defense, thats why I will wait for the outcomes of the court cases before I really comment

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/russias-war-torn-economy-hits-its-speed-limit/ar-AA1fn5bg#:~:text=T he Russian central bank’s jumbo interest-rate increase,insulate its businesses and citizens from the war. Here is a good link about the current state of the Russian economy and some of its systemic problems created by the invasion and the impact of Western sanctions

Remember innocent until proven guilty, lets try to believe that and not be selective because its Trump? But the courts will settle this, the interesting consideration is " will these cases get to court before the election next year " ?

You invoking the Summon Gromnir spell again, you a brave man and I hope you have prepared your wards Its absolutely seen by many as a witch-hunt and as a way to stop Trump running next year and the general allegation is "the Dems are using the courts to fight political battles because they worried about Trump winning in 2024 " Im not sure how true it really is considering how some of the Dems strategists support and encourage Trump and MAGA fear mongering because the anti-Trump vote is real and nothing galvanizes support for the left more than " look Trump is destroying the US and Democracy ....hes a Nazi" rhetoric So for some of the Democrats they want Trump to run because then it makes campaigning and the political message easier to convince people. Here is just one example of the Dems funding far-right and MAGA candidates in Republican primaries through marketing and advertising because they perceived as easier to defeat https://nypost.com/2022/07/27/house-democrats-fed-up-with-partys-gop-primary-meddling/ https://nypost.com/2022/09/12/democrats-spend-53m-to-boost-far-right-gop-candidates/

The reality of mines is a huge problem for both sides and then mine clearing vehicles get destroyed like in this video So the problem persists with no easy solution