BruceVC

Its a valid question, no Western company is leaving SA and there are no real talks of anything like sanctions because that would be unreasonable unless SA did something that was in contravention of sanctions and I dont think that even exists around Ukraine. In other words countries are buying Russian oil and the West isnt sanctioning them But investors in any African country have very little appetite to risk so just the allegation of SA supplying weapons to Russia impacted our economy because of the potential of what might come if SA has been lying about being neutral because you cant say you neutral if you supplying weapons to an aggressor or invading country Thats why our government is sending these representatives, to clarify that we are neutral or at least explain what that means to us

Personally I agree that being neutral is "helping " Russia but then its more complicated than that for a country like SA. And why I say that is there should be no debate around condemning the invasion, SA condemned the US invasion of Iraq and this invasion and the illegal annexations within Ukraine is much worse But in defense of SA we part of BRICS and most BRICS countries have taken the same stance of being non-aligned My biggest concern is always the reality compared to the ideological comments from SA and our foreign affairs and how they dont seem to understand the economic structures of SA We do R15 billion a year trade with Russia and we do R1.3 trillion with Western countries. Russia trade and what we gain from Russia is irrelevant and you would assume the Russian sympathizers in the ANC would realise this but they dont and there support is literally based on the Cold War reality where the Soviets " were our friends and helped end Apartheid " (we have discussed this before ) Also what meaningful role could SA play in the war? It doesnt matter what we publicly say its not going to change or influence Russia or Ukraine and why would it. Lets be honest if we cant even stop current civil wars, military coups and conflicts in Africa what credibility do we have? We need to focus on our numerous domestic problems, like the energy crisis, and not do anything to jeopardize investment and job creation.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-06-06-ramaphosa-embarks-on-attempted-course-correction-of-sas-russia-stance/ SA is sending various representatives to the G7 to clarify our position that we are not pro-Russia Our mixed messages and ostensible support for Russia has already impacted our international investor portfolio with investors selling SA bonds, currency and equities This impact to our economy is self-inflicted and hopefully we can change the view in the G7 that we are not pro-Russia and that we are neutral

And this to me is the most relevant data for the EU because it represents the new reality which is how the EU use to be dependent on Russia energy and therefore more concerned with foreign policy decisions but its now moving away from most dependency on Russia for energy. And thats because of the invasion of Ukraine and how you simply cant trust Russia to be a reliable and consistent provider of energy

My point is that not different from what you saying, I just dont agree with you but maybe I am not explaining it properly Let me ask you a different question, what should the EU have done differently over the last 20 years to ensure it was not swindled according to your view of the trade relationship with Russia? And to add context 70% or so of the worlds oil comes from OPEC and most of the ME countries have very little regards for the important human rights that matter in our countries and include what you mentioned that is common in Russia which is no "transparency / free trade / democratic institutions ". Yet we all buy oil from OPEC The point Im making is most countries dont get to choose where they buy energy from as there are established markets and you can only go so far with telling other countries about their domestic policies if you trade with them and want good international relationships So what should the EU have done differently, should it not have bought energy from Russia and if so what markets should the EU have traded with over the last 20 years?

I dont think we debating the same point, having a reliable trade partner for energy is not about corruption, its about an energy source. And that partner will benefit from the revenue sales The EU didnt buy energy from Russia because it wanted corruption within Russia to flourish or for that corruption to be exported but that did occur and it embolden Putin and it made the EU dependant on Russia for energy until it found new energy sources But the historical trade that use to exist between the EU and Russia should be considered a good thing if Putin hadnt become the warmongering autocrat he now is because it benefitted both regions I dont see how the EU was swindled by buying energy from Russia, in what way was it swindled? And then there is a standard Vatnik narrative that says " the West has always wanted to control Russia and wants Russia to fail " and thats not true in many ways that include buying large amounts of energy from Russia because supporting an economy is the opposite of wanting a country to fail

It makes sense but its another example of the Vatnik standard fake news which basically is now about how the West\EU has always wanted Russia to fail and Russian nationalists peddle propaganda like " this war is about our survival " The West\EU until the invasion wanted Russia to be a responsible and sustainable member of the international community. And buying energy from them is one way to demonstrate that belief. The relationship with the West is now irrevocably broken while Putin is president but that didnt use to be the case

Mamie and others let me know what you think if you play STASIS 2, the feedback seems positive so far from Codex at least

Thats nothing, try having the Vikings as your neighbours...the Vikings !!! Gorthfuscious you may not believe this but Piers Morgan and other commentators have also raised reparations due to the terrible carnage inflicted on the Saxons by your ancestors Watch this video from 9:40 onwards ...its happening I tell you. Our shared objective is gaining momentum

I completed both the Fighting Fantasy Legends and the Deathtrap Dungeon Trilogy, these games are from the same studio Nomad. They good fun but very different to Warlock of Firetop Mountain These games use a set top down view of maps with a RNG type mechanic for encounters and its straight dice for combat and all other encounters They have a clever and interesting way of progressing, when you gain XP you can either upgrade your skill or luck dice with an additional success marking. Normal dice have 1 lucky marking out of 6 sides but with upgrades you have up to 3 success marks per dice Both games have similar enemies and themes and overall quests to the Fighting Fantasy books and that was appreciated and nostalgic They get a solid 60/100 on the globally praised " BruceVC game rating system " 🥂

Doesnt seem very realistic or reasonable at the moment, if Russia had the military advantage Ukraine may accept some of these terms but I doubt it?

Thats a good video and its a perfect length, its not unsurprising to see the different views and how the war has shaped those views. You hear everything from normal fatigue to warmongering I found the PTSD guy particularly evocative and haunting with views on life and how war has changed his world view

Yes but you made millions from your book, how many Greek islands do you own now

https://wccftech.com/hogwarts-legacy-1-3-billion-revenue/#:~:text=Hogwarts Legacy has generated well over %241.3 billion,revealed by Warner Bros. Discovery's CEO%2C David Zaslav. Hogwarts has been a massive success with over $1 billion in revenue, its good to see that the majority of gamers dont care about culture wars hyperbole and just like good games I see there are also some good mods out so I will be playing this game in 5-6 months🐲

Okay, I didnt realize that. I did find Vito the less whiny of the three with Burke being the most annoying

I am having great fun with Warlock of Firetop Mountain (WoFM), its delivered nicely on the nostalgic experience I was hoping for. This version has 2 main differences to the standard Fighting Fantasy books that have been converted to PC games and they include everytime you defeat an enemy you get souls and then with a specific number of souls you can select a new character to adventure with and each character has a different reason for going to Firetop Mountain and then the design and choices are different in certain ways. So it makes it exciting from a replaybility perspective the game uses a fun grid based combat system and only uses the traditional dice based combat when you and the enemy make the same combat choice But I have completed the main quests for 2 characters now so I will be moving on to the next game in the series which is Fighting Fantasy Legends https://store.steampowered.com/app/496340/Fighting_Fantasy_Legends/ But WoFM gets a solid 72/100 on the globally respected " BruceVC game rating system"

It sounds like you were being racist, what about Cassandra? I felt guilty when they use to complain so I split the districts evenly

https://www.reuters.com/world/g7-signals-long-term-ukraine-support-russia-woos-global-south-2023-05-21/ A really productive and consequential G7 meeting that includes F-16 confirmation, additional sanctions on Russia and additional military and financial support for Ukraine. The West also reaffirmed its continued long-term support for Ukraine Zelensky was there as well and met with leaders of the global south like Modi from India https://edition.cnn.com/2023/05/20/asia/zelensky-modi-meet-g7-japan-hiroshima-intl-hnk/index.html

https://www.aol.com/china-imposes-2m-fine-stand-211033488.html CCP has fined a Chinese comedian $2m for cracking a joke about the Chinese military In the new BRICS\Chinese led world order its going to be more free and multipolar world ...except you cant tell jokes

But thats kind of obvious because no ones accepts the illegally annexed Donbas areas and this doesnt apply to Crimea because the link states " that relied on giving up territory after Russia’s invasion"

Here is a really interesting interview on this topic and its highlights from an Egyptian the criticism towards the documentary. Piers Morgan does a good job at discussing both sides and the Egyptian guest criticizes both Hollywood and the Afrocentrism issues about the documentary I agree with several things he mentions like who built the pyramids

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/16/world/europe/russia-ukraine-peace-ramaphosa-africa.html#:~:text=President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa%2C as well,Lynsey Chutel May 16%2C 2023%2C 12%3A47 p.m. ET There is an African peace mission that both Putin and Zelensky have agreed to that includes 6 African leaders that will be travelling to Moscow and Kiev What do you guys think, can Africa find a peaceful solution to this conflict? I think its well meaning and appreciated but it wont achieve much for several reasons but primarily because Putins political future is tied into achieving some sort of victory and right now Russia hasnt achieved any sense of a victory? But lets see but I am not confident

To tell you the truth its not spinelessness but more misplaced and confused historical ties to the USSR and how the Soviets helped liberation movements in Africa The fact that was over 30 years ago and the Cold War is long over and Ukraine was part of the USSR makes the argument unconvincing but thats a big part of the support for Russia

https://ewn.co.za/2023/05/15/anc-says-russian-party-warned-that-if-sa-arrests-putin-it-s-a-war-declaration#:~:text=JOHANNESBURG%20%2D%20The%20African%20National%20Congress,be%20a%20declaration%20of%20war The Ruskies have said they will declare war on SA if Putin is arrested in August at the BRICS meeting because of the ICC warrant BRICS friendship strong But I doubt Putin will come to SA, he will attend virtually. His travel paranoia will hopefully continue so SA is not put in this invidious position

This is 9 months old but I wanted to share it, excellent choreography and really well done