BruceVC

Hi Astiaks How are you doing after the earthquake in Iran?

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2013/04/11/no-easy-mode-allowed-an-interview-with-dark-souls-2-director-yui-tanimura-plus-new-screenshots/ An interesting interview around Dark Souls 2

That climb is impressive, nice one I like your cat, damn he has lived to a ripe old age and seems quite skilled at sleeping

Done I liked it as you suggested, do I get free Belgium Waffles? I love Belgium waffles

Well played NZ, a progressive and important decision

I have to be honest I don't understand how anyone who reads fantasy can say they couldn't get into the Game of Thrones books , I have convinced people who don't even read fantasy to read the books and they are now addicted to them. They really are the best fantasy series I have ever read and they are vastly superior to the TV series, as books tend to be. And for the record the TV series is excellent but the books offer a much more complex and nuanced view of the Game of Thrones world, you also get to understand and identify with the characters in a much more personal level than the TV series. But I am glad people are enjoying the TV series

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I don't deny that there is systemic abuse of migrant workers across the Middle East, but its not part of the law of countries and is illegal..though this is often ignored. Also you don't see this living in Riyadh, this probably happens in the rural area's

Carefully tiptoeing around say the question of Saudi Arabia which still enjoys unconditional support even though it is undoubtedly, the absolute worst country in the world especially when considering the potential of its wealth, incomparable on any level to the aforementioned nations above. Sorry my friend but I disagree. Our company has a branch in Dubai and I travel to the Middle East regularly for work. I have also had to work on 3 one month contracts in Saudi Arabia and its most definitely not the worst country in the region. A couple of points about Saudi Arabia (for the record I would never live there but you can work there) Is it a Western Democracy? No and it does have several conservative laws that I think are wrong but almost all countries in the Middle East have laws and cultures that I disagree with but these are things we need to accept when we work in other countries Is it a friend to the West? Yes, the Saudi's have been instrumental in the War on Terror and helped expose several plots by Al-Qaeda. When you travel there as a Westerner you don't feel threatened at all and the companies I worked for treated me really well Are the citizens of Saudi Arabia happy? Yes in the sense that they didn't have the violent riots and uprisings that we saw in Libya, Egypt and Syria. The Saudi King allocated $30 Billion to uplifting his poorer citizens when the Arab Spring started and he avoided any serious violence Why do you think Saudi Arabia is such a terrible place compared to Zimbabwe or Iraq under Saddam Hussein? You're misrepresenting things or uninformed. I went to Abu Dhabi, and spoke to several US expatriates that lived and worked in SA. They hated the place, said it was absolute hell to work there for an extended period of time and very unsafe. They were glad to get out in one piece, lived in closed off compounds and had tight security all the while. By conservative laws you mean chopping people's hands off for stealing, decapitation as capital punishment and stoning to death for adultery? Or is it the political system, the uncontested rule of an absolute monarch and his free will to do whatever he feel like at all times? A friend of the west? The friend that funnels astronomical sums of money into fundamentalist wahabi proselytism and terrorists cells all over the world? As for the protests: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%9313_Saudi_Arabian_protests Seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about. Sorry Drowsy but you are the one who is misinformed. I am telling you I have lived in Riyadh for 3 months, its very safe. You can walk in the streets and the locals may be indifferent towards you but not once was I threatened. There are wealthy Saudi's who support terrorism and Al Qaeda but thats there own choice and not the policy of the Saudi government. As I mentioned the Saudi government has arrested hundreds of Al Qaeda members in the last few years, they didn't do this because they love the West but they did do this as they became targets of Al Qaeda themselves so they clamped down on fundamentalism, or rather they clamped down on the fundamentalism of the likes of Al Qaeda Now if you asked me " did you enjoy working there", the answer would be an emphatic "no". Its not a great place for a liberal like me. But thousands of ex-pats work there for years and make good money. But for me quality of life is more important than money. In Saudi it wasn't the fact that you can't get alcohol that bothered me but the reality that you just can't speak to any women. Its depressing as I enjoy the company of ladies. But once again these things don't make Saudi Arabia the worst country in the world, far from it. If you understand there cultural rules and respect them you will have no issues and a short work contract will be a profitable excursion

Carefully tiptoeing around say the question of Saudi Arabia which still enjoys unconditional support even though it is undoubtedly, the absolute worst country in the world especially when considering the potential of its wealth, incomparable on any level to the aforementioned nations above. Sorry my friend but I disagree. Our company has a branch in Dubai and I travel to the Middle East regularly for work. I have also had to work on 3 one month contracts in Saudi Arabia and its most definitely not the worst country in the region. A couple of points about Saudi Arabia (for the record I would never live there but you can work there) Is it a Western Democracy? No and it does have several conservative laws that I think are wrong but almost all countries in the Middle East have laws and cultures that I disagree with but these are things we need to accept when we work in other countries Is it a friend to the West? Yes, the Saudi's have been instrumental in the War on Terror and helped expose several plots by Al-Qaeda. When you travel there as a Westerner you don't feel threatened at all and the companies I worked for treated me really well Are the citizens of Saudi Arabia happy? Yes in the sense that they didn't have the violent riots and uprisings that we saw in Libya, Egypt and Syria. The Saudi King allocated $30 Billion to uplifting his poorer citizens when the Arab Spring started and he avoided any serious violence Why do you think Saudi Arabia is such a terrible place compared to Zimbabwe or Iraq under Saddam Hussein?

I can explain why your logic is flawed for you, but I can't understand it for you. No please explain to me why these both aren't forms of discrimination, I'll try to understand it.

Yes I do see it in the same light, sexism is a form of discrimination and so is anti-semitism No one is going stop you making crass or insensitive jokes about women but just be prepared for people to object to it. There are thousands of things we can joke about so why would you not joke about something that isn't offensive to women, is that such an issue? I fail to see how this is becoming sanctimonious, its not like I expect peoples behavior or the current rules of these forums to change. All I'm asking is for people to be aware of the current prevalence of sexism on the Internet and to object to it if you encounter it. And for the record I have several times disagreed with Oby's posts. But he also is a difficult person to understand, his motives aren't clear to me.

I don't think so, and that video made me chuckle

i actually thought that it was a way to avoid having the joker, since the plotline is early batman fighting off 8 assassins and the main villain is black mask, they may not need to use joker at all, sidestepping the mark hamill problem (problem as in, mark hamill wont do the joker voice anymore cause it is too hard on his throat now) thing is, i wonder which assassins they will use? deathstroke is announced deadshot is almost guaranteed lady shiva too the other five.... im sure bigger batman fans have already listed a dozen likely candidates, i give up at 3 lol I love the Batman universe, all the possible villains and stories. I use to collect Batman comics so obviously I am a huge fan of the games

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/09/decor-never-changes-metro-last-lights-world/#more-148844 Guys here is a good video about the upcoming Metro 2033 game, I think it looks great

You raise some good points, for me in an ideal world I would want any forum to represent the accurate demographics of gamers. So yes 50/50 would be great but there are several legitimate reasons why we don't see that on these forums and others. Thats fine and I think we all understand the reasons. I am much more concerned with the general level of sexism that exists throughout the Internet and that is something I will always make a point of making a stand against when I see it. Also just to be clear these forums don't have a culture of sexism as has been raised by our female members. But my post was never actually about these forums specifically but it was really more of a general question to get some understanding of the issue

"Gorthfucious" , you crack me up

I believe this is the thread you want - http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/135-location-no-age-or-sex-required-yet/ - albeit a decade out of date, apparently. Time for a new one? Thats is interesting. I only found Majek, Mkreku and Volourn who actively post nowadays Oi! Then you only read the first few pages; Meshugger, Purkake, Morgothm GhostOfAnakin, Samm (somtimes), Pidesco, Monte Carlo, Enoch. You get the picture. But that's like from the first week, some of us took a few months to arrive (can't belive it's been 9! years.. crazy) Now for old school demographic fun.. There's always the Dating Thread. You guys are right, I did only read the first few pages. I apologize, I also see Gorgon is an old member I chuckled when I read Monte's controversial and borderline insulting comments about not feeling European. I see somethings don't change

Thanks for the post, that really doesn't sound pleasant and highlights again the issue around sexism and discrimination that several people have raised that is prevalent in many area's of the Internet

I believe this is the thread you want - http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/135-location-no-age-or-sex-required-yet/ - albeit a decade out of date, apparently. Time for a new one? Thats is interesting. I only found Majek, Mkreku and Volourn who actively post nowadays

I should have posted something earlier but I was focused on my post about sexism. IMO she was an iconic stateswomen whose leadership style was necessary at the time to break the power of the Trade Unions and lift the UK out of the economic quagmire it found itself in during the 1980's. Its debatable what role she played in ending the Cold War but she was instrumental in reducing the power of the USSR along with other world leaders. She isn't very popular in certain political circles in South Africa as its felt she helped perpetuate Apartheid. I don't agree with that as her primary enemy during her reign was Communism, which I agree with, and since the ANC received funding by the Communists the ending of Apartheid wasn't a priority for her. Anyway I know she also destroyed certain economies in the UK so I can understand some of the animosity towards her, but you won't see that from me as I believe she did more good than bad. Iron Lady RIP

That trip does sound fun, I have never been to Russia. Are you going to look Oby up when you are there?

Yeah...you'd think they'd have realized that conceptually, it was a bust. yeah that was good