JadedWolf

"Wives" is probably too pleasant a word. If the media are to be believed, and I have no reason not to, they are taken from school because Boko Haram is against educating women and then used as sex-slaves, because they interpret Islam in such a way that when they steal women they are allowed to use them for sex. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27216931

You can correct me if I am wrong, because I'll be the first to admit I know nothing of Nigeria, but it seems to me Nigeria is a divided country. The North has a Muslim population and apparently the secular government is so powerless here that they had to allow local authorities to institute the Sharia. How would the people here look upon any Western presence - would they applaud it, or would they feel the need to join up to fight the foreign invader? Can you be sure that your solution would solve the problem and not make it worse?

The problem with that is at least so far as I've been watching, everything goes exactly according to plan for Frank. He manages to manipulate everyone exactly the way he wants to, and any loose end is quickly and effortlessly dealt with. I don't find that all that interesting.

I stopped watching House of Cards because quite frankly I couldn't sympathise with any of the characters. I suppose you're not really supposed to sympathise with Frank, but when the most sympathetic figure in a series is a drunk who manages to massively shaft his constituents by getting them all unemployed, I sort of have to scratch my chin and wonder why I'm watching.

Let's not generalize to everyone, shall we? Probably the most effective thing we can do is train the Nigerians to respond to those kinds of problems themselves. I'm not sure a military intervention would work out so well, and is bound to be very controversial, which alone means Obama won't do it. Okay now, I don't know all that much about Nigeria, but what I've read doesn't exactly paint a nice picture of the Nigerian army. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-08/nigeria-army-abuses-may-undermine-fight-against-islamists.html If by training Nigerians, you mean the Nigerian soldiers would be taught not to vent their frustration on civilians, then yes, that'd probably be a good first step.

What would you like to see done, then? You talk about apathy, but for me the matter is that I haven't seen anyone come forward with a good gameplan of what exactly needs to be done here. It's a very complex matter, and it needs a bit more thought than "Hey, let's just send in the marines."

I have no idea what the Vampire Diaries is. Sounds dire. Do these vampires twinkle or sparkle? By the way, count me as one in favour of a Charlie's Adventures in Oz spinoff. Not that I would watch it, but if it meant Charlie would never appear in Supernatural again that'd be a massive win in my book.

Jadedmeister Yes Somali does have some oil reserves that are obviously not in production due to the violence that has been raging in the country the last 20 years. But you raise an interesting point. The initial background to Black Hawk Down was the humanitarian crisis, there is no doubt around that point. But lets say the Americans had stabilized the country and then the various energy corporations started investigating sources of potential oil. Lets say they did find oil and started building refineries. What is wrong with that? Someone has to make the huge capital investment to refine and produce oil and gas. Why cant it be Western countries, would you prefer Chinese companies that didn't contribute towards ensuring peace? These energy companies employ thousands of people and still pay tax to the home country but the reality is there will always be some large corporation behind the building of refineries. But for me the more important point is that Somalia would have had a working and growing economy as opposed the reality of the country now which is basically one of the worst failed states in the world where most of the people live in dire poverty. If some Western companies making a quick buck would be a nice byproduct of increasing the safety and the well-being of the people in Somalia, and if the people in Somalia would see an economic benefit of the exploitation of their natural resources as well, I don't think anyone would be against that.

Where in this thread do you see anyone saying that Boko Haram fanatics are "plucky revolutionaries"? I'm quite confused, I don't see anyone here cheering them on or even remotely defending them.

BruceVC, I always find it difficult to tell when there is an "intervention" whether or not lurking in the background are some economic benefits to be gained from it. For example, some people claim the intervention in Somalia was because of oil interests. Now, I don't really have enough information to judge, but I wouldn't be able to say confidently that these interventions you are talking about were all purely based on a desire for justice and the well-being of the people involved.

It was a backdoor pilot for the spinoff they're producing. From what I gather, most fans of the show don't care and would rather they did a Men of Letters or Charlie's Adventures in Oz spinoff. Oh, bummer. The series could use some new blood. The problem with the Winchesters is that they already put them through so much crap, that it's become almost standard fare, and it gets harder and harder to care. What, did Sam die again? Oh, no worries. Dean'll rescue him and he'll be out and about again in the next episode. They're (to me at least) incredibly likeable characters and a large part of what makes the show good, but even so when it comes to drama you can see the writers have trouble coming up with something new and meaningful.

Just saw the latest Supernatural. Now, I love that show, but they've certainly become more than a bit formulaic. So the latest episode was actually quite refreshing. They seemed to actually focus on someone else than the Winchesters, and a new character at that. Looks really promising. Anyone else still watching?

We can't know if every armor in the game has a specific design for females, but we know for sure scale armor does. And the case can certainly be made that there is no practical reason for it http://forums.obsidian.net/topic/62316-armour-weapon-designs-a-plea-part-iii/?p=1339680 But like I said, I'm personally fine with it, if it is for gameplay reasons. I'm just a bit puzzled with people who are trying to say there are practical reasons why they would look different. I've been trying to look where I read that it was for gameplay reasons, but thinking a bit more on it I think it was actually in another heated forum discussion on the subject, and I don't remember which thread. It might not even exist anymore.

If I understand what they said in the updates correctly, the only reason there is "boob armor" is because the Obsidian guys want the player to be able to see in a glance if a character is male or female, so that it would be easier to see who is who. While I agree that there is no real practical reason why female and male armor would look different, any discussion about it seems moot when the actual reasons for it are not aesthetic but gameplay related. If I had to think of a reason why there'd be "boob armor" though, the only thing I can imagine is that the wearer would for some reason favour a less practical armor that showed off her femininity over practical armor that did not. That being said, I love the art. It's exactly what I would imagine for a modern day version of the old infinity games.

"With all due respect sir, the tried and tested way to cross the river would be to take the bridge..." "Yes, well, I expect some brainless herd animal would take the bridge, yes. Are you a brainless herd animal?" "Well, err... " "Of course not! We're not brainless herd animals, are we corporal? We're sheep, we're rebels. We do things differently! So we swim across the river! Everyone, follow me! One, two, one two! Hup! Hup!"

So, I had this little tools shortage... ... that turned into a bit of a food shortage.

That'd be incredibly lame.

Well, if we're going to do all the Iron Maiden songs, can't forget this one:

Yes, there have been shelters here for ages, and billboards asking clients who suspect prostitutes to be abused to report their suspicions. The problem is the stranglehold the pimps have on their prostitutes, and the unwillingness and fear of the women to come forward. Do you think that making prostitution illegal will improve the problem? Well, there is talk of doing a complete turn-about and switching to the Swedish model, where visiting prostitutes is illegal and it's the clients who are prosecuted. I doubt it would be effective. For one, we have no idea how effective the model is. It is claimed to be a success, but does that mean prostitution really went away or that it has been driven deeper underground? As for what the solution is? I have no idea, but I think Amsterdam should really try to get rid of the image it has of a city of vice. The fact that so many youngsters come to Amsterdam to get wasted and visit prostitutes is exactly what makes the forced prostitution so lucrative.

Yes, there have been shelters here for ages, and billboards asking clients who suspect prostitutes to be abused to report their suspicions. The problem is the stranglehold the pimps have on their prostitutes, and the unwillingness and fear of the women to come forward.

It's quite a complex matter, really. Girls don't really dare to come forward and the community they belong to is closed to outsiders. And even though the police does manage to dismantle some gangs and does manage to take some girls out of prostitution, they can't seem to keep up. It's not just the foreign gangs either. There's also the "lover boys", who seduce young girls, promise them the moon, shower them with gifts - and then slowly groom them to be prostitutes and piggybanks. "You know I really love you, but all those gifts were expensive, and we really need to make some money, babe..."

Or just find reliable hookers. Honestly if it wasn't illegal and if feminist would raise such a fuss I think prostitution would take off like a firestorm. Over here prostitution is legal. The idea was that girls who wanted to earn their money that way could work in controlled, save conditions and no one would be hurt. Sadly, what actually happened was that our red light districts became magnets for gangs that lure girls from Eastern Europe and other poorer parts of the world this way with the promise of a good life, take away their passports, and force them to service as many men as possible in one night. And if they are lucky, they get to actually keep a few euros from all the money they earn after the gangs take their share.

To be honest, both the original author and the author of the rebuttal article make me cringe, because both are incredibly self-centered and at the same time pretending to speak for large groups of people. No guys, you're just speaking for you, and guess what, nobody cares. Well, no one should care, anyway.

Stay on topic. We're talking about superheroes here.