213374U

Recently reinstalled Call of Pripyat. Figured I'd give Misery 2.1 a try. Stutter every twenty seconds or so and the overblown h4rdc0r3 "balance" decisions convinced me to delete the mod after a few hours. A pity, because the focus on survival and scavenging instead of gunplay is a good idea, but the execution is terrible. Need to find a better mod.

Actually, Ukraine pre-Maidan was a buffer zone. The likely product of this sad episode, to wit, an extremely anti-Russian Ukrainian remnant and territories annexed by Russia is the complete opposite.

Oh, but that's not the argument I made, only the one you construed from amputating half my post. Pretty much in line with your tendency to mischaracterize the positions of others into black-or-white bull**** strawmen that you can then heroically ride in on your high horse and righteously put down. Try again! (protip: this time try making a rebuttal that is not a one-liner. You need to be witty and original for those to work, you are not quite there yet)

What the hell. Another MMO?

Because the next attempt will finally produce the WoW-killer. Like, totally, guys. Also, I'm sure there's a market study there somewhere that shows microtransactions to be the ultimate nickle-and-dime scheme. I'm... ambivalent on this one. I have no interest whatsoever in a WoT clone, but if the scenario structure and strategic elements are expanded, I may change my mind.

+1 As I've said before, while Svobada certainly aren't the most agreeable folks the Russians who say, without irony, "Little Russia should be one with Big Russia again" or that "Europe is due to feel what it's like to have a Russian boot on their neck again" are no better. The Russian nationalists who are that quick to denounce the entire Euromaidan movement as "fascist" ought to look at themselves in the mirror sometime. It's also funny that people will soil themselves at the though of "Russian boots on their necks again", but the strategy of systematic encirclement of Russia by NATO is, on the other hand, just fine. I've mentioned this several times but it has been ignored by people, the real reason for the Crimean annexation is that Putin wants a buffer zone around the borders of Russia. I can understand this as there is perceived idealogical threat from EU and NATO. But then in this debate lets acknowledge this, these spurious justifications that Russia moved into the Crimea because of the illegal removal of Yanukovych and the threat from Fascists are moot. Lets discuss the real reason the Crimean annexation Because it's either/or, right? That is convenient as that way we can simply ignore everything else and focus on the Enemy Of The Week, as has been the official party line from day one. We do feel quite naked without our blindfolds. No, thanks. Let's not forget that Russia subscribed to the Feb 21 agreement. Putin has moved much faster (and with far greater boldness) than the US and EU anticipated, but he's still basically reacting. One of the Russian Ukrainians in the video Agiel posted hit the nail on the head: Russia has lost Ukraine as a partner nation, and annexing Crimea and south east Ukraine isn't going to change that. The hydrocarbons are a nice bonus, as is the large amount of arable land (agriculture is one of the main economic sectors of Ukraine), but for a country that's already the world's largest oil producer -and with huge untapped reserves in east Siberia- it's definitely not the motive. In the event that Putin may be trying to resurrect the Russian Empire, maybe that is a good reason to actually start promoting strong, stable and independent democratic regimes within the Russian sphere of influence, instead of propping up corrupt kleptocrats more receptive to western suggestion, hmm?

+1 As I've said before, while Svobada certainly aren't the most agreeable folks the Russians who say, without irony, "Little Russia should be one with Big Russia again" or that "Europe is due to feel what it's like to have a Russian boot on their neck again" are no better. The Russian nationalists who are that quick to denounce the entire Euromaidan movement as "fascist" ought to look at themselves in the mirror sometime. Not that I disagree in principle... but drawing a parallel between some nobody Soviet nostalgic "activist" on the street and the Minister of Defense of Ukraine is not the best way to make your point. No, Euromaidan wasn't necessarily a far-right movement as a whole, but they did effectively relinquish control to the neo-nazi minority element by standing behind them when things took a nosedive in the streets, after they decided to abrogate the Feb 21 agreement, and most importantly, by excluding more moderate political figures from it: It's a common element in the rise to power of fascist movements that, early on, they enjoy the support (or at least the acquiescence) of the generally more moderate majority sectors of society. It's also funny that people will soil themselves at the though of "Russian boots on their necks again", but the strategy of systematic encirclement of Russia by NATO is, on the other hand, just fine.

Even if he did give evidence, what would be the point - you wouldn't believe it anyway. Malc I'm hurt that you would suggest such a thing, you know me... I do change my mind and agree with people. Produce the evidence and I'll review it and then get back to you http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/18/ukranian-tv-beaten-up-far-right-parliament_n_4988366.html http://nsnbc.me/2014/03/19/kiev-inspects-russia-for-alleged-military-buildup-while-escalating-violence-crimea-snipers-kill-2/ (read the part about Alexander Mamaj) http://rt.com/news/ukraine-kharkov-radicals-attack-982/ Took me a full five minutes to dig that up. How's that blindfold working out for you? I think it's pretty cool how, now that it's no longer possible to dispute the fact that nazis are part of the Ukrainian gov't, it simply doesn't matter as long as they don't go on genocidal rampages. Reminder: the actual, real deal, German nazis didn't go on ethnic hatred-fueled rampages either... until they did. Kristallnacht didn't happen until '38, but ol' Adolf was appointed Chancellor in '33. Ah, but I guess history, much like constitutional law, isn't our forte, right guys? Enjoy your doublethink! Hi 2133 I reject anything from RT due to its profound bias, I also reject the link about the TV chief getting attacked because its not in English and you can't possibly expect me to comment on something I don't understand That just leaves your final link, before I comment who is http://nsnbc.me/ anyway? I have never heard of them...are they credible? I am worried about where you get information from 2133, I don't want you to be influenced and manipulated by websites that have a some sort of anti-western agenda Hmm. So, basically, you reject anything that isn't delivered by Beeb. Okay bro. But, see, the problem is that that sort of hand waving works for everyone—I can just as easily dismiss everything everyone else has posted ITT as "profoundly biased" and driven by "some sort of anti-Russian agenda". And the accusation would be true in both cases! Beautiful, don't you think? I don't expect you to believe anything I post. But I do expect you to read the links and do your own research. You know, as opposed to just coming up with flimsy reasons to convince yourself that they aren't valid so you can feel better. But don't kid yourself, there are no good guys in this; only bad guys and "our" bad guys.

Even if he did give evidence, what would be the point - you wouldn't believe it anyway. Malc I'm hurt that you would suggest such a thing, you know me... I do change my mind and agree with people. Produce the evidence and I'll review it and then get back to you http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/18/ukranian-tv-beaten-up-far-right-parliament_n_4988366.html http://nsnbc.me/2014/03/19/kiev-inspects-russia-for-alleged-military-buildup-while-escalating-violence-crimea-snipers-kill-2/ (read the part about Alexander Mamaj) http://rt.com/news/ukraine-kharkov-radicals-attack-982/ Took me a full five minutes to dig that up. How's that blindfold working out for you? I think it's pretty cool how, now that it's no longer possible to dispute the fact that nazis are part of the Ukrainian gov't, it simply doesn't matter as long as they don't go on genocidal rampages. Reminder: the actual, real deal, German nazis didn't go on ethnic hatred-fueled rampages either... until they did. Kristallnacht didn't happen until '38, but ol' Adolf was appointed Chancellor in '33. Ah, but I guess history, much like constitutional law, isn't our forte, right guys? Enjoy your doublethink!

Hmm, only it actually is a good argument. ... no? Please, learn from Volourn how to formulate a counterpoint, then come back.

Yep. For one, Putin's just a SM captain ? (it's not the Big E in that art work ). Because the Emperor of Soviet Russia is clearly Lenin, preserved within his sarcophagus, neither dead nor truly alive, for all of eternity:

Well, at least you are finally acknowledging your betters, Mor-on.

What happened to Königsberg is disgrace—still, it's Russians living there now, because the then-resident Germans either fled before the Red Army encircled the city, or were expelled or outright killed after it surrendered. The only thing you'd raise if you suggested that a referendum should be held on whether Kaliningrad is to rejoin Germany as East Prussia, is a few eyebrows. A more pertinent example, perhaps, would be South Sakhalin, though even there Russification mostly removed the presence of Japanese and Ainu ethnic groups. Err... I'm inclined to believe it, but the way it's presented in the article is a bit misleading. It's two different events: - the arrest of a Russian national close to Crimea that has been identified as a member of GRU on March 14 - the arrest of a bunch of unidentified gunmen in possession of explosives and "special technical means" in south east Ukraine on March 16 The men in the second group haven't been identified (or at least no info is given) and could be private contractors, Ukrainian "self defence" types, or more Russian operators. The guy arrested on March 14 apparently had some fake IDs on him, but the way the SSU press release is worded, it's unclear whether the "document" that identified him as a GRU operative was found on the man himself. Another bit of the article that left me scratching my head was this: Is there any evidence for this that I've missed or it's just the author suggesting possibilities?

Hmm, only it actually is a good argument. Let's discuss the replay value (and therefore bang/buck ratio) of NWN -even the OC that could be played co-op- or even DAO vs DA2. Go! Seriously, I wouldn't be such a foaming-at-the-mouth anti-EA fundie if they didn't have a proven track record of buying up studios I like, turning their respective IPs into pure **** with their magic touch and then shutting those studios down. I don't know how much they are to blame for DA2, as I actually enjoyed both ME3 and TOR, but the fact remains that Bio is now "a division of EA", so no reason to assume that they will be an exception in EA's tried and true business practices.

And I specifically pointed out why that is not a good gauge. You ask the question that way because it will give the answer you want, I answer the question that should be asked. To take an extreme example, I could not prove that there is significant political dissent in North Korea either, but that doesn't mean that there either isn't, or that people willingly support the status quo. It just means that they cannot do so overtly. Here, let me help: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4049949.stm Personally, I wouldn't bother with Magical Volo V2.0. The guy is so disconnected from reality that he'll dismiss peer-reviewed journals as "random links on the internet", so it's just not worth the effort.

In the old attractive women thread, some images he posted resulted in some members being bombarded with malware. Nobody desecrates the sanctity of our hot women pic threads. Nobody.

But in the BG games, yes you do. You cannot take "humanoid" or "creature" levels, you are forced by design to play the role of a heroic (or antiheroic) character. The game is about the epic journey of charname to discover her divine legacy. That the game does not offer you non-heroic alternatives is not a valid complaint past the point where you accept that this premise is the basis for the game you have bought, installed, and are rolling a character in. Complaining at the lack of non-heroic alternatives in BG is akin to decrying the lack of character development of the actors in Counter-Strike. One of the key assumptions that dealing with heroes brings is that the player will rise to the challenge, no matter how perilous, foolhardy or ill-advised it may seem, because that's the defining feature of fictional heroes. Would it be a better game if you could go "ah, screw this, I'm going to mug a few gnomes and drink myself to death in the Copper Coronet" to a game over screen? I honestly don't think the improvement warrants the effort. Of the many faults that can be found with the writing in the BG saga, railroading towards a confrontation with the antagonist is the one I understand the least.

That's the idea behind Sarevok's character development in ToB. If you take him with you, he'll reveal more about his years of research into the taint and the old Bhaal lore, and his efforts to master it. Unfortunately, this is not possible for the PC because a short unspecified period after Sarevok is defeated, you are cordially invited to Irenicus' BDSM And Mind**** Lounge so spending years immersed in study and profound self-reflection is out of the question. This is also addressed narratively by your "Bhaal powers" being replaced with increasingly powerful versions of the Slayer transformation, through the dream sequences. Irenicus, directly or indirectly, gives the player a crash course in harnessing divine power—far more than Sarevok ever managed through conventional research, by the way. Finding Irenicus is the only logical course of action even if one is not interested in revenge because he seems to be the most readily available source of knowledge on charname's "condition". He managed to capture you once, no reason to believe that running away is going to prevent him from doing so again—taking the initiative could allow this reunion to happen on your terms (even if that actually backfires because <PLOT DEVICE>). Personally, my motivation for tracking him down was properly thanking him for ridding me of snotty Imoen. Sure, you could argue that your charname would rather just retire and find a nice patch of land to cultivate or something equally prosaic, and that by not offering that path the game is a RPG FAIL! but that possibility is implicitly excluded by the player at the character generation screen when they choose a heroic class.

Pathetic. Another "universal principle" to be applied only on a case-by-case basis.

Hmm. Apparently Rostec were the ones reporting the downing to begin with, but I can't seem to find the actual press release (maybe in Russian?). They are "not confirming" the Autobase system was used, but they aren't actually denying anything related to the drone. Again, could be a dodgy translation. Also, MQ-5B has a declared combat radius of 260km. Does that include the "relay" function used to extend the range? Google also brings up stuff about a bigger, badder MQ-5C "E-Hunter", with longer radius. Nothing more recent than 2009, though. Would it be a stretch to assume that drones could be operating from either Meszifon Air Base or Constanţa Int'l?

Damn, foiled again!

Wals the point is not to do better things; sure there's starvation, rape and war in Africa, India and the rest of the Third World but doing something about those would require going to those places and suffering for the cause. I want a cause that I can champion from the comfort of my home, preferably over the Web or strictly on the first World. But you can fight for those causes from the comfort of your chair, too. All it takes is a modicum of awareness as a consumer and, most importantly, that you stop voting for the same douchebags that continue to support the status quo, election after election. No need to become a volunteer surgeon in Mali or anything.

What a problem? Western people can't into proxy? These ban's more just for lulz. That's bull**** and you know it. This is in application of a law passed in December that allows the gov't to restrict access to websites without a judicial warrant. It is a textbook case of political repression, regardless of what "the norm" is for suppressing dissent elsewhere. It's also a tacit affirmation by the Kremlin that Kasparov is a political figure of sufficient weight to warrant repression.

Oby is likely under "moderated" status. His posts don't appear until they are manually approved by a mod, and when they are they appear where they would have if the user wasn't moderated. It's not a very good system—it's confusing for the rest of us and it's also a double form of punishment to moderated members because it reduces the visibility of their posts. I don't really understand why Oby is under moderation, either. He's mostly harmless.

Sadly this is the necessary state we find ourselves in, many governments are forced to do this as some people need to dragged to the table where we discuss how gender equality is here to stay and be implemented by legislation if necessary. I fail to see how addressing an obvious failure of equality is fascist ? LOL Hey bud, whatever happened to: I think this warrants a promotion to oberinspektor of thinkpol. Keep up the good work, citizen!