BruceVC

Completed the main Witcher 3 narrative after about 110 hours and as I have mentioned in previous posts the entire Witcher series is one of my favourite RPG of all time W3 gets a solid 90/100 on the global respected " BruceVC game rating system" I am now busy with the DLC As far as the final endings were concerned I had some interesting outcomes and these were all because of the narrative choices I made and a few I made in error now that I know the outcomes Ciri survived and became a Witcher like Geralt, interestingly this aligns to the W4 narrative where she is a Witcher. But I also supported Ciri like the snowball fights and helping her bury her male friend in Skellige and we destroyed Avallac's lab. I was very happy with this outcome and Ciri surviving Radovid ended up defeating Nilfgaard and winning the war, I wasnt happy with this outcome because of his witch hunts and persecutions of Sorceresses. So I should have assassinated him with Dijkstra but I made a wrong choice in the Phillipa quest Emperor of Nilfgaard was eventually assassinated, I was fine with that because I found him to be insufferably arrogant I ended up not being with Triss or Yen and that was my mistake for saying I loved both of them, oh well. I know for next time and remember " hell hath no fury like a women scorned "

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y071kxwn8o @Elerond this US supreme court ruling should make you happy Nothing is guaranteed for Trump at the SC level even with a Conservative majority of judges " The US Supreme Court has rejected a request by the Trump administration to withhold nearly $2bn (£1.6bn) in payments to foreign aid organisations for work they have already performed for the government. On Wednesday, the top court upheld a lower court ruling ordering the administration to release the funds to contractors and grant recipients of the US Agency for International Development and the State Department. "

I cant see town hall meetings being abandoned, they are as American and traditional as apple pie GOP will just have learn to deal with the type of anger some of Trumps policies are creating

https://www.euronews.com/2025/03/05/arab-leaders-endorse-egypts-53bn-plan-to-rebuild-gaza-countering-trumps-proposal The Arab League has finally agreed on something, they are supporting Egypt's $53 billion plan to rebuild Gaza and ensure the Palestinians can remain Hamas will not be allowed to govern this new region so the US should accept it and then Israel has rejected it but that might change Its early days but at least we have a realistic idea created by Arab states outside of Trumps " Gaza Riviera "

When it comes to Trumps presidency the most significant voice is always what Trump thinks and says I have realized it doesnt matter what his cabinet says on most issues because Trump can change his mind literally the next day and then that becomes the official view or policy But that doesnt apply to Trumps views on things like the Gaza Riviera suggestion which was him just throwing a silly idea out So you just need to learn to separate things that Trump can realistically implement and things what he is not serious about

There seems to be a European concern or sentiment that Germany must be limited in how much money it can spend on its military but Germany is also the strongest economy in the EU If Europeans are serious about the EU having its own effective military that is not dependant on the US then Germany mustnt be restrained Its not like we going to see WW1&2 again where Germany is the enemy, the EU is what matters now around its sustainability and its influence and Germany is a committed member of the EU @Lexx what do you think? https://ip-quarterly.com/en/why-germany-can-and-should-increase-defense-spending

Trump\USA not being seen as consistent or trusted partner of the EU anymore could have some really positive outcomes like the EU ensuring its not dependant on the US for military defense or effectiveness Its definitely good news if the EU takes more or complete responsibility for it own defense and military effectiveness Its just better for the EU Trump will be gone in 4 years and the next US president could have a completely different view on the EU relationship like we have seen in the past But either way you dont want the EU\UK to be dependant on the US for something like defense. And I would like to see Germany rearm properly, WW2 was a long time ago and we dont have to worry about Germany trying to conquer other countries The EU needs to do more to establish its own significance and having a strong military is part of that

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70wnjvj1x0o The EU, UK and other countries will now be committed to ending the war in Ukraine and they will present the plan to the US which still needs to be involved in long-term peace because it has more influence over Russia The mineral deal can still happen but its best that these types of discussions dont happen directly between Zelensky and Trump, let the UK or France facilitate these US negotiations on behalf of Ukraine Both Macron and Starmar understand how to engage with Trump

There is lots of misinformation about the mineral deal, one of these points is " all the minerals are in Russian controlled areas " Thats not true, you can see from this map where the mineral deposits are. "Ukraine doesn’t have globally significant reserves of rare earth minerals, but it does have some of the world’s largest deposits of graphite, lithium, titanium, beryllium and uranium, all of which are classed by the US as critical minerals." https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/26/europe/ukraine-us-mineral-resources-deal-explained-intl-latam/index.html Its very normal for most large countries to want to gain access to rare or critical minerals, China now has the biggest mining footprint in Africa. So it shouldnt be a surprise to see the US wanting to gain access to these Ukrainian minerals and to have joint development of these resources But the issue is the last audit of Ukrainian minerals was done by the Soviets so it may not be accurate and then these mining resources need the investment but thats also normal You can also end up finding new deposits that you were not aware of, this happens all the time in mineral rich countries. Recently in 2023 a new Copper vein was found in the DRC by an established mining company https://www.mining.com/ivanhoe-mines-makes-new-copper-discovery-in-drc-similar-to-kakula/ "Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN) announced on Tuesday that geologists made a significant high-grade copper discovery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) similar to the massive orebody it is mining at the Kamoa-Kakula copper complex. The discovery, named Kitoko — meaning “beautiful” or “gift” in several local languages — was made on Ivanhoe’s recently acquired joint venture licences in the Western Foreland, about 25 km west of the ultra-high-grade to Kamoa-Kakula mine. "

Yes the whole " disrespect " point is exaggerated Part of it is because Zelensky wasnt wearing a suit and then he referred to Vance as JD instead of vice-president and then he didnt thank the US enough for previous aid but none of this was intentional or deliberate disrespect But English translation was the biggest misunderstanding, he should have used a translator and hopefully if he goes back he will

It definitely wasnt what Macron wanted, EU leaders would have wanted Trump and Zelensky to get on and find agreement The main reason the meeting failed was that no one had prepared Zelensky for how to engage with Trump, there is well known strategy on how you engage with Trump and Zelensky was clearly not aware of this Then translation was a problem when Zelensky tried to explain certain things Personally I think its a huge mistake for Ukraine to not take the mineral deal, they have more chance of finding a peace deal with Russia with this type of US investment than alienating the US now I hear lots of EU countries saying " we stand by Ukraine " but are they going to continue to fund Ukraine in the same way as the US was? And then I also dont think there is any military solution for Ukraine and the best way forward for Ukraine is to accept its lost the illegally annexed regions and agree to not join NATO But now the war will drag on This was a lost opportunity for Ukraine to preserve most of its country and end the war

I hope they get deported back to Romania or the EU to face the justice they deserve These things take time but extradition does happen between the EU and the USA So Tate brothers may avoid this now under Trump but not the next Democratic presidency if the EU applies formally for extradition

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/hyped-release-epstein-files-sparks-anger-disappointment-right-rcna194087 What a sensationalized distraction the whole " release the REAL Epstein " files has become I dont believe in conspiracy theories on a normal day but this whole thing was really hyped to an unrealistic level But the way its been handled has just been pathetic " Then, Thursday, a handful of right-wing media figures were photographed leaving the White House holding binders labeled “The Epstein Files: Phase 1." The figures included Jack Posobiec, who helped spread the false “Pizzagate” conspiracy theory about Democrats’ operating a satanic child abuse ring out of a Washington pizzeria that led to a shooting at the restaurant. Some went on to cheer the release of the files on their social media accounts. But almost immediately some of them started downplaying what was in the documents. "

https://www.eurogamer.net/bioware-co-founder-reflects-on-mass-effect-3-ending-controversy-life-under-ea-and-the-worst-advice-received-from-xbox Interesting interview from Bioware co-founder Greg Zeschuk around why he decided to leave Bioware and how being bought by EA was a big part of it in the sense he doesnt like working for large companies

Talking about anti-vaxxers, Im sure you aware of the measles outbreak in Texas https://www.dshs.texas.gov/news-alerts/texas-announces-first-death-measles-outbreak And the official advice from the Texas health department is " The best way to prevent getting sick is to be immunized with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine, which is primarily administered as the combination measles-mumps-rubella or MMR vaccine. Two doses of the MMR vaccine prevent more than 97 percent of measles infections. A small number of vaccinated people can occasionally develop measles. In these cases, the symptoms are generally milder, and they are less likely to spread the disease to other people. DSHS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend children receive one dose of MMR at 12 to 15 months of age and another at 4 to 6 years. Children too young to be vaccinated are more likely to have severe complications if they get infected with the measles virus. However, each MMR dose lowers the risk of infection and the severity of illness if infected. " So it also seems vaccines become fine when there is a outbreak of a virus?