ThePest179

I meant in the context of the battle, Hezbollah was basically cannon fodder. I think your post are really informative though, and I hope you keep it up.

https://www.politicalcompass.org/yourpoliticalcompass?ec=-6.88&soc=-7.13 I got a result like Blinky's.

http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?p=11536750#post11536750

I don't know if that's a joke or not, but that triggered a rant of my own. I fucking despise right-wing politics and everyone who believes in it. I am just so fucking sick of seeing people, past and present, in pain from having to deal with the constant bullshit and malicious policies that make up right-wing ideology. Every time I hear someone complain about "the asshole liberals" "welfare parasites" "criminal immigrants" or a whole fuckton of other things I just want to fucking hit them. And my hate for the right isn't confined to just American conservatives, I hate anyone overseas that propagates a similar or worse ideology (like Putin's Russia, ISIS, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, etc). *takes deep breath* Sorry if I pissed off anybody. If it's any consolation you can scream at me for being so liberal. I won't mind.

Okay, so, as can be seen from the title, this is an all purpose thread for discussing American politics. This is pretty informal, so basically you can talk about whatever political issue, government, etc as log as it's connected to American politics. I'll start. I think America could greatly benefit from more and stronger third parties. As it stands right now, we have two major political parties who don't represent their constituents enough (the Republicans have been hijacked by the most extreme among their party, while the Democrats are acting schizophrenic in their flip-flopping between left-wing and centrist policies). Therefore, if America had better third parties, each political party would be held accountable to represent their "base". Instead of not voting, a voter can vote for someone he or she can vote for without feeling revolted at. Even if the candidate doesn't win, it tells the other parties that they need to work to earn the voters' trust and favor.

So an Iraqi militia just bombed an Iranian exile camp: http://www.wsj.com/articles/rockets-near-baghdad-airport-kill-iraqi-soldiers-iranian-refugees-1446171572 http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/30/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-iran-idUSKCN0SO14B20151030 In unconfirmed reports, Iraq has been making progress in retaking the city of Ramadi (the extent of their success so far isn't known, but they're doing something), and in less uplifting news ISIS is outside of Samarra and a Shiite militia (allegedly) blew up the largest Sunni mosque in Baiji. EDIT: http://en.alalam.ir/news/1755261 The Iraqis have a presence in the center of Ramadi. It's about damn time some good news came out of the region.

So, the Turks are stepping up their game against the Kurds: http://anfenglish.com/kurdistan/ypg-reports-ongoing-attacks-by-the-turkish-military The Syrian government is making another go at Palmyra: http://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-restarts-palmyra-operations-with-the-help-of-russian-airstrikes/ The Iranian Revolutionary Guards, backed up with Russian airstrikes and Hezbollah cannon fodder has had one of its most humiliating military disasters to date at Al-Safira. http://web.debka.com/article/24985/Iran%E2%80%99s-elite-Rev-Guards-units-routed-by-ISIS-in-the-Al-Safira-pre-battle-for-Aleppo

The reason those countries are the way they are is because of a range of complex social, political, and economic reasons. Chalking it up to just "human nature" avoids the real issue: that there is no one reason for authoritarian governments to exist.

Okay, I'm no expert but... 1. Presumably more oil reserves/better extraction methods have been discovered in the past four years. 2. Alternative energy sources have been on the rise in the past four years, decreasing the need for oil. 3. Peak oil was greatly exaggerated, similar to the Y2K bug. Those are my explanations anyway.

Except for that pair of guys at the missile silo that had their backs to him, he didn't want to attack until they got to the part where they were saying they were going to kill him on sight. He also repeatedly tested to see if things were non-hostile, so that he didn't have to kill them. IMO, he was just acting like an unusually well adjusted soldier in a combat environment. He also goes out of his way not to shoot some soldiers he bypassed in the rail chapter. Keep in mind that he doesn't have to kill/act hostile to everything he meets to be a psychopath.

Half-Life.

Pizza and hookers? Don't forget the beer! Plus two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half-full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers...

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/yemen-officials-talks-push-al-qaida-aden-fail-34703231 The Gulf/Yemeni coalition has gotten into more fights with al-Qaeda.

You complain about mod leniency, then tell me to let them off. Because these forums are way too lenient when it comes to hate speech and incitements to violence. What the user in question is doing doesn't seem to be crossing any thresholds when it comes to insults. But that's just my opinion.

He's not doing anything wrong.

Okay, so I've done some brief investigation, and here I'll try my best to determine what psychological disorders Gordon Freeman has. If I'm making any glaring errors or if you don't think the disorder in question fits Freeman's personality, let me know; I am not an expert. Without further ado.... Antisocial Personality Disorder: - Wikipedia on ASPD From what we know of Freeman, he has a history of petty crimes (there are hints that he has stolen from Black Mesa in the past and planned to do so in the event he got fired), alluded to trouble with authority figures (namely the police and Black Mesa management), engages in reckless behavior (his frequent consumption of alcohol to the point where he's woken up in dumpsters more than once; his oxycodone addiction; implied sexual harassment of female coworkers) and aggressive behavior (his brief reference to "breaking things" in grad school; unprovoked insults before and after the Resonance Cascade). He also displays little remorse or guilt over his actions, even when those actions cause harm to others (the times he's accidentally killed people usually don't get more than a minute or two of reflection, although in Freeman's defense he's fighting for his life over a period of two days) and has great difficulty holding down relationships (he's talked about how he's been tasered and hit with pepper spray on previous dates). So, all in all, I think that there is a good case to claim that Freeman has ASPD. Psychopathy: Using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, let's see how many characteristics of psychopathy Freeman demonstrates: glib and superficial charm - Freeman states that he is a good liar, but we only have his word to go on that. On the other hand, he briefly mentioned getting acquitted for petty theft. This one's ambiguous. grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self - Yes and that's all that will be said. need for stimulation - His previously mentioned alcohol and oxycodone addiction count. pathological lying - See "glib and superficial charm". cunning and manipulativeness - There's not enough evidence in-series to suggest this. lack of remorse or guilt - Already covered in the ASPD diagnosis; yes. shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness) - Kind of hard to determine in-series, but I'm leaning towards no. Freeman is pretty emotive in-series. callousness and lack of empathy - Freeman considered using a scientist as a human shield at one point, and considered using a guard's intestines as rope, and this isn't mentioning the times he's made fun of the deaths of Black Mesa employees, or tried to steal things from corpses. Then there's his description of how he was going to climb the corporate ladder through kidnapping (Episode 21). I'm leaning heavily towards yes on this one. parasitic lifestyle - We can't tell for certain in-series. poor behavioral controls - This one's ambiguous as well. He's delivered insults to fellow employees before and after the Resonance Cascade, as well as overacting several times when confronted with threats, but these can easily be attributed to other factors. sexual promiscuity - He's been implied to be a sex offender, so it might apply. early behavior problems - We don't have very much information on his childhood, but he did mention he built pillow forts out of plaster of paris. Again, might count. lack of realistic long-term goals - Depends on if his dreams of taming a sea turtle, leaving the country for India, and finding another job after Black Mesa could be considered realistic. impulsivity - Already covered in the ASPD diagnosis; yes. irresponsibility - See "Failure to accept responsibility". failure to accept responsibility for own actions - He frequently rationalizes the accidental deaths he causes. I'm leaning towards yes on this one. many short-term marital relationships - I'm pretty sure he's never married, but it seems like he can't keep a relationship. I'd say it counts. juvenile delinquency - See "early behavior problems". revocation of conditional release - Not enough information. criminal versatility - Implied petty theft, implied sexual harassment, drug abuse, yeah, I'd say it fits Freeman. So, all in all, it would appear that Freeman meets several criteria for being a psychopath. I'd leave the final decision to a psychiatrist, although personally I think he is a psychopath. Paranoid Personality Disorder: - From Wiki on PPD So, while we don't know if Freeman has a "constricted emotional life", we do know that he doesn't have anybody he considers a friend (something that he's quite proud of), although that's not an instant qualifier. He's definitely suspicious of others (again, something he's proud of), and holds grudges (the whole rant about "the list" in episodes 2-3), however, Freeman doesn't appear to have these as central personality traits, nor does he appear to constantly attempt to validate his fears or overact very often (and the times that he does can be conceivably excused). While he does fear things like frog people and mind-reading owls, these are not instant qualifiers. I'm going to say no for this one. I think that's all the ones I wanted to cover. If you think I made any glaring mistakes, either in my psychology or my depiction of Freeman, or if you're more qualified to diagnose these things, please speak up and/or point out my mistakes. So, opinions, comments, criticism, and etc. are all appreciated.

Half Life. I'm starting to wish I had a mouse for my laptop.

So the "Bouncing Factory" has little to no care for its employees' well-being, and has Bob go through hours of work just so he can come back the next day and do it all over again for his whole life. This sounds suspiciously like Freddy Fazbear's Pizza.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-16/israeli-troops-shoot-dead-palestinian-who-stabbed-soldier/6862210 Things have been flaring up significantly in the past weeks, with a Jewish holy site having been set on fire and multiple stabbing attacks taken place.

Okay, I need to know what this board's policies are on conspiracy theories, because IMHO we should ban those espousing conspiracy theories. Here's a very recent example:

Besides these, I never made a real list. So, here's a few more: Half-Life series Portal series Super Mario All Stars (including Super Mario World) Super Mario RPG Command and Conquer: Red Alert Spec Ops: The Line The Stanley Parable Hotline Miami Silent Hill 2 Resistance: Fall of Man inFAMOUS Prototype Super Smash Bros. Brawl/Melee And I think that's it for now.

Okay, thanks.

The Stanley Parable.

If someone can answer this question for me, I'd appreciate it. How many rounds does an MP5 usually carry? I ask because I want to know how accurate Hal-Life's 50 rounds a clip is.

^Calm the fuck down man.