xawery

Tell me about it! I found out the hard way... "Humanoid beings! In this accursed forest! They can't be friendlies... let's try this." *BOOOOM!*

'Airlines terror plot disrupted' Read it here...

Funny, I never associated defensive operations with invading a sovereign country... But then again, invading Iraq was a defensive operation too. Tell me, what are they defending their civilians from? The rocket attacks only began AFTER the invasion. I am also very much interested where you got the idea from that someone here considers Lebanese lives more important than Israeli ones. If you give it a little thought, I think you will find that most people here are critical of Israel's actions, because the death ratio of Isreali civilians to Lebanese civilians is 1:20. What is more, the Israeli's are being killed by a fanatical religious militia. Lebanese civilians are being killed by the military arm of a democratic, modern state. I think the difference is clear...

How does your brother's laziness say anything about turn-based strategy games?

I must say it looks very nice. Kind of like CMBB with better graphics. I'm not too sure about the real-time aspect... I am obviously worried about it becoming a click fest. I thought that CMBB had the right mix: give orders in one turn, see the results in the other. Well, we'll just have to wait and see! The beta demo should be out soon.

Listen, you are not an anti-extremist. And you share the interests of a minority whom you try to paint as moderates when they are, in fact, as you are, utter lefties. Don't try to whitewash yourself. I belong in the right spectrum of politics, you belong in the extreme left. That's the truth right there. Tell me, which country have you been criticizing the most, politically and culturally? That would be Israel. Now, what is that that people like, say, the "progressives" at Daily Kos try to do? They like to call themselves "progressives" while they say screw dead troops, victory to the Iraqi resistance, Israel must be eliminated, and generally wallow in antisemitism and hatred of Israel. Hmm, this is the second time I have seen you blatantly discount someone's opinions based on their supposed political affiliation, instead of their arguments (remember the 'pinko' comment?). Come on, let's stick to meritorious discussion, shall we? By analogy, I could call you a right-wing nutcase. I may very well think so about you, but how does such a qualification benefit the discussion? Let's face it: it doesn't. I think everyone will agree that this discussion should be about the FACTS. Not hearsay, nor ad hominems, but facts. If we conduct this debate by saying "you are to the left/right of me, so clearly you are wrong" then we might as well stop wasting our time.

Try the excellent Retaliation campaign (don't have a linky, but a search in the User Missions forum should do the trick). It's an interpretation of the original CWC campaign from the Russian side. Great action, excellent voice overs and outstanding, original missions. It's made with stock BIS units, so it shouldn't conflict with FFUR. I remember playing it with FFUR 1985 and it was a blast... I assume it will be equally fun with FFUR 2006

As relevant as the use of dysphemisms in the media in general (or euphemisms for that matter), but that's a matter of personal preference and personally, I prefer my facts cold and hard, not "improved" by some maggot with an agenda. Obviously, and I agree with you on that Ares. Personally, I prefer facts to be facts, full stop. Touching up photographs is a flagrant transgression of the rules of good journalism. However, my questioning of the relevance of this incident wasn´t primarily based on the fact that the original photograph differed very little from the edit. What I meant was that there is no proof of this being common practice in AP. What is more, I can´t really understand what the photgrapher´s goal may have been. His edit of the photograph didn´t significantly alter the connotations of the image. It´s not like the original photo depicted a peaceful and prosperous part of Beirut. Why would he want to touch up the photograph then, and in such an amateurish manner to boot? I am actually inclined to believe him: he did a crap job. It´s just like Denoir once said: whenever some behaviour can be explained either in terms of malice or incompetence, it´s usually incompetence. Anyway, I think we´re wasting too much time on this issue. A photographer fucked up, but that doesn´t make the situation in Lebanon is any less dreary. The oil spill is turning out to be a significant environmental problem. Thousands, if not hundreds of thousands civilians displaced. The whole country is in shambles - the infrastructure is destroyed, humanitarian aid cannot reach the needy. And for what? Hezbollah is not being dealt a blow, the civilians are. You cannot destroy a guerilla force with airstrikes. Let´s not forget the Israeli victims. Katyusha´s may be innacurate, but it´s the randomness of the strikes that holds the civilian populace in a constant grip of uncertainty. One moment you´re crossing the street, the other your body is riddled with shrapnel. The Israeli death toll may be significantly lower than the Lebanese one, but that doesn´t make the civilian deaths any less significant. It should be noted though that Hezbollah has not targeted civilians until Israel began the massive bombardments on Lebanon. Additionally, people who remain indoors are relatively safe from the katyusha´s - the Lebanese have nowhere to hide from Israeli bunkerbusters. In short, the whole operation (Samson´s Pillars, or Pillars of Samson, if I´m not mistaken?), is a win-win situation for Hezbollah. Airstrikes won´t eliminate it. If Israel realises this and decides to withdraw, Hezbollah can claim victory. If Israel chooses to continue the bombardments, Hezbollah´s popularity will grow - after all, it´s the only organisation actively opposing ´Israeli aggression´. What is more, the pro-Western elite will eb damaged, because it has been proven to be impotent in the face of an attack. Should Israel decide to commit ground troops to the offensive, they will find themselves in the same situation as 6 years ago - stuck in a guerilla conflict they cannot hope to win. At least not in the short term, and not without heavy casualties. As we know, the Israeli public opinion is not willing to accept casualties. In sum, Israel is stuck in a lose-lose situation. And I haven´t evem factored in the opinion of the international community into this... Even the US will not be able to unconditionally support Israel if things like Qana II keep happening.

Hello gentlemen, though it may be rather superfluous, great job on the mod! I really enjoyed the previous version and this one is even more fun! I have only one gripe - the tracers. They look like lasers and even ppsh´s have them... Now, I could turn them off, but that would remove the tracers from the MGs... Do you think you could implement Bn880´s fantastic tracer addon in Libmod? I´ve seen it at work in WGL and it´s absolutely fantastic. Regards, X.

You have to be absolutely blind NOT to notice that the picture has been touched up. The responsible photographer has been fired, and rightly so (he admitted to having ´retouched´ the photo, but he claims he did not intend to mislead and that his workplace was dark  ). What is more worrying is the fact that the editors did not notice that the photograph has been tampered with. Still, is this relevant? The edited picture doesn´t really paint a different image than the original one. There´s tons of other evidence of the destruction wrought upon Lebanon by Israeli aircrafts and artillery. Naturally, some people try to imply that because this photograph was touched up, obviously ALL images released by AP have been tampered with and do not represent the actual situation in Lebanon. Again, a perfect example of secundum quid. I´m serious people, read up on your logic - it will prevent you from making the same mistakes over and over again. On a different note - the oil spill caused by the bombing of the Jiyyeh power plant has spread to the shores of Syria. The amount of damage caused to wildlife is rather self-explanatory...

Funny you should mention this dmakatra. I was listening to Lustmord via winamp when playing this mission. Dear lord but this man makes atmospheric music...

Fair enough, although I have no idea what a phonix is supposed to be. Incidentally, the phoenix is not "that bird from Harry Potter", but a mythological being from Egypt, which has been adopted by Christians as a symbol of resurrection. I would like to present a different analogy, one which has already been put forward by another member of these forums whose name I sadly do not recollect (it was either Garcia or Deanosbeano I believe). There is this small, nasty fellow who has been beaten up and cheated by a big, muscular fellow. Now, the small chap kicks the bigger one in the bollocks. The muscular fellow reacts by beating the small fellow's mother senseless. As a result, the small fellow remain unscathed, but receives support from his kin. Together, they kick the big chap's shin. In other words, Israel's actions are not harming Hezbollah but the Lebanese population. The only effect of these actions is that Hezbollah can count on more support now... Let's forget all moral issues for the moment, and look pragmatically at the effect of Israel's recent military operations in Lebanon. Are they truly hurting Hezbollah? No. Who are they hurting? The civilians. What are the consequences? The Lebanese government looks weak, and the civilians are more likely to support Hezbollah. After all, it is the only organisation actively 'defending Lebanon'. Hezbollah are fuckheads who want to turn Lebanon into a theocratic state a la Iran. They deserve no sympathy. However, Israel's reaction is counterproductive. Simply on practical grounds, one should seriously doubt the sensibility of Israel's reaction to the kidnappings. In other words,

Now, the reason why I expressed my admiration for Nemesis6 and not for you mp_phonix wasn't the lack of tenacity on your part. It is because he can spell, and you, well, can't. Or just don't. Good god man, you even spelled your nickname incorrectly when registering! I'm not saying this to pick on you. But please, understand that the more illegible your posts are, the more difficult it becomes to actually read them. For all I know, you may be making some very valid points, but the lack of proper punctuation, horrible spelling & grammar turn your posts into a very unpleasant experience. Perhaps you should consider writing your posts in Word first, then spell-checking them before actually posting. Again, I would like to stress that I am not making fun of your writing style. I am not being arrogant nor condescending. It's just that proper writing skills are essential for a good discussion. Even the board rules mention that. All this notwithstanding, I will attempt to reply to your post. But it makes one wonder, doesn't it? You say that "Israel probably had a reason", but if they refuse to disclose it and admit that it was an accident, it starts getting suspicious, doesn't it? The UN post was an accident. Qana I + II were an accident. Now this parking lot is an accident as well. Either the ID/AF are completely incompetent, or they have no regard for civilian lives, or they are doing this on purpose and try to cover it up. I don't know about that. Don't you think that reporters and rescue workers have better vehicles at their disposal? After all, they're operating in a war zone, and are prepared for this kind of situations. So yeah, while a 4x4 Dodge might get you there eventually, I doubt that ordinary civilians with ordinary cars made for paved roads will be able to get out. Besides, how many people actually own a vehicle there? AFAIK, the people in that region are quite poor, so they are unlikely to own a car, let alone an off-road beast. Let's see: the Lebanese government used to be next to powerless, given Syria's influence (which, as you know, supports Hezbollah). But that's not important: what you are saying is that civilians should pay the price for 'letting' Hezbollah rule the South. W. T. F.? How fucking self-righteous can you get? You think you have the right to 'make the civilians pay' for the fact that a well-organised, well-financed and certainly well-armed militia is occupying the southern region because it borders on Israel?? You seem to be thinking that the Lebanese civilians are some kind of homogeneous entity, acting in unison. Do you have any idea how hard it is to oppose a well-armed entity, especially if it supporting the community? Jesus C. mate, consult your common sense before making such wild claims. Hezbollah had all the reasons to kidnap those soldiers; what is more, they had announced it a long time before. Isreal had agreed upon a prisoners' exchange, but backed out at the last moment. Hezbollah swore to kidnap more soldiers so as to force Isreal back into negotiations. After years of trying, they finally succeeded. However, they got more than they bargained for - instead of negotiating the release of the prisoners, the Isreali government decided to bomb a country. Wow. Good thinking there. This certainly saved the soldiers' lives. What's the final analysis? Idiots reside on both sides. Taunting Israel just as it was getting rather testy about the whole Gaza kidnapping is idiotic. Reacting to a kidnapping as if it were a full scale invasion of your country is idiotic as well. What follows, is the well-known downward spiral... Fuelled by idiots. And what does the rest of the world do? Just a moment please, we'll get right back to you...

Please note that my admiration was directed at Nemesis6 only... With regard to the criticising/discussing traditions: I can understand where Bernadotte was coming from. A nation's traditions reflect it's mindset. Choosing the site of a mass suicide can (note the emphasis) be interpreted as a reinforcement of a mentality of victimhood. However, that is mere speculation and as such irrelevant. If we cherry-pick specific events from the history of ethnic groups, we will be able to prove whatever we like. Besides, all nations like to wallow in self-pity. Let's use WWII again (as it seems to be the yardstick for all events...): the French see themselves as victims, although they (partially) collaborated with the Germans. The Dutch see themselves as victims, although the NSB actively participated in deporting Jews and most volunteer SS came from Holland. The Russians see themselves as victims, although they didn't bat an eyelash when they raped and pillaged on their way to Berlin. The Polish see themselves as victims, altough numerous Poles assisted in persecuting Jews. The Austrians see themselves as victims, although they welcomed the Nazi's with open arms. Hell, even the Germans see themselves as victims ("Wir haben es nicht gewusst!"). All in all, victimhood is a popular trend amongst nations. Few are willing to face the dark pages in their own history, and this is the major problem of our world. If we were able to look objectively at our respective pasts (or rather, as objective as one can), without resorting to defaitism or blind patriotism, the world would be a much better place. NO SINGLE NATION on our little planet is innocent, in any sense of the word. No single nation has the moral high ground. As soon as we accept that, and start looking at conflicts and issues in a pragmatic manner, the world will become a better place.

How did Bernadotte defend him? IIRC (I can't be bothered to browse all the pages of this thread, but if you happen to know the exact page number, pass it on please), all Bernadotte did was say that his friend's research showed that the people who helped the Jews during the war are rather anti-judaic. The same thing happened here in the Netherlands, the famous February Strike in 1941. When asked about the reason for the strike, the people replied "they may be bloody Jews (rotjoden), but they're OUR bloody Jews!". Anyway, I can't say that I care for ethnic jokes of any kind. They're usually in poor taste and symptomatic of a simplistic mind. What strikes me though, is the fact that only Jews interpret ethnic jokes directed at them as being a direct attack on their right to exist. "Wait", you may say, "don't they have the right to do so? After all, didn't Hitler try to wipe them off the face of the earth?" True, but let's take a look at the other victims of the Holocaust. What, there were other victims than Jews?? Yes indeed, though many people seem to forget it. Poles, Serbs, Roma, Sinti, Russians, Ukrainians, Belarussians... But let's take a specific look at the Poles, the Nazi's first target. 5-6 million Poles were killed in the Holocaust. Half of them were non-Jews. The eradication of the Poles was one of Hitler's first goals. Hitler in 1939: "kill without pity or mercy, all men, women, and children of Polish descent or language. Only in this way can we obtain the living space [lebensraum] we need". Himmler: "All Poles will disappear from the world.... It is essential that the great German people should consider it as its major task to destroy all Poles." Poles were also made to wear special markings in the concentration camps: One can thus not deny that the Poles suffered greatly during WWII, and were systematically persecuted, just like the Jews. There's even a Polish equivalent of anti-judaism: antipolonism. Despite these horrid experiences, have you ever seen the Poles (mis)use the horrors of the Holocaust to justify their actions? What about the Polish jokes which are so popular in the USA? Do you see the ambassador complaining about that? If Mel Gibson would have said "The Poles control this world, you know. Are you a Pole?" to the policeman who stopped him, do you think that the same hoopla would ensue? When the film Uprising was released, were there any riots about the inaccurate and negative portrayal of the Poles? The answer to all these questions is: NO. The Jews' suffering in WWII, while horrible in it's own right, was not unique. However, if you ask a random person on the street about the Holocaust, 9 times out of 10 he/she will not be aware of any other victims of this tragedy. This is very unfair. It seems almost as if the Jews have "monopolised" the suffering caused by Nazi Germany, and used it as an ultimate and unalienable justification for all kinds of actions. This is a tremendous shame; ultimate truths dispense with any need for reflexion. I, for one, believe that many of the things going wrong in the Middle East right now may be traced back to this self-imposed righteousness. How else can one explain the disproportionate, non-compromising attack on Lebanon? If every conflict is being interpreted in the light of the supposedly unique position of the Jews in WWII, then one is bound to overreact. Incidentally, I would like to express my admiration for you Nemesis6, as strange as it may sound. I may not agree with you, I may find your reasoning faulty, but I cannot help admiring the tenacity with which you persist in defending your viewpoints. Especially considering the fact that you are ideologically outnumbered on these boards. For every post that you write, you can expect at least 3-4 negative replies, yet you persevere. I find this truly commendable. And just to be perfectly clear: I am not being sarcastic in any sense - my admiration is genuine.

Hi Tacrod, I'm glad you liked my suggestions. I am a firm believer in aural effects as immersion/atmosphere enhancers. Incidentally, I did notice the ambient battle sounds in the HQ missions. Still, the stock 'ambient battle sounds' sound very different from actual combat sounds in OFP. You can always recognise whether the sounds come from an actual firefight somewhere on the island, or just a sound trigger. Again, I don't know what impact this would have on performance, but it would be nice if other AI were fighting elsewhere on the map. Perhaps friendly AI would be defending the objective you took in the previous mission against an enemy counterattack? That would be awesome. With regard to the aural commands: that sounds (no pun intended;)) like a great idea. It would also be nice if the platoon commanders would report in if under fire, or when enemy is spotted. Perhaps I could assist you with the sounds. I have access to professional-grade recording equipment, and if need be, I (and some friends) could record some standard messages. Regards, X.

Interesting conclusions. What do you base them upon? Articles in partisan media? Because that is all I could find on a quick google search. If you would adopt a more objective stance and dig a little deeper, you'd find that there is no evidence for your claim. The UNIFIL troops had found two abandoned cars, one with fake UN markings and license plates on it. After recovering and cataloging all the material inside the cars, they proceeded to tow them away. At one point they were intercepted by a numerically superior (and naturally armed) group of Hezbollah fighters, who demanded the vehicles. As all material has been recovered from inside the vehicles (including the false UN markers & plates) the commander decided that there was no point in risking soldiers' lives. You can question the commander's judgement, but in no way did the UN help Hezbollah kidnap those IDF soldiers. Nor does the UN possess any footage of the kidnapping itself. Here, read it for yourself. UN vehicles aren't protected from forgery by some magic aura. It's quite easy to spraypaint a car white and put UN on it in black. Who will know the difference? Do you think IDF soldiers or civilians can tell false licence plates from real ones? It wouldn't be the first time in history insurgents use false markings to surprise the enemy. So, let's forget for a moment that you have no proof whatsoever of UN personnel aiding the terrorists. Let's just use the ol' common sense for a second here, ok? What do you think is more likely: 1. terrorists spraypainting a car to make it look like a UN vehicle, or 2. UN personnel aiding terrorists for some unknown reason (only 2% of the Indian army are Muslims), and hiding it so well that an official, high-profile inquiry couldn't find it? You do the probability calculation. And while we're at it, cut the anti-Israeli crap. Just because I disagree with a government's policies, doesn't mean that I'm opposed to an entire country and its inhabitants. Oh, and arrogant? Well, if arrogant means backing one's views with sound logic and proof, then yes, I'm arrogant.

Good god man, do you think us complete dolts, incapable of reading between the lines? Communication isn't only about stating something outright. Armando posts an image of a Red Cross ambulance shot and shelled to pieces. The image links to an article about Israeli attacks on civilians and ambulances. Obviously this article is damaging for the IDF and Israel, so in response you posted a clip of Palestenian militants using a Red Cross van for transport. And you're trying to tell me that you didn't post it in order to justify the IDF's actions against Red Cross personnel? Please. What an excellent rebuttal! Why try to provide counterarguments when you can simply deny it? Not only do you unconditionally support the IDF, you seem to be assuming their tactics as well. If it's uncomfortable, just deny it. Phew, where to start? First of all, the flag does matter. Do a google search: every right-wing paper or blogger seems convinced that the Hezbollah flag was raised above the UN post which got shelled & bombed, and sees it as proof of Hezbollah fighters hiding inside. As Bernadotte pointed out, this simply isn't true. However, the image has already lodged itself in the collective mind of right-wingers on the internet, who apparently aren't capable of conducting any research. All the more reason to disprove this, especially since noone has confirmed that Hezbollah has ever entered the post. By saying yourself "what difference does it make?" you admit to posting material which is irrelevant to the discussion at hand. Posting outdated clips and images which relate to a entirely different regions just to support your claims amounts to poor debating tactics. And as to your last remark... Well, the logic reminds me of the tv-show "Yes Minister". "Something ought to be done. This is something. Hence, we ought to do this." In other words: completely flawed. Let's see what you are doing here. You're taking a 4-year old article from an outspokenly pro-Israel newspaper (just look at the editorials). From this article, you take a photograph which shows a bit of fencing and the UN and Hezbollah flags flying next to each other. No details of the post are shown. Incidentally, the article includes another picture, displaying the front of the compound. If you look closely, you will see that the fencing is completely different on both pictures. So, what we have here is a photograph of a bit of fencing, two flags, and a lot of sky. From this you are able to infer that UN posts are being systematically used by Hezbollah? Hmm... Tell me, are you familiar with the fallacy of presumption called converse accident? I guess you are, seeing as you so flawlessly employ it.

Hmm, let's follow your faulty logic. Because there is anecdotal evidence of Palestinian (please bear in mind which country your army is blowing up at this moment) insurgents mounting what seems to be a Red Cross ambulance, the IDF should bomb every vehicle bearing the red cross, crescent or diamond? Why... why that's completely logical. Congratulations sir. Besides, this clip is from 2004, and from (presumably) the Gaza strip. How, then, does this apply to the current situation in Lebanon? Apparently, all movements which you label as terrorists employ the same methods, and this justifies blowing up Red Cross ambulances? How insightful. Nemesis, you're starting to build up a reputation of quoting material which is completely irrelevant to the situation at hand. You seem to be counting on the ignorance of the readers to disregard the obvious holes in your arguments. Have you forgotten your whole "Hezbollah flag on UN post" story? One would think that such an error would humble you, but apparently one would be mistaken.

Lol, and here I was thinking that only Americans resorted to such ad hominems Keep trying indeed...

Google for Avon Lady's FAQ, it has an article on changing the FOV.

Bah, you don't know what you're missing! WGL5 roxorz my soxorz:) I'm having a great time with this campaign. The command system is simple and intuitive. I have a few comments/requests though. One flaw of all dynamic campaigns is that the player rarely has the idea of being part of a larger conflict, a cogwheel in a complex machine, if you will. The dynamic missions, while great fun to play, always feel as isolated engagements. It would do the immersion a lot of good if there were some ambient battlesounds in the background. Perhaps even an actual shootout between AI, somewhere else along the front? The engagements are relatively small, so putting some more AI on the map shouldn't add a lot of lag, I reckon (although this is a wild guess). It would also be nice if the enemy AI was actually doing something, i.e. patrolling or something similar. Right now there are just a few groups spawned near the objective, standing still and doing nothing. My last point isn't very important perhaps, but I'd love to see it in-game. When one of your soldiers dies, you get a MAN DOWN! message in the upper left corner. The problem with this is that if e.g. three soldiers die quickly one after another, you can't really tell. The message just stays there. What would be really cool in my opinion is if the squad commander would actually yell 'man down!' when his squad takes casualties. Of course, it could get complicated: what if another soldier dies before the commander finishes yelling 'man down'? Perhaps another soldier could yell, or it would be ignored altogether: after all, war is chaos and getting real-time updates on your losses isn't very realistic. Just a few suggestions. Now I'm off to play some more:)

Good find Albert. I have the 1979 version in my DVD collection, but it was rather poor in my opinion, despite it having some good actors. I will try to acquire the 1930 version. Still, it would be nice if someone would direct a version with actual german actors... This is such a universal story of the horrors of war - timeless in every aspect. Such stories need to be told to balance the 'Pearl Harbour' crap. While we're talking WWI films, has anyone seen Kubrick's Paths of Glory?

So, um... What totalitarian state do you live in? And more importantly: what the HELL does this have to do with the Middle East?

Yeah, Sharpe was enjoyable at times, mostly thanks to Sean Bean. Still, you can't expect to cram a complete novel into a single episode without cutting corners. I thought the books were far superior to the tv series.