BruceVC

Im asking a legitimate question unless Im misunderstanding your post? Why is it funny that the US and the UK, and most of the UN, would criticize Russia for the invasion of Ukraine Its got nothing to do with the invasion of Iraq or other wars that the US or the UK has been involved in ?

Her arrest was disgraceful and clearly political. What was she arrested for....Cannabis oil or something equally as innocuous I hope she gets released as these charges are trumped up and egregious

No Im not happy, its a hung parliament But Democracy has spoken and I respect the outcome but Im definitely not buying French cheese because its not a time to celebrate but rather its acceptance

Why is it funny that the US and UK are condemning Russia for the invasion of Ukraine?

Most people I know, including myself, who have had high\elevated blood pressure (BP) do one of 2 things make lifestyle changes particularly around diet and then monitor your BP after 6 weeks or so to see if its dropped. Exercise is important because this is not about weight loss so diet isnt everything they take daily BP medication and dont change their lifestyle that much but they still monitor Sometimes if you sick or stressed that can artificially inflate your BP. Thats normally why many doctors will suggest the BP monitor device so they can understand your overall BP But you should use it when you better and not sick. And its very " normal " to go on BP medication but a lifestyle change is better. I haven't used medication yet but I will if I have to

Yes I mentioned that some of the links acknowledge its from ZH Thats not my concern, its more about these "credible " websites that are repeating both economic and political stories as if they are examples of real journalism and we should be concerned. And I have no real issue with that, the websites must just be honest and admit that dont have any real journalists working for them and the stories are just mouth pieces of what other right-wing or pro-Russian websites they want to highlight They mustn't pretend to be independent

Blood pressure apparatus are an important part in understanding hidden health problems caused by things like bad diet, stress, lack of exercise and hereditary, genetic high blood pressure You want to know because their are lots of solutions like lifestyle changes and medication. But high blood pressure is a silent killer so these types of apparatus make sense to understand the problem What is the reason you bought a blood pressure monitor?

Fair enough but I have found the same articles repeated around economic updates so its not just political stories And you know how I came to this realization? I sent that interesting link from Zero hedge about Russia defaulting on its sovereign debt to some of my SA and UK who work in the financial sector. And some of my UK cousins follow the Culture Wars updates like me One of them came back to me with the exact same Zero Hedge article on 4-5 other " economic " websites I felt really foolish, its not your fault of course because I sent the article out Anyway the point Im making is I dont take much of what Zero Hedge says seriously because I question their credibility and what are their real motives? I would prefer they were honest about their ideological views ?

Yes I agree, some articles would be truthful but what concerns me is the repetition of the same story Its makes me think their is institution somewhere that says " lets create a story about the Baltic states being invaded" and then 10-12 websites repeat the same story and pretend its journalism But you probably right, maybe they dont consider themselves mediums of journalism? But then what are they? Opinion pieces?

@Darkpriest Can I tell you what my concern is with all Zero Hedge article. I question where the journalism comes from and who writes the initial article For example, here is your original link https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-just-implemented-risky-anti-russia-measure-could-trigger-ww3-few-are-taking-notice And you see the same article gets repeated, and in some cases acknowledged, word for word on other right-wing, pro-Russian and similar websites like the ones below https://therussophile.org/did-europes-latest-little-noticed-anti-russia-move-just-push-the-world-closer-to-ww3.html/ https://tradeforprofit.net/2022/06/did-europes-latest-little-noticed-anti-russia-move-just-push-the-world-closer-to-ww3/ https://www.philstockworld.com/2022/06/19/did-europes-latest-little-noticed-antirussia-move-just-push-the-world-closer-to-ww3/ This reminds me of the numerous fake news websites and propaganda websites the Russians are famous for and played a part in the interference in the 2016 US elections . And I did some quick research and all the Zerohedge articles seem to be same Are they credible and are they examples of any real journalism?

Nah Im not worried about the Baltic states being attacked by Russia because they part of NATO which means it would be an attack on NATO and that means the majority of NATO countries will respond and retaliate. And the US would respond and we can see by the long list of Russian military problems with Putins War that Russia wouldnt last very long against the US Remember in that type of war the Russian military would not be able to do things they demonstrated they good at which includes bombing cities to the ground from miles away using artillery In a war with NATO the Ruskies would have to fight a traditional war and they would fail miserably at that if you consider the lack of training, resources and corruption that we have seen throughout the invasion of Ukraine So Im not worried but not because Putins not capable invading any sovereign country, he is a warmonger and he has shown time and time again he doesnt respect international borders Im not worried because of the reality of NATO...thank goodness for NATO. Imagine how much anxiety would exist if countries couldnt join NATO? @majestic Hopefully we can all buy some NATO cheese to support this important institution ?

What an unusual question but yes I'm still buying cheese. I always do. But I just buy less expensive imported cheese unless its a celebration like Macrons victory

@Mamoulian War Mamie this is a good idea, have you taken another look inside. I have experienced multiple problems occasionally with some of my PC hardware like my G933 Logitech headset

This post really made me laugh

I nearly had a crisis with my RDR2 modded sp game I have a mod that allows me to sell any weapons to unique vendors and I accidently sold my hunting knife. And do you know by design you cannot Skin any animal without your hunting knife and you cant buy another hunting knife at any vendor and to make things worse I couldnt find a way to spawn a hunting knife using any trainer mod Which meant I could no longer get animal fat which is a unique ingredient required in certain ammunition and throwable weapons So I accepted I could no longer participate in an important RP part of the game which is living off the land But then I killed some greedy Bounty Hunters tracking me and guess what ....one of them dropped a hunting knife !!! Crisis solved

Thats good news, now what about Russias friends in Africa who are going to be suffering from famine Is Putin going to end the Black Sea naval blockade, thats more important than getting energy from Russia because their are alternative sources and supplies of energy like oil but not the amount of wheat that cant leave Ukrainian ports?

Dont you speak German? Im shocked .... many people are very lazy nowadays and all of us should know multiple languages I speak about 14 languages but I only speak English on this forum because its an English forum and I dont want the Moderators to shout at me

The refreshing honesty from Lavrov makes a nice change but its nothing that most of us didnt know about Russia and have known for years I dont mind hearing from Lavrov but nothing changes the reality of Putins War, the only thing that really matters to me is when is Putin going to end his invasion of Ukraine And as usual with everything from Lavrov its spin, blatant lies and alternative facts. To quote "We didn't invade Ukraine," he claimed. "We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into Nato was a criminal act." No you did invade Ukraine and no Ukraine wasn't going to join NATO because it requires agreement from all member states and several NATO members would never have agreed like Hungary and Turkey Lavrov, the greatest and most unconvincing spin doctor of our era

Yes I agree, you can criticize Biden for certain things but his response to Putins War has been excellent and more importantly the bipartisan support from Congress has more than exceeded my expectations I only see the support possibly changing under a Trump presidency but thats in 2024 and hopefully Putins War will be over by then What I also have found reassuring is that the GOP establishment, like Mitch McConnel, and Democrat older members remember the Cold War and they understandably dislike any Russian aggression and hegemony. I remember when Trump became president both him and Putin thought Trump alone could drop the sanctions against Russia for the illegal annexation of Crimea But the GOP controlled Senate ignored any attempt to do this and in fact increased sanctions for the interference in the 2016 elections Because Trumps understanding of geopolitics was never his strong point and he did have an agenda of "normalizing " the relationship with Russia which we now know would have been a mistake because Putins objective of recreating the old Soviet borders would not have ended So this indirect war we are now in was inevitable , you cant trust a liar and warmonger like Putin And whatever happens around Ukraine the future will be where Russia under Putin is a pariah to the West and is not an active member of the global economy that the West sustains. Russia can be part of it own economy with its allies and countries that decide to trade with it, thats the choice of individual countries. We just need to end the dependency on Russian energy as much as possible

Thats a good link and I understand the concern raised. Its ostensibly about the type of training that exists in the police academies and how that contributes towards abuse and heavy handiness we see in some cases in the US The police academies have adopted a military style type of training that reminds me of " basic " training that all of us who did our military service will be familiar with. So here is an interesting question, is it necessary for the US police to be trained like this ? The article mentions " Proponents of this approach argue that cops are a lot like soldiers: They have to follow orders regardless of their personal feelings; they have to run toward gunfire, not away from it; and they have to remain cool and professional in the face of chaos, threats, and harassment. In this view, paramilitary training takes undisciplined young recruits and turns them into lean, mean fighting machines, ready to handle the rigors of street patrol " Some would say that the types of violent crime that exists in the US means yes the US police are at " war" and they need this style of training to save lives and themselves. We all aware of the criticism towards how the police acted in the Uvalde shooting where the police didnt act decisively and were even accused of cowardice The article makes a good point around different types of de-escalation training that include " LEED,” for “Listen and Explain with Equity and Dignity.” Instead of an emphasis on yelling and standing at attention, her recruits are trained to engage others in courteous conversation, and are evaluated during role-play exercises on their ability to listen, show empathy, explain their actions, de-escalate tense situations, and leave everyone they encounter “with their dignity intact.” And that would also be useful in training of police in situations on the streets But good article, its thought provoking

I thought it was mandatory as part of the job interview process as a moderator to have played and loved PoE? Please tell me you joking about not playing W3? Its my second favorite RPG of all time

I assume you joking but if you being serious you confused by what a paramilitary organization is. You cannot possibly suggest the police in the US are a paramilitary organization by the normal definition, this is the definition of a paramilitary organization A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces.[1] Paramilitary units carry out duties that a country's military or police forces are unable, or sometimes unwilling, to handle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramilitary

That does seem to be the obvious solution, I think its a budget problem for all police and it will differ from state to state ?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/republican-mayra-flores-flips-house-seat-texas-special-election-rcna33652 The GOP have flipped a Democrat House seat in Texas, Mayra Flores was born in Mexico and is another example of the reality of the success of the GOP which is often incorrectly portrayed as a party of and for " white men " (she is also smoking hot ) I predict this is a sign of the bloodbath that the Democrats will experience in the midterms I will comment more on this type of political change in the US after the midterms but their are two points I want to add about why this is occurring The Democrats focus on issues that arent what most voting Americans really care about, the party is too influenced and handicapped by the progressive Democrats and their pseudo-socialist policies and things like defunding the police and name changes I would normally be happy with a GOP victory in the midterms and in 2024 but I dont want to see another Trump presidency in 2024. But unfortunately the way things are going I am not sure this can be prevented And then I do think Biden is facing criticism for things that arent his fault like the global inflation, high cost of living and how the US withdrew from Afghanistan. But I suppose in all Democracies thats how it goes, the current PM or president gets blamed by citizens ?

No I still haven't found a credible school CRT curriculum (I dont actively search for it )yet people are still saying " we want to teach CRT in schools " and that sentiment exists now in SA Why would educators, outside Universities, want to teach something and talk about it if it doesnt exist? So Im still concerned about it . But if you can get people in SA to stop saying " we want to teach CRT in our schools " then I wont be concerned ...so please help me end this bogeyman because people clearly believe its a real subject