BruceVC

Its probably the most relevant point when it comes to kids, daycares and schools and the question " what are the alternatives " In SA our entire school virus measures have been an unmitigated disaster for several reasons but primarily because we are trying to achieve the almost unachievable objective of somehow stopping any kids from getting the virus but we also have the understandable and critical objective of getting schools open again So for example all our public sector schools have hardly been open consistently for 2 months since we implemented our lockdown 18 months ago and kids are really suffering with not doing very well at absorbing school work. One of my brothers has his kids at a good public sector school. One of my nieces is 14 and they have had to hire private tutors because she is not coping with the constant shutdowns of schools and the expectation that all kids can work remotely using virtual classes Our school nightmare is parents send their kids back to school and then after 2 weeks they test their kids and some kids are positive but asymptomatic so they complain to the school board so the school closes for 10 days and then reopen but then other kids test positive so they close the school again and the cycle contains endlessly with the result that kids never complete meaningful time at schools So what is the solution, I am now of the opinion that you quite simply wont stop the virus and its variants from spreading in most schools and most countries. We need to accept this but you need to ensure that parents and teachers are vaccinated as they will be exposed to the virus But you also have to vaccinate kids in the appropriate age group because we are seeing the Delta variant is leading to more kids having real covid symptoms But I dont believe their is an elegant or effective solution to kids not getting exposed to the virus when any schools reopen. I wish their was ?

Why dont you like Epic Store?

The idea that kids are going to wear masks in schools all the time is well meaning but unrealistic I go past several primary schools on my daily walk before 8 am and I see kids playing outside, very few of the kids have their masks on properly or are even wearing them, Daycare will be even harder to enforce a mask mandate I think this is to be expected considering the nature of kids and how they engage generally

Your post is not a thought experiment but is the historical truth around the sequence of events that led to the creation of AQ and the Afghan War heavily influenced the strategy of the Taliban After USSR left Afghanistan Bin Laden created AQ because he believed that the best way to deal with any attempt to undermine or conquer Sunni countries was to use a Sunni army and not rely on foreign countries for defense He wanted Saudi Arabia to not bring the likes of the USA into ME conflicts and blamed the US for the fact Saudi Arabia and most of the ME countries wanted Western countries to help in the Second Gulf War... hence the US became the " great evil " and was targeted by AQ which lead to 9/11 But yes Bin Laden and the Taliban views were shaped by the events and success of Soviet Afghan War But one point I disagree with, the USSR was directly responsible for the Soviet Afghan War. They invaded Afghanistan to support the puppet Communist government in 1979 so I am not sure why you would think they are not ultimately responsible for the creation of AQ as you follow the sequence of historical events because if the Soviets hadnt invaded Afghanistan you would not have had Bin Laden and other foreign fighters flocking to Afghanistan to support the mujahideen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/al-qaeda

She is a very good ME journalist and she speaks Arabic. She is one of the CNN journalists that typically covers the ME region in the same way as Nick Paton Welsh

Not really, I think its unhelpful to attribute religious reasons to a virus that needs science to address it

You right, its a pity we dont have more global responsibility to deal with this type of extremism

If its the money you are concerned about that is easy, we create a new tax for wealthy countries that have a vested interest in stopping this type extremism. So we tax the EU countries, something reasonable like a 5 % increase on income tax or personal tax? I know someone like you wont mind this type of financial inconvenience considering how we all want a safer world and you have already identified the potential risk about the Taliban ruling Afghanistan?

If you correct, and the risk is real, and Afghanistan devolves again to a breeding ground of Islamic extremism dont you think someone has to interfere again? Or we do wait until another 9/11 until we act ?

You make some accurate observations especially around the various responses to the pandemic in our countries. I agree with the hugely negative impact the lockdowns have had on all our economies and what frustrates me the most about the lockdowns is its the private sector that has suffered the most with retrenchments and salary cuts and yet its the private sector that effectively drives the economy I dont know about Greece but in SA no one in government or the public sector has been retrenched or had salary cuts....in fact our public sector unions are still demanding double inflation salary increases and bonuses

https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news/2244907-new-zealand-enters-snap-lockdown-as-delta-emerges @Zoraptor I cannot believe how your government has failed to stop the virus.....you guys must be furious with your one confirmed case ? What are you planning to do in response to this egregious outcome , I imagine you will be demanding your PM resigns or is prosecuted for failing to do her job? Oh...and welcome to the global club of the spread of the pandemic ....never forget vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate

You right, I know you mentioned how the game was easily forgettable and I wasnt sure what that meant but I now I know what you were referring to Just the fact I cant easily recall the main narrative with fondness tells you something

Yes you make some good points and accurate analogies like the reality of Gaza and is it really the US fault when Hamas refuses to recognize Israel has a right to exist so the " anger " tends to be selective and dissipate based on certain biases people have and events in the region So I agree that the opinion of US citizens on Biden's decision will be more favorable as time goes on than the current views which are " this was a foreign policy disaster " which much of the US media is suggesting But I dont mean to contradict myself when I say this is what I fear is the reality for the future for women and minorities ....even though I understand the decision Biden took https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/09/asia/afghanistan-girls-school-attack-intl-hnk/index.html

Mexican women are beautiful hey Gfted1 , I wish I lived in the US because I would definitely be trying to date Latino women

But what is a fact about all vaccines is it is possible for any vaccine, not just Corona, to cause negative effects and even kill you. Its very rare ....very rare but its a risk 10 years ago the company I worked for did lots of consultancy in Africa and the ME. When you travel to countries like Nigeria it is mandatory at the airport to produce various vaccine certifications like Yellow Fever. Anyway my MD at the time was visiting Nigeria to see numerous customers and our Nigerian partner but he hadnt taken his Yellow Fever vaccine Because he was at Lagos airport and on a business trip he was offered this vaccine as convenience, he did this and departed the airport. 2 hours after leaving the airport he started sweating and ended up in a coma and being airlifted back to SA. He spent over 3 months in hospital and had to teach himself to speak again and obviously never worked in corporate effectively again He had a bad reaction to the Yellow Fever vaccine. It was very rare and no one I know, including me, ever had a bad reaction to this vaccine. So I do agree with you that it is possible a vaccine can have adverse and serious effects to you but its so rare and statistically an anomaly And the benefits to all vaccines outweigh the negative and possible side effects

I watched most of his speech and it was as good as it can be considering the decision the US already took under his leadership He repeated the same points to justify the decision like He doesn't want to ask any American families to continue to fight this foreign war He doesn't want to pass on the responsibility of this war to other presidents ( how magnanimous and bipartisan ) At some stage Afghanistan needs to address its own security And all these points have some validity but their was something I didnt realize about the real cost and resources the US had currently invested in Afghanistan. The US military resources have been slowly, strategically but steadily reduced over the last couple of years. Their were less than 5k soldiers and some air force in Afghanistan So it begs a question, what is the real cost to keeping such a small force in Afghanistan compared to the real human rights crisis that will be coming to the citizens and minority groups of Afghanistan?

I use to understand the financial aid to Pakistan to ensure their help in dealing with Islamic extremism and specifically the Taliban who find refuge in western Pakistan in the tribal regions. The Pakistani government doesnt have complete control of this region which was always a challenge to them being able to deal with Taliban in their own country and of course their is the historical support for the Taliban from some within Pakistan that created concerns around how committed Pakistan was to helping the US But the real question outside of these realities is " do you consider Pakistan a real ally in the War on Terror "? Saudi Arabia and many ME countries are but I am not so sure about Pakistan. For example when Bin Laden was killed the Pakistan government seemed angry and criticised the US even going so far as arresting the local doctor who helped the CIA confirm it was Bin Laden https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49960979 So for me I agree with you, drop the aid to Pakistan. International aid should only be given to friends of any country or for important geopolitical reasons but I would much rather support India if they need aid from the US

You make some interesting points and some I agree with What I dont agree with is where you seem to conflate some historical developments and attribute equal " blame " for outcomes. For example the US and the Saudis only intervened in Afghanistan because the USSR invaded Afghanistan so dont you think when we look at the events of history it has to start with what caused the event ? The main point I was making was Colonialism was not the reason the Taliban came to power But I am much more interested in your view that " the US should not have invaded Afghanistan and this was a mistake " I am confused when you say "the US should not have acted in that way yet it was an internal choice " ? The US was attacked by AQ on 9/11 and 5k Americans more or less died. Any country that gets attacked from an external enemy will obviously decide how to respond through an internal choice made by the current government, thats how all foreign policy decisions are implemented. But it was an external reason that led to the understandable invasion So what I want to understand is what should the US have done after 9/11 if you dont believe deciding that AQ was now the official enemy of the US and later on most of the civilised world including the entire ME. Considering the fact that AQ had been given refuge in Afghanistan and the Taliban were given the chance to hand Bin Laden over Would you have advised no action should be taken against AQ ? And if the Democrats were running the US at the time I can guarantee you they would have also advocated an invasion ?

I finished Kingdoms of Amalur after 58 hours, when I say I finished I mean I completed the main quests The game scores a solid 55/100 on the globally respected " BruceVC gaming score " system. I am not sure I would recommend this game unless you understand its shortfalls and what is fun about it What is good about the game are components like the artistic design of the game world and the myriad of quests and things to do if you just want hours of exploration on side quests.The gaming mechanics work and combat strategy is entertaining Now the bad, its easy as I mentioned earlier. Far too easy and when their is no combat or quest challenge in a RPG you have to ask " is this really fun " ? Also I normally enjoy lore but I found the lore and overall narrative boring and not compelling I cant even recall most parts of the main quest .....I know I ran around a lot and killed people but it wasnt memorable But its not a terrible game but not one I would say " you MUST play it "

Good post Elerond and we appreciate your point being made on the facts and data as we know them

You right in some ways but where do you bring Colonialism into the reality of Afghanistan nowadays? Lets focus on the last 40 years or so to understand why we are where we are. The USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979 and left in 1989, they are the reason the Taliban came to power after the Cold War ended because their was a power vacuum and various Afghan tribes went to war with each other and the Taliban was victorious I am not sure if you are defining the various proxy wars and direct wars during the Cold War as Colonialism? Because its unhelpful and inaccurate to define historical events that arent directly related to what caused them ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War Secondly the primary mission in Afghanistan after 9/11 was the defeat of the AQ and the killing of Bin Laden , when you suggest " the war was lost the moment the US invaded Afghanistan " are you saying the US should not have acted after 9/11 ?

If you do find anything please share because its a very worrying potential development

Fair enough, good points raised

Are bake-beans considered unhealthy and why is the meat unhealthy? I am not suggesting people eat this type of meal everyday but is it really that bad for you?

I have to be honest, do you know what is one of the worst things about the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan? Its the interviews and truly emotional comments from numerous Afghan women who are educated or work for Afghan education NGO that promote equal education and gender equality Its really sad because they all feel understandably hopeless about the future for women in their country I was in Afghanistan in 2007/2008 for 5 days and I only stayed in Kabul but it was exciting to be in a country where simple things like equal education were recognised and you could see the real progress that was being made since the US occupation. Its depressing to think of all this progress becoming negated by the barbaric Taliban