BruceVC

Gorthfuscious you know I really like you and think most of your views are balanced but you are someone who has never understood patriotism....and its your Danish blood, look how many Danish Vikings left Denmark to live in the UK And your own life journey has been example of this , you demonstrated anarchist tendencies and you have always wondered from country to country ....now Oz is your home but do you feel parotitic towards Oz? I would be surprised but perhaps However you do have an advantage that the rest of us dont have .....you can call any country your home and it does appear you settle. Of course you have your work skills allow you to find work...oh interesting work you do and I always assumed you knew products that are used globally But patriotism is good thing but it makes us not want to leave , you have beaten that constraint. And I admire that but one question do you make new friends in the countries you live in?

I generally assume we all love our countries? Unless you live in a war zone or failed state I always think its normal to support your country of birth. That doesnt mean you cant criticize political developments or have concerns about societal developments. And I am sure most US forum members, KP being the exception, would say they like the US because if you ask GD the same question Im sure he would say he loves the US but has issues with the political parties that are in charge? And thats not the same as not loving your country which sometimes people equate to having issues with some political outcome or maybe a judge appointment And I agree that the increase of the visibility of groups like MAMA should be a concern on some levels but some of these right wing groups have different views than real neo-nazis and they seem to exist more because of the outcome of the Trump presidency and his claims the election was stolen? But the concern is more about these groups becoming so emboldened ? But the biggest concern I have with developments that could harm the overall US with its views is this very belligerent way that many people on the left or right engage with each other or refuse to accept any alternative or criticism to a view or suggestion . This type of immediate rejection that something is wrong because the other side raises it seems to undermine how in most Democracies you can find middle ground and compromise on bills or laws that should address a problem but sometimes they are dead on arrival. I realize that political differences exist in most Democracies but its seems to have become worse or intransigent or is this much of the same when it comes to finding agreement But I would say its more about who is the majority in the house or senate who will pass bills with not needing any consensus and using their majority that then alienates the other side who say things like " they dont care about any common ground " and they repeat the pattern when they in power. So you should always try to find agreement and not rely on majority because it seems to create cycles of bills being hated or judges being appointed to SC that are seen as controversial but one side is always fine with the outcomes which is how parts of Democracy generally do work out with a majority deciding? But the real dichotomy is the non-political groups and SJ movements that often have real objectives that are framed or created as something well meaning as they should be about addressing a societal woe and inequality yet mostly in the US these groups have certain objectives that dont make any sense about how they could really change the spurious views they believe needs to change. And these suggestions are suppose to be about making things better in the US but they not based on any historical examples of how this will improve things and I am not sure if these SJ initiatives are widespread or actually have been implemented? I sometimes research and then understand what these initiatives are about but some I dont understand like Critical Race Theory, does anyone understand what its suppose to be about and what would be taught at schools, here is a link I was reading about what its suppose to be about but after reading it I am still confused with what you will be teaching students and how that would address real racism in the US like the views of KKK and white supremist ? https://criticalrace.org/what-is-critical-race-theory/

I will respond tomorrow with detail Gorthfuscious, its a public holiday today in SA....Heritage day !!! Its also called barbeque\braai in SA and Im busy with celebrating and of course this question I am asking is not a comparison to "who has the better job " its just because I am interested in the specific IT\software work most of us do and many of us are in the IT industry and Im genuinely interested. So I welcome anyone sharing what they do for a living but lets go into as much details as possible so its clear. Also whatever other people do for a living I would like to hear because again its always interesting

I dont know about that but he does have good sense of humor when he tries to invoke a reaction

This has got to be one of the only US based forums where people can suggest the US is a more repressive society than China and the CCP control of their media and IT narrative state is " because the CCP dont like unflattering pictures of Xi " and no one really cares But I did get a good laugh so thanks Zora and I appreciate that because its a public holiday in SA And you know the litmus test for unabashed CCP propaganda and spin, when Comrade likes your post so thanks for confirming again your ideological views. Dont ever change

I checked now and this will be available on SA Netflix on the 20 October, I know what I will be doing on the 20

Thanks for information. I enjoy inXile games, I had a great time with Bards Tale 4 so any new games from them will be on my radar

Hoonding its rude to misquote people and I know how much you hate being rude

That looks amazing, hot vampires and a surprising theme .....what could be better Definitely watching this one

Thanks, based on this feedback and others I feel I can skip this game

Can I ask you a legitimate question? China is a one party state with no freedom of speech, free media, transparent legal system, independent courts and no human rights concerns and you have no legal recourse within China against the CCP Countries like the EU and the USA are the opposite of this except for times of war or National security but even then citizens do generally have rights Do you not see a difference and feel much more concerned about a backdoor created by the US NSA and the CCP because of these real distinctions?

Nice, when you planning on inviting her to come visit for a weekend? Im not suggesting you rush things but that will be a good way of seeing how compatible you are because spending time together alone lets you really get to know the person

No the purpose of the " backdoor " is different, one is for national security and the other is for cyber-espionage You do realize China has been accused of theft of IP and this has been confirmed by many countries including the EU https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/06/china-is-stealing-our-technology-and-intellectual-property-congress-must-stop-it/ If you disagree post the links of the US and the legitimate accusations of theft of IP and I will read them but the usage of Prism is not the same unless you can share the links of all the " theft of IP by the US and the EU ". Its clear you dont care about the theft of IP from the EU by China but here is another link specific to the EU http://www.aalep.eu/combating-chinese-theft-intellectual-property

I realized something which I must admit, I do acknowledge the US has some " backdoors " due to Prism and I support this because of the purpose of Prism and how the NSA utilizes it to ensure national security But its not the same as the " backdoors " that the CCP use for cyber-espionage. I am hoping you can see the difference but it would be remiss of me to deny this as they do exist to provide some access through how the OSI protocol model works So you not wrong but the question should be " who do you trust more with your data, the US or China " ? Most people would say the US

Its not maybe, its definitely. And please post the links where Cisco and other products have been found to have intentional " back doors " ....it shoudnt be hard if its true ? https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/us-finds-huawei-has-backdoor-access-to-mobile-networks-globally-report-says/ https://www.theverge.com/2019/4/30/18523701/huawei-vodafone-italy-security-backdoors-vulnerabilities-routers-core-network-wide-area-local

@Gorth If you dont mind sharing what specifically do you do with ERP systems, I always wanted to ask you but keep forgetting The eDiscovery software I work with has a license for SAP, Baan and other similar systems and on occasions I have worked with ERP technical consultants before to integrate into their environment but it was way to complicated for me to really understand how all the EPR modules work but I am fascinated with this type of software So what is your job title..,and I apologize if I am wrong with what you do for a living because I always thought you do work with ERP systems ?

Yes the "backdoor " access in several Huawei products like routers and switches was identified by the US several years ago and is real. Thats why many countries aren't prepared to invest in Huawei 5G technology like the UK https://www.gov.uk/government/news/huawei-to-be-removed-from-uk-5g-networks-by-2027 When I was working in JHB we had a Huawei business unit and I spoke to the program manager about the overall performance of Huawei compared to the established players in this field like Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet and others. So I was interested in the real technical reality of Huawei and how their routing and switching technology work and he would know as he sells their equipment and he use to sell the other technologies so I consider him well informed and objective Anyway he said its works fine and delivers what it is suppose to do and he highlighted how hard working and competitive the Huawei engineers and their sales consultants are. He said it lacks some security features that Cisco would have but typically you would only need this with a high security environment like a bank or government institution. So I dont believe this " backdoor " security risk was what the owners of Huawei originally wanted to create, I think this was forced on them by the CCP with their irrational paranoia and cyber-espionage objectives But the outcome is sadly the same for Huawei, you cant trust their equipment in any environment where you require guaranteed data security So it doesnt surprise me that their phones have similar security problems and its a pity because I do think they a good company who created a range of worthwhile products

Yeah, about 50% success rate. But still better than no defense system But at the end it mentions "The system has a "single shot probability of kill" of its interceptors calculated at 56%,[1] with the total probability of intercepting a single target, if four interceptors are launched, at 97%.[1] Each interceptor costs approximately $75 million " So if you can use multiple missiles it success will be greater

And I was reading how the US has developed this new missile defense system designed specifically with NK in mind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground-Based_Midcourse_Defense

What was Numenera like? To be honest I prefer combat based RPG so I have been reluctant to get this game ?

Yes but Gromnir Gfted1 was making his teenage daughter feel better about something that wont ever happen but she was worried I also dont have kids but you definitely wouldnt go into every detail that could only add to her anxiety And their have been predictive studies and analysis done if NK used Nukes on the USA and worse case scenarios and I can guarantee you Illinois would not be one of those states that NK nukes would reach so what he said is as truthful as it can be. Which is why I consider it the " truth " ....because its relative

You make me laugh Its Romance in a RPG, it is limited in certain aspects of realism. But in all RPG I have ever Romanced companions in you do need to win the trust and respect of your prospective dates

That the US has superior military capabilities and an nuclear attack by NK on the USA wouldn't destroy it but the US response would annihilate NK, kind of obvious ?

You can develop a relationship with companions like Grace but you dont end up actually Romancing her which is why I said " semi-Romance " but remember in RPG Romance starts with getting to know the companion, being nice to them and or completing completing companion quests But yes it not like BG2 and the beautiful and seductive Viconia

Its always nice when you dont have kids but you have family or friends with kids who cute, they like you and you like them When I was in JHB I dated several single moms and I always enjoyed spending time with their kids\kid