BruceVC

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

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/14/facebook-documents-show-how-toxic-instagram-is-for-teens-wsj.html I just saw this on CNN and Im not convinced blaming FB for Instagram " being toxic to young girls " is helpful Sometimes this well meaning liberal overreach boggles my mind, maybe we should ban young girls from using the Internet, reading any beauty magazines and watching all movies because that will definitely help reduce " toxicity " ?

Sometimes the truth is always the best way to alleviate these types of concerns

Okay, I misunderstood the image Yes in the Cold War the threat of nuclear holocaust was real and indubitably anxiety was much worse

Its not inconsistent at all if you realize that BRICS is just talk shop and not a real ideological union with any trade benefits or any economic agreed on trade deals SA is also part of the Commonwealth, like most African countries, so that disputes your view that SA is not part the Anglosphere. And you realize the UK queen is the symbolic head of the Commonwealth Sorry Comrade, better luck next time

I hear you but I not sure how comparisons to life in Hiroshima helps us deal with the global reality of the lockdowns, deaths, long term Covid and huge economic impact that this pandemic has caused. Its a form of " whataboutism " which I find rarely is relevant to a current societal woe But I agree certain types of complaints do come from first world countries that have at least got first world working healthcare but arent these concerns also more prevalent because freedom of speech is trenchant and recognized and normal in first world countries so you would expect to see this? And more concerning is even if you hear less complaints from countries with huge societal and economic problems that wont stop the virus spreading and it wont stop variants ....so globally we have to be concerned with the pandemic and "life returning to normal " ...its an objective for the global community and not just wealthy countries

And thats a good thing right .....less criminal cartels to worry about ? For those that feel overwhelmed about the future and when and how this pandemic will end their are some real good news stories from countries where " life has returned ". Here is a good link about the UK and the real future with how we can live with the virus and eventually moving on ( Im not sure if I posted it already but it is a summary of my current view ) https://www.thestkittsnevisobserver.com/uk-high-vaccination-rate-also-high-covid-rate-overhaul-of-international-travel-rules-expected-world-stats-more/

Planescape Torment, apparently you can avoid combat in it but I did use combat and its got an amazing narrative And their are semi-Romance arcs but not true Romance

I funded this game and I have yet to play it, I also always assumed this was a adventure game especially with the Heroes Quest history but they do market it as an "RPG\Adventure " game

Im not going to continue with this debate, its not something I think either of us really want to We living in a world where people are dying everyday from the virus and I realized yesterday " why am I debating with someone on the Internet the number of dead civilians in any war " It doesnt seem right or have any purpose but thanks for responding anyway

SA is down to 1500 new cases a day which basically means the third wave is over ....until the fourth wave starts which is inevitable because of our low vaccination, less than 30 %, rate and overall failure to adhere to basic mask wearing and social distancing in certain places This pandemic is incredibly frustrating because of how we seem to just repeat the same approach and then have to deal with wave after wave and our economy never recovers properly . But the virus will be with all of us for a while but at least with a high vaccination rate, 65%-70%, life can "return to normal " like you see in the UK And just to be clear that doesnt mean the virus wont spread but your deaths and hospitalizations are vastly reduced

Thanks, I haven't done extensive research because the accurate numbers are difficult to get but particularly in Syria . But Zoras comments that " more Iraqi's died in Mosul than Aleppo " is nonsense. Aleppo was razed to the ground by the Russians and they have never been concerned with collateral damage. Russia did the same thing in Chechnya where they razed the capital city of Grozny to the ground and rebuilt a new city https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/destruction-of-grozny But also the entire strategy in Iraq and Syria was different. The US invaded Iraq and spent years trying to ensure it could become a functional state, not once did they rely on their air force to destroy any Iraq city. Like the battles of Fallujah. The US could easily have done what Russia did in Syria and just bombed Fallujah to the ground in order to defeat the various militant groups but civilian casualties do matter to them. Of course I am not denying that their were several cases of individual soldiers and military subcontractors being involved in war crimes or killing civilians but that wasnt the official US and its allies policy In Syria the Russians went in and just bombed all and any target they wanted, irrespective of civilian deaths. And the war crimes committed by Assad, the Russian ally, are even worse with cluster bombs and the usage of chemical weapons So the two conflicts were never conducted in the same way, the Russian intervention was much worse and callous. But yes both conflicts were bad but not the same in the overall strategy

Links? You understand if I dont take your word for it especially with the " since the Coalition killed at least four times as many civilians 'accidentally' in Mosul than Russia killed 'deliberately' in Aleppo " Its an absurd suggestion that the Iraq invasion was conducted in the same way as the entire Russian bombing campaign in Syria. But I am keen to read your evidence on Mosul, I am will make it easy for you Also which city in Iraq did the US bomb to the ground like Aleppo, I must have missed that one?