BruceVC

Excellent question and there are different and important considerations in how we need to assess all left and right inspired groups and what is there real threat. Also the good news is the groups that really pose the greatest threat to our societies are, in most countries, already outlawed or known as groups linked to real global terrorism or violence, like ISIS or known Aryan Brotherhood violence And then the best way to really understand how to fairly define all the various left and right groups is simply ask yourself 3 questions about each group , if you are interested in seeing real connections between these groups that are different to ideological views or reasons people sometimes are very concerned about a particular groups outcomes The 3 questions are Why was the group created or what is it influenced by is important to understand its foundation What policies does the group have or what is the groups objective Then you ask, " what are the real actions or outcomes " the group has committed and do they align to the original objection This may sound overly complicated but its much easier to do once you get use to it and it does allow better objective understanding of the differences in the groups that exist nowadays So to answer your original question I will use the 3 questions approach to explain the logic and where the data comes from that answers the question " What is the real threat from BLM " BLM was created to address a real societal problem that exists in some states around some cases where the police were involved in excessive force, profiling or criminal choices around the treatment of African Americans It doesnt have clearly defined outcomes that arent already in the law or Constitutions of most countries, for example you cannot kill anyone for no reason irrespective if you the police or not in the police. It has raised attention to real societal issues and examples of some police discrimination and this should be seen as a positive thing, it is unclear if these things have been reduced or meaningfully addressed in the long term but I am confident the US police have learnt lessons So in summary, BLM is a well meaning movement that has some elements within it that push there own agendas or criminal acts But they dont have any policies that would be considered illegal so you cant generalize when we see looting or violence even though the people involved say they BLM inspired we must see this as criminal acts and arrest the people committing the illegal acts So the real harm they pose is the direct negative economic impact sustained protests have on any city or region and then people committing criminal acts in the name or support of BLM

Sometimes we think this type of valid assessment of groups like BLM and Antifa is the reason these types of groups dont pose a risk to our societies in any real way. But this a well meaning false equivalence and strawman argument and unintentionally misses the real threat these type of groups can and do create within most modern first world Democracies They cannot be compared to the likes of ISIS or any established Right wing, Hitler inspired group because the reason for there creation and the way they operate within the US is very different to how BLM and Antifa operates. Also technically I dont really consider BLM or Antifa " far left " in the sense there are real, far left militant groups linked to violent acts of terrorism throughout the world but you dont really see this in the USA as the Cold War is over and the militancy element within the left is not the same as the established and well known " neo-Nazi " violence we see sometimes from right wing groups I personally have also called them " far left " but thats only because its easier to make the point on this forum that way, they operate on the left but BLM needs to be separated from Antifa as Antifa is more " far left " which means Antifa gets automatically moved into the criminal side of all current far left groups globally. This is the same as how we should view all established right wing groups, the moment the group is openly encouraging and participating in any acts that breaks the law they get moved into the " criminal " view we should have of them. I dont consider BLM the same as Antifa is this regard But thats not the concern we should all have over the outcomes and future approaches groups like Antifa would adopt. The risk BLM and Antifa poses is more about the economic and social changes they could impact on our cities or ways we address inequality. So in other words no one wants a BLM or Antifa protest in there neighborhood that sometimes and often leads to violence because communities suffer real economic damage when you look at the impact looting has. But with the risk Islamic extremism and right wing violence creates its more about real loss of lives and real targeted killings. So we should try to separate our views on danger that right wing and left wing currently poses globally because they real but very different And just to respond by making the same point I am trying to make with Majestic, sometimes we get pulled into the interesting debate over " who is worse to the USA....Islamic extremism, far left or right wing " and we think this debate can be easily understood through binary definitions by using accurate statistics around loss of lives caused by real violence created by people from these groups But that isnt a fair way to compare the risk these groups pose to our modern societies and more importantly how we personally respond or how our governments respond. In other words each groups impact is nuanced and has levels of complexity and requires at times a different response But we must never think " group X " is no real threat because they only killed 2 peoples as opposed to " group y " killed 100 people Just an example

I must say I am impressed with your content and variation, I didnt think you would cover such a range of topics and it all looks like its really pertinent but not to complicated for the kids. Good choices How do you explain the French teacher killing and how do the kids respond to the idea of " Islamic extremist " because how would you explain the killer to young people....its tough because is he called a killer or an extremist?

Its not about the control, I can see what you talking about and yes I would not agree to this ...we cannot allow this group to play a role in what defines a value of the country But lets reword my objective because I am not clarifying the point. In this case France has a certain problem with a small extremist element that will generally attack and kill, and get killed , some French citizen in a random act of murder So do we just accept this because the Muslim communities in France are huge and its almost impossible who would resort to violence if the cartoons are shown But are you fine with this outcome, would you authorize the cartoons usage knowing there have been 2 previous attacks? Now some French people take this freedom of speech very seriously and will always support the cartoons right to be shown...they are not going be " blackmailed " by the threat of attacks But that is how the French see it ?

Its a good question and you and I have discussed this before. I realize most Americans see this differently but I am honestly saying " if you continue to print the cartoons more French people will die " and of the course the attackers will be killed but is it worth it? I cannot believe the French would still continue to support the cartoons.....its not really about free speech but rather this is real way innocent people can die because of a small group of intolerant and ignorant extremists?

I do think what is happening is utterly appalling but it is also basically predictable especially considering the fact we know the violent response that the cartoons have caused in the past What is the right approach, do you ask Charlie Hebdo to stop insulting some Muslims with the cartoons as people are getting killed or do you ignore the attacks and consider posting additional cartoons ....I dont think its necessary to post these cartoons considering all the years of violence and conflict in the ME We know these cartoons can trigger real violence so why encourage it......is it really worth the point of " freedom of speech "

No need to be reticent ...who did you vote for in this exciting election, some people believe your vote is your secret but that doesnt mean you cant share your voting choice. Its a personal decision There is no right or wrong voting choice in any Democratic election as we always decide on our own who we want to support and no should really question that because that is your right

Thats a healthy meal and tasty as well

Those look delicious, did you make them?

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/oct/26/melbourne-to-reopen-after-more-than-four-months-of-covid-lockdown Some good news around the pandemic, Melbourne has reopened. Hopefully they stay safe but well done Victoria province and Oz generally for this

I always try to eat a healthy breakfast Monday-Friday, that normally entails All Bran Flakes with a banana and yoghurt. I generally keep my cooked breakfasts for the weekends Anyway I have discovered the best most flavorsome yoghurt I have ever eaten...its better that Greek\Bulgarian yoghurt and better than sheep or goats milk yoghurt....water buffalo !!! If you can get you must try it http://buffaloridge.co.za/

I like Graham, he has received much criticism for flip flopping around his support for Trump and specifically Trumps vituperative views towards John McCain. Graham and McCain were good friends so this is understandable In fact there has been a general view that many Republicans are constantly quiet or lack the courage to openly criticize Trumps ostensibly offensive comments But I noticed an interesting pattern in the first 18 months of Trumps presidency, anytime a Republican did speak out against Trump he would openly use his base to ensure that person lost support and basically was fired. Now if you were a career politician, like Graham or Rubio, its not right that you lose your job to a political neophyte like Trump because in 4 or 8 years he will be gone So what would I do if I was Republican politician, you keep quiet and find ways to get Trump to push a Conservative agenda which you would support like tax cuts and the Supreme Court placements but why lose your job to this upstart ? Romney seems to be the only real Republican who has survived challenging Trump around expected voting choices in places like the Senate. Anyway what I am saying is its not worth losing your job if you are a Republican politician while Trump is president because he is a disruptor and will be gone in another 4 years maximum So you keep quiet and wait for the " Trump political storm " to end one way or another

You make some interesting points, what would your reasons be specifically for saying that Trump has possibly alienated the Asian American community ? I know how he has offended other minorities but the reality is he hasn't offended all minorities. On CNN there was a guest, a prominent CBS journalist , from the Asian American community who was saying for the first time in the history of voting she is now encouraging the Asian American community to vote for Biden and apparently this community does have real influence in some states around voting numbers

What about rape and someone falls pregnant, do you support abortion under those circumstances as well ?

Yeah, we generally only get watermelon over Xmas and its very popular...and those seeds can grow anywhere But you do get watermelon ice-cream made with fresh watermelon which is delicious

I have mentioned this before but if Trump loses there are definitely things in his personality and how he sometimes frames things that I am going to miss. He really is funny at times For example, his latest outburst on CBS where he attacked CBS and the media in general for being unfair towards him around commentary, he gave an example in a true "Trumpism " way that only he does " you guys in the media always give Biden a pass. For example if Biden is eating an ice-cream and the media interviews him you ask questions like ....what flavor is the ice-cream ? " So this was Trumps analogy for the media not interrogating Biden properly compared to the questions he gets asked Oh and how upset he became with the massive BLM sign on the walkway outside his Trump tower in NY

I am not sure I would play this game but some of the lines in the video made me laugh " wait ....whips can be used in combat "

Yes the Iranians are descendants of the Persians and not Arabs and understandably dont like to be called Arab because they not. Its a great country and despite the real problems the current hardliners present many Iranians are moderates and just want a normal relationship with the global community. This is why the current political and regional issues in the ME exacerbated by " Shia fundamentalism " is so tragic and unnecessary SA has some investments in Iran including one of our major cell phone providers. A company called MTN and I did a brief 2 week project there...also Iran has some really beautiful women like most ME countries I have worked in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MTN_Irancell

Okay good, I am glad I am misunderstanding what people are saying What part of history are they referring to when they say " So, was it an Aryan invasion or migration " ?

It was a migration, there are clear differences between the words " invasion " and " migration" But what a strange way to describe the arrival of white people in the USA when it comes to the actual events of history ...no wonder there is so much misinformation from certain elements within groups like BLM where people literally dont know one historical statue from another and think the history of a country like the USA is founded only on negative developments like slavery and oppression

It concerns me that any teacher is suppose to create such an important lesson outside of the official state curriculum. If I was you I would raise this as a risk, the last thing you want is to unintentionally create confusion or anxiety around these topics. Rather let experts do it and then you can run with there research that, I assume, would be endorsed by the state?

https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-security-ship-idUSKBN27A0LY Here is a good special forces story, performed by the British SBS, not to be confused with the elite British SAS The Special Boat Service (SBS) are water trained special forces...similar I suppose to the Navy SEALS ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Boat_Service Go UK special forces, nice to see successful military operations

I agree about the reality that the overall efficacy of the vaccine requires the majority of citizens to take it and that important medical objective faces real resistance in many countries on different levels In SA some " vaccine denialists " believe somehow that the vaccine will make you sterile ......its on the same level of ignorance as the groups of US citizens who argue " masks are a creation of the deep state " One of my huge concerns still is without a vaccine, or somehow an eradication of the virus without a vaccine, is many people simply dont feel safe or comfortable engaging and working in the the normal way. The idea that " we can all work from home and this is a new model of working " is not helpful for many business sectors and is definitely not sustainable in these same sectors. I have personally see new business down to 40 % in most SA financial companies and sales driven sectors that require complex solutions and tenders. Many listed companies globally are going to fail to meet there yearly targets and this has a real negative impact to all our economies So we need the vaccine to give people confidence that they can return to work and engage within our societies meaningfully and constructively

You made some good points is this post and I agree with most of it But I meant to say from a SA perspective I have been predicting we wont get the vaccine until August 2021 more or less and that wont even be for everyone. So absolutely we will have to continue with Covid protocols until then and maybe even until early 2022 but the vaccine is still going to be the best way for us to return in the next 12-18 months to a semblance of normality