BruceVC

I got it, this last part summarizes the general sentiment and it will be varied. As I mentioned there is a valid way of integration into any new culture or country when people are forced to immigrate and this can involve where the reason for the immigration is not always highlighted and remembered by families and that is going to be a personal choice and its normal in many places in the world. In SA for example any legal immigrants that arrive from countries like the DRC and Somalia very seldom talk about the reasons they left there countries for many reasons but most of them escaped unspeakable horror and violence and have become SA citizens through the acceptable, legal way of becoming a citizen which we appreciate as they have skills and help contribute towards our weak economic growth But why Cuba is still relevant is I remember when Obama made attempts to normalize ties with Cuba and how this attempt was responded to by various groups in the USA was very interesting. Firstly I supported this USA initiative even though it contradicted my normal view of not recognizing any country that is a dictatorship or has implemented laws or ideological laws, like Cuban socialism , that can lead to the theft or nationalization of any domestic or international asset. So basically I am saying you cannot invest in any country if you cannot trust that government to honor the nature of the investment ....hence the primary reason any modern day discussion of socialism will generally always be understandably criticized and dismissed by anyone who works in the financial investment market because no investor is going to put at risk the money of there clients by allowing that money to be possibly stolen by some illegal socialist government policy. And you also cannot justify in international courts the nationalization of foreign investments due to historical colonialization or how historical theft of these assets has ostensibly created inequality in the country . I know this may sound unfair and unreasonable but I promise you cannot justify it in most examples where we have seen this like the Chavez theft of the international Oil companies in Venezuela in 2006/2007 and how this was by far the real reason the Venezuela economy collapsed And this doesn't mean you cant discuss redress of historical injustice or any international investment cant be involved and persuaded to be involved in many examples of transformation to help solve real historical economic imbalances. But back to Cuba and the new Obama attempt to have better relations , so I supported it initially because I took a view that basically was " its not like anyone is now going to want to copy Cubas socialist policies just because the USA starts trading with Cuba again so is there any real harm to this diplomacy even if its a contradiction to what I fundamentally previously mentioned around the danger of nationalization " But then I heard the views Marco Rubio and several prominent Cuban American business men made around why this new attempt to have better diplomacy with Cuba was a mistake as the Obama policy was not expecting certain reforms before seeing the normalization. Back in those days I was a " Democratic " supporter completely but I use to find that Republicans like Marco Rubio always use to sense to me on many topics. And I also realized he was right about how you should first get the commitment at least to reform from the Castro government before you relax any economic sanctions. Here is a good summary of what Rubio explained https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/21/rubio-criticizes-obamas-sotu-call-to-end-cuba-embargo So in summary this whole post is just a reason why the original story of the American Cuban dad not educating his daughter on the reason why Cuban socialism is not a valid economic model and government can create the wrong impression of " socialism " because at universities some groups and sometimes even professors of social science, not economic professors , will glamorize and represent only the superficial reality of socialism which always sounds fair and attractive when well meaning students and citizens think " socialism will fix modern day inequality " And also as you mentioned many people left Cuba and the direct reason would not be necessarily related to the economic reality but nothing changes the fact around how at the moment any real transformation of the Cuban economy will require the Cuban government to change their laws and guarantee global economic regulations like respecting the importance of property rights

What I wanted to ask you is generally what do Cuban American families teach there kids about Cuba and the old days of the violence of the revolution if anything? So the story above is where a Cuban dad was forced to leave Cuba due to the revolution at some point. He has created a new life in the USA and has a daughter who he decided didnt need to know the history of Cuba and he is perfectly entitled to decide what his daughter should know about the reasons he left Cuba. This decision does have a logical and reasonable reason or reasons to it particularly around how any parent could decide " this is a new country and my kids dont need to know the exact and sometimes violent reasons for our forced leaving of Cuba" But I have also met people from other conflicts outside of Cuba who now live in another country very happily but they have a view where the kids are well aware of the history of forced migration. They are not bitter and jaded but they always remember the history and all kids understand this in there own way. Both groups have valid reasons for the actual decision on what younger generations should be aware of and there is no right of wrong approach I fall into the second group and its purely from a perspective of the importance of where you came from and why and how this does need to be remembered but it doesn't define your new citizenship

Orog was it you or GD that told us the story about the Cuban American father whose daughter comes home from university and lectured her Dad about how "socialism " was not so bad and that he had the wrong idea about Cuba in the years of Fidel. I thought of a very interesting question I wanted to ask you around this and part of it is this reality of the daughter being so uninformed of the reality of Cuba To be fair to the daughter I know many Universities in SA and UK that are breeding grounds for these " socialist " movements that always want to change the world for the better of all mankind and its easy to align with them because they are mostly well meaning and do have legitimate global goals like climate change and concerns around cruelty to animals. So you can imagine how young and innocent students can be beguiled by certain " views " these university groups have.....but most people dont follow these socialist movements outside of university Anyway did you tell this story ?

Its not an uncommon occurrence in Democracies through out the world for political parties to be brought together in times of crisis or significant other event

Gorthfuscious !!!! I am not sure that is an answer that is part of the solution?

Gromnir I am looking for feedback from you and any others around the nature of violent protests in the USA and how to respond. This is still a debatable point and came up in the Presidential debate and is seen as real criticism towards the Democrats and how they enforce law and order. Now I have been doing some research around this and I am more than happy for my view to be changed as I would prefer that but I am not seeing any real evidence to convince me. The principle of law and order absolutely matters and then the perception of law and order also matters. So if you find cities like Portland which had months of protests or Seattle which had protestors taking over city blocks and a police station you can understand how this doesn't create a perception that these cities mayors are doing there jobs and ensuring reasonable protests. Quick questions so I am clear as I have never really read concern from most US forum members around this, why would violent protests or anarchy in US cities not concern you? Is it You dont think this is a real issue, meaning are you disputing the numerous valid reports form many cities ? You think this is an issue but the states must deal with it and accepting it wont change it Other reason? Then there is another concern. The majority of protests have been about the fact protestors are unhappy about the rulings made around incidents involving the Police and a suspect or suspects. So have we now basically decided that " we will decide protest and damage property but only when a court ruling also disagree with us "? The Breonna Taylor ruling and its outcome was another example of this. But in Kentucky the protests around the ruling have been much less severe as the police got involved and on day 1 arrested 100 protestors were arrested https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/nearly-100-breonna-taylor-protesters-arrested-kentucky-attorney-general-s-n1233848 So the outcome and reason for less violence and anarchy is clear, if the police get involved and arrest people breaking the law the levels of lawlessness are vastly reduced. Do you agree ?

Its unlikely Trump will die but we shouldnt think this will be a good thing. I am trying to get my head around certain things but it will change certain realities on the left and right For example his base will dissipate and that is a typically good voting block to rely on?

I understand your point but its not representative of the overall virus impact in USA and what this means in the event Trump dies He has a compromised immune system so his odds of not making it are greater. No chance of his humbleness changing, why change when you happy with the results ?

https://www.aol.com/donald-trump-fatigued-good-spirits-203747698.html Trump is indeed in a high risk group and this could be very serious, its not something anyone should think is a form of karma around Trumps general mask rejection because many groups and people in the USA have rejected much more about the virus. I would argue this is an example of a country with high levels of virus and then people choosing to ignore certain common ways that the virus spreads like " avoiding crowded places and confined places " Sadly the USA has had thousands of cases similar to this so this is something we all should be aware of I hope Trump is okay

Interestingly enough this election is one of the very few elections where if either candidate is unable to attend rallies I doubt it would change most voting outcomes The Trump presidency has irrefutably resulted in extreme views on both sides and that has lead to many Americans opinions on the voting choice decided. And the people at rallies are Republicans but generally Trump supporters. They known exactly who they are voting for and most of these rallies are really about the Trump base and how many people at these rallied really enjoy the spectacle and theater of how Trump makes his point. I have watched parts of these rallies and I find entertaining....Trump can be funny So for me this is a very unusual election because most US citizens know who they voting for and what is said at rallies is not going to change that. Also if you look at some of the core points both Biden and Trump have raised against each other they both are often based on external factors and its impact like the pandemic or the reality of anarchy and violence in some US cities And these criticisms are not really fair in certain ways to undermine either candidate but they are legitimate criticisms so in other words these rallies I dont think are going to change most peoples voting choices ?

Well done my friend, as you have mentioned you have felt moments of boredom and melancholy so this is exactly what you need to help improve any signs of motivation

Elerond what would be your greatest concern around Trumps presidency and him being elected again For people like us outside the USA we may have different concerns

Dark I am enjoying this debate you and Elerond are having around the legitimacy of the vote in mail but I dont want you to spend all this time researching this potential risk and then in the election its not an issue at all .......because sometimes what Trump says is just a media reaction and the media always ends up discussing it And if something is just a distraction then your time can be spent on other more relevant things. But Trump has excellent ways of manipulating the narrative to his own comfort, this is something he really does well and be able to justify it because he mentions how the media is always going to believe anything he says ....and of course CNN will discuss exactly what Trump expects them to respond And if I was CNN presenter I would be so tired of always discussing his " offensive " tweets and how he doesnt care about the history of the USA and how he wants to undermine the credibility of the election because it just seems like a distraction around policy which would be more interesting

Your post is really interesting because you have summarized nicely what I am noticing, its difficult to explain but when he gets asked the question " do you condemn the right wing " its not a real question because there is already an assumption on what he thinks....so its just part of a way of not getting an answer but confirming a bias Trump has had on several occasions condemned the right wing, people can google this if they dont believe me How did you come to this view around this question, is this just an observation or did you read a link. I have only noticed it now and it is interesting to me on different levels but I havent read much about it ?

Gromnir please always assume I do have a reason for making some points outside of not really understanding the obvious, I appreciate your feedback as it allows me to understand the issues and your detail in making posts is appreciated so please keep providing posts around these topics I have followed the general comments around Trump and his lack of perceived criticism towards the right wing but there is level of complexity around this and what it means. Would you like to read what I am taking about, I am not trying to be silly about why I should make a post but it will take me some time and I enjoy debates but you could honestly not be interested in a different view on this and then its pointless making a long post especially if its considered unorthodox But I would like you to understand the view and get your comments ?

Gromnir I can understand your concern about the nature of what defines normal and real news and yes some Trump supporters believe the worst forms of misinformation I have ever encountered in my life in any first world country But the good news is this doesnt represent the views of most normal Republicans, for example there are a few credible Republican supporters on CNN like Scott Jennings and Rick Santorum who make very reasonable comments about Trump but do call out the theatre and populism and where he is out of line

But phoning someone for a proper chat is what I always do for an update, I do use WhatsApp and LinkedIn but those are really convenient

Yes and have you noticed that you are able to communicate fine and dont feel you are missing out? But also its nice to be able to get updates from your wife if necessary ....your wife has a big family right so FB for her would be useful and makes sense purely from a update on photos and news

Last question is FB to blame in the sense people dont understand acceptable SM communication or is this more about how the US health department is paranoid about not getting sued so they may overreact ?

Trump is getting very criticized for not " calling out white supremacy " .....and there is this analysis of this as if it matters on CNN Firstly he called it out before, why must anyone have to call out something that we know is a extreme form of racism and its like white people need to keep pointing out something obvious I would refuse to comment and say this is just disingenuous question and ask the moderator to move on. If people are not happy with me not getting involved in theater then I dont want there vote ... Unless someone can tell me what possible reason Trump needs to respond to that type of question? Is that what Americans need to hear from Trump.......

This is an interesting post because I remember how hospitals and people can get sued for anything nowadays in the USA And just to be clear why would it be deemed possibly offensive if she wanted to tell you something about her husband, .....obviously in SA we dont get there legal concerns so its interesting to see what in the US would be the possible violation?

I respect the importance distinctions you feel should exist between teachers and pupils, I believe a teacher needs to consider this I am not sure you remember a couple of years ago I made a post about how I went to a garage to get cigarettes and in the shop I ended up meeting these 2 pretty, teenagers maybe 17-18 laugh about a joke I made which they genuinely found funny. Anyway we chatted a bit about life and then when I left they invited me to come smoke a quick joint which I accepted Now for me this was not anything even remotely sexual and I am definitely sure they felt the same,....this was just a fleeting friendship and some weed. I didnt even think it was even remotely strange But when I made the post you were very shocked that a 41 old man would smoke weed with 17 year old girls .....and I was happy to see how seriously you take your job. But the reality is I am not there father and I am not going to try to tell what is inappropriate especially when there is nothing weird about there offer. Anyway I remember that story and it did remind me of your post now

Well firstly I thought Dan said there was nothing untoward, so you saying this is about a relationship outside a friendship which may be very inappropriate I thought this was simply a FB connection, which is something that really cant be considered a normal relationship or something that cant be easily controlled ? But maybe I am misunderstanding the issue

I would like Dan to clarify because I find it hard to believe in this time of pandemic? I imagine hospital staff are generally considered people with empathy and there are many stories of nurses who get to spend the last 3 minutes with dying covid patients where they attempt to provide them with any final comfort....sometimes people just want to hear a moving religious hymn and you see the nurses singing this request...its very emotional and sad but also comforting and reminds me of the kindness of humanity All the medical staff interviewed would often talk about extreme emotional distress medical staff are under which is much worse in times of virus increase ...now you suggesting it would a normal policy to tell those same medical staff " you not allowed have a FB connection with any " patient

You think a hospital would enforce such draconian internal rules as " you cannot have a FB connection as a consenting adult " In my line of work I would be offended by that suggestion if a customer expected that while I am working on a project because it suggests I am not able to determine a friendship, it should be a choice that as it not really anyone's business surly ?