BruceVC

Hows your maps doing Comrade, is Aleppo still resisting

Lets wait and see, based on everything I have seen on Al-Jazeera from numerous Syrians and commentators there was complete frustration and lack of belief that Assad had any legitimacy especially since the last 5-6 years and how things in Syria have just got worse This is evident not just around the collapse of his army, it is about what the citizens of the country and in exile think If you have access to Al-Jazeera watch it for an hour or so to see what I mean I think you underestimating just how unpopular Assad had become But you right, Syria could become Afghanistan v.2 I am hoping it doesn't and the new government delivers on a better Syria for its citizens Outside of that objective this leadership change is a massive blow mostly to Iran and weakens Russias influence in the ME but thats not my main concern or interest Millions of Syrians are living in refugee camps, I would like them to return home and the country to start being functional again Lots of work to be done

Probably end up in Iran?

Yes its a terrible and completely unexpected outcome A failed state in the ME propped up by Russia and Iran that didnt deliver on any political or economic reforms to the majority of its citizens despite numerous commitments and promises gets overthrown. What a surprise UNSC resolution 2254 was adopted by UNSC members way back in 2015 I watched an interview on Al-Jazeera last night with Lavrov and he claimed this was the resolution that Russia "supports " and believes in and was the basis for the Astana talks "Within 18 months, free and fair elections would be held under U.N. supervision. The political transition would be Syrian-led. The UN Resolution 2254 was invoked by Iran, Russia and Turkey as the legal basis for the political process required to solve the Syrian conflict, at the first round of the Astana Talks in January 2017 " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_2254 It sounds great to hear Russia talk about supporting this type of UNSC resolution in Syria except when Assad did nothing over the last 5-6 years to create a new inclusive Constitution or have an election within Syria because he doesnt care and his only concern was staying in power And Russia could have and should have much more to pressure Assad to deliver on this resolution. We dont know the future of Syria but Im more than happy to give a new government a chance At the moment anything is better than Assad and the collapse of the Syrian army and popular support for HTS from most Syrians is evidence of this

Talk shows are great but they tend to represent a segment of any society who listen and participate by phoning in So you dont want to assume what people say on any talk show is necessarily what the majority of people listening think or what the general population think. Its sometimes just the views on a particular topic which is not widespread

https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-832323 Its look like Iran has started evacuating its personnel from Syria "The report also cited prominent Iranian analyst Mehdi Rahmati, who claimed that Syria's army doesn't want to fight, and that the Islamic Republic doesn't want to fight as "advisory and support" despite their previous backing and military support to Assad. He also said that Syria is unmanageable for the Islamic Republic - even through military operations. Iran has used Syria as a I route to supply weapons to Hezbollah in the country's west. " I would find it strange if Iran gave up on Assad considering the significant importance Iranian proxies play in the region for Iran but Iran also has a much bigger concern, after 7 October war with Israel is more likely than ever so the current Iranian government would be considering its own survival and they wouldnt want to dilute there military too much to help the failed government of Assad

Thats a reassuring interview and I like what he is saying "Inside rebel-controlled territory in Syria, it’s clear he operates less like a wanted man and more like a politician. After forces loyal to him took control of Aleppo, he made a public appearance in the city’s historic citadel. Jolani says he has gone through episodes of transformation through the years. “A person in their twenties will have a different personality than someone in their thirties or forties, and certainly someone in their fifties. This is human nature. Jolani’s interview with CNN on Thursday was an about-face from the hardline rhetoric that he used during his first-ever televised interview in 2013, when he was interviewed by Al Jazeera with his face in shadow. At the time, his remarks were focused on furthering al Qaeda’s branch in Syria. On Thursday, Jolani projected a different vision for the war-torn country. In a sign of his attempted rebranding, he also publicly used his real name for the first time – Ahmed al-Sharaa – instead of the nom de guerre by which he is widely known. " They clearly want understandable Western recognition and to change the narrative they are a terrorist organisation Im cautiously optimistic and I hope they continue on this path of wanting to be seen as legitimate

Yes the Russians made a big difference by bombing Aleppo and other cities to the ground from miles up in the air or using artillery The Russians are very effective at airpower and launching missiles at civilian infrastructure and they very good at cannon-fodder and meatgrinder strategies to gain ground But dont underestimate the ground troops contribution that both Iran and Hezbollah provided in the last Syrian war, they ended up playing a huge part in the land offensive once Aleppo had been bombed back to the stone age And thats whats lacking in this latest offensive from Assad's perspective. The Russians will still bomb but it remains to see how much Iran and Hezbollah can change the tide

Yes this is a good point, DeSantis is clearly motivated to become the next GOP presidential nomination and everything he decides will be influenced by this

Its interesting and complicated whats happening in Syria and its influenced by several different geopolitical realities and history But we also know how the term terrorist group gets defined but its selective around how people accept it. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by the US and I consider them a terrorist group but lots of people opposed to Israel for different reasons consider Hamas freedom fighters who are fighting against an oppressive and "Apartheid" Israel And then the incorrect comparison gets used with the real struggle against Apartheid in South Africa and a legitimate argument gets made similar to " was the ANC and Mandela really terrorists " For me Mandela was a terrorist in the technical definition of terrorism which is using violence to achieve a political change but because the Apartheid state was never a legitimate government, it didnt represent all citizens in the country, I dont consider him a terrorist and the ANC did fight against an oppressive and unsustainable type of government Syria is more complicated but I try to keep it simple Assad had a choice when the early Arab Spring protests started, he could have avoided the war by allowing inclusion and more political and economic representation of all Syrians and allowing something as simple as a free and fair election . As your link mentions " Pedersen added that there had been "a collective failure to bring about a genuine political process" to implement UN Security Council resolution 2254, which was passed in 2015. That laid out a roadmap for peace, with the principle in the text that “the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria”. The objective was a future shaped by free elections and a new constitution. But that meant Assad and his family giving up a country that they treated for years as their personal fief. More than half a million dead attest to their determination not to let that happen." But he refused and decided to stay in power and unleash the full might of his military on his citizens and the civil war started Then Iran, Russia and Hezbollah intervened and kept him power by helping to defeat the rebels\insurgency\militants\extremists But he could have avoided all of this And yet he has failed to change much in Syria both politically or economically since the civil war ended in most parts of country He is truly a reprehensible leader who only cares about one thing, staying in power at the expense of whats best for his country so this latest uprising was almost guaranteed I dont think there is an alliance between Israel and Turkey\rebels around this latest insurrection but I do think the rebels were motivated by what has happened since 7 October where Israel has vastly weakened and eroded Iran and Hezbollah in the region and they taking advantage of that. Russia is also deeply mired militarily in Ukraine so there additional support is questionable Israel's current biggest security concern would be Iran and its proxies and since Assad is considered a staunch ally of Iran they would support him being overthrown And this calculus would be because of 7 October which has obviously had a huge influence around Israel geopolitical views in the ME

Its interesting and complicated whats happening in Syria and its influenced by several different geopolitical realities and history But we also know how the term terrorist group gets defined but its selective around how people accept it. Hamas is designated a terrorist group by the US and I consider them a terrorist group but lots of people opposed to Israel for different reasons consider Hamas freedom fighters who are fighting against an oppressive and "Apartheid" Israel And then the incorrect comparison gets used with the real struggle against Apartheid in South Africa and a legitimate argument gets made similar to " was the ANC and Mandela really terrorists " For me Mandela was a terrorist in the technical definition of terrorism which is using violence to achieve a political change but because the Apartheid state was never a legitimate government, it didnt represent all citizens in the country, I dont consider him a terrorist and the ANC did fight against an oppressive and unsustainable type of government Syria is more complicated but I try to keep it simple Assad had a choice when the early Arab Spring protests started, he could have avoided the war by allowing inclusion and more political and economic representation of all Syrians and allowing something as simple as a free and fair election . As your link mentions " Pedersen added that there had been "a collective failure to bring about a genuine political process" to implement UN Security Council resolution 2254, which was passed in 2015. That laid out a roadmap for peace, with the principle in the text that “the Syrian people will decide the future of Syria”. The objective was a future shaped by free elections and a new constitution. But that meant Assad and his family giving up a country that they treated for years as their personal fief. More than half a million dead attest to their determination not to let that happen." But he refused and decided to stay in power and unleash the full might of his military on his citizens and the civil war started Then Iran, Russia and Hezbollah intervened and kept him power by helping to defeat the rebels\insurgency\militants\extremists But he could have avoided all of this And yet he has failed to change much in Syria both politically or economically since the civil war ended in most parts of country He is truly a reprehensible leader who only cares about one thing, staying in power at the expense of whats best for his country so this latest uprising was almost guaranteed I dont think there is an alliance between Israel and Turkey\rebels around this latest insurrection but I do think the rebels were motivated by what has happened since 7 October where Israel has vastly weakened and eroded Iran and Hezbollah in the region and they taking advantage of that. Russia is also deeply mired militarily in Ukraine so there additional support is questionable Israel's current biggest security concern would be Iran and its proxies and since Assad is considered a staunch ally of Iran they would support him being overthrown And this calculus would be because of 7 October which has obviously had a huge influence around Israel geopolitical views in the ME

Yeah, without the previous degrees of support from Russia, Iran and Hezbollah things are not looking good for Assad Hopefully he falls this time but its too early to predict

Or they can reject wokeness and return us to the gaming era where liberated and confidant women werent insulted and discriminated against and they could wear chainmail bikini armour Malc you must never tell a women what she can or cant wear, I learnt that on DAY 1 of my yearly classes around " how to end, identify and change white, male privilege "

You dont like the GTA franchise?

Yes I read this statistic about her not hitting that hard But thats not the legitimate debate, its about fairness in womens sports and the levels of elevated testosterone that intersex athletes can and do have Unfortunately transphobia is one of the reasons for this outrage but thats not the real concern, the Lia Thomas story is more accurate https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/a-look-at-the-numbers-and-times-no-denying-the-advantages-of-lia-thomas/ " Just how much of an advantage did Lia Thomas possesses over biological females? The numbers paint a clear picture. The fact that the University of Pennsylvania swimmer soared from a mid-500s ranking (554th in the 200 freestyle; all divisions) in men’s competition to one of the top-ranked swimmers in women’s competition tells the story of the unfairness which unfolded at the NCAA level." Its really about fairness for female athletes who should be able to only compete against other female athletes who have the same levels of testosterone Most intersex athletes have natural elevated testosterone, its not there fault because they were born that way but it doesnt mean they should be competing in womens sports events where this makes a difference around performance

KC:D 2 is a " day 1 purchase " without any doubt I cant wait, the first one was excellent. I loved the combat and then the mechanics of activities like alchemy, reading and lockpicking And the Romance was cute

Last night in Underrail I had an excellent battle that was the perfect example of what makes this game so engaging and entertaining Underrail combat creates this exciting reality where your different builds and skills have to used in different ways if you going to succeed, you cant just adopt the same approach in every battle Near Rail Crossing there was a side tunnel with 4 Lurker Bandits that included a boss called Flynn the Flayer Initially I tried my normal strategy which is stealth, grenades and Psi abilities but I got killed 3-4 times and there is a sniper with a shield who could one shot me. So I changed my approach I planted 2 x mines in a side tunnel and then used stealth to throw a Molotov to hurt them and draw aggro but I ran away behind my mines Flynn and 2 lurkers chased me and triggered the mines and then I used Psi from a distance to kill Flynn because he is deadly in melee with his special spear Then I was able to kill the sniper who came from the other direction in one on one combat I ended up getting lots of loot and my first shield emitter

Gorthfuscious she is Danish and you are Danish and we all know because of your Viking heritage this obstacle course would be like a walk in the park for you But not the rest of us, we dont have Viking blood

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-considers-replacing-hegseth-with-desantis-run-pentagon-wsj-reports-2024-12-04/ Its looks like DeSantis might replace Hegseth as defence secretary It would be a good decision considering all the controversies coming to light around Hegseth

Yes Africa has several examples of the Russian military and state linked mercenaries meddling and getting involved in civil wars and conflicts and they do it to gain mineral resources and push neo-colonial Russian interests like vetoing the recent UNSC Sudan ceasefire The irony and hypocrisy with this is something I often raise, 10 years ago if this was Western forces this involved in this indirect way you would hear certain activists outraged around the normal " Western imperialism and colonialism " rhetoric But there is a deafening silence from most of these same activists when Russia does the same thing they criticized Western countries for And this will continue while the Africa Union continues to be an ineffective block that lacks real unity and doesnt enforce its own manifesto or rules for the continent

Does anyone think they can do what this women is doing, her name is Ida Mathilde and she is a Danish athlete

It was one of nieces 2nd birthday yesterday She is so cute and at that age where kids learn words and develop real personalities I bought her a Peter Rabbit interactive book and it turns out she loves Peter Rabbit and she had a Peter Rabbit themed cake, what a lucky present choice on my part

Im 20 hours into Underrail and its fantastic, I have just completed the Armadillo Drill quest and SGS has been attacked A couple of points I like the economy, money is always scarce and traders have limited money and dont buy everything. I enjoy that aspect of economic realism because it makes you strategic around what you buy and keep Combat is the best part of the game, there are such a myriad of options and items to use. I have adopted Molotov ****tails as my best method of dealing with groups and I use grenades and my Psi abilities to inflict maximum damage and chaos amongst enemies. I like how the game forces you to be selective around skills advancement, you cant be good at everything and there are always multiple solutions to problems around quest advancements. As I mentioned previously I am training psi, stealth, grenades, melee and crossbow. No guns which is a first for me in these types of games I have learnt a lot about the advantages of EMP grenades and electrical attacks on robotic enemies because they created a huge problem for me initially especially in the GMS compound The Depot A compound was very tough and I literally got to Wyatt with no healing items or Psi potions left , I would have been killed if there were any final enemies on his map I decided to select Classic as my XP gain because I prefer the traditional way of gaining XP but I always explore most things anyway so I gain XP from finding oddity items. Its the best of both worlds

https://www.getty.edu/publications/cultural-heritage-mass-atrocities/part-2/10-bandarin/ " But the worst calamity has been the dispersal of the Syrian population due to the violence. In 2010 Syria had an estimated population of 21.8 million, which shrank to 20.5 million in 20155 and 19.4 million in 2018. It is estimated that at least five hundred thousand people were killed and two million wounded during the war; over 6.5 million people were internally displaced, and over five million, equal to over 20 percent of the country’s population, became international refugees" But because only 32k people were killed in Aleppo and the city was destroyed "nothing to see " The unnecessary tragedy around the Syrian war was clearly just a Western projection and Assad, Russia and Iran did nothing wrong Great argument Zora, very convincing

Yes, that is the justification The solution is what I have mentioned in the Gaza thread. Ground troops only that clear the city block by block and missiles and airpower is used only as last resort. Its costly in lives of soldiers and time consuming but you avoid large amounts of civilian deaths But neither the Syrians\Russians or Israelis are prepared to do that for the reasons you mentioned