BruceVC

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 ?

Sometimes it is but in these types of meetings you can offend someone unnecessarily....it could just be a temporary FB connection and not anything she will participate in so why make a harmless situation uncomfortable...they have this connection in a hospital so it can be more complicated than a normal meeting with someone who wants to " friend " you

You can hang with patients but you can easily separate work from someone who is just wanting to connect on FB friendship which is not really a real relationship as you can easily ignore I have to be honest I feel you have a normal but acceptable responsibility to friend her because obviously she feels the 20 minutes is a reason to have a connection with you which is credit to you . You can be cynical and think " 20 minutes and she wants to know me.....hard to believe thats sincere " But you come across as a very candid and caring person so I can believe she could form a connection, I like taking to you and Im sure after 20 minutes of chatting I would feel much closer to you .....but Im not on FB so its an unlikely scenario You can quickly make a judgement call on her after some assessment on her comments and views and if you dont enjoy her general personality you just remove her because you are under no obligation to keep her as a friend

majestic why you pulling a Zora on me And why you being so nasty, well you never mentioned my race so there is that .....have you forgotten the honest and important endorsement I gave Austria..and it was true.. But seriously my views on these topics are not based on my links to economic systems or real fears of an utter collapse of our societies. I have seen and worked in countries that have attempted and failed to change the proven, quantifiable metrics of the free market so we must never underestimate the risk of badly implemented economic polices You will be surprised but " bank bashing" can sometimes be fair .....but why dwell on some illegal, mistake or greedy endeavor some people in finance end up doing. If people have broken the law they should be prosecuted ...I have an uncle who was incarnated in the USA for links to complicated, normally acceptable but still illegal changes to some finance statements in 2008/2009 . Himself and 3 Americans were charged for various financial crimes and SEC got involved , they pleaded quilt and received real sentences in a real Federal prison but this prison is apparently used for people like them who are not real criminals so you cant put them with murderers and gangbanger shot callers and murderous right wingers Its the same prison I am sure Bernie Madoff is in or was in. My uncle has spent about 6 years in jail but he is being released early and they are deporting him back to SA and he can never return to the USA and he can never work in the financial sector ever again. He must be 68 now so I suppose he should be able to retire but he wants to work and somehow make amends ....not sure how but he should be able to try to work and make amends

I dont know much about him to comment on this but this is what is true about him. He was a loyal and important VP to Obama which was a time of both success and overreach but I cant recall him doing anything significant He espouses the moderate view of Democrats ......you dont want Warren or Saunders becoming president, I like them on a personal level as they mean well but you cannot have people running the USA who believe in punishing global US companies who get unfairly blamed for 2008, are happy for mass tax increases on everyone and are happy to suggest sweeping social changes like enforced gun control irrespective what reasonable gun owners think But I am worried about his mental state...he worried me during the interview and allowed himself to get provoked by Trump with comments about his son. What if he cannot finish the term and Harris becomes president .....now I am concerned about her trying to implement polices that are suppose to address " inequality " and how unintentionally this weakens and erodes the economy in different ways And its unhelpful to suggest " she wont implement polices that could hurt the US economy " because there are many countries that have destroyed there economies and livelihoods through bad polices or decisions

I admit I have no knowledge or history of the role or significance that either Armenia or Azerbaijan play in the region which is fine I am aware of the terrible genocide the Armenians sent through and how Turkey is responsible. Do you guys know many Turks even today refuse to accept this ? What is the real risk around this conflict from a " spill over perspective" ....the last thing we need is thousands more immigrants trying to get into the EU if things get worse?