BruceVC

You have no idea how much I miss things like that but in a more social environment which we not encouraged to do until we have the virus beaten

By the way, I just watched the latest and first in 2 months of the White House briefings around the virus Trump was absent but Pence ran with it with Dr Fauci as usual playing the voice of reason or rather consistency around the facts I recommend everyone watching it to understand the new seriousness the Trump presidency is taking around the latest increase in the USA. The one criticism I do have for all people who spoke, including Fauci, is the constant comments like " we not blaming people for wanting to get after the lockdown and we understand how young people think they invincible " ....I get that kind of comment made once but you dont have keep justifying appalling rejection of facts and science that most people worldwide and in the USA are well aware of

Yes then you right, that is a " negative " outcome of masks because some people then disregard other virus spread factors

How do masks make virus spread worse? Masks can lead to complacence because people assume they protect you from the virus....they dont So how based on the actual purpose of the mask do they make the spread worse ?

Im close to completing my absolutely enthralling and entertaining experience with RDR2 Online, I am on level 80 and the maximum level is 100 for meaningful gaining of things. So I have started thinking " what next " and I have decided to play Divinity : Original Sin 2 ....I have heard only good things about it and Im excited to start playing fantasy RPG again as I havent for about 6 months

We do laugh at these types of comments but the sad reality is there are people out there who have no real knowledge of the virus and do think things like " wearing masks " is a bad idea .....there willful ignorance should be criminalized because you absolutely increase the risk of virus spread when you dont wear a mask. This is not even remotely a debate anyone should have

I also want to read this particular book, there have been many books written by White House insiders under Trump who left his campaign and use to be supporters who now share " the dirt " but Boltons views are of particular interest to me

You wont believe this, I have just bought this game on Steam....very good price and since its the EE I am excited about my journey

I know we not suppose to respond in any irate way to Ktchong posts because he constantly seeks to troll people but this is a video created in the USA that is suppose to be about a real concern around something that is suppose to be an indication of I guess " how the lockdown is another reason for inequality " and only the super rich can become ....billionaires I am hope I am misunderstanding the intent but its very inaccurate and is based on irrelevant "data that tells us this is unacceptable because the virus has devastated the worlds global economy " ....thats the only thing I can honestly agree on but that is also what makes this rant so hypercritical. I would appreciate if anyone else can watch the video and tell me what I dont get......for examples is this suppose to be legitimate channel for sharing valid economic information....I am assuming its not considered a serious channel ? The reason I ask this is the 2 commentators make the most bizarre and unhelpful comments about what this means ....and I am not sure if they trolling. Its like some antithesis of a extreme Fox News show but on the left....its impossible to really understand what they suggesting this means in a way we can quantify in a normal economic definition that matters to people who have really lost jobs and how all of the worlds economies have been devastated by the necessary but artificial shutdown the global economy I am sure everyone is aware how serious this is but I want to share something with you guys that you not necessarily get expose to because its newly created and it considers many things never in the history of mankind and economics have been impacted. I saw most of the SA data from one of my customers who are a bank ,similar problems will exist in all your countries but I doubt it will be as grim as ours...in summary I cannot understand why people want to support conspiracy theories around certain topics, for example you sometimes hear people bemoaning the reality of globalization...yet there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the concept except the certain countries that can afford to subsidize local goods and sell them cheaper in countries that cant afford it ...its seems unfair and China has dumped serious textiles and steel on SA which erased those sectors for us but China will do this not with malicious intent but governments need to obviously factor in tariffs or similar protective measures. Anyway apart from this there are many more positive things about Globalization but the virus global lockdown has ended this system in most areas...you should consider what this means to your country, for SA this is about the low oil price caused initially no one buying oil and we mustnt think the low oil price was a positive ....in dropped so low no country was making any money from oil and this has a huge impact on all energy companies and there share price and also no one is buying our commodities. China normally addresses both these points so we need them to come back online Our taxes across all relevant components is down never seen before levels. income tax, corporate tax and VAT is all down and those make up 83 % of our tax Finally some people think GDP is an inaccurate measurement of economic progress and or health. Thats inaccurate and should tell you the person is not serious about the discussion because GDP has clear logical meaning to a very important part of all economies. You can see which sectors in any diverse economy contribute the most and which ones are slowing down....you then investigate further because the reasons may be very relevant and need to be addressed. In SA we do have a diverse economy which consists of the following finance, services , tourism, mining, agriculture , trade , government , manufacturing. transport ,construction and electrical but every one of these has been hit hard by the reality of the lockdown and that means we have no real idea what that means until the official government statement end of the month And the irony is the only people that have had no retrenchments or salary cuts is the entire public sector and everyone in government and at the moment these sectors are all running at a loss for about 8 months and we pay there salaries because if run at a loss you dont contribute

I hate it when you think so negatively about yourself, you mustn't ever let other people tell you what you thinking when they make a generalization about something you cannot generalize about. You cant accurately make a convincing argument when you say things like " one race is more racist than another race "......ironically that is an unintentionally racist statement, easy to accidentally perpetuate the racism you are concerned about ...and I know how these things concern you But in the interest of making a good example, lets take your own reality which you obviously will agree with. If I remember correctly you live in the Netherlands but you from Japan or another Asian country. Either way its not an unusual country to live in, I dont consider Japan or the Netherlands places that are notorious for being " structural racist " examples ...so already you concern is mitigated....unless you do think you racist but that would your view and not about your race

Thanks for taking the time to make this post, as usual I find you make important points using sensitivity, reasonableness and valid criticism of both sides which always helps. Most people on this forum wouldn't take so much time to make an important observation of the state of the USA but its not because they dont care ...its just they have shared there views in others ways so dont think because no one responds its pointless making detailed posts or some people have a negative view of Trump due to real comments and to be fair its not going to change For me I always try to read detailed posts on any forum if the issue is real or there is different views on the topic which often happens in politics because what I learnt specifically from this forum and members views was the importance of lived experience and or anecdotal stories that helped me understand certain sentiments that I had never come across from family or work colleagues who live in the USA but share my views on the importance of the free market and how it works globally. Now we may be technically correct but you cannot ignore perceptions that majority or many citizens feel and once I understood what some people were meaning it has sometimes changed my view in a good way and that is something I always appreciate because a subject like Trumps legacy and or successes does matter for several reasons so nuance and context are part of this view. So your post raises this type of introspection Why is this important to any non-American you may ask, its sometimes gets raised by our American members in a polite way that it seems unusual so many people would be so concerned or have a certain opinion on the USA but they dont live in the USA...yet this would differ from person to person who is not American but for me and others the sustainability and influence of the USA is of critical importance to what I believe will lead to a better world for all,the USA is defined by both ideologically and its mostly positive objectives it has made in the world So in other words a world where the USA collapses or is not able to intervene globally would create a much darker and uncertain future for the whole world on numerous levels....there is no viable alternative to the world as the USA provides a real role as "world leader " despite some of Trumps bizarre foreign policy decisions he has not broken the real important connections I am going to make the next part of my point in another post as its fairly detailed and I would to respond to some of your points, I only realized this after the Trump victory where I was absolutely stunned and shocked that he somehow won despite real " data " to the contrary but the reality is those of us who had valid concerns to Trumps general comments and lack of normal political decorum did not understand the real reasons Trump connected with many Americans who have both real and irrational concerns around where the country was going. I can honestly say we were manipulated by his abrasive words only and not what he also stood for which was real and pertinent to many people And Trump created this confusion because he acted in a certain way that was just unheard of in any Democracy, it worked for him and vindicated the strategy some of his clever advisors suggested as he won the election but it also added to the normal political dichotomy that exists in all countries and people become more partisan and read certain things into the Trump victory that was more about perceptions of what it really meant to the future of the USA ....for example you could see this on both the left and right. I will cover this more in my more detailed post but Trumps victory was immediately seen as irrefutable proof of the so called " end " of liberal Democracies by the likes of Nigel Farage who associated this with the same reasons as the BREXIT vote and that the EU was about to collapse due to rise of more anti-EU poltical parties ...yet the reasons people in these countries voted for both outcomes are very different and dont mean the idea of successful and economically strong Western Democracies suddenly become false In the example of the EU despite populist parties attempting to change the acceptable views of governing parties they mostly lost in local EU country elections. Also the real reasons for the creation of most of these populist parties was based on valid concerns by citizens who had real issues around the immigration policy of the EU and how it tried to force all countries to accept refugees from mostly Muslim countries who had failed governments ....there is nothing wrong with diversity but not at the expense of how citizens feel undermines there ability to meaningfully participate in what defines being a citizen and it created a perception that suddenly you had to just accept tens of thousands of refugees from countries that have real issues but not because of the EU. And then there was unreasonable concerns but not uncommon that the immigration idea would lead to the " Islamification " of Europe is never going to happen because fundamentally the majority of refugees were leaving Muslim countries because of the absolute failure of economic transformation and because of internal wars ...these people are not going to expect Sharia law in normal Democracies because there countries have failed them so why expect other countries that dont believe that to become like them? Last point before my larger post is I can absolutely understand why many Americans voted for Trump, its not if I personally agree but rather based on other realities I will discuss later. But several years later Trump has delivered on certain things like making the USA economy stronger and restoring a sense of global respect around how some countries feel about America but he also will fall short on what he use to say as a fact is now not true ....his initial rejection of the virus impact and how it can spread was shared by many world leaders primarily as the world has never dealt with this type of pandemic that needed the global economy to shut down...so it was almost impossible to ever justify why you would ever need to do this as it has created real and additional economic problems for all countries and that cannot be ignored. But Trump did initially reject concerns about how the virus could harm the USA and unfortunately that is on him as he publicly expressed what many of us assumed would happen....the Chinese will deal with this virus like all other examples of viruses that did originate from there animal markets But intrinsically Trump has always relied and believed that his general views will be vindicated by the actual policy success and I have to agree he did make the USA even economically stronger which was how he and his informed advisors could justify all the other controversial comments and at times blatant statements that are untrue, so comments like " his assessment of the number of supporters who attended his first gathering was the most people who have ever attended any gathering in the USA " This may seem trivial but it created a constant negative view and was repeated by Trump around his view of the facts or rather the absurd usage of " alternative facts " which is anathema to a normal debate based on the actual truth. This added to the general anti-Trump sentiment yet his supporters didnt concern themselves with his cavalier way of stating the reality because for many of them they are more understandably concerned with the outcomes and not the actual theater or how Trump still frames things. Also which didnt help is how many Americans dismiss certain comments as example of media bias and or propaganda. This is a more uniquely USA reality where many people just ignore any commentary that doesn't support there view and this leads to real perceptions that exist within the USA that are not always correct and when it is proven something is wrong, but not always wrong, this seems to then undermine what people believe is the truth or rather is what people used to believe is a valid political position My suggestion to how to address this unnecessary negative view of what is real is use common sense on all issues raised by the left or right because both sides can be right and wrong in different examples. Trump really believes in the importance of legacy but the virus has come along and unfortunately wiped out his greatest success story, the strength of the economy. He deserved to win the election in 2020 because this was a salient and positive story but now you are probably right and that will effect peoples views because his grandstanding at times becomes almost impossible to ignore when the economy has been so adversely impacted. And the real risk with how Trump achieved political success is you assume the real success will be what people remember....and normally that could easily be believed by any Trump supporter as a reason to vote for him again but now it becomes much more difficult to be convinced by many citizens If I was a Trump supporter I would still vote for him because the virus impact is not his fault ...you can still have faith in him if you think about the importance of getting the economy stronger does mater which I assume it does ?

In SA at least 30-35 % of adult men I know have licensed and legal firearms I dont keep one but in SA a gun can literally save your life due to our high crime and murder rate

I tend to agree, Comrade is at times studiously " controversial " but its all Cold War ideology so its a little outdated. Debates like " Capitalism is the scourge of modern societies " and how "Mother Russia and Red China " offers a better way of sustainable, happy living than " Western " countries Anyway he doesnt deny he likes to engage in this type of debate in the interest of robust debate so its not done surreptitiously IMO

Nope sorry but now you really making spurious corollaries and economic\social assumptions, its hard to believe you being serious ? Capitalism is just an economic system, its not " anti" anything and its not personal and or emotional...its absolutely cannot be racist because that suggests it has the cognitive ability to be " biased and or prejudiced towards someone of a different skin " ( that is the global definition of racism ) Of course you still need labor laws, regulations and Constitutional mandates to ensure Capitalism isnt abused but that is the responsibility and or success\failure of the government that is elected ....you cannot blame the economic system for perceptions of inequality and or " structural racism "

Tonight Im cooking myself delicious mutton sausages and buttery mash potatoes

Geez it must be nice coming from white, male privilege .........oh wait

This type of violence is unacceptable and should be condemned It doesnt matter what the race is of the victim and of course any human being is capable of any form of bigotry....this is an irrefutable scientific and physiological fact based on how all our brains work and how we think. This means of course black people can be racist, the question should not be that but rather " are you personally a racist " ....and if you are you can change your ways and dont be automatically prejudice towards people who have a different skin color

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/15/supreme-court-rules-workers-cant-be-fired-for-being-gay-or-transgender.html Here is some good news, the USA SC ruled you cannot fire someone for being gay...brilliant outcome and a victory for human rights

Really difficult to say, Im not sure

It was one of my CPT brothers wives 30th birthday on Friday so my sister planned a surprise lockdown " dine-in " experience with the excellent restaurant below, it involved 6 courses which were absolutely delicious. The best part was seeing some of my family again in person, first time in over 70 days https://www.lacolombe.co.za/dine-in-experience

Nice summary, puts somethings in the correct perspective

https://www.itv.com/news/2020-06-12/protective-shield-erected-around-cenotaph-and-winston-churchill-statue-ahead-of-protests-in-london/ It really is completely unacceptable that groups within the BLM protests vandalize important statues like the Cenotaph in London, these groups need to arrested and charged as quickly as possible

Why what great changes has Antifa been responsible for that aren't based on the obvious addressing of the unlawful profiling of African Americans, Antifa is not responsible for raising attention to this Antifa is in many examples just the opposite of right wing violence, they have no legitimate place in any Democracy and Im almost surprised you think they have been effective in using violence constructively

Guys lets not be studiously dismissive of what GD is saying and it is a valid point which I would have assumed most of us were aware of You generally cant take statements from any movement as complex as BLM as the absolute truth or rather the only acceptable opinion to have on a topic. Its never as simple as that in life For example there has been violence from some protesters and innocent people have been killed and yes they include members of the US police which are just doing there job. This doesnt mean we judge the whole BLM movement but you will never achieve the true buy in from society if your debate is based on comments like " BLM is non-violent and anyone who doesnt support them unequivocally is a racist and part of the problem " ...I am not suggesting you guys are saying this but lets be honest about violence where we see it

There deaths absolutely do matter for many reasons. Im glad you raised this but to be honest its not really new information or outcomes but rather its another example of the nuance and complexity with these types of protests and what are they really represent for different people on both sides which is generally the same anywhere in the world where people protest in mostly 1st world countries around numerous issues like Globalization, Climate Change , global financial system, global inequality , anti- Trump protests (some people outside of the USA spend loads of time criticizing and debating events in the USA but it is not well informed and has degrees of Bias and then unhelpful generalizations ....anyway Trump is partly responsible for this at times ) I follow different movements and global developments because they matter to me or are linked to my country, or I have family or good friends involved. Sometimes I follow events in countries because of the importance contribution these countries make to the global economy. My view on these topics is not the same as my views on SJ developments throughout the world where debates and discussions are ongoing around " how to make people more tolerant of other religions " (this is just am example ) My views around SJ has changed over the years but in a good way as I realized I was not seeing something obvious or rather I was looking at certain things in my view of the world and what works but I was not doing proper research into certain Internet SJ developments. I did learn where I was wrong and I always update my views and try to acknowledge my misunderstandings at the time. I learnt several incredibly important realities on this forum from having debates with members, for example GD when you pointed out to me the difference between commentary and reporting in the news media. I now see it when it happens and it causes me less vexation when people in the media do it.....excellent, small but important thing to understand if you follow different news channels The latest riots and protests that started in the USA due to the unlawful killing of George Floyd falls under my SJ views of the world, this just means we will all interpret them in different ways and have different views on some things but we should have common obvious agreement on a few fundamentals like the fact he was mishandled and an illegal form of restraint lead to his death....the cop involved must face several charges and we will see how complicate the other 3 are But this incident has created global outrage and many things have been said by different people. I agree with some protests but I will never accept any looting, burning down of shops and the killing of anyone including the US security forces like the police. But most of the people protesting are well meaning and arent part of the negative parts of the violence. Within the BLM movement there exists an extremist element and or condescending way people make certain points but since these people are not really people of influence so there is no point getting upset even if the media may repeat certain things So for me this is my current view on things and I always welcome peoples comments ....lets debate these things but please explain your view in as much detail as possible so I can understand the point But in summary here is my current view on things I have never believed the police in the US are all bad, I understand the views members on this forum have shared and I respect those views but I dont agree that you should generalize about an entire group that operates in every state and plays an absolutely vital role to the rule of law and order. So with the killing of George the people that dismissed the entire US police now are saying things like " all the police are responsible " ....but you can see from my side I didnt ever think all the police were bad and this incident just means we have to address criminal and or bigotry within the police in certain departments BLM is an American movement and this has now been replicated as the same issues throughout the world, even in countries have totally different social issues around racism. So its important to distinguish between US BLM objectives and other global issues that arent the same but may seem similar I have noticed how many white people have globally joined BLM protests in different countries. This should be seen as a positive step because in all Democracies any citizen is legally entitled to protest and express solidarity with a movement or ideology. You would hope that all people protesting are doing it with an understanding of what is the real objective and "what are you really asking for ". But its a personal choice and there should be no pressure, for example I have never taken part in any protest in my life with the exception of Gay Pride. For me some protests I am fundamentally opposed to but the main reason is I will support certain protests in principle because there broader goals are relevant and constructive but I dont believe you will achieve effective change through most protests. You normally need legislation and or new polices implemented and I would rather focus on this And then I am uncertain what the real changes people are demanding and or expecting? It reminds me a little of the gun control debate in the USA where after certain tragic mass shootings many people always want gun control enforced and basically use a logical, emotional and understandable approach which involves banning certain guns, enforcing more stricter gun ownership laws and improving mental health facilities. But it never gets through US congress for several reasons but most are not unreasonable. People outside the USA, like I use to , dont understand why most Americans dont agree to these changes but we are misunderstanding how many gun owners can absolutely sympathize with any victims and real frustration but the solution cannot be now " all gun owners must be held accountable for the small minority of extremists, ideologues and mentally disabled people who abuse gun control. You must also recognize that many Americans honestly feel gun control is a surreptitious attempt to undermine or control certain Constitutional rights and define what matters to being an American citizen and we must respect this as there are examples of this even if unintentional. For example suggesting all gun owners are these uneducated, rednecks who dont understand the basic problem is unhelpful and condescending So back to what BLM are asking for, I hear things like " we want an end to systemic racism " and " the killings of African Americans by the police cannot continue " , most of the comments are easy to understand but how do these things translate to practical changes that arent already in place? Finally I have to add there are certain groups or people that have hijacked the US BLM movement for there own agendas and ideological goals and quite simply this is not accurate or relevant In SA its been a mixed bag of spurious connections and people blaming all current social problems on things like " systemic racism in our economy and historical realities". Some people in our government have even formed an optional " US Black Friday South African support movement " because apparently US issues around police profiling and certain racist US developments are very relevant to us as " racism in the USA is the biggest problem in the world around why many black people are disadvantaged and live in poverty " But just in SA there are many examples of black people being killed unnecessarily outside of anything to do with racism and yet our government has never really publicly called this out So basically the killing of George must be condemned but we also shouldnt now create unrealistic societal objectives or blame things on this that have nothing to do with it