BruceVC

I would argue Germany wasnt bombed to end the war, yes Dresden occurred but it was considered a legitimate target in the German war machine Unfortunately Hitler and a few of his closest confidants like Goebbels refused to surrender and they made a final stand in Berlin, there were also SS regiments and other German forces that fought literally a street to street with the Soviets in the final days of the final attack against Berlin Now the Allies couldnt be sure of just using a bombing campaign to kill or force Hitler to surrender considering Hitler was living in a bunker at the end and I doubt this would have worked. So it was necessary for a ground campaign and soldiers clearing the streets There is a huge difference between the reasons for the bombing of Dresden and why nuclear weapons were used in Japan, the Allies didnt have the same concerns about when Germany would be defeated and if there would be a huge, unacceptable loss of US soldiers fighting some fanatical remnants of the Nazi army, Yes of course there was real German resistance throughout the final offensive to get to Berlin. But you had a very different and much less effective German army that made the final stand. And the Soviets also played a huge role in defeating the Germans from the East. So final predictions for loss of soldiers in the Berlin attack was much lower than the prediction of 1 million US who might have been killed invading Japan using a traditional island attack strategy

I noticed this story on various networks and it seems credible, he apparently used his suicide vest to kill himself because US special forces were about to kill/capture him. I dont blame him, that is the first decision he has ever made that I can guarantee you I would agree with him on. He would have spent the rest of his life on Guantanamo Bay as an isolated prisoner. death is preferable in certain realities https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/abu-bakr-al-baghdadi-leader-isis-targeted-u-s-raid-n1072506?yptr=yahoo I am sure it is him, I hope it is him because he has to face accountability for his egregious war crimes and the huge part he played in the creation and sustainability of ISIS For me its not fundamentally going to change the reality of how ISIS operates nowadays as since the Caliphate was destroyed ISIS has become more of an amorphous group that doesn't need or require the a leadership structure as the basic brutal belief is practiced by several examples of groups affiliated to ISIS ....yes this will upset ISIS disciplines who knew he was still alive but just like AQ the group will continue as its about the belief. Its appalling that anyone would practice this corruption of the Koran but this what extremists do

Its so funny you made this point because you right but I was hoping you wouldn't notice it, so in other words I misunderstood your post to Hurlshot because I thought you were being sarcastic. Sorry about that. But the interesting thing is after I made my post I realized you weren't being sarcastic as you not like that when you make points and in fact my entire post can be characterized as " "Because Japanese were bad people." if you read it a certain way But just to explain further so you understand where I was coming from. I want to share this extra information so you understand my broader view on this topic which comes up sometimes in RL. Lets say Hurlshot had raised the question outside any internet forum maybe in a school classroom or even a normal debate, he basically asked " why weren't the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki seen as war crimes or some sort of holocaust ", even though your answer is not incorrect its an over simplification and also it can be seen as a generalization. So in other words its not detailed enough to adequately answer the question to a certain audience. The question is relevant to certain opinions and some views people have that I have debated with but I am well aware this doesn't apply necessarily to anyone on this forum , occasionally I had exchanges with people who use this point as an example of USA\Western hypocrisy or rather history being selective about these types of events. Of course most people are well meaning when they raise this and normally its because the idea of killing 300k civilians by dropping the bombs cannot be justified by them or accepted. This is a normal view for people living in the year 2019 Which is why the historical precedent is very important about " why the USA did it ". And as I mentioned in my previous post there were reasons for this that were applicable at the time and made sense. I will ague that most of the remaining Japanese army were prepared to fight to the death, part of there ideological view was surrender was for cowards and anathema to there core beliefs and because this was there primary homeland how could they accept terms ? So somehow you needed to find a way to get the Japanese Emperor to accept surrender and I doubt a protracted land invasion would have had the same result Finally of course the terrible loss of civilians lives will be seen as a tragedy. But considering the outcome it was part of the overall strategy that was necessary to end the war

Geez as I always say, you Swedes are hardcore There are about 9 million people in Sweden, I cannot believe how DHL can just expect you to speak to all of them....very unreasonable but well done for doing it. As I said HARDCORE

These bombings really shouldnt been seen as war crimes, there are several fundamental reasons for this Elerond if you truly want to understand parts of history then you have to try to adopt the same mindset as the people who lived in that era and understand what were there considerations, fears and goals ....and most importantly you will see there reality. Then you will have a more favorable or rather a more balanced view of certain events like the bombings in Japan. If the USA had invaded mainland Japan to finally get Japan to surrender it was predicted they would lose 1 million soldiers fighting the fanatical Japanese loyalists Why should the US lose that many men when the war was basically over, Japan wasnt a threat at this stage to anyone as most of there army had been destroyed but they still had the Emperor and the general ideology of Totalitarianism which the army still followed. This ideology could only be eradicated will with Japan surrendering and admitting defeat So the cities had to be bombed to ensure this and to prevent the inevitable lose of hundreds of thousands of US soldiers, the Pacific campaign was a brutal and merciless series of battles and after Okinawa and Iwo Jima and the horrendous loss of life no one in the US wanted another ground invasion to conquer the final bastion of the Japanese . I would strongly recommend anyone interested in how terrible this campaign was to read the book below,its evocative and brilliant. Its called Goodbye Darkness https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/19801.Goodbye_Darkness

I hear you but without being pedantic Hurlshot didnt say " the holocaust " he used the word holocaust which is not not exclusive to the Jews

Interestingly enough you can use the word holocaust to describe a mass killing/genocide but if you use it with a capital, Holocaust, then this describes what happened to the Jews in WW2 by the Nazis ....so you both right in different ways

I have had an excellent day so far, I passed an exam I have been studying for and tonight one of my customers is sponsoring an event around an advanced hacking seminar and how customers can be exploited. There is going to be some ex-hacker from the UK who is only 17 and is apparently going to demonstrate live how devices can be compromised and how data can be stolen Interestingly the customer is an asset manager but clearly this type of risk matters to them so it will be very interesting to see how the hacker operates

The secret to sustainability at these events is simple....Tequila Before you get there have about 5-7 shooters and you should be fine and loving life

Volo you making several scurrilous accusations against Trudeau, they demonstrably untrue. He definitely doesn't hate women and he apologized for the brown face incidents, Dont be a hater

Thanks for explaining, very interesting

Great game Jade Empire, I played it for the first time about 8 years ago on recommendation from members on this forum And it has some exciting Romance arcs which always adds to the immersive RP element of these types of games

Wow that sounds both interesting but difficult to understand, are you joking or can you explain what you mean because I am clueless ?

South Africa just won so they through to the semi-finals, so the last 4 teams are NZ, Wales, England and SA SA plays Wales next and hopefully England beats NZ next weekend .......a SA vs England final will be ideal

That definitely should concern you....seriously

Huge weekend for the Rugby World Cup and numerous games England is first team through to semi-finals , New Zealand vs Ireland and of course the most important game tomorrow, South Africa vs Japan. We should win but the courageous Japanese shouldnt be underestimated

I agree it has been incredibly frustrating and laborious but I think we are near the end of whole " do we leave with no deal or with a deal " interminable exchanges that have become relatively commonplace But Gorthfuscious today is still an important vote because of the 31 October " Johnson " deadline

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu/brexit-day-of-reckoning-parliament-to-vote-on-johnsons-deal-idUKKBN1WX2M6?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews Today is a huge and important day for Johnson's BREXIT deal to get passed through the UK parliament Firstly its the first time in over 30 years the UK parliament has met on a Saturday so this should highlight the importance of this vote, basically Boris needs 320 votes to support his new deal with the EU. But to achieve this number you will have to have some opposition party votes supporting Johnson to get to the number so this means people from Labor, SNP, DUP and Independents will have to be convinced. Very exciting development

Its slightly old but Im very excited about the new HBO Watchmen

Its a stunning day today so we going to the CPT Waterfront and a restaurant called Gibsons which is an American theme diner which specializes in Burgers and Ribs...they have an amazing burger selection and the view of the harbor is amazing and adds to the general atmosphere https://gibsonsburgers.co.za/

You must be close to the Kurds Hoon, my condolences... the ME is a complicated place. Sometimes its literally " the Devil we know "

As I have mentioned in the past I am loving my RTX 2080 Ti, I am playing Metro Exodus at the moment and I can run the game at maximum settings

It sounds like you trying to recreate history, the West won....dont be a hater

My first CPT fondue night went really well, I used 3 specific Swiss cheeses which were Gruyere, Emmenthal and Raclette which was well received and I even added the traditional tot of Kirsch which is a cherry flavored brandy\liqueur But I made one mistake, I used too much Methylated Spirits in the burner initially so I had to fight a few minor fires once I light it but then it went well

But also many Democratic candidates have IMO offered many concerning policy ideas that you raise, so its not like you making them up But as I have mentioned in the past these extreme left policy suggestions are expensive or unrealistic or a combination of both of these. They basically " too socialist" if I can use a metaphor