BruceVC

Yes and thats the strange thing about the insurgency and wars in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso and the temporary global "attention " it received Most people dont know anything about these countries or the conflicts and they considered some of the most poorest and underdeveloped countries in Africa. But suddenly French flags get burnt and the French military leave and Russian and anti-Western SM propaganda creates interest for a week or 2 and then people move on Yet the insurgencies have been going on since 2012 and only with the French leaving did it create any temporary interest or activism. Its an example of the misplaced and fleeting interest that SM creates and encourages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamist_insurgency_in_the_Sahel

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/31/hamass-political-chief-ismail-haniyeh-assassinated-in-iran-state-media Im not surprised by the assassination of Hamas leaders, thats a given if you understand how Israel responds to the killing of its citizens. Im just surprised they were able to do it within the borders of Iran. Its been a while since we have seen Israel do that within Iran

How is this incredible photo of a Brazilian who won the surfing event https://people.com/surfer-gabriel-medina-appears-to-float-mid-air-in-viral-photo-snapped-at-2024-summer-olympics-8685786

Wagner gets paid money as mercenaries and they have numerous contracts in Africa And sometimes its about mineral rights concession which sometimes benefits Russia directly https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/17/what-is-the-wagner-groups-role-in-sudan And either way its about reestablishing a Russian presence in Africa in unstable countries that have minerals and other resources But you wont find them in stable African that provide there own security

Yes I am not denying Russian propaganda and how that contributed towards a certain narrative around the military coups. Thats what I mean by " French Colonialism " ending But that doesn't change the fundamental reason for the insurgency and how the security situation isnt going to improve unless you change the economic reality in these countries and thats not going to happen under these military Juntas The global SM attention we witnessed around French flags burning was just theatre and propaganda, its got very little to do with the root cause of the problems in these countries

https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/internacional/venezuela-expulsa-diplomatas-de-sete-paises-que-contestam-os-resultados-eleitorais/ Another " free and fair " election in Venezuela and the continuation of Maduros failed socialist government where only elites like Maduro will continue to live a life of luxury while the rest of the country lives in poverty and squalor But at least Maduro can stand on a podium and remind everyone " he is fighting US\Western imperialism "

The real issue here is the primary justification for the military coups in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso was because of the failure of the Democratically governments to ensure security and stability from these Jihadist\Tribal groups that control parts of these countries and there was this bizarre view that somehow having the military running the country would solve the security failures But this type of insurgency is fuelled primarily by poverty which encourages extremism and unless you change the economic reality of these countries you wont end the violence and these military Juntas are more unqualified and unlikely to achieve this than the previous governments Same story as Somalia and Nigeria where the likes of Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram have been operating for decades in one form or another Then going back to the likes of Niger and Mali you had all this sensationalized and anti-Western SM attention around French flags being burnt and when the French military was kicked out this was a " significant " development because somehow " French Colonialism " was the reason for the economic and security failures And yet nothing has changed, the Russians and Wagner arent going to change anything because only effective governments can change the reality of these countries and military Juntas wont deliver on this key requirement Its a depressing future for these countries and there citizens

We have won our first Gold medal for 100m women's breaststroke

Its a complete overreaction considering it was such a small part of the overall opening ceremony with all its splendour The Olympics has been on for days and some people are still going on about it, its obvious they not interested in the reason people watch the Olympics which is about sports and athletic achievements Its just an example and outcome of culture wars garbage that some people obsess about as the most important thing, any excuse to be outraged and vent they will be outraged and vent Im just following the actual Olympics and the events that interest me.

I thought this should get it own thread considering the prestigious nature of this global sports event. Who will be watching? Im very excited and knew that France would host an excellent event as usual I watched parts of the opening ceremony and the way the Seines river was utilized was very well done

Yes that was something else I noticed, she has achieved record funding for her campaign in a such a short time period And this is another example of the appetite Democratic supporters for a credible candidate to challenge Trump

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/harris-leads-trump-44-42-us-presidential-race-reutersipsos-poll-finds-2024-07-23/ Some interesting early polling data around Harris being Bidens nomination and Biden not running " Vice President Kamala Harris opened up a marginal two-percentage-point lead over Republican Donald Trump after President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign and passed the torch to her, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.That compares with a marginal two-point deficit Biden faced against Trump in last week's poll before his Sunday exit from the race." Its early days around how this Dem candidate change will influence voting decisions but this election is no longer the " guaranteed " Trump win if Biden was still running

Are you playing vanilla Skyrim or are you using Requiem or a specific mod list?

Im very far away from ever considering using AI in Bethesda games and particularly not with companion dialogue options It needs to be much more refined and functional and even then it doesnt appeal to me. It would take some major improvements and marketing before I adopted it

What !!!! You havent read there 900 page manifesto, everyone has read it https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24088042-project-2025s-mandate-for-leadership-the-conservative-promise Its only 925 pages, read it today and then we can discuss it tomorrow

I have been preparing myself for my first Skyrim play through, I have waited 13 years for this monumental and significant occasion Its early days and Im reading up on ideas of mod lists and doing research But Im almost guaranteed to play Requiem with the Wildlander mod list, Im undecided about what mod list to use with Requiem but Wildlander looks awesome

We dont , you right We only know that over 100 Conservative thinktanks have come up with there own Conservative policies and views that they want Trump to implement And yet Project 2025 for some reason seems to get the most attention and then there is obvious misinformation about how significant there specific policies are to Trump and Trump and his campaign have distanced themselves from this but yet people keep raising this. I heard the same thing today on one of our talk shows where the talk show host said " Trump is going to follow Project 2025 ideology " " I know nothing about Project 2025. I have not seen it, have no idea who is in charge of it, and, unlike our very well received Republican Platform, had nothing to do with it. The Radical Left Democrats are having a field day, however, trying to hook me into whatever policies are stated or said. It is pure disinformation on their part. By now, after all of these years, everyone knows where I stand on EVERYTHING! DJT " https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112765952710871414

And I dont disagree, the hardcore Trump supporters are acting like there is nothing wrong with Trumps mental acumen but he is definitely showing signs of mental deterioration So people laughing and mocking Biden now can have there fun but these things tend to come back to you Vastly is the wrong word, lets just say he is more mentally cognitive than Biden at the moment

No Im not saying that, I have said he does believe in certain of there policies because some of the policies are Conservative views But Project 2025 is a 900 page document and I can guarantee he is not going to implement everything they think should be implemented So we can be specific about what you think he may or may not align with?

Thats not the point Im making, Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation has certain policies that are aligned to what Trump believes because its a Conservative thinktank. Its like liberal\left thinktanks have policies that the Dems support Its already been established that trying to deal with the migration crisis is one of them, this is not a policy that Project 2025 created Im saying the manifesto of Project 2025 and all its points is not the same as the policies that Trump believes in or supports

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/05/trump-project-2025-disavowal/ @Pidesco We had this debate a few weeks ago and I said that the Heritage Foundation does not represent the official policies of Trump or what policies he believes in Im not sure if you aware this has been confirmed " As we’ve been saying for more than two years now, Project 2025 does not speak for any candidate or campaign,” the statement said, noting the project represents more than 110 conservative groups planning for the next GOP president. “But it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”

Yes and I want to give Biden credit and kudos for this decision. He has preserved his legacy and he served his country well in many ways for decades. He should be proud of his political career History IMO will remember him in an overall favourable way

Sure Trump rambles and loves exaggerating and peddling fake news But you not seriously comparing Trumps and Bidens mental acumen? Trumps vastly more mentally cognitive than Biden Trump Im sure will end up like Biden but he is not at that level now

So this decision by Biden is by far the right one and it doesnt really matter who the next Dem candidate is because the real concern was Bidens mental acumen which was both a distraction and reality. You cant have the leader of the most powerful and influential country in the world suffering from the mental deterioration that Biden has, its not fair on him and its not fair on the USA So this election will go back to what has characterized much of US elections since 2016 and this doesn't apply to those people that take elections seriously. This is just what the attention will be on identity and personality politics hyperbole and exaggeration from many media houses on both sides around policies and statements from the other side promises and commitments from candidates that wont be fulfilled or realized stupid and childish memes that will dominate SM But it WONT be about Bidens mental state and thats a good thing if the Dems are serious about winning

Well done Biden. Its definitely the right decision in the best interests of the US, better late than never Now it will be interesting to see who will be the Dems new candidate