BruceVC

Hi KP I know you open minded...will you support me in my view that its possible the moon could be made of cheese ?

It's definitely not oil, as kgambit says there simply isn't enough of it. The question of why would take literally pages of analysis. Though it might have something to do with the putative blocked gas pipeline from the gulf to Turkey via Syria even that is distinctly questionable as a major factor. From the west's perspective the three major factors were probably 1) Arab Spring made it doable and the narrative from it was... unfortunate, since the casualties were distinctly pro western dictators like Ben Ali (and Mubarak). Idea was to co opt it to get rid of leaders they disliked 2) The west's messiah complex, and the damage Iraq did to it 3) Their Gulf allies so very, very desperately wanted Assad gone and have lots of money (3) would be the biggest one by far, owing to the obsession KSA has with Iran and its shia crescent of influence, radicalising sunnis and (at best) marginalising those they don't see as proper muslims with Qatar and Bahrain not far behind there. Compared to the west they've expended vast amounts of money and political capital supporting the rebels, the west has largely just given lip service with no practical help. That's also why you have the west consistently describing Al Qaeda allied militia- literally the exact same relationship as the Taleban in Afghanistan has to Al Qaeda- as being 'moderate rebels'; those groups are the ones their allies primarily support. Now you can add a fourth reason too, butthurt that the Russian intervention is working, though again that is entirely lip service/ hand waving with no practical support and is more about PR than anything else. At this point they'll probably try for a 'sunnistan' solution of breaking up Iraq and Syria along- coincidentally, I'm sure- pretty much the exact boundaries of the current ISIS 'state'. Hence the talk of KSA contributing soldiers to an 'anti ISIS' ground force. They almost literally could not make a worse job of it than the west has made with their pet projects in Iraq and Libya unless they did so deliberately, Bruciekins. Zora you have raised some interesting points, I disagree with several of them and would like to debate with you but I don't want to spend time typing if you will just ignore me. So will you engage? Before you comment dont think you doing this for me, this is about giving people like Dark a balanced view of the situation

Thats okay Baro, I am more than happy to confirm anything you are unsure about ..just ask and don't be embarrassed

Stop huffing glue. It's bad for you. Okay I am one of those people who typically loathes to give any criticism on forums but don't you think its always good to keep an open mind? Not when you include the words "moon" and "cheese" in the same comment. Is it happy hour over in SA now? I live in a country that has one of the highest crimes rates in the world and we face a plethora of real economic, political and social challenges...if you are able its always happy hour over here

Syrian Oil production had already dropped to ~ 380,000 bbl/day by 2009 (from a peak of ~580,000 bbl/day in1996) and continued to decline to ~280,000 bbls/day (at the time the conflict started). Proven reserves are 2.5 billion barrels. Syria ranks 32nd in production and reserves. There are far larger and more reliable sources of oil than Syria. So you think that there was no business in the supporting of the civil war in that area? Like there was no additional business from France in moving to Libya? You're shifting the goal posts. First it was oil, now it's business in general? I simply replied to your comment about oil being a motivation. Syria's production is simply not that significant. ok, so what other than oil could drive them to Syria? It was the goal of French in Libya, so what would be other interests in Syria? What would removing Syrian pres. give? Dark despite what you think if the West can assist with preventing a protracted civil war and maybe encourage our type of government and democracy why wouldn't they help? But they won't go against the UNSC veto And at the time removing Assad would have weakened Iran who was still the enemy back in 2011

The West understandably considers Assad a vile, appalling, intransigent and brutal dictator It will take a massive amount of work to get the Syrian economy functional...I doubt the West will be prepared to commit these type of resources to help them..I know I wouldn't. It may just be easier to try to absorb the refugees

Stop huffing glue. It's bad for you. Okay I am one of those people who typically loathes to give any criticism on forums but don't you think its always good to keep an open mind?

There is absolutely nothing inconsistent in the pictures or the videos. Regolith (moon dust) is ultra reflective for starters. I know I saw a link detailing the explanations for the alleged inconsistencies - let me see if I can find it. The total radiation dose was ~32 mrem, or 0.016 rads (all from protons ≥100 MeV).; That is well below the levels required to cause illness let alone death. The misconception is that the Apollo craft flew directly thru the Van Allen belt. It actually skirted the edges of it, which significantly reduced the radiation threat. Here's a fairly detailed study of the issue: http://www.braeunig.us/apollo/VABraddose.htm or you can reference the actual dosimeter readings of the Apollo missions: https://lsda.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/experiment/exper.aspx?exp_index=369 According to NASA there was no major solar flare during the Apollo missions. There were 1400 detectable events but none of them posed a risk to the astronauts. http://www.clavius.org/envsun.html Okay but guys Sarex may still have a point which will be very difficult to dispute.....if the moon was made of cheese then there was no landing? It was indeed fake...and how do we not know the moon is not made of cheese

Another question, what do you think is the Russian endgame ? Lets say both the Syrian rebels " aligned " to the West and ISIS are defeated and Assad stays in the power..who is going to rebuild the Syrian economy?

Dark you think this article is credible? Check below "Russians understand war. Americans understand managing conflicts to get unsatisfactory results,” one official familiar with the U.S. military campaign told The Daily Beast. The approach of both nations “tells the region who the players are. America is feckless and Russia and Iran are reliable allies.” Well when it comes to understanding warfare... what is better from the strategical point of view. gaining advantage at a cost of some civilian casualties or limited presence due to failures of previous campaigns and bad PR? You can;t deny that Russians are effective at supporting Assad with Aleppo most likely soon to be a crown jewel of their approach. Whereas US did what? They can;t even recognize who has islamic terrorist ties and who does not, so their hands are tied. Last thing they want to do is to copy mistakes of Afghanistan and Iraq. This also shows the msg that indeed Russians can be an effective support in the region while US so far had failed campaigns with exception of desert storm in 90s... Whatever they did after, always backfired and only complicated things. How are Iraq and Afghanistan better economically after the US interventions? What is the scope of the help there? They probably understand it, hence are slowly withdrawing and giving space to local players like Iran. Predictable dictatorship is much better than unpredictable mess that they caused. The only big question mark in the whole region is the Turkey and how far they are able to gamble away their position and test NATO ties. If they will invade Syria that will be an act of war against Syrian gov and its Russian ally... from there it is an easy route for a global disaster... Do you think the Russian intervention in Syria is an example of difficult military campaign....see my post above

One thing is for sure, we haven't heard anything about the Russian intervention being 'ineffective' or 'another Afghanistan' for months. You right Zora..the great Russian bear has indeed been strategic, brave and its intervention in Syria has irrefutably proved to the world how difficult it is to indiscriminately use air power to bomb groups of people on the ground who have been involved in a 5 year conflict back to the stone age. Russia is indeed formidable At least once Assad "wins " Russia can help restore the Syrian economy as its own economy is really strong...oh wait ....

Dark you think this article is credible? Check below "Russians understand war. Americans understand managing conflicts to get unsatisfactory results,” one official familiar with the U.S. military campaign told The Daily Beast. The approach of both nations “tells the region who the players are. America is feckless and Russia and Iran are reliable allies.”

Under the circumstances and considering the fact the Republicans should be soundly defeated it makes sense to lose interest in these elections

His agenda is to profit from the outrageous stuff that he says nothing more. He teaches pickup artist "methods" and talks bout "how to be a man" philosophy the way he sees it. Read the Q/A he posted on his recent mess. He would be a nobody, just another weirdo, if not for the hysteria. However he is a dream come true for the outrage warriors. The boogieman progressive slacktivists have always fantasized about combining the fueled for the inflated sense of importance with zero risk or threat. Okay good points raised, I'll be honest he did have that immediate "outraged " effect on me. I was highly irritated but in a way he is just manipulating the expected response ...and I hate the idea of being used\manipulated So I won't be part of his circus now

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/05/465681231/julian-assange-is-being-arbitrarily-held-un-group-says?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr So the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ( who they by the way ) has made the disappointing ruling that Assange has been " has been "arbitrarily detained" by Sweden and the U.K., a UN panel has ruled, adding that Assange should be freed and compensated for his treatment." They don't seem to carry any legal authority to enforce this ruling but I reject this whole " arbitrarily detained " ...he chose to break the conditions of his bail and hide in the Ecudorian embassy...he can leave anytime he wants, he should..he should just go for a nice long walk

That he sincerely wants rape to be made legal. Okay but are you saying his whole " lets legalize rape " is just a facade because he is pushing another agenda? And what agenda is that one...is it his links to Islamic conservatism?

It's mind boggling just how many people don't get it or pretend to. As unpleasant as Roosh can be this is a ridiculous thing to treat like undisputed fact. Remind me what is the undisputed fact...I'm genuinely unsure of what you mean?

Its very immature to boo any political candidate..people must grow up and at least have the respect to allow people to debate and raise there points....unless there is booing of candidates like Trump, then its okay

Links?

Thanks for sharing Conditions like ADHD are not any negative reflection on the parents and really can be treated once diagnosed. But if you feel this type of behavior is not uncommon in kids his age then its probably just a stage But I do think is also possible your wife despite her actual RL experience in dealing with peoples behavior may have a blind spot to your son and that would be perfectly understandable As I mentioned I am interested in what others think who have kids but just keep in the back of your mind you may dealing with something else that your son is grappling with...like some form of hyperactivity

Already done.Bruce is more then welcome to correct but I'm pretty sure he is not a social democrat. He's mentioned a few times that his ideal is "a mix of capitalism and socialism like the nordic countries" which from what I've been able to understand is Capitalism with a welfare state. That's social democrats, or at least what they do when they're in power. Well yes in an ideal world I think the Nordic countries offer the best balance of socialism and Capitalism for any government But can a system like that be realistically implemented in a place like the USA? I doubt it as most Republicans are opposed to the concept of " big government interference" ....so even though I support the Nordic system of government it can't be implemented everywhere The Nordic model does not work in the US for the reason of it being Nordic, as in it is a natural extension of the mindset in the countries there. As in it is taboo show off your riches; when making important decisions you always discuss it with your teammates before reaching final decision, uncontrollable joy is only acceptable when being drunk and it's important to feel shame on others behalf so that they can be really ashamed of themselves. None of those traits exist in the US or even remotely exemplify the american way of life, and that's why you cannot just insert the same kind of system there and expect the same results, because you won't. Interesting assessment

Good read, once again it becomes the womens problem...." you want to avoid Zika, don't fall pregnant " And the men are left alone to just have sex when they want and with who they want

Already done.Bruce is more then welcome to correct but I'm pretty sure he is not a social democrat. He's mentioned a few times that his ideal is "a mix of capitalism and socialism like the nordic countries" which from what I've been able to understand is Capitalism with a welfare state. That's social democrats, or at least what they do when they're in power. Well yes in an ideal world I think the Nordic countries offer the best balance of socialism and Capitalism for any government But can a system like that be realistically implemented in a place like the USA? I doubt it as most Republicans are opposed to the concept of " big government interference" ....so even though I support the Nordic system of government it can't be implemented everywhere

That's good news, nice one I am a believer in finding the right combination of medication, if required, to address these levels of frustration and general mental anxiety you are experiencing so I hope the positive results continue But I have to be honest your issue I really don't think is the way you deal with your son but rather your sons recalcitrant and uncontrollable behavior. It would be nice if others with kids commented but your son may have something like ADHD which would explain why he is completely undisciplined and doesn't appear to listen to adult authority. I had a similar condition when I was young ....maybe Hurlshot will give his opinion as he works with kids and is very knowledgeable but I don't think your sons behavior is normal at all? Has your son had any therapy to understand why he keeps disrupting your household in the way he does?

" should be openly challenged and criticised like his own backwards, rapist, patriarchal ideology " that made me laugh