BruceVC

Wow this has been a very interesting post, Varana how come you know so much about this part of history? Its very fascinating

Yeah it has been very dramatic hasn't it

This post smacks of profound sarcasm....I just don't believe you, sorry

In the US Marines "Brigade" is a fluid term. Usually a brigade is a combination of different units from different groups to do a specific thing. The force breakdown of the Marines is 3 Infantry/Armor Regiments active with 1 reserve. 3 Force Service Support Groups with 1 reserve, 3 Marine Air Wings with 1 reserve. I think the total muster of the Corps is around 200K. But GD don't you think what Carly Fiorina is suggesting..50 Marine Brigades is preposterous ?

I was impressed by several people on things they said even though I don't necessarily agree with everything they say ...like Rand Paul and he was unequivocal that the USA needs to stay out of the ME completely as far as " boots on the ground " is concerned. Airstrikes and aiding real Western allies...like the Kurds is fine Rubio seems to have a good grasp of global events And you could see the tension, which was humorous, between Trump and Carly Fiorina. But damn many of these Republicans want to make the USA military much greater...as in much much more investment. Isn't the US military already by far the most effective and well resourced military in the world. And they think the current military is ineffectual They talk about having 50 Marine Brigades !!!! 50 ...I believe there are 9-12 at the moment ?

Ronald Reagan was an actor and a great president, just a side note. Well being politician nowadays doesn't guarantee you can be a successful politician or president. Some would even say that it will guarantee a failure. Sadly we don't have politicians anymore, mostly we have popularity polls wh***s and flags in the wind. So if people cannot count on politicians they turn to other people. Successful people with strong leadership capabilities, strong beliefs that tell people the truth straight instead of politically correct gibberish that doesn't mean anything. And Trump have it all. Trump says more in one minute debate time than any given politician in two hour speech. People are more likely to believe a construction businessman to build a wall than a politician who says he can help. You raise some interesting points but you are overlooking something very fundamental,...you can count on some politicians. You can count on the Democrats...you can count on Hilary Clinton

The west ****ed themselves royally with this and Russia will not play ball anymore when it comes to Syria. I haven't seen the debate, but anyone willing to go mushroom-cloud-mother****er on ISIS (and delivers) have my support. They signed out their right to existence a long time ago. Nah, I don't buy the point that the " reasonable Russians really tried to ensure peace in Syria and were ignored by the intransigent West " Lets go back to the beginning of the Syrian conflict ..the Russians and Chinese vetoed military action. As I have said numerous times this lack of military action has lead to the Syrian civil war being protracted for years. Thats on Russia and China Also you do realize the Russians have become much more active in Syria militarily in the last month or two. So they are sending military resources to help Assad against ISIS http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/09/14/analysis-russia-takes-gamble-in-syria-ramping-up-military-involvement-in-civil/ They have also asked the West to assist them in a military coalition basically aiding Assad as he is the " lesser of two evils" compared to ISIS The Russians don't want to commit to Syria by themselves as they have serious economic pressures on them but I can't see the West suddenly helping Assad....even though he is the lesser of the two evils

Yeah that's my view around Trump and his foreign policy experience, remember he has never been a politician before. He really lacks an understanding of diplomacy and rather he seems in contempt of the concept of quiet diplomacy....and of course that concerns me immensely The USA basically had 8 years of that under Bush ...and I don't think it worked out that well overall

Looks like we got ourselves a robot-lover over here fellas! "Robot-lover "

What I find interesting about Trump is he keeps using his credentials as a successful Capitalist as a reason that people should vote for him So he will something like " no building a wall to keep out illegal immigrants isn't hard, I have built massive 100 story buildings..now that's hard " Or " defeating ISIS won't be an issue...I am have proven track record at winning many law suits " So its like he is assuming being a prominent businessman means you can be a successful politician or president ....and its not the same....its really not the same

This is the exact anti-German sentiment that worries me...its not based on fact or an objective analysis of the reality of the current role and motives of Germany

Very funny

Messhugger..you funny :D Germany is raising GDP of EU, this means the economy is getting better ? Yes an increased GDP is a good thing but it doesn't necessarily reflect other positive economic metrics...like employment rate So GDP could be higher but unemployment could still be considered bad

I can understand your frustration, where do you live?

So? Sounds win-win to me. it's win-win for the bosses but in the long run the average man will suffer for it Interestingly enough this is a real social issue in South Africa and climaxed in the appalling Xenophobia we have seen over the last few years https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_in_South_Africa Basically foreign black Africans are unfairly blamed for taking jobs and also accepting working under worse conditions than local people and also accepting less money. While another accusation is local black South Africans are generally lazy and have a sense of entitlement so people prefer hiring foreigners There is some truth in both views but its not fair to target foreign black Africans as a reason for the overall economic slowdown in the country

http://edition.cnn.com/videos/politics/2015/09/15/gop-debate-eve-update-berman-dnt-tsr.cnn/video/playlists/2016-presidential-debates/ Yeah its happening tonight and it is relevant for a variety of reasons. For me I am interested in the opposition to the Democrats and what resonance they will carry when the real election campaigning begins. I want to know what the Republican candidates stand for I think Trump will dominate through his rhetoric and populism but I see Carson is gaining on him....not sure what you guys think about Carson. I don't know much about Carson except for the fact he seems very bright and is a neurosurgeon Anyway thread is really about the GOP candidates and how they come across during the debate

Guys I have seen a strange anti-German sentiment from some people in the media and even on these forums. People are claiming Germany is malicious and has some surreptitious intention to control the EU in a negative way and actually undermine other EU countries The reality cant be further from this view, Germany has the goal of truly making the EU an economic powerhouse in the world and this is something that will benefit all EU members and the West. They are not trying to implement Nazism secretly and have in fact avoided being seen as a military power...they have done a exemplary job at managing there economy Its really strange for me as someone who lives outside the EU to see this resentment from people from some EU countries....and it seems to be that this is some sort of historical anti-German view from the WW2 days. Its like people have still not moved on from those days and how Germany was the " bad guy " Anyway here is an excellent and informed link that highlights reasonably what motivates Germany and just how much work the Germans have done in there road to redemption after there belligerent past. Please read this and hopefully after this we can start supporting Germany and giving it the credit it deserves https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/germanys-road-to-redemption-shines-amid-europes-refugee-debate/2015/09/10/00955630-57f0-11e5-8bb1-b488d231bba2_story.html

The key sentence being: "The minister conceded that he had no firm information on terrorist infiltration of refugees, but said his "gut feeling" told him it was happening." Colour me unimpressed. If ISIS terrorists wanted to get into Europe, they'd simply come by plane, and not in a 9/11 way. There's a enough of them with valid European passports. ISIS themselves claim about 4000 warriors. But no one can truly know since refugees tend to tear their passports at the Serbian/Hungarian border. A lot don't do that any more- one of the consequences of Merkel's stupidity is that as well as paying people smugglers to smuggle them they're now also paying forgers to make fake Syrian identity papers. There have been more than a few reports of Urdu or Pashtu speaking refugees carrying Syrian ID papers, quite apart from all those who are just claiming to be Syrians with no papers. The German (shorthand, since there have been equally dumb responses from elsewhere) reaction has been just about the single worst reaction possible as it actively exacerbates the problem by encouraging more people to arrive; and I can only conclude that it has been deliberately so or that Merkel et al have not even the most basic grip on reality and how people's minds work. That they are now seeking to strongarm others into accepting their approach and bailing them out of their stupidity only compounds it. It's particularly ironic given their response to Greece, Germany seeking a no harm no foul refugee bail out from their culpable stupidity from everyone else. One rule for the vassals, another for the liege... Oh Zora....you really don't get it do you ? You think the German response by offering to take in 1 million refugees is based on some malicious intent ....you think Merkel doesn't understand reality And it seems your reasoning that Germany "clearly is inconsistent in its good will because look how they treated Greece " is a valid point? Sorry but this is just another example of how your anti-Western sentiment blinds you to the obvious motivations of what guides the West and countries like Germany Germany shouldn't have opened its borders unless the ME takes full responsibility for refugees but they did this because they thought they were doing the right thing...its not because they want to undermine the EU

Actually I saw this full interview on CNN and he is very sincere, he is a Coptic Christian for starters and really is opposed to ISIS and wants to help the Syrians The only criticism I have about him is he was asked why aren't the majority of ME Sunni countries taking in Syrian refugees...like UAE and Saudi Arabia...and he deflected this question by saying something like " yes they must do more but the issue is ISIS " ....and yes ISIS is an issue but the actual refugees are the real concern and what countries will absorb them So for me once again its appalling that countries like Saudi Arabia aren't taking in thousands of refugees

Well that analogy kind of breaks down when the core philosophy of the group in question is "actually, society absolutely does not treat these disadvantaged groups as if they're of equal worth to the rest of them, maybe we should do something about that". I have to say this is one of the best, convincing and most valid reasons I have ever heard for reasonable support of SJ movements In its foundation the intention of SJ groups is to help integrate and improve the lives of various minority groups....its not about control of peoples views, I was obviously joking earlier So I am baffled by this resentment and mockery we see sometimes. Guys this is ultimately about a fairer and more equitable society for all ...lets try be supportive

I'm pretty interested in that, might have to get it soon. I'm playing through STASIS at the moment. It didn't amaze me quite in the way I wanted to (so far at least) but then again I was pretty hyped up about it. But it's good. Sound is fantastic. The jump-scares so far takes away more from the atmosphere than anything though unfortunately. I have this game but I haven't played it yet I am keen for your feedback and overall opinion as its the first South African game developed in South Africa by local people And we aren't known for gaming development

Well you can hardly be blamed for that. Being a SJW means starting from a position of truly believing their thinking is more "right", their way is better than everyone else's. And if they could just MAKE everyone see things their way it would fix the world. It would be difficult for them NOT to be condescending when they start by presuming themselves better than everyone else on the merits of their ideals. Actually SJWs and religious zealots have a lot in common on that count it would seem. Two sides of the same coin maybe? No my friend you have to update your knowledge of the behavior and views of the SJW movement We never use words like " thinking is more "right", their way is better than everyone else's "...thats an unfair characterization and a little inaccurate We prefer to " help people make the right decision " and " remove the worry and stress from people having to make certain choices around economic and political policy by making the choices for them " So please don't see SJW influence in bad way ...its really something that will benefit society

Oh yes I am well aware of how people generally on forums cannot discern humor...you have no idea how many times I have tried to joke with someone and they took offense as they thought I was being serious I always try make the point that I am not a malicious person by nature....so if I say anything that sounds malicious then its a joke...yes I am sometimes condescending but I am working on that

What he said about his son was very moving and sincere. Yes he did impress me overall

As western "aggressions and interventions" were partial cause that lead in current situation, meaning that what ktchong wrote was not complete nonsense but too simply put as there is other factors like interventions from Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel, governance history of Syria, history of Saddam's regime in Iraq, divination of Muslim faith, history of minority groups in the region, and so on and so forth. Syria works as example how even minor intervention can cause unstable situation to explode much worse crisis, meaning that US supporting Syrian rebel groups together from sanctions from quite lot of nations lead in situation where Syrian government could not prevent ISIL/ISIS to take over large parts of the Syria under their control and when those some of rebel groups that US supported sundered to Al-Qaida it meant that there are now two terrorist groups in Syria that control large areas. I'm not sure why you are still disputing the reality of what caused the Civil War in Syria? It was not caused by Russia or the West. There was only one factor that caused it....the Arab Spring I can't explain this anymore as I'm going for dinner now