Generational Dynamics World View News

[guest]

I should have written "keep us busy" instead of "occupy" I certainly did not mean take over the USA.

Thanks for the clarification. You mentioned finishing preparations. What timeline are you looking at going forward and at what point will preparations turn into something we either have or don't have?

I think the Russians will move vs Ukraine in January, early Feb at the latest.

I think the Chinese will move vs Taiwan in April, but they may postpone till October at the latest.

Their intel services will be telling them they need to be done before the US 2022 elections.

Xi and Putin wonder whom will betray whom first .

[thomasglee]

** 15-Dec-2021 World View: The multitude of guests

> Why can't the multitude of guests get a clue that we don't pay
> attention to their tripe precisely because they can't own anything
> they say or have a conversation with anyone else that has any
> clarity? All of their posts demonstrate just how stupid they are,
> and how we are right in not responding (for no reason,
> obviously).

> Agreed. If they can't even settle on a nick that at least lets us
> know it's the same person posting, why should I care what they
> say?

> I third that.

The three of you may be shocked and surprised to learn this, but the
collective knowledge about the world of the registered members of this
forum, including myself, is not very great. The "multitude of guests"
do us a great service by filling in some of the gaps, especially
during crises like the Korea crisis or the Russia crisis.

I'm not even sure what the issue is. If you're responding to a
posting, all you need to know is the content of the posting. What
difference does it make if the author of the post is "Cool Breeze" or
"Guest"? In fact, knowing the name of the post's author is actually a
disadvantage, since you'll be tempted to make a personal attack on the
author, rather than just responding to the post's content.

When I'm write something, I sometimes reference articles from the
Vietnam News, from the Bangkok Post, from the Uganda Observer, from
Russia Today, and so forth. The author's name may be posted, but that
makes no difference since I wouldn't recognize him anyway. I have to
make a judgment about the credibility of the article based on the
content or the article. I usually do that by comparing it to other
articles, or from my own knowledge. Knowing the name of the author
really doesn't help. In fact, evaluating the credibility of a media
article is similar to evaluating the credibility of a post in this
forum, whether by "Cool Breeze" or "Guest".

These days there are no easy shortcuts, since pretty much everyone is
biased. Just because you recognize tha author of a post or article
doesn't mean that the article is automatically good or bad. You have
to make that judgment in the same way, whether you know the name of
the author or not.

In the meantime, just be grateful that there are "Guests" who are
willing to take the time to provide knowledge that none of us has.
You can agree with it, disagree, or ignore, but it's almost always
valuable.

The issue is that you cannot point out inconsistencies in positions if multiple "guests" are allowed. You also cannot determine which guest is bi-polar, and which is just being obtuse.

Take the post below from a "guest" as an example. That guest is so afraid of his own words he won't own them, he just wants them attributed to a "guest". Those of us who have been here a long time consistently post under the same nick so the others will know which MEMBER and NOT GUEST, is contributing. Also, you can search comments by regular users, etc, to see what they've said in the past or to find old posts. You cannot search "guests", without getting a bunch of posts who could be from anyone.

As the owner of the site and someone who clearly appreciates intelligent contribution to it, I would hope you would understand why some of us would prefer some semblance of order.

[Guest]

Thanks for the clarification. You mentioned finishing preparations. What timeline are you looking at going forward and at what point will preparations turn into something we either have or don't have?

I think the Russians will move vs Ukraine in January, early Feb at the latest.

I think the Chinese will move vs Taiwan in April, but they may postpone till October at the latest.

Their intel services will be telling them they need to be done before the US 2022 elections.

Xi and Putin wonder whom will betray whom first .

Tyrants are never 'allies', except for short term convenience. History has proven that repeatedly.

[John]

** 16-Dec-2021 World View: Giving back

> I don't post enough to warrant setting up an account. Now that the
> thin skinned are crying about it, I will make it point not to.

> I find this site an oasis. What John writes about is insightful. I
> have also purchased his book on China.

> Thank you, John.

Thanks for the compliment.

Setting up an account is free and takes 15 seconds. Why don't you
give back, by registering and becoming a member.

[John]

** 16-Dec-2021 World View: Water Cooler Gossip

> The issue is that you cannot point out inconsistencies in
> positions if multiple "guests" are allowed. You also cannot
> determine which guest is bi-polar, and which is just being obtuse.

> Take the above below from a "guest" as an example. That guest is
> so afraid of his own words he won't own them, he just wants them
> attributed to a "guest". Those of us who have been here a long
> time consistently post under the same nick so the others will know
> which MEMBER and NOT GUEST, is contributing. Also, you can search
> comments by regular users, etc, to see what they've said in the
> past or to find old posts. You cannot search "guests", without
> getting a bunch of posts who could be from anyone.

> As the owner of the site and someone who clearly appreciates
> intelligent contribution to it, I would hope you would understand
> why some of us would prefer some semblance of order.

I completely agree with you, Tom. The people who post as "Guest"
without a very good reason are such cowards that they don't even want
to take credit for what they've written. And I too would have liked
to know whether two "guest" posts were written by the same person so
that I can give a more intelligent response.

But what do you want me to do? Do you really want me to block all
guest posts? I really don't want to do that. Even if some of the
guest posts are analogous to water cooler gossip in the office,
offices that have tried to put an end to water cooler gossip have only
hurt themselves. Besides, I enjoy the water cooler gossip.

So really, what would you like me to do?

[John]

** 16-Dec-2021 World View: Xi and Putin betrayal

> Xi and Putin wonder who will betray whom first .

I don't think there's any doubt. Putin is so desperate that he is
groveling at Xi's feet, until the day that Xi kicks him aside, and
invades Russia's Far East and attacks Vladivostok, then sends hundreds
of thousands of troops across the Bering Strait into North America.
Xi will betray Putin, just as Hitler betrayed Stalin.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

[John]

** 16-Dec-2021 World View: 'Tidal Wave' of Covid Omicron cases

Two weeks ago, the UK detected the first Covid case with the Omicron
variant, and now, it is the dominant variant in London, and is
spreading exponentially across the country. Omicron is spreading
incredibly fast, with cases doubling in less than two days in most
regions.

This is just one example of the "tidal wave" of Omicron cases
spreading in the UK, Europe and Africa. Although Delta is still the
dominant variant in most places, Omicron is displacing it in all
cases. The fear is that the UK's hospitals will be overwhelmed
by Christmas or New Year's.

France has just announced that it was blocking travel from the
UK. This may slow down the spread in France, but the same tidal
wave is currently spreading across Europe.

In Africa, omicron is spreading like wildfire, and relatively
few people are vaccinated. The low vaccination rate is sometimes
blamed on America, but it turns out that vaccine hesitancy is very high
in Africa, and a lot of people are refusing to be jabbed, with the
result that huge shipments of vaccines shipped from the US
eventually have to be thrown out because they've expired.

Delta is still the dominant variant across the US. The omicron tidal
wave in UK was detected early because they have an aggressive genome
sequencing and testing program. In America, those programs are far
more episodic, and far less aggressive.

The result is that we don't know how far Omicron has spread in the US.
Nonetheless, the Omicron tidal wave is expected to hit much of the
United States in January, and a lot of people are going to be shocked
and caught off-guard.

In fact, in January there may be simultaneous waves of Delta,
Omicron and the flu, overwhelming the hospitals in some states.

The advice being advanced by different officials in the UK, Europe and
Asia is incoherent, with rules for masking, distancing, vaccination,
boosters, mandates, quarantines, isolation, self-isolation, travel and
lockdowns all different, and all changing from day to day.

There is similar chaos in the advice coming out of Washington. The
meaning of the term "fully vaccinated" changes frequently, and it's
not clear today whether you have to have a booster to be "fully
vaccinated." Some businesses require a customer to be vaccinated, but
it's never clear who is enforcing that rule and anyway, you can get
fake vaccination cards online. Some companies are requiring employees
to be "fully vaccinated," but it's not clear what will happen to
employees who refuse to be vaccinated, or refuse to reveal their
status. Some companies will fire the employee, some will require
daily or weekly testing, with costs sometimes borne by the employer
sometimes by the employee, some businesses have different policies for
employees who work at home, some businesses give religious or medical
exemptions. Additional confusion results from mixed reports about how
effective existing vaccines are against Omicron, especially when you
have been vaccinated many months in the past.

Despite the chaos, all government officials seem to be unanimous in
urging everyone to be vaccinated and boosted, and to use masks and
social distancing indoors or in crowds. There are many people who are
pro-vaccination but also pro-freedom and anti-mandate, especially for
kids. This has become a major political issue, and the politics will
be even more vitriolic in January when the Omicron tidal wave strikes,
especially if hospitals become overwhelmed. On the other hand, some
officials are saying that Omicron is so mild that it isn't even worth
worrying about. Generally speaking, the Red states are freer and more
anti-mandate than the Blue states.

-- Omicron 'most significant threat' since pandemic began, U.K. health
authority warns
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/omic ... s-rcna8828
(NBC News, 16-Dec-2021)

[Guest]

** 16-Dec-2021 World View: Giving back

> I don't post enough to warrant setting up an account. Now that the
> thin skinned are crying about it, I will make it point not to.

> I find this site an oasis. What John writes about is insightful. I
> have also purchased his book on China.

> Thank you, John.

Thanks for the compliment.

Setting up an account is free and takes 15 seconds. Why don't you
give back, by registering and becoming a member.

I have bought copies of your last three books. I didn't buy the Coming Storms simply because I would have to leave a trail. I have a friend who told me about this site and buys yours books and I have him buy extra copies for me. But I decided years ago to not register on this site. I knew that one day America would have a dangerous government like Biden's. I use DickDuckGo to post here and them burn the IT trail behind me. One day, people on the website will be rounded up. No thanks. I am heading for the hills with my guns, ammo, and determination. I never post from my laptop either. America stop being free completely in 2021.

[John]

** 16-Dec-2021 World View: Getting a VPN

> I have bought copies of your last three books. I didn't buy the
> Coming Storms simply because I would have to leave a trail. I have
> a friend who told me about this site and buys yours books and I
> have him buy extra copies for me. But I decided years ago to not
> register on this site. I knew that one day America would have a
> dangerous government like Biden's. I use DickDuckGo to post here
> and them burn the IT trail behind me. One day, people on the
> website will be rounded up. No thanks. I am heading for the hills
> with my guns, ammo, and determination. I never post from my
> laptop either. America stop being free completely in 2021.

Thank you for your reply and for your generous support.

It's not clear to me how you're protected by using DuckDuckGo.
DuckDuckGo doesn't track your searches, but it's not a VPN,
so you can still be tracked on this or any site on the internet.

I recommend that you get a VPN. There are a lot of choices, some of
them free. I use Firefox, and the new version of Firefox provides a
VPN for $60/year. They claim to have over 400 servers in over 30
countries, and they've integrated it with the "Firefox containers"
add-on that I've been using for years. So you can have multiple tabs
with each tab accessing the internet through a server in a different
country, if that's what you want. However, I haven't tried out the
Firefox VPN, so if you get it, let us know how it works.

[Cool Breeze]

Just humor me with 1 thing, "Guest"

How old are you, roughly