Everyone here okay?

[chocolate pickles]

You have to define the terms first, starting with okay.

Seriously? You're being that pedantic?

OT: I'm fine. A friend of mine was in Paris not far from the shootings, but he's ok and safely back in England.

 

[Barbas]

Seriously? You're being that pedantic?

OT: I'm fine. A friend of mine was in Paris not far from the shootings, but he's ok and safely back in England.

People here say they are "okay" or "fine" sometimes, then they just snap, so I guess they didn't really mean it or it has a different meaning to them.

OT: I'm not in any immediate danger, if that's what you're asking. I am not optimistic about the days ahead for France, though. There was a brief news clip I saw last night that showed crowds running in panic from a candlelight vigil after hearing a loud bang in the street which turned out to be a false alarm.

EDIT: Managed to clear out a whole load of super mutants from around a water treatment plant in Fallout 4 as well, which was a bit of a difficult task. The Computer Science course also remains as engaging as ever, which is what you ideally want from a college course.

 

[Headsprouter]

I'm okay. And should continue to be provided our lunatics of the old days don't get all nostalgic seeing the bombs and guns on the news and manipulate some younger sod into doing horrible things for the sake of a flag.

 

[Guffe]

I'm fine, thank you for asking!
Recent events around the globe have been horrible indeed. Lucky for me I've been nowhere near ay of them. Feel bad for those touched by the events. Strength to all.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Except that IS didn't originate in the countries in which the Arab Spring had its strongest effects. Only Syria, really, but it has little to do with the North African nations, and even some of the Middle Eastern ones, in which it had the strongest effects. IS is sadly spreading to those countries too, even to Tunisia in which the Arab Spring was very fruitful.

Besides, IS goes back way before the Arab Spring, starting as an Al-Quada affiliate way back. They simply latched on the mess in Syria to profit from that. I won't ever blame the people of Tunisia, Lybia and all those other North African and Middle Eastern nations who were and are fighting for more freedoms for the rise of Islamic extremism. Of course, I won't deny either that the instability in some of the Arab Spring nations (because in a lot of them the transitions and changes went relatively smoothly) gave groups like IS ground to latch onto. Long lingering tensions saw an opportunity, and since then we've entered into the Arabian Winter, sadly.

As for Assad, he's out, really. Putin has already conceded on wanting Assad to stay. He's pretty much lost this horrendous civil war morally, militarily and geo-politically. Sadly it's still a clusterfuck thanks to all kinds of militant alliances trying to grab territory.

TL;DR; the Arab Spring is mostly, and definitely originally, a North African happening. IS was a Middle Eastern thing and has only very recently spread beyond it.

Oh, I'm not blaming the people who wanted things to change for the better, it's just that it unfortunately seems to be doing more harm then good these days. Ukraine is another example; People standing up to an oppressive regime, actually bringing it to its knees. The whole world marveling at it and expecting great things. And then it all tumbles down into a big, bloody mess.

 

[Secondhand Revenant]

I'm at work and not playing Fallout 4. Withdrawal symptoms may be fatal.

But really I'm fine. Admittedly shaken though. If it can happen there in Paris I worry it could happen more locally.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Outside of being in a never-ending circle of School deadline Hell (which is not a bad thing with everything else in the world considered), I'm okay. One of my friends in Paris was a few blocks away from one of the explosions though. o.o

 

[ShakerSilver]

I've been better, though I suppose I could be a lot worse off. The atracks in both Beirut and Paris hit pretty close to home - Lebanon being my home country and Paris being where my aunt's family lives. Thankfully they were out of the city on Friday, but I'm still pretty shock up by the whole thing.

Then there's the fact that one of the terrorists is said to be a Syrian migrant, bringing up all the pro/anti-immigration discussion. I'm not usually one to get paranoid, but these events combined with Trudeau's plan to bring in 25000 Syrian immigrants en mass is putting me a tad on edge.

 

[stroopwafel]

Besides, IS goes back way before the Arab Spring, starting as an Al-Quada affiliate way back.

Right. I.S. was more or less founded by Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi during the U.S. occupation of Iraq(then still an Al-Qaeda affiliate). Consisting of mostly Sunni extremists and remnants from Saddam's security apparatus and republican guard(providing most of I.S.' military expertise). I'd say one of the reasons Al-Qaeda in Iraq grew so exponentially in Iraq was due to Maliki favoring the Shiite majority at the expense of the Sunni minority that attributed to the disintegration of the country. Infact it wasn't until Zarqawi got particularly brutal that most of the Sunni population turned against him. Zarqawi was later killed by U.S. forces but by then years of occupation and instability had already made I.S. a force to be reckoned with. Spreading their influence from Iraq to Syria and Libya.

As for Assad, he is a piece of shit for sure. But at this moment I'd say stability in Syria trumps everything else. Better an uneasy alliance with a dictator than another country disintegrated and left to the devices of I.S. and rebel forces(who are also at war with themselves). Assad is 'the least worst option' as much as it displeases people to keep a dictator in power that uses chemical barrel bombs against his 'own' people.

It's hard to stomach that there are often no good options, but unfortunately that is the sad reality of life. Even Putin would rather see Assad go but for this to happen there has to be stability in Syria first. Unfortunately Assad is still pivotal for this to happen.

 

[Timeless Lavender]

I am ok. Barbados is relatively ok though there is an increase of crime rate. My only problem would be the relationship between Belize and Guatemala. It better not go full aggro.