BruceVC

Sorry, its just I have never got to set games like GTA4 on maximum graphic settings so its great being able to do it now

RDR2 on PC, I have just started it and Im loving it so far. I am running the game on Ultra settings with my Geforce RTX 2080 which just adds to the overall excellent gaming experience

Back at work this week Monday after an excellent end of year holiday 2020 is going to be a good year, I have to study a different cloud based technology but its the future so Im very excited and Im back at gym this week after 1 month laziness\break Gail force winds in Cape Town at the moment , apparently this is unprecedented for this time of the year https://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/news/watch-windy-weekend-weather-has-capetonians-defying-gravity-40836417

Fair enough, I understand this argument and it is reasonable. Its not about unnecessary bashing of wealthy people which seems counterproductive But just to add something else strange about the 1 % statement. Its suppose to represent a good news story about the achieved wealth and journey of certain successful Americans Yet it can become a negative story and people make real and unfair comparisons to financial challengers in there own personal life, so just see it as a positive and legitimate reality of the USA

I hear you, that was my general view of him from what regular members thought about him. One of the things I was confronted with growing up at the end of Apartheid and voting at the age of 18 in the new South Africa is sometimes you will be confronted by people who automatically dislike you or have a negative view of you because of your race and historical events like Apartheid, they assume all white people in South Africa are responsible ...you dont take it personally because its based on real events in our history and you never encounter it from people in RL But in SA people at least give you a reason, for example people who want land reform/expropriation assume all white people stole the land but in SA only 8 % of white people are farmers... But Ktchong wasn't subjected to Apartheid laws and denied an education or a limited one so I would be very surprised if he cant support China based on what he believes. Thats what a debate is, we present our views and people can decide for themselves. I loved debating at school....I was useless at sport so these types of subjects gave me an identity which is important for young people

I am hoping he will respond to this question, for me its not unusual to encounter anti-white sentiment sometimes. Its something I just ignore as it normally lacks historical accuracy and tends be about sweeping generalizations that are impossible to justify But I still would believe ktchong can explain his China view, that should be simple if he is being sincere is his misplaced belief ?

ktchong I normally read yours posts and sometimes I find your views to be anti-white or rather your points dont make sense to me but I think I should be offended but I dont know why ...and sometimes I want to understand what you mean as Im interested in the topic Are you supportive of China in the sense you think it has a better, or rather sustainable economic model than the USA? I almost feel embarrassed to suggest that anyone could make a real comparison with the USA and China. I remember for example you once made a post comparing the level of Media professionalism or knowledge between China media and USA....you suggested China is the better example of good news coverage ...I wanted to comment but I forgot You immediately lose any reasonable debate about comparing China media to any country with a free media as China obviously controls the media narrative within China. It works for them but its not something most people would ever support.....but even more unusual is trying compare state sponsored media integrity to normal media like the USA

I am very sorry for how the conservative, hard line element in Iran unfortunately run the country. To ensure Iran has the progressive and sustainable future for the majority of its citizens this had to be addressed at some stage.....yes you face some real challengers in the next few years but I absolutely believe Iran will come out it with a government that truly believes in the overall well being of all its citizens and spends much less time concerned with ensuring Shia hegemony in the ME But the hardliners will need to go and that is something that creates huge concerns with how this will be done and how to do it effectively Do you mind if if I ask you question and I will understand if you have no opinion on this topic. Do you think its important and necessary for Iran to fund and aid countries in the ME that have large a Shia population. I understand this objective of countering Sunni dominance but its not necessary if you think of possible outcomes as far as what Iran represents. Iran will always be Iran and nothing will change its important history and role it can play in the ME

volo this is a valid observation around the actions and or decisions we see from the Iranian government. There behavior on certain things may seem inconsistent with the outcomes you would assume they would want , in the last 15 years we have seen this but in this case it make sense One of the positive realities about geopolitics nowadays is how many people cannot understand the way Trump thinks or how significant his tweets are as real policies views ....he constantly operates in his own way around presidential decorum and what US presidents do say and or dont say in public. Of course he also has his real positive things he supports and says like his funding for the US military so he isnt all bad but due to his general unorthodox comments and things he says its very hard for most non-English countries where Trump has focused his attention to know when he is being serious about threats and also how to intimidate him This killing of the general was an unexpected move by the USA but definitely not unwarranted or without justification. The USA has never responded to any attack on there soldiers or embassies since 1979.The Iran hardliners response despite all there normal theater, bombast and general anti-American rhetoric is reduced in certain ways but most importantly they dont want to provoke Trump and cause him to now attack Iran directly. So they launched the missiles as a " response " but they were designed and intended to not cause any casualties on purpose. The shooting down of the Ukrainian plane was a mistake .....not surprising considering the tensions in the area

Why do you really want to learn Russian my friend? Are you sweet on a Russian stripper and you want to impress the parents....nothing wrong with that, I have been in the same situation numerous times

This is concerning, its currently been extensively covered by Al Jazeera for those interested and its a good, objective way to follow this development as you see views by numerous people on both sides

You raise some good points but there is a fundamental inconsistency in the argument " that Libya was better off under Gaddafi " Clearly the majority of the actual Libyan citizens disagree with that view because the Arab Spring uprising in Libya was initiated by Libyan tribes unhappy with the dictatorial rule of Gaddafi. The original intervention of the Western bombing campaign was to break the siege of Misrata, the planned attacks on Bhengazi and to prevent the massacre of tens of thousands of Libyan rebels and civilians by Gaddafi forces. The intervention was also the basis for the UN resolution 1973 ( even if you dismiss WIKI links you can use the links below as a basis for other articles outside of wiki links, I am just posting them as reference and convenience ) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council_Resolution_1973 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Misrata https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2011_military_intervention_in_Libya I am not suggesting the Western bombing campaign didn't extend its UN mandate but they didn't cause the original instability and were not responsible for the causes of the Libyan civil war Finally people criticize the West for helping to defeat Gaddafi but then not playing any meaningful role in helping to rebuild the new Libya. But the rebuilding of Libya was never part of the strategy or a realistic expectation for several reasons. Primarily the fact that many of the anti-Gaddafi tribes also didn't like the West so Western countries couldn't be seen as any kind of occupying force after the initial failures of the 2003 invasion of Iraq Compare Syria to Libya now and ask an honest question, what country has a better future or is more likely to be rebuilt in a quicker and more sustainable way? That is my example of what happens when you dont have Western intervention and things are left to be resolved by the likes of Russia or other players

Im genuinely interested in how Silicon Valley is adding to the left being docile? Because its normal to buy PC hardware and software if that is one of your hobbies So in other words how is commercialization of any sector or industry responsible for reducing activism? You can do both ....we can " walk and chew at the same time " as some people say in the South Africa political and social narrative

Zora I was hoping 2020 would be a good year to not be selective and revisionist about geopolitical events and developments For example its patently untrue that the press hasnt reported about the slave markets in Libya, it was CNN who first broke the story with Freedom Project at great personal risk to there own journalists. How else do you think you even know about the Libya slave markets which were mostly controlled by the ISIS faction. Its the same as the slavery we see Boko Haram involved in https://edition.cnn.com/specials/africa/libya-slave-auctions Comments like the media is biased I have always found to be inaccurate due to the fact the media isn't some monolithic entity controlled by the Jews/Illuminate " puppet masters " And finally the entire collapse of Libya was not because of the West. It was a outcome of the Arab Spring and the fact Gaddafi, like Assad, refused to allow all his citizens to be part of the economy or share in any kind of economic transformation. This is on them, not the Western intervention

Gorthfuscious I am assuming the general view is that the severity of these types of fires are due to climate change and this is now a reality that going forward the country has to contend with What are the strategies and ideas that government and civil society have come up with to reduce the damage and length of these disasters, I have heard massive fire breaks is one solution ?