BruceVC

Raithe please dont allow yourself to develop the normal and expected very negative sentiment of things that people in the UK start believing about the UK and what this means for the future of the UK. English people are renowned for generally complaining about how terrible things are in the UK yet they get the job done and are able to survive and prosperous The 23% is real but its not a normal unemployment figure ....it is an outcome of the lockdown and the economic lockdown so its an "artificial " number that will be addressed once the vaccine is being used. In SA we have a 50 % unemployment. Any government that has implemented lockdown measures is definitely doing the right thing. We cant blame any government for the general decisions of citizens who have ignored the best practice virus prevention steps like a wearing a mask. Unfortunately the UK is one of those EU countries that has not had all citizens follow the virus prevention steps and the inevitable outcome is always the same in any country. The vaccine will return things to more or normal but until then wear your mask and try to avoid clubs and bars I do feel very sorry for the English because of there love and culture identity with going to bars and how this was difficult to stop as it is part of some real English way of life ....but the reality is your normal visit to a pub is high risk virus vector so just try to wait maybe 6 months ?

Comrade I am a little disappointed you did not respond to my simple question that you personally have raised around different systems of governments ? I have always assumed you do have an informed view based on historical precedence but basing that on possible hybrid solutions for countries like the USA ....so for example do you think the USA should be more socialist ....its not an uncommon view to have but what are you suggesting? And you keep mentioning Russia and China as having progressive political or social policies that dont exist in the Western countries which puts them at a disadvantage to Russia and China? Its difficult to understand such an extreme comparison but I dont want to come across as dismissive or supercilious and guess what you mean by that so can you give some examples of the advantage that Russia and China over the USA or the UK or other Western countries. I can think of maybe 1 or 2 but that is a small number compared to the 15-20 that Western countries have over any autocratic state

I hear you, there are definitely some games and genres of gaming I have never played or I just couldn't get into at all Like Sports games and unfortunately RTS games which I want to get into but I always find the AI cheats and I keep losing battles that CANNOT be to my lack of planning and skill at correct strategy in RTS games

I was always under the impression you were active on these forums because of me and my support for Bioware games....I am surprised that is not the most important reason ?

I like you for several reasons but particularly because you generally are prepared to engage in debates and sometimes these topics are on the opposite side ideologically of what I believe....well sort of you are on the " opposite " because as I am sure you will remember you also support the idea of Social Democracy like the Nordic countries which are not at all like the autocratic states of Russia and China. The Nordic countries have rights and institutions that include freedom of speech, free media and independent courts from there Democratically elected governments. Russia and China dont have these important parts of what makes our societies great places to live which is exactly why many of our countries are the targets of mass immigration and the illegal immigration is the problem many our governments grapple with But you can see the inconsistency with what you have mentioned to me in the past on this forum and I hope you will clarify what you have said. Do you support the Nordic countries and there hybrid capitalist\socialist systems or do you support Russia and China's system of government....I am unsure how anyone could truly support both in any serious ideological debate about what are the best ways to govern any country?

If you dont mind sharing what are the reasons you dont like Metro ?

This is very reasonable view to take, its what most people I know think about Foie Gras I know a few people who eat it but not many. What do you think about Veal, I love it but it also gets negative views because of the age of the calf when its killed

This is a very good post and articulates nicely the difference between government censorship and when a private company bans you or censors things people may say

QFT, I like Comrade but there is a real irony with someone espousing the autocratic states of China and Russia and then complaining about censorship from the likes of Twitter and FB These companies only ban people who are in contravention of their very relaxed policies around acceptable content and things you can and cannot say. So I wonder what offensive comments Comrade made that got him banned because the fault more than likely is with him and what he said ? No I didnt know that because that is an exaggeration and not true , these global IT companies are almost all listed companies and they independent from the US government. In fact over the last couple years companies like FB, Google and Twitter have been IMO unfairly vilified and hurled before numerous US and EU congressional hearings to respond to questions " how are you going to stop people making offensive comments and posting fake news " ....so now its the companies fault somehow because some people dont know how to engage using basic decorum and manners And then Apple even still refuses to help the FBI crack iPhones that belong to terrorists ( obviously I dont agree with the author of the link below ) https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-05-22/apple-still-won-t-help-the-fbi-break-into-iphones-good So its the opposite of what you suggesting, these social media companies get criticized by many governments including the USA .....so there is no " great, close working relationship "

If you dont like food like Chicken Liver then I doubt you would like it .....the texture is similar. Its delicious but it has a certain taste that most offcuts have and many people dont like that taste

Yes but you do get ethical breeding of ducks and geese in France where they not forced fed like the normal and cruel way Foie Gras is produced So I always try to eat Foie Gras farmed that way but the problem is because its imported the restaurants cant tell exactly what the conditions are where the Foie Gras comes from

You right about F:NV but Hoonding thrives in a world of weirdness so nothing weird about his comments....they normal to him

I love bone marrow, its so decedent and rich You talk about decedent food, I love Foie Gras and always order if its available which is not common in SA unless its a French theme restaurant. There is this wine estate in Cpt that we went to and you can order a 500 gram Venison steak with this huge amount of Foie Gras on top ....it literally melts into the steak similar to bone marrow The problem with eating Foie Gras is the well meaning but annoying push back from animal lovers and liberals who argue how unreasonable and cruel it is to the ducks and geese who we get it from. I was on a date in JHB once where the women I was attempting to court wouldnt entertain seeing me again once she found out I eat Fois Gras....its was very disappointing as she was very attractive So nowadays, especially living in Cpt, I dont admit I eat Foie Gras unless people admit they have progressive eating habits Its terrible how sometimes I am forced to not tell the truth

The Romance arcs in games like Mass Effect are not even remotely like any kind of soft or hardcore porn....well definitely not anything I have ever seen . They mild and optional and arent a big part of the party interaction if you chose to ignore them I always try to dispute that view of Romance in Bioware games because there are small groups of people out there who use that argument to push there own real bias and agenda in their eternal crusade to tell other people " who they date and what is morally acceptable " in the private lives of citizens I know this is not at all your intention as you merely making an observation but you dont want to become unintentionally part of that group. Especially with your real views as a Libertarian around raising concerns around any government overreach and unnecessary interference in the normal decisions citizens make around how they live there lives

My understanding of the points raised is Skarpen is saying in most countries you can lie to the police and not be prosecuted for that lie, I agree with this in the sense during a normal police interview you can lie and criminals often to do But you cannot lie to certain government agencies in certain countries in specific interviews like the FBI in the US In SA I dont think we have a government agency like the FBI where its a criminal offense to lie....certain people lie all the time to all our government agencies. This doesnt apply to our court systems where you cannot lie as I mentioned because if the mendaciousness is revealed you will be charged for perjury

Yes that does make sense, I am sure even in SA I can lie to the police and they wont prosecute me for that lie outside of a proper court appearance and then the charge is known as perjury But what I think is different here is the FBI have a certain legal status and authority so when they interview you in the way Flynn was interviewed than you can be prosecuted for lying But you agree with this so I am not sure what we all debating anymore ?

From my understanding of this matter I think Gromnir may be explaining it in a way that is perhaps overly complicated even if he is 100% correct @ Skarpen Okay so basically Flynn wasnt setup to "self-incriminate " himself, the FBI didnt ask him questions that led to him being jailed. The FBI would have asked him a series of questions about his meetings with the Russians in a formal interview. In that interview Flynn denied certain meetings with the Russians So for example, he could have been asked FBI: " did you ever meet with Mr Rasputin " Flynn: " no I never met with Mr Rasputin " Flynn then signed a document saying " I never met with Mr Rasputin " This was a lie as he did meet with Mr Rasputin. Flynn could have easily told the truth but he made a decision to lie to the FBI, this is not entrapment and the FBI did have a valid reason to prosecute him. I hope this makes sense? What is interesting about Flynn's lying is why did he lie ? He didnt do it to protect Trump as we now know Trump didnt meet with the Russians so I believe he was protecting himself for some reason. Personally I think sending him to jail seems a little extreme but the law is the law and in most countries you cannot lie to the authorities during interviews I

No you cant possibly wait for a Winter Sale , you must definitely buy Metro: Exodus, ...this is not the time for procrastination when it comes to Metro games on sale

They saying the same thing on CNN and even though CNN can be " anti-Trump " at times these are all lawyers commenting and they all say Flynn lied to the FBI and this was definitely a crime and not just specific to the USA

Please post photos if you can, I enjoy seeing any and all food photos...always good to see what people are munching

I hear you but Trump didnt attend after agreeing it was a good idea That shows he realized how inappropriate it was and thats a good thing

I had to comment, look at the size of your pork belly compared to mine....hence emphasis on the word " mini " pork belly Do you know the weight of yours? Your one is ideal for a family Oh and what do serve with it?

It came out well my mini-pork belly

Okay thanks for sharing, the law is not my strong point and I prefer to avoid any debates around it unless very easy to understand

I found something really interesting at one of my local butcheries today , a mini-pork belly ...only 500 grams but its still pork belly So Im having that for dinner tonight, going to roast it in the oven, with buttery mash potatoes