BruceVC

No why would you stop buying oil from any OPEC country and why would you not buy goods from China? There are no sanctions against these countries I know of to justify that? Russia has been illegally attempting to recreate its own borders for about 15 years in countries like Georgia and Ukraine....thats why sanctions against Russia are relevant I understand your argument but its a false equivalence to be honest ?

Do you feel the same way about Polish police, do you mistrust them as well?

I hear you and this is unfortunately a common view held about the US police that they are generally more of a problem than a force of good I definitely dont agree with that because we just dont have accurate data and statistics that could tell us from a state to state perspective the actual " success " criteria of what defines a well run and constructive police force I am not denying there are real problems and examples of some of the police being heavy handed and racist but I just dont believe its accurate and fair to say " you cannot trust the Police and people can ignore them when given certain instructions " ....we cant really generalize ?

I have been following this important development, Germany should do everything reasonably possible to not utilize any Russian energy and or commodities Russia is constantly in violation of numerous UN laws and regulations and its human rights record is truly appalling. One of the best and most effective, albeit it can take years, ways to implement political change is both sanctions and economic punitive steps....people involved in autocratic and dictatorial governments really respond well when they suffer economically So what happened to Navalny needs this type of response, hopefully Germany is able to follow through but its not there fault if they cant because there could be legitimate economic and legal reasons they not able to end this type of arrangement with Russia

volo you should do anything reasonable possible to avoid confusion when the police arrive to investigate a disturbance. The police are not the enemy and play an absolutely critical role in enforcing the rule of law and order which we all support because who wants to live in a lawless society. A phone call takes 3-5 minutes and shouldnt be seen as a laborious task to do

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/08/oxford-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-hold-suspected-adverse-reaction/ A very concerning development around the vaccine trails that are globally ongoing, the Oxford trial has been temporarily suspended due to a bad reaction on a volunteer I suppose this is to be expected considering the number of ongoing trails but it does raise the question and reality " how many of these trials are going to fail and or have a negative outcome " ?

volo you make a very important point, you definitely cant say he is a racist, right-winger motivated by right wing ideology if he shot 3 white people....surly ?

No we discussed this and we all agreed, we know why you cant fall asleep....its the 12-14 cups of coffee you drinking on each shift

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/south-african-economy-contracts-51-q-q-in-q2-2020-09-08 The SA economy has shrunk by 51 % in the second quarter. Its unequivocally, absolutely terrible data but not as bad as I thought....not that it makes a difference because its going to take us years to recover

https://theweek.com/speedreads/936204/trump-says-hes-fine-investigation-usps-chief-louis-dejoy-alleged-illegal-donations It looks like DeJoy has been linked to some serious allegations around illegal donations .....it doesnt look good

I realize there arent many Bioware fans on this forum but I have good news around there gaming future and how to really enjoy there games if current design is not to your liking After becoming aware that Bioware is still going and there will be another DA I bought Mass Effect Andromeda ( MEA )Deluxe on Steam, on a huge discount, in celebration and financial support for Bioware as I never played the game and read very bad reviews which put me off buying it at the time of its release I am a huge user and supporter of the Nexus Vortex Mod Manager and I Mod every game I can where reasonable, for example I never used Mods on RDR2. But the good news about Nexus is that there are many Mods designed for MEA to make the game better and address valid issues raised on its release. You have to use the Frosty Mod Manager, not Vortex, but its really simple to use. I am busy with it now So in summary, dont give up on any Bioware yet. Wait about 4-6 months after release of any game and then you will be able to install many Mods to address certain game design issues you may have. Of course you may not feel the need to Mod any particular game but obviously this post applies to those who sometimes want to change there gaming experience

Today South Africa is releasing there second quarter economic data, not third quarter as we are 3 months behind Before the virus we had been downgraded and we were in a recession and then the virus happened and then we all experienced the economic lockdown which made things economically even worse ....we saved lives with the economic lockdown but destroyed livelihoods. Its going to be a bloodbath in SA with our results and sadly I predict the worst economic data in living memory

Im not terrified of Antifa\BLM\EFF\OWS\BLF ( similar to BLM but much worse but based in SA ), I am very concerned with violent protests but more importantly what are the tangible and real outcomes these groups represent because their nebulous objectives wont address inequality Yes many South Africans do live in gated communities, and I have lived from about 25 years old in gated communities, but this has got nothing to do with "whiteness " ( one of my worst words ) and elitism. Many non-white people also stay in gated communities if they can afford it. It has to do with the high levels of crime, we have about 50 murders a day and about 150 rapes day. So people in gated communities pay for private security just for a "normal" way of life. Oh and you will be happy to know I dont stay now in a gated community in Cpt , I stay in an apartment block but we have private security sign people in to prevent any unwanted or criminal entry I am glad you made this post because this is exactly why I didn't want to spend the 20-30 minutes posting the appropriate links expecting you to engage in a debate around the points I raised. Please in future just make a post like this if you have a question around my motives and why I say what I say if you have any concerns because I like you and will always try to respond to what you ask unless I just dont have time or I miss the post My view around the narrative has not changed much on this forum, I have been consistent and open about what concerns me around left wing economic objectives that can lead to the erosion of our institutions around continued economic transformation and growth. So yes my views are part of a narrative that basically doesn't agree with sweeping attacks on the private sector as being the primary problem in our modern economies, unreasonable criticism to the positive aspects of free market economics and I also believe you can only go so far with highlighting real historical injustice but by not focusing on prudent economic and political policies that will address poverty and inequality this objective becomes misplaced But ignoring the violence and allowing the protests we see in some US cities to continue I will never support

I'm more than happy to post links to support my argument or the framing of the word " rampant " if you are genuinely interested? I dont mean to sound rude but it will take me some time to post the appropriate links and I dont want to spend time if this is just about the word rampant, if that is your concern I will drop the word ? I have been following the pernicious and insidious influence some of these far left groups have on many Democracies since 2010 and I have really interesting links and its a good debate to have and your opinion will be very good to know

It is connected to numerous countries and a level of violence in certain types of protests, it happens in SA in some of our protests where basically people justify violence and damage to property. Some of these far left groups, like Antifa, are loosely connected ideologically so there is also that consideration So its not just a US problem, its global and occurs in certain countries and we need to be concerned with this type of protest and what is acceptable

That makes sense, good tip for incorporating Avo in cooked dishes 🥘

You make some good and erudite points Dan, thanks for sharing

Thats looks so ideal, well played Gorthfuscious...I live on the first floor of an apartment complex and we only allowed electric barbecues which doesnt quite add the same flavoring and smoking as a traditional barbecue with wood or coals When am I getting an invite?

Thats a first for me, Avo in macaroni. I love Avo but it shouldnt really be cooked so when do you add the Avo?

We had an amazing day at that restaurant, the weather was perfect and it was great seeing my Dad again The entire 10 courses were definitely worth it and they even did have one Crayfish course,,,,you couldn't eat as much Crayfish as you wanted but it was a nice surprise The 10 courses were not really 10 courses but rather 7-8 seafood choices in a buffet served at different times but as I mentioned excellent value for money Here are the photos

But volo look at what happens to our societies when we have a breakdown of law and order ....look at the anarchy and violence we see when groups like Antifa are allowed to run rampant ? So I am very surprised you are okay with less laws and the enforcement of these laws that politicians are involved in considering how you understandably feel about violent protests?

volo do you honestly not trust any politician to be honest or well meaning or to have the right intentions? Including Canadian politicians ...I believe most politicians are honest and have the best interests of the people they represent but they need to be strictly scrutinized, monitored and financially audited as its tax payers money that pays there salaries so we expect full accountability

Im not talking about some silly, hypothetical example like you mentioned because by that argument you would be right and there would be no point in voting I am talking about the reality right now in the USA. There are things I support about the different policies that both Biden and Trump espouse but what is unique about this election is in the past I had similar views of opposing candidates but the one candidates policies were more significant and had a direct consequence on issues that had a global impact so I supported them But now both candidates have certain polices that are almost equally important to me ...so its not like in the past where the choice was relatively easy....Im actually glad I cant vote because I would be conflicted and the choice would be harder

GD here is an interesting question, what if both candidates make sense to a person on certain developments and or ideological views....what do you do then? Who do you vote for ?

Today is going to be a great day, my Dad arrived from Durban and its the first time in 6 months my Cpt family has seen him. 7 years ago my Dad was jogging at 6 am and a car drove past him and hit him with its mirror, he was thrown into the air and landed badly on his head. Sadly the accident caused a form of Alzheimer's and he is losing his memory, Its terrible to see this happen to anyone so we all try to support him as much as possible We going on a roadtrip to see the West Coast flowers blooming and then going to a seafood buffet restaurant to have a 10 course meal which converts to $20/person ...so its excellent value for money, You cant get expensive seafood in the buffet like crab, lobster , sea urchins and parlimon but they have a nice variety I'll take some photos https://strandloper.com/menu/