BruceVC

So yes to be honest during the negotiations under Obama and even before the USA was constantly vilified and USA flags were burned This typically should have been addressed but it was the era of " middle east fatigue " so it was ignored. This obviously just emboldened Shia influence in the region. The one consolation is that now the USA will be welcomed and encouraged by its " friends " so at least the American forces will have proper bases But lets not kid ourselves, the USA will suffer loses as Iran will not be a pushover in the beginning. For me I still feel Trump has been manipulated through his own ignorance and desire for recognition Do you think this new war really worth it?

Have you watched the new season of American Horror Story, my DSTV was connecting intermittently so I have to wait for a few weeks for the season to rerun

Its interesting how on several international news channels some commentators also raised the ostensible " reality " of China now bypassing the USA....its not going to happen in any meaningful way China cares about itself and sustaining its own economy, they dont care about the human rights or a better world so we will just see a paralysis in the role of world leader I do believe in giving Trump credit for achieving global objectives but NK is a terrible example of USA success. What exactly did Trump do, insult NK with twitter comments. Who knows what motivated NK to discuss peace, the one view is after NK met with SK at the Winter games and whatever was discussed was relevant in these peace talks. Who cares really, as long as there is peace Trump can claim a political win? Now Iran. No one has an issue with the moderate Iranians and this applies to our forum friend, so whatever happens I am sorry for any negative outcome . Unfortunately even though I still stand by the Nuclear deal Iran hardliners and there proxy forces have been destabilizing several key regions in the ME This includes Yemen and support for Syria. You can see that when sanctions were lifted on Iran the funding of Shia extremist groups continued and now allies of the West ,like Saudi Arabia which do matter, are embroiled in wars that are draining and counterproductive Guys with all due respects please do some research on the role of Saudi Arabia in the ME. They are not the enemy of a better ME and are very important to stability of the region. For example They can be relied on to ensure OPEC continues to provide oil They absolutely have been a key ally in fighting Islamic terrorism and providing information to countries like the USA since 2002/2003 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_terrorist_incidents_in_Saudi_Arabia#2002 They have a new king who is actively making Saudi Arabia more progressive and inclusive of human rights If the USA didnt sell them weapons then the Russians would have, so its fatuous to blame the USA for atrocities in Yemen. This is on the reality of the Shia\Sunni proxy war So in summary, Iran had a real chance to not exacerbate the historical conflict in the region. The hardliners decided to ignore this and now they will face the backlash of an anxious Israel and Saudi Arabia which in turn have convinced Trump that the USA has to " save the day " Iran will not win this one, so its bizarre to see people in Iran thinking this is some sort of victory. They dont seem to understand that it wasn't weakness of the USA that Obama demonstrated through endless negotiations and strange attacks of the USA like the Marines being kidnapped Trumps hubris will ensure military forces being moved into the region and under NO circumstances will Iran be allowed to develop Uranium or other nuclear paraphernalia They probably assume there wont be any military intervention like last time, this will be an egregious miscalculation Trumps bombastic nature will lead to a real bombing campaign and Iran will have there military destroyed if they try to fight back Obama really tried to not get the USA involved but I guess its apparent certain countries still claim to want the USA to " be a good friend and adhere to there strategic alliances " ( this is a euphemism for getting the USA to make the real military commitment to another war ). Gromnir should be happy as he use to say the Obama had betrayed past alliances in the region The USA will gain another enemy but there is some positive deliverable in the long term....if you are one of those people who wants the USA to have a permanent presence in the ME. I dont think this makes sense as ultimately the USA always ends up being blamed for one issue or another in the region and many local people still see them as an enemy Oh well, let the chips fall where they may

The series is excellent , it really grows on you. I am an avid fan of both seasons I like all the characters and also trying to work out what the "demons\aliens " are about is entertaining and thought provoking

I made myself a truly decadent toasted sandwich the other day You spread avocado paste on toast Cover with crispy, streaky bacon Use a good, blue goats milk cheese and cover bacon. Grate the cheese so its easier to spread Also add some grated mature cheddar : 18 months or older Then place under a hot grill until cheese is melted ...simply yummy

Perfectly understandable, why would you want to part of a union of countries that include the list below. Much better to align with Western countries like the EU Full members of the CIS include Russia and eight former Soviet republics -- Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

Yes according to their own say at least they are satanic believers. I am not going to post every music video from them, but if you put on youtube search DieAntwoord and listen to the words they sing in songs it is pretty evil message. I dont think I have ever heard of them and I cant imagine ever listening

I can understand how people could feel the same way as you around the general point " surly offensive language is just words and cannot physically hurt someone so surly this sentence is extreme " This lady has been charged with Crimen injuria...technically she isn't being charged with racism but here is the definition "Crimen injuria is a crime under South African common law, defined to be the act of "unlawfully, intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of another."[1]Although difficult to precisely define, the crime is used in the prosecution of certain instances of road rage,[2] stalking,[1] racially offensive language,[3] emotional or psychological abuse[4] and sexual offences against children.[5] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard numerous cases of crimen injuria, usually coupled with assault, committed by intelligence services on both sides of the struggle against apartheid. " If you watch the video and the way she was ranting and verbally attacking the police officer she is definitely guilty of that So this law lumps "offensive language" and "sexual offences against children" together? That seems... broad. So, are you arguing that she deserves that sentence? Yes I think the sentence is reasonable if you consider what she is being charged for which is Crimen injuria. You make me laugh Dude this is one of the most inaccurate and egregiously negative assessments of SA I have ever read. For example we have countries on the African continent who dont even have functional governments or are war zones, how can SA be worse than them? SA is the most progressive country on the continent and we have the most stable economy compared to any other African countries...its true I promise you But I am not denying some of the social, political and economic issues we have Let me guess a black from South Africa and blind to the new racism towards white people. Well that you are high on drugs that could explain it also. SA has statistics in murder, rape skyhigh. I would never enter SA neither as employee or as tourist. I am not a super expert on Africa so you might be correct that somewhere in Africa it is even worse. SA are run by criminals and I have no respect at all for the SA goverment and they are criminals. Again most of your post is outdated or not accurate. For example we did have a horrendous 3 years under our last president but he was forced to resign and we rebuilding the damage done to our economy by corruption and massive failure of governance across our parastatals but as I mentioned we have a new president who is addressing this \ Also Im white, Im not sure if you thought I was black? Of course anyone can be racist but because I dont feel black on white racism is hurtful or in the context of SA has the same agency I dont concern myself with it . Im not even sure if racism has to be hurtful to meaningful? Im not being contrarian but because of Apartheid its hard for me to comment ...most of my life I have had some people make uninformed and myopic comments about where I come from and what I believe Its not personal, its more about misinformed historical precedence and negative views about the UK where we come from. You just learn to ignore it and focus on normal debates and constructive engagements

Its both but yes its worse because its directed towards the police officer

I can understand how people could feel the same way as you around the general point " surly offensive language is just words and cannot physically hurt someone so surly this sentence is extreme " This lady has been charged with Crimen injuria...technically she isn't being charged with racism but here is the definition "Crimen injuria is a crime under South African common law, defined to be the act of "unlawfully, intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of another."[1]Although difficult to precisely define, the crime is used in the prosecution of certain instances of road rage,[2] stalking,[1] racially offensive language,[3] emotional or psychological abuse[4] and sexual offences against children.[5] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard numerous cases of crimen injuria, usually coupled with assault, committed by intelligence services on both sides of the struggle against apartheid. " If you watch the video and the way she was ranting and verbally attacking the police officer she is definitely guilty of that So this law lumps "offensive language" and "sexual offences against children" together? That seems... broad. So, are you arguing that she deserves that sentence? Yes I think the sentence is reasonable if you consider what she is being charged for which is Crimen injuria. You make me laugh Dude this is one of the most inaccurate and egregiously negative assessments of SA I have ever read. For example we have countries on the African continent who dont even have functional governments or are war zones, how can SA be worse than them? SA is the most progressive country on the continent and we have the most stable economy compared to any other African countries...its true I promise you But I am not denying some of the social, political and economic issues we have

I watched the first episode of this last night, its brilliant

Well, as long as no one is pushed by you, I guess. Hey, you know me. Live and let live. Impose your will on no one and tolerate no masters over you. That's what I'm all about. GD when you say the USA will push back that is normally what would you expect yet is that true..especially the last 2 years Many of you guys dont seem concerned for example about the Russian interference in your election. Yes I know I always bring this up but its a valid example of a somewhat lackluster response from Trump ?

You funny, I had to look that word up It would be fine to say that word because no one would make the connection But just on the kword, there are other definitions for it outside of SA but when that word is used by white people within SA it is very offensive and unacceptable. There are only about 5 words we dont use as white people in SA ,for me its not hard to understand but we still have the odd person still using that words and I think this sentence should go a long way to stopping it being used in our public discord

I can understand how people could feel the same way as you around the general point " surly offensive language is just words and cannot physically hurt someone so surly this sentence is extreme " This lady has been charged with Crimen injuria...technically she isn't being charged with racism but here is the definition "Crimen injuria is a crime under South African common law, defined to be the act of "unlawfully, intentionally and seriously impairing the dignity of another."[1]Although difficult to precisely define, the crime is used in the prosecution of certain instances of road rage,[2] stalking,[1] racially offensive language,[3] emotional or psychological abuse[4] and sexual offences against children.[5] The Truth and Reconciliation Commission heard numerous cases of crimen injuria, usually coupled with assault, committed by intelligence services on both sides of the struggle against apartheid. " If you watch the video and the way she was ranting and verbally attacking the police officer she is definitely guilty of that

You raised a good point, I havent explained what positive social change this will lead to We will have much less people making public racist comments, thats it. We still need to work on everything else

It's just Cape Town that's having the problem, not the whole country. Yes this is true, where I live in JHB we had floods last week

It's equivalent to the N word here in the states. The linguistic origin is different, but the meaning and usage is the same. Yes, they have bigger problems than that woman, but it's still part of what they're dealing with. I have to admit we do have much more egregious economic, political and social problems than this but this is still part of the Apartheid Legacy narrative that many of us strive to address or at least understand Its relevant to that aspect of the new South Africa

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=yfp-t-915&p=vicky+momberg+racist+video#id=2&vid=85207b1f503340ca9266ccbf725a63c7&action=click This is the video of her racist diatribe

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-43567468 Hi All I am looking for peoples opinions on this development. In summary a white women in South Africa has been jailed for racist words she hurled at a black police officer . These are the questions you may consider This is an extreme sentence and it is an infringement on freedom of speech You cant jail people for saying racist words This is fair and should be the expected sentence for extreme racism IMO it is fair but it will also go both ways so going forward some black South Africans will also be charged for racism against white South Africans

Holy Smoke but plots and historical precedent has become convoluted in comics

Just watched Ozark season 1, excellent. Highly recommended

https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/politics/2018/03/23/trump-exempts-some-allies-steel-aluminum-tariffs/451936002/ Chinese steel tariffs and now counter tariffs from China of about 3 billion, minor impact to USA but we should be concerned about a trade war between USA and China https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/mar/22/john-bolton-replacing-hr-mcmaster-trump-national-s/ And now Mcmaster is fired and Bolton is hired in his place ...I wonder what outcome Trump is expecting?

The new series of Vikings is brilliant as usual

https://www.kuehne-international.com/sauces/steak-sauce Oh for those gastronomes on this thread here is a delicious steak sauce that Im eating the Eland with tonight

GD I did beg you guys to vote Democrat but I was ignored and scorned ...its okay we only have 3-7 years left of this Its not that bad by the way, Im happy with numerous economic measurements and foreign policy has mostly been good IMO, for example I am glad Russia failed in there attempts to get sanction relief