BruceVC

Well Iraq use to have WMD and used them against both the Kurds and Iran in the past, also the worlds credible intelligence agencies said Sadam Hussein still had them ....Im sure you can appreciate how these things can be misunderstood Also we cant keep bringing up Iraq every time we want to dismiss other blatant breaches of law and order or attacks like this latest Iranian aggression. Elerond sometimes we just need to accept what we observe as true

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2019-06-13/us-says-iran-removed-unexploded-mine-from-oil-tanker Occam's razor, Iran is responsible because of the US sanctions having a hugely negative impact on there ability to sell oil so they want to interfere with the Saudis oil resources The link I posted is further evidence of Irans Revolutionary Guard being involved in the latest attacks, its irrefutable

Yes that makes sense......the Saudi's attacked themselves, glad you pointed that one out. I had completely missed that connection

I have always lived in the suburbs, in CPT I am living for the first time in the city. One of my customers is in the CBD and today I decided to walk to there offices. It was great and a very unusual experience not driving. I got to see early morning life and lots of people who were going about there business. The distance is about 1.5 miles one way so its additional exercise outside of gym and I will definitely do it again

Why who do you think is behind it Zora, lets not equivocate ...lets speak plainly in the interest of robust debate

Its a good observation you raising, its so blatant why not try to be more covert ? The only point I can raise is the general pattern of most events in the ME. Countries and sectarian groups dont seem to either understand or care about negative attention or being able to deny there actions....like the killing of Jamal Khashoggi by the Saudis and there pathetic initial attempts to deny it

Its perfectly coherent and part of there strategy to undermine and attack Saudi Arabia oil production

There is no question of " is Iran involved " obviously they involved. Its part of the broader, historical Shia/Sunni interminable conflict effectively represented by Saudi Arabia and Iran Iran is fighting several proxy wars in the ME like supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, keeping Assad in Syria and funding Hezbollah in Lebanon. They have been a very destabilizing influence in the region which is why Im aligned with the Gulf Arab states. Iran has made several indirect attacks on Saudi oil assets this year. Even though it may seem counterproductive because of there own production of oil due to US sanctions there own oil sales have been severely impacted so within Iran there exists an attitude from some " if we can't sell oil, no one else can as well " ....so they will go out there way to impact all Saudi oil sales within there own region but not through direct and obvious attacks. They will operate surreptitiously through there various proxies and special forces like the Revolutionary Guard https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/iran-guards-says-can-stop-hormuz-oil-exports-after-u-s-threat

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sarah-sanders-raj-shah-planning-to-depart-the-white-house/ Sarah Sander is going to be leaving the Whitehouse, good. I never liked her. Maybe we will see less fabrications and absurd justifications for some of Trumps outlandish and controversial comments

Hi Mani Nice to hear from you again, what will you be doing at the college. You mentioned its full time work now ?

I can make a compelling argument that wine with food/cheese is a type of the structure of the overall meal. I have noticed what is unusual in CPT compared to JHB is that many restaurants offer set 2 and 3 course meals, you have some choices but not a full menu option, for a very reasonable price ..and wine is often included as the " wine pairing " option. So its mandatory ( of course you can chose not to take the wine pairing for an even cheaper price but we dont need to tell your friends that ) When you make the point position it as a " gastronomic and inclusive eating out evolution " ...Gorthfuscious, you know it makes sense

Dont worry, somethings stay the same. Not only have I not given up cheese but I have moved to Cape Town which means I get to eat more cheese AND drink/learn about complimentary food wines that are produced on the various Wines Farms

https://edition.cnn.com/asia/live-news/hong-kong-protests-june-12-intl-hnk/index.html The protests in Hong Kong are getting increasingly more violent, I feel very sorry for the protesters because even though the draconian Chinese extradition bill signing has been delayed it will still be passed. Another example of China clamping down on human rights and people having a free and transparent trial if they get extradited

GD people should try to emulate my behavior, I dont judge anyone except for anti-Western sentiment anti free market\capitalism with no viable alternatives old school Communists religious extremism extreme left and right wing ideology unfair criticism of the banking sector Vegans ( one of my bothers is one and I do love him but they want to destroy the established gastronomic system ) people who dont believe in the rule of law and order people who immigrate to other countries but constantly complain and criticize that country people who support Russia but dont actually live there people who live in European countries and wont accept necessary austerity but rather blame Germany and France trade union movements that follow anachronistic and outdated ideologies unreasonable lack of patriotism people who wont discuss, realistic, inclusive meaningful and sustainable societal problems but play various "cards " like the race, white male privilege , colonialism and numerous other cards ...I find those debates myopic and counter productive I can think of a few more but my point should be clear. I dont really judge people....much

Mow the lawn/jury duty they both important, patriotic and mandatory duties required for stability of state and general peace at home with the wife and or partner Shady you dont want to be " one of those people " with an untidy lawn

Since I moved to Cape Town I have started getting into drinking red wine, Im a neophyte but Im learning a lot Its very social here particularly around lunches and outings to all the wine farms

I have been following this development and its very concerning, this extradition bill be passed despite protests in HK and activists will be sent to China for trial...so basically they wont have the protection and rights of a legitimate court system....very depressing for anyone in HK who is opposed to Chinese autocracy and believes in freedom of speech

Today Im having a braai\barbeque with an old girlfriend who I haven't seen since I moved to Cpt, I am making my famous " BruceVC Potato Bake " and we planning on loads of drinking and laughs Tomorrow I have a late lunch with family and I am studying new software features around products I need to learn for the company I have joined in Cpt. So its looking like a good weekend overall

Its important to remember context, this breakdown of discipline probably only applies to about 20 % of the total number of public schools. Not private schools and in the problematic public schools its only a small number of pupils...not the majority who just want to learn and get a good education. But its still a problem we need to address

You make some good points in this post and I appreciate the dog discipline analogy as it is relevant. But on the school discipline problem. Why is it so hard for anyone to understand " dont attack teachers" , "dont rape fellow pupils " and " when a teacher tells you something you need to listen " . Surly most of these things are inherent in our natural system of right and wrong, effectively our moral compass? But the issue is when their is a sense of impunity and you think you can get away with it then you think there are no consequences. Which is not how life is I also dont have kids but 2 of my brothers do and many of my friends and girlfriends who are mostly single moms and there kids dont serious discipline problems

I am disappointed by the lack of support for the notion of corporal punishment as a form of helping to create boundaries for kids and therefore it becomes a component for effective learning, I am not convinced by comments opposed to corporal punishment. Here are some links I would like people to read who have an interest in this topic..after reading this tell me how corporal punishment shouldnt be part of the solution. May I just add, sorry to ostensibly sound rude , some of you guys cant live in " first world country ivory towers " and think you can achieve results in society without perceived difficult decisions, this is one of them https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/schools-south-africa-death-trap-government/ https://www.iol.co.za/news/sa-school-violence-shock-1896532 https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2017-06-15-schools-are-so-violent-teachers-live-in-fear/

No corporal punishment is not about threatening kids with violence and pain, you misunderstand its instructive nature Its about understanding in life there are consequences for breaking the rules, its like that in RL isnt it ? Dont we have punishment for people who break the law. So why wait till you leave school before understanding this concept. Remember kids are great at learning things at an early stage...then they can carry these lessons into adult life

What do you guys think about corporal punishment? We banned it in South Africa since our first true democratic election in 1994 but there are several debates to bring it back due to the utter breakdown of discipline , unruly behavior and contempt for teachers we now experience in some of our schools I think it should be brought back for boys, I have heard several points about why its bad for kids but I am not convinced. I went through high school from 1988-1992 and I was canned most of my high school for legitimate reasons. I was never abused and it taught me to not cross certain lines. Yes it creates a sense of fear but its a good fear as you learn boundaries and I do believe it instills and helps people learn consequences Who went through corporal punishment and what do you think about it as an effective way of helping kids learn respect and what is correct behavior. Or you believe in other methods of discipline ?

Nah, I prefer to focus on representation based on what the majority of the citizens of a country are based on there religion. When I see a change in the ME around this I will change my view. But I would be fine with more atheist\agnostic people in government as long as they suitably qualified

Demographics Muslims make up 5 % of the total UK population, more or less http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/united-kingdom-population/ How many Christian ministers/mayors exist in the various countries in the ME?