BruceVC

Very good question, I am really arguing the flawed referendum that Putin created to " decide if Crimea should be part of Russia". Its synonymous with a pattern of how Russia has created this old USSR border and carved up other countries like Georgia to suit them Here is a good article that summarizes this and highlights the legal argument but yes you right, my historical argument is not the best way to make my point https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/14/crimean-referendum-illegal-international-law But just for interest, Tartars outside Ukraine were excluded from the vote. There were also only 2 choice and neither one was " stay part of the Ukraine " https://www.huffpost.com/entry/crimeas-technically-flawe_b_4992908

I had to laugh at the Neville Chamberlain analogy, some comparisons people make of us to historical figures could be relevant but most are tenuous at best but egregiously inaccurate in most cases. This is one of them

Yes, yes Zora as long as you dont use your normal approach of revisionist history and pseudo-geography to make the point that Crimea is part of Russia, its not. Its part of Ukraine and nothing will ever change that, so what Putin needs to do is return Crimea to Ukraine and stop thinking he can carve up countries to create some unnecessary " USSR " border because he is insecure about perceived NATO encroachment Failing that Russia will never get the important sanction relief they need to help there failing and weak economy, the Russia bear needs to respect international laws ...you know how it works

Im confused, are you saying that Johnson couldnt have become president...is that what you saying

Also most of these wars were legitimate and necessary, for example you needed to fight various proxy wars against the USSR during the Cold War in order to effectively bankrupt them and slowdown the global spread of " Mother Russia " and prove that Communism was a failed and flawed ideology I will add that the majority of wars after 9/11, especially Afghanistan, were also necessary....Islamic extremism is real and AQ attacked the USA. This type of belligerence cannot simply be ignored

I am not sure if you ever watched The Strain, its about Vampires and was entertaining. The main Vampire, called " The Master " also talks about knowing and watching humanity for thousands of years but the difference is he wants to destroy all mankind or turn them into Vampire food

I am considering watching this series, I havent watched any episodes. How would you guys rate it, without spoiling the story what is good\bad about it ?

I loved Lost and even though it was a little confusing it did " make sense " as much as it could As you mentioned the whole point of the Island was to protect the Well of Souls and the plane had to basically crash to find a new keeper of the Well through a series of trials and tribulations . What I did find inconsistent was the the "black smoke\monster " who I thought they rushed to explain, it ended up being Jacobs brother who was trapped on the Island and was desperate to leave but wasn't allowed to...why couldnt he leave ?( so he was thrown into the Well but so what ? ) Check out this summary of the final season on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_(TV_series)

Okay so in summary it will be very difficult to fund this type of massive occupation and I imagine equally difficult to find enough troops for this initiative...buuuuuuuuut there are several million people you could bring back from retirement...Shady, GD, Gfted1, you boys better start dusting off the old "marine attire ", you may need to serve your country again

I agree, brinkmanship is normal when it comes to Iran issues and politics around there actions

Your post highlights the biggest practical concern with an invasion of Iran. Once the Iranian army is defeated, which will indubitably happen, then what? The best way to deal with the militancy of Iran and its destabilizing influence in the region is a sustained bombing campaign but that comes with its own set of problems, like what would the end goal be? The last thing you want is " boots on the ground " and any kind of military occupation as that would be a logistical and economic nightmare for the USA and the region, it would be calamitous for the oil price ( which needs to be a serious concern for all of us ) and it would exacerbate sectarian violence in the broader ME...so that kind of military operation would be myopic and counter productive unless we have clearly defined objectives of what is needed to be achieved

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/alabama-abortion-law-passed-alabama-passes-near-total-abortion-ban-with-no-exceptions-for-rape-or-incest-2019-05-14/ Im very disappointed with this decision from the Alabama senate to pass this severe anti-abortion law, I see this going to the Supreme Court

It very true how the small things add up and how many you need if you dont have any, I am now keeping a list so I can stop missing some items when I can shopping

Iran is responsible indirectly for the recent attacks on UAE and Saudi oil targets through there proxy support of the Houthi rebels in Yemen who have claimed responsibility for the drone attacks, Iran has denied involvement but I dont believe it https://www.thedailybeast.com/saudi-arabia-says-its-oil-pipelines-are-under-attack-from-drones

I am busy moving into my new apartment in Cpt, its in the heart of the city and very convenient. Its basically fully furnished but I need to buy many small but critical items like cooking utensils, extra towels and bedding and of course food. I have also been familiarizing myself with the suburbs and learning how to navigate the various routes and roads After one of my brothers birthdays on Saturday I went out and met some really friendly and ebullient Germans who are on work contracts, I spent the night drinking with them and stayed at there place so I didnt have to drive home drunk, I have there contact details and we plan to go hiking up Table mountain in the next week or 2

Shapiro is not very good at addressing his own misplaced, historical comments or at least just admitting he was wrong and leaving it at that. I noticed he resorts to personal attacks on the BBC journalist when he is vexed, this demonstrates his impulsiveness and lack of self-control Also as mentioned by others I wish people would stop labeling Youtube debates as " person X destroys person Y" , they do this with Jordan Peterson and it creates at times a myopic and unnecessary dichotomy where some people will immediately dismiss one side because his side " was destroyed " instead of only judging the debate after watching it

Yeah, I agree. Its a slippery slope if we allow unusually high-testosterone athletes to compete because where do you draw the line as you mentioned. Why not just allow people to take steroids and go for it

Today is election day in South Africa, I am registered to vote in JHB and since I have just moved to Cape Town I wont be able to vote provincially but I can vote nationally We have 48 parties to choose from....its a ridiculous, unnecessary amount and all the new smaller parties I dont think will get enough votes to play a meaningful role in national or provincial ruling I will be voting for the Democratic Alliance, I wanted to vote for the ANC but any Democracy needs a real opposition and after the corruption of the previous president and the last 8 years we need viable opposition parties to ensure accountability and the ruling party, which will be the ANC overall by a smaller margin, needs to be aware it can be challenged So my voting choice is not about the various polices but purely about the numbers game

It did seem rather detailed and long

Post some photos, I love puppies and dogs

Im watching on Showmax one of the most entertaining series I have seen, its called Fortitude and its set in a fictional town of the same name in the Arctic It has everything in it. Ancient parasites, supernatural, murder and all the intrigue of a small town where life is hard. Highly recommended https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortitude_(TV_series)

Tomorrow morning I am driving to Cape Town from Durban to start the next exciting chapter in my life, the drive is about 1000 Miles and we drive through numerous provinces with spectacular scenery. Take a look at this one mountain pass we may drive through on route https://princealbert.org.za/swartberg-pass/ We will do the drive in 2 days and typically spend 1 night in one of the numerous quaint Karoo towns, the Karoo is a semi-desert that also has great views and unspoiled landscape https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoo This is where we will probably stay tomorrow night https://beaufortwest.net/

Sup All I am interested in peoples views on this matter for those that have been following it, I will try to summarize the issue because it sets a new precedent for all female athletes competing in a race less than 1 mile Firstly who is Caster Semenya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster_Semenya Good article to summarize the IAAF ruling against her https://dnyuz.com/2019/05/01/court-bars-women-with-high-testosterone-from-some-track-races/ My interpretation and view as a synopsis based on my limited medical knowledge of the human body and the overall Caster case is below Caster was born as an intersex person, the definition of this is someone who does not fit the normal definition of what defines male or female based on various sex characteristics like chromosomes or genitals https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intersex Her intersex trait means she has elevated, natural testosterone compared to other women. this is not her fault as she was born like this. We measure natural testosterone in the human body on nanomoles/liter. Women have between 0.12-1.79 nanomoles/liter and men after puberty have 7.7-29.4 nanomoles/liter Caster has over 5 nanomoles/liter and this means elevated testosterone so the IAAF ruling wants her take medication to reduce her nanomoles/liter to below 5 The final consideration could be " does testosterone make a difference in athlete performance" ? Most studies show that elevated testosterone on any race less than 1 mile (1600m ) leads to additional muscle mass, strength and oxygen capacity. So in order to make a level playing field the ruling wants Caster to reduce her testosterone Personally I think the ruling is unfair to Caster but fair to all other women who compete against her so it should be upheld and will be implemented going forward for all women who compete in most athletic sports as its based on science and reasonable output What do you guys think?

True but remember companies like Blackwater sign contracts and they bound by that . If they are seen as breaking that outside for example a certain time period, lets say 2 years, they will suffer reputational damage and there credibility will be destroyed So there is a sense of contractual commitment to complete the work or no one would hire them in the future.