BruceVC

You guys won't believe this but I was accused of this last night on that prominent radio station I listen to when I made a reasonable but critical assessment of the current status of the South African government Basically 2-3 people phoned in after me and were belligerent and upset and said " he is a white person ...he comes from a position of white privilege ...how dare he criticize the government ". Many people would have very annoyed ...but not me because I understand its coming from a position of frustration and ignorance Anyway I want to phone back tonight and dispute this, I do recognize a degree of white privilege because I had a good education but people tend to embellish this. What would you say if someone accused you of this in a debate as a justification to dismiss your a point ? I really want all views on this topic ?

If you are being honest the USA could absorb that number of people.....you could let people stay with you ? You have a spare room dont you...if every US citizen allowed 1 Mexican family to stay with them the problem would be solved ...imagine how good you will feel afterwards

Are you really that obtuse, or do you simply not want to understand what Gromnir wrote? Constructing the actual warheads is just one part of a nuclear weapons program. Much of it is building up infrastructure, technology, human capital to be able to construct the warheads (and put them straight into missiles without delays). So yes, you can have a nuclear weapons program that prepares and optimises everything else first, and saves the warhead construction for last, so that - with everything optimized - it can be done much quicker. That's what the "Iran is x years/months away from nuclear weapons" reports from Western intelligence services mean: If Iran were to start the warhead construction now (which they aren't, yet) how long would it take them to finish? The more they prepare and optimize the infrastructure, the shorter that time becomes - at some point it may become so short that they can go ahead and do it without anyone being able to stop them anymore, and at that point they probably will do it. (Or why else go through all that trouble?) You make some relevant points as usual but I watched a very good interview with John Kerry about the perceived success of these negotiations where he addresses criticism about " how soon Iran could make develop a nuclear bomb and the West being able to monitor this progress" Currently the West has no inspectors operating within Iran, as in none ..zero. And this is due to the bad faith that existed and state of the negotiations But now we have an agreement where inspectors can and will operate within Iran. Surly you can agree this is much better than the previous reality of the situation where the West had no real visibility within Iran and there nuclear program?

Yeah its interesting, we all seem to have the same general view of Trump " ha ha...its Trump. Look at the silly things he says...he has NO chance" Yet his support makes me wonder if we all aren't missing something. Anyway it is early in the GOP presidential race so I am sure he will implode on his own

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/poll-trump-surges-to-big-lead-in-gop-presidential-race/2015/07/20/efd2e0d0-2ef8-11e5-8f36-18d1d501920d_story.html I was only joking when I said " so who is going to vote for Trump " but despite his antics and offensive bravado he is leading the Republican nomination race by a considerable lead Surly we aren't suggesting this means he may actually win the GOP presidential race? I am amazed by his support and I can only assume that people like the fact he just says what he wants, irrespective of the politically correct aspect ....but as time goes on his popularity will wane as people take a more reasonable and analytical view of what his policies mean or how they would be meaningfully implemented So why does he have such support and is it sustainable ?

modern ism debates annoy us. taking from the linked opine, am agreeing that socioeconomic issues is paramount, but is also true that there is historic race-related advantages and disadvantages that has resulted in modern economic disparities. am recognizing that non-whites were disadvantaged +50 years ago. ok. fix the problem, discuss, and fix. start blathering about white privilege and the real issues get lost. functional attack some guy for no other reason than that he were born with Y chromosome and that all his grandparents were white is &*$#ing messed up. attack somebody who didn't actual do anything wrong and who has no way to defend himself is only gonna lead to understandable animosity towards the attacker, and the attacker is likely a minority or women or liberal. your average middle-class white kid did not go to exeter and get a near auto-admission to ivy league schools. yeah, the ultra-wealthy get advantages we cannot hope to legitimize to those who got nothing, but that is true regardless o' race or gender. take some moderate conservative white guy and tell him that he should feel bad 'cause o' white privilege and chances are he is gonna react defensive... and he is gonna be freaking justified for feeling defensive. is stoopid arguments when sjw and modern notions o' a host o' other isms is discussed. instead o' discussing anything meaningful, we discuss the legitimacy o' the damned labels? that is utter idiotic. real solution: find some way to give all children two loving and supportive parents. all major social ills would disappear in a couple generations. am only partial joking. HA! Good Fun! That's a very good post Gromnir, seriously brilliant. That must be one of the most evocative, logical and persuasive arguments I have ever heard about the negative aspect around generalizations around " white privilege " In South Africa one of the criticisms about our new political system is are comments similar to " whites haven't given enough to the new South Africa " and "whites still have far too many economic advantages ", its very similar to raising issues of " white privilege " I am actually going to use some of your perspective and points in the next debate I am in on this radio station I listen to. You make a lot of sense on this topic

Nice, well done

" hardcore moderate " ?...that just sounds like another name for a liberal..semantics What is the difference between that and a liberal ?

You make some excellent overall points. And just to add to my personal experiences, I have never said " my family is rich ". I have shared that my family owns property in London and Monte made that assumption. I think it is ostentatious and lacks class to be boastful about ones personal wealth considering the fact we live in a world with such an inimical gap between rich and poor . But in my case I had to be honest because it is an important part of what formulates my view and opinion on several subjects So I am not going to lie about the fact we are probably better off than many people, but what is missed from my view is the wrong questions get asked. Instead of Monte thinking " I wonder what he could share with us about what he and his family do for a living to achieve reasonable financial success " I basically get attacked with comments like "well what do you know about the trials and tribulations of the economic status of working class people ...your family is loaded ". And I am not going to apologize for working hard and being diligent and then seeing the success of that hard work. I could lie to make people feel better and make populist statements like " Capitalism is about the abuse of workers " or "free markets are wrong " or " certain EU governments don't need to make serious restructures in there public sectors " but why should I lie just to get people to believe a false narrative ? I believe in Capitalism and free markets and I firmly believe these systems offer the citizens of any country the best way to uplift themselves economically and socially. But I also believe in the state being involved in certain areas of the overall economy. So as I have mentioned before I believe that the Scandinavian countries have the best overall system of government which is a hybrid Capitalist\Socialist model And what does that mean? High taxes but a very efficient government public sector that provide excellent public institutions, like education and healthcare, and efficient service delivery. But the growth of the economy must be maintained by the private sector. This model does work but it requires a high employment rate as everyone needs to contribute towards the tax base or the system and the government contribution falls apart. This is the biggest issue with this type of economic model in Africa...we have far too many people on social grants or unemployed. So there is less money generated from tax revenue to make really meaningful changes in many cases

Yes which is why her view is wrong, she is generalizing. Its not that bad, her view is influenced by her troubling experience on reddit

Bu huu As long as those 'harassers' don't make threats and do anything IRL, aren't they virually indistinguishable from people you happen to disagree with on the internet. Are you really qualified to call them 'harassers' and are you being fair every time you decide to hand out that label. I have my doubts. For me the statement " Internet Trolls are Winning " is spurious because it needs context The more accurate statement is " Internet Trolls are winning on unmoderated Forums " Because there are many forums, like this one, where harassment is just not accepted...so I think we need to balance that statement against the forum or forums that people frequent

It sounds horrendous...you should wet a towel and use that over your pillow That will help you sleep as it keeps your face cool ?

Ah, well I definitely don't mean to belittle those who don't share personal stuff. Although really, if you hang around long enough, some of your secrets are bound to come out. I'd say it is tough to distinguish yourself from a one dimensional character if you don't share a little bit about where you are coming from. Some people like to put it all out there right away, like Bruce, and some people share bits and pieces over time. In time you will all assimilate. Hurlshot is right. What he is saying is that over time people who are part of an Internet community will naturally share details about there personal life. This is normal human nature as people feel relaxed about who they spend months if not years having debates with Barti you have already shared personal details, for example you have been honest about how you have battled depression and you mentioned stories about your grandfather Now of course we all have different degrees of openness and what we are prepared to share but the most important point about sharing stories is people must feel they can say something without fear of ridicule. And I think this forum does have a culture where people can be honest and get constructive feedback around personal issues...and that is something we should celebrate It makes the forum more real and not just some amorphous realm of names and threads where you don't know how people will respond or where you can't ask for honest advice about RL events

Malc it hurts my feelings when you say things like that

Yes he is actually in my top 3 list of " most dysfunctional posters " on these forums And we know what a racist he is so this whole " I care about Bill Cosby because he is a black man just being slandered for being a black man " almost makes me want to vomit its so patently hypocritical coming from him of all people

And I assume you remember how you consider me the most erudite, reasonable, admired and influential person on these forums...I always use to get a little embarrassed by this type of positive attention. But I have come to accept it...who am I to deny people there role models

What exactly was so appaling about a famous guy sleeping with many women? Oh that's right he is black. i'm sure a white south african sees nothing wrong with white guy Sheen doing exactly the same, but god forbid if it's a black guy. Right Mr. Apartheid? No...I'm sorry. I refuse to be believe anyone can be so unaware of what an issue is when people make posts? You think this is about about some " famous guy sleeping with women " or " some black famous guy sleeping with women " ...you think this is about his race? I still can't believe you could be that stupid and uninformed? You must be trolling

That is very interesting, what have you noticed are any subtle side effects from the meningitis ? Maybe just minor effects if any ?

No austerity can be and is effective Its also about countries making structural reforms like reducing government debt, selling assets and reducing bloated staff counts from departments. So by making some difficult but not egregious reforms a country can gets its economy working again. Ireland and Spain are successfully doing it It's not that I necessarily disagree with you, and your point has some merit to it. But I also think it's worth pointing out you've happily revealed your considerable family wealth on this forum: you are, to be frank, loaded. So it's worth considering your robust defence of the status quo in that context. I'd have more respect for you if you'd ever held an opinion you couldn't afford, or if you offered a muscular Gordon Gekko / Randian-style defence of capitalism. Instead you come across as the worst sort of middle class, libtard SJW. I find this post disingenuous and unhelpful for a number of reasons So my family have been " successful " by understanding financial markets. Do we now attack investment bankers and traders because they do well? Lets not drag this discussion down to the lowest common denominator Monte where we only consider the opinions of people relevant who are impoverished or actually don't understand how financial markets work. It reminds me of the OWS (Occupy Wall Street ) movement..." down with the banks and the bankers ". Yet they can offer no viable, realistic or sustainable alternative to the banking system that most countries use and are a critical part of the economy of countries

This is a very good article because it accurately highlights the plight and views of moderate Iranians. And its the moderate Iranians that these negotiations and future with the West resonate the most with. The best part of the article is at the end IMO " I am so, so happy,” she wrote me. “Thank you President Obama. You stopped a war. . . . I hope your people understand it and appreciate it as we do. . . . Now we are a part of the world. " For me most of us want the same thing as members of humanity. We want peace and a prosperous future for our families. So these negotiations are part of those objectives. Yes I can understand the risks and concerns but I still am firmly convinced this is the right decision considering the geo-political reality of the region and what continued sanctions and or a military campaign against Iran would mean To aptly quote John Donne "Each man's death diminishes me, For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know For whom the bell tolls, It tolls for thee "

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/19/arts/bill-cosby-deposition-reveals-calculated-pursuit-of-young-women-using-fame-drugs-and-deceit.html?_r=0 For those interested more information about the appalling antics of Cosby through the decades

Yeah for me I have found any smoked cheese seems to have an artificial taste, which is unfair because its just smoke that flavors it ? Yet I am not a fan and generally prefer unsmoked cheese which always has that " authentic " cheese taste which I prefer

Direct quote when I was trying to get electricity for my construction site: "Look, since you are young and don't get it: I'd love to sign your permit, but nobody will believe I did it without getting paid off. So since they are going to say it ayway, I might as well take the money, right?" Geez, is it really that bad ? Did this happen to you personally or is this an exaggeration to enforce a point ?

Paul Krugman thinks you are full of it. Yes and I can also name equally credible economists who will agree that austerity can and does work Plus I saw an interview with Krugman on CNN where he discusses this point and his view on Greece's economic future and the impact of austerity is much more complex than just " austerity cannot work for Greece "