BruceVC

So you don't believe in the principle of intervention in the case of lets say genocide? What about an example like putting pressure on the old South African Apartheid government ....should the world have just left the alone ?

I'm genuinely interested why you would dislike people who have done nothing to you ? It doesn't seem rationale....and yes I don't mind my medical aid being spent helping obese people

Yes you right about that, I have no issue with the likes of Assad or Gaddafi being removed from power. Its not the West place to chose a successor but I would hope a new leader in Syria practices a bit of Democracy Bruce. If it's the west's place to remove them then it's the west's place to do whatever we want to them. Screwing with another nation isn't something you do in moderation. It's either you respect another nation's sovereignty or you don't. So are you suggesting if the West is involved in a military campaign, like Libya, it is now the Wests responsibility to now manage the country? The only issue with that is that the Libyans didn't want the West to be involved in governing Libya after Gaddafi was removed....so what would you suggest?

Yes you right about that, I have no issue with the likes of Assad or Gaddafi being removed from power. Its not the West place to chose a successor but I would hope a new leader in Syria practices a bit of Democracy You say the West interfered in Syria..no my friend effective Western interference involves a meaningful military campaign but since the Chinese and Russians vetoed this the civil war has dragged on and on How exactly is the protracted war in Syria a fault of the West.....its preciously because the West couldn't intervene that the war has gone on for so long So please give me details about this Western involvement in Syria ?

I see she has been released as same sex marriage licenses are being issued but Davis still objects to this ...so what will happen when Davis returns to work? Will she block issuing of licenses...its a conundrum

I like bright colors, that looks bright

The logical conclusion of liberal identity politics. Except I%2

The logical conclusion of liberal identity politics. Except I'm Asian. The whole conservative vs liberal ("white guilt") thing is mostly a white people's thing. I'm just an observer. You keep crying and whining about the refugees flooding into Europe. But ask yourselves: who and what created the refugee crisis in the first place? You know as well as I do the refugees are an outcome of the Syrian civil war, which is backed by the West. It is not a secret. You created the mess, so now you suffer the consequences (in the form of the refugees.) You did not see the karma coming when you decide to screw over Syria, Libya, Iraq and rest of the Middle East, did you? This is the biggest bunch of anti-Western BS I have heard on these forums in ages I disagree with so much of what you saying but lets start with the basics of your spurious diatribe Do you not accept that the Arab Spring was real and started in 2010? This movement and consciousness spread through most Arab countries in the ME and North Africa. The objectives of the Arab Spring varied from country to country and had different success criteria The civil war in Syria was started as a result of the Arab Spring and greater rights and political representation that large numbers of Syrians understandably aspired to The Arab Spring was NOT initiated or created or funded by the West, it was an inevitable movement that would been swept through the ME eventually. People do naturally want greater rights and economic opportunities...they don't need the West to tell them " you should want more political rights and better work prospects " So please lets leave the anti-Western conspiracy theories at home

Volo you seem unusually belligerent..is something wrong? Do you want to discuss anything, its best in life to be honest about your feelings

No Volo is only the voice of reason for a small number of people. And you can't count me in that group

How did it taste? I like doing meals like this because they do cater for a group and basically are about letting flavors and ingredients infuse together in a pot...like a stew. So theoretically it shouldn't be too difficult to get it right.....of course that's theoretical

In the past I probably would have made some dismissive comment by now as you still missing my point but thats the old Bruce and I'm trying very hard not to be condescending as it was brought to my attention by a few members and confirmed by my girlfriend that I am. Ironically it was you who first called me " thoroughly revolting condescending " which I found funny at the time and dismissed ..but you were right I understand why you question the veracity of my post, it does seem like a minor fine and you on a personal level are dealing with austerity in Spain so of course the likes of Goldman getting these small fines seems inexplicable and unfair. But I can promise you this is much better for the likes of Spain in its recovery and for the overall EU. But I need to explain this properly so there is no doubt from you but I'm heading off now for a long day of drinks and food...so I will update this later In summary the reality of the world economy is that the Chinese economy is really slowing down and there socialist experiment of there own stock market is now recognized as a failure. There slowdown is dragging down many economies and emerging markets, like South Africa. So this is no time for me to gloat, this is serious but to be honest it is very exasperating as South Africa should have aligned with the Western financial markets but due to this absurd "anti-Western " sentiment from South Africa we favored the Chinese. And you use to think when I called you anti-Western that was strange, imagine Spain now if it had chosen the Chinese. So thats something you have avoided The Western investment banks and investment strategies are still the best solution for sustained growth and stability and you have to believe me on this as I do work in the financial sector and my family has several investment bankers....or at least believe me until I post later

This guy really is a walking comedy show. Do you even read the links you post? Oh, what am I saying, of course you don't. You don't have time for "evidence" and "reading", and expecting either from you is "annoying"! From the first link (second ****ing sentence, too): "Since 2009, the American banking industry alone has racked up nearly $503 billion in profits, according to FDIC quarterly data through the first quarter of 2014." $128bn worth of fines spread across the whole financial sector doesn't even amount to a slap in the wrist. $550M fine for Goldman Sachs? Wow, that's really going to hurt them, they only made ~13bn in 2009. Get real. 2133 please lets stop this pointless bickering. Of course I read the links, I posted them. I am not going to exaggerate the issue by saying the penalties and fines have crippled the banks, thats not the point and never was. Why would I or the world want the international investment banks to crash due to fines ...I work in the industry and they are critical to the global economy. This is not about punishment but rather that there is real effort to ensure good banking codes of conduct And that the banks understand the regulation. And yes I posted Goldman Sachs link because the interview was with Lloyd and yes they havent been heavily fined because they and all the American investment banks are working hard at not being fined This should make you happy.....since its good news

Okay I have a great day planned...after spending the last 24 hours working and engaging in various radio talk shows I am feeling drained....and trust me when I say the topics were heavy its best just to believe me. Soooooooooo I'm off to Hooters to have a few drinks to see my friends who work there and then I'm meeting my ladyfriend who is personal trainer and her boyfriend for lunch and more drinks. I just really don't feel having any serious discussions the rest of the day

Okay yes I can see you are now thinking about what you said and yes I accept your apology. Lets try to remember that when someone writes a long post for you that you asked for its polite to maybe say " thanks for the read" ...trust me people appreciate the small considerations

You know what guys I have mentioned this before but I was raised by my mom and in a matriarchal society. And in RL I have a real group of girlfriends who I love talking to and interacting with, many of them are my friends wives or girlfriends and some are my single friends. But the point being I really enjoy the company of women in a non-sexual way ( obviously there are girls I am attracted to ) Anyway the reason I am mentioning this is I miss the fact we dont have many women on these forums and with my joke above I realized how much I miss there more gentler and sympathetic views. And I can't be only one...have we ever established why there are NO women on these forums Its weird, if I think about all the married or involved members like Hurlshot, Shady or TN don't you guys think it would nice to have some ladies commenting? Its not like I don't talking to you guys but lets be honest we all lack that empathy and relationship building skills that women are so great at. And we can't keep expecting Volo to provide this Why don't you guys try to invite some women so we can balance the gender equation...I know loads of girls of all ages but to be honest none of them play games and the idea of a forum would be weird to them..the ones I told about these forums think its quite eccentric . Remember in South Africa we are behind in forums and games

I had to edit my original post because I asked if you made a base Roux then I realized its mussels and a Roux would be too thick

I wish you guys would stop making excuses for her, its not like she is on death row I would gladly tell her to her face what I think about her ...trust me I stand by what I say about her behavior. I went into great detail explaining what she did. I am surprised more of you guys haven't said " thanks Bruce, that makes sense " ...I know you guys think I'm modest but sometimes I do like a little credit That's what I like about my girlfriends and women generally. They much more empathetic than men and know how to flatter men in a nice way, they so sweet and pay me these little comments "there, there...you so clever Brucie " I have to assume this is some sort of first world perspective conundrum where you feel sorry for her, I have explained in great detail what she decided to do and how that must have humiliated the various gay couples. Lets not drag this out where you guys seriously think we shouldn't criticize Davis

Simple but nice What does your sauce consist of ?

I have to ask why some one of such religious conviction would work for a secular institution like government. It's like a devout Muslim becoming a bartender and being like, "I can't believe I have to hand out alcoholic drinks!" Yes as usual you ask pertinent questions. But she has been proved to be a fake ...and Volo wants us to feel sorry for her. Do you think I should ....maybe I'm being unreasonable. You will be honest ?

Pizza tonight : Double Cheese, bacon, ham, salami, jalapenos , mushrooms, garlic , banana, and tomato

Bruce the federal government CAUSED that crisis. At least here in the US it did. It cause it back in 1977, 1980, 1998 and 2002. No they didnt Not the 2008 crisis, yes Clinton insisted on home loans for everyone but this wouldn't have been an issue if people had been able to pay back there loans and we cannot ignore the lack of regulation and toxic debts that the various financial institutions were engaged in. Yes the loans were a contributing factor but it wasn't the only factor In fact a major criticism was not enough SEC monitoring of the private banks.... Not Clinton, Carter. It started with Carter and the Community Reinvestment Act which forced lenders to make high risk loans to unqualified borrowers. It also stems from the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 which was the first step in the repeal of the Glass-Stengal Act which was designed to PREVENT the very things that happened in 1929, 1987, 2008 from happening. Clinton revised the CRA in the 1990's further exposing lenders to risk of defaults by limiting interest controls and also set up Fannie Mae as a lender "safety net". In 1998 the Gramm-Leach-Biely Act eliminated the last of Glass Stengals depository banking protections and allowed banks to merge and spread risk of any aspect of the business to all aspects of the business. In 2002 the CR was revised again and in 2008 the inevitable happened. And since banks were heavily leveraged in real estate and all aspects of the banking business were now under one roof (thank you Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Phil Gramm) the failure of the real estate ventures snowballs into the failure of the whole bank, The problem with government is that it does not attract the best and the brightest. They all go into business and make real money. Government attracts the C students, the ones who could not cut it in the real world. And they are vain, venal, short sighted and have only the most fleeting of understanding of what they are doing and the systems they are messing with. Every step I outlined above was small and probably well intentioned and without them we would not have had the economic boom of the 1990s and early 2000's. But doing so only proves that those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Okay well to be honest I only know the official history that the US government talks about and that goes back to Clinton and his desire for every American to have a home But I work in the financial sector and this has been studied extensively because the whole world was close to a depression. I watched an interview with Lloyd Blankfein CEO of Goldman Sachs about the penalties and fines most of the investment and commercial banks have paid, check this link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/08/big-bank-fines-total_n_5659317.html http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2010/2010-123.htm Goldman Sachs has very few fines despite what you may think, anyway he was quite clear that there is no such thing as a true Capitalist country and he acknowledged government regulation and monitoring going forward. And he is a Jewish American Capitalist and a real financial genius. So if he can admit government interference then you can

Good, now I am beginning to understand why you make these comments. And I'm stoned so I'm not necessarily my clever self You feel guilty, thats exactly what I wanted. Yes it was a good post ...so now rather just accept it. No need for your normal " I don't want to change my mind cause I'm Volo and I don't like to be like everyone else. Look everyone, I use the word Nazi indiscriminately" ...you see its too radical to be real, I'm not even going to pretend to believe you like I normally do

Bruce the federal government CAUSED that crisis. At least here in the US it did. It cause it back in 1977, 1980, 1998 and 2002. No they didnt Not the 2008 crisis, yes Clinton insisted on home loans for everyone but this wouldn't have been an issue if people had been able to pay back there loans and we cannot ignore the lack of regulation and toxic debts that the various financial institutions were engaged in. Yes the loans were a contributing factor but it wasn't the only factor In fact a major criticism was not enough SEC monitoring of the private banks....

How ironic is this but they are discussing this exact topic on one of radio show I listen to. I phoned in and said how we have been discussing it Of course some people phoned in to say its a betrayal of Christianity but the radio station is pro gay rights so I dont care what they say, I made my point in a very supportive way