BruceVC

I cant get enough of this Russian outrage and as the tweet says " Putin is a master strategist who pushed a neutral country into joining NATO "

I have always supported them in several things since 1994. These include the role they played during Codesa and the negotiations to create the new SA they respect the Constitution and the rule of law and order they are committed to ending corruption and transforming the economy they dont support radical left policies like the EFF they believe in partnerships between the private sector and public sector they recognize the importance of a free media they believe in an independent judiciary I can go on and on but I dont support many of there foreign policy decisions and positions they take

As as usual your views are inaccurate about what I believe or has actually occurred in SA I support the ANC in many ways but not recent foreign policy and I have even voted for them. Cyril didn't order the police to use force in Marikana. All he correctly said was a 3 month strike must end but he didnt have authority to order them to use lethal force. And he didnt own the mine But nice trolling

No its a good question. Africa was a proxy war in clash between the West and Communism and it manifested in different ways in different countries. But from the mid 1960s there were only 5-6 countries that still had either white minority rule or were still colonies like the 3 Portuguese countries So in the case of Rhodesia, SA or Namibia the USSR and Red China helped train liberation movements like the ANC military wing, SWAPO and ZANU-PF So they helped with military training and resources in the armed struggle aspect of ending Apartheid But Apartheid of course ended through a political solution and not a military one

Agreed, the ANC is completely inconsistent with our value system when it comes to several foreign policy decisions. And I have raised this several times One example, our uninformed minister of foreign affairs keeps saying " we are neutral and Russia helped us achieve independence from Apartheid and they our friends " but it wasnt Russia who helped end Apartheid. It was the USSR and it was during the Cold War. But Ukraine was also part of the USSR, so why arent we criticizing the invasion because by her understanding of " friends " Ukraine is also our friend But the ANC ideological inconsistency gets criticized all the time in SA

Thats the outcome I like to see, its obvious to the future of the EU that Russian\Putin nationalism is its biggest security threat. Any politicians that dont want to accept that must go Its taken a long time for the EU to understand and accept the risk Putin represents but the invasion of Ukraine has changed that. Better late than never Also please post links when you make these types of relevant posts

Three Putin body doubles having their after-work glass of vodka together when suddenly their supervisor-colonel appears: "Guys, breaking news. There was an assassination attempt on Putin. I've got good news and bad news for you" One of the guys replied: "Please tell us the good news first" Colonel: "He survived" "And now the bad news" "He has lost one arm"

You know Trump can still run for president even if he is found guilty https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-elected-president-indicted-convicted-experts/story?id=97688250

Well you asked why is there so much fuss and I am answering why, the optics and the perception it creates. Now that doesnt change anything including how UNSC veto work but thats not what you were asking And Im sure people also complained\fussed when the US got the chair during the invasion of Iraq? But the UNSC does have values but it cant always implement them because of the veto

"I don't know why there's such a fuss over it " Sometimes you really make me laugh, good one There is no way to stop Russia legally getting the rotational chair because its by design and its only for 1 month as you said But its a massive deal because of the optics and the reality. Russia invaded a sovereign country and the region has become destabilized apart from the long list of war crimes. And there President is facing war crimes. The UNSC function is about ensuring international peace and security. So its about the optics, its a massive contradiction to the values of the UNSC but its only for a month

This is true to certain degree but I also dont think white collar criminals, like insider traders, shouldn't end up amongst gang bangers and mass murderers. Thats why you have different types of prisons in the US One of my uncles ended up serving 7 years in prison that was for people who commit financial fraud and similar crimes in the US. He wasnt amongst hardcore criminals

Thats the allegation but its depends on the crime. Even the best lawyer cant get you off real evidence. Look at rich people like Harvey Weinstein or Bernie Madoff. Despite there wealth they going to spend the rest of there lives in jail so it depends on the crime and evidence

Sure but before anyone can go to jail they need to be found guilty in a court of law, being found guilty in the court of public opinion isnt enough I dont want Trump running for president, he is divisive and brings a level toxicity to politics that is contagious for both parties But this is a mistake and a distraction. Like I asked earlier do you really think he would be charged if he wasn't running for president ? Thats the difference between a political prosecution and a legitimate one

I think charging Trump for the hush money payment is a bad legal and political strategy because its going add to the hyperbole and unify his base around " Trump is being unfairly targeted, its a political prosecution. The US is controlled by the deep state ...you see" and other rhetoric I understand the Dems dont want him to be a candidate but then beat him the normal way, through the ballot box. This is a weak attempt at backdoor political wrangling even though its a "legal " outcome Is there anyone on this forum who honestly believes the Manhattan D.A would be charging Trump if he wasnt running as a presidential candidate?

I have followed several informed views about this topic and what China experts were saying is exactly what you posting in the sense Xi was hoping for a quick Russian victory and then a lackluster and disunited Western response But the reality has been very different. Russia has failed to achieve a quick or significant military victory and the invasion has united the West in unprecedented ways So Xi is re-strategizing the entire China approach to Taiwan and the most effective way to achieve Chinas geopolitical aspirations But they were hoping for a quick and decisive Russian military victory in Ukraine

States have limited budgets and priorities have to be set, at least you spending money on reparations for slavery. Thats more important than a decent transport system ?

Yes this has become the most divisive and unpopular legislation ever proposed in the history of Israel. The right wing has gone too far and what it wants to achieve could literally tear Israel apart and its understandable the anger because in essence the biggest problem is it allows a simple majority of 51% in the Knesset\Parliament to override SC decisions which translates to " we dont want politicians to be accountable to the law " Its the most absurd reality to think anyone would believe politicians should be above the law and the SC should no longer have judicial authority over them So Netanyahu had to pause but he needs to pause it permanently or you will see unprecedented civil unrest in Israel especially with soldiers refusing to do there military service

I wonder if this is true, @Gfted1 you sneaky Americans and your pesky microchips in vaccines

http://www.cbr.ru/press/event/?id=14668 https://vk.com/wall-45439398_22717?lang=en I cant access the first link but the second link is the same information. The Ruskie Central Bank for 2022 recorded losses of 720 billion rubles compared to previous year of 26 billion !!! No wonder they started classifying economic data for the country. Thank goodness Western sanctions arent working....oh wait

I heard an interesting opinion that prolonging the war in Ukraine is in the interests of China because then the West wont be focused on Chinas global aspirations like Taiwan and the South China Sea Im not sure if it true but its interesting?

Thanks for bringing this to my attention, its outrageous I tell you. Absolutely outrageous The world we know is being swept away by the radical left and Neo-Nazis. What can we do? What can any of us do? I say we protest...and we dont stop until this collapse of our societies ends !!!

Sure and I think we all in agreement that this war will continue while Putin is president because his political future and survival is inextricably connected to the war now But the reality can change if for whatever reason he is no longer president

The war could end relatively quickly because it was caused by the nationalist views and influence of one man, Putin. If Putin dies tomorrow and you see new leadership they could literally end the direction that Russia is going in Ukraine and at least immediately withdraw the Russian army back to Russia borders There are lots of examples in history about wars ending when you see leadership change like the end of the USSR under Gorbachev or the end of the Vietnam war Im not convinced at all that this is a " forever " war because historical and current precedent around wars doesnt support that. You can often see change in countries ideological stance based on new leadership Another relevant example, 45 years of Apartheid ended in SA under the direction of a single man and his views. FW De Klerk took over from the previous PM and the ideological direction of SA changed

I have been gaming for 20 years and historically we dont have the fast internet access you guys have and I also can only recall 3-4 times where " always on " has negatively impacted my gaming experience?

Like everyone he has accurate insights on certain topics and particularly Ukraine. Here is one of his posts from Codex about the invasion. You just have to excuse the normal typos but its true and funny ( he was responding to some post about a politician saying the invasion was Ukraine fault ) "Lol Ukraine us at fault because it didn't just bend over and let nazi Russia genocide them and steal their country. How about nazi Russia. This is a war if choice fie them. Ukraine was no threat ro nazi russia. That politician is bull**** attacking Ukraine whose fighting fir uts country. Probably a putrid bootlicker "