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  • sK0pe said:

    You brought this up completely on your own I clearly stated that it is a much more obvious version of racism which I have felt in full force since I was a kid. Australians recognise racism and its existence whereas I get the feeling from American media and Americans I met while I was in University that they thought racism was solved when it is more of an undercurrent and coded or subtextually present till the problem erupts.

    This is a definite cultural difference. Larrikinism vs. American avoidance and institutional cowardice
    So the "reserves" can be ignored and when you get to ignore these bits "everything works". Why yes ignorance is bliss.
    White people who are 1/16th Native American because their ancestors raped a native american doesn't count. I'm talking about in your media. All you have are jokes about what colonists did to the native people rather than any respect. Here you see them in advertisements, sports stars, athletes, professionals and models.
    Many reserve issues vary state by state, which makes it a difficult topic to discuss without excessive research. Drug and alcohol abuse and poverty are the main problems though, and those are endemic in the US. What does white skin have to do with anything though? Are you trying to imply that a white-skinned mestizo like myself can't relate to half of my family or heritage? There are white, brown, and black with native blood all over in America. I've never heard a joke about colonists murdering, raping, and spreading plague blankets, and I've really only ever heard native cultures being spoken of with respect. In Michigan at least, we received quite a well rounded education with regards to native societies (both pre and post colonization) and the reality of the impact of European colonialism.
  • edited January 2015
    sK0pe said:

    Greg said:

    muppet said:

    To be fair, while we may (or may not, I'm honestly not sure) treat our indigenous population better than others, we certainly haven't treated them *great*...

    We didn't, but Australia criticizing our racial problems is like the Germans decrying the history of Jewish oppression in Russia.
    Have you lived in countries outside of North America (lived like not on holiday).
    Have you lived in countries inside of North America? Your perception is nothing but statistics and the sensationalist media. Perhaps that removal makes you think you're a better judge of our country, but it means you can't understand day to day life here.
    sK0pe said:

    The majority of Americans have random racist memorabilia and trinkets thinking - those were the days.

    Source?
    sK0pe said:

    Completely racist news station? check

    Are you referring to the one run by an Australian?
    sK0pe said:

    Wait did you just segregate the majority of your indigenous people so that they aren't integrated into society.

    Our indigenous people wanted to be segregated. It was a Black Panthers sort of thing, but well before the Black Panthers. We've given opportunities for Indians to assimilate time and time again, and some of them have, but many of them wanted to stay on their land with their people. Is the reservation system fucked up? Of course. But that segregation was because of what they wanted, not what we forced on them.
    sK0pe said:

    KKK, Westboro Baptist Church official, respected, organised and unaffected or ignored by the media. That bullshit would be called out and shamed.

    The WBC isn't respected. It's a group of about 10 people who are all related. Even Hell's Angels and the KKK have denounced them. And on the subject of the Klan, they're trying to rebrand. They've been declining for decades, and are now (somewhat hilariously) trying to change their image from burning crosses and lynchers to a group of like-minded anti-immigration activists.
    sK0pe said:

    Ilmarinen said:

    As for Australians not being racists; just google "australia racist", and look at all the shit that pops up.

    You brought this up completely on your own I clearly stated that it is a much more obvious version of racism which I have felt in full force since I was a kid. Australians recognise racism and its existence whereas I get the feeling from American media and Americans I met while I was in University that they thought racism was solved when it is more of an undercurrent and coded or subtextually present till the problem erupts.
    You're just wrong. Remember when Michael Brown was shot, and the racial outrage over that? Or the Rodney King riots? Or the other King riots? I live in Boston, we're really fucked up racially -- like, one of the most segregated cities in the country fucked up -- but even we know that racism is a real problem in this country.
    sK0pe said:

    Ilmarinen said:

    Some people suck everywhere, can people quit the nationalistic dick waving and hate??

    For sure but ask why Greg thinks he lives in a utopian wonderland and anyone who says different is unqualified to comment.
    Oh, right, weren't here when I was younger. You don't remember when I was bitching about how Obamacare didn't address the biggest obstacles that keep Americans from getting healthcare, or my rants about the oppression of the socialist movement and how it was only through legally ambiguous and morally abhorrent policies that America is not now a Socialist state hailing Eugene V Debs as the father of modern politics, or how I would condone/join in violent revolution under the right circumstances. I play conservative here because everyone is so liberal I feel someone needs to, and I am genuinely patriotic, but I think America is more fucked up than anyone else on here thinks.

    TL;DR:
    Churba said:

    Get Fucked.

    Post edited by Greg on
  • edited January 2015
    Greg said:

    Are you referring to the one run by an Australian?

    Hey man, he gave up his Australian citizenship in favor of an American one in order to expand his media empire. Far as we're concerned, he's your problem now. Just like Mel Gibson, who was An Australian actor right up until he went on a few crazy rants, at which point we suddenly remembered he's from New York.

    The commonweath taketh, the commonwealth giveth it away when it becomes an inconvenienth.
    Post edited by Churba on
  • Greg, from one American to another, you need to shut up now. This started off as a discussion of the low-level racism in American media and you turned it into "Well, you're Australian, not American so STFU". Anyone from anywhere can criticise anyone's or anywhere's media. In fact, the fact that Sk0pe ISN'T American probably makes him a better, if not less biased, judge of our media.
    You need to either apologize for your stupid comment or just shut up.
  • I would love to enter this discussion but as some one from Great Britain I feel that I don't really have a leg to stand on. Unless who's the best at this stuff then we guys have you all beat. I mean the Empire had racism down to a tee.
  • Amp said:

    I would love to enter this discussion but as some one from Great Britain I feel that I don't really have a leg to stand on.

    You do, it's just planted on someone else's land, but they didn't have a flag, so you were very nice and gave them yours.

  • Churba said:

    Amp said:

    I would love to enter this discussion but as some one from Great Britain I feel that I don't really have a leg to stand on.

    You do, it's just planted on someone else's land, but they didn't have a flag, so you were very nice and gave them yours.

    I mean with out a flag what do you have. You can argue that we were doing everyone a favour by giving all those flag out...can't you?
  • PC parts purchased. Should be in before next weekend.
  • edited January 2015
    I mean with out a flag what do you have. You can argue that we were doing everyone a favour by giving all those flag out...can't you?
    Well, it is a nice flag. Very nice, bold colours, looks good fluttering in the breeze, all that. No specific complaints about the flag, as it were.

    Post edited by Churba on
  • Churba said:

    I mean with out a flag what do you have. You can argue that we were doing everyone a favour by giving all those flag out...can't you?
    Well, it is a nice flag. Very nice, bold colours, looks good fluttering in the breeze, all that. No specific complaints about the flag, as it were.



    Oh the flags not the issue really, erm more the other stuff that came with it. Certain pro-flag activities that were not exactly kosher. But the flag is certainly a good flag great colours, solid lines, great flappyness.
  • TurboTax will give you a 10% bonus on your federal refund if you take it via Amazon gift cards.
  • I find the recent crop of "android watches sales suck" articles to be very humorous. Not only do the articles go out of their way to say how much better the (unreleased) apple watch is but they compare sales numbers between android watches and the iPhone. Since when do we a) compare sales of new and eight years old product lines, b) compare sale numbers of products and product accessories, c) compare sales numbers of vastly different products. These articles have "Half-life three confirmed" levels of bad logic in them.

    Last I had heard the Motorola watch had supply problems and sold out everywhere, hardly a failure.

    The basic logic behind these articles is, "Burger King sold more French fries than Apple sold iPhones therefor the iPhone is a failure."
  • HMTKSteve said:

    The basic logic behind these articles is, "Burger King sold more French fries than Apple sold iPhones therefor the iPhone is a failure."

    It makes complete sense when you're an Apple fanboy and realise that your a fan of a company that doesn't innovate and is a media attention whore that over charges and leaves you flaccid.

    Articles in a similar vein have been been present for as long as American media were sold on the existence of technology being magic that is released from Apple's ass.

    Unfortunately if a reporter attempts to share a differing opinion they are blacklisted from future Apple release events, so there' s that.
  • Wow. Really you should get that very boring stick out of your butt. The only place I saw this kind of story linked to, either here, on Twitter, and then via Twitter on The Daring Fireball blog (a very pro-Apple site) all said the same thing: this phones vs watches sales is a stupid comparison.
  • I still do not understand why anyone would buy what is essentially a second screen for your phone other than as a status symbol. To me that status symbol says, "I'm an idiot."

    FitBit I understand, phone accessory I do not.
  • It'll start off as a mildly useful fashion accessory and status symbol. I'll take another look when the third version comes out, as that is when product companies like Apple usually get all the kinks sorted out.

    Then again, I only ever buy earbuds with remotes in them, because I'm way too annoyed to get my phone out my pocket to pause and play and skip forward or back in my podcasts and audiobooks. Maybe a watch as a remote device just for that would be better.
  • A $50 watch, sure. A $300+ watch?
  • I'm guessing that in three years time the Apple Watch will be to a current watch what my iPhone 3GS was to the Nokia candy bar phone I used before it. Or at least, that's Apple's plan.

    In 2007 I would never have considered spending 300 on a phone. I got myself a second hand handset and used prepaid SIM cards. But in 2012, 300 for a new phone on contract seemed just about right.
  • HMTKSteve said:

    A $50 watch, sure. A $300+ watch?

    While not a small sum, when it comes to watches, that still falls in the range of "Pretty reasonable."
  • edited February 2015
    I hear you Luke. I was on the fence for a while before I dropped $350 on my Nexus 4. Dropping $650 on the Nexus 6 was only possible because OT has been flowing like wine at work lately.

    In my income bracket $650 on a phone or $300 on a watch is nothing but a large swath of Apples market is not made up of affluent people. How does someone only making $20-$30k justify the expense?

    The iPhone has been essentially cheap or free for most people in the US due to phone subsidies. Will those same consumers shell out $300 for a watch with no subsidy?
    Post edited by HMTKSteve on
  • Probably old news to most, but CinemaSins videos has been my recent Internet guilty pleasure.
  • edited February 2015
    Churba said:

    HMTKSteve said:

    A $50 watch, sure. A $300+ watch?

    While not a small sum, when it comes to watches, that still falls in the range of "Pretty reasonable."
    I've spent $150 on a watch before. I could see it easily going up from there because this is also a computer.
    Post edited by MATATAT on
  • The only sensible reason to talk about how many iPhones were sold in the last 6 months compared to Android Smart Watches is if you are looking at the possible market for the Apple Watch.

    Android Wear sold just under a million combined. The number sold is actually higher than I imagined it would be, so I guess that shows there is some kind of market, even if just early adopters. But did anyone who uses an iPhone buy one? Does it require an Android device?

    So Apple sold 71 million phones in a quarter. You need an iPhone 5S or 6 or 6 Plus for an Apple Watch to work, right? So that means the possible Apple Watch market is (off the top of my head) 150 million people. If 1% of those people buy a watch, that still a very decent product launch, for the first version of a watch that will probably only be a good deal for most people in three years time.

    In this case, Steve, people in your income bracket are the only people Apple really needs. Those who earn more can buy the gold edition. Those below will wait.
  • While Apple will probably never reveal, I would like to know what the percentage is between subsidy and full price paying buyers of iphones (and android phones too.)
  • The only time I've really seen anyone dish out money for a non subsidized phone is when concerning the Nexus model of phones.
  • I suppose the closest we may come is if T-Mobile starts revealing sales numbers since they stopped all subsidies except for the 0% loan and monthly payments option for new phones.
  • edited February 2015
    Since this is the random comments thread, phi is better than pi.
    Post edited by Hethalos on
  • Most people in the know over here buy their phones outright. I've bought my last 3 phones outright and then paid tiny phone and data bills (about $18 a month for data, sms and phone).
  • Hethalos said:

    Since this is the random comments thread, phi is better than pi.

    The probability of two random positive integers being relatively prime is 6/π^2. Ball's in your court.

    By the way, e wins because of Euler's formula.
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