Sinophile

It takes a week to get to the moon. and an estimated 9 months to get to Mars. Venus, the next closest planet, is a gas giant. Thus, it is either the moon or Mars.

Just got done reading 4 pages of this topic. I believe the following image sums up nicely what I have to say. http://i.imgur.com/uRMf0.jpg Anyway, I do not believe that America is becoming socialist for the following reasons: 1.) All members of Congress are beneficiaries of Capitalism, including Obama. They all own large amounts of private property, and would have the most to lose in a socialist revolution. 2.) No one cared about socialism until Obama came into office. 3.) I had some more reasons, but I am too lazy to think them up at the moment. I find the whole socialism vs. capitalism debate somewhat interesting, and at times hypocritical. Those who criticize the health bill and other "socialist" programs have no qualms about the government building a giant wall along our southern border, and staffing it with National Guards, whom I am sure do not work for free, in order to keep out their supposed competitors from entering their job market. My bottom line is, Socialism is simply an overused buzzword, much like terrorist, communist, global warming, and environmentally friendly. It is also worth pointing out that his profiles says he was born in 1994.

Xbox360's Kinect is racist against Asian girls.

Would anyone be able to compare and contrast the NHS and Medicare? I honestly don't know the difference between "socialist" Universal healthcare, and medicare, other than it'll supposedly cost 1.2 trillion dollars per year, about two and a half times medicare, yet require doctors to work more hours for less money. http://images.encyclopediadramatica.com/images/e/ed/Medicare.jpg If I am not mistaken, France also has universal healthcare, although I do not know how it compares to any other country. As Glenn Beck pointed out in this Many well-to-do Canadians, including the prime Minister, come to the U.S. to receive healthcare. The U.S. may have higher quality healthcare, but what good does it do for those who cannot afford it? IMHO, the ideal health plan for a nation would insure everyone at a reasonable cost. As for the tea party, I somehow seriously doubt that any of their members would be ripping up their social security checks, or not using medicare. He has also done beggar to become president. He has never been in the military, and served only one term in the senate. I would speculate the main reason he got elected was simply because he wasn't George Bush. Jimmy Carter did not get a peace prize until well after he left office. Regardless of whether or not his popularity is deserved, there are others who would resent him for it. Anyway, I think I've gotten a little too involved in what should've been an informative topic. So I am going to pose a another question to those who are still following along:If McCain had been elected president, would the tea party still exist?

And in some parts of the country Timothy McVeigh is considered a hero. Very few politicians are universally loved or hated. William Tecumseh Sherman(whom I am assuming you are referring to in your analogy) despite his brutal tactics in South Carolina, was remembered quite differently by the slaves he freed. At the very least, FDR was popular at the time, and was elected 4 times. I would say that the fear of communism, and switching foreign policy from isolationism to interventionism are also factors. Even before WWII, It isn't like America has ever been much for pacifism(Although as my history teacher has pointed out, America's army was about the size of Mexico's when Pearl Harbor Hit and the Japanese were shocked at the rate at which America had rebuilt). The analogy is lost on me. If I am not mistaken, the proverbial patient did not die, but had lived to dominate the globe both militarily and economically for the following decades to come, regardless of the alleged incompetence of the doctors. Sure, there were some tough spots during the Carter years, but then came the Clinton years, which were awesome. Ok, so what sort of timeframe are we talking about? I was talking about working conditions in Early 20th century America; Maggie came along 80 years later. Has anyone here seen Pearl Harbor(The James Cameron movie, not the Harbor itself)? FDR had to work hard to convince the country to go to War.If I am not mistaken, I think the opposition is making an argument by stating that he used a war to mend an ailing economy. Regardless of his methods, America had become the most affluent country on the planet. Obama on the other hand already has two wars to contend with, in that respect, he is more comparable to Truman than FDR. Instead of Communism, he has terrorism(or Islamic extremism). Unfortunately, unlike Truman, he can't use atom bombs to quickly end two wars.

I was mainly interested in the storyline, as Conviction seemed to make a lot of references to previous events. The protagonist is also pretty old(for an action hero in a video game.), has served in Desert Storm, and had an adult daughter. He had to be at least 18 in 1990(when he served in Desert Storm according to the game), meaning he was born in or before 1972, making him somewhere in his 40s in Conviction(which supposedly takes place in 2009). Interestingly, that makes him about the same age as Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid(who was born in 1974, although I have yet to play the fourth installment of MGS). Conviction was pretty short though, and seemed to focus mostly on multiplayer.

I am not sure if Wikipedia is allowed in this forum, but I found this interesting quote. I pointed out to one poster that if she intended said question was posed for one other person, rather than everyone who'd read this topic, that using the forum's personal messaging system is an option, so that her question would not get buried under all the other responses(there were two full pages of responses to this topic on that day). Also note the use of could've( a contraction for could have), in place of should have should've(or should have). It helps to read what you quote. Oftentimes there isn't a middle-ground in politics. Back then, it was not uncommon for 8 year old children to work 12 hour days. Many craftsman(E.G. cobblers, tailors, blacksmiths, carpenters) had been displaced by the industrial revolution, and made a fraction of what they did in a factory. The factory would eventually be inherited by the former owner's children, keeping the wealth in the family. If 90% of wealth is owned by 10% of the population, then what one would have is a defacto feudalistic state. Even today, there are plenty of trust-fund children, who make $80-$100K doing absolutely nothing(they inherited stocks and bonds from their parents), while others struggle to repay their student loans with their middle management jobs. On the other hand, you could make an argument that by creating unions, minimum wage, and other red tape around employing unskilled labor, that said corporations had more incentive to ship jobs overseas, and to employ illegal workers to fill in jobs domestically. Regardless of the decisions made by the Roosevelts, the country has managed to prosper for another century.

Ok, I managed to beat the level using more micromanagement. Basically, I had the diamondbacks attack the front section of the train, then switch to shooting the back. Subtle changes in micromanaging the units make all the difference. Ehh, I didn't have siege tanks, or seige breakers. The only mercenaries I used were the marine ones. Even then, they were mostly used for blowing up dropships and medvacs. Up until Haven, I rarely used marines since I haven't come across too many air enemies. This is why there is such a thing as Expansion packs and DLC. Although I hope they don't go as overboard as other companies, forcing us to shell out 5 bucks for the latest DLC so that we are able to play with everyone on battle.net.

Thank you for all the advice, I stepped up the medic and SCV production, and I managed to blow up 5 trains without any significant losses. I rarely use any mercenaries except the marine ones to man my bunkers. My next problem is the speed boosted trains, which are thankfully unescorted. Oh, I am also playing on hard mode, but don't want to turn down the difficulty.

Good job on getting personal. Obama has a ways to go to meet any president's standards. He does not have the same challenges that a lot of the aforementioned presidents have. Both Obama and FDR had a poor economy to deal with, but America's economy is changed much in the past 60 years, having gone from agricultural, to industrial, to mostly service industries.

He was also credited with ending the great depression(although like all economics, the great depression may have ended for other reasons). I've heard a lot of political pundits compare the two men, and you seem to find more comparisons between them than I do. Both were leaders in the middle of a financial Crisis. I suppose my main point is, socialism and capitalism are economic systems, not forms of governments. No country is 100% capitalist or socialist. Secondly, I believe Marx stated that socialism needed a democracy to work, as socialism under a totalitarian government is a defacto feudal government. If the question was meant only for Ginny, you could've sent her a PM.

Hai Guyz, I am currently up to the train robbery level on Starcraft 2. It seems that by the time I get to the 6th train, I am heavily outgunned. I have tried building bunkers along the track, which has helped a little(I have automated turrets from Zerg research). Is there any other strategies I might utilize?

The topic has been going on for 9 pages, it's already been derailed. I myself can barely read, let alone respond to all the different topics in this thread alone. if Obama's father was from a predominantly white christian country such as England or Russia, would they be asking to see his birth certificate? The fact that he, or his father was Muslim is oftentimes come into question(He sworn in on the Quran, but attended a christian church in Chicago). As far the accusations of racism, no one in this day and age will blatantly say that they are racist. It does seem however, that a racist cartoon or something similar is published, which could or could not be interpereted as racism(see link below). http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/08/tea_party_comix_creator_speaks_theyre_not_racist_t.php I believe that FDR created the Civilian conservation Core, a government program that provided jobs during the great depression, and created many of the National Parks that we enjoy today. If Obama were to start a similar program, he'd be labeled a socialist, and accused of unnecessary government spending.

As I've said, there was a two month gap between when I got bored of Awakening, and when I started Leliana's song, a lot could have happened between that time(I managed to pick up some nasty malware, and installed a few other games since then). Still, it could not hurt to back up your saved games when installing patch 1.04.

I killed Vaughan in the city elf Origin, and managed to get all five council members to vote for me(albeit by using multiple reloads). If you don't kill any men while rescuing Anora, the Arl of Denarim will vote for you.

The City Elf Origin is IMHO not only the Best Origin in the game, but possibly some of the best content, and good enough to be DLC on it's own. It almost made the rest of the game disappointing for me. As for the bribe, did anyone even take the bribe on the first playthrough, or did they everyone wait for their second playthrough just to see what the difference was? As a player, I want to be either a hero or a badass, not some *kittie kittie* that accepts bribes. After reading this topic, I think I might replay the City Elf origin as a female.

Is the screenshot of a mage whose name I forgot, or is that a modded Wynne? Perhaps it's been so long, I forgot what Wynne looks like. Anyway, I like that I can start relationships early, instead of previous Bioware games where I had to wait until very late in the game in order to get the female lead to fall in love with me. I also like that I can be a bisexual serial monogamist.

Thanks for sharing this, it made me laugh. Does anyone else miss Deekin and his doom song?

If I were you, I'd try a clean install. It sounds like either something is horribly wrong, or you are playing a demo. If and when you do get the game working, I'd recommend the city elf storyline first.

I just downloaded 1.04 to play Leliana's song. It seems to have erased all my saved games, but kept all my trophies.

I used to work for H&R Block, and it seems to me that the tax system essentially encourages and discourages certain behaviors. For example, the child tax credit encourages you to have exactly two kids. There are also deductions for charities and retirement fund contributions. Using that same line of thinking, why not tax spending money instead of earning it(I.E. high sales tax, no income tax). Last I checked, it was spending money that lead to the current financial Crisis, not spending it. The Estate Tax only affects the richest one third of one percent of the American population(which coincidentally includes almost the entire U.S. Senate and House). Who cares if some trust fund baby only gets 1.75 million dollars his dad's inheritances instead of the full 2 million? Also, I find it contradictory how they talk about balancing the budget, then talk about Bush. Under Clinton's administration, there was a huge surplus, but during Bush's reign, he achieved a record in National Debt. Between their misspelled protest signs, calling everything they don't like socialism, Comparing Obama to Hitler, screaming at politicians without letting them talk, and stealing slogans from 4Chan, they seem to do a fine job of smearing themselves. How is the new legislation any worse than medicare? Americans already spend more on Medicare than National Defense. As far as Privatizing healthcare, one might point out that more research money is spent on cosmetic surgery and medications such as Enzyte and Viagara, go capitalism!! Are insurance companies really more trustworthy than the government? I have a lot more to say about healthcare, but I don't feel like it.. The original intent of NPR was to have a news station that wasn't influences by ratings, although I believe that the government phased out their funding between 2004 and 2008, and therefore one can argue that they'd say anything to get their left-wing listeners to send in donations. Just out of curiosity, has anyone seen Citizen Kane? There are many similarities between William Hurs[sp?] and Rupert Murdoch, both men owned influential media outlets, and used them for political purposes.

What about Dragon Age or Neverwinter Nights? I've seen older games remade using the NWN and Dragon Age toolsets. Maybe Jaysus or someone else could be talked into making a Baldur's Gate remake. I personally never liked Baldur's Gate that much, the combat system seemed to simplistic and clunky. I do however liked the thief girl and the ranger bent on revenge(forgot both of their names though).

Whenever the liberties of a Nation are stripped, it is because the people themselves beg for them to be stripped away; There are many examples of this happening throughout history, most notably with Julius Caesar and Napoleon. Obama wants to pass an act regulating the internet, and to extend the Patriot Act, Although to his credit, he shut down Gitmo. As for freedom of speech, the internet is really the last frontier of freedom. Older forms of media, such as radio, television, and even print are not only heavily regulated, but dominated by an Oligarchy. For example, There are only 4 different Broadcasting companies: ABC, CBS, FOX, and MSNBC.

Ahh hmm, would you like to guess who owns the Wall Street Journal, National Geographic, and a few other media outlets you mentioned? We just know how much Fox News loves Obama. I've acknowledged that the tea party is portrayed in a negative light by most major media sources, which is why I started this topic. Part of what inspired me to start this topic was the story with the Oregon chapter of the tea party stealing a slogan from the internet, which in all fairness they apologized for. I see more pro-tea party posters than anti-. Regardless, this is a forum mostly devoted to gaming. Gamers in general are left-wing, as video games themselves oftentimes themselves are criticized by politicians such as Jack Thompson. Actually I do, my own grandmother, but she joined the tea party mainly because of their views on immigration. At the very least, I was honest about my knowledge, or lack thereof. I could claim to have read thousands of books, be college educated, and many other things, but that is somewhat pointless in an internet forum debate. If my memory of American history class is accurate, the South was predominantly democratic until the Civil Rights movement. One could also point out that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican president. It might also be worth pointing out that Washington himself warned against factions in politics. Look at it this way, Uber, you pay property taxes(either directly to the city, or indirectly through your landlord) whether or not you have children in school. Under the new health care act, you pay into this government insurance plan regardless of whether you have private insurance or not. I get medicare deductions from my paycheck, regardless of the fact I haven't been to the doctor in nearly a decade. According to NPR, Obama has had to make a lot of concessions to insurance companies in order to get the health bill passed. I believe NPR also pointed out that the Federal government spends more on healthcare per person than any of these "socialist" governments. I personally do not like Medicare, and don't really know enough about the bill passed in March to know whether or not it'd be an improvement over our current system. ...there is a lo of other things I wish to comment on, but I just got Starcraft 2, and won't have the patience to write long posts for awhile.

I played The original Railroad Tycoon on my Grandfathers Macintosh. I briefly played Railroad Tycoon II a few years ago when I picked it up for $5, but I don't remember much about it, and I've been playing Sid Meier's Railroads on and off for the last couple years. I have also downloaded Railroad Tycoon Deluxe off of the 2K website, which in many ways I find more fun than later incarnations, which feels more like a PC game, because the pace is slower, and there is more depth to it.