Please allow me to offer the clearest clarification of all.
While I am "from Japan," I am also NOT from Japan. :-)
I was born and raised in central California. The percentage of melanin in my skin does not and should not matter, but for the sake of crystal clarity, I shall divulge that I am fair complexioned and even have some freckles. My hair was a bit more red in my youth and its a bit dust blonde or light brown these days.
My next door neighbor in my youth in California was a kid my age and we often played together. His father was so-called "white American" and his mother "Chinese America." We got along just fine. He and his dad made some of the best RC planes back in the day, and it was a joy to go out with them on their flights, except for the fact his Dad chain-smoked and I have an allergy to tobacco. Ack!
I graduated from the CSU system with an BSEE degree in 1994 -- the same year I received a job offer in Japan. I've lived continuously in Japan ever since. My wife is Japanese. I've lived longer in Japan than in the USA, but I still retain my US citizenship, which is something rather foolish to give up, despite the benefits giving it up may have.
There has long been a rivalry between Japan and China, but that isn't my rivalry because I wasn't born, raised or educated in Japan. Therefore, such influences of bias never had any impact on me. That remains true even though I know the history and atrocities committed by Japan. My assessment of China as per what I often write in this forum is based on my own observations, travels there, and watching videos authored by people who have lived there a number of years, both Chinese and non-Chinese. When I write about China, I tend to write more about the CCP or those in power, rather than individual people who are mostly innocent or even unwitting about what their government does.
I remember the first time I visited Shanghai. In my hotel room I turned on the TV and most of the ads were about cooking oil, and most of the shows were war movies about China and the USA, where of course China was the "good guy" and, well, guess what, the USA was "the bad guy." They also had similar shows about Japan. Naturally, you find similar slanted shows in the USA too. As I walked down the streets I noted that KFC was everywhere, which as you know, is a US fast food chicken establishment.
As I close this topic, I should mention one last thing I am quite passionate about because so few people understand the truth in it: There's no such thing as biological "race".
That shocks some people, but it's a fact. Studies of DNA have proven it. Take DNA from people born in Africa, China, the USA and you'll find no differences that warrant separating us into different races. The percentage of melanin in our skin or the width of one's nose, or the curliness of one's hair doesn't establish a different biological race. There's one race on this planet. It's called the human race. Even in the Bible (Christianity) there is no mention of the word race. It uses "kindred" instead.
Race is a word that divides us. Kindred is a word that unites us. And honestly, it is the failure for us to see past the false barriers we construct that causes division, be that Republicans versus Democrats in the USA, or rivalry between nations. We are all the same in that we are human. We simply have been divided into nations by language, and cultural differences are created from that, further driving different groups of people (nations) apart. But when we can get past cultural differences and language barriers and see only our humanity that puts us on equal footing, then we can have productive dialog, assuming we are reasonably educated and not on some kind of mind altering drug.
I appreciate all of you very much, even when we disagree. If we all agreed on everything, it would be a cult and quite scary. The fact we can disagree and still remain cordial is yet further proof of why I've been calling for more openness on AppleInsider's part to give us greater freedom in the comments. This site isn't going to come crashing down if comments are enabled under certain articles. And besides, there is a moderate here anyway. Freedom is risky but worth it. Comments bring life to articles. Let life and freedom reign.
Why "refreshing"? Because I enjoy reading the comments about as much, and sometimes more, than the articles under which the comments are found.
++
I do not completely object to moderation. I do not object to occasionally wielding the ban hammer. But for my taste, AI has sometimes gone too far in turning off comments entirely. I am getting to a point where if I see the comments are turned off for an article, I am just not going to click on the article.
I wish to humbly thank you for saying that. Very few people in this forum have provided any kind of solidarity with my writing on that topic. Some people thing I am calling for "no moderation" but I'm not. Moderation and banning comings altogether really are two different things. We do have a moderator here, folks, and I've never asked for that to be taken away.
It's rather depressing so many think it's a good thing comments are banned under certain articles, and nobody but me seems to notice the oddball way comments are banned either. There doesn't seem to be a consistent rule applied at all. Most politically sensitive articles have no comments allowed on AppleInsider, but not all. That is confusing. I think there is basically one guy, and maybe one other, at AppleInsider who comes up with this comment banning craziness on a whim. They think allowing comments under certain "hot button" articles will be picked up by the search engines and make AI look bad as a result, but I think that is poppycock. The good that comes from enabling comments far outweighs any bad that is picked up by Google. Because as I said before, comments bring life to articles and make readers feel more at ease. Indeed, as you just said, you are less inclined to even read an article when comments are banned.
One other important consideration is that because of all the comment banning here at AI, there are far fewer people who participate in the AI forums as compared with MacRumors or similar forums where liberty is more tightly embraced. So with fewer people posting here, any potential "bad" that the top brass at AI think might happen will actually be very little in proportion to the comparatively few people who post in the AI forums.
We need solidarity. I think if the majority of us called for more freedom to comment UNDER ALL ARTICLES here in AI, the top brass would have no choice but to give it a try. And no, anything bad that may have happened in the past should not be used as justification to keep the current haphazard comment banning rules in place. Give "freedom to comment" a chance. It's worth it.
And that doesn't mean I will suddenly start commenting under every single article either. I comment only when something in an article triggers a passionate feeling in me. I am not one of those forum dwellers who has tens of thousands of posts to his name. You know the kind. They post ALL THE TIME, under every article, and replying to nearly every comment so as to be "right." To me, that's nuts.
I come here to read articles, and to SOMETIMES share my thoughts with the rest of you. Yes, that sometimes includes disagreement and debate, and it should! That's the fun, folks. If coming here wasn't fun, we'd be going somewhere else. And if everyone left and no one visited this website, would AI continue to exist?
Please allow me to offer the clearest clarification of all.
While I am "from Japan," I am also NOT from Japan. :-)
I was born and raised in central California. The percentage of melanin in my skin does not and should not matter, but for the sake of crystal clarity, I shall divulge that I am fair complexioned and even have some freckles. My hair was a bit more red in my youth and its a bit dust blonde or light brown these days.
My next door neighbor in my youth in California was a kid my age and we often played together. His father was so-called "white American" and his mother "Chinese America." We got along just fine. He and his dad made some of the best RC planes back in the day, and it was a joy to go out with them on their flights, except for the fact his Dad chain-smoked and I have an allergy to tobacco. Ack!
I graduated from the CSU system with an BSEE degree in 1994 -- the same year I received a job offer in Japan. I've lived continuously in Japan ever since. My wife is Japanese. I've lived longer in Japan than in the USA, but I still retain my US citizenship, which is something rather foolish to give up, despite the benefits giving it up may have.
There has long been a rivalry between Japan and China, but that isn't my rivalry because I wasn't born, raised or educated in Japan. Therefore, such influences of bias never had any impact on me. That remains true even though I know the history and atrocities committed by Japan. My assessment of China as per what I often write in this forum is based on my own observations, travels there, and watching videos authored by people who have lived there a number of years, both Chinese and non-Chinese. When I write about China, I tend to write more about the CCP or those in power, rather than individual people who are mostly innocent or even unwitting about what their government does.
I remember the first time I visited Shanghai. In my hotel room I turned on the TV and most of the ads were about cooking oil, and most of the shows were war movies about China and the USA, where of course China was the "good guy" and, well, guess what, the USA was "the bad guy." They also had similar shows about Japan. Naturally, you find similar slanted shows in the USA too. As I walked down the streets I noted that KFC was everywhere, which as you know, is a US fast food chicken establishment.
As I close this topic, I should mention one last thing I am quite passionate about because so few people understand the truth in it: There's no such thing as biological "race".
That shocks some people, but it's a fact. Studies of DNA have proven it. Take DNA from people born in Africa, China, the USA and you'll find no differences that warrant separating us into different races. The percentage of melanin in our skin or the width of one's nose, or the curliness of one's hair doesn't establish a different biological race. There's one race on this planet. It's called the human race. Even in the Bible (Christianity) there is no mention of the word race. It uses "kindred" instead.
Race is a word that divides us. Kindred is a word that unites us. And honestly, it is the failure for us to see past the false barriers we construct that causes division, be that Republicans versus Democrats in the USA, or rivalry between nations. We are all the same in that we are human. We simply have been divided into nations by language, and cultural differences are created from that, further driving different groups of people (nations) apart. But when we can get past cultural differences and language barriers and see only our humanity that puts us on equal footing, then we can have productive dialog, assuming we are reasonably educated and not on some kind of mind altering drug.
I appreciate all of you very much, even when we disagree. If we all agreed on everything, it would be a cult and quite scary. The fact we can disagree and still remain cordial is yet further proof of why I've been calling for more openness on AppleInsider's part to give us greater freedom in the comments. This site isn't going to come crashing down if comments are enabled under certain articles. And besides, there is a moderate here anyway. Freedom is risky but worth it. Comments bring life to articles. Let life and freedom reign.
Thank you for sharing the details and also your perspective of the humankind. It is nice to read.
Omg! so the Chinese know I like big hooters and cars? oh the shame,
So the Chinese spy on TikTok users? much like Facebook/ twitter etc spy on everyone? US government is just upset they don't have access to that data, like they do the others
if I had to pick one entity that could spy on me, I'd much prefer china than the US i live in the US i will most probably never go to china so what's the problem of them knowing my location or accessing my contacts etc ?
If Congress is really that concerned with Chinese espionage, perhaps they should look into all of their members who regularly accept CCP money or those members who even sleep with CCP spies. I love how when Trump tried to get TikTok banned from US app stores that made him a tyrant… But I think more people now understand that at worst this service is a Chinese Communist Party spying apparatus and at the very least is contributing to the dumbing down of American youth. Have a look at what types of videos TikTok serves up its PRC consumers compared to what we get in the US. Although some good has come from it with what accounts like LibsofTikTok have exposed on the service!
Comments
Please allow me to offer the clearest clarification of all.
While I am "from Japan," I am also NOT from Japan. :-)
I was born and raised in central California. The percentage of melanin in my skin does not and should not matter, but for the sake of crystal clarity, I shall divulge that I am fair complexioned and even have some freckles. My hair was a bit more red in my youth and its a bit dust blonde or light brown these days.
My next door neighbor in my youth in California was a kid my age and we often played together. His father was so-called "white American" and his mother "Chinese America." We got along just fine. He and his dad made some of the best RC planes back in the day, and it was a joy to go out with them on their flights, except for the fact his Dad chain-smoked and I have an allergy to tobacco. Ack!
I graduated from the CSU system with an BSEE degree in 1994 -- the same year I received a job offer in Japan. I've lived continuously in Japan ever since. My wife is Japanese. I've lived longer in Japan than in the USA, but I still retain my US citizenship, which is something rather foolish to give up, despite the benefits giving it up may have.
There has long been a rivalry between Japan and China, but that isn't my rivalry because I wasn't born, raised or educated in Japan. Therefore, such influences of bias never had any impact on me. That remains true even though I know the history and atrocities committed by Japan. My assessment of China as per what I often write in this forum is based on my own observations, travels there, and watching videos authored by people who have lived there a number of years, both Chinese and non-Chinese. When I write about China, I tend to write more about the CCP or those in power, rather than individual people who are mostly innocent or even unwitting about what their government does.
I remember the first time I visited Shanghai. In my hotel room I turned on the TV and most of the ads were about cooking oil, and most of the shows were war movies about China and the USA, where of course China was the "good guy" and, well, guess what, the USA was "the bad guy." They also had similar shows about Japan. Naturally, you find similar slanted shows in the USA too. As I walked down the streets I noted that KFC was everywhere, which as you know, is a US fast food chicken establishment.
As I close this topic, I should mention one last thing I am quite passionate about because so few people understand the truth in it: There's no such thing as biological "race".
That shocks some people, but it's a fact. Studies of DNA have proven it. Take DNA from people born in Africa, China, the USA and you'll find no differences that warrant separating us into different races. The percentage of melanin in our skin or the width of one's nose, or the curliness of one's hair doesn't establish a different biological race. There's one race on this planet. It's called the human race. Even in the Bible (Christianity) there is no mention of the word race. It uses "kindred" instead.
Race is a word that divides us. Kindred is a word that unites us. And honestly, it is the failure for us to see past the false barriers we construct that causes division, be that Republicans versus Democrats in the USA, or rivalry between nations. We are all the same in that we are human. We simply have been divided into nations by language, and cultural differences are created from that, further driving different groups of people (nations) apart. But when we can get past cultural differences and language barriers and see only our humanity that puts us on equal footing, then we can have productive dialog, assuming we are reasonably educated and not on some kind of mind altering drug.
I appreciate all of you very much, even when we disagree. If we all agreed on everything, it would be a cult and quite scary. The fact we can disagree and still remain cordial is yet further proof of why I've been calling for more openness on AppleInsider's part to give us greater freedom in the comments. This site isn't going to come crashing down if comments are enabled under certain articles. And besides, there is a moderate here anyway. Freedom is risky but worth it. Comments bring life to articles. Let life and freedom reign.
It's rather depressing so many think it's a good thing comments are banned under certain articles, and nobody but me seems to notice the oddball way comments are banned either. There doesn't seem to be a consistent rule applied at all. Most politically sensitive articles have no comments allowed on AppleInsider, but not all. That is confusing. I think there is basically one guy, and maybe one other, at AppleInsider who comes up with this comment banning craziness on a whim. They think allowing comments under certain "hot button" articles will be picked up by the search engines and make AI look bad as a result, but I think that is poppycock. The good that comes from enabling comments far outweighs any bad that is picked up by Google. Because as I said before, comments bring life to articles and make readers feel more at ease. Indeed, as you just said, you are less inclined to even read an article when comments are banned.
One other important consideration is that because of all the comment banning here at AI, there are far fewer people who participate in the AI forums as compared with MacRumors or similar forums where liberty is more tightly embraced. So with fewer people posting here, any potential "bad" that the top brass at AI think might happen will actually be very little in proportion to the comparatively few people who post in the AI forums.
We need solidarity. I think if the majority of us called for more freedom to comment UNDER ALL ARTICLES here in AI, the top brass would have no choice but to give it a try. And no, anything bad that may have happened in the past should not be used as justification to keep the current haphazard comment banning rules in place. Give "freedom to comment" a chance. It's worth it.
And that doesn't mean I will suddenly start commenting under every single article either. I comment only when something in an article triggers a passionate feeling in me. I am not one of those forum dwellers who has tens of thousands of posts to his name. You know the kind. They post ALL THE TIME, under every article, and replying to nearly every comment so as to be "right." To me, that's nuts.
I come here to read articles, and to SOMETIMES share my thoughts with the rest of you. Yes, that sometimes includes disagreement and debate, and it should! That's the fun, folks. If coming here wasn't fun, we'd be going somewhere else. And if everyone left and no one visited this website, would AI continue to exist?
COMMENT FREEDOM. IS. WORTH IT.
so the Chinese know I like big hooters and cars?
oh the shame,
So the Chinese spy on TikTok users?
much like Facebook/ twitter etc spy on everyone?
US government is just upset they don't have access to that data, like they do the others
if I had to pick one entity that could spy on me, I'd much prefer china than the US
i live in the US
i will most probably never go to china
so what's the problem of them knowing my location or accessing my contacts etc ?