BruceVC

And about this "statistics aren't rocket science", there is a reason why sensible sociologists, historians and political scientists are often wary about drawing immediate conclusions from statistics. Think about it — is the fact that more blacks are convicted a consequence of blacks actually committing more crimes, or is the statistic of crimes committed by blacks higher due to more blacks being convicted? edit: beaten to the punch This is an interesting point raised. I did bring this up earlier, Rudy Giuliani alluded to the fact that police officers arrest more black people in the USA because crime is more prevalent in there communities. So in other words the police go where the crime is But now I'm not so sure, Namutree's idea of the whole drug war also makes me question these statistics but I also read this link which basically debunks what Giuliani was saying http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/11/24/what-rudy-giuliani-gets-wrong-about-the-deaths-of-young-black-men/

The reason to involve race is the fact that when the police shoot and kill an unarmed man in the USA that person is disproportionately black. Like 21 times more than whites. Ok, I should just make a funny comment about person being disproportionately black and leave it at that. Instead I just ask: was those shootings unjustified? Because if they were not then the race doesn't matter and the police should answer for unjustified shooting. And if they were justified then sorry, but you are defending criminals. Also, according to statistics black people commit crimes 21 times more than whites, so the proportion of shooting white crimnals to black criminals is anything but disproportionate. Looking at isolated cases is very different from looking at patterns. Each case might look OK in isolation, but when taken in context there definitely is a problem. You're insistence that race shouldn't be an issue is ignoring the pattern. I can understand that you think there is no problem, i can't understand that you think there isn't even anything to discuss. Defending criminals is a totally OK thing to, they are people too. It's crime and criminal behaviour which is the problem. There is no pattern. If more black people commit crime then more black people get shot during police intervention. If it was other way around then we could say about pattern or intentional shooting of black people. Right now the police is simply doing their job. What do you propose, they shouldn't catch black criminals? - There is a shooting on Elm Street - Copy that, we are on our way - No, sorry false alarm. The criminal is black we passed the limit on black people, we need to catch 2 more white criminals before we catch another black. This is what you advocating for? Also, defending criminals from police is ok? Really? From the statistics I've seen it appears that there is more black on black violence in the USA that other groups, so this should also be a consideration around the question " are the Police only targeting black people " They aren't, they are going where the crime is and it can be more severe in some minority communities

Yeah, if you've got a chemical imbalance in your brain. ...Or if your grasp of the English language is really that limited. What you are describing is a crush. But that's not what we've been discussing for the past 28 pages of this thread. Sure, but can't a crush lead to deeper feelings? So its quite possible in a RPG perspective that you meet someone in the party who you immediately are attracted to and within a short amount of time you have a physical relationship and then the feelings develop to something deeper, like love? Hell that happens to me in RL so I can't see why that's not possible in a fantasy RPG? No it doesn happen in RL like that. That was not real love. It was just a deeper crush or affection. If you want to feel like getting a crush on vrtiual characters thats fine though I think. I personally dont however since I dont find crushes very exciting or meaningful at all. Okay but who said we need to achieve true love in your RPG journey, maybe deep feelings and a crush is fine? And considering the fact we are talking about a fantasy world with magic and dragons this is probably realistic ? So once again the whole implementation of Romance in your RPG journey makes sense because we aren't trying to necessarily achieve true love just a deep and satisfying emotional and physical bond

Why not? But i am not sure my computer can handle it... My computer is AMD Athlon x2 260 processor 3.20 Ghz, 4 GB gaming RAM, ATI radeon HD 5450, ASUS motherboard, Win 7 32 bit... Can't even run it right? Probably not

I agree that part of this is a symptomatic problem created by mistrust and perception from certain sectors within minority communities But I don't get the whole drug war aspect and why its so relevant ? You mentioned this before, can you explain what you mean when you say " end the drug war" ? The Drug War is a government campaign to eliminate recreational drug use in America through law enforcement. It has several problems. 1) It includes laws that give local law enforcement more funding if they achieve more drug abuse convictions. This means that cops WANT to arrest people. Because of this they scour black neighborhoods looking to arrest people for even the smallest offence. The reason that black neighborhoods are targeted is because they are more poor than other communities, and thus can't afford decent legal representation. This is why even though white and black people use drugs at the same rate; blacks are 4 times more likely to be arrested for drug possession. 2) The drug war allows law enforcement to confiscate any property that was used in a given drug offence. If you drive a nice car and are caught with pot in the vehicle; they can steal your car. This is something they like to do. Again, convicting black people is usually easier than other citizens; so once again law enforcement will give special attention to black people for convictions. This creates an incredibly hostile relationship between the police and the black community. If the campaign were dropped; law enforcement's incentives to harass the black community (thus sabotaging it) would diminish greatly. EDIT: This is not even close to describing how bad the Drug War is, but these are the elements that are especially bad for blacks. This is a very interesting post, I didn't know much about what you saying As someone who smokes weed myself I think it is preposterous that a person can get incarcerated or there property seized for having weed on them. That's why I am very supportive of the legalization of certain drugs, like Marijuana, as it will seem to reduce this type of tension between law enforcement and minority groups But I don't think you can legalize all drugs like Heroine and Crystal Meth

What is there to play if there is no stats? Even Skyrim have stats, although it being simplified, at least the perks are okay...and at least i can hide and shoot Frost Trolls at lower level... I watched the videos, both from fans and the ones who pissed off with the game. i want to know before i decide. I was actually buying a game based on it's cover, and game company logo, turn out to be bad and not of my taste before. Since then i will watch game plays and reviews, both pro and contra before actually buying a game. oh, i don't play BG and Neverwinter Nights...the first Bioware game i play is KotOR If Volo buys you a copy of DA:I to convince you its a good game would you play it then ?

Yeah, if you've got a chemical imbalance in your brain. ...Or if your grasp of the English language is really that limited. What you are describing is a crush. But that's not what we've been discussing for the past 28 pages of this thread. Sure, but can't a crush lead to deeper feelings? So its quite possible in a RPG perspective that you meet someone in the party who you immediately are attracted to and within a short amount of time you have a physical relationship and then the feelings develop to something deeper, like love? Hell that happens to me in RL so I can't see why that's not possible in a fantasy RPG?

I agree that part of this is a symptomatic problem created by mistrust and perception from certain sectors within minority communities But I don't get the whole drug war aspect and why its so relevant ? You mentioned this before, can you explain what you mean when you say " end the drug war" ?

I am also of the overall opinion that Officer Wilson acted within his rights, apparently there is a law in Missouri where a Police officer can use deadly force if his life is threatened and that doesn't mean the person has to be armed. So for me its obvious he acted within his rights as he was definitely attacked by Brown This seems to have become a racial issue where the general accusation is that the police in the USA are fundamentally racist and they selectively target African Americans but I was watching an interview by Rudy Giuliani who said that 80 % of homicides in NY are committed by African Americans and they are mostly black on black murders. So his argument is not that the Police are targeting African American communities but that is where the most crime is committed so that is where the Police are most active and make the most arrests?

http://news.yahoo.com/grand-jury-ferguson-officer-darren-wilson-michael-brown-shooting-death-225723458.html;_ylt=AwrBT0eBg3VUJDMAxVRXNyoA So most of us should be aware of this development. In summary a grand jury found that Officer Wilson would not face criminal charges for the shooting of Michael Brown and there have now been riots throughout several cities in the USA as people claim this was the wrong decision and this highlights how there is unfair treatment when it comes to African Americans in the US legal system I have been following several discussions around this and I'm not convinced that the grand jury came to the wrong decision. A few points from my perspective The various witnesses that said Officer Wilson acted unlawfully were inconsistent with there testimonies around the sequence of events that lead to the shooting There were 2 shots that were fired within the police car so this supports Officer Wilsons version that Brown reached for his gun There was visible physical harm to Officer Wilsons face so that supports his story he was attacked by Brown Anyway what do you guys think about this whole furore. Apparently the prosecutor didn't do a very good job at challenging Officer Wilson during the grand jury deliberations...but I'm not sure this is justified as was there irrefutable evidence that Officer Wilson did act unlawfully? Also why do people who riot feel that damaging properties is justified? We see this in South Africa during service delivery protests in impoverished communities where protestors burn schools and public buildings to the grounds. Apparently this is the only way to get governments to listen, I question this logic because all it does it negatively impact the communities even more Anyway any opinions on this matter will be interesting and appreciated

No I really enjoy Bioware games, that's why I play them There's nothing preposterous about that. Again, you're describing standard video game NPC structure. The problem with plugging romances into that template is that the reaction itself never seems to feel right or organic. More to the point: It is not unusual to do a good deed for someone (or a few good deeds) and then they react by becoming your friend. But it DOES feel odd to do that same good deed(s) and suddenly they react by falling in love with you. You are operating under the false notion that "love" or "romance" is no different from any other kind of interpersonal bonding. But the fact of the matter is that it's TONS different. Especially in a video game. If a romance in a video game is to feel anything other than 'tacked on', it must advance past the superficial flirting and friendship level. There has to be much, much more.... More time to develop, more situations, more discussion, more emotion, more focus on the '1 + 1 = Us' theme, etc. And not even Bioware has the budget for all that. Nor can an RPG do all this and remain an RPG. Otherwise, it's best that they save money and time and just implement decent casual sex that is based on implied physical attraction, like the Witcher games do, because at least those can succeed based on both human nature and logic. Not to mention eye-candy appeal <ahem>. Funny enough Stun I was reading an interesting article that discusses how attraction and love are just pheromones. So in other words you can literally " just fall in love with someone on day 1 " with the right pheromone combination So just because Romance\Love happens "quickly" in a RPG it doesn't necessarily mean its unrealistic

http://www.msn.com/en-my/money/other/russia-losing-dollar140-billion-a-year-as-sanctions-and-falling-oil-prices-hit-moscow/ar-BBfAPPv So Russia is set to lose $140 Billion a year, this is due to the falling oil price and Western sanctions and there is a real risk of a recession I feel sorry for the Russian people but Putin's aggression and interference in Ukraine has brought this on himself. Hopefully he will stop with his ambitions of this grand Russian hegemony in Eastern Europe?

Why do you hate being around people who drink alcohol ? Bad experiences I assume You should hang around with me when I drink, we will have loads of fun

http://www.pcgamer.com/sex-and-bioware/ Here is a good read around Romance in Bioware games, it also discusses the importance of same sex relationships and why Bioware should continue to provide them. The article makes loads of sense

http://www.pcgamer.com/sex-and-bioware/ Here is a good read about the relevance and importance of Romance in Bioware games I'll post this in the Romance thread as well

I support the idea of you investing in a whiskey business, its Tennessee after all. I imagine you guys were drinking whiskey when you came out the womb?

http://www.pcgamer.com/far-cry-4-review/ Nice review of Far Cry 4, I loved the last one so I'll be getting this one definitely

That was a raccoon. Oh you right, it is a racoon. Still very cute

That bird is very cheeky, good video

Oh no I'll be Romancing from my first play through for sure. If I don't follow the provided Romance arcs I would feel something is missing from my RPG experience in DA:I Also there are many games that don't have Romance so I want to take full advantage of DA:I

That fat cat rolling down the corridor must be one of the cutest things I've ever seen

This is the type of feedback I appreciate, its made by someone who has actually played the game and is done in way that is reasonable and objective By the way Indira have you experienced any Romance arcs? I know this is relatively unchartered RPG territory for you so I'm keen to see what you think? There is nothing objective about this. People that enjoy things are always going to be praising over the top and people that hate things are always going to be bashing over the top. At best you can believe people that you know enjoy same kind of things as you do. I disagree because there is also criticism about what is not ideal, so its not all "praising over the top" You can also be objective and say something is very good.

So are you suggesting that its not possible to be competitive or play in MP game without saying you will rape someone? Because the issue isn't about competitiveness or the concept of what defines a MP game but rather the usage of certain words.

Sure, I also can believe that he didn't mean he was going to actually rape the women. It was more about absolutely defeating her in the game But we need to draw an unequivocal line when it comes to acceptable comments. And even if this seem harsh this is more about the principle

Okay I see what you were saying, the funny thing is most people won't eat something like Chitterlings because of the smell or the thought of eating intestines But its more of a mental block. For the last 10 years or so I have always tried to eat more unusual food if it is available, like tripe or sweetbread And I have never been disappointed. Also if you see what the various celebrity chefs recommend they also say this type of food is generally under appreciated but very delicious So if the likes of Anthony Bourdain say its good then I believe it