Tim Cook Comes Out

In an piece published Thursday, Apple CEO Tim Cook publicly confirmed his long suspected sexual orientation. This is a huge step forward for big corporations such as Apple but the news has come at a convenient time. At a women's tech conference last Thursday, Nadella (CEO of Microsoft) said that women not asking for a raise is "good karma" and that "the system will give you the right raises as you go along." It is not hard to see why so many people (both men and women) reacted in a harsh way towards Microsoft. As a CEO of one of the largest corporations in the US, a statement like that is completely inexcusable. Tim Cook coming out at a week after that statement is no coincidence if you ask me. As Microsoft is swarmed in a frenzy of negative press, Apple is painted in a bright light. Now seen as a more forward-thinking and progressive company, Apple has a huge advantage over Microsoft. I don't think negatively about Tim Cook coming out, however it seems a bit too convenient regarding the timing of his announcement. It would be ironic if Apple now goes back to the retro rainbow logo.

Jon Stewart destroys Bill O'Reilly

Jon Stewart, the host of the popular satirical news talk-show "The Daily Show", invited Bill O'Reilly (author and host of the "The O'Reilly Factor") onto his show for something like the fifth time on October 15th. They have had several long held debates and Stewart has appeared on O'Reilly's show several times as well. This time, things went a little differently.

Jon Stewart completely dismissed O'Reilly's new book: “Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General.” Stewart lifted the book, showed it to his audience and said, “The book is called Bill O’Reilly, ‘Killing Patton,’ it’s like what? the eighth? We’re just going to call this series ‘Killing Trees,’ they sell like crazy.” He then dropped the book onto his desk and told O’Reilly that he hadn't read it.

Jon proceeded to demand that O'Reilly acknowledge the existence of what he calls 'White Privilege.' Besides the fact that I do like "The Daily Show" and Jon Stewart, I happen to agree with him on his points. So-called White Privilege is a problem in this country and there is currently a lot of turmoil over the subject.

When Stewart insisted that white privilege is still a problem in modern American society, O’Reilly countered: “Maybe you haven’t figured out that there is no more slavery and there is no more Jim Crow. The most powerful man in the world is a black American and the most powerful woman in the world, Oprah Winfrey, is black.”

Jon Stewart then says, "Slavery and Jim Crow are dead, but the residual effects of that systemic subjugation exist today." African American are forced into ghettos and 'hoods' where they do not grow up with traditional American values. They receive far poorer education and have a much higher chance of incarceration later in life. Many won't get into secondary education, limiting the job market for themselves. Working minimum wage means they won't have the money to move out of the ghetto and the vicious cycle is repeated. Out of the many born in the hoods, the majority will be forced to stay. 'White Privilege' on the other hand is the opposite. Born into middle-class houses with quality education readily available means much higher chances of being 'successful' in life.

I am aware the whole segment is long, but I believe it is more than worth while:

The Daily Show
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