The press places everything out of porportion,...let's not forget they over do it, and exaggerate to the extreme......news??? Half of it is believeable and the other half isnt...

Originally Posted by Rob Henderson

The fact that I believe the world can become a better place if half the male population in it would suck up their pride and try to get along with one another.

Here in lies the problem. That will never happen. It's not just the male population. Do you have any idea how nasty women are? Often, they are worse.

Originally Posted by Rob Henderson

There's a difference between not having a clue and being optimistic.

Personally, I don't think you have a clue about what optimism is either. You're not optimistic, you're just a believer in fantasy. The sort of belief that makes people think that communism actually does anything close to what it claims to do.

Rob, you know reality because you watch the news? Are you sick? When I was in Indonesia during the riots I remember that the news coverage was inaccurate. I was in the middle of everything and I remember CNN playing looped videos of violence even after the situation had changed. There wasn't much coverage on the possible government involvement on the side of the rioters either which was pretty obvious.
And like my friend in Mexico is saying now, the whole thing about the Swine Flu is simply inaccurate and the Press are just scaring the crap out of people who don't know any better.
Rob, the world after 9/11 doesn't suck 10 times more. It sucks 10 times more for people who are stuck in the fighting but as for the rest of the world, it's pretty much the same deal. The news doesn't want you to believe that, but the world we live in now and the world before 9/11 isn't all that different. We just percieve it as such.
The news about random acts of kindness is the press just playing mind games with you. They hit you with shocking news and depressing images and then they hit you with a light hearted news at the end to make sure you're not too depressed to watch their show next time around.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Here in lies the problem. That will never happen. It's not just the male population. Do you have any idea how nasty women are? Often, they are worse.

Maybe, maybe not... Last time I knew, you aren't a psychic... We could be 5 years away from the day where the entire population of Earth gets along with one another. You don't know any more than I do.

Yes, I know how awful women are, I lived through high school.... But women aren't leading the big players in the world today. Men are.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Personally, I don't think you have a clue about what optimism is either. You're not optimistic, you're just a believer in fantasy. The sort of belief that makes people think that communism actually does anything close to what it claims to do.

That's what you think. I know communism doesn't work, because there are those who would take it's fundamental ideals and twist them to gain power..... Communism, in theory, is a good thing. In practice, it won't work because there are greedy people in the world.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Rob, you know reality because you watch the news? Are you sick? When I was in Indonesia during the riots I remember that the news coverage was inaccurate. I was in the middle of everything and I remember CNN playing looped videos of violence even after the situation had changed. There wasn't much coverage on the possible government involvement on the side of the rioters either which was pretty obvious.
And like my friend in Mexico is saying now, the whole thing about the Swine Flu is simply inaccurate and the Press are just scaring the crap out of people who don't know any better.

It's not only from watching the news that I get information about the happenings of the world... I read news paper websites from all over the world (if they're in English), I read different newspapers because I don't want my information coming from just one source, I try to gather as much information as I can before forming an opinion.
I KNEW the swine flu was curable. People who didn't know are those who JUST watch the news.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Rob, the world after 9/11 doesn't suck 10 times more. It sucks 10 times more for people who are stuck in the fighting but as for the rest of the world, it's pretty much the same deal. The news doesn't want you to believe that, but the world we live in now and the world before 9/11 isn't all that different. We just percieve it as such.

Yes, it does suck 10 times more. People are 10 times more paranoid, 10 times more anxious, 10 times more suspicious. No one is friendly anymore. It's starting to happen here in the South... We're losing our Southern hospitality because we can't afford it anymore... People take advantage of people, and we can't have it anymore. It is different, and you'd have to be BLIND to not realize it.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

The news about random acts of kindness is the press just playing mind games with you. They hit you with shocking news and depressing images and then they hit you with a light hearted news at the end to make sure you're not too depressed to watch their show next time around.

I don't hear about it on Fox, or CNN... I hear about it from independent websites. Hell, sometimes I see it happen right in front of me...


It's like I said before... You can call me stupid and naive all you want to, but it's not going to change my opinion, just like I'm not going to change yours... I have faith in humanity, and you don't... That's fine, and I'll invite you into my home just the same, regardless of whether or not you would show me the same trust. These days, we cannot afford to shut ourselves off against the world... Humanity as a whole is deeply interconnected, and we cannot ignore it. We must embrace the fact that we NEED each other to survive. Once we do, the world will be a much better place.




To say that 9/11 didn't change the world is probably the stupidest thing I've heard you say to date, 13... And it really disappoints me.

Yes, I know how awful women are, I lived through high school.... But women aren't leading the big players in the world today. Men are.


In my behalf, and as a woman.. I agree and thank you for your clarification....

I do believe that there is a bit of bad in everything and everyone...there's good men and there's nasty plain jerks...theres good women, and then again there's nasty, women....

sigh...........

You're very welcome... I mean, like I said, I know there are some real "female dogs" out there, but they aren't the ones in control of the world.

Originally Posted by Rob Henderson

You're very welcome... I mean, like I said, I know there are some real "female dogs" out there, but they aren't the ones in control of the world.

Exactly...smart women can have their cake and eat it too..but, brains need to be involved lol...

Originally Posted by Rob Henderson

Maybe, maybe not... Last time I knew, you aren't a psychic... We could be 5 years away from the day where the entire population of Earth gets along with one another. You don't know any more than I do.

I may not be a psychic, but I'm also not a moron.

Rob. 9/11 did have an effect in the world but that was 8 years ago. Sure it was big then, but now for most of the world that was just Tuesday. You think what's happening in North Korea and Iran has a lot to do with 9/11? Only in the sense that the US military is stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq.
It's unfortunate to say this but for most of the world, a lot of people barely remember 9/11. To them, it was that incident a few years ago that they saw on TV.
America has changed. This I know. People are scared about things that a lot of people have to deal with on a more regular basis, individuals are less rational and paranoid about anyone who isn't white. Yeah. But it's not like that everywhere.
The odds of communism actually *working* are far higher than the world holding hands in harmony singing kumbaya. Has the singing gotten into your head?

The "world since 9/11" thing is a clever little punch line used by the Press to make the audience feel like we live in a new, special era. We don't. It's simply a continuation of what has happened many times in the past. It's just that America hadn't known anything like this since Pearl Harbor. Thousands of folks dying... it's not too uncommon. Back in 1998, 4,000 Chinese people died in the sudden monsoon floods that hit Northeast Asia. 200 people died in South Korea (where I later had a small role in the cleanup) so I have a vague picture of what the Chinese may have had to go through. Did you even know about that? Or if you did, do you think about it often enough?
Or the violence in the Moluccus where another 4,000 died between 1999 and 2000. This one barely made the news actually.
Globally, the effects of 9/11 are down to the guys doing the actual fighting and people in America who the press do a bang up job of keeping afraid. Aren't Americans supposed to be the brave. Apparently far less brave than a lot of folks I've seen in many parts of the world.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

I may not be a psychic, but I'm also not a moron.

But I am?

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

Rob. 9/11 did have an effect in the world but that was 8 years ago. Sure it was big then, but now for most of the world that was just Tuesday. You think what's happening in North Korea and Iran has a lot to do with 9/11? Only in the sense that the US military is stretched thin in Afghanistan and Iraq.

So you're telling me that all the stuff happening in Iran would have happened anyway? I highly doubt it. No, Korea and Iran are taking advantage of the US's distraction to see how much they can play around without getting too harsh a reprimand.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

It's unfortunate to say this but for most of the world, a lot of people barely remember 9/11. To them, it was that incident a few years ago that they saw on TV.
America has changed. This I know. People are scared about things that a lot of people have to deal with on a more regular basis, individuals are less rational and paranoid about anyone who isn't white. Yeah. But it's not like that everywhere.

I have no doubt that a lot of the world doesn't remember 9/11... But the fact is that it still happened, and when it happened, it affected the entire world. It made the entire world more paranoid and scared.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

The odds of communism actually *working* are far higher than the world holding hands in harmony singing kumbaya. Has the singing gotten into your head?

I do believe that singing, the art of music will be the saving grace of the entire planet. "Frankly, ladies and gentlemen, I expect you not only to master music;
I expect you to save the planet. If there is a future wave of wellness on this planet, of harmony, of peace, of an end to war, of mutual understanding, of equality, of fairness, I don't expect it will come from a government, a military force or a corporation. I no longer even expect it to come from the religions of the world, which together seem to have brought us as much war as they have peace. If there is a future of peace for humankind, if there is to be an understanding of how these invisible, internal things should fit together, I expect it will come from the artists, because that's what we do." This was a speech given to the freshman class of the Boston Conservatory by Dr. Karl Paulnack, the director of music there.
You see, music is a universal language, the only language that everyone can understand. When a choir performs a touching piece, it doesn't matter what language they are singing in, a touching piece will reach everyone of every ethnic background, every religion, every educational background, etc. And musicians will be the ones leading the way to a universal harmony.

Originally Posted by the_13th_redneck

The "world since 9/11" thing is a clever little punch line used by the Press to make the audience feel like we live in a new, special era. We don't. It's simply a continuation of what has happened many times in the past. It's just that America hadn't known anything like this since Pearl Harbor. Thousands of folks dying... it's not too uncommon. Back in 1998, 4,000 Chinese people died in the sudden monsoon floods that hit Northeast Asia. 200 people died in South Korea (where I later had a small role in the cleanup) so I have a vague picture of what the Chinese may have had to go through. Did you even know about that? Or if you did, do you think about it often enough?
Or the violence in the Moluccus where another 4,000 died between 1999 and 2000. This one barely made the news actually.
Globally, the effects of 9/11 are down to the guys doing the actual fighting and people in America who the press do a bang up job of keeping afraid. Aren't Americans supposed to be the brave. Apparently far less brave than a lot of folks I've seen in many parts of the world.

A clever little punch line that has quite a lot of bearing globally... It's because of 9/11 that we're in the Middle East in the first place. It's because of 9/11 that America's economy has been going steadily downward. 9/11 changed EVERYTHING. Worldwide. Regardless of whether you think the effects are life changing or not, things still changed.

I realize death is not an uncommon theme throughout the world, but the difference with 9/11 was that it was an unprovoked attack by PEOPLE on other people. Tsunamis don't have consciences after all.

I think I'll let time sort you out.
And do try living in other countries from time to time if you can.

Women hold a LOT of power in most companies and organizations in the form of Program Assistants (aka secretaries). You won't believe the huge amount of power they wield. I'm not kidding.

It's one of my dreams to live in other countries, and hopefully I'll visit many more as a conductor.

I do realize that secretaries are a vital tool in the corporate world, but I dare say the POTUS has more than one secretary that he relies on to send all his e-mails to the right people. It's still men that hold the bulk of the power, and it's still the men that want to send their countries to war.... Probably why many females are Democrats.