Hi Kari!

I think you were missing the point about some Reiki practioners being veggies, others not.  No matter :D

You also have missed the point about being poor in the US and being poor in other countries, such as you mentioned.  Where I lived previously, my church worked to help those who were here due to their poverty and had to leave their homes due to ongoing strife and war in mogadishu. To come to the cold New England winters from S. Africa was more than just a climate change!  In college, one of my best friends was able to receive political assylum for himself and his mother-but only after his uncle (her brother) had been murdered.  It is circumstances such as these that make me fiercely glad I was born here and nowhere else.  So don't assume that I have not seen (nor helped) the truly impoverished.  You must not have read the part of comparison our "poor" to those in Russia, etc.  Or at least not understood my meaning?

I find it ironic at best that while you are "wary of people quoting me other peoples teachings" you have quoted "peer reviewed articles" etc.  My mother in law taught me "believe only 1/2 of what you see, and none of what you read".  It goes both ways, I suppose!

It is ironic too, that you don't see the attacks-as I  mentioned, everything from the my signature to my name to my gender LOL. Frankly, they don't matter-they are not an exchange of ideas or ideals-which is why I even engaged Jeff in convo here.  

I have to wonder-have you ever actually been to the states? If so, which states did you visit and was it a "tourist" visit, or for school, etc?  I've been politically aware since 9 years old-the year that the US Ambassy was attacked in Iran and hostages taken, etc.  I've volunteered for the ACLU and more recently various political campaigns-so I am curious if your opinions, etc have come from real life, or just the written word.

Look forward to hearing from you!

 C

 

 

What is sincere one moment may be suspect the next. [Fyodor Dastayevsky]

This means also that unfortunately sometimes a lie can be percieved as the truth, when looking back later at those words, or that action, or some event !

That's basically my 2 Cents on the subject of the 9/11 attacks.....& co-incidentally also with regards to the accusations of "personal attacks" against a certain attention-seeking humor-forsaken individual under this thread.

ps- i dont even dare replying to *ahemmm* because i just dont want to be the target of any hysteria by this person.....so im just replying to 1 of my own earlier posts! LOL

Dear Cherto,

Are you implying that there is a lack of humor in these or some of these posts?   I don't understand. Hah. 

The whole 9/11 thing is a big excuse to do more dominance. I saw a chap from the Palestinian Authority on an interview show and the were asking him, "Just what would it take to get your people to stop these suicide bombings?" He replied, "Oh, about six F-16 bombers". What I understood is that it is David and Goliath. Now, I don't think people should be killing people from 43,000 feet, nor do I think suicide bombing is a great plan. In fact, I think the Palestinians would do well to take a page out of Ghandi's book, but hey, I'm not running this show. I do believe there is some truth to the saying, "What goes around comes around". So we shall see.

So what did the fish say when he ran into the wall?

 

 

"DAM!"
 

Oh Coco try giving it a rest. Before you quote:

Don Manuel Ruiz: .....#2. Don't Take Anything Personally
Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

Then you proceed to say, "So you see, the two who have responded so negatively to my posts have done so out of their own self loathing-and because they had nothing constructive to say in response to my post." 

Now you're complaning above that "It is ironic too, that you don't see the attacks-as I  mentioned, everything from the my signature to my name to my gender LOL. Frankly, they don't matter-they are not an exchange of ideas or ideals-which is why I even engaged Jeff in convo here"

So which is it? "Don't take things personally" (really nobody gives a ding dong what your handle or gender is) or are you acting from your "own self loathing-and because they had nothing constructive to say"? Since you don't care (Frankly, they don't matter), why do you think it's an attack? Let's try to stay consistent here. Who's projecting? Who's attacking. Such a conundrum 

 

 

Bela-instead of sticking to the topic you have consistently made it a personal attack.  Again, I was not addressing you-See the "Hi Kari!" That was your first clue.  I was relaying to Kari what my experience has been since first responding to Jeff's post, and engaging her in conversation about her real-life experiences here in the states. 

No, I don't take anything you say personal, because you do not matter.  You however, must care very much-or you would not pick and choose parts of posts to cut and paste-again, a post that was not directed at you.  That's attention seeking.  If you did not care, you would not feel the need to do so.  You are compelled to seek negative attention, be it from me, Jeff or the other.  And you will be compelled to seek another post to respond to this one, just so you can keep it going :D

Such a conundrum indeed!

 

 

Hey Cocconibs,

     I recommend ignoring Bela's posts because as you have noticed they are calculated attempts to antagonize you rather than to engage you in a sincere debate. 

     Kari, would you agree that there is a difference between "chronic poverty" and poverty as defined by the USA?  As I've pointed out before, poverty as defined by the US federal government is significantly different than in other countries.  A little while back you posted a link by the "Center for American Progress"  which stated that 37 million people in the US live in "poverty".  As I explained, this is a Hillary Clinton front group that deliberately omits material facts which would otherwise discredit the premise of this report.  I'm wondering if you had a chance to read that article I posted a few days ago about poverty which breaks down that 37 million figure?  Please read the following bullets and let me know what you think:

• Forty-three percent of all poor households actu­ally own their own homes. The average home owned by persons classified as poor by the Census Bureau is a three-bedroom house with one-and-a-half baths, a garage, and a porch or patio.
  
• Eighty percent of poor households have air conditioning. By contrast, in 1970, only 36 percent of the entire U.S. population enjoyed air conditioning.
  
• Only 6 percent of poor households are over­crowded. More than two-thirds have more than two rooms per person.
  
• The average poor American has more living space than the average individual living in Paris, London, Vienna, Athens, and other cities throughout Europe. (These comparisons are to the average citizens in foreign countries, not to those classified as poor.)
  
• Nearly three-quarters of poor households own a car; 31 percent own two or more cars.
  
• Ninety-seven percent of poor households have a color television; over half own two or more color televisions.
  
• Seventy-eight percent have a VCR or DVD player; 62 percent have cable or satellite TV reception.
  
• Eighty-nine percent own microwave ovens, more than half have a stereo, and more than a third have an automatic dishwasher.

 Kari, I'm not saying that there are no poor people here... that is of course ridiculous.  I'm just trying to give you some perspective since you are not from the US and have been exposed to some of our far left groups whose agenda is to empower the government and advance socialism. There are about 3.5 million people who are classified as homeless in this country due in large part to mental illness and drug abuse.  700,000 of those are chronically homeless, while the remaining 2.8 million are homeless less than 3 weeks out of the year.  These 3.5 million people are who we should be focused on.  While its true that the remaining 33.5 million people may suffer financial hardships in life, they are certainly not destitute and by many standards are considered "well off".  One fact I have not even mentioned is that all the social programs available to poor families which cost tax payers hundreds of billions of dollars each year are not even factored in as income when applying the poverty threshold to individuals.  I'm just trying to show you that your view of poverty in our country is overblown.

I look forward to your comments,

Jeff

Wow Coco. If you want a private conversation with Kari you shouldn't be posting on a forum. And I see your powers of projection are still in good working order. LOL -- like you like to write. You are not compelled to respond to me you know. But I guess you want the attention so I'm giving it to you, no matter how ineffective it be. I know I don't matter. I'm just a nothing. Unlike you important Reiki people who list your credentials. Listen to Jeff, he's in your ballpark, so to speak. 007 and all that. Love and peace. World peace. Etc.

1 conclusion that i have drawn over time from many online discussions, especially with Americans, is that the USA is basically a Republican nation....Just as Denmark is a Social-democrat nation

What i mean with this is that the Republican policies & philosophies are so deeply-rooted into the very fibres & fabrics of the American society, that whenever there is the slightest indications that the Democrats were beginning to gain momentum with the possibly of taking over the country in the next election, the whole freaking country would start climbing up the walls, & the majority of the ppl -- or atleast what seems like it -- would go down kicking, screaming, scratching, & punching at the Democrats or their sympathizers, with whatever means possible....none of which -- mind u -- is fair, or balanced, or logical......just pure & simple personal attacks, because of deep feelings of frustration & anger......& paranoia!

This was ironically also the case here in DK when in 2002 a new Right-wing Conservative gov't took over the country(after 8 yrs of political dominance by the SocialDemocrats) and from the very 1st day, all those new political leaders in office, were lynched by the worst kinds of unfair & insensible attacks by the frustrated left-wing bunch...& i was actually 1 of them!

And the only reason why the ppl reacted that way, was/is because the SocialDemocrats have been the very 'architects' of the Danish society eversince the start of the 1900s, and they would NEVER allow any Conservative/RightWing gov'ts to touch their sacred wellfare system, which they are very proud of.

It's maybe also worth pointing out here that the ONLY decisive factor(issue) that helped the Right-wing Conservatives win the election in 2002, was the questions of global terrorism, wherein the SocialDemocrats seemed very un-prepared with any kinds of constructive proposals on how to deal with this specific issue. So in a sense, it is NOT so hard to understand why the ppl felt so angered in the beginning of this new term with the newly ellected gov't, because they somehow felt that the Right Wings had pulled something resembling a Heinrich Maneuver on the voters!

But back to the discussion of meaningless aggression by the dominant political forces within the country.....i believe the same tendency is very clearly visible in this discussion as well.....wouldn't u agree Bela? Good luck to u by the way!

This article caught my eyes earlier today....is it just a case where GwB is trying to please his closer circles, with some confrontational rhetorics about Iran.....or is it the same ol' familiar tune that was played over & over before the invasion of Iraq??!

My heart wants to say "plz let it be the former".......but my mind tells me "U are such a fool if u buy into that old BS.....this man is obviously BORED"!!

 

Bush warns of nuclear-armed Iran

By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 3, 7:20 PM ET  

LANCASTER, Pa. - President Bush warned Wednesday of a nuclear-armed Iran but did not rule out that the United States would negotiate with its provocative leader if he gives up his suspected nuclear weapons ambitions.

"If we left before the job was done, there would be chaos," Bush said about withdrawing U.S. troops prematurely from Iraq. "Chaos would embolden not only the extremists and radicals that would like to do us harm, but it would also embolden Iran. What you don't want is to have a nuclear arms race taking place in the Middle East."

He denounced Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his remarks about destroying Israel.

"In Iran, we're dealing with a country where the leader has said that he wants to destroy Israel," Bush said. "My belief is that the United States will defend our ally Israel. This is a leader who has made very provocative statements. And, we have made it clear, however, that in spite of that, we are willing to sit down with him, so long as he suspends his program."

"In other words, it's his choice, it's not mine anymore. So I believe that's the best way to achieve an objective," the president added.

"If your question is, will you ever sit down with them? We've proven we would with North Korea. And the answer is yeah, just so long as we can achieve something, so long as we are able to get our objective."

Bush traveled to Pennsylvania Dutch country after vetoing a bill that would have expanded health insurance coverage for children. He spoke before members of the Lancaster Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a Republican-friendly enclave of the state.

Bush, who has threatened to veto 9 of 12 annual appropriations bills, wants the GOP to be seen as the party of fiscal disciplinarians. Democrats, however, say the billions spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dwarf the far smaller increases they want in domestic programs.

Bush said the five-year budget proposed by the Democratic leadership of Congress would increase spending by $205 billion over five years.

"All these programs sound wonderful," he said. "Except how are you going to pay for it? ... And the answer is raising taxes."

The president's motorcade winded through cornfields and tidy neighborhoods on its way to a warehouse, owned by The Jay Group, a marketing firm. About 70 pro- and anti-Bush demonstrators stood outside.

Nick Meley, a 52-year-old contractor from Columbia, held a sign calling Bush the "worst president ever."

"Do I need to say Iraq? Every part of that, from the beginning to where we are now, has been mistake after mistake after mistake," he said.

A Bush supporter, Louis Gable, an 82-year-old World War II vet from Lancaster, said there are no simple answers to the war. "Everyone tries to second-guess," he said. "What would you or I do if we were there?"

Cherto,

Yes, I would have to agree with you about the aggression in the right-wing end of the spectrum (of course I know in Denmark our "left-wing" is your "right-wing") of our political base. Calling Kerry, a decorated Viet Nam vet, a coward and liar, implying that John McCain had a "black baby" (can you believe that?) is nothing if not aggressive. And the right wingnuts here telling me that I don't count and I'm an attention seeking pathetic whatever probably counts as aggressive. Not unexpected. Luckily for me I am unoffendable! Unluckily for the U S of A (who has the highest percentage of their population in prison in the world) this aggression is not winning many friends. Perhaps they would benefit from reading How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. Because, sooner or later they will learn that "what goes around comes around".

So yes, I do agree. Thanks, I've been blessed by good luck and am d*mn appreciative! 

As usual S.ph.s you ignore the fact that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism who has been caught training, funding and provides advanced weapons to terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.  Iranian fighters have been captured both in Lebanon and in Iraq, and more importantly, Iranian weapons including their long range missiles were actually launched against Israel.  Iranian IED's have killed hundreds of soldiers in Iraq.  This is not speculation, this is fact.  So, you condemn Bush for calling a spade a spade, yet you appear to have no problem with Amedenajad calling publicly (over and over I might add) for the destruction of Israel and the United States.  If Denmark were located where Israel is now, I doubt very much you would remain silent while this radical terrorist regime continues down this path. 

Jeff

Yea, I actually read the transcript and listened to the audio from the Rush Limbaugh show.  He was talking specifically about Jesse MacBeth, a man who falsely claimed he was a soldier in Iraq and that he killed innocent people.  This phony soldier served time in Jail for this and other egregious stunts.  Limbaugh respects all the views expressed by soldiers even if they disagree with the war, but he will not tolerate people making phony claims.  

Media Matters is another powerful Clinton/Soros founded and supported front group which took Limbaugh's words out of context to twist the intended meaning.  After all the outrage over the "General Betray Us" ad, they decided to resort to this disingenuous technique and unfortunately Wesley Clark is one of many people bamboozled by this group.  Of course many Democrats latched on to this fabricated hit job because of their anti-war stance without actually listening to the full audio or reading the full transcript.  This is desperation at it's worst!  Nice try.

Jeff

p.s. By the way Bela, I forgot to mention that I really enjoyed your fish joke earlier... good one! 

Not for anything, but if u had read my earlier post about Ahmadinejad in Columbia Uni., u'd know exactly where i stand in that regard.

And might i remind u, that Iran did NOT have any nuclear programs prior to the Iraqi invasion by the US, so it shouldnt be that hard for u to connect the dots....should it?!

Exactly Bela.

The danish society is more or less founded on SocialDemocratic values(left to the center, although not quite a "left wingy" party) & principles....pretty much the way the US society is rooted in Republican values(very far to the center), and therefore the political oppositions of these respective countries are found in each their opposite end of spectrum.

Mind u, DK has never been as right-wing as it has been these last 6 yrs., which can be creditted to the Bush era....otherwise they would not have gained so much momentum as they have.

i understand that Ronald Reagan is a highly respected politician in the US......almost like the "father" of US policies.....which is quite tragic imho, because he introduced a new coldblooded cynicism to the American public which is VERY hard to get rid of right now! Infact the only reason why the Americans are so aggressively against anything that the left-wing says or does, can be creditted to Mr.Reagan's semi-fascistic legacies!

Yes, the man was somewhat noble, but in politics he was an imbecile, because he didnt possesse a single grain of compassion for human sufferings in his policies, & ironically that was because of a lack of intelligence than a lack of heart!