Johnny Long fundraiser

[h3%5kr3w]

@ shonen

where everyone is generous and the female population have choc chip nipples!

... Where is said land, and is it Swiss, German, American, or dark chocolate?.. I prefer milk chocolate myself (no really, race means nothing but food itself does)

Well, as for me myself and I, truthfully I don't have X amount of funds to send over there, so really, I am of no help. I say you want to help then fine, but dont make assumptions that everybody else wants to. Sure it would make me feel good if I had 1,000,000 dollars to send and I did. But at the same time, would I see anything out of it?

That answer my friend would be a big fat NOPE.

Here's the kicker.. Our economy is supposed to be going ka-plunk, and everyone is talking about Africa? That's why we need to look at ourselves first, and then look after Africa, because if you dont, then there will not be any helping Africa.

BTW, you want to help Africa so much, your going to FIRST kill all the drug smugglers, dope heads, crooked politicians and leaders... and yah, kill them, because there is no coaxing them to anything. THEN you may see something happen, but they are a country divided into multiple countries, not one big Africa with one big chief. Ever hear of the term "too many chiefs and too little indians?" There you go, and all those Chiefs will stab you in a heartbeat to get what they want and could give a shit less about us, our country, and our leadership.

[digip]

I think China is a good example for what Africa could become, in a hundred or so years.

If African countries in trouble could be world producers of goods without the stigma of human rights violations and cheap slave labor, then they might have a means to help their economy and pull their people up out of peverty, but China itself is not the best place to live. They don't exactly treat their people with the greatest respect and force them to work for pennies a day, live in factory owned housing, and even still charge them living wages if they decide to live outside the provided housing the factories provide for them. They may have a rich old culture, but today they also have horrible living conditions that rival some third world countries. The great wall is more than the physical monument. There is also the veil pulled over the rest of the country to keep out the rest of the world from knowing what really goes on over there. If you get a chance, watch the movies "WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price" and "Santa’s Workshop: Inside China’s Slave Labor Toy Factories".

[Neinsager]

BTW, you want to help Africa so much, your going to FIRST kill all the drug smugglers, dope heads, crooked politicians and leaders... and yah, kill them, because there is no coaxing them to anything.

If we will start doing that in the USA to set a good example.

I mean just like in some Africa countries they both always got leaders with a very big mouth, both got a lot of drug smugglers, dope heads, crooked police, politicians and leaders and to top it of a lot of Americans are living now in tents in place of homes, so the cap between some of the African countries en the USA is getting smaller and smaller.

So just lets face it the USA is on its way to become a new 3de world country, and when thats so we will bring just out of the goodness of our harts all kind of aid to this new 3de world country.

Gerard

[digip]

If we will start doing that in the USA to set a good example.

I mean just like in some Africa countries they both always got leaders with a very big mouth, both got a lot of drug smugglers, dope heads, crooked police, politicians and leaders and to top it of a lot of Americans are living now in tents in place of homes, so the cap between some of the African countries en the USA is getting smaller and smaller.

So just lets face it the USA is on its way to become a new 3de world country, and when thats so we will bring just out of the goodness of our harts all kind of aid to this new 3de world country.

Gerard

People living in tents in America was for two reasons. 1, Katrina orphaned a whole generations from their homes in the Louisiana area, and two, the weakening global enconomy because jobs during the Bush years were shipped over seas for cheap labor. And its goign to get worse, not just here, but on a global scale, because we don't have the money to import the products in the same way we used to, manufacturers around the world are slashing the work force to reduce inventory and stock piles, starting achain reaction whos results won't be seen for a few years. I predict it will take a few years before things start to recover, by which time you will see these tent and shanty towns not just in the US, but all over the world. You will also see an increase in drug abuse, crime, and even terror attacks, since the terrorists can fund their efforts by increase drug sales, they will profit mro ein the coming years and start stepping up their attacks, not just on US soil, but to all the countries that aided Bush during his presidential term.

Unless people make a drastic change in lifestyle and mentatlity, we are looking at an imediate downward spiral that will take a long time to fix. This whole "Tea PArty 2009" bullshit is one thing that doesn't help it either. The original Boston Tea Party was for "Taxation without Representation". We have preresentation here now, and people picked the wrong people for the job back in 2001. Congress let Bush walk all over them, and the American people as a whole didn't do anything to get involved with their local legislators to stop Bush. Now that the economy is in the shitter, they want to blame someone, and think that holding Obama responsible somehow justifys their anger. The GOP is using the peoples missdirected anger to their advantage so they can try to take back the political majority, instead of trying to work on a bi-partisan effort, they let people like Rush Limpdick do their speaking.

As far as Third World Country status, even if America were to faulter much worse than we are right now(which econmically, it probably will for a few years, just because of the snowball effect from the last 8 years) we will never be a third world country. The worse off we are, the worse off the rest of the world will be. We are one of the top super powers of the world, and with a military as large as and advanced as ours and the many schools and colleges we have to offer(to the world, not just our people), our economy may end up poor, but our people will remain educated enough for America to remain a top super power.

drug smugglers, dope heads, crooked police, politicians and leaders

Every country in every part of the world has the same problem. Not just the United States.

[Neinsager]

we will never be a third world country.

Sorry

With just saying (or even screaming it out loud) will not stop the down hill pad thats the USA is on now.

Sorry

So far i followed the global news only in the States the got people living in tents because of the global economy, and the mean reason 4 this is that the Americans give out more money than that they got coming in.

Gerard

[h3%5kr3w]

So far i followed the global news only in the States the got people living in tents because of the global economy, and the mean reason 4 this is that the Americans give out more money than that they got coming in.

Well, I hate to inform you but um... nobody is living in tents here unless they are bums. As far as the Katrina crowd, you know how much time they have had to get into a house?! And the economy here BOOOMED like crazy after Katrina. I live in pass christian, ms <-as shown and It's the same old shit. Aww fema is taking away my trailer awwww. Guess what? That's the same crowd that sat around wondering whos going to take their shit out of their yard, when they didnt even clean it up in the first place, they waited for the church help to come along and do it for them, and then they dont want to even take it to the dump!

This is alot of bullshit going on here. Folks dont listen to everything you hear on the news. Yes stocks are falling, Rush Limbaugh is a fat fucking paid idiot that rich retards such as himself follow, and there are LAZY Americans living in tents. Think about how much hype is in the news before you get all up to thinking you know facts here.

Media of all types, no political parties specific will spin the shit out of any story if they think it will make people watch. I have seen it 1000 times, and so have you. Hell @ the place where I work right now, an issue happened between employees and someone got stabbed. It was a personal thing between a person from jamaica and another from south america and the media is making it look like my whole place of work is a bunch of illegal mexicans... even though about 99% of the workforce where I am are Americans, and we didnt even hire the two people, they were hired by a contracted company that my company contracted.

To top it off it's just so crazy man.. I mean look, we learn hard core evidence all the time. You mod your wii a certain way, then it's obviously modded. You learn how to put in static routes in a fon, and redirect everything to your laptop and when packets from remote computers pass through it's obvious that you did that. News on the other hand is like the kid you knew in elementary school who said they had a teleporter... It's b.s.

And NO next poster, you did NOT have a teleporter! :P

[Neinsager]

Well, I hate to inform you but um... nobody is living in tents here unless they are bums.

Mmm just see here or here or here and the list goes on and on.

And no there are not all bums, (butt than again they are now) or Katrina crowds.

So sorry butt this is the truth, the USA is going down the hill if you like it or not its just the simple truth.

Gerard

[h3%5kr3w]

This is nothing new. I've been helping people in hobo camps for 25 years. These "tent cities" have little if anything to do with the current economy. They have NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with President Obama.

Linda, Austin, USA

It is unfortunate that Sacramento is now known for being a tent city. I live in Sacramento, and can tell you that we have had a serious homeless problem for YEARS, and now, because Oprah wanted to to look like a do-gooder, it is only going to get worst. "Build a tent city and people will come"

Johna, Sacramento, ca

So what does that mean? See, these are accounts of people who LIVE there and see it with their own eyes, not the Tv's. This is what I am talking about.

And that other link?! IT'S A LAWFIRM! wtf man?

[digip]

@h3%5kr3w - There are tent towns in LA(and other parts of the country) that have been there since before Katrina. I'm an American and I can tell you, they are not Bums, but people who ended up homeless because of loss of jobs and forclosures. It is true, even if you don't see it where you are in your part of the country.

There is a family near us that had their hosue tore down because they couldn't pay the taxes and insurance and defaulted on the mortgage. They owned the land though, and they now live in a winnebago parked right where their foundation for the house used to be. Sucks, but it is a reality.

[h3%5kr3w]

wow that does suck... How could they tear down their house though? That is horrible...

[digip]

wow that does suck... How could they tear down their house though? That is horrible...

Because they owned the land, not the house structure.

[DingleBerries]

Every country has people living in tents.

This whole thread is fail now.

If some one want to help others then fucking let him and get off his nuts.

If you dont agree keep your mouth shut, you opinion isnt likely to effect him in the most.

This thread ended when race was brought up.

The US has at least another 3 years before its all shit.

There is no perfect country.

If you cant act globally, act locally and help out people in your town.

If you can act globally, look at your brothers and sisters in your current country and try to help them first.

Oil make the world go 'round.

There will never be peace on earth.

[VaKo]

How so?. If all life was wiped out in say Africa, it would not matter to us besides fewer diamonds, oil, some fruits and a few other bits. We would soon find a new source or just go over there and get it ourself.

Africa is not really much of a player in the world market outside of some natural materials, which could be found elsewhere if needed.

The place just needs to be left alone for a long time, let them kill each other off until someone comes into power that has a clue.

Look at Robert Mugabe, he turned what was know as the bread basket of Africa, due to its land and farming, into a shit hole where people are dyeing of starvation. I really don't think farming as some people on here have said will help as they know how to do it well. Its bad leadership, which can only be resolved through wars that will at somepoint lead to one person or group of people that control an area where both food and materials can be in massive supplies, plus wiping out a seizable number of people allowing for less demand on resources. I think China is a good example for what Africa could become, in a hundred or so years.

If everyone in Africa dropped dead that would actually work out quite well for more developed countrys. China and the West would eventually just start a war over the raw materials, and whoever eventually won would be in control of a huge stockpile of useful stuff. But this is unlikely to happen if we're honest.

What is more likely to happen is a similar situation to the one we're seeing in Somalia today, but on a bigger scale. For years we've taken for granted that when dealing with African interests that they feel they need us more than we need them. As a result we've been able to impose condditions on deals with Africa weather it be the IMF or big buisness that favour us more than the Africans who accept these deals. For instance the IMF imposed loan conditions on Ghana that forced them to privatise there water supply, which resulted in poorer service and higher costs for Ghanains. It also means that the private companies which supply water in Ghana are owned and controlled by foriegn companies.

Where the danger lies is when Africa as a continent does eventually get its shit together and is more interested in its own stake than western intrests. Can the west afford to pay a fair price for the resources we need from Africa (because we do, and some of these will become very important like turning vast chunks of otherwise useless dessert into solar energy farms for Europe). And more importantly can we compete with Chinese and South American interests?

The world is interconnected, and we need to realize this. Something that happens in Timbuktu can have very real effects on your doorstop. As a result of this we need to be more careful in our dealings with the rest of the world, especially the places we consider to be 3rd world, because the entire world is catching up with us.

[Zimmer]

Can the west afford to pay a fair price for the resources we need from Africa (because we do, and some of these will become very important like turning vast chunks of otherwise useless dessert into solar energy farms for Europe).

Europe I want some of that energy. :)

besides fewer diamonds, oil,

Oil we will need. Unless we can get are act together and develop nuclear (<-- it is waiting to be used for its full potential)(if and only if it is affordable) solutions and solar (if and only if it is affordable). Oh ya wind, IMO it can drop dead!

Diamonds we don't need but we've been convinced that pressurized heated coal is worth something.

[Kyle 2.0]

I see this just like I view foreign adoptions. I think its stupid that Americans go adopt kids over in Asia when there are plenty of children that need adopting here. Like celebrities getting all that press for adopting African orphans. There are orphans in Hollywood right down the street who need families too.

I won't donate money to some cause in another country. There are homeless people here, orphans here, natural disasters here, so why donate elsewhere?

Americans donated millions a few years back when the Tsunami hit Indonesia and other countries to feed and house people on the other side of the planet, meanwhile there are homeless shelters in the US closing because they don't have enough funding.

[h3%5kr3w]

@kyle. I have known quite a few people who have adopted kids. The reason why they dont adopt american kids is because it's very very expensive and with a ton of red tape.

Ok, so I do know that we are all interconnected, but I think we think too much about the world as a whole and not enough in exact locations.

Why instead of SENDING all our jobs overseas, dont companies just branch OUT to overseas? A starbucks here, a walmart there (for lack of a better idea), a bank here, a mall there. If these companies with these billions of dollars (and yah they still have billions. the money has to end somewhere it doesnt just go poof), would just put stuff in places with a plan of not making money by 6 mo. or 3 mo. but a plan for making money in 2 to 3 years (starting out small and then branching out) then they could make it in places like africa. Instead of bringing say a department store full of high priced clothes, buy from the local community to sell in the store. It's called commerce. That's what it's all about, and the fact is, is that the largest companies now dominate the commerce, and only do what they see fit with it. And what's messed up is the people in these companies are the ones that donate millions but are too dumb to see that if they did something else, a different infrastructure if you will and a plan for different extra-structure, then maybe we would see some development in other places.

[Swathe]

I will never give money away when I can use it to help my own family. And as for helping only white people, I grew up dirt poor, and lived in housing commission area where we were the only white family for 3 blocks. Dont tell me how poor off they are and how they just want to fit in. The millions of dollars that get thrown away cold be better spent on public health or education.

[VaKo]

Ask yourself what was different in your upbringing and why that allowed you to do better than your peers? Then ask yourself what is the best way to impart that to others.

[Swathe]

What was different about my upbringing?

Very little. Poor, no father, bad neighbourhood etc.

Why I rose above?

Because I'm not going to let shit keep me down. It's called having a bit of get up and go. I could have wallowed and made excuses. Not my style.

[h3%5kr3w]

now swathe does have a point there. I was dirt poor as a child as well.. matter of fact, im still in the same category, BUT I am doing well for myself compared to tons of others. I see people all the time, that go off buying expensive clothes, go buy the nicest car they can find instead of the best running they can find, etc.etc.etc. but when bill time comes around.. oh shoot, I have no money, im poor. yah, it happens alot. I am not framing everyone that is poor and without money in the window, but swathe even if he didnt mean it in this exact way hit the nail on the head. He has some getup and go. The whole thing about like the tent cities, if they could come up with enough money to hop on a bus, they can leave and go somewhere else, but there are too many people in the mindset that it's the same everywhere, but it's not. My place of work is always looking for help. There are many establishments where I am at that are looking for help. Even within where I am in people are in that mindset. "oh well I could transfer to x department, but it's always the same shit. nothing different" maybe so on a WORK level, but the paycheck is different.

I grew up without my dad around most of the time. Me and my mom lived in a white ghetto (i.e. a bunch of broke broke brokeassed white people) in a trailer from like the 60's with holes in the floors. My mom worked for minimum wage @ a grocery store, and my dad only paid $100 a month for child support, and thats only when he did pay.. I wanted to learn about computers at an early age, and just so happened to get a hold of one when I was 15. It was a computer that may have been worth... i dunno. maybe $50 back then, and I learned all I could on it. Now I am not super OSX/WINDOWS/LINUX Guru, but I got skillz and I also pay the bills, have no kids, my wife is in college as well. Matter of fact, I am the one that pays most of the bills now. She can only work the weekends, and she works @ a gas station, and we make it fine. Yes we even have medical insurance.

The main thing is people dont want to get any richer half the time. They want to wallow and bitch. I evolved. w00t!!

[VaKo]

So you need to work on changing culture and attitudes away from materialist instant gains towards a culture that has the patience to work to achive things over time. So how do you do this?

Its all very well going "I got mine, fuck everyone else", but if you want to live in a better world without poverty and all the problems that brings you need to look for ways you can help other to do the same as you have done. I've been poor, no lights, no food, no hot water poor, but now I'm decidedly not poor thanks to hard work, the credit crunch and the value my parents placed on education when I was growing up. But I realize that not everyone has this, so in my view where parents fail the state should step in and help.

[TalioGladius]

I might be in for buying one of his t-shirts...

[Neinsager]

Well if we are telling poor upbringing story's i can say i know because i have from there.

With my 14 years old i all ready lived on my own with out any parents or other family.

Still went to school (had to pay the school submission myself) and had a all kinds off jobs before school time and all kind of jobs for after school time to support myself

So don't tell me any soppy story's about a poor upbringing, i lived a real poor live as a teen, have even eaten cat food from tins to get food in side me, i know i have really lived that life.

And now fully grown and all most 50 years old i still care for other persons missery regarding of its color or believes,

So my wife and i are still fostering foster children, and i am looking further then the length of our nose regarding to the aid I give to my fellowman.

So stop sopping in your own poor mans story and just get up and go and help your fellowman regarding if the persons color, believes and if he or she is family or not.

By putting rules on your help your not really helping any one but yours own ego.

Gerard