RED!

[ZFR]

[quote]Originally posted by Yorick:

Just take your apathy and go back to watching cable, eating fast food and surfing the internet along with the other 1% of the worlds wealthy that own a personal computer.

Yeah I should consider myself lucky I own a personal computer. I didn't have to work for it at all. Just luckily got included in the 1% who are wealthy enough. Hooray.

(that was sarcasm in case someone missed it).

And I don't have any apathy. You said people are pouring derision and in the very same post you call those who don't help as people with apathy, lazy bums who do nothing but eat fast food and watch cable. What is that supposed to mean? Not derision? I found your post hypocritic at best.

Originally posted by wellard: Prevention is better than cure of course Yorick however kicking an influential western based major religion up the arse and getting it to promote condoms instead of condeming them would be better but religion is a banned topic so.....

Except the very same religion is promoting not having extra-marital sex, which is a far better way of preventing AIDS than using condoms. But you're right... let's not discuss religion here.

[ 11-16-2006, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: ZFR ]

[robertthebard]

1% of the world that's rich enough to own a computer? What is that? Out of which orifice did you pull that statistic? Based on that alone, I'm a multi-millionaire, since I have three PC's in my closet that I don't use. Last time I looked, anybody could rent to own a PC from Rent-a-Center, or, as I did, from Aaron's. (Note: If you want to rent to own a PC, go to Rent-a-Center first, Aaron's bites.) I'll tell you this, it doesn't require my being in the top 1% of income to do it, since I never have been, and never will be. As for saying that people shouldn't give to charities, I'd like to see a quote of that, if you please. I did mention checking a little closer to home. So before you get onto another one of your little tirades, verify your facts. As to my not caring what's happening in Africa, I never owned any slaves, Yorick, and I may be kinda old, but I was still a baby when that lady refused to sit at the back of the bus. Wait, she might have been black, but she wasn't in Africa. As Mellagar said, I'm not letting somebody use "White Guilt" to motivate, or denigrate me into donating to, or caring about what goes on in Africa. Especially not when I can, as I said, stroll down the street and witness poverty that makes me grateful for what I personally do have. Poverty in Africa is not worse than poverty in Kansas. Poverty sucks no matter where it is.
But hey, you are free to give your money to what ever cause you like, just don't kick shit in my face, to paraphrase you, when I don't like it. The last time I checked, you didn't need my approval, and, to be quite frank, I don't need yours.

[Yorick]

Originally posted by Mellagar: It is a preventable disease that can be defeated through protection and common sense.

Really?

http://www.rebirth.co.za/hiv_does_not_cause_aids3.htm

~There is extensive literature describing the impact of malnutrition on the function and the structure of the immune system in people in Africa (Al-Bayati, 1999). This information clearly demonstrates that AIDS in Africa is more likely to be caused by starvation than by HIV. The functions of the immune system, especially the cellular immunity, are impaired in malnutrition cases. The severity of the impairment is dependent on the degree of malnutrition in both human and animals.~

[Yorick]

Originally posted by robertthebard: 1% of the world that's rich enough to own a computer? What is that? Out of which orifice did you pull that statistic?

Two orifices actually: my eyes.

http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/personal/100peop.htm

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following.

There would be:

57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
70 would be non-Christian
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would
be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education and 1 would own a computer

----------------

ROBERT HEILBRONER'S EXCERCISE

From the standpoint of material wealth, Americans [This goes for Australians as well!] have difficulty realizing how rich we are. Going through a little mental exercise suggested by Robert Heilbroner can help us to count our blessings, however. Imagine doing the following, and you will see how daily life is for as many as a billion people in the world…

1. Take out all the furniture in your home except for one table and a couple of chairs. Use blanket and pads for beds.
2. Take away all of your clothing except for your oldest dress or suit, shirt or blouse. Leave only one pair of shoes.
3. Empty the pantry and the refrigerator except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes, some onions, and a dish of dried beans.
4. Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water, and remove all the electrical wiring in your house.
5. Take away the house itself and move the family into the tool shed.
6. Place your "house' in a shantytown.
7. Cancel all subscriptions to newspapers, magazines, and book clubs. This is no great loss because now none of you can read anyway.
8. Leave only one radio for the whole shantytown.
9. Move the nearest hospital or clinic ten miles away and put a midwife in charge instead of a doctor.
10. Throw away your bankbooks, stock certificates, pension plans, and insurance policies. Leave the family a cash hoard of ten dollars.
11. Give the head of the family a few acres to cultivate on which he can raise a few hundred dollars of cash crops, of which one third will go to the landlord and one tenth to the money lenders.
12. Lop off twenty-five or more years in life expectancy.

By comparison how rich we are! And with our wealth comes responsibility to use it wisely, not to be wasteful, and to help others. Think on these things. - Steve Williams.

[Yorick]

Here's an idea. There are 1 billion Indians in India, and as English is the national language, I'd guess a huge number speak it. America is outsourcing a lot of technological work to India, and India has a big reputation as a techno-nation.

And we all know Asians love computer games right?

So. Quick little excercise.

Seeing as they must own computers: HOW MANY ON THIS BOARD ARE FROM INDIA?

Or Tanzania? (another part of the British Commonwealth)
Kenya?
South Africa even?

Hey, with those numbers, Americans on the board should be a minority right?

C'mon all you Indians! Where are you!?

[Yorick]

Originally posted by robertthebard: Last time I looked, anybody could rent to own a PC from Rent-a-Center,

Only if you're living in the richest nation on earth.

Robert, you have your own bedroom right? Straight up, that makes you richer than most of South America, India, Africa and Asia. (and much of immigrant New York I might add)

What did you eat today? Has your house got electricity? Do you have medicine?
Wow you're rockin' Rob! You're richer than you think you are.

And yes, like Leonis I'm talking from experience. I've been down to my last $20 (no credit available) wondering how I'm going to pay rent, eat or travel the next week, and yet I've still felt like I'm rich because I live in the first world, have some sort of education, can read, have travelled, have owned a computer and had my own room.

I have had a Guatemalan sponsor family for 20 years or more. $100 once bought them a corrugated iron roof for the six member families one-room house.

Boy did I feel rich when I got the photos.

The oldest kid had no shoes and left school after a couple of years to feed the family when the father died.

Mate, we don't know what poverty even smells like.

[ZFR]

Originally posted by Yorick: Two orifices actually: my eyes. http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/personal/100peop.htm If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be: 57 Asians 21 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south 8 Africans 52 would be female 48 would be male 70 would be non-white 30 would be white 70 would be non-Christian 30 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States. 80 would live in substandard housing 70 would be unable to read 50 would suffer from malnutrition 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education and 1 would own a computer

ROFLMAO!! this is the best yet.

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/populate.htm

You mean to say all your facts which you post are from sources like these? From links arriving in FWD: emails?

Man, use your COMMON SENSE.

You say that only 1 would own a PC, but only few lines above you wrote: "6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth"
Isn't it logical to assume all 6 would own a PC?
You wrote: "21 Europeans". Even in this post-communist country all people I know own a PC. And it's even better in Western Europe. out of those 21 Euriopeans don't you think at least half (10) own a PC? And that's only Europe, not America.

Think a little next time. And if you think that you can increase the quality of your posts by increasing their quantity by multiposting, let me tell you: you are not.

[ 11-16-2006, 06:20 PM: Message edited by: ZFR ]

[robertthebard]

Great link, ZFR.

[Leonis]

That link displays that some of the statistics were probably correct when that thing was first written. Some were not properly researched and some are vague. It also displays that itself is now way out of date in the statistics it puts forward.

[Yorick]

Originally posted by ZFR: quote: Originally posted by Yorick: Two orifices actually: my eyes. http://www.kanji.org/kanji/jack/personal/100peop.htm If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be: 57 Asians 21 Europeans 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south 8 Africans 52 would be female 48 would be male 70 would be non-white 30 would be white 70 would be non-Christian 30 would be Christian 89 would be heterosexual 11 would be homosexual 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be from the United States. 80 would live in substandard housing 70 would be unable to read 50 would suffer from malnutrition 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education and 1 would own a computer

ROFLMAO!! this is the best yet.

http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/populate.htm

You mean to say all your facts which you post are from sources like these? From links arriving in FWD: emails?

Man, use your COMMON SENSE.

You say that only 1 would own a PC, but only few lines above you wrote: "6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth"
Isn't it logical to assume all 6 would own a PC?
You wrote: "21 Europeans". Even in this post-communist country all people I know own a PC. And it's even better in Western Europe. out of those 21 Euriopeans don't you think at least half (10) own a PC? And that's only Europe, not America.

Think a little next time. And if you think that you can increase the quality of your posts by increasing their quantity by multiposting, let me tell you: you are not. [/QUOTE]So at worst it's 2% according to your article that supposedly pours derision on a piece attempting to highlight how rish we in the western world are. The point still stands. If you're educated, you're rich. If you're literate, you're rich. If you have your own room you're rich. You're arguing over details when the point is unchanged. Try and get some perspective.

Oh and I'm very drunk. It's my borthday. I wanted to cuss you out for being so ungrateful, but who cares.

YOu guys make me sick. You have so much wealth and you can't see it. Derek comes here and posts a link promoting a cool way those of us who care can help people in the world who have less than us.

So you don;t give a shit?? Who cares. Stay out of the thread and leave your bittenrness in the toilet. Let poeple who can give read this and leanr how they can give if they want. There's no obigation. No guilt if people can't. If YOU CAN you give. That's all. Why infect a very nice thread withh all this bitterness attacking people with AIDS and people without money. Fact is if you can re3ad you're rich so shut up.

(signed a very drunk brithday Hugh....)