en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2657365 Comments by sherbert244 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/18/war-through-the-ages/#IDComment145268329 My first thought when watching this video was how cool it was. Especially when the big explosions happened, I found it to be intriguing and exciting. However after thinking further into what the explosions actually meant, I realized that these were actual wars and every single one of them occured on our planet. To think over 2011 years, that many wars have happened is ridiculous. Just thinking that all of our world has been against each other sinnce the beginning of time and there is still not total peace in the world. Although this video may seem cool to some people, (and don't get me wrong I thought it was cool at first too) this should be an eye opening video for the people in our society today. To think that in order to civilize our planet in order for it to become what it is today we had to involve our nations in so many unnecessary wars is outrageous. However, I did also find some interesting facts about this video too. Once i saw this video it reminded me of some pictures that i saw this one time on a website. It talked about the difference between america and japan after world war 1. At first it showed a picture of detroit, which also compared to a picture of a city in japan was pretty similar at the time before we engaged in war with the japanese after pearl harbour. Then it continued to show pictures of how both cities reacted to the impacts of the war. Even though we were the ones to bomb japan in a very severe way, we were still the less advanced one. Detroit looks like the typical projects of america, whilst the city in japan had prospered more than most any other country in the world. I find this to be ridiculous thinking that the ones that prosper the most are the ones that are hurt or damaged the most. I also believe. it to be interesting that all of the first wars were in Europe. This however is very obvious to the fact that civilization started in Europe in early times and now they are still prospering. And this could possibly be due to all of the wars that occurred. Sat, 23 Apr 2011 01:58:29 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/18/war-through-the-ages/#IDComment145268329 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment143277274 he concept of whether a person is a man or woman is a very personal subject. Some people such as El’Jai Devoureau tend to choose both. I believe that what you are born as, whether it is a male or a female, should be your gender for the rest of your life. This is what is seen as normal for most people in todays society. However, some people choose to take this matter into their own hands and even change there original gender to the opposite gender because of there preferences or lifestyle. I am not sure why El’Jai Devoureau chose to change his gender from female to male, but this is his own decision. Maybe he believed that men have more power in the world and therefore he would rather be a male and be respected more. On the other hand, is it necessary to punish these people for changing there gender? I personally do not believe that this is necessary. This is because it is someones own personal decision to do this. This could possibly be related to the ongoing debate on whether it is right for a male to love another male. It is their own decision to love who ever they want to, just as it is someones own decision to change there gender. Transgenders rights have been overlooked for many years now. When bringing up the subject of transgenders, I believe that someone in todays society would immediately say that this is wrong and rather disturbing for someone to go so far as to change there bodily organs in order to change there lifestyle. I believe that people in todays society should be more open minded. We are on the right track in issues such as gay marriage. It is becoming more acceptable for a person of the same sex as someone else to get married. I believe that people should at least give enough respect to people and at least see what position they are coming from. However I do agree with the other side of the argument. If you were to go into a mens bathroom and use the urinal, it would be a little disturbing to see a “woman” come in and use the urinal next to you. Sat, 16 Apr 2011 02:02:48 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/transgendered-complications/#IDComment143277274 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment141071082 The reason why this guy who is making a video for the smart gun holster so white is simply by the way he acts and takes care of himself. It seems that the major difference between a truly white person and any other human being is that extremely “white” people don’t really care about anything other than what makes there lives easier, whether or not it looks extremely weird, stupid, or outrageous. This smart gun holster can be directly compared to a fanny pack which is essentially the same thing but it is not meant to hold a gun. It is meant to keep all of your valuables out of sight in case you are mugged. In movies or television series you can see examples of people making fun of fanny packs because they are too “white”. Another reason why we might see this person as being too white is because of the way he acts. He is extremely awkward in this video, especially when starting to talk about the area in which the smart gun holster is positioned. There is one part in the video where he is about to take his pants off and he feels it is necessary to inform people that he is most definitely wearing running shorts underneath. He then goes on to say, “When is the last time you caught yourself staring at someone else’s zipper?”, which in the end just makes the whole situation that much more awkward. Another reason why we might make fun of this person is because of the way he dresses. He is wearing a white polo with jeans that run right up to his waist. Nowadays cool is pictured as someone who wears there pants below their waists and walks around with a limp. This man seems to be the complete opposite, wearing his pants up high and he seems to be very stiff and not too loose. On the other hand, all of these examples can be labeled as stereotypes which I don’t usually agree with. However when you look at this person it is hard to see that he is not a typical white adult. Fri, 8 Apr 2011 19:38:16 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/09/what-would-make-this-guy-less-white/#IDComment141071082 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/28/soccer-and-haiti/#IDComment139160189 I find that this article is very inspirational to anyone who has gone through tragedy. It shows that simple things like a game of football can change the way a community thinks and feels about a current disaster. In my opinion, sports are the greatest way to bring a community together. Most people would not think that football would be the most inspirational thing for a community. On the other hand, a game that is so easy to play wherever you go can raise your spirits no matter what situation you are in. Sports can bring a sense of pride and nationalism to a community. When Haiti was hit by a massive earthquake, it looked like there was no hope for the country. According to the article, many of the population fled to the local football stadium for shelter and a safe place to say. This shows that football can be a home to those without a home. In a third world country like Haiti, even after a huge disaster like the earthquake that occurred, it still cannot take away the simplest of things that can make a community so much more happy. I have personally seen this happen to people in Africa. I met a group of kids who lived in a very poor town, but were in love with football. They didn’t even own a real football. They would make a ball out of a bunch of trash bags and use two sticks to make a goal. The entertainment factor of a game of football is so high and can change anyones mindset. Soccer is not a one man game, it is very much a team sport. That is why this game has taught everyone to work off of each other and help your fellow citizen. The earthquake has taken away everything from their lives except football. They have made the stadium their home and the game has become their lives. I can most definitely relate to their love for this sport. I personally love the game of rugby and whenever something bad is going on in my life, if I play a game of rugby all of my worries go away and all I think about is the game. Fri, 1 Apr 2011 17:46:59 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/28/soccer-and-haiti/#IDComment139160189 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/23/managing-crowds/#IDComment137314032 Motivating people in large crowds to do what is best for the group as a whole may not seem as best an option for everyone in the crowd. This is mainly because everyone in the crowd is thinking about themselves and not the group as a whole. this is seen in the article, "Dangers of Leaving No Resident Behind." This article speaks about two major incidents in evacuation history. The most recent one was Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The people of New orleans did not assess the risks of this hurricane well enough and did not warn people soon enough for them to get themselves evacuated. However when it got closer to the time when the Hurricane was going to hit, people started to panic. The article explains how we should learn from this mistake. Instead of trying to evacuate everyone at once, we should work on evacuating the areas most susceptible to the dangers of the hurricane, and once they are evacuated then they should work on evacuating the rest of the population. I believe that this is definitely the best way to go about this. In order to keep people calm, they must know that if they are in the most danger, that the people in charge have all of their attention and help directed towards there safety and well being. This will help regulating the evacuation and the way that people are acting towards the evacuation. This article also talks about the evacuation plans of nuclear power plants. Since nuclear power plants are so dangerous, everyone within a ten mile radius must get a detailed evacuation plan. This includes the local hospitals, schools, etc. The dangers of radiation are extremely dangerous and it has been shown in recent studies on swedish children who were close to the chernobyl incident. The article then goes onto explain how Obama has ask the nuclear commission to review all of the safety plans in all of the nuclear power plants in the nation. I believe that for every possible situation we must have an evacuation plan. One that takes into account the dangers of the situation and the reactions of the people. This is the only way that we will be able to save our people from tragic incidents that may occur anytime. Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:38:42 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/23/managing-crowds/#IDComment137314032 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/m-s-story/#IDComment135940273 M.'s Story is a very touching insight into the life of a man who has been sentenced to life in prison. He talks about how when he was a boy he was so innocent and that no one knew that he would be the type of man to be thrown in jail. However, right after explaining what he dreamed about when he was a kid, he goes on to explain how now he lives in a small cell with a bunch of men. I believe this can be directly related to todays class. Dr Richards was talking about how any of us could eventually end up in prison. Anyone could accidentally run a red light and possibly run into a bicyclist or a pedestrian. After that we would be sentenced to life in prison for murder and thinking about what we used to dream about when we were kids. When we were young we had the whole word laid out for us to do whatever we want. But now here is a man who is stuck in one cell for the rest of his life. Thinking about what could have been. Could I have gotten married, had a family, and made something of myself. However, unlike many other inmates, this man has decided to tell his story and teach other people not to go down the path which he chose. M.'s story is very disturbing in a way. Knowing that he could have helped a man who dedicated his life to helping troubled young adults. This is the reason why M might believe that he deserves to be in prison. I believe that any inmate that thinks that they deserve to be in prison are the ones who really turn their life around. Once they realize that they did something very stupid and either hurt someone or helped someone hurt another person, they are on the path to becoming a better person. I believe in the life sentences, and i also believe that some people deserve to be in prison for life. M is one of those inmates who deserve to be in prison but may deserve a second chance for the way that he has turned his life around. This just goes to show that prison can do good things to bad people. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:12:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/18/m-s-story/#IDComment135940273 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132189428 There is truly no way of getting around this problem. Doing things such as making exciting and happy festivals, installing colorful and entertaining lights will help. However, the fact is that the sun goes down way to early and that will affect the people of helsinki. Thu, 3 Mar 2011 20:39:24 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132189428 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132172137 The subject of seasonal effects on the human mind and body is a very interesting topic. I personally have had experience with this having spent time in northern Sweden for almost two weeks. It seems that our circadian rythyms change when the sun changes the times that it comes up and goes down. On a normal day, we wont start to get tired until around seven or so, when the sun does go down. But when the sun does go down around 3, we naturally start to feel like it is night time and it is time for bed, when in fact it is still daytime. I never personally felt my eating patterns go off track because I tend to base my eating patterns on the time of day rather than the amount of light. However, I do understand how many people can get depressed. Naturally, people are happier during the summer time because there is more sunlight. I believe that the installation of the new tradition and all of the lights around the city is a big help to all of the citizen’s moods. Anything that can boost someone’s sprit is a good idea in my mind. They don’t just go out and put more street lights up, they are more creative with it. They try to capture the mood of the sunlight and bring it out in public places to try and replace the sunlight when it is too dark and some people forget what it is like to be under the sun. The bright lights that our put in offices and restaurants are also a great idea. Being able to have some bright light in your face for a couple of hours when it is impossible to get any other light can really change the mood of someone from depressed to happy. Thu, 3 Mar 2011 19:40:58 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/01/lighting-our-way/#IDComment132172137 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment130715505 In this article, Michelle Bachmann is take the typical republican stance by not handing out breast pumps and aids breast feeding however they both believe that breast feeding is important. I believe that breast-feeding is a very personal decision that the lady should make herself because it is her own body. If she decides to do so then she can go to get the certain supplies that she needs for her breast-feeding. The way that the government is handing out certain supplies which aid your breast-feeding is not right. Although it would help the economy if everyone was to buy these products, it does not mean that they can force them upon our women to use for there children. On the other hand I can see why Michelle Obama is working to promote breast-feeding. I do believe that it is very beneficial for the first lady to be promoting something so personal and showing that she is one of the people. The government is already way in debt and I believe that it is wrong that they have decided to go ahead and use our taxpayers money to promote something that may or may not be beneficial to our society. I do believe that the government should be using money to combat issues such as smoking and obesity. And by promoting breast-feeding, they are helping to combat obesity because breast-feeding has been shown to decrease the chances of obsesity in children. They should also be focusing on subject such as smoking. If the government would raise the taxes on cigarretes, then maybe the demand for cigarettes would decrease and that would be combating a huge problem that our society has been facing for years. Overall I believe that Michelle Obama should continue to promote breast feeding but the government should not be forcing the equipment upon our women. Fri, 25 Feb 2011 23:35:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/17/how-much-government-do-we-need/#IDComment130715505