en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/2438259 Comments by wazza007 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144292692 The video that is posted is and can be easily understood by most Americans, especially the images that are permanently engraved in our minds from September 11, 2001. As an international student, I have come to understand how these events have impacted the world much quicker than the average American citizen cares to realize. In comparing America, we have been in large part isolated from terrorist acts of violence and have had to play catch up very quickly with our government agencies.The Germans had the Munich games terrorist incident with the killing of Israeli athletes, the killing of the head of the Mercedes-Benz auto manufacture, the hijacking of multiple planes. The first of these terrorist incidents prompted the Germans forming an elite counter terrorism unit, the GSG-9. These incidents have taken place twenty plus years before any form of radical terrorism hit the “land” of the United States. This is not including the embassy bombings because it never truly had an impact on the average American citizen in their daily lives or mental frame work. Another case of terrorism is the train and school take over outside Amsterdam, in Holland where political terrorists took over a train and a school in the hopes of gaining the Dutch government’s support in forming a country in the Philippines. Counter Insurgency is a problem the world is facing and American is playing a very quick catch up after the September 11 attacks in 2001. There was warning signs that were not heeded in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing which killed six and an unborn child. This was a warning of things to come. I understand how the Middle East will look at the “West” with how the industrialized western nations dominated the world and in many ways set up policies that forced developing nations into giving up natural resources and then selling back items to the developing nation with the value added. Also, many of the problems and board disputes that occur in the Middle East can be traced back to the British and French splitting up the Ottoman Empire after World War 1. From Saddam invading Kuwait with the thought that it was part of the Basra distract and gassing of the Kurds in the North by his general “Chemical Ali.” In many ways, to me, there is anger at the prosperity of western nations at the thought of the expense of the Middle East. How once the Middle East was once the center of the world and how it has fallen seems to be an underlying anger to many. I read a report a few years ago in Time magazine that underlined a major problem in the Middle East. Oil aside, the Middle East produces less economically than the Scandinavian country Tue, 19 Apr 2011 19:46:08 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/19/what-americans-fear/#IDComment144292692 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/the-cost-of-empire-soc-001-blog/#IDComment143226914 “The Cost of Empire” was an interesting video to view in that the video provided open criticism of the United States Military. It gave facts that have been published by the government so that they are true. Most of this information is not stuff that the average American citizen will hear unless they want to dig for it. It did however surprise me that the Obama administration is increasing the military budget because traditionally the democrats cut the military budget as under Clinton. The United States Military is in a very precarious position right now in that it seems to have a very real potential of over extending itself, which could lead us dangerously exposed. The presence of U.S. soldiers across the 130 countries is not always a good thing. It means those countries will then look to the United States for stability if anything does in fact cause instability in a region. Recently protesters took to the streets in Bahrain, where the fifth naval fleet of the United States is located, where criticisms were leveled with how the government dealt violently with the protesters. There was some criticism that U.S. forces did not play a role and that the soldiers from neighboring countries that were brought in did not respond well to the situation. It is easy to understand how some of the comments made can be seen in past historical events. The Roman Empire over extended itself and thus it contributed to its down fall. The rental leases that the United States pays is excessive and that was for one base that I couldn’t even find on a map. The jump from 2 million to 20 million is clearly excessive and that doesn’t include the money it costs to house, feed, or transport the troops there. That doesn’t include the 100 million that we offered in aid as well to the citizens of the country. I think that we need to stop viewing ourselves as a global policeman because we are being viewed negatively for it. People have seen through our cover story and know that the big United States only goes into a situation if there is a potential for the United States to benefit. Coming from another country its easy for me to view the country in a different light. I find it sad that the country as a whole does not understand global events and how they play an impact on the rest of the world and yet doesn’t ever change the day to day life of an American unless it has to do with gas prices going up. Fri, 15 Apr 2011 21:43:47 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/11/the-cost-of-empire-soc-001-blog/#IDComment143226914 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/war-vets-and-ptsd/#IDComment141146571 I have heard about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder before from my uncle who teaches at Sandhurst, England’s military college. It does not surprise me that the units that are from the National Guard have higher rates of post traumatic stress disorder. I would think this way because the adjustment from life in a modern, industrialized nation, with a family, to combat in rural Afghanistan is about as far away as possible on the two spectrums. The mental stress on a person in going from having very little to no fear or thought of death on a daily routine, to constantly thinking about death must be incredibility high. The National Guard soldiers are not on military base every day and being exposed or trained in order to be as prepared as those who are in the full time Army, Navy, or Marine Corps. For both the National Guard and regular Army, and Marine Corps units the amount of time thinking about death in a day can not be forgotten. This daily stress seems to almost provide a natural high that keeps the body on a constant state of readiness. I believe that it is this that is the hardest part of the transition back to life in modern America. Some of the soldiers interviewed did actions in search of going on the same type or a type of high that they experienced in combat. The military culture is slow to change since the top of the military are always stuck fighting the last war and it takes considerable time in order to adapt tactics that will bring about a successful outcome. This usually is at the expense of boots on the ground or the regular soldiers. I think this is the case with the culture in the military surrounding the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in military personal. The culture exists where soldiers are expected to be hulks and superman and let nothing stand in their way. They are scared to be viewed as cowards by other members in their unit because of the organizational culture that has be created by the higher up personal from previous war experiences. This makes individual soldiers unwilling to ask for necessary help which puts the military at a loss. Sat, 9 Apr 2011 02:33:21 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/04/07/war-vets-and-ptsd/#IDComment141146571 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138979466 Another example of not understanding any other way to live or the invisible strings that are placed on a human right from birth even is the statistics that show people rarely ever get out of the social class they are born into. This was briefly mentioned in class but is very true. Professional sports figures who come from poor or impoverished backgrounds have a difficult time understanding and controlling money. This is seen in the fact that 60-80 percent of all professional sports figures file bankruptcy or are in financial difficult within five years from ending their professional careers. With the average NFL career being only three years this is a very real possibility for many players. Two of the latest former professional football players to meet this situation are Mark Brunell, back up for the New Orleans Saints (when they won the super bowl), and Tiki Barber, who played for the Giants. This is also seen in a very high proportion of lottery winners because they do not understand how to have money and therefore spending it all away on luxury items not needed and usually end up back where they were or worse off. Part 3 Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:08:38 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138979466 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138979433 For example, Michael Vick owned a dog fighting ring at his home and hosted fighting competitions. This largely by the American public is consider barbaric and outside the normal social standards. With Michael Vick being a professional athlete (first overall draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons), he is much more high profile and his income levels are or were very high. Growing up in impoverished Newport News, Virginia (the same area Allen Iverson came from) Michael Vick was exposed to a violent upbringing with drive by shootings, drug deals, and dog fighting seen as common place. It is only natural that we can expect him to continue a live style he knows and understands when he is an adult. There is only one problem, he is now a public figure and a wealthy one at the and is expected to act along new social boundaries. Well, this is difficult to do when these new social standards that you are expected to live by are completely foreign. This brought the attention of government officials who eventually shut down not the dog fighting ring but more so his lifestyle. Is he a bad guy for doing the dog fighting? I don’t know that is up to personal opinion but I just don’t think he understood any other way to live. part 2 Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:08:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138979433 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138979203 As Sam is asking us to look more into what we are talking about in class and how the sociological structure of our country divides wealth, I think it is necessary to understand what is going on completely. We are born into a certain social class and it is what we learn and understand. We think the actions that are acceptable in that class are what is considered to be normal behavior. Through hard work some people find the ability to raise their economic standing. Weather they understand it or not, the invisible strings that are in play are still effecting them. Part 1 Fri, 1 Apr 2011 01:06:56 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/30/so-what-your-take-on-those-inequality-classes/#IDComment138979203 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579982 Over all it seems like our education system is behind the times. Lucky enough for me I grew up in a family that was from abroad and the value of money was taught to me as well as global( another grip that I have with Americans not understanding global politics and how with a global economy it the actions in Iraq have directly affected the outcomes and mindsets of Egypt, Syria,, Yemen, Libya pertains to us). I understand the direct impact of my credit score and why it might cost me thousands of dollars if it is not good during the rest of my life. I just believe that some of these lessons shouldn’t be taught by parents because some parents go through their lives not knowing and there for cant pass knowledge of how important it is to their future generations and thus making it harder to have a better life. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:05:01 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579982 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579964 Buying a house is something almost every person does during their life time. It does not necessary happen right out of high school but it is something that is done along the course of life. Why doesn’t an education system that says it is prepairing you for life teach you the process. It is the biggest purchase in your life and something that is going to put you in debt for most of your natural born life! Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:04:54 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579964 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579909 Another area that our public schools could do better on is getting rid of stupid “classics.” Read this book just because every generation read it and it gives you something to talk about with them. Who freaking cares! Seriously! When your 20 years old and don’t truly understand how APR works on a credit card it is much more scary animal. Generations previously did not have to deal with many of the problems we face daily today in society so they are not taught in a school system resistant to change. Does a inner city child that is lucky to have a high school degree really give a flying shit about something he will never talk about again in the future? No so there for they don’t read it. Now I’m not saying that all inner city, well all students in the US for that matter will see the value in being taught money management but certainly more will be graduating with a better understanding of how not to be ripped off by a credit card company and be in debt their whole life. Understanding will keep more money in people’s pockets instead of credit card companies. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:04:30 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579909 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579873 That means understanding credit card rates, how to manage a check book, how to cook. Why some of these things? Well start off with cooking. With a big focus on medical spending and the rises numbers of obese Americans and the chronic expensive medical conditions it causes, why not teach people how to eat a proper diet and do so on a budget. This would make people better consumers and also a healthier society. People look for quick meals because life is so hectic and there is not much time in a day to have sit down family meals. Well instead of hitting Mc Donald’s on the ride home people growing up now should have a base to understand a variety of meals to cook and how to shop on a budget? This could prevent two major problems this country is facing in cost of medical care and obesity. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:04:15 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579873 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579833 In the part of teaching the classics, do they really matter anymore other than to say we have read them? What about inner city students that are lucky to graduate high school. Let alone in four years. Why teach that? When we just had one of the biggest banking crisis in the countries history why not teach people information pertanent to living a life no matter what job or salary level you take. For me that is getting rid of some of these stupid books that don’t matter and educating people how to properly handle money. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:04:02 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137579833 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137578729 In the part of teaching the classics, do they really matter anymore other than to say we have read them? What about inner city students that are lucky to graduate high school. Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:56:31 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/19/changing-the-way-we-think-about-education/#IDComment137578729 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135968592 I really enjoyed this movie. He was very well spoken and really puts the issue of gay and lesbian couples raising children into perspective. Had Zach not mentioned the fact that he was raised by a gay couple, it would not have otherwise been apparent. It is not like Zach is not smart or pushing himself to be a positive impact on society. The major he is in, engineering, is the toughest undergraduate major there is to take. The fact that Zach and his sister are full siblings makes the family structure seem more intact. Scoring in the 99th percentile shows how well Zach was raised. I personally have nothing wrong with having gay or lesbian people raising children. If you look at all the inner city children who grow up with one parent or in a broken house hold it is a worse situation than having two same sex parents. The foster care system is over flowing with children looking for just parents that will love them. Is it really so bad they happen to be the same sex? I think that it would help if people redefined a relationship as two people that share mutual love for one another. This being a better and more modern definition than what was commonly thought of as a male and female that share love and bring children into this world to form a family. With the over population in the world and children going to sleep at night needing love, why not offer them a roof over their heads, food on the plate, and love in their hearts. The family to me is the bond of the members involved and that’s what makes it special. I don’t think it is fair to not offer two people the same rights as any other naturally born person in the United States. If I get laid off work, then my wife medical insurance will cover me but something as small as that is not afforded to gay couples. It just doesn’t not seem right that as a society we will move great distances in order to help a minority race but not a minority group of people that love someone of the same sexual orientation. Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:21:57 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/15/lgbt-families-theres-a-lot-of-fear-out-there/#IDComment135968592 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/freedom/#IDComment134359975 Freedom is an interesting subject for conversation for most Pennsylvania students. It is something that is not necessary brought up as a subject or talking point for most students. Freedom in many ways is taken in the eyes of the beholder. How do we measure freedom? It depends on the person and how they were raised to view the different choices that are available to them on a daily basis. The choices that are taken for granted vs the choices that are actually made to impact a day in a different way. No matter who you are as an individual, as long as you are living, you still have the ability to make decisions that render you free. It feels like people look at freedom as the stuff that is easily controllable or in another sense, the stuff that you think about to make a decision. There are so many decisions that are made subconsciously throughout the normal day to day life that are freedoms. Ultimately these decisions go unnoticed when talking about freedoms. They are not taken into consideration or looked as a part of freedom, but they should be included. All these thoughts of getting out of be, talked about in class, are not even considerations but they do have an overall impact on freedom. You can look at trends in society with clothes. Our the kids wearing or expressing themselves or are they expressing what society dictates they should wear? That has some implication on freedoms because after all if society says wear this to be popular, then you most likely, through peer pressure, are going to wear what society determines at that time as popular. No matter what decision is made in the day to day life of a human, it seems like society always has an impact on the decision being made. When visiting the University of Virginia the dress code seemed to be jeans, plaid shirt, and boots for females. This is seen as popular where as you can compare this dress code to the Pennsylvania State University of North Face jacket, leggings, and Ugg boots. It is funny how basic decisions in the daily make up are never even thought of or considered. Sat, 12 Mar 2011 04:26:26 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/03/07/freedom/#IDComment134359975 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130758957 After watching this video, it is easy to understand why parents are so protective of their children. Parents largely tell their children not to talk to or trust strangers and it is understandable. My parents were not exception in teaching me to watch my settings and be careful of whom to talk to. No parent wants their child’s name or face to end up on an amber alert screen. It is sad in many ways that only the negative events make the news. The media drives the fear of the potential threat so that parents become more consumed by the fear. New York City is filled with millions of people with many coming from abroad to visit the great city. In a city of millions, there is only a few or handful of people who pose a threat to children. There are so many instances out there of ordinary people, who are strangers to others, helping out in extreme situations in order to make a positive impact on another’s life. In coaching children for five years and flying teams around the country to play other elite teams, it is apparent that some parents don’t allow their children to escape their grasp. It is sad and unfortunate result of these negative events that happen. As a parent it is a very delicate balance of allowing your child to learn responsibilities and experience life while at the same time protecting them from life’s evils. It is sad that people can violate a child’s innocence. The media tends to drive hysteria of major events because that’s how they make money. They skew events to look more important or relatable to the largest audience possible in order to drive up viewer ship. You can see this in weather reporting. The larger they make the storm seem, the more people will tune in and follow longer. It seems like there are a few key words or phrases that just draw in an audience to and keep them attached to potential stories. I grew up largely traveling throughout Europe as minor. I learned how to navigate cities and travel between countries and take on responsibilities that most other parents would balk at. I really appreciate my parents allowing me freedom to experience life at such a young age. I flew from Germany to the US when I was 14 on my own. I picked up many skills and my over all dependence on others is far less than any of my friends. Sat, 26 Feb 2011 04:02:49 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/02/21/stranger-kidnapping/#IDComment130758957 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/23/how-free-are-these-90-students/#IDComment126065202 To just hear that eleven percent of a school is pregnant makes you think of your own high school and compare it to that. That’s pretty incredible that more than one in ten are pregnant before graduating high school. In my graduating class of three hundred and fifty there were only three that either had a baby or got pregnant before leaving high school. In looking and comparing my high school, Haverford High School in the suburbs outside the major metropolitan city of Philadelphia, and Frayser High School in Memphis, Tennessee there are major social economic differences. We discussed social economic status a bit in class and there is a big difference between an inner city like Memphis, Tennessee and the normal Pennsylvania State University student. I grew up and it was expected for most students, about ninety percent, to go on to college. In an inner city there are different expectations for a youth growing up. Success is not defined as going to college and gaining a higher paying job through getting an education. For most inner city youth’s failure becomes the norm. If there is no model or example to aspire to then the cycle just continues though each generation until somehow it is broken. In many cases it seems that these schools are underfunded because the schools perform to low to get major federal funding. It almost seems a catch twenty-two but it is very difficult to get by it to get the funding needed to implement programs to turn around the mind set and bring in the needed books. It would be interesting to see if the number of pregnancies decreased in inner city public schools if there were new programs for sex education. For example if there schools stopped preaching abstinence and start acknowledging that students are going to have sex and to help them do it safely. If schools gave away condoms for free, students who are poor or too scared to buy condoms would be able to get them have sex safely. You read stories of couples that try for years to get pregnant and simply can’t. There is an incredible amount of luck involved as well and it just shows that if only eleven percent are pregnant, how many are having sex without using protection? Sat, 5 Feb 2011 03:47:19 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/23/how-free-are-these-90-students/#IDComment126065202 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/americans-gone-wild/#IDComment124438082 I don’t think it is right to simply throw blame and say there needs to be stronger gun laws. If there are stronger gun laws there will just be a bigger black market for firearms, so that doesn’t necessary solve the problem. It would be very interesting to know if the child thought it was just a toy gun. Many young boys grow up watching war movies and police shows for the excitement. It could have been the boy thought that the guy was just in fact a toy gun, one that many parents buy their children to play with. For me the child should not be suspended and instead he should be put back in class. I have coached children, both boys and girls, for five years and to me there is no way the child could understand fully the possible outcomes if the weapon went off. The child should then go speak with someone on school about the dangers of weapons and why he should not take it to school. __ In any case to me the blame rests surely on the shoulders of the step father. He is an idiot for keeping it around the child in any sense. The father should have to pay a fine for all the troubles that he caused. This should cover the expenses of the local township police and administration costs of school district. The father should be required to take gun safety classes to understand how to be a responsible gun owner. The other thing I believe he should have to take parenting classes. Both these classes should be fully paid for out of the step father’s pocket. __ The other week I had a discussion with my roommates about how our government requires us to get a permit or license to drive, to own a gun, to vote, and to marry. But any individual no matter how mature or old they are can have a child. To me that’s wrong but in no way can you take away some ones natural right to have a child. It just doesn’t seem right though because it is a much greater responsibility to show the next generation a correct path and yet anyone can do it. __ Sat, 29 Jan 2011 00:09:39 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/27/americans-gone-wild/#IDComment124438082 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment123579532 SOC 001 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:46:41 +0000 http://www.worldinconversation.org/2011/01/10/last-name-%e2%80%9cs%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-intense-debate/#IDComment123579532