World Gone Mad!?

[shewoff]

Hey All, I have tried for most of my adult life to try and see the event's of the world and country ,state from a stand-off but hopeful eye. But the one thing that no-one here or anywhere can say is that thing's are starting to get bad here on the earth?
Please pep's I really do not want this thread to turn into a political hammer match between the pro's and con's. I really do feel that here we can actually have a major portion of the world at our finger tip's here. So if anyone does? post here please it is a thread to see if we can get good info on what really is going on in this small planet we exist on?

I mean what is the truth? It is apparent to me and my group of friend's that thing's are getting bad and getting worse by the day.Not to say we can't still put on the brakes.It look's like changes daily every where? War's,misery,pest(bug's),hate,in new and unrelated scales.We must try and see that if we don't put the brakes on it will reach a volatile un-reachable goal.And I don't wish to see us of all the creatures on the earth, we the ones who really have not been around long enough to have a real say in these event's.


And these thing's will continue to spiral out of control until someone pushes a button and it end's with us no having a say at all?
I see and hear some many changes in my country.It is starting to scare me? Watch important show's with host I like and respect.Last nite on Bill Maher there was serious talk of a civil war in the US within 8 to 10 year's? I'am and was shocked to her the negativity coming from Bill and his guest's.My god I hope and wish these thing's are wrong? But daily it keep's getting worse and worse.Socialism in my America?

I keep hoping I will wake up from a dream and it will all be back to a more controlled state of madness.But again not here to stay in one place.So myself and my wife are going on a bit of a holiday?(Not Really!)I do feel that I would like to see it for myself and decide if it is as bad as I feel it is and will become.

And there are many ,many fantastic casino's and gambling junket's to keep me happy in my habit's.If any one here at the CM has a feeling of the same like as mine? Or see's change's indicative of the region they live in,it does not matter? If you see the world sliding?POST! Peace Out! Out Of The Mist! cshewoff

 

[mack341]

I think in america you are so lucky to have such a large country to explore, mountains, woods, coasts, cities etc.. but because of the increasing pace of life, job/money insecurity and worry/stress the general population never really get to enjoy it. I think the hysterical media we have in the west, along with politicians and the elite who have so much power, are creating a false reality in people's minds of doom and gloom, advancing technology has also become too important and it creates an uneasy feeling of constant change and challenge. [basically unsettling as humans we like stability and order whereas atm we have the opposite]

 

[goatwack]

Revelations. It's all in Revelations

 

[Harry_BKK]

To be honest, I often feel that we (humans and planet earth) are an experiment gone wrong. An ever so slight deviation in a chemical reaction that over time led to where we are today. Has it taken millions or billions of years? It doesn't really matter since the period we have been around amounts to less than a blink of an eye. And rest assured, we will be just as "quickly" gone. Let it be another 100, 1,000 or even 100,000 years, the duration, until planet Earth is nothing more than another part of the universe, does not matter one single "iota".

Will it make any difference to the totality? Not a scratch, nothing.

It matters to us only because we measure time in a short periods since we only have about a 3/4 - 1 century of existence. After that we are gone, never to return. And not much will change unless we evolve to a point where we use more than just 5% of our brain and learn to overcome the urge to always react to our basic instincts .

E.g. self-defense --> danger = build a defense structure or a weapon ..... can you imagine we still behave so territorial like 200,000 years ago when the first "homo sapiens" walked on this planet and even beyond that. Pure nature instincts that were given to us for some reason to ensure survival of the strongest/fittest/best at evolution etc. And although we have evolved in this period, we have not been able to change.

To answer your question....no, we have not gone mad, we just display more of who we really are. Instead of realizing that we are this unique planet, unique species, unique "colony" in the endless universe and act accordingly, we behave worse than the first "homo sapiens", somehow thinking we can just jump on the next bus that will take us to another, better planet.

For this planet we are comparable to what a rat infestation is for us humans. Absent any serious natural enemies, we multiply at a break-neck speed only that we do not have the discipline of a rat population. Instead we fight each other at every opportunity for even the smallest advantage, not realizing that we are driving our species to extinction.

I said this already once here: The planet will have no problems to exist without us, the question is more how long we will be present on this planet. Life will exist even without humans until either the sun is getting to close to the planet, or the sun loses too much of its energy (projected to be in a few billion years) or the atmosphere disappears as we know it today. It only takes another ever so slight deviation in a chemical reaction to set in motion any of those processes or maybe others that will ultimately have a huge impact.

 

[slotplayer]

Its over population.

 

[pinnit2014]

Once the Industrial Revolution kicked in it was the start of game over. We've fair rattled through those natural resources in a few hundred years

Greenbelt land not so protected (allegedly in the name of social housing), powerful land developers and practices such as fracking (kudos to the Scottish Government over here). Sigh.

 

[Harry_BKK]

Its over population.

“The world has enough for everyone's need, but not enough for everyone's greed.”

Mahatma Gandhi

 

[mack341]

I don't know exactly know how the numbers work out but if a couple have 2 children, so basically 1 for 1, would the world population be more or less static over 100 years. So I die but then my child takes my place who then has 1 child. Also I hope this isn't out of order but I wonder if the increasing gay population is one of nature's ways of slowing down population growth?

 

[Spikie]

World population has doubled in size in last 50 years, something like 4 billion to now around 8 billion.

Within another 50 years it is going to double again .

Unsustainable growth and strain on limited resources and food / water, less jobs in future due to more automation .

Result is catastrophic, I am glad I won’t be around to see what happens.

Also feel sorry for children that will have to grow up and deal with the mess in the future.

 

[Jory]

Well I'm one of the few who think 99.99% of people are actually good at heart. I don't care what your political view is, your nationality/sexuality whatever you can add to that list, I will always give people time and respect. (Even if your favourite slot is Gemix). I just feel opinions are too heavily influenced by the media and politics and that's why I avoid all media sites.

I think you can live a much happier life if you avoid all media including social, and political debates. It's not that I don't care - far from it, I just feel that the character traits that are necessary to become a politician are far from the ones needed to do the best job. In other words, I don't trust any of them no matter who gets elected.

As

 

[shewoff]

Good point's all.And it is just this ability that we human's have that MAY! allow us to turn it around? I just don't think so? It is just too fast for me if the entire known civil world goes off the deep end in a matter of decades?
I don't get it?


Harry I know that you are always going to give a good post to add to the thread Thank You! My wife is from Arabic - English back ground and she is scared for us to travel in the east? I agree it is dangerous if you walk around with blinder's on.
But I would never go some place that I feel our liberties would be in danger.No Never! She is a whisper in a world of wind. I know she probably would prefer not to go,and I may just relent and go alone.

But I have to see a bit of what I feel is gonna get us all. If we don't get it by the ball's and SQUEEZE...... It is not very easy to try to make light the situation we may have our self's in.And there does not seem to be a voice that is making the sounds that will be required to stop this detonation of society.And all it takes is one serious voice that tunes us all in. WOW!

I like this folk's POST! Gimme what you see in your part of the world? Peace Out! Out OF The Mist! shewoff

 

[mack341]

If we don't get it by the ball's and SQUEEZE

this phrase has made me shift around in my chair a bit shewoff , when you say head out east is that east in the USA?

 

[slotplayer]

World population has doubled in size in last 50 years, something like 4 billion to now around 8 billion.

Within another 50 years it is going to double again .

Unsustainable growth and strain on limited resources and food / water, less jobs in future due to more automation .

Result is catastrophic, I am glad I won’t be around to see what happens.

Also feel sorry for children that will have to grow up and deal with the mess in the future.

me to.

 

[Harry_BKK]

I don't know exactly know how the numbers work out but if a couple have 2 children, so basically 1 for 1, would the world population be more or less static over 100 years. So I die but then my child takes my place who then has 1 child. Also I hope this isn't out of order but I wonder if the increasing gay population is one of nature's ways of slowing down population growth?

We should not forget that our body is made to live for 35 - 45 years, maybe 50. Only "modern" inventions and evolved behaviors such as medicine, hygiene etc actually keep us as organic matter for a few decades longer.

Just remember that up to 1928, when Penicillin was discovered, people were dying from small infections, from a bad cold or what are today easily curable illnesses. Average life expectancy less than 200 years ago was around 40 years! So we have made a lot of progress.

Some 20 years ago, I studied with great interest the old church archives in my village. Exact records dated back to around 1820 when the church burned down the last time after it was struck by lightning (it was rebuild again). Less accurate records were available back to the 17th century.

You would be amazed how many children a family would have and how few would actually live past the age of 2 - 3 as the child mortality was immensely high. 10 and more kids were rather the norm, yet still population growth was rather modest.

Fun fact: The oldest son would always bear the fathers first name. If the son died then they would name the next boy that was born again after his father, etc etc. Sometimes you had 3 or 4 kids with the same first name in a family. Made it difficult at times to follow the family tree. Plus, women were rarely mentioned by their name, e.g. at marriage it would say John Smith's daughter married Peter Williams. When a child was born, the entry would say Peter Williams's wife had a son / daughter.

 

[Harry_BKK]

Good point's all.And it is just this ability that we human's have that MAY! allow us to turn it around? I just don't think so? It is just too fast for me if the entire known civil world goes off the deep end in a matter of decades?
I don't get it?


Harry I know that you are always going to give a good post to add to the thread Thank You! My wife is from Arabic - English back ground and she is scared for us to travel in the east? I agree it is dangerous if you walk around with blinder's on.
But I would never go some place that I feel our liberties would be in danger.No Never! She is a whisper in a world of wind. I know she probably would prefer not to go,and I may just relent and go alone.

But I have to see a bit of what I feel is gonna get us all. If we don't get it by the ball's and SQUEEZE...... It is not very easy to try to make light the situation we may have our self's in.And there does not seem to be a voice that is making the sounds that will be required to stop this detonation of society.And all it takes is one serious voice that tunes us all in. WOW!

I like this folk's POST! Gimme what you see in your part of the world? Peace Out! Out OF The Mist! shewoff

I can only recommend you to go, no matter if it is East, West, North or South. If you have the luxury of time and money, then let the road lead you were it may.

You will be surprised at how little hostility you will encounter.

 

[slotplayer]

I think in america you are so lucky to have such a large country to explore, mountains, woods, coasts, cities etc.. but because of the increasing pace of life, job/money insecurity and worry/stress the general population never really get to enjoy it. I think the hysterical media we have in the west, along with politicians and the elite who have so much power, are creating a false reality in people's minds of doom and gloom, advancing technology has also become too important and it creates an uneasy feeling of constant change and challenge. [basically unsettling as humans we like stability and order whereas atm we have the opposite]

50 million will

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[mack341]

50 million will

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oh lots will definitely travel and visit places, same in the UK, but my point was the true enjoyment of travel and holidays is affected and overshadowed by the stress of modern life, be it job or money worries, general raised anxiety levels etc.. job insecurity and the high cost of housing are 2 of the main problems in the UK. very few people have peace of mind these days, if you live in london there's a knife crime epidemic among other things etc..

 

[slotplayer]

oh lots will definitely travel and visit places, same in the UK, but my point was the true enjoyment of travel and holidays is affected and overshadowed by the stress of modern life, be it job or money worries, general raised anxiety levels etc.. job insecurity and the high cost of housing are 2 of the main problems in the UK. very few people have peace of mind these days, if you live in london there's a knife crime epidemic among other things etc..

I knew what you're getting at. It's the same here.

 

[mack341]

I knew what you're getting at. It's the same here.

On bbc tv we have a program with michael portillo [former mp] travelling around america by railway, and it looks a great place to explore. But then on youtube I've seen some of the run down places like detroit and it does not look safe at all, and you have the crystal meth and heroin problem too. Its interesting why canada doesn't seem to suffer the same level of social and crime problems as the US. Here in the UK in some run down poor areas you can feel the tension and potential of crime, it is very unsettling.

 

[slotplayer]

On bbc tv we have a program with michael portillo [former mp] travelling around america by railway, and it looks a great place to explore. But then on youtube I've seen some of the run down places like detroit and it does not look safe at all, and you have the crystal meth and heroin problem too. Its interesting why canada doesn't seem to suffer the same level of social and crime problems as the US. Here in the UK in some run down poor areas you can feel the tension and potential of crime, it is very unsettling.

Detroit used to be known as the automotive capital of the world. It's suffered hard economic times but is supposedly on the rebound.

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Canada borders the US, we border countries with drug cartels. Canada's population is smaller than California's or about 11% of the USA's.

Best to avoid those areas no matter where they are.

 

[Jasminebed]

It's always seemed to me that whatever is going on in the States, starts happening about 10 years later here, at least in terms of drugs/violence, etc.

Like Jory, I try to avoid a lot of the arguments and media, mostly because it makes it hard for my to keep my optimistic outlook on the nature of people. Which while I might not rate at 99.99, I do believe is very high. But one bad person can impact very very many lives.

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." I think there are a lot of people preaching hate, which believe this is how to achieve a better world.

I'm almost certain hating and fearing each other is not how to achieve a better world. I'm disturbed by the rising acceptance of hate, when in my life-time I thought we were getting closer to brotherhood and tolerance than we once were. It was not that long ago, if you held certain prejudices, you largely kept them to yourself. Now you have a podcast, or a slot on major news outlets, a twitter feed and followers.

It's a rare foray into any of these threads for me, as I know what I say never changes the mind of anyone, and sometimes leads me to think less of people who I used to respect, and may still in other aspects.

So I will bow out now, and continue with my just trying to be pleasant to people and make sure no one is hungry.

 

[mack341]

Detroit used to be known as the automotive capital of the world. It's suffered hard economic times but is supposedly on the rebound.

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Canada borders the US, we border countries with drug cartels. Canada's population is smaller than California's or about 11% of the USA's.

Best to avoid those areas no matter where they are.

good points, seems like drugs is the major cause of crime and possibly trumps wall is intended to help fight the war on drug trafficking as well as illegal immigration?

Would you feel safe walking in detroit, chicago or philidelphia, california [los angeles rather than beverly hills] at night, and which would be the most dangerous out of them ?

Have you ever thought of doing a road trip around america, or is that just too much driving?

Ps. Sorry for all the questions but we rarely get to hear the the american viewpoint over here, instead we just get tv presenters reading autocues of some scripted opinions.

 

[slotplayer]

good points, seems like drugs is the major cause of crime and possibly trumps wall is intended to help fight the war on drug trafficking as well as illegal immigration?

Would you feel safe walking in detroit, chicago or philidelphia, california [los angeles rather than beverly hills] at night, and which would be the most dangerous out of them ?

Have you ever thought of doing a road trip around america, or is that just too much driving?

Ps. Sorry for all the questions but we rarely get to hear the the american viewpoint over here, instead we just get tv presenters reading autocues of some scripted opinions.

I'm too old for road trips, but I'd only walk around in the better parts of those cities in day time/early evening. I would not drive around at night in cities where I did not know the areas, too easy to end up in the unsafe parts of town. I'd certainly do some home work on where not to go.

I've been to San Francisco and San Jose California but it was in the late 1990's. It was fun.
Now San Francisco has a lot of homeless people and needles, according to Fox media anyway.

I remember pier 39 in San Francisco, during the day it was fun but as soon as dusk arrived it became somewhat shady. You could feel the change.

The immigration issue has been going on for 25+ years now. Mexico is having big election Sunday so we'll see.

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[Harry_BKK]

good points, seems like drugs is the major cause of crime and possibly trumps wall is intended to help fight the war on drug trafficking as well as illegal immigration?

Would you feel safe walking in detroit, chicago or philidelphia, california [los angeles rather than beverly hills] at night, and which would be the most dangerous out of them ?

Have you ever thought of doing a road trip around america, or is that just too much driving?

Ps. Sorry for all the questions but we rarely get to hear the the american viewpoint over here, instead we just get tv presenters reading autocues of some scripted opinions.

You might have read in other threads that I spent considerable time in the US, mostly on business but also sometimes on holidays. The main regions where i went where Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, plus a few times to Las Vegas (1x holidays, 2x conference).

I walked anywhere at any time of the day or night without even thinking that I might be in danger since I didn't know which areas in those cities one is supposed to "avoid". Not once was I attacked, harassed, made to feel in danger or the like. Here a few experiences:

1. During a "round the world" trip, we stopped in Hawaii first before continuing to LA. I had this weird item on my bucket list to ride once on a Greyhound bus. Hence, we took the bus from LA to Las Vegas, a leisurely 6-7 hours journey. The taxi driver dropped us of a few hundred feet from the station due to traffic, so we walked the last part. We got the feeling we had 1,000 eye pairs looking at us since it seemed we were the only whites walking on the street. The same appeared to be inside the bus station and most definitely on the bus. Only the driver was as well white, the reminder all people of color. The bus had Toronto as final destination and you had entire families traveling for 2 - 3 days to see the father or parents.

Did we feel unsafe at any point of time? Not a second! To the contrary, we had so much fun on the bus that the time passed in a "jiffy".

2. The parent company of the UK company I was working for at the time was located in Chicago. You know, the city where minimum one murder is committed per day. I stayed in the suburbs and closer to the city center, based on where they got me the hotel room for the stay. I surely did not travel to the "windy city" to stay the entire free time in my hotel room, so I ventured out to see as much as possible. I have only good memories of my time there, no matter where I was walking around.

Now let's compare that with a US citizen. One of the days the sales rep for the area took me to a Crown Cork&Seal factory which was located in the midst of one of those alleged "no-go" areas. The guy made a wrong turn and we ended up going in the wrong direction in a one-way road. You would have thought he would stop and turn. No, he put the foot down and sped down the road up to the next block where he then turned into the next road. "You never stop here", he said. After the meeting, I had a dry mouth and I asked him to stop at a gas station to get me a drink. He passed 3 of them, saying "we can't stop here" and only pulled into one in an area where he felt it is safe. Madness!

3. Philadelphia is probably one of the most beautiful large cities in the US, well, from my limited experience. Not seeing anything when you get the chance would be a major sin.

4. Las Vegas - you will be surprised how the landscape changes once you leave the strip area. You get the impression that you are entering an entirely different world. Well, better said, you leave the fantasy world behind to enter the "real" world. Still though, we (traveling with my then girlfriend at the time) never ever felt unsafe. Maybe we should not have done it but I never bothered about the "horror stories" that are being told in the media.

Moral of the story: Perceptions and prejudice are what drives people's fear. IMO, the chances to have a negative experience are not higher or lower than anywhere else in the world. We could apply Murphy's law at this point.

 

[mack341]

You might have read in other threads that I spent considerable time in the US, mostly on business but also sometimes on holidays. The main regions where i went where Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles, plus a few times to Las Vegas (1x holidays, 2x conference).

I walked anywhere at any time of the day or night without even thinking that I might be in danger since I didn't know which areas in those cities one is supposed to "avoid". Not once was I attacked, harassed, made to feel in danger or the like. Here a few experiences:

1. During a "round the world" trip, we stopped in Hawaii first before continuing to LA. I had this weird item on my bucket list to ride once on a Greyhound bus. Hence, we took the bus from LA to Las Vegas, a leisurely 6-7 hours journey. The taxi driver dropped us of a few hundred feet from the station due to traffic, so we walked the last part. We got the feeling we had 1,000 eye pairs looking at us since it seemed we were the only whites walking on the street. The same appeared to be inside the bus station and most definitely on the bus. Only the driver was as well white, the reminder all people of color. The bus had Toronto as final destination and you had entire families traveling for 2 - 3 days to see the father or parents.

Did we feel unsafe at any point of time? Not a second! To the contrary, we had so much fun on the bus that the time passed in a "jiffy".

2. The parent company of the UK company I was working for at the time was located in Chicago. You know, the city where minimum one murder is committed per day. I stayed in the suburbs and closer to the city center, based on where they got me the hotel room for the stay. I surely did not travel to the "windy city" to stay the entire free time in my hotel room, so I ventured out to see as much as possible. I have only good memories of my time there, no matter where I was walking around.

Now let's compare that with a US citizen. One of the days the sales rep for the area took me to a Crown Cork&Seal factory which was located in the midst of one of those alleged "no-go" areas. The guy made a wrong turn and we ended up going in the wrong direction in a one-way road. You would have thought he would stop and turn. No, he put the foot down and sped down the road up to the next block where he then turned into the next road. "You never stop here", he said. After the meeting, I had a dry mouth and I asked him to stop at a gas station to get me a drink. He passed 3 of them, saying "we can't stop here" and only pulled into one in an area where he felt it is safe. Madness!

3. Philadelphia is probably one of the most beautiful large cities in the US, well, from my limited experience. Not seeing anything when you get the chance would be a major sin.

4. Las Vegas - you will be surprised how the landscape changes once you leave the strip area. You get the impression that you are entering an entirely different world. Well, better said, you leave the fantasy world behind to enter the "real" world. Still though, we (traveling with my then girlfriend at the time) never ever felt unsafe. Maybe we should not have done it but I never bothered about the "horror stories" that are being told in the media.

Moral of the story: Perceptions and prejudice are what drives people's fear. IMO, the chances to have a negative experience are not higher or lower than anywhere else in the world. We could apply Murphy's law at this point.

No I haven't seen those threads Harry, I like reading personal accounts of journeys etc..travel books use to be my favourite. If I won a million pounds, a fair bit would be spent on travel. With all your travelling to different countries, what is your food policy and have you ever got bad food poisoning , whats the worst/best food you have eaten?