Roxie Faye

[color=#9933ff]Never cosplayed at a convention (b/c I've never been to one!. I was Alice from Digimon Tamers this past halloween. My mom took FOUR pictures, and only one of them developed (how craptacular). I'll have it up soon, though. ...Hopefully. ^^; "I actually think Goku would be one of the easier costumes to make, as well as fun and easily recognizable by anyone who hasn't been living under a box." - Xander. Okay, that's just funny. I want to cosplay for Anime Next in June, but I'm still contemplating what I could be. Becuase I have brown hair, and a lot of anime characters have blonde (the Japanese have a fascination with blonde hair), I'm still not sure of what to be. Although, I did cosplay Alice anyways, but this is going to be for a convention... :/ You blonde haired people are lucky. >

[color=#9933ff]I was reading most of these posts, and the general consensus is that humans are too stupid to run their own society. I remembered a quote by Albert Einstien that I think is appropriate here. In an attempt to explain the same thing, he said that: "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Which really sucks, because for all our great governmental theories (Anarchy, Communisim, Facism I guess, and a couple others I'm missing), they'll never work, because they assume that humans can run themselves. =( That's like in microeconomics - they assume that people are rational! XD [/color]

[color=#9933ff]Shado Mage: you said that Communism (true communism) is working anarchy - I'd have to disagree with that. You gave a link to a site describing the Anarchist Manifesto, and while it says anarchy approves organization, it's for the protection of freedom, which is different from a Utopian society in which everyone works for the good of everyone else. Communism also implements a higher force that regulates everything, i.e. government. Even in a small group of people, I believe it promotes that. If not, let me know, since the knowledge of the true Marxist principal is evading me at the moment. What the definition of anarchy as provided by Shado Mage, is really a step towards a utopian society which, if you've ever discussed a utopia, someone should have mentioned they can't exist. Likewise, anarchy (if you actually read the link) can't exist. People are too dumb to ever even try and accept anarchy. That, couple with conditioning that is nearly impossible to eradicate and our own human biology which, evidence being the stupidity of many humans today, still hasn't wiped out centuries of primal instincts, which are, uhm... opposite of anarchy? If you're talking about the type of anarchy with no organization whatsoever, then it can't exist either. Humans, for whatever reason, are obsessive compulsive. We NEED order. Ken (DeathKnight) has pointed out several times in his myO at the rest of the world (nature) is chaos at its finest. We are the only ones who need order for whatever reason. I think we strive for something like "true" anarchy, or utopias in a quest to want everything. Not only to we want knowledge, truth, beauty, but also happiness and freedom. We want everything, and we're constantly coming up with more "efficient" (Or not efficient, if you choose to look at it that way) forms of government to achieve that. And I hate to sound cliche by using terms from [i]Full Metal Alchemist[/i] , but things operate on equivalent exchange. You can't get something for nothing. We can't create the perfect society with everything that we want because what would we exchange? Nothing! Besides, the major thing you have to realize is [b]people are stupid[/b]. Plain and simple. Friggin' retards. There's no getting over the fact. As soon as you recognize this, the sooner you can realize that utopias and anarchy don't work. I realize, Totalimmortal, that you are one of the few who are smart. The fact that you can think of the greatness of what an anarchist society would do for our world says a lot about your intelligence. But not everyone is as smart as you are, and so, the society that you propose (utopia) where everyone does everything right, just will never be a reality. Unfortunately. I lean towards intellectual elitism, or government run by the smart and the competent. But even I recognize the major flaw of human stupidity. How do you determine who is "good enough?" No matter how many standards you set, some dumb people will just fly under the radar and into the government. So that's screwed. We can't create utopias. The closest anyone has come is probably Socialistic countries like Sweden, and we're not getting any closer. lol. Anarchy has long been killed by the masses for many many reasons, chiefly their stupidity (by the way, I myself, acknowledge my own flaws and stupidity). In short: People are stupid and flawed, and therefore anarchy can't exist. If everyone were perfect, as theorized by totalimmortal, then we wouldn't even be having this discussion, and we'd already being operating under anarchy. =) P.S.: Forgot to mention this: Anyone ever read Aldous Huxley's [i]Brave New World[/i]? I thought of that when I was responding to this thread. It has a lot to do with utopias and my theory of equivalent exchange buds from its ending chapters.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]*huggles Azure* Oh my gosh. I'm so so sorry. I didn't even see your post at all last night when I posted again. ='( I really really apologize for that, it was an oversight and a mistake on my part. *huggles Azure again* I will try both the solutions you provided seeing as I have both windows office 2000 and windows 98 (okay, it's SE, but hey, it could still happen). I'll get back to you after that. Thank you for trying to help me though. I really appreciate it! *Edit* *jumps on top of Azure* OMG I LOVE YOU!!!! ^__________^ I wuvs Azure, he's the bestest!!!! I tried the second download for people that don't have Microsoft Office 2000 (because that one didn't work), and I was able to install the video card. I'm so happy! *dances like a ninny* Thank you so so much!!! ^_____^[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Hey, I said no laughing! =( I'm running on Windows 98 SE, uhm... I have no idea how much RAM I have, I've got an Intel Pentium III Processor, and the Radeon has 64 MB I think... It's okay if you can't get it, I'll probably end up either figuring it out (I understand it's very hard to diagnose a computer on a message board), or suffering in silence. =)[/color]

[color=#9933ff]First, some response to comments. [b]DarkOtakuBoy[/b] - are you from Jersey? Me too! ^_^; [b]Panda[/b] - I, too, think it's great that you have a positive attitude to everything. That's a great quality to have. ^_^ [b]ssjSolarPrincess[/b] - I admire you for supporting yourself in college! My mom did the same thing (paid for everything), and I've always thought her a great person for that. I think the same of you. Well, currently, I'm a sophomore in high school, with decent grades (A's and B's - no C's yet!). I don't know what college I want to go to yet, but this summer I'm looking at Tufts and Brown. (I've already looked at Vassar, where my sister went, Wellesley, Johns Hopkins, and I'm going to Princeton soon, to see what it looks like.) What will I major in? Probably a double major. Something either science related (Biochem/astrophysics????) or political science. I'm so much of a dreamer, I don't think I'll ever really amount to anything. As an actual life goal, I want to do something that will change the world. Maybe I'll do something with science and invent/discover something great. And sometimes I feel like I want to be the President of the USA (for real!), and sometimes I feel like I want to be a great philosopher for the history books. Anyway, the basic plan is to earn a six figure salary, get rich, quit whatever crappy job I was in, and then have enough money so that I can do whatever I want (see above) with the rest of my life! ^_____^ And yes, that is my actual plan, not some half-baked scheme. [quote name='Pumpkin']I've never longed for a family, as much as everyone else has. I guess its because of my parent's bad marriage, or my un-trustfulness when it comes to men, but I've always wanted to be a single mother, and adopt a child from a foreign country.[/quote] Ohh! Same for me, too! Growing up raised by my mom, I feel that there's a lot of conflict/issues when it comes to raising kids. And I'd have to compromise with my husband (and I cannot see me being married - *gag*), which is too much of a hassle for me. I don't really know if I want kids yet, but if I do, I will be a single mother and adopt a child from another country. ^_^; Is it just me, or do you all find me crazy, too?[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Wow! All of you have great family histories and are related to really cool people! That's... well, cool! ^_^; I'm related to Nelson Rockefeller (and all others that he's related to, obviously). I'm his 6th cousin. He's dead, of course, but that's not the point. So yeah, my relative was a VP! ^_^ When he was campaigning, he stopped at my mom's house, and stayed there for a night, and went out to dinner with them. She said it was a great time. =) I also have a Great Uncle (I don't really think he's that old, either - O_o) that writes books on spiritual stuff, like ghosts, and your spirit in you. Or maybe it's self-help. I can't remember. One of the true life stories in one of his books was on TV once. He lives in Florida, and I've never met him. But he wrote a book, so... lol. ^_^;[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Bear with me - I'm a bit of a computer retard. I bought a new video card to play Sims2 with, since my computer is old and craptastic. I bought the cheapest I could find (which probably wasn't a good idea, now that I think about it - >_

[color=#9933ff]I finally decided to check out this thread to see if it was what I thought it was about. And it is. Whoever said they never thought they'd see Obsessed Fan Girl Disorder/Can't Get a Grip on Reality Disorder actually diagnosed, I agree. I've bookmarked this thread forever, just because of that. The second thought that came into my mind was not to freak out about it. I don't know why all these people are telling you to dump her. Girls just get obsessed about this stuff. I have an entire list of bishounen (13, I think) including Ken Ichijouji, Quatre Raberba Winner, and Syaoran Li. Unless, she actually said to your face, or to her friend "I love Bakura more that you." And in that case, you should probably dump her. The excuse she's using is worse than "Sorry I can't go out - I have to wash my hair" which is the rudest thing someone can say, in my opinion. >.> In either situation, talk to her, first. Talking is always good. ^_^; Did she really choose Bakura? *_* I can see if it was season one or two, because he was an adorable Brit back then, but with the last couple seasons? That's just... eww. Gosh, at the very least she could have picked Yami, who looks great in that black sleeveless shirt. Or even Ryuuji. X_x; [/rant] [/color]

[quote name='Juuthena][size=1']But are you suggesting they're wealthier than America?... Also, it just so happens that there was a situation very similar to this earlier this summer. But of course, it was kept under wraps. Haiti (islands located about a puddle jump from Jamaica/Caribbean) were hit with massive storms during hurricane season in the summer of 2004. While the USA proposed (sorry, I had the number wrong the first time I mentioned this) six billion towards Florida + other states hit, with 20 dead, they sent $60,000 towards Haiti where they were digging mass graves for thousands of people dead. And yet, Venezuela even sent one million, as well as the European Union (1.8 million). After being criticised then, just as now, about the meagre contribution, they finally raised it to 2 million. Just another recent-ish situation I found interesting.[/size][/quote] [color=#9933ff]It was not "kept under wraps." I'm perfectly aware of what happened in Haiti during hurricane season - I'm sure it does happen once in a while, too, because it is a whole "season." Florida is a state in [b]our own country[/b]. Our obligation is first to help Floridians, and THEN to help other nations, not the other way around. It sounds selfish to you, doesn't it? But just consider it for a moment: The order of priority is [b]our country first and [i]then[/i] other nations[/b] - not the other way around. If you say: "Well.... it should be the other way around!" find me a country that has that attitude and I will wholly retract my statement. The fact that other nations were criticizing us totally proves my point - whatever we give we get criticized. We could have given nothing - we had enough on our plate with the hurricanes. But we gave to Haiti anyway, and then we gave some more to shut up the world. Venezuela can also afford to send the amount of donation they did, because, once again, they generate a lot of money because of the [b]oil[/b] found in their country. I agree with MehrLicht: The EU's donation was pretty weak, since it consists of MANY wealthy nations - the UK, France, Germany, to name a few. But I don't see anyone yelling at them. [quote name='Juuthena']Well, we managed to spend six billion for the hurricanes. But I do take into consideration the human efforts being sent, and I'm very thankful. What I keep saying is, his FIRST reaction of 20 million - not 35 million (that was the second press conference) wasn't exactly a fantastic way for such a powerful country where families have their own private swimming pools to respond to a disaster which hit a country where people were many people are still starving. And I never said America needs to take care of everyone, but we need to treat others just as we would want under crisis. We are constantly being aided internationally, but CNN and NBC in particular don't seem to fancy making a big deal out of it until America proposes something 'greater'.[/quote] You may think that the donation was weak, but in comparison to all other initial contributions, it was pretty large. I think I might still have the CNN Article: [url]http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/12/27/quake.aid/index.html[/url] I keep saying the same things over and over again, and I've seen nothing from anybody to convince me that we NEED to throw all the cash we have at every single country in need. I think I'm just going to stop debating now, because I don't think anybody's opinion is going to be changed by what I've said, and it's getting boring, reiterating the same position. [quote name='MehrLicht']well of course America would spend more money to rebuild one of her own states as apposed to giving it to aid Haiti. im so sick of all the "ooo america polices the globe! western culture is invading!" crap. cus when natural disaster or terrorists strike, who does everyone hold out their little hands to? [/quote] That's awesome stuff. (P.S.: Do you speak German?)[/color]

[color=#9933ff][size=1]Shucks, I guess I'm not part of the nifty committee. lol. This has been edited, and I've added my ten things! [b]What is it?[/b] Otaku Hollow [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] Because everybody loves stories about OtakuBoards - and this one is no exception. I especially felt loved for being an old member because I knew who the villain was (yes, I'm narcissistic). [b]What is it?[/b] DragonWarrior [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] Do I really have to explain this? Okay, fine. DW (Gavyn) is the master of innovation here at OtakuBoards. He brought you all "Otaku Hollow," he is the creator of the highly successful "Otaku Cards," and he even does, animation, such as, but not limited to, "Syk3: The corroded reindeer." And he does all of it with priceless humor! I don't think I've met anyone on OB except James that has the same amount of - not only creativity, but dedication, patience and effort to see his projects through to the end. Nothing is more common than intelligent or talented men. Nothing is as rare as intelligent or talented men who work hard and keep going, no matter what - that, is what Gavyn has. [b]What is it?[/b] Charles [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] I went through a lot of crap with Charles (he knows what i mean), and I learned that he is such a magnanimous person. His heart and ability to forgive anyone knows no bounds. Besides, how can he not be nifty? He?s an awesome writer, and a great administrator... and, as many people will agree, very good looking. ^_~ [b]What is it?[/b] tehsillycircus [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] I?m surprised no one?s mentioned this one. This chat lasted for a week - isn?t that insane? It was definitely a highlight of the past year; I had even made a banner for it: ?tehsillycircus: teh one and only AIM chat for Otakuboards members.? All the people in it were so cool - it was a total blast, until SOMEONE let it die. lol. [b]What is it?[/b] Ajeh and his myOtaku [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] I looked back, and almost every quiz in my myO, I stole from Ajeh. I think he always chooses to add interesting and informative quizzes to his myO. He has a style of writing in it that always makes me laugh. He also just has interesting stuff written in it. [b]What is it?[/b] Otaku Lounge [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] Good ol? GD. After v7 arrived, of course, the Digimon forum was gone. I spent a lot of my time in Otaku Lounge, chatting casually, or offering passionate debates. I enjoy Otaku Lounge, because anything goes, and there?s always something really interesting posted by someone. ^_^;[/color] My last four aren't incredibly ?nifty.? They are semi-nifty, and definitely please still take them into consideration, but know that they also shout outs to people, because I want everyone to know how awesome they are.[/size] [color=#9933ff][b]What is it?[/b] Syn/Kenji/whatever his name is now. [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] I think he?s nifty because he?s nifty. He?s also a very approachable and friendly person. His post quality is always great, and he has good things to say. He?s been such a pal to me this past year, listening to my boring problems and all. I really appreciate it. And besides, he always has great pictures to show me - he?s so sexy! ^_^ [b]What is it?[/b] The Vampire: Ed [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] He's OB's first vampire. And I know this was earlier on in the year, but he was also president of the cracker club, and I happen to like crackers, so I thought it was a cool club. ^_^ That aside, he's been a great friend to me through out the years and deserves to be recognized for that. I've always felt a connection with him that I could trust him with anything (and I have - lol), and it's great to be friends with someone like that. I'm truly lucky I've met him. [b]What is it?[/b] JCBaggee [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] He doesn't post a lot anymore, but he's been a really great friend to me. We shared a lot of fun, and funny times this year, with the twists and turns of AHB, "The One", the "Freshman hunter" saga, and our endless discussions on relationships. I've shared some of my personal secrets, fears, and experiences involving other people, with Chris. For me to be able to feel comfortable sharing those things with someone online make Chris a trusted friend who will [i]always[/i] lend an ear. It's been an absolute wonderful experience to meet him. [b]What is it?[/b] DeathKnight/DeathKnight's myOtaku [member] [b]Why was it nifty?[/b] In May and June he was fantastic to me - he took me through the whole second world war for my term paper, and he saved me hours of boredom by telling me what the point of Mein Kampf was (it's so annoying to sift through Hitler's crappy grammar). Ken is also a plethora of intelligent thought. Not only that, but even if I don't agree with stuff he says, what he write encourages me to make up my own opinion on morals, values, or theological ideas. This year was really an enlightenment for me - to see beyond a generic religion, and to begin to live by my own values. With his writings and thoughts, he nurtured and encouraged my self-discovery. This year, I've said that "I don't know what I'd do without Ken" a lot. Part of it has to do with that way he impacted me this year. The other part, of course, has to do with how great a friend he has been to me the whole way. Maybe he doesn't know it, but the times I was scared half to death, felt like I was crazy, or incredibly depressed, he was there to say "It's okay. I'm here." At that meant a lot to me. I love you so much, Ken. [i]I asked for a flower and He gave me a garden. I asked for a tree and He gave me a forest. I asked for a river and He gave me an ocean. I asked for a friend and He gave me you.[/i] I am extremely blessed by whatever God/ fate had me meet you, Ken. [/color]

[color=#9933ff]*nod* Actually, I saw something on the news last night that said these huge contributions might not even all get to the victims - according to the news article, it's all PR. It was talking about an earthquake that hit Iran last year. All these big countries pledged big donations, and less than half actually got to the city that was the epicenter (or got really damaged). I'm not saying this is the case with the Tsunami, considering that the news article never mentioned if the money was given to groups working to fix things up or the government. If they gave it to the govt. it probably went to fund a nuclear program. ¬_¬ But yes, all these contributions aren't going to magically fix things. They have the money - but currently (as of this second) they need [b]man power[/b], and Boba is right, no amount of money is going to fix that, unfortunately. >_

[quote name='Juuthena']Well, um. Tens of millions of Chinese men will find themselves single in the year 2020 because of that new law. Ah, the sweet smell of success.[/quote] Well nobody's actually named the law their talking about (Morpheus, I mean), so I'm assuming it's the One-child-for-every-family law. Restricting the population has very little to do with these single Chinese men. [b]Female infanticide[/b] does. That means when a woman finds out she's having a girl, she has the fetus aborted. Think about that for a minute. I can explain the whole situation, but it's a lot of typing and I'm really lazy at the moment. *_*; [quote name='Juuthena']Anyway, on the issue on benefit and 'playing mother' to other countries. The reason why America is put under high standards is because it's supposedly the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world. And yet, its first reaction was to pay less than 1/3 of what private organizations in England alone were able to raise? And anyone hear of a country named Qatar? It's a country smaller than Connecticut located in the Middle East, and yet they sent five million more than Bush first proposed to send. [/quote] I don't remember hearing about this at all. But let's assume it's true. I also read in the newspaper on Dec. 28th, that Saudi Arabia, at the time we had propose $35 million, were donating $10 million. OIL. OIL OIL OIL. The same goes for Qatar - OIL. The countries in the middle east that have oil are rolling in dough - they can definitely give a lot away. They make so much in oil it's not even funny. Their economy is also on the rise, while ours is in a freaking recession, so they can still afford to send the money. ~ The thing I don't think some of you take into consideration was at the time of the quake, the inital death toll was around 7,000. Then it was 15,000, then 22,000, 50,000, 75,000, 100,000, 150,000 people and I think its still rising. We didn't decide to give this $15 million knowing 150,000 + people had died. At that time, it was only 7,000 people or so, and the property damaged hadn't even begun to be assessed. How can you expect America to just throw their annual revenue of, what was it - 5 billion, I think - to the countries of the disaster when nobody even knew the figures of devastation coming out of it? You know what? I bet if we did spend that much money on them it still wouldn't be enough for you people who think America needs to take care of everyone. I stand by what Drix says.

[color=#9933ff]I'd like to point out that ever since the end of World War Two, America has, by way of retard documents (i.e., the one signed by Truman which got us served at Korea and Vietnam), nosed its way into other countries affairs which has totally screwed us over big time. Pretty much before then we were either trying to stabilize our government, having a good time at home, or being depressed (1930s). How is it in the last fifty years, we have managed to give our country a total make-over and have the world turn against us?!?! That's a rhetorical question, by the way, since I already answered it. I don't know what idiotic president (no, it didn't start with Bush) decided that we need to be the worlds humanitarian aid, but the title really doesn't suit us. What a country takes care of, first and foremost, [b]is its own people[/b]. A lot of you don't seem to grasp this fact. I even said, the point of foreign policy is to [b]benefit from it[/b]. I know, it's a total shock (in all seriousness, for me, it was), but it is not our obligation to play mother for every other country out there. Like I said, we could have been ruthless and cold hearted and not given a cent to the Tsunami Crisis. How is wasting away our money for this particular venture going to help America? It's not - it's not even in our interest, and we do it anyway, and you all seem to think that it's still not good enough. [quote name='Drix D'Zanth']The U.S. isn?t arrogant in giving money away, nor stingy. I?m just sick of the nation where it cannot win in any situation; if it doesn?t give what the rest of the world considers enough we?re ?stingy? if we give too much we?re ?arrogant? and if we kept to ourselves, well I can see us being called any number of things from that (tyrannical, uncaring, etc).[/quote] 'Nuff said.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I was going to put this on my list, but then I decided not to. But I saw Sara's list, so meh, I guess I'll put it up here. I'd really love to meet the Digi-gang. Remember when we all used to hang out in Digimon, sharing our FMDs (Sara actually had to tell me what the word meant), our stories, listening to Devidramon's super cool rants and episode guides to Tamers? His posts, along with reading fanfics to re-inforce the idea, totally converted this Takari fan to Daikari. And of course, who could forget: "Can you say Kenanne?" ^_~ So, yeah, with that said, it would be cool to meet up with all the old digi-goers - Cera (haha), Ginny, Shy, Nerdsey, Ben, Calumon_luver (for the life of me, what did she change her name to?), Na'dau, Baron Samedi (you little goober!), Blanko, Solo, Devidramon, and everyone else that I forgot, forgive me. *_*; By the way, if I didn't mention your name, and I do talk to you, it doesn't mean I forgot you - I just named people that lived close by me/that is feasible to see, currently. Don't worry, I didn't forget about y'all. ^_^;[/color]

[color=#9933ff]I never post in here - I feel like a a wary traveler wandering through the forest. *cries* ;____; I don't think there's a recent thread about this, but you can shoot me if there is. Cosplay. Has anyone every cosplayed? I made my first costume in time (or not in time, depending on if you count hemming with pins on time) for Halloween, 2005. I was very proud of it, since it wasn't as crappy as I thought it was going to be. I don't know if there will be cosplayers at my first convention (Anime Next, 2005), but I want to make a new costume for the summer, even if there isn't. The problem is, I can't think of anyone to cosplay! I don't want to be an FF character or Sakura Kinomoto (because I'd never be able to choose one - she has more costumes than there are cards!). Got any suggestions? Other than cosplay and myself, have you ever cosplayed for a convention? Won any awards? Had a funny story about your cosplaying experience? Let's hear them![/color]

[color=#9933ff]Gosh. There's too many OBers to mention that I would love to meet up with. I can't even begin naming them all, because I know I'd end up forgetting at least 20 people. *____*; I found out I live close to Annie, so running into her sometime... somewhere... is possible. The Vampire: Ed and Charles both live in New Jersey, so I would like to meet them some time (Southern Jersey, but still). Kevin, aka Rick Hunter lives in NYC, and I've actually arranged to meet him twice, but it was spur of the moment, and he had work, so that was a no go. I haven't told him yet, but I'm planning on meeting up with him at Anime Next, which is in the Meadowlands. This year it's June 17-19. Luminaire (an old member - holler if you remember her!) and I are going with a couple people from school, and we want to meet Kevin there. If you're going/ want to go to Anime Next and meet up, let me know. ^_^;; If my Academic Decathalon team makes it to nationals, we get to go to Chicago, which is, of course, where Semjaza is, so if we win, I might nag him to come see Lumi and I. Next year's AcaDec nationals are being held in San Antonio, so next year Lumi and I really have to work hard if we want to see Ken - one of, if not the most awesomest people everest!!! *huggle* And of course, I do want to meet up with Juuthena, so we can discuss how crappy our hair is, and so she can show me around San Fran. - the cool beans place where I can say "OMG - there's an Asian! And that's an Asian too!!11" There's a bunch of people going to AX 2005 this year, so anyone in the area, or who wants to go, I'm just letting you know, that way you can meet up with coolio OBers! ^_^;[/color]

[color=#9933ff]See, the problem with North Korea is that they actually have threatened to use their weapons. We haven't. Of course, any idiot who can spell antidisestablishmentarianism knows that they're just looking for attention (I'll get to that in a sec.), but they have been threatening it. It's kinda like the mentally unstable person who shouts "BOMB!" on the plane - there's no bomb but it gets everyone on the plane terribly upset. I think the "Axis of Evil" is the dumbest thing ever said by a world leader (because Bush, although arguably bright, isn't very articulate). But that doesn't mean NK isn't a threat. They're waving a gun in their hands and hostility is usually the reaction. The other reason people don't like NK, is because erm... Kim Jong Il is a psycho. N. Koreans are very poor (I'm not saying everyone - gosh by no means as poor as people in say, Africa), but they do get quite a lot of humanitarian relief aid from places like the UN (and coincidentally we give the most funds to the UN). And what do they do with the aid? Kim Jong Il feeds it to his army (or to the families with someone in his army). This goes back to why we're worried about such a tiny little country with Nukes - even if he's not using them, he has the [b]fourth largest army in the world[/b]. By the way, NK is geographically located between S. Korea, China, and, Japan. Either way you want to go - troops or nukes, they have the means to attack two countries we're friendly with, especially Japan, the major country we have ties to. If we "lose" Japan, we lose any influence we had in Asia, since, as this thread has shown, most people don't like the US, especially people like the Chinese (who have the man power to defeat us). Personally, I don't think Bush knows anything about fiscal policy or financing - so he sends crappy aid. We don't even have enough aid for the troops in Iraq. He went in with out a friggin' exit (which is why some people are grumbling now). I could be entirely wrong (please please correct me if I am), but I think you're getting the dates for aid pledged in money incorrect. As far as I know (from what I read in the news paper two days afterward), at that time, all the countries around the world were still assessing damages, and how much money would be needed to clean up the mess. At that time, the US pledged $15 million, the EU pledged $4 million, Australia sent $7.8 million, and the Spanish offered $1.3 million. Other countries and charities (UNICEF, Red Cross/Crecent, individual charities) were also donating money, but not as mush as the countries. Needless to say, America has upped its pledge to $350 million the last time I checked, and probably still rising as the death toll climbs. All this criticizing of America's contribution is more proof that the world isn't in love with us - we do something nice (we could have been total selfish jerks and not sent anything), and people criticize us anyway. Damned if we do damned if we don't (I'm not saying that we didn't deserve it, but we get criticized whatever we do)[/color]

[color=#9933ff]Yeah, I think it was a good decision. I really don't think you can judge a situation like that until you're in it. In scary times like that, I just think primordial human instincts take over. I just thought of this - my mother said she's been to Phuket before (lovely island). I told her "Well, if you ever go back, it sure as heck won't be the same." It was kinda sad. I heard that it will take 5-10 years to totally clean up the entire area, which is kinda sad, too. =([/color]

[color=#9933ff]Edit. Yeah, I know I had a question here before, but I've retracted that. I understand now. Zero - I know you want to believe that the world loves America, but you have to face the fact: They don't. It's an undeniable irrefutable fact: They don't. Or, if I may clarify that, many many many people, for whatever reason - justifiable or not, fairly or not, do NOT like our government and our foreign policy. They may love American people (er... yeah, that's debatable but I won't get into it), but certainly not our government. That is a FACT - not an opinion.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]lol. Yes, it does seem like we're always at war, doesn't it? We're either in an actual declared war, a conflict, or small wars (Kosovo was the last one I can remember - *_*) The thing about capitalism in NK - it's just propaganda. So I personally wouldn't count those people. But hey, that's me. If someone has come to the conclusion that they hate America for their own free will, I'll take those people seriously, because they haven't been forcefed propaganda and a nuke-loving country with an egocentric ruler who uses international aid to fund his personal army.[/color]

[color=#9933ff]You live in the city? Spiffy. Someone else I know that lives there! lol. ^_^; Do you like it, or is it drab? Everyone I know that's visited loves it, and most of the people I know that live there totally hate it. *_*[/color]

[color=#9933ff]And NK's opinion counts for what? :therock: There's always goings to be people who either like America or don't like us. It's what you get for being the country in the limelight all the time. Aren't there countries, or the government of countries that you don't like? Iran, NK, maybe? I personally don't like the French gov't, but hey. *shrug* It's so amusing to see countries like Bangladesh, where we try to do the right thing and get stabbed in the back. It seems like the phrase "damned if you do, damned if you don't" was made just to apply to America. Heaven's Cloud - I gotcha about the surplus. And yeah, I know debt isn't bad, I just personally think the debt right now is quite a lot. But hey, that's me. >

[color=#9933ff]Attimus331 - Your first real solid info in this thread? >< Well, at least you know now... ZeroAnime - I'm sure you wouldn't feel that way if it was someone you knew. Yes, I do agree this is population control, but it's also so many loved ones perished. But I guess you don't think about anyone but yourself. Tigervx - The sad thing is, I don't know if there will be a Tsunami system set up. Most of the countries affected are third-world countries that don't have the money for these things. Unless the EU/Britain, America, and Australia want to pour in more money, these countries have their hands tied with cleaning up this mess and dealing with all the other problems they have. It's really disheartening, when you think about it. ='([/color]

[color=#9933ff]I don't know - I felt like I was being a jerk by saying that I've been to New York a lot. I'm glad you don't think I'm a jerk. ^_^; You live an hour away? Wow. I'm 30-45 min. away, depending on traffic. So you're just a little bit farther away from NYC than I am! I'm assuming you live in New York, then. I live in NJ - where our air and water is contaminated! but I'm 15 min. from the NY border via 287. And I found that out two months ago - really creepy. o_o; Methuselah - *grin* Phantom was my first play actually. I'm glad it was. It really is awesome. ^_^[/color]