214 thoughts on “The Dark Side of The Moon<”

1. Wil, I understand completely. I’ve been bummed about the state of the world at the moment as well.
   I am going through personal changes, too (some of you know that I’m moving), and that doesn’t help my stress level as well.
   But we must remember that amongst the chaos is beauty. There are still seven things to be happy about every week, every DAY, for that matter. Why don’t you take a moment to list your seven for today?
   We should feel fortunate for what we have, cherish the moments we share with our loved ones, and live for the moment.
   Because we never know when it will all change.
   Chin up, Wil, we’re all in this with ya.
   /cp

2. http://www.timesofindia.com
   there’s more :-/
   i think everything is cyclic, and the key is to be at peace with oneself, because that’s the only way one can deal with the events on the outside. Recognizing that one is only responsible for one’s own actions is a valuable thing – sorta reinforces the courage of one’s own conviction to face whatever dastardly bullcrap that goes on in the world.
   peace!
   ~A

3. No, you are not alone. I am very frightened about the state of the world and feeling helpless in trying to stop it. I do what I can, but I retreat more and more because I just can’t handle the way it is. And people outside of California are hearing about the little girl. I am trying to hang on, waiting for the pendulum to start swinging back the other way. I just hope it’s not too late.

4. what is it that they say, if the though passes through your head, that’s ok, but if you hold on to it for 2 days and then put it on your website for people to read, seek help…

5. No Wil, your not alone, it is a dark dark world out there right now. I hear somthing on the news that horrifys me almost every night, and well that is just not a good thing.
   I don’t know what has happend to the world, and to be honest, it scares me to think where its gonna be in 10 – 20 years.
   My fience and I talk about plans to have kids some day, but what kind of world are they going to have.
   Whats our legasy?
   I wish I knew what to do.
   I will just have to do my best to try and make the world a better place, one day at a time. I hope and prey thats enough.
   If we all just take a moment or two out of our day to try and do the same thing, maybe things can change…
   Maybe…
   I know how you feel Wil…
   I wish I Dident
   🙁
   Yours,
   Cindy Andrie

6. I can’t believe that, in the midst of all the seriousness, you made that remark about Battlefield Earth. Why would you do that? It wasn’t funny.

7. I just reread your entry and just saw this quote:
   “Am I the only one who reads the paper, listens to NPR, and thinks that something is terribly, terribly wrong?”
   I think it’s ironic that the media brings us this information/news, yet it can also bring us completely asinine crap.
   The problem is that people are not paying enough attention to the important issues and are so much more attentive to the crap. I try to talk about these issues with my co-workers and the give me blank stares. Mention that so-and-so is dating whatsisface, and they can go on for eons about it. I read the newspaper in the lunchroom while everyone else seems to be watching soap operas and reading People Magazine. What gives?
   /cp

8. It is okay. I have been feeling down about the world and my life lately. It is sad and depressing true but I know that there is still a lot in the world that is good. Wil think of your wife and children. If you are having a hard time thinking about some thing good about the world look to them. I hope you will feel good soon. As for me I will be taking a trip to my hometown of Reno Nevada. I think seeing some old friends will make me feel better. Later. Hope things get better for you.

9. Wil I completely understand what you’re saying. Whenever I actually get the chance to listen to the news I wonder why exactly people hurt other people. There’s a quote that I use to help me understand things and comfort me when I get upset about the state of the world. “Tex” Evans, the founder of a great organization called the Appalachian Service Project once said “Accept people just as they are, right where they are.” I know it doesn’t excuse anything, or make anything right, but it helps me to step back and look at things. It also makes me wish that more people could think like this, and that if we could all use this and take it to heart, everybody might be a lot happier. I think it’s time for another seven things I’m thankful for.
   1. Friends who will sit in a smoky cafe at 1 in the morning an listen to you.
   2. Being in college and getting a great education in theater.
   3. ASP (the Appalachain Service Project I mentioned) for teaching me so much about tolerance and how to live my life.
   4. My parents. For everything.
   5. WWDN for making me think about things and giving me a forum to voice my thoughts on.
   6. My roommate for being awesome.
   7. Shiny things for amusing me so much so easily.
   Maybe things will change, maybe they won’t. You never know.

10. You’re not the only one, not by a long shot.
    I have long since ceased to be surprised by the depth of man’s inhumanity toward other men. But there’s something that happens every so often that keeps me from being a total cynic.
    Every so often, someone’s randomly nice. Every once in a while, the lady with the cart full of groceries and a folder full of coupons will let me and my carton of milk and bag of kitty litter go ahead of her in the checkout line.
    Nothing can ease the pain and fear and anguish of those people losing their daughter. They may never be all right again, and understandably so. Our children are supposed to be immortal to us. We die before them, so that they’re immortal in our eyes. And when that gets reversed… it’s hard. Their friends aren’t going to know what to do for them. They may not know what to do for themselves. But what WE can do is start a change. In small ways, it matters a lot. Be nice to someone tomorrow. Instead of screaming at the guy who cut you off, let it slide. Open a door for someone. Hold the elevator for that person who’s truckin’ across the lobby, instead of letting the door slide shut. Buy your S. O. a present, something goofy. Daisies are always good, or maybe some silly putty or a kid’s toy of some sort.
    Just… do a kindness, even if it doesn’t seem like a big deal at the time you do it, you’ll feel better. Adding to the universal balance of good karma or whatever you want to call it is always better than adding to the negativity.
    OK… I’ve blathered enough. Thanks in advance for not making too much fun of me.
    Eri

11. I’ve been feeling the same way recently — with the added joy that no one else seems to care very much. That’s part of why I enjoy coming to your site, Wil. You notice that the world is pretty screwed up and you care enough to do something about it. You give me faith that humanity does still have some redeeming value.
    How’s that for a cheery thought? 😉

12. I totally agree. These days, I don’t even want to read the newspaper. With all these things you’ve just said, as well as the post 9-11 “war” being used as excuse to hammer all sorts of nasty things through congress (or just decree them, a la John Ashcroft), we’re definitely in tough times.
    I think we need to take solace in the goodness of people that we do see around us, and in each doing our part to be a positive influence. If everyone does a little bit of good, hopefully that adds up to something.
    Remember your advice from a few days ago to think about those 7 things you’re thankful for every day. Now more than ever.
    Best regards,
    Tony

13. You are definitely not alone. We are quite aware of the little girl over here in Minnesota and our thoughts are with her family. The state of the world is quite depressing, but as a college student getting ready to graduate, I find it best to think about what good is going on and what could be going on to fix things. Without thinking positively, it is quite easy to shrivel up inside and shut everything out, thinking things won’t get better. What personally keeps me going is the experience I had in South Africa in January of 2001. I met so many people there who went through so much, still have so little, and are still so warm, friendly and giving. Their love gives me faith in the human race that nothing else right now can give me.
    Keep Smiling,
    Stef

14. No dude…I hear ya…think most people are prolly hearin ya too…
    hell…I’m reenlisting…have lots of prospects out here in Misery (read Missouri)…but ya feel kind of helpless and want to do something about it…all the flag waving and words and patriotism is great, but there’s a time for action…whether its these f’ed up crimes, murders and kidnappings goin on…or someones twisted ambitions overseas…well…ya gotta do what have to to get by…
    anyways…try to relax a bit and enjoy the wife and kids 😉
    Joshua

15. Let’s all go here, breath deeply, & relax for a bit…
    http://dailymotivator.com/memberflash/rightnow.html

16. It gets worse, Wil. Our lack of respect for other living beings is destroying us and our planet. If we don’t wake up soon, global warming will be the least of our problems. Our children are dying of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other diseases of affluence. We slaughter 9 billion animals a year for food. Americans are fatter than they have ever been. Parents are dying from heart attacks. Sisters are dying from cancer. Innocent children are being starved to death in Third World countries because Americans insist of feeding our grain to animals instead of people. We’re losing topsoil faster than ever before in history. Our forests are disappearing. Hell is a world where 40,000 children starve to death every damn day.
    I don’t want to sound cold, but the one little girl in LA is really not going to tip the scale of injustice one way or the other.
    Please read the information below, and consider making the right choice for everyone: go vegan. For yourself, the planet, and the animals that share it with us.
    U.S. cancer deaths attributable to diet: One-third (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Jan 95. “Position of the American Dietetic Association: Cost-Effectiveness of Medical Nutrition Therapy”, Volume 95, Number 1, p. 88-91.)
    Groups recommending generous amounts of fruits & vegetables to reduce cancer risk: National Research Council, National Cancer Institute, & the American Cancer Society (Wattenberg, Lee W. Cancer Research, April 1, 1995, “Inhibition of Carcinogenesis by Minor Dietary Constituents”, Volume 52, Number 7 (Supplement), p. 2090S.)
    Leading cause of death in US: Heart Disease (Williams, Roger R. 1994. “Diet, Genes, Early Heart Attacks, and High Blood Pressure,” Nutrition in the ’90s: Current Controversies and Analysis, Edited by Frank N. Kotsonis and maureen A. Mackey; Marcel Dekker, Inc.New York, p. 25-44.)
    U.S. residents who will die from heart disease: Nearly 50% (Hans Diehl, 1994. “Reversing Coronary Heart Disease,” Western Diseases: Their Dietary Prevention and Reversibility, N.J. Temple and D.P. Burkitt, Humana Press, Totowa, NJ, p. 237-316.)
    Experience of most heart disease patients following Dr. Dean Ornish’s program (which is based on a very low-fat vegetarian diet): Coronary Blockages Reverse (Gould, K. Lance; Ornish, Dean, et. al., Sept. 20, 1995. JAMA, “Changes in Myocardial Perfusion Abnormalities by Positron Emission Tomography After Long-term, Intense Risk Factor Modification”, Volume 274, Number 11, p. 894-901.)
    Veterinarian’s assessment of raising parasite-free livestock: “…Virtually Impossible…” (Haynes, N. Bruce, DVM. 1994. Keeping Livestock Healthy: A Veterinary Guide to Horses, Cattle, Goats & Sheep, Storey Communications, Pownal, VT. p. 258.)
    Leading source of kidney failure among North American children: E. coli Infection (July 23, 94, “To Zap or Not to Zap,” The Economist, p. 27-28.)
    U.S. supermarket ground beef infected with E. coli: 4% (Herbert, Bob. July 7, 1995, “Bad Meat and Politics,” New York Times, p. A25.)
    Time needed for campylobacter to infect every chicken in a 20,000 bird house: A Few Days (Madden, Robert H. July, 1994. “Microbial Hazards in Animal Products,” Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Volume 53, Number 2, p. 313.)
    Number of antibiotics allowed in U.S. milk: 80 ( Begley, Sharon. March 28, 1994 , “The End of Antibiotics,” Newsweek, p. 47-51)
    Number of antibiotics for which U.S. milk is tested: 4 ( Ibid.)
    Human infections resistant to all antibiotics: “…Rapidly Increasing…” (September, 1995. U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, Impacts of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, Washington, DC, p. 1.)
    Leading source of human exposure to dioxin: Meat, Dairy, Eggs & Fish (Fries, George F. June 1995, “A Review of the Significance of Animal Products as Potential Pathways of Human Exposures to Dioxins,” Journal of Animal Science, Volume 73, Number 6, p. 1639-1650.)
    Ranchers’ reaction to proposed reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park area: Filed Lawsuit (Egan, Timothy Dec 11, 1994. “Ranchers Balk at U.S. Plans to Return Wolf to the West,” New York Times, Section A, p. 1, 44.)
    Chicken manure generated each day in U.S.: 120 million kilograms (Mountney, George J.; Parkhurst, Carmen R., 1995, Poultry Products Technology, Third Edition, Food Products Press, Binghamton, NY, p. 335.)
    U.S. corn eaten by people: 2% (1994. 1993/94 World Maize Facts and Trends, CIMMYT, Mexico City, p. 50, 52.)
    U.S. corn eaten by livestock: 77% (Ibid.)
    Percentage of world grain supply eaten by livestock: 38% (Durning, A.T.; Brough, H.B. “Reforming the Livestock Economy,” Brown, L.R., editor, State of the World, 1992, W.W. Norton and Company, New York, p. 66-82.)
    U.S. land producing vegetables: 4 million acres (January, 1993.1992 Census of Agriculture, Table 0A, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C.)
    U.S. fruit and nut orchards: 5 million acres (Ibid)
    U.S. land producing hay for livestock: 56 million acres (Ibid)
    Anesthetic typically used during pig castration: None (White, R.G., et al. February, 1995, “Vocalization and Physiological Response of Pigs During Castation With or Without a Local Anesthetic,” Journal of Animal Science, Volume 73, Number 2, p. 381-386.)
    Solution to the unhealthy air quality in commercial hog farms: “…wear a suitable mask at all times in hog facilities.” (Morrison, W.D., Hacker, R.R.; Smith, J.H.; Morrison, W.D. June 1991, “Dust in Hog Growing Facilities: A Research Update,” Highlights of Agricultural and Food Research in Ontario, Volume 14, Number 2, p. 6-10.)
    Total human attention given over four months to a factory-farmed pig: 12 minutes (Kilman, Scott. May 4, 1995, “Iowans Can Handle Pig Smells, but This is Something Else,”Wall Street Journal, p. A1, A6.)
    Of 1,324 chickens dying in transport to slaughterhouse, the ratio dying of heart failure: Half (Gregory, N.G. Mar-94, “Pathology and Handling of Poultry at the Slaughterhouse, ” World’s Poultry Science Journal, Volume 50, Number 1, p. 66-67.)
    Age of these chickens (that died of heart failure): Eight Weeks (Ibid.)
    Most profitable number of laying hens to keep in one commercial 30.5 by 50.8 cm cage: Five (Fraser, David. 1993. “Assessing Animal Well Being: Common Sense, Uncommon Science,” Food Animal Well Being 1993 Conference Proceedings and Deliberations, USDA and Perdue University Office of Agricultural Research Papers, West Lafayette, IN, p. 41.)
    Time a chicken spends under these conditions to lay a single egg: Over 24 hours (Gay, Carol V. 18-Jul-92, “Penn State Poultry Pointers: Building Better Bones,” Lancaster Farming, p. C5)
    Number of meat, milk, and egg producing animals slaughtered each year in US: Over Six Billion (January, 1993. 1992 Census of Agriculture, U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D.C. Tables 20-25.)
    December 1995 government conclusion on typical health of vegetarians: “…Excellent Health.” (1995. Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fourth Edition, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.)
    Some recent additions:
    In Finland, a study of 21,930 men showed that a high-fiber diet protected against heart attack. The men’s risk of dying from a heart attack dropped 17 percent for each additional 10 grams of fiber eaten daily.
    A recent study by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute showed a low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables proved to be the best treatment for high blood pressure.
    Early results of a long-term study of healthy women showed eating a diet rich in vitamin B6 and folic acid — contained in such foods as dark green leafy vegetables, peas and dried beans — may cut a woman’s chances of getting heart disease by 50%. The findings were from the Nurse’s Health Study, an ongoing research project.
    A new study of 88 elderly people aged 65 or older who took 200 milligrams of vitamin E each day for about four months showed they significantly boosted their immune system’s ability to ward off disease. The results appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
    Researchers writing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found a link between prostate cancer and the consumption of saturated fat.
    The Journal of the American College of Nutrition recently reported that adding fruits, vegetables and complex carbohydrates to a sensible diet reduces a person’s risk of a second heart attack, which shows that it is never too late to adopt healthy lifestyles. In a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, coronary lesions shrank in 28 percent of heart patients who followed an intensive exercise program, versus 6 percent who received standard care.
    In clinical studies at Harvard University’s Mind/Body Institue, a number of interesting effects were seen resulting from the practice of a 20 minute daily meditation period: chronic pain patients reduced their physican visits by 36 percent; 80 percent of hypertensive patients lowered their blood pressure and decreased medications; open heart surgery patients suffered fewer post-operative complications; and 75 percent of insomnia patients became normal sleepers, with 90 percent able to reduce their use of sleeping medications. High school students, meanwhile, significantly increased their self-esteem.
    Says Leslie Teets, M.D., director of the Center for Behavioral Medicine at Columbia Hospital in Richmond, Virginia: “The research shows that we are captains of our own destiny. Even if we are genetically pre-disposed to certain diseases, we don’t have to accept that as fate. Changes in lifestyle can change the course of our health history. The choices we make and the way we live push us in different directions.”
    “Studies indicate that vegetarians often have lower morbidity and mortality rates… Not only is mortality from coronary artery disease lower in vegetarians than in nonvegetarians, but vegetarian diets have also been successful in arresting coronary artery disease. Scientific data suggest positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for…obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and some types of cancer.”
    – American Dietetic Association Position Paper on Vegetarian Diets
    Water Required to produce one pound of U.S.beef:
    (per Dr. Georg Borgstrom, Chairman of Food Science and Human Nutrition Dept of College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Michigan State University) 2,500 gallons
    Water required to produce 1 pound of California beef:
    per the Water Education Foundation 2,464 gallons
    Water Required to produce one pound of California foods
    (according to Soil and Water Specialists, University of California Agricultural Extension, working with livestock farm advisors)
    1 pound of lettuce
    1 pound of tomatoes
    1 pound of potatoes
    1 pound of wheat
    1 pound of carrots
    1 pound of apples
    1 pound of chicken
    1 pound of pork
    1 pound of beef 23 gallons
    23 gallons
    24 gallons
    25 gallons
    33 gallons
    49 gallons
    815 gallons
    1,630 gallons
    5,214 gallons
    Water required to produce 1 pound of beef:
    per David Pimentel, Ph.D., Professor of Ecology and Agricultural Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 12,009 gallons
    Putting water use info into perspective
    If you shower each day for 7 minutes, using a shower with a flow rate of 2 gallons per minute, you are using 14 gallons of water per day (7 minutes x 2 gallons), or 98 gallons per week. Rounding that up to 100 gallons per week, in 52 weeks you would be using 5,200 gallons of water per year to take a daily shower.
    Comparing 5,200 gallons of water used by taking a 7 minute shower every day for a year, to the 5,214 gallons of water it takes to produce a pound of beef (using the estimate noted by water specialists at the University of California, noted above), you realize that in California today, you can save more water by not eating a pound of beef than you will save by not showering for a year.
    Take your choice — 4 hamburgers or a year’s worth of showers?
    According to the calculations of the celebrated Dr. Pimentel of Cornell, you could go two years without a shower and still not save as much water as you would by not eating one pound of beef.
    Number of people whose food energy needs can be met by the food produced on 2.5 acres of land:
    If the land is producing cabbage
    If the land is producing potatoes
    If the land is producing rice
    If the land is producing corn
    If the land is producing wheat
    If the land is producing chicken
    If the land is producing milk
    If the land is producing eggs
    If the land is producing beef 23 people
    22 people
    19 people
    17 people
    15 people
    2 people
    2 people
    1 person
    1 person
    “In a world where an estimated one in every six people goes hungry every day, the politics of meat consumption are increasingly heated, since meat production is an inefficient use of grain — the grain is used more efficiently when consumed directly by humans. Continued growth in meat output is dependent on feeding grains to animals, creating competition for grain between affluent meat eaters and the world’s poor.” -Worldwatch Institute
    Where most Americans get their information about foods: Advertising
    Amount spent annually by Kelloggs to promote Frosted Flakes:
    Amount spent annually by dairy industry on “milk mustache” ads:
    Amount spent annually by McDonald’s advertising its products:
    Amount spent annually by the National Cancer Institute promoting fruits and vegetables: $40 million
    $190 million
    $800 million
    Just $1 million
    “What humans do over the next 50 years will determine the fate of all life on the planet.”
    – David Attenborough
    http://www.whyvegan.org
    http://www.vegan.com
    http://www.vegsource.com
    http://www.foodrevolution.com
    Peace and love,
    John

17. I’m not sure I’d agree that it’s “falling apart”. It’s always been like that, but there have been significant improvements in the last century. Things are very far from perfect, but on the whole getting better. Compare 60-100 years ago to now:
    -Civil Rights
    -Human Rights
    -Better social support for the disabled and elderly.
    -Agencies like UNICEF that make a significant impact in the eradication of disease and the rights of children.
    -The rights of women (to vote, etc.)
    -The end of fascism in Europe
    -The end of totalitarism in the Soviet Union (yes, there’s still more to be done, though …)
    -and so on: make your own list.
    Plus, let’s not forget that we simply KNOW MORE about the plight of our fellow human beings because of radio, tv, the Web, and so on, and while reality smacks us hard in the face a lot of the time, action can arise out of that. It’s what you do with those feelings that count – if you’re overwhelmed and turn away, nothing changes.

18. More information for your consumption.
    Although cattle grazing in the West has polluted more water, eroded more topsoil, killed more fish, displaced more wildlife, and destroyed more vegetation than any other land use, the American public pays ranchers to do it!”
    -Ted Williams, environmental author
    “Genetically engineered crops were created not because they’re productive but because they’re patentable. Their economic value is oriented not toward helping subsistence farmers to feed themselves but toward feeding more livestock for the already overfed rich.” -Amory and Hunter Loving, Founders of Rocky Mountain Institute
    DIET AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE
    Drop in heart disease risk for every 1 percent decrease in blood cholesterol: 3-4 percent
    Blood cholesterol levels of vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians: 14 percent lower
    Risk of death from heart disease for vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians: Half
    Blood cholesterol levels of vegans ( no meat, eggs, or dairy products) compared to non-vegetarians: 35 percent lower
    Intake of cholesterol for non-vegetarians: 300-500 milligrams/day
    Intake of cholesterol for lacto-ovo vegetarians: 150-300 milligrams/day
    Intake of cholesterol for vegans: Zero
    Average cholesterol level in the United States: 210
    Average cholesterol level of U.S. vegetarians: 161
    Average cholesterol level of U.S. vegans: 133
    Percentage of adult daily value for saturated fat in one Double Whopper with cheese: 130%
    Percentage of eight-year-old child’s daily value for saturated fat in one Double Whopper with cheese: More than 200%
    “A large and convincing body of evidence from studies in humans . . . shows that diets low in saturated fatty acids and cholesterol are associated with low risks and rates of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”
    -U.S. National Research Council, in “Diet and Health, Implications for Reducing Chronic Disease Risk”
    “In regions where meat is scarce, cardiovascular disease is unknown.”
    – Time Magazine
    Risk of dying during bypass surgery: 4.6%-11.9%
    Risk of permanent brain damage from bypass surgery: 15%-44%
    Recipients of bypass surgery for whom it prolongs life: 2%
    Risk of death during angioplasty: 0.4%-2.8%
    Risk of major complication developing during angioplasty: 10%
    Studies that have found that angioplasty prolongs life or prevents heart attacks: Zero
    Number of patients on Dr. Dean Ornish’s vegan diet program that achieve reversal of atherosclerosis: Three out of every four
    Average reduction in arterial blockage after five years on the Ornish program: 8%
    Most common problem for which people go to doctors in the U.S.: High blood pressure
    Ideal blood pressure (without medication): 110/70 or less
    Average blood pressure of vegetarians: 112/69
    Average blood pressure of non-vegetarians: 121/77
    Incidence of high blood pressure in meat eaters compared to vegetarians: Nearly triple
    Patients with high blood pressure who achieve substantial improvement after switching to a vegetarian diet: 30%-70%
    Incidence of high blood pressure among senior citizens in the U.S.: More than 50%
    Incidence of high blood pressure among senior citizens in countries eating traditional, low-fat plant-based diets: Virtually none
    DIET AND CANCER
    Death rate from breast cancer in the United States:
    Death rate from breast cancer in Japan:
    Death rate from breast cancer in China: 22.4 (per 100,000)
    6.3 (per 100,000)
    4.6 (per 100,000)
    Primary reasons for difference:
    People in China and Japan eat more fruits and vegetables and fewer animal products, weigh less, drink less alcohol, and get more exercise than people in the United States.
    Number of lives lost to colon cancer each year in the United States: 55,000
    Risk of colon cancer for women who eat red meat daily compared to those who eat it less than once a month: 250 percent greater
    Risk of colon cancer for people who eat red meat once a week compared to those who abstain: 38 percent greater
    Risk of colon cancer for people who eat poultry once a week compared to those who abstain: 55 percent greater
    Risk of colon cancer for people who eat poultry four times a week compared to those who abstain: 200-300 percent greater
    Risk of colon cancer for people who eat beans, peas, or lentils at least twice a week compared to people who avoid these foods: 50 percent lower
    Impact on risk for colon cancer when diets are rich in the B-vitamin folic acid: 75 percent lower
    Primary food sources of folic acid: Dark green leafy vegetables, beans, and peas
    Most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide: lung cancer
    Number of lives lost in the U.S. to lung cancer annually: 150,000
    Impact on risk of lung cancer for people who frequently eat green, orange and yellow vegetables: 20%-60% reduction
    Impact on risk of lung cancer among people who consume a lot of apples, bananas and grapes: 40% reduction
    Diet Costs Economy More than Smoking:
    Annual medical costs in the United States directly attributable to smoking:
    Annual medical costs in the United States directly attributable to meat consumption:
    $65 billion
    $60-120 billion
    Most common cancer among American men: prostate cancer
    Risk of prostate cancer for men who consume high amounts of dairy products: 70% increase
    Risk of prostate cancer for men who consume soy milk daily: 70% reduction
    Risk of prostate cancer for men whose intake of cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, mustard greens, turnips) is high: 41% reduction
    “Five to ten percent of all cancers are caused by inherited genetic mutations. By contrast, 70 to 80 percent have been linked to [diet and other] behavioral factors.”
    -Karen Emmons, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
    “Now some people scoff at vegetarians, but they have only 40 percent of our cancer rate. They outlive us. On average they outlive other men by about six years now.”
    -William Castelli, M.D., Director, Framingham Heart Study; National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute
    “If you step back and look at the data [on beef and cancer], the optimum amount of red meat you eat should be zero.”
    -Walter Willett, M.D., Chairman of the Nutrition Department, Harvard School of Public Health, and director of a study of 88,000 American nurses that analyzed the link between diet and colon cancer
    DIET AND OSTEOPOROSIS
    Countries with the highest consumption of dairy products: Finland, Sweden, United States, England
    Countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis: Finland, Sweden, United States, England
    Daily calcium intake for African Americans: More than 1,000 mg
    Daily calcium intake for black South Africans: 196 mg
    Hip fracture rate for African Americans compared to black South Africans: 9 times greater
    Calcium intake in rural China: One-half that of people in the United States
    Bone fracture rate in rural China: One-fifth that of people in the United States
    “Beyond weaning age, children and adults of various countries and food cultures subsist on diets differing markedly in their calcium content. These differences in calcium intake . . . have not been demonstrated to have any consequences for nutritional health.”
    -Health Canada’s Nutrition Recommendations
    Foods that when eaten produce the most calcium loss through urinary excretion: Animal protein and coffee
    Amount of calcium lost in the urine of a woman after eating a hamburger: 28 milligrams
    Amount of calcium lost in the urine of a woman after drinking a cup of coffee: 2 milligrams
    Average daily calcium intake of vegans: 437mg-1,100 mg
    Calcium absorption rates
    (according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition):
    Brussels sprouts
    Mustard greens
    Broccoli
    Turnip greens
    Kale
    Cow’s milk 63.8 percent
    57.8 percent
    52.6 percent
    51.6 percent
    32 percent
    Other milk facts:
    Children with chronic constipation so intractable that it can’t be treated with laxatives who are cured by switching from cow’s milk to soy milk: 44%
    Lactose intolerance among people of Asian descent: 90%-100%
    Lactose intolerance among Native Americans: 95%
    Lactose intolerance among people of African descent: 65%-75%
    Lactose intolerance among people of Italian descent: 65%-70%
    Lactose intolerance among people of Hispanic descent: 50%-60%
    Lactose intolerance among people of Caucasian descent: 10%
    Average American’s estimate when asked what percentage of adults worldwide do not drink milk: 1%
    Actual number of adults worldwide who do not drink milk: 65%
    DIET AND PROTEIN NEEDS
    Protein in human mother’s breast milk (as percentage of total calories): 5%
    Human protein requirement (according to World Health Organization) 5% of total calories
    Recommended protein requirement (according to Food and Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences: 6% of total calories
    Recommended protein requirement, including substantial added safety margin (according to National Research Council): 8% of total calories
    Primary disease linked to inadequate protein consumption: kwashiorkor
    Number of cases of kwashiorkor in the U.S.: virtually none
    Primary diseases linked to EXCESS protein consumption: Osteoporosis and kidney disease
    Number of cases of osteoporosis and kidney disease in the U.S.: tens of millions
    DIET AND FOOD-BORNE ILLNESS
    “A report by the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 89 percent of U.S. beef ground into patties contains traces of the deadly E. coli strain.”
    – Reuters News Service
    “Year after year the egg industry goes to [Congress] to try to turn back public health improvements. Eggs remain at the top of the list of foods that are causing food-borne outbreaks.”
    – Center for Science in the Public Interest
    “Five to ten percent of all cancers are caused by inherited genetic mutations. By contrast, 70 to 80 percent have been linked to [diet and other] behavioral factors.”
    -Karen Emmons, M.D., Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston
    “First it was E. coli and Salmonella poisoning, then the Mad Cow disease, and now the Hong Kong flu…what do these growing epidemics have in common? They are all transmitted to human consumers through chickens and other animals raised in factory farms. And little wonder. In the filthy, crowded pens, harmless microorganisms mutate into virulent pathogens. Routine use of antibiotics ensures their resistance to life-saving drugs. It makes one wax nostalgic for the good old days when meat eating was associated only with heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and atherosclerosis”
    – WorldWatch journal.
    “Public health is united in the conclusion. There is no controversy about where the antibiotic resistance in food-borne pathogens comes from…(It) is due to the heavy use of antibiotics in livestock.”
    – Dr. Frederick J. Angulo, epidemiologst in the food-borne and diarrheal disease branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1999.
    Primary source of E. coli 0157:H7 infections: Hamburgers and other forms of ground beef
    Potential consequence of ingestion of deadly E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria in humans: Devastating illness with multiple organ failure and high death rate
    Long-term afflictions suffered by many survivors of E. coli 0157:H7 poisoning: Epilepsy, blindness, lung damage, kidney failure
    Leading cause of kidney failure in U.S. and Canadian children: Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
    Cases of Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome that are caused by E. coli 0127:H7: 85%
    Americans sickened from eating Salmonella-tainted eggs every year: More than 650,000
    Americans killed from eating Salmonella-tainted eggs every year: 600
    Increase in Salmonella poisoning from raw or undercooked eggs between 1976 and 1986: 600 percent
    Annual Salmonella cases in Sweden: 800
    Annual Salmonella cases in the United States: More than 1 million
    Leading cause of food-borne illness in the United States: Campylobacter
    People in the United States who become ill with Campylobacter poisoning every day: More than 5,000
    Annual Campylobacter-related fatalities in the United States: More than 750
    Primary source of Campylobacter bacteria: Contaminated chicken flesh
    American chickens sufficiently contaminated with Campylobacter to cause illness: 70 percent
    American turkeys sufficiently contaminated with Campylobacter to cause illness: 90 percent
    Number of hens in three flocks screened for Campylobacter by University of Wisconsin researchers: 2,300
    Number of hens that were NOT infected with Campylobacter: 8
    Antibiotics produced in the U.S. annually: 25,000 tons
    Antibiotics administered to livestock in the U.S. annually: 10,000 tons
    Antibiotics allowed in U.S. milk: 80
    Antibiotics found in soy milk: 0
    FOOD CHOICES AND THE ENVIRONMENT
    “The contamination of the nations’ waterways from [pork] manure run-off is extremely serious. Twenty tons of [pork and other] livestock manure are produced for every household in the country. We have strict laws governing the disposal of human waste, but the regulations are lax, or often nonexistent, for animal waste.”
    – Union of Concerned Scientists
    “A report by the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that 89 percent of U.S. beef ground into patties contains traces of the deadly E. coli strain.”
    – Reuters News Service
    The impact of countless hooves and mouths over the years has done more to alter the type of vegetation and land forms of the West than all the water projects, strip mines, power plants, freeways, and subdivision development combined.”
    – Philip Fradkin, in Audubon
    Gallons of oil spilled by the Exxon Valdez: 12 million
    Gallons of animal waste spilled into the Neuse River in North Carolina on June 21, 1995, when a “lagoon” holding 8 acres of hog excrement burst: 25 million
    Fish killed as an immediate result: 10-14 million
    Fish whose breeding area was decimated by this disaster: Half of all mid-east coast fish species
    Acres of coastal wetlands closed to shell fishing as a result: 364,000
    Amount of waste produced by North Carolina’s 7 million factory-raised hogs (stored in reeking, open cesspools) compared to the amount produced by the state’s 6.5 million people: 4 to 1
    Relative concentration of pathogens in hog waste compared to human sewage: 10 to 100 times greater
    Number of poultry operations (according to the General Accounting Office) that are of sufficient size to be required to obtain a discharge permit under the Clean Water Act: About 2,000
    Number (according to the General Accounting Office) that have actually done so: 39
    Number of the 22 largest animal factories in Missouri that are required to have valid operating discharge permits, that actually have them: 2
    Number one milk producing are in the U.S.: California’s Central Valley
    Amount of waste produced by the 1,600 dairies in California’s Central Valley: More than the entire human population of Texas
    Total number of water quality inspectors in California’s Central Valley: 4
    Cities that rely on California’s Central Valley as a source of drinking water: Los Angeles, San Diego, and most cities in between.
    Number of Californians whose drinking water is threatened by contamination from dairy manure: 20 million (65% of the state’s population).
    Pathogen, stemming from dairy manure, that sickened 400,000 people and killed more than 100 people in Milwaukee in 1993: Cryptosporidium
    Pathogen that Los Angeles metropolitan water district officials say is a constant threat to L.A. drinking water from Central Valley dairy waste: Cryptosporidium
    Number of California beach closings due to water pollution in 1998: 5,285
    “American feed (for livestock) takes so much energy to grow that it might as well be a petroleum byproduct”
    – WorldWatch Institute
    Calories of fossil fuel expended to produce 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2
    Calories of fossil fuel expended to produce 1 calorie of protein from corn or wheat: 3
    Calories of fossil fuel expended to produce 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78
    Amount of greenhouse-warming carbon gas released by driving a typical American car, in one day: 3 kilograms
    Amount released by clearing and burning enough Costa Rican rainforest to produce beef for one hamburger: 75 kilograms
    Number of species of birds in one square mile of Amazon rainforest: More than exist in all of North America
    Life forms destroyed in the production of each fast-food hamburger made from rainforest beef: Members of 20 to 30 different plant species, 100 different insect species, and dozens of bird, mammal, and reptile species
    Length of time before the Indonesian forests, all 280 million acres of them, would be completely gone if they were cleared to produce enough beef for Indonesians to eat as much beef, per person, as the people of the United States do: 3.5 years
    Length of time before the Costa Rican rainforest would be completely gone if it were cleared to produce enough beef for the people of Costa Rica to eat as much beef, per person, as the people of the United States eat: 1 year
    What a hamburger produced by clearing forest in India would cost if the real costs were included in the price rather than subsidized: $200
    Most of the public lands in the West, and especially the Southwest, are what you might call ‘cow burnt.’ Almost anywhere and everywhere you go in the American West you find hordes of cows. . . They are a pest and a plague. They pollute our springs and streams and rivers. They infest our canyons, valleys, meadows and forests. They graze off the native bluestems and grama and bunch grasses, leaving behind jungles of prickly pear. They trample down the native forbs and shrubs and cacti. They spread the exotic cheatgrass, the Russian thistle, and the crested wheat grass. Even when the cattle are not physically present, you see the dung and the flies and the mud and the dust and the general destruction. If you don’t see it, you’ll smell it. The whole American West stinks of cattle.”
    – Edward Abbey, conservationist and author, in a speech before cattlemen at the University of Montana in 1985
    World’s mammalian species currently threatened with extinction: 25%
    Leading cause of species in the tropical rainforests being threatened or eliminated: Livestock grazing
    Leading cause of species in the United States being threatened or eliminated (according to the U.S. Congress General Accounting Office): Livestock grazing
    FOOD CHOICES AND GENETIC ENGINEERING
    “I have a feeling that science has transgressed a barrier that should have remained inviolate. . . . You cannot recall a new form of life. . .It will survive you and your children and your children’s children. An irreversible attack on the biosphere is something so unheard of, so unthinkable in previous generations, that I only wish that mine had not been guilty of it.”
    – Erwin Chargaff, Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry, Columbia University, and discoverer of “Chargaff’s Rules,” the scientific foundation for the discovery of the DNA double helix
    “Monsanto should not have to vouchsafe the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA’s job.”
    – Phil Angell, Monsanto’s Director of Corporate Communications, New York Times, 1999
    “Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety.”
    – FDA Federal Register, Statement of Policy: Foods Derived from New Plant Varieties
    “This technology is being promoted, in the face of concerns by respectable scientists and in the face of data to the contrary, by the very agencies which are supposed to be protecting human health and the environment. The bottom line, in my view, is that we are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is rapidly being deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences”
    – Suzanne Wuerthele, toxicologist, U.S. EPA
    “(Genetic engineering) faces our society with problems unprecedented, not only in the history of science, but of life on the Earth. It places in human hands the capacity to redesign living organisms, the products of some three billion years of evolution…up to now, living organisms have evolved very slowly, and new forms have had plenty of time to settle in. Now whole proteins will be transposed overnight into wholly new associations, with consequences no one can foretell…Going ahead in this direction may be not only unwise, but dangerous. Potentially, it could breed new animal and plant diseases, new sources of cancer and new epidemics”
    – George Wald, M.D., Nobel Laureate in Medicine, Professor of Biology, Harvard University
    Total global area planted in genetically engineered crops, 1995: Negligible
    Total global area planted in genetically engineered crops, 1996: 4 million acres
    Total global area planted in genetically engineered crops, 1997: 27 million acres
    Total global area planted in genetically engineered crops, 1998: 69 million acres
    Total global area planted in genetically engineered crops, 1999: 99 million acres
    Global transgenic acreage accounted for, in 2000, by soybeans: 54%
    Global transgenic acreage accounted for, in 2000, by corn: 28%
    Global transgenic acreage accounted for, in 2000, by cotton: 9%
    Global transgenic acreage accounted for, in 2000, by canola: 9%
    Fraction of American cows injected with genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH): About

19. Just a request: If you want to post a REALLY long list of various stuff like that, please either put it on your own site or in the soapbox, and just post a link to it. It’ll make everyone’s life less spammy!
    JSc

20. Wil,
    You MUST look at the brighter side of life. Examining the dark of the world will lead, quite literally, to insanity. Eventually, anyways. That is what happens to cops. They see nothing but the worst of society, all day every day, and they become quickly jaded. They start to assume, subconsciously, that the bad that they see is all that there is. Somewhat like the old saying that, to a person who only has a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.
    The person or people who did this to that 7 year old girl should die (gonna tie two of your points together here). I believe in the death penalty, under certain VERY strict conditions: 1) I want DNA evidence proof beyond the shadow of a doubt, 2) eyewitness accounts are to be view skeptically, 3) people who would tamper evidence (or knowingly falsely accuse) in court (IF it can be proven, VERY IMPORTANT POINT HERE) should face the same punishment that would have befell their intended, innocent victim.
    It’s not about vengence. It is about justice. Why should a person who would kill a 7 year old girl after snatching her from her bed be allowed to live? Barring insanity, of course, which is the ability to discern right from wrong.
    In the case of that guy in Missouri, that is a stupid law, and the Governor should issue a complete pardon NOW, and then they should revise the stupid laws and rules that prevent a provably innocent man from escaping execution (or even further incarceration). That is what Governor and Presidential pardons are for: for when the rules have been followed and the laws have been applied as written, but justice is NOT being done. It is a necessary power, so that an innocent person doesn’t have to suffer for a shortsighted law before the law can be changed.
    Now, about the Battlefield Earth II…
    Now, I am in a blue funk myself. My God, do they not realize what they are doing? Battlefield Earth is the worst movie released to theaters in the last 10 years! And they want to make another one???
    Will someone please, PLEASE smack John Travolta until he starts to see reason? I think his head is a little *too* Clear, if you catch my drift.
    But seriously, don’t dwell on the negative. Or rather, don’t dwell on the negative *exclusively*. There have been thousands of wonderful new babies born into the world to wonderful parents in the last month as well. If you have to see the negative (and yes, you have to be aware of these things, especially when it involves the murders of innocent little children), be sure to balance it with the positive in this world as well.
    The old saying “You are what you eat” is right in principle, but it doesn’t go far enough. “You are what you think” is closer to the truth.
    – Bob Roth, [email protected]

21. Yes you are right the world does seem to be going to hell, especially lately but this is the time when you concentrate on the good things in life. You have a “wonderful wife” who loves you for the person your are and two step-children who adore you. You have a job that you do not dread to go to and this is very rare. Lastly, you have all of us who can with all of our “geek power” hehe pull you out of the doldrums. Now I’m babbling well what do you expect from a mother of 3 aged 7, 5, and 3. Now go to bed Wil and get some sleep things have a way of correcting themselves, that is if you can find the proverbial switch to turn off your brain. I now I hate it when I can’t sleep because I’m worrying about something. Wow almost midnight got to sleep or kids might miss school tomorrow.Har Har not a good excuse anyway
    TTFN

22. Wil, I have a feeling that part of the reason that that the story of the 7-year-old girl has hit you particularly hard is that now you have a family of your own- children who look up to you. I’m not a parent, so I can’t imagine what that kind of bond must feel like, but I’m guessing that stories like Danielle’s make all parents hold their children a bit more than usual. I do hope that things will brighten up for you soon. The fact that you were affected by that story just shows that you’re a caring dad.
    And I like that idea of the list of 7 things to be thankful for, so here’s my list.
    1)My husband, who loves me unconditionally and always laughs with me when I’m happy and looks after me when I’m down.
    2)My parents, for raising me right and loving me even when I was a pain in the ass.
    3)My friends, for making me laugh every day.
    4)My health- even though it’s not perfect, I am much better off than I was a year ago, and I feel like a whole new person because of it.
    5)My teachers, who have made going back to school a joy, even when I’m freaking out about homework, homework, homework.
    6)God- I won’t get religious in here, but knowing that we’re all part of something bigger than us makes me feel good.
    7)The kindness of others… I know this post was originally about all the crap that is going on in the world, but to be honest, the same crap has been happening since the beginning of history. We just hear about it more nowadays…. But it’s the everyday kindness that I’m talking about- like someone mentioned before about being in line at the checkout and someone letting them in first… or holding a door open for someone… being smiled at when greeted, and when asked “How do you do?” they actually WANT to know.
    Anyway, I’m rambling now…. I hope some of this has helped you, even if in a small way. Go and give your wife and kids big hugs and smooches and tell them how much you love them, Wil. That ought to make you feel better real fast. 🙂

23. Sorry for the long post, but I felt it was necessary to convey the point properly.
    Here’s some book recommendations:
    Beyond Beef by Jeremy Rifkin
    The Food Revolution by John Robbins
    Vegan by Eric Marcus (available at http://www.vegan.com for free)
    Becoming Vegan
    Fast Food Nation
    Slaughterhouse
    An Unnatural Order
    The Sexual Politics of Meat
    Compassionate Living by Joanne Stepaniak
    The Vegan Sourcebook
    The Case for Animal Rights
    Peace and love,
    John

24. If the story seems to be nearing an end, it probably is.
    Evil, it seems, is not moved by shock, unphased by one becoming emotionally dismembered by its presence or the workings thereof;
    Evil is only shaken by the presence and the workings of good, something we have seen diminish at an exponential rate in recent decades. Truthfully, we really should not look forward to its return to a society now so full of hate, greed and lust, for they are the very negative aspects of the human nature which drove the goodness out in the first place. May God’s healing presence be with the family and loved ones of that beautiful child. She will hurt no more.
    Try to remain focused on the things you can affect positively. You can’t do what you can’t do, but you can do what you can do. Your family (particularly your kids) needs to experience your strength in moments like this. And you are clearly a man of emotional strength.

25. Mr. Wheaton (SIR!), Mrs. Wheaton (SIR!), everyone,
    I’ve felt much the same lately, though I haven’t been keeping up with the world at large (very busy last several weeks in the lab). I don’t know that it’s something as simple as a little girl getting kidnapped, or someone in GA stacking dead bodies like cordwood instead of cremating them, or the ongoing “war against terrorism,” or even global warming.
    The Battlefield Earth sequel might have something to do with it, though I’m not really sure….
    It’s as if there’s something far more fundamental that’s gone wrong, something that we can’t see because it’s just too goddamn big or small to comprehend–like a stone hitting a pond, (to abuse an overused analogy) it’s as if we’re only seeing the surface ripples. We can’t tell if the stone was a pebble, a boulder, or an asteroid.
    Then again, maybe everything is just fine. Maybe I’ve just lost my last bit of sanity, and the rest of the world is perfectly normal. Wouldn’t that be better?
    JSc
    “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine…” REM

26. We heard about her in PA, too. Thank God she was found, so, that, at least, her parents have some type of closure. So many are not found. Our world is a frightening and dangerous place, as it was 50, 100, 1000 years ago. The dangers are a bit different, but the way we parents face them, is really not. By actually “daring” to have children, and trying to raise them, the best way we can, with all the help we can get, is the show of defiance to that world. We are making the future. I’ve said before, Nolan and Ryan have a great stepdad. By continuing to be that great stepdad, you’re making a difference in two small lives. And, they’ll make a difference in more lives, as they grow. The ripple effect is our only “weapon”, but it is a powerful one. So, don’t give up. Just go on. It’s all we can do, and the best we can do. Sorry to be so long-winded. I’ll go back to my corner now.

27. Geez, and I thought *I* was long-winded…
    Vegan guy, this ain’t my site and it’s nothing but a suggestion, but you might consider paring down what you post to things that are relevant to the topic, *and* sized for the medium and target audience.
    That’s all I’m sayin’…
    – Bob Roth, [email protected]

28. “Everybody wants a happy life” but there are only a dammed few that actually want to work for it.
    Change is hard, which is why no one wants it…but when it does come, or the person who can do it does come, it often gets destoryed before it gets better.
    Which brings us to the joyous apocolyptic thoughts that always live in this world.
    Honestly, there are very few people who want to think outside of the ‘Cave’ (read: Plato’s cave theory) and those that do are told that they’re stupid, they;’re just imagining what’s wrong…eventually it will change, and we have to find the poeple to change it.
    But the question is how the change will happen? The pen is mightier then the sword, but only in the long run, and the way we’re going right now we might end up dead before the pen begins to take effect.
    *shakes head*
    I don’t know… I really don’t know. But I can just hope that these kids will be safe again, that pointless murders and political manuverings STOP covering ALL we have to care about..
    maybe someday?

29. All is understood, Wil. I’m 16 now, and I think about what everything will be like when I’m 30: We’ll have cars that fly and nowhere to fly them.
    But that’s why we have to fight for change. And between rallies and voting, we must realize that the utopia is within the individual.
    Don’t let the damned Republicans get you down.

30. “The pen is mightier than the sword” if and only if people are willing and able to read, write, and think.
    Beware cliches like the plague.

31. After reading your entry, Wil, and all of these comments, I have discovered the greatest possible truth about the universe and its untimely demise:
    It’s all because of the vegans.
    If they didn’t spend so much time writing 5,000 word propaganda posts here and instead devoted more of their time to eating animals, they might have more time to help negotiate the Gaza Strip issues, resolving the pressing issue of where Mike Tyson can get a license to fight, and the ultimate task of getting Al Gore back into public office. Too much naturally occurring vegetable protien is bad for your mind.
    Peace, love, and food with faces,
    Bobby

32. My sentiments exactly, Bob Roth. Yikes, as if I’m actually going to read all of that here. No disrespect intended but you could have just provided a link to your site of choice saved us all the wear and tear on our mice(?) hehe now I’m really going to leave Good Night everyone
    TTFN

33. Hey..
    there is a point to cliches, and sometimes they work. An added bonus is the fact that my classes all rotate around Lit right now..thus those loverally cliches are running through my head like mad
    *begs forgiveness*
    I checked this out
    http://dailymotivator.com/memberflash/rightnow.html
    And I honestly wanted to thank the person that put it up, it’s a bit idealistic yes..but the world needs some idealism for that change we (I) keep speaking of…idealism that isn’t stamped out by cynicism

34. Need to add one more downer.
    Daniel Pearl.
    The optimist in me was sure that he will be released….

35. First, I will continue to eat red meat and it won’t kill me. (And if any reader here choses not to, thats fine with me as well.) But then this is Wil’s soap box, not mine.
    There are many things wrong with the world. But there are also many things that are right with it as well. I find comfort in my Christain beliefs.
    We are given free choice on this planet and our actions do affect others. I always try to keep that in mind when living day to day.
    Agree or disagree, it is nice to see what Wil has to say and what kind of response he gets!
    Now about Battle Field Earth…

36. Wil, you sure are a dork. Did you read recently that portions of the artic ice are actually getting thicker? scientists are baffled, that doesnt go along with their theory of global warming. its not SUPPOSED to do that. Also, even if global warming exists, and im not saying it doesn’t- it will alter the average climate of the earth about….oh, 1 or 2 degress. That’s a lot, but I don’t think it has anything to do with your 90 degree day in L.A. We just had an arctic cold front come through Texas and Houston is supposedly the smoggiest place in America! I would have liked to have seen your reaction during el nino a few years ago, you must have thought the sky was falling.

37. Woah. Hold on thar!
    The world has pretty much sucked for millenia. There is always alot that is “wrong” with the world. It hasnt gotten any worse or any better, it’s just gotten DIFFERENT. The biggest change between “then” and now is that through the nearly instant availability of information, we are all TOO aware of what’s going on.
    In centuries past we’ve had epidemics and pandemics and little illnesses that seem pretty insignificant today were pretty deadly back then. Wars have always happened, ESPECIALLY in the middle east. Death was something that was a matter of course, it was something that people experienced far more often than today.
    I will agree that pollution sucks and global warming seems a to be creeping up on our collective ass because of it, but we are doing better than we have in the past. Change of the scale that is necessary to reverse the apparant trend in global warming may come too little too late, but the earth has shown one thing: mother nature is in charge, eventually, it will right itself. All we can do is try to help “her” along.
    As for the murder thing, it’s been a sad fact forever. People sometimes kill people, this is nothing new, we just are far more aware of it happening.
    I skipped over alot of the nasty little facts that one or more people posted, because I know shit happens. I know there is alot of stuff in this world that can make us sick and kill us. It’s always been true, but to let it get us down, to really worry about it to the point of depression or phobia, is not doing anyone a damned bit of good.
    Instead of getting overwhelmed by the knowledge of what’s wrong with the world, do a little something to help make it better. Don’t try to do it all, no one can. Just do what is within your means to help make the world a little better place. Recycle, do beach clean-ups, work with charities, whatever you can do without making a serious disruption in your life will go along way, along with the contributions of others. “Every drop counts”
    As you’re doing your part, think about all that is right with the world, and you will see it aint so damned bad afterall.

38. About an hour ago, I was skimming though an old ‘People’ magazine…the one right after Sept. 11th. After reading it I didn’t get angry or upset, I felt….overwhelmed, scared, and vulnerable. (That same feeling I had on Sept. 11th. I’ll never forget that feeling. I was stopped at a red-light on my way to college, when I turned on the radio and heard Howard Stern say, “It’s hard to believe the World Trade Center doesn’t exist anymore.”) I thought to myself as I was reading before…”Wow. This planet fucking sucks.” In the past month, I had TWO dreams about my town getting attacked from the air, and one dream where I was in an airport, with an unbelievable feeling of panic. It verified to me that the terrorists are accomplishing their goal..to spread terror. I mean, I try NOT to get angry, but what scares me the most is….there were some times I got pissed and thought, “We should just nuke the hell out of these people.” I try my dammed hardest not to think like that.
    For me, sometimes it helps to look at this planet, like your looking from the outside. Someone once said, “The human race is a comedy for the intellectual.” I’m glad we don’t know any other species, because I, for one, would be embarrassed to be part of the human race.
    Lenny

39. would a cyber*hug* help?
    watching the news has always ended up making me cry, or pissing me off, or some combination of the 2 in varying degrees. i don’t know if it will help you, but what helps me is knowing that everyone in the world is not evil. those of us who don’t want death and destruction of our fellow inhabitants of this little planet will, hopefully, keep trying to do something about those who would kill and/or destroy. or at the very least, good people will look out for the people they love, and we all love somebody. the world is falling apart, but that doesn’t mean you have to. i hope you cheer up. the weight of the world is not yours to bear.
    courtney there has a good idea. time for a ‘seven things to be happy about’ list, maybe?
    p.s. “if the world didn’t suck, we’d all fall off.” (;

40. I know, I also feel like a party pooper when I occasionally point out that life on this planet sucks royally if you look at everything that is going on.
    If that ain’t dark ages, then I dunno.
    It’s time to count blessings.
    Maybe, to help balance out the shit, one oughta do something nice for everything bad that happens. Not that it makes stuff disappear. BUt to set something good against it.
    Jesus said: “Don’t answer evil with evil, but overcome evil with good.”
    Here in Germany recently a little girl was stabbed to death in her bedroom by a guy who came into her room dressed up as Death. (It was Carnival here). It is awful enough that he killed her, but that all of her nightmares must have come true, with him annulling everything her mommy comforted her with when she woke up from a bad dream, like “Honey, don’t be afraid, there is no monsters.”
    She not only died a horrible death, she also died in horror.
    Some people are so fuckin sick out there.
    But just like Keith I find comfort in my faith, too.
    Go hug your fam, Wil.
    Now.

41. Howdy Wil,
    It has a lot to do with having children…the worry, fear, and all those negative thoughts….
    Its hard not to let a kidnapping affect you so strongly when you have children of your own.
    Its easy to see all the crap in the world…on the news, in the paper… it sells.
    I try not to get to bogged down in it.
    Okay Peace out home fry,
    toni

42. John- I don’t want to start a flame war, especially not after this particular post of Wil’s, but that was uncalled for. Please keep your propaghanda elsewhere. There are certainly enough good websites around on the subject that if somebody wants the information they can easily find it. That was definitely not a post to make anybody feel better except yourself. This is not me saying that your argument is invalid, but your placement and attitude was rude and, personally, quite offensive. Please let people make up their own minds.
    On topic: I know it’s a small, bittersweet point, but if there world were perfect there would be nothing left to do. But Wil, there are good people. I volunteered at a blood drive today, and there were people there who were terrified of donating for whatever reason, but were up on that table anyway. It doesn’t bring that little girl back, it doesn’t feed famine victims, it doesn’t fix society, but it does save someone else’s little girl. Maybe that makes it even more difficult, because stuff like that makes it impossible to completely give up on humanity, but it is important, and it does salvage something in our future.

43. Keith: This is not Mr. Wheaton (SIR!)’s soapbox.
    That’s down the hall, second door on your left.
    Re: Vegans, etc.: I actually read through the entire post, out of bored curiosity. Sadly, I saw most of the same manipulation of statistics and half-truths that you’ll see in a lot of other places. As an example, WorldWatch goes on about how African Americans have far higher rates of bone fracture than South Africans, despite higher levels of calcium intake.
    That ignores several important points–first and foremost, African Americans live significantly longer than the average South African, resulting in age-related injuries that are simply not an issue in a society that doesn’t live as long. (If you doubt this, start looking at cancer rates in various parts of the world relative to lifespan. With very few exceptions, the older a group of people tend to live, the more likely they are to contract some form of cancer over the course of their life.)
    Additionally, there’s no comparison of standard of living between African Americans and South Africans–the average African American makes far more money than the average South African, meaning that he/she is more likely to have a car, for example. How many of those bone fractures for African Americans are the result of vehicular collisions? What about sports, which are another pasttime of the relatively wealthy (NOTE THE WORD RELATIVELY)?
    Etc.

44. When the news of the world no longer gives me pause, then I’ll worry.
    But when they decide to remake “Bullitt” as a vehicle for Freddie Prinze Jr. ……. I’ll be the first in line to buy a ticket.

45. You know, the world is pretty much the same as it was 20 years ago. 30 years ago. 40 years ago. There were rotten, evil people then and there are rotten evil people now — but there are far more good people than bad. One big difference? The media. They report more, they don’t try to protect us from reality (and in truth, when I was majoring in Communications, the bent was to soften the blow, don’t give the gory details… today they go for shock and give the worst of the news in the name of the public’s right to know. Might be legitimate, but it sure makes people look bad).
    The murder of Danielle Van Dam was sad, but not unique to the world we live in now. When I was a kid, had the same thing happened, we would have heard about it after the fact, when there was no chance of rounding up search volunteers; the cops wouldn’t have even taken a serious report right off the bat (as we discovered when my then 6 year old nephew disappeared for a few hours… he was hiding, but that’s actually beside the point). In yesterday’s world there would have been a dead little girl, the parents grieving just as hard, but in today’s world the community searched with them, the nation agonized with them, and the world grieves with them.
    There truly are far more good people in existence than evil. You just have to look past those few, very loud, very despicable ones to see them in mass, living quiet, worthy lives… they’re harder to spot because they’re not making a nuisance of themselves, not trying to tear the fabric of society by their deeds and thoughtless actions.
    Just look… You probably live with three of them.

46. Agreed, 100%, JSc. lets not also forget that a lot of animal rights groups, have been known to pay off doctors to give bogus facts that eating meat/drinking milk kills.

47. Will –
    You share my sentiments exactly. The world is becoming the bad cliche we’ve always laughed about. That “drive through the perpetually overcrowded streets past the burning buildings and don’t forget to duck cuz you might get shot” future that we’ve only seen in Blade Runner and Judge Dred seems to be coming to pass. I’m sure I’m not the first to say that it really scares me too.
    I live in a state where the bi-partisan battle in the legislature is against an overhyped former professional wrestler who stumbled into the right place for that brief moment that Hell DID freeze over only to become the Governor. My daily news consists of grown men in true Pee-Wee Herman style “I know you are…” arguements over the most innane things. The news is dark and forboding – never good, and always representing the lowest common denominator.
    I think we’ve reached that age where we’re starting to remember “the good old days” when murder and violence were isolated to washed up football players and speed freaks with video tape fetishes. You realize our parents were probably feeling the same funk in the 70s and 80s when they were our age watching the end of Vietnam, Charlie Manson and his band of merry men, and the American Government selling arms for hostages and lying about it on daytime television. At least I hope they were. Otherwise, we’re just fucked.

48. wil,
    I have trouble letting go of things of an awful nature as well. I have a two year old little girl whom I adore. I can not even fathom the greif that must be making it’s way through that little girl’s family, and I hate that I can’t even remember her name. But I do remember 6mnth old Mary who was killed by her mother along with all of her siblings. That little face haunted me for a bit…and I think I’m relatively stable. There was a comment made by an anonymous soul towards thetop of this mammoth response list about ‘seeking help’ for holding on to something and then posting it onto your site. My opinion…if it doesn’t haunt you for the sheer horror of it all then you may need to seek help in the form of getting a soul.
    Smiling days to you Wil and enjoy your step sons.
    Best,
    Lee

49. We used to sing a song when I was a kid. The first verse went like this:
    When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed. When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost.
    Count your many blessings, name them one by one.
    And it will suprise you what the Lord has done.
    I’m not throwing religion into the equation here. It just seemed to shed a little light on the dark side of things. So, in keeping with Wil’s method of seven things to be faithful for, here are mine.
    1. Faith that sustains me in troubled times
    2. Family that loves you in spite of your faults
    3. Friends that do the same
    4. A job I love
    5. Long walks in the woods on a cool spring day.
    6. Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice
    cream.
    7. WWDN
    Peace in the Middle East

50. I said nothing about payoffs or falsified data. I only pointed out that there is a lot that isn’t being included in the statements from WorldWatch, for example.
    Attempting to read what you might like to hear into what I am saying is no different than publicizing faulty or incomplete data.

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