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Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: Soul Crusher on August 07, 2012, 08:58:25 PM
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Gabby Douglas, Ryan Lochte: Why Families of America’s Olympics Athletes Are Broke
Daily Beast ^ | 08/07/2012 | Kevin Fallon
Gabby Douglas is America’s newest sweetheart. She’s also its newest millionaire. Her mother, however, is broke.
The 16-year-old gymnast, who became the first black gymnast to win the all-around competition last week in London, stands to make between $1 million and $3 million a year in endorsements, and has already agreed to plaster her infectious smile on the Kellogg’s corn flakes box. Douglas’s forthcoming gold-medal payday makes a new revelation about her family all the more shocking.
Natalie Hawkins, Douglas’s mother, filed for bankruptcy earlier this year in Virginia, court documents show. The Chapter 13 filing reveals roughly $80,000 in debts, and will allow her to reorganize her finances to pay down the total over several years. Hawkins, who went on long-term medical disability in 2009, reported a six-month stretch in which the single mother of four had little to no income.
The news comes the day after TMZ broke the story that Ryan Lochte’s parents are facing foreclosure on their Florida home. CitiMortgage is suing the Lochtes, claiming that they stopped making mortgage payments in February 2011. As with Douglas, Lochte, who won five medals in London, is primed for a slew of endorsement deals that couldn’t be better timed for his family.
Both athletes are—at this moment, at least—national heroes and beacons of American patriotism. But the financial strain their years of training put on their families indicates that investing in a future Olympian may not always be a financially sound decision. How did these families get so broke?
Parents of gymnasts, for one, can expect to fork over upward of $1,000 a month to training facilities to get their child in Olympic shape. Travel costs force that total to skyrocket. Leotards and warm-up suits can run $300 to $500 for a complete set. There are entry fees for each meet and competition. When a gymnast is chosen for the U.S. national team and begins traveling internationally, USA Gymnastics begins picking up the cost of training and travel for the gymnast and his or her coach, but any family member who jet-sets with them does so on his or her own dime.
Of course, only gymnasts training at what’s called the “elite” level rack up that kind of bill. Then again, the most promising athletes begin training at that level when they’re 12 or 13 years old, says Karla Grimes, the general manager at the Gage Center training facility in Missouri. That means six years, at least, of 30-hour gym days and, at Gage, $600-a-month training costs.
Eye-popping expenses are par for the course for nearly every Olympic sport. Membership costs at an elite swim club can run $1,500 to $3,000 annually, says Tom Himes, who coached a young Michael Phelps at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club. Equipment can cost $500 each year. Those slick Speedo Fastskin3 swim trunks Phelps wears? They retail for $395.
For families, there’s the cost of travel and tickets to the events. Ahead of the London Games, Eddie Adams, father of Olympic swimmer Camille Adams, predicted, “It's probably going to be around $15,000 to $20,000 for me, my ex-wife, Camille's twin, my sister, and my sister-in-law to go.” And let’s not forget the grocery bill for those rumored 12,000-calorie, Olympic-size feasts.
Even the more obscure sports—the ones whose stars won’t end up on a corn flakes box or the cover of Vogue—can be prohibitively costly. The annual price of training for Maya Lawrence, an Olympic fencer, is estimated to be $20,000. “It did affect my parents,” she says. “Once I decided I wanted to go to competitions, they really supported me.” Teodor Gheorghe, COO of USA Table Tennis, estimates that top-level players shell out $15,000 for each of the six to eight years it takes to perfect their games; a good paddle alone costs $300.
And with athletes devoting essentially their whole lives to training, there’s typically no room for side jobs or normal careers. While some competitors snag sponsorship deals to offset the lack of steady income, others, like weightlifter Sarah Robles, barely scrape by. The 23-year-old first-time Olympian lived on just $400 a month—her stipend from U.S.A. weightlifting—as she trained full-time for the London Games.
All of that may seem worth it for a shot at the medal stand; in addition to high-profile endorsement opportunities, a gold medal comes with a $25,000 cash prize. Each member of the “Fab Five” gymnastics team that took home the gold medal in London will make a base salary of $100,000 for participation in the 40-city Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions that will run from September to November.
But not every American athlete enduring the outsize cost of Olympic training actually makes to it the Games. The Gage Center, for example, trained gymnast Sarah Finnegan, who went to London as an alternate for the 2012 U.S. team, as well as Courtney McCool and Terin Humphrey, who were on the 2008 Olympic team. But Grimes estimates that there are roughly 20 girls at Gage training at elite levels, and writing those accompanying checks. For most of them, the Olympics aren’t even in the realm of possibility. So what’s the motivation?
“If there’s no gold medal, there’s a college scholarship,” says Grimes. “There’s some monetary value there.” It makes the financial struggles during those years of training worth it. “I liken it to paying for college early.”
Take the case of Bridget Sloan, who was a member of the silver-medal U.S. women’s gymnastics team in 2008, when she was 16. She was 10 when she started the elite program, with the initial goal of being a college—not an Olympic—athlete. “I figured if I kept with the elite program, I would get an elite scholarship,” she says. It wasn’t until five years later, when she made her first world team, that a trip to the Beijing Games even emerged as a possibility. Still, following her 2008 Olympic journey, Sloan, unlike teammates Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, rejected endorsement deals and retained her amateur status in order to retain NCAA eligibility. She was only a sophomore in high school at the time, and still had dreams of competing in college.
Sloan is heading to the University of Florida as a freshman in the fall, after having taken a year off to train for the 2012 Olympic trials. (She injured herself just prior to the competition.) She received a full scholarship, proof she says, that the years of expensive training were worth it. “I hope [other] families realize that and don’t think they wasted money on leotards and scrunchies.”
The burden placed on American athletes, whose families must foot the bill themselves for more than a decade of expensive training, is in stark contrast to that of the world’s other Olympic powerhouse. China, the only country topping the U.S. in the medal count, boasts a government-backed national sports program, churning out gold medalists with dizzying success over the past two decades—all on the government’s dime.
As the financial struggles of the Lochte and Douglas clans make headlines, one can’t help but wonder if the U.S. should follow suit and pony up the cash for the training of its own Olympic stars. But there’s the questionable zeal with which China trains its athletes—taking them away from their homes at a young age and placing them in training facilities for arduous daily workouts—which makes the idea much less appealing.
Take the case of diver Wu Minxia, who won gold for China in the 3m synchronized springboard event. Her post-victory euphoria was promptly wrecked when her parents finally revealed to her that her grandparents died the year before and her mother battled—and defeated—breast cancer. “It was essential to her this white lie,” Wu’s father told the Shanghai Morning Post, explaining that he didn’t want the bad news to derail his daughter’s diving career. Is there a possibility that a U.S. government-backed sports program could foster the same, possibly abusive excess?
While most sports’ national organizations cover the training and travel costs for an athlete once they make the national team, some say that’s not enough. NBA star and former Team USA member Dwyane Wade caused a stir last spring when he suggested that athletes (specifically, NBA players) should be paid to participate in the Olympics. Such a practice would be more valuable to athletes like Sarah Robles than a multimillion-dollar NBA supernova like Wade. For those struggling Olympians, a substantial paycheck would be a godsend.
But it’s unlikely ever to happen. National organizations are already struggling to support their athletes. As the economy falters, costs of competition rise and sponsorships dwindle. Many sports are bleeding money, and it’s affecting their Olympic presence. U.S. Ski and Snowboard was forced to institute pay cuts across the board for its staff, and introduce layoffs just prior to the 2010 Olympics. It considered requiring its athletes to pay more of their expenses. The U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton organization found itself tightening its belt and sending only one men’s bobsled team, instead of two, to European competitions that year as well.
As the startling news of the Douglas and Lochte family financial woes stun sports fans, the idea of paying Olympic athletes—or at least giving some sort of monetary respite to their families—is a nice one, but it’s not plausible. Besides, says Mike Lopresti at USA Today, what these athletes and their families are getting from the Olympic experience is already immeasurable compensation.
“The Olympics are where a moment on the medal stand, representing 300 million people, is beyond price,” he says. “Opportunity is the treasure that is offered at the Olympics. The chance to hold up a championship, not to a happy owner or satisfied season-ticket base, but a country. The chance to lean over and have someone slip a gold medal over your head. For many it will be the most cherished day of their sporting lives. That's not enough for someone? Then why be there?”
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cliff notes: obama's fault?
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cliff notes: obama's fault?
Yes, inflation, bad job Prospects, weak market, = obamas fault.
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Yes, inflation, bad job Prospects, weak market, = obamas fault.
looks like Nobama is succeeding at intentionally collapsing the nation... will i be able to find a job as a fresh grad, or is welfare looking like an option? Most of the jobs in my area are concentrated in manufacturing :o
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looks like Nobama is succeeding at intentionally collapsing the nation... will i be able to find a job as a fresh grad, or is welfare looking like an option? Most of the jobs in my area are concentrated in manufacturing :o
Go to Germany or China. Obama is going to try cap amd trade again if he wins.
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cliff notes: obama's fault?
I read it's even worse for winter Olympic athletes
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For families, there’s the cost of travel and tickets to the events. Ahead of the London Games, Eddie Adams, father of Olympic swimmer Camille Adams, predicted, “It's probably going to be around $15,000 to $20,000 for me, my ex-wife, Camille's twin, my sister, and my sister-in-law to go.” And let’s not forget the grocery bill for those rumored 12,000-calorie, Olympic-size feasts.
________
o bodybuilders get their meals paid for by schmoes?
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So what, welcome to reality - Life is tough and Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day - At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day 22,000 children die each day due to poverty
like anbody cares about bleeding heart spoilt Americans complaining that they don't have enough to keep up with the "Jones"
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:o
Asia Ray is a gymnast. Is this Shawn Ray's future?
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This is news to anyone how ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Maybe it's growing up around hockey, but unless your rich professional sports is a pipe dream.
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So what, welcome to reality - Life is tough and Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day - At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day 22,000 children die each day due to poverty
like anbody cares about bleeding heart spoilt Americans complaining that they don't have enough to keep up with the "Jones"
If you saw the size of the meals the yanks have and the amount of food they throw away it would shock you. All that excess food could be feeding the starving children in other countries.
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They should learn from bbers and g4p
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So what, welcome to reality - Life is tough and Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day - At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day 22,000 children die each day due to poverty
like anbody cares about bleeding heart spoilt Americans complaining that they don't have enough to keep up with the "Jones"
K....when was the last time you forked over a check to feed a starving child?
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So what, welcome to reality - Life is tough and Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day - At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day 22,000 children die each day due to poverty
like anbody cares about bleeding heart spoilt Americans complaining that they don't have enough to keep up with the "Jones"
Oh well they were born in a poor country not my fault! Fuck em
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K....when was the last time you forked over a check to feed a starving child?
I'm sure "ekul" goes out of his way and volunteers to helpfeed the poor, provides clothes and shelter for the less unfortunate, goes on mission trips every other month to make a difference, blood drives to the sick..... ::)
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If you saw the size of the meals the yanks have and the amount of food they throw away it would shock you. All that excess food could be feeding the starving children in other countries.
I clean my plate. I never take more than I can finish. Never. I have two children because that is the number I can afford to care for. Unlike the residentially challenged fifth world inhabitants that seem to dispense offspring like Pez Candy from a Octo Mom dispenser.
Do not get me started. Please.
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K....when was the last time you forked over a check to feed a starving child?
Last week! I had a charity devoted to the welfare of kids knock on my door and I gave them hundred bucks, he told me it was the largest donation and he had since he had been door knocking for the whole day, plus I'm not the one bitching about how some poor gymnast who is about to earn potentially $3 million dollars for doing cartwheels and somersaults is poverty stricken.
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K....when was the last time you forked over a check to feed a starving child?
Well stated.
America gives away enough to feed perhaps millions. America. Not Europe. Not Africa. Not Russia. Not China.
America. Personally I think we should take care of our own and those that actually support us. Israel is one such country as are England and Australia to name but two more.
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(http://sassywire.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/wahida-the-hutt.jpg)
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Oh well they were born in a poor country not my fault! Fuck em
The US has the worst record on poverty in the industrialized world. Tens of millions of people are hungry every night, including millions of children who are suffering from third world levels of disease and malnutrition. In New York City, one of the richest cities in the world, 40 per cent of children live below the poverty line, deprived of minimal conditions that offer some hope for escape from misery, destitution and violence.
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(http://sassywire.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/wahida-the-hutt.jpg)
Quick! Someone give that poor woman a pork sammich!
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Well stated.
America gives away enough to feed perhaps millions. America. Not Europe. Not Africa. Not Russia. Not China.
America. Personally I think we should take care of our own and those that actually support us. Israel is one such country as are England and Australia to name but two more.
So they should since they cause the majority of poverty through war, sanctions etc... It would be nice if they gave more than they took, but you can't expect much from the greatest enemy to human rights the world has ever seen.
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So they should since they cause the majority of poverty through war, sanctions etc... It would be nice if they gave more than they took, but you can't expect much from the greatest enemy to human rights the world has ever seen.
You must be speaking of Islam. I am American and would gladly cut off the world that we feed with the sweat of our brow and our money taxed from us and given without the permission of the people to those that hate us.
We do not want their thanks or their hatred. We want them to grow up and take care of their own. Jeez-louise, we need to take care of our own and leave the wiping of international butts to someone else.
Have a nice evening.
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it s sport, not rocket science,, u re not forced to be a gymnast,, u coul care less if she s 2 or 7 time olympic champion, i dont wanna pay a cent for their development
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You must be speaking of Islam. I am American and would gladly cut off the world that we feed with the sweat of our brow and our money taxed from us and given without the permission of the people to those that hate us.
We do not want their thanks or their hatred. We want them to grow up and take care of their own. Jeez-louise, we need to take care of our own and leave the wiping of international butts to someone else.
Have a nice evening.
I was speaking about Afghanistan, Iraq, Macedonia, Serbia, the Philippines, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Palestine and the many other countries America has raped, pillaged and plundered for imperialist expansion.
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Its not cheap to be a Mr. Olympian either... main reason for G4P, etc.
(http://www.steroidsource.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/steroid-bust.jpg)
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I was speaking about Afghanistan, Iraq, Macedonia, Serbia, the Philippines, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Pakistan, Nicaragua, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Palestine and the many other countries America has raped, pillaged and plundered for imperialist expansion.
Delusional. Look it up. It probably has your avatar next to the definition.
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Delusional. Look it up. It probably has your avatar next to the definition.
Another tosser who doesn't even know that America is the most Evil Empire the world has ever produced. Keep believing the spin your Government feeds you, but all informed people know that Americas Greatest export is "SUFFERING"
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Not cheap to be an IFBB
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Another tosser who doesn't even know that America is the most Evil Empire the world has ever produced. Keep believing the spin your Government feeds you, but all informed people know that Americas Greatest export is "SUFFERING"
Are you really this stupid or is this your Oscar winning moment?
At the very least you are showing the world just why we (i.e., America) need to stop feeding the world. Be glad I am who I am. Be very glad, elsewise you would be drowning in a pool of sorrowful tears while everyone else here pissed their pants laughing at you. John lived for this sort of public tete-e-tete and I find it simultaneously humorous and somewhat akin to poking mongoloid monkeys with a pitchfork. Kind of funny and extremely cruel.
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no pity whatsoever from me. Those costs are nothing compared to guys who want to compete in the IFBB. That was a nice story to read about the gymnast.
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Are you really this stupid or is this your Oscar winning moment?
At the very least you are showing the world just why we (i.e., America) need to stop feeding the world. Be glad I am who I am. Be very glad, elsewise you would be drowning in a pool of sorrowful tears while everyone else here pissed their pants laughing at you. John lived for this sort of public tete-e-tete and I find it simultaneously humorous and somewhat akin to poking mongoloid monkeys with a pitchfork. Kind of funny and extremely cruel.
Truth be told, the American Government has for decades gone into countries that have natural resources it wants. It will offer loans to these countries via the World Bank. These loans will be offered to build infrastructure, but it only really benefits a few select people in the end. American companies get hired and profit to build the infrastructure. The citizens of the country receiving the loan will inherit the massive debt to pay down. When the country cannot afford the debt repayment, the United States strong arms such countries to sell them their resources at a substantially reduced cost, and get them to allow them to build military bases there, or vote their way at the United Nations, etc. Such countries get pillaged so the mighty few can prosper, at the expense of the great many that become even poorer. Less and less of that countries own resources go to help its own people. Several countries in South America can attest to this.
When leaders of countries reject the offerings from the economic hitmen, they send in the Jackals to take out that leader, so they can put in place someone that will cooperate and be corrupted. Failing assassination, the military will be used. Had Saddam Hussein taken the bait, he would still be in power to this day, but he didn't, more than once. His security was also very good, where attempts failed to take him out, leaving the military as the last option.
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So what, welcome to reality - Life is tough and Almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day - At least 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day 22,000 children die each day due to poverty
like anbody cares about bleeding heart spoilt Americans complaining that they don't have enough to keep up with the "Jones"
Dude shut the fuck up.
Go join the U.N. and be Mother Theresa for the rest of your miserable life.
You strike me as the sort of dude who goes to Sarah McLahlan concerts to cry with butch lesbians.
Poverty is a fact of life. Will always be around you. People like you think that throwing money in an envelope and sending it overseas will help. Sure, it might give the poor a meal or 2 but handouts don't give anyone incentive to work hard or find opportunity to pull themselves out of that shit.
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Truth be told, the American Government has for decades gone into countries that have natural resources it wants. It will offer loans to these countries via the World Bank. These loans will be offered to build infrastructure, but it only really benefits a few select people in the end. American companies get hired and profit to build the infrastructure. The citizens of the country receiving the loan will inherit the massive debt to pay down. When the country cannot afford the debt repayment, the United States strong arms such countries to sell them their resources at a substantially reduced cost, and get them to allow them to build military bases there, or vote their way at the United Nations, etc. Such countries get pillaged so the mighty few can prosper, at the expense of the great many that become even poorer. Less and less of that countries own resources go to help it's own people. Several countries in South America can attest to this.
When leaders of countries reject the offerings from the economic hitmen, they send in the Jackals to take out that leader, so they can put in place someone that will cooperate and be corrupted. Failing assassination, the military will be used. Had Saddam Hussein taken the bait, he would still be in power to this day, but he didn't, more than once. His security was also very good, where attempts failed to take him out, leaving the military as the last option.
Pretty accurate.
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Are you really this stupid or is this your Oscar winning moment?
At the very least you are showing the world just why we (i.e., America) need to stop feeding the world. Be glad I am who I am. Be very glad, elsewise you would be drowning in a pool of sorrowful tears while everyone else here pissed their pants laughing at you. John lived for this sort of public tete-e-tete and I find it simultaneously humorous and somewhat akin to poking mongoloid monkeys with a pitchfork. Kind of funny and extremely cruel.
HA HA HA USA feeding the world - if you call murdering raping and pillaging feeding the world - well thats exactly what America is doing - it is only brainwashed Americans who think that American is a good righteous place, the rest of the world despises America for it is now just another fascist dictatorship run by propaganda. America will go down in history as the most ruthless, evil and murdering Empire the world has ever seen. They steal others resources after murdering their citizens. They can't even reduce poverty in there own Country, America has the highest rate of Poverty in the Industrialised world. When poorer communities like New Orleans were faced with a natural disaster America couldn't even help them, they still do fuck all for them. US Foreign Aid is a way to steal from the poor in your own Country and give to the rich elites in a POOR Country. What a fucking joke America is? The average US citizen may swallow there Patriotic Propoganda Bullshit, but the rest of the world sees America for what they truly are, Evil, War Mongering, Murdering Imperialists whose only focus is dominating the rest of the world. The rest of the world will rejoice when the inevitable collapse of America happens, and because of the decades of suffering they have wrought on the rest of the world, nobody will be there to help them.
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Truth be told, the American Government has for decades gone into countries that have natural resources it wants. It will offer loans to these countries via the World Bank. These loans will be offered to build infrastructure, but it only really benefits a few select people in the end. American companies get hired and profit to build the infrastructure. The citizens of the country receiving the loan will inherit the massive debt to pay down. When the country cannot afford the debt repayment, the United States strong arms such countries to sell them their resources at a substantially reduced cost, and get them to allow them to build military bases there, or vote their way at the United Nations, etc. Such countries get pillaged so the mighty few can prosper, at the expense of the great many that become even poorer. Less and less of that countries own resources go to help its own people. Several countries in South America can attest to this.
When leaders of countries reject the offerings from the economic hitmen, they send in the Jackals to take out that leader, so they can put in place someone that will cooperate and be corrupted. Failing assassination, the military will be used. Had Saddam Hussein taken the bait, he would still be in power to this day, but he didn't, more than once. His security was also very good, where attempts failed to take him out, leaving the military as the last option.
I am glad there are more informed and wise people than me here on Getbig who can more eloquently say what I mean! I am no scholar, but I know America are not the saints they pretend to be. Thanks for this post.
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Dude shut the fuck up.
Go join the U.N. and be Mother Theresa for the rest of your miserable life.
You strike me as the sort of dude who goes to Sarah McLahlan concerts to cry with butch lesbians.
Poverty is a fact of life. Will always be around you. People like you think that throwing money in an envelope and sending it overseas will help. Sure, it might give the poor a meal or 2 but handouts don't give anyone incentive to work hard or find opportunity to pull themselves out of that shit.
You strike me as the kind dude who is the typical self centred narcisstic arsehole. If you believe the poverty of this world is the poor peoples own fault, then you have no idea how the Elites work and keep the whole sad situation going. The Elites want the common people to believe that poverty is self induced, so as to take the heat of them manipulating the whole system so they can add another $1 billion dollars to their bank balance. Poverty is not a fact of life, it is something created by the current system that encourages GREED and WAR. If you believe the line "BLAME the POOR" well then you are as far from understanding the TRUTH as any human being could possibly be. CEO's earning in a week what one of their hard working staff earn in 5 years is an example of this current façade, do you really believe that one man works harder in one week than one of his employees does in 5 years, Of course Not, he is a product of an Elitist System that is designed to be that way, so they stay mega rich while the poor are continually encouraged To Pull themselves up by their Bootstraps! The Elites must laugh when the ignorant masses blame the poor for their situation rather than the real culprits (The Elites). I am sure they laugh amongst themselves at how effective their propaganda is and how easily simpletons lap it up!
When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist.
Dom Helder Camara
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We make really good fighter jets. . . and then of course we use them to kill everyone in sight.
We are a very violent country. People should know this by now and just get out of our way.
Oh ya; yes, it is expensive to train as a professional athlete.
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We make really good fighter jets. . . and then of course we use them to kill everyone in sight.
We are a very violent country. People should know this by now and just get out of our way.
Oh ya; yes, it is expensive to train as a professional athlete.
See, that honesty is preferable to pretending to be the worlds saviour. What makes America so evil is the atrocities they commit in the name of Goodness. Just be upfront and open - like "yeah, were evil dictators who desire to rule the world and crush any opposition and dissent, and we will do it in as murderous fashion as we please". At least then the rest of the world knows what there dealing with, then you wouldn't need Wikileaks. At least Hitler had the Guts to express his convictions.
I think it was Thomas Aquinas who said something like "The devil’s job is to look very moral!" It has to look like we are defending some great purpose or cause, like “making the world safe for democracy” or “keeping the bad people off the streets.” Then you can do many evils without any guilt, without any shame or self-doubt, but actually with a sense of high-minded virtue. Evil must disguise itself as good
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You strike me as the kind dude who is the typical self centred narcisstic arsehole. If you believe the poverty of this world is the poor peoples own fault, then you have no idea how the Elites work and keep the whole sad situation going. The Elites want the common people to believe that poverty is self induced, so as to take the heat of them manipulating the whole system so they can add another $1 billion dollars to their bank balance. Poverty is not a fact of life, it is something created by the current system that encourages GREED and WAR. If you believe the line "BLAME the POOR" well then you are as far from understanding the TRUTH as any human being could possibly be. CEO's earning in a week what one of their hard working staff earn in 5 years is an example of this current façade, do you really believe that one man works harder in one week than one of his employees does in 5 years, Of course Not, he is a product of an Elitist System that is designed to be that way, so they stay mega rich while the poor are continually encouraged To Pull themselves up by their Bootstraps! The Elites must laugh when the ignorant masses blame the poor for their situation rather than the real culprits (The Elites). I am sure they laugh amongst themselves at how effective their propaganda is and how easily simpletons lap it up!
When I feed the poor, they call me a saint, but when I ask why the poor are hungry, they call me a communist.
Dom Helder Camara
Yes, there is a fucked up system in place. Blah blah blah ...bitch & moan some more dude.
I know a few guys like you in real life. They are well read about the atrocities and corruption in the world. THey usually sit around Starbucks and have their piss & moan conversations about this shit all day...then they ride their fixie bikes home and have a circle jerk. Because that's all it is ...a huge circle jerk of the same repetitious bitching all the fucking time.
There are plenty of people in the United States whose families have been on welfare for generations. How the fuck do you explain that ? You'd have to think that maybe 1 person somewhere down that line said "fuck this" and got a decent job/education...etc. ...probably not. Why? Because government gives them free hand outs.
The UN gives rations to poor people all over the world. Numerous incidents in Africa and other 3rd world countries where people don't farm or work anymore because UN gives them handouts. WHy should they have to if they get free shit?
The only people that should be helped are the ones that are physically able to help themselves.
Liberals like you make excuses all fucking day long ....evil banks, evil corporations...blah shut the fuck up!
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Yes, there is a fucked up system in place. Blah blah blah ...bitch & moan some more dude.
Liberals like you make excuses all fucking day long ....evil banks, evil corporations...blah shut the fuck up!
HA HA, laughing about those who bitch & moan about others who Bitch & Moan! HA HA
Plus, wouldn't need to bitch and moan if people didn't live in denial or attempt to seek the truth about reality! It's the freaks who say EVIL is GOOD and NIGHT is DAY that infuriates people. Yeah, there is a fucked up system in place, but burying your head in the sand, ignoring or denying it is only part of the problem. The first step towards improvement is discovering the truth, then discussing it and then working out solutions. Just ignoring it is a large part of the problem.
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Its not cheap to be a Mr. Olympian either... main reason for G4P, etc.
(http://www.steroidsource.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/steroid-bust.jpg)
Lot of guys drooling looking at that table :-X
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We make really good fighter jets. . . and then of course we use them to kill everyone in sight.
We are a very violent country. People should know this by now and just get out of our way.
Oh ya; yes, it is expensive to train as a professional athlete.
Truth.
The U.S. was born in violence. We are a warrior country. We will be until the end.
Facts of life.
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Still the US gives more in foreign aid than any other country even when they can't afford to. Whenever there is a disaster anywhere in the world it is the US that is first to respond. China and Russia are strangely silent.