Leveraged Intelligence

Every question deserves a few more mental watts.

First Live CNN Chat Stream…Ever!


Posted 1 year, 5 months ago at 3:15 pm. 17 comments

[11:10:45 AM] *** CNN Skype1 added Conrad Hake ***
[11:10:53 AM] CNN Skype1: hey conrad- see us now?
[11:11:13 AM] Conrad Hake: I see you.
[11:11:24 AM] CNN Skype1: great- and carl? you see me & conrad?
[11:12:46 AM] Conrad Hake: I don’t see anything from Carl
[11:13:19 AM] CNN Skype1: me neither, i think he’s on the phone w/a client
[11:14:26 AM] Conrad Hake: I just dm’ed him via Twitter.  He had sent me a message.
[11:15:16 AM] CFJr: sup Conrad!
[11:15:37 AM] Conrad Hake: Ready, dude?  Nice pic, by the way.  How’d you get it up there?
[11:15:54 AM] CFJr: its my myspace photo..it just linked it in
[11:16:02 AM] CFJr: go to your profile
[11:16:12 AM] CFJr: or click the box, it should pop open
[11:16:37 AM] Conrad Hake: Oh.  I don’t have a MySpace acct.
[11:17:41 AM] CFJr: its ok, you can upload a pic that you have on ur desktop
[11:18:07 AM] Conrad Hake: I already have a pic in the profile.  It just isn’t showing, I guess.
[11:19:13 AM] CFJr: hmm.. click on the box then scroll over to the open dialog box and click ur photo
[11:21:51 AM] Conrad Hake: I did.  Oh, well.  Bigger fish to fry, I suppose.  do you see my pic or a big "?"
[11:22:08 AM] CFJr: a big "?"
[11:22:22 AM] CFJr: hold on lemme try to do the process again
[11:22:46 AM] Conrad Hake: On the left, I see my photo.
[11:22:54 AM] CFJr: ok, click the photo/"?" box on the right
[11:22:58 AM] CFJr: bottom right
[11:24:35 AM] Conrad Hake: Oh, this is funny.  All that I’ve managed to do is turn you into a ? also!  LOL
[11:25:01 AM] CFJr: dude, what are you doing?  LOL
[11:25:29 AM] Conrad Hake: Before I’m done, they’ll run us out on a rail!!  Or, at least me…
[11:25:31 AM] CFJr: did you click the box? the openingn dialog box at the top click "browse"
[11:26:13 AM] Conrad Hake: The box that is one of three at the top?  My box?
[11:26:52 AM] Conrad Hake: The one on the left already shows my pic.
[11:27:01 AM] CFJr: in this chat box… click the box to the right that your photo is suppose to be in
[11:27:28 AM] Conrad Hake: Double-click?  Click does nothing.
[11:28:05 AM] CFJr: ok… what version of skype do you have?
[11:28:40 AM] Conrad Hake: Newest. 4.0.0….
[11:29:09 AM] CFJr: ok go up on the main page
[11:29:17 AM] CFJr: click tool then options
[11:30:23 AM] Conrad Hake: OK.  which option to change?
[11:30:42 AM] CFJr: general settings
[11:30:47 AM] CFJr: change ur picture
[11:31:31 AM] Conrad Hake: I did.
[11:32:27 AM] Conrad Hake: I think we are just warming up our fingers until we have something to comment on. :)
[11:32:34 AM] CFJr: lol
[11:33:20 AM] Conrad Hake: If they don’t treat us well, it’s easy to get out.  All we have to do is cuss.
[11:33:35 AM] CFJr: hahahaha, i saw them on video.. they’re pretty cool
[11:33:57 AM] CFJr: we’re being mavericks
[11:34:17 AM] Conrad Hake: Yeah, you, me and McCain.
[11:34:33 AM] Conrad Hake: Bein’ all mavericky!
[11:34:38 AM] CFJr: hahahahahaha
[11:35:11 AM] Conrad Hake: I told some people we were going to do this and they thought it was an April Fools joke.
[11:35:54 AM] CFJr: everyone i told thought the same
[11:36:13 AM] Conrad Hake: They have no idea of just how classy we really are!
[11:36:50 AM] CFJr: i wanted to talk about legalization of MJ… I had dreams about this :)
[11:37:20 AM] Conrad Hake: I researched that, too!  Oh well, next week.
[11:37:33 AM] CFJr: as long as we do well today
[11:37:41 AM] Conrad Hake: And don’t cuss…
[11:37:46 AM] CFJr: of course
[11:38:10 AM] Conrad Hake: Did you put any boilerplate text in a text file to paste in?
[11:38:38 AM] CFJr: LOL!! no, but that is a good idea
[11:38:48 AM] Conrad Hake: I thought about it, but didn’t.
[11:39:14 AM] CFJr: they picked to 2 perfect people for such a discussion
[11:39:30 AM] Conrad Hake: Yeah.  You need people who could party together.
[11:39:41 AM] CFJr: hahahahaha, right
[11:39:54 AM] Conrad Hake: brb, Carl.
[11:41:57 AM] Conrad Hake: Carl, how do you do this?  I have a TV tuner in the computer & a big monitor.  I just put the stuff side-by-side and go.
[11:42:28 AM] CFJr: i have my desktop and laptop running
[11:42:59 AM] Conrad Hake: Which one gets the TV?
[11:43:16 AM] CFJr: laptop
[11:43:23 AM] Conrad Hake: Streaming?
[11:43:33 AM] CFJr: yep
[11:43:41 AM] Conrad Hake: What address?
[11:44:03 AM] CFJr: ok, i think im talking about something totally different
[11:44:07 AM] CFJr: are you asking me about the news?
[11:44:24 AM] CFJr: ..and im sober :)
[11:44:30 AM] Conrad Hake: Yes, the news.  I have some people without cable who would like to watch.
[11:44:47 AM] Conrad Hake: I’m all jacked up on caffeine right now!
[11:45:46 AM] CFJr: http://www.cnn.com/video/flashLive/live.html?stream=stream1
[11:48:06 AM] Conrad Hake: My daughter just cut her boyfriend’s hair in the garage.  He needs to just shave his head and start over!  OMG
[11:49:06 AM] Conrad Hake: Thanks for the link.
[11:52:40 AM] CFJr: LOL!!!
[11:55:06 AM] Conrad Hake: Rick just talked us up!
[11:55:17 AM] CFJr: lol, i saw..
[11:55:53 AM] Conrad Hake: I loved his "What a day to do it."  Hope we’re good, lol.
[11:56:09 AM] CFJr: im watching protesting videos on youtube
[11:56:14 AM] CFJr: this ish is crazy
[11:58:33 AM] CFJr: we lost 742K jobs this past month?
[11:58:46 AM] Conrad Hake: Say what??
[11:58:52 AM] CFJr: right
[11:59:00 AM] Conrad Hake: That is way more than I expected at this point.
[11:59:37 AM] CFJr: oh no, the job market is always the last to recover in economics
[11:59:44 AM] CFJr: it will get worse
[11:59:54 AM] Conrad Hake: True.  And we haven’t come close to the bottom
[12:00:06 PM] CFJr: i thnk we’re getting there by the end of the year
[12:00:21 PM] Conrad Hake: We can only hope.  this is such unknown territory.
[12:00:34 PM] CFJr: we should really focus on going green
[12:00:43 PM] CFJr: it could be our much needed new industry
[12:00:54 PM] Conrad Hake: CA is trying to.  Schwarzenegger is getting some flak.
[12:01:04 PM] CFJr: i think more importantly we have to change the corporate policy
[12:01:18 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.  The whole corporate culture.
[12:01:19 PM] CFJr: you can’t pay workers min wage, and the exec board is making millions
[12:01:52 PM] Conrad Hake: Japan has – or at least had – a much better ratio between main workers and CEOs.
[12:01:58 PM] CFJr: agreed
[12:02:19 PM] CFJr: im not condoning breaking windows etc… but why don’t we march anymore?
[12:02:23 PM] Conrad Hake: Protest is such a spectrum phenomenon.
[12:02:26 PM] CFJr: we write emails and tweets
[12:02:51 PM] Conrad Hake: I marched a lot in the 60’s/70’s.
[12:03:20 PM] CFJr: so did my parent’s and grandparent’s.. for my right to a balanced public school education
[12:03:40 PM] CFJr: maybe its because we’ve been made to feel helpless…as if our voice means nothing
[12:04:02 PM] CFJr: i think we our now seeing how enraged the rest of the world is
[12:04:13 PM] Conrad Hake: I am glad they did.  I was teaching not far from the school where Brown v Board of Education originated.
[12:04:27 PM] CFJr: i couldn’t agree more
[12:04:43 PM] Conrad Hake: The world has built up a lot of resentment over the past 8 years.
[12:04:57 PM] CFJr: but we should’ve been protesting (ALL OF US) when we realized that Iraq had no WMD’s
[12:05:11 PM] CFJr: look what our inaction has caused?
[12:05:12 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes!  We should have!
[12:05:52 PM] Conrad Hake: And, you know what, some protest is really effective.  Some is counterproductive.  But, people need to express.
[12:05:59 PM] CFJr: im glad the protesters are not all being potrayed as radicals..
[12:06:17 PM] Conrad Hake: Rick is much better about his coverage of protest.
[12:06:23 PM] CFJr: I think the auto workers blood is boiling now
[12:06:37 PM] CFJr: especially because they had to concede so much…and the bank employees got bonuses
[12:06:43 PM] CFJr: I couldn’t imagine, if it were me
[12:06:56 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.  I think we may see a lot of protests in Michigan, depending upon how this all goes.
[12:07:11 PM] Conrad Hake: Unemployed people in general are angry people.
[12:07:22 PM] CFJr: unemployed and duped…for wall st
[12:07:47 PM] Conrad Hake: Wall street better wake up to how important Americans in general are to them.
[12:08:14 PM] Conrad Hake: I’m glad we didn’t privatize SS.
[12:08:16 PM] CFJr: they had better
[12:08:22 PM] CFJr: OMG i couldn’t imagine…
[12:08:54 PM] CFJr: I don’t think its is portrayed how bad people are really struggling here in America
[12:09:20 PM] Conrad Hake: It is so important that we get back on diplomacy, arms control and working together around the world, too.
[12:09:22 PM] CFJr: and the system (govt) doesn’t seem to helping those that need it the most
[12:09:32 PM] CFJr: we have some catching up to do
[12:09:51 PM] Conrad Hake: We have to look at values.  This election gives us a chance.
[12:09:52 PM] CFJr: but we also have to get back to our own civil duties.. town hall meetings, talking with our represenatives
[12:10:10 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.  Local is where the best originates from.
[12:10:22 PM] CFJr: we have to make sure people are more concerned with who’s being voted as their senator..than voting for their favorite american idol
[12:10:29 PM] CFJr: (nothign against AI)
[12:11:02 PM] Conrad Hake: You are right about priorities.  Strong citizens are the source of a strong nation.
[12:11:08 PM] CFJr: agreed
[12:11:12 PM] CFJr: China needs us, and we need them
[12:11:23 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.
[12:11:29 PM] CFJr: without us consuming the products they make..they fail just as well
[12:11:54 PM] Conrad Hake: It really is a global economy – and culture – now.
[12:12:05 PM] CFJr: also, we have to fix rising healthcare costs…and make it conducive to invest back in Americans
[12:12:14 PM] Conrad Hake: I have friends tuned into this in India.
[12:13:11 PM] CFJr: America is extremely expensive to do business in
[12:13:36 PM] CFJr: and we pay the most in corp. taxes in the world
[12:13:48 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.  Healthcare is really dinging our family.  by the time we put the deductible at a level where we can afford the premium, we only have it for catastrophic coverage.
[12:14:10 PM] CFJr: its not like we (the taxpayer) don’t pay for healthcare for everyone now
[12:14:12 PM] Conrad Hake: What do you think we can do about the tax situation?
[12:14:33 PM] CFJr: we have to lower the corp. tax incentivising companies to come back and invest in Americans
[12:14:49 PM] Conrad Hake: If we don’t pay for it in taxes, we cover costs when the emergency room is main dr.
[12:14:52 PM] CFJr: we have to fix our healthcare system (an online system)
[12:15:26 PM] Conrad Hake: We do need to make sure that we have economic incentives in our system.
[12:15:30 PM] CFJr: could you imagine if the police department was ran like a hospital?
[12:15:43 PM] Conrad Hake: Yeah, that is scary.
[12:16:00 PM] CFJr: what happends a dept didn’t have the money to answer a crime? because its not in their budget
[12:16:11 PM] CFJr: or the fire dept
[12:16:28 PM] Conrad Hake: Police, fire – they do need tax funds.  You wouldn’t privitize them would you?
[12:16:36 PM] CFJr: what if the Chief of Police was the CEO of the company making millions
[12:16:38 PM] CFJr: NO!
[12:16:45 PM] CFJr: no way… its for the public
[12:17:02 PM] CFJr: and it does us well to have a country of healthy working people
[12:17:07 PM] Conrad Hake: Exactly.  Some people don’t realize that there are essential uses of public funds.
[12:17:14 PM] CFJr: healthcare costs is the #1 reason for bankruptcy
[12:17:33 PM] CFJr: its costs 500K for open heart surgery
[12:17:46 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.  No one is doing very well in terms of health care right now.
[12:17:48 PM] CFJr: so the working class of people are not able to get "prevenative" health
[12:18:01 PM] CFJr: to keep them working and paying taxes into the system
[12:18:07 PM] Conrad Hake: We are sliding behind much of the rest of the world in infant mortality, etc.
[12:18:17 PM] CFJr: Cuba is what.. #3?
[12:18:51 PM] Conrad Hake: Cuba and our relationship with its society is very interesting.  We have a lot that we should get over and move into the present.
[12:18:59 PM] CFJr: couldn’t agree more
[12:19:22 PM] CFJr: the police in europe are a lot more patient that our trigger happy cops
[12:19:36 PM] CFJr: there is no way Miami would be able to handle this
[12:19:42 PM] Conrad Hake: I am leary of everyone who immediately wheels out socialism as an accusation.
[12:19:44 PM] CFJr: without it turning extremely violent
[12:19:54 PM] CFJr: agreed
[12:20:15 PM] Conrad Hake: The police in Europe seem more in touch with the people and less trigger-happy.  At least, the English police.
[12:20:41 PM] CFJr: whose at fault?  BUSH
[12:20:45 PM] CFJr: simple..move on
[12:20:59 PM] Conrad Hake: Are your police locally from the neighborhoods they serve?
[12:21:10 PM] CFJr: not in los angeles, or in NYC
[12:21:13 PM] CFJr: no
[12:21:27 PM] Conrad Hake: Not in Bay Area either.
[12:21:32 PM] CFJr: it wouldn’t be a bad idea… but they wouldn’t dare live in the places they patrol
[12:21:36 PM] CFJr: which i think is sad..
[12:21:58 PM] Conrad Hake: I agree.  I don’t have an easy solution.  I just notice it.
[12:22:22 PM] Conrad Hake: Wall st. doesn’t live in the areas they serve, either.
[12:22:33 PM] CFJr: perhaps they should have more community events so people learn that their local police are neighbors just like them
[12:22:48 PM] Conrad Hake: I like that idea.
[12:22:59 PM] CFJr: to me its simple..
[12:23:12 PM] CFJr: i mean honestly, how often do you see a cop doing something for your community?
[12:23:23 PM] Conrad Hake: Simple and elegant solutions really require insight.
[12:23:36 PM] CFJr: i think they just require common sense
[12:23:47 PM] Conrad Hake: Same thing in some ways.
[12:24:02 PM] CFJr: and if Capitol Hill can’t see that…maybe its time we replace them all
[12:24:31 PM] Conrad Hake: We need to be willing to replace OUR congressmen.  We usually blame it on OTHERS.
[12:24:40 PM] CFJr: what would happen if you or me owed 7K in back taxes?
[12:25:05 PM] Conrad Hake: You know what would happen.  We’d be typing in adjoinging cells if lucky!
[12:25:18 PM] CFJr: sending notes under the doors
[12:25:29 PM] Conrad Hake: Tying them to mice!
[12:25:36 PM] CFJr: mr. jingles
[12:25:48 PM] CFJr: (Green Mile)
[12:25:48 PM] Conrad Hake: :D
[12:25:50 PM] CFJr: LOL!!
[12:26:27 PM] CFJr: will they at least give Obama the benefit of the doubt?
[12:26:33 PM] CFJr: we put him in office…
[12:26:39 PM] CFJr: that’s what the people want
[12:26:51 PM] Conrad Hake: I like the effort so far.  I really do.
[12:27:05 PM] Conrad Hake: I’m not asking for a 400 yard drive down the middle each swing.
[12:27:17 PM] CFJr: he’s done more in the couple of weeks, than Bush did his whole term
[12:27:29 PM] CFJr: remember when he stayed down at Camp David for like a month?
[12:27:43 PM] Conrad Hake: I know.  my classmates in the heartland don’t want to hear it.
[12:27:53 PM] CFJr: its sad
[12:28:19 PM] CFJr: wow they are fired up in London
[12:28:22 PM] Conrad Hake: Wonder when Rick is going to turn to us?
[12:28:29 PM] CFJr: I dunno..
[12:28:49 PM] Conrad Hake: I’m old.  My fingers will wear out!!!
[12:29:02 PM] CFJr: Im with the people in London
[12:29:09 PM] Conrad Hake: I am, too.
[12:29:22 PM] CFJr: maybe if we had broke a window or 2 we wouldn’t be in the mess we are in right now (not trying to incite a riot)
[12:29:29 PM] Conrad Hake: They need to stay focused very clearly, though.
[12:29:56 PM] CFJr: perhaps if AIG had gotten ruffled up a little… they wouldn’t have had the gall to take a bonus on top of the bailout
[12:30:00 PM] Conrad Hake: I saw the broken windows in Oakland as a distraction from the cause there.  The merchants weren’t the problem.
[12:30:19 PM] Conrad Hake: But, I know what you mean that you must be heard.
[12:30:26 PM] CFJr: same as LA riots
[12:30:32 PM] Conrad Hake: This is being heard.
[12:30:36 PM] CFJr: now if they did it on Wall St.. a whole other story
[12:30:50 PM] CFJr: i don’t see them as radicals… people are fired up
[12:30:56 PM] CFJr: and they can’t take it anymore
[12:30:58 PM] Conrad Hake: Can you imagine this on Wall st.???
[12:31:15 PM] Conrad Hake: No, the common people are the ones feeling this way now.
[12:31:18 PM] CFJr: i thought we would’ve had it when we found out how much their bonuses were
[12:31:39 PM] CFJr: if we are non-violent "we will win"???
[12:31:46 PM] Conrad Hake: The deeper the objections go in the society, the more compelling actions become.
[12:32:07 PM] CFJr: agreed, this is a mess…I think we should be just as fired up
[12:32:15 PM] CFJr: look at what happened to us?
[12:32:32 PM] CFJr: we ended up spending 1 trillion dollars on a country that is still in shambles
[12:32:35 PM] Conrad Hake: Non-violent protest has been a hot issue since b4 Gandhi and King.
[12:32:54 PM] Conrad Hake: I like your passion.  Gives me hope.
[12:32:57 PM] CFJr: I equate it to a kid throwing a temper tantrum..sometimes you just have to act out
[12:33:04 PM] Conrad Hake: Have you ever run for an office?
[12:33:05 PM] CFJr: to be heard
[12:33:10 PM] CFJr: no.. im 27
[12:33:27 PM] CFJr: my father was military and i traveled all over the world
[12:33:39 PM] Conrad Hake: I ran for school board last fall.  Politics and being heard from that vantage point is just awful.
[12:33:59 PM] CFJr: i can’t imagine… i did think about law school
[12:34:26 PM] Conrad Hake: Our age range really helps us bracket this conversation.  I am 59.  Viet Nam was my era.  And we really protested!!!
[12:34:51 PM] Conrad Hake: My Dad was so with us in that.
[12:35:25 PM] Conrad Hake: Some of the shared fire we have can make a difference.
[12:35:29 PM] CFJr: honestly what would America look like if we’d invested 1 trillion in education and green technology?
[12:35:42 PM] Conrad Hake: It would look great!!
[12:35:43 PM] CFJr: we have to feel like our voices are important
[12:35:56 PM] CFJr: and we haven’t felt like that for some time
[12:36:07 PM] CFJr: I would go as far to say possibly the early 70’s
[12:36:18 PM] Conrad Hake: We need to lead the world to green.  Instead, we have been a green rogue.  Refusing Kyoto!!
[12:36:22 PM] CFJr: when people cared about making a change
[12:36:28 PM] CFJr: RIGHT!
[12:36:38 PM] Conrad Hake: The early 70’s are exactly it!
[12:36:56 PM] CFJr: we’re a spoiled bunch (my generation)
[12:37:03 PM] Conrad Hake: I couldn’t believe we lost that thread.
[12:37:04 PM] CFJr: we never had to work for anything
[12:37:33 PM] CFJr: i think what happened the parents of the 70’s gave their children everything they didn’t have… and now look at us
[12:37:43 PM] Conrad Hake: The draft help fire us up.  Honestly, I wonder if that is the reason it is all "volunteer" now.
[12:37:55 PM] CFJr: possibly.. i haven’t thought of that
[12:38:37 PM] Conrad Hake: We actually faced a draft lottery.  There is nothing like sitting in front of a TV seeing if they will draw your birthdate and send you to war.
[12:39:16 PM] CFJr: it would put a real face on the war..if mom and pops from the suburbs realized their kid was going off to war instead of college
[12:39:27 PM] Conrad Hake: Exactly!!
[12:40:18 PM] CFJr: we need to make sure our senators etc. know that the lobbying party is over
[12:40:20 PM] Conrad Hake: College protests would escalate again, too!
[12:40:23 PM] CFJr: right
[12:40:36 PM] CFJr: everyone is watching and paying attention, and we will start holding them ALL accountable
[12:40:43 PM] Conrad Hake: College kids, mobilized, are a real force!
[12:41:16 PM] CFJr: not only college kids…what about kids that wanted to marry early, buy a home, and raise kids?
[12:41:30 PM] Conrad Hake: Green has meant money to this point.  It needs to mean a way of life.
[12:41:32 PM] CFJr: its impossible
[12:41:52 PM] CFJr: couldn’t agree with you more.. we have to get a greener economy
[12:42:08 PM] CFJr: could you imagine if G20 was in New York?
[12:42:08 PM] Conrad Hake: Why does the person think we can’t protest here?
[12:42:23 PM] Conrad Hake: We have much to march for.
[12:42:42 PM] CFJr: we can. we just don’t
[12:43:05 PM] Conrad Hake: I know.  It needs to start back up!
[12:43:27 PM] CFJr: I gotta agree, i feel the only reason Bush got away with it all…. was because we let him
[12:43:47 PM] Conrad Hake: Yes.  We allowed our society to be bought off cheap.
[12:43:48 PM] CFJr: in addition to Clinton repealing the Glass-Steagall act
[12:44:05 PM] CFJr: not everyone is violently protesting, and im glad Rick is pointing that out
[12:44:43 PM] Conrad Hake: Rick is bringing protest itself back into focus as a proper topic of news.  Which it is.
[12:45:01 PM] Conrad Hake: Protest is what the American revolution was based on.
[12:45:07 PM] CFJr: its is an effective was for citizens to get their point accross
[12:45:31 PM] Conrad Hake: It is.  This is, too.  We need to voice on many, many fronts.
[12:45:44 PM] CFJr: we need to stand back up and let the world know that we Americans aren’t taking this standing down either
[12:46:05 PM] CFJr: we understand their frustrations, and share their feelings
[12:46:08 PM] Conrad Hake: When politicians know that we are upset, they respond.  If we stay upset and passionate, the actually start changing things.
[12:46:30 PM] CFJr: or maybe move aside, and let someone come in that can do the job we’re asking
[12:46:37 PM] CFJr: (Obama)
[12:46:44 PM] Conrad Hake: We have given weak lip service to world leadership for awhile.  It is deriliction of duty.
[12:47:13 PM] Conrad Hake: Do you see passion developing in your generation?
[12:47:35 PM] CFJr: I beginning to see it now, that we felt our voices were heard when electing Obama
[12:48:04 PM] CFJr: it also took time for us to realize how good we have it, and what we have done with our opportunities in this nation
[12:48:18 PM] CFJr: i think Obama represents what we can do, if we work hard… anything is possible
[12:48:23 PM] Conrad Hake: My generation was feeling a real disconnect with Bush.  Not all of us, obviously.  But a LOT of us.
[12:48:43 PM] CFJr: I couldn’t relate to him on anything
[12:48:53 PM] Conrad Hake: Neither could I.
[12:49:06 PM] CFJr: he’s not smart, not very talented in anything…he reminds me of the coach’s son whose put on the team only because
[12:49:29 PM] Conrad Hake: People voted for what they thought were family values, etc., and got corporate returns.
[12:49:33 PM] CFJr: and the coach keeps telling him he’s really good..so he actually thinks so
[12:49:44 PM] Conrad Hake: I know.
[12:50:00 PM] Conrad Hake: I have wanted an Obama for quite a while.
[12:50:08 PM] CFJr: while the rest of the crowd (the world) is laughing at the whole team for having him on board
[12:50:31 PM] Conrad Hake: The rest of the world is getting back on board with us, I think.
[12:50:53 PM] Conrad Hake: I couldn’t believe that many people here actually thought that Europe liking us was a bad thing!
[12:50:55 PM] CFJr: i think so too… could you imagine McCain and Palin working on these issues?
[12:51:00 PM] CFJr: right
[12:51:06 PM] Conrad Hake: Unfortunately, I could.
[12:51:38 PM] CFJr: what  mess would we be in, if we had Palin heading the senate
[12:51:52 PM] Conrad Hake: Don’t even go there!
[12:52:03 PM] CFJr: OMG the GOP budget…was a complete joke
[12:52:09 PM] Conrad Hake: The whole executive had a strange view of their role.
[12:52:23 PM] CFJr: agreed
[12:52:42 PM] CFJr: the GOP wants to cut trillions of tax dollars.. again
[12:52:49 PM] Conrad Hake: Budgets grow out of priorities.  I hated the priorities.
[12:52:51 PM] CFJr: and repeal the stimulus package
[12:53:02 PM] CFJr: can we just make sure we don’t vote them back?
[12:53:03 PM] Conrad Hake: Trickle down is a failed idea.
[12:53:18 PM] CFJr: when we don’t take care of those that cannot take care of themselves
[12:53:22 PM] CFJr: its a failure
[12:53:44 PM] CFJr: Ted Stevens, Scooter Libby… did we really expect him to be convicted?
[12:53:50 PM] CFJr: same old boys club
[12:54:27 PM] Conrad Hake: Citizens can change the old boys club.  We need to work on so many fronts.  the anger needs to become good action.
[12:54:53 PM] CFJr: to me it Obama just showed us, who we need to make sure we don’t vote for again in 2 years
[12:55:05 PM] CFJr: the people that were able to move with the changes, we keep..others we ditch
[12:55:09 PM] CFJr: that’s a democracy
[12:55:10 PM] Conrad Hake: The politicians don’t REALLY know how to play the situation now.  This is the time to push change.
[12:55:44 PM] CFJr: they don’t know how to play, because we have the internet and we can look up the truth
[12:55:50 PM] CFJr: and not just take what their saying as fact
[12:55:54 PM] Conrad Hake: Politicians try to come up with ideas and sell them to us.  We need to generate our own ideas for awhile.
[12:56:27 PM] Conrad Hake: The are looking at the Stevens debacle right now.
[12:56:33 PM] Conrad Hake: It is really strange.
[12:56:42 PM] CFJr: this is a mess, the prosecution was shady apparently
[12:56:59 PM] Conrad Hake: That’s what I heard.  Why???
[12:57:23 PM] CFJr: soemthing about, they didn’t give all the evidence over? something to that extent
[12:57:40 PM] Conrad Hake: Right. At that level, I expect better.
[12:57:53 PM] Conrad Hake: Don’t make the dumb mistakes.
[12:58:05 PM] Conrad Hake: …or the corrupt ones.
[12:58:39 PM] CFJr: please they were never gonna convict him anyways..
[12:58:39 PM] Conrad Hake: The legal system is a whole other issue!
[12:58:44 PM] CFJr: right
[12:58:55 PM] Conrad Hake: The rich are never executed in America!
[12:59:00 PM] CFJr: never
[12:59:37 PM] Conrad Hake: And, Rick is out!
[12:59:40 PM] CFJr: our whole system is a joke
[12:59:44 PM] CFJr: YEAH!! we didn’t swear
[12:59:55 PM] Conrad Hake: Not that I can remember!!!
[1:00:21 PM] CFJr: that was interesting… i think they should integrate this into their show
[1:00:40 PM] Conrad Hake: Hey, CNNers, did any of you watch us?  How did we do?
[1:00:43 PM] CFJr: still would’ve been great to have the MJ debate
[1:00:55 PM] CFJr: give them a couple of minutes to come back from the set
[1:01:18 PM] Conrad Hake: Yeah, it has to be really busy for this bunch during showtime.
[1:01:56 PM] Conrad Hake: I’ve already invited Rick to BBQ.  Now I need to add you, Angie and Janelle!
[1:05:57 PM] CFJr: LOL right
[1:06:19 PM] CFJr: how many people protested in London today?
[1:06:39 PM] Conrad Hake: Good question.  Looked like a BIG turnout.
[1:07:39 PM] CFJr: in am really impressed by Rick’s reporting of the protests
[1:07:57 PM] CFJr: I recall the ones in Seatlle, it wasn’t so fair and balanced
[1:08:21 PM] Conrad Hake: So am I.  He isn’t against protest.  He instead looks for effective protest.
[1:09:17 PM] Conrad Hake: You know, as we got the stream going, I wonder if the CNN people kind of went WHEW!!
[1:09:33 PM] Conrad Hake: We were both trying to be constructive.
[1:10:00 PM] Conrad Hake: Passionate, but constructive.
[1:10:53 PM] CFJr: agreed
[1:12:44 PM] CFJr: i am glad we have Rick on CNN

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17 Replies

  1. I am so confuse. I recorded the show from 2:00 to 3:00 CST so I could watch it after work, but when I watched it . . . . admittedly fast forwarding a lot, I couldn’t find your part. How much of it was on?

  2. Conrad Apr 1st 2009

    Sit, you couldn’t have told where we were involved unless you looked very carefully. When they showed that box in the upper right a couple of times with text in it, it was our text. That was it!!

    We absolutely typed our butts off and they just didn’t present it very well. Part of the problem was that Rick thought it wasn’t scrolling because we weren’t putting entries in fast enough, but I know that I put in some entries and did not see a scroll. They were not on the last comment, which is necessary to see the scroll.

    First time out of the box is always a little rough. He is going to try putting in more members of our group next time to get more flow. But…he said he won’t put everyone in. Some rant. Some say really negative things. And some cuss!

  3. Ah, shucks. Ol’ Rick must just be scared you’ll steal his job – LOL!

  4. Conrad, I failed to catch the show on CNN using the link that you had sent but this text is quite good. Where is the MJ bit other than just the mention? I for one am all for legalizing the use of marijuana. It is likely to be less of a killer than tobacco and has many other advantages. Are you going back live next week with the same topic?

    On the exchange- everyone I know, from all over the world, including some of my blog friends seem to be indulging in optimism of the past. What we need to do is shift gears and go for Tragic Optimism. Let Viktor Frankl, my Guru explain in his own words.

    “Let us first ask ourselves what should be understood by ‘a tragic optimism.’ In brief it means that one is, and remains, optimistic in spite of the ‘tragic triad’..a triad which consists of those aspects of human existence which may be circumscribed by: (1) pain; (2) guilt; and (3) death…

    “I speak of a tragic optimism, that is, an optimism in the face of tragedy and in view of the human potential which at its best always allows for: (1) turning suffering into a human achievement and accomplishment; (2) deriving from guilt the opportunity to change oneself for the better; and (3) deriving from life’s transitoriness an incentive to take responsible action.”

    (Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning, p. 139-140)

    I have refrained from commenting on something that is of vital concern to us in India in the hope that the USA will change its policies in Afghanistan/Pakistan and despite my own tragic optimism, I find that the USA is pursuing the same old policies and strategies here which is likely to cause untold suffering in the very near future. Another place where the USA and its allies can do considerable work to alleviate suffering, Zimbabwe, they are not.

    There is a mad man within Pakistan who has openly said, after the raid on the Police Academy in Lahore, that the next target for the Taliban is Washington where one can expect to see something spectacular, and the gang that really rules Pakistan, is allowed to get away with all the shenanigans that they have been getting away with for the past sixty years plus.

    Within the USA, what is happening is even more disturbing. Enough and more has been said about Detroit and I have personal first hand information from friends living in New Orleans as to what is happening there.

    Civil society everywhere is under siege from either the rich who have got away with all the goodies or the terrorists who have nothing to lose any way.

    What are protests likely to achieve? Do you think that the guys who are attending the G20 conference have a clue as to what needs to be done? I suspect that not one of them knows enough to wipe their you know what, leave alone handle the multi-faceted crises that the world is facing just now.

    The so called leaders everywhere are feathering their nests and taking the followers to inevitable slaughter. Our politicians are no less, and our internal situation is no less confusing despite the economic aspects of it not being so bad.

    My tragic optimism tells me to keep faith and live my individual life to the best of my ability with meaning and purpose. I may just be able to do that. I dread what is likely to be the lives for our children and grand children.
    As I write this, I am experiencing the hottest March and April that I have ever experienced in our salubrious little corner of the world. Try telling anything to our establishment about climate change and they laugh. They rezone our green belts and allow the builder lobby to construct monsters on what are our lungs. An island nation in our neighborhood is fast losing land mass due to rising ocean water. Where do you think all those people will end up?

    Talk green? Have a heart! The economy version of the great Indian automobile revolution is likely to put these little monsters on our urban roads which are already over crowded. I have stopped driving because I can not be sure of finding parking places.

    You want more whines?

  5. Finally, got to read this, conrad. Thanks for re posting it.

  6. Conrad Apr 2nd 2009

    GL and Deb: that thing was a bear to do! Man, that makes for one full hour + for just two people.

    Now, what you will find interesting is the number of other people who are upset because the two of us were picked. I can’t think of a more certain way to make sure you weren’t picked in the future than to launch that complaint in the larger, more private chat room. If they use us again, great! If they don’t, it was a kick and you won’t see me looking back.

    Deb, it would have been interesting had there been more divergent views between us, but we really didn’t know each other at all well going in and they didn’t know where we would stand, so it was the luck of the draw as to what the interaction would be. I think we were picked in part because they knew we would be thoughtful and civil and they didn’t want something so realtime to explode on them. What I found the most interesting was the common ground we found on protest, a real and very rapidly built bridge made between generations on the spot. Both of us were being candid and honest about what we found there. I found that I LIKE Carl.

  7. Conrad Apr 2nd 2009

    Ramana, I appreciate what you put into this response. Frankl has always been one of the heavy-duty real-life philosophers and psychologists. Surviving the Holocaust left a deep impression on him and he had so many tools developed earlier to be able to frame the experience with tremendous insight and precision. You have cemented your status as an existentialist, now!

    Were you able to sit down with Obama and Clinton, and were they to listen with rapt attention to what you specified, what would you tell them would be the best path in Afghanistan and Pakistan? I do not say that as a challenge to you or your views, I say it as someone curious and sitting across the ocean. I know how close you are to the situation and how much you pay close attention.

    As far as the G20 summit is concerned, I really don’t know how knowledgeable they are, but I do know that the crowd outside felt they had to express. I think it leaves an impression upon the leaders that people are unhappy and that is enough for now. I think they also got the impression that people are not willing to tolerate fat-cat manipulations – although we both know that all of us will either be duped on some issues or will fight the wrong issues at times. It is a messy process, but I don’t honestly know of a better system available right now.

    And, as naive as we humans can be, it is nice to see us working with a little more unanimity on some issues. If we can generate more of a juggeranut- and quickly! – for green stewardship of our environment, it will in fact be too late to stop much of the problem. It already is too late to stop much of the momentum, but never too late to do what we can. I think smart and inventive people can find that it is a good economic move, also. This will take substantial work and re-education, though.

    And, as we used to say in college, “Whine your butt off!” If need be, we will reopen the Whine Bar for a little refreshment. In the meantime – let’s see if Superman can help us flying forth from my latest post.

  8. The land that produced some of the greatest Marketing minds and the creme de la creme of Managers and Teachers of both subjects does not know what is to be done in Afghanistan and Pakistan?

    The Americans have been dealing exclusively with the ruling cliques in both places and in the former, the current ruling set up is perceived to be set up by the Americans.

    In both countries, the ordinary man in the street has been successfully brainwashed by the mullahs to believe that the Americans and their allies are EVIL.

    All the money that the Americans have given as aid to both the establishments, for the past many decades, have been squandered on either arms or private fortunes with hardly anything to show for development on the ground. Pakistan has been using the funds, when it left private pockets at all to create problems in Kashmir and the Indian border areas. They have openly admitted to this.

    Today, the ordinary Pakistani or Afghan believes that the Americans are determined to wipe out Islam, not terrorism. Israel/Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Guatanamo Bay, are all linked to this perception. What a fantastic Marketing coup by the Al Quida!

    What has the American establishment done so far to counter this propaganda? In the case of India, the communists and the socialists did not stand a chance to prevent the Indo American nuclear deal from going through. How did that happen, after so many years of anti American perceptions in India? How come, America is no longer a foe in India?

    The USA, call it for strategic reasons,has been dealing with dictators of various kinds in the Islamic world, commencing from the Shah of Iran then, the cause for much antipathy there now, the Saudis, all the Emirs of the Middle East, and the two guys who cocked their snooks at Uncle Sam, Libya and Iraq, were treated so shabbily, that the Weapons of Mass Destruction today in the Muslim world are George W Bush and Dick Cheyney.

    Even now, the USA is pussyfooting around the core issue. Pakistanis are untrustworthy. Ask any businessman who has done business with them. They speak, to use an American Indian term, with a forked tongue. The guys that the Americans deal with are interested in feathering their nests, not looking after American interests.

    Tell them bluntly,

    “use your armed forces to destroy the terror infrastructure in your country. Court Martial all the guys within your establishment who are hand in glove with the terror establishment. Dismantle all the terrorist training camps, stop supporting separatists in Kashmir.

    If you do all that within a specified time period, we turn on the tap otherwise, we shall go our way to tackle the problem. This will also mean turning the tap off for arms and ammunition and cash.”

    Dismantle the Pakistani nuclear set up by hook or crook.

    Destroy the Afghanistan opium trade. This is the primary source for funding for Islamic terrorism and also corruption in the Afghan establishment.

    Launch a massive PR exercise within Pakistan and Afghanistan as to what exactly the Americans and their allies are after. Use trustworthy funnels to spend the American tax payers’ money used as aid.

    Worth trying?

    I am not worried about India surviving as a country. I do worry about one thing and only one thing. We are likely to see a massive refugee problem shortly of moderate Muslims crossing over into India. Along with them, rotten eggs will slip in. The Indian Hindu right is waiting for this to happen. There will be blood shed of a magnitude never before seen in mankind’s history. Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus alike will be slaughtered in millions in India as well as in Bangladesh as the latter cannot be just a silent spectator to fellow Bengali Muslims being slaughtered.

    Not a pretty picture is it? Now does my cynicism make sense to you?

  9. Conrad Apr 3rd 2009

    Ramana, your view makes sense to me, but I had the impression that more is going on behind the scenes to change the course of relations. If that is viewed as pussyfooting, I suppose you could see it that way. There is a certain emotional satisfaction in the totally direct, blunt approach you suggest. Perhaps the iron fist is necessary.

    What do you think the Muslim world will see us as if we do it that way? Pakistan and Afghanistan are probably just as screwed up as you say. If we simply dictate the terms that blatantly, I think we will be seen as extending our empire and I think this will produce the same problem that Bush and Cheney did.

    You may be right and time may have run out on nuance – but I still prefer undeniable strength applied in a broader spectrum of effort. I admit that this may be trying to reason with preschoolers. That is why I asked you. But, sometimes, you allow those you are putting pressure on to save face in public and you give them the undeniably firm message behind closed doors.

  10. I sincerely hope that you are right and that pressure is being put behind doors! I sincerely hope that the dark clouds that I see do not result in the deluge that I think will be inevitable.

    Time will tell.

  11. Conrad Apr 4th 2009

    Time and continued attention to the issue will tell. Voices crying in the wilderness are sometimes heard. Especially if there are enough of them.

  12. Conrad, i just read through this again… we must do this again sometime. I found it most interesting, on the surface it would appear that we have very different views on the world and how we relate to it. However, what I found so striking was there are alot more people like you and I that share the same core-values. It was a great experience, I would love to do it again

  13. Conrad Apr 6th 2009

    Absolutely, Carl. There is also a real awakening going on with the new administration. We live in exciting times.

  14. Something my mother once said to me comes to mind. “If the person doing the activity makes it look effortless, you know that they’re accomplished at what they do.”

    I can appreciate how difficult it was to keep this conversation coherent and entertaining. I applaud you both for flawless execution. A perfect 10!

  15. Conrad May 4th 2009

    Thank you, Marianna. Thank you very much.


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