Marco writes: "So many times I’ve heard and debated with few people who have talked about how they would have acted/reacted if they were living during the time of slavery or even closer to home if they were living in the U.S during the 1960’s. The words I hear coming out of their mouth are disturbing to me and in my humble opinion are all but nonsense. It seems to me they are all so mighty under the so called blanket of freedom of expressions that has been given to minorities and laws that protect their civil rights these days. Now let’s be realistic; if any of you were born during those times of overt oppressions and were being oppressed, would you have simply accepted it and went along with it because it would have been a popular idea and considered the norm or would have been a rebellious one who would have rather died instead of being a slave or better yet who would have refused to seat in the back of the bus thirty some years ago?
In life there are those who are born leaders and others are followers but how many of you feel you would have been a leader or the rebellious type? The way I see it, if you were born in bondage and knowing the consequences of rebellion, you would have simply lay low unless you had a death wish. I’m sure most of you would disagree and even try to give me a history lesson but regardless how strongly you may feel, just remember if everyone were rebellious, and acted upon them back in the days, slavery would not have lasted that long."

Toussi21 writes: "I've recently developed an interest in Haitian movies. I found them to be highly entertaining. They’re not the best quality, the plots are very predictable--- oh wait, the plots! --- They are extremely predictable; as a matter of fact I have a bone to pick with the men who are writing these plots. Yes I said men, how could they not be men? All you have to do is take a day off and watch "Le Cap A La Une or La Peur D'aimais, or La Femme De Mon Ami Est Mon Ami, Pour Lamour De Susie or Infidelite". Should I go on? Actually I couldn't, my interest was abruptly cut off after watching these movies. I am no feminist but anyone with common sense would see the backwardness of societal relationships between men and women in Haitian culture just by watching these movies. You would notice that the movie is always revolved around a man. This man always happens to have everything, money, cars etc... He is committed to someone whether it's a fiancée or a serious girlfriend or his wife. The guy is persuaded by his friends to go on a vacation or whatever can take him away from the person he is involved with at the time. While he is away he finds another woman and of course "falls in love" with her. The internal conflict of deciding what the right thing to do serves as a climax for us the audience. Of course the wife, girlfriend or fiancée finds out and of course is portrayed as a witch when she confronts the mistress or whatever you want to call the "other" woman. He chooses the other woman and they live happily ever after, blah, blah, blah. "

Marco writes: "CNN is running this article about two US congressmen who want to issue biometric identification card within the next five years. Those Virginia congressmen are trying to avoid the controversial 'National ID' issue by creating what would be new drivers licenses with biometric information embedded. Now my question to the KC community is; what do you think about having your retinal pattern embedded on a smart card and do you support such idea?
Personally I would not mind my retinas embedded on a smart card. Only if, it would allow me to see if I have correct change before pulling out my wallet."

TheBlackKnight writes: "The theory of the Big bang has its merits and its flaws; we will not elaborate on that. However, the human mind is limited in its understanding of God, and many religions, and school of thoughts have each their own interpretation of this absolute reality that is God. I find that the Kabalah gives us a very scientific and mystical explanation of creation.
We could have better understanding of the creator, by observing the evolution of his creation backward. In everything on this plane of existence, from the smallest particle to the biggest gas giants that exist in the universe, we found the same basic material, and the same principle of manifestation: vibration or magnetisms. Things are different from each other by the frequency and the type of vibration that emanates from them.
It is impossible for the human mind in its present state to rationally explain something that is not explainable. Remember that in order to explain something, the human mind needs something to compare it with. "

TheBlackKnight writes: "According to a recent survey from the Health Department, most of us would rather have a soda to quench our thirst than a glass of water. Here are some facts that I hope will change your mind and keep you a little bit healthier.

WATER: 1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated. (Likely applies to half world population)

2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger.

3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.

4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a U-Washington study. "

Goldenchild writes: "Today, I’ll take my time to pierce the plain surface of our understanding in an attempt to reach a level of consciousness that no one has ever reached before. All will happen when putting in question our very own existence as human, which in turn, can be explained by the law of thermal dynamics. I also have to warn few of the members to not get too frustrated nor upset, for what will soon be said holds some terrible truth that may, in some degree, tap their psyche and faith to a level to which they might believe otherwise. In this excerpt, I’ll also do my best to emphasize three major points which construct the frame of my beliefs: We're God; what is faith and how we came to have a soul?"

Panoramix writes: "I attended St. Louis de Gonzague from “12eme to seconde” (1st to 10th grade). Although the school taught me a lot about discipline, it also had its flaw because some teachers treated the students differently. When I went to school in Haiti, at a young age the students played with each other regardless of race and class. But it was blatant to see that the teachers treated the students differently. The mulattoes and the children with the well known parents were invited to participate in the class and they tolerated their disruptions. But if you were of a darker complexion and you came from a striving family, you were ignored. The students played together all the way to what would be 9th grade in the American System. But as soon as we switched to what they called "second cycle" (9th to 13th grade), the students separated themselves into groups. The separation was instantaneous, as if they talked about it during the summer vacations. On my first day of the "second cycle" I walked by Thierry (fictitious character) and casually said hello, how are you? I was surprised to see that he kept on walking without responding. When I turned around, I understood, most of the mulattoes were sitting together separating themselves from the rest of the student body. "