Name: Sylvia (past host) City, Country

Ramon

Really like what you're doing!Hope I can do it too some day...Just want to wish you good luck and loadsa fun! Bye!

Gossip? Who wants gossip? I just want to see what kind of crackpot will write what kind of psycho statement next -- any day now I am expecting to get a true and honest clue that will open up the meaning of life to me...ha ha ha !!! Have a great day, everyone! :-)

Just for the record Ramon, I have been travelling around quite a lot of the world for six years, not just North America. I must add that I spend quite a lot of time telling travellers from all over the world that young Americans of today are really very good people who do far less damage to the places and cultures that they encounter than most other travellers. They tend to be quite open minded and very interested and respectful of other people. UNLIKE most other nationalities, South Africans included.

It's one of the most original ideas that I have ever seen. As all of you adventurers I have also dreamed for a travel on my own, but it's about having free-time and being a free individual. Ramon you are like IAN WRIGHT from Discovery Channel Lonely planet. I used to dream that I would one day travel like him, and now I see an individual with enough courage to establish a dream. NICE JOB man, I'll surely be trying the same one day!

Anyone read "Round Ireland with a Fridge" by Tony Hawks? I think Ramon's journey will be bigger and better - can't wait for the book (however, I do highly recommend reading Hawks' book in the meantime, especially if you are into low-budget travel). Happy travels and come visit us in Switzerland!!!

Hi all!! Ramon,when you will came in Italy? We are waiting for you......Spaghetti Forever

I must admit that playing Ramon's 'host' has been wonderfully painless: in fact, I find his strong opinions, open-mindedness and dedication inspiring. He's spent six hours in my office working like a man possessed today - thank you for making me work too, Ramon! Stop talking so much! And please do not become a politician! Kidding, kidding, great to meet you!

rich: stink on happily. englishmen are not permitted in this heimat of afrikanerdom

Carinus - Get a haircut you opinionated Afrikaner!!!

Ramon, how was Shumi's? We are waiting in anticipation...

Karen: do u think Carinus would be talking thruth?

The difference is: sex is/can be great and if there is romance involved, the sex can be even better and you can also have romance without sex. What a statement for a Friday afternoon...

Ramon! Just to clarify: we are here for loadse gossip (ofcourse, we are human beings after all) and for interesting travel stories and everything related to that. Have to admit it is still a pleasure following you around. And cannot wait for the report from your stay at Carinus place...;-)

check out this site if you want to make a few bucks anywhere in the world!!

http://xxxxxx.xxxxx.xxx/~dalr/index.htm

RAMON:
Sorry, Dalr, you can't do that here. Can't you read people are only waiting for gossip here? :-)



Name: Karen
City, Country: London, UK
Sent: 2.11 PM - 10/19 2001

Go on, tell us more (you can make something up, who cares)! Wonder if Ramon is happy with his fanclub?

Romantic can mean different things. In the Artworld it means something else than just candles and candlelight - Ramon knows what I mean with 'Candlelight'... - and considering Ramon's romantic ways: I remember a poem! (and more....)

Aha, the gossip has started! Anybody else from his homeland wants to write about Ramon? Woohaahaa!

See, the thing is, it could be true what you are telling me now or it could be a bit of a wind-up...

ramon is very romantic, i discovered it for myself just the nite before last...:)

See, these stories are getting more interesting! Am looking forward to your next report Ramon, have to say that my kolleagues are pretty impressed with your travels, specially as you made it all the way to SA! Well done and fingers crossed for the future.

I can jump in at Janske's story, about the romantic side off Ramon. I've had the pleasure of going on a date with Ramon a few times myself. Offcourse this was before his world wide fame, when I was still young and vulnerable for his smooth talks. I've grown over that and am still in contact with Ramon, so that's says enough, doesn't it!? And who wants to know how romantic he really is, should offer him to stay for a night......

to the people in welgemoed, thanks for the bottle of welmoed wine...it was had that same evening here at home, and a babelas reminded us the whole of thenext morning, when we were doing interviews with eikestadnuus, dieburger, as well as MFM (local university radio station...) ramon slept a second nite in stellenbosch, at a very interesting place, which he will tell you all about in due course...ciao

carinus



Name: carinus
City, Country: south africa
Sent: 7.27 AM - 10/19 2001

Karen said: "...travels, but hey, that is my personal opinion" - well, Ramon is vey opinionated, and thats his way of doing it.....

Sounds good to me, Karen! :)

See, that message from Janske is interesting, especially the 'romantic' bit...I know some of us are dying for some romance on Ramons travels but I guess, as Ramon stated himself, that we have to wait for the book, if he is ever gonna mention it in there!

I personally am getting a bit tired of all the messages about love, peace, understanding and what is wrong with the world bla bla bla. Would be nice if we could focus a bit more on Ramons travels, but hey, that is my personal opinion.



Name: Denver
City, Country: USA
Sent: 4.05 PM - 10/18 2001

Wow, in one day the board exploded. :) I've been reading the past postings, and I am also confused by LSOM's messages. It's evident that he finds it hard to expess himself in English, (at least according to what I see) but that also may be a factor when he is trying to understand what exactly he is reading on here.

My ultimate message is to think about the word "tolerance". You may have to tolerate some things in this world that you don't agree with or like, but you have to respect that there ARE differences and attacking those who are different will never lead us anywhere. We've already proven that with slavery, apartheid, suffrage, etc. An advanced earth will accept differences in people and respect them all. What would the world be if we were all the same? Quite boring I would imagine.



Name: Janske
City, Country: The Netherlands
Sent: 3.29 PM - 10/18 2001

I was planning to post a nice message just to let my friend Ramon know that I think of him and I recalled why I don't watch too much of his travellingphotos: I get more and more jealous! Wow, Ramon, you're experiences around the world create a better education than anyone of us can ever get at school! That's also why I'm so surprised to find those messages of that LSOM about you. I thought you're travelling made clear that you can only judge over people and things you have experienced yourself. But LSOM's messages make it clear to me again that the world is more stupid than a donkey! We hit our heads several times and still we haven't learned! For all those who are wondering what kind of guy Ramon is: I met him at school in The Netherlands four years ago and although I had my doubts about several of his plans - including this one - I'm proud I know him as a wonderful, nice, openminded, romantic, culture-minded and sometimes overactive man. Hear from you soon? X

This is really amazing. What you are doing is what I have always wanted to do. Congratulations for your courage and interest. It would be my pleasure to see you in Turkey

Good LSOM, I think you can need a good night of sleep...

Tonie'
I know I am not in the wrong forum.

And its real bye now maybe tomorrow.

With love Always,

Leonard.

By the way, LSOM, there is a chatbox on this site too... Just chat with Ramon live!

LSOM, have you read Ramon's response to your earlier writing? It's written below it and I agree with Ramon TOTALLY!

Dear Karen,

I am not angry or mad but just want to put it across in an good and appropriate manner. Don't sidelined people who yearned for more info or knowledge.

Greeting to you Karen. Anyway practice makes perfect.

If you want to know so badly what the @ stands for in your emailaddress, why don't you ask that to a technician at your provider. It's clearly the wrong place to ask that question here and express your anger like you do!

Dear LSOM,

I advice you the get a life, before you drown in your seas of flowers and other bla bla. I can imagine Ramon deleting some of your postings because THEY ARE hard to understand. I couldn't read the message Love your neighbour in that 'deleted' message! Why don't you just write it in clear forms?

And I find it very CHEAP of you to insult another person in his messageboard.

If you don't agree with the rules ("don't publish personal information like your emailaddress"), go find a bulletin board where you can address your feelings and thought.

Psychologicly seen I think you are very depressed in the world you live in (hey-that's is an opinion, as Ramon always clears his').

And if you don't want to invite Ramon to your home anymore, be happy and see if you can open your door for anybody else. It's a pity to be wasting time here (and even PROMOTE YOUR BOOK!), just as I am doing that right here too.

Just had to loose that thought...

Dearest PAT BUCHANAN,

Good day to you.

Maybe being a good senior adviser to 3 presidents and so so can tell me what that '@' stands for in an email address. I believe I have something in replace for that which can remind people about being one (1) and also for the betterment of mankind. Keep in touch. Talk soul to soul.

With love always,

Leonard.

How mad can you get?

Dedicated to LINA of Panama, Bert of USA and all of you fellow friends.

My 20 years project still stands and its flame is burning inside me. Those 9 principLEs of Living will forever live even until the end of time. I believe that until we change those deserts into seas of flowers then and only we can have JUDGEMENT DAY. Who do you think he is that knows how to judge and say TOO PRIVATE in his comment to Joey below. I welcome mail - good or bad. They are my resources of LIVING in this beautiful world. My e mail is [xxxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx]
Share and share alike. Everything is free or put that in a bin and still it is not a trash becoz' it is still in this world. Don't track Ramon too much. He is a nut IF he talks about quantity not quality. Might as well draw a bulleye on his head and have darts thrown so as we can figure it out what he is thinking. And I am very annoyed as my request of what the '@' have to do in an email address stand for being deleted. He is not sharing, he is hiding something for materialism which is bad for the SOULS of those departed. I should be brave to voice this becoz' its our very duty to be HONEST. In actual fact, I have something in replace for the '@' which can remind eveyone in this educated corner of the world to be good. Tell me you are facing ME now and I must talk the truth nothing else but the truth. Maybe you don't see my previous postings. I insist that with your help ask him to install those postings under LSOM because they are meant for others who yearn for knowledge which can heal the world.
A posting which stated clearly about LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR should be deleted? He can enter MALAYSIA but not my HOME. I promise I will never leave this messageboard without a free and true honest view of others. I believe thats what anyone with a clear conscience talks and never resort to being punched in the nose.(Precious blood have lost - poor mum seeing his son bleeds for the sake of being a gentleman)



Name: Pat Buchanan,
City, Country: USA
Sent: 1.01 PM - 10/18 2001

As per yesterdays discussin between some?

Last week, the president professed himself "amazed" to "see that in some Islamic countries there is vitriolic hatred of America." "I'm amazed that there's such misunderstanding of what our country is about that people would hate us ... like most Americans, I just can't believe [it]. Because I know how good we are."

But if they misunderstand us, do we also misunderstand them?

National Review says we are "hated ... because we are, indeed, powerful, rich, and good." Other journalists and politicians say we are hated because we are a democracy, with freedom of speech, of the press, and of worship, as though bin Laden's cave-dwellers had stumbled onto a copy of the Bill of Rights, and gone berserk.

Now, nothing can justify the atrocities of Sept. 11. Nor need we hear out unctuous plea bargains for those who murdered 5,000 of our countrymen in a crime that dwarfs the evil for which Timothy McVeigh was rightly put to death.

But after the Taliban go down and bin Laden is run to earth, America had best reflect before launching a second Cold War. We need to know why scores of millions of Arabs hate us. Why does the Islamic sea seem so hospitable to the likes of Osama? Why do crowds from the Philippines to Pakistan to Palestine riot for the Taliban? Why are all the Islamic nations so reluctant to back us?

And if we truly wish to know why they hate us, ought we not listen to them?

For as the poet Robert Burns wrote, the greatest of gifts is to "see ourselves as others see us." How do the Arab and Islamic peoples see us? How do we appear in their eyes?

In the imams' indictment, here are America's alleged sins:

First, America props up puppet regimes of parasite-princes who squander the oil wealth of Arabia in the fleshpots of the West. Second, U.S. presence on Saudi soil defiles the land on which sit the holy places of Mecca and Medina. Third, we pollute their culture and countries with drugs, alcohol, abortions, blasphemous books, filthy magazines, dirty movies and hellish music that capture and corrupt their young. Fourth, we starve Iraqi children with sanctions, because Saddam defies U.N. resolutions, as we give Israel the weapons to defy the U.N., persecute Palestinians and deny them the liberty we champion.

To those who hate us, it is America that is the Evil Empire. To some commentators, it is un-American even to repeat such charges. Yet, it seems unintelligent not to. For as Sun Tzu wrote: "Know thy enemy, know
thyself, in a thousand battles, a thousand victories." If we must fight these people the rest of our lives, we should know why they hate us – and we delude ourselves if we believe the slaughters of Sept. 11 came about because we are "good."

Inhuman as these crimes were, they were not "senseless" or "irrational." They were purposeful acts of political terror.

Having seen how Reagan pulled out of Lebanon after the Marine massacre, how Clinton pulled out of Somalia after Mogadishu, bin Laden believes we have less staying power than the Red Army that left Afghanistan after a decade of bloodshed and 15,000 dead.

Terrorism is a weapon employed for centuries by the weak, the desperate, the fanatic, for a reason: It works. Consider three recent Nobel Peace Prize winners. In 1946, Menachem Begin blew up the King David Hotel, full of British nurses, to force the Brits out of Palestine. They left. His Irgun perpetrated the massacre at Deir Yassin in April of 1948. The Palestinians fled, as he had hoped.

Nelson Mandela was not sentenced to life in prison for a sit-in at the Five-and-Dime. His ANC "necklaced" its enemies, i.e., the burning to death of selected individuals by forcing gasoline-soaked motor tires around their arms and neck, and the ANC prevailed through terror. Arafat's PLO was a nest of organizations, all of which, including his own Fatah, committed acts of terror. And, in part, through such acts, Hezbollah drove the Israelis out of Lebanon and Arafat brought them to Oslo.

The goal of bin Laden is to drive America out of his region by first drawing us deeper in. And, as one reads of new U.S. security ties to Uzbekistan, promises to rebuild Afghanistan, new pledges to Pakistan, and commitments to help resolve the Palestinian conflict, one wonders if bin Laden's lasting achievement will not have been to draw the American Empire into a vast second Vietnam, from Algeria to Afghanistan, as a prelude to driving us out

Let us pause and think before plunging into another Big Muddy.