Prevost,
No, I have not been to a Muslim country.
Outside of the U.S. I have been to:
South Korea
Peru
Denmark
But here in the states I have possibly had more personal relationships with people of other countries, cultures and religions, on a more regular basis than most of you have.
My ex-wife was Peruvian (hence spending time in Peru) although it was an amazing experience, particularly my visit to Machu Pichu.
I lived 8 years in Washington D.C. and was director of operations for a catering company there, which put me in the Capitol building and various congressional office buildings and the supreme court and places like this, on almost a daily basis. I have personally met many congressmen, celebrities, heads of state, diplomats, Kings and Queens, Presidents, vice presidents, their wives and families, you name it. Because I was in charge of these events, I often had chances for not only discussions of the events with them, but personal conversations on many occassions. I know alot about many of them. I have seen enough with a few of them, that I could have personally gotten them out of office, or defeated a nomination hearing on a candididate for Secretary for Defense, for example. I have been inside the Russian Embassy, and many other embassies.
I have never been a racist, so living in a place like Washington D.C. in particular, I have had friends from all over the world, and all walks of life, throughout my life. I hung out with Spanish people from more countries than I can count, Japanese, Koreans, Italians, Lebanese, Saudis, Germans, Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, people from Belize, Holland, Jamaica, Somalia, U.K., France, Austria, Spain, Phillipines... and on and on. I mean seriously, this is for starters.
My mother is also very non-racist, and between the two of us, we have had roomates from Mexico, Jamaica, Italy, Virgin Islands, Lebanon, Poland, France and Belize. These were not just friends, but roomates, and many many discussions were always part of the experience.
Then...
I joined a religious cult called the Moonies, and this took the roomate list to one being on crack. For 2 years I lived in a group house with other members who lived there, and many others who came through for periods of time. The varied nationalities was mind-boggling, and despite eventually seeing through the destructive nature of the cult, the things I learned from these many varied people from all over the world, was rewarding and enlightening. We discussed not only cultural issues between their countries and America, but also religious identities and political realities. I know all too well, what our CIA is capable of, and knowing these people personally, WELL BEFORE THE INTERNET being common, I learned things about other countries and their experiences, that most Americans had no idea of.
I have lived with many people from all over the world, and living with them, even more than having discussions with them, brings knowledge of them to a whole new level, when I witness their cultural traditions first hand, and often have to alter my own to some degree to accomodate theirs. Things like taking my shoes off outside the house, avoiding certain gestures that are meaningless to me, but offensive to their cultures. Living with them, eating with them, being taken to special events related to their cultures. Very enlightening and rewarding.
However, because I saw first hand how dangerous the Moonies were, how they used people to make Moon rich, and buy him power, which he then used to influence other countries, including my own, after sorting their theology out and their claims about Christian theology, and that Moon was the Messiah, all that stuff.... after several years of getting back to myself, I realized that because Moon knew me personally, and I had witnessed things in his mansions throughout America and the world, that few other Moonies had seen... I realized I could be a force for helping some of them leave, and helping others be aware of their manipulative practices, so they could avoid that cult.
In speaking out, I became known throughout the world as a leading critic of thir group. As such, I have been interviewed on national televison in Japan 3 times, been interviewed by the Guardian in the U.K., by the Washington Post, by Agence France...
Many, many others.
There is a partial list here, and a picture of me behind Moon. I'm in the pink Korean outfit:
http://www.geocities.com/craigmaxim/c-3a.html
There are also quotes and sometimes several parapgraphs about me, in 4 or 5 books that I am aware of, and probably many more worldwide. The most recent I am aware of, was John Gorenfeld's recent book, about the powerful influence Moon has achieved within the Republican Party. He has several paragraphs about me in it, and tells me, my story is so interesting that he wanted to do a whole chapter on my life, but it took him a year to find me, and most of the book was done by then. After 5 years or more of working to warn people of the dangers of this cult, I just got wore out, and it wasn't changing anything politically, only for individuals personally. But the indivudals were helped mostly by the information I had on my website, and I realized that the website would remain up working for this end, whether I was maintaining it or not. So I left my website up, but went back to some semblance of normal life.
You can find John Gorenfeld's book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Moon-Rising-W ... 0979482232
There is a way to find some of the paragraphs about me from Amazon directly I believe. They offer samples of the books, and my name comes up in a search.
Aside from being married to a foreigner, and belonging to a foreign cult, I have just always loved people, and loved knowledge, so even as a common person, I have ALWAYS had friends from all over the world, and enjoyed deep and meaningful discussions with them.
There are Muslims, Bhuddists, Communists, Atheists, and other diverse people, who consider me family.
I think I have said before:
I'm not easy to peg or pidgeon hole.
I have had many lifetimes worth of experiences and learned from all of them.
No, I have not been to a Muslim country.
Outside of the U.S. I have been to:
South Korea
Peru
Denmark
But here in the states I have possibly had more personal relationships with people of other countries, cultures and religions, on a more regular basis than most of you have.
My ex-wife was Peruvian (hence spending time in Peru) although it was an amazing experience, particularly my visit to Machu Pichu.
I lived 8 years in Washington D.C. and was director of operations for a catering company there, which put me in the Capitol building and various congressional office buildings and the supreme court and places like this, on almost a daily basis. I have personally met many congressmen, celebrities, heads of state, diplomats, Kings and Queens, Presidents, vice presidents, their wives and families, you name it. Because I was in charge of these events, I often had chances for not only discussions of the events with them, but personal conversations on many occassions. I know alot about many of them. I have seen enough with a few of them, that I could have personally gotten them out of office, or defeated a nomination hearing on a candididate for Secretary for Defense, for example. I have been inside the Russian Embassy, and many other embassies.
I have never been a racist, so living in a place like Washington D.C. in particular, I have had friends from all over the world, and all walks of life, throughout my life. I hung out with Spanish people from more countries than I can count, Japanese, Koreans, Italians, Lebanese, Saudis, Germans, Chinese, Vietnamese, Polish, people from Belize, Holland, Jamaica, Somalia, U.K., France, Austria, Spain, Phillipines... and on and on. I mean seriously, this is for starters.
My mother is also very non-racist, and between the two of us, we have had roomates from Mexico, Jamaica, Italy, Virgin Islands, Lebanon, Poland, France and Belize. These were not just friends, but roomates, and many many discussions were always part of the experience.
Then...
I joined a religious cult called the Moonies, and this took the roomate list to one being on crack. For 2 years I lived in a group house with other members who lived there, and many others who came through for periods of time. The varied nationalities was mind-boggling, and despite eventually seeing through the destructive nature of the cult, the things I learned from these many varied people from all over the world, was rewarding and enlightening. We discussed not only cultural issues between their countries and America, but also religious identities and political realities. I know all too well, what our CIA is capable of, and knowing these people personally, WELL BEFORE THE INTERNET being common, I learned things about other countries and their experiences, that most Americans had no idea of.
I have lived with many people from all over the world, and living with them, even more than having discussions with them, brings knowledge of them to a whole new level, when I witness their cultural traditions first hand, and often have to alter my own to some degree to accomodate theirs. Things like taking my shoes off outside the house, avoiding certain gestures that are meaningless to me, but offensive to their cultures. Living with them, eating with them, being taken to special events related to their cultures. Very enlightening and rewarding.
However, because I saw first hand how dangerous the Moonies were, how they used people to make Moon rich, and buy him power, which he then used to influence other countries, including my own, after sorting their theology out and their claims about Christian theology, and that Moon was the Messiah, all that stuff.... after several years of getting back to myself, I realized that because Moon knew me personally, and I had witnessed things in his mansions throughout America and the world, that few other Moonies had seen... I realized I could be a force for helping some of them leave, and helping others be aware of their manipulative practices, so they could avoid that cult.
In speaking out, I became known throughout the world as a leading critic of thir group. As such, I have been interviewed on national televison in Japan 3 times, been interviewed by the Guardian in the U.K., by the Washington Post, by Agence France...
Many, many others.
There is a partial list here, and a picture of me behind Moon. I'm in the pink Korean outfit:
http://www.geocities.com/craigmaxim/c-3a.html
There are also quotes and sometimes several parapgraphs about me, in 4 or 5 books that I am aware of, and probably many more worldwide. The most recent I am aware of, was John Gorenfeld's recent book, about the powerful influence Moon has achieved within the Republican Party. He has several paragraphs about me in it, and tells me, my story is so interesting that he wanted to do a whole chapter on my life, but it took him a year to find me, and most of the book was done by then. After 5 years or more of working to warn people of the dangers of this cult, I just got wore out, and it wasn't changing anything politically, only for individuals personally. But the indivudals were helped mostly by the information I had on my website, and I realized that the website would remain up working for this end, whether I was maintaining it or not. So I left my website up, but went back to some semblance of normal life.
You can find John Gorenfeld's book here:
http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Moon-Rising-W ... 0979482232
There is a way to find some of the paragraphs about me from Amazon directly I believe. They offer samples of the books, and my name comes up in a search.
Aside from being married to a foreigner, and belonging to a foreign cult, I have just always loved people, and loved knowledge, so even as a common person, I have ALWAYS had friends from all over the world, and enjoyed deep and meaningful discussions with them.
There are Muslims, Bhuddists, Communists, Atheists, and other diverse people, who consider me family.
I think I have said before:
I'm not easy to peg or pidgeon hole.
I have had many lifetimes worth of experiences and learned from all of them.
*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ CRAIG MAXIM
Facebook: http://facebook.com/craigmaxim
MySpace: http://myspace.com/craigmaxim
Reverb Nation: http://reverbnation.com/craigmaxim
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ CRAIG MAXIM
Facebook: http://facebook.com/craigmaxim
MySpace: http://myspace.com/craigmaxim
Reverb Nation: http://reverbnation.com/craigmaxim