I agree. I was also considering that Israel might be one of the big factors playing a role in US foreign policy.

Correct, but as you mention yourself, the arab countries have the same problem. Perhaps not so much with the leaders, but I would guess that a majority of the population, likely more than in Iran, are Anti-American.

I can't shake the feeling that behind closed doors, most arab leaders are also very condescending of the US and mainly regard it as a source of military technology and aid dollars. For example, Pakistan, a country which is perhaps 80% anti-american and whose secret service plays a game of duplicity, sometimes helping the US and sometimes collaborating with the Taliban and Al-Quaida, nevertheless receives US military aid... hard to follow that logic.

Sometimes I think these countries keep the instabilities and insurgencies running on purpose, to keep the American dollars flowing.

Not only that. Globalization has many downsides, but one undoubtedly good thing about it is that most economies today are so interconnected and dependant of one another, that conflict between two developed nations would be extremely disruptive and harmful to both.
Russia and Europe, or the US and China, while rivals in some respects, thanks to globalization, direct, large-scale conflict is unthinkable.

Go out for camping, travel to different countries. See the world!

This.
I've also always wondered why the U.S. put all its money on the Arab countries instead of Iran. Iran at least has basic level of Democracy with presidential elections. Irans youth is, in general, more progressive and open minded that in most other islamic countries.
The U.S. big ally and arch-enemy of Iran, Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, is a practically an absolutist monarchy practicing extremely conservative interpretation of Sharia law. It's also interesting to point out that many high-profile terrorists, such as Osama bin Ladin, were Saudi Arabians. I wouldn't be surprised if elements in Saudi Arabia's government secretly support or at the very least condone IS in Syria and Iraq. They seem pretty single-minded about supporting Sunni Islam against everything Shia.

Dear sir, may I ask you to keep this conversation civil, on-topic and orderly, as is custom when having friendly conversation over the Internet.

Is an official Taxi more expensive than Uber? Certainly. But a Taxi driver is a job that can sustain a family. Uber on the other hand strives to turn all of that segment into cheap dayjob/sidejob territory, while reaping the main benefits for itself.
That's starting to become a staple of our "new society" - everything cheaper, faster, less regulated... except it also destroys regular jobs and makes the lives of the professionals involved less secure and less predictable.

Not all regulations are bad regulations and not all "progress" is good progress. For me, companies like "Uber" are a form of new ultra-capitalism that is perhaps convenient for consumers, but destructive on a social level, and above all benefiting the "mega corp" involved.

French cheese is actually pretty good. You should try it.

Also, remember who helped you in your war for independence? Yeah, it was the surrender monkeys. They also gave you the most recognizable symbol of the USA after the stars and stripes: The Statue of Liberty.

If that were truly to happen, the French would chop off their president's head.

Changing the user search is bad, but not nearly as bad as installing a crappy browser addon that hijacks your search.
I think the former is a bothersome, but tolerable advertising practice (all advertising is bothersome in a way). The latter should be a criminal offence.

Jeesh... so there was no way to brag about it at the time? Inconceivable!
Better late than never, hey?

Oh sorry. If that was meant ironically, I take back what I said.

My irony detectors are not the best.

I'm not sure how the OECD compiles these numbers or what the criteria are, but I've read multiple times in different reputable news sources that about 25% of the Greek labour force is directly or indirectly payrolled by the government.

I don't think these sources have been "lying" but I also don't think that the OECD has produced these numbers out of thin air, so I suspect the big discrepancy is through a statistical effect of who you decide to count.

... because 25% of the Greek population and their cousins is employed by the state, twiddling their thumbs or something, Receiving big, nice paychecks, often 13-15 paychecks a year and many being able to retire in their 50's.

Obviously, this is not a sustainable model.
But try to take some of that away, reduce the grants, incomes and pensions to levels that the Greek economy can actually sustain, and all of Greek media starts being indignant about it, blaming Germany and Europe for all this shit.

This is the most self-righteous, dumbass comment I've read on Slashdot in a while.