the public opinion in the USA is so against any efforts at improving the situation (better education. Health care for all, less inequality, gun control, all the things that have proven to work in the rest of the western world)

1. Better education - Any suggestions? US has the best university level education in the world by far. As for lower levels, we throw more money at it than most countries and get worse results so go figure. The fact that lower level education is one of the few things in the US that is entirely controlled by the government and also a rare case where almost entire workforce is unionized probably have something to do with it, as well as demographics.

2. Health care for all - Healthcare that produces the best results in the world (WHO report under Responsiveness category) is available for all. It does not come cheap and especially not free, which is the way it should be.

3. Less inequality - This can only be achieved by sacrificing economic liberty which is something Americans traditionally don't like to do even at the cost of performing worse as measured by some statistic.

4. Gun control - This is so stupid that it's hardly worth replying to. Plenty of countries that have widespread gun ownership have very low murder rate, and also plenty of countries where gun ownership is strictly controlled have 10 times or more the murder rate of US.

Draconian punishments for even minor offenses will make a place safe, doesn't mean that they are doing it right.

  If we were doing a 10th of what they do (mandatory capital punishment for possession of 15g of heroin, heavy whipping for graffiti, 3 months in prison plus whipping as a mandatory minimum sentence for foreigners overstaying their visa etc) the same people who admire their low crime rate would be calling it fascism.

Incest between a father and an adult son or between two brothers produces genetic mutants!?

Well you are obviously anti-incest bigot if you are offended by gay marriage being even compared to incestual marriage. Who exactly are you to deny the "right" of father and son or two brothers to get married? And how is your bigotry any different from those who are anti gay marriage.

He didn't call anybody subhuman. No need to make stuff up.

It is not gay marriage that bothers me but the false logic and dishonest tactics being used to promote it.

There are no rights being denied to gay people that are also not being denied to people who want group marriage, incestual marriage, or marriage for convenience (green card for example) etc.

If you want to propose to extend the definition of marriage (traditionally one man, one woman) to cover one man - one man, and one woman - one woman, fine, put it to a vote. I will vote for it. But don't talk about rights being denied and don't try to destroy everybody who disagrees with your proposal by personal attacks and accusations. Even liberals at this point (Bill Maher for example) are disgusted by the tactics of the gay lobby.

1. Car makers usually equip their cars with bigger engines and more features as standard for the US market. In case of Smart Car, the engine is tuned for faster acceleration instead of gas mileage.

2. UK uses imperial gallon which is bigger than US gallon so you have to be careful to compare like with like

3. Different testing standards. EU standards are surprisingly less strict than the US and allow manufacturers more room to cheat. Same car will show "considerably" better fuel economy when tested according to European standards - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F...

Gentrification to me means turning filthy, crime ridden ghettos into clean and safe neighborhoods. I haven't heard any reasonable argument against it that doesn't include hidden racism or prejudice against poor people being morons who like living in dirt.

We are not bound to defend Ukraine. That's a complete myth. Here are the 6 clauses of the Budapest Memorandum: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/... Where does it say we are required to defend Ukraine?

Can they not ask some legal scholars for opinion rather than the Supreme Court? It seems weird to ask a court if something is legal or not before you do it. You ask a lawyer.

You must be new here. On slashdot, being against H-1B skilled immigrants is not racist, but being against unlimited low skill immigration is because they don't compete for the same jobs.

I would feel threatened by the new competition and would do everything I can to crush them, including lobbying politicians to impose barriers to entry disguised as consumer protection measures. Pretty much standard operating procedure.

It's banned by the city even if your lease allows it. It's so the city can collect its special 14% hotel tax.

Cuba is a horrible shithole in every way imaginable. I won't waste my time trying to convince somebody like you but look it up yourself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

Not to mention the economy where workers are paid on average $19/month and lack even basic necessities and cannot legally change jobs, move, own property, own a cellphone or a computer without government permit etc etc.

Yes they are better of than Haiti, the country that compares badly even with worst African countries, so you got that one right. But given the history and demographics of Cuba, there is potential for so much more which is being wasted due to a deluded and selfish leadership clinging on to a failed ideology for their personal benefit.

Businesses like Starbucks and Banana Republic are far more beneficial to the society than the Hubble Telescope.