Comment Re:Missing Poll Option... (Score 5, Insightful) 983
As per #1, it is so much like the French to show up late while American soldiers did all the heavy lifting and 230 years later still be demanding we respect them for it.
Perhaps because we used them and then fscked them? They paid for most of that war, provided weapons, men, and ships, and we betrayed them by negotiating a separate peace with Britain. Then we fought an undeclared naval war with them. Despite that, they have been the only consistent ally this country has had since its inception--for all we've turned our back on them, it's a wonder that the relationship has survived.
What makes the whole thing so much better is that at the same time they cannot even acknowledge that they would have lost their country had we not showed up 65 years ago and once again done all the heavy fighting.
I presume you are referring to the second world war? The one that the Russians did all of the serious fighting in? Get a clue; the only reason we opened the second front and invaded France was to keep the Russians from getting to Paris first. The US suffered, what, about 400,000 dead? The British about 500,000. How many Russians? Almost 30 million. Now look at how many German deaths were on the eastern front and tell me who took down Hitler.
Oh, and the reason for this view is because their education system is so backasswards being as it is set at a national level is more focused on promoting the idea of the French state than accurately teaching history.
And this is different anywhere else in the world? Idiots in the U.S. are still teaching that Columbus sailed to prove the world was not flat, which is the biggest pile of crap, made up in the 18th century to make the discovery of America more epic. American history is as pig-ignorant as any other nation's history.
As for healthcare, yes the US system is not nationalized, but so what? It is the best in the world. Our doctors and drug companies are very innovative and constantly coming up with new helpful technics to help countless illnesses, mainly because the government is not involved. Let me say this, your opinions on the vitures of nationalized healthcare are misplaced.
This is probably why I buy drugs in Canada; US 'innovation' allows the drug companies to make a tidy profit when I buy drugs that were produced in the US, sold to Canadian companies, and then re-sold to me. If you're happier paying two or three times the reasonable market value for your drugs, that's fine with me, but it doesn't sound like good capitalism; it sounds more like corporate socialism.
Americans unlike Europeans believe in individual rights, while you seem to still think in feudalistic terms, only having replaced the word "king" with "the people". It is very sad.
Oh? I suppose this explains why they have adopted the ideals in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, while we continue to support terrorist nations and torture prisoners in Cuba. Perhaps you should read the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and get back to us.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/human _rights/intro/
We have more software companies, more hardware companies more medical companies, more stores, more options, and it is all at a great price. When I go to stores in Europe I am amazed at the lack of choice, with shops selling 5 types of juice at high prices. In this country we have superstores that have choices of hundreds and hundreds of types of juice for very low prices.
What shops are you walking into?! I just got back from London, where there are computer stores every bit as large as those around here, and where I could stop into a freakin' mini-mart in Soho and look at more varieties of beverage than I've seen anywhere. Look at the aisles 'round here--Coke, Coke, Pepsi, and Coke. When was the last time you saw eight varieties of ginger beer? Or, have you ever even seen a ginger beer?
I used to live in Pennsylvania, but moved to Texas because Texas has lower taxes and more open gun laws than Pennsylvania. America is truly the land of the free, you can vote in the state elections and if you don't like the outcome, you can vote with your feet and go to anothe state. How cool is that? Can you move and change jobs from one country to another in Europe?
Never heard of the European Union, have you? Not only do you have the Schengen-zone of passport-free travel, but with the exception of the new batch (which will not have this right for a few years), you can move within any of the EU countries, take a new job, go to university--whatever you want. Your citizenship of the EU allows you to pick up and leave Britain, settle in Germany, and take a job. Sound much different?
There is probably a person from every country in the world living in the same city I am right now. When I go to Germany everybody is the same. Not here. So yes I can see how Germans may need to look outside to see the world. But dude, all I have to do to know the world is talk to people and get their take on things, becuase they are the world! Here I can eat food from all over the world, I can eat truly native dishes or mixes between cultures. Here, I just met four guys from Australia rock climbing yesterday and I am having them over for dinner tonight. Think that is as likely to happen in Europe, hell no.
I suppose you've also missed the fact that Europe is still the tourism capital of the world, right? They get more foreign visits by a sizeable margin. Walking the streets of London, I could hear a dozen languages in an afternoon; I spoke to Italians, Germans, Russians, Australians, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Ghanians, Brazilians, Chinese, Argentinians--yes, even Americans.
I also found it enlightening that the only overweight people I found in the first week there were Americans; it was damned hard to find an obese European.
Simple truth; people are leaving Europe; people are coming to America. If your lands were so great, then immigration stats would speak differently. Or don't they teach that in class?
Have you looked at immigration statistics for Europe, or are you just going to parrot back what you learnt about mass migration in the 19th century? People are pouring into Europe, something that many Europeans find quite distressing! If not for that movement, most nations in Europe would have a declining population; as it is, immigration from Turkey, the Arab world, the former USSR, Africa, and former colonies around the world will keep Europe growing for a long time. Hmm, and perhaps you can also look at population density, how much room there is to grow, and the fact that they have a 150 million more people than we do already.
This was one of the most ignorant, self-righteous, and insulting posts I've seen here; it's a new low, even for Slashdot. I especially enjoyed how you casually ignored the most salient points made by the poster you were responding to.
What about the fact that the US is dependent on foreign loans to sustain its economy do you find worthy of praise? If Europe, China, and Japan cut us off, we are fscked. Right now we are the buyer of last resort, and the world uses our credit-happy consumer base to move its products. But whereas the US runs a massive trade deficit and buys goods by borrowing from national banks and selling treasury bonds, Europe remains a net exporter.
And your guns and prisons have done nothing to solve the crime problems here. We lock up more of our population by percentage than ANY nation in the world! Even in terms of sheer number, we get to sit next to places like China and Iran. Nice, eh? With no executions, few prison guards, and fewer police, Europe's crime rate is miniscule by comparison.
Perhaps because we used them and then fscked them? They paid for most of that war, provided weapons, men, and ships, and we betrayed them by negotiating a separate peace with Britain. Then we fought an undeclared naval war with them. Despite that, they have been the only consistent ally this country has had since its inception--for all we've turned our back on them, it's a wonder that the relationship has survived.
What makes the whole thing so much better is that at the same time they cannot even acknowledge that they would have lost their country had we not showed up 65 years ago and once again done all the heavy fighting.
I presume you are referring to the second world war? The one that the Russians did all of the serious fighting in? Get a clue; the only reason we opened the second front and invaded France was to keep the Russians from getting to Paris first. The US suffered, what, about 400,000 dead? The British about 500,000. How many Russians? Almost 30 million. Now look at how many German deaths were on the eastern front and tell me who took down Hitler.
Oh, and the reason for this view is because their education system is so backasswards being as it is set at a national level is more focused on promoting the idea of the French state than accurately teaching history.
And this is different anywhere else in the world? Idiots in the U.S. are still teaching that Columbus sailed to prove the world was not flat, which is the biggest pile of crap, made up in the 18th century to make the discovery of America more epic. American history is as pig-ignorant as any other nation's history.
As for healthcare, yes the US system is not nationalized, but so what? It is the best in the world. Our doctors and drug companies are very innovative and constantly coming up with new helpful technics to help countless illnesses, mainly because the government is not involved. Let me say this, your opinions on the vitures of nationalized healthcare are misplaced.
This is probably why I buy drugs in Canada; US 'innovation' allows the drug companies to make a tidy profit when I buy drugs that were produced in the US, sold to Canadian companies, and then re-sold to me. If you're happier paying two or three times the reasonable market value for your drugs, that's fine with me, but it doesn't sound like good capitalism; it sounds more like corporate socialism.
Americans unlike Europeans believe in individual rights, while you seem to still think in feudalistic terms, only having replaced the word "king" with "the people". It is very sad.
Oh? I suppose this explains why they have adopted the ideals in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, while we continue to support terrorist nations and torture prisoners in Cuba. Perhaps you should read the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and get back to us.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/huma
We have more software companies, more hardware companies more medical companies, more stores, more options, and it is all at a great price. When I go to stores in Europe I am amazed at the lack of choice, with shops selling 5 types of juice at high prices. In this country we have superstores that have choices of hundreds and hundreds of types of juice for very low prices.
What shops are you walking into?! I just got back from London, where there are computer stores every bit as large as those around here, and where I could stop into a freakin' mini-mart in Soho and look at more varieties of beverage than I've seen anywhere. Look at the aisles 'round here--Coke, Coke, Pepsi, and Coke. When was the last time you saw eight varieties of ginger beer? Or, have you ever even seen a ginger beer?
I used to live in Pennsylvania, but moved to Texas because Texas has lower taxes and more open gun laws than Pennsylvania. America is truly the land of the free, you can vote in the state elections and if you don't like the outcome, you can vote with your feet and go to anothe state. How cool is that? Can you move and change jobs from one country to another in Europe?
Never heard of the European Union, have you? Not only do you have the Schengen-zone of passport-free travel, but with the exception of the new batch (which will not have this right for a few years), you can move within any of the EU countries, take a new job, go to university--whatever you want. Your citizenship of the EU allows you to pick up and leave Britain, settle in Germany, and take a job. Sound much different?
There is probably a person from every country in the world living in the same city I am right now. When I go to Germany everybody is the same. Not here. So yes I can see how Germans may need to look outside to see the world. But dude, all I have to do to know the world is talk to people and get their take on things, becuase they are the world! Here I can eat food from all over the world, I can eat truly native dishes or mixes between cultures. Here, I just met four guys from Australia rock climbing yesterday and I am having them over for dinner tonight. Think that is as likely to happen in Europe, hell no.
I suppose you've also missed the fact that Europe is still the tourism capital of the world, right? They get more foreign visits by a sizeable margin. Walking the streets of London, I could hear a dozen languages in an afternoon; I spoke to Italians, Germans, Russians, Australians, Nigerians, Pakistanis, Ghanians, Brazilians, Chinese, Argentinians--yes, even Americans.
I also found it enlightening that the only overweight people I found in the first week there were Americans; it was damned hard to find an obese European.
Simple truth; people are leaving Europe; people are coming to America. If your lands were so great, then immigration stats would speak differently. Or don't they teach that in class?
Have you looked at immigration statistics for Europe, or are you just going to parrot back what you learnt about mass migration in the 19th century? People are pouring into Europe, something that many Europeans find quite distressing! If not for that movement, most nations in Europe would have a declining population; as it is, immigration from Turkey, the Arab world, the former USSR, Africa, and former colonies around the world will keep Europe growing for a long time. Hmm, and perhaps you can also look at population density, how much room there is to grow, and the fact that they have a 150 million more people than we do already.
This was one of the most ignorant, self-righteous, and insulting posts I've seen here; it's a new low, even for Slashdot. I especially enjoyed how you casually ignored the most salient points made by the poster you were responding to.
What about the fact that the US is dependent on foreign loans to sustain its economy do you find worthy of praise? If Europe, China, and Japan cut us off, we are fscked. Right now we are the buyer of last resort, and the world uses our credit-happy consumer base to move its products. But whereas the US runs a massive trade deficit and buys goods by borrowing from national banks and selling treasury bonds, Europe remains a net exporter.
And your guns and prisons have done nothing to solve the crime problems here. We lock up more of our population by percentage than ANY nation in the world! Even in terms of sheer number, we get to sit next to places like China and Iran. Nice, eh? With no executions, few prison guards, and fewer police, Europe's crime rate is miniscule by comparison.
