Europe is in a slow decline. They are enjoying the fruits of their ancestors labors. They don’t have a fire in their bellies like America and now China have.
Just look at the crap in France. Short work weeks, tons of vacation, huge social services, high unemployment, large unemployable underclass.
The riots and car burnings are only a precursor to the big problems to come.
[/quote]
Agreed. Outside of the ever growing entitlements - which have to be paid for - and the wretched unemployment, Europe’s internal culture clash - between politically correct nannyism and the continued cultural appeasement to the demands of their Islamist elements - represents a possible point of no return for Europe.
Or, in the alternative, Europe will wait until the situation becomes so extreme, the only reaction will be an extreme reaction back - which is the birth of revolution and totalitarian movements.
That is what worries me the most - I am afraid we are witnessing a breeding ground for extremism in Europe. In Europe we have social tensions and lots of frustrated young men with no jobs on both sides of those tensions.
[quote]This is the path they have chosen and we cannot change it.
Hopefully we can learn from their mistakes so when we go down a similar path we can avoid making the same ones.[/quote]
Agreed. Europe has opted for the gospel of relativism and it has come to create the biggest foe of all that is great about Europe.
Someday, some politician will gain power by scapegoatting the muslims. He’ll set up little camps for them, to pick flowers and listen to Bach. Then later, guess who gets to YET AGAIN come in and clean up the mess?
If the texts they use lie to the students, they will repeat their sad tale.
There’s some very strange attitudes about Europe on this thread. I’m not taking offence but was quite surprised.
I DID have a chuckle about the almost universal dislike of France on this site. Yes Charles De Gaulle was a cock and he didn’t want to give the US the credit they deserved, but can the US say they’ve never had a bad leader (cough cough Nixon, cough cough Bushs’ 1&2).
I understand there’s a lot of residual sentiment about their views and their refusal to join up for Iraq but when 90% of the British public didn’t want to go to war and a hell of a lot of America didn’t, to chastise them for standing on principle and doing that they thought was right is crazy. The job of the UN members is not to simply go along with the one who shouts the loudest. Isn’t that the whole ‘democracy’ thing we’ve apparently all been fighting for?
Does the fact that they were proved right about WMD not in some way vindicate their stance?
The whole ‘Freedom fries’ thing… So petty. Like ooh, I dunno… a petulant teenager.
Actually going with analogy for sec, I think what it comes down to is that age-wise Europe is is much like the long-suffering elder brother to the teenage US.
Like many teenagers, he’s smart, can be funny and extremely creative but gets emotional, is quick to temper and flex his muscles and summarily dismisses all those who disagree with him.
We’re not judging - most of us in Europe have been there too (Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain etc) but elder brother Europe is just sighing and hoping it’s a passing thing - something you have to get out of your system. Don’t mean to patronise, just letting people know how lots of people over this side feel.
Also, and this is just a personal request, could you lovely Americans out there stop telling us how you came and won WW2 for us? Seriously, on behalf of Europe we appreciate you finally deciding to get involved once it was in your interests, but there had been a fair old bit of fighting and a few million killed by the point you turned up. It’s like a substitute coming on in the last minute of the world cup and scoring the winning goal getting all the glory while his teammates that spent the rest of the tournament getting them there are left scratching their heads in disbelief.
I’m not America bashing. I have American family and I love spending time over there, but I, like many Europeans, Asians and Middle-Easterns, have a huge problem with many of the foreign policies the US Government employs. Not that the UK Govt is much to shout about these days either.
Also, this whole ‘or you’d have been overrun by Russians’ thing. We don’t actually have the fear of the C-word (and by that I mean Communism) that you guys seem to. We lived side by side with it since its inception. And not just near little ol’ Cuba either!
Finally I certainly don’t have any fear of Islam or of muslims. What I do have concerns about, globally, is despotic leaders invoking their respective choice of deity (whichever one that is) and scaremongering about entire races to bend a people to their will.
With regards to the original topic of this thread - If you don’t think yuor own governments (wherever you are in the world) lie to you on a daily basis you are completely gullible.
Who’s to say the French were wrong and you were right in their reading of history? Or vice versa? It’s all very subjective and opinions are like arseholes - Everybody’s got one, and most are full of shit. Mine included for that matter.
Also, best quote ever on this entire forum, possibly website:
'Education is not about fucking critical thinking. It is about reading, writing, and counting shit. ’
Ha ha ha ha ha… Way to enforce a stereotype. I’m getting a T-shirt made up with that on. I can’t believe people might be being taught to question stuff - This world’s turning to shit! lol
Anyway, pointless rant over. Would this be a bad time to ask what you think my bodyfat is?
There’s some very strange attitudes about Europe on this thread. I’m not taking offence but was quite surprised.
I DID have a chuckle about the almost universal dislike of France on this site. Yes Charles De Gaulle was a cock and he didn’t want to give the US the credit they deserved, but can the US say they’ve never had a bad leader (cough cough Nixon, cough cough Bushs’ 1&2).[/quote]
Hey, pal. Thanks for chiming in!!! Always appreciate an English input. Thanks for your alliance. You are true friends.
Now, we’ve had bad leaders. nixon, carter, and clinton come to mind.
So have you. Most of the Henry’s, Richard’s, George’s, arthur balfour, and neville chamberlin come to mind.
90%? Where did you get that number?
Was that 90% of your friends?
[quote}and a hell of a lot of America didn’t,[/quote]
Actually, most Americans were in favor. However, there are those who could not stay the course.
peter sutcliffe “The Yorkshire Ripper” thought what he was doing was right. I chastise him in the strongest terms.
The job of the u.n., like the league of nations before it, was to enforce their resolutions. Without that will, it’s a glorified debating society. Oh, being bribed by a mass murderer, while employing patronizing attitudes toward the Coalition of the Willing, makes many people in the u.n. beneath contempt.
[quote]hspder wrote:
rainjack wrote:
Just look across the Pacific and see how much bullshit they are being spoon fed, and how badly they kick the rest ot the world’s asses when it comes to technology as well as art.
Huh? Give me an example. Seriously. One that cannot be explained simply by statistics (i.e., the fact that there’s a LOT more of them).
Asia is very good at optimizing the costs of production of things; their ability to innovate, however, is extremely limited, and, statistically, much inferior to both the US and Europe.
For example, since Ang Lee left, Chinese cinema went to the crapper, and is basically as bad (or even worse) than ours:
How can a country of over 1 billion people be completely dependent on ONE guy?
Because he’s not that common. And he’s from Taiwan, which is VERY different from mainland China in its education, and does incent critical thinking – for several reasons that are pretty obvious.
(and yes, he’s gay, my conservative friend, but you’re the one who mentioned art – you can’t look at great artists without bumping into a few gay men, I’m “sorry”)
Europe, on the other hand, is a lot smaller, and they somehow continue to be in the forefront of several key scientific and technological areas; we keep needing a steady flow of Europeans to fill our Ph.D. and MS slots.
Even thought there’s a LOT LESS of them than Asians at a global level…
In the past, school could focus on the basics because society provided the rest. We were surround by stimuli for our critical thinking abilities. Today, our society is all about eating pre-packaged thought. Our media actually tells us what to think. Parents really don’t have time to spend teaching their kids that thinking is good.
I agree that US schools and especially colleges do a horrible job of teaching critical thinking – mostly because these days they are teaching people how to pass tests (yes, that happens in college too).
But if it is not the school’s job to teach the kids to think critically, who’s going to do it? Parents, most of which don?t even know how to eat properly?
[/quote]
Your entire fucking reply to me consisted of how bad it is since Ang Lee left? And crying because there are a billion chinese?
Sony is very innovative - even to the point of beeing assholes with their copyright protection crap. The Japanese auto makers set the standard of efficiency. And the kids over there kick most everyone’s asses in the sciences.
But go ahead and bemoan Ang Lee.
Your Eurocentricity is popping out again. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
I just wish I had a chance to buy you for what you were really worth and sell you for what you think you are worth - then I could be a limo-con.
Sept 4 . US cruisers establish patrol off the eastern seaboard to observe and report the movements of foreign men-of-war.
Sept 8 . FDR proclaims limited state of emergency in US.
Sept 13. 40 mothballed WWI destroyers to be reconditioned for “neutrality patrol”.
Oct 16. Ranger (CV-4) and San Francisco (CA-38) are mobilized to locate and trail German tanker departed Tampico, Mexico, for Admiral Graf Spee.
Oct 20. USN to use plain language radio reporting of contacts.
Nov 4 . Cash & Carry amendment to Neutrality Act allowed US to supply munitions to Allies.
1940
May 3 . Greenland, a crown colony of Denmark, seeks U.S. protection, so that Danish sovereignty can be maintained during the German occupation of the homeland.
Aug 27. Compulsory military service established (the draft)
Sep 3 . US trades Britain 50 destroyers from US WWI reserve fleet for leases on bases.
Nov 16. Destroyer McCormick (DD-223), on neutrality patrol off Tampico, Mexico, radios attempt of German freighter Orinoco to make for European waters. Destroyer Plunkett (DD-431), by her presence, thwarts German tanker Phrygia’s bid for freedom; Phrygia’s crew scuttles her.
Dec 8 . Destroyer Sturtevant (DD-240) stands by while British light cruiser HMS Diomede intercepts German freighter Idarwald.
Dec 11. German freighter Rhein, having been tailed by destroyer Simpson (DD-221) and, later, MacLeish (DD-220), is intercepted by Dutch destroyer leader Van Kinsbergen near the Florida Straits, and is scuttled by her own crew to avoid capture. MacLeish and McCormick (DD-223) are present as the German ship’s bid to escape fails.
US extends “neutral zone” to 300 miles.
1941
March 1. Support Force Atlantic Fleet established for protection of convoys in North Atlantic.
Mar 11. US votes Lend-Lease Act to aid England.
Mar 17. Coast Guard cutter Cayuga takes South Greenland Survey Expedition, US representatives to locate sites of bases on Greenland’s soil.
Mar 27. ABC Conference. Atlantic Fleet is to help the Royal Navy convoy ships across the Atlantic. The agreement inextricably links the U.S. Navy in the effort against Germany.
Mar 30. U S seizes Axis ships in US ports.
April 10. Niblack (DD-424) a new, Benson class destroyer on “Neutrality Patrol”, rescuing survivors, depth charged a contact off Iceland.
Apr 10. FDR authorizes the transfer of 10 “Lake”-class Coast Guard cutters to the Royal Navy. Transfers completed Apr 30-May 30.
Apr 18. US declares Greenland and Iceland in its sphere of interest.
Apr 24. Neutrality Patrol is extended east to 26?W, Iceland, and 20?S, almost to Rio.
Apr 26. US to supply French North Africa.
May 22. Part of US Pacific fleet ordered to Atlantic.
May 24. USN PBYs from Newfoundland search for Bismarck in the western Atlantic.
May 26. USN observers flying two separate RAF Catalinas sight Bismarck. British fleet units converge on the lone German capital ship.
May 27. Roosevelt proclaims unlimited state of emergency, including delivery of supplies to Britain, because of Axis battleship incursion of western Atlantic.
May 27. Elements of Pacific fleet move to Atlantic patrol.
May 29. US begins “Neutrality Patrols” in North, Central and Southern Atlantic.
June 12. Naval Reserve called to active duty.
June 14. US freezes German and Italian assets.
June 16. US closed German and Italian consulates.
June 20. FDR addresses Congress concerning the German sinking of U.S. freighter Robin Moor.
Jun 22. Germany invades USSR.
July 4 . US marines under US air cover relieve British troops in Iceland for duty elsewhere.
Aug 1 . US-USSR accord signed.
Aug 8 . US Army and Air units convoyed to Iceland.
Aug 9 . Atlantic Charter, a strategy meeting in Newfoundland between President FDR and Prime Minister WSC. Agree, when the US enters the war, Germany first. US warships to escort British merchant ships between the United States and Iceland.
Sept 4 . Recommissioned destroyer Greer (DD-145), tracked U-652 for several hours. Each attacked the other without injury.
Sep 10 . First Liberator bomber to England.
Sep 11. FDR broadcasts “shoot on sight” order.
Sep 12. Coast Guard cutters seize Norwegian trawler Buskoe in Mackenzie Bay, Greenland, thwarting establishing German radio weather stations.
Oct 5 . Naval Conference between US and British commanders in Singapore.
Oct 16-Nov 1. DDs escorting Atlantic convoy make depth charge attacks daily after six merchant ships sunk in five hours.
Oct 25-Nov 8. Yorktown (CV-5), New Mexico (BB-41), and 11 other American warships were screening convoys to and from MOMP.
Oct 28. Screening destroyer Anderson picked up a submarine contact and dropped depth charges noticing “considerable oil slick”.
Nov 1-4. PBYs and PBMs provide air coverage for convoy ON 31.
Nov 4 . Omaha (CL-4), Memphis (CL-13) and 3 DDs search for German surface raider.
Nov 6 . Omaha (CL-4) and Somers (DD-381), en route to Recife, Brazil, returning from the 3,023-mile patrol, captures German blockade runner Odenwald, disguised as U.S. freighter Willmoto, in Atlantic equatorial waters . See reader provided story.
Nov 10. First United States-escorted troop convoy, transporting more than 20,000 British troops, in six USN ships sailed from Halifax for the Far East.
Nov 10-20. DDs attack numerous sound contacts.
Nov 11. Lend Lease for de Gaulle’s Free French.
Nov 11. Navy ordered to attack any vessel threatening US shipping.
Nov 13. Amend Neutrality Act: arm US ships, enter war zones.
Nov 17. Archer (BAVG 1) is the first of 38 escort carriers transferred to the UK during the war under Lend-Lease program.
Nov 25. US troops to Dutch Guiana to protect bauxite mines.
Dec 3 . Turkey has “for sometime” been receiving lend lease aid.
Germany Against US
1939
Sept 3 . Submarine U-30 torpedoes British passenger liner Athenia without warning in the belief that she is an armed merchant cruiser; 28 American citizens are among the dead.
Sep 10. U.S. freighter Wacosta, bound from Scotland to New York is stopped by German submarine for three hours.
1941
Jan 30. Germany announces that ships of any nationality bringing aid to Great Britain will be torpedoed.
Apr 17. Neutral Egyptian steamship Zamzam is shelled and sunk by German auxiliary cruiser Atlantis (Schiffe 16) in South Atlantic; 138 Americans (including 24 ambulance drivers) are among rescued passengers . See reader provided story.
May 21. Unarmed U.S. freighter Robin Moor, en route to South Africa and Mozambique, is stopped and sunk by German submarine U-69 (torpedo and gunfire) about 700 miles off the west coast of Africa. First American merchantman sunk by a U-boat in World War II. Crew given food and directions by submarine.
Jun 19. Germany and Italy request closure of U.S. consulates.
Sep 7 . SS Steel Seafarer bombed and sunk in Red Sea.
Oct 17. Kearney (DD-432) escorting a convoy was attacked by U-boat off the coast of Iceland with 11 killed.
Oct 19. Unarmed U.S. freighter Lehigh is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-126 off Freetown, Sierra Leone
Oct 28. Oiler Salinas (AO-19), in convoy ON 28, is torpedoed by German submarine U-106 about 700 miles east of Newfoundland.
Oct 31. Reuben James (DD-245), an older destroyer on convoy duty west of Iceland, was sunk by U-boat with loss of 115 men.
Oct 31. DuPont (DD-152) is attacked by U-boat, but missed.
Dec 2 . German submarine U-43 torpedoes and sinks unarmed U.S. tanker Astral and her 37 man crew.
Dec 3 . Unarmed U.S. freighter Sagadahoc is torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-124 in South Atlantic.
Espionage
German espionage rings in the US were destroyed in a sweep on June 28, 1941, well before Pearl Harbor and formal US entry into the war. A naturalized U.S. citizen, was threaten with blackmail to become a radio operator for the Abwar. William Sebold sought the advice of the American Consul and became a double agent sending large quantities of approved information. He was considered so valuable in Germany that he was put in contact with all German agents in the U.S. Thirty-three people were rounded up after 16-months of operation…
U.S. Against Japan
1940
Jan 26. Minesweeper Quail (AM-15) arrives at Palmyra Island with construction party to build a naval air station.
May 7 . Pacific fleet ordered to stay in Pearl Harbor indefinitely.
July 5 . Ban strategic materials to Japan.
July 19. Naval Expansion Act for “Two Ocean Navy”: to build 11 BB, 11 CV, 50 CL, 100 DD.
Sep 25. Reduce oil exports to Japan.
Oct 8 . U.S. advises citizens leave Far East
Oct 14. Three U.S. passenger liners to Japan and China to repatriate American citizens from that region in view of prevailing “abnormal conditions” there.
1941
US did not close Japanese consulates, as it had German and Italian, thus allowing Japan to continue gathering military intelligence, including monitoring US fleet movements.
Jan 9 . Transport William Ward Burrows (AP-6) arrives at Wake Island with first increment of workmen (Contractors Pacific Naval Air Bases) to begin building a naval air station there.
Mar 30. Elements arrive Palmyra Island in Antares (AKS-3) to begin construction of defenses.
Mar 30. Elements arrive Johnston Island in Boggs (DMS-3) to begin construction of defenses.
Apr 15. FDR authorizes forming the American Volunteer Group (AVG), which will become known as the “Flying Tigers.” Over half of the pilots will be from the Navy and Marine Corps.
Apr 27. American-Dutch-British Conference at Singapore on combined operating plan in the event of war.
July 26. US freezes Japanese assets and stops export of oil to Japan.
July 26. Philippine military forces are called into service with U.S. Army.
Oct 4 . Suspend oil shipments to Japan.
Nov 14." China Marines" ordered to Philippines.
Japan Against US
1937
Dec 12. US Gunboat Panay (PR-5) intentionally attacked and sunk on Yangtze River in China.
1940
Apr 19. Japanese government informs U.S. they have no aggressive intentions toward the Netherlands East Indies.
Sep 27. Japan joins German and Italian Axis in Tripartite Pact to support each other’s military aims. And Japan complained when export shipments of oil and steel were then curtailed and used that as part of their explanation of going to war !
1941
Jan 20. Spy network initiated to continue gathering information in case of war.
July 2 . Japan calls up one million army conscripts.
July 24. Japan occupies French Indochina, approved by Vichy.
Nov 27. Six carrier task force sails for Pearl Harbor. Thirty submarines.
Dec 7 . Khota Baru, Malaya invaded, 2 hours before Pearl Harbor attacked.
Dec 7 . Unarmed US steamer shelled and sunk by submarine I-26, no survivors.
Britain Against the U.S.
I hope to have lifted the veil of ignorance from one corner of your mind.
Interesting that you focus on Japan, which has enjoyed a lot of American influence for over half a century…
[quote]rainjack wrote:
Sony is very innovative - even to the point of beeing assholes with their copyright protection crap.[/quote]
Sony is dying. Their only salvation has been the Playstation 2 – if it weren’t for the tremendous marketing success of that ONE product – which, by the way, was obsolete the day it came out, and all developers hate with passion due to its arcane SDK (that’s Software Development Kit for the non-geeks) – Sony would be bankrupt by now.
They are superb at marketing, that’s all.
They protect the copyright of the content providers (i.e., the American and European artists) not their own and yes, they are assholes about it.
Disclaimer: I do own a Sony TV.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
The Japanese auto makers set the standard of efficiency.[/quote]
True. But I never questioned that, never said otherwise and even mentioned it in my initial response.
[quote]rainjack wrote:
And the kids over there kick most everyone’s asses in the sciences. [/quote]
Not true. At all. Japan has good scientists, true, but they rely on European and American scientists to do most of the discoveries. They are mostly good at building and tuning some scientific instruments, that’s all.
For example, Japanese scientists have won an insignificant number of Nobel prizes compared to European and American scientists IN PARTICULAR if you index it to the population of Japan.
And no other country in Asia has won Nobel prizes.
I hope you feel really proud about yourself. Maybe you should start sending job applications to Fox News – you’d be great as Bill O’Reilly’s personal assistant!
[quote]hspder wrote:
And no other country in Asia has won Nobel prizes.
[/quote]
Isn’t the Nobel Prize a horribly Eurocentric award?
You are not even in the fucking ball park. Your “I love Europe” cheerleading has preceded you, and your input on this subject is little more than the biased bullshit it smells like.
Don’t you have a paper to write, or a soy latte to ruminate over, or something?
Assholes like rainjack and JeffR truly make me embarrased to be an American, and I hope that any Europeans reading this thread realize that dicks like them are in a minority in this country - if they weren’t, I’d move.
[quote]knewsom wrote:
Assholes like rainjack and JeffR truly make me embarrased to be an American, and I hope that any Europeans reading this thread realize that dicks like them are in a minority in this country - if they weren’t, I’d move.[/quote]
You’ll never move. You know where you’re safe. It’s men like Rainjack, Jeff, and Zeb who built this country. Its men like this who join the marines or the local swat team, and keep you safe in your little liberal enclaves.
Stay where the MEN are, boy. You’ll live a lot longer.
Wow, there’s a lot of people great at cutting and pasting to make their arguments. Just think, if you’d been taught ‘critical thinking’ you probably could have made your points yourselves with both a dash of originality and without having to resort to insults and name-calling. But I digress…
Too many point to reply to actual quotes but I’ll address a couple.
Re WW2, the point is you would think that to read some of the prior posts on this thread that the US single-handedly fought and won that war whereas, as I pointed out, millions had fought and died before you were ‘officially’ on-board. Get pissed off all you like - It’s a fact. I never said you weren’t welcome once you were there but to ignore or belittle the efforts of everyone else that fought and died is an insult to their memory. Maybe the revisionist history idea means that EVERY country maintains they were responsible for winning it. Maybe even Germany is now saying they wre on our side against those pesky Austrians. lol
2)There is another prevailing attitude I’m discovering which is treating Europe like it’s a single entity. Many many countries with different languages, cultures (you know that word?) and religions make up the EU, and its only natural that they have different priorities. Of course there will be disagreements - Do you always get on with South and Cetral America? Err…? That’ll be a big NO then.
3)Re who didn’t want to go to war. Every news poll, every person I have spoken to - Every time Tony Blair is interviewed he STILL has to justify why he went to war when the country didn’t want him to. Again - not opinion - FACT. I won’t talk for the US because I’ve only been to the coasts and I hear Middle-America was largely pro-war but still…
There’s a train of thought that if you publicly disagree with the war in the US you are branded unpatriotic, whereas over here you can complain all you want about it and they’ll still do whatever the hell they want. Not sure which is worse…
Yes your Government lies. So does mine. It is part and parcel of government. It doesn’t have to be some Area 51 conspiracy. It’s massaging unemployment figures. It’s, I don’t know, bankrolling a regime and then saying they are evil once they are strong enough to stand on their own two feet and don’t need you anymore. It’s awarding billions of dollars worth of construction and oil contracts to all your old buddies and contributors and saying God said we should go to war.
As for everyone saying how crap Europe is - the most absurd assertion I have ever heard. Unless of course art, history and culture have no meaning and you mean they’re crap because there’s not a Target or Cinabun every 100 yards.
Yes, Britain and Europe has been responsible for some pretty terrible things in history but that’s my point. Collectively we have grown up and are waiting for you to do the same.
To sum up, Britain is America’s closest ally and if you ask the man on the street over here you will find that we (although not me as I have American family) don’t like you very much at all. Seriously. Not joking.
So what does that say about the way the rest of the world feels? Are you honestly so full of hubris that you think that all stems from jealousy and not from your Government’s actions and foreign policy?
Re the reply to my little bodyfat joke - ‘Barely enough to sustain life?’ WTF? lol
Only cos you lot ate all the food you fat cheeseburger-eating motherfuckers. JOKE!
[quote]rainjack wrote:
…
If one is equipped with the right tools (3R’s) one is more than able to develop thinking skills on their own.
…
[/quote]
Why do you think that? You haven’t.
Funny that you would claim that learning children to become independant thinkers, somehow equals indoctrinations.
Sure, you can teach them some technical skills. But don’t you expect them also to learn somehting about history, religion, ethics, law, justice? How would you be able to do that without teaching them to formulate their own thoughts?
There’s a word for someone who’s only thought the 3R’s. These people are called “skilled labor”.
And while you need skilled labor, you also need leaders, scientists, researchers, journalists, artists, people with a vision. And people with another vision to challenge them.
Did you ever read “brave new world”? Or did you shy away from the risk that it would turn you into an independant thinker?
[quote]LBRTRN wrote:
…
I’m not saying Europeans shouldn’t complain about the destruction of their culture (which, as someone said earlier, is an exaggeration) but it’s obvious that their are enough Europeans who don’t have a problem with Americanization or guess what? they would stop buying American products! Europeans want American products, American movies, and American music, and with all that, for better or worse, comes American culture. You can’t have one without the other…
[/quote]
Ok, let’s see where your line of thinking leads us.
Americans don’t mind about the decline of their automobile industry. Otherwise they wouldn’t all be bying Japanese cars.
Americans don’t mind about the decline of their IT industry. Otherwise they wouldn’t all be buying PC’s assembled in Asia. And their companies wouldn’t all be outsourcing to Asia.
As if any country in the world doesn’t make use of it’s propaganda monopoly. But hey, wait a sec- on a closer look, the book isn’t so bad after all! I fail to see where the “hate” is:
These are all pretty reasonable and interesting questions. Why is it wrong for young people to debate them in school is beyond me. And it’s not like the whole history class is about anti-american propaganda.
You see, the biggest problem in the EU is the wide assortment of different cultures. There are so many languages, so many borders, so many different opinions.
An if France and Germany, being a solid part of the EU, want to strengthen and unite parts of their distinctive cultural “weltanschauung”, it seems pretty OK to me.
For some dudes who posted here I can only be sorry.
France a fourth world country.
(Erope is) enjoying the fruits of their ancestors labors. They don’t have a fire in their bellies like America and now China have.
America happens to be the largest exporter of goods and services so it only makes sense that our culture, with those goods and services, is spreading.
Sorry guys, you fail to grasp what the discussion is about, revealing that you haven’t got the slightest idea about Europe, it’s culture and globalization.
Nobody wants to flame the US. And yet all you do is reduce the discussion about cultural globalization into an anti/pro-america rant.
When I grew up in the eighties, America was this great land in the west with a mighty economy, strong soldiers and an agenda of liberty. Antiamericanism wasn’t found at all in the youth.
Today, ask a class of fourteen year olds about Bush and you’ll get totally biased answers - EVEN when 80% of them consume nearly exclusively american pop culture.
Strange , isn’t it?
I believe that a solid examination of the above questions can actually reduce anti-americanism and help find young people their own cultural identity.
Because without a cultural heritage, some folks tend to define themselves through not what they are and stand for, but what they dislike. Which is a shame.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
You’ll never move. You know where you’re safe. It’s men like Rainjack, Jeff, and Zeb who built this country. Its men like this who join the marines or the local swat team, and keep you safe in your little liberal enclaves.
Stay where the MEN are, boy. You’ll live a lot longer.
[/quote]
Rainjack, Jeff and Zeb will NEVER enlist. Neither did Bush or Cheney.
They grew cojones when they knew they wouldn’t have to do any actual fighting.
[quote]knewsom wrote:
Assholes like rainjack and JeffR truly make me embarrased to be an American, and I hope that any Europeans reading this thread realize that dicks like them are in a minority in this country - if they weren’t, I’d move.[/quote]
I am glad that I embarass you. It means I am pissing liberal dill holes off. The more I piss off the more virgins I get to sleep with in heaven.
[quote]Wreckless wrote:
Did you ever read “brave new world”? Or did you shy away from the risk that it would turn you into an independant thinker?[/quote]
Beat me to it - Brave New World was the first thing I thought of when reading these post about education as well.
Lol, looks like the writing/opinions of an epsilon if you ask me. lol
Just look at the crap in France. Short work weeks, tons of vacation, huge social services…
[/quote]
Yeah… Sounds terrible. lol
LA Riots and recent post-Katrina New Orleans looks like grand demonstrations of the perfect model of dealing with the poor or unemployed. I think it’s safe to say we all have our problems…