NationStates Jolt Archive

In this thread you can ask an American(me) anything at all about America, Americans, the American way of life or anything. I will attempt to answer the questions as best I can.

Where's my mum?

Why does McDonalds have the best french fries?

And why arent our steering wheels on the right side?

I think Boardwalk fries are better, myself. Peanut oil has a lot to do with it...

Only England, Japan, and Australia do the right hand side thing. The rest of us have left hand drives I assume (fresh from my ass) so the shifter can be on the right hand side to cater (yet again) to right handed people. Those bastards. Having said that I prefer left hand drive. But probably only because I grew up with it. Not that I'm the american you asked...

EDIT: I had fast food for the first time in a long time the other day and decided that I'm now going to cool my engine with Burger King fries, since those things lose heat faster than anything I've ever seen. I live five minutes away...dammit...

EDIT II: I found the reasons for this, explained in later posts, stop answering this post please.

I think Boardwalk fries are better, myself.

Only England, Japan, and Australia do the right hand side thing. The rest of us have left hand drives I assume (fresh from my ass) so the shifter can be on the right hand side to cater (yet again) to right handed people. Those bastards. Having said that I prefer left hand drive. But probably only because I grew up with it. Not that I'm the american you asked...


Oh I'm an American too...I just wanted to ask those questions......Boardwalk fries...I gotta have some of those

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

Why are all of us Americans fat, ignorant, lazy, warmongering, and arrogant?

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

yes-its stinks

mm-kay.

1.) Why did Peechland post the same thing three times? (No offense to you, Peechland)

2.) Are you assuming that because you're American, you know everything there is to know about us? (I'm an American too)

3.) Didn't you know, the best way to make people like you is to be interested in them, not to try and make them be interested in you. (lol, I'm messing with you there.

4.) Would you say that the majority of Americans would rather shoot first and ask questions later, or ask questions then shoot? This is in reference to home invasions, trepassers, and shadowy figures digging through the fridge at midnight.

5.) Why are some of us such jerks to other people?

6.) What is the idea of "friends with benefits" isolated in America, or is it common in other countries as well?

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?
You don't have cliques at your schools?

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

The hollywood portrayal of high school in the US is about as accurate Grange Hill. (If that helps).

mm-kay.

1.) Why did Peechland post the same thing three times? (No offense to you, Peechland)
2.) Are you assuming that because you're American, you know everything there is to know about us? (I'm an American too)

3.) Didn't you know, the best way to make people like you is to be interested in them, not to try and make them be interested in you. (lol, I'm messing with you there.

4.) Would you say that the majority of Americans would rather shoot first and ask questions later, or ask questions then shoot? This is in reference to home invasions, trepassers, and shadowy figures digging through the fridge at midnight.

5.) Why are some of us such jerks to other people?

6.) What is the idea of "friends with benefits" isolated in America, or is it common in other countries as well?



because the dog gone forum gets locked up sometimes and makes us post duplicates....it wasnt intentional.....i hate redundancy

High Schools have bullies and mean kids, but that's about it. They don't have the social castes and sects that are portrayed in so many Hollywood movies.

because the dog gone forum gets locked up sometimes and makes us post duplicates....it wasnt intentional.....i hate redundancy

It's okay. I was just poking fun, didn't mean to offend. I hate redundancy as well.

I'll take the right-hand-side question.

Back in the middle ages when travelling the road, many people would have swords or daggers or something like that, and many people were right-handed - so they'd wear their dagger on their left side so they could easily draw it with their right hand.

Walking on the right side of the road developed so that you wouldn't have to worry about the person walking towards you whipping out his dagger and stabbing you before you'd have a chance to react - he'd have to draw his weapon with his hand that is farthest from you, and you'd have time to react [run away, draw your own dagger, tackle him, whatever].

So, we drive on the right hand side of the road as a remnant of that English tradition. I don't think they do it anywhere else, though, do they? I know Japan drives on the left hand side, at least. I think most of Europe does, including England.

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

My school isn't like that at all. There are obviously the few extremely well-known people who EVERYONE and their mother knows. Then there are average people, with their own cliques and friends, who are quite possibly very well-known and liked as well. That is most people. Towards the bottom are the extremely weird kids, who are typically made fun of behind their backs, but are not tormented in any way. At the very bottom are the really annoying gross kids who piss people off, and do actually get made fun of in person. That's my school for ya.

i wish i could ask a french person why they think they are better than everyone else.

.

Only England, Japan, and Australia do the right hand side thing. The rest of us have left hand drives I assume (fresh from my ass) so the shifter can be on the right hand side to cater (yet again) to right handed people. Those bastards. Having said that I prefer left hand drive. But probably only because I grew up with it. Not that I'm the american you asked...


It has nothing to do with the shifter, it's to do with which side of the road traffic goes on (passes each other), and dates back to long before the auto.

The steering wheel just goes on the side of the car closest to the center of the road.

I have no preference.

I'll take the right-hand-side question.

Back in the middle ages when travelling the road, many people would have swords or daggers or something like that, and many people were right-handed - so they'd wear their dagger on their left side so they could easily draw it with their right hand.

Walking on the right side of the road developed so that you wouldn't have to worry about the person walking towards you whipping out his dagger and stabbing you before you'd have a chance to react - he'd have to draw his weapon with his hand that is farthest from you, and you'd have time to react [run away, draw your own dagger, tackle him, whatever].

So, we drive on the right hand side of the road as a remnant of that English tradition. I don't think they do it anywhere else, though, do they? I know Japan drives on the left hand side, at least. I think most of Europe does, including England.

Nope, in Europe it's just the British Isles (UK and Ireland). Many former British colonies do as well, but not all. And Japan. That's all I know.

Oh I'm an American too...I just wanted to ask those questions......Boardwalk fries...I gotta have some of those
It's all about the peanut oil, I'm tellin' ya...

So anyway, the left/right thing started to bother me so I googled and got this (from here (http://www.answers.com/topic/rules-of-the-road)) :

Countries that drive on the left

Approximately one quarter to one third of the world's countries drive on the left-hand side of the road. Most of the countries that drive on the left are former colonies of the British Empire. There are exceptions: Japan, Indonesia, Macau, Mozambique, and Thailand drive on the left, although they were never British colonies; and Canada and the United States drive on the right, although they were once under British rule.

The idea to travel on the left side of the road stemmed from the need for self defence on rural roads. Most people use their right hand for fencing and when horse-mounted, travelling on the left side of the road was the only way to draw and be able to use the sword swiftly. The first legal reference in Britain to an order for traffic to remain on the left occurred in 1756 with regard to London Bridge. The General Highways Act of 1773, contained a recommendation that horse traffic remain on the left and this was enshrined in the Highways Bill in 1835. At one point the rule was enshrined in a piece of doggerel:

The rule of the road is a paradox quite,
For if you keep to the left, you're sure to be right.

The British author C. Northcote Parkinson has presented a "proof" that the British way of driving (on the left side of the road) is the natural one.

along with-

With regard to the driver's seat: Most early motor cars had the drivers seat in the middle. Later some manufacturers chose to have the driver's seat nearest the centre of the road in order to look out for oncoming traffic whilst others chose to put the seat on the other side so that the drivers could avoid damaging their vehicles on walls, hedges, roadside gutters and other obstacles. Eventually the former idea prevailed.

Doesn't explain, neccisarilly, why so much of the world drives on the right, but why the brits drive on the left. So they can fence...a-apparently...

Why are all of us Americans fat, ignorant, lazy, warmongering, and arrogant?
Because the only time th've been invaded in the last hundred years, they ended the war by dropping a pair of Nukes and therefore believe themselves to be unassailable badases (I can say this b/c I'm american, but not for long, at the first possible moment I'm either buying a seagoing vessel and declaring myself a country or I'm enciting a second Texas Revolution that will result in the resurgence of the Republic of Texas as the most badass country around)

Where's my mum?

In my pants!
Why does McDonalds have the best french fries?

They dont. McDonalds french fries are deadly and should never be eaten
And why arent our steering wheels on the right side?

Because thats the way God made them
Is it truly that bad?

No thats just the media. In reality there is a symbiotic relationship between the cliques.
Why are all of us Americans fat, ignorant, lazy, warmongering, and arrogant?

Because we're to used to being pampered all the time in our fantasy TVland to do any thing about it
1.) Why did Peechland post the same thing three times? (No offense to you, Peechland)

2.) Are you assum

ing that because you're American, you know everything there is to know about us? (I'm an American too)

3.) Didn't you know, the best way to make people like you is to be interested in them, not to try and make them be interested in you. (lol, I'm messing with you there.

4.) Would you say that the majority of Americans would rather shoot first and ask questions later, or ask questions then shoot? This is in reference to home invasions, trepassers, and shadowy figures digging through the fridge at midnight.

5.) Why are some of us such jerks to other people?

6.) What is the idea of "friends with benefits" isolated in America, or is it common in other countries as well?

1)Peech simply clicked too hard

2) No one has all the answers. But I know about me which is good enough

3)Wha?

4) I say they ask questions then shoot. Because theyre too scared at the possibility of having to shoot

5)Because some people like bullying others to feel strong

6)If you know the answer dont ask the question.

Why is everything so bloody expensive in the states?

For all the low low taxes, many items are more expensive as compared to alberta, canada!

Gas is cheaper in the states and umm thats it.

For example a Big mac is more expensive down der when you convert from loonies to USD. So are CDs, TVs, cars!!, houses, junk food, beer, clothes.

I dont get it, dont you have less taxes?

Aha! found it-
In the late 1700s, however, teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver's seat; instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since he was sitting on the left, he naturally wanted everybody to pass on the left so he could look down and make sure he kept clear of the oncoming wagon’s wheels. Therefore he kept to the right side of the road.

In addition, the French Revolution of 1789 gave a huge impetus to right-hand travel in Europe. The fact is, before the Revolution, the aristocracy travelled on the left of the road, forcing the peasantry over to the right, but after the storming of the Bastille and the subsequent events, aristocrats preferred to keep a low profile and joined the peasants on the right. An official keep-right rule was introduced in Paris in 1794, more or less parallel to Denmark, where driving on the right had been made compulsory in 1793.

From here (http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm)
I didn't search that site, so it could just be fresh from their ass too, but I'm going to go with it.

Why is everything so bloody expensive in the states?
Because everything is packed in plastic which is made from oil
For all the low low taxes, many items are more expensive as compared to alberta, canada!

Gas is cheaper in the states and umm thats it.

For example a Big mac is more expensive down der when you convert from loonies to USD. So are CDs, TVs, cars!!, houses, junk food, beer, clothes.

I dont get it, dont you have less taxes?
Its not how big the taxes are its how you use them

Do you talk to your guns?

Do you talk to your guns?
Who told you tha....I mean.....no

i wish i could ask a french person why they think they are better than everyone else.


Culture, women, food, wine, language &c &c.

They have a profoundly strong case.

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?My high school wasn't divided that harshly, but people still tormented one another. It was just random torment instead of clique to clique. I left public school after a year and a half because I was emotionally traumatized by the experience.

Culture, women, food, wine, language &c &c.

They have a profoundly strong case.
Then the Italians have an even stronger case...

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

Definitely not in the major high schools in Anchorage, Alaska. (Disclaimer: I am a private school kid, so this is "As I understand it from my friends)

The high schools are very very expansive with multiple groups of popular, nerd, jock, geek, punk, skater, snowboarder, sarcastic, etc groups. You can fit into multiple groups at once and the groups are pretty open to anyone who has similar standards/maturity/humor.

Do you talk to your guns?


That is so idiotic it bears repeating, so here it goes

Do you talk to your guns?

So which crime ridden, gun-free, hell hole are you from? And why do foreigners think guns are so bad, hmm, could it be an inferiority complex as a result of the previously mentioned hell holes?

To the commies I say only this:

So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you'll hear evermore...

Don't tread on me

- Metallica

Fools, the most armed are the most safe,the least armed are least safe, consider the case of the Swiss as compared to Holland and Poland in WWII. The Swiss had a mandatory national militia with universal membership and all of them wewe extremely competent marksmen, the dutch and polish however were about as well armed and prepared to resist aggression as a modern citizen of London, where it is a crime to use a legally owned firearm to deter criminal activity or protect yourself and your family.

On the school issue/Hollywood portrayal thing-

Screenwritting and filmmaking in the 'mainstream' is a pretty (and unnecisarilly) rigid thing. Three acts, protagonist, antagonist. You really don't see such a demand for one type of story telling in other mediums...maybe TV. Filmmakers in the mainstream, though-on rails. Partly because the damn things cost so much they are prone to sticking with what works even if it is stilted.

So within those confines the screenwriter works (or bitches about it a lot...um, anyway...). Often writers are re-working things to thier advantage (geeks don't overcome nearly as often...and I really only think that writers are portrayed as sexy in narratives is in the hopes that the idea will catch on...). It is a clearer story to have white hatted good guys (usually a good underdog like the geeks, but everyonce in a while throw in a misunderstood jock), and black hatted bad guys (pretty girls, fully understood jocks, rich kids) and so they are drawn with thick lines in movies.

A third factor is the Kids effect, where you make a movie that is 'hard hitting and unflinching look' at something, which translates to mean 'confirming middle america's worst fears.' This gets you 'cred' as an edgy film or film maker. Taken to the extreme its the 'how bad can I make things' style, which is Neal LeButte territory...

... of the Republic of Texas as the most badass country around)

Pshaw, Alaska owns, pwns, and completely smacks the living poop out of Texas. Compared to Alaska, Texas is just a patch of desert with old people who can not shoot. Go eat desert Texan. (I say this with all state-competive-jovialness as possible, so no hard feelings at your comments towards me when you reply)

Culture, women, food, wine, language &c &c.

They have a profoundly strong case.


One could argue otherway too with those examples :D

Then the Italians have an even stronger case...


They're both wonderful.

Seriously...

And look at napoleon, a frenchman from corsica.

One could argue otherway too with those examples :D

Not one with any taste or sophistication :)

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

Come on buddy, if movies accurately portrayed real life, why would you ever pay to watch a movie when you could just live your life.

Hollywood execs(along with all other movie execs) know this. So should you. There is a good reason that "movies" make more money than "documentaries".

Except if you are michael moore, because then you get to claim a "movie" is actually a "documentary".

Pshaw, Alaska owns, pwns, and completely smacks the living poop out of Texas. Compared to Alaska, Texas is just a patch of desert with old people who can not shoot. Go eat desert Texan. (I say this with all state-competive-jovialness as possible, so no hard feelings at your comments towards me when you reply)


I Remember the Alamo and every time I do i smile at what happened to the texans. :)

Or whats his name, the guy who wrote bowling for columbine, the idiot liberal. As for the french, if your definition of culture is no showers so they invented perfume, your definition of women is a fat hairy thing of indeterminate gender, your definition of wine is mildly alchoholic grape juice, and your definition of language is something an american pansy should be embarrassed to speak, then yeah I guess they do, however the rest of the world has a better answer: Who gives a damn? They're the FRENCH!

yes-its stinks

its not that bad...at my school there are different cliks and gangs but almost everyone gets along with another person unless there is a beef (an offensive disagreement between two people) and then people start taking sides. after a while the clicks become more integrated again. as for girls tho, if they get in a fight with another girl, they hate eachother for the rest of their lives. ahh women...

Or whats his name, the guy who wrote bowling for columbine, the idiot liberal. As for the french, if your definition of culture is no showers so they invented perfume, your definition of women is a fat hairy thing of indeterminate gender, your definition of wine is mildly alchoholic grape juice, and your definition of language is something an american pansy should be embarrassed to speak, then yeah I guess they do, however the rest of the world has a better answer: Who gives a damn? They're the FRENCH!
good to see you never let the truth get within touching distance of a 'good' post

good for you

Why are all of us Americans fat, ignorant, lazy, warmongering, and arrogant?

Because we can be and get away with it.

Just because one group of people thinks neutered = civilized does not make it so.

And PLEASE, remove lazy. Lazy is not something that could be applied to Americans with our work ethic and relative lack of summers off. If we were lazy, we have less heart attacks.


BTW: I am not American anymore...still a citizen, but not a resident.

As for the Alomo, they were some of the hardassed motherfuckers this side of the only french worthy of respect, the foreign legion, if you think Texans are bad just look up Camerone on google, now those were some guys with major balls. The only reason I respect them is because they were primarily foreign or people the french didn't like, and that makes them better automatically in my opinion. Their unofficial motto is Legion Patria Nostra: the legion is my country, their general mission profile, do the job and damn the casualties.

To the commies I say only this:

So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you'll hear evermore...

Don't tread on me

- Metallica

.
What's that got to do with me?

Or whats his name, the guy who wrote bowling for columbine, the idiot liberal. As for the french, if your definition of culture is no showers so they invented perfume, your definition of women is a fat hairy thing of indeterminate gender, your definition of wine is mildly alchoholic grape juice, and your definition of language is something an american pansy should be embarrassed to speak, then yeah I guess they do, however the rest of the world has a better answer: Who gives a damn? They're the FRENCH!

i found Parisian women to be (mostly) quite slender (lol my sister kept bitching about the fact that most had slender hips) and lovely.

of course most of the French people I tried to speak French with were total assholes to me...

Or whats his name, the guy who wrote bowling for columbine, the idiot liberal. As for the french, if your definition of culture is no showers so they invented perfume, your definition of women is a fat hairy thing of indeterminate gender, your definition of wine is mildly alchoholic grape juice, and your definition of language is something an american pansy should be embarrassed to speak, then yeah I guess they do, however the rest of the world has a better answer: Who gives a damn? They're the FRENCH!


When I was in france people bathed.
Perfume smells good.
Ive never seen a fat french woman. In fact americans quite palpably envy their slender builds.
I know the difference between wine and say... whiskey. I dont even know what you're trying to say.
English is glorious but it isnt beautiful. French is beautiful.

That is so idiotic it bears repeating, so here it goes



So which crime ridden, gun-free, hell hole are you from? And why do foreigners think guns are so bad, hmm, could it be an inferiority complex as a result of the previously mentioned hell holes?

To the commies I say only this:

So be it
Threaten no more
To secure peace is to prepare for war
So be it
Settle the score
Touch me again for the words that you'll hear evermore...

Don't tread on me

- Metallica

Fools, the most armed are the most safe,the least armed are least safe, consider the case of the Swiss as compared to Holland and Poland in WWII. The Swiss had a mandatory national militia with universal membership and all of them wewe extremely competent marksmen, the dutch and polish however were about as well armed and prepared to resist aggression as a modern citizen of London, where it is a crime to use a legally owned firearm to deter criminal activity or protect yourself and your family.

Actually, I'm from gun-free hell-hole known as Iceland, which, like the rest of scandinavia, has a crime-rate about 1/100th of the USA's crime-rate. In fact, we have the second highest standard of living in the world, 2nd place after sweden.

It also helped that the Swiss people all spoke german and didn't mind the nazi's.

I think Boardwalk fries are better, myself. Peanut oil has a lot to do with it...

Only England, Japan, and Australia do the right hand side thing. The rest of us have left hand drives I assume (fresh from my ass) so the shifter can be on the right hand side to cater (yet again) to right handed people. Those bastards. Having said that I prefer left hand drive. But probably only because I grew up with it. Not that I'm the american you asked...

EDIT: I had fast food for the first time in a long time the other day and decided that I'm now going to cool my engine with Burger King fries, since those things lose heat faster than anything I've ever seen. I live five minutes away...dammit...


it actually goes back to the revolutionary days. In England, and I'm guessing the rest of the world or at least Europe but that one I don't know, they rode their horses on the left side of a path. There was such anti-crown sentiment here that we switched sides and rode our horses on the right. We just continued the tradition when cars came along.

Just think, if King George hadn't taxed our forefathers so heavily, the whole world would be driving on the wrong side of the road.

Even the FAGS at my school are embarrassed to speak french, the only exchange student we had from france looked like bigfoot, once we convinced her to shave and made her shower she was pretty hot their wine is piss poor and I hate their colognes, they all smell like ass.

Pshaw, Alaska owns, pwns, and completely smacks the living poop out of Texas. Compared to Alaska, Texas is just a patch of desert with old people who can not shoot. Go eat desert Texan. (I say this with all state-competive-jovialness as possible, so no hard feelings at your comments towards me when you reply)

puny alaskan, we in alberta have more guns and more oil, but at least you have more igloos. Bahahahhahahah :cool:

Culture, women, food, wine, language &c &c.

They have a profoundly strong case.

They have a profoundly bad case of body odour maybe.

You seem to feel that america is overarmed and dangerous, there is wisdom in the words of the gods of metal on this subject. Americans are constantly undervalued by ourselves and the world at large, we work harder than we are given credit for, we want peace as much as the rest of the world and realize that as long as there are threats to that they must be destroyed, I do not agree with Bush's position on this but I agree that something needed to be done, not neccesarily what was done, but something needed to happen.

Actually, I'm from gun-free hell-hole known as Iceland, which, like the rest of scandinavia, has a crime-rate about 1/100th of the USA's crime-rate. In fact, we have the second highest standard of living in the world, 2nd place after sweden.

It also helped that the Swiss people all spoke german and didn't mind the nazi's.


But canada has guns and a few years ago we were number one in the world for standard of living! What are we 4th now?

Iceland also has what 700,000 people? Small towns tend to have little crime in the states as well.

Americans are trigger happy, it aint the guns its the yanks shooting peops who cut them off on the freeway thats the problem.

it actually goes back to the revolutionary days. In England, and I'm guessing the rest of the world or at least Europe but that one I don't know, they rode their horses on the left side of a path. There was such anti-crown sentiment here that we switched sides and rode our horses on the right. We just continued the tradition when cars came along.

Just think, if King George hadn't taxed our forefathers so heavily, the whole world would be driving on the wrong side of the road.
If you look back over my posts later in this thread I found some more complete answers.

They have a profoundly bad case of body odour maybe.

When I was in france there werent any body odor problems.

You dont know what you're talking about.

:rolleyes:

why are americans so stupid?

The Swiss are my ideal nation, they were not colaborators but instead they were possessed of enlightened self interest, the nazis would have eventually beaten them through numbers so they did what they had to, there is only one law and that is survival, If a man hath not a sword let him sell his cloak and buy one, but also do unto others as you would have them do unto you. If you are able to defend yourself you are less likely to be attacked.

why are americans so stupid?
We play dumb. It's part of our strategy. We get misunderestimated and nobody get's wise to our plans.

why are americans so stupid?


It is because we have a shamefully bad education system, many americans dont recieve a correct, effective or worthwhile education.

Also many americans are openly hostile to intellectual activity.

But canada has guns and a few years ago we were number one in the world for standard of living! What are we 4th now?

Iceland also has what 700,000 people? Small towns tend to have little crime in the states as well.

Americans are trigger happy, it aint the guns its the yanks shooting peops who cut them off on the freeway thats the problem.

Well...You can get guns in scandinavia legally too if you really want to, just not handguns. But most people just aren't that interested.

We all know that yanks like to shoot each other... But that wasn't my point. My point was that the "gun-free hell-holes" mentioned are much better off than the US.

Actually, I'm from gun-free hell-hole known as Iceland, which, like the rest of scandinavia, has a crime-rate about 1/100th of the USA's crime-rate. In fact, we have the second highest standard of living in the world, 2nd place after Sweden

Sweden? HAH, they have a high SOL and thats it, they have less civil liberties than post reconstruction blacks. As Americas crime rate, without Cali. NY and a couple other states (all have effective gun prohibition) we have a lower crime rate than the freakin CANUKS, and they have almost no crime.

if america was communist your education system would be good.. also you wouldnt have all these problems with social security. I mean not all americans are stupid.. the commie ones a smart.

When I was in france there werent any body odor problems.

You dont know what you're talking about.

:rolleyes:

Really? Cause whenever I am FORCED to go Paris(admittedly the only place I go to in France) the entire place smells like crap(a mix between urine and dogshit). The people smell even worse. Given that I live in India now, and the smell of urine(amongst other things) is common here you would think I would be able to deal with Parisand its DIRTY residents) but I still cant manage.


I like the subways though..unless I am sitting next to someone.

I was in the South once, long ago. That seemed okay.

Sweden? HAH, they have a high SOL and thats it, they have less civil liberties than post reconstruction blacks. As Americas crime rate, without Cali. NY and a couple other states (all have effective gun prohibition) we have a lower crime rate than the freakin CANUKS, and they have almost no crime.
WOW i didnt know you yankies had a lower crime rate then us up in Canada i quess living in igloos and all we have nothing to do.

Sweden? HAH, they have a high SOL and thats it, they have less civil liberties than post reconstruction blacks. As Americas crime rate, without Cali. NY and a couple other states (all have effective gun prohibition) we have a lower crime rate than the freakin CANUKS, and they have almost no crime.

Bullshit.
Statistically you are more likely to get shot in Gary, Indiana than in Khabul.

The Swedish system is pretty much the same as the Icelandic system.
Apart from owning handguns or lazer-sighted assault-rifles, can you name one thing you're allowed to do that I'm not?

The Swedish system is pretty much the same as the Icelandic system.
Apart from owning handguns or lazer-sighted assault-rifles, can you name one thing you're allowed to do that I'm not?
Vote in a US election.

Vote in a US election.

:D

Smartass...

Sweden? HAH, they have a high SOL and thats it, they have less civil liberties than post reconstruction blacks. As Americas crime rate, without Cali. NY and a couple other states (all have effective gun prohibition) we have a lower crime rate than the freakin CANUKS, and they have almost no crime.


umm no you dont. If you check the CIA website, take into account ALL crimes and not just crimes with a weapon and compare that to ol canada, you have a much higher crime rate....

:D

Smartass...
Guilty.

umm no you dont. If you check the CIA website, take into account ALL crimes and not just crimes with a weapon and compare that to ol canada, you have a much higher crime rate....

yeah the worst thats happened to us was when that guy tried to kill creatien with a butter knife.. but his plan was foiled when his wife shut the door :eek:

Americans are not all damn yankees my poorly informed friend, we of the south have much lower crime rates than the states not of Dixie. Our crime rate is only lower without NY Cali. and a couple of other states, as is they screw the whole equation to hell because they have a disproportionate crime rate compared to their percentage of the population. As for the igloo statement, my principal is from either ontario or Quebec, can't recall which right now, either way he agrees with me about Americas crime situation, and is the source of my data on crime rates in canada.

Americans are not all damn yankees my poorly informed friend, we of the south have much lower crime rates than the states not of Dixie. Our crime rate is only lower without NY Cali. and a couple of other states, as is they screw the whole equation to hell because they have a disproportionate crime rate compared to their percentage of the population. As for the igloo statement, my principal is from either ontario or Quebec, can't recall which right now, either way he agrees with me about Americas crime situation, and is the source of my data on crime rates in canada.

riiiiight off the top of my head
http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?docid=1P1:102737089&refid=ink_tptd_np&skeyword=&teaser=

edit
http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/crime3.aspx

Calm down comrade us brits up in canada call every american a yankee just like you call us brits limeys and canadians canuck.. but still i hate america.. o yeah HAIL CHE GUEVARA

Calm down comrade us brits up in canada call every american a yankee just like you call us brits limeys and canadians canuck.. but still i hate america.. o yeah HAIL CHE GUEVARA

thats stupid dude

Nope, in Europe it's just the British Isles (UK and Ireland). Many former British colonies do as well, but not all. And Japan. That's all I know.The Japanese drive on the left-hand side.

thats stupid dude
how is hating america stupid?

I got a question. I dunno if anyone's asked this yet but....why the hell did America reelect Bush?

I got a question. I dunno if anyone's asked this yet but....why the hell did America reelect Bush?
because they are stupid

Why is everything so bloody expensive in the states?

For all the low low taxes, many items are more expensive as compared to alberta, canada!

Gas is cheaper in the states and umm thats it.

For example a Big mac is more expensive down der when you convert from loonies to USD. So are CDs, TVs, cars!!, houses, junk food, beer, clothes.

I dont get it, dont you have less taxes?

Maybe beecause the loonie is worth less than a USD? If you are going to convert your currency over to USD do it in Canada first as both countries give you crap exchange rate otherwise. Other than that it isn't more expensive just that your currency is less than equal to the USD. Not really rocket science here

Yay! I'm finally a quoted author!

How could 51 million people be that dumb? Propaganda? Or just dumb...ness?

I have never been to either Gary or Khabul but I can tell you that gun ownership or the lack thereof is a bit of a hobby of mine, and that without paying high licensing fees, a yearly renewal fee and an automatic weapon ownership tax (may have been repealed not sure, haven't checked recently on wether it was or not) we cannot own assault rifles either. Surveys in America are to be trusted about as much as the Iraqi information minister, the hard data is all that matters, and the hard data says that Americans in the south are safer than yankees. I call you canuk as a joke you call me yank as a sign of disrespect. As for CHE GUEVARA I can't pronounce that, much less translate that, what is it russian, spanish, some other language other than german or english? (seriously what does that mean?) and as a parting shot: Hacken Sie sie Unten

Americans are trigger happy, it aint the guns its the yanks shooting peops who cut them off on the freeway thats the problem.

nah its because were one of the highest, if not the highest importers of illegal drugs. american deaths by guns would probably fall into these categories in order: drugs, gang-related, defence, disrespect/an embarassment/love related issue, psyco who shoots up his whole school (happens very rarely)

if you want to add to this list or comment on revising it- post it i might have missed some...

propeganada.. see the americans put into everything, every once in a while when your watching american tv during the election periiod a picture of bush saying vote for me pops up for a split second.and eating mcdonalds brainwashes you!

why are americans so stupid?

Because our school system is overran with Liberals/Socialist/Communist sympathizers that run the worst government entity known as Department of Education. Oh and we also have the, almost as corrupt as the UN mind you, National Education Association that gives stupid teachers a job when they couldn't even teach a Kindergartner what 1+1 is. So between the two our children are not only brainwashed till about 25 but are also dumb as a box of rocks unless the parents actually teach them at home what they miss at school.

propeganada.. see the americans put into everything, every once in a while when your watching american tv during the election periiod a picture of bush saying vote for me pops up for a split second.and eating mcdonalds brainwashes you!


You are either insane an idiot or both.

Bush seemed the lesser of two evils at the time.

Che Guevara (Chay GwehVAruh) is a person's name. He was a communist from Argentina who was integral in the Cuban revolution that brought Castro to power. There was a movie out about him just a few months ago. I think it was called Th Motorcycle Diaries

You are either insane an idiot or both.
word. he probably thinks that 9/11 and teh tsunami disaster were US conspiracies too...

I got a question. I dunno if anyone's asked this yet but....why the hell did America reelect Bush?

Because the Democrats still haven't learned what a real American wants from their elected officials. So we voted for the lesser of two evils, meaning Bush in this case. In the 90's it was Clinton. The last time we had a decent President was Reagan. He knew exactly how to speak the public and knew what it was that we wanted. How else do you think he won 44 states the first time and 49 the second time? He is also the only President in recent times, within the last 30 years, to have above 60% approval rating in both terms.

Bush Sr is the only President, since Reagan, to win more 50% of the popular vote till his son did it this time with 51%. Even dear ole Clinton boy got at most 48% of the vote in 1996. The first time Clinton was elected he got a miserable 44%. Hardly a mandate I would say either time. But oh well what can we expect for dim witted Democrats?

Ah, I don't watch many movies now. I used too but they became repetitive and predictably thematic, so that watching them was no longer an event to look forward to.

If our education system was run by radical leftists, one would think that Bush, the radical rightist, would have lost by a large margin.

Che Guevara (Chay GwehVAruh) is a person's name. He was a communist from Argentina who was integral in the Cuban revolution that brought Castro to power. There was a movie out about him just a few months ago. I think it was called Th Motorcycle Diaries
I believe there is another one about his revolutionary days(The Motorcycle Diaries covered a road trip across South America that formed his notion of social justice and the need for revolution) called Che. Maybe they'll make it a trilogy, the last one being the death of Guevara in Africa...maybe not...maybe I'm mistaken about where he was killed, too....

EDIT:Here it is (http://imdb.com/title/tt0374569/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxsbT01MDB8dHQ9b258ZmI9dXxwbj0wfHE9Y2hlfGh0bWw9MXxubT1vbg__;fc=2;ft=379;fm=1), but it hasn't been updated in almost a year, so it might be dead.

Once again you give us too little credit, we KNOW whats truth and whats BS, we just can't change it. Again you stereotype Americans as stupid trigger happy drunks that can't spell ignorant much less know what it means.

If our education system was run by radical leftists, one would think that Bush, the radical rightist, would have lost by a large margin.

Sure if people didn't grow up eventually for starters and secondly if the Students that are able to vote actually voted in larger numbers than oh say 10% on average. Hardly even a pip on the Electoral College radar when compared to other groups, especially the Senior Citizens who voted for Bush by a whopping double digit margin.

Because the Democrats still haven't learned what a real American wants from their elected officials.

Just out of curiosity, what constitutes a true American?

Bush seemed the lesser of two evils at the time.

and still is...
but cant we get someone who can really not make the white house a leftist vs righty, dems vs reps issue? i was going to vote kerry because i thought the dems could get someone sensible on all the current issues. then im like damn kerry sucks worse than bush im going to have to vote bush again. cant the democrats or republicans get someone that isnt a super far left or super far right?

Just out of curiosity, what constitutes a true American?

One that does not hold either Far Right or Far Left beliefs, thought this was covered already? Americans as a whole are center right at the moment. In time that might swing back to Center left as it was in the 60's but I doubt it for sometime yet.

I have never been to either Gary or Khabul but I can tell you that gun ownership or the lack thereof is a bit of a hobby of mine, and that without paying high licensing fees, a yearly renewal fee and an automatic weapon ownership tax (may have been repealed not sure, haven't checked recently on wether it was or not) we cannot own assault rifles either. Surveys in America are to be trusted about as much as the Iraqi information minister, the hard data is all that matters, and the hard data says that Americans in the south are safer than yankees. I call you canuk as a joke you call me yank as a sign of disrespect. As for CHE GUEVARA I can't pronounce that, much less translate that, what is it russian, spanish, some other language other than german or english? (seriously what does that mean?) and as a parting shot: Hacken Sie sie Unten

Well... The data speaks for itself: Scandinavians don't kill as many of each others as the Americans do. And they are just as capable of defending themselves as the yanks.
You mentioned Switzerland in ww2. Which is a pretty weak arguement, since Switzerland remained neutral and didn't protest the nazi's. Let's have a look at the "gun-free hell-hole" Finland. This tiny country held off as USSR invation through most of ww2. And yet, they don't keep their assault rifles at home like the people in Swiss.

Che Guevara was a person...A mercenary that worked for communist regimes and got shot in Bolivia. You've probably seen his face on a t-shirt. Not that it's relevant to our discussion

See Mason-Dixon line. Everyone who lives south of that in their dreams or in fact is a true american, does not apply to the Klan.

One that does not hold either Far Right or Far Left beliefs, thought this was covered already? Americans as a whole are center right at the moment. In time that might swing back to Center left as it was in the 60's but I doubt it for sometime yet.

on this thread? sorry i diddnt read some of the pages
you responded quick to this one...

See Mason-Dixon line. Everyone who lives south of that in their dreams or in fact is a true american, does not apply to the Klan.

damn im stuck in the "united states of canada" section of the US...this sucks lol

The Swiss are neutral because they have no need to be otherwise, they are situated in a place that allows them to stay out of a fight, and if they can't they can make sure whoever tries to invade, wether they win or lose, gets a serious bloody nose.

damn im stuck in the "united states of canada" section of the US...this sucks lol


Its okay, we forgive you.

on this thread? sorry i diddnt read some of the pages


That was supposed to be to someone else I edited it for the proper quote and person. It hasn't been discussed in-depth in this thread. But it has been said before and it holds truth, just talk to Americans not on both Coast and you will find they hate both the Far Right and Far left, but at the moment our priorities run more center right with money and taking care of our families being center stage.

I believe this is due to the 60's and 70's with the onslaught of Liberal ideals. A Democrat starting the horror that is Vietnam and then the worst President ever in the History of the USA, Jimmy Carter.

Switzerland is the best country ever!

Maybe beecause the loonie is worth less than a USD? If you are going to convert your currency over to USD do it in Canada first as both countries give you crap exchange rate otherwise. Other than that it isn't more expensive just that your currency is less than equal to the USD. Not really rocket science here

read my post again knucklhead, you will notice I state "after i convert loonies to USD"

yikes u be :cool:

Sure if people didn't grow up eventually for starters....

...the worst president ever, Jimmy Carter

Touché...I had forgotten that people tend to become more conservative with age.

So then why did they vote for Bush? Bush gave us a huge budget deficit and expanded the powers of the feds into traditionally state-dominated areas such as education and (if he has his way) marriage. When I think conservative, I think of Reagan, balancing the budget and decentralizing power.

Kerry, on the other hand, said quite clearly during the debates that he was personally opposed to abortion, but didn't deem it appropriate to enact legislation that impose restrictions on people who aren't opposed to abortion. That seems like the conservative way to me---I'll mind my own business, I'll stay out of your business, and we'll get along.

I should have been more clear earlier. I'm a conservative. That's why I hate Bush. McCain for president in 2008!

Edit: Carter sucked, but he wasn't the absolute worst. How about William Henry Harrison? He didn't follow up on any of his campaign promises.

The Swiss are neutral because they have no need to be otherwise, they are situated in a place that allows them to stay out of a fight, and if they can't they can make sure whoever tries to invade, wether they win or lose, gets a serious bloody nose.

Is there anything at all that Switzerland has in common with the US?

Well... The data speaks for itself: Scandinavians don't kill as many of each others as the Americans do. And they are just as capable of defending themselves as the yanks.
You mentioned Switzerland in ww2. Which is a pretty weak arguement, since Switzerland remained neutral and didn't protest the nazi's. Let's have a look at the "gun-free hell-hole" Finland. This tiny country held off as USSR invation through most of ww2. And yet, they don't keep their assault rifles at home like the people in Swiss.

Che Guevara was a person...A mercenary that worked for communist regimes and got shot in Bolivia. You've probably seen his face on a t-shirt. Not that it's relevant to our discussion

Good example of the fins holding off russia.

Why are fins such pussys in hockey? Save your hatred for russians?

Is there anything at all that Switzerland has in common with the US?


Guns and Chocolate, my friend.

I believe this is due to the 60's and 70's with the onslaught of Liberal ideals. A Democrat starting the horror that is Vietnam and then the worst President ever in the History of the USA, Jimmy Carter.

why is nixon always blamed for starting the vietnam war, when it was johnson who escalated the war? its definatly because johnson was a dem, and nixon was a republican and to make the vietnam war look like the republicans fault, they blame nixon (r) and not johnson (d) to get more votes and support for the dems which is mainly liberal

Well when you look at Republicans as a whole they did get us into quite a few wars. I mean look at the crap our friend Bush and his daddy got us into.

I personally have never heard anyone blame Nixon for starting the war, I've only heard Nixon blamed for continuing the war that LBJ started.

It's too bad...up until then, LBJ was really a great president

Switzerland is the best country ever!


A very strong case can be made for that actually.

There has been no fighting on swiss soil since the napoleonic wars.

They are beautiful people.

They make watches and chocolate.

They have oodles of money.

Switzerland is the most beautiful place in the world.

One of my favorite quotes was from a swiss citizen soldier during an inspection of their forces by (i belive) fredrick the great.

something like:
FtG: The empire could field, easily, twice as many soldiers as your country posesses.

Swiss: Well then sir, we should have to fire twice.

A very strong case can be made for that actually.

There has been no fighting on swiss soil since the napoleonic wars.

They are beautiful people.

They make watches and chocolate.

They have oodles of money.

Switzerland is the most beautiful place in the world.

One of my favorite quotes was from a swiss citizen soldier during an inspection of their forces by (i belive) fredrick the great.

something like:
FtG: The empire could field, easily, twice as many soldiers as your country posesses.

Swiss: Well then sir, we should have to fire twice.


I have switzerland in my backyard its called banff

Guns and Chocolate, my friend.

In other words: Not much

read my post again knucklhead, you will notice I state "after i convert loonies to USD"

yikes u be :cool:


My point still stands, Loonies are worth less than a USD to start with. It would be like comparing the USD to oh say the Sterling. They are not equal to begin with so the comparison of cost can not be made.

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

Yes, and since were all listening to Hollywood here Alexander the Great was gay, and the Matrix is a very real thing.

Switzerland is the best country ever!

Oh right Switzerland! The country noone cares about! Noone hears about! The country that cant fight a war going through all of Europe and when a family leaves it their population drops by 1/4!

My point still stands, Loonies are worth less than a USD to start with. It would be like comparing the USD to oh say the Sterling. They are not equal to begin with so the comparison of cost can not be made.


cripes, after i switched to USD, the price was still more expensive, I took into account the exchange rate. WTF are you on dude?

Touché...I had forgotten that people tend to become more conservative with age.

So then why did they vote for Bush? Bush gave us a huge budget deficit and expanded the powers of the feds into traditionally state-dominated areas such as education and (if he has his way) marriage. When I think conservative, I think of Reagan, balancing the budget and decentralizing power.

Kerry, on the other hand, said quite clearly during the debates that he was personally opposed to abortion, but didn't deem it appropriate to enact legislation that impose restrictions on people who aren't opposed to abortion. That seems like the conservative way to me---I'll mind my own business, I'll stay out of your business, and we'll get along.

I should have been more clear earlier. I'm a conservative. That's why I hate Bush. McCain for president in 2008!

Edit: Carter sucked, but he wasn't the absolute worst. How about William Henry Harrison? He didn't follow up on any of his campaign promises.


People voted for Bush because, the Economy was doing well compared to the last year and half. Companies were increasing workers, meaning people were actually making the money needed to take care of their family.

Couple that with the Democrats who for the last 30 years demonized anyone associated with Vietnam yet put forward a so called "Hero" from that war. The American voting public is not nearly as forgetful as the Democrats and Media like to portray us. Also if you listened to Kerry he had an underlying tone of "I am better than you" which doesn't sit well with most Americans. We are after all American, equal in ever way regardless of what the left in the country wishes to believe.

About Kerry and abortion, well his record in the Senate spoke differently to what he was saying. That was another problem; he didn't have a sound message. One day he was for this, the next against it. It was like he was just saying what he thought people wanted to hear. You did know that he, like most democrats, followed polling data every day for his message.

I think most Americans wanted the Government to get involved; the Democrats controlled the scene for over 40 years and have messed up a lot of what America stood for. Most of the Damage came at the hands of Carter; no President has ever done so much damage to American interest and friends as that man. That is why I say he is the worst President ever. Of course Harrison was a typical politician, say what is needed to get elected then not do it. Why do you think Bush had the Dems in such disarray for the last 4 years? He actually started doing what he campaigned on, tax cuts, prescription care for the elderly, and standing up for America first, the world second.

I am an old Democrat that left the party in 1996. I was Independent for 2000 and registered Libertarian in 2004. I do not like Bush either, but I am happy he is in the White House and not someone like Kerry. Could you imagine it if we got attacked and Kerry was President? He would be for attacking the person, then against it, then for it, then against it, then he would be for letting the UN do it, then against it, the for attacking them again and it would be hilarious to watch the dolt in office.

I think a more important question would be..

Why do the Democrats insiste their message is not getting out?

Well when you look at Republicans as a whole they did get us into quite a few wars. I mean look at the crap our friend Bush and his daddy got us into.

Since 1900, each party has gotten us into 4 wars to my knowledge (assuming you count the Cold War, Korean War, Vietnam, the Gulf War, and Operation Iraqi Freedom as wars----technically, none of them were ever declared wars). The Democrats have served 12 terms in the Oval Office since 1900, the Republicans have served 14. This means that the Democrats, when they were in office, statistically declared war more frequently than did the Republicans. Furthermore, the Democrats' wars (WW1, WW2, Cold War, Vietnam) were much longer and involved more American deaths and American money down the drain than did the Republican wars (Philippines war, Korean War, Gulf War, Operation Iraqi Freedom) OIF is a big deal because it's destroyed our budget, however it has so far involved very little loss of life compared to Vietnam, WW2, etc. And compared to the Cold War? During the Cold War, military spending at times accounted for half of our government's spending.

Now, the Bushes are chowderheads. Don't get me wrong. Nonetheless, you can't blame war on the Republicans

cripes, after i switched to USD, the price was still more expensive, I took into account the exchange rate. WTF are you on dude?

If you have to pay $4 dollars USD for a sandwhich meal, It would cost you just a bit over $4.80 in Canada. How is that so hard to understand? Of course it will cost more for you as your currency is rated lower than a USD.

Oh and of course it depends on where in the US you are buying said sandwhich. You know cost of living and such

Why don't we masturbate with jars of butterscotch?

Why don't we masturbate with jars of butterscotch?

Because we eat it before we can do the deed?

Talfen, you're right, Kerry sucked.

And btw, the Harrison thing was a joke. William Henry Harrison died a month into office, that's why he didn't fulfill his promises

Talfen, you're right, Kerry sucked.

And btw, the Harrison thing was a joke. William Henry Harrison died a month into office, that's why he didn't fulfill his promises

I was wondering why that name rung a bell, he caught a cold on inauguration day right? Or was it just after can't remember the details now. As my bed time is fast approaching, you know got to work to make money and get the economy growing. Anything to stick it to the Dems a few more times :D

My First post! sorry about the amount.

Well when you look at Republicans as a whole they did get us into quite a few wars. I mean look at the crap our friend Bush and his daddy got us into.

Myself having lived in a Californian desert and big city and Pennsylvanian farmlands, I have noticed that in different parts of this country. It feels like a whole new nation compared to the previous place.

In politics, yes, they very from place to place, but the idea remains the same. I have never met anyone who supports the Bushes 100%. I have never met anyone who supported any president 100%. In these times, we are much too cynical and ready to exploit any flaws in a person of significance.
Compare Clinton to Kennedy: Both had an affair, but we really didn't care about Kennedy. The only reason we care about Clinton was that the newspapers and magazines had a field day. Face the facts, that kind of gossip will sell your papers.

About the Bushes again, my philosophy on the US government is no one is happy about it, but we really don't care because we can't do better there is no way Kerry could. (Although, quiet rebellion leads to open war.)

From the very start of these postings, an issue on high schools and how Hollywood depicts them: Everywhere I have lived, there has always been an "popular" group or whatever you call them. Really if you think about it, if they were to go around beating up on every other person in the schools, who would support them and keep their social status high? The movies greatly exaggerated such situations.

I have never been to Switzerland, but I'll bet they are proud of their country. Why shouldn't they be?


!!!5 billion hamsters can't be wrong!!!

Are American high schools really as scary as popular culture / Hollywood makes them out to be? It's always represented as a hierarchy with rigid social castes e.g. "popular kids", "Nerds" and "jocks". To us (British people) this suggests that high school is a terrible emotional and psychological ordeal. Is it truly that bad?

Yup.

If you have to pay $4 dollars USD for a sandwhich meal, It would cost you just a bit over $4.80 in Canada. How is that so hard to understand? Of course it will cost more for you as your currency is rated lower than a USD.

Oh and of course it depends on where in the US you are buying said sandwhich. You know cost of living and such


You have to take purchasing power parity to account.

It could well be that a meal which cost $4USD on average in the US costs $3.80USD worth of canadian money on average in canada, that would be a real price difference.

The idea that France and Italy are culturally superior to the Germanic countries of Europe (England, Germany, Austria etc.) is an absurd one. The first point I shall make is that one can hardly measure up one culture against another...Barely any French playwright compares to Shakespeare, much as few English composers are on a par with Bach or Mozart. Beyond food and wine, France is actually pretty dead on the cultural front. Little great literature, and although a few paintings and art galleries are highly regarded much of France is actually pretty horrible. The North is patterned in 'New Towns' a la England/Germany style and they're even more horrible to look at. The South is filled with rude, inhospitable people. Although I'm far from Francophobic, I think that France overestimates its own cultural achievements to the point of absurdity. Go to France, and you will see exactly what I mean. It is far from all it cracks itself up to be, the government is corrupt and the military is a shambles. Italy has fine food, fine drink and fine art...but statistics have shown that since the Baroque era Italy has produced barely anything that would be considered 'remarkable' by academics. (The Spectator asked a group of leading academics from across the world what they considered to be the greatest pieces of art, literature et al. Italy scored low, and the people there spend less time at the Opera than the people of Liverpool. So there's something to think about ;))

On the other hand, Germany and Austria produced some of the finest composers history has ever known. It could also be argued very, very easily that England has by far the strongest of literary traditions. Shakespeare, Orwell, Huxley, Dickens...the pantheon of great literary men and women is unusually Anglocentric. English cuisine isn't something to go mad over, but the language is the most flexible and definetly the most beautiful I know (and I'm trilingual, speak French and Russian as well) the people are absolutely fantastic. It also has that eccentric charm which France and Germany will never capture. Germany has some of the finest Opera in the world, Wagner best exemplifying this.

In short, France and Italy may be what yanks et al consider to be the traditional heartland of culture...but quite frankly it's B.S. Give me an evening in Budapest, London, Vienna or Berlin any day thank you very much. Might be wise to live off experience rather than stereotype as well ;)

For whoever said that "Real America" is below the Mason-Dixon line please go to this website (http://fuckthesouth.com/)

And how could the Democrats get us into WWII? What were they thinking? [/sarcasm]

"4.) Would you say that the majority of Americans would rather shoot first and ask questions later, or ask questions then shoot? This is in reference to home invasions, trepassers, and shadowy figures digging through the fridge at midnight."

I'd just have to decipher the situation at hand. If I knew or felt they were not a threat.. then ofcourse I wouldn't attack them. If my instinct told me I was in danger or it was obvious then I would defend myself or run like hell.

Haven't been put into that situation as of yet ..*knock*. So I can't really say what I could be capable of.

I wouldn't attempt to take someones life for stealing from me. But to defend my life or a family member or friends.. I possibly would. That isn't American.. it's human.

Why is your president such a dick to our Prime Minister(Canada)? Why does he ignore the PM's concerns and "forget" to invite him to his ranch in Crawford TX?

Is it because we won't let him put his space wepons on our soil OR because we won't let him bury depleated weapons grade uranium and nuclear waste in our mountains OR because we didn't participate in bombing the ever-loving crap out of some small foreign country OR because we lay a guilt trip on you for being the only major nation to not ratify the Kyoto accord OR because we lay a guilt trip on you for being the last "civilized" nation in the world to continue the use of the death penalty OR because we cry foul every time you break the trade rules set forth if NAFTA on issues such as soft-wood lumber and salmon fisheries and cod fisheries and live cattle and mining rights and hydro electricity and internet pharmacutical distributors and drinking water and pollution of our drinking water by your corporations... etc, etc, etc...

Or is is just because he's a rich arrogant prick with a fourth grade level of vocabulary and literacy, who's only in power because some religious-homophobe-zealot-rednecks-with-money were short-sighted enough to vote for him and the rest were too distracted to notice his bullshit and call him on it? I'm just curious. :)

(No offense to those Americans who did call GWB on his BS and continue to do so. You have my respect, my sympathy and my most heart felt condolences)

The idea that France and Italy are culturally superior to the Germanic countries of Europe (England, Germany, Austria etc.) is an absurd one. The first point I shall make is that one can hardly measure up one culture against another...Barely any French playwright compares to Shakespeare, much as few English composers are on a par with Bach or Mozart. Beyond food and wine, France is actually pretty dead on the cultural front. Little great literature, and although a few paintings and art galleries are highly regarded much of France is actually pretty horrible. The North is patterned in 'New Towns' a la England/Germany style and they're even more horrible to look at. The South is filled with rude, inhospitable people. Although I'm far from Francophobic, I think that France overestimates its own cultural achievements to the point of absurdity. Go to France, and you will see exactly what I mean. It is far from all it cracks itself up to be, the government is corrupt and the military is a shambles. Italy has fine food, fine drink and fine art...but statistics have shown that since the Baroque era Italy has produced barely anything that would be considered 'remarkable' by academics. (The Spectator asked a group of leading academics from across the world what they considered to be the greatest pieces of art, literature et al. Italy scored low, and the people there spend less time at the Opera than the people of Liverpool. So there's something to think about ;))

On the other hand, Germany and Austria produced some of the finest composers history has ever known. It could also be argued very, very easily that England has by far the strongest of literary traditions. Shakespeare, Orwell, Huxley, Dickens...the pantheon of great literary men and women is unusually Anglocentric. English cuisine isn't something to go mad over, but the language is the most flexible and definetly the most beautiful I know (and I'm trilingual, speak French and Russian as well) the people are absolutely fantastic. It also has that eccentric charm which France and Germany will never capture. Germany has some of the finest Opera in the world, Wagner best exemplifying this.

In short, France and Italy may be what yanks et al consider to be the traditional heartland of culture...but quite frankly it's B.S. Give me an evening in Budapest, London, Vienna or Berlin any day thank you very much. Might be wise to live off experience rather than stereotype as well ;)



My belief in the superiority of the french culture is based mainly in their romanticism.

I dont think there is another genuinely romantic country, the french have refused to sacrafice beauty and idealistic stubborness for efficiency and practicality.

It is embodied in many respects, from their linguistic conservatism to their cuisine (cooking classic french takes a long time, and I do not mean " a lot of practice") to their working customs to their modes of leisure and unwavering sense of self superiority.

In my opinion, for those reasons, france's culture is the superior one.

I love germany and (after seeing der untergang over the weekend, where they eat some german food I am craving it!) food and beer (and face it, women are beautiful everywhere) but german culture isnt romantic like french culture.

Italy is lovely, florence especially and I adore naples and the neapolitan sartorial tradition. Italians are wonderful people but they dont have the self-importance of the french, so they arent as romantic.

Lastly, to address a point about militaries in europe, france especially:
Militaries honestly have no place in fully civilized europe, there is no longer a threat of conventional war in the developed world and they are a waste of money that is much better spent elsewhere.

That is a completely different argument though.


To recap, I consider the germans/austrians the great musicians, italy has won the painting/sculpture game, but the art of culture itself belongs to the french.

Sweden? HAH, they have a high SOL and thats it, they have less civil liberties than post reconstruction blacks. As Americas crime rate, without Cali. NY and a couple other states (all have effective gun prohibition) we have a lower crime rate than the freakin CANUKS, and they have almost no crime.


I didn't know NY was one of the top crime states. California definatly is, along with southern parts of Florida.

Why is your president such a dick to our Prime Minister(Canada)? Why does he ignore the PM's concerns and "forget" to invite him to his ranch in Crawford TX?

Is it because we won't let him put his space wepons on our soil OR because we won't let him bury depleated weapons grade uranium and nuclear waste in our mountains OR because we didn't participate in bombing the ever-loving crap out of some small foreign country OR because we lay a guilt trip on you for being the only major nation to not ratify the Kyoto accord OR because we lay a guilt trip on you for being the last "civilized" nation in the world to continue the use of the death penalty OR because we cry foul every time you break the trade rules set forth if NAFTA on issues such as soft-wood lumber and salmon fisheries and cod fisheries and live cattle and mining rights and hydro electricity and internet pharmacutical distributors and drinking water and pollution of our drinking water by your corporations... etc, etc, etc...

Or is is just because he's a rich arrogant prick with a fourth grade level of vocabulary and literacy, who's only in power because some religious-homophobe-zealot-rednecks-with-money were short-sighted enough to vote for him and the rest were too distracted to notice his bullshit and call him on it? I'm just curious. :)

(No offense to those Americans who did call GWB on his BS and continue to do so. You have my respect, my sympathy and my most heart felt condolences)


Maybe because in the scheme of things Canada is about as significant as oh lets see Madagascar sounds about right. Without the US to trade with your economy would be about the same as any third world African Country, NIL

Are you really that patriotic?

No I am just that Anti-Canadian

Is there anything at all that Switzerland has in common with the US?


The swiss were our natural allies at our founding. They are what we should have become.

I didn't know NY was one of the top crime states. California definatly is, along with southern parts of Florida.


NYC specifically, but also NY in general, also Jersey is a high crime state. The thing about south Florida (I know someones gonna take this the wrong way but I'll say it anyway) is that it is predominantly a minority area, and all available data shows that minorities commit more crimes than whites. If I am called a bigot or racist or any synonym thereof, I will show you why I'm on meds. You were warned.

Only England, Japan, and Australia do the right hand side thing. The rest of us have left hand drives I assume (fresh from my ass) so the shifter can be on the right hand side to cater (yet again) to right handed people. Those bastards. Having said that I prefer left hand drive. But probably only because I grew up with it. Not that I'm the american you asked...

Left Side
1. Anguilla
2. Antigua and Barbuda
3. Australia
4. Bahamas
5. Bangladesh
6. Barbados
7. Bermuda
8. Bhutan
9. Botswana
10. Brunei
11. Cayman Islands
12. Christmas Island (Australia)
13. Cook Islands
14. Cyprus
15. Dominica
16. East Timor
17. Falkland Islands
18. Fiji
19. Grenada
20. Guernsey (Channel Islands)
21. Guyana
22. Hong Kong
23. India
24. Indonesia
25. Ireland
26. Isle of Man
27. Jamaica
28. Japan
29. Jersey (Channel Islands)
30. Kenya
31. Kiribati
32. Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
33. Lesotho
34. Macau
35. Malawi
36. Malaysia
37. Maldives
38. Malta
39. Mauritius
40. Montserrat
41. Mozambique
42. Namibia
43. Nauru
44. Nepal
45. New Zealand
46. Niue
47. Norfolk Island (Australia)
48. Pakistan
49. Papua New Guinea
50. Pitcairn Islands (Britain)
51. Saint Helena
52. Saint Kitts and Nevis
53. Saint Lucia
54. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
55. Seychelles
56. Singapore
57. Solomon Islands
58. South Africa
59. Sri Lanka
60 . Suriname
61 . Swaziland
62. Tanzania
63. Thailand
64. Tokelau (New Zealand)
65. Tonga
66. Trinidad and Tobago
67. Turks and Caicos Islands
68. Tuvalu
69. Uganda
70. United Kingdom
71. Virgin Islands (British)
72. Virgin Islands (US)
73. Zambia
74. Zimbabwe

Just a thought...

Left Side
1. Anguilla
2. Antigua and Barbuda
...
74. zim

are all of those countries...most look like lowly populated islands...

For whoever said that "Real America" is below the Mason-Dixon line please go to this website (http://fuckthesouth.com/)

And how could the Democrats get us into WWII? What were they thinking? [/sarcasm]


Thank you captain dumbass. That was rambling incoherent and offensive to me as a person and an american, other than that I laughed my ass off. The civil war was not about slavery until the emancipation proclamation. It was about giving the western territories the choice of wether to be free or slave. As to the rest of that crap I'm not gonna waste time answering, unlees you request it, then I'll disprove every statement in that idiotic "paper".


Liberty or death, words we so proudly hail, once you provoke her, rattling of her tail. Never begins it, never, but once engaged, never surrenders, showing the fangs of rage.

Oh right Switzerland! The country noone cares about! Noone hears about! The country that cant fight a war going through all of Europe and when a family leaves it their population drops by 1/4!

You are so stupid it bears repeating. You are quite possibly the most idiotic person I have met in my rather short time on this earth. The Swiss have a neutrality clause, only temporarily brakable and then only by a super-majority of the canons. They are also the country the pope forced to stop selling their mercenaries because they were too good. Now according to treaty the only place Swiss Mercenaries can serve is the vatican.

Yes, and since were all listening to Hollywood here Alexander the Great was gay, and the Matrix is a very real thing.


Alexander was gay.

No I am just that Anti-Canadian

No. You're just as arrogant and as ignorant as 51% of Americans are.
And the day will soon come when we stop dicking around and find better trade partners in the global market and leave your sorry bad-debt-on-top-of-bad-debt trillions-of-dollars-in-the-hole-and-growing economy, to sink like a stone in an ocean of defecit spending. You depend on us (and the global market as a whole) more than your ignorant yankee ass will ever know my friend. You'll see when the world bank cuts up all of your government's maxxed out credit cards. It will happen in your life time. Count on it. ;)

No. You're just as arrogant and as ignorant as 51% of Americans are.
And the day will soon come when we stop dicking around and find better trade partners in the global market and leave your sorry bad-debt-on-top-of-bad-debt trillions-of-dollars-in-the-hole-and-growing economy, to sink like a stone in an ocean of defecit spending. You depend on us (and the global market as a whole) more than your ignorant yankee ass will ever know my friend. You'll see when the world bank cuts up all of your government's maxxed out credit cards. It will happen in your life time. Count on it. ;)


wow-bitter and wrong, what a tragic combination.

No I am just that Anti-Canadian
Why?

We've done nothing wrong... except for the occasional "Eh" and love for Maple syrup.

The swiss were our natural allies at our founding. They are what we should have become.

And don't forget the French (whom some Americans hate so vividly). They helped fund your struggle against the British during the War of Independence. And for you southerners, they helped fund your side during the American Civil war. And how about that pretty Statue of Liberty they gave you as a gift?

Gawd damn lousy good for nothing cheese eating surrender monkey French you say? Hm. That's gratitude for ya. :rolleyes:

Alright, mothercanucker, IF you can find a better trade partner than us, it will not be in our lifetime. No, I don't agree with everything our government does, but dammit, I am an American and have an obligation to defend my country. Even through immature, poorly worded posts that nobody cares about on a message board. But hey, Canucker, the only countries relatively close to us in GDP are Japan and China. Last time I checked, China was busy feeding their people and shipping stuff to us, and Japan was making our electronics (because we're too good or something, beats me why). Sure, they can trade with you, but we are a top priority, because we have the most cash in the world. And yes, it is because our population is something around ten times yours. Note to Canadian Founding Fathers and other such people: If you want people to come, don't build your stuff where it's too damn cold. And I can speak, because I live in a state across a lake from Canada. Yet it's currently 50 degrees warmer here than across the lake. Doesn't help that 90% of all Canadians live within 100 miles of our border. It's still colder there. I think there's some sort of evil weather god who doesn't like Canadians.

Textwand!

This post was to Drunken FratBoy Island, by the way.

wow-bitter and wrong, what a tragic combination.

I'm confused... So, you're not trillions of USD in the hole and growing? And, you're not outsourcing billions of dollars in business to China and other nations, instead of strengthening your economy at home? The only reason your credit limit is so high is that as long as the US is overspending, the rest of the world economy profits.

Think of it like this: If I'm Best Buy or Walmart etc., do I care if John is maxxing out all of his credit cards and taking out a second mortgage on his house in order to buy more shit he dosen't really need? Hell no! In fact, I wanna squeeze that stone till it fucking bleeds! So goes the US defecit. You dig?

Alright, mothercanucker, IF you can find a better trade partner than us, it will not be in our lifetime. No, I don't agree with everything our government does, but dammit, I am an American and have an obligation to defend my country. .
He was only standing up for our home... you meanie.

He was only standing up for our home... you meanie.

Oh! But he has an obligation to defend his Country from us scary Canucks! Say, have you ever seen the movie "Canadian Bacon" with John Candy? Gawd that movie cracks me up! :D

I guess it depends on who you are... cliques make people feel protected, but I always hung out with everyone. Yes, there are a lot of arrogant jerks in high school, and then there are those that really lack social skills, and then cheerleaders and those in band. Crap, I guess we just glom onto people just like us. Stupid Americans :headbang: Maybe that's why there's so much divorce in this country, we marry people just like us, and end up hating them.

Oh! But he has an obligation to defend his Country from us scary Canucks! Say, have you ever seen the movie "Canadian Bacon" with John Candy? Gawd that movie cracks me up! :D
I love it.
Where are you from?

<snip>
Gravedigging, flamebaiting, and trolling, all in a category of threads that was specifically banned several weeks ago? Not a particularly good "welcome back to the boards" message to send, Drunken FratBoy Island. Watch yourself, 'cause now I'm watching you too.

~ Frisbeeteria ~
NationStates Forum Moderator
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