Sick of America Bashing [and other thoughts about America]

This reminds me so much of Hape Kerkeling that I have to post this slightly off topic clip (the important parts are in English):

Population density of Switzerland is 477/sq. mile. England is over 1000, France 297, Germany 596.

Population density of the U.S.: 80 people per square mile.

Seems like a lot of folks think the U.S. is denser than it is.

I bet the Monegasques' ears are burning now!

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That's a triple nerd post.

Can't help but notice that you omitted mentioning all the countries the US has troops in, which is the reason why ignorance of world affairs isn't quite as excusable as you make it to be..

No harm done if a peaceful little country is full of gullible, ignorant people who believe everything they're told. But if that's the populace of a large, powerful nation then this happens:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timelin...ary_operations

http://timeinmoments.wordpress.com/2...ment-post-ww2/

And since this ignorance has a huge effect on people all over the world it is understandable that US politics is much more a topic the world over than that of Denmark or Switzerland. If Americans take offense to that fine, but you reap what you sow.

Excusable? I don't recall using that particular word.

But it should be no surprise that someone from the middle of Kansas, several thousand miles from the nearest foreign country, should be less interested in international affairs than someone from a tiny country surrounded by lots of other countries, like Switzerland.

Yeah, whatever.

But I'd rather have hosted US bases on the soil of my home country for the last sixty years than Soviet or Chinese ones...

Me? I love Americans. I couldn ́t eat a whole one though

I'd be willing to bet most former Eastern Bloc residents would agree.

Palin in the White House??

They wouldn ́t - would they??

Says very little in my opinion.

I was looking for an informed article on how easy it is to bribe your way to a qualification in Harvard. Not very easy it seems (no sh!t, really? surprise, surprise!), according to someone who has been there and got the T-shirt. If the same article appeared on the Huffington Post or Kos website, I would be open minded enough to give it equal merit. The posters who I really appreciate are those like weejeem, who challenge the BS in general circulation by doing some research instead of cutting and pasting wholesale from Wikipedia. The trouble with BS is that it relies on volume and repetition, it almost never stands up to serious scrutiny by serious minds.

Cheers

Jim

America F**K YEAH!

You should have seen the bollock!ng my Romanian geologist colleague gave some Socialist Worker pr!cks on Kensington Highstreet about 10 years ago. He attracted quite a crowd, a few of whom cheered. I was worried he might nut one of the Jon Lennon wannabes and get arrested.

Cheers

Jim

Regardless of her politics, it would make looking at the POTUS far more interesting. I certainly would not kick her out of bed for f@rting!

Cheers

Jim

Sure, but in Europe, such organisations are fringe organisations perceived as exotic by most people. For instance, not even one of the "alpine" Cantons would even consider to yield to demands of such organisations. No Canton and no village would even consider to talk about what Darwin found out as just "theories". Rather, reverends explain that you should not take things literally. "Days" in the creation part of the Bible is misleading in so far as the word "al-Youm/Yom" etc in Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic etc stands for both day and aera and so can mean thousands of years and not just 24 hours. What therefore IS unique is not so much the existence of such groups but that their positions in parts of the USA are taken seriously. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A bit of patriotism is alright, but if it becomes "kitschig" and chauvinist, it is at least problematic

And if you get the Swiss citizenship, you better abstain from such gestures, as otherwise, you might get transferred to a clinic like the Burghölzli for immediate and urgent treatment

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if this is a joke, it is a dull one. Iraq and Iran, except the similar names, do not have a lot in common actually. Majority-wise Muslim -- yes, roughly in the same geographical region, but that's it. You might explain what other common things you see.

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Sure, but US Americans are given far more attention than the citizens of that strange little European republic, and tend to be more numerous somehow

well...if had the choice...but i dont want none of them in my country.

russians moved out after germany paid massive cash. lets pay them amis too?

I'm bored, so I'll take a nibble at the one point I feel merits a response. I own what I reckon is the European answer to the big, long distance family car, a VW Passat 3.2 V6 estate. It is perfectly comfortable for about 1000 miles, after that, the relatively revvy engine, tight suspension (I have the sports kit), and terrifically responsive steering really starts to wear you out. At high speeds, it drinks petrol like lemonade, and there is also no room for a fridge or a wide-screen TV. To move up to the next size level would mean looking at the Audi A8 or one of the big Mercs, and you start to talk silly money.

I have no argument with the idea that the German / Japanese cars are technically superior, but I was stating that it is a horses for courses situation. You would not try to get a race-horse to plough a field.

Cheers

Jim

Actually, if you consider the whole of the US, willingness to teach Creationism (or any other religious doctorine) as "fact" in opposition to Evolution IS something of an anomoly. Most schools in the many areas of the country where I lived allow for such things as a means to educate about cultural, social and religious diversity rather than some sort of "known" fact.

Even when I lived in Texas (granted, it was quite a while ago) - a state which tends to have a deeply religious leaning - there was a lot of "it is believed by some" liberally peppered through such teachings about Creationism and "evidence suggests" peppered through teachings regarding Evolution.

It is pretty interesting to me to see folks compare what they believe America as a whole is presented as believing (and teaching according to such beliefs) to what comparatively "tiny" countries as a whole are presented as believing (and teaching according to belief).

Thinking about it critically, you can, with some modicum validity, compare what the whole of a particular state in the US believes (as example, the state of Virginia and the country Switzerland have similar number of residents) but to lump everyone - or even any number greater than a "minority" - in America into one defined belief is pretty silly.

Teaching Creationism IS a something of a "fringe" thing in the US as well but less obviously "fringe" in states where religion is held in a place of importance... You really are unlikely to see a local populace in anything other than an uproar if such teachings are slated to be allowed in many areas of the US.

Of course, since so much of what happens in the US is seen around the world in one way or another, there is no escaping notice for our "fringe" people.

in terms of what? are you talking about transporting or installing a fridge/tv into your car? youre joking, right? if not: who needs that 8apart from you)? i wonder how all other passat drivers have survived?!

The title of this thread is very misleading: I came here under the impression that someone was sick of America bashing somebody.