The U.s.a

[Evocare]

If i was living in New Orleans i would be going absolutly nuts and demanding Bush's head.

It's a sick & sad situation where they had ample time to prepair for, but in typical USA style the just could not give a flying toss and now they are in the 5h1t.

Bush is a dribbling idiot, only in misinformed America could a fukwit like him get elected into power. Ever since he took office its been one clamaity after another with this megadrip at the helm.

Yesterday he told the American people to be 'prudent' with their fuel.......for a week!! For a week?!?! you fat stupid ignorant consuming wasitful slobs, why don't you take global warming seriously for once?, Katrina is a stark reminder of the effects we can look forward to with global warming thanks to the USA, America consumes 1/3 of the worlds rescources, yet they is only 2% of the worlds population, Astonishing fact and these disgusting people could not give a crap becuase their leader is nutter.

They have 7 litre cars which do 4 MPG, all they eat are burgers & chips, on CBS news yesterday they have a 'fallen heros' section where they comemerate their fallen soldiers, once guy was remembered for.....wait for it. 'enjoying fastfood'

I nearly fell off my chair! that was it...fastfood wow, his parents must be proud, how messed up is this place, its scary.

I've never been to America and hopfully i'll never have to, this is not to say i've not travelled, i've seen more of the world that most people, i'm not gloating about how many places i have visited i want to make a point of how badly the rest of the world thinks of the USA and Bush, they **** hate them, really really hate the USA, ecpecially in Asia and its pritty easy to see why.

The English however command respect allmost whereever they travel in the world, our passport is offen refered to as a 'Golden ticket' many times i have relyed on my Britishness in situations where if i was an american i might have lost my life, i'm not kidding, people hate them.

The world is getting smaller, every day we seem death & suffering on our TV's somewhere in the world there is a disaster happening and the media makes dam sure we know about it and pulls on our heart strings so we feel guilty and i'm getting (I said a naughty word) off with it.

For instance, I don't see why we should have give money to Africa for the millions of kids starving when the parents are not educated about contriception STOP HAVING KIDS DAM YOU, YOU don't DESERVE THEM AS YOU CANT LOOK AFTER THEM!

We can't save everyone, hell we can't even look after our own country, Teenagers running riot with no respect, Pensioners getting attacked every day, benifit cheats robbing us taxpayers, asylum seekers, terrorists, traffic congestion, media intrusions and transparent propoganda spun by creepy politicians. it's a sorry world we live in and i'm sick to the back teeth of it.

rant over

[Sirben]

don't do it!!

You still have lots to live for!!!

[annanimo]

Agree with some of your rant and disagree entirely with other elements of it.

I like reading what you have to say because you are obviously a forthright person.

In regards the USA, New Orleans has been a disaster in the making for many years. It's fine for people like Bush to hold their hands up and say this is the product of a terrible natural disaster that could not have been predicted. And of course, the hurricane was severe even by US standards. But they're not unaccustomed to adverse conditions and the scale of the disaster has been caused by decades of underinvestment. Instead of putting money into casinos, the US government and Mississippi State government should have been investing in flood barriers and the like (sorry, I'm not a meteorologist, I don't know enough, but we have the knowledge and technical ability to put into place an infrastructure in advance to limit damage). I mean, 500,000 people living below sea level??? It's like a bath tub with no escape apparently. How can anyone say this couldn't have been foreseen?

The disturbing thing is when you watch the news and you see all the people left behind in New Orleans. They are the poorest of the population, largely from the black community. People who didn't have the funds available to them to evacuate. Bush and co have failed them terribly. He can talk about how brutal a dictator Saddam was but how can Bush sleep at night when his inactivity is leading to such suffering?

Bush is going to survey the damage today but will not be meeting the angry sufferers of this tragedy. It's a sad day when the "leader of the free world" and "champion of democracy" doesnn't have the time to listen to the understandable grievances of his electorate.

[Osakasan]

Here is a good example of how US press cover the same basic story but using different wording based on the color of skin.

Looting/Finding

[Sirben]

Very True!!

Good find!!

I think that in this day and age its the media who have a higher influence on what goes on across the world.

As soon as "looting" was mentioned once, a massive deal was made out of it and it was blown up way out of proportion

[Evocare]

don't do it!!

You still have lots to live for!!!

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Don't worry i'm not about to visit the US just yet.

[annanimo]

Well done grandpa osaka! Excellent illustration of the US media and how it remains as prejudiced as ever.

And evocare - you definitely should go to America. I went twice on a football tour. We won all the games but one, but more importantly it changed my life for ever. It made me realise who fortunate I am not to be American, with all the prejudiced, psuedo-Christian, quasi-democratic and hypocritial national identity. What I saw in the US was a vital experience that enabled me to realise what I actually believed in, what I didn't believe in and what was actually important.

I thoroughly dislike the USA and what it represents globally, financially and politically. But it was only by going there, and speaking to ordinary Americans who genuinely believe all the rubbish their "nation" tells them to, like the American dream, that you understand more fully how twisted and socially destitute a nation it actually is.

[bransonmo]

Don't worry i'm not about to visit the US just yet. 

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Where to begin !

Your words !

You cant even look after England

Teens are running wild

Teens have no respect.

Pensioners are getting attacked.

Benefit cheats are robbing tax payers.

Threatened by terrorist.

Traffic congestion.

Media intrusion.

Transparent propaganda by creepy politicians.

Thats your description of your own country !

So get rid of Blair, Bush's number one supporter ?

Why criticise the USA a country you have yet to visit ?

I have spent 14 years in the USA and Bush recieved a strong vote from the Christian right, against the liberal media, the blacks, the unions and radical minorities.

Conservative middle America stood firm and claimed their country.

America bailed us out in WW2 and WW1, so think and say what you want, they paid for your right to free speech with blood before you were born.

Oh and i drove a V8 Cadillac which performed at 26mp. Not 4mpg.

Fastfood ! check the fastfood lineup in England and the waistlines.

UN figures show the USA handing out 72 % of all world aid .

Bush should immediately stop all world aid, and we will see how long the USA critics keep up their BS.........................Not long !

[annanimo]

Bush recieved a strong vote from the Christian right, against the liberal media, the blacks, the unions and radical minorities...Conservative middle America stood firm and claimed their country.

America bailed us out in WW2 and WW1, so think and say what you want, they paid for your right to free speech with blood before you were born.

Bush should immediately stop all world aid, and we will see how long the USA critics keep up their BS.........................Not long !

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Bush should stop world aid? You talk as if it's charitable giving. It's not. America gains, if not always economically then politically. US "imperialism" has worked by creating dependency upon the US, just as the USSR did in eastern Europe during the Cold war. And if western policies hadn't forced some of our current realities upon the world, there would be fewer countries needing aid in the first instance.

Take Ethiopia, circa 1985. There were a number of factors contributing to the famine. But one was that the World bank dictated Ethiopian farmers grow cotten grass to pay off their debt rather than crops to feed their own people. They didn't want aid, just the freedom to look after themselves.

The US bailed us out in the wars? Please, let's not be so simplistic. In both cases, the self-interested US government refused to get involved until a disaster occurred that directly affected their interests. In 1941, after 2 years of Churchill's failed attempts to persuade Roosevelt (who cared more for public opinion than European stability) it was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. In 1916 it was the sinking of the Lusitania. On both occasions the US would have happily sat back and done nothing if it were not for these events. It's as if the millions of people being killed on the western front were irrelevant compared to a few hundred Americans on a liner.

I understand fully Roosevelt's reasons for not wanting to participate and it was of course a difficult decision for any President to make. But let's not have any hogwash about the US "bailing us out". They did it for themselves.

Also, the Christian right (which are neither Christian, nor right) may be extremely influential but surely they alone don't count for Bush's election success?

You're right about one thing though - the fast food culture. It's as bad here as in the US, if not worse because in our culture we refuse to see the problem.

[Evocare]

Well done grandpa osaka!  Excellent illustration of the US media and how it remains as prejudiced as ever.

And evocare - you definitely should go to America.  I went twice on a football tour.  We won all the games but one, but more importantly it changed my life for ever.  It made me realise who fortunate I am not to be American, with all the prejudiced, psuedo-Christian, quasi-democratic and hypocritial national identity.  What I saw in the US was a vital experience that enabled me to realise what I actually believed in, what I didn't believe in and what was actually important.

I thoroughly dislike the USA and what it represents globally, financially and politically.  But it was only by going there, and speaking to ordinary Americans who genuinely believe all the rubbish their "nation" tells them to, like the American dream, that you understand more fully how twisted and socially destitute a nation it actually is.

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It's been on my mind to visit there, i almost did last year, but Thailand got the nod.

I expect i will go there at somtime, i would love to see the Redwood Forest, the Everglades & the Rockies, but i can wait.

Like you its the US's foreign policys and complete lack of respect for the rest of the world that gets me going, it's easy to take the pee out of your steriotypical yank as they are proven idiots, but i wish they would try to understand that some countrys don't want to be like them, they don't want democracy and they don't want their materialistic consuming way of life either!

America is a child, a country with more power than sence and a short attention span, they are in fact a superpower in denile. very very dangerious, expecially with Nam war vendetta Bush.

Where is next for them? Iran, Korea, China?? all three of these countys are just looking for the excuse to goto war with them. what they need is a delicate spokesperson or foreign affairs minister to help the US better understand other countrys belifes, so what do they do? put Condoleeza Rice in charge

If there is anyone more scary than Bush, its Rice. bad choice, bad indeed.

China will soon be responsible for the demise of the US, and the US knows this.

If China gets (I said a naughty word) off, we are all for it.

[Osakasan]

Would like to imagine how America would be like if it were 'discovered' much later. Would there be a far greater native American influence (a little sideways of the topic but an interesting thought)

[Evocare]

Very True!!

Good find!!

I think that in this day and age its the media who have a higher influence on what goes on across the world.

As soon as "looting" was mentioned once, a massive deal was made out of it and it was blown up way out of proportion

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The media has lot to answer for, they has absolute power in the world and i'm not sure that power is safe in the hands of Murdock and such people.

I bet in the 50's it was great, no media, noone telling you to give money to some country you've never heard of, no pictures of starving kids, out of site out of mind. did that make us ignorant? I don't think so, i just think this world is getting so dam small we will wipe ourselves out squabbling over pointless crap, bit like we are now. My God says your God is blah blah *yawn* Religion is a curse and the sooner people grow up and realize that sciece has a perfectly proven logical reason why we are all here the better. God created man my ass.

Aye, and even here in England we would resort to Anarchy if we had no food for 48hrs. A fact that all leaders are aware of, scary thought.

[scootered]

                   

America bailed us out in WW2 and WW1, so think and say what you want, they paid for your right to free speech with blood before you were born.

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Utter rubbish, what a myth, considering Germany declared war on America, how did they bail us out? Yes I'm grateful of the Americans for being allied to us, but you need to look at the German casualty figures for the Eastern front to realise what was this countrys (and the free worlds) saviour!!

[Britmatt]

Having lived in the US now for some time, and married to an American for six years, I have to object to some of the comments made here. It is one thing to disagree with US foreign policy (I think most people do), but it is another to criticize the people and generalize all Americans as fat, lazy, selfish people who eat fast food and drive SUVs.

Are you actually watching the news regarding Katrina?? Did you not see the thousands of ordinary Americans who drove thousands of miles to help in the catastrophy? When the chips are down (no pun intended), Americans can be the most generous of people, donating their time and energy to helping others they do not know. Because of the federal government's shockingly tardy response to this disaster, it has been left to selfless individuals to go down and devote their time and energy to helping others. People from Oregon were driving down with boats to help save people trapped in the flood. That is over a two thousand mile round trip! That is like driving into Europe and back to help someone you don't know!

Plenty of Americans are also putting their hand in their pocket to help out, donating to the Red Cross. They did the exactly the same for the tsunami. I was amazed about how much local schools, supermarkets and fooddrives were raising for the tsunami victims last year.

Also, just on a general level, having lived here for a while, I experience on a daily level how generous Americans can be. Now I am not wanting to make them out into angels here - there are certainly a fair share of idiots - but all countries have their fair share. Some of your generalizations about Americans could be countered with various stereotypes of the Brits (e.g. I'm thinking of the classical continental stereotype of the Brit holiday maker!) which I know too is not true.

I guess all I am saying is by all means criticize the government, Bush and their foreign policy, but if you have never been to the States, don't have a go at the people. And don't say "well, they voted them in" as the same can be said about generalizing all Brits loving Tony Blair because he is still in power. Just isn't true is it? This is a HUMAN tragedy, and everyone over here is trying their best to get over it. It doesn't help when some uninformed people use gross stereotypes to criticize a whole nation.

Sorry, rant over. Just on a side note - I will get to watch my first CITY game tomorrow in two years! I recently got Setanta on cable, and was blown away when I saw that it was on live.

Come on you reds!!

Cheers,

BM

[Evocare]

Utter rubbish, what a myth, considering Germany declared war on America, how did they bail us out? Yes I'm grateful of the Americans for being allied to us, but you need to look at the German casualty figures for the Eastern front to realise what was this countrys (and the free worlds) saviour!!

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Spot on, The Americans said 'no' when we asked for their help initially, only by a several plees from Churchill to Roosevelt did they eventually agree to help and that was after we bribed them with God knows what else aswell, so none of this we saved your ass crap, becuase you were 5 yrs too bloody late!!

[Evocare]

Where to begin !

                Your words !

  You cant even look after England

  Teens are running wild

  Teens have no respect.

  Pensioners are getting attacked.

  Benefit cheats are robbing tax payers.

  Threatened by terrorist.

  Traffic congestion.

  Media intrusion.

  Transparent propaganda by creepy politicians.

                    Thats your description of your own country !

                    So get rid of Blair, Bush's number one supporter ?

                      Why criticise the USA a country you have yet to visit ?

                I have spent 14 years in the USA and Bush recieved a strong vote from the Christian right, against the liberal media, the blacks, the unions and radical minorities.

                Conservative middle America stood firm and claimed their country.

                America bailed us out in WW2 and WW1, so think and say what you want, they paid for your right to free speech with blood before you were born.

                Oh and i drove a V8 Cadillac which performed at 26mp. Not 4mpg.

                Fastfood ! check the fastfood lineup in England and the waistlines.

                UN figures show the USA handing out 72 % of all world aid .

            Bush should immediately stop all world aid, and we will see how long the USA critics keep up their BS.........................Not long !

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It's not the Americans as individules i have a problem with its their gereral ignorance as a country, misinformed, misrepresented & misunderstood?

Bush has real canny knack of getting under peoples skin, just how does he do it?

Your right, I am critical of the UK too hence my rant as i think Britain sadly is becoming like America, excpect we are slightly more well informed and have a much better understanding of world affairs than your average red-neck hillbilly.

Most Americans don't even know where they live if you showed them a map of the states, really really quite unbelivable.

Threats to stop aid in a 'that'll teach em!' sence just epitomises your average Americans selfishness, no wonder everyone hates them, but i guess its what we've come to expect.

[gater2]

You're right about one thing though - the fast food culture.  It's as bad here as in the US, if not worse because in our culture we refuse to see the problem.

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That is a fantastic point. I, like many involved in this conversation (probably) would describe myself as a socialist, and therefore I am fundamentally against many USA policies (altough like so many socialists I take advantage of capitalism where I shouldn't. This is another topic I know, but a fascinating book on the failings or bourgeois socialists like myself is 'Road to Wigan Pier' by George Orwell) and I think that the 'American Dream' is why the world has so many ills in it today; but it is amazing how people in this country (e.g. evocare - no offence meant, because I'm fundamentally on your side, I just think you should be a bit more constructive with your argument) are so quick to criticise the USA without recognising the similarities with our own country.

Yes the USA is probably more right-wing than us and more patriotic in a very nausiating manner, but the fact is that we are both Westernised countries with capitalism firmly planted in our social fabrics and thus aren't we both as guilty as each other? It is true that Bush is an idiot, but many would say that Blair is not far behind and no socialist can argue that the USA has not had its share of Presidents that were fundamentally 'good' and do not base their policies on solely selfish principals.

The English however command respect allmost whereever they travel in the world, our passport is offen refered to as a 'Golden ticket' many times i have relyed on my Britishness in situations where if i was an american i might have lost my life, i'm not kidding, people hate them.

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If I'm not mistaken there has been a massive problem with british yob cluture going to Southern Europe and the clubbing capitals of the world. Go to most Greek islands and ask the locals what they think of Britons who come and visit their before-peaceful homes. Also, go to most muslim countries and it won't make a differnce whether you are American or British, the general feeling will be the same. I once read about an Egyptian taxi driver who asks his passangers where they come from when they step into his cab and if they say GB or USA he asks them to get out the car.

The world is getting smaller, every day we seem death & suffering on our TV's somewhere in the world there is a disaster happening and the media makes dam sure we know about it and pulls on our heart strings so we feel guilty and i'm getting (I said a naughty word) off with it.

For instance, I don't see why we should have give money to Africa for the millions of kids starving when the parents are not educated about contriception STOP HAVING KIDS DAM YOU, YOU don't DESERVE THEM AS YOU CANT LOOK AFTER THEM!

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That's just ignorant and boarding on facism. Having many children in these cultures gives a family prestige in a village, so it's not just about not being educated about contraceptives, and in simple moral terms how could anyone with any decency say to a husband and his wife that they are not allowed children? Why do they not deserve them? Because they have had the misfortune to have grown up in utter poverty and had no opportunity to recieve education about contraception or family planning? That's as bad as your fatcat American's saying 'I don't care if African people are starving in the world as long as I have my 4x4 and my swimming pool'.

Are you actually watching the news regarding Katrina?? Did you not see the thousands of ordinary Americans who drove thousands of miles to help in the catastrophy? When the chips are down (no pun intended), Americans can be the most generous of people, donating their time and energy to helping others they do not know. Because of the federal government's shockingly tardy response to this disaster, it has been left to selfless individuals to go down and devote their time and energy to helping others. People from Oregon were driving down with boats to help save people trapped in the flood. That is over a two thousand mile round trip! That is like driving into Europe and back to help someone you don't know!

Plenty of Americans are also putting their hand in their pocket to help out, donating to the Red Cross. They did the exactly the same for the tsunami. I was amazed about how much local schools, supermarkets and fooddrives were raising for the tsunami victims last year.

I guess all I am saying is by all means criticize the government, Bush and their foreign policy, but if you have never been to the States, don't have a go at the people. And don't say "well, they voted them in" as the same can be said about generalizing all Brits loving Tony Blair because he is still in power. Just isn't true is it? This is a HUMAN tragedy, and everyone over here is trying their best to get over it. It doesn't help when some uninformed people use gross stereotypes to criticize a whole nation.

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You make a good point, but the fact is: why do we (I say we as westerners - British and Americans alike) have to wait for a natural disater on our backdoor to happen to bring out this generosity? There are 30,000 people dying every day in Africa and no one in the west bats an eyelid! Let me ask you: if a small child asked you for £10 for a charity walk and you agreed, but then the walk got cancelled, would you go and give the £10 to charity anyway? I presume the vast majority of westerners would say no. That's the problem in western societies, we have to be prompted to be generous.

Basically western culture is based around selfishness (I know it doesnt seem that way, but that's because we've had it drilled into us that it's the norm to be like this) and whether American, British, French or Australian it's pretty much all about number one. America does force this home rather more than other western countries and there are probably more ignorant people there due to factors such as media and conservative christianity (I am a christian myself so I'm not saying religion is a bad thing, but I do believe if right-wing christians changed their attitues, it would be a lot of help); that is why USA is hated by many people around the world, but for fellow westerners to cricise it as much as we do when we essentially make the same faults as them.

[Evocare]

Another good post and intereresting reading Reading some of my first comments i'm slightly enmbarrased, expecially regarding Africa and the poor kids there, that was a bit out of order, I don't want to see anyone starve, my gripe is the gerneral education standards in Africa which are Archaic to be polite.

AIDS is spreading at a speed we cant even begin to understand, monitor or control, this is why i said the parents should not be able to have them, becuase they are just not suitable parents, but i don't have a right to say who can have kids or not.

Fast food culture in America is like Cricket & beer to the Aussies, its their life. and their whole world revolves around it, their cars, the roads, Citys all built around conveince for American way of living, which is disgusting.

Oh yes, we are just as bad here there is no doubt, you walk through that ghastly cesspit called Broadmead and all the evidence you needs is sat in McDonalds feeding itself and it's poor kids, lazy people on welfare make me vomite and you only need to glance into a McDonalds resturant to see them stuffing their fat faces with the EVIL EVILNESS!

I would NEVER consider for a moment going to McDonalds and i would urge you, your family and freinds to do the same, this company is globalization at it's most evil and we will all suffer in the end as a result.

[gater2]

I would NEVER consider for a moment going to McDonalds and i would urge you, your family and freinds to do the same, this company is globalization at it's most evil and we will all suffer in the end as a result.

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Don't worry, I stopped going there years ago! Nike is also a good example:

The power of poverty

[annanimo]

Another good post and intereresting reading      Reading some of my first comments i'm slightly enmbarrased, expecially regarding Africa and the poor kids there, that was a bit out of order, I don't want to see anyone starve, my gripe is the gerneral education standards in Africa which are Archaic to be polite.

AIDS is spreading at a speed we cant even begin to understand, monitor or control, this is why i said the parents should not be able to have them, becuase they are just not suitable parents, but i don't have a right to say who can have kids or not.

Fast food culture in America is like Cricket & beer to the Aussies, its their life. and their whole world revolves around it, their cars, the roads, Citys all built around conveince for American way of living, which is disgusting.

Oh yes, we are just as bad here there is no doubt, you walk through that ghastly cesspit called Broadmead and all the evidence you needs is sat in McDonalds feeding itself and it's poor kids, lazy people on welfare make me vomite and you only need to glance into a McDonalds resturant to see them stuffing their fat faces with the EVIL EVILNESS!

I would NEVER consider for a moment going to McDonalds and i would urge you, your family and freinds to do the same, this company is globalization at it's most evil and we will all suffer in the end as a result.

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There has been a lot said on here today which makes very interesting reading.

Firts, pleased to see you're slightly embarrassed, evocare, about some of your comments earlier. I understood the points you were making about the USA and broadly agreed with you but the stuff about Africa I didn't even want to dignify by giving a response to. But understand it was an expression of your anger.

Anyway, I don't want to be repeating what anyone else has said but, for the likes of Britmatt, I would like to point out that I am not in fact prejudiced against American people. In fact I'm not even prejudiced. I wouldn't call myself anti-American. But I am a critic of US policy, particularly foreign policy. The US has one of its most right wing governments ever currently which, while having the potential to help remedy some of the world's problems, would rather look after its own interests (and, as we see in New Orleans, doesn't even do that very well.

I have been to the US on two football tours (both at times to coincide with Independence Day) and I have met a lot of decent people there. I don't have a problem with them. I enjoyed spending time with them. What was thoroughly disturbing is that the US national psyche is so deeply rooted in the social consciousness that people generally are so accepting of what we would never be over here. I mean, I couldn't exactly say to anyone "I'm a socialist" without encouraging strange looks - a product of successful government propaganda which refuses to go away. What also concerned me was in the aftermath of September 11th, paranoia seemed to have set in on such a scale that nobody seemed to question Bush's policies. The general opinion among people I met was that Bush is a good man. They couldn't see beyond that. I was also surprised by the lack of knowledge on the issue as a whole - how can a country be so accepting of the "official" line?

Just to demonstrate how the "American" identity is so inbred, our football team was obliged to go to to church service before independence day. The preacher was talking about how the US is the greatest nation in the world, and that God has given her this privilege for a number of reasons, and basically that we should thank God for this while praying for those nations "less blessed" to come into "the fullness of Christianity" (Presumably to become Americanised). Now, I know patriotism was running high, and that this kind of church is not typical, but his comments were greeted by lots of "amens" and not many objections. I found the preacher to be amusing while frightening, pitiful yet worryingly powerful. As a member of a UK football team on tour, I felt insulted, but recognised his comments were actually to do with his limited understandings.

Which is the main problem where the US people are concerned. Their understandings too often are minimal, and it is on these understandings that opinions and life approaches are based. Conformity to culture appears to be the rule. It's no wonder they at times seem narrow minded at times.

I do like American people, I really do. I'm just glad that in the UK we are afforded a greater independence of judgement by our government.

[Spud55]

Where to begin !

                Your words !

  You cant even look after England

  Teens are running wild

  Teens have no respect.

  Pensioners are getting attacked.

  Benefit cheats are robbing tax payers.

  Threatened by terrorist.

  Traffic congestion.

  Media intrusion.

  Transparent propaganda by creepy politicians.

                    Thats your description of your own country !

                    So get rid of Blair, Bush's number one supporter ?

                      Why criticise the USA a country you have yet to visit ?

                I have spent 14 years in the USA and Bush recieved a strong vote from the Christian right, against the liberal media, the blacks, the unions and radical minorities.

                Conservative middle America stood firm and claimed their country.

                America bailed us out in WW2 and WW1, so think and say what you want, they paid for your right to free speech with blood before you were born.

                Oh and i drove a V8 Cadillac which performed at 26mp. Not 4mpg.

                Fastfood ! check the fastfood lineup in England and the waistlines.

                UN figures show the USA handing out 72 % of all world aid .

            Bush should immediately stop all world aid, and we will see how long the USA critics keep up their BS.........................Not long !

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The Us bailed us out and paid the price in blood for our free speech ? hmm fair enough i always thought that we paid a far higher price in blood but hey ho never mind. The US DID NOT WANT TO GET INVOLVED, there was pretty much one american who did and that was Roosevelt, a man who i have and will have eternal respect for. Had Germany not stupidly dclared war on the US then they would not have joined for many, many years if at all.

You say it as if the Us helped us in a selfless act which was motivated by a ooohhh better save our british friends, which is complete and utter BS, they saw an opportunity to make a lot of money and took it. (not necessarily a bad point) but you paint it as if the Us helped us out of kindness, which is rubbish. Once we had won the battle of Britain we were in essence safe, Hitler could not invade us once we had confirmed our air superiority, something done without the Us help, well except for the 1 squadron of of foreign pilots who came over to help, which included about 5 Americans.

The Us were useful to have about because of the sheer number of things they could manufacture, they were good but it took them on hell of a long time to adjust, when they first entered they were repetedly humiliated by the germans. In general they sold us a huge amount of substandard equipment, not saying they were giving us the crap but a lot of their stuff was bloody awful. For example i can't think of a much worse job than being stuck in a Sherman after 41/42, your sat in a tank that does not have the firepower to do bugger all to anything other than an early German tank, their guns could only just pierce the rear armour of the Panzer's, and Tigers of the time, while the German tanks could pierce the frontal armour of a sherman with ease. That tank was a piece of crap, the Us sent a load to the Russians who just laughed and refused to use them because they were so bad. Their planes were not much better, the Mustang was rubbish until we designed a merlin engine to go in it, which made the p41 which was a great aircraft and the best of the war. They gave us a fair amount of good equipment, but it was the numbers that counted rather than the equipment.

The russians paid a far, far higher price in blood for our freedom, so deserve far more kudos than the Us ever will. Had Russia fallen and Germany been able to bring her full millitary arsenal to bear on the coast of France, D-Day would have been impossible, as it was only possible because of masterful British misdirection, convinving the germans that the attack was coming on Calais, which meant they defended there more and held many panzer divisions back under Code 3 or something like that, (can't remember exactly what it was called) which had that been inacted when it should have been could have stopped d-day in it's tracks.

I have no problem with the American people and i talk to many, many of them every single day over the net, and they are like everyone else just normal people. But how in the richest country in the world can they have so many people in abject poverty ? it stinks to high hell. In New orleans it isn't the well off that are dying it's the poor, and Bush is doing absolutley ###### all about it, he has sent over 75% of the state's national guard away, leaving them woefully unable to cope with this disaster. It has been 5 days and they are still doing very little to get the people stuck there out. How can a city smaller than Bristol have about 100,000 people, that is a quarter of the population with no access what so ever to a car, go through some of the worst parts of this country, and most households still have acess to a car. But in the Us where the car, the petrol and the insurance are considerably cheaper, to not even be able to afford that it horrendous. It's the American attitude of ###### the poor and don't help them that angers me. If there were that many middle class people stuck there you can guarnetee that the response would be much quicker, but because they are poor they don't really give a toss. But no they are more concerned with the looting than about the people, if you had suddeny been made homeless with no food or clean water what the ###### are you supposed to do ? Just sit there and die, or go and get yourself food to survive ?

As for the pictures and the stories that isn't actually anything to do with rascism, if they were from the same news agency then i would agree, but the fact that they are not is a key point. Some news agencies refuse to use the word looting in their reports, so the one with the picture is from a news agency that is using the word looting the other is not. Both pictures would be treated the same by both news agencies, the one with the white people nicking would be said to be looting by the new agency that reported on the other photo and vice versa. It's just the fact that different news agencies have different ways of reporting.

[One Team In Keynsham]

I've never been to America and hopfully i'll never have to, this is not to say i've not travelled, i've seen more of the world that most people,  i'm not gloating about how many places i have visited i want to make a point of how badly the rest of the world thinks of the USA and Bush, they **** hate them, really really hate the USA, ecpecially in Asia and its pritty easy to see why.

The English however command respect allmost whereever they travel in the world, our passport is offen refered to as a 'Golden ticket' many times i have relyed on my Britishness in situations where if i was an american i might have lost my life, i'm not kidding, people hate them.

rant over 

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I got about halfway through all of these posts and gave up reading due to too much info, and not enought time to get through.

Some good points being made and I agree that there are some major faults with the way Bush and the US Government do business, but some blinkers are on as well: don't dismiss visiting the USA because you don't agree with their foreign and domestic policy and/or you don't like the people you think Americans are. Having travelled quite extensively through the US I am actually quite fond of the place: not everything, but somethings: not everybody is an obese, fast-food guzzling redneck driving a Hummer and wanting to ban abortion, gun control and the teaching of evolution in schools, and not everywhere is an urban sprawl of strip-malls and fast-food joints.

Yes there are places in the USA that I wouldn't want to revisit: the urban sprawl of LA, the dodgier bits of New Orleans (pre-Katrina, that is), the projects in Washington, etc, but take the drive up the coast from LA through Carmel, Big Sur and Monterey, fly over the Grand Canyon, visit Vegas, try and get bored in NYC: all things that make me want to return.

[Guest scrumpy dare]

I got about halfway through all of these posts and gave up reading due to too much info, and not enought time to get through. 

Some good points being made and I agree that there are some major faults with the way Bush and the US Government do business, but some blinkers are on as well:  don't dismiss visiting the USA because you don't agree with their foreign and domestic policy and/or you don't like the people you think Americans are.  Having travelled quite extensively through the US I am actually quite fond of the place:  not everything, but somethings:  not everybody is an obese, fast-food guzzling redneck driving a Hummer and wanting to ban abortion, gun control and the teaching of evolution in schools, and not everywhere is an urban sprawl of strip-malls and fast-food joints.

Yes there are places in the USA that I wouldn't want to revisit:  the urban sprawl of LA, the dodgier bits of New Orleans (pre-Katrina, that is), the projects in Washington, etc, but take the drive up the coast from LA through Carmel, Big Sur and Monterey, fly over the Grand Canyon, visit Vegas, try and get bored in NYC: all things that make me want to return.

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visit Vegas VIIIIVAAAAAAA LAS VEGAS best holiday EVER!

[Rednready]

I dislike American major cities and all that goes with them. The heartland though is another matter. The smaller cities of say 3000-150,000 in more rural areas are very different and more laid back.

I found them very similar to same size rural centers in Australia, sports and drinks were different, but the same hardy pioneer background. The big difference being the USA beat the redcoats and went their own way. Australia still has the Union Jack on its flag.

On WW2, Roosevelte gave Britain the lend lease supply line which bolstered our supplies of food and equipment until they actually got into the European theatre. It was basically the American people who did not want to get involved, whereas Roosevelte was strongly for military support of Churchill.

America is just different, as is Australia, Iraq, and China, try multi culturalism in China or Japan. I think American policy of Americanising 3rd world countries is wrong. Baseball, basketball and Gridiron are not the best of sports, and their television is woeful.

The average 9to5 mid west country town American is a good person, giving, caring, and very patriotic. What i will say is the average Americans worldly knowledge starts at Rhode Island and finishes in San Diego. They also assume the rest of the world wants to be like them, because they are number 1 and their media says so.

[Guest scrumpy dare]

I dislike American major cities and all that goes with them. The heartland though is another matter. The smaller cities of say 3000-150,000 in more rural areas are very different and more laid back.

                            I found them very similar to same size rural centers in Australia, sports and drinks were different, but the same hardy pioneer background. The big difference being the USA beat the redcoats and went their own way. Australia still has the Union Jack on its flag.

                            On WW2, Roosevelte gave Britain the lend lease supply line which bolstered our supplies of food and equipment until they actually got into the European theatre. It was basically the American people who did not want to get involved, whereas Roosevelte was strongly for military support of Churchill.

                            America is just different, as is Australia, Iraq, and China, try multi culturalism in China or Japan. I think American policy of Americanising 3rd world countries is wrong. Baseball, basketball and Gridiron are not the best of sports, and their television is woeful.

                            The average 9to5 mid west country town American is a good person, giving, caring, and very patriotic. What i will say is the average Americans worldly knowledge starts at Rhode Island and finishes in San Diego. They also assume the rest of the world wants to be like them, because they are number 1 and their media says so.

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dam media control everythink