The World vs. The United States

[The once and future king]

Why do yanks bandy about the word HATE so readily. I would say that in general in Europe there is a sentiment of "feckin yanks." but we dont HATE you and we dont hate you specificaly as indviduals, (But going on about how we only dislike you because we are jealous of you helps.)

There are numerous reasons for this. America is seen as the shining beacon of the Greed is good sentiment, you consume 2/3 of the worlds recources but dont seem to give a feck about consuming them in a way that is remotely sustainable and you will kill for the right to drive a car with realy shity milage. Ice caps melt and you stick a finger up at the world when it trys to do anything about it.

This is all multiplied tenfold by the Iraq situation and the percieved (notice the use of the word percieved) notion that this was alot about OIL and yanklands access to oil.

To multiply it again tenfold your country is lead by someone who frankly flabergasts most individuals in every other country on the planet for not even having a basic grasp of english and for coming across as having the intellect of an amobe.

[hetron]

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When you choose to be the neighborhood cop/bully, you forfeit your entry in the popularity contest. That's how things are.

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Of course foreign policy is a little more complex than just a popularity contest.

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But I'm sure you folks believe that what America is after is worth the hate.

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More or less. I think the USA will be vindicated in its actions. Great people and great actions often engender much hate in their times and it takes the perspective of history to realize their greatness.

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I don't think arrogance and hypocrisy will ever be realized as great.

[BadBoyBenny]

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I forgot to buy train ticket in Italy and I was clearly told that if I had been i.e. American I would been thrown out, but since I was Norwegian it was no problem. Have had a lot of similar experiences.


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How do you forget to buy a train ticket?

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Likewise on borders, I just walk through while many other nationalities are stopped (after Schengen this is not a big problem in Europe anyhow).

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What is Schengen? And do you think this would be true outside of Europe?]

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It has leaked here that the government wanted to oppose harder against US policy but was threatened by US that we could lose our security guarantees. It shows that US is powerful enough to bully around, but the day you are not military and economiccally superior anymore your goodwill crisis will pose a big problem.


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So you are happy to take our protection, but are waiting to screw us if we fall on hard times? And when do you exepct this day to come when the US is not at least militarily superior to everyone else? IMO, there is a huge gap to close.

[JihadOnTheRiver]

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They had to start telling people they were from Canada.

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How come I'm not surprised? Yet Canada sux, right?

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I'm happily surprised to see that at least one Canadian realizes this. OBTW, please take Pam Anderson back, we're done with her.

[trippin bily]

Interesting post
in my time during the reagan administration it was like this.
reagan was one of the few ( maggie thatcher is another) that thought it was correct to stop the soviet union.
most in the world wanted to placate the soviets and find out why they hate the US.( sound familiar )
the loonie lefties thought reagan was gonna blow up the world.
reagan cut taxes and the loonie left was worried it would cut into their spending ( as every one knows cutting taxes increases revinue to the government)
they said reagan was trying to starve children, old people
and any one not republican ( ted kenedy actually said this and the loonies believed it )
as reagan thought the money came pouring in and the dems spent like drunkin sailors ( much like the repubs now )
in the end its alot like the yankees...
every one hates the yankees because they win. they are the best team most years
people love tohate the top dog
the US has been top dog for a very long time.
it pisses the loonies off.
noy sure why
the US gives more aid to foreign countries than the ENTIRE world combined !!!
the US is 4% of the worlds population, has 20 % of the worlds wealth but there is not even a close second when it comes to aid.
people like to paint the top dog as a bad guy.
jealousy.
we are of course the good guys
don't sweat the loonie left.
they havent had a new idea in 25 years
havent had a good one in 40
its good to be on top

[The once and future king]

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we are of course the good guys

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Perhaps the most naive thing ever posted in this forum.

Not the good guys but the "of course."

Could your mind be washed any more cleaner.

[trippin bily]

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we are of course the good guys

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Perhaps the most naive thing ever posted in this forum.

Not the good guys but the "of course."

Could your mind be washed any more cleaner.

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Nice line but dispute the facts ??
The US gives more foreign aid than the rest of the world combined. Right??
The US is only 4% of the population and 20% of the worlds wealth but we give more than the world combined.
Every international disaster who gets the call??
We do soooooooooooo much more good every day.
We are not perfect nor do we claim to be.
We have made MANY mistakes but usuaaly while trying to do the right thing.
When I say " of course we are the good guys " I say it because you I seee the US painted with the evil brush and
of course we are not evil.
The US burns more resources but we also out produce the world in most evrything but rhetoric.

[The once and future king]

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The US gives more foreign aid than the rest of the world combined. Right??

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Err,... no totaly and utterly wrong. LOL.

Per capita the USA gives LESS forieghn aid than any other country in the G8.

[Arnfinn Madsen]

Hi,
Many countries give far much more foreign aid than the US. I think our government gives appx. 10 times more pr capita. In addition, for instance 16 percent of all private funds towards the tsunami was collected here (a population about 1,5% of the US).

As far as I know, the Norther European countries and some Arabic countries are the major aid donors. The target here is for the government to give 1% of GDP (I would like to see any American government ever do that) in addition to private donations.

To US defence, it is a big food donor.

EDIT: Came across the actual numbers. US gives 0.16 percent of national income in foreign aid. Norway gives 0,92 percent, while EU gives appx. 0,35 percent.

[vulturesrow]

Yes we went over all this before after the tsunami. As for your figures, which come from from the 2003 OECD study, Ill say what I said before when this came up. Quibbling between these numbers, which are all less than 1% is like picking flyshit out of pepper. Let me ask you a question. If you desperately needed money and you had two friends to choose from who were offering you money, who would you chooose?

A) Your friend who makes 25,000 a year but is going to give .92 percent of his income to you.
b) Your friend who makes 1,000,000 a year but is going to give you you .16 percent.

Now you and I can both come to reasonable, but differing, opinions on which friend was being more selfless. What we cannot disagree on is the amount of absolute value that the two different contributions have to you.

The OECD stats dont take into account items such as private aid, which the US is superlative in, foreign military assistance, effect of US investment in foreign/developing economies, and remittances.

PS The OECD goal .7% of national income, an amount which it recognizes as probably unrealistic(for all countries to achieve) and that developing countries wouldnt be able to absorb.