I just got to ask
 

I dont mean any thing about this and its a little tung in check but why do Europeans bash the USA? They dont like, the politics, the people, the war mongering, the food, hell any thing.

When I look at the people responsible for all the things they dont like the people all seem to come from Europe at one time or another. Being part native American (agen a European word for a place you did not own) I dont get it.

The USA is bad for empire building but what European nation dose not. The sun never sets on the british empire. "We" eat up all the resources seem to me most people I see doing that are white from a North Europe. Near my home theres a place where English and French had log booms set up to take trees from here to Europe. (Funny there still called English boom and French boom) The USA was used for its resources by Europeans after they used up theres. Then when some Europeans dint get more you fought with each other French and Indian war (7 year war what the last 100 year one not enof ?) draging my "tribe" in to it (tribe why not Nation we had land laws an army there all gone now to) :red_indian:

Gust from my point of view its still a bunch of rich White Norther Europeans stealing stuff thats not theres. I mean the USA is good and stealing stuff but nothing like Great Britain dam your the best!


Gust something to think about.

The USA "bashing" has nothing to do with history but with the way the US government is acting now. I have been to the US and almost all the people I met, white, black or native Americans, were very friendly people that I like to meet again.

I won't discuss the wars with enemies of the US but what is a problem to me is the way the US treats friends. If I go to the US now, I have to have my fingerprints and picture taken. They need a lot of "private" information that they keep for a long time before I can enter a flight to the US. Because the US government considers all "foreigners" as potential terrorist they treat me as a criminal. That is not the best way to make friends. I rather spend my money somewhere else and wait for a new US governement that does not treat their friends as criminals before I visit the US again.

If you read the travel reports on the HU site and other sites, you will notice that all over the world, the "normal" people are friendly. It is governments and political and religious leaders that make the problems. The problem that a lot of Europeans have with the US is not the people of the US but the government !!

Perception
 

Some people who havnt travelled to the US percieve Americans to be idiots. Your president doesnt do much to help with this.

But after many visits and some good friends in the US I have to say there are plenty of English who love youre country.

You have loads of space, with amazing scenery and at the moment its a country where I can still afford to fill up the tank on a car.

Americans used to be percieved as Fat but you only have to take a look at the average Brit to see that there are plenty of Fat wasters here too.

I have found the US has plenty of healthy eateries and supermarkets.

I like the way you can go to Walmart and buy anything including guns ?

Guns yes we have them in England too its just that over here they are heavily licienced, which results in all the scum bags getting them illegally.

Over here if someone breaks into your house armed with a weapon you end up locked up if you harm them while they rob you blind.

So take it from me we dont all hate Americans.

Just one thought though why do Yanks think all us Brits have bad teeth ?

I will swap the M1 for Highway 1 any day of the week.:mchappy:

Well America has a history of electing bad governments, I think this reflects on the population as a whole however I found americans to be great people once you look past all the bullsh** (i.e. Britney Spears sightings).

I don't think anyone in the world competes with americans in customer service, read that somewhere so they are amongst the nicest too!

Overall, I like the USA as the worlds' policeman
 

I understand what you are saying DLBiten, but please don't take it personally. Other posts have already said that nations don't have friends, they have only interests - political, diplomatic etc etc.

Right enough, Britain was pretty good in its day: so was Spain, France and Holland to name a few others (don't forget the Romans) - all gone now and the USA is top of the pile, at present.
Somewhere in the future the USA will decline (and fall?), just as Rome did, and we will be looking at a "new kid on the block" - could be China or India or ... (fill in your own idea) ....

ps I have never really forgiven those Mongol hordes out of Asia!:rolleyes2: but, Mongolia is not what it was.

Yeah, but what did the Romans ever do for us....apart from Aquaducts, sewers, roads.......

Andy

as said previously, people are agains politics and the -isms like communism, capitalism, socialism... etc.. and now a days the trend is american-ism- and many people agains that actually the way that america threats. on the tele, in the newspapers we are seeing/watching how the american army act or behieve to the local people wherever they invate, or we are seeing watching how american bureaucrats manupilate the oil prices or the stock markets. if you go further you can read or see how the intelligent services of america produce and apply the conspirasy teories all over world.

people are agains the things which i have written above and not particulary american citizens. i have met lots of americans who went iran, middle east, etc. and no one had and problem. they are not agains americas richness or your wealth. they just want to have their normal life before america puts its hand on their soil or economy or people or biringing democracy.

maybe all these are the first rule of being the "world leader" just like ottomans, romans, ussr, uk (still) did earlier. i am not sure of that, but, what i am sure about this is the world we are living and there is only one world that we "must" share.

Have you read a few newspapers the last years, or visited some countries in the Middle East? Is Kyoto a Japanese dish? :nuke:

That depends on where you are and other circumstances. In Sheffield (SOME) of the local police have realised that they are utterly powerless to do anything to protect us, so you can do some real damage to a known criminal without them following it up, just claim 'self defence'...

The thing that gets me with the USA isn't the people (everywhere has good and bad, and the UK seems to be filling with scum) but the way that the government twists the people's thoughts - anybody actually read the US foriegn policy relating to what they call 'Unilateral Multilaterism', (produced by the Bush-Cheney "think-tank" the whole document is a complete farce and if you deconstruct it and reproduce it as a fact by fact statement of policy (as it should be, transparent) it is the most aggressive foriegn policy since 1938!!!
It basically states that America wishes to have a global military presence, that the military capability of ALL other countries should be reduced to near zero (as we don't need our own army if the yanks have occupied and are 'looking after us'), and the best bit - the cost of providing global stability through unilateral multilaterism should be borne by all countries. This sounds just like a global protection racket with no joint body having any say in how the system is administered. We already have a UN and an agreed way to behave - which the USA pays absolutely NO attention to!!!

The world doesnt hate the American people, but your government should be 'the first against the wall when the revolution comes'.

Nothing last forever (except a planning meeting)
 

I believe that was Lord Salisbury, Queen Victoria's last Prime Minister (8/10 for being pedantic I think?)

Some years ago I read an article based on a coversation between Clive James (Australian humourist, journalist, essayist and all round smart arse) and P J O'Rourke (US, similar). Apart from wondering what one has to do to get to wait on that table for a day, one comment from Clive James struck me; he said that any former colony or part of empire would always blame their former rulers for any problems, so some constantly half drunk occer (sp?) in a string vest who has never worked a day in his life and spends all his benefits on booze is (of course) poor because of the British, nothing to do with his own choices. He went on to speculate that there must be a similar character somewhere (probably Cappadocia), identical in all respects bar the string vest, who blames the Romans for his problems.

The US will not be top dog for ever, and when someone else takes over (I think India rather than China, but I have no better basis for that than anyone else), it will all become their fault. In the same way that the worst whingers are often the ("we") Brits, because we were last top dogs and lost our place to the Yanks*, so the US will take over as chief whingers at whoever knocks them off their perch.

*Harold Macmillan (UK PM in the late 50s) saw Britain's role as being "Greece to their Rome". Totally irrelevent, but an intersting attempt to salvage some self respect out of relegation.

Accuracy is never pedantry......but the caricature of working class people "in a string vest etc" is not pleasant, and smacks of Daily Mail editorial........?

*This was MacMillan's failed attempt at recovering dignity, I think, and very much in his patrician mode which was dying on its feet; MacMillan failed, like all his class, to read which way the wind blew. Remember at that time Britain had lost an Empire and failed to find a role. We were bankrupted by the war and had begun paying back the US for every bomb, breakfast and bullet we were supplied. Of course we liberated Europe, but we remained skint by this policy of payback until about 2 years ago...shocking really. Not that I defend Empire, neither an Imperial one nor a dollar one.

No-one I know dislikes US citizens, only their government's foreign policy, which is actually criminal.

Cammi
 

In my defence, the quote about the string vest etc was by Clive James - I think it does succeed in capturing a character even though there is (as with all generalisations) a risk of offence. I'd present Harry Enfield's characters as similar examples.

Although I agree with you that people do not dislike US citizens, only their government, many comments are made that do not make that clear. I can't recall the context and am supposed to be working so I can't spend time searching, but I remember a comment by you that appeared to hold a Brit currently living in the states responsible for US foreign policy for no better reason than him living there. Even those who voted for Bush may have had valid reasons; the choice was between him and Gore in 2000, and one must wonder what would have happened had it gone the other way. I fear it would not have been good, probably at least as bad, but different.

I'm afraid there are also people who simply refuse to see the distinction between people and government - whether that is blaming the German people for Hitler or a Zimbabwean colleague for Mugabe. I don't know if it is possible to reach such people and I no longer try - I am old and only have so much time left. and I'd rather spend it with people who have at least a little common sense. One could argue the world would be a better place if I made the effort every time., because I might make one such see sense, and thus reduce the volume of prejudice in the world, but I am just too lazy.

Mark - the number of people whjo have little or no clue in the world seems to be rising, trying to reason with them is the classic unmovable object - no matter how unstoppable (read true) the logical and ethical argument is there is no getting through to them

I get the same thing on a smaller scale with random louts pushing me about in the street (because I currently work as a Pizza delivery driver on a moped, and am therefore visually identifiable as being on the lowest rung). I tried to reason with the last two and point out their error, but to no avail so the next one is getting a motorcross boot in the crotch.

Unfortunately there isn't a boot in the world big enough to kick the US foreign policy (which as Cam stated earlier is in clear breach of international law). Home-made nuke anyone?

If its a breach of international law why has not any one brought the US up on charges? Id like to see it then we can get some one good to vote for.
I cant vote for any one for the US president there all crap. Nuking a US city killing 100,000s of people that have done nothing wrong seems like a bad idea to me. And anyway its not the making it that the problem its the stuff to make it.

UN said alot of things but it almost never backs any of it up. Till the US backs it up. Thats on the UN not the USA. when is the last time any one else in all the Americas sent in 50,000 troops to do anything let alone Sweeden or Norway

Kyoto grate idea but the US I huge with massive population all with most cars getting under 15 MPG we cant make the quotas the writers knew that when they wrote it, a little dig at the USA auto makers. If we where as small and had a population to match we do it. Any ever see nuclear waste dumps in Europe? The Navy hears them dumping in the north Atlantic.

Have you read a few newspapers the last years? have you read the crap that the USA papers print? A hairless dog makes the front page US foreign policy is almost never even talked about. No If i want to wast my time I look at TV.
Visited some countries in the Middle East? Most wont let in some one from the US. The whole death to America, beheadings and burning people alive has me a little down about spending my money there that and my trip planing has gone to hell this last few years doller going down the pooper, losing contracts, and me being depressed.

You know how you say how the BBC is crap I watch it because its sooooo much better than the USA press I watched the US news for 2 hours and only one mention about any foreign news story about how people hate the US . Fat, stupid, and scared thats me! Ok its not im not scared. :rofl:
Why is the UK paying the US back? make Germany and Japan do it.

As far as who we elect well you cant gust pick any one we only get to pic from 2 a Demcrat and a Republican. now to get to that point they had to back stab and rob there way there. The people they own favers to you will never want to meat at night. There all crooks all of them. So when this rotten sod get to point where he or she is the worst of the sods of there group they spends millions and millions to hid what they have done and buy off people if you can If they cant well you have them killed and buy off the people to say it was a suicide. Now if your worst you side can find but not smart enof whipe your own ass you win your side. now you make like your clean as winter snow and holyer than God all the while tossing poop at the other sides Sod trying to act like you hate each other when you have know each other for years and years and your spawn go to the same privet school each other (your kids go to a good school while the future canon fodder are shitted down with drugs) Then the Big Vote! Now if you have the right people owing you can gust win! Well the US people vote but do you realy think people count all the votes? do you want sit up for days counting them all no what you do feel how big the bribe in your hands that has the say on who wins. Now because it a government you dont want to trust real people you make up a Electoral College and there vote is what you realy count. Dam foolish but true. Then your crowned the Biggest Bastard Sod in all the world! But being half brain dead you get a bunch people around you that do all real decision making all this for a Job that pays a hell lot less than the one you gave up to get in to public stealing.
I have no delusions about my government.
Oh yes how I love to see the people I get to vote for!
Not all brits have bad teeth gust fun to piss you brtis off ask the French they will tell you.
I think the EU will be the new overlords. lets start now!
EU you need to fix the mid east and china and SA dam poor lot down there.

I think the post above highlights many of the reasons why people are anti-America.

The apparent ignorance of events outside their own shores, the banality of most of the media, the unwillingness to dig deep and make changes over environmental issues, the surprising lack of irony, the bastardisation of the English language. Then there's the apparent arrogance, and the idea that Americun is best.

Oh and your cars are mostly big, fat, ugly, gas guzzling and poor at going round corners.

:scooter:

I'll go and eat my cheese.

So if no one sues you it’s ok to commit a crime and you should keep doing it?

Most countries think that there are more rational ways to solve problems then to send 50.000 troops. Right now the Norwegian army has a problem in Iraq and Afghanistan because according to international law we are not allowed to hand over prisoners to people that might torture them. It makes the situation a bit odd that we can’t hand over prisoners of war to the guys that runs the prisons (guess you know where they are from).

US still among the worst countries in the world pro-capita. The population is less dense as a few European countries, but you have hotter climate and should therefore burn less fossil fuel. So this doesn’t make sense.

Yes and I think this is big a part of the problem. If you read only junk it will affect your way of thinking (same goes with TV).
On the other hand, who makes the newspapers? It’s certainly not AL-Qaeda

This should make someone start to think… Why do they not like you? How should you solve this problem?


A strange story:
I spend quite some time in Khartoum (2002). The City is divided in three parts by the Nile and there are some bridges connecting the different parts.
There are no lights on the bridges and what amazed me was that at night the cars turned their lights off when they crossed the bridges. For me it was quite scary and I didn’t like to cross the bridges with a motorbike at night.

The locals told me they shut of the light because they where afraid that US should bomb their bridges. It had been like this since US bombed Al Shifa ( Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ). It was a common belief that the bombing was the indirect reason for a few thousand dead civilians, mostly childrens. (Because there became a shortage in Malaria and TB-medicines).
Try to think how it would be if it was like that in your own city.

They also told me that US was looking for another country to invade to cover up the mess in Afghanistan and that the war against terror was not working. They where afraid Sudan was next on the list. Luckily (for them) it was wrong; Iraq was invaded 6 months later.

You can find stories like that from lots of countries…


Many people will probably look at this as US-bashing and start to argue. For me this proves a point, a lot of people are not interested in becoming any better. It’s better to defend own faults then to try to listen and understand.

I think your politicians are the main cause of this. They see themselves as the world's policeman and get involved in conflicts where the enemy happens to be a near backward country that is little or no threat to them, such as the former Yugoslavia, Iraq, etc, though Vietnam probably didn't work out the way they planned. At the other end of the scale, they don't do enough to sort the countries who really could pose a threat such as Iran, China, North Korea, etc.

The American's I've met have all been really nice people and the opposite of the fat, stupid, gun toting, pick-up driving stereotype so that's a good thing.

But your cars are still crap :mchappy:

Damn good question. I think the fact that there has been no attempt made to punish the US administration (and the UK I guess, although we were 'just following orders' (as poor an excuse as it ever has been)) is one of the things that the rest of the world finds so infuriating. One of the main reasons the UN was established was so that one country couldn't just invade another one without an agreement that it would be in the best interest of the citizens of that country and global security. Going against a UN resolution and invading a Sovereign country to secure their natural resources is to say the least, out of order.

As public opinion in the US is becoming ever more polarised and the "2-week" war is turning into another vietnam maybe we'll see a revolution. Doesn't the US constitution give its citizens the right to bear arms against an oppressive government?

Andy,
I had to leave a bit of room for all credit to the Romans!
Mind, they were not very nice to this guy:-
A History of St George
who, even today, is better known and remembered in many countries of Europe, and other parts of the world, in contrast to England.

Despite the credit given previously to various other European nations, the Brits have been the best at running other countries in recent history and, arguably, in all known history: ask anyone from Malta what they think about the French who ruled them for a couple of years until the Brits kicked them out.

About St G. Things are changing, slowly:-
Branches of the Society

DLBiten,
I guess you have a sufficiently wide ranging answer to your valid question.

Maybe Jerry Springer was onto something?
 

I saw Jerry Springer interviewed once (quite an intelligent guy!).

He claimed his TV show could only work in the USA. When asked why - he had said no-one was paid to go on his show and there were no professional actors, so you need a population happy and willing to humiliate themselves publicly, and in his opinion only about 10% of any population would be of that ilk - and that in the USA that meant 25,000,000 people...

Just a theory...

Seriously, everyone likes to take a shot at the guy on top from time to time - in Australia we call it the "tall poppy syndrome". And it's easy to find fault in anyone's work. I think most here have nailed it on the head - the people charged with presenting an image of the USA to the world (ie the govt.) could be doing a better job. (Thank God we have a new govt ourselves...)

Personally I have some great mates from the US, and hope to get there one day - everyone I've met say the people are friendly and hospitable.

Damien

Who?
 

Who could do it? The only body with the "legal" right to do so is probably the UN. While a lot of members would love to take a pop at the US, if only to take attention away from their own human rights abuses (what credibility would an action brought by China, Myanmar and Zimbabwe have for example?), where is the willingness to ACT rather than just talking?

I'm not at all sure this is what the UN sees as its role anyway - where is the opportunity to rape young girls in exchange for food aid, or enrich yourself and your family off the back of donors, or even simply enjoy the innocent pleasure of pushing other people round (the thing that attracts such shining stars into politics in the first place)?

The world needs a body with a similar mandate to the UN, but honest and ethical. Quite how you create such a body and keep it that way I do not know.

You want to watch the Jeremy Kyle Show. I'm fairly sure the participants get some form of payment but they really are the dregs of society in the UK. I don't watch it often but I remember Jeremy asking one of these bagheads about how her own childhood was and she replied, "My Mum was a good parent, apart from that time when we were taken into care". :rofl:

Seriously though, watching it is a kind of therapy. It makes you realise that no matter how bad life gets, there's always someone further up shit creek without a paddle than you.

The International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) located in the Hague, Netherlands can try the US.

If no one stops a crimanal he is not going to stop him self.

The US is a producer we make things when you make stuff and you your a rich wasteful git you tend pollute. Most of the US pollution is from a vary few huge companies. Making them stop will just lose the US more jobs. Posing that and you stuff your chances at reelection. As it happens If you look at Europen history at the start of the industrial revolution it was as bad as the US ever was. You had a few World Wars cleared all that junk out and moved what was left of the production to the rest of the world including the US. WE are in slow process of moving it 3rd world now allowing them the fun and health benefits of destroying there environment just like we have for 100 or so years. As far as environment Scandinavians are not saints Environmental Enemy Number 1? Reine - a Norwegian Fishing and Whaling Community :rofl: had to look at the head line. But as you see Norway wont follow a no whaling ban that make Norway bad? no there following there way of life the same as most Americans.

One of the major problems the US faces is not the cold its the heat. Cooling takes more power than heating and power generation pollutes when you dont have thermal vents, hydroelectric, or clean gas we have cheap derty coal. We have hydroelectric where I live but thats not good for the environment just Co2 emissions. Here there thinking of boring in to the crust miles deep to make a man made thermal vent to try to cut down on US power emissions. Its not like we are not trying.
The population densities in the US Demographics of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia we are spread out on the map moving an item from Seattle to Miami is about Oslo to Baghdad that trucks emishions in the US is all in the US from Oslo you get to split it up 10 times. (Think about doing this trip this year! Seattle to Miami)

Who makes the newspapers? google yellow journalism. Rich basterds looking for fools to do there derty work and pay to do it. Will not mater if its the people running the USA or the rich basterds running AL-Qaeda. Same reason same outcome.

We can use the guns on oppressive governments but to get the job done right we need a nuke you realy want a foolish Texas redneck to have one? Oh thats right never mind.:blushing:

Bastardisation of the English language? old English? or one of the newer ones? seems the people in the UK do as a good job on as the US. History of the English language - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I hope people question there own press as much as I question mine. If the "freest press in the world" will lie what will yours do?

yeah I got some answer. Having lots of fun to!

I dont get UK TV here so I dont know about the TV shows

British Television is a true bastion of unbiased fact based news and well-balanced representations of public opinion........ anyone for Kilroy (unfortunately you don't get this, or at least I hope you don't!). Unfortunately as Britain is getting stupider at a semi-exponential rate its only going to get worse.

mmmm, I would worry for all of us if a Texas redneck had his finger on the button........

If you want this to be informative it could be wise to bash other countries in a separate thread. There is a lot of subjects..

It’s funny that you mention the whale-stuff. The US went out really hard on that one, before they realized they where wrong.

Well, at least it was just a boycott and bad publicity, they didn’t let the bombs fall.


I’m not surprised to see that the rest of your post proves that there is not much will to solve the problems.

yes yes the uber boycott. Did nothing. You know how many the USA has going on it?

To see what the US is doing with the enviernment. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
try Kyoto in the search.

Will has little to do with fixing problems.
Please dont look to my post for prof of anything. But as your not surprised by my post I did not know many Americans are asking the USA to be taken to task on perceived slights by the a world court.

Did I vote for the war? nope the citizens dont get to presidential order and congress allocates the money. Do I like it nope.

Norway has troops out there so you didnt find another way. We gust put more out there than you.

How can I make someone like me? The Billions of $ over the years dint do it. They hate me because Im not them If they kill the US off they will gust go on to the next. AL-Qaeda are not the good guys. I dont want to post there web sights there ahhhh unsettling.

Dint mean to off my own topic but you are the one bring up Kyoto protocols. There only to do with greenhouse gas. I just openend the enviernmental Idea up a little. for the people at home Kyoto Protocol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kyoto cant be enforce but the world can impose trade sanctions on the US for not doing it. like this EU leaders urge trade sanctions on U.S., China

Think the new US leadership will change anything?

Hope I get more replies.

In 2002 the CO2 emissions from us was 5,773 million tons, China had 3,783 million tons.
Lets say that Chinas level (per capita) rises to the US-level (why should the US be allowed to have a higher level then China?).
The CO2 emissions from China alone will then reach 26,6 million tons! Disaster…

In India they have said that they will keep the emission level below OECD-average (per capita).
Well, it’s a fair statement but this means that India can increase their total level above the sum of USA, China and Russia! Another disaster…

For various reasons this will probably never happens, but the point is that a lot of countries will increase their emissions and the western world has to reduce their emissions.
The Kyoto was not perfect. It was a start for doing something, but….

This is not only valid for CO2 but various natural resources (power++)

I’m not saying that Europe is doing well here, but on these important subjects the western countries has to cooperate and someone has a problem with that.



That’s explains a lot….


Sure I guess most Americans don’t like it, most Americans are nice people!

On the other hand it is Americans that controls the American media, it’s Americans who votes for the president, the different candidates are Americans and the president himself is an American.

Democracy has a lot of weak points. Joseph de Maistre once said that “Every country has the government it deserves.”
I’m not saying its true but it’s worth a reflection.


Yes we have troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan; someone invaded the countries (but most of the world didn’t like it) and UN asked for peacekeeping forces (stupid word).

Do you remember the bashing of France and freedom fries? Freedom fries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Well, the rest of the western world is not “one of them” either and most of them don’t share your problems.



Back in 2001 the US-embassy in Oslo got equipped with huge fences (on the sidewalk!), armed guards and they closed one of the streets going close by. It’s still like this.
I tried to enter once but was not allowed (don’t know why). In most of the other embassies you can walk directly in.

Just going back to your original points and questions:

Yes, Europeans can be jealous of what the States has done and achieved in its short modern history; sometimes this jealousy is by individuals, but more usually it is institutionalised and comes from individual Governments. However, we love you anyway. Many are still coming your way for vacation, travelling with or without a bike - the currency exchange rate is great for us.

No one here seems to disagree: The Brits were the best, ever. In the right place, at the right time and, most of the time, getting in ahead of the others. Then, we would rule in a more or less benign manner, letting the indigenous population do whatever they could manage within their own limited capabilities and technologies.
We just can't hack it anymore. Empires come and go. One of the few times that the French got the better of us was when they helped you guys to force our withdrawal from Yorktown - Cornwallis, our commander, went off to rule and pacify India, which arguably, was a bigger, more important responsibility. Hell, we could not be everywhere, all of the time.
We did manage to burn the Whitehouse though!:rolleyes2:

One reson its so flawed is the monitoring and reporting moving a air monitoring station a mile or so up wind can change you co2 reports not a big deal but you know who has the bigest target on them. A satilite net work can be made to moniter C02 with reports sent to all concerned about who and where the greenhouse gas are coming from.
I know I know we help draw the thing up the administration changes and we dont go threw with it. (Happens with internal laws as well I dont think statistics are around on the loss of this, maybe trillions $ the price of an ego the size leader of the free world.) The reason the USA has not gone along with this in money if the world made it more expensive for the US to continue as it is it will change. The US operates under a free market where cheap = good not where doing good = good its a cold cold system. Western countries coorpertion has never worked as well as it can. 2 world wars and a cold war that still has scars. The EU has just been formed and I was ages in the making. We are going slow but with the EU applying pressure to the US it may move thins along with the new administration.

Well 5 directly control all the American media out right or using corporations and one is German. Now and then a story makes it passed them but not to often
Media Reform Information Center

Kinda we do Electoral College (United States) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
you need 270 votes from the electoral college to win. The popular vote by the people is near meaningless. Oh the president is an American but is almost always from an elite family. You and I share more in common than me and the EL president.

Freedom Fries ARGGG who was it that started that hate the French idea. I hate them! My last name is French got in more than one fight over the French thing, Got some good deals on French wine out of it not a total loss. Never understood what the problem was so the French were making a deal same deals we had going.
Wonder if in WW2 that called hamburgers freedom sandwichs?

Oh they have chopped off more than just USA peoples heads off. But what did we do pre 9/11 to warrant an attack on 2 civilian targets?

But it was Bush who blundered with Iran. Iran gave us Sodom told us right where he was Then Bush gos and calls them the enemy. Dam him.

The then
'Fort America' infuriates Oslo residents - Aftenposten.no
The why page 2 shows it a bit better
9-11-2001
The now
About the Embassy - U.S. Embassy Oslo, Norway
New US embassy on ice - Aftenposten.no
US embassy moves to Huseby - Aftenposten.no
Seems we need to move from the old one
With the bombing on 9/11/01 all US-embassy had security upgrades a bit of over reaction on the policy makers part but the US was at war. The fences was put there because someone half a world away made up some number in feet and said "all US-embassys put a fence up at such and such a feet away" nothing against Norway or its people but all embassys got fortifications. No one wants this eye sore near them it seems.

Burn the Whitehouse? bahh wasnt even done. A wack job shot it up for sport a few years back another ran a plain in to it and the secret service just watched. bums have peed on it I was thinking of pinching my tent up there but dont like the neighborhood.

Brits do do a good job, good thing to you did it a lot. Cornwallis ran a way, buggered right out. What is it with you and the French any way? Still mad that a little French girl ran you out? I know there nasty when they get mad but you got to let it go man.
:lol2:

I don't know about the big white house in any detail: wasn't it timber at the time? - I read somewhere that it burnt pretty well. May be that is why it is built of stone now?

Cornwallis: battle was an occupation of gentlemen with some elements of chivalry on the field, so it was a "draw" enforced via a French naval blockade. Having surrendered to the French (but not to those colonial rebels) the gentlemen would withdraw in good order.

The French: that goes back to at least 1066 and the battle that brought those bastard Normans to England, just as King Harold had his back turned dealing with the Viking invaders coming out of Scandinavia and attacking York (that's the original York of course). Harold did a pretty good job overall, but he fought on two fronts, consequetively (very nearly concurrently, even by todays' standards of logistics and transport infrastructure) - that sounds familiar to today!
Never mind Joan, don't neglect Crecy and Agincourt in the equation.
Nowadays, the Brits have been buying up property in France and integrating into their social life - the bloodline will always be well mixed!

I think you just answered your own question there.

Also the way I see it most Europeans have the same amount of distain for the UK as they do the USA anyway. I know this is certainly true in my country and a lot of the other EU countries I have been to.

can't say as I've ever noticed any distain coming my way when in Europe - and I found that when in Islamic countries as long as you spit on the floor if you hear the name Bush or Blair mentioned people are very friendly. The names always get mentioned within 5 minutes of talking to people.

How far back to people follow their allegiances? Do we/should we hate the french because of 1066, or just because they are a near neighbour? Have just found out that I am a viking anyway (if you go back to 1028) so not sure where that leaves me........

Should maybe have said more about what I meant here. like other people have said nobody really seems to have anything against the American people or the British. It's the governments that they have no time and plenty of distain for. I would certainly hope that nobody would hold any one of us personally responsible for our own governments behaviour. In my experience though anywhere in Europe I have traveled the American and British governments are seen as being very much alike, that's what I see in my country too.

I only mentioned that because the person who started this thread has been using British press as a guide to European opinion. British press and the press of the rest of Europe are very, very different.

We love them really
 

We like jokes:-

An American Tourist In London

An American tourist in London decides to skip his tour group and explore the city on his own. He wanders around, seeing the sights, occasionally stopping at a quaint pub to soak up the local culture, chat with the locals, and have a pint of bitter.

After a while, he finds himself in a very nice neighbourhood with big, stately residences. No pubs, no stores, no restaurants and, worst of all, no public restrooms.

However, after all those Guinnesses, he really has to go. He finds a narrow side street, with high walls surrounding the adjacent buildings and decides to use the wall to solve his problem.

As he is unzipping, he is tapped on the shoulder by a London bobby, who says, "Sir, you simply cannot do that here, you know."

"I'm very sorry, officer," replies the American, "but I really have to go, and I just can't find a public restroom."

"Ah, yes," said the bobby, "just follow me".

He leads the American through a back delivery alley to a gate, which he opens.

"In there," points the bobby, "whiz away sir, anywhere you like."

The fellow enters and finds himself in the most beautiful garden he has ever seen. Manicured grass lawns, statuary, fountains, sculptured hedges, and huge beds of gorgeous flowers, all in perfect bloom. Since he has the policeman's blessing, he relieves himself and feels much more comfortable.

As he goes back through the gate, he says to the bobby, "That was really decent of you. Is that what you call English hospitality?"

"No, sir." replied the bobby. "That is what we call the French Embassy."

Bloody Vikings coming over here, pillaging our monasteies and raping our women, why don't you just get back to where you came from?

:eek3: