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04-19-2009, 12:39 AM | #37 |
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I think why the rest of the world doesnt particularly like the US is that we're the only country in the world that goes around saying how great we are and how important we are.
Resigning from thread. Thats all I have to say.
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04-19-2009, 12:40 AM | #38 | |
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Others are only open to people with the right backgrounds, such as Skull and Crossbones, etc. It is odd that in many cases both candidates in US Presidential Elections tend to come from the Ivy League. This is not a coincidence, as the Ivy League tends to impress upon their alumni a certain world view, a certain sense of entitlement. It's not iron clad, but it's strong. The one which probably bears watching is the CFR, Council of Foreign Relations. They're a think tank and interest group founded by Cecil Rhodes to harmonize policy of "anglo saxon nations", to quote Rhodes. The CFR has huge influence over the US Executive branch and have had such influence since the late 1910s. They're not sinister, not exactly, but they tend to over synchronize things a bit too much. Their first big break was under the Wilson Administration, which helped to influence US entry into World War I on the British side. Wilson was elected on a neutrality platform but broke his word once his advisors counseled him that the US didn't come that New York Banking interests would lose their loans to the Brits for war materiel. If you dig deep enough you'll usually find a few large families in the US who have huge influence. They don't control this country, but they tend to shape debate and policy. They kind of set walls around where we are likely to go. The biggies are the Rockefeller Family. They have founded Universities and Foundations and have created a vast intellectual bodyguard. The later big families, like the Kennedys and others, have similar Trusts that protect their wealth from income taxes. There are of course many other groups in the US. When things seem like a conspiracy it's more a convergence of interests. If the American people understood it, and I don't completely understand it at all, they would probably not sweat it much. Americans tend to be laid back unless they're being pushed hard. Gene |
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04-19-2009, 12:43 AM | #39 | |
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The flip side, of course, is the arrogant attitude that the US does not have its own culture and that by implication we're rubes and clods. The US borrows from anyone who comes here. While we're mostly Anglo Saxon we tend to borrow a lot from other places too. Gene |
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04-19-2009, 04:13 AM | #40 |
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New piece of the sky falling, Obama is a Satanist,heres the proof
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-TMK...layer_embedded Some people are really going to extremes to discredit Obama,wonder how many hours the guy spent to come up with this stretch of the imagination just to drive the republicans into more of a stupor i hope in 4yrs Obama gets re elected |
04-19-2009, 07:07 AM | #41 |
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I saw a piece on Iran (as a good example) a few weeks ago by "Rick Steves" a video travel agent if you will. As he ventured thru the country he revealed with conversations with the locals that they like us. They are objective enough to to say that it's the governments that are in conflict. The people care about other people. It's my opinion that most countries are like this. The media (what a surprise) tends to exagerate or overstate what the U.S. is all about. I have a nephew in Iraq who states that despite any misunderstanding or lack of info from the media, the real people appreciate what we did and the help we are giving them rebuilding. You don't hear this on the news but one of the biggest most dangerous cities has been opening up there shops and streets and life is getting back to normal. It's a shame that the extremists are getting so much attention and the good stuff is not getting reported at all.
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| | Last edited by NJBob; 04-19-2009 at 09:29 AM. |
04-19-2009, 09:27 AM | #42 |
My take on the world's situation ........... Our biggest enemy ....... the most evil....... the one I fear most ................. the one responsible for brainwashing and causing panic ............. the MEDIA.
The media crucified Richard Jewell, the media destroyed Bush, elected Obama...... the media can not go 5 minutes without using the words .... the state of the economy.
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04-19-2009, 09:37 AM | #43 |
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I don't agree that the media elected Obama. I think he was the better qualified of the two. He's young, smart, ambitious, educated. Democrats seemed the likely choice after seeing what the previous 8 year admin. did (and didn't do)and did not vote for him simply because he's a Democrat. But that's just me. The two things that bother me the most about that election is that some people voted for Obama solely because of his color.....and worse....did not.
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04-19-2009, 10:17 AM | #44 |
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Bush destroyed his own credibility and the voters showed their displeasure and voted the bum out, too bad the republicans cant except the fact that the people have spoken and Obama and the Dems are the way its going to be for at least the next 4yrs,and as for the media electing Obama you obviously havent been listening to media moguls Limbaugh,Beck, Hannity, Coulter, and many others who use the media to carve up Obama everyday. I used to be a fence sitter as to whether i was Liberal or conservative in my political views but in the aftermath of this recent election i've jumped squarely to the liberal side as the conservatives seem to be a bunch of spoiled brats ,poor losers and nut jobs who seem to continually whine about the idea that their guns might be at risk of registration or the government might institute more social programs instead of pulling together to overcome the temporary fiscal challenges that now face the nation .
Last edited by jambo101; 04-19-2009 at 10:34 AM. |
04-19-2009, 10:25 AM | #45 | |
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For one, how much international travel have you done? Because if you have, you'd realize that most of the anti-US sentiment is directed towards our government, not the people or culture of the US. And being the last true world power, some of that criticism is to be expected. I don't agree with everything our government does, but I also realize that the US is one of the greatest countries on the planet and a lot of that hatred stems from jealousy. Take Iran for example, they like to bitch and moan about the US, but given the opportunity they would very much want to control how the world is. Same goes with the Chinese, Russians, and basically every other major country in the world. The biggest difference is the US has the power to do so, whereas they do not, so they try other avenues of influence (terrorism, economics, etc) to try and get leverage for their desires... Cheers! M2 |
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04-19-2009, 10:43 AM | #46 |
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yep, since WWII, the US has truly become the dominant country of the world. I am grateful for their involvement, or I'd be speaking German now
But, I guess this success sorta went to the collective heads of the ruling elite, and over time the country became a kind of bully You guys ought to read a book called Rogue State by William Blum. it's pretty thick and slow reading, but it chronicles a lot of the underhanded influence the US has had in other countries. So yes, it is this influence, as well as the relative prosperity of the american people, that can really infuriate those of other countries, sadly with disastrous results as we saw on 9/11
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04-19-2009, 10:59 AM | #47 | |
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrsBKGpwi58 How about the day that Obama hemmed and hawed about "breathilyzers" and other non-sense because he didn't have a teleprompter? Didn't see that on TV, did you? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxxxGUeZtno Fortunately the Media is destroying itself. Newspapers are on the edge of going out of business. It's too easy to get news from the Internet. You don't get the grotesque bias from the Internet if you shop around. TV news shows are following in suit. Our biggest problem is not the Media. It's a public which refuses to think things through to their logical conclusions. We get the government that we deserve because we refuse to keep good books ourselves. A populace that kept track of things would realize that you cannot spend money you don't have endlessly. They'd realize how often the Government has failed to deliver on its promises. They may not become Conservatives either, they might demand more prudent spending and more realistic taxation than Marxist "From each according to their ability" income taxes. They might want to question why beer is legal but dope is illegal and that the US has two million people in jail. H.L. Mencken said a long time ago that the idea of politics is to give people what they want, good and hard. We're getting it now. Between Cap 'n Trade, grotesque deficit spending and hyper regulation this is going to be a hard country to make a good living. Yes, we'll see if people finally wake up in this country. Got a feeling it's starting to happen, but the nub is what conclusions that they'll draw. Gene |
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04-19-2009, 10:11 PM | #48 |
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Years ago, someone (obviously not an American) said that the USA is heading for Third-World status within 2 decades; rash, but when one considers what the US spends its tax money on ("defense", for a start) and the state of the poor or sick, this is not a difficult conclusion to come to.
My buddy's favourite quote is, "America is the only nation that went from infancy to senility without going through maturity." I only hope that Obama is able to supply a period of that missing component... |
04-19-2009, 10:46 PM | #49 | |
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Gene |
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04-19-2009, 10:50 PM | #50 |
I guess it is just the recession that is digging into ppl's mind... Usually, these same discussions happen every time a new person is elected. There were and will be complaints, rants, etc... The point is that all these politicians are elected by us... Isnt that the US where ppl say the government is ... "For the ppl, of the ppl, by the ppl"???
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04-19-2009, 11:20 PM | #51 | |
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04-20-2009, 06:50 AM | #52 |
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I'd say the country did wake up,they threw the 8yr legacy of George Bush and the republicans under the bus.Listening to some republicans you'd think Americas problems all started when Obama was elected,sorry but 8yrs of Bush running the country like the old wild west led to 2 wars and a close call not going into 3 others (Iran,Syria,Afganistan),he let the money people run rampant with the financial institutions of America to the point the country came close to bankruptcy while the fat cats just stuffed their pockets with your money,and somehow this is all Obama's fault?It amazes me that Bush walks away with no accountability for his actions and the best the republicans can do is blame Obama for everything So glad about the 2 term limit,i can only imagine what another term of Bush would have done to the country.
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04-20-2009, 07:29 AM | #53 | |
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04-20-2009, 08:17 AM | #54 | ||
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Also, if you did your research you will find our current housing problems were started by the previous administration (Clinton). I don't necessarily believe it was intentionally meant to collapse the market, in fact it was started with all the best intentions but unfortunately was left running unchecked therefore nosedived driving the country into its current economic woes. Additionally, don't be so quick to praise Obama, he shouldn't be given a free ride simply because he followed Bush. Some of his proposals are not well thought out, and they need the checks-and-balances of a little criticism. Here is a good example from the Wall Street Journal... Quote:
Cheers! M2 |
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