Aussies and 8 other nations - maybe more...

The Albino Raven · Post by **The Albino Raven** » 2003-06-19 11:33pm

So you believe that a nation that has no ability to maintain its own economy is going to turn down the assistance offered by the US? But what happens when that assistance comes in - its often sponsored by the corporations who will have their own interests.

So we should shell out billions of dollars to help people and expect nothing in return? God, we can't even win with you when we help people.

Oh, so now we are only going to help someone if we get something back in return. Geez, whatever happened to charity? America has the stability to not expect more back than it gives, and could be charitable, but it chooses not to be. As for the cultural destruction, mando is right, its an issue of culture defense.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-06-20 12:23am

Col. Crackpot wrote:granted, a great many people here do labour under mis-guided self perception, but there are just as many, if not more in other parts of the world who labor under the delusion that "America is bad" or "the west is evil" because my Imam/sociology professor/disgruntled co-worker says so.

Obviously, people who have never been to America should be wary of expounding at length upon its culture. I've been to America (hell, I lived only a few hundred yards from the border for several years), so I don't speak about it from empty propaganda of a far-off land.

Also, throughout the years the people who have come to the US (and Canada for that matter! Isn't the population of Toronto 40% foreign born?) have been desperate people looking to better themselves. Those people (my family included) will always exist, and they will keep coming. If at the end they want to go home with the things they have accumulated (like my grandmother who moved back to Ireland) lets be careful not to so easily say that they moved home because they didn't like the US (or Canada, the UK etc.)

I didn't say that people who go back home must dislike the US; I said that they like their homelands more.

PS. Wayne, it's true that Canada has exported many comedians and actors to Hollywood. Obviously, if you're in the entertainment business, Hollywood is the place to be. But please, try to keep that "Jason Priestly" bit quiet; we're trying to make people forget that he's associated with our country.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-06-21 09:45am

I didn't think this was worth starting a new thread about, this is from the Israeli site Ha'aretz, about what pisses off the world about America (talking about Fox News Channel and how it exports:

"the infuriating side that inspires so much hostility: the self-righteousness, the brutality, the pretension, hubris, and simplicity, the feverish faith in its moral superiority, the saccharine and infantile patriotism, and the deep self-persuasion that America is not only the most powerful of the nations, but also that the truth is always American. Fox looks like the media arm of the superpower mentality, indifferent to any perspective that is not American and alienating vast portions of the world. Its war coverage is as governmental as that of Iraqi TV. This is American TV."

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-21 05:13pm

Oh, so now we are only going to help someone if we get something back in return. Geez, whatever happened to charity? America has the stability to not expect more back than it gives, and could be charitable, but it chooses not to be. As for the cultural destruction, mando is right, its an issue of culture defense.

Charity? Sir, the American government is not a charitable organization, it's funded by taxpayers who expect it to spend money in ways that will benefit them. America is not the world's welfare kingpin.

Dorsk 81 · Post by **Dorsk 81** » 2003-06-21 08:21pm

Durran Korr wrote:
Oh, so now we are only going to help someone if we get something back in return. Geez, whatever happened to charity? America has the stability to not expect more back than it gives, and could be charitable, but it chooses not to be. As for the cultural destruction, mando is right, its an issue of culture defense.
Charity? Sir, the American government is not a charitable organization, it's funded by taxpayers who expect it to spend money in ways that will benefit them. America is not the world's welfare kingpin.

Proven by the fact that when rich countries such as the US and UK lend money out to help the poorer countries, they charge interest on the money and the poorer countires become even poorer when they're ment to be helping.

bogles the mind...

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-21 08:55pm

Not to mention the IMF, does the same thing, it's unfortunate but that's how it is.

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-06-21 10:53pm

Stravo wrote:
Graeme Dice wrote:
GrandAdmiralPrawn wrote:Gee Ando, I wonder why all those American movies are at the Australian theater. Is it because PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THEM?
Or is it because you've managed to set up a near monopoly.
Is it a monopoly because it was set out to do that or because it is so successful?? IMHO most monoplies come from the fact that the underkying product is sucessful, what is done with that market share in esatblishing a monopoly is another matter alotogether. If people like the American product over the home grown we have market forces making teh decisions. If American movies sucked ass there's very little one can do to set up such a monopoly.

To quote my ghetto brothers "Don't be a playa hater...let a playa play!"

Mind you, that is changing now as the abilities of other nations to make good films improves, or is as good as or better than Hollywood. Film making will eventually become more of a western/international affair rather than just a American phenomeon. Costs, oviously, and also now that quality SFX, technicians etc are no longer just located in America. Examples, the Matrix series and the Rings series.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-22 12:32am

Still, bankrolled by American companies, both of those franchises are (at least as far as I'm aware).

Stuart Mackey · Post by **Stuart Mackey** » 2003-06-22 12:46am

Durran Korr wrote:Still, bankrolled by American companies, both of those franchises are (at least as far as I'm aware).

Yes, they are. Still most of the work is actually done by other, NZ and Aussie in this instance, nations.
Once other nations have the ability its only a matter of time befor America no longer dominates in this area.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-22 12:50am

You're probably right - not that that's a bad thing, there are things Americans can learn from foreign filmmaking.

Aeolus · Post by **Aeolus** » 2003-06-23 02:32am

Crown wrote:Why I hate America?

Simple. The US Administration, being the head of the most powerful naiton in the world, routinely makes decisions which directly and indirectly influence my quality of life, and horrors of all horrors, despite falsely advertising its self as the model democracy (::hint:: you're a republic), I HAVE NO SAY ON WHO GETS TO RUN THIS ADMINISTRATION!

That's why I hate America.

So have your nation petition for membership in the Union then you will have a say in who runs it.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-06-23 04:51am

Aeolus wrote:
So have your nation petition for membership in the Union then you will have a say in who runs it.

You can do that?

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-23 12:15pm

Vympel wrote:
Aeolus wrote:
So have your nation petition for membership in the Union then you will have a say in who runs it.
You can do that?

Come to think of it, I don't see why not.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-06-23 12:33pm

Durran Korr wrote:
Vympel wrote:
Aeolus wrote:
So have your nation petition for membership in the Union then you will have a say in who runs it.
You can do that?
Come to think of it, I don't see why not.

Texas was a sovereign nation at one point.... they did it.

*happily ponders the thought of Ando reciting the pledge of allegience.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-06-23 12:43pm

Durran Korr wrote:
Vympel wrote:
Aeolus wrote:So have your nation petition for membership in the Union then you will have a say in who runs it.
You can do that?
Come to think of it, I don't see why not.

Many of the more prosperous Canadian provinces have a sizable contingent of the population which takes the idea of joining the US quite seriously. Basically, everyone west of Quebec has toyed with the idea at one time or another.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-23 12:45pm

Would you be surprised to hear that invading Canada comes up pretty often in drunken and/or idiotic conversations?

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-06-23 12:55pm

Durran Korr wrote:Would you be surprised to hear that invading Canada comes up pretty often in drunken and/or idiotic conversations?

Regime change would go much more smoothly than that whole Iraq thing, since we already have democracy, we get CNN, etc. It would really be more of a vacation for your troops, and a boost to our tourism industry which would have to supply them with booze, strippers, and porn. Although I'd suggest that your invasion forces stop short of Quebec, since I doubt you'd really want them.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-06-23 12:58pm

weemadando wrote:No- Wait, I think that they're doing something - yes. Yes they are. They're appointing that moron who fucked up in the Phillipines and who has an ego bigger than Churchill's gut to our defense. I guess we should go an recapture New Guinea on our own then because there's no fucking way he'll ever get around to doing it.

MacArthur?

Dear Lord that man was a pompous fuck. Left you Aussies hanging in New Guinea and then criticized you afterward.

What a bitch.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-23 12:59pm

I do have one question, these groups that advocate joining the U.S., are they fringe nutcases or are they at least partially in the mainstream?

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-06-23 01:00pm

Tsyroc wrote:
Crown wrote:I HAVE NO SAY ON WHO GETS TO RUN THIS ADMINISTRATION!
If you were a US citizen you could basically say the same thing. .

Oh Jesus.

Not only was the election almost 50-50, Bush's completely contradicted his promises since 9/11.

We have no say. What a bitch.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-06-23 01:02pm

You can do that?

That's how Texas, Californa, Hawaii, and (IIRC) Vermont all got in.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2003-06-23 01:09pm

Vympel wrote:*snip*

I apologize to non-Americans out there. Faux News is disgusting self-aggrandizing dribble that expounds at length about our "heroes" and other such bullshit.

I wouldn't wipe my ass with their news.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-23 01:13pm

I watch Fox News when I want a more in-touch with reality spin on certain domestic issues (there is none of the stock "tax cut for the rich" schlock that is heard quite often on network news, for example) but that's about it.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-06-23 01:18pm

Durran Korr wrote:I do have one question, these groups that advocate joining the U.S., are they fringe nutcases or are they at least partially in the mainstream?

A little of both. Some politicians have even publicly rumbled about joining the US in the past, and there are lot of "silent majority" people who would go along with it without protest, although there are also a lot of people who would be vehemently against it. Pols in the western provinces have talked about it before.

StarshipTitanic · Post by **StarshipTitanic** » 2003-06-23 01:30pm

Dorsk 81 wrote:
Durran Korr wrote:
Oh, so now we are only going to help someone if we get something back in return. Geez, whatever happened to charity? America has the stability to not expect more back than it gives, and could be charitable, but it chooses not to be. As for the cultural destruction, mando is right, its an issue of culture defense.
Charity? Sir, the American government is not a charitable organization, it's funded by taxpayers who expect it to spend money in ways that will benefit them. America is not the world's welfare kingpin.
Proven by the fact that when rich countries such as the US and UK lend money out to help the poorer countries, they charge interest on the money and the poorer countires become even poorer when they're ment to be helping. bogles the mind...

Because they're supposed to be using the money to better themselves, not add a solid gold wing to the Presidential Palace complex.