Be warned!!!!

[mart]

You make an awful lot of assumptions about us Bimmercat. That none of us have ever protested about other atrocities, that we are entirely motivated by envy and hypocrisy, that we hate the USA and all its inhabitants, wrong,
wrong, wrong.
I think what motivates our current feelings about the USA is the sight of a great country apparently run by religious, militaristic bigots headed on a course of world domination.
To be told that if we don't agree with current US policy vis a vis how to counter terrorism we are therefore on the side of the terrorists is the tactic of a bully.

Mart

[Deuce Bigolo]

Bimmercat wrote:

> First, I'll bet the slaves had a different view of "LAW" than
> the Brits did at the time. Funny how if the Brits, French,
> Dutch or anybody else enslaves others, it is somehow ok and
> theres "law" on their side - nice!
>
> Second, not all Americans are as stupid as to ask why Brits
> don't celebrate Independence Day...come on now...we're
> stereotyping again. Shame on you.
>
> Third, you say "its sad, but what happens when you invade
> someone elses country" about the death of US service men,
> well...thats kind of how we (and the Irish) feel about British
> soldiers killed at the hands of IRA badmen. That shoe fits on
> other's feet as well...doesn't it? Funny again how the US is a
> "bad invading force" but other nations are not given this title
> when they take over what is not theirs, isn't it?
>
> Fourth...and man...I don't know how many times I have to say
> it...the president is NOT an indicator of the rest of the
> population of the US. Is Tony Blair representative of all you
> Brits? ...of course he isn't. Why are we all thought of as
> "little Dubyas?" Clinton was just as bad and probably worse as
> Bush, but I guess since he is more in line with everyone's
> political leanings, he is given a pass on his foreign policy
> screw-ups (Somalia, Bosnia, Haiti...I could go on).
>
> Oh, and I love it how we were once a "great nation" but now
> are the evil of the world, just because of the Iraq fiasco.
> Come on now...you guys have hated us (along with the rest of
> the world) long before Iraq and Dubya.
>
> This is why I wish we would just leave the rest of the world
> alone, period. No more help/money to the Mid-East, Europe,
> Russia, China...just cut everyone off entirely. Its obvious
> that we cannot please anyone and most everyone hates us, so why
> bother? We could certainly use the extra money to fix the
> millions of things that are more than broken in the USA.
>
> ...but oh...this will never happen! (ugh!)
>
> - Bimmercat

Your last paragraph sounds like a good idea in principle but consider where a lot of this money is generated from.The worlds biggest economy is intrically linked to all trading nations like a giant octopus.Many would argue it is stripping the worlds assets through its Multi-National Companies.

Maybe if the media were to spend more time reporting the amounts in aidy being sent as aid worldwide to countries by the USA and not on the mega profits being reported by USA Companies the irrational views of many might be tempered

Even handed reporting obviously doesn't sell papers

Why do negative stories sell better than positive ones?

The one time I've seen Aid being reported was an African Nation rejecting a
genetically modified wheat shipment from the USA while its citizens were starving

cheers
B....OZ

[Deuce Bigolo]

I don't know the full story but one documentary said that 60% of all diamonds were being smuggled out and onsold by black marketeers so the amateurs might be a little bit more well armed & trained than you would think

I bet the SAS probably had their hands tied like our Aussie troops in East Timor.They couldn't shoot on armed enemy unless they came under fire
So you had the ludicrous situation of milita roaming the country fully armed and untouchable until they used their weapons

I'd love to know who made these rules of engagement-fuckwits obviously

B....OZ

[woodgnome]

as strategies go, that may not be the best - the usa spends less of it's gnp on foreign aid than any other western nation.

the table shows the amount of official development assistance allocated in 2002, as a percentage of gnp. the un target is 0.7% of gnp, which most nations don't meet.


01. Denmark 0.96%
02. Norway 0.91%
03. Netherlands 0.82%
04. Luxembourg 0.78%
05. Sweden 0.74%
06. Belgium 0.42%
07. Ireland 0.41%
08. France 0.36%
09. Finland 0.35%
10. Switzerland 0.32%
11. United Kingdom 0.3%
12. Canada 0.28%
13. Germany 0.27%
14. Spain 0.25%
15. Australia 0.25%
16. Portugal 0.24%
17. New Zealand 0.23%
18. Japan 0.23%
19. Austria 0.23%
20. Greece 0.22%
21. Italy 0.2%
22. United States 0.12%.

(figures courtesy of the oecd)

[mart]

Thanks woodgnome. But as someone once said "Never let the facts spoil a good story".

Mart

[Deuce Bigolo]

I agree its not the best strategy to make people pro-American but it would still give people a more balanced view.I'd expect .12% of the USAs GNP
would still be a significant amount

Real reporting showing exactly what the aid is achieving would be useful
not those World Vision adverts but real facts and figures that show that mortality rates are decreasing and standard of living is increasing

We Aussies have been throwing money at the Aborigines for decades
with no conclusive evidence that shows any significant improvements

This interesting 1986 article about USA Foreign aid since 1946
paints a very disturbing picture.Even with good intentions there is no guarantee of a successful outcome for the people who really need the help



cheers
B....OZ

[php]

If someone said Blair is a twat, or the Iraq occupation is morally repugnant, I would say yeah I agree with ya ) Not try to blame others for being anti-british.

Being able to express your views on governement policies, critical or praise, without being branded unpatriotic, a communist, anti-american, offended or whatever is crucial to a healthy democracy.

*Bimmercat please take note*