Just in case you missed this video clip.....

[Your Average European]

I guess I'll just have to shut up :)

[LMC740iL]

[D.R. Dickey]

First - we're not in the deepest economic crises we've ever been in you moron. Anyone remember the (D)Carter days? Those were truly depressing times. America is indeed suffering through a bit of a hangover from the highly speculative 90's but we're still doing quite well thank you very much. In fact, America is kicking your arrogant European [Oops!] economically speaking.

[GuyH]

quit your 2-bit, sidewalk philosophising, the truth is that you want to steal the property of others like a common theif and legitimize it with majority (mob) rule.

You make me sick to my stomach and are not worth even discussing this subject with anymore than I would negotiate right & wrong with a burgalar when he were breaking into my home to steal from me.

Idiots like this don't need to be talked to, they need to be put on a boat to nowhere.

Even discussing these subjects with him gives more validity to his nonsense than it deserves.

Average Euro is an Average Thief.2000 750IL Anthracite/Grey
<img src="http://members.roadfly.com/guyh/bmw%204%20small.jpg"height=141 width=330>

[ttab]

Take a look at the License Plate. British Columbia. They were Canadians not Americans. So much for that dumb European.

[Your Average European]

Did you actually read my post ? Allow me to quote myself: "Now, those sorry asses in the clip may actually be Canadian for all I know". Ring a bell ? My point was that in just about every single (non-US) car forum on the web, the first reaction was "Stupid Americans" or something similar.

This shows that there is currently quite a strong popular opinion against the US. I'm not saying it's totally justified, I'm just acknowledging the fact that it exists. I'm also trying to point out some of the reasons for this. I'm not saying you should agree with my opinions, I'm just offering you a view of how things look from outside the US.

[Your Average European]

...and I have come to take your souls :) No, I don't think I'm evil. I personally don't want to (and don't need to) steal anyone's money. I'm just trying to make you aware of the fact that, for all practical purposes, someone has been stealing from you for a while now. The question is, what are you going to do to get your money back ?

[GuyH]

Let's see, how the world looks outside the U.S. without the U.S.

Nazi Europe
Russian Communist Eastern Europe
Imperialist Japanese ruled Asia
etc etc

Europe has been at war since the dawn of time. it took American guns and men to keep you children off of each other's throats for the last 60 years, longest period of peace there in history probably.

Don't even think about preaching to us...seriously, we don't care at all what the rest of the world thinks about us. There is peace in general due solely to the U.S. Constitution and our philosophies about political AND economic freedom.

You and the other lazy Euros should be over here kissing out feet, not advising us on how to run our economy.

go peddle your socialist garbage to some 3rd world country who needs reason for a revolution or some decaying, lazy Euro economy that is heading for 3rd world status and only exists to begin with due to U.S. military power.

cheers!2000 750IL Anthracite/Grey
<img src="http://members.roadfly.com/guyh/bmw%204%20small.jpg"height=141 width=330>

[GuyH]

but yes, those of your philosphy are the great satan...

Hitler
Stalin
Castro
Pol Pot
and many, many more....

All gained and kept power by telling the masses that the rich few were exploiting them and using the greed of the masses to steal the property from the rich and promise to give it to the poor masses.

you really have to love this line of reasoning...

it's wrong to be rich, so we'll take your money to make us rich, then it's not wrong any more....

Greed is what this is all about, but it is the greed of the ignorant, unproductive masses for the property of the rich, not the other way around. The rich want to keep they have, you want the take their property...who is greedy ?

I know I'm hiding it really well, but I do hate and despise the ignorance of people of your philosohpy. You and your type suck the cerativity and work from others that you're too lazy or incapable of producing yourselves...

leave mine alone, if you want wealth, make it yourself. If you're not capable, come ask me for help....but don't forget to say pretty please, I just may toss your a crumb ;)

cheers!2000 750IL Anthracite/Grey
<img src="http://members.roadfly.com/guyh/bmw%204%20small.jpg"height=141 width=330>

[Looked closer than you at the plate]

Not a BC plate....it's from Maryland...

[Your Average European]

It's the ignorance and arrogance of people like you that is the reason why people have come to turn their admiration (and in some cases even thankfulness) for the US into disdain. If you actually think like that, I feel sorry for you and all the people who have to deal with you on a daily basis.

Being the leading economic and military power in the world comes with its own set of responsibilities. Just having the power doesn't mean you can actually handle it, and lately there has been substantial evidence of the fact that you can't.

[GuyH]

you, the one what talks about 1mm civilians killed in Iraq?
you, who have the nerve to tell us how to set up our tax system?

Seriouly, leave here. We don't run to Finland and tell you how nutty your socialist system, how you supported the mass murderers in Moscow for so many years, how you sat and watched as Hitler & Stalin butchered 10s of millions of your EuroBros (I like that!).

Mine you decaying continent and we'll mind ours.

Now tell me again who is ignorant and arragont.

Also, I note that you did not respond to a single point, only rattled off coffee shop cliches you saw on CNN or something.

Grow up junior and see the world before you advise us on how to save the EuroBros next time you start your bickering.

cheers!

[andybmw325is]

how could we possibly get here without someone making us?

[appeasement just doesn\'t work]

Bin Laden's boys are now saying France is part of the Western conspiracy to destroy Islam because of Chirac's banning of headscarves.

French and Finnish readers

Playing both sides just doesn't work. You can't appease terrorists, you gotta rip 'em out by the roots

[Your Average European]

>you, the one what talks about 1mm civilians killed in Iraq?

If you want to justify an attack on Iraq by bringing up how many people have died under Saddam's regime, you should also acknowledge the fact that many more died as a result of the first Gulf war and the embargoes that ensued. There are two sides to every coin. Unicef estimates that there was an increase of more than half a million deaths among children under the age of 5 between 1990 and 2000, and the trend continued after that study. Add to this all the other casualties of the war and the UN embargoes.

The only ignorance here is displayed by you, who either are not aware of this fact or fail to see its significance.

>you, who have the nerve to tell us how to set up our tax system?

I'm not telling you how to set up your tax system, I'm just saying it seems to be seriously flawed and giving you some alternative views on the subject. Doing this may be slightly arrogant, but your arrogance in suggesting that your system is the only right one, and ignorance in thinking that your precious free market economy runs by itself and can't be interfered with (you personally didn't, but it was suggested in some other posts here) is surely of an entirely different magnitude. Read some books (no, a Bush campaign ad in a pro-guns magazine won't do) and then come back here and have an opinion.

>Seriouly, leave here. We don't run to Finland and tell you how
>nutty your socialist system, how you supported the mass murderers
>in Moscow for so many years, how you sat and watched as Hitler &
>Stalin butchered 10s of millions of your EuroBros (I like that!).

Now that statement right there is not arrogant at all, in addition to being completely off target ?

>Mine you decaying continent and we'll mind ours.
>Now tell me again who is ignorant and arragont.

Well I don't know about "arragont", but your posts here are probably among the most ignorant and arrogant I've ever had the displeasure of reading.

>Also, I note that you did not respond to a single point, only
>rattled off coffee shop cliches you saw on CNN or something.

That's because your post contained no points to speak of. The idea that world peace exists solely thanks to the US, and everyone else should be grateful and "kiss your feet", is an idea about as misguided as that of the master race in WWII-era Germany, and potentially even more harmful. This is exactly the kind of combination of ignorace and arrogance that allows extremely destructive powers to take a hold of masses of people.

I can't quite judge if you are one of the dangerous people driving ideas like this or one of the sorry asses believing in them; any which way you are sadly misguided.

>Grow up junior and see the world before you advise us on how to save >the EuroBros next time you start your bickering.

Something tells me that I am probably not your junior. Either that or you really have progressed in the wrong direction with age.

Here's a link to some very insightful thoughts regarding the state of your country, written by a man who is surely your senior (and mine) and knows at least a thousand times more about politics and economics than you and I combined. I suggest you read this (if you actually can). You would do well to have a look at some of the other commentaries and papers on the site as well. This actually goes for anyone viewing this post, it's usually a good thing to be aware of different opinions even if you don't agree with them.

<a href="http://fbc.binghamton.edu/iwnation.htm">'Soft Multilateralism' by Immanuel Wallerstein</a>

[marc79euro635]

<IMG SRC=http://members.roadfly.org/marc79euro635/sigpic1.jpg>

[OCJeff]

[European]

Everyone should listen to Your Average European as he is the only one actually making any sense here. It would be a brilliant idea to take money from the rich people. You could give it for people who are dieing like insects in poorer parts of the world just so some wanker can have an extra swimming pool. And 'guyh' can just [Oops!] off because he is completely and utterly wrong about his history. No doubt he is American. And as for voting Bush out - Screw that, just have a revolution against him.

[Scott]

Being the most powerful nation on earth, both militarily and economically, comes with the moral obligation to know when to show restraint and when to back down.

Just because you can win a battle doesn't mean that you should be fighting it.

So far this US administration has shown what I think is a serious lack of foresight into the long-term ramafications of their actions.

The two countries that the US has tried to "liberate" most recently are still violent, polictically corrupt messes with little sign that they will be improving anytime soon. The American military presence throughout the world is at nearly an all-time high, and that has driven anti-US sentiment to an nearly equal all time high.

[Scott]

I have to take issue with your opinion that the US is the most altruistic nation on earth.

The US foreign, while large in terms of $ values, is heavily slanted towards promting it's own agenda, whether it be political, military, or even religious. Smaller countries (Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Canada) to name a few, contribute far less money but in way that has much more positive impact to people on the ground.

As altruistic as the States is, it seems obvious that the aid they give is aimed at bolstering they own economy (Israel), or creating quasi-dependant states in areas of political interest (Pakistan).