Quote from flymike91 :

Here I thought our power came from either inventing or mass producing almost every major scientific advancement for the last 100 years. And slavery for the hundred before that.

If the USA has been solely responsible for furthering technology in the last century (and I frankly cannot be bothered to attempt to refute your claim although I imagine it would be easy) it's because it is a phenomenally rich nation. And you get rich by exploiting less developed people and stealing their riches.

There seems to be a belief in the USA that there is some unique talent pool that other nations simply do not have. This isn't the case, it comes down to money, and you got your money the same way every other empire got their money - the dirty way.

Funnily enough this seems to parallel the zionist jew idea that they are god's chosen people and somehow genetically superior. A belief which I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear I don't subscribe to.

:munching_

you won't see this shit on android

/me hides.

I bet this will happen

/me looks on android market. "Patriotapp" FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

the US has a unique talent pool in that we take the greatest minds from all countries and give them an opportunity that they don't have in their own country: the ability to make massive amounts of money, buy a luxury car, pay less personal and business taxes, pay less for consumer goods, get a smoking hot trophy wife, an even hotter mistress...the list goes on. If you have a billion dollar idea, you're better off coming to America to develop it than anywhere else in the world because you will be able to keep more of your money for yourself. That is how we make our money now.

If you buy chinese goods (basically if you buy things) you are just as guilty of oppressing the poor people of other nations as Americans are. If you buy gasoline you are complicit in the continued violence in the Middle East. If you happen to like fruits and vegitables then you are devouring the bloody tears of the picker's penniless children....do you see where I'm going? No need to feel guilty kev, thats just how the world works.

Quote from flymike91 :

the US has a unique talent pool in that we take the greatest minds from all countries and give them an opportunity that they don't have in their own country: the ability to make massive amounts of money, buy a luxury car, pay less personal and business taxes, pay less for consumer goods, get a smoking hot trophy wife, an even hotter mistress...the list goes on. If you have a billion dollar idea, you're better off coming to America to develop it than anywhere else in the world because you will be able to keep more of your money for yourself. That is how we make our money now.

If you buy chinese goods (basically if you buy things) you are just as guilty of oppressing the poor people of other nations as Americans are. If you buy gasoline you are complicit in the continued violence in the Middle East. If you happen to like fruits and vegitables then you are devouring the bloody tears of the picker's penniless children....do you see where I'm going? No need to feel guilty kev, thats just how the world works.

So in fact you are trying to prove the point that people from the USA only want to profit from the despair of "lesser" countries by exploiting their goods at your whim to sustain your wasteful ways. You may fail to realize that although a country may not have demon-cracy it is not able to function at a level whereas all consumer goods are disposable much like how immigrants are treated in the good 'ole USA...

/rant

There's a certain American type of attitude that really tends to rub Europeans and people of other western countries the wrong way, and probably many Americans as well! I think the main problem stems from what many probably perceive to be this weird, naive reverence you guys have for your leaders.. wanting to turn Obama into a God for eg, or forgiving the sins of Bush by voting for him twice! There's this apparent idea that America can do no wrong, or when it does it's actually somebody elses fault. What people outside of that viewpoint see is probably something more akin to the metaphor of someone going around and poking hornets nests with sticks. It can be quite scary to watch. And then those in countries who's politicians just slavishy go along with whatever the Americans are doing, a lot of us resent that we're poking those hornets nests as well and sometimes getting stung...

I'm no America 'basher', though. But then I only tend to focus on the more intelligent or exciting aspects of American culture, of which there are numerous examples. I don't buy the idea that America innovates simply because it has money. Some of America's best exports are its musicians... Look at the developments of jazz, blues, rap/hiphop, techno, etc. All American movements, and in every case the innovators of these styles were black and thus underprivileged. Techno was incubated in a city which is probably now well below third world standards. The most creative rock music imo came out of NY at a time when the city was broke and falling apart...

More realistically, America- just like everywhere else, is complex enough that you can call it a hole at the same time you can conceive of it as a crucible of unlimited potential and greatness. The insufferable American attitude though, is that this crucible stops at the borders, and that the rest of the world is simply fertiliser for the American seed/jewel. Which is just nonsense.

I think it may be possible that a large part of the US issue of ignorence is due to their programing. And in fact the vast amount of programming that people absorb every day. Fox News for example........

"Yet another study has been released proving that watching Fox News is detrimental to your intelligence. World Public Opinion, a project managed by the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland, conducted a survey of American voters that shows that Fox News viewers are significantly more misinformed than consumers of news from other sources. What’s more, the study shows that greater exposure to Fox News increases misinformation.


In eight of the nine questions below, Fox News placed first in the percentage of those who were misinformed (they placed second in the question on TARP). That’s a pretty high batting average for journalistic fraud. Here is a list of what Fox News viewers believe that just aint so:

• 91 percent believe the stimulus legislation lost jobs
  
• 72 percent believe the health reform law will increase the deficit
  
• 72 percent believe the economy is getting worse
  
• 60 percent believe climate change is not occurring
  
• 49 percent believe income taxes have gone up
  
• 63 percent believe the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts
  
• 56 percent believe Obama initiated the GM/Chrysler bailout
  
• 38 percent believe that most Republicans opposed TARP
  
• 63 percent believe Obama was not born in the U.S. (or that it is unclear
  

By the way, the rest of the media was not blameless. CNN and the broadcast network news operations fared only slightly better in many cases. Even MSNBC, which had the best record of accurately informing viewers, has a ways to go before it can brag about it.
http://www.alternet.org/media/ ... ox_news_makes_you_stupid/

And carrying on the "There are terrorists everywhere, your all going to die" line anyone noticed this on youtube ?
http://www.activistpost.com/20 ... sers-ability-to-flag.html

And here's the Kiwi way to deal with it. Flag every video you watch on YouTube, absolutly every one. That dog looks like Osama !, that song played backwards at half speed is a recipe to make bombs, With a suitable level of terrorist paranoia I'd say pretty much everything on youtube could be promoting terrorism so if in any doubt, flag it.
At least it'll give the goons something to do !

Again, if you live in the US you ARE a terrorist !!
http://www.prisonplanet.com/you-are-a-terrorist.html

Being a “nice guy,” supporting Ron Paul and talking about the Constitution all signs of terror, according to fusion centers now overseeing massive surveillance program of American people

At least, if you have a brain and are aware, you ARE a terrorist.

There’s no doubt that the Washington Post’s eight page “Monitoring America” story is correct when it states that Homeland Security is building a gargantuan database of every website you visit, every email you send and every phone conversation you have in order to genuinely hunt down terrorists.

The problem is, according to numerous law enforcement advisories, training manuals, seminars and other literature, the federal government defines political activism (as), flying American flags, wearing Levi jeans, being nice, looking “normal” and going scuba diving all as signs of domestic terror.

Quote from Racer X NZ :

Again, if you live in the US you ARE a terrorist !!

I knew it, it was only a matter of time before the world found out.

See, these terrorists are everywhere !

Be VERY VERY SCARED !

The ACLU of Tennessee says it ended up on a map of potential terrorist threats after it sent a letter to school superintendents asking them to be "inclusive" in their holiday celebrations.
The civil rights group says it found itself on the Tennessee Fusion Center's map identified under the category “terrorism events and other suspicious activity," with the explanation "ACLU cautions Tennessee schools about observing 'one religious holiday.'"
"It is deeply disturbing that Tennessee’s fusion center is tracking First Amendment-protected activity," Hedy Weinberg, executive director of ACLU-Tennessee, said in a statement. "Equating a group’s attempts to protect religious freedom in Tennessee with suspicious activity related to terrorism is outrageous. Religious freedom is a founding principle in our Constitution—not fodder for overzealous law enforcement."
State fusion centers were set up after 9/11 to help states collect and share information on potential security threats. The ACLU has previously warned of "the potential dangers of fusion centers, including their ambiguous lines of authority, excessive secrecy, troubling private-sector and military roles and a bent toward collection of information about innocent activities and data mining."
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/201 ... error-map-letter-schools/

ROFL. Careful with those thought crimes now.

Quote from Racer X NZ :

you ARE a terrorist.

There’s no doubt that the Washington Post’s eight page “Monitoring America” story is correct when it states that Homeland Security is building a gargantuan database of every website you visit, every email you send and every phone conversation you have in order to genuinely hunt down terrorists.

That's going to be one big database.

Really.. do they need to see pornhub a hundred thousand times?