I don't like many of them because many of them don't like Americans.

At 5/31/06 10:59 AM, -poxpower- wrote:

When your infrastructure depends on people visiting you even though you live in a hot, warm place that abunds in ressources, you clearly have problems.

or maybe you lack the money to own land that has this "abundence" growing on it. This might once have been true, but now people can't just walk up to a farm and take the food they want. This is called stealing. Also as for free water from rain, alot of rain water is contaminated and no good for drinking now. This leaves those without land the need to find a way to earn money and buy crops off of those lucky enough to be land owners.

People in colder places are richer because they have to work to get things and they built up their wealth over time and now they can make shit like computers and cars.

I'm not sure I belive that colder places are more sucessful. I think the percentage of cold countries that are concidered "3rd world" would be the same as the pecent of warm places concidered "third world". The problem is so few cold places are inhabited.

And then there's people like you, tourists. You just go in a resort somewhere, pretend you absorbed the "local culture" and come back home to brag about it. In the meantime, children are making stupid figurines 12 hours a day for the gift shops.
Tourists who go to those places are like the fricking Wal-Marts of visitors; just exploiting a poor place for its natural ressource and cheap labor at the profit of some fat cats.

I don't go to resorts honestly. When i visit a country I actually get out in the streets and wonder. I was never much for laying around doing nothing in a forign country. I love to experience the food and shopping and see the beautiful buildings. Those are things you can't truly understand by just looking in a picture or going to a restraunt. And tourists arn't keeping anyone from profiting, they're providing jobs for people who, without us, would have to beg for pennies a day instead of working for dimes. It's not like without tourist population sizes would be smaller or resources would be more abundent. People would still reproduce at too fast a rate and poor people would still be unable to afford food.

At 5/30/06 02:44 PM, -poxpower- wrote:

:: Those people hardly need to cultivate shit, food grows EVERYWHERE. Its so hot they barely need housing or different clothes.

clean water?

They have more than enough of that. Rainwater anyone?

This is a pretty ignorant statement.

I love being a tourist but I hate when tourists come to where I am.

Currently I've lived in 2 different countries and vacationed in 25 different ones. I come from a family that spends money on travel instead of a larger house, luxury car, or swimming pool. I love seeing other cultures and such and every time i visit a 3rd world country I see just how important forign tourist really are. Certain villages in India grow just enough food to keep the family fed. If they have no tourist then they have no extra income to buy things such as clothes, toys, or items to make house repairs with. In larger cities some shops sell goods only wealthy westerners and a handful of locals would buy. Without tourists they would go out of business.

I think tourism is worth whatever "price" it's extracting for sure. The only downside to it is that certain countries become dependent on it so when things such as 9/11 happen and tourism is down, the economy suffers alot and people starve.

Of course you should tell him! What're you doing having sex at age 14 anyway?

At 5/1/06 10:20 PM, mofomojo wrote: Mexicans are not a race you dipshit. Shoot yourself in a your own self dug hole, I'll pour kerosene and make sure your ignorant and racist ass burns and dies.

I'm pretty sure they are a race...

race
n.
A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution: the German race.

Mex·i·can
n.
A native or inhabitant of Mexico.

At 5/2/06 07:58 PM, GSgt_Liberal wrote: Western society wasn't very intelligent to begin with.

Which is why so many non-westerners come to the west for education. Yeah, we must be pretty dumb.

Talked to my parents. Apparently there was no effect in San Antonio, Texas either which is close to 60% immigrants. Maybe it was more in the North-East and Cali?

At 5/1/06 09:27 PM, GSgt_Liberal wrote:

At 5/1/06 09:00 PM, Nylo wrote:

Quite so. Illegals come here to better their lives. We shouldn't be turning them away! We should embrace them and their willingness to come here-to work for us and our nation!

But why should we embrace people who show such disrespect for our laws? Anyway, if we allow all illegals to gain citizenship then we have to start paying them minimum wage and the whole argument that they're willing to work for below minimum wage can't be used anymore.

At 5/1/06 04:39 PM, CorbanX wrote:

At 5/1/06 04:28 PM, GSgt_Liberal wrote: Hitler opposed abortion, by the way.

O RLY?

Please stop beliveing everything you read on the internet. Take a look at the bottom of the article and the source it cited.

I haven't noticed a single change. I've been out and about doing stuff all over town and not a single thing seems different to me. I thought maybe it was just cause i'm in a fairly small town, but my friends in Atlanta haven't noticed any changes either. Maybe people here in Georgia just didn't get the memo?

At 4/30/06 04:21 PM, Nylo wrote: However, I'm really hoping John Edwards will run.

Why? I really don't understand why anyone would want this man as our president. Besides the fact he hardly has any political experience, he is just plain not that liked. because maybe there are reasons to like him I just don't know about.

At 4/30/06 03:34 PM, Doitzel wrote:

At 4/30/06 02:35 PM, Steel_Reserve wrote: Condi for president in 2008

Rice was a member of the board of directors for the Chevron Corporation, and headed it's commitee on public policy until she resigned in Janurary 15, 2001, to be National Security Advisor.

Ah, now I see why the Republicans want her to run.

Actually alot don't want her to run because they don't think she's conservative enough. But If she did run I think she'd have a chance. She's like teflon. No matter what she does that's bad people still seem to like her.

At 4/28/06 10:36 PM, fli wrote: They didn't rename it on purpose because "Star Spangle Banner" doesn't translate well in Spanish.

"Our Anthem" is much more suitable because it's everyone's athem. With the nation being divided, especially for Mexican Americans like me, this only strengthens people to be part of the "our" instead of the "me".

"Our Anthem." How beautiful that sounds.

Why not call it "American Anthem"? That translates well, no? Also it would show how much they truly do want to be concidered American

At 4/28/06 10:52 PM, BFG_Nine-Thousand wrote:

At 4/28/06 10:49 PM, Raptorman wrote:

At 4/28/06 10:47 PM, BFG_Nine-Thousand wrote:

At 4/28/06 10:39 PM, Raptorman wrote:

Why not? The meaning is exactly the same. The words may be in Spanish, and the tune may be different, but that's the National Anthem in there, without a doubt.

Yes, but by choosing the release date they did and re-naming it what is it, the writer is trying to give it a completly different meaning.

Honestly I have no problem with the National Anthem being sung in Spanish, I mean every morning in my Spanish class we all stood and said the pledge in Spanish. What i don't like is the fact that is is being recorded for the soul purpose of making a statment. It's being claimed as an "Anthem for immigrants". For starters not all immigrants are spanish speaking. The second thing that really bugs me is the fact that they have renamed it "Our Anthem". No matter the language or the musical arrangment of it, the National Anthem is the National Anthem. Being so bold as to try and claim a version as their own makes me feel even more like Immigrants don't want to try and fit into American culture.

I welcome all legal immigrants and I think it's wonderful to preserve their culture, as long as it does not get in the way of them fitting into US culture. I think this is a perfectly easy thing to ask.

At 4/27/06 06:09 PM, GSgt_Liberal wrote:

At 4/27/06 04:07 PM, Guitarmy wrote:

I mean all subsidies they recieve, welfare, free medical care etc. Stuff they do not deserve because they are not citizens.

You have to be a citizen to get welfare. Free medical care in emergency rooms is a good thing...we don't want people dying on the streets, now do we?

The welfare system is highly disorganized so there are ways to get it without being a citizen. The welfare program needs some major reforms.

Not all the people who take advantage of the free medical care in the US are in a dire condition. Many pregnant women will cross the border so she can give birth to her baby for free then have a baby who is a US citizen. This little scam pisses me off to no end. Luckily if the US government finds out that a non-citizen used Medicare to pay for their child birth then a strike can be placed on their childs passport and it could potentially be revoked.

Yeah, even if people can't express themselves through their clothings they can still definetly do so through the accessories they use. Different social groups will form regardless of clothing. Belive it or not kids in school don't devide off based on appearance but actually because of common interests. The "popular" group tends to be more interested in fashion and it's reflected in their appearance. The "nerds" care more about more acedemic things and that is also reflected in their appearance. With uniforms these people will still hang out and still be recognized, they just won't look they steriotypical part as much. I don;t think uniforms will do a single thing to stop bullying. Being bullied is a part of high school for people and i think it helps them grow as a person....or atleast weed out the weak via suicide.

I definetly agree that people need to be a lot more open about sex. I'm a very open person when it comes to sex. I will talk to anyone about anything. What I find very interesting is at first when a person hears me being so open it shocked them. If they can get over the initial shock they tend to become more comfortable and open discussing sex also. Unfortunatly sometimes this back fires and people think I'm a slut but it doesn't really bother me. I kinda feel bad for those people. I mean you know I can't change an entire culture but I hope that by relaxing afew people I can do a little good.

I definetly think it would benefit this country tons if people would be more open about sex. There should be nothing tabboo about it. If people were more open maybe they would think twice before having unprotected or unsafe sex for fear someone will find out.

Sorry about your friend by the way. That must be pretty hard.

At 4/19/06 10:34 PM, MattMan1 wrote:

At 4/19/06 10:05 PM, themagicalpig wrote: here is a study done by a non-amierican group so it's less likely to be bias. Look at the top 500 and count what percentage are American Schools.

I couldn't find anything about our loswer-lever education system, but the fact we have a 97% literacy rate puts us above most countries education wise already.

literacy rates count people who can read- thats it
and thats not public school stats

But in order to be able to read one has to be educated. But like I said, i couldn't find stats on LOWER LEVEL public education. I never claimed that literacy rates were public school stats....

Anyway, many colleges are public.

Here is an idea. How about you find somthing to show just how dumb and badly educated us Americans are then we can continue this. You can't deny the superiority of our Colleges and Universities though. And if you still do deny it, don't tell me until you have proof that you're right. Thanks :)

At 4/19/06 09:32 PM, MattMan1 wrote:

At 4/19/06 09:28 PM, themagicalpig wrote: Now once again, do you have a source saying our education system "sucks"?

word for word? no
but do you have a source saying our public education system is top notch?

Yes i do in fact.

http://ed.sjtu.edu.cn/ranking.htm

here is a study done by a non-amierican group so it's less likely to be bias. Look at the top 500 and count what percentage are American Schools.

I couldn't find anything about our loswer-lever education system, but the fact we have a 97% literacy rate puts us above most countries education wise already.

At 4/19/06 09:20 PM, MattMan1 wrote: dude do you not read newspapers or watch the news?
if you did you would see that our grades as students suck compaired to other nations

Oh, I watch the news daily and read the newspaper most mornings. I sometimes hear stories about how people fear that our public schools are not equal all over the country and somtimes that they think the US is behind Math and Science-wise(which I disagree with because of the way they attempt to measure it) but never that we have a bad education system. Now once again, do you have a source saying our education system "sucks"?

At 4/19/06 08:26 PM, Penal_Disturbance wrote:

No they don't. The U.S. officially has one of the worst education systems in the world. That's absolutely laughable. How many people don't even know where Iraq is again..?

Please give me a source :) Because I definetly think you're struggle to find one. And our education system does not just mean lower level schools, don't forget about Universities.

Yeah, negative influence. It only counts if it's influence you can control and use to your own end. Not how much you can piss off other countries.

Lets look at a nice definition of influence: "a power to affect persons or events especially power based on prestige etc"

Sounds like it includes any power over events, good or bad. And just because all you hear in our lovely media is stuff about all the "negative" things the US has done does not mean that we use our influence for many wonderful things. How many times has the US bailed countries out of not so good situations? Or provided aid for those in need? Countless. But people don't want to hear possitive things about the US much anymore which I find rather sad.

Anyway, if you want true proof of the US's influence, ask yourself if the UN would exist if we weren't members?

At 4/19/06 08:15 PM, MattMan1 wrote: okay:
-we are if not THE fattest country in the world we are pretty high up there
-we are stupid as hell
-we are lazy as hell
-we have a three trillion dollar debt
-we are one of the most hated countries in the world
-we dont have much world wide influence
and our military has seemed to have lost its edge

Hahaha, this post make me seriously crack up.

-Fat further proves we're a superpower. We can afford to eat excessivly.
-People come from all over the world to take advantage of out amazing education system. There are stupid Americans, but Americans as a whole are not a stupid group.
-We're one of the most productive contries in the world with one of the longest average work days and shortest amount of average vacation days taken.
-Even though we have a huge debt we still have one of the strongest economies in the world
-What does being hated have to do with being a super power?
-(this made me laugh the most) We have TONS of world wide influence. If you can't see that go flip on the news and watch it for just 5 minutes.
-We have the most powerful and feared military in the world, it has not lost its edge, just its size.

What I really hate about progressive taxes is it punishes people for being sucessful. The US prides itself on allowing people to better their lives but the harder you work and the more you earn, the more the government punishes you for that sucess.

Ok, that might be a touch exageraged but progressive taxes really do punish the sucessful. Flat taxes wouldn't be as bad as everyone makes it out to be. The poor would still pay less money in taxes and the rich would still pay more money. Its just no matter how sucessful you become money-wise in life, you don't get penilized.

At 4/19/06 07:17 PM, MattMan1 wrote: im not so sure about that

Then please, inform us how the US has become less of a super power. I'm quite curious.

First though you might want to look up the defineition of a super power. According to Wikipedia it is:

"A superpower is a state with the ability to influence events or project power on a global scale. In modern terms, this may imply an entity with a huge economy, a large population, and strong armed forces, including air and space power and a considerable arsenal of weapons of mass destruction."

I personally think if anything we're more of a superpower than ever before. But I'd love to hear your argument.

At 4/19/06 02:20 AM, JMHX wrote: I can't tolerate this "if you don't like America, move out" mentality. It's complete bullshit and everyone who says it probably knows that. The whole purpose behind living in America is that we can express our love, anger, hatred or passion without having to face the option of moving out. People scream because they want to be heard, and sometimes that is the best way to go about it. Did we tell King to move out or learn to deal with it, or force opposing political parties to be quiet or find a new place to live? Then why should people who speak individually be forced to answer that kind of loaded question? If anything, it is a way for those who do not have an otherwise acceptable rebuttal to claim victory without having answered any of the points made.

Haha, there is a HUGE difference between not agreeing with the country you live in and hating it. All these examples you gave are people who didn't agree with how something was done in this country and then strived to change it. the people I think should get out are the people who say they hate this country. it's perfectly ok to disagree all you want, but don't hate somthing that gives you so many benefits. It's like a small child who says he hates his mommy because she won't buy him all the toys he wants. Either get a job and buy the toys yourself or get the hell out of mommy's house.

At 4/19/06 06:54 AM, Makaio wrote:

People don't hate America because its a fad, look at all the other super powers, no hates them nearly as much as America.

There are no other superpowers silly. We're the only one. Nice try though.

At 4/19/06 12:31 AM, vulcanus_1313 wrote:

At 4/18/06 11:26 PM, themagicalpig wrote:
Actually take it a step further. Don't just leave the country, make sure you give up your citizenship too.

As soon as I turn 18 that is exactly what I plan to do.

good. I have a bit more respect for you now.

Out of curiousity where are you planning to move to?

At 4/18/06 10:39 PM, MindControlFun wrote:

At 4/18/06 09:00 PM, vulcanus_1313 wrote: I am American, and I hate this country. It is a tyrrany if there ever was one. Gays have no rights, women are slowly losing rights, groups like the KKK are allowed to exist.
America tihnks it can go and attack any nation it wants, and get away with it. America allows terrorists to blow up buildings for population control, America thinks it is OK to control the weather, and god.... It is horrible here.

You know it's fuckers like you that make normal Americans like me look like shit. I mean if you hate this country so much, MOVE. Leave the damn country if its so unjust. Do you think that there's another one floating around that's so fantastically better? I mean you can want change and reform, but you're just bitching.

Actually take it a step further. Don't just leave the country, make sure you give up your citizenship too. Obviously there is nothing good about this country keeping you here, so why waste a minute longer suffering?

At 4/17/06 07:47 PM, fli wrote:

:: Hey, it's probably safer being a prostitute.

And maybe it maybe great too--

But out a whole day's hard work... one your back.
You create the terms if you work independently.

And it's free sex-- no, it's better than that... it's sex you get paid for.

Let's weigh in the two evils: murderous prostitute serial killer every other decade versus everday unsafe conditions... I mean, the article starts off with a woman getting a needle in her hand not only once... but TWICE.

haha, I really hope you're joking. Sex is ALOT different for women than it is for men. If a woman has sex too much is becomes painful. Women do no get an orgasm every time like men. Women run the risk of getting pregnant, And most prostitutes do not enjoy their job. They usually have one of the lowest spots socially in a country and they make next to nothing. Also most of them do not work independently. The ones that try to get beat until they agree to join a certain brothel. they get paid what their "pimp" decides they should be paid. I bet nearly all the women you talk to in a brothel in a developing country would tell you they'd rather earn $1 an HOUR in a sweat shop then $3 a DAY laying on their backs having their bodies used and risking STDs.

Yeah, having lived in India i saw alot of this first hand. Many people think that if sweatshops didn't allow children to work in them then the children would go to school. This is far from true. If children didn't have a job in a sweatshop they would most likely be sent out onto the streets to beg money or be sold into the sex-industry. it's really sad how badly people are treated in sweatshops, but the alternative is even worse.

At 4/5/06 12:55 PM, SteelSwilla wrote:

At 4/5/06 12:39 PM, themagicalpig wrote:

its wonderful stuff. Fooling around when in the middle of a fight is the best!

Limbaugh is an idiot
No, Franken is an idiot!
capitalist PIG!
Marxist SCUM!
Drop those pants!!

Exactly! You're both so passionate about you're side that it guarantees for good sex.