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I found this interesting and thought I'd post it.
There was a poll done to see what other countries think of the US.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080617/w ... nksoftheus

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What drives me nuts is that everybody hates the US, but everybody keeps trying to come here. They always want to go to school here for our education....and then go home to make more money because they are US educated. They want to live here and then send money back to their homeland. They want to live here and enjoy all of the things we have, but bash the country my forefathers fought to create and our kids now die to protect. Everybody should love their homeland...I love mine. But, whenever there is a problem in the world, my tax dollars are sent as help...without even asking me if it is okay. The economies of so many countries are based on us because we have invested in their economies by building factories worldwide instead of our own country (another beef I have). Then I hear how so many hate us in Europe. I can think of two times in the past hundred years that pretty much all of Europe was taken over by Germany and the US came to help defeat the Aggressors....but then we just go back home and be hated. I'm an open minded person and really don't get into politics at all, but a few years ago I kept hearing how countries like France hated us so much and I remembered the pictures of Hitler in Paris followed by pictures of our troops pushing him out. How soon everybody forgets. Okay, I'm done...back to being a smartass.

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IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER, THAT'S WHY I DRINK IT HERE!

hate the US is a little strong...but I do agree with the poll, your president was/is an (@$%&#!)

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I'm hoping once we have a new president other countries will change their minds about the US. People are the same all over the world - you have the good and the bad. Just because we went to war doesn't make us horrible people. That was a govermental decission and I think most other countries realize this. I here more what you said Vicki that they don't like our president.

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Docbob - tell us how you really feel.
I would say most people would agree with what you said. It really surprised me when all these other countries forgot so quickly who has helped them out in the past with disaster relief etc... when other countries turned a blind eye.

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More than likely most of the people who participated in that poll have probably never been to the US or even checked out seriously what we/our country is all about. All they see/hear is negative press/television and they form their opinions based solely on those issues.

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I agree Cat. I've never visited any other countries (that airplane phobia, ya know) But from all the history I've read, past and present situations and living conditions in other countries, and their government systems, I don't think I'd want to live anywhere else. It's nice to be free to be who you are, voice your opinions, live like you want (within the law- most of us anyhow, Lol).... and not fear jailing or being stoned to death. (okay, so that was an extreme example, but it does happen in some countries) If anywhere else, I think I'd choose Canada.

I gotta admit (dur) that our government doesn't always make the best decisions, but that's true everywhere. Maybe I'm from the old school, but when our country elects someone to govern us, I stand behind him/her. I'm not crazy about Obama or McCain either one, but whomever is elected will have my support.

One thing is for certain- you rarely find Americans fighting to gain citizenship to other countries, but there are forever tons of people fighting to gain citizenship here. Wonder why?



Exactly. And they'll kiss our bums next time they need help too.

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Sorry about the rant. Nobody wants to go to war though and I have had many friends over there and it is much worse than we know. But, if you ask Kuwait if they are glad that we went to war...back in 1992...I think they appreciate it. After the history of world wars in the past, the United Nations was formed to bring people together to prevent the powerful warlords from trying to take over the world again. Hussein started to take over an independent country via force. The UN came to the rescue as it should have for one of its members. That conflict ended with a Cease Fire agreement. Now if I sign an agreement such as a lease, or sign a contract for work and agree to terms.....I am expected to hold up my end. If I stop paying what I agree, or working as I agreed to....I will be held accountable and either be back where I started.....without a home or without a job. The initial cease fire involved agreements to allow Hussein to remain in power but allow UN inspections to monitor all kinds of stuff so Hussein is not a threat to the neighbors. After a few years, he decided that he didn't want to play nice again and follow the cease fire agreement, so as far as I'm concerned.....the cease fire is over and the war was back on. Don't get me wrong....I am not for war, but I am for the world getting together to be a better place. The nice thing about the United States is that we have the open forum to have opinions and freedoms and that we do protect our own citizens the bad people inside our country. It is a great place to live. But, if we were to turn our backs on the rest of the world and actually fix the problems we have, because believe me, the billions of dollars spend overseas for military or disaster relief or medical vaccinations or hunger or whatever would really help us to feed our own homeless, take care of our own veterans, and educate and employ our own citizens. I think the whole world could all play nice, but unfortunately that will never happen and right now, the US is one of the most powerful countries in the world. Everyone thinks the war is about oil, and to some point it probably does continue for that reason, but ask those in Kuwait. Ask those Iraqui citizens that have been freed from torture. LIke I said, I know many over there, and many that have come home and the work over there is appreciated by many.

I don't know what the answer is except for nations policeing themselves so nobody has to, but that will never happen. I would just hate to see everyone walk away from Iraq quickly because we have a new president, and everything that was done and all of the lives lost would be for nothing because the next ogre steps in and continues the wrath.

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IN HEAVEN THERE IS NO BEER, THAT'S WHY I DRINK IT HERE!

Same here. True, it needs to atleast work towards being over, but we have to stand and fight at times, and that's all there is to it. My brother served his time aboard a naval ship, much of the time in the waters off Bahrain. My step brother is still overseas, and my niece is in Fort Hood awaiting her deployement papers... the war has brought as much fear to me as anyone else.



I have issues with that. We have terrible health care here (I have... none... because I can't afford it, like so many other people I know), and we have so many homeless people who don't even have a bed to sleep on and rummage for food to stay alive. It's sickening to think of all the $$$ that is given to other countries. I do think taking care of our own should be #1 priority.

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

The US is in the proverbial "between a rock and a hard place" and probably always will be. Can't you just imagine what all our naysayers would go on about if, after the next catastrophic natural disaster, the US, instead of being among the first to announce we'd send help, decided to instead say, "We're sorry everyone but we've decided to take care of the disasters happening here in our own country"? They'd all come down on us like stink on chit and that's the truth.

Dayumed if ya do and dayumed if ya don't

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[shadow=white][scroll]Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass.....It's about learning to dance in the rain[/scroll][/shadow]

Do Not Believe Whats Reported In Any Liberal Newspaper Or Ragtag Magazine. I at one time spent some years out of conus and was all over Europe. Even in Turkey and Lebanon I partied with and made friends. Ninety percent of the people on this world will welcome you into their home. A lot of Americans wont. Here the press has everybody paranoid.

They have opinions about our foreign policies but the liberals blow it all out of proportion esp anti-war. We are winning in Iraq and making one hell of a difference. A few tribes and one generation that is not taught to hate Americans.

This nation is number one, it is a leader and has certain obligations. It is a paragon for others to admire and emulate. Those that do prosper Those that dont have starving millions and dictators.

My pet peeve right now are tv web sites I have chewed out the editor of most around here. Home page with sex exposure murder kidnapping. I was so mad one time I called the editor of channel 7 in Denver. What The Hell Is Wrong With You. Suppose a kid in France comes on your web site What impression will he get? We are all a bunch of sex starved murdering maniacs!! They have toned it down a bit. But I suggest doing the same all over Get on your local news outlets and gripe. It is BS!!!

When Japan hit Pearl Harbor this nation was in the isolation mode It was 2 or 3 years before we even started winning battles in the Pacific. We were getting our (@$%&#!) kicked It took a major effort to convince and go into a war mode. We have never defended this country on these shores and pray to God we never will.

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Ollie, every town/state/country has good people..... and bad people. Yes, there are many Americans who are snobs. As for "my" posts, I was referring more to their rules & laws and their government policies than the "people". I'm sure you'd find hospitality in lots of other places. (yeah, some places moreso than in parts of America)

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♥ Laugh your heart out, dance in the rain. Cherish the memories, ignore the pain. Love and learn, forget and forgive. Because you only have one life to live. ♥

that is precisely right Charmin...my dad hated the Japanese all his life...so much so that he drove unreliable british cars and put up with the expense, rather than drive anything that even had a japanese component.
Imagine his horror when my husband and I decided to host japanese students in our home.
We did this for three years...partly because the children are not at fault for what has gone on historically, partly because my son is an only child and it did him good to have a sibling and partly because neither my husband or I could find work at the time and it helped keep the wolf from the door.
But those kids that we had were sweet. I was ashamed of the New Zealanders (father included) who couldnt overcome what their nation had forced upon them.

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Didn't we go through a similar issue way back about immigration that went like 70 pages? I hope we are not beating the dead horse with this thing again.

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Seize the day and SING!!!

Ever here of the Hill/Burton Act? That states that any hospital who receives federal funds is required to give medical care to those that cannot afford it. They cannot turn you away. As far as the homeless go, I was homeless for three years. Most of the homeless I've met do not have any desire to better themselves either from mental illness (which they cannot help), or they just like that life. I was very young when I was homeless and went from one end of the country to the other depending on the seasons. True, there are those unfortunates who find themselves in a bad situation due to any number of reasons like health, loss of jobs, domestic abuse. There are programs in place to help those that want it. Maybe not all perfect and maybe they gotta follow some rules, but the help is out there. I got help and wound up working for the group that helped me for eight years, so I know a little about this situation. Getting back to your statement about health insurance being expensive, that is very true and it goes up every October here. I pay $400.00 a month for mine. On my small salary, that is a lot, but I pay it because I am diabetic.

The most hospitable places I found in the US when I was hitch hiking in my twenties, was the deep south and Utah. California too, believe it or not.

the problem with the US's appearance to other countries is a mirror image of charmin's post, and depends upon freedom of information and education in each area of the world. if Kim Jong says to his people "you don't want to go to the U.S., there are tigers walking thru the streets" this sounds ludicrous to us, but uneducated oppressed people really know no better. many people in the US don't understand that this exists in some parts of the world in varying degree - desperate poverty and no education can be just as oppresive as a tyrant. some people's view of the U.S. may only be "baywatch" re-runs. it's such a shot in the dark. they don't know what it is like HERE, all they go on is press and government feedings of "information". and they automatically assume it is at least partially correct because they don't have much else to go on. when a guy like bush gets into office and does what he did to our foreign policy, it just makes us look worse then what is being fed, giving creedence to mis-information. but there are plenty of countries that have access to free press and are more educated and better off than Americans are. it's these people that may know better than us about how our country looks to outsiders.

people tend to have nationalistic views: they love their own country and scoff at things that don't jive with what they percieve as real. here are some questions to ask yourself: is the U.S. freedom of press and state-run propaganda and education system really the best/most free/correct in the world? I'd say probably no, but very high ranking. One piece of information that makes me think this is the fact that many of the things I learned in 11th grade history are not true or as iron-clad as the books painted them. the portrayal of columbus is a good example of this.

read Mig Pilot: The Final Escape of Lieutenant Belenko to understand what goes through a person's mind when they are trying to make a decision on how to view the united states.

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ham you are quite a thinker darlin...

I chat to a guy quite often who is a big wig at a hospital in LA (administration) he is also a dab hand at jazz piano...but I digress...he is well into his 60s and is convinced that there is very little free speech allowed by those in administration/bureaucratic positions. He is quite fearful that even speaking out against the current regime on yahoo in a private message could be intercepted and he could lose his position.
Now it could just be he is paranoid (physician heal thyself), I really have no idea...

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

I have many American friends but I wear my Maple Leaf with great pride. Our friends love us and our few enemies are scared sh!tless of us, esp the Taliban and Al Queida who call us the Red Dogs.

We, like other Western countries, go through bad and good leaders. It's called democracy. I think the problem with Americans abroad is they have an attitude of "I'm better than you" aka "The Ugly American" syndrome. This of course not every American. Help yes, but do not impose.

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tim you are quite correct at the perception. My husband and I ran a bed and breakfast for 6 years at our previous home. When we first started up we were warned by those "in the know" not to worry about trying to attract American business, because these people were generally impossible to please.

We had a pleasant family home, nothing ostentatious, so we decided not to look for American business. There came a night when because everything else was full, we had two American couples stay who were travelling together.

We had a lovely time with them and still keep in touch to this day (10 years later)...its the age old story...a few have given the nation a reputation for being the worst overseas travellers in the world.

We did have the opportunity to experience the worst...yes he was American, but an ex-pat who had moved to live in NZ. He and his family stayed with us for 3 days while his son and heir was at school camp close by. the man was a pig. He was demanding in the extreme...constantly sniffed instead of blowing his nose (allergies, cold who knows which) yet put his hands in the fresh fruit salad rather than use the utensils provided.

When he enquired if he could pre book the same time next year I told him we were already booked out that entire month. No wonder the teachers at the school camp didnt want him around!!!

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."