Political leanings

[SukhumvitRoad]

(blonde_havoc @ May 12 2009,22:10)

(Torurot @ May 12 2009,17:02) You are missing the point about Fox (the spin begins here).  It couldn't tell a straight story if you paid them.  If they could, then I wouldn't have a problem with them.

So you're going to completely ignore the fact that Keith Olbermann is essentially a left-leaning Bill O'Reilly? It's the exact same thing, man. If you hate one, you have to hate the other. You can't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.

And keep in mind I don't watch Fox News... ever. But I'm not smug enough to sit here and preach against it when CNN and MSNBC do exactly the same thing.

Thanks for introducing a note of intelligence and thoughtfulness into a thread that has been taken over by posters who seem to think that their ignorant smugness is in fact a badge of solidarity with the right thinkers of the world. Allowing CNN and MSNBC to define their snide and snaky commentaries as the gold standard in news broadcasting and then endorsing those networks' own points of view as 'fair' is as dumb as trying to defend Fox for being genuinely 'fair and balanced.'

[halla]

(BlueBallz @ May 12 2009,15:36) I also wonder the % of Canadians have one??

41% of Canadians over 18 have passports. (The Economist, 10 sept 2005)

I read a funny comment to an article about American behaviour:
"Americans don't feel the need to travel to China when they have a Chinatown"

Yeah why go somewhere else when everythig here is so much better??

I did live in the best country, according to the Human Development Index (UN). 6 consecutive wins, 2001-2006, only beaten by Iceland in 2007 and 2008. The HDI is calculated on data collected two years in advance, so Iceland is still up there, but soon they go bye bye.

I defenately don't think Norway is all that. Like JaiDee said: when I am here I am bored; when I travel I am NEVER bored!

I would never have said anything like that a couple of years ago. My mother have the ancient believe that there's no place like home, and my brother is afraid of flying, so not so many exciting trips when I was a kid. Plus the media and the government tells us on a constant basis that we live in one of the best countries in the world.

Now I'm 25 and have been to Egypt, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Oman, Dubai, about 1/3 of Europe, and I have been working in India. I must say that until recently I felt 'outtravelled' by most of the people in my age group. But not so many have worked in a third world country, so now I got the upper hand

Maybe I have been more forunate than you blonde, as I'm from a country where you can save up some money if work a little bit next to your studies. But it seems like students from some other European countries got even better financial aid for students. From time to time I've been working full time aswell, to get some more $$.

Plus when you find out that there's more to this world than crawling back to your appartment at 7 o'clock in the morning, your priorities change. In my first years of studying I was out partying about 4 times a week. The last couple of years I've seriously cut back on the drinking. This makes a world of difference in my economy. Especially since I'm from Norway, aka the only place in the world with more expencive alcohol than muslim countries.

From your pictures (and I might be wrong here) it seems like you have a house, I don't, and you have a car, I dont. It's all about priorities.

In one month I'm graduating and I'M OUTTA HERE! I hope I'm gonna be able to sell all my guitars, my dj bike, my freeride bike and my dj decks before I leave. Could use the extra dough, and I don't need it on the other side of the world.

Get out there man. The world is yours!

[BlueBallz]

Again all you fax haters out there what would you do?? Would you do something to censor Foxnews in any way??

JD you bemoan the fact that Fox uses Rove as an "analyst". I cannot turn on CNN wothout seeing thise weasels Carville and Begala two abhorrant human beings. what about MSNBC who have given a platform to Chris Matthews who was a high ranking staffer for Tip O Neil for many years?? What about ABC giving a prminent show to George Stepandfetchalot a Clintos Spokesman?? What about CBS taking off Bob Sceiffer (an old man) and replacing him with Catie Courac for some sex appeal perhaps?? Its the same thing isnt it?? So the only beef you ahve with Fox is that they claim to be "fair and balanced"?? What you think the other news organizations do think they are fair?? Come on of course they think they are fair. Hell, even the rags at MSN probably think they are fair.

You know OReilly says he is more of a commentator he never claimed to be a journalist. he comes right out and says so. When in New York, i do watch his show a lot and agree with him on many thigns. I think he has been VERY fair to Obama. And Lefty has repeatedly called him a liar what has he lied about on his show?? Oreilly claims to offer the chance to all opposing views-sometimes they come on more often than not they dont. I have seen those CODE PINK whackos on there quite a bit. His rant with Barney frank was classic and you know what I agree with OReilly because, on that topic, Frank has REFUSED to take ANY responsiblitity for the Fannie mae/Freddie Mac collapse at all!

I know I am all over the place here really but all this frustrates me greatly.

BTW Jai Dee you never said when you will come with me to a real football game you internationalist you!!

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!!

[alan1chef]

I've never been a fan of Monsanto or any of the other conglomerates who claim that they have the farmer's best interest at heart. I have several uncles and aunts who were farmers and my parents were from farm families in Nebraska.

All this whining about all the problems that the US has caused the rest of the world is truly laughable. I have a solution. Tell your governments to give back all the money the US has given them over the last 50 years and the US will not ever give you anything ever again. That way we can balance our budget. Then, we will not export anything to you and you will not export anything to us either. Would you like that? You think goods are expensive now...just wait. Australia is a perfect example of what isolationist economic policy will do to your economy. In 2005, I was in Sydney...went shopping for a simple pair of khaki shorts...saw one pair for $100 AUS...made in China.

It's easy to blame the US for all of your problems...it's much harder to look inward and admit that most of your problems are your own fault. 95% of your countries problems were caused by your own governments...not mine.

Oh yes...I love Fox News...it's very entertaining...Olbermann should go back to ESPN...he sucks as a news anchor.

[pacman]

(alan1chef @ May 13 2009,12:02) Tell your governments to give back all the money the US has given them over the last 50 years and the US will not ever give you anything ever again. That way we can balance our budget.

     If this wasn't so tragic for the US it would be a very funny line...

The US has never not often given out money to any country without there being strings attached.

And any idea that the US can ever balance their budget is just a fantasy. To actually be in surplus again is simply a mathematical impossiblity. Their current debt is now over $12 trillion & growing. Within 10 years, it is forecast to be 20 trillion.

Their economy must collapse before that happens, even now there is almost no-one prepared to buy US Treasury Bonds - the only way they can raise money.

Now the Treasury Dept is creating money to buy their own debt, & that is unthinkable in the minds of any economist who understands the implications.

I have no idea what game they are playing here, all oil producers who are not US owned have been demanding payment in Euros for some time. The Chinese have started using the renimbi in a growing number of markets. The world is distancing themselves from the coming meltdown.

The West is caught in a bind, they really don't want to see the US sidelined in their role as the de-facto world policeman but after the gung-ho lunacy of George W, they won't accept another fundamentalist christian in control of such power.

But that is a whole other story, back to Alan's suggestion that the US is only broke because of their generosity to the rest of the world, I again advise him to learn the truth behind these "humanitarian" gestures.

John Perkins lays it all out - Confessions of an Economic Hitman is not fiction, it has not been sexxed up to titillate book buyers, it is a best seller by the rarely used method of word of mouth.

Alan, read it & understand what has happened to the United States of America & why there is such animosity towards your country.

[Snick]

Yea that Marshall Plan was just a big scam.

As for debt, its big I don't like it, etc.. but its no where near as crushing as you make it out to be

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...by_public_debt

[pacman]

(BlueBallz @ May 13 2009,10:09) I know I am all over the place here really but all this frustrates me greatly.  

I have read your post BB & I echo your frustration...

Even though I haven't been a recent follower of Fox, I had it on every day for years. It was a weird combination of good interviews, extreme opinions, bombast, stupidity & entertainment all mixed together.

When I found myself watching regularly again while on holiday I was struck by what a parody of themselves the O'Reillys & Hannitys, etc, had become.

It was though in order to keep their huge retainers flowing in, they had struck a deal with the devil to be more outrageous than ever.

Add the truly overwhelming noise effects that JaiDee referred to, the vacuous bimbo newswomen who spent as much time introducing themself as they did to delivering their message, it is just the most appalling thing ever allowed onto the airwaves.

What does it say about the viewers who rate this their number one news resource. Anyone fed a diet of Fox News exclusively has no idea of the real state of the globe.

And I do concede that occasionally there is an interview worth watching. Unless O'Reilly is in another of his foul moods, he must be the most emotionally constipated interviewer on the planet...

[alan1chef]

I have to laugh at all the suggestions that I read Perkins book...as if it will somehow enlighten me to something I don't already know...and maybe even help me overcome the brainwashing everyone thinks that I have had over the 56 years I have been here in the US.

Look guys...I am not some brainwashed neo-facist ultra conservative...conservative, yes...brainwashed...not even close. Political science and economics have been my passion since high school...I even majored and minored in it in college. At one point I was so far left that I voted for McGovern and was involved with the Socialist Workers Party. I've studied radical economics. I see Perkins as a guy who falls into that category of "leftist opportunist"...it's now in vogue to bash the US and write "tell-all" books categorizing the faults of the US under GW. I am sure there is some truth to what he writes...however there have been "tell-all" books written on that subject for years...starting with Watergate. There is nothing new here....just the same rehashing of the sins of the CIA...bash the Republican administration...etc. etc. etc. There is not a country on this planet that doesn't have plenty of dirty laundry. Thankfully, the US is open and free enough to air their dirty laundry in public.

[pacman]

(Snick @ May 13 2009,13:27) Yea that Marshall Plan was just a big scam.

As for debt, its big I don't like it, etc.. but its no where near as crushing as you make it out to be

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...by_public_debt

The Marshall Plan was an example of far-sighted thinking, it was a win/win deal as it was a business deal as well for the US. Their factories & farmers were the chief recipients of the US funds.

But lets not deny that it was a smart plan with positive consequences.

As to the debt chart, you will find the true position of the US has been grossly underestimated. They even show one of the soundest economies on earth, Norway has a greater national debt than the US.

The difference is that Norway employs actual figures. They don't need to massage the numbers, they have the highest credit rating possible while the US is incurring the very real risk of hyper-inflating the dollar the same as happened in Zimbabwe.

I want to stress that I am not anti-American, I am just a fascinated observer of the GFC (Global Financial Crisis).

[Torurot]

An Existential Question for the Power Elite?
The Bomb Iran Faction
http://counterpunch.org/leupp05122009.html
By GARY LEUPP May 12, 2009


and yes Counterpunch leans left.

[manarak]

(alan1chef @ May 13 2009,13:55) I have to laugh at all the suggestions that I read Perkins book...as if it will somehow enlighten me to something I don't already know...and maybe even help me overcome the brainwashing everyone thinks that I have had over the 56 years I have been here in the US.

Look guys...I am not some brainwashed neo-facist ultra conservative...conservative, yes...brainwashed...not even close. Political science and economics have been my passion since high school...I even majored and minored in it in college. At one point I was so far left that I voted for McGovern and was involved with the Socialist Workers Party. I've studied radical economics. I see Perkins as a guy who falls into that category of "leftist opportunist"...it's now in vogue to bash the US and write "tell-all" books categorizing the faults of the US under GW. I am sure there is some truth to what he writes...however there have been "tell-all" books written on that subject for years...starting with Watergate. There is nothing new here....just the same rehashing of the sins of the CIA...bash the Republican administration...etc. etc. etc. There is not a country on this planet that doesn't have plenty of dirty laundry. Thankfully, the US is open and free enough to air their dirty laundry in public.

err... Alan, I think you haven't measured the difference in level between a Watergate and a whole system that enslaves third world countries.

The Watergate was just a punctual episode that should be considered "petty crime" if compared to what has happened in the last decades.

"tell-all" books categorizing the faults of the US under GW

And this is not just about GW. It is about Johnson, , Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush Senior, Bush Junior. I'd even include Clinton, and I am not sure if Obama will bring a change. Carter did.

What we are talking about is a whole system that enslaves millions of people, causes wars and even got people killed.


but...

I have to laugh at all the suggestions that I read Perkins book...as if it will somehow enlighten me to something I don't already know..

then maybe you already know all there is to know and are conscious about the system and looking back you say that exploiting the poor and waging wars against those who don't want to be exploited, is the right thing for the US to do.

[sev7en]

(alan1chef @ May 13 2009,12:02) It's easy to blame the US for all of your problems...it's much harder to look inward and admit that most of your problems are your own fault. 95% of your countries problems were caused by your own governments...not mine.

Yup, like someone said, you are exactly the reason why normal people dislike americans in general.

[sev7en]

(BlueBallz @ May 13 2009,10:09) i do watch his show a lot and agree with him on many thigns.

This is irony, right? No one can like and agree with Oreilly.

[f0xxee]

Alan,

Firstly I applaud your candour about not having much time for Monsanto.

However;

Your analogy about the chinese made cotton shorts in Australia costing 100$ was laughable. Sure maybe they were 100$, and maybe they were made in China. Not everything form China is cheap and nasty (he said sitting on a bucket of shit oil rig that was built in the PRC) it depends greatly on the what is ordered to be manufactured.
So if you want to buy chinese shorts from K-mart (Aussie Walmart) they are 4$. If you want to buy chinese made shorts from Aussie GAP they are 100$.
This has nothing to do with the free trade agreement. You claim it has been beneficial to Australia. Based on what evidence Alan? a ONE-OFF PURCHASE OF SHORTS IS NOT A CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT FOR THE FTA!
I know I keep on picking on you. Its because you make these huge statements and generalizations as though they are fact. BUT NEVER HAVE A CONCLUSIVE ARGUMENT TO BACK YOUR STATEMENTS! (Sorry for shouting Stogie!)
Now I know you haven't been to Aussie since the FTA went through. And I have. And the general concensus was it was going to close down our businesses at the expense of YOUR multinationals. Whether that has occured or not I cannot say. (Unlike you I know the differnce twixt fact and opinion.)
But I do know that us hick, mugs, baanok- backwards poor suffering NON-AMERICANS were quite happy with our "Isolationist" trade policies.
And I love it when a smug seppo like yourself starts quoting "isolationist" policy at the rest of the world... you should know.. you invented it... Read your history, or, in your case, get someone to read it to you....

[JaiDee]

(BlueBallz @ May 13 2009,10:09) BTW Jai Dee you never said when you will come with me to a real football game you internationalist you!!

OK, remind me next time you come over....we will leave the TS porno in the box and put on a Revolution game!

or does it have to be only MCFC??