[user440]

Right, because that stuff doesn't exist in any other democracy or society. The US has plenty of problems, but debating to what degree the US or any society is or is not democratic is pretty futile and far from 'the biggest' problem.

[user440]

With all of the US bashing, I thought I'd just post this:

A lot of good information here: US and Foreign Aid Assistance - Global Issues


Second place is a LOOONG way down there.

Regarding GDI contribution - Sure we are down on the list with respect to GDI, but look at the total contribution. If I am homeless and have $2 dollars to my name, and I donate $1 to charity, my %of GDI is 50% but it is still only $1.

[monochrome]

The biggest problem with politics in N.America is that the system is not democratic. The first-past-the-post system plus large fees for fielding candidates plus media lock-outs plus... the list goes on. I worked for a political party in Canada but what I saw was very disturbing. And it's only a shade of the goings on south of the 49th.

"Democracy is coming... to the USA."
-- Leonard Cohen

The United States of America is not a democracy. It is a constitutional republic. The distinction matters.

Leonard Cohen was a Communist.

[rparmar]

Leonard Cohen was a Communist.

Fascinating theory. He was also a monk. And I hear he's written a few songs. Do you have a point?

[monochrome]

The United States of America is not a democracy. It is a constitutional republic. The distinction matters.

Leonard Cohen was a Communist.

I made the point.

America is not, has never been nor will it ever be a democracy. America is a republic. A call for democracy in America is, therefore, a red herring.

Equality in America is of opportunity, not of outcome.

Rights in America are imbued in the indivdual, unless proscribed by laws created by those representatives elected by said individual to represent his interests in the governance of the State.

In all other countries rights are imbued in the state, and granted to the individual.

I stand corrected on my characterization of Leonard Cohen, the Canadian lyricist, poet and (as of 1996) Buddhist monk, as a Communist.

I was thinking of Ben Cohen, the general secretary of the Harold HIll Communist Party branch, life-long worker for the Harold Hill Tenants' Association and Labour Party activist, and who died in a plane crash in Cuba in 1977.

Leonard Cohen was in Cuba in 1961, immediately after he served the Israeli Air Force. My apologies.

Now I'm going to go stare at my little screen.

And resolve to never comment on a non-photgraphy thread again.

[SCGushue]

It is indeed deeply disturbing that Keith Olbermann issues political commentary. At least he was funny when he stuck to Sports Center.

Sean.... you hit the proverbial nail on the head. While I admire his wit and intellectual style, he is soooooo far left that he forgot what middle ground is.

He should have remained a sports announcer.

Stephen

[Gooshin]

Equality in America is of opportunity, not of outcome.

Rights in America are imbued in the indivdual, unless proscribed by laws created by those representatives elected by said individual to represent his interests in the governance of the State.

In all other countries rights are imbued in the state, and granted to the individual.

this is excellent!

except, that is not how most people perceive it, i would be greatly surprised if even 1 out of 10 people at times square can describe the true mechanics of the american freedom as eloquently as you just did.

[monochrome]

this is excellent!

except, that is not how most people perceive it, i would be greatly surprised if even 1 out of 10 people at times square can describe the true mechanics of the american freedom as eloquently as you just did.

I'd be surprised if 1 in 100 . . .

I've just graduated my last child from our wonderful public education system - an exercise in nightly challenge around the dinnertable to PROVE the statements parroted from the daily brainwashing.

Not that we forced our views on our children - we just taught them to think critically (research information, prioritize facts, draw and support your conclusion) and to question assertions.

Interesting - are you a Canadian?

[Gooshin]

I'd be surprised if 1 in 100 . . .

I've just graduated my last child from our wonderful public education system - an exercise in nightly challenge around the dinnertable to PROVE the statements parroted from the daily brainwashing.

Not that we forced our views on our children - we just taught them to think critically (research information, prioritize facts, draw and support your conclusion) and to question assertions.

Interesting - are you a Canadian?

nah i just reside here... for the last 15 years, LOL

i have been through the entire canadian educational system since grade 6 through university,

but i travel back to Russia enough times to um... hold a multi-perspective view of the world, for lack of a better word....

[monochrome]

a multi-perspective view of the world, for lack of a better word....

Something Americans will need to learn in the near future, especially midwesterners such as I am.

One hopes the rest of the world also becomes a bit more tolerant of the fact that we are part of the multi- , and that we don't have to be EXACTLY like everyone else.

[jsherman999]

.... i would be greatly surprised if even 1 out of 10 people at times square can describe the true mechanics of the american freedom as eloquently as you just did.

"Describe the true mechanics of American Freedom"?? 3 out of 10 random tourists in Times Square wouldn't be able to find New York State on a map.

Who was it that said, "People get the government they deserve"?

Among the findings:

* One-third of respondents couldn't pinpoint Louisiana on a map and 48 percent were unable to locate Mississippi.

* Fewer than three in 10 think it important to know the locations of countries in the news, and just 14 percent believe speaking another language is a necessary skill.

* Two-thirds didn't know that the earthquake that killed 70,000 people in October 2005 occurred in Pakistan.

* Six in 10 could not find Iraq on a map of the Middle East.

* While the outsourcing of jobs to India has been a major U.S. business story, 47 percent could not find the Indian subcontinent on a map of Asia.

* While Israeli-Palestinian strife has been in the news for the entire lives of the respondents, 75 percent were unable to locate Israel on a map of the Middle East.

* Nearly three-quarters incorrectly named English as the most widely spoken native language.

* Six in 10 did not know the border between North and South Korea is the most heavily fortified in the world. Thirty percent thought the most heavily fortified border was between the United States and Mexico.

That's the 18-24 year old segment, but the general populace 24+ never fares much better in these findings.


.

[Gooshin]

"Describe the true mechanics of American Freedom"?? 3 out of 10 random tourists in Times Square wouldn't be able to find New York State on a map.

Who was it that said, "People get the government they deserve"?


.

yet the world depends on this particular one....

[jsherman999]

I think the most scandalous part of the current administration as well as the primary season and the namby pamby lapdog press covering them: just what is a candidate's position on Pentax vs. Canon and Nikon? Does Obama get hot pixels on his K20D, or are they just the stars shining? Just which way does Hillary's DA* lens focus - front or back? Or does she claim correct focus right out of the box? And does McCain support mandatory M42 adaptors for all Pentax bodies out there, after all he was already OLD when the Takumars ruled the Earth. In other words, does he see screw mount as a moral/values issue, or one of free markets?

ps. I'm sure it makes sense for good Pentaxians to fight the evils of Canikon far from home, for else they'd start showing up in our houses, in our hands, and sooner or later someone would push the button, and then we'd have to deal with the resulting images in our own back yard!

ROTFL

If McCain supported "Mandatory M42 adapters" he'd get my vote, regardless of whether it was moral/values or money/values.

Somehow I see McCain as a Nikon shooter, though. Obama's more the Pentaxian.



.

I like Keith Olbermann.

[XMACHINA]

Outrageous! Truly, truly, truly outrageous!

But here's (just one) problem with the outrage, explicitly-stated and otherwise, about Keith Olbermann's commentary and his obvious lack of journalistic objectivity: Keith Olbermann is not, nor has he ever claimed to be, a journalist. Keith Olbermann is a political commentator, not a journalist--and, if I may borrow from a post which appears above, the distinction matters.

Certainly we're free to hold Olbermann to a different (higher) standard than the various Right-Wing commentators who host political talk programs on cable television, but I'd like to suggest that we reserve the mock-outrage for something more deserving than a man doing what he was hired to do.

-XM