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International Connectivity
Steve Suppe writes "As an American who is going to be living overseas for a few years (Germany, to be more exact), I'm curious as to what advice/information Slashdot could provide people like me. How much can I expect to pay for dial-up/broadband, and from who? I'd be interested to hear how it differs around the world. Any good reference sites? Thanks!"
Could be worse; could be France...
Same question - different country:
- Does anyone know about the connectivity in Jamaica?
I understand you can get ADSL - but is it available everywhere or just in a few areas. Any alternatives to ADSL (I hate using modems)..?
Keep a US credit card and drier's license, for when you return! Otherwise, TRW etc. forget who you are!!
The Deutsche Telekom sells flat-rate "T-DSL" for about 55 euros a month. The service is extremely reliable as compared to what I was used to in the states. However, it is a bit of pain to get the parts (three separate boxes) and get it turned on. Get some help from a German-speaking friend or soldier. (as a side bonus, with the flat DSL, you can call the US for 4 cents a minute)
They also sell time-based access cards on post, and on the economy, if you don't want always-on access.
Good luck!
Hey I'm Canadian, and we're starting to get it here too. This is going to be labelled a troll, but one of our comedians wrote an apology letter for our recent behavior. Here's a copy:
A truly Canadian Apology to the USA...
Courtesy of Rick Mercer from This Hour Has 22 Minutes CBC Television
On behalf of Canadians everywhere I'd like to offer an apology to
the United States of America.
We haven't been getting along very well recently and for that, I am truly sorry.
I'm sorry we called George Bush a moron.
He is a moron but, it wasn't nice of us to point it out.
If it's any consolation, the fact that he's a moron shouldn't reflect poorly on the people of America.
After all it's not like you actually elected him.
I'm sorry about our softwood lumber.
Just because we have more trees than you doesn't give us the right to sell you lumber that's cheaper
and better than your own.
I'm sorry we beat you in Olympic hockey.
In our defense I guess our excuse would be that our team was much, much, much, much better than yours.
I'm sorry we burnt down your white house during the war of 1812.
I notice you've rebuilt it! It's Very Nice.
I'm sorry about your beer.
I know we had nothing to do with your beer but, we Feel your Pain.
I'm sorry about our waffling on Iraq.
I mean, when you're going
up against a crazed dictator, you wanna have your friends by your side.
I realize it took more than two years before you guys pitched in against Hitler, but that was different.
Everyone knew he had weapons.
And finally on behalf of all Canadians, I'm sorry that we're constantly apologizing for things in a passive-aggressive way which is really a thinly veiled criticism.
I sincerely hope that you're not upset over this.
We've seen what you do to countries you get upset with.
Thank you.
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
From traveling in Germany, my impression is that you are likely to be able to get DSL perhaps more easily than in the US. The computer stores also seemed to have comparable kinds of gadgets, at comparable prices, although technology still tends to be released in the US before Europe (but sometimes it's the other way around). In some technology areas, such as cell phones, Bluetooth, and wireless Internet access, it actually seems a bit better. Dial-up is also very easy, with a choice of no-subscription pay-as-you-go dial-ins and subscriber based services. Again, it seems like more choice than we get in the US.
Don't believe everything you read.
:-)
(I assume with Americans you mean US-Americans?)
People over here can (and for the most part do) differentiate between the American people and their government.
However, be prepared for a few heated political discussions...
ADSL Guide UK
The best deal for DSL seems to be from Deutsche Telekom. They have several different rate plans, so make sure you pick the flate rate one. It's like 25E/month. You'll probably get screwed anyway, b/c Telekom is basically the worst company on Earth. Instead of help and courtesy, you get insults and insolence. So be prepared. Also, if you want to get a mobile phone, make sure you get service from Vodafone, (aka D2/Arcor/Mannesman) not Telekom. Vodafone's cheaper, has better coverage, and is a multinational carrier, although you usually don't have any problems with that in Europe. Cheers!
As an American who is going to be living overseas for a few years (Germany, to be more exact), I'm curious as to what advice/information Slashdot could provide people like me.
My advice is this: don't go.
I have a close friend who got fed up with the constant state of (declining) flux here in the American technology job market. He'd had enough and figured to jump ship (no pun intended) and head over to Germany because everyone always said how nice Europe, especially Germany, was to work and live.
Unfortunately, he soon found out that meager pay (relative to the cost of living) was very common, and bad benefits were even more common. He was pulling in barely $32,000 USD per year and was living week to week trying to get by paying bills and taking care of his wife and baby girl.
I would advise you to please consider staying home. "The grass is always greener on the other side" as the popular saying goes. In this case, it firmly holds true.
31 people regularly point & click my G-spot
Actually, timothy, I'm an American living in Germany myself. Of course, it depends on where you are planning on living in Germany. I am signed up with freenet.de which has a couple of options. I am on the plan where it costs 89/100 of a euro cent (about 96 / 100 of a U.S. cent) per minute. There is no monthly fee, however, which means to hit the 20 US dollars per month you'd pay, I'd have to be on for about 37.5 hours. That seems to be the cheapest option for dial-up around here. http://www.einsundeins.com seems to have the best DSL rates. The DSL line will cost you about 20 euros per month (about 21.55 USD) and the service depends on what level you choose. Unlimitted is about 25- 30 euros, I've heard (26.94 USD - 32.32 USD), but I'd recommend looking into one of the time based of volume based plans. For me, it'd make more sense to get the 2GB per month plans for 9.90 euros (10.67 USD) as I can download files over the school's flat rate DSL for free, but I'll be leaving Germany in a few months (anyone know of any openings for an intro level tech job in the Moscow, Idaho area? :) ) and so I didn't want to pay an installation fee or anything like that.
Good luck.
I have no
I pay (I think) around 30 euros per month for 768/128 ADSL flatrate. I'm only not sure how much cause my girlfriend takes care of all of that stuff since I'm far too important (and it's all too complicated for me cause I'm also too dumb).
check out T-DSL, the service offered by the German Telekom, which is the phone company and also the biggest ISP. We got our cable modem thrown in for free when we signed up, don't know if they'll still give you that and they gave us a good price on a router/ISDN system/hub/ISDN modem/USB NIC wonderbox bursting with flashing lights too.
The german might be a problem when filling out the forms but most of the support people on the phone will be able to speak english
Build your own website - full service homepage system your m
This much I know. They have some built in ready to run config scripts for most German ISPs, including dial-up, cable and DSL. (From a somebody which runs SuSE on their server) Too bad they were useless to me, as I live in Canada.
My rights don't need management.
That's a pretty narrow-minded response. Are you trying to imply that the ONLY people that read slashdot are those that live in the US?
and you don't think there are people living in germany reading slashdot?
ADSL where available either direct from BT or several resellers (there are loads more). 512 down / 128 up costs about GBP 30.00 / month give or take.
There are two major cable operators in the uk, ntl: and Telewest. Both offer cable modem in almost all areas of their networks for about GBP 25.00 / month for 512 and 40.00 / month for 1M.
ntl couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery.
If you live Italy, in one of the following cities:
:-)
Milan and province, Rome, Turin, Bologna, Naples and Genoa, thanks to FastWeb you can get 10Mbit optical fiber Internet access for about $70/mo (67 euros/mo).
Quite cheap and works like a charm
No, rather, I'm implying Germany is a big place. It'd be the same as if someone asked "I'm moving to New Mexico, what are my internet options?" It's going to vary a lot from location to location within that area. Some areas will have DSL and Cable, some will have dialup, some will have wireless, etc.
As a Canadian, I'd just like to apologies for that poster sucking most of the fun out of that very funny piece by delivering it on slashdot, instead of as it was intended to be seen (on 22 minutes). If you'd like to see it as originally intended, check your favourite filesharing network.
Over here in Germany, connectivity is actually no real problem:
w ww.telekom.de
;-)
Wired:
- Analoge and Digital (ISDN) lines, while ISDN is much more popular nowadays. Deutsche Telekom provides most of the normal telephone connections. Visit http://www.telekom.de . Prices for a regular ISDN line are about 25/$ a month for 2 phone lines with a total of 3 phone numbers. Setup is around 50/$.
- ADSL is a widely available option for either analoge or digital phonelines. Deutsche Telekom provides an ADSL-line for about 10 a month on top of your phonebill.
- Flatrates for ADSL are around 20-30 on top of the phonebill which already includes the charge for your ADSL-line.
Wireless:
-WLAN hotspots are coming up everywhere in big and small cities since some months. It's quite amazing how many nodes you can find within a day of WarDriving around Frankfurt, i.e.
-CellServices provide almost a complete coverage of the whole country. GPRS is widely available but still a little on the pricy side: 5cent for 10kb with my cell-provider "O2". Cell rates are usually 10-20 a month, calling-costs not included (average bill around 50 , if you don't hug the phone 24/7)
Hope this helps.
To get into much more detail visit:
http://www.billiger-surfen.de (cheaper-surfing)
http://www.onlinekosten.de (onlinecost)
http://www.mobileaccess.de
http://
http://www.heise.de
or go
http://www.google.de
and help yourself.
enjoy germany!
-benny
The scoop on Paris is that the local cableco monopolist is your best source for high speed. I pay about $44/month (about euros40). The company is called Noos -- www.noos.fr Crazy thing is that the transatlantic connection is fast enough for my Vonage voice-over-IP phone to work perfectly -- that is, the phone dials over IP back to the New Jersey servers, where it gives me a local US phone line. I'd look into that if you want to save on calling chums back in the states.
You will get pretty damn good pricing, if you go to the right area that offers it. Down here in Italy we have to wait for the Phone company to decide if they want to install it or not. I know around Frankfurt you can get a 100k connection for around 18 Euros.
This SIG pulled due to lack of funding. (This damn war is costing too much!)
Germany is a large country. They don't have the sames things everywhere in the country. Where he is in Germany will matter.
google.us
And most of us don't even know quite where Germany is on a map.
Is it near Germantown? Or, um, Berlin? What is this "Europa" you speak of? Your alien ideas are frightening to me.
Since your in the AF or work for them, why not ask your sponser? I'm sure they would have that info and if not the local housing office will.
This SIG pulled due to lack of funding. (This damn war is costing too much!)
OK,
When you get a phone, get at from the Deutsche Telekom and not from any other local carrier.
Why? Their rates might suck, but only if you use Deutsche Telekom can you use ALL call by call carriers which are billed by the normal telephone bill. The majority you can use without registering at the other phone company, so basically you check out which operator is the cheapest for a call, pick up the phone, and dial.
Calls to the US start at 4 cents per minute using Call by Call.
To check the cheapest rate and which call by caller operator to use, checkout www.teltarif.de
ISDN phone lines are very popular over here, you can get a special rate that calls on Sunday are free within Germany. These can also be used to call up an internet provider with "normal" telephone number. www.teltarif.de also has a list of these which you can use together with usernames/password.
Local phone calls are NOT free.
Internet dialup you also usually use call by call ones. Check out www.billiger-surfen.de to find out which operator is cheapest. Cheap ones start like 1 cent per minute. That's about the best rate you can get.
Flatrates for internet dialups do not exist.
Broadband:
DSL is the way to go, you need to get the DSL line from the Deutsche Telekom. And in addition to that, you must subscribe to an Online service, either the Deutsche Telekom's own (T-Online) where a 768kbit down/128kbit up costs 29.99 Euros per month with no limit regarding time or bandwidth. Note that this flatrate is not available if you use the 1500up/192kdown service. 1und1 (www.1und1.de) has better deals if you have less traffic.
Basically, for an ISDN telephone with the calls free on Sunday plus DSL 768Kbit, you would pay 41.27 Euros a month. Add to that the online rate (29,99 for t-online dsl flat)
If you sign up at 1und1.de you get a free USB DSL Modem, for 9.95 you get an ISDN telephone switch to which you can connect analogue phones to, and they pass on your request to the Deutsche Telekom. You also have to pay a setup fee, which is charged by the Deutsche Telekom, but doing it with 1und1 currently offers the best deal.
Hope this helps.
Does anybody know of how to get that kind of rate from the US to Germany? US phone companies seem to charge around 13 US cents per minute even with a monthly subscription (!).
Broadband Reports Specifically their forums and more specifically the international section of their forums
I realize it took more than two years before you guys pitched in against Hitler, but that was different.
Good thing we finally did. What were you going to do? Invade Europe with hockey sticks, softwood lumber and beer?
I'm an Australian who lived in America for most of my life and there became a bandwidth junkie, but now I live in Germany.
The transition has been totally smooth. German Deutsche-Telekom sell flat-rate DSL, and it's pretty good in my region - at least as good as what I was used to in LA.
There is less after-market competition - i.e. small regional ISP's, but some parts of Germany have good regional nets. Not really here in the Ruhr, my understanding is that its mostly DT.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
Is there even a preview button when you submit a story? I could check, but I'd rather help maintain the S/N ratio that makes slashdot what it is.
Almost certainly not relevant, but you can call the USA from the UK for the price of a local call, if you use this dialthrough (also many other countries):
08452 445 445
http://www.telediscount.co.uk
Given the population density in Germany, coverage tends to be pretty good everywhere. It's not like the US, where NYC and Montana are rather differently supplied.
Humor is humor asswad, It's even funny here in Britan.
Just got home from there, and connectivity is nice. Heck, even the mobile phones can get 384k and videoconference.
Yeah, they don't like having Americans like Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, or Ashcroft around. Most other Americans are welcome, even the ones from the US.
Geez Louise,
This thread is really getting on me ninnies...
Anyways, I live as an expat in Germany. DSL is trivial to get, try Deutsche Telekom although I do not not know if they are exactly the cheapest.
There is a website that contains a list of all the
German DSL providers (there are loads) but it is in German. Google for it (try DSL Deutschland). 768/128 DSL is available almost anywhere, and some providers (yahoo) does 1500 as well.
As far a cellphones are concerned the service is very good, but do yourself a favour and get a contract from Viag Interkom (now O2). They are the best, especially with their Genion at Home thingie. That is quite cheap.
It is possible to dial fairly cheap. www.billigtelefonieren.de should give you all the details you want on that, again, in German. You usually dial with a prefix code to get the different providers.
If you do not want to go DSL, ISDN is very much more wide-spread and cheap than in the US and pay-per call may be mucho cheaper than a DSL, depending on how much you are online. Now that DSL is getting very popular you can get cheapo ISDN cards second hand. ISDN is pretty OK for most things anywa, and with it you can call for free on Sundays for a few Euros per month extra.
Telekom does take a few weeks to install DSL due to a serious demand-driven backlog (and the !"!"ers do NOT tell you that they have done it, you have to try to see if it works!) but ISDN install is fairly quick (2 days in my case)
Telekom has been banned as of last year to give away DSL modems for free (it was stifling competition) so now you have to pay, a small DSL box with a router with 4 ports that can do masquerading and set with a web box is available for about 70 Euros, and one with a wireless port as well for about 200 (At media markt). I picked up an old Pentium 100 for 25 euros and Linux it and put up a ethernet card and a hub to use as a DSL router behind Deutsche Telekom DSL, works fine but at that time the routers were still expensive so a crouter is probably the cheapets way to go.
You can also get a hosted server (a complete Linux box with full root control) for 39 Euros per month.
Computers are generally more expensive than in the states but not too much. You can pretty much find everything you need, try www.arlt.com to get a feel for prices. (I buy there, do not work for them).
If you wish to know more, drop my a line on my home page.
The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
Last I looked (9 months ago) you had to add ~30 EUR/mon for a fixed network phone to Deutsche Telekom's price of ~55 p. month for flat rate ADSL (768 up IIRC, may be 1024 now), because they only sold it together with that.
Ping times in Telekom's network have been notoriously bad, though that may get better. Service is terrible.
QSC has ADSL (1024 up) for ~80 EUR/mon (flat rate) with fast pings. This includes no news server and only 1 email address though. Then there is Arcor and lots of local network providers, prices don't differ much I think, service may
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
I too am an American going to live abroad, but in Canberra, Australia. How much for DSL? Who should I get it thru? And whgat the hell is the deal with metered accounts there?!? Everyplace I've been able to find thus far allows 500megs a month for a reasonable rate, then gouges you to high hell for anything over that!? What gives! Oh yea, and thanks!
"1984" was ment to be a warning, not a guidebook. You hear that Kim Jong-il!? BushCo?!
Maybe he doesnt speak German? That was the problem when I moved to Switzerland - I found tons of pages, but it would take me hours to decipher what they meant. I found that the easiest way to get some info was to ask on the LUG groups of zurich, using irc. /m
Instead of the money the americans extorted out of europe before getting into the war?
I understand (from the news) there's a website there that has lost it's webmaster...
Man, you're going to Europe, and your big question is how do I stay connected? Here's some better advice
Visit the Champagne region in France, the caves are incredible
Go to Paris and visit the Louvre and the Jeu de Pomme, and the L'Orangerie, and the Musee D'Orsay and the Pompidoux, and probably a hundred other museums
Go to Munich and visit the Science museum there.
If you're in Strasbourg, go eat a Tarte Flambee
Soak in the culture, don't waste your time online!
Just my two centimes
My other sig is extremely clever...
Forget broadband... rent a nice MB/BMW/Audi and hit the fastest roads in the world.
"Times may change, but standards must remain the same." - George Carlin.
Arcor is pretty nice, they have ADSL going for ?68, which is roughly $68. Here's more (german page).
Nice reply.
The parent is half right. The apology is funny on its own. The apology as delivered by Rick Mercer is downright hilarious.
Was that really worth calling someone an asswad for?
"People who do stupid things with hazardous materials often die." -- Jim Davidson on alt.folklore.urban
http://www.broadbandchoice.com.au/
It is a subsite of http://www.whirlpool.net.au/
Whirlpool was originally a user bitch forum for Telstra Bigpond, but expanded to cover most of Australia's broadbnad ISP's. The forums at whirlpool are a good measure of customer satisfaction.
Stay away from Telstra - they prefer to use a sandpaper condom on their phallus.
Yay me!
UK cable unlimited broadband (128K) via NTL - £15 a month, compared to £10 pm for 56K dial-up. Not the fastest around, but since I'm not spending 24 hours a day downloading movies, I can live with it!
You must think in Russian.
In Britain, we spell it humour, and Britain.
What is the connectivity situation in Costa Rica?
I'll be moving to Japan -- probably Tokyo -- in the fall and will also be looking for a broadband connection. What are the services like over there? Any good (English) websites on ISPs in Japan someone can recommend?
I don't know if this matters or not, but I'll probably be using a Mac laptop by then. Will that be a problem over there in terms of internet access?
On a related note, does anyone know about what wireless coverage is like in Tokyo? I wonder if it would be worth getting an AirPort card.
hoser: Slashdot reader since 1987.
Keep your American status as low-key as possible. People will obviously be able to tell that you're from the US or Canada (or at least SOME english speaking country), but people are generally willing to accept you as a good (or bad) person regardless of your home, unless you make comments about how "America is saving the world."
Think this post is stupid? I've seen it happen too often. While wandering through the streets of Paris, I heard an American traveller comment to her husband about how "these people can't even get a Big Mac right!" Other countries have the same problem with their citizens abroad (England is a close second, Germany third in my opinion) but the US has a reputation for it and people will NOT give you a second chance if you make an arrogant comment.
Aside from that, have fun and soak up the culture.
Who cares about the UK? We are talking about Germany...
..you are american and Bush will invade their country if they are not nice to you. They'll probably believe it ;)
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
Link please??
DO NOT BUY FROM GERMAN TELECOM. Their DSL service is pretty reliable, but they'll send you bills for a year after you cancelled it (happened to me). If you are going to live in Hamburg, buy from HanseNet; they have 2MBit/Flat-fee for reasonable rates. In other parts of Germany, check out QSC - I am in Frankfurt and customer of QSC. No problems, 60Euro/flat-fee for 1Mbit downstream, but it doesn't come with voice connectivity.
In Britain, it's damned near one a.m. too.
Fuckers like you deserved Hitler and his gas chambers. I feel sorry for the mothers of the many thousands of Americans who died pulling Europe out of the cesspool it made of itself. Twice. Their sacrifice is obviously unappreciated.
The big mistake Americans make is caring whether Europe decends into another dark age or not.
As a Yank I'd like to point out that the above was very funny, and if it hurts, maybe it's because it's true.
And, The highest ranking Allied fighter pilot of WWI (another fight we dragged our heels on) was a Candian, who shot down three times as many German planes as the best American.
If we helped out a bit in WWII, big deal, they've still got change coming, they can sit one out.
KFG
Are you travelling to every country on earth, or do you have a destination in mind?
This stuff varies wildly from country to country, city to city.. there is no point in elaborating on the whole world.
The ultimate comparrison for Broadband in Australia can be viewed at: http://www.broadbandchoice.com.au/
For general news and info regarding broadband in Australia, visit: http://www.whirlpool.net.au/
Australia, The land of the free.... NOT!!! Unless you download less than 3GB, pay through the nose for that 3Gb but only when its working..... which is not all that offten... Thanks TELSTRA the big australian telco screwing us all!!
The Czech Republic is on Line 1.
Or do you not recall the headlines of "Doh! Canada!", eh?
I don't know. I enjoyed having T1-speed access at my German dorm while I was there! :-)
Hey, I'm a movin' to Greece in the Fall, and I haven't been able to find any decent broadband isp's while searching online. Anyone know the state of highspeed wireless there? Or ground-based, for that matter?
He probably meant the only relevent people that read slashdot are those that live in the U.S.
I spent several years in Italy. The internet access there was 33.6 dialup when I arrived. The worst part about it was the fact that there is no "local call" there. Every call is charged by the minute.
Around '96, the ISP upgraded to 56k modems. In late '97 Telecom Italia offered ISDN. the line to the house was 2B+D (128kbps), but in traditional Italian fassion, they fucked it all up. You still had to pay connections per minute, and each channel was charged seperately. A 128k connection to my local ISP was about 2 or 3 cents per minute.
Telecom Italia upgraded, once agian, to ADSL in 2000. And, once agian, they fucked it up. They implemented ADSL using PPPoE. If you have not used PPPoE, your modem establishes a connection using a username/password. ISPs do this so they can monitor how much bandwidth you use. I paid $50 per month for the line, and another $50 per gigabyte of traffic.
I figured all my problems were over when I moved to Japan. Unfortunately, I live in an area (in Tokyo) that is not covered by DSL. I pay $30/month for 90 hours of 56k dialup. My only other real option is to use a cell phone to get wireless service at a cost of $100/month for 128k access. I have tried this, but the actual bandwidth is about 70kbps and the packet loss and delay is way too high to make it useful.
A new ISP is talking about wiring our neghborhood for 128kbps SDSL. They have mentioned a 1GB per month cap with no way to go over that ammount. They also want $50 per month with a $150 install cost. What really makes it hurt is that they guy down the street from me (150 feet away, but no LOS for a 2.4ghz link) pays $35/month for 100mbps fiber. Yep, he actually has fiber running into a modem sitting on his desk.
Sometimes, I wonder who I pissed off to get so screwed on internet access...
I'd rather you do it wrong, than for me to have to do it at all.
You want to know about broadband in different countries?
In New Zealand, there is one cable provider which charges NZ$76.95 / month for 256kbps and NZ$109.95 for 2Mbps. This includes the cable modem hire. They are cheaper if you take a package with phone line and/or cable TV.
ADSL, provided by the other telco costs more IIRC.
You make the mistake of thinking you can educate the fundamental stupidity out of people. You can't.
Here in Norway, dialup access was for a long time monopolized by Telenor (aka Telehor, which means Telehore), but over the past years, other providers have entered the market. For those unlucky creatures still on dialup, there are now plenty of available services without a monthly fee, and only ordinary phone rates (which are relatively reasonable here). On the broadband side, ADSL is by far the most common type. For a little while, the Swedish provider Bredbåndsbolaget operated here, offering 10(?) mbit lines for a very good price. Unluckily, only a handful of people (mostly in Oslo) ever got this, before Bredbåndsbolaget halted their activities in Norway. With them gone, ADSL and Cable remain as the connections of choice for private users. Two or three major providers dominate the ADSL market, and a fundamental problem is found here as everywhere else in the Norwegian telecom market: Telenor owns all the phonelines (from the days when they were the state owned "Televerket"). Still, some providers manage to deliver ADSL at a lower cost than Telenor, even though they have to pay Telenor for permission to use the lines. Apart from Telenor, we have only one provider that has its own ADSL centrals (the others share them with Telenor, at a cost). So, all in all, we have two major, competitive, ADSL providers, with their own centrals. As Telenor has recently imposed a ridiculous 1GB/month transfer limit on its cheapest services, customers are fleeing to the other provider. Damn I'm ranting now... anyway, as for the actual availability of ADSL, it is very good in the major cities (Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger in particular), but as Norway is pretty sparsely populated, it just isn't economic to expand the availability too much. Estimates show that half of all Norwegians will never get ADSL, simply because they live too far away from densely populated areas.
I'm sorry we beat you in Olympic hockey.
That's okay, you haven't won a Stanley Cup in what, a decade?
I spend each summer in Slovenia doing fieldwork for my graduate degree. Luckily, I have hooked up with a faculty at Univerza v Ljubljani. So I just go to an office and use my laptop. But if you don't have it good like that, my advice is to be careful according to your locale. The American model for dial-up is different from much of the rest of the world. I was shocked to get a phone bill with several hundred minutes of dialup charges for using the phone line AS WELL AS the minutes for connection to the internet. I only know dial-up but my advice in Slovenija is: pazi!.
Also, a caveat to travelers in Slovenia. Internet cafes are kinda non-existant in Ljubljana. You can get online at the Mobitel office across from Mladinska Knjigarna and in the Mueller department store just down the street from the Posta bus stop. That's about it for regularly available spots. If anybody knows of any place that isn't closed or half-open or generally flaky, let me know.
Comparing it to Windows will be a moot point, since El Dorado is going to have a 40% larger code base than XP.
I'm in Germany, and was going to write about IDSN and DSL, but given that everybody and their dog has already done that, here's some other advice:
Beaurocracy!
Lots of it. You need the right piece of paper with the right stamp on it, or things don't happen. Probably the worst thing about Germany, this.
Learn German!
Yes, lots of them do speak English, but that's no reason for being lazy. As soon as you have to do anything important, you'll probably find yourself needing to communicate with someone who doesn't speak English. A little German will go a long way, especially in terms of the impression you make.
Get your lane discipline sorted.
Cruise on the right, overtake on the left, and then move back to the right. If there's a BMW behind you flashing his lights, don't worry too much - BMW drivers are like that. If it's some other make of car, you're going to slow - get out of that lane! They make nice cars in Stuttgart, by the way.
Watch out for speed cameras
They take your photo from the front, so there's no "it wasn't me" excuses. There are both stationary cameras on posts and mobile units (hidden in hedges or wherever). More than 30km/h over the limit can result in a 1 month driving ban.
Watch your speed on the Autobahn
Not all of the Autobahn has no speed limit. Where there is one, it's clearly marked. Where there isn't one, enjoy yourself! Be aware that having no speed limit doesn't often help, due to the volume of traffic (and the guy three cars ahead, going way too slow in the overtaking lane).
Most bottles have a deposit on them
So take them back to the supermarket. Germans like to buy drinks by the crate. Look for a "Getränkemarkt" if you're thirsty.
German beer is stronger than US beer
Purity laws and all that. The lack of nasty chemicals means you can get hammered and not have a major hangover next morning. Make sure you get to the world's biggest Fest - the Oktoberfest in München (not called Munich on Germany!), or the second biggest - the Volksfest in Stuttgart. If you want an English-speaking pub, look for an "Irish Pub". It's a chain (I think). There are quite a lot now; they stock Guiness too.
There are no Reeses Pieces
If you find somewhere that sells them, post it on Slashdot :-)
Not as many really fat people
This one will only hit you when you go back to the US...
Since nothing of the sort ever happened, I guess not.
The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!
First, Canada was much more a part of the Commonwealth at that time; So was Australia, and they both sent troops, sort of like if North Dakota was invaded by Canada, we'd send troops. Well, maybe a boy scout troop, that'd probably be sufficient, if they had their little knives.
Otherwise, the US had no business in WWI, and yes, that was part I of "Europe Makes a Fucking Mess of Itself," which we had no part of causing.
As for helping out 'a bit' in WWII, please read history. Europe would be awefully different had the US not become involved. Perhaps the Germans would not have won, but Russia would have not had much reason to stop once they got to Berlin...
And, wasn't the big ace Rickenbacker? Or was he just the highest US Ace?
The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!
In Germany, there are two kinds of areas where you will have problems to get a dsl-line (cable is not really an option here).
Number one are rural areas.
Number two are "too modern" areas, like freshly build suburbs with fiber, but no copper in the ground. In the 90's, they didn't know DSL only works on copper lines. AFAIK this is not too rare in eastern Germany, where they buried a lot of fiber after the german unification.
Besides that, coverage is pretty good, especially wireless. Cell phones really work here, I mean almost everywhere, and pretty reliably.
Germany just isn't as vast as the US.
.... don't tell anyone you're an American.
"She's a West Texas girl, just like me" - G.W Bush Iraqis
answering the fucking question, or shutting the fuck up.
kthxbye
The Speedy is a service of telefônica, a Spanish company which act in Brazil,specially in São Paulo.your packages have much prices and different Speeds:256Kbps until 2Mbps. more informations in your site: http://www.speedy.com.br best regards. Blueice88
Just for comparison
.ee (Estonia, not that you've heard of it :)
In
512/128 cable is about 18$/month flat.
256/64 adsl is 18$/month flat.
When I first moved to Germany in 1994, there was little information available for expatriots. It was all pretty much learning by doing. I recently spent about a year and a half in LA and returned to Germany at the end of last year with my girlfriend, who does not speak German. While looking for orientation materials for her (actually an experienced expat), I discovered that the amount of information has expanded greatly.
One really useful site is How To Germany, which includes a brief overview and a nice link to an online comparison chart. The best computer magazin in the world had an entire section devoted to the best and cheapest DSL/cable internet service at the end of last year. Unfortunately, you will have to learn German to read the article (The issue's TOC is here, if you want it---and this is reason enough to want to learn German.)
Allolex
Well, looks like I can tuck that one in the box right between the Red Devil and the Rapala. :)
I guess it's your job now to explain to Canada what part they had in the CIA making a fucking mess of Iraq though.
KFG
Since most IT jobs will probably be moving to India from the US, anybody have any similar advice for there?
I really don't understand why the Canadians have it in for us. Furthermore, I don't know why one would choose to troll about this on Slashdot in comments regarding international internet access. Finally, I don't understand why the self-labelled troll gets a +5 funny for transcribing a yank-hating Canadian comedian.
So, to feed the troll's troll:
We "dragged our heels" on WWI and WWII because they weren't our wars. Canada is a commonwealth country. We aren't.
If we helped out a bit in WWII, big deal,
Your impudence is loathsome. Thirty-thousand Americans are buried in Normandy alone. To minimize that enormous sacrifice is to insult the memory of the soldiers who died to liberate Europe.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
I feel sorry for the mothers of the many thousands of Americans who died pulling Europe out of the cesspool it made of itself.
As a Canadian, I'd like to add that I'm proud that my Grandfather and his generation of Canadians fought to help liberate France, and fight alongside our friends in Europe. Canadians fought because it was the right thing to do, not because we wanted you to 'owe' us for the favour.
Never mind the Americans; we've learned the secret to dealing with them: even though they have long memories, and they think everyone owes them something, they have very short attention spans. Give them 3 months and the average American will again forget how to spell Europe. They don't even remember why their Whitehouse is painted white!
"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain
Although France Telecom's Wanadoo is the biggest player among the general public, Free is generally agreed to have the best offers overall, is the most popular among the tech-savvy, and is very Linux friendly too.
Modem/ISDN Dial-up
An analog phone line subscription with France Telecom is 13/month. ISDN maybe twice as much. And then:
Broadband options
Wireless connectivity
I suugest you inform yourself at the sites like onlinekosten.de mentioned in the other posts. T-DSL is available at 786Kb/s downstream 128 Kb/s upstream as flatrate. Higher speeds aren't flat anymore. When living in a metropolitan area it's often possible to get better connectivity from local Telcos. For Dusseldorf there is ISIS, for Cologne there is Netcologne and so on, in Mannheim you can have Powerline, in some other areas cable. Then there is www.qsc.de, www.arcor.de, www.versatel.de, www.komtel.de and so on. I would avoid the Deutsche Telekom under all possible circumstances!
Maybe you should crack a history book or do you really believe the Hollywood version that America saved the world. Sorry to break this to you but victory in WWII was a combined effort, I doubt the US could have done it alone.
BTW Canadian troops did invade Europe just a few months after America joined the war. The battle was a failure but the Allies learned from it and it helped the planning for D-Day. Canada was there on D-Day too. We were largely responsible for the liberation of the Netherlands. Canadian-made bombers helped bombed the hell out of Germany and Canadian ships cleared the north Atlantic of U-boats.
But most of that gets lost in Hollywood hype and its rewriting of history. Remember the time Americans recovered an Enigma machine? Well you didn't.
To the Canadian who so recently reamed the entire U.S. nation:
Yes, America has problems - partly because we have some of the most liberal immigration laws in the world. East Asian "yacht people" and light-skinned Indians are all right, but Canada doesn't allow but a trickle of immigration from Latin American and African countries. America's increased rates of immigration and wide variety of races and ethnic groups may lead to some strife, but they keep our birth-rate steady and our culture vibrant, unlike Canada which can't ever really decide if it actually wants to exist or not and is rife with separatist movements, e.g. Quebec, British Columbia and even Ontario.
http://www.tempestcom.com
They dont charge any monthly fees so you can sign up and only pay for what you use.Flamebait? I think the author has a point. It would be like my asking where the nearest McDonalds was in Berlin.
Is this news that matters? Mmmm...
"I really don't understand why the Canadians have it in for us."
Maybe because we keep insulting them?
"We "dragged our heels" on WWI and WWII because they weren't our wars."
Is Iraq our war? They didn't attack us, they attacked Iran, and Kuwait and so forth. Shouldn't we just let those countries fight their own battles?
The point being such arguments have little value.
"Your impudence is loathsome. Thirty-thousand Americans are buried in Normandy alone. To minimize that enormous sacrifice is to insult the memory of the soldiers who died to liberate Europe."
The memory of our soldiers was tarnished when their sacrifice was rubbed in the noses of the Europeans.
It's amazing how quickly you can lose allies when you start treating them arrogantly.
Canada: land of great beer, free health care, separatist movements, and trolls (both garden variety internet and elected official)
From Slate:
On Wednesday, at the end of a "media scrum" about Iraq, Canadian Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish was captured by TV cameras saying, "Damn Americans. I hate those bastards." When Daniel Leblanc, a reporter from Toronto's Globe and Mail asked her to explain the remark, she threatened to restrict journalists' parliamentary access if it was reported, telling him, "If you guys want to keep the privilege of working in that area without being held back, I would be very careful with this one." The press ignored her attempted intimidation and publicized the remarks.
If you're in NRW, you can get Cable for 45/month. It's 2048/512kbit, flat fee. Phone is only 5 extra.
100Mbps (that's 100 meg) fiber connection
to an apartment: Y10,000 per month (about $80)
from NTT, add Y2,000 per month ($15) for a
dedicated IP address and other ISP services
including netnews, etc.
12Mbps DSL service to an apartment: Y2,900 per
month ($25) from NTT or Yahoo! Japan.
128Kbps wireless service, with stunningly
complete coverage from anywhere in the
country: Y9,000 per month ($75) from KDDI.
[Interesting technology -- wireless ISDN
32Kbps B-channels are ubiquitous. The
card in the laptop bonds four of them for
128Kbps access.]
All numbers and services based on personal
experience here in Tokyo.
while keeping in mind what everyone else has said, just remember that this is Germany. they will look straight at you and repeat exactly the same thing they just said as if they did not hear your question about what they just said. you will _need_ to have a German friend help you through the mazes of red-tape and bureaucracy.
my father's German wife used to be the Deutsche Telekom liaison for the military in Wiesbaden. you would not believe how many military would not understand the system which is why they had her in the job. she made sure the military stationed over there understood all the ramifications of getting hooked up to DT. just be lucky you are military and won't have to be paying a horsepower tax or a t.v. tax
I'm good with numbers -
Get your computer hardware (Notebook) in the US.
Apple 15" Powerbook:
US:
$2,799
Germany:
~$3.745
Simmilar differences are valid for x86 systems.
Also note:
- Learn metrics and learn to put colons and dots in your numbers the proper way (10.000,99 not 10,000.99).
- Use 24h format
- Drink Paulaner, Bitburger or any Alt only, do not try any flavour of Koelsch.
- Remember: A drivers license is not a valid ID in any country I know, except US.
- Drink your coffee in cafes and not in Starbucks
- Smoke your weed in the coffee shops provided in the netherlands and not in germany.
- get your dsl from t-online, less trouble.
and last but not least:
Shop your food before the shops close! CHECK OPENING TIMES, no shop open after 21
I was going to speak up, defend the US, blame canada sort of thing. But I figured they'd hang themselves and they did.
This country is led by the incompetent and genuine morons. There is no one in canadian politics or media that has an ounce of credibility.
Save yourselves, nuke canada now...
The US lost less than 300.000 solders in WWII. This is of course a terrible loss of life, but compared to other countries, the US suffered very little in WWII. The Soviet Union lost over 20 Million people.
Yes, the US did help end the war in europe, but the turn of the tide against Hitler was not the participation of the US, but the russian winter.
I do not deny a certain gratitude towards the US for what they did in WWII, and beyond.
However, nothing justifies the arrogance with which the US have treated the rest of the world lately.
Nobody understands that american something outside of the US.
You do not want some Portugese speak better (int) english than you, do you?
Some hints:
- Open your mouth when you speak
- Say the letters the way they are supposed to be said.
- Buy an English learing tape IN EUROPE (to ensure it is not contaminated with an american teacher speaking), english for beginners is just fine.
If you are in urban area of Tokyo, it's no
problem to gete ADSL. I have 12M ADSL w/ 2,000 yen. Effective connection speed is up to 6M, though, in comparison with a friend of mine's experience in California. I have no complaint.
# The not well-knows fact is Area of Tokyo Met. includes most desolated islands in pacific ocean. be careful.
Some DSL provider are servicing VOIP phone service with very discount rate to call US(1.5$ per hour to call US in my case).
The problem is to get service by English. Every DSL provider is very domestic. The very recommendable first step is to look for Japanese speaking friend knowing ADSL.
ADSL is very popular in Japan. Most of my friend has moved from dial up/ISDN to ADSL. but it depends on segment and industory.
Through companies like Vonage, IConnectHere or Packet8 you can get a US phone number for about $20/month including plenty of minutes for US calls. You also get very low rates to the US (since it thinks you have a US line) and reasonable rates to germany. The quality with a Cisco ATA186 is as good as a landline or with a softphone (headset) is cell-phone like supercheap. And you can just use your mobile phone for calls to germany.
Addition:
- You can not have DSL in Germany without a phone line.
- If you think of broadband in germany, you say DSL.
I hope the americans didn't buy that anti-anti-american apoligetic bullshit our *leaders* have been vomiting. If anyone cares, about three years ago anti-american crap was being trucked out by these same ass kissing meally-mouthed shitheads. Newspapers, tv, concerts, etc, etc, etc... I think it's penis envy.
When my 5 year old niece starts with that kind of shit I know where it comes from. Canada, because of it's political parties is a disgrace. Always choosing the worst of two evils.
You watch too much CNN.
Unfortunately, you're wrong about the immigration. I say "unfortunately" because Canada is so dim-witted as to allow a slow takeover by the Chinese. Think I'm being stupid? A racist? Consider this: according to the 2001 census, the number one country of origin in British Columbia is the People's Republic of China.
If you don't know why that's bad, then I suggest you look into it. How about this: my dog bringing home parts of a butchered black bear, poached for its gall bladder for use in crackpot Chinese "medicine". The Lonely Planet guide for B.C. mentions the Chinese "colonisation" of Richmond (a Vancouver suburb); a friend of mine was refused service in a store there because she doesn't speak Chinese. And the saddest part is she saw nothing wrong with that.
There's a lot more: forged documents, corruption, faked driver's license scandals, etc.
What!?! How DARE you call US arrogant!?!
Imagine World War III
Imagine China taking first Taiwan and Japan, then attacking the US from the west.
Imagine California to be taken.
Imagine that a third of your country falls, the rest fighting for survival.
Imagine the look on your face when your european allies say "this is not our war".
However, nothing justifies the arrogance with which the US have treated the rest of the world lately.
Actually, Americans have had a chip on their shoulder regarding the European attitude towards the "Colonies" since the 18th century. It's quite instructive to read the writings of various authors from that period and later. If you want to talk about arrogance, do a little research and you will find the history of it in Europe is awesome indeed.
I am sure that the rest of the world is justified in their current feelings towards American attitudes, but don't harbor any illusions that this is a uniquely American phenomena.
We have lots of different providers offering different access technologies. Some are good, some are very good and a few are exceptional. :-)
* Dial-up
Dial-up is mostly dead. You never see any ads for it anymore. Usually charged at the same per-minute rate as phone-calls (2c/min). No distinction is made between local calls and long-distance anymore, they cost the same (most of the cost is in the local loop anyway).
* Cable
There are a number of different cable operators. They all have different prices and plans, but it's very common to pay between $20 and $30 for the basic connection (which usually is between 512/128 and 1024/512, all depending on local operator). Available in most cities.
* DSL
One major operator (Telia) has had what can only be described as a monopoly on DSL service. It is getting better, and local DSLAMs from other operators are being set up in the markets with the biggest customer base (large cities). Telia offers a 512/512 plan for about $35 with no UL/DL restrictions. Other operators are now offering DSL up to 2.5M/512, but at a premium and usually only in large cities. Availability is pretty good, and service has been very reliable for all of my friends.
* Ethernet
Several municipalities have set up local fiber or Ethernet networks in the cities. I happen to live in Gavle, the city with perhaps the best local network of them all. Unfortunately I don't live in a house connected to the network. We also have a few other operators that install Ethernet, the biggest being BBB (Bredbandsbolaget). Prices range from $20 to $50. Personally I have a 2M/2M connection that costs $22 (100Mbit Ethernet in my apartment, router in basement that does bandwidth limiting, 155Mbit fiber to local POP for the backbone, VERY nice RTT to most places around the globe).
* Wireless
Don't really know how the market looks like for wireless access points. Haven't seen much about it.
Free your mind!
The powerbook price is including 16% tax.
Canada, home of the 500,000 dollar welfare check:
Qualifications are
no talent female who should have had her tubes tied when she was 3.
complete loser is she was born a man.
practice no common sense (willing argue with a mack truck doing 80).
must be able to pass as a painter, singer, actor, director or writer.
"Don't mention the war!"
In Moscow it was like 400 bucks for installation and then 80 bucks/month. It was a little better in Kazan -$300 something for installation but still around $70 or $80/month for service. BTW I've been to Latvia and Lithuania... I heard that estonia's nice though.
But most of that gets lost in Hollywood hype and its rewriting of history. Remember the time Americans recovered an Enigma machine?
Oh baloney. Nobody ever said that U-571 was supposed to be a documentary. It was clearly labelled as fictional.
My Dad served in the Navy in WWII and he was laughing at some of the stuff that occurred in the movie. Totally unrealistic.
If you are interested, here is the actual history:
http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq97-1.htm
Ah yes. Europeans invented the concept of imperialism. There was Europe, and there were european colonies. The rest parts of the planet not falling into one of these two categories fitted into a matchbox.
Spanish and portuguise aren't really south americas native languages and it's not an accident you can get along in most of africa with either english or french.
Germany has been pretty short on colonies, BTW. I think we had 2. One of the reasons for WWI. Germany felt it was not powerful enough, compared to the other big players in Europe. They, of course, were ready for a war, too.
Europe has learned to behave, lately. I think the last european colonies were freed in the 70s. Pity it took so long after WWII.
Clinton wasn't too bad either. The Bush administration on the other hand seems to refuse to learn from history. Or reason. Or anything. At all.
Ya, over there it all runs off tin cans and string... pompice american fuck
Canada, where justice is found in the back alleys cause you can't find any in the courts...
...you're going to need an adaptor.
Blarf.
The US lost less than 300.000 solders in WWII.
This is of course a terrible loss of life, but compared to other countries, the US suffered very little in WWII
Most of the numbers I've seen put the total at slightly over 400,000 KIA.
The US did get off lightly compared to Russia and Germany, however its loss of life is comparable to many of the European countries, and in many cases greater, even if you include civilians.
Here are some numbers for KIA in the various militaries.
USSR 12 million
Poland 597,000
Germany 3.25 million
Yugoslavia 305,000
Romania 450,000
Hungary 200,000
France 245,000
Italy 380,000
Great Britain 403,000
United States 407,000
Czechoslovakia 7,000
Holland 13,700
Greece 19,000
Belgium 76,000
Broadband via cable TV is available, but cable modems are a fairly new thing over there and many apartments don't have the cable lines anyway. (Take a look at any apartment building in Japan and you'll see dozens of those mini satellite dishes perched on the balconies.) However, if you want cable TV and broadband Internet, you can get a pretty good deal by combining the two -- about 80 USD/month. You might need a local friend to help you, though, because most cable providers don't have English-speaking customer service.
If you just want the Internet access, a better option is ADSL, which has exploded in popularity over the last couple of years. Before ordering, you first need to decide whether you want land-line (as opposed to cellular) phone service. If you want a land line, get ADSL Type I, which includes phone service and Internet access. If you plan to get a cell phone in Japan, choose ADSL Type II, which provides Internet access only, but for a lower price.
The cheapest ADSL service is probably Yahoo! Japan BB, but they don't provide any English support, not even for sales. You're better off going with a company that has a dedicated English-speaking support line such as Global OnLine or eAccess. Unfortunately, these providers usually serve only the larger metropolitan areas, so if you're in a suburb or a smaller town, your only choice might be good old NTT. All you have to do is call the English-speaking sales line for NTT (the number depends on whether you live in the east or in the west) and tell them you want ADSL Type II. They'll be happy to hook you up for about 25 USD/month, and you can rent an ADSL modem from them for another 5 USD/month. Important tip: NTT will send you a CD-ROM containing PPPoE drivers that only work with the Japanese version of Windows, so you should download the freeware program RASPPPOE before you go and bring it along with you. It's compatible with NTT's ADSL modems.
There's another catch: Because NTT only provides the physical ADSL connection, you'll need to find an ISP that supports ADSL. I got mine through OCN for about 20 USD/month. They offer sales and support in English.
The Macintosh has about the same percentage of market share in Japan as in the U.S. (in other words, not much), so you can expect the same level of support and availability over there that you'll find here. I expect it's entirely possible to hook up your Mac to a Japanese ADSL modem, but don't expect much technical support if things go wrong. (I had no trouble connecting through my Linux laptop once I got the Roaring Penguin configuration set up right.) As for 802.11b, coverage is almost non-existent, although just about everyone over there does email wirelessly through their cell phone. Text messaging and services like DoCoMo are far more popular than the Internet in Japan, at least for now.
You should visit the ISP Japan FAQ for more details. You might also want to check out my Japan page for tips on living and working in Japan.
While you are in Europe, you might decide to spend some quality time overhere. I live in Siberia and pay 720 rubles (~$23) for an dial-up 56k intetnet package that comes with free nights plus 50 hours anytime.
Surely a rip-off by us standards, but much better than it was 4-5 years ago. Community local ethernet networks are also very popular, mostly for film/music sharing and game playing.
US-UK-Israel: The real Axis of Evil
funny.
I'm going to be visiting Germany this summer, and while I won't be living there, I'm going to need to access a computer to stay in contact with people I know in the US. I'll be staying in Potsdam for a few weeks and then traveling around to Munich and then up the Rhine for a while. I'll be mainly staying in hostels while not in Potsdam. Anybody know how I could find places to access a computer while I'm there? I don't need much, just the ability to access my email.
I have friends in Potsdam, so that leg of the trip isn't a problem. And I do speak quite a bit of German, so throw those links this way!
Slashdot is a waste of time. I enjoy wasting time.
First off, you'll want a native German speaker to help you get the right package. Imagine calling SBC (my DSL provider) and trying to get service speaking to htem in German, with your only English phrases being "beer", "toilet", and "I want to pay." Right.
Second, it's Germany, so you might as well use Telekom since they're the dominant carrier and have the best chance of having reliable service in your area. The tariffs are online at the T-DSL site in a pop-up that has something like 13 choices for connectivity, including flat-rate (EUR30/month), per-minute by day, per-minute by night, dial-up, and capped monthly download limits. This is a fine example of that special German rule fetish, but since Germans can actually read and comprehend tables they can get away with it. Once again, get a native speaker to translate; with so many choices one will meet your needs.
Third, you're dealing with a phone company. You might have excellent luck and flawless service in a week, or months of hell and people giving you abuse in a language you don't understand. It's a crap shoot, but it's fun once you get the hang of it. Once it's up and running it should be as solid as DSL in any civilized country and you'll never think about it until you leave. And if you do have problems, at least the beer is good.
ellbee
You can't fight in here - this is the war room!
yeah. american toilets have unusually high water level, that give you a nice butt wash. especially tasty on public toilets.
a.c.
Totally agree... Can't make out if this post is a joke or an funny insult to USA-ians or Rest of the world-ians.
Thanks for all of your input! I really appricate it! I have done some research previous to the posting. In a perfect world I would have included this info in the first post (stupid non-perfect world).
The best bet I've seen pricing and server host-ability wise (I've got a FTP/DNS/Web/etc server to throw on the line) is FunnelWeb. Anyone have any experience with them? I kinda fancy their 512/128 @ $67 AUD/month (although with that damned 500meg download limit), but it does include a static IP.
So... Canberra, least 128 downstream, least 500meg download/month, static IP? Anyone? I'll be checking out these providers in the next day or 2. Thanks again for all the help!
"1984" was ment to be a warning, not a guidebook. You hear that Kim Jong-il!? BushCo?!
"Telecom Italia upgraded, once agian, to ADSL in 2000. And, once agian, they fucked it up. They implemented ADSL using PPPoE. If you have not used PPPoE, your modem establishes a connection using a username/password. ISPs do this so they can monitor how much bandwidth you use."
I have to use PPPoE. My modem doesn't do anything with PPPoE - it syncs up with the DSLAM and then my router (or in its absence, desktop computer) establishes the PPPoE connection.
Personally I think PPPoE is a good thing. It gives me a choice of ISPs for a reasonable price. Without PPPoE, I would probably be forced to use my telcos inferior service. My ISP actually offers non-PPPoE DSL access, but it is almost twice the price and would take three weeks longer to set up. Oh, and I have a static IP address with my PPPoE connection. PPPoE allows me to chose from hundreds of ISPs, and be online very quickly.
Finally, PPPoE has nothing to do with monitoring bandwitdth consumption, although it does apparently make it easier via my ISPs Radius server. However, the local cable company has been planning to introduce bandwidth quotas (often miss-called "caps") for some time. They are DHCP based.
After living in Germany for I while I know what you mean about billing not stopping when you want it to. It's not restricted to Deutsche Telekom.
My experience is that German companies don't understand customer service in the same sense we expect it here in North America.
If you need to terminate an account, or contract or insurance or anything else doing it by phone despite them having customer phone service, generally doesn't work.
The billing departments generally aren't up to speed and it can take a few months (if ever) for things to trickle from phone services to them.
>>>> Cancel all contracts etc... in writing with a letter by mail (keep a copy).
All that being said, I've had some nightmare companies here in Canada too... in particular
ISPs. A friend of mine fought for months to cancel a particular ISP account...
----- "Profanity is the one language that all programmers understand."
They weren't your wars. Hmmm... So the extinction of th international law making body (League of Nations) had nothing to do with the fact that there was a war. OK.
You "dragged your heels" until you made sure that everyone else would pay your dollar costs. I think Britain will finish paying its bill about five years from now.
Your impudence is loathsome. Thirty-thousand Americans are buried in Normandy alone. To minimize that enormous sacrifice is to insult the memory of the soldiers who died to liberate Europe.
Your ignorance is loathsome. Cologne, Dresden, those war crimes mean anything to you? Probably not, they were just Europeans.
Your country has a helluva history of making incredible messes and bailing out. If you don't believe that then look at Afghanistan.
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
I live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I've had DSL for the better part of 2 years now and will never go back. And it's only 35 Canadian pesos per month. Cheap. :)
Cable modems are a bit pricey, tho. I think they finally came down to ~$45/month, but it slower and you still have the security problems.
Neglient with intent causing death. Too bad it's against the law to sue.
You do not need to wear your Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie all the time. ...however, you will have to wear 'leder hosen' if you move to Bavaria, though.
Imagine the look on your face when your european allies say "this is not our war".
Europe unwilling to defend civilization? Well, the look on my face certainly wouldn't be surprise...
ASA
All employees must wash hands before seeking equitable relief.
But you can sue them if your child is born retarded. Go figure.
Your points are honorably made and are certainly arguable. While I disagree with your analysis, I have no problem with honest, open dialogue about how Americans should and should not be acting. It's also important that we discuss history honestly and openly.
I was just enfuriated that the grandparent poster called US participation in the Second World War "helping out a little bit."
Thanks for a thoughtful post.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
What is interesting is that I know more people willing to pick up a gun to vote than at the ballot. Honestly.
IF you read their term and service they reserve the right to bill again you up to after 2 years after a bill if there is a need to be a correction. For example they forgot 1 month of DSL of my bill+montage cost I got billed 15 monthes after.
C. Sagan : A demon haunted world:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345409469/
visit randi.org
No, I would be surprised. That would mean the French hand't already surrendered!
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
I'm an American living in Malaysia and have had DSL here (TMnet Streamyx from state run telecom)for about 4 months. I pay 20 USD a month for a 384/128 connection. It's great, now I can watch Sopranos & DL just about any movie. The stuff I download looks better than the pirated VCDs you can get here. Cost of living is cheap, I pay 125 a month USD for a 5 bedroom house in a nice neighborhood. Food is great and cheap, about 10 USD for good seafood dinner for 2. ;)
The downside, racism like I have never experienced before in my life - The Muslim Malays get a free ride on the backs of the people that do the real work, Indians and Chinese. The press is censored heavily. People tend to tolerate it because food is good and cheap... And if you make a fuss they will throw you in prison and let you rot without ever charging you with anything.. go figure! Oh, I forgot.. MANDATORY DEATH PENALTY for drugs.. example,, 7 ounces of pot = hung till dead. Other than that... Life is food...I mean good..
I think Iraq made a fucking mess of Iraq.... No one held a gun to Saddam's head and told him to invade Kuwait. (if they did, the bastards missed a great chance)
The Democratic Party: We've been pussies since 1968!
Without america, there would be no UK. Europe would likely still be part of the soviet bloc and the world would have been a much different place.
You're all over the place here but you do have a point about Dresden & Cologne. But do you really want to start talking about war crimes in Europe that Europeans did nothing about? You want to talk about Auschwitz, Treblinka, Dachau, Buchenwald & Krakow?
And more recently what exactly did you guys do about Kosovo before OUR bombs started falling? I'm sorry, but Europeans have a very long and sordid history of war crimes.
See my other post in this thread about "honest and open dialogue." Notice I didn't call you ignorant.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
It is also a legal issue. In general, German law doesn't allow for oral contracts. If you stay in Germany for a while you will notice that almost every significant transaction is covered by written contract including all leases and matters of employment.
As a result, entering into or cancelling contracts over the phone are discouraged and you will find that most companies will ask you to either fax or mail a contract or cancellation request. Make sure you sign it too or you just wasted at lesat $.50 in postage or whatever you just paid for faxing it.
"Light is faster than sound." - "Is that why people tend to look bright until you hear them speak?"
LUGs, etc. would be of interest as well. thanks
Tech Public Policy stuff
Classifying the whole of Sydney as a DSL disaster area is going a bit far. Where do you live in Sydney? There's certainly no problem with it where I am (Milsons Point).
Boffoonery - downloadable Comedy Benefit for Bletchley Park
Dude, I live near Stutgart. I've been living in Germany for 11 months. All phones are ISDN. I have DSL for about $22.00 per month from T-Online. T-Online is part of Deutch Telecom. Deutch Telecom is a state sanctioned momopoly. There are other DSL providers for about the same price. I know one person who uses a provider other than T-Online and he is satisfied. Check this, it is all PPP over ethernet! T-Online connection software totally sucks. It will totally screw up your computer. I only used the DSL drivers and had no problems. After I installed my little LinkSys DSL Router that supports ppp over ethernet things are okay. I'll provide more info if you want me to. After I signed up and started paying the monthly access fee it too three weeks to get my pass word and that was how the system was supposed to work. Write if you have questions for me. Later jim
Not particularly. The German side of my family contained everything from Waffen SS Officers to Marxists. Jewish mostly. I've heard (and judged) their stories. I won't repeat them because I'll just get labelled a revisionist. Some how, in this argument, any search for truth is considerd a perversion - by both sides.
Maybe I will be better understood if I quote a friend of mine... I haven't asked, so no attribution...
"I came out of Auschwitz feeling that there COULD be a just war -- I left Dresden wondering how I had been so wrong."
Apply that to Iraq...
Americans seem to be able to afford so much destruction and so little construction. Please consider how countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq can be helped. Not with swords but with ploughshares.
None of this would hve happened if Hussein had not started selling oil for Euros instead of dollars to get back at the US for betraying him a decade ago.
This is a war to protect the American dollar and American interests. No more and no less.
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
Every other country in the world likes to think they are superior to the U.S. Let them. You will never win the argument. Always remember - eventually you get to go home. They are always stuck with what they have.
Err.. not.
We all know why everybody wants to invade Poland.. because of our beautiful women.
There you have it.. German women are nasty. Seriously, I was in Germany this summer for ONE month, and I saw maybe half a dozen hot girls.
But they were all on Television, and from Poland.
Sucks to be you, bro.
POLSKA #1!!@!@!@!@
Sorry to say but that "combined effort" of which you speak would have failed as miserably as the Canadian invasion on Europe without the U.S. The reality is, Canadians sit up North and throw stones southward due to a (well-deserved) severe inferiority complex. During the cold war, they realized that any attack on their nation would result in instant support from the U.S. military and so went about cooking up more newfie steaks and sucking down their screech.
Let's not forget that the Canadians bombed the Baldwins!!!
Interesting how you mention paying our dollar costs... Who paid the U.S.'s costs for the Marshall plan?
I'm sorry, I didn't see any numbers regarding Canadian losses there...
I am an American and I have been living in northern Germany (Hamburg area) for just over a year now. I pay 29 Euro a month for unlimited dsl. It's pretty reliable. Just make sure you speak fluient German if you want to call tech support they only have a few English speaking people. I haven't been able to get connected to it without using their GERMAN ONLY software package except by using a funky little router (netpassage 15-b). They us their own protocal as far as I can tell and this is the only router I have found that will work with it.
"Sex is a very natural and wholsome thing, but only if it isn't done right." Welcome To Paradox
You asked for rates around the world, so here's what I pay in Bangkok: 1,400 Thai baht (about US$34) for 100 hours of dial-up. Don't know about broadband, nor can I comment on connectivity outside Bangkok. Service here varies from pretty good to impossibly horrible. Convincing your ISP's service desk that you don't use any Microsoft products at all can cause patches of bloody scalp to collect on your floor. Mentioning Galeon and Evolution leaves the ISP rep totally speechless.
Tell people you're Canadian. :-)=
--
bits and peace
Nicholas Daley
Thank you for crediting my family with one of the good things to come out of America.
I'm not saying that nothing good comes out of America. Much has. But much evil has also come from America. Far more than most americans will acknowlege. If you want the credit you have to accept the debit too.
Where is the "Marshall" plan for Afghanistan? There is not one because all you guys want is that damn pipeline. You need a semi fragmented state there. Fragmented enough not to have control of the pipeline but whole enough to protect it. The future for Afghanistan is poverty and bandit lords because that is what suits the USA best. Now, Iraq is a different case. There will be a "Marshall" plan for Iraq. To protect American interests. The benefit to the Iraqis will be incidental to its purpose.
So, I will respond by asking you a question. Who profited from the "Marshall" plan?
There is no moral superiority gained when you pick charities for your own profit.
Geoffrey Charles Marshall
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
which means he is going to be in his US Army base all time, in their little yankee town with a little yankee mc donalds and a little yankee burger kind and a little yankee food shop. drink their coffee in little yankee starbucks. he will drive a huge yankee pickup around the base and pay his gasoline in dollars per gallon and not buy petrol in euros per liter.
those guys need a visa to leave their base and will be treated as terrorists if they want to come back in (coz they left it in the first place. how unpatriotic an you be to leave this beautiful yankee mini town?)
you loosers. and you thought he is going to need your help!
You actually *can* use a different From-line with a T-DSL account. But you have to pay for that - approx. 3 Euros a month. Check out the "SMTP relay" information on the T-Online pages.
of the voltage and standard changes...
makr sure your appliances, especially you computer is dual voltage, and check the settings before you plug in your equipment. Otherwise, boom ! Fried power supplies.
If you take your DSL router from the US, as in my case, I had to buy a special transformer for the linksys box i had (220v ac to 24v ac).
As we are speaking dsl routers, make sure that your dsl router supports the terribly long usernames of t-online/deutsche telekom...
Good luck and have fun with relocationg...
In Israel, if you have dial-up this is how your fees get assessed:
1. Pay about $15.00/month to your ISP (ex. Netvision)
2. Pay per-minute charges to your telephone carrier (Bezeq)
In Israel you don't pay a flat rate for local calls per month. You pay per minute:
1. Between 7:00am - 7:00pm it's about $0.03/minute
2. Between 7:00pm - 7:00am (including weekends) it's about $0.006/minute
cheap american bitch!
...after they destroued that anti-semitism bubble and started killink thousands of innocent palestinians for nothing, except wrong politics.
jews are/was respected everywere around the world, even in germany.
Speak German and you will get a real world connection which is much better than any broadband connection.
English speaking people will get a working knowledge of German quickly (in about 3 months my guess) since the languages are both Germanic.
My native language is Danish and I worked in France 12 months. After I learned some French the stay was much more fun, you will probably experience the same thing.
-- From Denmark
I'm an American who has lived in Europe (Germany, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic) now for 8 years. And I won't go back. I'm contracting in Switzerland at around 85US/hr for, get this, VB Script! It is more expensive for some things over here, and cheaper for others, so it takes some getting used to. And nothing beats the quality of life here. For example, the crime rate in Germany, and Switzerland especially, is next to nothing. I couldn't give Europe a higher recommendation.
American living in Germany.
Move someplace near the city so you can get DSL, which is relatively cheap here. If you're too far out like me you'll get stuck with ISDN or 56K at a metered rate (don't even consider using Kazaa).
Also if you live near a city you can get a combo PDA/phone from a company called O2 (cheaper than Telekom), with decent GPRS rates. You can even get mobile calls at land-line prices if you're within a certain area you specify.
Where else would we run into things like this.
For performance bench of the various DSL see
http://www.grenouille.com !
To browse offers of various DSL ISP http://www.lesproviders.com
The best at this time is free.fr providing a DSL512k for 29.99 ! When available on DSL zone, if you choose the "degroupage", this extendeds the offer to a DSL1024 for 29.99...
Some other provider also offer quite interesting solutions : http://www.dslvalley.com
thats some crazy shit.
ADSL: Provided by the ex-monopolist Swisscom and many resellers at about 50 CHF (35 /$) per month for 256 kbps.
Cable: Depending on your location, your cable access is controlled by Cablecom (which now also offers telephony services) or small, regional providers. Here's Cablecom's English page. Prices tend to be slightly higher than ADSL.
Just call the corporations I mentioned if you' re interested, virtually everybody in Switzerland speaks English.
but then, who doesn't bitch and moan. It will give you an idea of what most gives people the irrits. Just remember that anyone who has _found_ those forums is probably a 'power user' :P
Yay me!
Skip Oktoberfest in München. It is crowded horrible and bloody expensive.
Thing is, you can get the same Oktoberfest feeling and experience anytime in München by just going there and hanging around in any of the large beergardens OUTSIDE off the Oktoberfest time. Besides, the weather in end September sucks in comparison to say June or April.
Btw, if you DO go to the fest do NOT go on the roller coaster with your boss after drinking 2 liters of beer....
The dangers of excessive individualism are nothing compared to the oppressiveness of excessive collectivism
i live in korea(s. korea) i don't have a single friend who still uses a modem. ADSL, VDSL is the norm here. ADSL costs about 20$~35$ per month with bandwidth ranging from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps.
For very verbose Linux configuration guidelines check out ADSL4Linux.de.
Oh, and don't forget to learn german, it will help a lot in everyday life (though you'll manage to survive without).
Get some help from a German-speaking friend or soldier Gib mir T-DSL oder Ich schiess dir!
---
"The chances of a demonic possession spreading are remote -- relax."
This is offtopic, but beware of foreign keyboard layout if you are going overseas... For example, on German keyboard, 'z' and 'y' are switched compared to US layout (I heard this was due to 'z' being more common in German than 'y'... I only know German a bit, but I think this makes sense) Also, many other keys are switched to accomodate accent keys and other extras.
When zou tzpe zour e-mails in Germanz, make sure it does not look like this sentence... It can even trip some reallz good tzper.
make sure you get a nice router to connect your laptop/pc lan to the dsl connection.
DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT, BUY ANY Eumax equipment. This stuff is usually Telekom branded and it SUCKS bigtime.
I would suggest buying a small netgear DSL router, stable and easy to setup.
There are a lot of posts about T-DSL from the Telekom. While T-DSL is available almost everywhere in germany, there are quite a few local carriers in bigger citys. For example i am a customer of Hansenet, a local carrier in Hamburg.
Hansenet gives you a 2048/192 DSL flatrate for about 55EUR/month including ISDN and free local calls to all Hansenet customers. ( Most of my friends are )
In Germany, dynamic vs. static IP addresses are used to separate business and private Internet connectivity (and dynamic addresses are reassigned every 24 hours). For some applications, this doesn't matter, of course. Actually, business Internet access isn't too expensive either, but you usually pay per volume, so you can't afford all this P2P stuff...
If you also need secure and fast connections to your remote US exchange server
try HiPerExchange , works great even on slow lines and on exchange 2000 with SSL
So, you are traveling to the old Europe, and the most important thing you need to know is the availability of broadband access?
Funny life must be yours, really.
Deutsche Telekom does sell DSL but for only 15 Euro/month. What he is referring to is the additional flat rate sold by T-Online, which is a separate company (but you get your bill through Deutsche Telekom, which is a bad thing, because if there is something wrong, you end up struggeling with two incompentent departments instead of one! I was a T-Online customer, and I know why I am no longer (see my homepage http://www.s2h.cx for the reason (German only)).
There aren't many alternatives to T-DSL (but there are some, see below) but there are many alternatives to T-Online. It pays to look for the best offer, not only money-wise but also in terms of security and hassle.
I myself am using 1&1, who sell a range of T-DSL tariffs: Online time based, volume based and a so called "Fair Flatrate", which means if you stay online less than 100 hours a month, you pay less. (They offer T-DSL based access countrywide.)
In the Bonn/Cologne area there is NetCologne and QSC, both offering phone and internet hookup independently from Deutsche Telekom. Many of my collegues are using Q-DSL from QSC and like it. The main advantages are higher bandwith and a lower ping time (for online gaming), but it is a bit more expensive, if you are not a student.
In other areas of Germany there are also local providers. I don't know much about these.
twm
Don't use this internet service, it's too expensive. Look at www.teltarif.de once you are in Germany. They have definitive information about all the current competitor's prices for calls to any country in the world, and within Germany.
Only thing you need to do is dial a provider prefix. Calls will be billed by Deutsche Telekom, which should be where you get your landline from.
Doesn't apply to calls originating from your cell phone. Cell phone use is NOT recommended for international calls from Germany - too expensive, unless you have an O2 Genion plan and are within your 1km diameter homezone.
Current cheapest offer using a provider prefix is 3c/min - 25% less than the internet service, and better quality.
DSL: Most offers use Deutsche Telekom's hardware for the DSL service. The flat rate, however, doesn't have to be Deutsche Telekom's. Check out www.tiscali.de - they are 10.00/mo cheaper.
For your reference: As an American living in Sweden, I get broadband from a company called "B2" for roughly $20/month. It's excellent: just a plain 'ol RJ45 ethernet jack in my wall (no special equipment), I get as many (real) IP addresses as I want from their DHCP server, and it's 10MBPS to the local switch, which is connected to a fiber loop (don't know how fast, but it's plenty fast). Good luck!
This is some info for DSL in China. It is super cheap! According to the latest information, ADSL service in major cities offers four monthly plans for residential customers: 60 yuan ($7.2) for 45 hours (@512Kbps), 80 yuan ($9.6) 60 hours (512Kbps), 120 yuan ($14.5) for 60 hours (@1Mbps) and 130 yuan ($15.7) for unlimited use. For extra time outside allowance, the charge is .05 yuan a minute or 3 yuan an hour, or .07 a minute or 4.2 yuan an hour for the 120-yuan plan. Access fee for business and residential customers is 900 yuan which includes installation/testing, and modem. There is 400 yuan ($48.2) for access from LAN; 500 yuan ($60) if using a PCMCIA card, and 700 yuan ($84) for USB interface. In March 2002, Railcom began to offer ADSL in Beijing with a flat monthly fee instead of hour-based plans. Its lowest monthly fee is 150 yuan ($18) at 512Kbps; other datarates include 1Mbps and 2Mbps. Cost for ADSL service is falling rapidly; Beijing, for example, has recently slashed installation charge to 300 yuan ($36), and is running a promotion of 50% off regular monthly charges through June 2003. In Shanghai, broadband service has fallen to 180 yuan ($21.7) for installation charges and 100 yuan ($12) for unlimited use.
Would you care to turn the television off and learn some actual history?
Fucktard.
Quite an achievement, to screw up at least three ways in such a short sentence. ;-)
And without the combined efforts of every other allied country with actual fucking *ethics* (before the USAins finally plucked up the courage to join in), Amerikans would current be goose stepping and crying "heil" to an unelected leader who starts wars with other countries in order to distract the populace from the domestic situation.
Wait a minute, you got there anyway by yourselves. Oh well. They do say that you get the politicians you deserve.
In Japan letting people know you are an American is a good thing. In fact, if you are foreign, the only chance you have of being respected is if you are American. The Japanese people love Americans on the whole, however are extremely impartial to everyone else. Lately this especially goes for Europeans and any country associated with the U.N. (not including U.S.A.) for what should be obvious reasons (failure to support America causing force diversion leaving N.Korea able to attack easy; being completely neglected by EU nations in any international dealings over and over again; oh and giving N.Korea nuclear material/reactors/scientists sound like a GREAT idea U.N., you FUCKTARDS!).
You may want to check out the American Book Center in Amsterdam, or The Hague, or Leuven. Apart from american books they stock some american foods.
" Maybe he doesnt speak German? "
So? Google has translation built in, or you can use babelfish. Honestly this has to be one of the lamest ask slashdots I have ever seen.
graspee
First of all, thank you for your thoughts.
This is a war to protect the American dollar and American interests. No more and no less.
I disagree with this analysis, but I think you make a cogent point. We in the U.S. see our right to defend ourselves independent of any international body. We see the UN going the way of the League of Nations and we don't want to be caught in that tar baby.
We have already made an egregious error in going after a second (actually 16th) UNSC resolution. We do not recognize international law that compromises our national interests. The President of the U.S. is obligated to protect us, not save face with the security council and embattled European politicos. (Gerhard Schroeder? You expect us to take him seriously?) I don't believe the politicians, the protesters, or the UNSC is truly concerned about war. I think they want to contain, embarrass, and weaken the U.S. Can you honestly disagree with that assessment?
Anyway, here's what I wrote about going to war. Undoubtedtly you will disagree:
War: An Intellectual Exercise.
I've been punishing myself by reading the Not in Our Name web site. There I find that such geopolitical luminaries such as Mos Def, John Edgar Wideman, Barbara Kingsolver, Ossie Davis, Noam Chomsky, Eve Ensler, Tony Kushner, Edward Said, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker and Howard Zinn oppose the war in Iraq and have signed a "Statement of Conscience" to that effect.
To those folks, and the A.N.S.W.E.R. folks I'd like to pose a question. Would you ever, under any circumstance, support a war? What would be the litmus test for your support?
If Iraq attacked United States troops in Kuwait with chemical weapons would you support a war? Or would you call it self-defense?
If Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia would you support a war, or would you cry "No blood for oil!"?
If Iraq gassed Kurds in the north (again) would that justify going to war? Or would you discuss the difficult Turkist/Kurdish/Iraqi dynamic and deplore the violence?
If Iraq attacked Israel with chemical or biological weapons, would you support war? Or would you talk instead about the suppression of Palestinians?
If Iraq smuggled a suitcase nuclear weapon, smallpox, or a radiological bomb into the United States and used it, would you support a war in Iraq? Or would you talk about root causes? Would you talk about fundamentalism being engendered by poverty and hunger?
The problem with these folks at Not In our Name and A.N.S.W.E.R. is not that they oppose war. The problem is that they oppose the U.S. regardless. The would never support a war, under any circumstances. They will always blame the US first. They will never credit the U.S. with benign intentions, good will, or correct policy.
Much like Marxists who hold to their faith even after the worldwide collapse of communism, the peaceniks can never be convinced that they are wrong. No matter what happens, they can find a reason to oppose the U.S. They are unreasoning in their hatred of the U.S. and their hatred of all things American. So I don't believe anything they say. I can not give credence to someone that could never be convinced under any circumstance.
And here's the truth that they can't cover up with protests and rallies, awful poetry, insipid protest songs and body odor: They care nothing for human rights in Iraq. They don't care about the Kurds, the Marsh Arabs, or the Iraqi Shiites. They don't care about the thousands of political prisoners, the tortured, or the hundreds of Kuwaitis still imprisoned. They have thrown in their lot with Saddam Hussein. They have shown their true colors.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
The answer to your question is simple. The whole world profited thanks to the United States' investment. I think there *is* moral superiority when everyone profits from a single country's investment.
I'll agreee with you wholeheartedly that not everything coming from the States is good, but its a hell of a lot better than whats coming out of most of the world.
>
Well...it started out kinda lame - but I think its interesting to see some info on whats available where (since I move around quite a lot). Regarding german translators.. its not enough if you're moving to a different continent. He needs advice - not advertisements.
Number 3 is (former) East Berlin. Horrible mess there in many places.
"learn to speak german"
Should only take him a couple of years.
Most of what you say about the US mobile phone system vs the european is true, but you miss some things though.
... and it cost me money/minutes to answer and hear the screeeech sound... :-( )
In Europe you pay phone calls per minute - it's the same with cell phones. Flat rate basically doesn't exist. For example, my cell phone subscription (in Sweden) costs me the equivalent of $8 per month. That includes 0 minutes. I pay per minute, and it gets added to my phone bill. It's 35c per minute daytime, evenings and weekends 2.5c. If I don't use all the minutes on my american account, the swedish/european system might be cheaper. Most months I run a bill of about $25-$30.
Then, the next BIG difference that most people seems not to be aware of is that in Europe you don't pay for incoming calls. (When I lived in the US there was a fax machine that called me every now and then
To me the most frustrating thing about living in the US and the cellphones and all was to see the ads online of the cool phones that were out in Sweden and knowing that it wouldn't be in the US for another six months or so - if at all. I suspect this is changing now.
I don't want to say that either system is better or worse, to me, it's just different.
Enby in Waltham = [nbodley {at] world {dot] std {dot] nospamcom
We just fought better. And France's were so high because it's easy to shoot a frenchman in the back when they're running away.
If you would have read the post doorknob I said Russia would have likely won the war with germany. If you look at the old soviet lines, it was america after the war that stopped th soviet progression.
And the second paragraph is incoherent.
Sign up for an account somewhere that offers you an SMTP-Auth server. You can then send from any from address.
I'm sorry, I didn't see any numbers regarding Canadian losses there...
Sorry, the numbers weren't in the table I copied. Other sources indicate about 40,000.
Signature is usually only demanded in highly formalized situations, though. E.g., contracts between companies, which is a completely different matter. But then, you should see the legal brouhou US companies make for simple company contracts. There one learns about real bureaucracy.
Joachim
People don't write Manifestos any more -- what's going on in this world? [Frank Zappa]
Sorry to say but that "combined effort" of which you speak would have failed as miserably as the Canadian invasion on Europe without the U.S.
The "combined effort" I referred to included the US. The US contribution is what tipped the war in the Allies favour, that is not in doubt. I like to disspell the all too common American notion that America did it all on their own, which is far from the truth. The US couldn't have done it without the help of its Allies.
And if the US had to rush to Canada's aid, would they do it to help a 'friend' or would it be for self-serving purposes? I suspect the latter.
I shared your experience several times (one time I was actually forced to order an analog line due to the fact that they ran out of NTBAs). Lately however things seem to change to the better: They accomplished the awesome feat to get DSL+ISDN switched to my new place in no-time (lines were down for aprox. 4 hours).
Not to mention that I called them 6 days before I started moving.
And that the customer call center (aka the center of customer hell) actually called me back. Twice. To freakin check if they got everything right.
And (now it gets really exciting) that they send a technican who installed the TAE exactly where I wanted it to be. For free.
I know this is far from the service level (if you like to call it service after all) I was used to.
How about we just send over the first four you mentioned and the rest of us will stay here? Otherwise, you're liable to have 300,000,000 overnight guests...
That is all.
This AskSlashdot was pretty timely. I'm in the middle of looking at foreign exchange programs (through ISEP), and was wondering what it's like in Finland, Hong Kong, and the European continent.
The difference is this: I want to know what it's like from a student's perspective, rather than a professional's.
Can a person really cut it in English-language classes in Finland, HK, or wherever without a decent grasp of the host-country's language? How reasonable is it to start studying the language after getting there? Any recommended English-language CS programs?
All true, saw it with my own eyes!
American Army is the most uncivilised bunch of monkeys in the world.
When you pick which charities that you support based on your own profit or interest, it is not charity and you (anyone) deserve moral condemnation not praise for such. "I'm a good boy, now pay me!" doesn't work.
I'll agreee with you wholeheartedly that not everything coming from the States is good, but its a hell of a lot better than whats coming out of most of the world.
Perhaps that is wishful thinking? Please note that, right at this minute, most of the world disagrees with you. Even mny Americans do.
That last "helluva..." seems to me to be the mistaken, arogant american thinking that everyone else hates. "Yes, we got vices - but we are still better than the rest of you!" . Right.
I doubt you would even conceede that Hussein is a smarter man than Bush, let alone the fact that they closely approximate each other in evil.
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
this was again a good, flaming and trolling thread.
...Csnada clearly won over those americans.
Old Europe and their allies Canada and
Shame on New Europe, which did show no support for americans in this thread.
A.C.
Depending on where you're moving, you might get deals a lot better than shitty T-DSL. We pay about 50 Euros a month for a package of (non-ISDN) phone, cable TV and 2 Mbit/s cable connection, and you don't even have to buy the cable modem. It's limited to my town though, but there are several companies like this in Germany.
If you do have to get DSL, QSC is offering faster lines than the Deutsche Telekom, although I don't know how reliable they are.
Oh yes, one other thing: take everything you know about customer service and flush it. Sad, but true.
Someone is wrong on the Internet!
Thank you for your politeness.
I said "This is a war to protect the American dollar and American interests. No more and no less." and you replied "I disagree with this analysis, but I think you make a cogent point. We in the U.S. see our right to defend ourselves independent of any international body. We see the UN going the way of the League of Nations and we don't want to be caught in that tar baby."
Take a look at the currency markets from before Saddam sold for Euros until now. It becomes obvious. The Euro would probably already be a dead currency if it were not for the oil market giving value to the Euro. At the same time it has taken value away from the dollar. Graph it. You will get a surprise.
If the UN goes the way of the League of Nations, then that will be twice that the US has destroyed an international law making body for the sake of pursuing its own interests. I can understand why you don't want to get caught up in that "tar baby".
We have already made an egregious error in going after a second (actually 16th) UNSC resolution. We do not recognize international law that compromises our national interests. The President of the U.S. is obligated to protect us, not save face with the security council and embattled European politicos. (Gerhard Schroeder? You expect us to take him seriously?) I don't believe the politicians, the protesters, or the UNSC is truly concerned about war. I think they want to contain, embarrass, and weaken the U.S. Can you honestly disagree with that assessment?
Yes. I don't think most people are against the US per se. However you haven't cleaned up the last mess yet (Afghanistan) or the one before that or the one before that... The US is acting in what it thinks are its own best interests, irrespective of the effect on the rest of the world. Clean up your messes before you make another one.
Anyway, here's what I wrote about going to war. Undoubtedtly you will disagree: War: An Intellectual Exercise. I've been punishing myself by reading the Not in Our Name web site. There I find that such geopolitical luminaries such as Mos Def, John Edgar Wideman, Barbara Kingsolver, Ossie Davis, Noam Chomsky, Eve Ensler, Tony Kushner, Edward Said, Gloria Steinem, Alice Walker and Howard Zinn oppose the war in Iraq and have signed a "Statement of Conscience" to that effect. To those folks, and the A.N.S.W.E.R. folks I'd like to pose a question. Would you ever, under any circumstance, support a war? What would be the litmus test for your support?
Yes, there are circumstances in which I would support a war. A litmus test is hard as it depends very much on circumstances. I think that I would support a UN "police action" given that the reasoning behind the "police action" was not flawed. Anything unilateral that is not a clear case of self defense is right out...
If Iraq attacked United States troops in Kuwait with chemical weapons would you support a war? Or would you call it self-defense?
Attacking first is not self defense. However, as of the news this morning British and American troops have entered Iraq and killed Iraqis. America has attacked first. Kuwait hasn't and I'd think that over the top, but any attack on American/British forces in Iraqi or international territory would be legitimate. It should also be considered that America has reserved the right of "premtive nuclear attack" so almost anything anyone does to America now becomes self defense. Your stated aim is that there will be no competitors and you are prepared to use your monopoly position to enforce that situation. It should also be remembered that if Saddam does use chemical weapons - he got them from the United States.
If Iraq invaded Saudi Arabia would you support a war, or would you cry "No blood for oil!"?
Depends on why and wherefore. The Iraqi attack on Kuwait was to stop them stealing oil - which they refused to do.
If Iraq gassed Kurds in the north (again) would that justify going to war? Or would you discuss the difficult Turkist/Kurdish/Iraqi dynamic and deplore the violence?
It would justify war crimes trials and those who supplied the weapons should also be prosecuted. Iraqis and Americans, both should face the international courts.
If Iraq attacked Israel with chemical or biological weapons, would you support war? Or would you talk instead about the suppression of Palestinians?
I would support a UN police action which I am sure would be rapidly forthcoming. I would then look at enforcing the law in both "Palestine" and Israel. But they would be seperate issues with differing urgencies.
If Iraq smuggled a suitcase nuclear weapon, smallpox, or a radiological bomb into the United States and used it, would you support a war in Iraq? Or would you talk about root causes? Would you talk about fundamentalism being engendered by poverty and hunger?
If America has started a war then it cannot complain. If there is no war when such a device was detonated, then it would be a crime, and yes, there should be a reaction. That reaction should not be to nuke Bahgdad (but it probably would be).
The problem with these folks at Not In our Name and A.N.S.W.E.R. is not that they oppose war. The problem is that they oppose the U.S. regardless. The would never support a war, under any circumstances. They will always blame the US first. They will never credit the U.S. with benign intentions, good will, or correct policy.
Look, I'm not anti-american, but please, tell me just when America has given examples of benign intentions, good will or correct policy? Take Australia (one of your most loyal allies) as an example... In 1975 you turned over the government (peacefully) because you didn't like the actions it was going to take. If that is not interventionist, what is? You are now proposing a "free trade" agreement that will benefit America and be a loss to Australia. Even in everyday things, Australians have to pay for internet traffic both ways to and from America. America is screwing other peoples repeatedly and continually and has a consisten history of doing so. If you are not an American you are nothing, not important, inferior, not entitled to any say or influence. Kyoto. World Courts. League of Nations, U.N., Israel, East Timor, the list is endless. You want me to believe in America's good intentions? Please demonstrate that they exist as anythng except domestic propoganda. America has been believing its own lies far too long. And yet, I tell you, I am not anti-american. I want you to get it right, that's all.
Much like Marxists who hold to their faith even after the worldwide collapse of communism, the peaceniks can never be convinced that they are wrong. No matter what happens, they can find a reason to oppose the U.S. They are unreasoning in their hatred of the U.S. and their hatred of all things American. So I don't believe anything they say. I can not give credence to someone that could never be convinced under any circumstance.
"Could never be convinced under any circumstance", that sounds more like you than them.
And here's the truth that they can't cover up with protests and rallies, awful poetry, insipid protest songs and body odor: They care nothing for human rights in Iraq. They don't care about the Kurds, the Marsh Arabs, or the Iraqi Shiites. They don't care about the thousands of political prisoners, the tortured, or the hundreds of Kuwaitis still imprisoned. They have thrown in their lot with Saddam Hussein. They have shown their true colors.
And Americans do care about human rights? Don't make me laugh. Thirteen per cent of the American population endures hunger on multiple occasions each year. Don't they have rights? Guantamo. Avoidence of International courts. Unilateralism. These things indicate a respect for rights? Pull the other one...
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
Where I live....
Internet & Telephone are run by government monopolies.
RACSA is the internet provider, ICE is the telco.
Dialup is available basically everywhere in the country. There are two types of accounts:
Unlimited use ($20 a month about) - these are tied to your phone number at your house. You can't use them on the road.
Metered - (I forget.. it's relatively cheap) - you can use these from anywhere, but you pay for that usage.
It should be noted that there is a fee for local phone calls, though it is quite low. You would not want to stay online 24/7, it would cost you hundreds of dollars a month.
I am unsure if telephone tarrifs apply to calls to the ISP; they may not.
There is 1-way cable (where you still need dialup to connect). It works fairly well, runs you about $20/month for 64Kbps.
There is 2-way cable in select areas in & Near San Jose. It is rate limited (128/32, 64/32, etc). 128/32 runs oyu $50 a month. 256/120 costs you a couple hundred a month, I believe.
That may sound slow.. but the upside is you actually get what they say you get. If you paid for 128/32, you basically always get that speed.. no overselling here.
Cable uses NAT, and not even good NAT.. standard PPTP and whatnot don't work over it.
DSL is in the works, but not available yet.
All in all, the dialup is actually pretty good, and the coverage is good. Despite how it sounds, it's not expensive.
Cable kind of sucks.. the only benefit really is that it's always on.
I'm moving to Graz, Austria in a few months and have been wondering the same thing... I'm not too interested in having a land line for voice or fast ping times (i don't play games) Does anyone have any insight on the best way to go in Graz?
Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.
We are coming to this discussion from such different arguments that I doubt we can have a productive discussion. You seem to favor internationlism, even impotent internationalism. You seem to come from a Marxist worldview, and you think that America has never done anything good or even benign.
Regarding the American ideal: I'm puzzled that you seem to fundamentally misunderstand the American ideal. Have you not studied here? Don't you know us? Your English is so good it seems you must have. If you knew us, you'd realize that Americans are not primarily motivated by currency markets and covering our dollar-costs. That is a Soviet-fed Marxist fantasy. We do have some Americans that share your view in America, but they are primarily self-loathing Marxist-Stalinists like the A.N.S.W.E.R. folks.
Regarding America's economic motivations: Your assertion that America came out even or ahead economically from the Second World War is untenable. Let's just start with the $13 billion in 1949 dollars spent on the Marshall plan. (Equivalent of $75 billion of today's dollars) What about the $49 billion in lend-lease funds, much of which is still outstanding from Russia? You do realize that we were in the greatest economic depression of our history when we began to release that $49 billion in 1941 dollars. That was not an economic decision - it was a moral one.
Regarding my assertion that you are anti-American: Your arguments give lie to your assertion that you are not anti-American. You have to be anti-American to say that America has never shown benign intentions, good will, or correct foreign policy. What American interest was served in East Timor, Somalia, or Kosovo? For that matter, what American interest was served pulling your fannies out of the fire twice in the last century? A majority of Americans opposed war until Japan pulled us into that war, you know.
Are you honestly saying that Americans shouldn't have defended Western Europe from Soviet Imperialism? REALLY? Do you suppose you'd have the freedom to read and post on Slashdot today in the "Democratic People's Republic of Germany?" You think the Soviets would have stopped their invasion at Berlin of their own accord after Germany had killed seven and a half million Soviets?
Regarding the League of Nations: It failed because it was a tool of British Empire, not a legitimate international body. Nobody was very excited about it. The only way it could have survived would have been with America's leadership. America withdrew because the LoN was poorly executed and tried to limit American sovreignty. Now the UN is going the same direction.
Regarding internationalism and war-crimes trials: You propose that war criminals, Iraqis and Americans, should face international courts. How do you propose to try them without invading? Also, as an American I am not going to take my chances with someone like you as judge. You've already condemned me just for being an American. We reserve the right to try our own criminals.
Regarding Australia: My wife grew up there, so I know a little. Let me know when they complain.
Regarding human rights: There is no reason that any American should go hungry. We have aid to families with dependent children (food stamps), shelters, and enormous domestic food-aid programs. Those that endure hunger have only their parents or themselves to blame because they fail to apply for government aid or they spend their aid money on alchohol. We try hard to make sure everyone has enough to eat. We advertise our welfare programs on TV. Don't give me that 13% of Americans go hungry crap. That is total propaganda. It is true that we have a huge homelessness problem, but it is very complex and has nothing to do with human rights.
Regarding so-called unilateralism: Thirty seven countries are currently backing the U.S. in our war effort. Is there a word for that? Thirtysevellateralism?
Regarding Guantanamo: Detainees have Korans, good food, shelter, and are treated humanely. No American could wish for so much in any Muslim country. Do they have a right to trial? No! They are enemy combatants!
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.
Prably not. You appear in denial. Nevertheless - for your sake and America's sake I will try.
You seem to favor internationlism, even impotent internationalism.
I favour the rule of law. International law will have to be international. Law notNations.
You seem to come from a Marxist worldview,
You can't deal with it so label it with an insult and dismiss it? No, I'm not a Marxist, I'm not a communist. Most people call me right-wing.
re coming to this discussion from such different arguments that I doubt we can have a productive discussion.
Prably not. You appear in denial. Nevertheless - for your sake and America's sake I will try.
You seem to favor internationlism, even impotent internationalism.
I favour the rule of law. International law will have to be international. Law notNations.
You seem to come from a Marxist worldview,
You can't deal with it so label it with an insult and dismiss it? No, I'm not a Marxist, I'm not a communist. Most people call me right-wing.
and you think that America has never done anything good or even benign.Really? read my posts again instead of propogandising about them?Jefferson may have been the most important human being ever. Pity you don't subsc ribe to his points of vies (and call him 'Marxist')...
Regarding the American ideal: I'm puzzled that you seem to fundamentally misunderstand the American ideal. Have you not studied here? Don't you know us? Your English is so good it seems you must have. If you knew us, you'd realize that Americans are not primarily motivated by currency markets and covering our dollar-costs. That is a Soviet- fed Marxist fantasy. We do have some Americans that share your view in America, but they are primarily self-loathing Marxist-Stalinists like the A.N.S.W.E.R. folks.
I don't misunderstand it. You misunderstand the American culture. I have not studies in America. Both my English and my education would be worse if I had - you'll take that as an insult and "it could not possibly be right" - but it is just a statement of fact. I speak English, not A merican. I think that I understand both America and its viewpoint well enough. Probably better than most American as I can see it from outside.
Regarding America's economic motivations: Your assertion that America came out even or ahead economically from the Second World War is untenable.Good, because I never made that assertion. You appear to be trying to convin ce people I did. Have you surrendered argument for propoganda? If you are not going to be honest there isn't much point in continuing is there? If the Marshall plan was a moral decision it should have applied universally, not s electively. And where is Afghanistans Marshall plan? in Afghanistan, America has behaved like the scum of the Earth.
Regarding my assertion that you are anti-American: Your arguments give lie to your assertion that you are not anti-American.
Crap. I don't have to support everything America does and I don't. Yeah, yeah, I know, because I won't like your (America's) arse and say "your're perfect even when you are raping me", yeah that makes me "Anti-America" right.... To you I say "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". Stop the propoganda. Wake up and smell the roses. Find out some unbiased truth.
You have to be anti-American to say that America has never shown benign intentions, good will, or correct foreign policy.I have to be because you say so... Right, that's the point friend. Neither you nor your country has the right to say or assume that. It is simply not true however much you wish to believe it.
What American interest was served in East Timor, Somalia, or Kosovo?
How can anyone not in denial or impossibly ignorant ask that question. Learn Read. Stop being an ignorant American peasant.
For that matter, what American interest was served pulling your fannies out of the fire twice in the last century? A majority of Americans opposed war until Japan pulled us into that war, you know.Errmm... Whose fanny? I d on't even have a vagina to pull from the fire, I'm a mail. (Please try not to miss that one!).
Regarding the League of Nations: It failed because it was a tool of British Empire, not a legitimate internation al body. Nobody was very excited about it. The only way it could have survived would have been with America's leadership. America withdrew because the LoN was poorly executed and tried to limit American sovreignty. Now the UN is g oing the same direction.The important words there are "limit American sovreignty". That is why America "destroyed" the LoN and why it will destroy the UN. America is interested in only its own sovreignty - and that is the is sue.
and you think that America has never done anything good or even benign.Really? read my posts again instead of propogandising about them?Jefferson may have been the most important human being ever. Pity you don't subscribe to his points of vies (and call him 'Marxist')...
Regarding the American ideal: I'm puzzled that you seem to fundamentally misunderstand the American ideal. Have you not studied here? Don't you know us? Your English is so good it seems you must have. If you knew us, you'd realize that Americans are not primarily motivated by currency markets and covering our dollar-costs. That is a Soviet-fed Marxist fantasy. We do have some Americans that share your view in America, but they are primarily self-loathing Marxist-Stalinists like the A.N.S.W.E.R. folks.
I don't misunderstand it. You misunderstand the American culture. I have not studies in America. Both my English and my education would be worse if I had - you'll take that as an insult and "it could not possibly be right" - but it is just a statement of fact. I speak English, not American. I think that I understand both America and its viewpoint well enough. Probably better than most American as I can see it from outside.
Regarding America's economic motivations: Your assertion that America came out even or ahead economically from the Second World War is untenable.Good, because I never made that assertion. You appear to be trying to convince people I did. Have you surrendered argument for propoganda? If you are not going to be honest there isn't much point in continuing is there? If the Marshall plan was a moral decision it should have applied universally, not selectively. And where is Afghanistans Marshall plan? in Afghanistan, America has behaved like the scum of the Earth.
Regarding my assertion that you are anti-American: Your arguments give lie to your assertion that you are not anti-American.
Crap. I don't have to support everything America does and I don't. Yeah, yeah, I know, because I won't like your (America's) arse and say "your're perfect even when you are raping me", yeah that makes me "Anti-America" right.... To you I say "patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel". Stop the propoganda. Wake up and smell the roses. Find out some unbiased truth.
You have to be anti-American to say that America has never shown benign intentions, good will, or correct foreign policy.I have to be because you say so... Right, that's the point friend. Neither you nor your country has the right to say or assume that. It is simply not true however much you wish to believe it.
What American interest was served in East Timor, Somalia, or Kosovo?
How can anyone not in denial or impossibly ignorant ask that question. Learn Read. Stop being an ignorant American peasant.
For that matter, what American interest was served pulling your fannies out of the fire twice in the last century? A majority of Americans opposed war until Japan pulled us into that war, you know.Errmm... Whose fanny? I don't even have a vagina to pull from the fire, I'm a mail. (Please try not to miss that one!).
Regarding the League of Nations: It failed because it was a tool of British Empire, not a legitimate international body. Nobody was very excited about it. The only way it could have survived would have been with America's leadership. America withdrew because the LoN was poorly executed and tried to limit American sovreignty. Now the UN is going the same direction.The important words there are "limit American sovreignty". That is why America "destroyed" the LoN and why it will destroy the UN. America is interested in only its own sovreignty - and that is the issue.
Regarding internationalism and war-crimes trials: You propose that war criminals, Iraqis and Americans, should face international courts. How do you propose to try them without invading? Also, as an American I am not going to take my chances with someone like you as judge. You've already condemned me just for being an American. We reserve the right to try our own criminals.
'Someone like me' eh? I've not condemmed anyone. It seems more like you have condemmed me for not being an arse-licker. You have been the one to turn this into am 'ad hominem' argument, not me. Note that it is considerd a loosing strategy.
Regarding Australia: My wife grew up there, so I know a little. Let me know when they complain.
Australians have been complaining for a long time. Long enough that America manipulated a regime change in Australia in 1975. You're not listening.
Regarding human rights: There is no reason that any American should go hungry.
Dead right
We have aid to families with dependent children (food stamps), shelters, and enormous domestic food-aid programs. Those that endure hunger have only their parents or themselves to blame because they fail to apply for government aid or they spend their aid money on alchohol. We try hard to make sure everyone has enough to eat. We advertise our welfare programs on TV. Don't give me that 13% of Americans go hungry crap. That is total propaganda. It is true that we have a huge homelessness problem, but it is very complex and has nothing to do with human rights.It has everything to do with human rights.
Regarding so-called unilateralism: Thirty seven countries are currently backing the U.S. in our war effort. Is there a word for that? Thirtysevellateralism?Thiry-seven 'bought' nations against how many others?
Regarding Guantanamo: Detainees have Korans, good food, shelter, and are treated humanely. No American could wish for so much in any Muslim country. Do they have a right to trial? No! They are enemy combatants!i
Because you, unilaterally say so. You are behaving outside international law and outside of your constitution by chicanery. If you cnsider that situation just or proper, well... I can't see how that differs from insanity. You invaded them for chrissakes.
Zero Sum (don't amount to much). [root@localhost]
"Fanny" means buttocks in American English and it is a very benign word. I assumed you would know that because your spelling is American, not Commonwealth. I apologize for the misunderstanding. I would never use such an objectionable word.
You do fundamentally misunderstand us. You said that America cannot every be credited with benign intentions, good will, or correct foreign policy. You said that, not I. And I called you on it. Such a sweeping statement is ridiculous on its face, so you don't want me to bring it up? Defend your statement. Address my questions about the Marshall plan and American policy in Europe during the cold war. Don't bring up Afghanistan as a straw man to draw attentiona way from the Marshall Plan. Tell me how the Marshall Plan was not an example of benign intentions, good will, or correct foreign policy or concede that America has actually done something right in her history.
Regarding Afghanistan and the Marshall Plan - America is still in Afghanistan. I'm sorry our performance there is not satisfactory to you, but do you seriously think the Afghans are worse off than they were under the Taliban? Hamid Karzai isn't complaining.
I ask you again. If you want me to believe you, you should answer: What American interest was served in East Timor, Somalia, or Kosovo? Insulting me by calling me an ignorant American doesn't answer that question.
Or are you incensed because I continue to argue? Has no one dared stand up to your irresponsible assertions before? I think your "ignorant American" stereotype has run into a counter-example and it enfuriates you.
I didn't call you a Marxist to insult you, but to describe your seemingly intractable attitude.
It seems to me that you harbor lots of anger at America. You didn't appreciate my reasoned arguments so you called them propaganda. You should address the points I bring up instead of calling names.
America is interested in only its own sovreignty - and that is the issue.
I concede that point. We are not particularly interested in so-called "international law" because there is no true international rule of law. Rule of law in the U.N. is whatever is in the best interests of the constituent countries. No, we will not surrender our sovreignty to Cameroon, Mexico, China, France, Germany, Algeria, et. al. Our government answers to us, not to them. How could you expect us to surrender sovreignty to an entity which allows Algeria to head its human rights commission? The U.N is impotent, corrupt, and worthless. We will not corrupt ourselves by kowtowing to it.
Yes, it's a blog. Sorry if that offends you.