Given that the start of the thread I responded to had you swearing and insulting someone because you assumed that he was chinese, you don't half get up on a high horse. You may also exagerate the importance of the position of the USA in the grand scheme of things, that is your perogative. The last two hundred years is not insignificant in human history, but attaching to much significance to them is short sighted. The advancements made in the last couple centuries would not be possible without the advancements made in the preceeding six or eight millenia.
As for the most important cultures in history.. I'd rate the Mayans highly, because of their maths. The Greeks because of their philosophy, maths, culture and politics. The Romans because of their structured society. The Vikings for their social structure (women were as important and had as much to say in matters as men did).
Stepping back in time to Marco Polo's days. If China had not interacted with the West at the time, where do you think the West would be today in tochnological terms, and do you think the USA would even exist today?
No country is perfect, there is no such thing as Utopia. Arguing that the USA is the leader in all things technology is also factually wrong. I agreed that it has had some bearing on matters, but hardly to the extent you claimed. As for you, yet again assuming that I think all USA citizens is stupid - the egg is on your face.
I think you have had sufficient bite-back, but if you feel like keeping the conversation going, take it off-line. My e-mail is trudheim at gmail dot com. I'll look forward to your mail./A
I'll answer with links to two sites that is less short-sighted than that. http://www.crystalinks.com/chinainventions.html and http://inventors.about.com/od/chineseinventors/. It is interesting though that you focus so strictly on the last two hundred years. Not surprising, but interesting. The USA is painfully aware that it has little history, and less of it to be proud of, so has to overinflate the importance of the little it has. Technology, while useful, is hardly the be-all end-all of civilisation.
The US has had some impact on the development of technology, but it is easy standing on the shoulders of giants.
America has been at the forefront of innovation for centuries, while China is poised to become an economic superpower simply by virtue of its huge numbers of people, importing Western ingenuity and cranking out cheap imitations.
*cough* By the time Leif Eriksson discovered Vinland around year 1000, the Chinese had universities, libraries and an advanced civilisation. The US hasn't been at the forefront of much at all, apart from perhaps occasionally in the last 150-180 years (so not quite centuries eh?), and that seems to be coming to an end. China was a superpower before the US had been settled by pinkies, or even had a constitution. It'll likely be a superpower still when the decadence of the Americans consign the US to history as a has-been or a never-quite-was.
All empires fall, it is just a question of time... Crete, Rome, Greece, Ottoman, Egypt, Maya, Inca, Aztec, Olmec and many more, all part of history now...
For starters, and it has been pointed out several times already, it is not the root password stored in the file. During the normal install you don't even get the option to set the root password. There is no root password in the default install and that can not be pointed out enough times as people persistently get it wrong. From what I have read, it does not affect the expert install for some reason and the problem does not exist in Dapper Drake (which I have used Flight3 through to Flight5 of).
Yes, this is a critical flaw, no denying that. It should have been found earlier, of course. The turn-around from Colin is impressive. The fact that a new ISO may be issued with the fix included is commendable.
Your insinuations that Canonical and Colin has known about the problem for ages is groundless and slanderous. Read the Malone/Launchpad bugreport and it instantly becomes clear that they did not know about it.
A low tax rate does not a good place to live make. Sure, I'd like lower tax, but at the same time, I'd like health-care that is affordable, that won't stop treating me because I contracted something that took longer to treat than the insurance company were willing to pay for - despite happily taking the insurance premium month in and month out for decades. I'd want some form of social security, _especially_ in a market economy where the economy thrives on keeping a proportion of the workforce out of work - as competition is healthy, or so they say. A society that sacrifices social wellfare to ensure low taxes for the few well off is shortsighted at best.
But there is the difference between Europe and the US. Somehow people find it harder to ignore "the weak filth that can't take care of themselves" over here in Europe. Social conscience, humanity towards others, is still valued here, where it is seen as strength - not weakness.
On the issue of PNAC setting up shop in Europe, the mere suggestion is laughable. The agenda they have, were defeated once already over half a century ago. Europe will not tolerate the same ideas again in a hurry...
PNAC is the Project for a New American Century. They are hawks, think-tanks and move in the shadows normally, but because they have the ear of your current president, they have become bold and don't shy away from the light so much presently. Their manifesto is a cause for concern, whether you are american or not. PNAC argued for invading Iraq two years before 9/11. No wonder the sales of tin-foil hats have shot up.
Okay, so cutting military spending by 90% immediately is not feasible. But cutting military spending so that you have a defence, not an offence, is well feasible, and will save tons of cash. Wars of conquest, as presently in Iraq, are expensive and sap the strength not only of the forces, but also of the people in the conquering nation. It also generates more enemies than is annihilated in the conquest.
As for 'islamic terrorism', while terror can never be excused - no matter who wields it, the individual or the mightiest nation on the planet - the motives behind the actions can be understood. The individual that has lost everything, that sees all they know come under threat by a might they can never compete against, sometimes take action in a way that couch-potatoes watching SuperBowl might never comprehend. Making the ultimate sacrifice to try and gain the freedom of your peers - it was not too many generations ago that a civil war took place in USA, where people made that type sacrifice for exactly the same reasons.
Lastly, any economy, no matter how diverse, can - and will - fall on hard times. Being heavily in debt, with most of that debt owned by a single entity, and being refused credit is a position where ones courage, attitude and honour comes under scrutiny. Time will tell how that test is passed.
I really and truly feel sorry for the American people for what is likely to happen in the future. Considering the increased amount of debt that the US is in, and the trade deficit you guys have to suffer and that China keeps buying your national debt - China will _own_ the US through patience and planning, and there is nothing you can do about it unless the budget deficit is rectified immediately. Unfortunately, that means cutting the armed forces back by 90-95% and keeping organisations like PNAC under the thumb to the point that they decide to go live elsewhere. It'll probably also mean higher interest rates and harder to get credit for Joe Average.
When Government and Big Business goes hand in hand, that is what you should expect though. It is not desired by the vast majority of people, rather the opposite, however, not doing anything about it will ensure it stays in place, and just permeates deeper with every passing year.
Glad you find me funny, I like making people laugh. No, seriously. Dry and sarcastic humour is a common denominator in my circle of friends, even among the people I know over in the US. The choise of 'merkin' is deliberate. I was wondering how long it would take before you picked up on it and started complaining. I admire your restraint, it took quite a while.
As for me being what I think merkins are like. Hmm.. I asked some friends about that, and they disagree. Perhaps because they know me, perhaps because they have visited the US, perhaps because they have worked in the US or perhaps for other reasons. But I should not bore you with pesky details like that since it won't really make any matter to you. You've already made your mind up (and quite likely set it in stone as well), haven't you. So, enlighten me, tell me what you think you know about me, what kind of a person you think I am.
As for ingesting news, TV etc which one does not agree with. Yes, it is a good idea. I've practiced it for a long time as well. However, when things get to the point that they are not news anymore, only propaganda, there is little reason to waste time on them past that point. So that rules Fox out. CNN is halfly usable still, much like ITAR-TASS is. Some propaganda, some news. Fairly easy to filter out the cruft.
Toeing the party line... *laugh* Yeah, tell that to my Captain.. *lol* I am sure he'd agree with you.. *giggle* See, I am fairly flexible on doctrine, and I don't mind taking a few years mulling over some of the deeper ideas to work out which doctrine, or part of one, that would be better. There are things usable in all doctrines. In general, most of it is crap and only really there to ensure the people in power stay in power and to prevent the people not in power from getting interested in grabbing power themselves.
What I find interesting is that merkins seem to not want to think about the concept of Peak Oil at all. It is almost as if you are on asub-concious level encouraged to steer any thoughts away from such a dangerous subject. http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ was very interesting. Oil was the sole purpose behind invading Iraq. If there had been any genuine concern about WMD, you'd be camped out in Israel now, not Iraq. Invading Afganistan I will admit had some connection with 9/11 and Bin Laden, but you guys gave up far to easily. Bin Laden is still at large, still taunting you with messages now and then. But it figures, as the US doesn't work well without an evil enemy threatening the country. It is what keeps things going in the US, without an external enemy, you'd have to deal with poverty, unemployment, and all sorts of problems at home. But because of war, and an incredibly elusive dangerous enemy at large somewhere in the world, the inhouse problems can be swept under the carpet for the time being. No-one will miss a few million poor people starving to death right?
There are some places I'd not mind visiting in the US, but I'll make do with Canada instead. The friends I have in the US already know why and, although it surprised me a little, they respect and agree with my decission. In time, your government will either improve or collapse - and when that happens, there is a chance of replacing it with something more modern, true and just. I hope that for the sake of the have-nots in the US, that day is not too far away.
So you are suggesting that I should watch more merkin TV to get to know your culture a bit more and better? Allow me a derisive laugh... With things like Fox News (where they foam about the mouth talking about how evil the BBC is for telling the truth) and a movie industry that is less than forthcoming in telling historical events how they actually happened (the three versions of Pearl Harbour).. I think not.
As for the US having "rebuilt their enemies nations and restored their independence" after the end of WWII - that is stretching the truth to the point of it not quite covering much anymore. Firstly, the US gave out loans through the Marshall fund, the actual work effort they did not help with. Secondly, you did not restore the independence of anyone once the war ended, the losers had heavy conditions imposed on them and the winners got to write the history and gloat, as per usual. Germany even was split up into two "to prevent war from happening again". Hardly restoring their independence.
"Senior Statesman" would imply some sort of diplomacy, a word that the US administration does shy away from most regularly. There is a time and a place for rattling your armoury, and to do it from the word go, is not it. If that is your view of diplomacy, no wonder you are losing the fight in Iraq.
I know that Dresden was the RAF, but it really does not matter in the context. You claiming that out of the good will of their hearts the merkins was giving away money to rebuild a Germany that had been utterly defeated I was merely pointing out that giving Germany a loan to rebuild that which had been razed to the ground - was not necessarily going to generate good vibes for the citizens of Dresden. And while the US wasn't supplying the pilots or the planes for firebombing in Europe, didn't take you long to do it elsewhere in the world though, *cough* Vietnam *cough* Hiroshima *cough* Nagasaki *cough*.
Ooh, the US acts for a reason all the time. Iraq had less to do with removing an evil dictator (that you just happened to put in power, and at one time was proud to have put in power, right up until he nationalised the oil-fields) than it had with securing exclusive rights to the worlds 2nd largest oil-reserve. Supporting Contras had nothing to do with saving the people of Nicaragua and all to do with the delusional paranoia and fear for Socialism. Never mind that the regime installed by the US was ten times more evil than what it replaced, as long as you could get rid of socialism from your doorstep. Good heavens, imagine if it spread. People in the US might even get used to the idea and *gasp* like it!
You see, as much as I enjoy this banter with you, it only serves to reinforce the belief that the USA is worth isolating and ignoring. I *know* that if your country does not get oil, you grind to a halt and is no threat to anyone anymore. I'd rather it did not have to come to that, because I believe that most of the people in the US is just unaware of the consequences of their leaders actions. If they were aware and got organised, the USA would get much more respect in the world. Believe you me, being respected because of your actions, rather than feared because of your actions, is preferred. There is a good reason why the USA is viewed as the biggest threat to world peace at the moment.
I do not expect you to agree with me, and I do not expect you to change your point of view or attitude. I hope though, that by chatting with you this way, some time down the line, you will have pondered and thought about what I have said, and you have talked to your children in such a way that they are more open to listening to other ways of doing things, and thinking about things, that they garner more respect in the rest of the world than what your generation could. If I could learn about americans, what the actual grass roots thought and felt, I would, because I think they are the hope and future for your nation.
I'd advise people to read the fine-print in the deal if they are to try that. The firms doing these deals will not get stung for that all the time, so they are likely to amend the contracts so that if you cancel within a certain time, you have to send the "free" stuff back.
If there was a way that companies could offer out cars, houses or other very expensive stuff as bait and still make very tidy profits, they would. The iPod bait is there because it appeals to youngsters that doesn't know better and don't give a rats arse about selling their mates details to these companies.
The other two [nordic countries] Off the top of my head are Germany and holland.
Uhm, no. The other two are Iceland and Denmark. As Greenland comes under the Danish Crown, they should probably be counted as well.
Gee I guess you are so much more enlightend than americans since you classify Texas as a state of gun carrying red necks. Not superfical at all.
You asked, you got an answer. From what I have heard from people with first hand experience of Texas, it isn't far off the mark.
And I am sure that summery of one state that just happens to have roughly 3 times the total number of people as the country of Sweden is complete accurate.
If Texas has 27 million people in it, you are spot on.
THe Marshall plan was very helpful to just about every country in Europe exprobably the Swiss and Sweden. They both where "neutral" during WWII.
The Swiss are neutral at all time (apart from when they install backdoors in crypto utilities to aid merkins spying on other nations). Sweden is alliance free in peacetime, and neutral in wartime. We had our fill of war in the past, and with the death of Karl XII, as a nation we had had enough. Avoiding war seemed a good idea, and after nearly 200 years, it still seems a bloody good idea.
I do not deny that the Marshall plan was helpful. Most loans are, whether they are personal loans, or they are huge loans to nations trying to rebuild destroyed infrastructure. I am sure the survivors from Dresden and their descendents are incredibly grateful.
No comment on the EU's failure to do anything in Yugoslavia? No comment on the INF treaty? No comment on the EU doing nothing in Africa.
EU was dawdling about getting something done about Yugoslavia for historical reasons which is no excuse. Something should have been done sooner. I commented on the INF treaty in the other reply. EU is not aimed at being a military might, peace keeping is something the UN holds in. And if some nations were to pay their member fees like the nations making up the EU, peace keeping, in Africa or elsewhere, would be a lot easier.
Frankly you are right that most of the population of the US could know more about the rest of the world but the rest of the world thinks they know and understand a lot more about the US than they really do. There knowlege is every bit as shallow and superfical as they think the average US citizen's is.
Perhaps the merkins should be a bit less insular, pay more attention and show more respect to the rest of the world so that there is an incentive for the rest of the world to learn more about you guys. What you show of yourselves to the rest of the world just reinforces the belief that you are shallow, arrogant, stuck up and moronic.
Yea the US foreign policy often causes the US problems. That is because at least we will try to help.
More like "try and make a quick buck out of the situation", which is why your foreign policy makes so many enemies.
And some of the policies that many people in Europe thought where bad plans worked out well. Like moving Persing and Tomahawk missiles into Europe to counter the USSR,s IRBMS. The USSR removed their missiles and their short rang missiles as well. Oh how the Europeans wailed when we did that yet it ended up removing a major threat to them.
And yet the origin of that arms race has been conveniently forgotten. USA was doing nothing "out of the goodness of its heart" but more along the lines of damage control and manouvering for position. Since the end of WWII, the USA has been on a quest to create an empire, something that the Soviet Union recognised and moved to stave off. The dropping of two nukes on a nation that twice had tried to surrender but whose envoys had been sent home again - just so there would be an excuse to drop said bombs. No wonder the CCCP moved to protect itself.
What gets me about Iraq is everyone seems to forge that Saddam DID HAVE weapons of mass destruction.
In 1991 yeah. By the time you guys invaded again, he didn't. And while on the topic of WMD, aren't you the guys with the biggest stockpile of them now? Aren't you also the guys that have broken the non-proliferation treaty a couple of times (most notable when handing information to Israel on how to build nukes)? And are you not one of the few nations that is ignoring the treaties you have signed on developing new chemical and biological weapons?
How you can open your mouth and talk about Saddam having WMD when it was your own country that first put him in power, then gave him the weapons and when he didn't do as told, got Kuwait to in essence use economical terrorism to try and bankrupt Iraq.
When it comes down to looking at the nation with most blood on its hands, the USA is right up there at the top of the table, while Iraq doesn't even make the Top20.
Frankly I am not a great fan of GW but these are facts and with those I can not honestly say I blame him for going in after 9/11.
Well, considering the facts about 11th September, he sure cocked it up good. One wonders if he deliberately made all them mistakes, or if the entire administration is incompetent. Considering that 15 of the 19 came from Saudi, I wonder how Dubya worked out that the connection had to be Iraq. Bin Laden is still at large, but then again, he is a Saudi as well, and the Bush family have extensive connections with the Saudi royals, so I guess the whole detour in Afganistan was just for show. Plans to invade Iraq was on the table back in 1999 (quite some time before 9/11) but there was no good excuse back then.
What the US has managed excellently in the four years of Dubya in charge is to show the absolutely worst side to a once great nation, generate an unbelievable amount of ill will against itself, and reinforce the belief that the USA is the Devil incarnate in the rest of the world.
So while you are singing the praise of your "Commander in Chief" you have my sympathy that you have had the wool pulled over your eyes and that you are too weak to see what truly is going on. My scant blessing is that I, at least, do not have to live 1984, I can get away with just reading it.
Do you know the name of the president of Mexico, Peru, or the Prime Minister of Australia is?
Mexico: Vicente Fox, Peru: Alejandro Toledo Manrique, Australia: John Howard. Ok, so I had to google for the peruvian dude..
Your right that for the most part the people of the US really do not care who is running other countries. They feel that it is none of our business.
Poor excuse. As a nation, the USA is a busybody that seems incapable of keeping from interfering in other nations political, economical or other affairs. Saying that you 'feel' it is not your business knowing anything about the rest of the world shows ignorance and laziness. If you want nothing with the rest of the world, stop exploiting it, stop interfering with it and stop trading with it.
As far as the Nordic countries yea I know that Sweden is one of them as is Norway, and Finland. But to put it in perspective there are more people in several states than in the country of Sweden.
You got three out of five, I am impressed.
Do you know the cultural difference between say Florida, Idaho, Texas, and Maine are?
Well, I know that people retire to Florida, so it'll be stock conservative (even more than usual for merkins), it messes with elections, and it gets hit by bad weather often. As for going there as a tourist - don't. Crime rate is high and seems to target tourists specifically. Idaho is mountaneous, sparsely populated, quite my style of place, doesn't figure much in the news, must mean it is probably saner than most places in the US. Texas - land of the rednecks and gun-toting idiots. Home of the oil barons and in general a place best avoided. Maine is up on the east coast, doesn't seem to figure lots in the news either, which is a good thing. Not particularly densely populated either.
Can't say I know much about any of them, even less about the culture. However, Idaho and Maine are nothern states while Texas and Florida is southern states, so I have a vague idea about what they may be like.
I find it funny that people in Europe think the know and understand the US when they really have no clue. The US was isolationist for most of it's history.
And whose fault was that then?
The problem with that is the people in Europe kept dragging the US into Wars.
Oh, reeeeaaaaallly.. Well, we better stop inviting you then. But I forgot, against world opinion, you invited yourself into Iraq, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Korea, etc. etc. etc.
After WWII the US could not let it happen again so it ended it's isolation policy and pretty much funded the rebuilding of modern Europe and Japan. Then the US spent huge sums of money and time trying to protect Europe until it could stand on it's own again. I think most people in the US see many of the nations of Europe as whining, selfish, and petty. They care more for comfort than for other peoples lives.
True, the Marshall fund was very helpful, especially to Germany and Japan. As I recall things, it was hardly money given away as a gift though. There was strings attached to every cent, and the money was lent, not given. The whining and 'soft' nations in Europe just happens to be the reason you have democracy (for some value of) and freedom (for some value of) today. But that is relatively easy to forget when it suits, isn't it.
What is quite interesting is that merkins seem to think their country is the source of democracy in the world, when they nation isn't even 300 years old. There was democracy elsewhere in the world some 700 years before your country even existed, and people from those democracies visited your land hundreds of years before it came to be.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I agree totally. However, there are a lot of nice people living in the state of Washington (friends of mine) and there is also the added problem of the rock from space perhaps setting off Yellowstone, which would be incredibly bad for north america as a whole. I mean, most things left of the Rockies would be a smoking crater if that happened.
So on the whole, weighing the options, Washington DC would be the better place for the rock to hit. Microsoft will lose the grip eventually anyways, while the USA seat of power (Washington DC) is in more desperate need of cleansing.
Even if the US does move the rock. We will still be despised by some. That was my point everyone will expect the US to do something about it even thought it will not hit the US. The rest of the world will for the most part watch. Notice that you would hate the US for not getting involved. Yet complain if they take charge. Like just about every thing else the US will most likely be the ones to stop this. Maybe with the help of Russia for the heavy lift.
Wonder if it will ease the pain if I tell you that I think most of the citizens of USA is totally okay, perhaps a little too uneducated about the rest of the world, but nobody is perfect. What I have a beef with, and what I think most others in the world have a beef with, is the administration and the 'rulers' of USA. Lets face it, the foreign policy of the USA creates more hassle and trouble for the USA than it solves, and the administration is either stupid (incapable of comprehending why) or evil (desires the effects created).
And you should not use the term merkins or the proper Americans. People from Canada and Mexico are also Americans and take offense when citizens of the US take that name. Show some respect for them at least.
I'll use whatever term I like thank you. Considering that most of you lot complain constantly whatever we call you, americans, merkins, US people etc. Heck, most of you lot are incapable of making the distinction between the nordic countries, so why the hell should we care what you lot are called, as long as people understand what is talked about?
And then the merkins wonder why they are almost universally despised across the globe, and why "the insurgency" in Iraq has just been getting worse with each passing day.. *sheesh*
If this thing now decides to hit the planet at all, the pacific would be a good place for it to land.. But am not sure the people living on a coast facing the pacific would agree with us.
From what has been said in other threads though, it sounds like the thing would land somewhere around Iraq, so we could be looking forward to seeing the remains of the oilfields provide a nice bit of fireworks a last time, or we could get to see a (hopefully permanent) end to the fight in Israel. You never know...
Tons of foreigners come here for education and for jobs, I have no problem with that, most are very intelligent. In the United States, everyone is an immigrant so its no big deal and highly accepted.
Uhm, as long as you are not muslim, and have olive skin apparently. Or look a bit foregin and have a muslim sounding accent. Or could be suspected of possibly being soft on Islam.
Joke aside, if they ramp up the risk of this thing hitting earth to one in five, and hype up the devastation it will make, perhaps it will shake people into action to oust all bad governments once the thing misses?
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Given that the start of the thread I responded to had you swearing and insulting someone because you assumed that he was chinese, you don't half get up on a high horse. You may also exagerate the importance of the position of the USA in the grand scheme of things, that is your perogative. The last two hundred years is not insignificant in human history, but attaching to much significance to them is short sighted. The advancements made in the last couple centuries would not be possible without the advancements made in the preceeding six or eight millenia.
/A
As for the most important cultures in history.. I'd rate the Mayans highly, because of their maths. The Greeks because of their philosophy, maths, culture and politics. The Romans because of their structured society. The Vikings for their social structure (women were as important and had as much to say in matters as men did).
Stepping back in time to Marco Polo's days. If China had not interacted with the West at the time, where do you think the West would be today in tochnological terms, and do you think the USA would even exist today?
No country is perfect, there is no such thing as Utopia. Arguing that the USA is the leader in all things technology is also factually wrong. I agreed that it has had some bearing on matters, but hardly to the extent you claimed. As for you, yet again assuming that I think all USA citizens is stupid - the egg is on your face.
I think you have had sufficient bite-back, but if you feel like keeping the conversation going, take it off-line. My e-mail is trudheim at gmail dot com. I'll look forward to your mail.
I'll answer with links to two sites that is less short-sighted than that. http://www.crystalinks.com/chinainventions.html and http://inventors.about.com/od/chineseinventors/. It is interesting though that you focus so strictly on the last two hundred years. Not surprising, but interesting. The USA is painfully aware that it has little history, and less of it to be proud of, so has to overinflate the importance of the little it has. Technology, while useful, is hardly the be-all end-all of civilisation.
The US has had some impact on the development of technology, but it is easy standing on the shoulders of giants.
America has been at the forefront of innovation for centuries, while China is poised to become an economic superpower simply by virtue of its huge numbers of people, importing Western ingenuity and cranking out cheap imitations.
*cough* By the time Leif Eriksson discovered Vinland around year 1000, the Chinese had universities, libraries and an advanced civilisation. The US hasn't been at the forefront of much at all, apart from perhaps occasionally in the last 150-180 years (so not quite centuries eh?), and that seems to be coming to an end. China was a superpower before the US had been settled by pinkies, or even had a constitution. It'll likely be a superpower still when the decadence of the Americans consign the US to history as a has-been or a never-quite-was.
All empires fall, it is just a question of time... Crete, Rome, Greece, Ottoman, Egypt, Maya, Inca, Aztec, Olmec and many more, all part of history now...
For starters, and it has been pointed out several times already, it is not the root password stored in the file. During the normal install you don't even get the option to set the root password. There is no root password in the default install and that can not be pointed out enough times as people persistently get it wrong. From what I have read, it does not affect the expert install for some reason and the problem does not exist in Dapper Drake (which I have used Flight3 through to Flight5 of).
Yes, this is a critical flaw, no denying that. It should have been found earlier, of course. The turn-around from Colin is impressive. The fact that a new ISO may be issued with the fix included is commendable.
Your insinuations that Canonical and Colin has known about the problem for ages is groundless and slanderous. Read the Malone/Launchpad bugreport and it instantly becomes clear that they did not know about it.
I still have full faith in Ubuntu.
A low tax rate does not a good place to live make. Sure, I'd like lower tax, but at the same time, I'd like health-care that is affordable, that won't stop treating me because I contracted something that took longer to treat than the insurance company were willing to pay for - despite happily taking the insurance premium month in and month out for decades.
I'd want some form of social security, _especially_ in a market economy where the economy thrives on keeping a proportion of the workforce out of work - as competition is healthy, or so they say. A society that sacrifices social wellfare to ensure low taxes for the few well off is shortsighted at best.
But there is the difference between Europe and the US. Somehow people find it harder to ignore "the weak filth that can't take care of themselves" over here in Europe. Social conscience, humanity towards others, is still valued here, where it is seen as strength - not weakness.
On the issue of PNAC setting up shop in Europe, the mere suggestion is laughable. The agenda they have, were defeated once already over half a century ago. Europe will not tolerate the same ideas again in a hurry...
PNAC is the Project for a New American Century. They are hawks, think-tanks and move in the shadows normally, but because they have the ear of your current president, they have become bold and don't shy away from the light so much presently. Their manifesto is a cause for concern, whether you are american or not. PNAC argued for invading Iraq two years before 9/11. No wonder the sales of tin-foil hats have shot up.
Okay, so cutting military spending by 90% immediately is not feasible. But cutting military spending so that you have a defence, not an offence, is well feasible, and will save tons of cash. Wars of conquest, as presently in Iraq, are expensive and sap the strength not only of the forces, but also of the people in the conquering nation. It also generates more enemies than is annihilated in the conquest.
As for 'islamic terrorism', while terror can never be excused - no matter who wields it, the individual or the mightiest nation on the planet - the motives behind the actions can be understood. The individual that has lost everything, that sees all they know come under threat by a might they can never compete against, sometimes take action in a way that couch-potatoes watching SuperBowl might never comprehend. Making the ultimate sacrifice to try and gain the freedom of your peers - it was not too many generations ago that a civil war took place in USA, where people made that type sacrifice for exactly the same reasons.
Lastly, any economy, no matter how diverse, can - and will - fall on hard times. Being heavily in debt, with most of that debt owned by a single entity, and being refused credit is a position where ones courage, attitude and honour comes under scrutiny. Time will tell how that test is passed.
I really and truly feel sorry for the American people for what is likely to happen in the future. Considering the increased amount of debt that the US is in, and the trade deficit you guys have to suffer and that China keeps buying your national debt - China will _own_ the US through patience and planning, and there is nothing you can do about it unless the budget deficit is rectified immediately.
/A
Unfortunately, that means cutting the armed forces back by 90-95% and keeping organisations like PNAC under the thumb to the point that they decide to go live elsewhere. It'll probably also mean higher interest rates and harder to get credit for Joe Average.
I do not envy you guys at all right now...
When Government and Big Business goes hand in hand, that is what you should expect though. It is not desired by the vast majority of people, rather the opposite, however, not doing anything about it will ensure it stays in place, and just permeates deeper with every passing year.
Glad you find me funny, I like making people laugh. No, seriously. Dry and sarcastic humour is a common denominator in my circle of friends, even among the people I know over in the US. The choise of 'merkin' is deliberate. I was wondering how long it would take before you picked up on it and started complaining. I admire your restraint, it took quite a while.
As for me being what I think merkins are like. Hmm.. I asked some friends about that, and they disagree. Perhaps because they know me, perhaps because they have visited the US, perhaps because they have worked in the US or perhaps for other reasons. But I should not bore you with pesky details like that since it won't really make any matter to you. You've already made your mind up (and quite likely set it in stone as well), haven't you. So, enlighten me, tell me what you think you know about me, what kind of a person you think I am.
As for ingesting news, TV etc which one does not agree with. Yes, it is a good idea. I've practiced it for a long time as well. However, when things get to the point that they are not news anymore, only propaganda, there is little reason to waste time on them past that point. So that rules Fox out. CNN is halfly usable still, much like ITAR-TASS is. Some propaganda, some news. Fairly easy to filter out the cruft.
Toeing the party line... *laugh* Yeah, tell that to my Captain.. *lol* I am sure he'd agree with you.. *giggle* See, I am fairly flexible on doctrine, and I don't mind taking a few years mulling over some of the deeper ideas to work out which doctrine, or part of one, that would be better. There are things usable in all doctrines. In general, most of it is crap and only really there to ensure the people in power stay in power and to prevent the people not in power from getting interested in grabbing power themselves.
What I find interesting is that merkins seem to not want to think about the concept of Peak Oil at all. It is almost as if you are on asub-concious level encouraged to steer any thoughts away from such a dangerous subject. http://lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ was very interesting. Oil was the sole purpose behind invading Iraq. If there had been any genuine concern about WMD, you'd be camped out in Israel now, not Iraq. Invading Afganistan I will admit had some connection with 9/11 and Bin Laden, but you guys gave up far to easily. Bin Laden is still at large, still taunting you with messages now and then. But it figures, as the US doesn't work well without an evil enemy threatening the country. It is what keeps things going in the US, without an external enemy, you'd have to deal with poverty, unemployment, and all sorts of problems at home. But because of war, and an incredibly elusive dangerous enemy at large somewhere in the world, the inhouse problems can be swept under the carpet for the time being. No-one will miss a few million poor people starving to death right?
There are some places I'd not mind visiting in the US, but I'll make do with Canada instead. The friends I have in the US already know why and, although it surprised me a little, they respect and agree with my decission. In time, your government will either improve or collapse - and when that happens, there is a chance of replacing it with something more modern, true and just. I hope that for the sake of the have-nots in the US, that day is not too far away.
I stand corrected.
And UK is not my home country FYI.
So you are suggesting that I should watch more merkin TV to get to know your culture a bit more and better? Allow me a derisive laugh... With things like Fox News (where they foam about the mouth talking about how evil the BBC is for telling the truth) and a movie industry that is less than forthcoming in telling historical events how they actually happened (the three versions of Pearl Harbour).. I think not.
As for the US having "rebuilt their enemies nations and restored their independence" after the end of WWII - that is stretching the truth to the point of it not quite covering much anymore. Firstly, the US gave out loans through the Marshall fund, the actual work effort they did not help with. Secondly, you did not restore the independence of anyone once the war ended, the losers had heavy conditions imposed on them and the winners got to write the history and gloat, as per usual. Germany even was split up into two "to prevent war from happening again". Hardly restoring their independence.
"Senior Statesman" would imply some sort of diplomacy, a word that the US administration does shy away from most regularly. There is a time and a place for rattling your armoury, and to do it from the word go, is not it. If that is your view of diplomacy, no wonder you are losing the fight in Iraq.
I know that Dresden was the RAF, but it really does not matter in the context. You claiming that out of the good will of their hearts the merkins was giving away money to rebuild a Germany that had been utterly defeated I was merely pointing out that giving Germany a loan to rebuild that which had been razed to the ground - was not necessarily going to generate good vibes for the citizens of Dresden. And while the US wasn't supplying the pilots or the planes for firebombing in Europe, didn't take you long to do it elsewhere in the world though, *cough* Vietnam *cough* Hiroshima *cough* Nagasaki *cough*.
Ooh, the US acts for a reason all the time. Iraq had less to do with removing an evil dictator (that you just happened to put in power, and at one time was proud to have put in power, right up until he nationalised the oil-fields) than it had with securing exclusive rights to the worlds 2nd largest oil-reserve. Supporting Contras had nothing to do with saving the people of Nicaragua and all to do with the delusional paranoia and fear for Socialism. Never mind that the regime installed by the US was ten times more evil than what it replaced, as long as you could get rid of socialism from your doorstep. Good heavens, imagine if it spread. People in the US might even get used to the idea and *gasp* like it!
You see, as much as I enjoy this banter with you, it only serves to reinforce the belief that the USA is worth isolating and ignoring. I *know* that if your country does not get oil, you grind to a halt and is no threat to anyone anymore. I'd rather it did not have to come to that, because I believe that most of the people in the US is just unaware of the consequences of their leaders actions. If they were aware and got organised, the USA would get much more respect in the world. Believe you me, being respected because of your actions, rather than feared because of your actions, is preferred. There is a good reason why the USA is viewed as the biggest threat to world peace at the moment.
I do not expect you to agree with me, and I do not expect you to change your point of view or attitude. I hope though, that by chatting with you this way, some time down the line, you will have pondered and thought about what I have said, and you have talked to your children in such a way that they are more open to listening to other ways of doing things, and thinking about things, that they garner more respect in the rest of the world than what your generation could. If I could learn about americans, what the actual grass roots thought and felt, I would, because I think they are the hope and future for your nation.
Take care dude.
I'd advise people to read the fine-print in the deal if they are to try that. The firms doing these deals will not get stung for that all the time, so they are likely to amend the contracts so that if you cancel within a certain time, you have to send the "free" stuff back.
If there was a way that companies could offer out cars, houses or other very expensive stuff as bait and still make very tidy profits, they would. The iPod bait is there because it appeals to youngsters that doesn't know better and don't give a rats arse about selling their mates details to these companies.
The other two [nordic countries] Off the top of my head are Germany and holland.
Uhm, no. The other two are Iceland and Denmark. As Greenland comes under the Danish Crown, they should probably be counted as well.
Gee I guess you are so much more enlightend than americans since you classify Texas as a state of gun carrying red necks. Not superfical at all.
You asked, you got an answer. From what I have heard from people with first hand experience of Texas, it isn't far off the mark.
And I am sure that summery of one state that just happens to have roughly 3 times the total number of people as the country of Sweden is complete accurate.
If Texas has 27 million people in it, you are spot on.
THe Marshall plan was very helpful to just about every country in Europe exprobably the Swiss and Sweden. They both where "neutral" during WWII.
The Swiss are neutral at all time (apart from when they install backdoors in crypto utilities to aid merkins spying on other nations). Sweden is alliance free in peacetime, and neutral in wartime. We had our fill of war in the past, and with the death of Karl XII, as a nation we had had enough. Avoiding war seemed a good idea, and after nearly 200 years, it still seems a bloody good idea.
I do not deny that the Marshall plan was helpful. Most loans are, whether they are personal loans, or they are huge loans to nations trying to rebuild destroyed infrastructure. I am sure the survivors from Dresden and their descendents are incredibly grateful.
No comment on the EU's failure to do anything in Yugoslavia? No comment on the INF treaty? No comment on the EU doing nothing in Africa.
EU was dawdling about getting something done about Yugoslavia for historical reasons which is no excuse. Something should have been done sooner. I commented on the INF treaty in the other reply. EU is not aimed at being a military might, peace keeping is something the UN holds in. And if some nations were to pay their member fees like the nations making up the EU, peace keeping, in Africa or elsewhere, would be a lot easier.
Frankly you are right that most of the population of the US could know more about the rest of the world but the rest of the world thinks they know and understand a lot more about the US than they really do. There knowlege is every bit as shallow and superfical as they think the average US citizen's is.
Perhaps the merkins should be a bit less insular, pay more attention and show more respect to the rest of the world so that there is an incentive for the rest of the world to learn more about you guys. What you show of yourselves to the rest of the world just reinforces the belief that you are shallow, arrogant, stuck up and moronic.
Yea the US foreign policy often causes the US problems. That is because at least we will try to help.
More like "try and make a quick buck out of the situation", which is why your foreign policy makes so many enemies.
And some of the policies that many people in Europe thought where bad plans worked out well. Like moving Persing and Tomahawk missiles into Europe to counter the USSR,s IRBMS. The USSR removed their missiles and their short rang missiles as well. Oh how the Europeans wailed when we did that yet it ended up removing a major threat to them.
And yet the origin of that arms race has been conveniently forgotten. USA was doing nothing "out of the goodness of its heart" but more along the lines of damage control and manouvering for position. Since the end of WWII, the USA has been on a quest to create an empire, something that the Soviet Union recognised and moved to stave off. The dropping of two nukes on a nation that twice had tried to surrender but whose envoys had been sent home again - just so there would be an excuse to drop said bombs. No wonder the CCCP moved to protect itself.
What gets me about Iraq is everyone seems to forge that Saddam DID HAVE weapons of mass destruction.
In 1991 yeah. By the time you guys invaded again, he didn't. And while on the topic of WMD, aren't you the guys with the biggest stockpile of them now? Aren't you also the guys that have broken the non-proliferation treaty a couple of times (most notable when handing information to Israel on how to build nukes)? And are you not one of the few nations that is ignoring the treaties you have signed on developing new chemical and biological weapons?
How you can open your mouth and talk about Saddam having WMD when it was your own country that first put him in power, then gave him the weapons and when he didn't do as told, got Kuwait to in essence use economical terrorism to try and bankrupt Iraq.
When it comes down to looking at the nation with most blood on its hands, the USA is right up there at the top of the table, while Iraq doesn't even make the Top20.
Frankly I am not a great fan of GW but these are facts and with those I can not honestly say I blame him for going in after 9/11.
Well, considering the facts about 11th September, he sure cocked it up good. One wonders if he deliberately made all them mistakes, or if the entire administration is incompetent. Considering that 15 of the 19 came from Saudi, I wonder how Dubya worked out that the connection had to be Iraq. Bin Laden is still at large, but then again, he is a Saudi as well, and the Bush family have extensive connections with the Saudi royals, so I guess the whole detour in Afganistan was just for show. Plans to invade Iraq was on the table back in 1999 (quite some time before 9/11) but there was no good excuse back then.
What the US has managed excellently in the four years of Dubya in charge is to show the absolutely worst side to a once great nation, generate an unbelievable amount of ill will against itself, and reinforce the belief that the USA is the Devil incarnate in the rest of the world.
So while you are singing the praise of your "Commander in Chief" you have my sympathy that you have had the wool pulled over your eyes and that you are too weak to see what truly is going on. My scant blessing is that I, at least, do not have to live 1984, I can get away with just reading it.
Night night...
Do you know the name of the president of Mexico, Peru, or the Prime Minister of Australia is?
Mexico: Vicente Fox, Peru: Alejandro Toledo Manrique, Australia: John Howard. Ok, so I had to google for the peruvian dude..
Your right that for the most part the people of the US really do not care who is running other countries. They feel that it is none of our business.
Poor excuse. As a nation, the USA is a busybody that seems incapable of keeping from interfering in other nations political, economical or other affairs. Saying that you 'feel' it is not your business knowing anything about the rest of the world shows ignorance and laziness. If you want nothing with the rest of the world, stop exploiting it, stop interfering with it and stop trading with it.
As far as the Nordic countries yea I know that Sweden is one of them as is Norway, and Finland. But to put it in perspective there are more people in several states than in the country of Sweden.
You got three out of five, I am impressed.
Do you know the cultural difference between say Florida, Idaho, Texas, and Maine are?
Well, I know that people retire to Florida, so it'll be stock conservative (even more than usual for merkins), it messes with elections, and it gets hit by bad weather often. As for going there as a tourist - don't. Crime rate is high and seems to target tourists specifically. Idaho is mountaneous, sparsely populated, quite my style of place, doesn't figure much in the news, must mean it is probably saner than most places in the US. Texas - land of the rednecks and gun-toting idiots. Home of the oil barons and in general a place best avoided. Maine is up on the east coast, doesn't seem to figure lots in the news either, which is a good thing. Not particularly densely populated either.
Can't say I know much about any of them, even less about the culture. However, Idaho and Maine are nothern states while Texas and Florida is southern states, so I have a vague idea about what they may be like.
I find it funny that people in Europe think the know and understand the US when they really have no clue. The US was isolationist for most of it's history.
And whose fault was that then?
The problem with that is the people in Europe kept dragging the US into Wars.
Oh, reeeeaaaaallly.. Well, we better stop inviting you then. But I forgot, against world opinion, you invited yourself into Iraq, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Korea, etc. etc. etc.
After WWII the US could not let it happen again so it ended it's isolation policy and pretty much funded the rebuilding of modern Europe and Japan. Then the US spent huge sums of money and time trying to protect Europe until it could stand on it's own again. I think most people in the US see many of the nations of Europe as whining, selfish, and petty. They care more for comfort than for other peoples lives.
True, the Marshall fund was very helpful, especially to Germany and Japan. As I recall things, it was hardly money given away as a gift though. There was strings attached to every cent, and the money was lent, not given. The whining and 'soft' nations in Europe just happens to be the reason you have democracy (for some value of) and freedom (for some value of) today. But that is relatively easy to forget when it suits, isn't it.
What is quite interesting is that merkins seem to think their country is the source of democracy in the world, when they nation isn't even 300 years old. There was democracy elsewhere in the world some 700 years before your country even existed, and people from those democracies visited your land hundreds of years before it came to be.
Uhm, that is in Utah, right? Isn't there another big, bad thing in Utah, like Intel or something...
Oh, don't get me wrong, I agree totally. However, there are a lot of nice people living in the state of Washington (friends of mine) and there is also the added problem of the rock from space perhaps setting off Yellowstone, which would be incredibly bad for north america as a whole. I mean, most things left of the Rockies would be a smoking crater if that happened.
So on the whole, weighing the options, Washington DC would be the better place for the rock to hit. Microsoft will lose the grip eventually anyways, while the USA seat of power (Washington DC) is in more desperate need of cleansing.
Even if the US does move the rock. We will still be despised by some. That was my point everyone will expect the US to do something about it even thought it will not hit the US. The rest of the world will for the most part watch. Notice that you would hate the US for not getting involved. Yet complain if they take charge. Like just about every thing else the US will most likely be the ones to stop this. Maybe with the help of Russia for the heavy lift.
Wonder if it will ease the pain if I tell you that I think most of the citizens of USA is totally okay, perhaps a little too uneducated about the rest of the world, but nobody is perfect. What I have a beef with, and what I think most others in the world have a beef with, is the administration and the 'rulers' of USA. Lets face it, the foreign policy of the USA creates more hassle and trouble for the USA than it solves, and the administration is either stupid (incapable of comprehending why) or evil (desires the effects created).
And you should not use the term merkins or the proper Americans. People from Canada and Mexico are also Americans and take offense when citizens of the US take that name. Show some respect for them at least.
I'll use whatever term I like thank you. Considering that most of you lot complain constantly whatever we call you, americans, merkins, US people etc. Heck, most of you lot are incapable of making the distinction between the nordic countries, so why the hell should we care what you lot are called, as long as people understand what is talked about?
Washington != Washington DC
*sheesh*
And then the merkins wonder why they are almost universally despised across the globe, and why "the insurgency" in Iraq has just been getting worse with each passing day.. *sheesh*
If this thing now decides to hit the planet at all, the pacific would be a good place for it to land.. But am not sure the people living on a coast facing the pacific would agree with us.
From what has been said in other threads though, it sounds like the thing would land somewhere around Iraq, so we could be looking forward to seeing the remains of the oilfields provide a nice bit of fireworks a last time, or we could get to see a (hopefully permanent) end to the fight in Israel. You never know...
Tons of foreigners come here for education and for jobs, I have no problem with that, most are very intelligent. In the United States, everyone is an immigrant so its no big deal and highly accepted.
Uhm, as long as you are not muslim, and have olive skin apparently. Or look a bit foregin and have a muslim sounding accent. Or could be suspected of possibly being soft on Islam.
You know, the really really scary thing, the REALLY scary thing, is that you are 100% right.
My definition of bad. I was thinking fascist, totalitarian, power-hungry, corrupt, etc. etc. Well, what-ever the heck Dubya stands for basically....
Yeah, you're sick. :)
Joke aside, if they ramp up the risk of this thing hitting earth to one in five, and hype up the devastation it will make, perhaps it will shake people into action to oust all bad governments once the thing misses?