What's your opinion on United States Of America?

[AnnaG]

Re: anti-americans

There is a lot of resentment in the world against us, and it falls mostly into two categories:

1. Western european elites, who have never gotten over falling to second rank status since world war two, and

2. Dictatorships, who know we (and almost nobody else) have a record of smashing dictatorships.

....... and creating them depending on which ones were in the mood to associate with the US.

Want a list of dictators that have been friendly to the US at times?

Abacha, General Sani ----------------------------Nigeria

Amin, Idi ------------------------------------------Uganda

Banzer, Colonel Hugo ---------------------------Bolivia

Batista, Fulgencio --------------------------------Cuba

Bolkiah, Sir Hassanal ----------------------------Brunei

Botha, P.W. ---------------------------------------South Africa

Branco, General Humberto ---------------------Brazil

Cedras, Raoul -------------------------------------Haiti

Cerezo, Vinicio -----------------------------------Guatemala

Chiang Kai-Shek ---------------------------------Taiwan

Cordova, Roberto Suazo ------------------------Honduras

Christiani, Alfredo -------------------------------El Salvador

Diem, Ngo Dihn ---------------------------------Vietnam

Doe, General Samuel ----------------------------Liberia

Duvalier, Francois --------------------------------Haiti

Duvalier, Jean Claude-----------------------------Haiti

Fahd bin'Abdul-'Aziz, King ---------------------Saudi Arabia

Franco, General Francisco -----------------------Spain

Hitler, Adolf ---------------------------------------Germany

Hassan II-------------------------------------------Morocco

Marcos, Ferdinand -------------------------------Philippines

Martinez, General Maximiliano Hernandez ---El Salvador

Mobutu Sese Seko -------------------------------Zaire

Noriega, General Manuel ------------------------Panama

Ozal, Turgut --------------------------------------Turkey

Pahlevi, Shah Mohammed Reza ---------------Iran

Papadopoulos, George --------------------------Greece

Park Chung Hee ---------------------------------South Korea

Pinochet, General Augusto ---------------------Chile

Pol Pot---------------------------------------------Cambodia

Rabuka, General Sitiveni ------------------------Fiji

Montt, General Efrain Rios ---------------------Guatemala

Salassie, Halie ------------------------------------Ethiopia

Salazar, Antonio de Oliveira --------------------Portugal

Somoza, Anastasio Jr. --------------------------Nicaragua

Somoza, Anastasio, Sr. -------------------------Nicaragua

Smith, Ian ----------------------------------------Rhodesia

Stroessner, Alfredo -----------------------------Paraguay

Suharto, General ---------------------------------Indonesia

Trujillo, Rafael Leonidas -----------------------Dominican Republic

Videla, General Jorge Rafael ------------------Argentina

Zia Ul-Haq, Mohammed ----------------------Pakistan

friendly dictators

 

[AnnaG]

Re: anti-americans

Americans are great people.

The vast majority, yup.

 

[Cliffy]

Re: anti-americans

What do you mean our goverment sucks. You have the most scatter brained (no offense intended) goverment one can think of, what really have they accomplished in the past two years? I do understand that with all the political parties you allow to get involved is probably the reason for the log jam you have getting things passed. Geez a 'Pirate party" that is against copy write laws, Marijuana Party (says it all), Work Less party, be thankful that the Absolutely Absurd party dropped out. You seem to have a government that if it wasn't so free it would be a dictatorship. You are much closer to chaos than we are.

You don't get it. Your government is engaging in wars to protect the interests of industry, it is run by industry, financed by industry and controled by industry. You don't really have a say in how government is run or what it does on the world stage. Neither do we, but we are 1/10th the size and about 1/100th the influence. I like minority governments. The less they do the better off we are.

At least we are not running around starting wars to bolster an economy that is completely dependent on manufacturing weapons of mass destruction and consuming them. Both our countries are corporate dictatorships but ours can't go around acting like Team America. We can't afford it.

 

[AnnaG]

Re: anti-americans

It seems to me the fringe groups hold the balance of power. However, it's hard not to like individual average Americans.

Pretty much, and I think it is the corporate elite that runs things and a lot of the US governments kiss their butts. It is largely unbridled capitalism.

 

[In Between Man]

Second greatest country that ever existed!!! After Israel of course. Third coolest, after Israel, then Canada.

 

[JLM]

A great country and a great neighbour- people should quit slagging them.

 

[talloola]

the u.s. is a great neighbour, we need to stop and realize how nice it really is to have a country
like them next door. Our lifestyles are the same, our interests are the same, we talk the same
language, and we can visit back and forth non stop, without worrying that some terrorist or other
military force is going to shoot at us.

The u.s. are our friends, and if we couldn't travel and roam around their country, freely, it would be
a shame, just as they can in ours.

There is a bad side to everything, one chats about, but i'm not including that, just now.

Politics and military aside, they don't belong in this conversation, at least for
me, they don't.

 

[Mowich]

it is all true, America is the greatest country on this planet can I have the rest of the crack now

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[ironsides]

The United States is the Greatest country there has ever been.

I Am The Flag

​

 

[Trotz]

America is better in some respects. I would love to have their degree of state autonomy in British Columbia. Never been an active participant in Federal Elections so I am not too particularly concerned with the thought of trading in the Fed. Liberals and Fed. Conservatives for the Democrats and Republicans.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

The United States is the Greatest country there has ever been.

Well, that would depend on how you define "Greatest." The most powerful and influential in history, militarily and economically and culturally, I don't think there can be much doubt about that, founded on the noblest of Enlightenment principles, there's not much room for doubt about that either, and as a benign and generally friendly neighbour there's not much to seriously complain about, most countries throughout most of history have had much worse neighbours than Canada has. It's been almost 200 years since the U.S. tried to invade us. But surely there are other considerations. The U.S. has supported odious dictatorships around the world because it suited its interests to do so, it has destabilized democratically elected governments it didn't like, it has invaded other countries on the flimsiest of pretexts, it has in fact behaved like all imperial powers do, and that's not something to be proud of.

All things considered, I'd rather be a Canadian. And if the Bloc heads in Quebec get their way and destroy this country, I'll go to Australia or New Zealand.

 

[JLM]

Well, that would depend on how you define "Greatest." The most powerful and influential in history, militarily and economically and culturally, I don't think there can be much doubt about that, founded on the noblest of Enlightenment principles, there's not much room for doubt about that either, and as a benign and generally friendly neighbour there's not much to seriously complain about, most countries throughout most of history have had much worse neighbours than Canada has. It's been almost 200 years since the U.S. tried to invade us. But surely there are other considerations. The U.S. has supported odious dictatorships around the world because it suited its interests to do so, it has destabilized democratically elected governments it didn't like, it has invaded other countries on the flimsiest of pretexts, it has in fact behaved like all imperial powers do, and that's not something to be proud of.

All things considered, I'd rather be a Canadian. And if the Bloc heads in Quebec get their way and destroy this country, I'll go to Australia or New Zealand.

If your friend likes someone you don't like does that make him any less of a friend?

 

[Dexter Sinister]

If your friend likes someone you don't like does that make him any less of a friend?

It might. Depends on why I don't like that someone.

 

[JLM]

It might. Depends on why I don't like that someone.

Would it actually be any of your business? :smile:

 

[Trotz]

All things considered, I'd rather be a Canadian. And if the Bloc heads in Quebec get their way and destroy this country, I'll go to Australia or New Zealand.

Not a bad idea. I might be willing to stick it out if British Columbia remains an independent state or enters the United States on favorable terms. But there is a certain appeal to Australia other than the fact that I can wear shorts and flip-flops in the winter. ;-)

 

[premeet01245]

don't very be happy.

I also want ask that my signature is not showing

 

[SirJosephPorter]

All things considered, I'd rather be a Canadian. And if the Bloc heads in Quebec get their way and destroy this country, I'll go to Australia or New Zealand.

You are a man after my heart. I have said the same thing many times here in this forum. In my opinion, Canada is the greatest country in the world, with one of the best quality of life in the world.

If I am forced to leave Canada for some reason, I would go to Australia or New Zealand as well (even though standard of living is quite a bit lower in New Zealand). And I say this as somebody who has lived in USA and UK for 7-8 years each.

 

[AnnaG]

Well, that would depend on how you define "Greatest." The most powerful and influential in history, militarily and economically and culturally, I don't think there can be much doubt about that, founded on the noblest of Enlightenment principles, there's not much room for doubt about that either, and as a benign and generally friendly neighbour there's not much to seriously complain about, most countries throughout most of history have had much worse neighbours than Canada has. It's been almost 200 years since the U.S. tried to invade us. But surely there are other considerations. The U.S. has supported odious dictatorships around the world because it suited its interests to do so, it has destabilized democratically elected governments it didn't like, it has invaded other countries on the flimsiest of pretexts, it has in fact behaved like all imperial powers do, and that's not something to be proud of.

Pretty much.

All things considered, I'd rather be a Canadian. And if the Bloc heads in Quebec get their way and destroy this country, I'll go to Australia or New Zealand.

Not us, I don't think. We'll hang around the Democratic Republic of British Columbia. NZ doesn't sound too bad, though.

 

[shadowshiv]

don't very be happy.

I also want ask that my signature is not showing

The reason your signature did not show up was due to the length of your post.

That being said, your signature was spammish in nature so it has been removed entirely.

 

[Downhome_Woman]

They are neither worse nor better than any other great power throughout history. They've done good things and they've done bad - again, not unlike any other superpower throughout history, the difference being that now, the stakes are higher - the chances of total destruction are greater. But having said that, any other country that may have grabbed those power reigns would be doing the exact same thing - never delude yourself on that fact.
For the most part, I like the States. No, they aren't perfect and yes, most Americans know almost nothing about Canada. But then as far as that goes, how many Canadians know what they should about their own country - let alone the country beside theirs? Canadians are horrendously ignorant about their own country - why should we be so full of righteous indignation when it comes to our neighbour's ignorance. and quite frankly, what do we REALLY know about the States - except for what we skim from the papers? I'm really sick of the generalizations that come from both sides.