For all the Anti-bush people and the economy.

[Legion]

Hmmm its really clintons fault for all the problems. Since they started in the first months of bush's tenure .

No, actually Europe has a lot to blame for the basis of many problems in the modern world. If they do infact spend more in charity then the US i would say they ought to purely to avoid Karma.

 

[Humus]

Oh? and the welfare systems in the US don't take care of the homeless people? A rather ludicrous suggestion. A value judgement. Especially when i hear sotries about how homeless people livein public bathrooms in England.

I am rather tired of the PC mantra of "slipping through the cracks."

Humus can you please give examples. This sounds more like socialist propaganda.

No, it's not. I wouldn't spread socialistic propaganda, it's not in my interest to do so, I don't believe much in socialism.

I'm sure the US system does something, but as you know, most european countries have more extensive wellfare systems. I for one have never in my life seen a homeless guy sleeping on the street in my country. They exist, sure, but aren't common. The day I spent San fransisco was quite a shock to me. I saw many homeless people, and the most aggresive form of beggars I could imagine (walking out in the middle of the road during the red lights shouting loud asking for money).

So yes, an extensive wellfare system has some benefits, but I'm sure you could do way more useful stuff had the same amount of money went to the red cross or other organisations instead to take care of people.

 

[pax]

UN asked that .7% of per capita be devoted to poverty in the global arena...

All countries have failed this modest demand to curtail the worst suffering this world can dish out.

Actually, that's not true. Denmark, Norway, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Sweden meets the 0.7% target.
http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Debt/USAid.asp

Dang you're right. I was working from some info Bono gave at the recent Liberal Party nomination of Paul Martin as new PM. He fancies himself a kindred soul of Bono. Lets hope this means Canada finally stops being the cheapskate it is and joins the ranks of the countries you mentioned. Bono mentionned .35% for europe but didnt give a breakdown.

 

[Legion]

No, it's not. I wouldn't spread socialistic propaganda, it's not in my interest to do so, I don't believe much in socialism.

I had my thoughts about your beliefs. I find it odd you differ so much from the other swedish forum goers.

I'm sure the US system does something, but as you know, most european countries have more extensive wellfare systems.

That is why we call you welfare sociesties. What are you societies doing about your rampant unemployment?

I for one have never in my life seen a homeless guy sleeping on the street in my country.

ergo they do not exist?

They exist, sure, but aren't common.

by rates your country is far less in population and population density then the US. I am not suprised you wouldn't see such often. This is not a fair comparison.

The day I spent San fransisco was quite a shock to me. I saw many homeless people, and the most aggresive form of beggars I could imagine (walking out in the middle of the road during the red lights shouting loud asking for money).

I have mentioned other material before addressing this.

Again different philosophies. These people could get jobs through many different US based systems. I have worked with many systems which i have described and have found those who do not have jobs more than often aren't trying to get them. I would say the US gov is doing more than is required to take care of these people.

So yes, an extensive wellfare system has some benefits,

and also has its problems (ie high taxation)

but I'm sure you could do way more useful stuff had the same amount of money went to the red cross or other organisations instead to take care of people.

Actually i would be happy to see the US pull ALL of its foreign donations and dedicating them to US issues. i don't think the US owes the world like the EU does.

 

[Legion]

i will continue this in the future but right now i have to deal with your swedish vodka! You evil evil bastards!!! Who came up with this shit first, nordic or slavic cultures?!! It is good though. Only, it smells to much like rubbing alcohol. How do you people drink this? I drink all sorts of whiskey but this, this is unbearable!!

 

[pax]

Hhe isnt vodka really only supposed to mix drinks with?

 

[Legion]

Hhe isnt vodka really only supposed to mix drinks with?

i would hope so!! But i have seen Russians drink it as thoug it were Cognac, Whiskey, etc. Its rather repulsive. Crazy slavic people.

 

[jvd]

Hhe isnt vodka really only supposed to mix drinks with?

i would hope so!! But i have seen Russians drink it as thoug it were Cognac, Whiskey, etc. Its rather repulsive. Crazy slavic people.

I drink everclear strait . Thats a 190 proof.

 

[Legion]

Hhe isnt vodka really only supposed to mix drinks with?

i would hope so!! But i have seen Russians drink it as thoug it were Cognac, Whiskey, etc. Its rather repulsive. Crazy slavic people.

I drink everclear strait . Thats a 190 proof.

to bad you're not a woman. many a man is looking for a girlfriend without a gag reflex.

 

[Legion]

Hhe isnt vodka really only supposed to mix drinks with?

i would hope so!! But i have seen Russians drink it as thoug it were Cognac, Whiskey, etc. Its rather repulsive. Crazy slavic people.

I drink everclear strait . Thats a 190 proof.

to bad you're not a woman. many a man is looking for a girlfriend without a gag reflex.

 

[jvd]

haha we found out that rutgars college in nj lists everclear as a date rape drug. Its all my friends and I drink . 10$ for a bottle and it will normaly put myself and two other friends under the table compared to what we'd have to drink in vodka. Normaly we'd do a couple shots of everclear then hit the bars with a strong buzz so instead of spending a 100 on liquer we spent 20 or so and got drunk as hell .

 

[Legion]

haha we found out that rutgars college in nj lists everclear as a date rape drug. Its all my friends and I drink . 10$ for a bottle and it will normaly put myself and two other friends under the table compared to what we'd have to drink in vodka. Normaly we'd do a couple shots of everclear then hit the bars with a strong buzz so instead of spending a 100 on liquer we spent 20 or so and got drunk as hell .

date rape.... here we have a double standard. When will a woman ever be tried for date rape.

 

[Natoma]

That's why I wrote what I did just above.

But you said that it balanced out well. That's not how I see it. A weak currency boosts the economy (at least in terms of the country's own currency, though not necesarily in terms of real value). I see two pluses and one minus. The export industry gains, the domestic industry gains, the import industry loses.

Well you have to look at what I was stating balanced the situation out.

The decline in the dollar has certainly helped the profit margins of multi-nationals. However, it has also raised prices for consumers who gobble up imports. And believe you me, we americans love our imports.

It balances out really. Corporations get fatter profit margins and that translates into higher stocks. However, most people don't have liquid capital in stocks. Most people's stocks are tied up in their 401k retirement plans which are inaccessible save for huge penalties on pre-retirement withdrawal. So really what you have for the american public in terms of spending are the currently low interest rates, the refinance mortgage boom (which is slowing as consumer find themselves running out of liquidity to free up from their property), slight uptick in wage growth, and tax cuts (which, as a result of the rebate checks, are one time shots in the arms. the cuts themselves are not that deep for the average american). If the dollar continues into freefall, growth will be pinched severely and consumers will find inflation occurring around them.

What's holding up the american economy at the moment in terms of consumer spending are all of these different forms of economic stimuli (tax rebates, refi boom, low interest rates, wage growth due to rising productivity). Hiring has not occurred in the industry that you would think would receive the bulk of the uptick in terms of an export driven economy and a rise in domestic manufacturing, i.e. the Manufacturing industry. That also happens to be where the bulk of the job loss has been. Roughly 2 Million of the 2.2 Million jobs lost since 2001 come in Manufacturing.

However, what I also stated is that if the dollar continues to fall, growth will eventually be pinched because the price of imports will increase too much. The problem with companies that have their base in America is frankly they don't have the capacity in terms of manpower in this nation to rehire as quickly as they used to. Why? Again, they sent a good portion of those jobs overseas, never to come back here again, mainly because it's far cheaper to hire an Indian or Chinese than it is to hire a unionized middle America worker. In recoveries past, job growth would have been in the +100K/month range at this point, yet we're barely treading water now and will probably continue to do so for the coming year.

This recovery is different than prior recoveries in large part because of the decimation many american multinationals have done to our manufacturing industry. We simply can't ramp up domestic production fast enough because the jobs and the capacity for those jobs are just not here anymore.

 

[Ty]

date rape.... here we have a double standard. When will a woman ever be tried for date rape.

Unless you mean sodomy, how does a woman 'rape' a man when the man is unconscious? Quite a few men have trouble with erections period, nevermind being under the influence of versed, rohipnol or some other drug.

 

[ByteMe]

Unless you mean sodomy, how does a woman 'rape' a man when the man is unconscious? Quite a few men have trouble with erections period, nevermind being under the influence of versed, rohipnol or some other drug.

Since the word "rape" seems to be so easily throw around it could mean she stuck your dork in her mouth while she put a finger up your rear.

Either way there is NO WAY I would tell on her. I'd call her up the next night for a date.

 

[Humus]

<Many tiny pieces of text>

Legion, would you mind not splitting my posts into many one-liners and ditching the whole context just to be able to make cheap shots at me? Putting that "ergo they do not exist?" comment in there is just plain stupid, the very next line I said "they exist ... ". It just pisses me off when people insinuate I'm making an argument that I'm clearly not.

As for my opinions, no I don't think I'm very different from the average Swedish forum goer. There's as wide range of opinions among swedes as others, but as always, it's the most noisy ones you notice. There are several other swedes on this forum which don't support extensive wellfare systems either. Not everyone post very frequently though.

As for pulling foreign aid. That's just stingy IMHO. It's not about owing the world anything, it's about contributing to help people because you can. Everyone in the developed countries should do their contribution to put third world countries on their feet, preferably done by investment in their local industry to build a sustainable economic growth and by cutting all the trade barriers that exists today.

 

[jvd]

Unless you mean sodomy, how does a woman 'rape' a man when the man is unconscious? Quite a few men have trouble with erections period, nevermind being under the influence of versed, rohipnol or some other drug.

Since the word "rape" seems to be so easily throw around it could mean she stuck your dork in her mouth while she put a finger up your rear.

Either way there is NO WAY I would tell on her. I'd call her up the next night for a date.

That is the only reason why you don't hear about it . Men are raped by women almost as much as women are raped by men but men don't want to say it because then they will be looked down upon.

Also women can acuse famous men of rape with out any problems. Look at kobe bryant. His name has been dragged through the mud even if found not guilty he is done in the public eye but if it turns out the chick is lieing she wont have to face anything.

 

[Legion]

<Many tiny pieces of text>

Legion, would you mind not splitting my posts into many one-liners and ditching the whole context just to be able to make cheap shots at me? Putting that "ergo they do not exist?" comment in there is just plain stupid, the very next line I said "they exist ... ". It just pisses me off when people insinuate I'm making an argument that I'm clearly not.

Actually i don't find it stupid at all. The mere implication that since you haven't seen them the EU has a more effective welfare system is rather stupid. Yes, infact that was the argument you were making.

As for my opinions, no I don't think I'm very different from the average Swedish forum goer. There's as wide range of opinions among swedes as others, but as always, it's the most noisy ones you notice. There are several other swedes on this forum which don't support extensive wellfare systems either. Not everyone post very frequently though.

Did i say you were much different from the "average" swedish forum goer? Or did i say you wre different from the average forum goer here?

As for pulling foreign aid. That's just stingy IMHO. It's not about owing the world anything,

I don't find it to be stingy. I feel the people of my nation should come first before the rest of the world. A different philosophy from yours.

Also, my feelings have a lot to do with apparent disrespect i see for a America world wide.

it's about contributing to help people because you can.

That is what i would want to happen, just not to the rest of the people of the world. I'd rather see the money spent locally on people.

Everyone in the developed countries should do their contribution to put third world countries on their feet, preferably done by investment in their local industry to build a sustainable economic growth and by cutting all the trade barriers that exists today.

I am sorry, I just don't agree with your moral precept.

 

[Legion]

date rape.... here we have a double standard. When will a woman ever be tried for date rape.

Unless you mean sodomy, how does a woman 'rape' a man when the man is unconscious? Quite a few men have trouble with erections period, nevermind being under the influence of versed, rohipnol or some other drug.

First define what date rape means.

 

[pax]

That is the only reason why you don't hear about it . Men are raped by women almost as much as women are raped by men but men don't want to say it because then they will be looked down upon.

Also women can acuse famous men of rape with out any problems. Look at kobe bryant. His name has been dragged through the mud even if found not guilty he is done in the public eye but if it turns out the chick is lieing she wont have to face anything.

Ah cmon man ... as much as some guys fantasize about that possibility its just not true. Ive never heard of a woman raping a man but plenty stories of guys date raping and other stunts at parties and college campuses...