Torture Monkey stands firm (choice, America, Article)

[KasMage]

In 2006, more than half of Iraq's citizens supported attacks against U.S. soldiers. That's not even an approval rating. It's the majority of them supporting our soldiers dying. In other words, they don't think very highly of us.

[Jeremy Mason]

regarding post #74....I think I'll warm up the boat.

[Seyorni]

Originally Posted by Starfish

Okay, I'll restate. What do the Germans and Japanese feel about the U.S. government, in light of the fact, that they could have been U.S. citizens today, had we taken ownership?

Japanese and Germans are today thanking their lucky stars they're not Americans.
Americans live a precarious existence. A health or financial crisis could wipe out any but the very rich, even with good insurance. Jobs are being exported, unemployment is growing, real income, except among the rich, is dropping. Blue collar jobs pay less today than they did 20 or 30 years ago -- for exactly the same job. The middle class is shrinking, the rich are growing richer, the poor, poorer. The gap is greater than at any time since the early 1900s, and growing.

Health indices lag behind Europe and Japan. We have high infant mortality, poorer general health, shorter lifespans, poor access to healthcare, plus the world's most expensive healthcare and pharmaceuticals -- and it's getting worse.

America's reputation as the "land of opportunity" is no more. European advancement and opportunity indices have eclipsed the US'

We are bankrupt. We're the worlds greatest debtor nation. China (& al) owns us. Should one of these lenders call in their loans, we'd be in deep do-do. Debt can be just as effective a threat as The Bomb; as coercive as a battleship off your coastline. On top of this, the real value of the dollar is falling with respect to foreign currencies.

Our government is becoming repressive and intrusive. We are becoming a police state, in perpetual conflict with "foreign threats."

Government services are shrinking, and those remaining are inept. The mania for smaller government; for "privatizing" agencies, has stripped important programs of funding. At the same time, political cronyism results in equestrian-show organizers being put in charge of major departments. Katrina/NewOrleans is just one illustration of this folly. Even our military is being privatized.

The checks and balances between the legislative, judicial and executive departments -- put in place expressly to curb the natural tendency of the executive to arrogate power and devolve into tyranny -- is breaking down. The presidency is becoming imperial. Bush has publicly declared himself above the law, and maintains that any action by the Commander-in Chief, in time of national peril,is legal. The president is increasingly styling himself Commander-in-Chief, rather than a department head (I'm waiting for the day he adopts military, rather than business garb).

Our democratic republic is in the pocket of the corporatists, and can correctly be termed a Fascist state. Corporations are actually writing legislation, giving it to Representatives and Congressmen to pass into law. They are also writing news stories, and the media is passing them off as legitimate journalism.

The American press is homogenous and highly censored. We see and read only what supports government and corporate interests. (Don't take my word for it -- Compare the NY Times or Washington post, supposedly "liberal" papers, to the BBC or Guardian Unlimited. Greg Palast, an award-winning American journalist, can't even get his work published in the US press. He has to publish in the British press or "alternative" American papers like The Nation.

I could go on and on for pages about why 1st world foreign countries are happy to distance themselves from American influence; American social and military policies, but I think you get the idea. We're becoming a 2nd world nation.

[rheff78]

I would have to say they are not necessarily thanking their lucky stars. Especially the Japanese. They live in a country where there is limited space. They are limited to the amount of children they can have. They are forced to abort if they are having a girl. Some girls are even neutered so they cannot concieve. That doesn't really sound like they are living the "good" life.

[Autodidact]

Originally Posted by KasMage

In 2006, more than half of Iraq's citizens supported attacks against U.S. soldiers. That's not even an approval rating. It's the majority of them supporting our soldiers dying. In other words, they don't think very highly of us.

Just guessing here, but I wonder if that's at all related to the fact that we invaded and occupied them?

[Father Heathen]

Originally Posted by rheff78

I would have to say they are not necessarily thanking their lucky stars. Especially the Japanese. They live in a country where there is limited space. They are limited to the amount of children they can have. They are forced to abort if they are having a girl. Some girls are even neutered so they cannot concieve. That doesn't really sound like they are living the "good" life.

...oh for... that's the CHINESE!!!! Not the Japanese.

One-child policy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[MidnightBlue]

Originally Posted by Father Heathen

...oh for... that's the CHINESE!!!! Not the Japanese.

And even in China, they aren't "forced to abort if they are having a girl." I mean, what would be the point of that policy?

[rheff78]

Originally Posted by Father Heathen

...oh for... that's the CHINESE!!!! Not the Japanese.

One-child policy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lol, my bad. Talk about a lack of info huh? oh well, what's the difference though, honestly?

[9-10ths_Penguin]

Originally Posted by rheff78

lol, my bad. Talk about a lack of info huh? oh well, what's the difference though, honestly?

Right on. Japan and China are exactly the same... just like there's no difference at all between Spain and Norway, or between Italy and Lybia.

[Father Heathen]

Originally Posted by 9-10ths_Penguin