On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 10:29 pm -0600 UTC, Jack Painter
posted: %MM


"uncle arnie" wrote

On Sat, 28 Aug 2004 03:02 pm -0600 UTC, Jack Painter
posted: %MM


The United States of America is the most powerful country in the world.
In
all the countries the United States has sacrificed our men and women to
free from the binds of tyranny, the most land we have ever asked for is
enough land to bury our dead. Some empire.

And free access to their markets.

Yes that's right Arnie, thank you. We expect that all nations should have
free access to all markets, and that's one of the most difficult
principles that we struggle to maintain. It benefits all countries and all
people when there is agreement on this.

So why does the US continue to lose in the WTO reviews of duties on lumber,
on farm products, on steel? The US likes free trade if they are the
winners. When it finds it ain't, up go the protectionist barriers and
bogus duties.

The US also has had the unfortunate
practice of putting into power and propping up repressive dictatorships,
to
keep their market share and access to raw materials and commodities.

No argument there either, we are no better at nation building than our
worst fears sometimes, because you cannot impose honesty, morality, or
pride in accomplishment of self improvement when it is not there. It
either exists in a country and their people or it doesn't. When it's
lacking, as it is all over the arab world, only a dictator or King who
rules like a dictator can mend the store.

How about over-throwing democracies? How about supporting dictators so that
democratic movements can't get going. Check out the history of Chile, Iran
under the shah, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Guatemala, many others.

That's so sad to admit that most
of the world's people are such non-thinkers, immoral, and incapable of
self-preservation that only when ruled by a dictator can they keep from
eating themselves. But it's true and no exaggeration. So it's no
embarassment for the United States to have propped up dictators or
Ayatollahs or Kings, it will continue to happen well into this century I'm
sure. When someday, enough of the world has some basic education and
morality of living without eating their young or those of their neighbors,
then there will be effective nation building possible of people like the
arabs. Until then, it's just a game of keeping their sharp tools away from
them until they can play nice like the rest of the civilized world. And
face it, no United Nations bunch of pansies that the rest of the whole
world could put together could *ever* do what the U.S. and Britain do for
this world. We occassionally have other allies, but none who could match
the ability or commitment of which I speak.

You're either incredibly naive or incredibly uninformed. The US does not
show it is interested in nation building, but rather, interested in access
to their markets, caring less about the nature of the gov't. It's about
money, not about ideology, justice or nature of gov't.

This world that tries very
hard to spin itself into the ground without constant attention, and sorry
but Americans do not feel it is our job to do that for you. When we must,
it is becasue it protects *our* interest to do so. We are not making
sacrifices for your benefit to be squandered on socialist ideologies that
seek to destroy the very tenets of our existence. Your freeticket to
experiment with such socialist governments is over on our watch and our
paying the way for you to do it. If you want to self-destruct (again) be
our guest. But don't expect us to care what you think of our hard working
countrymen who want even less to do with you than I could politely
describe.

The
world has progressed since WW2, for which everyone was truly grateful for
American help after two years of devestation. But it is hard to sell the
goodness of America based on that to people born 30 or 40 years after it
ended.

Being friends with America never cost any country anything, and benefits
most more than any other friendship could ever provide them. And consider
the history of our enemies.

Why is the Euro stronger than the US dollar? Europe is expanding the EU,
they are in the midst of the most prosperous period since the 1960's.
The
EU is the largest economic block in the world for population and will
have
a larger GDP and the US within the decade. They are also allowing people
to be individuals and make free choices versus dictating morality based
on narrow religious or 19th century morality. The future of Europe looks
very bright, with past conflicts on the continent disappearing.

Now I'm having a good laugh at that question. What exactly, is a "Euro"
worth?

It will cost you $1.20 to get one Euro as of Friday. The currency has
gained abuot 20% since launch.

What backs it up again?

The countries of the EU back it up. Nearly all of them are using it and
have phased out their national currencies. Apparently the world thinks it
is more valuable that the US $ in terms of it's progress.

Oh, nothing? That's right, it's the paper
of a non-entity, non-country, non-people, non-military capable boundry,
non-ownership of anything, oh yes - it's a make believe world in which
peoples who hate each other and have fought since the beginning of time,
all got together and pretended they could best America (as opposed to
*joining* her, God forbid). Well we'll see how far this experiment goes.
Let's just agree to stay tuned on this one ok Arnie?


The same could have been said of the crazy experiment of any political
union. The US is a good example. Just because the north and south of your
country hated each other enough to go to war 140 years ago, doesn't mean
your country is not viable today. Though I do wonder about the long
shadows of the racial issues, the violence we hear about in many of your
cities, and the increase in non-English speakers in many places in the US,
as all creating tensions.

Have a nice night,

I did. Now watching Olympic closing ceremonies. Nelson Mandela said about
the 100 m race: "10 seconds as adversaries and 16 days as friends".
-Arnie.

Jack

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