h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

It is not that I do or don't believe in a higher power per say- but more of the higher power we are all trying to find is actually the understanding that we are all connected and that that energy is power and beyond comprehention. I don't practice any one religion yet I study all of them. If you had to classify that I would be what you call a Spiritualist.

Imagine all the people ")

Thanks,

From my experience, America is a country of contradictions.
It is highly spiritual i.e. many extremist cults and religous values but also very material.

They entered WWII and probably saved the world from becoming Germany however they refused to enter it until they were forcably involved. Britain was on its knees for a long time.

They profess equality but promote extremity of wealth and circumstance i.e. Bill Gates vs Slums of New York.

They will help you, but they will use that to penetrate a market.

So in a general broad sense, their balance is one of contradictions. I personally do not like the promotion of the extreme aspect of wealth and circumstance and therefore do not wish America to invade my country with their culture, I believe it is degenerate.

I was for removing Hussain but only as a pre-emptive measure in case terrorists acquired nuclear weapons, (regardless of the false appraisal of the situation in Iraq by the Americans) and also to help their people acquire more democratic sovereignty.

I would also agree that they are in large, responsible with their military, they could be a modern dictatorship if they wanted to be.

So all in all, I say align with them for a good cause but don't allow their culture to become world culture.

"They entered WWII and probably saved the world from becoming Germany however they refused to enter it until they were forcably involved. Britain was on its knees for a long time."

Credit where it's due, before someone kicks off.

The Battle of Britain could not have been fought,let alone won, without American fuel, aircraft parts and ammunition.
The Lease/Lend act kept Britain going when the country was at a very low ebb.
Prior to Pearl Harbour, the USA was involved in the war. It simply hadn't committed troops to the effort. I know there are more examples than this, and perhaps someone more familiar with modern American history can provide more examples.

"They profess equality but promote extremity of wealth and circumstance i.e. Bill Gates vs Slums of New York."

They are working towards equality. It's part of the American Dream but it's going to be the hardest part to realise. Slums and inequality are not exclusive to America. There are a number of cultures where inequality is institutionalised and even accepted as part of the smooth running of a society - the Hindu Caste system, for example. America's message is that you can have the wealth if you work for it. I have never been to a country with fewer barriers to success for the individual. Is that how everyone should live? No. It can't be right for everyone or we'd already see it everywhere.

"They entered WWII and probably saved the world from becoming Germany however they refused to enter it until they were forcibly involved. Britain was on its knees for a long time"

The US Navy was patrolling the western Atlantic & sinking German U-Boats (and in turn taking casualties from) long before the “official” entry of the USA into World War II. Additionally through the lend/lease scheme the USA was providing great material support to the UK and it's allies, again long before it's “official” entry into World War II.

Excuse me? What U.S. aircraft were used in THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN?
As far as I know we only had a few seviceable left when Goering gave the exercise up as a bad job.

The Yanks only committed after Pearl, even then the catalyst for a N Atlantic focus was the success of the "pack hunting" technique of the German submariners.

Please advise if in error.

"Please advise if in error"

see post 5944

Precisely....the "lend lease"
What in particular was lent or leased please?
I am unaware?

We're talking June/July 1940...or not?

Contradictions are part of life. If I wanted to, I could greatly add to the list of America's inconsistencies, but I don't want to let such things become the hobgoblins of my mind.

America's culture might or might not be "degenerate." I suspect that die-hard fans of Beethoven or Bach might consider rock music and even jazz to be poor excuses for music. Likewise with David Mamet or Sam Shepard compared to, say, Shakespeare. Or was the "degenerate" label supposed to apply to our soft drinks? Our television shows? The worst of our movies? Our slang? If so, then don't a lot of foreign countries have soft-drink labels that are popular? As for our TV shows, didn't "Weakest Link" *start* in Britain before it came to America? Is "Tele-Tubbies" high art? (Let the record show that I have *never* seen either show; I do read TV guide, however ). Movies are too diverse and complex to explore in a single post; I'll grant that some excellent films have been made in UK, France, Australia, even, perhaps, in Bombay (Bollywood). But don't some American films win prestigious awards in these same countries? Are there specific American films that someone objects to? If so, haven't there been comparably idiotic/awful films made in those same countries?

I hope I don't sound too defensive in this post. Believe me, I *know* about a *lot* of stuff that is bad about America, because I've lived here a long time. I just want to see some balance.

"lend/lease"

http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq59-23.htm and http://en2.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lend-Lease might be of use.
Additionally prior to the lend.lease act the US opperated a policy of "Cash and Carry" which revised the Neutrality Acts so any ship could come to United States ports and carry away anything they could buy. This policy aided Great Britain and France.

I love America. In fact I'm one of the few yankophiles on this site that's why I am so well loved. In fact I'M A STAR!

That aside please check your facts. I literaly owe my life to U.S. and British forces who trashed the Nazi regime. I love you cousin.
But I think we should get the facts straight 'cause other people read this stuff.

We don't want to spread innuendo, rumour and non-factual comment.
Some might and indeedy, some revel in it, but me...no...I don't!

Which facts did you want me to check, Oetzi?

I don't carrot all about culture.

Lettuce leaf it alone, then.

btw, I thought Russia won WWII?

of course YOU did, zoomer, of course you did. And didn't you also beleive that the Jew's were massacred in upstate NY, and their remains secretly moved to Germany by the US govt?

dave

In fact Zoom creates news on the quiet days...right Zoom..you and the guys needing work. Journalists are all the same..anything, anyhow and anywhere to sell copy or fill a 10 minute news bulletin.

Do you mean just American journalists, or journalists from anywhere?

I agree with many comments put forward since I last posted and would consider America to be the second country that I am affiliated with.

The contradictions and hypocricy that I point out do not mean that there are no positive points about the US, quite the opposite. I am merely suggesting from my angle that they are a nation of clearly marked ends of 'the stick' so to speak.

Their positive and negative in my opinion is clearly seperated.

The only organisation that pay journalists to do nothing was the old USSR. Then they had to do a bit of the old spying now and again.

So the answer: all journalists have to file copy or in Zoom's case hare out and shoot film.

Example: Editor on old telex machine to his correspondent in a dodgy war zone.

EDITOR: "WHY NO NEWS?"

CORESPONDENT: "NO NEWS GOOD NEWS!"

EDITOR: "NO NEWS NO JOB"

EDITOR: "MAKE NEWS"

And that is how most newsrooms work...ain't it Zoom.

Ooopps Zoom has done a runner! Must have upset him.