nobody loves U.S

does it mean that europe is really dead?

> 10) European cultural highlights - Shakespeare, Blake, Mozart,¿ Rembrandt, Leonardo, Velazquez, Goethe, Cezanne...

does it mean that europe is really dead?
 
Europe is kicking ( especially dead balls )

OK, add David Beckham and Posh Spice to the list to bring it up to date.¿ does it mean that europe is really dead?
 
Re: Somebody does love the U.S

> The reason you were asked if the Jerry Springer is real or not¿ is because it is absolutely inconceivable to Europeans that such¿ people actually exist. The show absolutely confirms every point¿ in my list.

As I may hate to inform the world, but springer is the WWF of talk shows. A good majority of the people who are on those shows are either recruited into acting like this, or they get together with their friends and make up a topic to go on the show with. Springer's first producer was actually a guest a few times posing for whatever topic they dreamed of. Very few of these people are anything outside of strippers and kooks who want the glamour of being on TV.

I personally know this because a friend of a friend actually staged something with her friends on that show.
 
Re: Somebody does love the U.S

> As I may hate to inform the world, but springer is the WWF of¿ talk shows. A good majority of the people who are on those shows¿ are either recruited into acting like this, or they get together¿ with their friends and make up a topic to go on the show with.¿ Springer's first producer was actually a guest a few times¿ posing for whatever topic they dreamed of. Very few of these¿ people are anything outside of strippers and kooks who want the¿ glamour of being on TV.¿ I personally know this because a friend of a friend actually¿ staged something with her friends on that show.

This is true I have a friend who actually did it and I myself and another person about made it ourselves ..but the jig was up an hour before taping.. they were none to happy and kept our clothes..long story ..but hey a free trip to chicago
 
Re: Somebody does loves the U.S

You are a sad little man who would be less tense if you had a shag.¿ Great then you can read this

And what have they learned to do with their literacy? I'll bet just as many of them snoozed through their Shakespeare discussions as we did.

And not everyone is allowed to go onto higher education. They must pass tests, and if for some reason their school was shoddy or they are bad at test taking, then they are indeed royally screwed over.¿ Well that sucks for you.¿ ..this is funny..this is the same person complaining that¿ americans care to much about thier looks..

I didn't see too many slobby Brits the 3 months I stayed there.

But once again, we are probably dealing with someone who has never stepped foot in this country. They hear about all the celebrities having boob jobs, but they haven't bothered to see the other 98% of the people who don't care either way. I don't remember my parents taking me to the plastic surgeon to correct anything because I was unpresentable.

And I admit, we definitely have more gyms around here than in Europe, but most of the fashion here is geared towards tiny people. I'm not happy seeing that there are many cool pants made with a bit of spandex that show off your cellulite, but they never asked me. They just put it in the stores and give us a choice between that or mumu's.¿ So do most Americans...¿ Hmmmmm...lets see.. Princess Di, The beattles

Don't forget Oasis and the Spice Girls.

Yes, that's one thing that will always burn in my memory. Any talk show you listened to, someone was always asked who their favorite Spice Girl was.

As far as having lame celebrities, let's talk about Boyzone and the plethorea of boy/girl groups. Boyzone was indeed the worst group ever. Not even the producer could save them in the studio.¿ Update your history book..the sad fact is that the people who¿ brought the slaves over and treated people that way where alot¿ closer to our european ancestors then we are today.

Actually, I don't think those laws exist anymore.

And talk about racism. I remembered when I was at the orientation on campus and some Italian guy was delivering the speech about health care and registering with your doctor and everyone in the room was snickering at his accent and not so great English. How childish.¿ too bad for you then..¿ Neither do we.. that was Germany

Which America is he talking about? I'm so glad people actually come to this country to do their research before talking @#!!! about something.¿ Where is the National front from? Not the US

All caused from a backlash against incoming settlers from Bengladesh and India....the countries Britain had oppressed and exploited for a few centuries.¿ Yet more and more people want to keep coming to this country¿ that everyone seems to hates but look to to finish thier wars,¿ to police, get money,food from and the list goes on and on

Yeah, and look how Clinton is sticking his nose in the Irish peace talks! I hate to tell everyone involved, but if American companies didn't have such a huge economic investment in Ireland, he wouldn't give a damn.

And all the little countries that America bombs.....not that I'm proud that we like to rip apart other countries for cheap labor and materials, but Britain is always right by our side with their grubby little hands out. If they were high and mighty about democracy and not killing of innocent people in countries most of our citizens didn't know existed before that, they would oppose it, but no....
 
> you're right about the us citizens¿ from france, we look to the states as a very strange country¿ with¿ 1 obsession -looking like the heroes of baywatch .¿ overthere, people seem to be so obsessed by their body that it's¿ started to be really ridiculous.¿ anyway, how could it be different with stupid us telly viewvers¿ watching all day long the footage relating the death of jkjr on¿ cnn?
correct me if i'm wrong,but dont the french view Jerry Lewis as a god?
 
moi j'amais beacoup la france parce qu'elle était pour moi "le grand berceau de la culture" et c'était à cause de cela que moi, brésilien, ai étudié le français (j´ai comencé à étudier l'anglais bien après). je pensais que les français étaient cultes, inteligents et les américains stupides.

un beau jour j'ai connu un français, je voulais parler avec lui, parler de "culture" et tout a été une complète déception pour moi: la seule chose qu'il aimait c'était "conduire sa moto contre le vent".

aujourd´hui je ne vois plus les français comme possesseurs, en général, d'une grande "culture générale" (il y a des choses stupides à la télé française; il y des journaux et magazines complètement stupides en france).

et si nous regardons la réalité, c'est facile de voir que les américans ont été beaucoup plus importants que les français en termes de culture dans notre siècle: si dans la litérature la supériorité n'est pas si immense, dans le cinéma et principalement dans la musique on ne peut pas comparer les contribuitions des deux pays: les américains sont indiscutablement supérieurs.

finalément, je dois dire que j´écris cette message en français parce que je veux entraîner l'usage de la langue: je n'ai presque pas occasion de l'utilizer. au contraire de l'anglais (parce que la langue des américains est beaucoup plus importante que celle des français...)
 
Jerry Springer is not the issue here

Firstly, none of my points deal with Jerry Springer, but I can sense you overwhelming embarressment with this aspect of your culture - perhaps you misunderstand the European reaction to this show - its not the guests that we see as representative of America, but the audience ( why do they make monkey noises? ). Presumably this audience is a representative cross section of US culture - note how you are all suddenly revealing the friends you have who have been involved with this show in some way!
I stand by my origional list. Each point is true!¿ This is true I have a friend who actually did it and I myself¿ and another person about made it ourselves ..but the jig was up¿ an hour before taping.. they were none to happy and kept our¿ clothes..long story ..but hey a free trip to chicago
 
Re: Somebody does loves the U.S

I know for a fact that its illegal for blacks to marry whites - the only reason I know this is because it was in the news this week - there is to be a vote or something ( alabama I think ). Funny sort of freedom you have over there.

Your other points are probably true - and your right, I do need a shag ( I am a Morrissey fan, what do you expect? ). However, pointing out the problems with Europe is not really attacking my list properly.
 
Re: Sharing the burden

Commodification - that's a long word. Be careful or you'll do yourself an injury.¿ are you forming that opinion based on the media? is the media a¿ reflection of individuals or a way to stimulate the¿ commodification of everybody's time? hmm...
 
I love Shakespeare

Also, I do know Shakespeare; look:-

Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late schoolboys, and sour prentices,
Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long:
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me
Whether both the'Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear: "All here in one bed lay."

She'is all states, and all princes I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compar'd to this,
All honour's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, sun, art half as happy'as we,
In that the world's contracted thus;
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere.
 
Re: Jerry Springer is not the issue here

> Firstly, none of my points deal with Jerry Springer, but I can¿ sense you overwhelming embarressment with this aspect of your¿ culture - perhaps you misunderstand the European reaction to¿ this show - its not the guests that we see as representative of¿ America, but the audience ( why do they make monkey noises? ).¿ Presumably this audience is a representative cross section of US¿ culture - note how you are all suddenly revealing the friends¿ you have who have been involved with this show in some way!¿ I stand by my origional list. Each point is true!
Oh how incredibly stupid.
The WHOLE point I made about Jerry Springer, was that people in OTHER countries actually believe it is real. Second, the audience; have you ever watched the British National Lottery? Tell me exactly how the audience and people act about that whole mess??? Not to mention the poor quality of so many OTHER produced TV ventures in many European countries. I've never seen things so ridiculous... anyhow. My point on the whole, is people are generally the same no matter where you go. Countries, unfortunately do not deem intelleginence or heightened awareness, there is no 'master race'. There are incredibly stupid people, I know many of them, on BOTH sides of the ocean.
Your eagerness to discredit American society makes little sense to me. People often like to pick apart other things before they pick apart themselves.
EA
 
Brit Sitcoms

.> Not to mention the poor quality of so many OTHER¿ produced TV ventures in many European countries. I've never seen¿ things so ridiculous...

Don't knock ALL non US TV. I'm completely caught up in the Brit sitcoms like Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances, and As Time Goes By, among others. In the days of it being too cool to laugh out loud, I've learned it's OK if it really is funny..
 
Oh, and MacDonalds

There may be "incredibly stupid people on both sides of the atlantic" but in the US its 4% and in Europe its 0.1% ie a 4000% difference - in principle this means that 10million US cizens are "incredibly stupid" compared with 0.5million Europeans ( approximately the population of Wales ). This just covers the illiterati - beyond that who knows.
My point is this - how is it possible for the richest country in the world to be so ugly - unfathomable crime, more serial killers per square meter than anywhere else, more poverty, more homelessness, more polarised thinking, more celebration of the bland, more cheesy inane smiles, more cliches, more white trash, more pollution, more obsession with money, more witch trials, more fundamentalists etc etc etc......¿ Oh how incredibly stupid.¿ The WHOLE point I made about Jerry Springer, was that people in¿ OTHER countries actually believe it is real. Second, the¿ audience; have you ever watched the British National Lottery?¿ Tell me exactly how the audience and people act about that whole¿ mess??? Not to mention the poor quality of so many OTHER¿ produced TV ventures in many European countries. I've never seen¿ things so ridiculous... anyhow. My point on the whole, is people¿ are generally the same no matter where you go. Countries,¿ unfortunately do not deem intelleginence or heightened¿ awareness, there is no 'master race'. There are incredibly¿ stupid people, I know many of them, on BOTH sides of the ocean.¿ Your eagerness to discredit American society makes little sense¿ to me. People often like to pick apart other things before they¿ pick apart themselves.¿ EA
 
> you're right about the us citizens¿ from france, we look to the states as a very strange country¿ with¿ 1 obsession -looking like the heroes of baywatch .¿ overthere, people seem to be so obsessed by their body that it's¿ started to be really ridiculous.

Baywatch is not our most popular show. At most TV stations, it usually comes on at midnight when people are either out or asleep. More people watch America's Funniest Home Videos where some guy accidentally loses his trousers at a wedding than this. We watch it for the same reasons you watch it....people lust after the characters. That's a big difference from wishing they looked like them. I personally think that Pamela Anderson is deformed. Many guys I've asked feel the same way.

Besides, I have to wonder, how can people claim Americans are so obsessed with their looks and still be the "fattest" nation on the planet? Some people are contridicting themselves. We should all be size 5, but we aren't.¿ anyway, how could it be different with stupid us telly viewvers¿ watching all day long the footage relating the death of jkjr on¿ cnn?

That is sick, isn't it? But it's how news that is driven solely by advertising dollars works. There is a point when it fails to become informative and crosses the line into fear that their viewers will turn to another station if they move on to another story. They are exploiting a dead guy for ratings, if you will, because they know that his family is always a good story line.

It's not like this guy actually did anything, and that's what makes the coverage that much worse. They can't claim he did much for charity, politics, trendsetting, or being an example to America's youth. Instead, his only claim is who he is descended from, and it makes it more pathetic when these newstations use footage from the golden days of photographers hiding in the bushes of his apartment to get a shot of him rollerblading as part of their continued "news update". The news stations can't come up with a good reason for why they are overkilling the entire thing.

Oh, and don't think that CNN is a model for how Americans live. They cater to an audience that is white, between the ages of 18-49, and with a large amount of disposable income because that is what the advertisers like. If CNN reported news stories without regard to race, gender, or level of income, you would have a completely different picture of what America is really like.
 
Beauty, sweet love, is like the morning dew

Unfortunately, America's obsession with consumption out performs its obsession with appearance.
Interestingly America's obsession with appearance is exactly that of an adolecent who fails to grasp the true aesthetic reality of the human body ( hence Pamela Anderson and her ilk ).¿ Besides, I have to wonder, how can people claim Americans are so¿ obsessed with their looks and still be the "fattest"¿ nation on the planet? Some people are contridicting themselves.¿ We should all be size 5, but we aren't.
 
Re: Oh, and MacDonalds

> My point is this - how is it possible for the richest country in¿ the world to be so ugly - unfathomable crime, more serial¿ killers per square meter than anywhere else, more poverty, more¿ homelessness, more polarised thinking, more celebration of the¿ bland, more cheesy inane smiles, more cliches, more white trash,¿ more pollution, more obsession with money, more witch trials,¿ more fundamentalists etc etc etc......

It's possible simply because America is a country of excess and extremes. That in turn also leads to extremes of ugliness.

Any time you have a country where power and wealth are disturbed in such a lop sided manner you are also going to have to deal with the opposite effects of that. There is no such thing as having an extreme of one thing without that affecting the entire balance. If money is dealt out in excess in certain areas obviously someone is going to suffer. Therefore the degree of poverty here is greater.

There is very little middle ground with anything in America. Unfortunately it's just not the way the country is set up to work.
 
Would you like pommes frites with that?

Is the U.S. really the richest country in the world? (No, that's not sarcasm, just plain ignorance on my part. Not that I couldn't have guessed... I obviously don't pay much attention to global matters, a horrifyingly "american" thing of mine, I'm working on it).

You know, I live in a nice state called Washington. It rains a lot, I've heard it's kind of like England, you might like it. My philosophy on this country and on others is that we have problems, other countries have problems, they just lie in varying areas. I don't care to discuss it beyond that. Except, one thing that really chaps my hide about the states, is our public schools. That's a long story in itself but one of the most deplorable things (other than property taxes being the basis for whether or not people get a quality education - f@cking brilliant veiled oppression) is the fact that many schools don't require we learn foreign language at all. What is that all about?

-Gothy¿ My point is this - how is it possible for the richest country in¿ the world to be so ugly - unfathomable crime, more serial¿ killers per square meter than anywhere else, more poverty, more¿ homelessness, more polarised thinking, more celebration of the¿ bland, more cheesy inane smiles, more cliches, more white trash,¿ more pollution, more obsession with money, more witch trials,¿ more fundamentalists etc etc etc......
 
¿ Oh, and don't think that CNN is a model for how Americans live.¿ They cater to an audience that is white, between the ages of¿ 18-49, and with a large amount of disposable income because that¿ is what the advertisers like. If CNN reported news stories¿ without regard to race, gender, or level of income, you would¿ have a completely different picture of what America is really¿ like.

It's kind of funny, you guys... we're discussing the ills of the U.S. media, but in Europe (maybe particularly England, even though the most notable incident took place in France, right?) the tabloids and paparazzi (sp?) are enough in demand by the citizens of those nations that people were driven to their deaths? Has that happened in the states? (I'm not sure, but I don't think so). So let us call a spade a spade, human beings are sick creatures and that is that. Heh...
 
Re: Oh, and MacDonalds

Thats an explanation, not a justification¿ It's possible simply because America is a country of excess and¿ extremes. That in turn also leads to extremes of ugliness.¿ Any time you have a country where power and wealth are disturbed¿ in such a lop sided manner you are also going to have to deal¿ with the opposite effects of that. There is no such thing as¿ having an extreme of one thing without that affecting the entire¿ balance. If money is dealt out in excess in certain areas¿ obviously someone is going to suffer. Therefore the degree of¿ poverty here is greater.¿ There is very little middle ground with anything in America.¿ Unfortunately it's just not the way the country is set up to¿ work.
 
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